View source for 1941/ECFH Community Barbecue

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2016/09/16
|Location=Earth Court Frat House
|Synopsis=Some people stop by the ECFH and have some grilled food.
|Cast of Characters=78,23,62,160,157,38,109,141,127,182,179,171,184,172,77,56,134,63,181,64,132
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Considering how rainy it's been recently, it's practically a miracle that the afternoon is clear. It's sunny, white clouds scuttering across a blue sky while the warm sunlight beams down, but blessedly cool- fall is rolling in, and while it's not quite 'chilly' yet, here fifty stories above the streets, there's a brisk breeze that gives the air a pleasant crispness.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The roof of the luxury apartment building atop which the ECFH sits is, as many rooftops in Tokyo are, a garden. Small trees, flowers, ferns, and other plants dwell in potters and recesses in the roof, beneath beds of gravel or mulch, and wound through with concrete paths. Large open areas exist between the plants (as the garden takes up the entire rooftop, and it's not small), and while some of these are flat concrete, others have actually been planted with sod to create a faux lawn.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The rooftop always holds a table with a colorful umbrella and several wrought-iron chairs, but today it contains much more than that. Honestly, it looks like the denizens of the apartment below raided a garden supply store, such is the profusion of plastic, wood, and iron chairs in a variety of descriptions, from lounge chairs to folding beach chairs to wooden deck chairs. A variety of tables are scattered about as well.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course, the main attraction is the no-less than three gas grills which are set up at one edge of this largest open area. They are already giving off heat, and the coolers near to them must contain the cookables. Other coolers arranged nearby, probably have drinks. There's a metal bucket full of ice with soda and stuff sticking out of it too.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's even, on one table, a selection of tiny mascot/chara-sized furniture.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko, for her part, is leaning over the railing at the edge of the roof, looking down at the dizzying drop to the street below. Like most magical peoples, she has no fear of heights at all. She's got an open can of something in one of her hands- closer examination would reveal it to be extremely cheap conbenie beer. Sure, Mamoru can afford better (and no doubt there is better to be had in the coolers just a few feet away), but she has built up a.. taste for the stuff. Of a sort.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The wind whips her long ponytail around behind her head as she breathes in deep, smelling the fresh late-summer air mingled with the scent of cooking gas and hot grills. Yum. She turns around, scanning the as-yet-empty rooftop, and takes a sip of her drink.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She really hopes somebody with an ounce of grilling skill shows up soon.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If there's a party at Mamoru's place then there's no way Homura Akemi isn't going to come. The time traveller doesn't really feel like making a big announcement of her entrance, so one moment she is simply... here. Contrary to what she thinks, this might actually startle someone.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She's sitting on a chair, purple eyes examining the setup. A part of her, secretly, wishes that Madoka could be here. Well, maybe that's not a secret. Is it a secret if it goes without saying?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She's also got a beer in her hand. It's been a long while since she's had a drink, and even longer since she's felt like she needed one. She's drinking it slow, never having built up an actual tolerance to alcohol, glancing over to the redheaded Puella against the railing.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Nice day," is her attempt to initiate smalltalk.

:'''{{#var:62|Tadase Hotori| (62)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tadase Hotori caught wind of the little meetup, and - for once - managed to clear away his schedule of Guardian duties and not have to seal an X-Egg away long enough to get away and have some fun and meet his friends.<br /><br />Ever polite, though, he's not just vaulting up the side of the building - he's knocking softly at the door after having been let up by the doorman. Kiseki... well... less so.<br /><br />"Tadase, just walk in. You're a King. You don't need to ask permission." the little Chara comments, arms folded. He doesn't like waiting. He also knows there's food somewhere around, and fun. And he's, secretly, excited to see Mamoru and his 'extended family' and see how they're getting on. But that just escapes as general petulance.<br /><br />Tadase puts a finger to his lips. "Sure, but this is a... foreign court, would be a good way to put it. Politeness has a place, even for a King." he says, and reaches over and gives Kiseki a single-finger noogie, which causes the little King's crown to fall, and a madcap attempt by the small floating chara to grab it. Tadase tries, and fails, not to laugh as they wait at the door...

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima comes up behind Tadase. Lacrima, wearing what would be 'Norie's' usual clothes. Floral blouse, with the skirt, though her hair is long and purple, and she is pale, and just slightly toothier in the canines.<br /><br />She has, in her hands, a tray. On this tray, sit twenty four jiggling Jell-O molds that seem to have fruit in them, are topped with something like cool-whip- and then also a cherry on top.<br /><br />They do not particularly look expertly made. Like someone didn't know how to set Jell-o right in a mold, but they are not god awful.<br /><br />They are also not jiggling of thier own accord and have no traces of dark and/or negative energy. There will be no Jell-O youma, today- even if there's /always/ room for it.<br /><br />She looks between Tadase, and the Chara, as she says nothing about this, usual deadpan expression on her face. She does speak.<br /><br />"Hello." she says, flatly.<br /><br />Pause.<br /><br />"This is the correct address. Right?" she asks.

:'''{{#var:157|Ariel Theodore| (157)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ariel has no grilling skill sorry.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Actually it's questionable if the girl even eats meat.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Buuuut here she is. Shortly on the heels of several other arrivals comes a certain and potentially familiar gigantic hound. See, Ariel has learned, that as long as she has Lucky wear his saddle with 'Service Dog' plastered on it he can go anywhere, and that means even on luxury apartment building rooftops. Also through lobbies without being stopped.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lucky has become completely untouchable. Immortal. Nigh even godlike. He revels in the new found power... By yawning massively and appearing as lazy and laid back as usual, for the elevator ride up.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As per usual, Ariel is right by- though not mounted upon her noble steed, she DOES have him on a leash, peeking out onto the roof. Left. Right.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She's here for severalfold reasons:<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She somewhat knows Mamoru.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She somewhat knows Kunzite<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There is free food.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She sort of vaguely met Kyouko before passing out in the park.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Profit(?)<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It would seem free food summons unicorns.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>And it's a good thing there are still people around downstairs (and not back downstairs yet, since NO ONE believes the party's going to stay on the roof) to answer the door. There's a muffled yell from behind it somewhere, a little distant, and another (more irritated) one in response to it, and then the door opens--<br /><br />--and it's Mamoru, actually, not even out of his school uniform yet, tie bunched up in one hand. "Hi!" he says, brightening when he sees Tadase and Kiseki and Lacrima. "Holy sh-- wow, did you make those? They look really good! Come in, come in. I'm not sure who's here yet."<br /><br />He backs away from the door -- he's himself barefoot, but one of the house additions for the party is a whole big stack of guest slippers to one side of the entrance marked as 'use this one'. "I'll be up myself in a couple of minutes, but the closest route to the roof's that way," he says, pointing to a door standing open, showing a staircase beyond with daylight on the steps, and the large moving shadow of a giant dog's tail.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko blinks her eyes as suddenly, Homura. Of course, she knows enough of the other Puella's tricks to not be surprised by this, in an absolute sense, but that doesn't mean she isn't slightly startled. She conceals any slight jump that may or may not have occured by pretending it was part of the motion of (rather abruptly) lifting her beer for another sip.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That done with, she inclines her head towards Homura in what might pass for a greeting between equals. "Homura. It is, ain't it?" Her tone is neutral, her expression the same- carefully so. She and Homura are not blood-enemies anymore, but she ''promised'' Mamoru she wouldn't start any fights inside the apartment so she's taking no chances.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She glances over to see a unicorn and a huge dog peeking onto the roof. She vaugely recognizes them from the park, wherein Naru seemed to know them, so she waves casually.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>(Not eating meat shall be no exception. Portobello mushrooms exist, for instance, and one of the coolers includes among other things prepped kebabs that involve no meat. Though, granted, only some of them involve no cheese.)<br /><br />The entrants at the door, to the extent that they've been here previously, may or may not note that breakables and easily-ruined items have been removed from the public areas. (Okay, Tadase is more likely to. Lacrima only got a glimpse through a broken balcony door.)<br /><br />Kazuo appears behind Mamoru for a moment, at a distance, long enough to survey Tadase and Kiseki and Lacrima and bow his head politely, then disappear again; he reemerges from the kitchen a moment later with a sizable tray of cookies, which he treats with the same neutral-to-grim silence and lack of expression he does most things, carrying them up to the rooftop and their doom. Homura and Ariel and Lucky get the treatment that the others did -- silent regard, then silent nod.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If Kyouko doesn't want to fight, that's perfectly fine with Homura. She didn't come here for that, and it's mostly by coincidence that the redhead was the first person she met here, since others seem to be milling about several stories down.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If she notices that she startled the other Puella, she doesn't show it. She does, however, raise her beer in greeting before taking a sip. It's a casual sign of respect in the very least.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Congratulations, on finding a new family. I know Madoka-chan said as much already, but I never got a chance to say it in person."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kazuo, when her eyes meet his, gets a respectful nod.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima looks between Tadase and Mamoru and Kazuo and nods a bit. "I..made them?" she asks. "My... brother... used to make these. For small events." she says quietly. She regards Kazuo with a short nod, back, and some sort of look back as she walks past Tadase and into the room. Then up the stairs as pointed out by Mamoru.<br /><br />She finds a nearby location to put her Jell-O molds. When put down. They stop jiggling. Yup. Not secretly youma.<br /><br />She looks back up and around as she clasps her hands together in front of her.<br /><br />Oh, there is Kyouko Sakura. Then there's that black haired girl next to her as she purses her lips, a bit in thought.<br /><br />She looks over to the cookies. That probably look much better than her Jell-o molds.<br /><br />She finds a chair and sits down in it for a moment. Apparently to compose herself.

:'''{{#var:62|Tadase Hotori| (62)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tadase nods at Lacrima. "If you're here for the barbecue, it is. If you're not... KISEKI NO." he has to cut himself off and grab the tiny King's cape, pulling him away from Lacrima's jello. He stuffs the little King in his shirt pocket. Kiseki glowers, but doesn't say anything, only adjusting his crown.<br /><br />It's then that Tadase remembers that not everyone can see his friend, and he starts to stammer out some sort of an excuse before he is mercifully saved by the door opening.<br /><br />Tadase brightens too, though Kiseki doesn't stop glowering. "Mamoru-sempai." he says, though he manages not to go overboard or hug him or anything. Yet. "It's good to see you." he adds with a slight bow.<br /><br />He nods and walks up to the rooftop. All Kiseki manages to say is 'so now he's trying to steal the idea of the royal garden, too?' at the rooftop garden, which gets him thumped in the side of the head by a Tadase finger. Then Tadase is smiles and... maybe some sparkles, too ... as he walks up. "Oh. So many people I've wanted to meet and talk to. And food? This is great." He looks at Lucky with a warm smile, though he knows not to pet service dogs. Tadase pulls Kiseki out of his pocket, and plops him down at the Kiseki-sized table. Kiseki gets some sort of stern admonition to keep out of trouble, likely, but... well, it's Kiseki.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko quirks a brow at Homura's congratulations, perhaps wondering how sincere she is- but then again, Madoka certainly had seemed sincere, and even Kyouko now thinks of the two as more-or-less a unit, so. She settles on 'probably sincere'. She seems to believe it enough to flash a slightly lopsided smile.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Yeah.. funny how stuff works out, ain't it? Thanks."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She then glances over to see Lacrima appear on the rooftop, and her smile slips into a faintly pensive frown. Her interactions with that particular girl have not been particularly friendly, even by Kyouko standards. Still.. no fighting. She takes a deep breath and pushes away from the railing, crossing the rooftop just as Kazuo comes up from downstairs.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Nii-chan, lemme help." She demands, though no help is required, taking the tray from him (managing to balance it along with her open beer) and carrying it to one of the tables, thus saving him walking all of five feet and making her feel like a useful member of the household. Mighty task accomplished, she turns and grins. "Remind me who's on cooking duty again?"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tadase gets a glance, and is vaugely recognized, but not enough to greet beyond a polite nod until someone introduces her.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"That's a dangerous question, Kyouko. The question might be you." Kazuo actually smiles at Kyouko, teeth as white as his hair; fortunately only one of the two is actually possessed of fangs, but there's a definite kinship in that expression for a moment. "I'll be over in a minute or two," he adds, before turning away to pace to another table.<br /><br />It happens to be Lacrima's. He doesn't draw out a chair, but he leans on the one opposite her, bringing himself a little closer to her level. "You haven't visited before," he says to her more quietly. "Have you been filled in on the rules of the house?"

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima is keeping to herself. And not starting problems. Or not trying to. There's a lot of people she doesn't like here, or people she doesn't know, or at best, people she feels neutral about. Wasn't Jiaying supposed to be here? Where is she!<br /><br />Nrg, maybe she just came too early. Yeah. That's it.<br /><br />Kazuo comes over, who gets a respectful nod as he sits down.<br /><br />"I was under the impression a friend of mine was coming too. I think. She is just late." she says.<br /><br />A pause.<br /><br />"I have not been. But. Common sense, dictates, 'Don't start anything'." as the main sticking point. Is that correct?" she asks.<br /><br />"Of course. I'd still need to hear them. Obviously." she says.<br /><br />"I can assure you that my Jell-o Molds are just jello." she insists.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Homura's precise level of sincerity is hard to gauge when she wears that stonecold face of hers all the time, but the fact remains that she doesn't give enough of a crap about Kyouko's opinion to lie about it. It might be true that she's more happy for Mamoru than she is for Kyouko, but that's to be expected considering her history with the other Puella: often hostile but never lethally so, and often with good reasons on either side.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The idea that Madoka and Homura are more-or-less a unit is something Homura might actually be pleased to hear, and she would be completely unable to argue against it.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"It is," says Homura, taking a sip of her beer and not having much else to say on the matter. "Though honestly it was a long time coming. I can't really see how anyone didn't see it from a mile away."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko wanders off, and Homura is left alone with her beer. Purple eyes scan the rooftop for someone else to harass.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"The assurance is appreciated," Kazuo answers Lacrima. "And yes. 'No fighting unless it's horseplay' is one of the two important ones; there are several elaborations, but they boil down to that. 'Leave factions at the door' is the other. As long as you're not starting anything, no-one else should be either. If anyone gives you trouble for being here, come find one of us to sort it out. I know you've met me and Mamoru, at the least."<br /><br />He pauses for a moment, not quite yet starting to straighten up from his lean against the chair. "Do you have any questions, for now?"

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko glances back at Homura as the other girl comments that anyone 'should have seen it coming'. She isn't quite sure what to make of that. For some reason it makes her flush slightly. She busies herself with the tray of cookies in order to do her best to hide that fact.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When Kazuo tells her that ''she'' might be responsible for cooking, her eyes widen slightly. "I can't cook! Just ask Momo! Or Mako-chan!" True, she had tried to 'help' Makoto in the kitchen downstairs once. This had essentially resulted in her being a glorified hander-of-things (often after they were explicitly pointed to).<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Even so, protest lodged, as Kazuo goes to talk to Lacrima, she wanders over towards where the three grills sit, already fired up, ripples of heat winding skyward from their closed lids. She peers at them for a moment.. then bends and opens one of the coolers. There's kebabs in there.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She pulls a few out and looks at them. Then she starts putting them on the grill. Except when they come out of the cooler, most of them have 6 food-items impaled on the sticks. When they hit the grill, that number ranges between 3 and 5, depending on the skewer.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Who says you need to ''cook'' high-quality steak, anyway?

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Norie gets a cheerful double thumbs up as she explains the jello sho-- cups, and Tadase... Mamoru oddly looks about an inch away from giving the King a hug, himself. But he laughs, instead, and throws his tie through a doorway and earns a HEY for it, then steps back again to let them pass. He vanishes into another room entirely from the one Kunzite went in and out.<br /><br />...true to his word, Mamoru comes up the steps a minute or two later, and he's carrying a small plush doll that looks suspiciously like Kyouko in a cape in one hand, and a grocery bag in the other. He's not in his uniform anymore, but a pair of cargo shorts, flip-flops, a light blue t-shirt that loudly proclaims '''*You'r''', and a loose and loud yellow and red Hawaiian shirt he probably borrowed from Nephrite. He's also wearing glasses that gradually darken to sunglasses once he hits the sunlight, and he's grinning.<br /><br />Quick stock of everyone up there, noting who's by who and who's doing what, and he beelines for Homura. "Homerun-chan!" he glees. "I didn't get a chance to thank you for my birthday present, really, and ugh the Kyouko one is SO CUTE! I think I thanked Madoka but I'll thank her again just in case--" he glees, then yoinks her into a one-armed hug before letting go and placing the Apatite plushie in place of pride to guard the dessert table.<br /><br />The bag apparently contains the other five dolls, which he places guarding other tables with an astonishing lack of care for henshin implications, and a black apron with a loud white '''*Thier''' on the chest, which he plunks down next to one of the grills.<br /><br />The one, incidentally, that Kyouko is surveying along with the cooler of kebabs, then starting to deal with. "I don't think Kazuo thought that through," he says, eyeing the raw steak in Kyouko's mouth critically. "I can cook if you bring me beers on occasion."

