Welcome to the Winter Wonderworld!

[dray]

⫸ WORLD: A crystalline pocket dimension
⫸ AGENCY: Shared
⫸ LOCATION: See above
⫸ EVENT: The Winter Gather Exchange!
⫸ NOTES: This is a general info post and a place to RP with one another and with the host, the enigmatic Noya Fosse


Part I: Arrival
You find yourself drifting off to sleep, or perhaps merely daydreaming, with the faintest sensation of a cold breeze tickling the back of your neck. Then, as darkness subsumes you, you feel the brush of hundreds of heavy flakes of the most beautiful, crystalline snow. This snow glints in all the colours of a frozen rainbow, prisms of sourceless light that blind you until you push your way forward into... into what, exactly?

The place you arrive is nothing like home: a frozen den of sharp pillars of ice support a mirror-smooth roof. Like the court of a powerful ruler, this place is fit to impress. Treasures of every kind and shape are frozen below the floor and along the walls: look but don't touch, please! The main hall is artfully littered with places to sit for creatures both large and small, and to one side is a never-ending buffet of cold and hot food (and drinks, and of course you know there are marshmallows) attended by little icy creatures not completely unlike flitters.

But what takes your first impressions and blows them away is the owner of this odd little place. A sinuous dragon of crystalline grace rests upon a raised dais on a throne molded of snow. Her scales seem to reflect the globes of light gently shining down on the room, and she is currently in deep conversation with a very furry creature made, it seems, to exist only in the deepest cold.

A chubby little flitter wings over to you (or perhaps it's a small fleet) with a pelt of heavy fur.

::Welcome to the Winter Gather! Noya chose you to partake in her riches and get to know one another. The Nexus is back! The Nexus is back!::

That thought fades from your mind as the flitter scoots off to its next duty, though it sounds like a triumphal cheer.

Welcome to the Winter Gather, it seems. What do you do next?


Part II: The Revelation
(To be posted on December 19th! For now, feel free to post a mingle starter and tag others, get to know them, etc!)

Comments

RULES

[dray]

1. Choose a character, whether human, dragon, OC, expy, or otherwise, and post a starter in the comments. This character should be somewhat in-the-know about your dragon adoption agency (if you have one) or else a central personage that your other characters might bump into for future stories.


2. Give some options in your starter as to what others might see your character doing. Are they trying to chip gold out from under the floor? Huddled around the buffet trying to warm up with some hot chocolate? Are they ice skating, or curled up on a couch and waiting for attention?


3. Tag other starter comments! As characters get to know one another and their worlds, you'll have a chance to build some gossip about your candidates, your dragon adoption agency, future clutches, or anything else you'd like.


4. If you wish to speak with Noya Fosse, please respond to the comment marked for. She will be cagey about the gathering but assure your characters that this is a temporary invitation and that, of course, they will wake up at home unharmed.


5. Please don't write for other characters and make assumptions about what they'll do, and please don't jump into the middle of someone else's 'thread' (string of comments) without asking all current participants first.


6. If you run into any questions, please post in the comment labelled 'QUESTIONS' below, or over on the #gifts-and-exchanges channel of the discord server.

QUESTIONS

[dray]

Petitioning the Queen

[dray]

Noya Fosse, the crystalline dragon and the host of this Gather, is receiving guests. She drapes over her snow throne and nods her head for you to come forward.

:: Speak and I shall do my best to answer, :: she says, lilting tone underscored by a deep rumble.

A Chill Heir

[kinrrataiyath]

"This is going to be great. Just wait. You'll be thanking me before the day's done." Thayer strode confidently through the halls of New Warren, a skip in his step and a grin on his face.

Behind him, moving at a steady pace that was neither a quick step to keep up with his friend nor a reluctant shuffle to fall further behind, came Bane. The man wore his standard gold gilt black armour, his hair trimmed into strict lines, his face set in a permanent mask of neutrality.

"I really don't think you know what you're getting yourself into," Bane replied.

"Of course I do!" Thayer spun around to face his friend, walking backward with his arms flung out as he made his point. People flowed around him, casting annoyed glances but saying nothing. They were accustomed to the ayanrix's flair for the dramatic. "It's a party. A get together for people from all over the Nexus. The worlds are reconnecting. This, my friend, is our opportunity to be part of history."

