1x1 with Mouse26

[M2627]

Venti e Caelo
"Okay. I can't wait to see." Caelo kicked some sand. It was so soft and silky. She wanted to flop on it and roll around in it. The young woman smiled slightly at the sand. Caelo eventually noticed a small house. She realized it must be Leizu's. "They sound interesting..." Caelo trailed off. She stared at the waves while processing this information. Would they even have stuff on her tribe? Or maybe even her family? "Hurricane... That's the word." She was still staringmwith an empty gaze at the waves, her mind elsewhere. "My older sister knows a lot about them... You could ask her sometime, if you ever meet."

Fiesta de la Primavera
Fia grinned sadistically when the orange hit it's mark. "Oh... I was hoping I'd break your glasses, but I'll take what I can get." She was going to murder him. Period. What did she do to deserve having to work with THIS guy? "What? The little..." Fia was surprised hear about her crew's actions. She quickly turned to face them and barked out orders in the loudest most authoritive voice she could manage. "HEY! Idiotas! Get back to work! You aren't being paid to slack off! And the pool money is going towards paying for the damage! MOVE!" The crew seemed to jump as if they had been slapped out of a stupor. She added an additional comment in Spanish that only her crew understood. Fia watched with them with an extremely stern gaze before turning back to Michael and Kiba. "Now, where was I..? Oh, yes." She glared at Michael. "Stay away from me. And don't think my crew will listen to anything you say." Fia turned to Kiba before walking off to oversee the progress the crew was making. "My offer is still up, if you're still interested. Talk to me once you decide."

[Rondell]

Michael
Michael impulsively started to take a step in Fia's direction, but the pale man's hand, still on his chest, held him back and kept him from his target. There wasn't a lot of power in that hand, and he briefly considered pushing on past. He could do it easily. Quickly. And if that crazy lady had actually been trying to break his glasses... Micheal felt his anger cresting. But before he could try anything, a faint voice broke his train of thought. "Please sir... it's not worth it." Michael glanced down at the bartender who restrained him and blinked. The other man's face was pleading in the extreme - he appeared to be doing everything he could to win him over short of getting to his knees and begging. His lower lip was even quivering.

With a massive sigh and a roll of his eyes, Michael broke eye contact and turned his back on the room, raising both hands and running them through his hair in the same motion. Fine. Fine! He still had a space to light. He had his word to keep. And the sooner he got things done, the sooner he could get the hell out of here and back to things he was actually getting paid to do. He was halfway to the door before he stopped and called out: "I'll stay away from you if you stay away from me. As far as I'm concerned, he and I are the only ones in here." he jerked a thumb at Kiba. "Your crew be hanged and burned alive." This last was said in a barely audible voice - one would have had to be right next to Michael to have heard it.

Having said his peace, he now made his way back to the pale stranger and resumed talking in the same subdued voice. The last thing he wanted was for someone's overlarge ears to pick up something that wasn't intended for them. "You. Are you busy?"

"Err... well..." The man hesitated.

"Let me borrow you for a minute, and I'll clean the glass up before I go so you don't have to bother. Deal?"

This time, Michael was surprised by the man's firm response. "Deal."

"Fine. I need your help pulling the ladder from the storage room. And I'll be turned into a pumpkin before I let her use it." Having successfully recruited the man, he started for the door again, expecting him to follow without being prompted. A quick glance over his shoulder proved him to be correct. The guy was following a step behind just like a loyal puppy. "I have no idea why she's flirting with you either. If she's doing it to make me jealous, it's failing." Not to mention queasy. "I personally recommend vanishing before she spots you again. If you turn her down, she'll kill you." By this point they'd passed out of the party room and had entered the main dining area, where hundreds of eyes immediately began tracking their progress. Michael simply smiled and ignored them. It didn't bother him in the slightest. "Of course you could also take her up on the offer. Slip rat poison into her food. Do the world a favor."