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>It might have been a good thing for someone to be watching the upstairs door much like they had for the downstairs door. The voices and music and such from inside the apartment means that when Kukai Souma reaches it, he looks at it for a moment, considering. There's probably somebody nearby the door, but it's louder than usual inside, and he didn't want to just tap the door anyway. And he was pretty sure he'd seen someone coming up behind him, too. <br /><br /> Daichi buried himself in Kukai's hair and covered his ears as Kukai raises one hand. Three loud strikes on the door - WHAM, WHAM, WHAM - echo through the apartment and merge with the sound wall, even though they don't move the door even an inch. Kukai can't help but wince a bit - it was a bit loud even for him, but hey, he's made his presence known. There is Someone At The Door.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima softly blinks once at Kazuo. "I don't really horseplay." she says quietly. "Factions at the door. Okay. I suppose I will have to leave my recruitment pamphlets in my pocket then." she says. Clearly a deadpan joke, as she is wearing a skirt and doesn't have pockets on them.<br /><br />She looks over to the grills and back to Kazuo. "I'm used to grilling, over a campfire. I don't know if it's the same. But it seems to be in hand, now regardless." she says.<br /><br />Her eyes glance over to Kiskei and back to Tadase and Kyouko with a soft glance before looking back at Kazou.<br /><br />"I think I don't have any questions right now." she says softly.<br /><br />Then her eyes are immediatly drawn to the bright glare of Mamoru in a haiwan shirt.<br /><br />Then her eyes tilt towards the sound of a banging. It's not her place to go answer the door. So she doesn't.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Seriously? Do you not have ''anyone'' grilling?" asks Homura, sounding a bit more hostile than she probably intends, though really her mood is more along the lines of 'incredulous'. She stands out of her chair, walking towards the grills to rectify the situation, seeing Kyouko already starting them. She glances to Kazuo, asks, "I guess Kino-san isn't here? Well, it doesn't matter. Meat isn't that hard to--"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her journey to the grill is interrupted by Mamoru coming up and giving her a hug. For once that scowl fades away. "Mamo-kun!" She reaches around him for a hug, pulling away as he does. "Well, I don't like to do things half-ass." She glances down to the Kyouko plushie. "Yeah, you didn't get a chance because I snuck in. Sorry I couldn't stay to chat. I get so busy sometimes." She ''is'' a CEO after all, in addition to being a magical girl, and other obligations take up her time, some more pleasant than others.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So, now there are two cooks. Of course, there are also three grills. Homura sticks out her tongue, reaching into the cooler and retrieving kebabs, slabs of beef, and some fish. "Like I was saying, it's not hard. You just have to pay attention to the color."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She glances at Mamoru sheepishly after having said that. "I um... have been helping Madoka-chan's dad cook. Sometimes." She clears her throat and starts looking over the meat on the grill that she has apparently claimed. Turning it as necessary. With her hands. With no concern for the heat. Like a freaky lich girl.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko looks up to find Mamoru peering at her, mouth full of half-chewed raw meat. Behold the mighty Apatite, Knight of Sincerity and Respect, cheeks bulking and a suddenly guilty look crossing her face. A few hurried chews and a swallow before she back away a step. "Mmf ah, um.. oh! Sure thing, Mamoru! You're probably better at it than me anyway.." This almost certainly goes without saying.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She starts to turn and nearly runs into Homura, which makes her scowl. Then she spots the Apatite plushie on the dessert table, which makes her face goes absolutely crimson. "Mamoru!" She hisses turning and punchimg him (horseplay is allowed) in the ribs. "Why'd you bring that up here!" It's not that she doesn't like it, it's just that.. well.. she doesn't want ''everybody'' to see her looking all chibi and cute and huggable! Her reputation!

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>There is already plenty of people and food and general chaos by the time Naru and Alexis arrive together and Naru has no qualms about playing door person, even if she's only just arriving herself.<br /><br />"Kukai! Feels like its been ages since I've seen you." She grins in delight at the athlete. "Have you met Alexis?" She gestures to the german boy who she's got by the hand, lest he flee.<br /><br />Door open for the moment, Naru waits there a little while to be able to catch stragglers and then just uses a slipper to pin the door open. "There. That makes it easier."

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"It's okay, I mean, there's also school and everything -- I've been kind of drowned in homework myself, even more than usual," Mamoru tells Homura -- it makes sense, he's a senior this year, and knowing him, he's probably doing advanced placement stuff for preemptive college credits. This as he's looking over his shoulder while Kyouko's starting to look guilty, which means there is no way he sees that ribs-punch coming. There is a definite 'oof' and a wounded look he wings back at Kyouko.<br /><br />"Hey, all for one and one for all. I brought them all up! We all get to have no dignity together," he declares with a noticeable level of petulance. "And just for that, you're definitely cooking. Someone else can get the third grill, I'm going to ~mingle~."<br /><br />He's stepping forward, and 'mingle' gets Kyouko a very brief headlock and noogie. He drapes the black apron over the handle of the middle grill. "I trust both of you grills with this solemn responsibility," he tells the two Puellae, then rapidly exits stage left before either of them can punch him for that one. Beer. He's getting himself a beer.

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>And the german boy in question is, in fact, latched on to NAru by the hand. He doesn't seem to be particularly ashamed of that fact, but he *does* in general seem to be more or less left akward by being in an unfamiliar place surrounded by more or less unfamiliar people. Which might seem a little odd with the kind of image he poses-- covered up in a brown leather jacket, one hand stuck into it's pocket, and his posture lowered into the distinct delinquent-slouch.<br /><br />It's being gestured to by Naru herself in introduction to Kukai that brings him speaking, at least -- even if it jst by way of his hand leaving his pocket to lift up in something resembling a wave with a mumble of "...hello."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Recruitment pamphlets. Kazuo's mouth twitches at the corner, but what he says aloud is, "Not quite the same as a campfire, but close. We'll see. At worst, I'll intercept anything potentially a problem, there." If Kyouko doesn't just eat it herself, first. He inclines his head toward Lacrima again, ahd then moves to replace Mamoru's Horrifying Shirt at the cluster at the grills. Not directly, of course.<br /><br />Definitely not directly. He picks up the Tuxedo Mask puppet on the way.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Yeah we've got all sorts of things going on don't we?" says Homura. Her eyes glance sideways at him, and she smiles. "Still, it's good to see you when I can."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The fact that Mamoru is putting his plushies on display is a bit flattering to Homura, since that gift came from herself and Madoka. If nothing else it means that the gift was appreciated. She does, however, notice Kyouko's objections. She tries, really really hard, not to smirk. She succeeds, for the most part, but her lips twitch into slight a curl when she thinks that no one's watching.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she fails at that, because Mamoru's response gets a laugh out of her. He takes his leave with a pun, and Homura's shaking her head. Her tone is almost professional as she delivers, "Oh we'll get right to the meat of it."

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko, as usual, finds herself putting her foot in her mouth, although this time it comes accompanied with headlocks and noogies. "Mmfgfg gerrof!" She protests, batting at Mamoru semi-ineffectually until he lets her go, red hair looking dishevelled. Then a moment of panic. "H-hey, wait, you're not seriously gonna make me cook are you? I don't know what I'm doing! The doll can stay, I was just kiddin', honest!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her protests, however, fall upon deaf Prince as he is going to ''mingle''. After a moment of staring at his retreating back, she turns and looks at the grill. Then she sighs, reaching out for another kebab, and idly chewing an onion off the end of it. "This is all your fault." She asides to Homura, standing at the grill next to her.

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kukai grins at Naru as she comes up behind him. "Hey, Naru! Think they heard me beating on the... door?" He eyes the key she has, then ooohs as she just opens, then jams the door. "Awesome." He shifts over, giving her a one armed hug around the shoulders. "It has been ages! Far too long." He looks over at Alexis, then huhs. "Hello! No, I haven't met him before. I'm Kukai Souma!" He gives Alexis a thumbs-up and his trademarked Jack's Grin, that wide, spirit-lifting smile that's so common on his face. "C'mon, let's go get some food." <br /><br /> Kukai follows the two of them up onto the roof, looking around. "Raiders have arrived! We were told there was meat here, but I don't smell any grills cooking! What's going on?" He sees most of the people out near the edge around the grills and moves that way. "Heeeeey, people! How it is!"

:'''{{#var:179|Nagina Hasane| (179)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Nagina Hasane , dressed in a slightly large white shirt, black skirt that went to her knees and sandals seemed to have dumped sunhat somewhere along the line, though still wearing the anklet as well as the Ouroboros looking bracelet that had a small white ribbon by the neck, matching the one that, whilst earlier in the day having kept her hair in a ponytail, now adorned a hairclip. This was the place she got told about in the text. Google maps helped guide her, but was this really it? Such a large building! So luxurious! ... <br /> <br /> True, it was not entirely out her element, yet it was still above her family's paygrade. She scouts about for Jia at ground floor, the only person around she /knew/, both that she was around as well as that she simply knew her. She took a few steps towards the front door.. Then felt her heart pound, turns around. She tries again... Takes a deep breath, attempts to go in, yet turns around just about automatically as if her mind went 'Nooooope nope nope nope nope.' Wandering back to the sidewalk. One last attempt... And as if an invisible force guided her, she turned about and moved to walk home

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko accuses Homura, and Homura only stands there with a bright grin which, in her defense, is completely from amusement and not at all vengeful. What just happened in front of her was adorable, and the only reason she's trying so hard not to laugh is the fact that she's ''very'' aware of Kyouko's pride.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"You don't have to stay," says Homura. "Still, learning how to cook seems like it'd be worth your time. Maybe you're okay with eating junk food all the time, but is Momo-chan?"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Homura takes a sip of her beer. "But that's none of my business."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The lich might not need proper utensils, but she is going to need plates, so she reaches past Kyouko to retrieve a stack of paper plates and sets them down. She also moves around to find buns for burgers and hotdogs, placing them on plates and putting the appropriate meat on them when they're finished. The plates are pushed far enough aside that they're reachable by anyone who wants to get them.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"See, this is how the meat should look. The brownish-grey color means that the meat is cooked out of it. That's if you're making it well done. If you want it rare, or ''blue'' like you're eating it, then it can have a bit more red than that. Just don't ever cook ground beef or hot dogs rare. That's only for meat that's been solid since it came off of the animal."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether or not Kyouko wants to hear the lecture, Homura is giving it to her.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima stands up and walks over to the grills to see how meat is cooking. She can smell it. She doesn't 'need' to eat, but eating is one the few 'human things' she can still do so she does it often. She'll wait patiently over by Homura as she cooks, head tilting a bit, noticing that she just using her hands to flip the meat.<br /><br />She head tilts a little as she looks back to Kukai. She gently walks over to him.<br /><br />"Hello, Kukai." she says flatly.<br /><br />"Did you see Jiaying-chan on the way in?" she asks curiously, head tilting at him.

:'''{{#var:171|Jiaying Maki| (171)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Jiaying Maki was running late, late late late and she even sent a friend ahead of herself. Norie wasn't home when she got there, so she grabs her stack of trays, just a handful since she honestly didn't know how many would be there of dumplings and then rather than going the normal route, just decided to forgo all subtlety and jump from rooftop to rooftop in full view. No one would believe a green haired fox girl was using rooftops as a hop scotch board anyway. That said, she doesn't remember the rooftop particularly and hops back down to the ground with the help of her ghosts, looking like she's coming down the side of a building on a ghostly mist. <br /> <br /> Landing right in front of Nagina, she doesn't say a word and instead grabs her around the shoulders with her free hand and spins her back towards the door. "Come on." she eventually says, leading the way up to knock on the door, waiting patiently. "You'll do fine" she says to Nagina, "Just relax, have fun. Steal all the food you can and get to know them."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Eat all of one, Kyouko, not pieces off of five." This is not exactly a reproof, no. As much encouragement as anything. Kazuo's expression remains its usual lack-thereof for the most part, but, well, the Tuxedo Kamen puppet nods its head in silent agreement at Kyouko, then makes a tiny bow toward Homura. Then it's set aside, out of likely flame or spatter range, to supervise the grills.<br /><br />"Besides, When did not knowing what you were doing ever stop you before? We learn by practice." A separate cooler is opened, and Kazuo lays skewers out on the third grill. There is a unicorn lurking, and while Lucky eats meat, she might not. And Homura has taken up the teaching of practice, which is perhaps a good thing; it'd be slightly harder for him to explain how to tell when meat is done. Mostly because he cheats.<br /><br />Kukai and Naru and Alexis get a glance their way at Kukai's call, and the usual ritual nod.

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>A quick hug in return for Kukai and Naru grins brightly, following the myriad of people who are generally up on the roof already. She leans in to murmur something quietly to Alexis, following it up with a quick kiss on the cheek.<br /><br />Naru heads over to find herself a drink, soda rather than beer and can't help but laugh as she looks around at all the delightful assortment of people. Naru settles near to the grills, to watch who all is there, and keep an eye on the food. "I am impressed at how many people are here." She comments to Kazuo and Kyouko and Homura, being the ones currently manning the grills. "Diverse group too. Very cool."

:'''{{#var:179|Nagina Hasane| (179)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Nagina Hasane squeaked at the sudden appearance! Her already fast beating heart seemed to miss a few when someone suddenly appears so close! Gods, she must be in a weaker condition than Kuraken at this stage. "Hard to relax when ghosty mcghosterfoxes suddenly appears so close before me!" She protested, yet did not struggle as she was led about, yet when before the opened door that was knocked on, likely waiting for a doorkeeper to respond, she poked her head indoors, looked around a moment, then looked towards Jia, asking "Sooo.. What floor did you say it was on?" Her voice somewhat quiet, likely still recovering from the minor heart attack. "... ... .... Are those dumplings?" Taking but a moment to observe the rules poster if one was downstairs, of course!

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Homura takes a look at Lacrima, turns back to the grill, and suddenly looks at Lacrima again. She just didn't notice the vampire girl before, so distracted by other partygoers. After a moment she decides that it doesn't matter, because if Hannah can hang out here there's no reason why Lacrima can't, as far as Homura knows.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She gestures to the arrangement of already finished kebabs, burgers and hotdogs and says, "Take your pick. Be careful, it's still hot. Condiments are..." Homura glances around. "... I actually don't know where they are." Well, maybe someone else can point them out.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Tuxedo Kamen doll is smiled at, and when it's put down Homura reaches forward to fingerpet the top hat. "He has a point you know," she points out to Kyouko. "Besides, if you get food poisoning you can just heal yourself anyways." That... may actually not be reassuring to anyone else. On the other hand, Mamoru exists.

:'''{{#var:184|Seth Locke| (184)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Arriving (and looking like a fish out of water), is a young man dressed in a casual fashion for the season, who looks around at the place, wondering how he got pulled into this by a girl he had just met - Jiaying Maki -, who he has yet to see and serve as an anchor for the awkward moment in his mind is just building up when people just ask him 'who are you and what are you doing here?'.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He clears his throat to himself, sighs, and looks at the set of rules. Some good thirty seconds pass of him staring at the thing, and he then just goes 'HUH!!?'.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Seriously!?", he mutters to himself, "...What do they expect here? A gang war?"

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The fact that Alex continues to hold on to Naru's hand once they're inside still might suggest that he's using her as some form of safety blanket, really. Or something of the sort. He remains quiet more or less while they make way through teh apartment, though whatever she whispers to him and the followign cheek-kiss prompt a brief flush of red and a mutter of, "...I think I saw two already, in the rules. So..." He flashes his teeth briefly at the redhead, but silences himself back into idle akwardness when they approach the grills, and she takes to talking to... people.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I ''do'' have to stay." Kyouko says, somewhat haughtily and with traces of facetious humor, to Homura. "That was a direct order from my Prince, you know." Complete with headlock and noogie. One does not disobey such an order. Then she scowls again, her expression so mercurial, almost as if in direct contrast with Homura's general stoicness. "Momo-chan is ''fine'' eating junk-food all the time!" She retorts, completely missing the point of the jibe, "And besides, conbenie bentos are very healthy, I'll have you know. Only 14 grams of sodium, and we have a special today on the tako!" Oops, a little bit of the sales-girl snuck in there, Kyouko. Working too much, are we?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then Homura starts to lecture her. Kyouko-scowl intensified. "I know how meat should look." She snaps, as she grabs burgers and stuff and puts them onto the grill in front of her, singing the tip of her finger. "Ow." The burn heals in moments, though. Being undead does have its advantages. Still, despite her scowls at being lectures by Homura, she doesn't actually stop and might be, maybe, filing away what she's being told.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then Kazuo is there, reminding her that perhaps if she wants to continue to improve herself, she should endeavor to broaden her skillset. A faintly sulky look crosses her face, but she begins setting out the various foodstuffs on the grill a little more carefully. "Alright, alright nii-chan, I'm doin' it. I'm gonna grill these meats so goddamned well that you could purify a Soul Gem with 'em you just wait and see."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then there's Naru! And also Alex! Kyouko's mercurial expression shifts once again to a smile as she beams at them. "Hey, guys! So you did decide to bring your dude." She winks at Alex. "Dun worry kid, we got rules here, y'know, nobody's in any danger." This is sort of a bizarre thing to say to someone at a barbecue, it's true.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>At the ground floor, the concierge -- it's easy to find him, he's at the big desk opposite the row of doors instead of somewhere in the mini-mall stretching in both directions -- is well aware of the party on the roof. Nonetheless, he's always pleased to see people he's seen before, or who are actually on the list for the top floor apartments as 'can visit anytime', the latter of which includes Jiaying. He goes over to key the elevator for the top floor. "I understand," he says with no small amount of amusement, "that the correct door is currently labeled 'use this one'."<br /><br />It's a fairly quick ride to the forty-seventh floor, and the door ''is'' labeled, but it's also been propped open with a slipper. The apartment rules are posted clearly next to it, just inside, and a pile of guest slippers is still fairly pile-ish; there are signs leading the way to the staircase to the roof, and the sound of people having a party floats down those stairs.<br /><br />----<br /><br />Meanwhile, Mamoru comes up behind Naru and Alex, waves to Kukai with a grin, then slings his arms around the shoulders of Naru and Her Dude. "Hi! I'm Mamoru Chiba, this is my and my roommates' place, you must be the fabled boyfriend. Welcome. Stuff your face. Have fun."<br /><br />Then he's off again, elusive and ridiculously visible in his loud (borrowed) Hawaiian shirt.<br /><br />A minute later, music starts, not overpowering but definitely audible. It's a random assortment of various reasonably inoffensive popular dance music.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima looks over to Alexis from Kukai and Naru. Ah. She gets up and walks over to them in a slow step pattern. "Hello, Naru-chan." she says softly at Naru, then she looks over to Alexis. "I've seen you've taken at least parts of my advice then, Alexis-kun. That's good." she says deadpan as ever.<br /><br />A pause.<br /><br />"Right, I don't.. think there's dangers here? I can assure you that my jello-o molds are not actually monsters." she insists.<br /><br />She seems pretty adamant on repeating this fact. Also. To Alexis.<br /><br />Speaking of food, she finally grabs a plate and puts a few of the 'minus two pieces' kebabs on them. She doesn't seem particularly upset or sad about missing kebab pieces.<br /><br />"Thank you." she says flatly to Kyouko. Then she puts one of her jell-o molds on the plate.<br /><br />She'll find a seat. And begin eating in a casual slow manner.