Bane cocked a single, thick brow up to his hairline.

"If I'm not mistaken, being heir to Lanutha and the dragon throne already makes you part of history."

Thayer made a face as if Bane's comment bore a sour taste and waved the words away.

"That's Tris'Hath's history. I mean universal history. Bane, for me," Thayer stopped mid-step, clasping his hands together and putting on an expression that had gotten him out of scoldings and into the good graces of people he had irritated for years, "please at least pretend to enjoy this. I need my brother, not my body guard."

Bane caught up to the younger heir to the throne in two strides. He towered over Thayer by nearly a foot, and the addition of his armour and sharp, blocky features made him an imposing figure even before he scowled. As he stood looking down into those sky blue eyes set in a face of golden, vibrant youth, he let out a sigh and rolled his eyes.

"I will... smile."

"That's the spirit!" Thayer clapped his friend on his shoulder, then turned and practically jogged the rest of the way to the wide, cavern mouth that opened up to the sky.

New Warren had been built with peoples of all walks of life in mind. It had tunnels at ground level and elevators connecting the multitude of floors throughout the mountain, but the main areas of congregation sat near the top of the stony hive of caverns and corridors. Access came by way of dragon back, or magic if one happened to be so talented.

Thayer would not have to rely on his magic to get him around that day. On the grassy ledge just outside the entrance, three dragons lounged in the bright morning sunshine. Violet Baaki'Virh sprawled across the widest swath of crushed grass, her wings partially flared to soak up the sun's warmth. Baneo'Mybl, her scarred red brother, hung off one edge, claws affixed firmly to the wall and ledge as he leaned his head to the sweet water trickling down from a waterfall above. Stacurik, his hide a mix of sky and snow blue, lay near Baaki with his forelimbs folded together in a refined pose. As the humans emerged, all three dragons came together before them on the ledge. Stacurik bent his head to Thayer, wuffling a warm breath through the heir's blonde hair. Baneo and Baaki each touched the tips of their muzzles to Bane's outstretched hands.

"Are you sure there's nothing else you want to bring?" Bane turned back to his friend, brother, and charge after exchanging greetings with his bonds. They were always part of his thoughts, but he never missed an opportunity to share in their affection.

"What? No. What else would I need? It's a party. I probably won't even come back with all my clothes." The last part was muttered under Thayer's breath. Bane heard it regardless. He refrained from commenting, as he knew for a fact that Thayer had left bits of his attire, like puzzle pieces, strewn across the various towns of Tris'Hath.

He made no further attempts to talk sense into Thayer as they both climbed up to the backs of their dragons. Bane vaulted up to Baaki's withers as she was closest while Thayer settled himself astride Stacurik.

Stacurik lead the way, dropping from the ledge ahead of the other two and flaring his wings to catch the humid mountain air. Baneo and Baaki followed close behind, and as the dragons spiraled higher and higher before setting their sights on a distant world, Bane created a shell of warm air around himself.

The trip between worlds was cold, as expected, but in the relatively short time it took to pop from Tris'Hath to the pocket dimension, that cold never had a chance to set in.

The freezing wind whipping a torrent of snowflakes through the air as they emerged on the other side, though, that one took root.

Bane felt the ping of alarm come from Thayer's mind first. Then the unavoidable draw of the heir's magic as he called for aid. He watched through slitted eyes as Stacurik dove, wings folding back along his whipcord frame. The blue dragon blended so well with his surroundings that he all but disappeared save for the glint of light off his golden horns. Baneo and Baaki took their time in descending after Stacurik, following the relaxed lead of their bond.

When Bane landed at last, Thayer had already dismounted and stood, shivering, in a mound of snow up to his calves.

"What- What is- How- What," the heir muttered, his teeth chattering around each syllable. The normally striking figure he created with his trim goatee, stylish light blue and gold tunic and matching cape, and perpetual air of charm were rendered ineffective as Thayer shrank in on himself in an effort to keep the cold at bay.

"I did try to warn you," Bane said. He slid off Baaki's shoulder and landed with a soft 'fu-whump' in the snow bank. Thanks to his quick spell before they left, he remained toasty warm, despite wearing a full suit of armour and no head covering to speak of.

