TIMING: Current LOCATION: A park in Deersprings PARTIES: Regan, Zack, Kelly, Amos, Kasumi, Daniel (Featuring Jade, Flip, and doggies) SUMMARY: The neighborhood gathering makes for an awkward time, which is shocking. The deer watch. They always watch.
Regan checked her eyes, her fingers, ran a hand down her back. No necklace malfunction, which meant she and Jade could depart and be right on time to the neighborhood party. She had a sense Jade didn’t realize how unreliable the glamour had become, as Regan sometimes dropped it around her anyway. It just added another gurney of social anxiety wheeling down her already-crowded, extremely narrow halls (unsurprisingly, she had not exactly been looking forward to this party, or any party).
“That’s a lot of people…” Regan leaned into Jade. She could see a small crowd gathered at the park. Twenty people, perhaps (a lot; Jade probably disagreed). Even more noticeable than the people were the deer—Regan noticed at least five on the fringes of the crowd, so still they could have been statues on a lawn. They weren’t even grazing. Their eyes were on the table of food. One of them, with its gaze, seemed to be tracking someone who was holding a fistful of mayonnaise. “I can take those,” Regan looked at the perfectly beige cookies Jade had made. “Be right back. You—I’m sure you know these people, yes? You can introduce me in a minute. Not to everyone. Just one person. Or we could say you did, leave instead, and go search for deer bones.” Okay, Jade clearly wanted to stay for a while; her eyes were sparkling, her jaw was ready to work, and Regan could see recognition constantly flickering on her face. “The cookies?” She gestured again. All she had to do was bring the cookies and her banana bread to the table, and then, before anyone recognized her, disappear into the foliage until Jade got bored.
Regan tried to ignore the deer. She could swear they were closer now.
—
At Kelly's insistence, Zack had gone ahead of him to the party while Kelly stayed back to wrestle all of Flip's accoutrement together. Which meant that Zack was lingering at the edges of the crowd, awkward but happy to be there. And wary of the deer. They seemed fine enough but, well, this was Wicked's Rest. Who knew what they might be up to.
There were a few familiar faces that he hoped to get around to catching up with. And at least one that he would like to avoid. Zack hadn't seen Regan at all since they're strange encounter in the woods, in the middle of the night. If it were up to him, it would stay that way. He made a quick scan of the food that had been brought before checking the street again, hoping to see Kelly making his way with Flip.
—
Kelly had been ecstatic to hear about a party—excuse him, a neighborhood gathering. Other than Jade, arguably Eve, he hadn’t really done the whole “meet the neighbors” thing. ‘Course, some folks had seen him out for a run with Flip, waved at him and the kid, but they hadn’t stopped for a chat. He’d chalked it up to a Yank thing. It was a great chance for Kelly to let Flip get used to crowds, and the full moon hadn’t crept up quite yet, leaving him a bit less cranky.
It was a great chance for Zack, too, though the other man had been a harder sell. It wasn’t like Kelly was attached at the hip to the guy, but he couldn’t help but think this was a good opportunity for Zack to feel more “at home” in the neighborhood. Especially since Zack himself had assumed he “shouldn’t go,” since he didn’t really “live here.” Sounded like a load of bunk to Kelly; after a month and a half of living out back, Zack was only behind Kelly by about three weeks. Hell, maybe introducing himself to the neighbors would make him want to stick around in the area. Flip’d love having him close.
Flip, though not in full “wild child” mode, was taking a bit more time to get dressed and ready this afternoon than usual. Hadn’t helped that Kelly was running off a swapped shift, had barely woken up in time to get them out the door in the first place. Still, he’d waved Zack on ahead, which had led to a near-meltdown on Flip’s end from Zack being out of sight. Kids were strange. Finally, they’d gotten out the door and over to the thing, where Flip had immediately been distracted by the deer. However, instead of his usual plan (growling at the deer to show them who was boss), he’d just stared at the deer quietly, only making a sound when Kelly had started to walk past the edge of the event. Huh. Stranger still.