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>It takes a moment for Kukai to get the grin back on his face and nod to Norie. "Hello Norie. I'm doing fine, how are you? And no - Jiaying's coming? All right, cool. That'll be good." He grins and nods back to Kazuo - it's the equivalent of a ten minute conversation, comparitively - before looking back at Norie for a moment. "... Did you wash your hands before you started?" <br /><br /> He decides it's probably not worth worrying about, and looks around. There's Homura and Kyouko - they get a wave and a grin and why is Kyouko holding a piece of raw steak. Frigging zombie, good grief. Of course, Homura's flipping the meat with her hands too. Kukai considers the joy of a teriyaki bowl from a stand down the street, but then figures not eating at the barbeque would be bad manners. Besides, steak. He's hungry. <br /><br /> This is enough of a distraction to keep him from seeing Naru smooch Alexis on the cheek, but hey, there's Mamoru. Might as well say hello to him. "Hey, Mamoru! How're you doing? This looks like a good party. I heard Tadase was supposed to be here but I don't see him. He'll wander around when the meat starts smelling good, though."

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Homura notices Naru showing up, and offers her a smile. "Hello! Help yourself." It's then that she notices Alexis and regards him with a sort of 'huh?' expression. A glance down at their held hands betrays the nature of her confusion, but a moment later she's offering them both a bright smile.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Naru-san! I see you found a dance partner." Yup, that's how she chooses to say it.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko's insistence that she stays earns a short chuckle. "Oh, of course. You have to be a good vassal." Her defense of Momo's junk food eating is noted with a shrug, but when Kyouko starts to talk about conbenie bentos Homura gives her a slightly wide-eyed look.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I um... would have to take your word on it." Homura is not a fan of conbenie food, apparently. She's a spoiled rich girl, though people who have stayed in her house might be able to point out her hypocrisy on the junk food front.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She picks back up on her lecture after Kyouko's insistence. She either doesn't believe Kyouko or is trying to troll her further, since they're in an environment where fighting is forbidden. "Another way you can tell if it's done is by smell. When it starts smelling delicious, you can be sure that it's almost done. Aside from that, you just need to flip it over sometimes so that it cooks all the way through."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>... one thing nobody needs is Grief Burgers. Kazuo does not say this, because last time people made jokes about grief anything and food, Sailor Moon attacked a Wraith with a noodle cart. "That table, or they should be," Kazuo notes aloud to Homura instead about her musing on condiments. There's a brief wave of his hand in the appropriate direction. Not far from the soda. Therefore not far from Naru and Alex.<br /><br />-- oh, yes. Introductions. Alex and Kyouko have met. Naru and Homura have met. That leaves a pair out. "Homura, I believe the Fabled Boyfriend is named Alexis." ... oh god more than Mamoru is doing that. "I don't know his family name. Alexis, this is Homura Akemi. Who should be using utensils even if they're not strictly necessary; the pair of you are starting to unnerve some of the guests."<br /><br />Kazuo actually sounds ''outright amused'' about that. And he ''smiled'' earlier. Mind-control or replaced with clone?

:'''{{#var:184|Seth Locke| (184)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Seth Locke continues entering the place, changed into slippers. He looks around, what he's doing here still a question lingering in his mind. He sees the food, the drinks, but he's reluctant to touch anything - was he actually invited, after all?<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fortunately, he happens to hear the name 'Jiaying' from someone, so he approaches that person - Kukai. "Jiaying... Maki?", he says reluctantly. "Do you know if she's around?"

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>r&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I don't have to be anything." Kyouko snootily replies to Homura. "I ''choose'' to be, because of like, all the stuff. Y'know. Feelings and things." And that's all that needs to be said about that. Homura then tells her that food smells delicious when it's finished. Kyouko looks at the raw burger in her hand. "But it smells delicious ''now''." She points out. This is perhaps not the best method for Kyouko to use.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kazuo then tells them to use utensils. Kyouko looks mildly startled, glancing over at Homura as if not even having noticed that the two of them were doing the same thing (handling sizzling hot meat with bare fingers without flinching). "Oh.. oh right. Eh heh." Well look, the heat would have sanitized them, anyway.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She does, however, concede to picking up a pair of tongs from the side of the grill and using them to manuver things forthwith.

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Oh geez. People are actually coming along to speak things to *him* specifically. Alex did not expect this much.<br /><br />Lacrima, she gets a sheepish look from him, and a murmur of, "...I *guess* I know what you were talking about." Which, you know, you'd probably expect, since he's all holding Naru's hand and getting cheekpecks now and all that.<br /><br />Homura and Kazuo? The two of them get vaguely bemused looks from him, what with his particular title assignment. "...Fabled? I mea--" He begins, but then SUDDENLY ARM AROUND HIM. He tenses up briefly and snaps his head to the side to peer at Mamoru from what he might consider to be dangerously close, with widened eyes. "........Uh. Hi."

:'''{{#var:171|Jiaying Maki| (171)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Jiaying Maki calls out to Mamo, "Thanks!" and guides Nagina over to the elevator, still with an arm around her shoulders, pushes the button with her elbow and only lets go when the doors close. Since it's harder to escape back to the street at that point. She hefts up the cloth bag and says, "Pork dumplings. I decided not to go too weird even if chicken feet really are kind of tasty. One of them should have boiled eggs. I had to put them in at random so I wouldn't eat them on the way here." And she was already eating before coming too. <br /> <br /> When they get to the correct floor, she watches for Nagina to try and bolt again as she leads the way to the door. One may notice she's barefoot at this point. Which isn't surprising for anyone htat has seen the fox before. Sticking her head in through the doorway, she calls out, "Hiii" and waves before stepping in just past the doorway. "Brought a friend along." before trying to make sure Nagina follows her in even if she has to pull her in!

:'''{{#var:172|Momo Sakura| (172)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Momo yawns wide and long as she and Dog step out of the elevator.<br /><br />A turn and a spin, and she's climbing the stairs to the roof.<br /><br />Work's rough! Fun but rough! And she'd be face first in a pillow, but food!<br /><br />On the roof, she trots over to Kyouko and leans against her, giving the dramatic flair of preteen goodness. "So tiiiiired! Woe me, woe!"<br /><br />Dog, on the other hand, gives a lick to Naru and a woof to Kunzite.<br /><br />But like with cats, Dog can sense when people are more inclined to the feline persuasion than canine.<br /><br />So of course, he plops his furry butt on Mamoru's foot. And looks up at him with large Dog eyes. "Woof."

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Utensils are for people who give a damn," says Homura, right before she gets a mental image of Madoka's dad balking at her in horror. "... on second thought maybe a spatula wouldn't kill me." Well that depends on how one uses the spatula. Despite saying so, she still picks up a hamburger patty and flips it over. Her hands are actually pretty clean, despite no one having seen her wash them.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To Alexis, Homura nods respectfully. "Pleased to meet you. You two make a cute couple."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To Kyouko, she continues to smirk. "Have to be, choose to be, whatever." At the moment she hears that raw meat smells delicious, Homura stares wide-eyed at her. If Kyouko was attempting to counter-troll, she succeeded. "Well I mean, but it has a ''distinct'' smell. Like..." Homura picks up a cooked hot dog and holds it before Kyouko, "... like this!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she notices that she's ''still doing it'' and puts the hotdog down on a bun. Then she reaches over to find her own tongs, because as much as Homura secretly likes to disturb people with her inhumanity the joke can only go on for so long.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Momo Sakura shows up, and Homura regards the girl not too far away from her with a smile. "Hey, Momo-chan. Long time no see."

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Before Homura can put the hotdog in a bun, Kyouko leans forward another inch and chompsit in half. Then she leans back, chewing. "Mmmnff. You're right, it does smell different." That'll teach you to hold food within a foot radius of Kyouko's mouth.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then Momo is there, and she puts an arm around her lil' sis, grinning. "Hey, kid. Eat some meat. I cooked it myself!" Depending on experience, this may or may not make Momo flee in terror.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Homura glances at the half-eaten hotdog. Stares at it, really. This is not a lesson she should be learning now. This is a lesson she should have learned a long time ago, and she feels silly for forgetting.

:'''{{#var:179|Nagina Hasane| (179)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Nagina Hasane watched the concierge look at Jia, the girl herself looking to Jia. Then the concierge. Then Jia. Then the concierge again.. Ending up giving a respectful bow to the keyholder! Following the guidance of the two, to the elevator, getting guided up. During the ride, she parted her lips, about to ask just what would be too weird, only to get her answer rather quickly. She wondered just how much a fox could eat, yet dared not question things too deeply. And yes, her flight instinct was still ringing! <br /> <br /> Once arriving at the upper floor, gods, she got vertigo just by looking at the floor numbers, she wandered with Jia to the door, brought her heels up to her rear as to unclip her sandals, placing them by the aforementioned slippers.. Then up the stairs to the roof, only glancing at aforementioned video games, glancing out the window.. Surely if she leapt and transformed she could make it.. But vertigo beats social anxiety, going up further, giving a little wave when she appeared to be mentioned, then a little, quiet 'Hi..' And a glance around as if wondering what to do next

:'''{{#var:172|Momo Sakura| (172)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Momo gives Homura a sleepy wave. "Hi, Homu-chan!"<br /><br />Does this mean she and her sister are getting along? Happy happy! Oh yay!<br /><br />And then her head jerks back and away from Kyouko, eyes wide with something akin to abject horror. She looks around and doesn't ''see'' anyone keeled over dead.<br /><br />She looks over to Homura and tries to be as discrete as possible with her whispering. "Is it edible?"

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kukai perks up for a moment as the other new person approaches him. "Uh. Jiaying is... apparently supposed to be coming." Right on cue, there's a familiar voice coming from the entrance and he turns, pointing. "Yeah, there she is. Aah.. Hi. I'm Kukai, Kukai Souma. I'm not sure I know you... you are?" He offers a hand to Seth. <br /><br /> He looks over at the Dog wuff and grins. "Hey Momo! And Dog." At least for the moment, things seem to be pretty peaceful.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Homura hears Momo's question, glances over Kyouko's grill, reaches for a kebab that is missing a few pieces but has been otherwise ignored for long enough to be cooked, and hands it to Momo. "This one is."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Yes, Kazuo ''does'' give Dog the same grave nod that he's been giving everyone else when he catches sight of them. This is probably not cause-and-effect-related to the dog's sudden intrusion on Mamoru's personal space. "Try not to fall into anything on fire," he advises Momo by way of greeting. "And nothing that's being set out is either unsafe or charred through." The vegetable skewers are taken off the fire, added to a plate, set out by way of demonstration. A safe distance from Kyouko, for reasons Homura has just demonstrated.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Thankfully, Mamoru's not up in Alex's personal space for long. Unsurprisingly, he smells a bit like beer.<br /><br />After putting the music on, Mamoru grins back at Kukai. "Doing pretty well. School's being particularly demanding, so I'm mostly not doing much else, but you know how it goes."<br /><br />"HI EVERYONE GETTING HERE," he yells, waving an arm wildly, "THERE'S TOO MANY OF YOU TO KEEP TRACK OF SO CONSIDER YOURSELVES GREETED." His hawaiian shirt is ''still'' louder than he is.<br /><br />All of a sudden there's a dog on his foot, and he looks down, a little put out. "Why are you on my foot? There's meat over there," he insists, pointing at the grills, the Puellae, and Kazuo, and the clutch of people gathered in that area. "Shoo."<br /><br />To help encourage Dog to do just that, he extricates his foot and goes off to find another beer.

:'''{{#var:184|Seth Locke| (184)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Seth Locke", the young man speaking to Kukai replies. "I got suckered into coming over, I'd say, so I guess you could say I'm a 'plus one'... Without the person of interest." He greets Mamoru with a small 'hey' - really about on the mute side. He looks at the arriving Jia and Nagina, and offers them a wave.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's at this point that his phone rings. Speaking to the phone, he nods, says a couple of things... And he starts to proceed towards the exit.

:'''{{#var:172|Momo Sakura| (172)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Dog's head droops low and he whimpers and whines.<br /><br />Momo heaves a large sigh of relief at everyone's reassurances before she heads for the meat! And she sniffs at it...<br /><br />Just in time to see what happened to Dog!<br /><br />Poor Dog!<br /><br />"Mamo-nii! You hurt Dog's feelings, you Buttmunch!"<br /><br />She gives a small click of her tongue and Dog trots over, tail out as he pants. She shares the meat she's acquired!<br /><br />She looks up at Kunzite with large eyes. "I don't ''always'' set things on fire. Only sometimes!" And then she waves at Kukai! "Hi! How are you! Hi! Did I tell you I found my sister! Hi!"<br /><br />What? Kukai's cute! And he fed her ramen!

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>All the people! Naru waves to all the people greeting her and Alex both, and she doesn't startle even a little when Mamoru leans on the pair of them. The coining of the term 'Fabled boyfriend' only seems to make her laugh and she glances sidelong to Alexis as he gets ambushed a lot.<br /><br />The arrival of Dog is enough to make Naru let Alex's hand go, to be able to crouch down to give the canine a good scritching before she's eschewed for more people. "Hey there, Mirror Buddy." Straightening, Naru makes sure to snag one of Lacrima's jello concoctions, especially due to the lack of monster or evil in them and then offers one to Alex. "Surviving?" She asks of him.

:'''{{#var:171|Jiaying Maki| (171)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Jiaying Maki drags Nagina over and stands her in front of Kukai, Norie, Seth and anyone else congregated there. She hands her bag off to something which carries it over to the food table, though it's not visible until it's let the bag go which reveals a ghostly Chinese peasant girl who fades away again with a laugh. It may have intentionally walked past Alex and Naru because... both of them are childish, Jia and her ghost that is. <br /> <br /> Both hands on Nagina's shoulders, she says over them by standing up on her toes, "This is Nagina Hasane, she's working on something neat and I want to get her some help for it. She also needs to meet a bunch of people so she stops being skittish." Sure she's teasing Nagina just a touch. Pointing to Norie, "This is Norie, I don't think you've met her. That's Souma Kukai." Spinning Nagina, she gestures to Naru and Alex, "That's Osaka Naru and punchy guy." Another spin to the one wearing a clash of colors, "That's Chiba Mamoru, he lives here. The other dour lookings around do too." She whispers quietly, "I'm bad with names though, especially remembering which one to use." Then she points out Kyouko, continuing, "That's Kyouko, doesn't like her last name. Fighty like punchy guy is." <br /> <br /> The foxgirl looks over Nagina's shoulders to Seth and says, "Suckered? You're getting to meet people and free food and you're using suckered?" Then he wanders off getting a shrug from Jia. "Was trying to be nice really." She's trying to remember who else she's forgetting as she stands there. Then there's mention of a dog, which immediately gets Jia on edge, looking around for it, hoping it's one of those small ankle biters. Those are annoying, but not the bitey kind usually. She does suddenly look on edge though.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima eyes light up, just a little, as she looks over. "Jia-chan." she says. "I'm over here. Is that Nagina-san?" she asks, having only met the girl once in a library. She looks back at Alexis and gives a nod. "There is no shame in that. You know." she says, noticing his general demeanor.<br /><br />She looks over to Seth and that he's supposedly here with Jiaying? She hrms, well. He's gone before she can say anything to him.<br /><br />She head tilts at Jiaying and Nagina. "It's free food. And people I don't think I'd normally get to just 'talk' with." she insists.<br /><br />She blinks. "Are you okay, Jiaying?" she asks as she looks around for a dog.<br /><br />She looks toward's Naru as she takes one of her jell-o molds. They're the classic 'lime green'.

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>At least Alex doesn't seem to be too upset over the fact that Naru relinquishes his hand. Both his hands jsut end up into the pockets of his leather jacket in the meantime that she spends in paying attention to the dog.<br /><br />"More or less surviving, yeah," he murmurs to her, a bit quiet for the time being still. "It's not as bad as most crowds. Though, I mean, knowing what I do..." He bites his lip briefly when he sweeps his gaze over the gathering of people around them, and then returns his focus on Naru. "If I forgot last night, I'm wondering how much of... all this, I will end up remembering."

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"''You're'' a buttmunch, I told him where to find meat because apparently your dog has no nose," Mamoru retorts to Momo, cracking open his beer and scowling briefly. He huffs, then takes his beer over to where hand-handled meat has been placed on the tables and gets himself a plate, and also some jello, and also some dumplings. Then he kicks a chair inch by dragging-against-concrete inch over to the middling-height wall keeping the edge safe, and drops himself into it to mingle with protein and various sugars.

:'''{{#var:179|Nagina Hasane| (179)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Nagina Hasane got dragged about into a social situation, oh woes! That said, she could guess what brought the food over before revealing itself. The girl brushed a fingertip over the snake(like) bracelet, as if it were a way of soothing (herself).. She wanted to flee! But the hands on her shoulders acted both as reminders on that there was no escape.. And that she seemed to be some type of shield, just about. At the introduction, she looked at Jia with a pout so intensified she was about to nudge the other! With a hushed little "Jiaaa...!" In protest. Only to end up attempting to memorize the names with faces.. Something she doubts she'd manage. <br /> <br /> Once all was said and done, she gave a rather deep bow, a little 'hajimemashita' and speaking up "You, eh.. Already got to hear my name, and I yours.. I hope we'll get along!" She did not know of any social standings of the others.. So to her? Everyone was neutral at the least, though with a leaning into the direction of friends. Though nervous, she gave a little smile to those she recognized both from more peaceful as well as more hectic times, that was comforting at the least, giving a nod to Lacrima "Ah.. I'm not that hungry, but I think I might go for a drink." She had already spotted some long desired iced tea, pausing a few moments, looking around and attempting to be more social "Can I, uh.. Get anyone anything?" Not minding to go back and forth a touch in fetching things, it helped keep her busy! <br /> <br /> Though mostly a wall flower, through the night she would not shy away from conversation, perhaps even engage if any familiar topics popped up.. Though nothing special! At best? Some contacts might be added to her phone list! Nor would she stay too long, likely leaving before Jia, in which case she'd be sure to let her know she was going and summarize some thoughts of the night.

