What Happens On Planet, Stays On Planet

Congratulations! You've been invited!

Where the invitation came from, or indeed even who had arranged for it to arrive at all, was a mystery, but close examination would reveal it to be an invitation to a recently opened coastal casino and resort for an all expenses paid vacation. The fact that it lined up perfectly with the weyrd's anniversary surely had to be a coincidence right?

Whatever the case may be the invitation assured that everything would be taken care of upon your arrival and that there would be more in store for the visit than just the much needed R&R that the brochure offered. The building itself wouldn't disappoint at all, a towering building rising up off the coast that could be spotted long before you actually got there, the bright and modern silver exterior leading into a royal purple lobby. Plush couches lined a spacious sitting area well lit by the great windows on the far wall offering a breathtaking view of the ocean just beyond.

Upon arrival your bags could be taken by a pair of overly helpful assistants while cheerful Orinoco rambled through his greeting It's a pleasure to have you here! We hope you find your accommodations to be satisfactory, we insist on having only the best for our guests and if you need anything at all feel free to buzz the front desk. To your left you'll find our world class lounge, and just off of that you'll find our spacious deck and the largest pool you'll find on Planet. He explained as he was shoving your room key into your hands, But of course you've come for the Casino haven't you? We pride ourselves on having the greatest game variety around, everything from table top games to slot machines, and Blazemoumt races, and a poker room open 24/7. You'll find the Casino on the top floor through the elevator. We have anything you could ask for and we are entirely at your service. With his explanation done the Orinoco would be bowing out and you would find yourself just outside your room with your bags waiting expectantly.

Well, there was nothing to do but explore then, wasn't there?

Examination would prove that the lounge was inviting and expansive, with hard wood floors and music pulsing through the background, with everything from expansive tables to private booths for those looking to spend time here. The bar was fully stocked and populated with bartenders and waiters more than happy to take your order.

The pool was just as expansive as promised, looking out over the ocean with plenty of beach chairs and umbrellas to offer relief from the bright sun. Alongside the pool were several somewhat smaller hot tubs available as well.

The true center of events was definitely the casino, with its bright flashing lights and upbeat music it took up the entire top floor of the expansive building. Rows of slot machines taking up the east wall, tables spread across the open space with every card and dice game that you could possibly ask for, and along the west wall were doors into various poker rooms and a booth set up for all your betting needs.

---

Happy Anniversary Whazzit!

Please post here before claiming your number!

This bondings is all about having fun, the shiny that you bond is pre-determined by the number that you select [Here] after you have posted in this thread. So all you need to worry about is enjoying the vacation and posting a minimum of three times to earn your shiny, but feel free to interact more.

Explore, have fun, if you're not entirely familiar with casino games we have a list a suggestions such as Baccarat, Blackjack, Craps, Keno, Poker, Pool, Roulette, and slot machines, but if you have a better idea feel free to use that, and if you're feeling creative go ahead and make up an entirely new game!

Shinies are acceptable but please keep it reasonable, there is only so much space in a hotel room after all.

The invitation was just there one morning. It sat upon the counter as if it had always been there. None of the shinies seemed to know the nature of its arrival; if any did, they weren’t fessing up. Khrys read the enticing offer over her morning cup of coffee, then left the thrice-folded paper atop its envelope while she went about her day’s business.

The past few months had been flat out for the Weyr-d’s resident wine and spirit supplier. The crop harvest had turned out larger than anticipated; Khryssie often worked from sunup until sundown, sometimes well past. She had no time for social gatherings, bondings, or even friendly calls from close friends. But thankfully things were looking like they might wind down, what with the harvest season drawing to a close as summer reached its peak.

So towards the end of the day, as the purple-haired Pernese woman found herself with a whittled-down to-do list, her mind was tickled by the warm presence of one of her closest and oldest friends. Khrys found it hard to resist the smile which lit up her face, and let herself fall comfortingly into Maibritt’s mental embrace with a soft sigh.

You really should go, on that resort vacation. Theziae and I can keep an eye on things back here. You need the break, and have earned it!
“I know I should, but...” and surprisingly, Khryssie couldn’t come up with a single reason not to go!

After a short time spent packing and leaving behind instructions that probably wouldn’t be followed, Khrys was on her way to the illustrious new beach resort that promised rest and relaxation. With thin querying tendrils she reached out to a few of her aquatic friends, receiving back fervent and excited assurances that she would have company upon her arrival. Fantastic! Khrys relished the opportunity to spend time with some of her less accessible shinies.

Certainly looking the part, Khrys sashayed strongly into the lobby, the soles of her gold sandals making nary a sound upon the floor. What was it made out of? Tile? Marble? It looks expensive, Khrys noted with a smug smile of satisfaction. She was feeling more and more confident about her choice to come. While playing idly with the hem of her white and gold dress, she listened to the Orinoco and even managed to squeak out a grateful smile as he bowed out and she was left standing in front of the door to her room. It took but a few awkward moments to kick and push her bags inside; in that process Khrys noticed that her hands were callused and dirty and disappointing.

“They must have some sort of spa here,” mumbling to herself as she left her room and took the elevator back down to the lobby. Her chipped and dirty nails drummed an impatient beat on the counter of the front desk as Khrys leaned over, begging the attention of the person behind- “I’m sorry to be a bother, but is there somewhere I can get my nails done? They’re in such a sad state,” insert finger waggle here to display said sorry cuticles. See? Horrible!

Khrys was totally unaware she was possibly holding up newly arrived guests from checking in, oops!

An enevelop had been blowing in the wind when the slim branches of her tree had caught it. She would have thrown it away but Rizerin saw it before she could dispose of it. He had demanded that first she read it and then that they go. The kal'daka seemed intent on having them experience as much of life as was possible. Apricot would have preferred just reading about most experiences life had to offer.

Apricot had tried to stick to her original choice of not going but the kal'daka was just as stubborn as she was. In the end they'd come to a compromise that Apricot would go as long as she could avoid people as much as she wanted to and Rizerin wasn't allowed springing her into unexpected situations as an 'experiment'. They still weren't able to communicate perfectly but she had been able to get that point across.

Getting there also proved to be interesting. It had taken quite a bit of stubbornness and a few growls from Rizerin but they had managed to bring the tree with them. Just the tree. Not even Rizerin's growls could force people to let them bring the unwieldy 'non-essential' wagon. Apricot rather thought that this was unfair since she needed the wagon to get the tree anywhere. Rizerin had kept on reminding her that the invite had promised that everything would be taken care upon their arrival in an attempt to sooth her nerves. She wasn't sure if he understood that was half her problem with the 'vacation' or if he was just blissfully ignoring her troubles.