—
The last thing Amos wanted was to accidentally stumble upon a large gathering of people. From the looks of things, it was a neighborhood gathering, as he recognized quite a few faces from just existing around Deersprings and not really anywhere else. His chest tightened as a familiar feeling of panic rose its way to make an appearance. He forced himself to breathe, then kept his head down and kept walking.
Ghibli, however, had horrific ideas. Ideas that involved being the social butterfly she was and tugging him straight into the throng of people he didn’t want to talk to. “Ghibli, no!” Amos hissed out, brows knitting together in desperate pleading as he tried to tug her away. No dice, she smelled that food table. Amos finally caught up to the dog and put a hand onto her harness, rooting her in place. “You’re not eating food that isn’t yours just because you’re not on duty right now,” he reminded her.
—
Kasumi had been stopped the day before by an older gentleman who had made it his mission to tell her about the neighborhood party. However, he had called it a potluck, and truthfully, Kasumi had no idea what in the hell a potluck was. It was mentioned that she should bring something, and so she spent the night panicking, conversing with the troupe beneath the tree on just what to bring.
They had decided on two things: a pot, and a pile of fish bones. The pot, because of what the name entailed, and a pile of fish bones, because what was luckier than that! The fish bones were in the pot, rattling around, as she walked into the fray. There were a number of people already gathered, and Kasumi felt largely unequipped to deal with so many humans, but there was the familiar tugging of something else, at the very least. Gulping down a heap of air, she stepped forward. "I have brought the pot, and the luck!" She smiled at a nearby woman who blinked at her before placing down the pot of bones onto a table that everyone else had seemingly been placing their own items, before she looked around. This would go great! She would learn so much, she thought to herself.
—
Was that Zack? Regan backed away from the table, her eyes not leaving him. She was good with faces, at recognizing people; identification came with her job. But she’d met Zack in the dark, and she had been focused on digging up a casket, and when Zack had been cornering and climbing, he hadn’t exactly looked like himself. Regan gulped and found her mouth dry. Just get to the foliage. She had always preferred bushes to live people! Other than Jade. But–Regan had been about to retreat when a large dog pointed its eager muzzle toward the table; the noise made her jump. Animal. Unpredictable. Sensitive ears. So she started backing up from that, and she felt the teetering thump of a warm body colliding with her back. Or her back colliding with a warm body. Regan yelped like a whistle and whipped around. She had her answer from before: that was definitely Zack. And someone else watching both of them with a child. Regan’s mouth opened. Her eyes roved around for Jade but she couldn’t locate her. Feck. How do you apologize for a word she didn’t even want to think? She pointed at the dog instead. “Look! A dog. Look at that.” And she ran.
—
Zack was still poking through the food when someone knocked into him. He turned, already starting to apologize when he saw that it was of course Regan. He stopped mid-sentence and stared which wasn't polite but it seemed that Regan was doing the same. Before he could work out what to say (anything? nothing? should he apologize again for...something taking over his body? for leaving when he had told her to?), Regan was pointing to the side. Zack did as he was told, and looked at the dog.
"Oh! Hey, buddy. Are you missing your owner?" When he turned back to say something (what?) to Regan, he found her gone and someone else rushing toward the dog - clearly her owner. He wasn't going to mourn losing track of Regan. "Well, I think the food is technically for everyone in attendence," he joked, offering the tall man a smile. And then, curious as always, he asked, "Why does she get to eat other food when she's on duty, though?"
—
Amos suppressed a scowl when someone all but sprinted up to him and his dog. "For people, mainly." He replied curtly, staring at the guy like he'd told him his dog was ugly. "She doesn't. When she's working, she doesn't let anything distract her. Right now, though? That's not the case. She's just being a dog. And she's a dog that smells food." He kept his hand on Ghibli, petting her idly as to keep himself grounded in the present instead of letting his mind take him to somehwere he really didn't want to be. "Anyway..." He started trying to tug Ghibli away, but the dog wouldn't budge. "Please, Ghibli. I wanna go home."
—
Kasumi wished that Lemon (one of the pixies), had been able to come with her. She was really good at this stuff. Instead, she stood to the side, wringing her hands together. There was a dog, now. It looked friendly enough, but Kasumi had never exactly interacted with one not in the fae variety, so she skirted along the edge, to the opposite side of the gathering.