:'''{{#var:62|Tadase Hotori| (62)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tadase, on the other hand, has stuffed himself into a corner with a phone in his hand. Not his normal phone. That Phone. The one that's white with gold trim and the same logo as Kiseki's egg on the back of it. His Virtue Phone. For just a moment, as he's talking into it, there's a glimpse for anyone observant enough to see it (which is both more and less likely, depending on which party-participant is in question) of a 15-year old boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders, going to great pains to bear it for the sakes of others.<br /><br />And then he closes the phone up and stuffs it somewhat aggressively in his pocket. This is a good occasion. Tadase needs to spend time away from the Garden. Away from Virtue. With friends... even if a vast majority of those friends are also still more Virtue.<br /><br />And then there's Mamoru's shout, and that helps banish the last of those sticky thoughts. And at the edge of his hearing, he hears... Kukai!<br /><br />And Tadase makes his way over to Kukai post-haste. Though there's others here he wants to speak with too, there's the roguish duo to meet up.<br /><br />He comes up right as Kukai is offering his hand to Seth, and then Seth shakes it and leaves. "Did you try to recruit him to one of your teams a little too aggressively? I don't think he even goes to our school, Souma-kun." Tadase says with a smile. He turns that same smile to Momo, as well.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Yes," Kazuo says reasonably down to Momo, "but there are things ''already'' on fire that you shouldn't fall into. Hair doesn't grow back very fast." As if that were the major concern about burns. Because -- well. Puella.<br /><br />He studies Naru and Alexis for a moment, then Nagina as she approaches the drinks. And then he does possibly the most important chore of the moment: he arranges a plate of food, including both Jell-o and cookies as well as meat, and fetches it plus a supply of drinks over to the chara-sized table. This is entirely not bribery to keep Kiseki out of anyone's hair, obviously. It is merely his due. Especially if Daichi decides to join him.

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kukai nods and then waves to Seth as he leaves. "Nice to meet you, then!" He makes a little 'huh' noise before he hears Momo's voice. "Oh! Yeah, I think I heard about that. I'm glad you two are getting along." He eyes Momo and Kyouko for a moment. They are getting along, right? Yeah. OK. <br /><br /> Then there's a flash of white and blonde approaching him, and Kukai grins, reaching over to put an arm around Tadase. "Hey Tadase! I don't try to drag everybody onto a sports team, geez. I need opponents, too!" There's another Jack's Grin. "It's good to see you relaxing with the rest of us for once, though." <br /><br /> Then Jiaying has planted a new girl directly in front of him and Kukai grins. No green flame in his eyes this time - just his normal awesome self. "Hey Jiaying! And.. Nagisa, you said? Hello! I'm Kukai. It's very nice to meet you, Nagisa." He nods to Jiaying. "Friend of yours, huh?" His eyes go over those bracelets Nagisa's playing with, but doesn't put anything to them - just jewelry. "Um, nah. I'll get a drink in a few minutes - I'm gonna wait till I have something to eat before I drink anything. And I better avoid both the sodas and the beers for now." He looks around, then grins, reaching over to pat Nagisa on the shoulder. "It's ok. Everybody here is nice, for the most part. You can relax, I promise. Feel free to talk to people."

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I think that'll depend on how much of the beer you end up getting into." Naru grins to Alexis and then holds up the day-glo green jello mold. "I would not advise mixing this with beer, just for the record. Grab a kabob, or a burger." She catches a glimpse of Tadase on That Phone and she waves over to him, smiling as he comes to join the rest and be social.<br /><br />Naru actually tries the lime green jello, rather than just hold it and she has to think about the flavour combo a moment before giving Lacrima a thumbs up. "Good jello, Lacrima!"<br /><br />Naru reaches over to snag a cookie now that Kazuo has conveniently arranged them, because clearly carbs need a carb chaser.

:'''{{#var:77|Ikuto Tsukiyomi| (77)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Ikuto Tsukiyomi felt a familiar tugging on his collar. Yoru likely had something to say, and knowing the Guardian Character, there would be no denying his curiousity once it had been aroused. With nothing in particular keeping his attention at the moment, Ikuto turned his amused gaze to Yoru. "Mm?"<br /><br />"Ikuto, I smell food, nya! Oh, and it sounds like Tadase and his sporty friend are there, nya!" The Chara hopped about on Ikuto's shoulder, pointing excitedly toward the apartment complex that Ikuto had already begun walking in the direction of.<br /><br />Shrugging, Ikuto began to jump and climb his way up the side of the building, the concept of using the front door abandoned upon seeing a good wall to climb. "Sure, we can drop in on this little gathering. It's been a while since I've seen Tadase, anyway."<br /><br />All that the group gathered on the rooftop might hear at first is faint scraping sounds from below, and the tapping of a cat boy's shoes upon the wall and windowsills as he climbed up, until at last Ikuto vaulted his way over the rooftop railing. He makes a concentrated effort to land just behind Tadase, saying nothing and instead just giving the faintest hint of a smirk.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Dog doesn't escape Homura's notice. She remembers Dog because Dog has Rabies. As Momo feeds her pet, Homura watches with a quiet adoration. She picks up another patty of meat, despite having tongs, and tosses it to Dog. Animals are often easily bribed with food, and Homura wonders if Dog is the same.

:'''{{#var:172|Momo Sakura| (172)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Momo sulks Verily. Hmph! Mamo-nii doesn't like Dog. HMPH! This, of course, is taken personally!<br /><br />(As it is with most pet owners.)<br /><br />She sulks in a corner and and chews on her meat.<br /><br />Dog, of course, has forgotten all about it. Or at least his hurt feelers.<br /><br />He's happy and eating and--<br /><br />Sniff sniff...<br /><br />CAT!<br /><br />Oh boy, oh boy!<br /><br />"Woof, woof!! Arararooo!" He bounds over to where a little cat person is resting on a stranger's shoulder.<br /><br />"Aroooo!"<br /><br />His tail wags as he pants, almost bouncing around.<br /><br />Today he's playing a dangerous game. It's called 'Will Cat Play Or Scratch Me!'<br /><br />It's one of his favorite!

:'''{{#var:171|Jiaying Maki| (171)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Jiaying Maki slowly creeps forward towards the chairs and sits down next to Norie, "I don't like dogs." Before pulling her feet up. Then the foxtail too since it's visible and she's not sure how dogs work. Looking to Kukai after she's sure she's out of reach of the bark and bite, she grins to Kukai, "She's a friend, yes yes, quiet too. She wants to set up a thing, a club house kind of thing." She looks around and adds flatly, "Kind of like this place, but you know, in a warehouse and not a house." Beat, "Also I wanted to get her help warding the place and getting it set up with various things, which will take a while." another beat, "I can't do wards that won't keep me out too by the way, I already thought about that." <br /> <br /> She looks around the room after, waving to familiar faces and calling out greetings, but in general seems content to huddle on her chair for a moment.

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Alex EYES the jello indicated by Naru. "...Why?" He asks, with a suspicious wrinkle of his nose. "Do they explode when they come in contact with alcohol or something? ... Or are they drugged? ... Are you eating jello-drugs, Naru?" ... Funny that that is the second thing that comes to his mind.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko is still grillin', though she scowls at Momo as her sister questions the edibility of her products. "Yes! It's all fine and good food, that is most thoroughly cooked! Using ''utensils''." She brandishes the tongs as if needing to prove something. Maybe she does. Then Momo is getting properly set-up with food by Kazuo, who of course is better at kid-wrangling than she is.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She goes back to manuvering edibles from cooler to grill to plates. Sure are a lot of people here, she muses. That makes her feel pretty good though, since this had at least partially been her idea.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then Dog is making all sorts of noise and bounding around. She frowns, shouting over people's heads. "Momo, tell Dog to behave or he's going back downstairs!" Waving tongs in a threatening manner in the air, with a hot dog in them.

:'''{{#var:56|Nephrite| (56)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Is it possible that Mamoru has upstaged Nephrite on the loudest outfit front? Only because he stole Nephrite's Hawaiian shirt. Sigh. Nephrite appears on the rooftop wearing a Cookie Monster shirt and sunglasses. "Oh we're having a /party/! I thought the roof was being colonized by aliens again. Hey everyone! Hello dog."<br /><br /> He beelines, of course, for the food. Which means lucky Kazuo, Homura, and Kyoko get a Nephrite sidling up beside them. "Hey dad, can you grill me a burger?"

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I.. no?" Naru ers at Alexis and then laughs. "No drugs, just sugar. And to my mind, the flavour combination of lime green jello and beer sounds even /more/ disgusting than just beer alone." She pauses and then adds. "It might seem like a better combination if you like beer. Which I don't."<br /><br />Naru glances over to see Dog wanting to play with ... someone. Who she doesn't know and is lurking behind Tadase. Well, that's worth watching. Naru turns as Nephrite makes an appearance and waves to him. "Hey Nephrite." She comments to Alex. "He also lives here, as a note."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kazuo returns to his and Kyouko's appointed position, only to intersect with Alexis's suspicions of jello-drugs. Pale eyebrows lift, but no, no, Naru's the one handling him, that's not a good place to interfere. Kyouko threatening people with hot dogs, also not a good place to interfere. Fortunately, there's Nephrite. "You shouldn't call Homura 'dad,'" he notes. "She takes time to think out her revenge plans."<br /><br />(This is the less evil of the possible responses. THe more evil involved veggie burgers.)

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima looks over to Alexis. "T-there is nothing wrong with my Jell-o! It most certainly does not contain any drugs!" she insists flusteredly. She looks back to Jiaying and sighs. She leans down on the table as she seems to sort of continue to eat her kebab and jell-o.<br /><br />Her eyes look over to Mamoru a moment. Who is over there alone, eating. She then looks over to Jiaying and then over to Mamoru.<br /><br />She thinks about this a moment, something going through her head, but she just shakes it off.<br /><br />She's finished her food and now that more food is coming off the grill line she's filled up her plate more and returned. This is a more obvious 'a lot' amount and she gets right to eating. This is nothing new for people that know Norie/Lacrima. Usually it's a nervous response.<br /><br />Then beer is brought up. "Is there alcholol here?" she asks.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Homura is in a visibly good mood right now, and has been since people she liked started showing up. Nephrite appears and she turns around to greet him with a smile. She turns back to the meat, placing several patties and hot dogs on their respective buns and picking up a kebab to eat off of. Her grill now mostly empty, she has to walk around to the cooler and pick out more cookables. Nephrite is handed a plate with a burger on it. "This one is fresh."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When she returns, she remembers something, and her face just gets a little bit dour. It seems too much of a happy occasion to bring it up, but she feels she should. Her voice lowers, still loud enough that Kazuo can hear, along with probably Kyouko and Nephrite. "So... I got a visitor the other day."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tongs carry a few pieces of meat to the grill.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"At my house."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Meat sizzles, giving off smoke.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"It was that escaped convict from space. Madison Perry. I don't know how much you people remember about the White Flower that appeared last Halloween, but she was a part of that and the threat it represented. I've been keeping her boss in a prison of my own, and somehow she found out."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Homura's gaze focuses on Kazuo. "If you could spread the word on that, I'd be grateful. I don't think she'll be able to free Hana Shiroi from me, but there's no telling what Madison might do to get to her. There's a number of people here that I care about, that she might use to get to me, so I thought you should know."

:'''{{#var:62|Tadase Hotori| (62)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tadase grins at Kukai. "So maybe he ran because he thought you were gonna challenge him to something." he adds, then shrugs. "Well, Tsukasa threatened to replace me as King's Chair if I didn't get out of said chair and do something else for a while." He's really thrown himself into the Guardian work, both mundane and magical, ever since Amu left.<br /><br />He looks to Jiaying and Nagisa. "Friends of yours, Kukai?" he asks, but before Kukai can answer, Tadase is thrusting out his own hand for a greeting. "Tadase Hotori, Seiyou Academy King's Chair. Please to meet you two." Did he really need to say the whole thing? Of course he did. Titles are for sharing.<br /><br />Tadase doesn't notice Ikuto land behind him. If there's a list of things the catboy is, 'sneaky' and 'good at creeping people out' are both up there on the chart. Kiseki probably would've said something, but the little King is busy inhaling the Chara-sized bites Kazuo brought to him.<br /><br />Still, Tadase can't help but shake the feeling. "Kukai, did something just happen? Feels strange all of a sudden."

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>%R"I don't really like the *taste* of beer," Alex admits with a slow roll of his leather-covered shoulders -- but even when he says that, he doesn't seem to be in any particular hurry to actually take the jello anyway. "And it's so low in alcohol anyway I just... eh. Whatever."<br /><br />WAit. What?<br /><br />Aaaaaaaand then he overhears Norie over there getting flustered over his accusation of drugged jello. He actually stares at her in mild shock for a few seconds at what he probably considers an uncharacteristic outburst from her, and then holds his hands up defensively. "I was just joking! I believe you..."

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"NEPH I liked your shirt so I borrowed it, I hope you don't mind," yells Mamoru from over by the wall after rapidly washing down a mouthful of steak with some of the more expensive cooler beer (as opposed to the conbenie beer, also available). "HI IKUTO!" is also yelled, and then he points, for the benefit of the catboy, directly at the Tuxedo Kamen plushie guarding the grill. "I'm bilocating! Good to see you!"<br /><br />Some people get up and walk around. Some people are obnoxious.

:'''{{#var:172|Momo Sakura| (172)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>MDog, of course, ignores Kyouko. And catches another scent! Fox!<br /><br />He trots over to where the smell is but stops short. He tilts his head in confusion at Jiaying! "Woof?"<br /><br />He sniffs in her direction but yips and takes a jump back.<br /><br />The scent is lying! But it's also not!<br /><br />Dog is very confused!<br /><br />Tail between his legs, he skitters over toward Momo and whines.<br /><br />Momo sighs and pats his head. Then she gets up and trudges over to Kyouko. "I should probably get him home anyway...maybe I can catch a nap before she has anything more." She huffs and waves her arms. "She stopped at a really good spot, Kyou-nee! And then I hadda go to work! I got no sleep!"<br /><br />Which explains why she's cranky.<br /><br />She sniffles and rubs her eyes. "Can you bring me some food?"<br /><br />Whether fooded or not, Kyouko's hugged lots and there may even be a wet shoulder, because Sleep Deprived Eight Year Olds ''cry.'' It's what they do.<br /><br />Kunzite's hugged, Mamo's given a tearful apology for calling him a buttmuch, and if he lets her, she climbs on Nephrite for hugs!<br /><br />Then waves to all, and Dog trots after a sniffling Momo.<br /><br />Jiaying, you are safe from copious amounts of Dog Slobber!

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Escaped convict from space. Somehow, these sentences never quite become something that can be taken in stride. "She and I crossed paths once," Kazuo comments back to Homura, low. "We'll do what we can. I'll follow up with you later." He's short on other comments and questions, here and now; but that doesn't mean he won't catch up when they have a little more spare time. Right now, he needs to keep an eye on too many situations at once. ... not that that isn't usually the case, but they're usually not all real-time in Mamoru's vicinity.<br /><br />While Mamoru is identifying himself as a plushie.<br /><br />Possibly Kazuo's missed tracking some of Mamoru's alcohol intake.

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kukai hmms, then grins at Jiaying. "Aaah, ok. Well, hey, hopefully she'll get things set up. I'm sure somebody here can help her with all of that. I don't know anything about wards." Back to Tadase. "Well, you have been kinda overdoing it. I patrol most nights, but I also try to have some free time once or twice a week, you know? And.. this is Jiaying, and this is her friend Nagisa, whom I don't know directly, but Jiaying is cool, and so I imagine Nagisa is too." He rolls his eyes at that long title thing. He's got a title too, but he's less eager to share it with everyone. <br /><br /> Movement behind Tadase. It's... Well holy ''(CENSORED)''. The look on Kukai's face is probably enough to tell Tadase to look behind himself. "Uh. Yeah. I'd say so. Hello Ikuto, number one on my 'missing catpersons' list."

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko is still slingin' dogs, threats duley delivered. Nephrite appears, and she flashes a toothy smile. "Neph-nii! Mamoru stole your shirt." But he's yelling the same thing at the same time so it loses it's effectiveness as a jibe.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She tilts her head slightly at Homura as she relates the story of her visitor, a slight frown coming to her lips. She is peripherally aware of that whole White Flower mess, but not directly involved. She makes no comment, letting Kazuo answer for himself.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she's yelling across the rooftop at Mamoru. "Hey Mamoru can you send me another beer?!" Perhaps a ploy to get him away from the wall? Well, surely if he's content where he is he can figure out a way to get her a beer without getting up.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then Momo is appearing, and being weepy for no reason, because she's cranky and tired. Kyouko sighs, a little bit of a fond smile touching her lips as she raises a hand and ruffles her kid sister's hair. "Aw, kid, accourse I'll bring you food. The pick of the lot. Go take a nap, okay?" She gives the girl a slight shove in the direction of the stairs.

