It is only a few paces from the edge of the wilderness to the lake; trees crowd close to the water in every direction. The water at your feet is pristine, shining blue. Gentle ripples ruffle the glossy surface of the water and whisper at the shore. The hump of Katahdin Peak, blue-grey with distance, looms over the trees as they ring the lake. The air smells clean, rich with pine and fish. In the distance you can make out a dock, and other signs of human habitation; but here, only the calls of birds, frogs, and insects disturb the peaceful quiet.
Did someone call for 'tall, dark, and handsome'? Well, dark's fairly well covered, at least. Jet-black hair hangs loose to just past his waist, a few stray strands about the face occasionally drifting into his almost equally dark eyes, the irises of which are a brown deep enough that one needs to look closely to find the pupil. Nut-brown skin that sets off the white of his teeth and eyes -- it could just barely be mistaken for a very deep tan, if one really tried. Tall is a miss; he's still several inches off six feet, and he probably won't ever get there. Handsome... well, not a classic beauty, to be sure, but well-proportioned, with a stunning, frequent grin and deeply expressive features. Slim, but in perfectly good shape.
He's clad in... well, black leather pants -- somewhat faded, well broken in, but nicely cut and really =quite= nicely fitted -- and nothing else at all; no shirt, no coat, no boots, showing off the nicely developed lines of his torso. His feet are bare but for a few shiny little toerings and a pair of belled anklets, there's a seemingly random collection of bracelets all on one wrist, and several piercings line the upper section of each ear -- little silver hoops. His hair hangs free today, moved by every breeze to twine around his torso and fly out in the wind; there are two or three very slim, careless braids in it, with vines woven in, and he seems to have acquired a circlet of wildflowers and more vinery that sits upon his head like an ephemeral crown.
She's a young thing, looking to be in her late teens or early twenties. Not terribly imposing, she stands at about an average height for a woman, with a slim build that could probably stand to put on a few pounds. Golden toned skin hints at Latina heritage, a notion reinforced by her sleek, straight black hair, which falls unbound beneath a garland of green and red ribbons and dried wildflowers. Her pretty face has been touched up lightly with a bit of rouge to accent the delicate bone structure of her cheeks. Blended kohl around her lashes emphasize her dark, glittering eyes.
The dress she wears is of hand-dyed linen, with a red full-length underskirt embroidered along the hem with twining green vines and white morning glories. Over this she wears a mantle of hunter's green with long flowing sleeves and elaborate lacing at the bodice that causes her rather condensed cleavage to overflow with colorful ribbons. There are more ribbons tied at her throat, choker style, with glass beads depending from them. If one looks closely, one might notice they're tied with slip knots, making each bead bedecked ribbon removable with a simple tug.
Rings glint upon her fingers, all of silvery metals with gemstones of cut glass or even the occasional genuine rock. She even has a ring carved of seashell, white with swirls of pink. When her footsteps reveal her bare feet beneath the voluminous length of her dress, one might catch the glint of toe-rings as well. More jewelry glitters along the lobes of her ears, clip-on earrings and cuffs of silvery metal and shiny glass. On her wrist is a handmade bracelet fashioned from a black and white threaded material that's too smooth to be hemp, but too thick and stiff to be wool. The band is set at regular intervals with small glass beads in dark blues and greens, and woven in a running pattern that compliments the placement of each bead.
Danny stands just under six feet tall and moves with an odd grace that's difficult to categorize. It's not quite the artful manner of a dancer nor the economic movements of a trained warrior, still there's certainly something different in how he carries himself. Fit musculature on a lean frame gives him the look of a runner, and his clean and smooth features suggest a northern European heritage. He has well-defined cheekbones that lend a youthful cast which may bely his true age, while a faint five-o'clock shadow makes his otherwise friendly smile a little disreputable. His eyes are expressive and match colors with his full, wavey, chin-length hair: a deep dark brown that's only just this side of black. His skin in naturally pale, but days working outside have given it the faintest suggestion of a tan.
Although made entirely of linen, his clothing is at least dressy in overall appearence, and clearly meant for special occasions. A light-weight, long-sleeved tunic in a deep, dark blue is belted at his waist with a woven leather belt, and embroidered at the wrists and along the front in a twining, Celtic horse motif of white and black thread. It's an elegant and understated design, and just enough to accent the outfit without looking too flashy. His comfortable black linen pants are tucked into calf-high, black leather boots that sport finely-tooled Celtic knots along their sides, and he wears a stamped silver coin bearing the triune horse symbol of Epona around his neck on a silver snake chain. There's a sky blue ribbon tied just behind his ear, trailing in and out of his dark hair in a former bow that has apparently come untied.
For the holiday, Justin's wearing new clothes: a gauzy white shirt with slightly billowy sleeves and snug cuffs, worn under a forest-green vest which is laced up and fits closely. His jeans are somewhat less dilapidated than the ones he's been wearing, and he's got his sleek, rusty-colored leather boots on. A honeysuckle vine in bloom has been braided into his hair.
This young man stands barely 5'8" with a build that is slim but far from fragile. His musculature is compact and wiry, but it's there and well-toned: no wilting flower, this one. His features are on the masculine side of androgynous, enough that there's no doubt he's male, but calling him pretty -- while it might get one glared at -- wouldn't be far from the truth. His hollowed cheeks and squarish chin is offset by naturally pouty lips tinted with a dark rosy rouge, and a pair of aqua-green eyes framed by a fringe of long lashes that have been skillfully lined with black kohl. His hair is so dark a brown as to seem almost black in all but full sunlight, where red highlights render it a deep auburn. It's worn in a short tail, bound at the base of his neck by a length of blood red ribbon tied in a bow.
It looks like he's grudgingly decided to go native, more or less. The black leather trousers he wears are tight, but broken in enough to allow him freedom of motion. The billowy poet's shirt he wears is of a natural cotton weave, for all that it's been dyed a dark bloody red. He wears it belted at his hips, tunic-style, with the front loosely laced. His jewelry is sparse, merely a few hoops and studs along the outer curve of his ears, an eyebrow stud, and a tongue stud.
She seems awfully young at first glance, but her voice and a close look at her face places her squarely in her early twenties. Her honey-colored hair reaches her lower back in art deco ripples, but much of it often hangs in her face. Broad shoulders melt to generous hips by way of an hourglass narrowing of waist, all in swooping, rounded curves that give hints, occasionally, to the muscle beneath. When visible, her face is narrow, with a pixie nose and amber eyes. Her clothing is usually nondescript and practical, tending toward ancient, oversized blue jeans and t-shirts.
He's a big guy -- that's the first impression this man gives. Standing at an even six feet, his build is certainly sturdy, with broad shoulders and beefy arms. There isn't a scrap of fat on him either, and the calloused hands look like they've seen their share of hard work. The second impression he gives is one of youth. His clean-shaven face has a boyish cast, slightly round but with a strong jaw and squarish chin. It's a strange mix of lingering adolescence and budding maturity. His eyes are pale blue, clear and bright, expressive in a way that hints at soulfulness, though he often looks somewhat preoccupied. A tousled crop of blond hair frames his face, windblown and sun-bleached in an array of shades that could only come from nature: the color of honey and wheat sheaves streaked with gold.
His clothing isn't fancy, but he keeps it in good repair, with careful patches covering the places where it's gone threadbare. The black breeches of a dense cotton weave are tight enough to show off the musculature of his legs though loose enough to remain modest. The linen shirt he wears is clean but dingy with age, left unlaced at the collar, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A leather thong around his neck seems weighted down by some kind of pendant, a glimpse of which can be seen through the loose lacing of his shirt. It seems to be made of polished wood, but its shape is indistinct.
Slim and delicate at her modest 5'5", Rahne has an almost childish quality to her form and features. Carefully trimmed reddish-blonde hair hangs in loose, bouncing curls about an impish face that hovers between youth and maturity. High cheekbones offset wide oval eyes of bright emerald green and a frequent smile that adds to the rebellious look of her deeply tanned face.
Arms and legs that once seemed a bit too long are now a bit more proportioned, well-muscled from hard work and good food. Very little covers her body at the moment, her only concession to the concept of modesty is a simple panel of dark blue fabric that suspends from a tie around her neck. Another pair of ties pull it closely to her body to outline her figure. Around her backside, a small panel of similar width is tide to the front to keep her...decent. The whole affair just brushes the tops of her thighs.