Still they had eventually arrived and after a bit of confusion the hotel's attendees had promised to bring the potted tree up and into her room. She gritted out a polite smile to the Orinoco through out his rambling well keeping a weary eye on the assistants who were struggling with her tree. The hotel's decoration was beginning to make her uncomfortable. For one, she was inside which wasn't really her thing in the first place and for another... It was gaudy. She really would have preferred a much simpler and understated elegance.

The assistants lingered even after the Orinoco had left asking her where she wanted her tree. She'd ended up snapping at them when they insisted on getting it just right. She wouldn't feel guilty about that either. She wouldn't. The invite had promised relaxation, them constantly chattering at her was not relaxing. She almost wished that it was winter. Winter meant sleeping. Sleeping and forgetting all about the world sounded nice. She was on her third check to make sure that the assistants hadn't damaged the tree in anyways when a rather loud sigh came from the doorway.

Rizerin was sitting by the door staring at her expectantly, his eyes swirling a very bright silver. She stared back. It only took two more seconds of his stare before she gave in. She stood and walked over an opened the door. He gave her a triumphant and toothy grin before her bounded off. Where to? Where to first? Vel'bol ph'udos aluin ulu kyorl? She trailed after him smiling slightly at his enthusiasm. "From my understanding gambling requires that you have money in the first place so we shall be going to visit the pool." she said as they entered the elevator. She paused for a moment of thought before she looked down at him. "Do you know how to swim?" she asked.

Think I should learn? He asked looking up at her with one eye, his head titled to the side. She frowned at him as they exited the elevator. "Do you want to?" she asked. Maybe, see what water is like. She nodded her head in agreement and motioned for him to proceed her onto the deck that the Orinoco had said held the pool.

((My Desires, want, 647))

"You should come with me."

Nonsense! A hotel is no place for a Serapheline. There's no carrier big enough for me, anyway. Miriam replied tartly, tail twitching as she focused on two playing Demonhounds.

Zeph had gotten the mysterious invitation this morning from one of his shinies who claimed to have found it on his study desk. How it had gotten there, he had no idea, but a holiday sounded perfect to him. Now it was just a matter of deciding who to take with him. Unfortunately for Miriam, she was at the top of his list.

"Then it is lucky you do not need a carrier. Surely you do not want to spend all of your time here?" the Soul Collector asked as Tara landed on his shoulder. The little Firelizard had already indicated she was coming, and Zeph was fine with that.

- - -

"It is a pity we could not convince Miriam to come. I am sure she would have enjoyed it." the skeletal man commented, Tara chirping in agreement. He was standing in the lobby of the resort with bag in hand. He was familiar with the concept of hotels, but for him, hotels were a place that one stayed in while on the move, not something one went to voluntarily to 'get away from it all'. He nodded through the Orinoco's greeting, amused by the fact that the other didn't seemed at all concerned about having an undead guest.

Upon reaching his room, the Soul Collector took a few minutes to settle in, then set out to explore the place, Tara fluttering around his head. The pool didn't interest him much, and while the casino was certainly interesting, he didn't feel like gambling at the moment. So he settled in the lounge at a small table with a small book he had taken with him.

A waiter soon approached, and Zeph gestured to Tara as he spoke. "A dish of water and a small amount of roasted meat, please." He didn't know if Firelizards could handle alcohol, and he didn't fancy finding out. The waiter nodded and departed, leaving the man to look around the bar and soak in the atmosphere. Perhaps someone would decide to join him?

This was a terrible idea, even more so when you took into account that they let him go without any sort of chaperone. Maybe they hadn’t ever looked that far into his head, though. Or maybe they had some kind of ulterior motive. Or just something that proved they weren’t complete idiots. You don’t just send a shark into a casino and tell him to have fun. That’s just asking for trouble. Then again, Rystiel always had been one with a knack for stirring up a little chaos. Since he was the one championing to get Gatsby out of the house while he enlisted the help of his brother to get everything back into a working order, maybe trouble was exactly what they were after, after all.

The upside of this little adventure, besides getting him far away from the Requiae, was that it finally and forcibly got the werewolf into some normal clothes. At least if they were going to unleash him on the unknowing casino crowd, they were going to shove him into something a little more decent than a bed sheet before he left. And while they had taken a leap of faith regarding the quality of the hotel’s sheets, it had paid off because the sheets there were simply not the kind of quality Gatsby would ever want to be caught dead in. Ugh, cotton-poly blend.

However, just because he was in real clothes didn’t mean he was going to shave that stubble off his face or do anything outstanding to his hair. Certainly not with the clothes that Lala had packed in his suitcase. With a shirt that shade of pink and a tie that slim clipped by that tidy little tiebar and slacks that hugged his ass like that, yeah, it had the Laekenois’ name written all over it. While he’d wear the clothes, it was not Gatsby intention to garner any that kind of attention no matter what his Ailoa thought a vacation alone was for. At least his wardrobe would do wonders for his hustling game. No one would think to be wary of a queen in a pink shirt.

There were a few detours on his way to the billiards room, though. Namely a rocks glass of scotch that had been calling his name. Hey, if he was stuck playing this game, he needed all the right props. If only he had some fine cigars, alas. The second detour came all dressed in white and gold. Gatsby cut through the line behind Khrys to slip his free arm around her waist, the ice clinking around in the glass in his other, “After you find your spa, come watch me play a little pool. I could use a good-looking audience,” a light chuckle and the werewolf was slipping away as smoothly as he had come along. Old habits, namely a need for an audience if he was really going to go ahead and put on a show, die hard.

Ah, the billiards room. It hadn’t been hard to find, even with all the noise and flashing lights and other general casino nuisances. Gatsby took a small sip of his drink and looked over his playground. Maybe after this he’d go count some cards or shark a few hands of poker. For now though, he grabbed one of the house cues and posted himself at a previously empty table. Atrocious form, mediocre shots, why had Gatsby been itching to get himself to a pool table? Oh yeah that’s right. He was kinda maybe sorta a pool shark, or had been at one point in time. No one was surprised. Well, except the poor sucker he was scamming money out of. Whoops.

[My Desires; Want | 622]

Ugh, okay, okay. Everybody who knew Gwen knew, at this point, that she really hated parties. Really, really hated parties. If there was a party and she was present at it, it usually meant she was there for the booze. Nevertheless, when the Shinies were virtually manhandling you out the door, one or the other with Gwen's tiny, still-charmed wizard-space equipped suitcase in tow, and the one who called her mommy all the time (would it never get old?) begging and pleading and whining things like "BUT MOMMY" at her...

...basically, the long and short of it is that Gwen showed up in plenty of time to frown unpleasantly at the Scelta and take her room key, gaze with distrust at the elevator, and then take the stairs instead. Uppy-downy boxes just weren't the same as moving stairs, you know?

It was a really, really long way up the stairs.