It was the work of a few short minutes to get to the storage closet, work the ladder loose, and lug it back to the party room. It would have taken less time, but the pale man was proving to be only minimally helpful. Once they'd returned and gotten it set up, Micheal thanked the man politely and set to his work. From this point on he could move it around himself.


Kiba
Kiba allowed himself to feel the smallest flutter of relief when the woman whirled about and moved off to berate the crew. It seemed as if his ploy had been successful! He almost wanted to go around and thank each member of the crew personally. If it hadn't been for their antics, he'd most likely be a shattered pile on the floor by now, and the other two would be rolling around trying to gouge each-other's eyes out. All he had to do now was keep the man from kicking things back up again. Because he sure seemed to want to! As the man started forward, Kiba increased the pressure he was putting on his chest, even going so far as to step into the gesture a bit. "Please sir... it's not worth it." He was rewarded with a glare. Yet after a moment, the glare softened and the man turned away with a terrible sigh that sounded as if he'd let all his anger and tension flood out of him at once.

Then the woman was renewing her her dinner invitation, in case Kiba hadn't heard it the first time. Again he was at a loss as how to respond, and he let his mouth open and close a few times in confusion. He hadn't been on a date since Moon had left. He hadn't so much as thought about dating since Moon had left. Yet suddenly there was this woman - a woman he didn't even know, as different from Moon as he himself was from the man - asking him out. He hardly even heard the last exchange, so preoccupied was he with his predicament.

"You. Are you busy?"

Kiba jumped. He'd been so caught up in his thoughts he hadn't even realized the man was heading his way - it almost seemed as if the other had materialized behind him. "Err... well..."

"Let me borrow you for a minute, and I'll clean the glass up before I go so you don't have to bother. Deal?"

Now the man had his full attention. He had been dreading the moment when his boss would tell him to sweep the glass up, almost as much as he'd been dreading his own efforts to bribe a friendly coworker into doing it for him. If the man was willing to do it himself... "Deal." His response was bordering on reflexive.

"Fine. I need your help pulling the ladder from the storage room. And I'll be turned into a pumpkin before I let her use it." With that, the man started for the door yet again, leaving Kiba standing by himself and worrying about his ability to move a ladder. It took him a couple seconds to catch up. And by the time he did, the man was talking again, this time about the woman's having asked him to dinner." I have no idea why she's flirting with you either. If she's doing it to make me jealous, it's failing."

He couldn't help but blush, and elected not to respond. What was there to say?

"I personally recommend vanishing before she spots you again. If you turn her down, she'll kill you."

By this point they'd passed out of the party room and had entered the main dining area, where hundreds of curious eyes immediately began tracking their progress. While the diners had all kept their seats during the commotion, Kiba had no doubt that each and every one of them was burning to know what had been going on. Their attention made him itch. He could feel their stares... squirming subconsciously, he tuned out the words of his temporary companion and managed to catch the attention of one particular pair of eyes - those of the head waiter hanging out not-so-casually by the kitchen door - and shot a quick thumbs-up in their direction to let them know all was clear. They'd then relay the news to the rest of the staff.

It was the work of a few short minutes to get to the storage closet, work the ladder loose, and lug it back to the party room; Kiba moving as slowly and deliberately as he could the entire time. The last thing he wanted was to lose his grip on the darn thing and have it smash his foot. Or his knee. It would be a simple mistake, sure. But it would also be an irreversible one. And after surviving the morning's whole chaotic ordeal, he didn't want to tempt fate. Once they'd returned and gotten the ladder set up without incident, Kiba hung around for a moment longer while the man thanked him for his help. Then he smiled, said no problem, and moved off, casually observing the progress of the crew. He still hadn't quite made up his mind how he was going to answer the woman's proposition. To be honest, she scared him. So he was tempted to accept and have done. Yet he didn't really want to do that. It seemed like a cheap reason to have dinner with someone. Plus, he was probably overplaying the significance of the invitation. He didn't know her any more than she knew him, so it probably was nothing more than her way of apologizing for putting him between her and the man. Which she hadn't really done. But still... he couldn't just run away like the man had suggested. The thought bothered him. Kiba muttered absently under his breath, more thinking out-loud than anything, and stepped slightly sideways to avoid colliding with a crewman whose arms were full of decorations.

