A Very Rosales Christmas Party

Live was under dressed to say the least. Well, at least so it would seem. Her sweater actually hid a beautiful shadow silk top that she had been working on and finally finished just a few days ago. She wasn't showing it off yet though because she was still really sober and a sober Live was a self-concious person. It would take a couple drinks before she lost the sweater and showed off her real party outfit.

Live raised her glass back at the smokey man and took a good gulp while it finished off its drink in one go. It was rather impressive and quite fascinating as light seemed to burst within.

She eyed the creature for a moment, taking another swig from her bottle. Part of her wanted to question the being on what exactly it was but part of her also felt that might be a bit rude..so instead she made a pun.

"I have to say, you are smoking tonight."

Oh, bad pun. Really bad pun. She also realized that her words could come across as her hitting on the smoke man. Meh, wouldn't be the worst thing to happen.

@Vapor von Rauch

Fatima Danvers-

Fatima shuddered as she walked in the door. This was definitely a party, bigger than any she had ever gone to, and overcharged with hunger and lust without even counting the one who was hosting it. Said greed demon was completely overwhelming the poor horseman's hunger sense, which was already heightened by the party atmosphere. And she was also starving and buffeted by her overactive teenage hormones. Two steps into the room and she was already beginning to feel like this might have been a very bad idea. Then again, here she was free to indulge her urges, at least in part, and how could Famine resist a free buffet?

First things first though, she had to leave her present. Fatima didn't have much of anything, other than clothes she had brought with her. Since the practical disbanding of the cult and her parents' death, she was mostly living off of school money until she could find a job. Any extra money she might've had had pretty much been spent on food or bribing people to get her cigarettes and alcohol. Her dress was the nicest one she owned, long-sleeved green velvet, and she didn't even have any makeup or jewellery. She felt really silly as she placed the neatly wrapped bundle that contained a packet of cigarettes and two candy canes on the table that contained presents for Klaus. She blushed at the inadequacy of giving such little things to a guy who seemed to have everything, but she couldn't afford more and wanted to give him something. She had never really had her own birthday celebrated and the man seemed really nice.

That done, stomach growling and still blushing a little, Fatima headed to the buffet table. At first, she just stared at it with hunger-bright eyes. Then she got herself a small plate of candies and carrot sticks and grabbed a soft drink. She could always feast later, and these were things she could munch on while talking to people, without looking like a complete pig. The sugar and caffeine should help keep a little hunger at bay too, and give her something to occupy her mouth when her other cravings got too unmanageable.

Next, the girl looked around for Mr Rosales, not that it was particularly hard to find the guy who was burning like a beacon in her mind. She glanced up at the balcony and automatically started to walk toward it, then paused unsure if she'd even be allowed up there. She wasn't a well-known person or anything. She noticed that Shay was up there too, and waved uncertainly.

@Tom Marvolo Riddle
@Foxy

Eek-

Eek froze the instant he entered the party. The bright light hurt his eyes, until they adjusted, and it was just loud, chaotic, and altogether scary. For a moment the baby-fae just stood there, eyes wide and clutching his tail for dear life. Out of habit, he started looking for a tree to climb, even though he was inside. Of course, he didn't find one.

So the little boy timidly trekked across the very large, very open space, ready to jump out of his skin at the slightest provocation. Eek was suddenly very uncertain as to why the other "child mafia" members and he had decided to come to this party anyways. Their reasons seemed to diminish as he crossed the room to the gift table. He had been told that presents were expected at parties, so he had borrowed some crayons and paper from Arjean to make a card. Eek was barely literate thanks to his rough upbringing, so the card just said "HAPY!" in large, roughly formed letters. It was also decorated with stars and lopsided polka dots, some with legs, which were the only thing the baby-fae really knew how to draw. Taped inside the card were two shiny-looking beetles and a pretty stone Eek had found, which to his 4-year-old mind seemed to be very good gifts.

After dropping of the present, Eek made his way over to the buffet. He was still feeling intimidated and clinging to his tail for comfort, but the huge tables of food were less scary than all the people. There was so much fruit too, even some he had never had before. The boy got a plate and piled as much different fruit on it as his little arms could hold. He did like bugs, but he could get those anytime; he had never had fruit in the middle of the winter before!