I'm tired whined Karka as they reached the third floor with, luckily, only two more to do. Hmph, replied Hwuen'elghinn with a challenging look at the Demonhound. Being that the Red was a wee bit afraid of most things that much larger than her, she settled down.

"You really didn't have to come, Hwuen'elghinn," Gwen muttered as they exited the room a few minutes later, Gwen decked out and clearly ready for the pool.

I do not like all these people here. This gambling. This...

The sentiment was almost endearing. Okay, so it was endearing. Gwen patted the Rahwenress on the head, but countered, "You already knew I wasn't going to gamble. We're just going to the pool. And you're lucky they gave us a double, or you would be sleeping outside." But they were at the pool, and the tailless Kal'daka cocked her head to gaze at Apricot and Rizern before plopping right down near the door.

Hello! Hi! Remarked the Demonhound in a much more friendly gesture, but they were left with something more like the oversized wolf's reaction from Gwendolyn, who dropped her towel on a deck chair, removed her swimsuit coverups, and blinked broadly at the two before angling at Apricot: "Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn Merrick. Either one will do." Not Gwen, not Gwenny, not Merry. One or the other. "You are?"

For a woman who'd come down to the pool to relax, judging by her tone, she wasn't doing a very good job of it. But then, this was Merrick's default, after all.

((WC: 440; Summer Days - relax))

He was meditating in the clearing when Pluve brought him the invitation. Jory, who'd been grazing peacefully while Enke tried to cultivate his own contentment, nudged the being's shoulder to pull him from his trance. The markings on his chains flared, then faded.

"What is it, Jory? I've got the most vile headache." Enke's crossness did not perturb the young Glade. His light, knowing eyes did not waver as he nudged the man again. Pluve, still skittish around the newest addition to the family, padded quickly to the fore, eyeing the Blazemount sidelong.

I found this at the base of your tree. I thought you might wish to see it. He paused for a moment and then added (to Enke's surprise), Your mind is crisp and clear when you have meditated. Perhaps you should do it more often. He dipped his head, tails flicking.

"Thank you," he returned automatically, startled. He felt neither crisp nor clear. He'd been trying to stretch his power too much lately, still chafing at the age-old restriction of his chains. It left him drained and waspish with his bondmates. The only one who seemed to be enjoying Enke's discomfiture was Procellor. The Requia roosted high above. His cold, stark presence trickled down to the earthbound trio with occasional shrieks.

Enke pinched the bridge of his nose. When he had asked Griravus to perhaps goad the Legacy into a race, the Mistral had been dismissive. I would outfly him in the space of a breath. Some race. Besides, I am practicing with the air currents over the ocean, he had said.

At least his duo of Cracklings were off somewhere. They had grown bored with the relative quiet of his jungle haven and gone booming away to dazzle beachgoers with their brilliance, or something.

He thought it was bad enough having the lot of them crowding into his brain--try having them bunched together in a clearing while he was trying to meditate. There was no sudden light of joy in his face as he scanned the invitation, just weary resignation. He had learned in his brief time on Planet that nothing was as it seemed. The promised rest and relaxation was likely code for dread and dismemberment or something equally disturbing.

So then why did he know he was going to go anyway, despite the odds?

Sighing, Enke unfolded himself and stood, absently patting Jory's lush green neck. "I suppose it's back to the tree for me, friend. Try to keep Procellor from bothering Pluve while I'm away, would you?"

Before Jory could whiffle his agreement, the Toku spoke up. I'd like to come with you, if I may.

"You would?" Pluve was not known for his boldness. He had yet to interact with any humanoid other than Enke, and even the other Shinies discomfited him.

In response, he gave a flick of his seven remaining tails and an offer to carry Enke. Once Enke had packed his self-made clothes into his hand-crafted leather bag, the pair of them departed. The silence along their journey was restful, easy. By the time they reached the sleek, out-of-place building rising above the coast, the Free Magic man was in considerably better spirits. Perhaps some of Pluve's optimism had rubbed off.

They pushed through the grand doors together, blinking in the sudden coolness of the lobby. Extravagant. Enke found it rather distasteful and Pluve found it intimidating, but both of them were of the mind that Frizzle would appreciate the color scheme.

A Shiny he couldn't identify hustled up to take his one bag, but as he had stowed his bandolier in there, he refused to relinquish the burden. The Shiny silently struggled with him for a moment, all the while obscenely pleasant, but Enke's scowl won out in the end. Pluve cowered behind the man's legs.

The Orinico's scripted greeting breezed by him so fast that he missed half of it. What in the world was a Casino anyway? He didn't know and didn't care, he decided, as he ducked into his room to escape his host's abnormal cheer. No one should be that excited to welcome a hotel guest at a glorified inn.

Enke was perturbed as he dropped onto the bed. He pondered what this place would be back in his home world, and he laughed aloud at the incongruity. Pluve twitched at a sound outside in the hall, and his bond dropped a hand onto his head. "So much for rest. I doubt I could rest easy here without Ranna. But I suppose night is soon enough for sleeping. Let's go exploring."

And so they set off toward the lounge, where Enke made a beeline for the bar. He needed spirits. Strong spirits. He told a perky bartender so. His chagrin at being offered a cotton-candy pink beverage in a frosted glass abated with his first sip. It was delicious. And strong. Mmm.

No one had said he couldn't take his drink to the pool, had they? No, they hadn't, and he wasn't about to ask. Pluve trotted dutifully at his heels as he pushed through the doors. He was momentarily stricken by the view. Was something going to come along and attack him? This did seem a bit too good to be tree.

He spotted a female he recognized. Apricot had been at that queer bonding; she'd even found herself a companion via the crone's alien magic. She carried a faint whiff of magic herself, earthy and untainted. Enke gravitated toward her.

Pluve followed, but he positioned himself well away from Rizerin, Hwuen'elghinn, and Karka. The Ikal'daka and the Demonhound were too intimidating even if Apricot smelled peaceful. His tails trembled.

Enke lifted a hand in greeting to the Dryad and Gwen. "Hello. Am I wrong to assume that this may be some sort of trap?" He looked around, but he could see no enemies lurking, ready to spring from beneath deck chairs or explode out of the crystal clear pool water. Whazzit must be getting to him, poor man.

((He said, she said – laughed; 1,007))

How these people even know of his existence he had no clue. The Dark Fey was surprised to find that blue beast of his with the invitation hanging from his snout. Upon catching sight of the piece of paper, Zaer's purple eyes narrowed and he uttered a low growl. "What the f-ck did you snatch this time? Does that belong to the elf, you little thief?"

The Sapphire smirked, even though it didn't look like a smirk, Whers really couldn't move their snouts in that kind of way, but Zaer still knew it was a smirk. His tail curled around his hind legs before he stood up, peering at his bonded brightly. Come on, take it. Thats what he was telling him. The connection that the little beast had forged was extremely fuzzy and barely there, but the taunt was loud and clear.