Around her neck, a thin gold chain dangles a small, heart-shaped pendant delicately between her collarbones.
Sean pages the room: I declare it to be early evening, and a nice day (not raining).
Sean pages the room: And not windy.
Sean pages the room: Maybe a light breeze.
Ruth pages the room: Does the air smell like pine needles?
Sean pages the room: Uh, sure! c.c
The shoreline has been transformed into a small festival area, with a motley assortment of tables arranged in a half-circle facing the lake, and a maypole set firmly into the ground several feet away to make room for the dancers. Ribbons of all makes and kinds are fastened to the top of the pole and extend down to rocks which hold them in place, forming a wild, conical display of texture and color that ripples in the faint evening breeze. Further out, a large firering has been constructed from more rocks, and a healthy pile of dry wood and tinder sits inside it, ready to build a bonfire. A large variety of foods is laid out on the tables, as well as water, juices, and drinks with a bit more potency for those so inclined. The serving- and dinnerware is as mismatched as the tables, but the food promises to distract even the pickiest of festival-goers. Beeswax candles are placed around the tables and on large boulders to provide light when the sun finally sets.
Robin, dressed in black trousers and a black cotton tank top, pads barefoot around the Maypole. He is pointedly, politely ignoring the food. As he inspects this interesting example of local culture, he keeps his back to the tables like a cat giving a human the cut direct.
Bryce is there, wandering amongst the tables, checking on things. He's not so polite as Robin and takes small samples here and there, just to make sure everything still tastes good.
A ball of daisies floats after Robin, moving like a bumblebee that has become what it eats.
Miki finishes arranging piles of warm baked things, obviously resisting the urge to wave his hands at Bryce like a querulous grandmother. He stops, shakes his head, and grins at the catkin instead, inviting him to laugh at Miki's nervousness. He scoots away from the tables and goes to sit near where the bonfire is going to be, staring at the pile of wood longingly.
Rex enters from the road with a wheelbarrow full of pie. There are at least six pies there, about half covered with creamy goodness, and the other half covered with scrupulously latticed crust. He still, in fact, has a large smudge of flour across one cheek, a bit in his hair, and a streak down the front of his belly and the top of his pants. He grins manically as he wheels his wares up to the tables and begins to unload.
Justin strolls in from the path to the road, a woven wine-bottle basket in hand. "The last of the mead," he says cheerfully, setting the basket down on a table. "Now I have an excuse to make some more!" He laughs at Rex's pie-barrow. "You've outdone yourself, Rex." The temptation to go brush flour off of Rex is strong, from the way he eyes those smudges.
Martin makes his way unobtrusively toward the festival area, or at least as unobtrusive as a tall strapping blond hauling a burlap bag over his shoulder can look. He lugs his burden along with a cheery bounce in his step, careless as can be.
Ruth has simpler fare with her as she strides down from the road to the lake, her steel-shood hooves thumping on the soft ground, a tawny cloak flowing behind her, tassled hood and all. Unlike much of what she's worn these days, it's new, it has to be new, the neat thread and fabric says: Hello, I am new. But that's besides the point. She has a sheaf of fragrant grass over one shoulder and a satchel filled with something that clanks and clatters with each step. She lifts a hand and waves, whisks her tail as she tromps down to the lake's edge.
The daisy ball zooms over to hover around the pies, taking them in from every available angle. Robin drifts over behind it, hands in his pockets, studiedly casual. He doesn't even acknowledge the wheelbarrow full of sugary, buttery, flaky heaven. "Evening," he says in a vaguely distracted voice. "You're looking spruce, Justin. Or honeysuckle."
Bryce does indeed grin at Miki, deliberately snatching a carrot stick and devouring before his very eyes. When Rex arrives, he joins Robin over by it, and again is contrary in that he inspects the pies closely. "Hi Rex! Nice pies," he comments, then glances up at him. His brow furrows and he makes little wiping motions at his cheek while giving Rex a Significant Look.
Ruth sets the grass against a table and lets the satchel clunk down on a seat. From it she draws a few stout jugs, big and cheery and round. She quirks her mouth up at these and tucks the satchel away. There is, about that table and on the wind, the faint scent of coffee.
There's the noise of the treehouse hatch opening, and then Ren swings down on the rope, jumping off when the thing reaches a good point on the parabola instead of climbing down it like a sane person. The reason is evident enough -- well, aside from exuberance and showing off -- it's hard to climb down a rope when one arm's busy with a lumpy burlap sack. "Afternoon!" he greets everyone, grinning broadly, and moves things from the sack to the tables -- several bottles, a cooked rabbit, and two tins of what turn out to be cookies -- ending up by Rex and his delicious pies. Catching Bryce's gesture to the other kin, he takes care of that flour, from the top down -- hair, cheek, and then belly down onto pants. "See you've been cookin' again," he remarks to the Bastet kin, arching a brow teasingly.
"So many, Rex!" Miki says, wandering back towards the food. "Even more than for the Solstice!" Then he grins at the lion-kin, runs a few steps, and stops at the arrival of Ren. "Um," he says from somewhere behind Rex. "I did not get to thank you for the cake. Thank you." He drifts back towards the bonfire-to-be.
Ruth stretches her arms out, then walks over towards Rex and the wheelbarrow, cants her head as she looks at the pies, sidelong, then around about at everything. "Well," she murmurs.
Rex grins at Justin and waggles his eyebrows once at the mage, then nearly gives himself whiplash looking at Martin, glances at Robin (and swats half-heartedly at the daisy ball), then furrows his brow uncomprehendingly at Bryce. He leans a little closer to Bryce and whispers, "Uh, dude, that's a really rude thing to say in cat." The dusting-down by Ren catches him by surprise and he says, "Yah, well, it's what I do best, y'know," and he spins, coconut cream pie in hand, toward Miki with a worried look and calls after him, "You're, uh, welcome." Finally, he sets the last pie on the table, and sighs.
Martin approaches the gathering, angling his gait toward Ren as he sees him drop down out of the treehouse. "Goodness," he says as he takes in the layout of food with the singlemindedness of one who appreciates a good meal. "Looks like it's going to be quite a party." "I hope no one minds, I came to make a delivery."
Justin grins at Robin. "Thank you sir. How have you been?" He watches Rex spaz out with benign good humor, and smiles and/or waves to the wide variety of people who have shown up. Ren gets a bit of a double-take, especially over the toe rings. "What have you brought, Martin?" he asks the trader, on the way.
Miki reaches up and pulls the clump of violets out of the top buttonhole of his green vest. Popping one in his mouth absently, he starts stalking Robin's little daisy ball, attempting to hit it with thrown flowers.
As the food burgeons around him, Robin raises his eyes to contemplate the skies. His expression is solemn and pious. "I've been well," he says to the heavens. "Hello, Martin, Ruth, Perv-dude, Rex. Do pardon me." He turns and walks away from the incipient orgy of calories sedately. The daisy ball, which had been fluttering indignantly at Rex and emitting little bursts of broken laser light, follows him. He catches up with Miki and whispers something in Miki's ear.
Bryce blinks at Rex, then promptly blushes. "Er," he says, the abruptly finds something else to do and wanders away towards the tables, inspecting things again.
Martin grins broadly, all around, giving a friendly nod to acquaintance and total stranger alike as he makes his way toward the table of goodies. "Just a few things from Millinocket," he tells Justin amiably. To Ren, he comments, "You look cute," without even a hint of facetiousness or insincerity. The sack is set down on the edge of the table, and he begins to rummage, drawing forth small packages wrapped in tissue paper. He proceeds to scatter them about carelessly upon the table, amidst the edibles.
Miki leans far enough away from Robin to give him a thoroughly confused stare, then ducks his head and replies with a rather guilty-looking shrug.
Ruth reaches up to brush her hair away from her brow and glances at the daisy ball. Then she folds herself down at one of the tables and stretches her long legs out. Steel glints along the edges of her hooves. She whickers, low and quiet.
Robin glances toward the group by the tables, then murmurs in Miki's ear again.
"Evenin', Chickdude," Ren replies lightly to Robin, and gives Rex a friendly kiss on the cheek before turning to head over to Martin, and investigate this delivery of his. He jingles when he walks. "...what, just cute?" he asks the trader not-quite-poutily, wrapping an arm loosely around Martin's waist, "...evenin', han'some. Wasn't sure you'd be comin' t' this."