"How is any place this cold?" The shock and disbelief in Thayer's voice brought it up by a few octaves.

Bane furrowed his brow in thought as he studied his friend. He knew Thayer had visited wintery places before. Diplomatic missions often took them north of the mountains, or south, close to the Rift. Then it clicked, and Bane's expression morphed from confused to deeply, unabashedly amused.

"Mystic always told you what to pack when we went to places in the winter before. She made you take your warm cloak."

"Yes, and if you were a true friend, you would have done the same!"

Bane barked out a quick laugh and leaned back against Baaki's side.

"Now you want to listen to me? What happened to "what else would I need? It's a party"?"

Instead of rising to the bait, Thayer forced his chilled hands into familiar shapes and traced patterns through the air. Though his teeth chattered and his lips were blue, he managed to work the spell on the first try. A faint pop split the air around him, followed by a shimmer that outlined his form for a brief second. Thayer breathed out a sign of relief and straightened up.

"There. Now I'm fine with you apologizing for this oversight later, but we should see about-"

Whatever Thayer wanted to see became a moot point as a ball of powdery, soft snow exploded against the side of his head. Thayer scowled at the towering man in black armour standing across from him.

"Really," he asked.

In response, Bane lobbed another snowball.

Thayer batted it out of the air with a swat of his hand. Though the spell he cast kept the worst of the cold at bay, it could not protect him from situations where he deliberately interacted with the chill substance. His fingers immediately began to tingle at the mix of warm and cold air.

"Alright, if that's how you want to play it." Thayer bent down as if to scoop up a snowball of his own, instead taking a quick second to trace a new pattern in the air just above the snow at his feet. He flicked his hand in Bane's direction and a wall of white powder rose to obscure the tall man. Baaki, caught in the cross-fire, let out a squawk of indignation and jolted back a step.

"That is enough from both of you," the violet dragoness said, her voice ringing out over the laughter from the two men. She swept her tail back through the snow, then launched it forward to cover both riders in a cascade of white flakes.

Bane emerged from the newly made mountain of snow, laughing and spitting ice from his lips. He shook snow from his hair and brushed what he could away from the collar of his armour, then trudged over to Thayer. Or at least the snowman who stood where Thayer had been. The heir took a few seconds longer to shake himself free of his chilly prison.

"Right, well, that was bracing. Can we go inside now," Thayer asked.

Bane looked past his friend to the mouth of a cavern at the base of the hill on which they stood. Snow piled up in drifts all around the entrance, but the interior looked warm and dry. And... sparkly? He hadn't a clue of what to expect from this place. Thayer had found the invitation. Whatever lay ahead, it was certain to be interesting.

A gathering of Nexus representatives. A winter gather. Mystic often spoke of the joy of these events from years past. Bane hoped this one would match the acclaims.

"Lead the way, My Liege," Bane said.

As Thayer struck out, wading his way through the often knee-high snow, he griped at Bane about using his title. He always did. Until the moment he needed it to impress a pretty girl. Bane followed ever in his shadow.

Callidei (of the Abstract Destiny)

[thexenoqueen]

Lucid dreaming in and of itself wasn't anything that Callidei found unusual, but this one, specifically? The realism was astounding. The imagery was crystal clear, the weight of the cloak on her shoulders was convincingly solid, and the icy chill? Well, the Piralan side of her heritage granted her control over her own body heat, and she was growing ever more convinced she really was elevating said temperature to ward off the cold and give the cloak she'd been given more to insulate.

She was in her human form: a tall young woman with opalescent white skin, perfectly suited to their icy surroundings but for her bright red mane of hair fluffed out around her head and shoulders in a feathered-looking style, which itself was more suited to an entity of fire than of ice. Her eyes were a matching shade of red, too, and wide with curious excitement as she moved about, inspecting everything, but the treasures buried in the icy walls and floor in particular. The cloak she'd been brought was a wolf-gray color, and her clothes underneath were more evidence to dreaming: they were her pajamas. The starry-patterned black cloth called to her mind the wings of her bonded, who was not present, though that wasn't evidence one way or another.

He would have been quite cranky to find himself here, anyway.

But Callidei is, at heart, a budding scientist, and in this she's reverted to a more childish impulse. Each new arrival that she notices leads to her greeting them with some variant of an eager:

"Hey, d'you wanna help me with my experiment? Either you pinch me, or I pinch you!"