Zaerias eyed him warily, walking up to the Watch-Wher and taking the paper from his grasp. Surprisingly the creature didn't toy with him at all and just allowed him to take it. But he could feel the stare that Zsk was giving him while he read the damn thing. He was invited to a Casino? A vacation, fully paid for? Zaer quirked a brow as he read. Should he really be so surprised that people knew that some new guy was living with the crazy Blood Elf?

"I'm not much of a gambler." The Wher growled at him- even as a Wherlet, he still knew the importance of that letter. Unfortunately, the Celeste Cat was off on one of his adventures and wasn't there to explain this to their bonded, so Zsk was going to have to get him there himself. The Sapphire watched as the invitation was carelessly discarded, and for the next few days he kept bringing the invitation and leaving it in places he was sure Zaer would find. And the Dark Fey had no idea it was him.

At about the 20th time he found the invitation, this time in his jeans pocket, he had had enough with this possessed piece of paper. It was the day of the vacation and goddamn it, if the paper wanted him that bad he supposed he would go. He asked one of Tanis's shinies to watch Zsk for him, and Winston whenever he decided to return, packed a small bag and was off.

Upon arrival at the place, he handed over his bag (reluctantly) to the strange creature that spoke to him. It looked vaguely equine but he didn't really know. but he was extremely surprised when, before the Orinoco even finished, he was greeted by a familiar individual. I knew you come, Zae! the Diamond purred happily, heavily jumping onto he man's shoulder. Zaer cursed and eyed the Feline warily.

"Where did you come from?" he said in a vaguely accusing tone of voice.

My mom, silly! C'mon, let go play something! Ugh, this creature was way too excited for this. But he reluctantly moved away from the front desk and up onto another deck, walking in and finding a lot of pool tables. Zaer grinned from ear to ear, eyes brightening considerably as he picked up Winston from his shoulder and set him down, going over to the pool sticks to inspect for one he liked.

Meanwhile, Winston caught sight of Gatsby and made his way over. Hi! You's know how to play? Coulds you teach me? he asked of the Werewolf as he jumped up onto the pool table, pleading at him with adorably cute eyes. Pleeeease, Gatsby? c:

[ooc; Will edit Winston's color coding later, too complicated on my iPhone xD]

Apricot stepped just the tiniest bit closer to Rizerin when the door to the deck opened to admit a women with three more of the strange assortment of creatures that seemed to outnumber the humanoids of this strange place by at least ten to one. When Rizerin perked up at the sight of new people to meet and she relaxed slightly. She'd decided to trust his judgment for now. It had not yet been rigorously tested but it had saved her from one or two minor mishaps.

Vendui' Rizerin replied happily to Karka before he looked beyond her and lowered his head slightly in respect and acknowledgement to the Rahwenress who had stayed by the door. Apricot followed his gaze and gave her own nod of acknowledgement before returning her attention to the human. Who was... taking off her clothing? Did this place have an unwritten rule that allowed for the human's taboo on the covering of their bodies to be disobeyed? Or did those scraps of fabric count? The strange cocoa offering women from the tent where she and Rizerin had met had worn a similar outfit.

Her thought process was interrupted when Rizerin stepped lightly on her foot and flicked an ear in the woman's direction. She blinked first at him and then the women before she shifted her foot and pushed Rizerin away. She smiled politely and said "It is a pleasure to meet you Merrick, I am Apricot."

She fell silent after that not quite sure how to make small talk, even if she had wanted to. The new comer who arrived shortly after that was a welcome distraction from the struggle of figuring out what to do or say next. She was surprised to reorganize him as the chained one from the tent. She hadn't thought she'd be seeing any of them again except for maybe, hopefully, Meliai. His question however deserved her full attention and she could wonder at this coincident later.

"It is possible, I regret to admit to the fact that I did no research before hand so I don't know what constitutes as normal for this place. However, now that you bring the subject up the gaudy decorations do seem to be the type to disguise hidden intent." She said with a frown. Ignoring Rizerin's gusty sigh she continued "I received an invitation and was welcomed to take advantage of their hospitality. No reason as to why the offer was made was given. Did you also receive such an invite?"

When the invitation unexpectedly arrived there was a certain buzz of excitement in Mel's household. Mel, and a select couple other shinies, were quite deservedly nervous. Parties and events on Planet were not always happy things. Regardless how things appeared or even started they could end in ways that only served to send shivers down Mel's spine as she tried to wipe the memories from her mind. Riordan, her lovely Tempest, retained his typically positive demeanor as he encouraged her to get out of the house. It was a little bit of a surprise, considering the Arathlial had been a participant in one of those parties gone wrong.

But in the end she was cajoled into going. The Ailoa, after all, had already laid out a dress.

As convenient as it would have been for Meliai to take one of the dragons or Arathlial, it was less practical. There needed to be as many intelligent and sane shinies staying behind and keeping the peace (if you could call Irya sane...). It was a bit of a surprise when Hugo stepped forward, but Mel wasn't going to argue at this point. She'd spent so much time getting ready she was afraid she'd be late for check in.

“Do tell me when Orsinsk cuts his teeth.”

Lianth took up a large part of the front yard, trying to usher his bond off to the resort. It would be good for her to get away from the daily tedium. One wher baby was challenge enough to handle, but two was certainly taking it's toll. Especially with that horrid flamma always lurking about, trying to recruit other shinies into assisting in her terrible deeds. Yes, mine, I will. He bent his head to his bond, eyes swirling all manner of pleasant color. The dryad embraced his snout warmly. She had never been able to give as much to him as she would have liked.

“And make sure Samson doesn't terrorize that new moonfire.”

The dragon rolled his eyes. Of course.

“Oh, and if anything major happens you are to come get me right away.”

His tone changed to one of chiding, although the humor in his eyes remained. If you do not depart in the next minute I will see to it that both whers end up in your hotel room. It was an empty threat but one that worked none the less. Meliai sighed, hurrying toward her hippogryph.

The shadowguard that seemed always at her side phased into physical being, tail low in a nervous wag. He was so often quiet, but always at the dryad's side. A quiet whine escaped his narrow head as he watched her mount the Owl. You goes away? He was too timid to ask to come himself, but it was obvious he hated the thought of Mel leaving. The dryad, a total pushover, patted her leg, inviting the hound up as well. There would be no harm in letting him come. He certainly wasn't prone to getting into any trouble.

In another moment they were airborn.

______

Meliai entered the casino in cream and black, bright lights glinting off of the deco patterned beads on her dress. Her classic, pale, t-strap shoes and feathery fascinator finished off the 20's look her bonds had so carefully constructed for her. It suited her tiny frame perfectly, although her mass of hair seemed a little out of place. It was no matter, she was excited to be here.