Danny and Aurelia approach from the direction of the Frat House, walking hand-in-hand and discussing something of incredible importance. She's carrying a guitar case in her free hand, and he has a handful of dried flower garlands in his. Once they're a bit closer, it's easier to hear them talking. "I just think the lattice-top pie crust looks better on a berry pie than an apple pie, that's all," Danny says. "It's a color contrast thing."
This time the shrug is more complicated. Miki glances up at Robin, half-laughing, half-rueful, all embarrassed, as he answers.
Justin can't resist the lure of the mysterious packages Martin is scattering bither and yon, and picks one up to investigate it. He glances up on hearing Danny's voice, but whatever greeting he was about to call to his kumimate is knocked back in the queue by Aurelia's clothes. "Aurelia, you look beautiful," he says to her, a little stunned by /how/ beautiful she looks.
"Holy cow," Bryce agrees with Justin upon seeing Aurelia. He stifles further comments but takes a good long look, unconcerned that he's oggling his kumimate's girlfriend.
Martin finishes scattering small parcels about, and there remains a few things in his sack, which he hitches over his shoulder again, passing a parcel to Ren before sneaking his arm around his shoulder. "Is there something wrong with cute?" he asks. "Why would I not come? And miss seeing all you Havenites in one place having a good time?" The parcels, it turns out, have a little cluster of candy in each: rock candy, salt water taffy, ribbon candy -- sugary goodies that keep well. There is also the occasional trinket, a little toy or semi-precious stone. Nothing terribly valuable, but lots of shiny sugary goodness.
Rex accepts the kiss with good grace, adjusts some of the pies on the table while surreptitiously watching Martin from the corner of his eye. Then he looks around, peers confusedly at Robin and Miki's confab, rakes fingers through his hair, and then apparently decides to focus on Justin by sidling up next to him and beginning to investigate the goodies. Just as he opens his mouth to make some comment to the mage, Danny and Aurelia arrive on the scene. He glances up at the pair, and at Justin and Bryce's comments, looks a little more closely at Aurelia. With a very slight one-shouldered shrug, he turns away from the table, his target distracted by something female, and wanders waterwards.
Robin waves the hovering daisy ball away. It zooms back to the tables and hangs on the edges of the group, keeping out of people's way in a manner completely new to... floating daisy balls. Robin whispers a concerned question to Miki.
Ruth lifts her hands and waves to new arrivals, calls out a greeting to Danny as well, a bright and amiable nicker. The way she's stretched out though, there on her seat implies that she's not going to actually stand up to greet anyone. "Hey," she murmurs.
"And all I'm sayin'," Aurelia informs Danny patiently, "Is that there's a reason menfolk ain't allowed in the kitchen in any civilized home." She glances around, flashing a bright smile as she lifts her guitar case a little in a ladened attempt at a wave. "Thank you sugar," she tells Justin. At Bryce's looking, she comments, "I told you I was a girl."
Miki gives Robin a wide-eyed, have-you-been-living-under-a-rock sort of look, and then nearly laughs. He shakes his head, reaches up and pulls his hair ribbon free, and then shakes his head some more, so his hair flies everywhere. Whatever reply he makes to Robin is covered by flying white hair.
Serendipity accepts the parcel, leaning in against the decidedly larger man casually. "Nothin', I guess, I just wasn't =goin'= for =cute=..." he replies, starting to undo the parcel, and stops rather short when he catches sight of the arriving couple, tensing a bit. "...Rae," he says, barely audibly, and then grins crookedly toward his own arriving kumimate. "Rae!" he calls to her rather louder, "Evenin', beautiful. You look darkin' inCREDible."
You paged Martin with 'Martin would, in fact, probably notice that Ren stopped breathing for a second or two there.'.
Martin pages: Yeep!
You paged Martin with 'Right before he figured out how to talk again, unsurprisingly. ;)'.
Martin pages: So cute. :)
At Aurelia's comment about menfolk in the kitchen, Rex actually spins around on his heel, mouth open in amazement. Then he looks aside at Ren, then over at Danny and the rest of the kumi, shuts his mouth with a snap, looks at his pies pointedly, and then marches over to lean against the treehouse-tree, arms crossed, staring out over the water at the Turtletop.
Danny waves a hello to everyone with the garlands, fairly certain that most of the eyes in their direction are not actually directed at him, but happy to greet everyone none-the-less. "Hey folks. I brought garlands for anyone who wants to wear them." He leans over and gives Aurelia a kiss on the cheek, then nods towards one of the more drink-laden tables. "Want anything?" he asks her.
Justin gives Danny a grin known to men the world over as 'you lucky dog', and raises an eyebrow at Aurelia. He picks up another of Martin's gifts, and wanders towards Rex. "Some people don't know how to appreciate a man in the kitchen," he remarks to Rex in a tone of fellow-feeling, and offers him the little tissue-wrapped bundle.
Ruth folds her arms about her middle and in the midst of everything lids her eyes and falls asleep. Her chest starts an easy rise and fall, a long ear flicks.
Martin leans over to give Ren a kiss atop his head. "Okay," he says solemnly. "You are easily the hottest man alive, and the only reason I can contain myself is through years of rigorous meditation and self-denial." He gives Ren a squeeze, then lets him go and says, "Plus, I'm starving and we're standing by a table of food."
"You weren't lyin', either," Bryce says to Aurelia with a broad grin. He goes then to investigate the bundles, sniffing cautiously at them. He picks up two and seems to be trying to decide which to take when he spies that Ruth has fallen asleep. With a malicious grin, he lobs one of the packages at her.
Rex turns a warm smile upon the mage. "Thanks," he drawls, and accepts the bundle. "Bet she hasn't eaten any of the food I drop off in the Diner, though," he mutters with just a touch of vitriol. He opens the paper and grins down at the taffy. "So," he says, looking up at Justin through dark lashes, "what sort of cooking do you do?"
An odd breeze trickles through the area, laced with children's laughter.
Robin fends the explosion of hair off with his hand. He glances around at the changed constellation of people. His reply to Miki is punctuated with a jerk of the head toward where Rex and Justin stand.
Aurelia eyes Rex curiously as he makes his way toward the treehouse. "What?" she asks vaguely, of no one in particular. Bryce gets another grin, and then she nods to Danny. "Gimme somethin' with a kick to it, dumplin'."
Ruth wakes in the sense that in one frame she's resting, her chest rising and falling and then she's up, her ears pinned back and her nostrils flared wide. She snorts, then furrows her brow, looks down at the package caught up between her cloak and her middle. "What?" she says. Then, a little clearer. "Right." She shakes her head once, then narrows her eyes and looks around.
Miki laughs again, pulling his hair back with one hand to get it out of Robin's face. He shakes his head.
"'s more like it," Ren replies mock-sniffily to Martin, and grins again, composing himself more properly, and finishes opening the gift. At Aurelia's question, he notices Rex's stance, and makes the connection. "Just that Rex happens t' be among th' best cooks for miles 'round these parts," he explains. "...an' he's =definitely= menfolk. You're gonna hafta make an exception."
"Not very good cooking," Justin replies to Rex cheerfully. "Nothing like you can do. Mostly it keeps the lads fed..." He trails off, eyes going distant for a moment as the laughter-tinged breeze goes by.
"Okay," Danny tells Aurelia with a grin. He's about to pull away from her when he hears the laughter, and glances around. "Did someone bring...children?" he asks faintly, peering amongst those gathered. He doesn't manage to let go of Aurelia's hand, and instead squeezes it once.
Bryce skitters around behind Ren and Martin when Ruth starts looking for the perpetrator of the attack against her. If she happens to look his way, he points at Ren while assuming his best expression of angelic innocence.
Martin looks around as well, though with the pleasantly confused expression he wears, it could be because he heard children laughing or because he's only just now noticed where he is. He turns slightly to look at Bryce. "Hello," he greets dubiously.
A pair of small equine shapes with wings swoop down out of the sky, laughing streaks of pastel yellow and electric blue. The unifoals land neatly near the food tables and begin nosing at the nearest bowl curiously. *Bet it is* *Bet it isn't* *Bet they forgot* *Oh, I think so too*
Aurelia walks along with Danny, glancing toward Rex again, then to Ren, to whom she smiles warmly. "Hey there, good lookin'," she greets. "Oh, well if he can cook, then I'll make him an honorary girl, just like Justin." Of course the Corax would happen to have a voice that carries rather loudly.