[thexenoqueen]

'Pretty' was always in the eye of the beholder, but there was indeed a 'girl' in the gathering inside Noya's gargantuan cavern. An Avengaean Asandus in human form, to be specific, Callidei had taken after her Piralan mother's side and was all tall, lean muscle, with a wild mane of red hair around an opal-white face. And she, for one, was not dressed to impress. Muddling the idea as to whether this place was reality or not, she was still in the starry black pajamas she knew she'd put on before going to bed, and the gray fur cloak that the flitter-like creatures had draped over her shoulders was not the most stylish of accessories. Add in her bare feet, kept warm by virtue only of her self-regulated body temperature, and nope! She was not dressed for the occasion at all.

But, on the other hand, she also didn't care. She was up against one of the walls when the two brothers arrived, nose just inches from the ice and hands spread to either side of her point of scrutiny: some kind of golden, clockwork creation that she would have loved to disassemble in study. If only it weren't so well protected by the ice, as well as very much not something that belonged to her!

The arrival of the newcomers was an appropriate distraction and she turned her head towards the snow-dusted duo with red eyes bright and eager. It was a look that invited engaging -- or perhaps warned of imminent engagement -- just as soon as the two men had gotten their bearings.

Re: A Chill Heir

[dray]

Aenieso Landwerlen was a massive beast, shaggy and feathered and wearing also a silken robe lined with what looked like perfectly white ermine fur. It was from home, of course, and was actually a gift from his father, Aska rest his soul.

The dragon had just gotten out of an uptight conversation with their hostess about the propriety of whisking people unwarranted from their homes in order to mingle to nearly step on the two young men meandering into the cavern.

"Ah," Aeni' rumbled, lips pursed in a look that also pulled the ruff of blonde fur all the way forward... an impressive moue of distaste. "Humans. How fare thee?"

Nearly 16' at the shoulder, he could shift into a nearly equally human form... but why should he?

Re: Callidei (of the Abstract Destiny)

[dray]

"I hardly think that pinching is necessary, child." Aenieso Landwerlen had made it to this party by dint of the magnetic power of his sour grapes, and he towered over Callidei's human form at a massive sixteen feet at the shoulder.

There was no mistaking the girl's opalescent skin and red hair, however. Aeni' was, himself, a descendant of Avengaean blood, and so he floofed his blond wing-fluff and feathers and then plunked his behind down on the ice, careful because... well... ice.

"Why should you ever want to hurt anyone? Who taught you that behaviour?"

[thexenoqueen]

The fellow's apparent offense at her question almost sent Callidei into a fit of giggles, only from how plainly he'd misunderstood! She did her best to hold them in but couldn't help her grin, even as she waved her hands from side to side in a gesture both meant to placate and to dismiss his assumption as if it were a thing that could be dispelled from the air.

"Oh, no, it's not about hurting, not specifically. It's about testing the dream-state! Physical sensations tend not to feel the same in a dream as they do in the real world, but things feel really real right now, even though I very clearly fell asleep just before waking up here!"

Another broad hand gesture, this one up and down herself to indicate her pajamas.

"You see? And conflicting evidence requires more testing!"

[dray]

"You wish to wake up?" Aeni' asks, dubious. He glances over to the queen in her royal splendor, who has draped herself further over her throne to hold court with her flitters over some ominous plot or another.

"I can assure you, we're far from dreaming." But her face is too eager, young and fresh and hopeful. So he offers a dragon-sized sigh and holds up a paw, a 'wait a moment' gesture as light folds around his form.

A moment later, a man in his fifties stands before Callidei. He's got the same odd colouration as does she, though where she is a glimmering white, Aenieso's is a bronzed yellow, with narrow slabs of brown plate over his brows where hair would otherwise be. His blonde hair is tied back in an intricate and immaculate braid, and his facial hair is kept trimmed to frame his frowning face like a painting of a disapproving ancient relative.

Aeni' is dressed in a suit he thinks is appropriate for a party: three pieces, snow-white save the golden cummerbund and tucked tie. He undoes the cufflink at his wrist and offers an oddly plated hand to the girl. "If you must use pinching as your bench mark, you'll be doing it to me."