Her bags had already mysteriously arrive, although she wasn't really sure what the rest of her bonds had packed for her. She supposed she would find out as she followed the Scelta to her room. Arlen had phased back into his shadow form as soon as they had entered the building, and, instead of flying back home, the hippy seemed pretty content to stick around. In fact, she had barely time to set down her things when he whipped around to follow the plinky noises he had heard coming from somewhere else.

It was here her party split. The casino was much to busy for the shy platinum and he felt well enough to slip away, knowing his bond would be in the building. He made his way back down to the lounge, where fewer guests had chosen to situate themselves. Zeph sat at one of the tables nearly alone and Arlen, who shared everything with his bond and therefor was privy to many of her secrets, recognized the skeleton man immediately. He recalled the particular feels his bond had for him. So it was only polite he let the Soul Collector know she was here.

Phasing back to physical for this one task he approached, ears back and tail tucked. You's friend of my bond, Meliai? He wasn't really good at talking to strangers and finding common ground seemed to be a good way to start off. Besides, it would allow him to feel out this man for himself. He loved his bond very much and while he supported her he wanted to know Zeph had only the best of intentions in regard to her.

__________

Floors above, Meliai chased after Hugo who went straight for the slots. The creature clacked his beak, biting at one of the running lights. His eyes were wide and tail swishing. It was obvious this was a lot of stimulation for the Owl. “Here, I'll show you how it works.”

A brief conversation with an attendant got an account set up and a bucket of coins for the dryad. Plunking in front of the machine she slipped in a coin and pulled the lever. The machine lit up even more, chiming as the reels spun. It was a losing spin, but the hippy pranced, wide eyed and happy. He grabbed a coin from the bucket and shoved it at the screen. If he had been a small child he would have been screaming 'doitagaindoitagain!' Mel was only too happy to oblige, hoping this little obsession wouldn't last too long. She liked the game well enough but there was much more to see and do. She didn't want to be stuck here all night.

"Apricot," Gwendolyn repeated simply, in the flattest of tones. It was hard to tell if she was acknowledging the name, or passing judgment on it, or a mixture of the two; the only thing that was evident was that she stared steadily at the odd-looking girl for a long moment with a token frown, lips quirked very slightly downward at the corners.

It was both lucky and unlucky that Enke showed up when he did; lucky because Apricot was spared a very long and very awkward encounter with a very rude Healer, and unlucky because Gwendolyn really, really wasn't actually interested in making conversation. It was no small secret among Whazzitians now that Gwen wasn't exactly a sociable person, and she certainly didn't make a habit of meeting new people all the time. But, gasp, she'd somehow failed to meet both of these. How... delightful.

Oh, hello. You must be knew. One brow arched high on the ex-witch now-weird-magic-user's (oh god what was she supposed to call herself now???) forehead as she turned to face Enke. "Probably," she replied simply, countering Apricot's answer with her own flatly-delivered opinion. "The Weyrd is unpredictable, but typically, things that are dangerous do look dangerous. Besides, the Weyrd's Anniversary is today, and judging by the fact that all of Planet seems to have been invited, this is likely intended to be a Wzztversary celebration." How she actually managed to spit out the five straight consonants of 'wzztversary" was anyone's guess, but hey, Gwen came from the wizarding world... there were a lot of weird names and words and the like in her vocabulary. Wzztversary was probably just another one to add to the list. "I received an invitation as well. And I hazard to guess that everyone else did too," she added in the same authoritative, but somewhat bored tone she'd been using the whole time.

Meanwhile, there were Hwuen'elghinn and Karka, who seemed equally as unimpressed as Gwendolyn and confuddled, respectively. Hwuen'elghinn had never been of the particularly authoritarian mindset, despite her breed, and she merely snorted in vague acknowledgement to the bowing Rizerin. Karka, on the other hand, was not the sharpest tool in the shed, and despite the rather common phrase, Drowish went right over her little Demonhound head. She did, however, cock her head, flop out her tongue, wag her tail and generally just smile pretty at the friendly Kal'daka. Did she look unthreatening enough now, Enke?

"I was planning to go for a swim," Gwendolyn added, again in a more or less unreadable tone. Let her companions decide if it was meant to be an excuse, invitation, or mere statement. But the pool was impressive in size, and so, circling around to the deep end, she dove straight in without another word, surfacing halfway up the pool.

((WC: 484; Summer days - swim))

The lights of the slot machines where hurting her eyes, eyes that where much more sensitive in the dull light of the casino. In the time since her transformation the mandalorian had grown used to the sensitivity of her feline eyes, but the glare of the blinking lights upon the slot machine was quickly giving her a headache. But that didn't matter as she was on something of a winning streak with this particular machine, a winning streak that totally had nothing to do with the fact that she was cheating. She grinned slightly, her body leaning back so that she could relax for the moment, and nodded lightly to the woman that was upon the machine next to her. Tracyn had been at the Slot Machines since her arrival in the casino, when she had arrived her bags had been taken by some assistants, and she'd been given the key to her room shortly after while being ushered into the casino.

For the moment Tracyn was alone, well if you didn't count the woman on the machine next to hers, and that was okay with her as she hadn't had word back from Chet yet. Sure she'd left a message for him with his shinies, but that didn't mean that he had gotten that message, and if he had she wasn't sure if he would meet up with her. Wiggling her exposed toes the mando woman reached forward and pulled the arm of the slot machine downward. The barrels of the machine spun, sound affects and lights blaring in a way that reminded her of her buy'ce's HUD in the middle of battle! Smiling lightly she reached over to the drink that sat on the small table beside her, taking a swig as the reels slowly stooped to reveal that she had made a loss.

She allowed her face to fall at her loss, a loss that she had planned into her system so that the casino would not catch on to her cheating - a good mando never allowed themselves to get caught!

Leaning back once more she sighed, flagging down one of the assistants of the casino to make an order of a club sandwich. Gambling worked up quite the apatite, and she had heard from the woman beside her that the club sandwiches where particularly good. Watching the woman leave Tracyn decided that she would stay at her machine until after her sandwich arrived, and then she would leave to dry out the games in the card area which looked particularly exciting in comparison to the slots. Of course she had another motive in the fact that the card tables didn't have any bright lights to assault her eyes with, and she badly needed to give her eyes a rest before they popped out of her skull!

Rubbing her eyes she shuffled back her chair and slipped away from the machine, her hand moving to quickly retrieve the small item that she had stuck to the underside of it earlier. No need leaving behind evidence behind of her wrong doings, and besides she might want to use it later on in her trip on the other gambling machines. Slipping to one side she took a seat at one of the tables, not wanting to move to far away as she knew that her club sandwich would be delivered to her soon and she didn't want to make the waitress hunt her down. She hoped the waitress would come back soon, her stomach was growling just a little, and she was already starting to crave for the taste of the cheese that she had asked for in her sandwiches.