In doing so, she collided with a white haired woman. Reaching out to steady the other, Kasumi blinked at her. The familiar buzzing only grew stronger in her presence. Not exactly human, but... "Hello!" She took a small step backwards, knowing most fae to turn their noses up at being touched. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
—
The other man's tone immediately caught Zack off-guard --he obviously miscalculated-- and his smile dimmed considerably. "No, of course not. I mean, I'm sure she's great at her job, when she's working." He took a small step back, not wanting the man, or the dog, to feel crowded. "Sorry, I misunderstood. Thought you meant that eating food was part of her job." Obviously, that wasn't correct -- Zack didn't really have any idea what services animals did, actually. Just knew it was important not to distract them when they were on-duty. "Um. Can I pet her? Since she's not working?"
—
If Zack was the worst person here Regan could possibly bump into, the second was another fae. Thump. When that wave of needles clawed across her skin, she flung herself back. Once more, she instinctively looked for Jade, but Jade was enmeshed in the crowd even as she was probably singing her praises about her bone partner’s banana bread. And Regan was here. With another fae. Whose demeanor was too bright and congenial, her face too pretty and probably younger than her years, but at least she had the sense to pull her hand back. “I was leaving, so—” She was about to turn. The fae was studying her and asking about her wellbeing (why would it not be exceptional?) And then—ghost? ”I haven’t!” Regan barked. A few birds shot from the trees shading the gathering. “I mean, I haven’t.” She stumbled. “Because ghosts don’t exist. They don’t—I was talking to a human, a human person, not a ghost, and why would there be a ghost anyway, even if they existed? Which they do not. Exist.” An icy, honking laugh filled her ears. It felt like a pole had just been rammed through her spine. “Birds!” Right, the fae wouldn’t have heard the laugh. “Are… up there.” Except they were gone, because she had scared them. “Were.” Regan lowered her forehead into her palm and sighed, which did not help. “You should… just go try the beige cookies.” Hold on a minute... “I think I’ve watched you from my window.”
—
The woman seemed startled, and while Kasumi knew that running into another fae could be surprising when least expected, she hadn't anticipated her adverse reaction. Maybe it wasn't meant for her, maybe it was meant for something else! Like her words! (Dammit, Kool-Aid). The shift in her tone made Kasumi shrink back slightly, the piercing sound loud to her ears. "Oh, I've come to talk to humans, too!" The hands she wrung together were not clasped in front of her, pulled against her waist. "There are so many here," she whispered, looking around. It was probably better they got off the topic of ghosts, right? "The beige cookies? I brought a pot with some bones... I didn't know we were supposed to bring things you could eat." She had made a grave error, it seemed. She looked behind her at the table, then her head snapped back towards the white haired fae at her words. "Oh, that is how the older man who invited me here invited me. He told me that he'd seen me from his window, and the next time he saw me outside, he had to invite me!" She grinned at the other woman. "How long have you lived?" She paused, "I mean here, in Wicked's Rest."
—
Regan could tell this fae was going to be highly successful at talking to humans. She clearly knew what she was doing, other than the bone pot (which Regan put about fifty mental pins in). Look at how many people had already observed her from their windows! Regan tried to keep that number at zero, personally, but she suspected it was a common basis for the formation of social bonds. Friendships. Whatever the preferred terminology. “I am fort—ah, in town. Um—years.” It had been years. Each one siphoned away at any potential time she’d ever have with her brothers. “I am sure you’re succeeding with the humans. I mean, look at you, with your…” Regan gestured vaguely at the fae. “I really must go. But I suppose I have time to—you said you brought bones? Did you put them with the food? They need to be rescued, by me. So first the bones, then—fine, I have time to observe you for a while, too. Briefly. If you would like witness to your social exchanges. A second set of eyes. I am known for my excellent advice.” Only Dannykins rivaled her.