[superhobbit]

Are you sure this is the place? Philippe asked as he and Faroth left between and hovered over the snowy scene below.

Have I ever been wrong? the night blue asked with a smirk in his tone. Philippe narrowed his eyes at his dragon and pouted. Just behave.

"Behave!" Philippe exclaimed, aghast. "How dare you..." Faroth growled and the elf rolled his eyes, muttering something about his own dragon starting to sound like his Wingleader, or worse, his weyrmate. "Yeah, yeah...don't worry. I'll get those 200 whatever years of prince training ready just so that you're not embarrassed, okay. Just land. It's cold up here and this thing can only do so much in keeping these eggs warm."

Gliding to the ground gracefully, Philippe soon dismounted and unstrapped his precious cargo from his dragon's side. A portable incubator, created to transport up to 24 eggs, was carefully lifted up and Philippe gave the eggs a quick check, made sure the incubator was working overtime to combat the colder weather, and then dug around for in his saddle pack.

Please tell me you're not wearing that...

"Oh, shut up. It's festive and this is a Winter Gather...party...thing. Event. So yes," and he plopped the red and white Santa hat on his head, "I'm wearing it. Besides," he added as Faroth visibly sighed, "it compliments my good looks."

That's not what Cynte told you when you came back with it, the night blue quipped. Philippe stuck his tongue out before turning to enter the obvious point of entry to the Gather.

"Don't freeze while I'm gone!" Philippe called cheerfully, making sure the Isla Weyr badge was clearly visible.

He really didn't know what to expect. In the Nexus, time seemed to work in strange ways and for Isla, it had only been a few months since his resurrection and the horrible event he had dubbed the Zombie Apocalypse. Of course, that event could have been years past, recent, or not even happened for some of the people here. Regardless, Philippe didn't care. Dying and coming back to life really had given him a new perspective of life and as he entered the event's luxurious venue, he couldn't help but grin.

He had two dozen fire-lizard eggs from the IGPC, created specifically for this event, to give away.

[naeodin]

:The Nexus is back! The Nexus is back!:

Shy used the movement of brushing down the thickly brocaded cloak with garish fur trimmings to school his expression. Slight, polite amusement settled on his features and a mild, inquisitive gleam brightened his eyes.

The Nexus was back. He had been waiting for this moment for eons, and finally, he was one step closer to finding his way back home.

Now if he could figure out what blind madman with a petty grudge had dressed him in this visually tone deaf manner.

Tugging at the front of the cloak held together with metallic tinsel, he peeked down at what lay closer to his body. A traditional qipao cut close to his slender frame, and of decadent enough material that it didn't itch or bunch under the *get this off me right now dammit* cloak.

Gold thread gleamed across silk of blood court red and dashes of purple, and green. And blue. And fuschia. And...

Shy fastened the tinsel cord tightly around his neck, his features frozen.

Well. At least the Nexus was back.

((Shy is dawdling at the entrance dressed in an ostentatious black and metallic embroidered cloak with even more ostentatious fur lining the edges. It is held together with metallic tinsel and he is NOT. Happy.
But he will mingle! As long as he doesn't have to take off the damn cloak.))

[thexenoqueen]

He's adorable. Callidei quietly makes this Very Scientific Observation on two bases alone: adoration of her grandfather-figure, Doctor Schroeder, and adoration of her sourpuss of a bond, Cyris'Sitawi. Even his apparently grudging willingness to help her experiment seems to mash the two together!

Evidence towards dreaming, or no? It's the kind of oddity one would expect from a dream.

"It's not about wanting to wake up, it's about finding out if we can or not!" Which is a flaw in her scientific reasoning right there, because how could she wake up someone else in her own dream, but -- her education is mostly based in genetics, after all, and not the analysis of dreams and reality. And she's still very young at heart despite the years that have passed since she and the rest of the Destiny were separated from the Nexus.

She takes his hand between hers, giving it the kind of innocently thorough examination only a young scientist can pull off, but upon identifying a non-plated patch of skin suitable for her needs she briefly hesitates. This leads to her taking a moment to meet the older (though by what timeline?) dragon's eyes.

"I'm sorry in advance if this does hurt," she tells him earnestly before applying the pinch, neither longer nor more forceful than necessary to cause the sensation.