@The Keen
@Phoebe

Theo Cooper

Theo practically tumbled through the party. Everyone was so tall! He couldn't see a whole lot past the sea of legs he was all but drowning in. The room the party was held in was quite large, but there were so many people there!

Explaining to his mother why he had to go to a 'grown up' party would be too hard, so Theo decided to tell a little fib. He had said he was going to Eek's birthday party, the far he had met in the park. While her mother worried for him, she at least let him go, equipped with a card addressed to Eek and a plastic toy truck wrapped in childish paper. He had managed to scribble out Eek's name and write Klaus, but he spelt it wrong and it looked like 'KlaWS.'

Climbing on somebody tall's shoulders, he took a look around the room. Ooh! There was a gift table! He jumped down and ran to it, placing his gift and card there. After all, who didn't want a toy truck?

But now, Theo was back amongst the legs. He had to find something else to climb. The gifts! He nimbly scaled the stack of gifts on the table to look around the room. The playground caught his eye instantly. He wanted to go there. But Junchi said that wasn't what they were there for.

But then he saw Eek near the food. He had to go and say hi, and then maybe they could go to the playground. Jumping off the present stack without ruining any of the gifts, Theo made his way over to Eek. "Hello Eek!" He said. Glancing down at the plate he clutched, his eyes widened and he said, "That a lot of fruit."

He looked around for Arjean and Junchi, before asking, "Umm... Why we here?" He thought it was just to have a party but Arjean and Junchi were more serious about the club than he was. Maybe Eek would understand that he didn't know what they were doing half the time.

@The Keen
@BoopDeBoop

Arjean Afolabi-Soie

Arjean gripped tightly onto Junchi's arms as they tried their hardest to seem invisible among the crowd of adults. So many colors. So many lights. Too many sounds. Way too many sounds. They felt dizzy and sick, and nearly brought Junchi down onto the floor until he grabbed onto their arm and forced them to stand up. Already Arjean was making a fool of themself, as well as Junchi. How shameful.

They tried to act more mature and released Junchi from their grip. Ignoring the bruises they left on his arm that he didn't even seem to care about (or notice), they covered their ears to dim the noise as they followed Junchi's lead. He would figure out where the others were... if they were already here. Did they take so long that the underlings were faster than the leaders? Some called it fashionably late, their grandy called it annoying. If they were here Junchi would know what to do since he had better control over his senses than them, but that didn't seem to stop him from also looking a bit dizzy and nauseous.

Arjean nearly crossed their fingers to prevent him from ruining their presents by falling down. Despite what they've heard of Klaus they both brought something for the Rosales, though Arjean didn't try too hard with their present. Junchi lied himself a present by having his dad, Mr. Anrong, grow a bunch of colorful flowers and keep them everlasting to be used in an eternal bouquet. All Arjean tried to give was a doll with leftovers from their mommies when they working. It was shaped like a little human boy with buttons for eyes, stitches for a mouth, pink cheeks, pale skin, and black hair. Along with that were some outfits prepared for the boy, three to be exact. One was a pretty white dress, the other was a black tuxedo, and the last was a casual outfit with a white t-shirt, black jacket, and black pants. It wasn't as good as what their maman could make, and it looked a bit unstable, but they were always told it was the thought that mattered... unless money was involved, then in that case you had to always please your customer. Since Arjean assumed Klaus would have many people giving him presents, they decided to give their present to the kids. They even made a tag on their doll with a note saying "For Kids" so people would know. Junchi made sure they didn't put their names anywhere on their presents though.

It didn't take Junchi long to point out Eek and Theo getting fruit, and at the sign of so many presents and food Arjean instantly felt better. The smell of food and the sight of familiar faces distracted them from the loud sounds and crowded area... sort of. At the very least it comforted them. Still, they followed Junchi and allowed him to lead them to the group. Despite Arjean being the one to offer the gifts, they were still the Second-in-Command, and that meant they stayed in second while Junchi led.

When they reached the group Arjean gave an anxious wave, but made sure their greeting was cheerful. Junchi, like always, gave a more casual but confident greeting. He had a small speech prepared with, of course, his Second-in-Command to help him out. "Hey, we here cause of, uh, Klaus. Y'know, the leader. Arjean told me so." He looked back at them with a smile, then looked back at the group. "We wanna know more about him." Seems like he forgot some of his lines, but that was basically all they wanted to do. Learn more about Klaus, his family, and what he had. So far Arjean could tell he was rich and had way more than he needed, but then again, their own family was rich and had more than they needed. Did royalty ever have more than necessary though?