Robin takes hold of Miki's shirtfront and draws Miki toward him with an expression of deep erotic hunger barely held in check. He purrs something soft and seductive to Miki, all virginal reticence gone. And then the unifoals land. He looks up, startled, and grins. "Welcome!" he cries, Miki forgotten. "Looking for pudding?"
Ruth looks at the little package, now set in her calloused hands. She lifts the box up to snuff at it, then humfs, lets a dark breath out. An ear turns up, she looks about at the gathered folk until her eyes set on Bryce.
Miki looks nigh-stunned as Robin grabs his shirt and leans *very* close to him. "But what is *wrong* with..." he begins to say, but then Robin lets go of him and he reels back, the rest of whatever he was going to say lost in the arrival of the unicorns.
Martin finds himself distracted from the fellow who has just ducked behind his back as the unifoals land nearish to him, relative to the food tables. He backs away, blinking a bit. "Sweet mercy," he says, one hand straying to the pendant hidden in the folds of his shirt. He doesn't look frightened so much as very, very surprised.
Ruth sets her hooves against the ground with the certainty of trees, tosses her mane so her hair slips away from her brow. She turns a dark and steely look towards Bryce, her cloak flutters in the amiable breeze. Severe and not at all human, that's her at that moment. Then she quirks a corner of her mouth up and yawns a huge, horsey yawn at him.
"=I= c'n cook," Serendipity points out, "Does that make me an honorary girl, too? Do I get honorary girlparts t' play with?" He grins fully at his kumimate, and looks her over appreciatively again, attention caught by the sudden movement of Bryce going behind him, and, just as he starts to say something to the Bastet, the arrival of the foals. "Hey!" he calls to them happily, "...no complainin', Rex an 'I made you a whole =pot= of puddin' a while back an' you didn't come get it. We had t' figure out other things t' do with it all. Troublemakers." He sounds far too cheerful to be scolding.
Rex's mouth twists like he's tasted something sour as he hears Aurelia's comment. Then his attention is arrested briefly by the arrival of the unifoals, and... then his gaze settles on Miki. He nudges Justin with an elbow, gestures toward their boyfriend with his chin, and drifts toward Miklos. "Taffy?" he murmurs to the white-haired boy, extending his handful of candy.
The unifoals prance around at being addressed by Robin. *Oh, yes! Is there any?* the yellow one says. *Butterscotch! We were looking for butterscotch!* the electric blue one replies to Ren.
Bryce only giggles as Ruth yawns menacingly at him, but the arrival of the unicorns gets an odd reaction from him. "Oh no, not you guys again!" he says, not quite wailing, and dives under a table. "Hide! No space-time fabric is safe with them around!"
Danny blinks and stares at the unifoals, surprised by their entrance. "Unicorns! Air, I think they're air," he tells Aurelia, as if identifying a type of local fauna. "I don't know if they have names, though. Here, let's go meet them." He tugs her along, and grins a hello at the two young unicorns. "Here for the pudding?" he asks them.
Justin finds it hard to decide which is the more attentionworthy, the arrival of baby unicorns or getting accused of girlhood, even honorary. He settles for narrowing an 'I'll get you later' look at Aurelia, and greeting the unicorns with "Blessed Beltane, my lord and lady." Following Rex, he gives Bryce a very strange look indeed. "What is your malfunction, Bryce?"
"*I* didn't make any," Robin says, bounding to the table. "I only brought wine and strawberries. Which you may not have," he adds sternly. "The wine, not the strawberries." He reaches out a hand to pet the filly. "How does berry pie with lots of whipped cream sound instead? Will that--" He gives Bryce a Look. "...prevent you from ripping open the space-time continuum?" he finishes.
Ruth stretches, long-limbed and lanky and finally looks at the unicorns. Her ears cant back, she swoops her cloak about her shoulders. But, on the whole she looks amiable, somehow, amidst all of that long-faced equine severity. She whickers a greeting, then turns a dark eye towards Bryce, who may or may not be a marked man.
Miki grins at Bryce's reaction, but he does stand up and take a good look around to be sure there aren't any... OTHER unicorns in the vicinity before turning to-- er, say hello to Rex. Right, Rex, who is there, instead of unicorns. He blinks up at Rex. "Um, thank you," he says.
Aurelia looks blithely at Justin, as though she couldn't for the life of her imagine what there could possibly be worth talking about at some later point. Geez, try to flatter some people... The unicorns get a curious look, and she says, "Oh my, look at that. How'd they get that color?"
Serendipity grins at the unifoals. "Butterscotch's the kind we made. But you didn't drop by, so we had t' have it all ourselves," he adds woefully, glancing toward Rex conspiratorially. "S'pose there MIGHT be more somewhere, but I couldn't say for sure." He takes a bit of candy from the packet and pops it in his mouth, then finds a little silver earcuff in there too, which he examines and then slips onto his ear, turning without comment to lean up and steal a quick kiss from the trader.
Rex drapes an arm over Miki's shoulders and grins down at him. "So, like, you're nineteen now. How does it feel to be old? I age myself in a month or two, but I'll never catch up with you." He jerks a thumb in Justin's direction and mock-whispers, with a twinkle in his eye, "Or him. Dark, we'll never be as /old/ as him, right?"
The blue unifoal turns a somersault in the air, fading to pink as he goes. The yellow one looks around, then stares up at the mountain. *Oh, darn* she says. *We have to gooooooo* the pink one howls. *We're being called* the yellow-turning-green one says to Robin apologetically. *But I'm pretty sure others will come soon* With that, the two leap into the air and vanish over the trees. Oddly, a whole section of the table near where their noses had been is devoid of Martin's little gifts.
Martin blinks a bit in surprise, as his attention has been fixed upon the unifoals entirely. He darts a glance toward Ren, then smiles broadly. He turns his attention hurriedly toward the foals as they take to the trees, his eyes wide with nigh childish wonder. "I think they like candy," he says with a nervous little laugh.
Bryce peeks out from under the table when the unifoals leave and breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm getting tired of this extra-dimensional travel stuff being forced on me," he says as he stands up and dusts off his knees. He claps his hands and rubs them together. "Okay, so, we gonna party or what?"
Robin grins broadly. "I invited the unicorns earlier today," he says to the company at large. "It seemed the right thing to do, since this is the changeover from Spring's domain to Summer's." He bounces over to join the group. "Unicorns dancing! Bryce, what are you going on about?"
Ruth reaches up to rub the back of her neck with a calloused hand, turns dark eyes to watch the unicorns as they vanish over the trees in varied colors. "Right," she says. "More of them." She takes a long breath and burrs it out, solid and equine, then walks over to one of the big jugs. She opens one, the warm and sharp scent of coffee grows stronger. Her tail whisks as she pours a mug, then looks back at Bryce and Robin.
Miki peers up at Rex through the mess he's made of his hair and smiles a little. "I am not so *very* old," he says quietly. "I like getting older. I... learn more. I have always wanted to be older." He glances towards the Lake, a slight and speculative smile hovering about his mouth. "Even when I was very little." He shakes his head again, then rakes his fingers through his hair and reaches up to tuck the last of his violets into Rex's black mane.
"I think they just turn colors," Danny says curiously, watching the unifoals go. "Maybe for their moods?" He finally releases Aurelia's hand, after giving it a brief kiss, and goes to fetch them something to drink. As she requested something with kick, he pours Justin's mead for both of them, then starts to make his way back towards her. "Absolutely," he tells Bryce. "We can start the maypole dance, if everyone wants." To Robin, he says, "Actually, it's not, that's Solstice. Well, not where I come from."
"Watch your tongue, you young ruffian," Justin mock-growls at Rex. Robin's news that she--he, whatever--invited unicorns makes his eyes go wide.
Aurelia looks around for a place to set her guitar case that's out of the way, and she does just that, then rejoins Danny to avail herself of Justin's mead. The kiss gets a quirky grin from her. Toward Ren, she comments, "I somehow have a feelin' you don't have any trouble gettin' hold of girl parts, rascal."
"Is it?" Robin says. "Then I was misinformed. We don't do any of these things where I come from. In any case, it's a seasonal thing involving food, frolicking, and for--getting past grievances, and those are the things unicorns are good at." He gives Justin a mischievous smile. "Yes, Justin, more unicorns! Or is it a singular unicorn you're more interested in?"