---

My Desires | Crave | 612 words

Katsumi grinned widely, giving a little spin, the black layers around her legs lifting ever so slightly. "It's perfect!" she exclaimed, beaming at the trio of Ailoa that were watching her with bright, expectant eyes.
I know! Totally told Thom that was your color! the Catahoula squealed, waggling as she stood to circle the red-haired woman. Katsumi was in a dress with a shiny navy top lined in black, and a black ruffled skirt. She had on a pair of low-slung heels, black with a shiny, thin diamond-laid strip from the toes to her ankles. Now we do hair! she cooed, and the pair of Azawakhs got to their paws and went to work, instructing Kat just what to do.

In the end, Kat left her home clutching a navy-and-black simple purse, her red hair lightly primped into waves that cascaded down her back. It appeared that she was alone on her way to the casino, the invitation folded neatly in her bag, but that wasn't true. Located in her clothing, hair, and purse were three Psyders- Tarantula, Zero, and Beldam, respectively. She did make a stop into the stables, however- her bags weren't going to carry themselves, and she was not walking to the Anniversary party in heels, no matter how low. She saddled up Skylla for her ride there, and put a halter on Veles so she could lead him back to the house to bag him up.

Thank Keehar (Tarzi? Who's the god now?) for Blazemounts.

So the Hellhound was finally on her way, sitting side-saddle on the large Wind, with the smaller-built Tide prancing around her despite his baggage. He was clearly trying to make the best of their slow pace. When they finally arrived, the Lord nuzzled the assistants so hard Kat was sure the poor fellows would topple over, but they took it in stride and the happy Blazie made a new friend (aww <3). Skylla was far more reserved, shy to be honest, but no one needed to assist the tall demon in dismounting. Skylla and Veles would head home, leaving Katsumi for her stay.
The woman entered the building and was nearly assaulted by a cheery Scelta. He thrust a room key at her, and Kat took it mostly from fear that she'd be skewered on his sharp horns. As he spoke, Katsumi was surprisingly quiet, listening to his explanation and nodding at appropriate intervals. As he left her at her door, Katsumi blinked. She knew it would be a resort type hotel but... this was a lot to take in, even for her. D8 She opened her door and shoved her bags into the room, not bothering to unpack.

"Well guys, let's go explore," she told the Psyders, and she felt the happy tapping from Zero. He approved, at least. Katsumi didn't have any plans, and instead just picked a direction, and a room, and somehow wound up surrounded by the bright flashy lights that often were associated with slot machines. She overheard Meliai offer to show a Hippogryph how to work them, and approached with a wide grin. "Mind if I sit on this class?" she asked, sounding totally relaxed.


[Summer Days; Relax(ed); 528 Worlds

Kat's Dress]

The dish of water and platter of meat arrived quickly and Tara eagerly dug in, while Zeph busied himself with his book. A few villagers had come and gone, but none had stayed longer than it took to have a drink poured, so the Soul Collector had mostly ignored them. That all changed when a strange Shadowguard approached.

"Hm? Oh yes, yes I am. Are you one of her shinies?" he asked curiously, noting the posture of the Shadowguard. He hoped the Platinum wasn't afraid of him, and so the Soul Collector restrained himself from leaning over and patting the shiny on the head. Tara was a bit more bold though, and grabbed a piece of meat from her platter and offered it to the shy Shadowguard in a show of friendship. No need to be afraid! Her bond was really nice!

There was at least one Whazzitian totally psyched to go to a casino. I mean resort. Okay, place where dinner expenses would be covered. "Dine and dash on someone else's dime? Hells to the yes!" Taki exclaimed, reading and re-reading the letter she'd sound. In someone else's mailbox. Oh, the shame. She figured that the actual tenant wouldn't mind, having several of the exact same letter already falling out of the postal depository. In fact, she saved this poor Whazzitian from the burden of their mail by grabbing armfuls of the invitation and trotting triumphantly back to the happy little hole in the wall she was calling home.

An Arathlial, Jim, uneasily greeted his bond. Tell me that isn't- Taki cut him off, dropping the pile at the base of "Jim's Tree". (You knew it was Jim's Tree based on the massive cardboard sign labeling the perch. It was duct-taped several times around the base of the plant, and definitely not going anywhere anytime soon.) "Free stuff, Jim. I bring free stuff. Jim rolled his big ol' eagle eyes, something he found himself doing more often than when he was in the nest. Yes, but to whom does this 'free stuff' actually belong? ...And is that a letter from an African prince? "Eh, something about needing help accessing his massive stash of gold. If we just send him a few hundred monies, he'll pay us back. -With interest!" Taki waggled an eyebrow at the eagle for a moment, before pulling one of the invitations from the pile.

"But this, this is the important one!" She held it triumphantly to the large bird who humored Taki and jumped down from his tree. ...All 6 feet of down. It wasn't a particularly impressive tree. So, what is this one say? I cannot read it with you flapping the paper around like that. "There's a casino! Great place for dirty business. And food. Though I think the food is clean. It says 'all expenses covered', so... I thought I'd take my lucky nickel down and live it up for a day, you wanna co-" No, thank you.

Taki pouted for a moment, a bit upset that her bestest friend on this whole Planet wouldn't be going with her. "I've been good all week, Jim! Why not?"

You mean aside from abducting the neighbor's cat, pestering every humanoid thing you come across, stealing someone's mail, and tens of other things that I choose not to remember at this moment in time? ...I am an Arathlial, Taki. A large bird ill-suited for some tight-quarters mingling. Besides, my feathers are still a mess from that hair dye "accident". "It's good camouflage, and you mom was such a pretty green, why aren't you?" Jim snorted and ruffled his now mottled green feathers. I am not going out looking like this.

...Do bring me some food, though. You human-things make some of the best wheat-treats. With a snort, Taki left - knowing that she could argue with the Mistral for days and still not get anywhere. Stubborn son of a - "Fine. Watch my box. I'll be back tomorrow. Maybe."

It was a long walk.

A -long- walk.

By the time she'd made it to the Casino, Taki had enough time to hastily display her invitation and dash off to the deranged misses room. Someone must've been changing clothes in one of the stalls, of perhaps PIF didn't believe in smelling like a goat and attending anniversary events dressed like a hobo, because there was a colorful arrangement of clothes to choose from, ripe for the... wearing. :D Making doubly sure that nobody was looking, the madwoman darted into a stall, changed and perfumed up a bit before returning to the festivities. So many color and shapes and people waiting to be-

Taki's thought process came to a screeching halt. In the dining area, possibly one of the coolest costumes she'd ever seen was sitting there with a small group of shiny things about him. She couldn't resist the urge, immediately darting behind Zeph and playing with his bony wings. "Whoah, this is, hands down, the most convincing grim reaper costume I have ever seen. O.M.G. Did'ja make it?!" She squealed with amusement.