@BoopDeBoop
@Phoebe

Vapor did not miss the pun, not at all, and Live was rewarded with a hearty laugh and a charming smile for her efforts. For all intents and purposes both the laugh and smile seemed to be rather inviting, but either ever seemed to touch its eyes. It was almost as if this thing was merely going through the motions of being human.

"Yes, that is not incorrect!" it said to her, taking a moment to inhale on the cigar and letting the smoke from it meld into its own. "I believe the proper expression is "in more ways then one", no?"

It bowed its head to Live in a form of greeting before it continued on.

"Vapor Von Rauch, smoke monster, general miscreant, sometimes thief though never petty, and on occasion gentleman if the mood suits." It paused to inhale on the cigar again, never exhaling or actually taking a breath. Ever. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

As another drink was placed in front of it, Vapor dug into a pocket and this time pulled out a rather old looking coin and put it on the bar and slid it to the bartender. If someone was paying enough attention two things were obvious; the first that it was indeed practically ancient in modern terms, and the second was that it was made of gold.

Picking up the drink it turned its attention back to Live.

"I am sure you have plenty of questions to ask, so go ahead and ask them. Do not be afraid to hurt my feelings!" It took a sip of the second drink, still getting a similar effect as last time but less grand. "I have no feelings to hurt, so to speak."

@beloved

No feelings to hurt? Live envied that type of existence. Her human one was all too fragile and her mind and heart were easily swayed. Her mostly depleted soul made her appear like she cared less and felt less, but in reality, she felt things all too much.

Live nodded in response to his introduction. "Live, ancient spirit guide, only ever stolen a pair of socks from Hot Topic before, and usually an angsty bitch." She took another swig from her beer.

The girl glanced around the room, her eyes falling upon all the strange and fantastic beasts that filled the area. One might guess that the most terrifying creature in the room was the thing with claws for hands, but Live knew that looks could be deceiving and it was probably the little girl with pink hair on the slide who posed the biggest thread to everyone in the room...

But no one was in danger here, at least for now. Things seemed to just be warming up and Live figured this would be a party to remember. And she planned on remembering it.

"How conscious are you?" Live said her eyes returning to the smoke monster. "I mean, you say you have no feelings.. so I'm just wondering how much feeling you actually have for this world. You're getting drunk...you don't seem to breathe..and you have no feelings...it's an interesting combination to say the least."

She thought about complimenting his aesthetic but decided to save that comment for when she was a bit more intoxicated. She had already made one bad pun.

@Vapor von Rauch

"Charmed" it said as introductions where completed, taking Live's hand and kissing the back of it. It's lips though had no texture to them, as if they were literally formed perfectly in a mold, and were unnaturally warm due to the fire that lived underneath.

It thought about the question for a moment, trying to carefully decide the best way to reply to it. After only a few seconds it just shrugged and decided to just let the words flow for once and see what would happen.

"How conscious am I? Well that really depends on what you mean by that of course! Can I think, rationalize things, even make leaps of deductive reasoning? Why yes, yes I can! Are most of my habits and mannerisms learned and practiced from watching humanity? Also yes, though it is somewhat hard to say where the line is drawn between what is actually me and what is the act I put on sometimes." It took another sip of the drink in hand. "As far as getting drunk that is technically a fallacy as I consume smoke and alcohol as most people would food. It doesn't have to be alcohol of course as any flammable liquid would do, I just find the burn of the cigar smokes and these particular liquids to be the best. Some might even say I find it pleasant, but that is a bit of an overstatement."

The next part was going to be the tricky part, what did it care about this world? Very little actually, but there was enough to keep its interest. How did one say this thought without betraying exactly what type of monster it was?

"What do I care for this world? I keep thinking about that and the answer, no matter how I dress it up, is actually very little. It is a true fact that when I first came about I had almost passed up on it entirely to find something else all together." It thought a moment longer before going on. "It was humanity, more importantly the darker underbelly of it, that drew my attention here. So much to learn from them, from this duality of light and dark. People tend to seek the light but those people are, in a word or two, boring and stuffy. It is those that live in the shadow that truly know what life is worth. It is them that drew my attention, that molded me into what I am today. It is from them I will continue to learn from until I have had my fill."