Bryce giggles nervously at Robin. "Uh, just the last time I saw them, it was actually another unicorn they were /fighting/, opened a rift in space-time and me and Ruth and Miki got sucked in and, er, it was kind of unsettling. I think I'm developing a fear of unicorns."
Ruth takes a long draught from her mug, nostrils flaring as she snuffs in the coffee's scent. Her tail whisks, a hoof thumps on the ground, then she looks over towards Bryce. "That's right, there was another unicorn. No good intentions, either."
"In =this= town?" Ren tosses back to Aurelia, laughing, "...anyway, they never let me play with 'em for more'n a day or so at a time." He grins and gives Martin a squeeze, then wanders over to check out the various things on the table again, and examine in particular the possibilities to drink, one ear on the various conversations behind him.
Miki smiles up at Rex again, then moves towards the beribboned Maypole at Danny's words. "I know a maypole song," he says, a little too innocently. He glances towards the east, where the moon will soon be rising, and makes an almost dancelike gesture out of stretching his arms.
Martin shakes his had with lingering amazement over the unicorns. Ren's conversation causes his cheeks to color a shade or two, but he says not a word, instead meandering toward the tables, looking more on the food end of things than drinks. A boy doesn't get that big without keeping his priorities in order, and soon there is much sampling of various edibles.
Robin blinks at Bryce and Ruth. "Another space-time adventure?" he says. "Is there anything in this region that's /not/ going to suck some of us onto another plane? Thank god you're okay, though." He gives them both a careful once-over. "You're both okay, right?"
The sound of pounding hooves grows quickly in the open field, and a curvaceous palomino with copious silken mane bursts into view, ribbons streaming from her braided tail. She gallops high-spiritedly directly toward Danny, launches herself over one of the tables that just happens to be in her way, and transforms into her tanned, grinning human shape in mid-air. As she lands, half-on-Danny, she laughs delightedly and says, "Happy Beltane, lover!" before seizing him and planting a lengthy kiss on his lips.
"Beltane is a little different than the rest," Danny tells Robin as he hands the mead to Aurelia. He can't resist reaching out to touch her hair for a moment, and then he has been tackled by Kismet, and his cup falls hopelessly to ground. "Kismet, mmmmph," is about the only thing he can say before he manages to wrest himself free of her, holding her at arm's length.
Kalisto slips in, well timed with the Pernunka in the midst so that he's just sort of there by the drink table, helping himself copiously to, oh let's see. Here's some mead, and is this wine? Hmm, doesn't matter what this is, it looks potent. Not so much as a hello to anyone. He's here for the booze.
"I'm fine," Ruth says, amiably. She doesn't even glance towards the flying palomino, hooks a hand about one of the jugs and offers it to Robin. "Coffee?"
Aurelia looks like she's about to say something to Danny, but then he's tackled. She blinks sedately, sipping her mead as he gets a liplock planted on him. The mead disappears in a few swigs as she knocks it back.. Then, "Why, who's yer friend? Lover?" Her voice is light. Cheerful. Tense in the way that could shatter glass.
Miki stares at Kismet's entrance and shakes his head a little. He fishes in his pockets, unbuttons his cuffs and rolls them up, and scuffs the ground a little; he's really not doing anything worthy of notice. Move along; we're just a hedge.
Justin looks as if he's considering emulating Bryce and hiding under a table.
Rex stares at the really entertaining flying tackle.
Kismet is cheerfully held at arm's length. "I promised I'd be back from my impromptu damned tour of the entire fucking continent in time for Beltane, and damned if I ain't," she says, looking up at him seductively through her hair.
Serendipity is distracted enough by this flying horse-transforming-to-hot-girl and kissing his kumimate's boyfriend thing that for a moment even =he= isn't noticing he's combining the contents of one of those interesting bottles on the table with the nice big bowl of reddish punch beside it. He watches fascinated for so many reasons, for a moment or two, before Kalisto's presence sinks in too, and he flashes the guy a welcoming grin.
"You're, you're...tan," Danny finally manages to say. He takes a shakey step away from Kismet, putting him back next to Aurelia, and glances at the Corax with a pained expression. "This is Kismet. She, she and I, were..." After a few vague gestures, he looks at Kismet again. "Promised who? You, left."
Martin, spurred by a latent sense of self-preservation perhaps, keeps the food table between him and his good friend Danny's predicament. These tasty pies aren't going to eat themselves, after all.
Bryce dives to the ground at Kismet's galloping approach. Not that he was very much in the way, but more because it seemed like fun. Aurelia's tone causes him to peek very cautiously over the top of the table at them, though.
Kismet blinks at Danny, then sighs, pounding her forehead with the heel of her hand. "Let me guess, you haven't gotten a single fucking letter I wrote you, have you? Arrrrgh. Serves me right for trusting a fly-by-night Corax messenger service." She flaps an arm. "Eos sent me off on this, 'Tell everyone how much our caern rocks,' trip as part of my service to get into the group, you know? So then half her elderly friends had to engage my 'services' to send their drunken ditties to their best buddies on the other side of the world. But here I am."
Kalisto eyes Ren and, deciding that the kin doesn't seem to have designs that interrupt his drinking, gives him an amiable nod, lifting his glass of mead in a toast before slugging it down. Can't talk, drinking.
"Coffee?" Robin reaches out his hand and almost takes the cup before the developing situation makes him think twice. "Not right now, but thank you very much. It smells delicious." He leans over and rescues a labelless bottle from the liquor table. "Century-old wine?"
Aurelia's brows lift a touch. Fly-by-night Corax messenger, huh. She folds her arms over her beribboned chest and looks Kismet over. "Were?" she asks, darting a glance at Danny. It's kind of eerie, the way only her eyes move and the rest of her stays utterly still. "I got a feelin' yer friend ain't aware of the 'were' part. Lover."
Miki, still standing by the unused Maypole, stands on one foot and uses the toe of the other foot to draw a circle in the dirt around him, like a shy child on the playground. Then he rubs his hands up and down his arms, looking around. One hand goes into a pocket, then along the other arm. There is the glint of metal, and the hand slips into the pocket again. He draws his fingers down his arm and lets a drop or three hit the earth.
Danny shakes his head at Kismet, looking apologetic, and a million other things besides. His gaze darts to Aurelia, and he gives her a worried look, then tells Kismet, "I didn't, no. I'm, Kismet I'm sorry. I didn't think you were coming back. And, I never thought you..." He fails to come up with the right words, and elects to stand there, at a loss. "I'm sorry," he repeats.
Justin, going above and beyond the call of duty, remains nearby in case Danny needs first-aid, mead, or other emergency help.
Kismet entirely ignores Aurelia until she sees the looks Danny is sending her way, at which point, she glances over at the girl. "Ahh," she says. "New girlfriend, huh? Jealous type, I guess? Okay, no biggie, no hard feelings." She grins at Danny. "If she dumps you, I'll probably be around." Then she grins at Aurelia. "If you want to compare notes, I'll be around. Or, you know, I'm available for spicing things up a bit, 'cause you're not bad yourself." With that, she wanders over to Bryce's table and peers under. "Hey, hot stuff."
Ruth cants an ear towards Danny, then sets the jug down. She lets a burred breath out, gives the tables a dark-eyed glance. That at nothing at all, apparently, she shakes her head and chuckles, low and whickery.
Serendipity reaches over absently and pushes one of the bottles on the table over toward Kal. A recommendation, perhaps. The empty bottle gets even more absently set aside while he watches this whole scene, not allowing the grin to escape until it appears to have been settled. Aw, and without girl-fights, too. Oh well.
Bryce waves at Kismet, grinning brightly. "Nice to see you back, Kismet. Nice jump, too," he says, getting to his feet like he hadn't run for cover like a cat fleeing a vacuum cleaner.
Robin sighs. Drama averted. He keeps half an eye on the developing Kismet-Bryce flirtation as he makes his way back to the liquor table, bottle in hand. "Happy Beltane, Kal. Floof looks good on you."
Aurelia's gaze swivels back to Kismet. It's not so much if looks could kill but rather if they could maim around the head and shoulders. Then she relaxes a little, even managing a smile that's mostly not murderous. "I'll keep that in mind," she tells Kismet. Then, to Danny, she mentions, "You live another day."