—
Kelly had taken his gaze off of the deer for just a second, spotting Zack, when a bunch of shit happened at once. Primarily, a dog had beelined straight for the food and, in doing so, straight for the other man. Well, if you counted Flip, that was two dogs who wanted to hang out with Zack. (Though this one, most likely, was just hungry.) Target acquired, Kelly had started drifting towards Zack, the owner, and the dog when Zack’s face turned. While Kelly couldn’t hear what the dog’s owner had said, or even see the man’s face from this angle, he picked up the pace, steps faltering, briefly, when he overheard a loud stumbling about ghosts not existing. A bad lie, hopefully. Christ, some folks didn’t have a subtle bone in their bodies, huh? Flip reached out a hand as they approached to grab at Zack’s sleeve, yanking on it, unsubtly delighted to see their tenant (friend?) again (even though it hadn’t been all that long). “Zack,” Kelly said, voice calm. “See you’re makin’ friends.” Kelly turned a raised eyebrow at the man, recognizing him from snatches of camera footage. “Think this one just moved in next door, actually.”
—
There was another person joining them, and there was a fucking child with him. Fuck Amos needed to get out of here. He began to look for potential exit points, desperate to get out of there. Ghibli, sensing her owners mounting distress, immediately left her fixation on the food she couldn't get to and turned to Amos, who was now completely spaced out as he stared at a potential exit point. She began pressing her nose repeatedly against his thigh, booping until he came back to himself, a warning that he was about to slip away if he wasn't careful.
Amos blinked, then swallowed, petting Ghibli's head in silent thanks before forcing himself to look at the other two, hoping he didn't look too wild, too distressed. Which, unfortunately, he did. "Amos. This is Ghibli," his voice was far away, his eyes continuing to flicker towards the gap in the crowd. "Sorry, I don't do well in large gatherings. I didn't mean to be here."
—
Zack was relieved when Kelly came ambling over, Flip in tow. He always felt better when he had a friend at hand in situation such as these, but especially Kelly, who could so easily maneuver even the stickiest of conversations. As it was, though, it seemed the other man, Amos, was having his own rough time of it. "That's all right. Totally understandable." He dropped a smile for the dog, feeling a little silly about it. "Hopefully I get to see you and Ghibli around, when she's off-duty."
Oblivious as he might be at times, Zack could at least usually understand what someone wanted from him, and Amos wanted to get away. Instead of extending the conversation any further, he just succumbed to Flip's (more and more insistent) tugging at his sleeve, and took the straining toddler from his dad. "Wanna wave to the puppy, dude?"
—
Daniel was out for a walk with Tree, needing some space away from Eve’s home. He was mostly okay since his injuries, but still moved slowly and carefully. At least now he had both arms for when Tree yanked on her leash around the neighborhood. He still had to get accustomed to walking her in an actual neighborhood with sidewalks and streets, not just out in the woods. He had on his headphones listening to music when he noticed a large crowd gathered together for some fucking reason. Usually he would avoid that type of situation, not wanting to interact with a bunch of strangers, but Daniel spotted a table of food. And who was going to stop him from wandering over and grabbing a plate? And maybe even taking another plate of food back home with him? He walked over to the food table and glanced around at the options, ignoring everything else as he put food on his plate. Tree sat patiently next to him, looking up at him with her big sad puppy eyes, so he rolled his eyes as he tossed her a piece of meat from some sort of charcuterie board.
—
Kasumi had never been the type to take a hint, and not out of cruelty, either, but because she simply didn't recognize when she wasn't wanted. She always figured that if a conversation was dying out, she could find a way to spark a new one. "Years... wow." That was impressive, wasn't it? Maybe she could find a time later to talk with this fae and about all of the human-ness she had experienced. At the compliment, Kasumi beamed. "You think so? Oh, wait--" She nearly reached out to stop her, but her hand withdrew almost instantly. "Oh, yes. I brought bones. They're cleaned and dried. They're in the pot over there." She motioned towards the pot that had definitely seen better days (stolen from the home she was residing in). The pot had gone untouched, so hopefully for this woman, the bones would be, too! At the white haired fae's offer, Kasumi's eyes lit up. "Really? That would be wonderful, oh--" She looked around, noticing a lone man had walked up to the table. There was a dog with him (frightening), but at the very least, this would be a great opportunity!
"Hello!" Kasumi practically bounced towards him. She winked at the white haired fae, then looked back to the man at her side. She positioned the pot in a way that blocked the dog from view after the other fae had managed to collect the bones from it. "Were you watched from a window, too?"