Ahaha. X'D 'Costume.'

Taki has a dress? Whoo! -link-

Congratulations! You’ve been invited!

The letter had arrived several days before and Raymond had downright refused to read it to her; in fact he’d forced her to work her way through the four words until she was cross-eyed. Once she’d finally discerned their meaning, Cidonie put an end to the bullying of the large Kos and read the rest of the invitation to the young woman. Of course the meaning was still highly elusive to Eloise, but at the very least she realized that she was invited to someplace special. In her mind she equated it to being invited to the summer palace, as her mother had been before she’d ended up here after an ill-fated—or perhaps not quite so ill-fated—carriage ride across the English countryside.

Naturally one didn’t refuse an invitation like this so preparations were made and Glinda and Edmund began to work on packing several of her gowns, two of her new corsets, supplies to pin up her hair, shoes and stockings and well as various random tidbits that they might need including thread and needles for impromptu repair work, something that was likely given how often El seemed to utterly destroy her gowns. In the end, it took a full day to pack, partially because Ribbons kept stealing his namesake from the luggage forcing everyone to go searching for him.

After a night of rest, there was much squabbling about who would go with El one this grand retreat until finally the newest of the court of critters, and undoubtedly the new leader stepped forward, her head high as she tossed what was likely to be the beginnings of a rather spectacular golden mane, her green-gold eyes snapping to Raymond. I will be accompanying Elouise to the retreat. That is final. Her last word wavered a bit before she clamped down on her brief insecurity at addressing El’s other shinies and was relieved when most of them seemed to give up their bickering without a fight—Raymond did a bit of glaring and grumbling as he shuffled back into the sitting room. With everything decided by the young Unicorn, it was only a matter of getting El dressed for the journey.

Edmund had chosen a beautiful floral print gown with pale blue silk brocade over skirt and split bodice and puffed sleeves. It was a bit more revealing than El’s latest fashion trend liked but it only took an arch look from a certain Silver for her to quiet her protests and allow the gown to be pulled over her head and fitted properly to her small frame. Her hair was done in gentle waves, bits of it picked up and pinned back with pearl encrusted pins while one of her mother’s coronets—adorned with pearls and green stones—was fixed to her head as well. A matching necklace, ear bobs and belt joined the rest of the ensemble and when El looked at herself in the mirror she frowned and stared balefully at the pinkish-red line running parallel with her necklace across her throat and the hideous pinkish-red line that cut jaggedly across the top of her right breast.

Turning from the mirror, she moved toward a basket of scarves only to have a silvery gray form step into her path, gold-green eyes capturing her own. You will not cover yourself in shame. Bear the markings of her trial with pride, for you survived by the grace of a Unicorn. You are my chosen. The last was said with such conviction and finality that it seemed to be a reason all its own for El to leave off with the covering scarves. After a few more thwarted attempts by El to raid the scarf basket it was finally time to load El into a phaeton-like carriage to which Hingham had obligingly been hitched. It had been decided that Cidonie would trot along beside the conveyance as there was really no way for her to join Elouise.


When El pulled up to the resort she stared, slack-jawed at the massive metallic building with more than a hint of disbelief and awe present on her face. Never had she seen such a large building before, and still she wasn’t entirely certain that it was a building. When she failed to disembark from the phaeton, Cidonie tossed her head impatiently before shoving her head into the carriage and snorting delicately. The attendants are waiting, Elouise. And sure enough, there seemed to be several people hovering near the carriage, waiting for some signal that they could take the several chests of luggage.

They have footmen, perhaps it is like the palace after all. El mused to herself as she double checked that she had her invitation then stepped out of the carriage with the help of one of the young men that had hurried over to hand her down. As she was settling her skirts into place and smoothing out her bodice, she felt something shift in her left sleeve and jumped slightly, knocking into Cidonie who had settled at her right. The Silver stared at her soul mate and had she been able, would have arched a brow. There was a moment where panic almost took hold before a familiar sound identified the stowaway.

Bloooooop oooop!

Regaining her composure and looking a little sheepish, El followed along beside the quietly amused Cidonie as they made their way into an alarmingly purple lobby. While she was staring at all of the purple that seemed to engulf her when a rather startling—everything startled her of course—horse-like face suddenly filled her vision, complete with a beak…wait what? Taking a step back, hands clasped around and threatening to crumple her invitation, El suddenly became very overwhelmed by the Orinoco and his rambling speech.

Cidonie watched El carefully as her expression ran the gambit from startled, to perplexed and finally seemed to settle on hopelessly and adorably lost as she shook her head, dumbly trading her invitation for a key. Casino? Slot machines? Elevator? Of course Cidonie was very much confused by all of these strange words as well, though she was a bit better at hiding it. Puffing out her chest, she took the lead as the Orinoco continued to babble as he led the way to a shiny section of the wall only to have it slip open to reveal a small room with a hand rail on three sides. Above the handrail were mirrors and below highly polished silver like the outside of the building. Cidonie hesitated then stepped into the small cubicle, followed almost blindly by Elouise.

There was the faint sound of music in the air and it seemed to bring El out of her daze just in time to see the doors close behind her as she stared into the mirror. Suddenly feeling very closed in she spun around with wide eyes to find that the Orinoco was gone and a row of silver buttons on the wall beside the door. One of them was lit up so she hesitantly reached out to push it only to have the oddest thing happen. Suddenly everything seemed to spin and when she could see properly again she flung her hands out with a screech and grabbed into the railing; she was falling! Up was suddenly down and down was up and to top it all off, the little box room was moving! Her chest constricted as her knees gave out and she collapsed in a puddle of silk brocade in the corner, her eyes shut as she shouted.

”We’re going to die! We’re falling, we’re falling!”

This was added too by Ack’s reactionary panic.

Blooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooopppp!

Cidonie, startled by the sudden outburst took a step back and bumped into the side of the elevator car, green-gold eyes wide as she stared at her hysterical bond. Elouise Parker, what are you doing? We are not falling, the room is moving up. Of course the moving of the room alarmed the Silver but she was more concerned about her bond’s reaction. Things didn’t get any worse as El’s frightened rambling increased in pitch and decreased in volume until she was pretty much just squeaking out incoherent words when the elevator finally stopped and the doors slid open to reveal the casino, almost drowned out by Ack’s insistent blooping.