Miki begins to sing. It's a lively, bright tune, calling and promising and bright with all the gaiety of Spring. It also hits all the senses like a river in full flood, tumbling the listener over and over with desire-- for green things, for sun, for frolicking in other people's fields, for food and wine, but most of all, for dancing. The music takes one's body like the wind. It is resistable, of course, but it is so merry, so sweet, why would one want to resist?
"To the maypole let us on,
The time is swift and will be gone.
Then come lasses to the green,
Where their beauties may be seen."
Kalisto eyes the bottle slid his way, and he takes it up, giving it a sniff before drinking. "The Warden wouldn't let me wear what I -wanted- to," he complains by way of greeting. "So, when does the fuckfest start?"
Danny breathes a sigh of relief, and even smiles at Kismet, but it's a nervous one at best. "Thanks. I think." He turns to Aurelia, and is all seriousness again, his face telegraphing, 'I grovel at your feet' as he says, "Do you want to join Miki? You can play, and he can sing...or you can dance around the maypole with us." Then he offers his hand to her.
Ruth has gathered an apple up, lifted it when Miklos begins his song. Then her ears skew and she looks over at him. She is very still for a long moment, then she shakes her head, slow and easy and chomps at the apple.
Miki's singing seems to soothe the savage beast, and Aurelia gives Danny a kiss on the cheek as she takes his hand. "I think I'll play a spell," she replies. "Don't think I could outdo that voice fer singin'."
"I don't know that it's on the official program," Robin says. He plucks at Kal's collar, and suddenly Kal is wearing a skintight, thin-as-silk bright-blue top. It has a grapefruit-sized hole cut over his belly to display his fine abs and navel, and a half-dollar-sized hole cut over each nipple. When Miki starts to sing, Robin's head goes up. "Lassies indeed!" he says, poising for flight. "Vote on the new look quick, Kal, or I'm gone to dance."
Justin claps Danny on the shoulder, grinning wryly at him. Thundersnow has run through a rocky field! Miki's song draws him towards his lover, though. It's a question of opinion whether his luck is good or bad that he misses Kal's outfit's transformation.
Serendipity grins toothily at Kal, "Depends how long it takes you to ask someone who says yes," he replies, simultaneous with Robin's reply, and laughs as the outfit gets changed. "So you considering design for a career, Robin, or is this just a frequent hobby?"
Danny gives Justin a Look, and leans down to kiss Aurelia on the neck. He murmurs something in her ear, then goes and gets her guitar for her. After handing her the case and giving her another kiss, this time on the top of her head, he walks over towards the maypole to take up a ribbon.
Kalisto glances down at himself, snorting as he smooths his hands over the thin material. "I'm your willing plaything, chickdude. We'll call it a keeper." He reaches for his bottle again, giving the maypole a look. "Oh hey, it's the birthday boy," he says with only a metric ton of bitterness. "Nice voice."
Miki, who is standing near the maypole (but not so near as to impede the possible dancers) with one hand tightly gripping the other arm, releases his grip on his arm and scatters a few more drops of blood on the ground. The calling in the music flows out more strongly still; persuasive, sweet, insinuating, it seems to flow up from the ground and suggest that feet are to move in harmony with the earth. Right now. Now!
"All fair lasses have lads to attend them.
Jolly brave dancers, who can amend them?
To the maypole let us on,
The time is swift and will be gone."
Aurelia takes her guitar case, giving Danny a look of extreme sappiness, and she pauses to steal a kiss before heading toward the maypole, not to dance, but to find a patch of ground near Miki to sit upon. The blood gets an odd look, but she doesn't interrupt nor intervene, instead popping open her guitar case and taking it out to fiddle with. The instrument is old but well cared for, and she handles it with the air of someone who knows what she's doing.
"Just a habit," Robin says. "I was raised for the opera; what do you expect? Who blew pepper up your nose, Kal? Come on, dance!" And Robin is off in a whirl, having just missed Miki's blood magic.
Kismet grins after Bryce's retreat, and then is caught by the music. The first line of the latest verse gets a particularly entertained wriggle of her hips as she moves in.
Rex has very little willpower where Miki is concerned, and is obediently shuffling his way toward the maypole, a silly grin on his face. He is, however, trumped by the arrival of a pair of adult unicorns, who appear on either side of Miklos, bow their heads to him, and begin to circle in opposite directions, one skipping, hopping, and pronking in time to the music, the other processing in a stately, high-stepping fashion.
Bryce's feet tap to the music and he falls in step with Kismet as she goes towards the dancing. "So what's this Beltane thing about, again?" he asks her casually. "I keep forgetting." He laughs ruefully at the arrival of yet more unicorns and shakes his head, but doesn't retreat again.
From a little ways off down some path to the lake, slight rustling can be heard that heralds the impending arrival of another person to the evening events. Rahne comes through the trees at a medium run, barefoot and smiling. As she nears, she slows her pace so she can catch a bit of her breath and take in the scenery before her.
Kalisto takes another sizeable swig from one of the bottles on the table, then saunters after Robin with a look that says this maypole dance is the height of dorkdom, but he will deign to partake because he is just that generous.
Ruth picks her mug up, her hooves thumping slow and steady as she swoops her cloak around her shoulders and finds a place to sit. Not that far from Aurelia, or the guitar which she gives a sidelong glance. Then she sweeps her tail out of the way, sits with a clatter of steel-shod hooves.
Justin, on approach to Miki, halts in his tracks as unicorns appear. Politely, yet firmly, he tells them, "Excuse me," and forges through to Miki's side, and doesn't sweep Miki up in a dramatic kiss only because Miki is still singing.
Aurelia watches the unicorns circle, but then turns her attention to the guitar, leaning in toward it so that as she tunes it by ear, she doesn't have to pluck the strings loudly enough to be heard over Miki's singing. Once satisfied with the instrument's tone, she plays softly, picking up the melody of Miki's song and playing an unobtrusive accompaniment.
Danny waits for the others to join before electing to start the dance, as he can't withstand the lure of Miki's music any longer. The ribbon he takes is dark blue, and might have started life as fabric for something other than a ribbon, but now it's been sewn along the edges and has a new purpose in life.
Miki looks stunned at being turned into an impromptu maypole by unicorns, but he doesn't let it interfere with his singing. Dance, the music calls, then pleads, then insists and sings, as though it beat in the blood of everyone present. Dance! Dance! Dance! Miki manaages to pull an almost frightening sensuality out of the music which stands in stark constrast with the old-fashioned, innocent words.
"Come together, come, sweet lass,
Let us trip it on the grass.
Courting, piping, on the green.
The bravest lads will sure be seen."
He smiles up at Justin as he sings, reaching up to push a lock of hair out of his face.
Serendipity heads toward the maypole as well, pausing very briefly as the unicorns appear, and then catching sight of Rahne and grinning as he claims a ribbon. "Hey, lovely!" he calls to her cheerfully, "Lookin' =nice=. Where've you been?"
Robin laughs as the unicorns appear. He bows to each of them as he reaches the edge of the circle, then snatches up a red ribbon and starts dancing in the same direction as the pronking unicorn.
There may be some ulterior motive to sitting rather than standing, for though she watches the dance, her ears canted up, her coffee for the moment forgotten, Ruth remains where she is, sitting with one leg drawn up, one leg stretched out, bright shoes catching the sun. She breathes out, slow and even, breathes in just the same.
Rahne's head swivels at the familiar call and she offers an infectious grin and a wave with both arms. "Here, there, an' everywhere! Better late than ne'er!" she calls, tucking a curl or two out of her eyes that dangled there after her run. The call of Miki's song also turns her head, and she regards the maypole and the dancing unicorns with an impish smirk. "Glad t' see I didn't miss -all- the fun...."
Kismet takes Bryce's hand and she grins at him through her hair. "Beltane is all about sex, and fertility, and going off into the woods to have a roll around all night long," she tells him, and then drags him to the maypole, where she seizes a ribbon. "Dance!" she commands him. "Dance! Twine it round, in and out, and I'll show you more later!"
The Autumn unicorn notices Robin and rears to twirl on his hind hooves, then circles her in amazing imitations of little cat- or fox-pounces. The Summer unicorn closes its progress into a tight circle around Justin and Miklos. Meanwhile, the Fire unicorn appears, setting the bonfire material alight in a blaze of glory as she dives into the dance herself.
Aurelia keeps playing quietly, presumably not so close to Miki that the unicorns trample her. It's kind of hard to tell what kind of player she is as she keeps the tune simple, complementing Miki's voice without trying to outshine it by any stretch.