—
Daniel glanced over at the person who seemed like she was talking to him. He had hoped he could get by with just grabbing some food, standing off to the side to eat, and then grabbing more food before wandering off. Instead some stranger was speaking to him. He pulled off his headphones and placed them around his neck. “Was I what?” he asked, as he glanced down at the empty pot in her hands. Was someone watching him from a window? He glanced around the area, instead spotting deer standing off at the edge of the event. He narrowed his eyes at the deer before turning his attention back to the stranger. "No, no one is watching me."
—
“Have you been here long?” Regan asked the other fae, a strategic question more than a reciprocal one. “The humans in this town are difficult. They can be surprising. You must be very clear with them, because they don’t understand nuance.” She followed where the fae gestured and saw the pot of bones, but she could’ve located them with her eyes closed. The fae carefully collected them for her and Regan hurriedly gathered the sweet phalanges into her own. She might have been, perhaps, a little distracted. Because then she looked over and saw which human the fae chose to speak to. Daniel. Wait, Daniel? Why was Daniel here? That rod was back through Regan’s spine. This was wrong. The Dullahan was not going to appear here, and they had no offering, and the atmosphere was far too messy for Daniel to be here. This was wrong for their bondage. Before Regan could stop the fae, it was too late. Everyone was distracted now though. She finally made it over to an ideal bush and climbed in. And watched, bones clutched tight in her sweaty hands.
—
This was fantastic, wasn't it? So many humans in a place that made it hard for them to run! Kasumi was grateful that the white haired fae had managed to get her hands on the bones, and though it took her a little while to locate where she'd gone, she noticed a particularly blue pair of eyes peering at her from a bush. Excellent, so she hadn't lied! (Not that they could, but--) "You weren't watched from a window?" She nodded, deciding to jot that down for later. So not all humans were watched from windows... "That's good, I suppose. Do you live?" She paused. "In this neighborhood, I mean. Do you live here?" The party seemed to be centered around people who did in fact reside in the neighborhood. She could hear the dog sniffing, and Kasumi held onto the pot tightly, adjusting it to keep her from view.
—
Kelly cracked a smile when Zack took Flip, nodding in a show of something like solidarity with the other man. He’d have Zack’s back, had told the other man as much, but, frankly, he hadn’t quite known how to maneuver this situation, without more information at his disposal. Inserting himself had been the best he could think of, in the moment. Luckily, it looked like Flip had set off some of the tension in Zack’s shoulders. He’d count that as a win. That left the man—Amos—to wrestle with. “I’m Kelly. Little guy goes by Flip,” he finally said. He could read the writing on the wall, knew some of the signs of a service animal from interacting with patients and various trainings. Kelly evaluated the place. It was an open area, trees gave solid cover, and there were a decent number of exit points. But... the food table would remain crowded for as long as the event went on. “Zack’s got my hands free, now, so I was gonna offer to grab him a plate. But, if you want to linger a bit outside the mess, I’m happy to bring you somethin’, too, if you’re stickin’ around.”
—
Fuck, he wanted to be grateful, but the idea of someone being so needless nice to him just set Amos on edge. "Don't coddle me," he snarled as he attempted to meander his way out of the gathering he hadn't wanted to be in the first place, only for Ghibli to alert to movement somewhere else and start to drag Amos away to the movement in a bush further along.
"The fuck?" He hissed as Ghibli stopped in front of the bush, staring deeply into it, eyes fixed on something in there. He frowned, slowly peering into the bush, seeing a pair of eyes. "Oh, fuck." He blinked. Once. Twice. Okay, so he could have been doing worse, he could have hid in a bush. He didn't feel like such a failure, all of a sudden.
—
“No, ain’t watched from a window. Are you being watched or something?” Daniel had no idea why this person started off with a question about being watched, but he scanned the area again in case there was someone watching him. He spotted a few familiar faces--some that he knew the names of or just some that he recognized from walking Tree. Fuck, he really just wanted to eat this food without someone bothering him. He raised his brow at the pause in her question, but gave a quick nod. “Sure, I live around here,” he replied. Not permanently, he hoped. Just a temporary situation until he moved out of this town or found somewhere better to live. Tree barked up at him, and he waved her off as he dropped her another scrap of food for her. "Guessing you live here too?"