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima seemed to take offense. Offended is one of the few feelings she can feel, at least. She does purse her lips and her eyes look over to the catboy who's landed on the roof, with the tinier cat. She regards this a moment, as she stands up and decides to walk over to Mamoru. It is a very pointed walk. She doesn't shove anyone out of the way, she does make small side steps around things. She moves to a spot, next to him and she turns back around to the rest of the group. It takes a moment for her to gather her thoughts. So there this few seconds of awkward silence.<br /><br />"When the undead girl, with very little emotional response, and nervous around some people, can find herself talking and, in the middle of the group...." she says.<br /><br />"I can't help but wonder, why the boy, who seems to know everyone ever, is staying over here away from everyone and may aswell have one of those megaphones to address everyone." she says flatly- in a manner that suggests she's trying to comically overblow the situation for levity, but her tone is deadpan and might not be easy to pick up.<br /><br />"...is something wrong?" a pause.<br /><br />"If it is my prescene. I will leave." she insists. "Not that I think it is my fault." she says. "But. It isn't my intention to. Cause any problems."

:'''{{#var:56|Nephrite| (56)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Nephrite grins. "How do you know Homura's not my dad? Have you asked? Anyway I'm talking to Kyouko. You're responsible enough to be Team Dad, right Red?"<br /><br /> And then he is promptly burgered by the very generous Homura. "Wow, quick service! Can I hire you?" He's joking. Probably. As Homura explains the complication of alien convicts, he slathers condiments on his burger. He's sort of paying attention. The space part is interesting, anyway.<br /><br /> And then Mamoru is shouting at him. "You could have asked!" Nephrite shouts back, as if he actually cared. He does not. It would not stop Mamoru anyway.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Homura nods to Kazuo, "Yeah, you know where to find me."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To Nephrite, she snerks. "I have a job already. As a CEO."

:'''{{#var:134|Nadeshiko Fujisaki| (134)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Roof tops look different from above than they do from the ground...<br /><br />But, she's feeling particularly 'lazy' of sorts, so rooftop hopping is a go.<br /><br />Plus, well, she hears landing in a cloud of cherry blossom petals and sparkles is something that's actually ''done'' here more often than not. She's just taking advantage of the status quo.<br /><br />Yamato Maihime snaps her fan closed and hums as she looks around. Rhythm is floating beside her, and he tugs at her sleeve. "Na-chan, is that Ikuto?"<br /><br />She looks over and her eyes narrow.<br /><br />"Yes, it is." Her voice is low and murmured. "Temari, behave. If you do, you may go flirt with Kunzite."<br /><br />Her clothing shimmers and fades from traditional and fancy to skirts and boots. (It's a 'Feel Like A Pretty Girl' kind of day today.)<br /><br />Temari, of course, flutters off to find Kunzite. Rhythm catches sight of the Chara Table and BUDDIES! ZOOM! TACKLEHUG!<br /><br />Nadeshiko stalks up behind Kukai and puts her chin on his shoulder. With some tippy toes.<br /><br />"Interesting party, I take it?"<br /><br />She'll greet the host later.<br /><br />...Has she even ''met'' Mamoru Chiba?

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>There's a pause on Mamoru's part. He gives Kyouko a stinkface, and then hugs the tearful, leaving Momo, then calls to Nephrite again -- as Lacrima's coming over -- "You weren't home yet! Can you get Kyouko a beer? I'm busy sitting down." As if to punctuate, he crams jello in his mouth, then slouches in the chair a little. He blinks as Lacrima actively approaches, and he gives her a bright smile, licking his fingers to rid them of remaining green.<br /><br />Then he looks attentive as she starts talking to him, and startled when she winds up her point. "Oh, no, nothing's wrong, least of all you!" He lowers his voice, "I got in an argument with the girl that just left because I told her dog to get off my foot and she called me a buttmunch, so I decided I should eat something before I did anything else really stupid. And then it was more or less nice and quiet over here, and I'm trying to avoid fleeing the crowd just yet." A beat. He looks sheepish. "I don't really like parties much."<br /><br />OMG there's an arrival with sparkles and sakura petals, and Mamoru brightens slightly--! But... it's not Zoisite, it's some girl he's obviously never met. His attention goes back to Lacrima before he sees her chin Kukai's shoulder.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko rolls her eyes at Nephrite. "Dude, did you see the face Momo-chan made when she found out I was cookin' the food? I can barely take care of myself." This is patently untrue, but isn't delivered with false modesty or to fish for compliments, it's just Kyouko making light of her difficulties, as usual.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She flips a few burgers, then scowls as Mamoru denies her attempts to get him to come back by the grills by delegating. "Who does he think he is, royalty?" She grumbles, as she pokes at a hot dog, then transfers it to the 'done' plate.

:'''{{#var:171|Jiaying Maki| (171)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Jiaying Maki shakes her head and looks at Norie before asking, "Are they giving you a hard time about the jiggly stuff there?" poking at it with a finger, feet still pulled up in her chair, watching around quietly for that dog. She leans back in her chair, offers a light sigh of annoyance and adds, "I have no idea why I invited him, pity probably. And maybe because I wanted to see his brain ooze out of his ears at all the magic, but I'm not sure." Shrug. She's fine hiding for now. Then Norie gets up to confront Mamoru, which gets another sigh from her. She crosses her legs, watching around the room before slowly stepping back onto the floor to sneak over for food, watching all around her every step of the way.

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Naru is more watching and listening than being in the middle of everything. She quirks a glance to Alexis at his opinions on alcohol and then notes. "Generally I just don't drink at all, because it makes me sleepy. Which is sort of the opposite of what makes for fun at parties. I am apparently /really good/ at being boring."<br /><br />The conversation about aliens catches Naru's attention and she looks over to Homura and Kunzite, making a mental note of Questions to be Asked later. When it's not a party and there's not a bazillion other things going on.<br /><br />The sparkle and petal arrival catches Naru's attention and she quirks her head and then smiles, waving towards Nadeshiko. Because of /course/ she knows her. Naru seems to know everyone today, or close to.<br /><br />"Okay, I need more food than sugar." Naru declares, moving over to acquire herself a burger. "Want one, Alex?"

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima head tilts at Mamoru. "Ah." she says softly. "You don't like parties?" she asks. "I used to like. Parties and things like that. Before---- well the... undead... thing." she says. "Then a bunch of bad choices came after and I sort of... started. Keeping away from everyone." she says.<br /><br />"So I can understand it." she says.<br /><br />"So I take it the party wasn't your idea then." she says, still deadpan, but meaning to sound joking. She looks over to Jiaying and then back to Mamoru. "I should.. join my friend again." she says.<br /><br />She turns and moves to walk back toward's Jiaying's table as she waits for her to get back.<br /><br />"Jia-chan. Are you enjoying yourself?" she asks.

:'''{{#var:56|Nephrite| (56)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Nephrite sighs dramatically while he has half a burger stuffed in his mouth. He mercifully finishes chewing before answering Homura. "I should have known you already make more than me. You can operate a grill and you're a time wizard. It's the complete package."<br /><br /> He makes a face at Mamoru's request, but, with his one hand that is not full of burger, flips open one of the coolers and retrieves two beer bottles anyway. He sets one beside Kyouko's station for her to grab when she wants it. "I know, right? He acts like he owns the place." He wonders whether attempting to kidnap Mamoru and stick him closer to the party will end with a Smoking Bomber to the face. Perhaps he'll wait until Mamoru's had more beer first.

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kukai wasn't exactly expecting to see Nadeshiko at the party, but it's always nice to see her around. Still, though, feeling a chin on his shoulder and hearing that voice behind him sends a sudden thrill through Kukai, and he blinks, then grins. For a moment he might just barely have just a slightly longer nose, as he grins at Tadase for a moment. "Tadase, did something just happen? My shoulder feels heavier and strange all of a sudden, and I swear I heard music." <br /><br /> Daichi is over at the Chara table, trying to recover from the ping-ponging Rhythm rocket. Mostly by laughing and hugging him. He'd hug Temari too, if she wasn't over on the other side of the balcony making eyes at Kazuo.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The hawaiian-shirted prince shrugs at Lacrima, smiling. "Crowds of strangers are fine. Crowds of people who know me get a little overwhelming, that's all. And nah, it was Kyouko's idea," he adds with a laugh, "but I told her to go ahead-- it was a great idea. And I love seeing everyone here."<br /><br />Then she's taking her leave, and he gives the vampire girl a quick salute. "Oh tell her to talk to Kyouko about ghosts, okay? The girl with the big red hair at the grill."

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"It's not like I drink that often, honestly," Alex attempts to assure Naru - as unconvincing as that may or may not sound, really - and flashes a briefest sheepish smile down at her. "Just, you know... saying. Beer is kinda *eh*."<br /><br />In the meantime, he follows her gaze along occasionally, to look over the people around them. He's still just a little akward, perhaps, over being in the middle of such a considerable crowd.<br /><br />Until there's offer of burgers anyway. "Yes. Absolutely yes."

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"C'mon, Kyouko is doing pretty well at grilling." Naru reaches for Alexis' hand again, to drag him the not so very far towards getting food. Paper plate handed to him and Naru takes a plate of her own and then she grins to Kyouko. "Thank you, Kyouko, for the inspiration to have a barbeque. And thank you to all three of you." Her attention goes to include Kunzite and Homura in it. "For grilling."

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Wait."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Homura realizes something that she should have noticed earlier. She must have been distracted by the possibility of getting stabbed.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Waaaait."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She peers at Kyouko, narrowing her eyes, regarding her with scrutiny.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Mamoru-kun gave you orders?"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Someone gave you orders and you're actually ''following'' them?"

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko's outlook is improved considerably as Nephrite sets a beer bottle down next to her. She picks it up, and pops the top off with her fang, because that's something she can do and it's good at parties and what is this if not a party? "Thanks, Neph-nii." Taking a swig, she resumes her duties, now grilling what appear to be chicken breasts in some kind of barbecue sauce. These at least she's happy to use the tongs for since they're messy.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She grins at Naru and Alexis. "Well, Homura made some of those too, but I'm pretty sure she sorta knows what she's doing."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then Homura is staring at her, and accusing her of following orders. Her eyes widen slightly, and she glances around, eyes daring to Kunzite and Nephrite, as if seeking assistance. "Uhm.. well.. n-no. Of course not!" She finally snaps back, because disagreeing with Homura is always a valid defense. "I ''chose'' to do what he said because I like him! I'm allowed to do that! That's not the same! Nobody tells me what to do!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she stuffs a hotdog in her mouth, bun and all in one giant mouthful, and chews defensively.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mostly, Kazuo's more immediate attention has been taken up by the Kyouko-Nephrite-Homura exchanges, not to mention keeping half an eye on people being near Mamoru. Mostly.<br /><br />And then there's the experience of being stalked by a graceful flying dancer somewhat smaller than his head. He may, perhaps, be glad that Nephrite had beer-fetching to distract him in that moment.<br /><br />"Hello, Temari." THe Chara, apparently, actually gets greeted ''out loud.'' "May I get you something to --"<br /><br />Pause for explosive Kyouko.<br /><br />"To eat, or to drink?" he continues, post-hotdog-silencing. It is not completely impossible that he's been waiting silently for Homura to catch on to that ''all day.'' "And thank both of you for being here," he adds to Naru and Alexis. This may have involved more challenge to Alexis. It's an excellent question whether or not the boy thinks Kazuo is talking to the air right now.

:'''{{#var:171|Jiaying Maki| (171)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Jiaying Maki looks to Norie and says, "I am! Mostly. Should have brought jerky or something to distract the dog though, wherever it is." She's back at her seat, legs on the chair, curled up and making sure she's hard to reach. She has quite a bit of food herself, though she doesn't feel too bad about it, what with Norie being hollow inside and all. She's enjoying the show so far though.

:'''{{#var:134|Nadeshiko Fujisaki| (134)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>She remembers, just before Kukai speaks, that she ''has'' met Mamoru. Or at least, Nagihiko has.<br /><br />Heh. Good thing he doesn't know who ''Nadeshiko'' is...<br /><br />Awkwarrrrdddd...<br /><br />And then Kukai goes and does...that ''thing.''<br /><br />Her cheeks turn a bright scarlet, and she hides them and her embarrassing grin behind his shoulder, her eyes sparkling at Tadase and Ikuto.<br /><br />"Sweet talker." She may poke his ribs.<br /><br />Temari flutters and finds Kunzite. She floats to a seating position not far from him, hiding her own face behind her fan. There may be giggles at the pause. "Yes, please, Kunzite-sama~."<br /><br />She doesn't know ''what'' she wants to eat or drink.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Homura's scrutinizing stare continues all the way through Kyouko's vehement defense. Her eyes widen. Her gaze softens into something that Kyouko hasn't seen before. It's not sadness, or pity, or anything like that. Nor is it anything resembling affection. It's simply... that she's seeing the other Puella Magi in a new light, and she doesn't know exactly what that light ''is''.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She doesn't say a word. She looks back to her meat and continues grilling it. As the ponders the implications of Kyouko's completely-not-believed defense, and the accusation she was defending herself from, she takes one of her completed burgers and starts to much on it.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hmm. Juicy.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Purple eyes briefly turn towards Kazuo, silently asking something along the lines of, 'Did you know about this?' When they finally turn back to Kyouko, Homura is neither smiling or frowning.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Of course," she decides to play along, if not buy, Kyuoko's excuse. "You take your commitment seriously. He means a lot to you." Despite playing along with an excuse, Homura imagines that nothing she's saying is actually wrong.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko has already turned back to tending to chicken on the grill while she chews the hot dog, and only after swallowing does she cast a glance back at Homura, to find the other Puella staring at her with this weird look. "W-what? Don't look at me like that. It's weird." She grumbles, turning a piece of chicken with her tongs.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When Homura speaks again, Kyouko just shrugs without looking back up from the grill, but her voice is quiet and sincere. "Of ''course'' he does, Homura. Did you really think I would agree to this," a gesture, taking in the ECFH and the little Apatite plushie, "if that wasn't the case? Nobody ''tells'' me what to do, Homura. But I can choose to listen."

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"It was fairly well a given that we'd come, although it feels odd not to be helping more." Naru comments to Kazuo, not helping the moments of odd by giving Temari a little finger waggle of a greeting. She can't help but giggle a little, watching the Chara be so many layers of adorable at Kunzite. So many.<br /><br />Naru turns with her plate of food back to Alexis, having snagged some chicken too while she was at it. "C'mon, lets find some table to sit at."

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Only *sort of*?" Asks Alex of Kyouko before he sends a look to the general direction of Homura. Just *mildly* suspicious, he is, of that one. Hmmmmm.<br /><br />And KAzuo... well. When him and the Naru latched onto his hand come upon KAzuo, the german boy just kind of *stares* at the taller man. STaaaaaaaare. Stare at KAzuo. Stare at the empty space of air. Or what looks like empty air anyway. He gets lost in the process of trying to figure out what exactly is going on there enough that he doesn't really even return back to earth before Naru comes tugging at him. "...Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah..." On the way to the table, he DOES still toss one more look Kazuo's way. JUST IN CASE.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Homura's glance Kazuo's way receives a particularly bland expression, of the 'I am not about to unveil my people's secrets' type -- then again, that might well be Homura's answer right there. "Yes," he says aloud, after Kyouko's words about choosing to listen, and his tone matches that expression precisely. "I'm sure it was entirely coincidence that Mamoru gave her instructions that, if followed, put her near large quantities of meat."<br /><br />His attention is turned, then, to solemnly assembling a plate (read: a saucer) of food for Temari, not to mention a doll-sized cup of soda, it being poor weather for tea. Most of the food is cut down to Chara-appropriate sizes before delivery.<br /><br />... the cookie is not. Whether that is due to observation of Kiseki or to the person Nadeshiko is choosing to momentarily adorn is probably better not asked.<br /><br />God only knows what Alexis makes of Kazuo's handing these things off to Temari, either.

:'''{{#var:77|Ikuto Tsukiyomi| (77)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Ikuto Tsukiyomi stares at Tadase's back a moment longer, as Yoru waves to Kukai, before Ikuto finally speaks. "I know I'm sneaky, but sometimes it feels like you're going out of your way to not notice someone standing right behind you."<br /><br />As Ikuto acknowledges Mamoru's greeting with a nod, Yoru floats over to the plushie, imitating its pose as best he can and looking quite ridiculous in the process. "When did you get your own merchandise, nya? Ikuto, maybe we should get plushies made of us too, nya!"

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Of course," says Homura to Kyouko, tone as casual as if they were talking about the weather. "You've always been that way."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She takes another bite, chewing on it in order to excuse her lack of speaking. She's focused very much on the meat in front of her, not wanting to troll Kyouko's pride ''too'' much. Or maybe this is just something she considers too sacred to mock.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"If it means anything, I get it."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She decides not to elaborate on what exactly it is that she 'gets'.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Mamo-kun's a nice man. It's only fitting he'd have such loyal friends. He's lucky, being on the good side of the Terror of Kazamino."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kazuo's expression tells Homura exactly what she wants to know. It also reminds her that it isn't strictly her business. What he ''says'' does bring a smile back to her face. "Of course! That must be it. He appealed to your animal survival instinct."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Alex's stare goes unnoticed for now.

:'''{{#var:134|Nadeshiko Fujisaki| (134)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Temari makes herself quite at home near Kunzite (and thereby Naru and Alex). She takes the food offered with a very polite 'thank you!' each time, feeling fluttery that it's all in her size!<br /><br />Her eating of the food is as delicate as chomping and chewing with a face that looks like ^u^ can be.<br /><br />Rhythm floats over toward them and tilts his head at Alex. "Hey! I have a question! Can he feel hugs?"<br /><br />To test this theory, Rhythm goes SPLAT! across Alex's face! Yay hugs!<br /><br />(Whether or not it's felt or even effective is unknown! He just likes trying!)

:'''{{#var:160|Lacrima| (160)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lacrima has finished her food and stands up. "Jia-chan. I'll go ahead and head home." she says quietly. "Starting to feel..." she twitches a bit. "Overwhelmed? Overwhelmed." she says. She begins to leave, but not before stopping and turning around. "Thank you. For the food." she says as she turns back and down the stairs she goes to grab shoes and out the door she goes! No problems from her on the way out.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko casts a sharp, sideways glance at Homura. "No." She says, quietly, but the word is sharp, nonetheless. "The Terror of Kazamino is dead. I buried her when I went back home for a visit last weekend. She served her purpose, but I don't need her anymore."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She looks back down at the grill in front of her, adjusts a chicken breast. "Apatite took her place. The ''real'' Apatite. She's who I need to be now. For Mamoru. And for myself."