Over and under, in opposite directions and always meeting again on the other side, the maypole dance isn't all that complicated if all you want to do is weave ribbons. There are more than enough strands for everyone, and the pole begins to take on the ribbons' myriad colors as the dancers move. Danny might not be able to hold a tune to save his soul, but he's at least deft on his feet, and dancing is something he can do with considerable ease.
"Oh /really/," Bryce says to Kismet as he takes up a ribbon and begins to dance. "I can hardly wait," he says, a mischievous grin in place.
Justin, being a sport, waits for Miki to finish the verse, and then strikes! he catches Miki up and kisses him deeply, in the midst of the Summer unicorn's circling. He does a thorough job of it, but times it well enough to let Miki up for air, ad grins truly wickedly at the Summer unicorn.
Robin tosses back his head with laughter at the Autumn unicorn and does a creditable imitation of a rearing horse as he weaves through the dance. The bonfire blazes alight, and he flinches, stopping in his tracks and almost colliding with the next dancer, before he realizes what happened. His face is white. He smiles with relief and whuffs, and gamely jumps into the dance again.
Martin eventually joins the dancing. The jury may still be out on Rex's cooking for some, but the trader is clearly an avid fan, and those pies are given quite a bit of attention before the lure of the dance finally takes hold and he ambles down to the maypole to work off those pastries.
Miki laughs and throws his arms around Justin's neck. Still laughing, still calling, he sings the last verse of the song, tipping his head back and singing it to the sky as though in joyful defiance. As though calling the entire world to come and dance, come and dance!
"There all day on the first of May,
Lads and lasses dance and play.
Come together, come, sweet lass,
Let us trip it on the grass."
Then he laughs again, wrapping all four limbs around Justin, and sings the first two lines of the first verse over again, letting the music wind to an unresolved, eerie, but wildly sensual and celebratory close. "To the maypole let us on...The time is swift and will be gone."
Ruth grins and cants an ear, shakes her head slow and even as she watches the dance, the weaving of the ribbons about the pole, even the unicorns dancing about it all. She reaches up to brush her hair away from her brow, then remembers her mug and drinks the last of the coffee in it.
Rahne, for not an outright lack of anything better to do, twirls around and dances in place while watching the maypole dancers. The ties of her dress flutter slightly as she moves, and she laughs happily.
Summer circles and twines and is somehow the beautiful androgynous being in between steps as the equine unicorn. The honeysuckle in Justin's hair grows, twines, and spreads, draping itself around the pair, even as the violets in Miki's hair do much the same thing, twining together with the honeysuckle. All the grass around the Maypole turns thick and lush, and is laced heavily with vigorously blooming clover and other wildflowers.
Autumn continues his counterplay with Robin, kicking up his heels in the warm summer breeze. Fire has centered her own dance on the bonfire, whipping it up to new heights with every step.
Ruth snuffs, flares her nostrils as the grass about her grows thick, a riot of clover and wildflowers. She catches some of the clover up, a flower, tucks the blossom in her hair. The clover she eats.
Danny throws his head back and laughs as the bonfire reaches into the night and there's clover beneath his feet, and on a pass around the pole that brings him near Aurelia he gives her a look and nods at the guitar. Then he's gone back around the other side, passing under an arm and then letting someone else duck beneath his.
Aurelia keeps strumming, glancing up once in awhile at the dancers and unicorns, but she seems content to play off to the side, plucking a tune that she seems to be making up as she goes, and her fingers move deftly upon the strings with the ease of experience. She catches Danny's look and flashes him a broad, warm smile.
Kismet flashes a grin at Bryce every time she passes him and... does she actually cop a feel on the way by?
Kalisto dances. The steps aren't that hard to pick up. He even almost smiles a few times, despite himself, and when he thinks no one's looking.
The fact of dancing or not dancing has become academic for Justin, with his hands full of Miki and flowers draped all over him. He applies his attention to Miki instead.
Rahne turns her gaze on the bonfire and her grin somehow doubles in intensity as the flames turn her eyes burnt orange. Letting out a gleeful torrent of laughter, she prances over to dance about the bonfire with great abandon. The firelight turns her red-gold hair an even brighter hue, enough that she almost matches it.
Miki laughs again, but is soon muffled by Justin. He doesn't seem to mind the flowers at all.
Bryce laughs in surprise at an unexpected touch and keeps dancing. He's really getting into the whole weaving thing, ducking and rolling and jumping over and around other peoples' ribbons, just having a good old time.
Robin is too engrossed in the dance to see her friends become landscaping. She adds a little Latin twist to the dance, directing a swivel at Autumn in a friendly challenge.
The Summer unicorn does one more twirl around the Justin/Miki pair, and the flower-entwined trio vanishes in an explosion of flower petals.
Ruth arches a dark brow as Justin and Miklos vanish. She tilts her head, then looks over at Aurelia, back at the flowers.
Serendipity misses a beat in the dance as the singer and his satellites disappear, but hey, it's only Justin's usual unicorn, so how bad can it be?
Autumn somehow manages to get those horsey hips to answer the Latin wiggle, and he puts a polka skip into his step that somehow turns it into a 7-beat thing. Fire appears to be just entertaining herself by stomping around in the actual bonfire. Kismet is clearly entertaining herself with Bryce.
Aurelia eyes the disappearance of Miki and Justin, and the music stops. It's a bit surprising, see. Hesitantly, she takes up playing again, a livelier tune with the sound of a reel to it. Since the unicorns seem to be paying her no mind, she doesn't seem to nervous about them.
Rahne skips and twirls around the fire, as much to Aurelia's change in music as to whatever melody she's conjured up in her head. Her cheeks flush pink from how close she gets to the fire, but she doesn't seem to mind. Perhaps she should just be called Plays With Fire for the evening?
The floral bamf, /that/ gets Robin's attention. He turns to look, working the move into the dance. When he turns back, he's giggling. "Oh, dear," he says. "Well, it's one way to avoid extended farewells." He tries to match the polka beat, and discards it immediately in favor of a sinuous Middle Eastern step.
Ruth shakes her head as the dance carries on, even without the singer and without one of the attending wizards. After a pause she starts to clap along with the dance's varied beat, calloused hands, steady and solid.
The Fire unicorn leaps out to play with her new friend, dancing in and around her with the dexterity of a kitten. Autumn, now in his competely-naked human form, skips politely away from Robin, with a grin, as a dark-haired unicorn woman sidles into the dance near him/her. The Autumn unicorn glances around, then shimmies up to Ren for a while. And meanwhile, Kismet has been doing her level best to convince Bryce to move on to the next phase of the Beltane celebration.
Aurelia plays throughout the dance, the tune growing more complicated and lively as she goes along, challenging the dancers to a quicker pace. Easy for her to do, she's not trying to dance in time to the quick series of notes cascading one into the other.
Serendipity dances playfully with the unicorn, trying to match his steps to his kumimate's music. It's a challenge, absolutely, but he certainly shows every sign of enjoying it.
Bryce does not take much convincing and seems ready, nay /eager/ to progress to the next stage and in fact takes her by the hand so they can go find some shady bower in which to continue celebrating.
The new music spins into the dance, guiding the dancers as they twine their ribbons down the maypole, until there's only the small tails fluttering at the base. It's full dark now, with the Fire unicorn and her bonfire lighting the area, and tables full of food and drink await all the merry-makers that remain to partake of them.
Having given an elaborate and sweeping bow to her the Fire unicorn for the dance, Rahne collects herself something to drink and looks about thoughtfully. Her cheeks are still pink as she looks over the rim of her cup and raises an eyebrow mischieviously. "Hmm....."
Robin looks lost and puzzled as man-Autumn backs away from her. That lasts only the split second it takes him to avert his eyes politely and see the unicorn woman. He yelps with joy and winds his arm around her waist, spinning the tiny woman into the dance. When the music ends, he grins, just looking at her for a moment, then bends, twines her hair in his fingers, and kisses her.
Ruth rolls to her feet once the ribbons are fully twined about the maypole, whisks clover and flower petals from her tail as she looks at the dancers, then grins and steps away towards the tables, her footfall solid and equine.
Robin pages the room: Hrm, Earth's player is gone. Assume that Robin hangs around just long enough to gather up provisions, then disappears up the trail.