[dray]

One would never expect any theatrics out of Aeni'... and yet, when the young scientist pinches his weathered, somewhat hairy wrist, he lets out a sigh, eyes opening a little wider, and then in a flash of light, he vanishes.

For some time, in fact.

...


It's not until about ten minutes later that the full-furred beast comes padding back into the cavern from its front entrance, heavily snowed over and flapping his wings to try to rid himself of the extra, chilly layer.

Finding Callidei once more, he rumbles, "I suppose your hypothesis needs reworking."

[dray]

Aenieso Landwerlen is dawdling, too. As a human, he stands a little under six feet tall, and sports the same blond hair plaited down his back in an intricate braid, a precisely trimmed beard to frame his oddly olive-coloured face. Dressed in a snow-white three-piece suit with a golden cummerbund and a tucked golden tie, golden cufflinks and other details, he's about as opposite of Shy as one could get while still being an elderly looking gentleman.

However, he spots the outrageously dressed guest and he is forced to ask: "Don't tell me you have arrived in your pajamas as well?"

[dray]

It would appear that when one was from a separate world entirely, one had very little time to keep track of who was from when and whatforth and suchwith. For Aenieso Landwerlen, nearly 200 years had passed since the last days of contact with other worlds in the Nexus had ebbed, and finally closed.

He had lived his entire, long-lived life with only a slow-growing Nidus around him, and it had been by dint of his compatriots (gods rest their souls) that Novalux was able to be represented at all today.

So when he spotted Philippe trotting in with a red hat and an incubator full of eggs, he had to cast the young-looking man a nonplussed stare. In a flash of brilliant light, he shifts down into a human form, though his skin is a dusty olive and his hair, a platinum blonde. He may not have the pointed ears, but he has a braid as elaborate as any elf's. Dressed in a snow-white three-piece suit with a golden cummerbund, tucked tie, and accoutrements... well, he looked as though he was going for a very formal, very austere version of festive.

"What, praytell, have you brought eggs here for? They've got food over by the buffet. Or are you the service?"

...Forgive him. He's dishing on everyone tonight.

Aenieso Landwerlen | Nidus Novalux Representative

[dray]

The massive, blonde-furred mutt of a dragon had just been arguing with Queen Noya Fosse for the last ten minutes about his rights, as an ostensible representative for his Nidus, to be granted the privilege of a proxy. Aenieso Landwerlen was no diplomat, even though he'd lived and served the Nidus for nearly 200 years.

No, he was a bureaucrat: he loved pushing paper, keeping records, tracking events through history. He'd lived very much of his Nidus' history, after all, while so many others had been born, grown old, and withered away before his green-gilt eyes.

So here he is now, standing near the buffet table in human form: a little under six feet, his blonde hair pulled back in a complex braid and his beard trimmed sharply around his well-aged, fifty-something face. He's dressed in a snow-white three-piece suit with gold cummerbund, tie, cuff-links, and other adornments... but he is wearing such a sour expression that one might assume one of the flying lizards flitting around the table and beyond had left footprints all over him.

When approached, he is more than happy to turn a sour gaze upon anyone who dares to seek him. "I shall be blunt. I have been taken here against my will, and I refuse to make a mockery of myself on behalf of my entire Nidus. If you're looking for japes, look elsewhere."

[thexenoqueen]

Aeni vanishes, and Callidei is left staring at the space where he was standing with wide-eyed delight, confusion, and fascination all rolled into one. She looks around, checks the ice beneath her feet, goes through all the steps to make sure that he did indeed vanish and... well, now what? It's completely backwards, she realizes, she can't confirm her dream by making someone else vanish, but can she say she confirmed... his?

When the older dragon returns, it's to Callidei having found herself a more open patch of wall as well as a mug of hot chocolate (with marshmellows!), which she sips at as she traces light scribbles over the ice with her functional magic in place of having a holopad and stylus. It's nothing terribly in depth in formulas or anything like that, but it's definitely her trying to cluster her ideas into a more concrete order. They remain hanging in the air even when she turns away from them at Aeni's return, eyes first brightening with gladness, then sharpening with piqued curiosity.

"What happened to you?" she asks simply, knowing it's better to let him answer in his own terms than sway it with her own.