:'''{{#var:62|Tadase Hotori| (62)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tadase doesn't get to react immediately to Kukai's comments because SUDDENLY FLOWERPETALS AND NADESHIKO. And she's dropping her chin on Kukai's shoulder, and Tadase has a huge smile. "It's good to see you two together outside of the Guardians. We should... probably all get out more often." Tadase says.<br /><br />Kiseki has gorged himself on far more food than should fit in his stomach, and the little King has gone into a food coma for the immediate moment.<br /><br />And then Tadase just about launches out of his shoes, coming down from the jump and spinning on the balls of his feet. "Ikuto?!" he says, first out of shock, and then again, in the tone Ikuto's more familiar with. "Ikuto... what have you been up to? Why are you here?" He keeps his tone calm for Mamoru's sake, but obviously, Ikuto is here, so he must be Up To Something. And then, he asks, a lot less harshly... "...where have you been?"

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Naru blinks a moment as Alexis gives Kazuo that look. Staring really, and she puzzles a moment, and then another moment before realization dawns. She starts to laugh, shaking her head a little as she sits at the table with her food. "Don't.. worry about it Alex." For so many other explinations, she's really not sure how to explain Temari.<br /><br />At least until Rhythm takes it upon himself to launch himself into Alex and Naru just puts her face in her hand as she giggles. "Oh Rhythm.."

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kukai chuckles and then awks, rubbing his ribs where the poke is, turning to look back at Nadeshiko and putting an arm around her midsection. "Hello. How're you doing today, Na-chan?" He grins up at Yoru for a moment, then nods. "He does that from time to time Ikuto. For someone so responsible he's very good at 'pretend it isn't happening and it'll go away.'" He wants to ask the teenager a dozen questions, but for the moment it's a party, and if Ikuto wants some food, well, so does Kukai." <br /><br /> Kukai grins back at Tadase and then scratches the back of his head. "Well most of the time we prefer not to be in the public eye when we're together." He looks over at Nadeshiko sideeye. "But I admit I like making everyone wonder why someone so pretty's hanging around me." There's another grin. <br /><br /> FINALLY there's the response Kukai was waiting for. Tadase and Ikuto are talking. One ear stays on that conversation, then looks over just in time to see Rhythm splatter onto Alex's face. It's everything Kukai can do not to fall over laughing.

:'''{{#var:171|Jiaying Maki| (171)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Jiaying Maki waves to Norie as she leaves and calls out, "See you later!" as she slides from her chair, peering around cautiously. Then there's suddenly flowers and a bunch of craziness happening. She prowls around the outside of the room, stopping by Mamo for a moment to say, "It was fun! I'm going to check on her. You wanted to talk about ghost-y things at some point right? Text me!" She almost darts off, then stops, a few steps before asking, "Do you know someone that can do wards for Nagina? Anything I can do would lock me in or out and that's... kind of awkward." <br /> <br /> She lingers long enough for an answer, then passes over to Kyouko where she says, "Hey! The girl I brought, she's trying to set up a training area and hangout for this kind of group. I'm getting wards set up for her, or trying. It would be a good place to spar too right?" Which is an offer for that practice fire earlier. Finally, while her ghostly friend is sneaking up behind Alex, making spooky sounds and blowing cold air while being only semi-visible, Jia's grabbing a touch more food. <br /> <br /> Stopping by Kukai and friends, she grins and says, "New people I haven't met! Hi! Uh, I need to go here in a moment, but it was nice meeting you. Souma, did you hear that question earlier? I kind of got distracted trying to get Nagina introduced so... wards, things like that and other things to help her out." Finally, on the way by, she grins to Naru and says, "See you later!" while patting Alex on the shoulder at the same time as her ghost pats his other shoulder. All while shooting an impish grin to Naru, because a fox girl with a pet ghost patting a shoulder is funny in her mind. She's easily amused really. Finally, she starts to head for the exit, "I'll get the containers back later!" referring to the food she'd brought while she tries to find a quiet place out of the way to send a few text messages, take a few pictures and in general settle down away from the noise. Sensitive ears and crowds can do a number on someone who was high strung over a phobia!

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"...Don't worry about what?" Alex asks of Naru with a completley puzzled look sent to her -- and he looks just a bit pouty over the fact that, as far as he's concerned, she at least seems to be laughing at him.<br /><br />He lets go of it pretty quickly, at least.<br /><br />Up until she starts laughing again, and he just *squints* at her this time. "...What? What?" Squuuiiint. "...Who's Rhythm?" He turns his head this way, and then thataway, in utter confusion. "...What, where?"

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Homura makes a muted 'hm', almost like a grunt, at Kyouko's explanation. "So that's how it is. That actually makes perfect sense. After all, I'd be lying if I said I was the same person I was a year ago. The past is over, right? There's a bright future ahead and we have to move on to it."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If anyone wants to hold Kyouko's past against her, it apparently isn't Homura. "The real Apatite. I have to admit, there's a certain snap to it."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Temari's thanks are answered with a grave inclination of Kazuo's head. A second marks Kyouko's words, silent. He starts to turn back toward the grills when Rhythm has a question.<br /><br />Kazuo is beginning to dread the sound of those words.<br /><br />He lifts his head just in time to see the splat, and covers half of his face with one hand. almost in time with Naru. "Rhythm," he says. "Haven't we talked about that habit?" (Like that is ever going to do the slightest bit of good?)

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Alex's rapidly turning head eventually does try to find some focus again, when something that very decidedly and obviously *is* there pats him on the shoulder -- Jiaying, that is. He's just about to say something to the girl, too, but someone else pats his other shoulder, and his attention gets diverted there to look at who--<br /><br />There's no one there. Not that *he* can tell, anyway.<br /><br />And now Alex is left staring at empty space in his puzzlement. ".............Whaaaaaaaaaat is going oooooooooooon heeeeeeeeeeeeeere."

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I don't know about 'bright', " Kyouko says, ever cynical, "But what's done is done. There's no use in clinging to the past."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When Homura repeats 'the real Apatite', Kyouko responds with, "Nobody can tell you who you are. Given freely; accepted freely. That's the only way." Those cryptic words are not explained, because Jiaying is approaching.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She turns to regard the girl with an arched brow. "Sure. If your friend gets somethin' like that set up, I could it being a good place to spar." She pauses a second, then adds, "Oh! That's right, Mamoru said I should talk to you. See, we got a bit of a ghost problem downstairs.. apparently that's your specialty?" But then Jiaying is making her exit, so Kyouko just adds, "Drop by later, we can talk about it!" Then she turns back to the grill.

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Welcome to the weird, m'dear." Naru leans over to drop a kiss on Alex's cheek. "Rhythm is a little chara. Same with Temari that Kazuo was talking to. Rhythm isn't very good at personal space." Just because Alex can't see them, doesn't mean Naru isn't explaining. If this helps or not, an excellent question.

:'''{{#var:77|Ikuto Tsukiyomi| (77)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Ikuto Tsukiyomi seems rather pleased with himself for getting such a reaction out of Tadase. "I was just off getting some food. That's what I was doing here too, though I suppose I could try to crush the hopes and dreams of one of these hot dog buns, if that will put your mind at ease.<br /><br />Yoru floats back over. "Just because he's usually causing trouble doesn't mean Ikuto is always causing trouble, nya. We just smelled food and heard you, so we decided to drop in, nya."

:'''{{#var:63|Haruna Kurosawa| (63)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>There's a small flash of seafoam green as Haruna decides 'stairs are for suckers' and she decides to fly up on seagull like wings straight up and land on the edge of the roof somewhere as the 'Cure Gull' henshin flashes away at the same time.<br /><br />Haruna then dramatically falls to her butt and begins to tug her shoes off and places them in the corner near a planter because she probably also intends to leave the same way she came.%ROn her shoulder is her usual seagull companion and mascot, Corvus who appears to be ready to stuff his face, wings rubbing together, he flaps off closer to the grills. "Hi." he says with a wingwave.<br /><br />Haruna then stands to her feet and says, "Hello everybody!" she says. "I'm here! Mostly. I am mostly here!" she says.<br /><br />She then immediatly looks at Naru. Then Alexis. Then gasps, no courtesy to not do that in front of the jilted obviously former boyfriend Kunzite!? Well! She nevers! Scandalous!<br /><br />She slidesssss over into a table where Corvus perched down and rests her elbows on it then her chin.<br /><br />"Wait." she pauses.<br /><br />"Does Alexis know, about the weird stuff Naru? Because this is probably all super confusing to him and I'm not gonna stop Corvuas from talking in a place like this~"<br /><br />"It is really annoying to sometimes have to keep my beak shut in public." Corvus insists.<br /><br />"I have a friend coming, too~" she says. "Um. She's... newish. New. Yeah." a pause and she looks around.<br /><br />"She probably decided to take the stairs. Or. She's hopping up after me." she says.<br /><br />"Either, or."

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I guess it's just..." Homura starts, and then pauses. "It's one thing to hear someone say something. It's one thing to hear a promise. It's another thing entirely to see them backing it up." She gives a pointed glance to Kyouko.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Then again, you've always been the kind of person to back up what you say, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised to see you doing just that."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She offers Kyouko a smirk, and then turns her attention back to the grill. Whatever business exists between Kyouko and Jiaying is not something Homura is going to stick her nose into.

:'''{{#var:134|Nadeshiko Fujisaki| (134)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Her cheeks are still just a touch pink and she wrinkles her nose playfully at Kukai. "I'm doing well, thank you. And yourself?" Her polite tone is masking the fact that her hand is wandering along his spine! How untoward!<br /><br />She relaxes some at Ikuto's assurances and offers him a flirtatious wink while addressing the other two. (How will he react? For Science!)<br /><br />"Give a Tom a safe place to come back to with food, he'll come around eventually. Even if he sometimes bites and claws and hisses."<br /><br />Rhythm sulks off of Alex and looks up at Kunzite with droopy shoulders. "That I shouldn't...but I just wanted to see! You know! For Science!"

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"...A little something named Rhythm," Alex repeats with his continued puzzlement after receiving the cheek-peck. "...That I guess is doing something silly around me, then. And that I can't see."<br /><br />And then suddenly a Haru appears. In very much a manner that he notices immediately, too. He eyes the girl blankly for a moment, and then--<br /><br />"AH! Haru?!" He POINTS accusingly at her. "You too? And you're--" His finger turns to point at Corvus. "The seagull talks?!"<br /><br />So apparently the answer to Haru's question is: Sort of. In a way. But he's damn-well confused about it.<br /><br />"WHAT."

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>And Haruna arrives and Naru turns towards her with a soft laugh and a shake of her head. "Subtle arrival. Welcome! Hi Corvus. I.."<br /><br />She glances to Alexis and then back to Haruna and there's a quiet erm. "There's only so far that explaining gets.. so yes? But I expect this is super confusing /anyhow/." And Alex freaks out nigh on command. "Yeah. Still super confusing."<br /><br />Naru quirks her head at the mention of 'newish' but gestures a bit. "I'm firmly in favour of stairs or elevators.. the whole pack of you who hop around on balconies are /crazy/, I'm just saying."

:'''{{#var:62|Tadase Hotori| (62)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tadase grits his teeth but does not punch Ikuto. He doesn't hug him, either. He just stands and looks at him like he absolutely does not not know how to respond to the semi-belligerent giant troll cat.<br /><br />This is a look Ikuto has earned from Tadase a lot over the years.<br /><br />He does, however, respond to Yoru. "Oh, so you're saying it's just a pretty good bet that you're causing trouble, and it's my fault for noting that in the rare times you're not?" he asks.<br /><br />Then Tadase shrugs. "Look... just... keep yourself out of trouble for a little bit, Ikuto. There's enough chaos going on right now."<br /><br />Kukai gets a frown, but not much more, at his near dead laughter. But there's the faintest hint of a smile just at the edges of his lips. It's hard to be gruff when your friends are having so much fun, and when it's a barbecue on a rooftop garden.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"There are gentler ways to find out if someone reacts to your presence than flinging yourself at their face," Kazuo says to Rhythm, with resigned patience, "and those gentler ways are much less likely to get you reflexively thrown across the roof if they ''can'' see you."<br /><br />Times to have this conversation: three down, three million to go.<br /><br />He lets out a breath, then does the only thing to do at this point. A small plate of cookies is taken to, and set down at, Naru and Alex's table; one is handed off to Rhythm while Alex is distracted elsewhere. "I'm told sugar sometimes helps," he says to Alexis. Or at least it provides enough dopamine in the rist places to fend off some of the trauma, and with fewer troublesome short-term side effects than alcohol.<br /><br />Clearly this is not proper jilted obviously former boyfriend behavior. Shame upon him! ... he'll deal with Corvus in a moment.

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kukai is quite happily pulling Nadeshiko close so her hand is well obscured so it can play all she wants. He doesn't even squirm, much. That wink, though.... Well. Kukai grins at her widely and then hmms. "I didn't know you liked cats, Na-chan." He rubs his chin for a moment, then nods over at the grills. "You know, I haven't eaten y-yet." He coughs. "Are you hungry? I can get you something if you want, or a drink. Give you a minute to distract Tadase and Ikuto from each other." <br /><br /> Daichi goes over and pats Rhythm on the back. "Well every good scientist fails sometimes. Maybe next time?"

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko gives Homura another look. The words the girl says echo something she herself said to Mamoru, and to Naru as well, not terribly long ago. 'It's one thing to know something, and something else entirely to believe it.' That's a hurdle she's had to overcome for herself, so she can't blame other people for needing to tackle it where she is concerned as well. She just shrugs, saying nothing else.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Soon, it appears all that can be grilled is grilled, at least for now. She hasn't been 'relieved of duty', so to speak, but the duty has managed to finish itself. Hanging up the tongs, she wipes her hands on her jeans and picks up her bottle of beer. "Imma go find Mamoru." She tells Homura, before wandering over towards where she last saw the reclusive host sitting.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Operatic heavy metal plays from Homura's pocket. She reaches in to pull out a cell phone. Managing the tongs with one hand and phone in the other, she answers and says, "Hello...?"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"... At the Shingu site? Right. Um. I'll be right there."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She taps the screen, hangs up, and then looks at her grill with a frown. Whatever meat is already cooked, she takes off of the grill, and what's left she leaves.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She turns around, hair swinging out behind her, and says, "Duty calls. I'm out. Thanks for the party."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Apparently Homura's grill is now Kyouko and Kazuo's problem? No actually maybe it's just Kazuo's problem.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She finds Mamoru and gives a parting hug before she's super jumping off the roof of the building and off into the distance.

:'''{{#var:63|Haruna Kurosawa| (63)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Haruna Kurosawa blinks at Naru then at Alexis. "Oh, uh yeah. I'm a Pretty Cure, n' all. So. I just flew up here. Because. You know. Rooftop... friend BBQ." she says curtly. "Also, yeah, Corvus is my friend and talks." she says. "He's my partner n' all." she says.<br /><br />Corvus nods matter of factly. "I talk, but you know. I don't bite." he says. "But if you wanted to ever ask a seagull anything, now's /totally/ the time." he insists flatly.<br /><br />Haruna sort of looks around. "Wait."<br /><br />"No one's manning the grills now." she insists. She tiptoes over.<br /><br />"Just call me um...."<br /><br />"I don't know the name of any famous chefs. So just call me... Chef Haruna." she says.<br /><br />She pauses. "Corvus do I have like. A 'Grillmaster' Precard?" she asks. "Or like a 'Chef'?"<br /><br />Corvus says. "Nope."<br /><br />"Darn. Guess I'll just have to rely on what Hannah's dad showed me..." she says with narrowed eyes. "Ugh... right..." she says as she grabs the tongs. "Gotta work my way up. To the whole pig." she insists.

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"A Pretty *what*." No, Alex's effort in processing things isn't ging any easier right now. He *does* grab one of the cookies brought by Kazuo (thank you Kazuo) and shoves the thing whole into his mouth, chewing through it for what might be entirely longer than necessary while he stares after Haru and Corvus both.<br /><br />"........I mean." He blinks at Corvus. "I don't know about asking *about* something. But, um... I don't suppose you can get other seagulls to not poop on my motorcycle?"<br /><br />Beat.<br /><br />"Oh my god."<br /><br />Alex props his elbows on the table, and leans his head down to bury it into the palms of his hands. "I just seriously asked a seagull to not poop on my bike. A talking seagull."<br /><br />"...Do you guys have any booze?"<br /><br />Poor Alex.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>(At some point while Jiaying was leaving, Mamoru actually gets up and puts his plate and his beer on the table next to where he'd jammed his chair, against the wall. "Yeah actually-- let me walk with you a minute, I need to go inside anyway." He finishes his beer really quick and jams the last piece of his steak in his mouth, then trails after Jia as she makes her other goodbyes. On the way inside, he tells her, "Yeah that was Kyouko, I meant to tell you but my head's been on backwards -- I'll get you her number and whatever... as far as wards go, I never actually asked Neph if he does that this lifetime, but I'll definitely ask...")<br /><br />It's not long before he comes back up the stairs, and when he does, he's got the yukata on, completely unfastened, over the t-shirt and cargos -- apparently he's switched out Nephrite's Hawaiian shirt -- and he goes to park himself back in the corner seat with a stack of cookies and a new beer.<br /><br />This is a good thing because Kyouko's coming over and Homura's hugging him and ditching after helping grill like all the food. He hopes she at least ate some.<br /><br />There's a lot of stuff going on, and the music's still playing, and there's a chara being somewhat awful to Naru's boyfriend and oh god Corvus is being a jerk and Haruna's being somewhat less than sensitive, and Mamoru stands up and waves an arm. "Yo, Naru-chan! Rasukoph! Come over here, I need to talk to you two about something--" And he's very close to the beer, somehow.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko just nods at Mamoru and flops down into another chair conviniently near to his. Not too near. Just near enough. She tips it back on two legs, leaning against the railing, and sipping from her beer. She doesn't say anything, but she seems comfortable there. She'll eavesdrop on his conversation with Naru, unless they tell her to get lost, which she would of course.

