"Beverages . . ." I muse. A gust of wind tangles my hair on my horns. I growl and gently pull my hair away.

"Anyway, hmmm. I guess my favorite is black tea, with milk. Not honey or sugar." I shudder. For some reason, I can't stand sweet tea. 

Rogue shifts to stand on her other foot. Our conversation is interrupted by someone else. They apologize, but I don't mind, for once.

"It's fine!" I reassure him. "What's your favorite food and beverage?" 

:Ellerie:~

/Chai\

/"Don't shove food in my mouth," Scar warns. I like that they don't respond to anything I say and instead are attempting to scare me. I feel the need to tell them that it's not working. "/Well, okay!\" I say with a shrug. "/But you, for the record, do not scare me.\"

I turn to Dawn. "/Hey, I think there's some better food at that end of the snack table. Wanna check it out?\" I wonder if ae can see my big orange eyes begging them to say yes. I just want to leave. Scar's not my problem and I was in such a great mood talking with Dawn until they came along and spoiled everything. Is it too much to ask for a chance to get it back to the way it was?\ 

/Chai\

/Dawn thanks me as we walk to the other side of the table. ">I could've done it myself, but... Thank you.<" I nod. "/You're my friend. Friends always protect friends, right?\" I turn and smile at the snacks at this end of the table. I take a cup of iced tea and an oatmeal cookie (okay, two oatmeal cookies...)\

*Quinn*

*"*Well,*" I say, "*See him standing under that tree? We could sneak up the tree and drop those sliders right onto that silly crown of his and then sneak back down the tree. He won't even know it was us!*" I'm beginning to wonder if this is a smart plan, but I decide it doesn't really matter--it's a fun plan, after all.*

Jade-

I can't belive we're late.  Late!  To a PARTY!  I quickly set all of the food we brought down on tables that are already covered in delicious-looking treats and snacks.  So many people are already here, but I'm sure I can find someone to talk to.  Near me I see a girl dressed in black talking to another girl who looks kind of like a demon or angel, with horns and black wings.  "Hi!" I greet them excitedly.

They look a bit surprised. "Oh, did I interrupt you?  Sorry!" I apologize.

"It's okay!  What's your favorite food and beverage?" the girl with wings asks.

"That's a hard question!" I respond, and she laughs. "Well, I like pizza, and tacos, and tea, and soda, especially the cool kinds from other countries..."

-Ivory-

-Well, here we are.  I reluctantly decided to come to this party, but I barely know anyone here.  Jade ran off to go talk to people, Sakura is getting something to eat, Pippin immediately decided to climb a tree, and I don't see Kei but I'm sure he's off brooding somewhere.  In other words, I'm left alone.

I stay on the edges of the gathering, watching everyone else.-

-

I hope it's okay that Jade joined Fenrir and Rogue! 

:Ellerie:~

:Tempest looks kinda embarassed too. I bet it's for the same reason as me. In that case, it's entirely my fault. I kinda dragged him into that awkward conversation. I feel really bad.:

:I don't really answer the question, instead I say, ":I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to... I didn't think that was gonna be so awkward. I didn't mean to drag you into that and embarass you...:" Could I be any worse at wording things? I doubt it. I hope the caramel-haired girl is okay now.:

:I force my fingers to stop fidgeting with the leaves in front of me and stop biting my lip. Tempest seemed kind of worried about me, and I really don't want him to worry about me. I don't want to ruin this party for him. They need to have a good time. That's what really matters to me. That Tempest is happy.:

:Plus, I wanna have fun, too! I'll think of something...? I guess I'd better.: 

~

Scar~

Both the people leave. Good riddance. The girl was especially annoying. Ugh.

I see someone standing alone just on the edge of the party. They have cool short white hair. I walk over to them.

"Hello," I say dryly. It's unfriendly and welcoming at the same time. Perfect. "You have cool hair." 