Before he knew it, his path had brought him to Fia. Her back was to him, so he cleared his throat quietly before speaking. He'd already jammed his hands in his pockets again to hide their shaking. "So... who's... who's this party for, anyway?"



Leizu
"They are. Michael used to take me there a bunch when I was younger so that I could look at all the Chinese artifacts they had. He wanted me to know where my family had come from." Leizu was still looking at her friend curiously, but the other seemed to daydreaming or something, and was barely even paying attention to the conversation now. She still wanted to ask about the amnesia. She'd read about the condition plenty of times in plenty of books, seen it figure into a couple of TV shows - but she'd never dealt with it personally. She also didn't want to offend Caelo by prying. She knew from personal experience that very few people were actually as open about themselves as she was. Even Michael had trouble opening up sometimes. Of all the people she'd met, only one had even come near Leizu's own level of non-concern. And she was the one who probably had the most to hide.

They had reached the foot of the dune now, and Leizu's own personal dock could be seen stretching off into the waves to their right. "That's my house up there - not much, but cozy enough." She smiled over at Caelo. "If you've never climbed a dune before, it's easiest to tack diagonally instead of trying to cut straight up. If you have, well... you know what I'm talking about!" With a small giggle, Leizu started forward, placing her feet carefully and confidently as she climbed. "Just follow me."

In no time she reached the top, and stood waiting for Caelo several yards away from her front door.

[M2627]

Venti e Caelo
So this Michael guy took her to these museums to learn about her heritage? Caelo wished Wind Song had been there for her when she was a kit, and took her to those kinds of places. Maybe she could bring her sister to one. She was shaken out of her thoughts when the groud slanted upward, disturbing her gait. She almost tripped on it, and she barely caught Leizu's words, but watching the young girl made her understand. Caelo walked diagonally up the dune and rejoined Leizu near her house. "It's simple... It's nice." She stared at the house for a few minutes. "Do you name your mussels? How do you tell them apart?"

Fiesta de la Primavera
Fia had already lost it with her crew. She had confiscated all the pool money and after prying about the bets, she was NOT happy with the results. More of the crew had put money on Michael. At that point, she took the money and placed it in her bag. The men just seemed to trying to get on her enerves. More than once, she blew up at them. Were they trying to screw this whole thing up? Fia was ready to explode at them again when she heard the pale man's voice behind her. "Hm?" She turned around and smiled at him. "Oh, apparently it's for one of that guy's friends. I don't know him." Fia then realized she didn't know his name this whole time. "Sorry, darling. I haven't even asked your name. I can't keep calling you darling, as much as it fits."

[Rondell]

Michael
((Momentary reply break - he's going up and down the ladder, ignoring the rest of the world, hauling lights around and checking dimmer box numbers against his light plot. Boring technical stuff that would be pointless to type out. Just know that he's keeping busy. ;3 ))


Kiba
When he noticed that she was in the process of reprimanding her crew, Kiba nearly backpedaled. The last thing he wanted to do was interrupt something and set her off again! Fortunately though, she didn't seem to mind his appearance, and even smiled when she figured out who was talking to her. It was the first time he'd seen her smile... she looked much nicer than she had with her angry scowl. Kiba felt a bit more of his apprehension melt away. While he'd not be able to forget how frighting she had been, he could at least focus on how frighting she wasn't being now, and focus on matters at hand. As long as he didn't accidentally irritate her, he should be fine.