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Naru just shakes her head, leaving her opinion on jumping or flying aside for the moment. Someone is not a fan of heights, and 47 stories is just entirely /too damn high/ to jump off.<br /><br />Naru goes back to eating her already grilled burger and looks over to Alexis. "er.. Pretty cure. I .. don't actually know a lot about the precures, other than I've rather liked all the ones I've met." She erms softly and reaches over to pat Alexis' back as he surrenders on reality for a moment. "C'mon, let's go chat with Mamoru. I think you have the choice of beer or beer if you want booze."<br /><br />Naru retrieves her plate, and Alexis' to take over to join where Mamo, and by extension, Kyouko and the cooler of beer. Convenient.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Most reasonable question I've heard asked of a talking seagull yet," Kazuo says in passing to Alexis. Then returns to keep an eye on ... Haruna's adventures, apparently, rather than Kyouko's. He eyes Corvus sidelong. Fortunately, it's the kind of sidelong that suggests a little kinship to Alexis, not the kind that suggests wariness of the bird. "What do you eat these days?" he inquires. Cannot feed guest without knowing that answer, one way or another.

:'''{{#var:77|Ikuto Tsukiyomi| (77)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Ikuto raises an eyebrow at Nadeshiko, seeming more confused than anything else. Was there something on his face? Was the wink aimed at Yoru, perhaps? He turns back to Tadase, "If I were here to cause trouble, It would be rather foolish to announce myself to you and all of your friends here by jumping in as I did. As much as I'd love to stay and chat with everyone, though...I have business to attend to elsewhere."<br /><br />As he heads to the railing, he gives Mamoru another nod, and Yoru does the same to the plushie guarding the pit. Just before Ikuto hops over the railing and begins descending down the side of the building, Yoru shouts out, "Ikuto won't say it, but it was nice dropping by and seeing everyone, nya!"<br /><br />Further inspection might reveal that along Ikuto's path up and down the building, dusty shoeprints can be found in various places, with a very tiny set of cat pawprints to one side of them. Cats will be cats.

:'''{{#var:134|Nadeshiko Fujisaki| (134)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Rhythm did Naughty.<br /><br />He knows he did!<br /><br />He gives Daichi a sad, woeful look!<br /><br />"I'm a terrible scientist."<br /><br />And he feels Judgey Eyes!<br /><br />Sulkily, Rhythm floats into Nadehsiko's satchel.<br /><br />Nadeshiko sighs and pats at the satchel before hooking an arm through Kukai's. "Well, I do prefer soccer players to cats." <br /><br />She grins up at him. "You sure you want me distracting them? I may end up short circuiting some hardware."<br /><br />Ug. Ikuto's about as bad as Tadase: Utterly clueless.

:'''{{#var:63|Haruna Kurosawa| (63)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Haruna Kurosawa is just being... Haruna. Which is weird and talkative and somewhat goofy. Also, she's grilling carrots, and celery and tomatoes very carefully. What's sad is that she's grilling them as perfectly as vegetables should be grilled. She's continuing to do this until she has a small pile of perfectly grilled vegatables. Not all of them, but some of them. She nods contently, and matter of factly.<br /><br />Corvus sort of blinks. "Well. I /can/ talk to other seagulls, but other seagulls are kind of well. Not as smart?" he asks. "If you tell me what your bike looks like I can try. But you'd still need to deal with the pigeons on your own. There isn't like a bird mafia or anything I can convene with." he insists.<br /><br />"Really, there's a few I just hang out with and we play poker. It probably looks as funny in your head as you think." he says. "We use french fries as poker chips." he hehs. "Look, just relax. Just think of me as a tiny person with feathers." he says before they're called off.<br /><br />Haruna puts some grilled tomatoes on a burger and then two pieces of grilled celery and then she ranches it with the ranch dressing and she presses the buns together and she turns around and begins eating.<br /><br />Her eyes land on Tadase.<br /><br />She frowns a little and decides to look over at Kukai. Okay that's a little better.<br /><br />Also who the heck puts celery on burgers?

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"..........Yeah okay I guess that's fair," Alex allows, at the very least, when Corvus goes on to explain his side of things to the german. Which does still sound kind of ridicilous but he TRIES TO GO WITH IT.<br /><br />The poker part just goes on to try to break him further, though. Thankfully, Mamoru's calling him and Naru over to distract him. But even then, when he rises up, he takes NAru's hand to try and keep SOMETHING grounding him there. "...Birds playing poker..." Is all he mutters before the two of them go on from the table, to the general direction of the Mamoru.

:'''{{#var:141|Kukai Souma| (141)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kukai grins and then looks up, watching Ikuto head over the wall and away. "...Well. There he goes. Like usual, he just drops in when he feels like it." He sighs and then grins, hugging Nadeshiko's middle. "Awesome. I'm a fan of that. Aaand.." He thinks. "I'm happier with you short circuiting me. C'mon, let's get some food." He turns over towards the grills, reaching down to pat Rhythm's satchel kindly.

:'''{{#var:62|Tadase Hotori| (62)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tadase almost raises his fist angrily at Ikuto, because he's so used to him getting away after doing something bad it's damn near a reflex. But in this case, Ikuto and Yoru were right - they dropped in, said hello, and left without making a scene, or an x-egg.<br /><br />He'd have to write Amu and confirm the catboy was okay - she hadn't seen him in a while, and with her being so far away...<br /><br />And that gets him more looking for a distraction, so he moves up towards Nadeshiko and Kukai. "So is this going to be a public dinner date, or am I invited along too?" Tadase asks, likely effectively inviting himself.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mamoru tosses off a salute to Ikuto, and ... the Tux plushie doesn't actually move of its own accord, thank god.<br /><br />He drops back into his chair as Kyouko sits down and beers herself, and he pushes out another two chairs for Naru and Alexis, but his eyes are -- for the moment -- on Nephrite and Kunzite, and his mind on wondering where other people are. Like certain other people who live here. Or the significant others of certain other people who live here. Or people who practically live here. ...maybe they're smarter than he is and are ''actually'' hiding. Or getting in trouble.<br /><br />Either way, he's completely cool with Kyouko being there, and also with not particularly saying much. He doesn't notice anything further going on with Corvus or with Rhythm, since his actual concern right now is Alexis. Then they get there! "Yo," he repeats, briefly getting up again to offer a cursory bow. "I forgot to mention, if Naru mentions an Endy, that's me too. Also if you've met Usagi, I'm her boyfriend." As hes sitting down, he glances to Kyouko -- it's definitely a 'please stay' -- then returns his attention to Naru and her dude... okay, ''specifically'' her dude. "Obviously there's a lot of weird going on. I'm sorry it's unnerving. If you need to chill somewhere else, there's space downstairs; Naru knows her way around. You're completely welcome here, but there's clearly also no getting anyone to behave, ever."<br /><br />He's serious, but his tone is somewhat sympathetic behind the matter-of-fact; there's a fair amount of laid-back layered over what's unmistakeably a kind of natural authority. This guy-- this is his circus, these are his dancing bears and clown cars. He's also definitely an upperclassman, but that has very little to do with the way he carries himself or interacts or presents. "If you're going to stick it out -- which is also fine -- I recommend just making mental notes of everything you want to ask about. Or maybe physical notes. That's something Naru started doing early on, so she could remember things."<br /><br />A beat. "I don't think you'll forget any of this, because you're not getting attacked and Naru's here and willing to confirm everything instead of letting you explain everything away."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Apparently Corvus eats french fries. Or possibly bits of people's sanity, though in a more amiable way than usual. Kazuo doesn't particularly demand the gull's attention, and doesn't disrupt Haruna's productive torching of vegetables. He just falls back on his usual habit: watching, and almost fading into the background.<br /><br />Almost. "I'd like to talk with you briefly sometime less busy," he comments aside to Haruna. "If you'd be amenable."

:'''{{#var:181|Yuzuki Amemori| (181)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Yuzuki Amemori is following instructions from her phone and she totally didn't get lost and end up at the wrong building. A couple of times in a row. She does arrive eventually. She checks in up front for directions and heads up to the barbecue. She has her phone out with the text message like it's some kind of talisman as she stops at the propped open door, wondering why a slipper was used. Leaning in, she tries to find Haruna, she sees her towards the back and calls out, "Haru!" and waves, with her phone for emphasis, and waits before entering. Naru's given a wave as well, which goes to Alex by proxy surely. She doesn't quite remember anyone else though. Not off hand at least.

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I've been trying to keep to a single name for people. I am not sure I've entirely succeeded, but I have been trying." Naru comments as she settles with Mamo and Alexis and Kyouko and a slightly quieter conversation. "I still make notes." She comments absently, tucking herself into her chair. "I tend to agree on the lack of forgetting this time. Seeing is a lot different than just having me try and explain it." She reaches for her drink, distinctly not beer. Apparently she's the only one who actually likes pineapple soda.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko just stays where she is, leaning back in her chair, balanced on two legs, seemingly unaware of the 50-story drop just on the other side of the railing she's tilting back against. She sips her beer, kicking one leg idly back and forth as she listens to Mamoru give his little speech. She doesn't say anything, but she meets his gaze when he glances to her. Kunzite isn't the only one who can play silent support, even if 'silent' isn't normally a word one associates with Kyouko. If she had anything to add, she would, but Mamoru seems to cover it adequately. So she just sips her beer.

:'''{{#var:63|Haruna Kurosawa| (63)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Haruna Kurosawa looks to Kunzite. "Hrm?" she asks. "Yeah, sure." a pause. "Also is that dude gonna be okay? Like. I had /nooooo idea/ there was gonna be a normie here or I'd had taken the stairs or told Corvus to slip into his human mode and pretend to be my brother like we've been doing recently." she says.<br /><br />"It's kind of uncomfortable having opposable thumbs." he insists.<br /><br />She actually top toes after Kunzite. So maybe she's in the background too a moment. "Not now. But like. Yeah." she says. "What is it you wanted to talk about anyw-----" she hears her name.<br /><br />"Yuzuki! over here! I wanna introduce you to peopleeeee." she says.<br /><br />She motions from Kunzite to Yuzuki. "Kazuo, this is Yuzuki. She's a friend. She's new to the whole. uh."<br /><br />She looks around to make sure there's no more 'normies' in the area at least any new ones that isn't Alexis.<br /><br />"Magic stuff." she says. "And I'm trying to get her to meet some people here." she says.

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"...No, I think I'm going to try to push it through," Alex mutters, while he searches about for a bottle or can or something of the sort of beer. Because at least a little alcohol seems like a good idea at the moment. "You know. Backing away now would be..." He considers his words for a moment, frowns down at the floor briefly and then peers up to MAmoru's way again. "That wouldn't feel right, you know? MY head feels like it's gonna *explode*, tell the truth, but that don't feel like a right excuse. BEsides, if I was gonna be doing that..." He looks sidelong to Naru's way, and smiles faintly. "...Coulda done that earlier."<br /><br />When his attention returns to MAmoru, he dips his head slightly and... being temporarily culturally blind as he is, he sticks out his hand in apparent offer to the other male. "I guess we both kind of keep hearing about each other without actually *meeting* each other. So here's that proper. Alexis Raskoph. Dragged here from germany by my folks and..." Another peek to Naru's way, and a faint hint of red color makes it's way over his cheeks. "...Naru's boyfriend, now, I guess."<br /><br />"...Oh, uh, just... Just 'Alex' is fine, by the way. My last name's kind of hard to pronounce, I realize."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"You weren't the first," Kazuo assures Haruna, unperturbed. What did he want to talk about? ... apparently even the topic is something he'd rather save for later, since he turns and inclines his head to Yuzuki instead. Then studies her more closely. "We've met," he says, "though not been introduced. You were part of the Chroma group, weren't you?"

:'''{{#var:181|Yuzuki Amemori| (181)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Yuzuki Amemori pockets her phone and heads inside, making sure her music's turned off before ducking through the crowd. She listens to music at worrying high levels and it's a nice distraction. Making her way over to Haru and Kazuo, taking her spot alongside Haru while asking Kazuo, "Wait have we? Neat. I was at the color thing, yeah. I broke one of the grey girl's color things with the pink girl too. Or helped break it, either way we blew it up and that was kind of neat." She doesn't seem particularly phased by magic. Anymore at least, what with being able to just summon (orange) armor out of the aether and chase bad guys around? She's leaning towards, 'awesome!' on the scale of things. <br /> <br /> "Like Haru-chan said, Yuzuiki Amemori, if you're a music fan of the right kind I go by a different name there and have a lot of fun too!" What, she's a musician ,getting her name out there is mandatory!

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Hey Yuzuki." Naru waves towards the newest arrival before turning back to the conversation at hand. She leans over to the cooler, collecting out a beer for Alexis and checking to see if Mamoru or Kyouko need a fresh one while she's there. None for herself.<br /><br />"At some point, I do want to show you the mural in progress, Alex, and it's downstairs." Naru comments absently as she manages to snag herself another cookie rather than a beer. Because clearly she hasn't had enough sugar yet. There's a silly little smile as Alex identifies himself as her boyfriend. New enough to be fully adorable, check.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Usagi isn't here, but Kyouko might 'huehuehue' on her behalf into her beer bottle.

:'''{{#var:134|Nadeshiko Fujisaki| (134)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>There's a beep on her phone. Nadeshiko pulls it out and groans.<br /><br />"Actually...yout two go ahead. I'm needed at home..." She grumbles a bit about costumes and whatnot, almost walking away, but then she remembers! She can do this!<br /><br />She tugs on Kukai's collar to give him a rather sound smooch.<br /><br />"Don't go killing eachother, you three. I expect progress reports."<br /><br />Another wink to them all, and then she's gone.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Well. To his credit, Mamoru ''did'' try to pronounce Alex's last name, and he got it almost completely right. Just one too many syllables. Either way, he gives Naru a quick nod, the smile that comes with it more around his eyes than his mouth -- as happens fairly often when he's being generally serious -- and then he listens to Alexis.<br /><br />He takes all of that in stride, and dare we say, actually looks pleased by the end of Alex's reasoning through why he's not going to retreat. It's potentially too quick for many people to see, but it's still going on by the time Alexis looks back at him -- and then it's morphing into a grin as the German boy offers his hand.<br /><br />The bare hand of the Crown Prince of Earth comes into contact with Naru's boyfriend's as Mamoru accepts that offer, and Naru can probably see this coming:<br /><br />(There's a presence, vast and ancient, making it known to Alexis that he's being surveyed, being weighed; it's almost like his heart is on a scale trying to balance with a feather, but the feather is what Endymion knows of Naru's own heart. Surrounding that presence, part of it, there's welcome, there's peace, there's hilltop bonfires and deep dark forests, there's small warm cottages buried in snow with a lamp in the window and embers banked in the hearth; there's summer meadows and clear streams, there are mountains covered in changing leaves and unfathomable oceans. There is a sense, even before that Presence laughs in amused delight and leaves Alexis alone, that no matter what, there will always be a welcome for him here.)<br /><br />"Your first name's pretty tough too, man," says Mamoru with a laugh as he lets go Alexis' hand. "I'll handle it, though, no fear. Oh right, obligatory big brother looming: don't hurt Naru. She'll kick your ass, and then Usagi and Kazuo and I will, and then everyone else will pile on. Bad for the health."

:'''{{#var:63|Haruna Kurosawa| (63)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Haruna Kurosawa smiles. "Kunzite, could you introduce Yuzuki here to some others?" she asks. "Oh, you two have met before? Oh! The whole..orange..missing thing." she says. "I dunno much about that." she admits.<br /><br />"But yeah... she needs. To meet some people. Virtue-ites. Maybe. She has friends that could probably benefit too. I hear." she says.<br /><br />"Oh. Right. I'm not with Virtue anymore. Haven't been for a few good many months." she says softly. "I forgot to tell a lot of people. So like. Yeah." she says.<br /><br />"So don't expect me to know stuff unless you tell me." she says. "Alright?" she says.<br /><br />A pause. "I don't even know if you're in Virtue. I mean. I figured by now... Look you know what I mean."<br /><br />"I mean. Not saying not to come for me to help just. You guys gotta actually ask now." she says wth a smirk.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kazuo inclines his head to Yuzuki. "Kazuo Takeba. I was the one who shielded Pink in the gallery, and who Yellow detailed later to keep the monster off the rest of you while you made the transit --"<br /><br />Alexis is offering Mamoru his hand.<br /><br />"-- moment," Kazuo says, and turns from the discussion of colors and music and introductions and Virtue to keep a brief watch over the group at the rail. ''Just in case'' this ends with Alexis trying reflexively to punch somebody.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko watches as Mamoru offers Alex the Endymion Handshake. She knows all about that (even if her personal experience wasn't quite the same. One imagines its the sort of thing that's never the same for two different people).<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She sees Kazuo looking over in their direction and meets his gaze with a slight tilt of her head that says, 'no worries, I got this'. Just in case.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I was gonna kick his ass anyway," She adds, afterwards, with a mischevious, one-fanged grin. "He's been asking for it. Y'know. Sparring."

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Naru is watching Mamoru almost as much as she's watching Alexis in this interaction, taking a slow sip of her soda. She sits up a bit as she watches that handshake coming, and she's snorting softly in denial of the fact that she'll kick Alexis' ass.<br /><br />Alexis has seen her punch. He's probably not worried.<br /><br />There's just a little flicker of Naru's attention over towards Haruna and Kunzite at the mention of Virtue and Haruna's current status within it.