[superhobbit]

Philippe jumps slightly then puts on a large smile. "Buffet? Oh, heavens no. These," and he holds up the incubator for a better look, "are firelizard eggs from Pern, straight out of the Genetic Hall and I've been ordered to pass them out...to hatch...not as omlets...though omlets do sound lovely right now..."

I will let L'gal and N'vin turn you into an omlet if you dare suggest you're turning those eggs into dinner...

Philippe winced. "Not these...of course...naturally..." Don't talk to me when I'm talking to people...it makes me look weird.

I don't need to help you with looking weird with that hat on, Faroth rebuked.

"And who might you be?" Philippe asked. "I am Philippe, rider of the night blue moron, Faroth out there, and Wingsecond at Isla Weyr." He performed a semi flourished half bow in respect, while being careful with the eggs in the incubator, and making sure the hat stayed on his head.

[naeodin]

Shy made one long, sweeping gesture down his cloak, and then flicked at the tinsel tie holding it together.

"You should see what I'm wearing under this." Inappropriate? Maybe. Deliberate? Well. It was Shy after all. But unfortunately, this time it was just the truth.

"I'm afraid I did not have the chance to dress myself for this invitation" Shy wondered who had, and he turned an assessing eye to the man in front of him. No. Apparently not everyone had been dressed by the village idiot, and Shy was very sure that he too could carry a white and gold themed outfit VERY well.

"The Nexus is back, it seems, and I am looking forwards to reconnecting-" Hmm. Shy did not have that particular shade of blonde hair in his collection. What a beautiful combination it would make for some of his golden eyed projects. Just that perfect, complementary shade to bring out their eyes.

"But I have not introduced myself" he purred. Oh, and he would never want to be rude to a potential donor. "My name is Shy."

Re: Petitioning the Queen

[kinrrataiyath]

Bane strode behind Thayer as the young heir sauntered into the crystalline cavern as if the entire ordeal had been planned in his honour. As Thayer smiled and waved and greeted everyone with the lordly grace of a prince, Bane examined his surroundings.

A woman in what looked to be silk pajamas greeted everyone by asking them to pinch her. A large, fluffy dragon looked very irate to be here, though Bane was certain he hadn't seen sign of the dragon's landing in the snow outside. Other than the crystalline dragon who lounged imperiously on a throne at the heart of the gathering and her attendants, everyone here seemed a little... off.

"Thayer, how, exactly, did you come to hear of this gathering," Bane asked.

"Hmm? Oh. It was a letter or something."

"A letter from whom?"

Thayer looked back at his elder sibling and scowled.

"A... ah... well I assume the host," the heir answered with a vague wave in the direction of the dragoness.

Bane did not look impressed by the answer.

"A letter. I get the sense that no one else here received a letter."

"You're being paranoid," Thayer scoffed.

"There is a woman in her pajamas."

Thayer's steps slowed and he ran a hand back through his short, golden blonde locks. He scratched at his goatee and straightened his tunic, and when Bane's temper grew short enough that he was about to demand an answer, Thayer made a motion as if spooling the truth out from a spindle.

"I... may have popped in before. Unexpectedly. And not by choice."

Bane stopped on the spot.

"You were pulled here."

"Just briefly! Once I saw what was going on, a quick plane shift and I was home again. Nothing complicated." Thayer turned and held his hands up in a pleading gesture to his brother. "Listen, I knew you would be upset if I left you behind, so I came back for you! I was being thoughtful."

"I am your bodyguard. I should know where you are at all times."

"Exactly! See? I was responsible and I came straight to you. And now we're here and we should enjoy it."

Bane drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Sometimes Thayer made it exceedingly difficult to be patient. Sometimes Bane thought it might be easier if he just... walked away. Let Thayer deal with the consequences of his own bad decisions. Bane opened his eyes and let out his breath. He would never do that. Not to Thayer.

"Just remember the main rule."

"Rule?"

"The one rule that supercedes all other rules. The rule that keeps us from going to war with the other princelets. The rule your mother is enforcing with absolute strictness to the point of banishment. No more dragons are to return to the Warren."

"Oh, that rule. Well, you don't have anything to worry about. We're just here for a good time." Thayer flashed his brother a brilliant smile, whirled around in a swirl of pale blue and gold cloak, and strode up to the throne of the crystalline queen.