He couldn't keep himself from blushing slightly at the last part of her comment. He wasn't at all used to people talking like that - much less to him! Darling indeed... she wouldn't think such things if knew what a stupid wimp he actually was. And he was surprised that she didn't know. He'd made such an obvious fool of himself, ever since he first set foot in this stupid room. Of this he had no doubt whatsoever. "That's alright... not many people actually get around to asking my name. For whatever reason. It's... Kiba. Ah, do you mind if I ask yours, 'mam..?"



Leizu
"Thank you!" She was momentarily startled when Caelo asked about her pet Mussels. Of course she remembered bringing them up earlier, but she hadn't realized her friend would remember such an offhand remark. Not many people had a memory like she did, either! The sight of the dock must have done it... Turning to push the door of her home open, Leizu grinned. "I actually do name some of my Mussels. The largest ones - the ones I've had the longest. Usually I can recognize them just by their being so much bigger than the other mussels in their basket, or by their shape, if it's a bit different than the rest, but sometimes I cave and just mark their shells with paint." She laughed at this, moving off to the side so that Caelo could come through the door.

The front door led into Leizu's kitchen - a small and simple affair with a hefty wood-burning stove in the far corner and a sink with a hand-pump standing nearby. The latter was set into a wooden counter with cabinets under it. Immediately above the sink was a window with a few sun-catchers hanging in it. A little plant on the sill in a pink plastic pot. To the left side of the window was another unit of cabinets, this time mounted on the wall, and a yellow icebox. There was even a battery-powered wall clock and a spice rack. Although the latter was mostly for show. What floor space remained was taken up by a little folding table and two tall stools, although neither of the stools matched each other OR the table. Someone had obviously pieced the set together from what had been on-hand. A door between the stove and the sink led into Leizu's bedroom. A second door on the wall to the immediate right of the front door led into a bathroom. Thus was the little house.

"The metal detector's behind the door here," Leizu said as she pulled the door in question shut. "We can grab it on the way out. If you wouldn't mind waiting in here, I'll go into the next room and grab my project box from the closet. Shouldn't be but a moment! If you'd like a drink or something in the meantime, there are glasses in the cabinet and soda in the icebox." With that, she smiled at Caelo and vanished through her bedroom door.

[M2627]

Venti e Caelo
Caelo headed through the door and the first thing to catch her attention were the baskets everywhere. She walked up to one and stood on her tiptoes to look inside. A bunch of mussels were piled up inside. Curiously, she reached her hand into one to poke a shell. The water felt so nice... She noticed one with a blue mark-paint-and started playing with it. Well, as much as one could play with a mussel. It just seemed to sit there. Caelo quickly took note of the device referred to as the metal detector. "These are kind of cute, in their own way."

Fiesta de la Primavera
"Kiba. A nice strong name." Fia smiled again. This guy finally seemed to be relaxing a little. Earlier he looked ready to bolt and she could still tell his hands were shaking even when he had hidden them in his pockets. She shook her head at being called ma'am. "No need to be so formal. My full name is Fiesta de la Primavera. Though it's a mouthful for most, so people call me Fia." She pronounced the name correctly. Usually it would get people all tongue tied. She giggled slightly when he blush. He was kind of cute. "Heh. You're pretty cute when you do that, you know?"

[Rondell]

Michael
((Momentary reply break - he's STILL going up and down the ladder, ignoring the rest of the world, hauling lights around and checking dimmer box numbers against his light plot. This stuff takes a while. Especially when you're doing it all by yourself.))