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I'll let you know when I need a break from the crowd," Alex assures Naru with the faintest of smiles before his attention falls flat on Mamoru again -- and the smile grows more wry there. "If it did come to that... Ya'll would have to get in line with the about fifty or so people who I have probably already pissed of--"<br /><br />ANd then it hits in. The sensation of something completely different, and as far as he's aware, outright alien. Eyes widen and pupils dilate, and when Mamo lets go of his hand, he outright snaps the released hand back away. It may take a considerable effort of restraint on his part to not go with the gut instinct of trying to introduce Mamo's nose to his knuckles, and instead just stare down at the hand that made contact in utter silence for a good few seconds.<br /><br />".............What," he manages to eventually utter out, and turns that widened-eye stare back up to Mamoru. ".....Was that?"

:'''{{#var:181|Yuzuki Amemori| (181)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Yuzuki Amemori follows Kunzite's gaze over to Alex, then she begins laughing and asks, "Oh oh, does this mean I don't have to explain chemical burns anymore? Awesome!" There's a beat then she looks back to Haru and her explanation and line of questions and... more. "What's Virtue? I mean aside from I'm guessing a proper noun and not a trait." <br /> <br /> She returns Naru's wave after, calling out, "Heeeeeeeey" and grinning. Then her focus returns to Kazuo, "I think I remember you. I was the one with the big sword that is surprisingly hard to use in a crowd. I need to talk to myself about using like... wakazashis or tantos or something." She's not sure if that would actually work and she's not about to complain about weilding a huge sword to deter pretty much everyone. <br /> <br /> She holds up a finger and sneaks off for something to drink and a plate of food and other goodies.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>-- ah, good. Both Kyouko and Alexis are on that problem; the former he trusted with it more, the latter he's more pleased about. Kazuo returns his attention to Yuzuki and Haruna as if nothing had happened. "I can't help you with Virtue," he says, apparently unworried. "My connections are all secondhand. But Mamoru or the Guardians there," he nods his head in the direction of Kukai and Tadase, "are better-placed."<br /><br />Explanations about what Virtue actually is might wait a moment, for the sake of letting Yuzuki take advantage of the fact that she is actually at a barbecue.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Magic," answers Mamoru with an apologetic smile. "I don't usually shake hands. I can certainly wall that off when I have to, but... I had to be sure for myself that you weren't a complete &lt;censored&gt;, I'm sorry. Naru means a lot to all of us." After a second, the apologetic smile goes distinctly wry. "And thank you for restraining yourself, I almost certainly deserved a broken nose for that."<br /><br />He leans forward to pick up his replacement beer from Naru and takes a swig of it, then notes, "If you need something stronger than beer after that, it can be arranged."

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Naru tenses a moment, as if quite clearly aware of just how close Alexis' instincts are to punch first and ask questions later. She relaxes a little when questions win out for the moment. She ers softly, and then her tone turns quietly dry, "Welcome to the weird, m'dear."<br /><br />There's a glance back over to Kazuo and Yuzuki and Haruna at the listing off of the Virtue contacts, curious, but staying where she is for the moment.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"He's like, the Prince of the whole Earth, or something." Kyouko asides to Alex from her seat, sipping from her beer again. "I guess that means you're vetted for real. I suppose I can trust my boss' judgement. And I mean, if you like him he can't be all bad, Naru-chan."

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sailor Mars doesn't use elevators because elevators are for saps. She jumps up to the roof like a proper magical girl. When she hits the top she starts walking towards the crowd with a big wave. "Hi! Sorry I'm late."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mars takes quick stock of people here she knows, and starts to notice at least one face she doesn't. This new face happens to be a BOY and he's positioned close to Naru-chan and other people are gathered around him, so whatever's going on must be pretty interesting.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She strides toward the group, since this happens to be where the party is.

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>%R"Prince of the Earth," Alex repeats with a sharp grunt, and brings the handshaked hand up to press it against his forehead. "Okay. That's some jump up from dealing with gangers. *Way* above my paygrade."<br /><br />Alex's hand goes on over to try and reach for Naru's hand, thus, and he sheepishly notes, "I think I am going to need a good deal of alcohol now."

:'''{{#var:181|Yuzuki Amemori| (181)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Yuzuki Amemori returns with pile of food, a pair of drinks and something she's already chewing on. What, she skipped lunch. She settles down nearby, pops the top of her soda and takes a sip before going to work on her food! Looking over to Kazuo, she says, "Sorry about that. Homework, some audio tuning and being incredibly lost meant I had an appetite going. It smelled good too."

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"More of a side step." Naru comments on the topic of prince versus gangers, but she doesn't balk at taking Alexis' hand.<br /><br />"Rei!" Naru looks up as Mars joins the group and she waves. "Oh good, I've been hoping to introduce you to Alex so that he can stop claiming he knows no one at school."

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Eh," says Mamoru with an easy shrug and a smile, getting up. "It's not like it's a government thing anymore; it hasn't been for hundreds of thousands of years." A beat. "None of which I actually lived through, as far as I know." He glances up and looks for Nephrite, then yells across the roof, "I'm raiding your room again, this kid needs some liquid courage!" Then he finishes that beer and claps a hand on Alexis' shoulder as he passes him. "But you are, in fact, fully welcome to come hang out here with Naru or without. I'll be back shortly. YO MARS!" And that's a wave to the magical girl in the fuku and the Red High Heels.<br /><br />Then Mamoru picks his way around conversants and heads downstairs again.

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mars just goes ahead and dehenshins into something more casual: loose red blouse with white shorts. Just as she's arriving, Mamoru is leaving, and she waves at him. "Hey Mamo-kun!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she walks towards Naru, and Alex, with a bright smile. "Oh? You go to Verone, too?" When she reaches them, she places a hand on her hip as the other hand hangs at her side. "I'm Rei Hino, Grade 9. My family runs the Hikawa shrine. It's nice to meet you."

:'''{{#var:56|Nephrite| (56)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Nephrite glances up from where he'd been conversing over yet another hamburger. "What--okay but don't touch the Glenfiddich single malt! I'm saving that!"

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko is sitting in a chair next to where Mamoru has just vacated, tilting it back on two legs, a mostly empty bottle of beer in her hands.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As Rei walks up, she grins. "Hi, Mars. That's Naru's boyfriend." She points at Alex. "Mamoru just gave him The Handshake." This in an almost gossipy tone, before she falls silent and returns to her beer.

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Still, I mean... imagine the step up from the things I can claim I've punched if I'd gone and punched his nose just now," Alex mutters to NAru with a sheepish smile. "Go up from punching maybe-Yakuza to punching astronomical royalty. Even if it's just a mostly meaningless title it still kind of sounds like I'm not even so much going up the ladder as much as *past* it."<br /><br />THen, there's a Rei. He does NOT recognize her -- largely because he doesn't actually *go* to school that much, but at least the name rings a bell. "...Right. Yeah. Naru mentioned you once. Like, uh..." He side-eyes the redhead in question. "...Pretty much everyone else, actually, come to think of it. This girl knows *everyone* apparently." He sighs quietly, and lifts his hand up to offer it towards Rei and-- immediately thinks against it, after hwat happened with Mamo. "...I'm Alex. From GErmany, a--" Aaaand Kyouko comes along to say the introductions. "...Yeah. That. Um." He very pointedly gives Naru's hand a squeeze.

:'''{{#var:132|Zoisite| (132)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>There's a strawberry-blond emerging from downstairs, a small bottle of tequila in one hand. He moves almost like liquid, eyes half-lidded as he looks around. He laughs a little at the sound of Alex stammering and walks over, offering the tequila bottle with a grand flourish to Alex. "This is for you. Naru, he's ''adorable''," Zoisite says flippiantly. If Alex is paying attention, he might notice that Zoisite bears more than a passing resemblance to another Infinity student.<br /><br />Maybe. Zoisite's pseudonym isn't really all that different from how he is normally, anyway, just blonder. ...and with less of a tendency to sit on the air, which Zoisite has decided Is Currently A Thing.

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Boyfriend, huh? And he was given the Handshake?" Rei's tone is overplaying at being skeptical. She's been around Mamoru long enough to know exactly what Kyouko means by that, and it's no surprise to hear of it. "So that means you've been vetted? Well, then you must be pretty alright then."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She looks down at the hand that she was almost offered, and her own hand moves up to stifle a giggle. "Oh don't worry. I don't have his power."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She leans a bit closer, smiling mischievously with a glint in her eyes. "I ''am'' psychic, though. My powers are more about visions, portents, and exorcisms." Much to the relief of possibly everyone here, Rei chooses not to demonstrate that last skillset.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Yeah, Naru-chan's pretty well connected. She's met a lot of baddies trying to drain her or curse her, and she's met a lot of heroes who come to her rescue."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She glances sideways at the Zoi who is currently sitting on air. "Hey, Zoi-kun."

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I do not know everyone." Naru protests easily. "There's been a good .. er.. two people here today that I didnt know, and didn't manage to meet." Which clearly means, that Naru doesn't know everyone. Just damn near.<br /><br />"I think punching youma.. is probably also a bad idea.. but less bad of an idea than punching Mamoru." Naru speculates as she seems quite content to hold Alex's hand.<br /><br />As the tequila arrives with Zoisite and the flippent little comment she beams towards the blonde. "I /know/, right?"

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>There are things that Kazuo seems poorly equipped for. One of them is small talk; the glance he gave Yuzuki at her explanation of why she suddenly absented herself is nine-tenths unreadable, one-tenth blank, as if while the words were all recognizable words he had no idea what prompted her to say them to him. He's been silent and nonreactive since, given that the Guardians are otherwise occupied, Mamoru has been busy with Alex, and Yuzuki already knows Naru, which covers the major Virtue ties he admits and doesn't admit to knowing. No introductions to perform, apparently --<br /><br />-- and there's a Zoisite, and the quality of Kunzite's silence shifts just a little, from detached observation to a faint flicker of fondness. Trolling Alexis: everyone's favorite game today, apparently.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko rolls her eyes as Zoisite appears. To be fair, trolling everyone is his favorite game of forever, so Alex shouldn't feel too bad. "Hey Zo-nii, I've been meaning to ask you somethin'." She says, letting the front legs of her chair hit the rooftop again with a soft thunk as she settles herself, and absently turning to chuck her empty beer bottle into the recycling container a good 15 feet away.

:'''{{#var:132|Zoisite| (132)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Zoisite smiles fondly at Kazuo, eyelids drooping slightly for a moment, almost completely closed in a pleased expression. He looks at Kyouko and tilts his head slightly. "What is it?" he asks, offering the tequila bottle to Naru. He drops down to walk over and ruffle the top of Kyouko's hair a bit.

:'''{{#var:181|Yuzuki Amemori| (181)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Yuzuki Amemori looks over at Kazuo at that look and eventually just shrugs. "You remind me of a couple of students I know, always so dour. I wonder if they snap eventually." She takes a sip of her drink, leaning back lazily and waving to the new people arriving from her seat. "Hi, yo, hello there!" Though she does eventually stand and wander over closer to the others. Tall dark and grumpy doesn't need her annoying him.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko gets ruffled. She ducks away from it. "Hey, quit it." She says, more out of ritual than because she actually minds.. although then she adds, "Well, that's actually what I was gonna ask you about." She tugs on her black bow, straightening it. "I um.. well, I think I want a haircut. I heard you might be the guy to ask about that sorta thing.."

:'''{{#var:132|Zoisite| (132)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Zoisite waves a little at Yuzuki, but positively ''beams'' at Kyouko's request. "''Absolutely'' yes. Do you have anything in mind?" He's taken to sitting on the air again, though that almost seems to be unconscious habit.

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I still punched one," Alex points out to Naru. "THat... thing that I probably don't know how to pronounce right. And I only got mild burn for my trouble." He very pointedly elects not to note the part with the energy drain. That totally didn't happen. Nope.<br /><br />When REi leans over, he instinctively leeeeeeeaaans back away, and gives her an utterly SUSPICIOUS look. "...Does that mean you can read minds or something?" He asks with his further suspicion, eyes squinting.<br /><br />The bringing of booze by way of Zoisite distracts him, at least, and he immediately reaches over to snatch the tequila from the man-- even if he IMEDIATELY AFTER sends a *glare* at him and mutters quietly. "...................I am not adorable."

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko shakes her head as Zoisite asks her if she has anything specific in mind. She tosses her head, her great mane of red ponytail flicking behind her. "S'just, it's been like, five years since I had my hair cut. Y'know, didn't really have the means livin' on my own and just didn't really think about it since but.. now's a time for change. I wanna do somethin' with.. this." She makes a gesture that encompasses her head.

:'''{{#var:127|Naru Osaka| (127)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Naru takes the tequila from Zoisite and makes the mistake of opening it to have a sniff. Because /that/ is clearly a good idea and her expression reflects it. "People drink this? Willingly?"<br /><br />Immaterial of the fact that she's passing the bottle to Alex in a hope to at least put off today's woes onto tomorrow morning. "Totally adorable." She declares and then kisses his cheek. "I'm going downstairs for a bit."

:'''{{#var:181|Yuzuki Amemori| (181)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Yuzuki Amemori looks over at Alexis and taps her chin, manages to keep from laughing openly as she listens to Alex talk about punching the youma. She doesn't deflate his ego by pointing out she accidentally killed it either. Instead, she looks to Zoi, returning the wave even though she did the wave thing in the first place. Instead, she leans over to Naru and asks, "Does he have the panic button too now then?" Hoping that's the case mentally. <br /> <br /> She was about to ask what Kyouko had in mind, just because she's tempted to get a haircut too, long hair isn't good! But Naru's reaction gets a snrk from her. "You should smell some of the other kinds out there. Cheap stuff starts smelling like cleaning supplies."

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Maaaaaaaaybe," teases Rei, just to see Alex squirm a little more. After a moment she decides that enough's enough, and she stands up straight. "See you around, Raskoph-san."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she wanders off to find some food.

:'''{{#var:132|Zoisite| (132)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>At Alexis's protest, Zoisite ''laughs''. He hears it, alright, and the fact that Alexis actually ''argued'' with it just cements how adorable he is. "I'll have to dig up some looks, then." The man is practically ''sparkling'' where he stands. Those may be flower petals. There may be flower petals that he is doing as an equivalent to excited shoujo sparkles.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>It is, granted, unlikely that Kazuo will snap. It is not impossible that Yuzu is half-right, and he snapped a ''long, long time ago.'' Either way, it is of course entirely only because there's only one major group remaining that -- after he's paused to make certain that Rei can locate the food she desires -- he somehow winds up positioned just outside the fringes of it. Not actually close enough to be ''on'' the fringes. Just close enough to keep a more convenient eye on things.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko smiles at Zoisite. "Cool. Well, we can talk about it later, now that I told you." She tells him.. then stifles a yawn. "I think I'm gonna go check up on Momo and make sure she's alright." She says, to no-one in particular and everyone nearby at the same time.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Good seeing you Naru-chan, Alex, Rei." She turns and walks over to give Kunzite a one-armed hug. "Tell Mamoru I said I'd see him a little later." Then, tug Zoisite's ponytail, then punch Nephrite lightly in the arm, wave to assorted others, and then walk to the edge of the roof and throw herself over the railing.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hopefully Alex doesn't notice this.

:'''{{#var:182|Alexis Raskoph| (182)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Alex totally sees it.<br /><br />ANd promptly decides to take a swig of tequila straight from the bottle.

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei waves goodbye to Kyouko before she leaves, but doesn't say anything because she has a mouthful of hotdog.

:'''{{#var:132|Zoisite| (132)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Zoisite nods and blows a kiss to Kyouko before floating over and wrapping his arms around Kazuo's shoulders. Just because ''he'' is lurking on the edge of things does not mean Zoisite will let him ''stay'' there. Especially after he... more or less unintentionally pulled what Alexis is, and then drunkenly confessed his affections.<br /><br />"And how are you tonight?"

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"No-one actually died," Kazuo answers Zoisite; he does not seem to object to having a human scarf, and indeed anchors Zoisite with an arm in turn. Against the chance of strong winds, obviously. They are at a height. "Despite certain parties' best efforts. Kyouko and Homura Akemi spent an extended amount of time next to each other, with easy access to sharp objects, and somehow there was no bloodshed. Also, a remarkable lack of naginata rampages, and the vampire was decidedly polite. We'll need to get Amemori's contact information before she leaves, and a couple of people left very early, but all in all, it went better than I expected." Not ''quite'' the question Zoisite asked, granted, but close enough.

:'''{{#var:181|Yuzuki Amemori| (181)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Yuzuki Amemori looks over when she hears the word naginata and asks, "Did another samurai sort show up?" What, she hears naginata and makes assumptions! She's quietly working on what's left of her food, having slowly worked her way through it over some time. It seems like it's all winding down though so she wonders if she should be ducking out.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Did another samurai sort show up? ... that depends on definitions, doesn't it. "Not precisely," Kazuo says to Yuzuki. "But we can probably put you in touch with one, if you'd like. If you haven't met her already."

:'''{{#var:132|Zoisite| (132)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Zoisite snorts in amusement at Kunzite's description of the night. "Yes, but I was asking about ''you''." He nuzzles Kazuo with fondness evident on his face. "No, not a samurai-type... but still intimidating with a naginata nonetheless."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Later," Kazuo promises Zoisite. He'll stop being completely occupied with social machineries and trying to watch a couple of dozen angles at once soon enough; after that he can go back to dealing with the difficult things, like evaluating his own condition in other than the most practical terms. "Not much later."<br /><br />For now, 'find out if Akashimaru knows the musician girl' is filed away under 'make sure someone's awake to check on Alexis semiregularly, if he's drinking as much of that tequila as he probably is' and 'check small corners to be certain that all Charas remained attached to their usual people and did not get left behind.'

:'''{{#var:181|Yuzuki Amemori| (181)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Yuzuki Amemori glances to Zoisite and says, "Really? Don't see that kind of thing that often in general. I wonder if I'd be any good with them." Something she'd poke her past self about. Surely they've got to be better with other weapons too right? Maybe.
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