—
Zack winced as even Kelly's good nature didn't even put a dent in Amos's attitude. Not that he blamed the guy, entirely. He could've been nicer to Kelly, of course, but it seemed like he was going through something. When Amos left, though, Zack could see the muscle ticking in his landlord's (friend's?) jaw. "Sorry," he said, trying for a sheepish smile and just missing. "He thought I insulted his dog, I think, so we got off on the wrong foot." Bouncing the toddler on his hip a little, he offered, "I don't mind holding him, if you want to eat first." Having a squirming, giggling Flip in his arms was a good distraction and, for Zack, always lifted his mood.
—
Kasumi nodded. "Yes, I've been told twice today that I was watched from a window. I thought that maybe it was common in this neighborhood." He didn't seem inclined to talk, he probably just wanted to enjoy the free meal, but all of that was lost on the nix. She cared little for his desires, and instead decided to double down on the conversation. "Yes! I just moved here." She knew that the house she was living in... (behind, around?) wasn't exactly conventional, so she waved in a general direction of where it might be. It was better for the pixies and herself to not draw attention to the house, probably. "Have you lived here long? Do you like it here? What made you move here, or what made you stay if you're from here?" She blinked at him, waiting for his response.
—
“Maybe I’m haunting the wrong freak. What the fuck are either of you doing?” the Voice wasn’t even trying to keep hush. Regan hissed at… well, technically nothing; leaves tangled into her hair when she turned to face that nothing. “Whist! And she is not a freak.” That might have been the first (and hopefully last) time she had ever defended a fae. She didn’t want to think about it.
Regan heard the sniffing of an animal nose, the scratching of paws, and—Regan turned, and there was a dog face in front of her. She clasped her hands over her mouth, which probably spared the animal’s hearing. “Ignore me!” Regan said, looking up at a semi-groomed man who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. “I’m just—I dropped something in here.” Oh, her stomach. “And I’m not good with dogs, with any animals, really—not the lives ones—so you should—I must focus.” On the conversation between Daniel and the fae. Which was actually still ongoing, so that meant it was successful by most metrics, right? ‘Have you lived’ was a good question, though obviously not literal. The window one, even better. It was helpful to establish these things early. The only problem was the fae didn’t know that Daniel had been sanctioned by the Dullahan. This all required far more gravitas. “Ask him about his dolly,” Regan mouthed at the fae when she glanced toward the bush, “and how long he’s known death.” That was a question that could never be neglected during an introduction. And especially not with someone in which the Dullahan saw purpose.
—
“Who is telling you this? Why …” Daniel trailed off and shook his head. Whatever. It was probably just a nosy neighbor watching people from their window. He nodded his head as she asked him what felt like a million questions, all of which he didn’t really want to answer. “Just been here a short while. It’s fine,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. He sort of hated the neighborhood though—too many houses all close together. He missed living out in the woods without all these buildings right next to each other. “I’m gonna just … I’m gonna step over this way.” The table was getting a bit too crowded for his liking, and maybe if he walked away from it, she would find someone else to talk to about being watched. Or maybe someone who actually knew anything about the neighborhood besides it having sidewalks.
—
Coddle? Chrissake, it was called giving someone an out. Kelly tried to tamp down the bristle of irritation; guy could have any number of reasons for being a dick. Patients got like that all the time. Stress made people into assholes. Man had ditched. Kelly’d get over it. His jaw flexed, his nostrils flared, but he’d get over it. Or so he thought, before Zack, bless his heart, tried to smooth things over, and Kelly’s temper kicked up again. What the hell was Zack bothering for? There wasn’t nothing to smooth! Neither of them had done shit wrong. Unable to keep his mouth shut, Kelly said, “Hard not to get off on the wrong foot with a guy like that, Zack.” He let air pass through his teeth, not quite a sigh. “Look, you didn’t do shit wrong, sounds like. Some folks just don’t know how to mind their manners.” Was he talking a bit louder than was necessary, petty retaliation for the grousing from Amos? Maybe. Maybe not. Guy wasn’t there to defend himself, besides.