Kiba
"Ahh, I don't know about that..." Kiba's blush intensified, and he wished he had some way to hide his face. He couldn't help it! He was so unused to getting praise these days that when someone actually paid attention to him - for whatever reason - his system seemed to overload. He felt both overjoyed and nervous at the same time, like he could fly and melt through the floor in the same motion. Ok. So maybe becoming a complete and total social recluse after Moon left him was a bit of an overreaction. But it had been the only reaction to make sense at the time. The only one that had seemed possible. And even now... he felt guilty for talking to a complete stranger! It was almost as if he expected Moon to pop out from behind something and accuse him of cheating, even though that was both impossible and illogical. He was just... talking. Talking to this woman was perfectly OK. Nobody besides himself cared one wit. Taking a deep breath to help steady himself, Kiba chanced a smile. "Yes Ms. Fiesta... um... I mean..." He shook his head and tried again. "Fia it is then. Fiesta de la Primavera." Without batting an eyelid, he had spoken her name flawlessly. "Spanish, right? I... well, I live in Flordia... usually, near Miami? And there's... there's a large Spanish-speaking population down there. From Cuba and Latin America, you know, so... I've... er... picked up a bit. To help with business." There he went again, stating the obvious. Of course her name was Spanish! She'd been speaking Spanish on and off since he'd gotten here! He was seriously out of practice with the small-talk thing.

Kiba smoothed down his somewhat mussed hair and watched distractedly as Fia's crew busied themselves with hanging streamers and arranging tablecloths. She really seemed to have everything in hand now. The place was starting to come together. "Wait. What?" Her last comment had caught him totally off guard, and he quickly shifted his gaze back to Fia herself, fighting to keep the 'deer in headlights' look off his face. It was bad enough his cheeks were still burning. "Err... look, I really hope I'm not distracting you from your work or anything. I just wanted to... um..."

He'd never really decided what to do about the whole dinner thing, had he?



Leizu
Closing the bedroom behind her, Leizu headed straight for her small closet and began rummaging for the box she kept her extra stock in. It never crossed her mind to worry about what Caelo was up to. She'd always prided herself on being a fairly good judge of character, and, amnesia or no, Caelo was a good person. Leizu laid hands on the box in short order, and pulled it free from the rest of the clutter. I weighed almost nothing, so she had no problem lifting it up and setting it on the bed, using a foot to kick the closet shut as she did so. After reassuring herself that the natural, undyed scarves were indeed in the box - by digging them out - she took the whole kit and caboodle into her arms and headed back into the kitchen.

Now she thumped the box down onto the kitchen table. When she looked up, she spotted Caelo over by the sink, peering into one of the mussel baskets she'd brought up to the house last night. It was the easiest way to harvest the byssus she needed. She'd meant to drag them back out to the dock this-morning after her walk, but, obviously, had gotten distracted by other things. It made her feel a bit guilty, actually. The mussels needed the circulation of fresh water through their baskets to remain properly oxygenated and well fed, and by now... well, by now they must be getting a little desperate regardless of the algae that also grew in there.

"That's Frank." Leizu had come up beside Caelo and spotted the mussel she was holding. "He's about the same size and shape as Ted, so it was getting hard to tell them apart. Ted's the one with the red paint." She pointed into the depths of the basket, singling out the mussel she had mentioned. It was indeed quite large, only slightly larger than Frank, although neither of them were anywhere near as large as fan mussels COULD get. They still had some growing to do. "You wouldn't be able to pick him up like that if I hadn't stolen all his byssus last night either - usually all of them are stuck tight to the inside of the basket. That's what those frames in there are for - to support them safely until they can reattach themselves. If I'm careful when I harvest, and if space out my harvests enough, it doesn't hurt them."

With a smile, Leizu nodded her head in the direction of the kitchen table, where the box sat, waiting. "The scarves are in there. Just find a couple of undyed ones that are the right length and pull them out. They should be on top, too, I had them only a moment ago." Then she held her hand out for Frank. "I'm glad you like my pets!" Leizu beamed. Mussels generally didn't mind being out of the water for a while - they were used to living in intertidal zones after all - but it was best not to stress them needlessly. Especially after a harvest.