The way it said this final question sort of left another in its place, what happens when it has learned what it wanted and moves on? Though that is a question even Vapor could not answer right now.

"But look at me, prattling on like this!" It smiled that charming yet empty smile it had before nodding towards her. "What is your story? What brings you to this island of misfits? I am sure it is more then stolen socks and being an 'angsty bitch' as you said?"

@beloved

Live allowed him to take her hand, her cheeks flushing a bit as he pressed his smooth, warm lips to her knuckles. She rubbed her hand slightly as it was returned to her and then took another swig of her drink. She really needed to be drunk for this night.

"Well, it seems that your form is mostly smoke therefore it would make sense if things that help create you bring pleasure. It's fueling your existence after all."

His next words froze her. Her gray eyes stayed locked on him until he finished speaking. After a moment of silence she broke her gaze, her eyes turned towards the bar and her hand bringing her drink to her lips again.

"Strange you should say all that.. I'm..I'm quite a bit more than some stolen socks and an angsty bitch, though most people don't get past that bitch part." She chuckled a bit, and her gaze returned to him, "I kind of like it that way."

"I was born in the States.. Georgia to be exact. Had a wretched and unfortunate mundane existence, until I found out what I really was when I was ten... Until I found out that I am a human gifted with the ability to connect to the Shadow Realm. The ability stems from a genetic line on my fathers side but was activated by my mothers personal demons..quite literally."

She took another swig of her beer, almost halfway finished, "Anyways, finally got out of the real world and onto this island a year and a half ago, coming up on two years here sooner than later. I cannot control my abilities when I lose control of my emotions.. There was one particularly bad instance where I ended up exposing myself to half a dozen humans. The letter to Starlight arrived sooner after and I've been here ever since."

Another swig of beer and then she waved her hand for the bartender.

"Now I get to live in a world where I don't have to hide who I am. It's not half bad." She smirked a bit as the bartender came over. She ordered another drink, rum and coke, before returning her attention to Vapor von Rauch.

@Vapor von Rauch

Eek

Eek smiled at the werewolf boy and waved at him while nomming on all the strange fruit he had found. He liked Theo just because, even with the whole carnivorous predator thing going on, the boy seemed to be another minion like him. Arjean was just a little intimidating; even though they looked like a sheep, (which Eek would never admit that to them now that he knew them, even if he could,) it seemed like they were even more of a wolf in sheep's clothing than Theo. And Junchi was the leader.

When the boy asked why they were here, Eek just shrugged and looked around a bit. In his panic, he had forgotten to look for Arjean and Junchi when he first came in. But he didn't see them, though it was hard to tell with the crowds. He squeaked at Theo and shrugged again. He had no more clue about this than the werewolf did. He was just going along with the more dominant personalities.

Eek waved back at Arjean and Junchi when the other two appeared, and just listened to his leader's speech intently. They had already described what Klaus looked like earlier, so at least he knew what to look for. The baby-fae wasn't exactly sure what more they wanted to learn about this leader guy, but he wasn't going to disappoint his new friends.

The shapeshifter knew he didn't really have anything to add to the group. Even Theo had teeth and claws, and they didn't seem to like bugs much. But when the boy started to look around for their target and saw him standing on a balcony, he knew what he could do to help.

Speaking to the others, he just said, "I'm NOT gonna go spy on him. Watch." Then gathering his courage for another trek across the open space, he made his way to the balcony. Eek had been practising for this, waiting for the time when he could use his one semi-useful ability. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold it for long, but hopefully it'd be long enough to find something out.

Once he made it across the room, Eek half-climbed up onto the railing of the stairs and transformed into his aye-aye form. The little fuzzball clung to the railing for a moment, just to orient himself. He was glad it was nice and warm in here because he always ended up freezing when he tried to do this outside. Once he'd caught his breath, the baby-fae carefully climbed the railing until he was up on the edge of the balcony and clambered across to about a foot away from Klaus. Then he kinda sat there peering at him.

Eek was not trying to be sneaky. He was just kinda hoping he could pretend to be just an innocent lemur strolling along the balcony, and that people would ignore him and say something interesting. It never occurred to the 4-year-old that an actual aye-aye probably wouldn't behave that way.

@Phoebe
@The Keen
@Tom Marvolo Riddle