Bane followed several steps behind, and behind him came Stacruik, Baneo'Mybl, and Baaki'Virh. As Bane came within five feet of his charge, he drew up short and clasped his hands behind his back in a show of relaxed attentiveness. Stacruik moved out of the corner of his eye, his lithe blue form stepped forward to overshadow his bond.

"My lady Queen," Thayer greeted Noya Fosse in a voice pitched to be at once commanding and respectful. The heir to Lanutha swept low in a bow, showing as much deference to the dragoness in her home as was deemed polite without seeming to grovel. "I am pleased to introduce myself to you. I am Thayer Dragon-Audil, heir to Lanutha and the dragon throne, hailing from Tris'Hath. My stalwart companion is my brother, Bane Dragon-Audil. I offer my thanks for this wonderous gathering that you have invited us to."

Behind him, Stacurik swept his wings out and bent low over his forelimbs, his nose nearly touching the ground.

And I am Stacurik, bond to Thayer Dragon-Audil and future Dragon King of Lanutha. My companions are Baneo'Mybl the red and Baaki'Virh the violet. I greet you, great queen, and thank you for your hospitality.

[dray]

Aeni' wasn't used to being ogled, nor objectified, so the sneer he grew as Shy looked him up and down was wholly unschooled. By the time that Shy introduced himself, the Asandus mutt had his repose once again, and he offered his palm, upon the back of which were keratinous brown plates along both fingers and the back of the hand.

"Charmed to meet you." Oh, that tone could melt metal. "You may call me Aenieso Landwerlen. I am..." a burgeoning sigh, here, "the foremost representative of Nidus Novalux, it would seem. And you, Shy, what is your tale?"

[kinrrataiyath]

Thayer had many definitions of pretty. Most of them included slim, fit, well-proportioned, but he also appreciated descriptive words such as curvaceous, round, tall, and short. In short, Thayer liked women, and Callidei certainly fit that criteria. The moment her red eyes caught the young heir's attention, there was no escape.

Thayer turned, his body acting on auto-pilot to follow the lead of his eyes. It took him a few quick strides to close the distance between them. As soon as he reached speaking distance to Callidei, Thayer swept down in a bow.

"Thayer Dragon-Audil, at your service. And what might your name be?"

Blue eyes sparkling with delight and something a little impish looked up at Calli as he awaited her response.

Meanwhile, Bane felt himself withdrawing into the shell of neutrality that was his safe guard against the world. He never liked these sorts of gatherings, but he went because Thayer did. As the heir launched into what would undoubtedly be just his first attempted wooing tonight, Bane scanned the room. He could never be too careful, especially in a place entirely foreign to him.

In comes a Wolf Shapeshifter

[cmoonwolf12]

Greybone slinks into the room slowly. "hmm smells yummmy must get food and then see what trouble i can get into." he thinks to himself and smiles a mischievious smile as his red eyes twinkle.He swiftly slinks under a table and quickly grabs some meet from top of table with his teeth and eats it.

[dray]

Aeni' sighed. As far as he was concerned, he'd seen nothing but fools, no matter their colour, tonight. But Philippe seems genuine and he has the bonus distraction of an incubator to fuss over, so Aenieso considers him a net win in terms of conversation.

"You may call me Aenieso Landwerlen, of Nidus Novalux. I have read extensively of Pern and its many... ah... adventures." That its denizens carved their homes from rock like beasts and lived in constant fear of deadly rain, for example. Aenieso was having trouble matching that to the idea of genetic manipulation and high technology represented by the eggs on display.

"And so how does one hatch a firelizard egg? Are they like the rest of your ilk?" Now he is putting on a show of being snide; there are plenty of dragons at the Nidus of Pernese stock. In fact, 'Pernan' has become a common term for the descendants of such, one that Aenieso had had no luck in cultivating back to 'Pernese' despite loud objections to mutating language. "Can we expect to have a sub-genius mind latching onto ours for the rest of their sotted lives?"

But oh, if he'd been around his compatriots, Aeni's rudeness would be kicked in the shin very pointedly. Alas, he is alone, left to run rampant over Philippe's good cheer like a Scrooge on Christmas Eve.