[M2627]

Venti e Caelo
Caelo held the mussel in the palm of her hand and gently stroked it's shell with the other. She wondered what was inside these shells. Something soft and squishy? "How big can they get?" She traced her finger along the edges of the shell, where the two halves met. "Byssus? What is that?" Caelo delicately placed Frank in her hand before heading to the box of scarves. There were so many neat things in it. She eventually settled on a pair of bandanas. "These two." She said simply. "Can you do one white with a light blue border and the other the same light blue but with a white border?"

Fiesta de la Primavera
Fia laughed heartily as he blushed again. "It sounds a bit like a warrior's name, to me." She smiled again. This guy wasn't exactly the confident type. Maybe it would fun to try help him boost it a little. Hmm... Pretty good for your first time. What business do you run down there?" She had to restrain herself from laughing at his reaction. Wait, what? It was just adorable. "You're cute when you blush like that. That's what." Fia shook her head at his question. He probably wasn't used to this. The way he quivered like a little fragile deer in the headlights... It was kind of endearing. "You aren't distracting me. My crew knows the plan already. I'm just here to design the party make sure they don't slack off. So, what is that you just wanted to do?"

[Rondell]

Michael
((Momentary reply break - he's going up and down the ladder, ignoring the rest of the world, hauling lights around and checking dimmer box numbers against his light plot. Still. Although he's making progress. ))


Kiba
He couldn't help but shake his head, not really sure what to make of all this. At least his words were coming a bit easier now. "It's actually not that exciting. A 'Kiba' is a... well, it's a kind of non-alcoholic drink. Made with strawberry. And... banana." Being named after a drink - a glorified smoothie, really - had always seemed a bit strange to him. But he hadn't named himself. And he'd been called that for his whole life. So n matter how silly it was, he wasn't about to change it now. It had become a part of him. Besides, it was such an offbeat thing that if he didn't bring it up, nobody would... probably... notice... Kiba had the sudden and intense desire to band his head against the wall a couple of times. Softly. Why hadn't he just said something cool? Something like: 'Yeah, it does doesn't it?' Or maybe: 'Really? Huh. I hadn't noticed. I guess it does!' But no, he had to go and embarrass himself again. Groaning inwardly, he closed his eyes for a moment and took another deep breath. It was too late now... he could only try and keep from doing it again. "I own a smoothie shack, near one of the resort beaches." This was a fairly safe line of questioning. "During the tourist season I get plenty of business, but... well, in the off-season it's more cost effective to close down for a bit and take odd jobs where I can get them... like... this one." Kiba shrugged in what he hoped was a casual manner.

Then he was blushing again, as brightly as ever, just when he thought he'd finally gotten a handle on his reactions. It was so frustrating! "I... err... well... thank you..." Without thinking about it, he raised a hand and brushed at his hair again. "I wanted to... talk to you about your... invitation. Earlier? To lunch? Or dinner?" Here was the worst part. The hardest part. And it wasn't even what most people would think it was going to be.

Kiba paused for a moment and raised his eyes from the floor to Fia's face, so that he was looking her directly in the eyes for the first time since he'd met her. It was a strange feeling, looking at her like that. Knowing she'd most likely be backing away soon. "See, I don't eat. Not really. But I don't need to, because I'm not a normal being of flesh and bone and blood and sinew. I'm a... well, just look." He stopped talking for a moment and extended an arm, holding it up to the bright lights on the ceiling. Back-lit like this, it immediately became obvious that he wasn't simply pale - he was transparent. Having made his point Kiba let his arm drop back to his side. "I'm made of glass. Slightly soft, flexible glass, yes, but still glass. Not shatter-proof. As near as I can figure, I'm a golem of some kind, powered by fruit juice and willpower." He smiled faintly and studied Fia's face, searching for her reaction while preparing for the worst. This was the point where he lost most people. See, while he'd gotten all sorts of reactions over the years, from fear and hatred to pity and fascination, as a general rule, after someone found out what he was, they stopped caring about who he was. It was both painful and annoying, which was why he always tried to put this particular conversation off as long as possible.