Eyes scanning the edges of the crowd, Kelly caught two faces he recognized. First, Daniel, caught in a conversation with a woman Kelly didn’t recognize. (Why was he here…? It occurred to Kelly that he wasn’t sure where Daniel lived. Huh.) Secondly, and less likely to result in Kelly embarrassing himself, he spotted Giselle and a young lady who almost had to be her daughter. Despite having seen her less than twelve hours ago, Kelly waved over to the pair, nudging Zack onward in that direction. “Look, hey, no. We can eat together. I know Giselle. She’s nice. Way nicer than Amos. I’ll grab us plates, and we’ll sit over on the blanket with them.” Kelly’d salvage this yet.
—
It felt unkind to rat out her fellow fae, so Kasumi shrugged in response to his question. Instead, she nodded towards the older gentleman who had invited her. "Him, but I think the other person has gone off, somewhere." Out of the corner of her eye, she could still see the pale haired fae watching from the bush. She hoped that the other woman would have ample feedback for her. She seemed the type. "Fine.. right. Well, I'm sure there are ways for it to get better!" He was stepping away from her now, and Kasumi cast a glance of whatdoido to the bush dweller, before realizing she was being accosted by a dog, too. Hopefully she had a better track record. The woman was mouthing something, and Kasumi nodded. She could do this! She could read lips, had understood how to since she was a child. Not all nix could vocalize under the water like she could, even if they could breathe under it.
Kasumi followed after him, "do you know Beth?" She smiled innocently at him, "and what about Jolly? Do you like... Jolly?"
—
Daniel held back a groan as he stepped away from the table, but the woman followed him. He hoped that she would catch a hint and maybe go bother someone else at the table. “I don’t know either of them,” he replied. He didn’t pay attention to anyone in this neighborhood, and now he regretted thinking he could swing by for some free food before heading out of the area. “I bet … I bet Beth and Jolly are over there somewhere.” He waved off to an area where he saw a group of people standing and talking with each other. No idea who any of them were. “I should probably get going before my dog gets bored.” Sure, whatever. Tree was so not bored standing there wanting to say hi to all the people. "Gotta get her home."
—
Maybe Kasumi had misread the other fae's lips. No matter! "Oh, okay. Well, I'm sure one day you'll meet both Beth and Jolly. Probably sooner than later!" Especially if the other fae had brought them up. He tried to shake her off, but she was immune. At least, until he brought up the dog. Her gaze slid down comically to meet the eyes of the dog who stood dutifully by his side. The dog did not seem bored to her, but she would have liked it better had it been. "Oh, no worries. Yes, well, I hope that you meet Beth, soon, anyway." She smiled at him before turning her attention back to the bush. She flung a thumb's up in the direction, before inserting herself into yet another conversation that did not need her addition.
—
The crowd was thinning, and that now included Daniel and Zack. Regan breathed a huge sigh and untangled herself from the branches and leaves of the bush. The bones were tucked safely in her pockets. That fae had done well and—fortunately—had already flitted around to talk to someone else. Which meant Regan did not have to spend more time with the fae. She emerged and brushed her thighs off, glancing around for Jade… who was already looking in her direction. Her heart sloshed in what should have been considered a cardiac event. No surprise they were perfectly coordinated—Jade probably knew about Regan’s bush before Regan had even selected it! And, oh, no one had really touched the banana bread Regan had brought. That didn’t matter. She didn’t even want to waste time reclaiming it (the plate was plastic anyway).
Regan was at Jade’s side in half a second, hand hooking around her waist and pulling her close. “Social bondage done. I have met my quota for the week. More than, really, I think we would find if I looked at the numbers.” And Jade was still riding that burst of energy she got when surrounded by people to talk to, old friends and new. Regan hated to peel her away from things like this, but she knew Jade wouldn’t want to remain if Regan went home early. She double checked she had all the bones and then latched her arm around Jade's. The deer stared. Regan felt a little less on edge with every step away from their Deersprings neighbors. “By the way, I think we should consider moving to another country. France, maybe, if there is any real estate available in the catacombs...”