Aurelia keeps playing awhile after the dancing, and she adds her voice to the mix as well. For all her modesty in the presence of Miki's singing, the girl's got a pair of lungs on her, and she carries a tune sweeter than honey. Eventually though, she puts away the guitar case and insinuates herself at Danny's side, whispering something to him.
Danny is in the process of beginning a second piece of pie when Aurelia murmurs in his ear, and he looks down at her with a sly smile. He sets the plate and fork aside, and ducks his head to kiss her, just barely decent enough for the public eye. The looks he gives her when they part says all it needs to, and with farewells to everyone assembled, he helps Aurelia to her feet, picks up her guitar case, and leads her back towards the house.
When the dancing ends, Ren wanders over to the food table to get a bit of food and drink to replenish his energy, and glances around the area thoughtfully. He catches sight of Rahne by the fire and grins at her, arching a brow, then looks decidedly wicked and heads over to Martin, grabbing his hand and leaning up to whisper something in the blond man's ear.
From afar, Aurelia will log him in in just a second but you can tell me whatever it is Ren says. :)
Aurelia does take a moment to give Ren a hug and impart something to him quietly before she heads over to rejoin Danny, looking like the cat who ate the canary as she trots along beside him, eager to get back to the house.
Martin, meanwhile, has gravitated back to where there is pie to be found, and he looks perfectly clueless to all potential wickedness as Ren leans in to whisper.
Rahne smiles around her cup and takes a long pull on the drink before lowering it. Dragging one through her curls, she watches Ren with a look that certainly befits a cat presented with a bowl of cream as large as herself. With a quick glance to the table, she finds herself something to nibble on that doesn't take a lot of effort and returns to watching with open amusement.
Long distance to Aurelia: Serendipity leans up and flicks the tip of his tongue against Martin's earlobe, then murmurs, all innocence, "...have you met Rahne yet?"
Martin's eyes widen a touch, and he looks at Ren, shaking his head as he says mildly, "I don't think so, no." He quickly wolfs down one last bit of pie, then dusts off his hands on his breeches to free them of crumbs.
Ruth finds a plate and fills it up, sliced apples and pastries and so on, then settles down where she can watch the bonfire and the folk about. She brushes her hair away from her eyes, props her plate on a knee.
Serendipity grins again and turns around, taking hold of Martin's hands, one in each of his own, so the larger man has no choice but to follow him... or, uh, to pull his hands out of the kin's grip, which he surely could easily do. Ren leans him around the table, and toward the young woman standing there. "Evenin', lovely," he greets her again. "This's Martin. Martin, this's Rahne."
Rahne chuckles and turns slightly to face Martin and Ren, offering a warm smile to both and downing the contents of her cup in one sip. "Evenin', handsome." she says before looking up to greet Martin, "A pleasure to meet you, Martin. Wonderful evenin' to meet on."
Martin is tugged, and he follows. Upon spying Ruth in passing, he offers her a warm smile and an equally amiable nod. He then sees Rahne and blinks a bit, looking at her, her clothing, back up to her face right-quick, and his cheeks color a touch. "Hello," he says awkwardly, but sincere. "It's a pleasure."
"Pleasure all 'round," Ren agrees cheerfully, idly using Martin as a leaning post behind him, and tilts his head up to look toward the trader's face, over his head. "Martin, 've you been t' many Beltane celebrations?" he inquires.
Rahne follows Martin's look and simply smiles, offering a slight shrug, "I know, it's brief....but I thought this was a fair sight better than my first idea." She leaves whatever -that- idea was unspoken and to the imagination of those listening. Collecting herself another cup of drink, she sips this one a bit slower while devoting her attention to Ren and Martin.
Ruth cants an ear towards Martin and whickers, warm and amiable in turn. Then, with some measure of sleep shading her brow, she rolls to her feet and stretches, whisks her long and coarse tail, then leans back against a nearby tree. She lets a breath out, drinks the last of her coffee.
Martin says with a slight stammer, "Not many in my adult life." This to Ren, though he keeps seeming to look at Rahne for some reason. "It's quite lovely. Really."
Rahne bestows a radiant smile on Martin for the compliment and bows slightly, "Why, thank you! I am quite glad you think so." A few more quick gnoshes are garnered from the supply on the table, disappearing into her mouth with a few bites and licked fingers.
Ruth brushes the last of the crumbs off her plate, then sets it and her mug down near her satchel. She glances at the fire and the maypole, then steps over to where the others have gathered, whickers a greeting along the way. "'lo," she murmurs. "First time I've seen unicorns at a maypole dance."
Serendipity arches a brow at Rahne again, grinning more. "...really?" he asks, looking her quite openly up and down again, "...I'd =love= t' see the one that didn't make th' cut, then." He twines an arm behind him around Martin's waist, for no particular reason, and reaches out with his other hand to toy with one of the little ties keeping Rahne's dress in place. He starts to say something, then gets distracted by Ruth's greeting, and grins at her, too. "First time for me, too."
Martin looks on with an expression akin to trepidation as Ren toys with one of those ties. He drapes an arm around the kin's shoulders, commenting, "I can't help but think you're planning on getting me in trouble, Serendipity Jones." Ruth gets a grin as he says, "First time I've ever seen unicorns."
Rahne wriggles her nose impishly at Ren and buries her nose in her cup for a moment, emerging long enough to perk up at Ruth and grin, "Certainly the first time I've ever -danced- with one! Not a night to forget, certainly!" She subtly sidles herself a little further into Ren's reach as she speaks.
Ruth whickers, low and quiet. In the firelight and the dark her face has a long and equine cast, sharper for the way long ears spring up from her curly hair. She whisks her coarse tail and thumps a hoof on the ground. "You'll see more," she says, amiably enough.
"Never had one dance with me, either," Ren agrees. "They oughta come dance with us more often." In response to Martin, he grins upward, and lightly asks, "Now, would I do anything t' cause you harm?" Meanwhile, the hand that's found the ties encourages this whole 'approaching' thing, though it's careful not to undo the knots. For now. "Been a pretty good Beltane, so far, I'd say."
Martin does look distinctly nervous, but it's not necessarily a bad kind of nervous. Clearly he's not a Beltane regular. "I'm fairly sure there's something in the good book that says anything you have up your sleeve is strictly forbidden," he says mildly. Looking around the lake, he adds quieter, "They're lovely creatures, but they look dangerous."
Martin pages: Oh! Before I forget. What Aurelia whispered to Ren before leaving was something to the effect of cheering him on for getting himself some. You know, the support of one's kumimate in one's endeavors. ;)
Rahne gives up on the subtlety after a bit and puts herself firmly within arm's reach. Whatever the hand attached to that arm does is apparently fine with her. Looking over at Fire, she smiles fondly and shrugs a little, "Me, I follow a simple rule and, most of the time, it works. Respect them, they'll respect you. Oh, and if Ren is hiding anything up his sleeve tonight, then that's one damn fine shirt he's not wearing!"
"They're trouble," Ruth says. She thumps a hoof on the ground and stretches then, her whicker has an amused edge. "Have fun," she adds. And with that she lifts a hand to wave and turns towards the woods. She stops where the trees shade the shadowed ground, looks back. "I'll be back in a few hours." Then she's gone.
"Then how good a book can it be?" Ren counters teasingly, and breaks into laughter at Rahne's comment. Ruth gets waved to while he's laughing, and then the arm comes back down to snake around Rahne's waist. "...wanna go find someplace t' get better acquainted?" he asks his remaining companions, "I think I know now one or two we could investigate..."
Martin gives Ruth a wave in parting, then lets his arm resettle around Ren's shoulders. His cheeks color still more at Ren's suggestion. "I should see to the camp," he says uncertainly. "But I suppose, if you'll let me know where you're planning to be, I could meet up later."
Rahne leans companionably into Ren and looks up at Martin with a pleasant smile, "Well...wherever he's going to be, I likely will be, and I leave myself in his capable hands tonight." She curls a hand against Ren's arm and twines the other in his hair lazily.
Serendipity smiles and leans in to give Rahne a rather lingering kiss, without releasing Martin so he can go. The reason's clear enough when the kiss breaks, and he twists to lean up and give one to the trader as well. There appears to be something of a grope involved, there, as well. "...'f you insist," he murmurs, "but I'll be 'specting you..." He drops back to flat feet, and grins at them both, having laid claim to one of each of their hands.