Leizu
Leizu accepted Frank and made sure that he was nestled carefully back down in his basket before replying. "Fan mussels can get pretty big, actually. Or at least, pretty long. They're always longer than they are wide, which is good, because the average recorded size is pushing a foot and a half in length. Could you imagine how big a basket I needed if they got that big all the way around? Geez! Of course those guys are eleven, twelve years old? Frank there is only three or four. And most of them are younger." She'd dried her hands on a dishtowel as she spoke, then chucked it in the sink and followed Caelo over to the table where the other was already busy sorting through the extras box for something that suited her fancy.

"Byssus is... well... it's clam hair, for lack of a better way to put it. Although that's hardly technically accurate." She smiled at her sudden mental image of a fuzzy bivalve one had to brush every morning, just as one had to brush their own hair to keep it nice and neat. The fur was even long enough to braid, and put bows in... Leizu's smile widened. It was utterly ridiculous. "What it really is is a material they secrete in an attempt to anchor themselves to rocks. Sort of looks like that fluffy bit on top of an unshucked corn cob?" The irony of the comparison was not lost on her. Comparing the raw material for sea silk to - of all things - corn silk.

When Caelo finally chose the two bandannas as a base for her dye job, Leizu gave a very businesslike nod. While she was a bit curious as to what had made her friend change her mind and pick a pair of bandannas over a pair of scarves, she was in her 'salesmen' mode now, and knew better than to question the desires of a paying customer. If she wanted bandanas, she got bandanas! Especially since there was no real difference in the amount of work that would be required to get them into shape. "Great!" Taking the bandannas from Caelo, Leizu held them up to the sunlight streaming in the kitchen window to check the fabric for any damage that might have occurred while they'd been in storage. She found none. "That should be no problem. I'll stick both of them in a light bleach bath before we head back out, and by the time I get home again, they should be ready for the next step." Now she lowered the bandannas and met her friend's eyes. "If you want, I can stitch the border on instead of dying it - I have plenty of colored thread laying around, both blue and white. I could do some sort of pattern...?"

[M2627]

Venti e Caelo
"Hmm..." Caelo peered into another basket, but didn't touch any. "I think I've some that long. At another beach. They are pretty long." She understood the corn analogy perfectly. "That makes sense. How long until there's an amount enoug to harvest?" She turned her attention to the scarves and nodded, slightly excitedly. "You can do that? How about... a tribal pattern? Like First Nations?" Caelo was excited to see the finished results. They would probably look amazing when Leizu finished. "Sort of wind themed? Since both my sister and I have wind-themed names."

Fiesta de la Primavera
"Ah, a 'kiba'. I tried one back in Mexico, and now nothing comes close. Pleasantly sweet. Not unlike you." She smiled again. What was this guy so nervous about? He was doing fine. "Really? I'll be sure to stop by sometime if I'm in the area and it's open." Fia perked slightly at the mention of dinner. What did he end up deciding on? She had to admit, the glass thing was unexpected, but she didn't see any problems with it. Fia stayed put. "That's fine. You're still cute. So my offer is still open. Even if you can't eat, I'm sure there's something else I can do to make up for destroying those glasses." She said simply, but she had a slight smile on her face. "So really, and I mean no offense, but I don't care. You're no different than anyone else. So aside from trying to keep you from shattering, I don't see anything wrong or any issues with you being made of glass." Fia wasn't really a person to judge. When she was younger, a few bullies mocked her for her ruffled fur, calling her a pinata and trying to hit her with sticks. Yes, she did end up taking a stick and started beating them senseless, but that wasn't the point.

[Rondell]

Michael
((Momentary reply break - he has about half the instruments up, fitted with gells/gobos, and plugged into the correct places. Therefore he's going to start focusing soon, and playing with the programming on the moving light.))