:Ellerie:~

:I laugh against my better will. Tempest has the ability to make me do that. I guess I don't really have much to worry about, if anything at all. ":Very specific percentages,:" I state. Tempest slides their hand over, next to mine. He wants me to... hold it, maybe? I dunno. But I instead smile to myself and put my pinkie on his and press. It's kinda a game. The next move would be for Tempest to reverse it and put their pinkie over mine and press. We'll see if he catches on.: 

~

-Yang-

-I turn around swiftly. I can SMELL the prank coming. OOoooooh someone thought they would outprank ME! Haha, Never!!! I bet it's the kicking child, she seems to look rather devious right now.-

-I laugh to myself. Ellerie's tried to prank me before. It's never worked. She says I have spidey senses for pranks. I DO INDEED, ELLERIE! Ugh what an ugly name. HAHA IT MATCHES HER APPEARANCE. I like sandwiches. And chocolate. OOOO I SHOULD MAKE A CHOCOLATE SANDWICH. Twixxxxxx. Bobaaaaa. Boba Fett. Star warsssss. Wait what was I thinking about...?-

~

/Chai\

/Dawn and I are quiet for a long time, which I admit gets kind of boring, so I say, "/Have you ever heard of Arnold Palmers?\"\

*Quinn*

*Aliza heads off to the snack table, and I catch up to her. "*Wait,*" I say. "*Will this man see it coming? Because if so, we're going to need to take extra precautions. It won't be as simple as sneaking up the tree--we're going to have to distract him by making him think one of us is trying to prank him while the other does the actual prank.*" Aliza looks confused and I remember: 8-year-old girl. "*We're gonna have to trick him,*" I clarify.* 

*~Indy~*

*~I feel guilty. I wonder if I hurt the two's feelings? I hope not. Oh, why do I have to be so shy? Why couldn't I have just said hi back and told them they could climb the tree? I sigh and put my hood back up, disappointed with myself. I also find myself humming "Part of Your World" from the Little Mermaid for some reason? I hope nobody notices.~* 

All of a sudden, it seems like time has sped up. I shake my head to clear my vision. "Whoa!" I say to myself. I look over at Indy. She seems flustered, but I don't see much of a difference in anybody else. 

*begin CBer-AE sequence*

Whoa, what's going on?

We're inside of your head. I just wanted to tell you that I've been inactive on this thread a while. Sorry. My bad. So time skipped forward for you, and you just seemed to be staring into space. Indy was approached by some people who made her anxious, basically.

Oh- ok I guess.

*back to the party*

"Sorry, Indy." I smile apologetically. "I think I just zoned out. Oh, by the way, I love the casual vibe." I notice her sketchbook. "What are you drawing?"

I wish I was more creative, but I'm more of a consumer than a producer of art. Not many materials where I come from, anyway... 

/Chai\

/"/Well, they don't actually do anything,\" I say. "/An Arnold Palmer is a type of drink. It's an amazing combination--lemonade and iced tea! Now if I only had some lemonade I could show you...\" I dig into my pockets and eventually find a packet of lemonade mix. "/Perfect!\" I pour the mix into some water and stir it up until it turns yellow. Then I pour the lemonade into the iced tea. "/Sometimes these taste terrible,\" I warn. "/But I LOVE taking risks! Don't you?\"\

*~Indy~*

*~Sylvia's back from the abyss. She apologizes for zoning out and I shrug. "*~It's okay...~*"

"What are you drawing?" She asks. "*~H-huh? Oh. I look down at my sketchbook. I've been drawing a lot of things lately, but the one I started here at the party is a simple sketch of a girl. Well, that's what it was going to be. Now it appears to have become more than a girl and is in fact a drawing of Sylvia herself. "*~U-um... Well...~* I wonder if she'll be mad I drew her without permission? I sure hope not. I gather up all my courage before showing her the book.~*"~*

*Quinn*

*I start thinking about this plan. "*Do you know how to climb a tree on your own?*" I ask. "*While holding a plate of food?*"*

Rogue

Someone new joins our conversation. Fenrir doesn't seem to mind, and I actually don't either. "Exotic soda?" I laugh. "That's new."