Kiba
Quite a bit of the tension that had built up within him melted away as Fia's words reached his ears, and while the difference was mostly psychological, his newfound feeling of lightness also manifested itself physically. Anyone looking at him would have been able to tell. His shoulders drew back, his posture straightened, his eyes brightened, and the shaking in his hands lessened considerably. It was almost as if the gravity which held him to earth had suddenly stopped pulling so fiercely. He felt as if he were floating.

Kiba blinked, realizing that his mouth was hanging slightly open. A second later, he closed it with an audible 'Click' and shook his head bemusedly. "I'm sorry, It's just... well, it's been a long time since anyone's been even halfway alright with my... ah... unusual situation. People typically hedge around the issue, promise to get back to me, then vanish. Or they give me a funny look and start treating me as a science experiment." A look of exasperation came over Kiba's face. " In one notable case this guy I thought I was friends with freaked out and started quoting scripture at me. I guess he thought I was a demon or something..." He shrugged and fell silent for a moment, choosing to watch a couple guys across the room who were preoccupied with setting up an elaborate centerpiece on what was to be the buffet table. To be perfectly honest, he had never gotten such an unconcerned reaction before, and wasn't entirely sure how to deal with it. Furthermore, as much as he wanted - no, NEEDED - to believe Fia, for it had been so long since he'd just talked to someone that he sometimes felt like he wanted to explode, he couldn't entirely rid himself of doubt. After all, Moon had said very much the same things to him once, long ago - and she had still left without a backward glance. Moon. Who had also said that she'd loved him....

Could he really trust a complete stranger?

"I don't eat, but I do drink. Mostly fruit juices and coconut water, which is why I call myself 'juice powered',' but the occasional mixed drink or cocktail is OK. So, If you know anyplace that serves fruit or has a salad-bar I can scrounge from... or carries non-dairy smoothies... or something...." Kiba found himself speaking again before he'd really thought of what to do next, and the fact he seemed to be accepting Fia's invitation surprised even him. "Would that...?" Then he stopped again and gave Fia a lopsided smile. "Although you don't really have to apologize to me for breaking those glasses. I didn't pay for them. I just fill them up."





Leizu
"Which beach?" Leizu couldn't keep the curiosity from her voice as she folded the chosen items carefully and placed them on the kitchen table, apart from everything else, which she began putting back into the box. "As far as I know, my little colony is the only grouping of fan mussels outside of their native range in the Mediterranean that isn't in an aquarium. They're Pinna nobilis you know, not Atrina fragilis. The two different species nevertheless share a same common name. Atrina fragilis lives in the waters around Great Britain. You can also use it for sea silk, but Pinna nobilis is better." Having finished repacking the box, she folded its flaps shut and pushed it aside, once again taking up Caelo's chosen items. "Have you ever seen one that was four feet long?" A note of excitement crept into her voice. "I found a book in the library that said the largest Pinna nobilis on record was over four feet long! Can you imagine? I hope Frank gets that big someday. Even if he will be too big to haul up here and harvest!" Leizu smiled.

"I can do that, for sure." She came around the table and moved over to the counter, where she set the folded bandanas before crouching down and starting to fish around in the cabinet under the sink. "Do you have a specific pattern in mind? If so, you can sketch it out on a piece of paper and I can duplicate it. I'm good at that." The bucket she wanted was upside-down behind a row of cleaning supplies, so she had to rearrange things to get it out, and her front half momentarily disappeared beneath the sink. It made her voice a bit muffled. "I don't know a lot about the First Nations, to be honest. Although I've always found their textile work to be absolutely gorgeous, and I've drawn plenty of inspiration from it. I'm sure I can find something in my sample book! You can even look through it if you want, although it's a bit big and you'll have to be careful so things don't fall out. I think your theme idea is adorable, by the way - very fitting!" Leizu reemerged and victoriously thumped the bucket down into the sink basin. It was what she was going to use to mix the bleach bath for the silks.