Cidonie stepped out of the elevator then turned to El who still seemed convinced that she was going to fall and narrowed her eyes. This was highly ridiculous behavior, even for El. Of course, before she could set the young woman straight, the doors closed in the Silver’s face and the elevator began its descent to the lobby once more. This time El let out another shriek before reverting to her squeaky babbling, though this time she seemed adamant that she was being crushed against the ceiling! When the elevator opened again, it would be to the sight of El wedged in the corner, her feet up in the air as she tried to push herself up—thinking of course that she could climb back down to the floor—her dress pooled around her and her hair splayed across the tile floor. The cries of the brightling covered the muzak and the highpitched muttering of the girl.

Tally ho! Here we are at the inn! Our quest is complete! As usual, D'nilok was taking his duties as party leader very seriously. The Detholusin had assembled the entire pack of Ikal'daka for this escort mission and had even taken it upon himself to carry the three garment bags that Ria had packed. Ultrine carried the rest of the luggage, Yorlii carried Ria, Olplyn as usual had packed lightly for thieving with Nabooru the Celeste Cat riding on her shoulders, and old man M'elzar carried precisely nothing.

Some inn, Olplyn grinned as she stretched down to allow the Amethyst to dismount. Too bad you boys won't be seeing our room. Girls only, I'm afraid. No telling what sort of indecent things Ria might get up to, hm? The Zanjur winked at Ria as she slid down gracefully from Yorlii's back and said nothing to the contrary. After all, she couldn't wait until she could slip out of her traveling skirt and what could barely be considered a top and into a slinky dress instead.

D'nilok didn't think to doubt Olplyn's reasoning, but M'elzar shot her a solemn glare. Be reasonable, Olplyn. We're here as guests...so don't get caught. There were plenty of honest ways to swindle money from people in a casino, and he wouldn't get in their way. The Faern headed in the direction of the lounge that the Orinoco had pointed out; he'd rest his feet with Ultrine and Yorlii before making the return trip to keep an eye on the rest of Ria's shinies. Olplyn and Nabooru had already crept off to take stock of their options, leaving only D'nilok to finish the high-priority quest of luggage before he too would return home.

Not that he doubted that the Orinoco could handle transporting a few bits of luggage, of course. He just wanted to see this quest through to the end; he was a hardcore completionist, which meant that when he spotted a damsel in distress in the elevator (Elouise) he quickly bounded over to her for rewards another side quest. Young maiden! You are in need of saving! Shall I fight gravity for you!? He glanced up from Elouise and spun around quickly to growl at Ack. En garde, foul beast!

"I've got this, D'nilok," Ria assured her ridiculous Kal'daka with a gentle squeezing of his muzzle until he quit snarling at the Brightling. She offered a hand to Elouise with a reassuring smile. "Geez El, how many have you had? Save some drinks for the rest of us, hm?" Ria could only assume that booze was the reason Elouise was flat on the floor of the elevator. That or she'd just seen Cirque du Soleil and was having trouble remembering how gravity worked for mere mortals. Either way, she wasn't judging. Ria had done worse in elevators. Maybe there'd be a demonstration in a few hours, after she got Elouise back to her room/legal guardian. "Do you know which floor you're on?"

"I did indeed." He fished the now-crumpled invitation from his pocket, staring at the fancy letter as if it might divulge some nefarious intent. But at least the other one didn't seem worried, and she seemed to be more in the know than Enke or Apricot. She sounded positively bored, in fact, even in the midst of all this extravagance?

"Wzztversary?" He tried to wrap his tongue around the foreign word, but it came out more as a mish-mash of sound than an actual string of syllables. His nose wrinkled in distaste. Even Dyrim couldn't help him pronounce that one, he'd wager.

But anniversary, at least, he could comprehend. Even the Old Kingdom marked the passage of time with the turning of the year and the celebration of the kingdom's birth. Perhaps it was nothing more than a lavish party then...still, he was somehow off-put.

Before he could think of anything else to say, the bored one had sauntered off and dove into the pool. Now that was a tempting luxury, indeed. He looked questioningly to Apricot.

"Shall we swim, lady?" he said. He hadn't brought clothes for swimming in, but he didn't seem to mind. He simply divested himself of his surcoat and shirt, tucking them in a neat little pile on the nearest chair and trusting Pluve, who had no intention whatsoever of going any closer to the pool, to watch them.

The Omega tilted his head back at the Demonhound, though the tension did not leave his frame. His un-clipped tails still trembled.

As he waded carefully into the pleasantly-temperate water, Enke allowed himself a small sigh of contentment. He might as well enjoy whatever comforts were to be had before the shenanigans began, at least. He pushed off from the pool steps and launched himself into a serene float, buoyant despite his chains.

With her head twisted at a strange angle, El watched as a Kal’daka bounded across the ceiling towards her and into the strange upside down room, though as she looked beyond him, all of the hideous yet comfortable looking couches seemed to be on the ceiling as well. Oh dear, what was going on. Of course, Ack had fled her sleeve so as not to get crushed and as the Kal’daka lept into the elevator, declaring his intention to save her, he mistakenly decided that Ack was the danger from which he would save her from and the poor little Brightling very nearly wet itself as it whirled around and flew up the side of the wall (or fell to the ground in El’s way of thinking).

Blblblblblblbloooooooo!

”That is not Gravity, that is Ack. Please don’t hurt him. Oh…Oh! Ria!” Never had El been so happy to see a person in her life. Surely the older woman would help her much as she had done during the Blazemount fiasco at Kythen’s home. With one hand still clinging by the fingers to the handrail, she reached out with the other and groped at the woman’s foot. The rest of her body followed as she twisted, her corset pinching and poking her as she rolled onto her stomach and reached for Ria, trying to climb her as though something was pushing down on her. ”How do you stand on the ceiling so, I am going to fall! I stepped into the little mirror room and then everything flipped upside down and I started to fall and then Cidonie disappeared and I got squished against the ceiling and now everything is all messed up and I don’t know what to doooooo!”

By the end she was so high pitched and out of breath that it was nearly impossible to understand her, but the confusion and terror was readily apparent. It was going to be a looooooong night it would seem. And certainly not relaxing in the least for anyone around El if this kept up throughout the entire stay (which of course it would >D).

Meanwhile, separated from El, Cidonie tried to figure out how to get the doors to open and pressed the strange button beside the shiny doors so that it lit up but as she waited and waited, she began to fear that perhaps El had gotten herself into trouble again; she'd heard many tales from the girl's other shinies where she'd blundered into chaos and ended up getting hurt, humiliated or in one instance, killed. Deciding that perhaps it would be a good idea to seek out someone to help her, she turned from the doors and ventured out into the casino, green-gold eyes peeled for an able body, while her mind tried to find a way to phrase her request for help so that it wouldn't sound like a request for help. She supposed she could just demand that someone help her though that lacked tact and wasn't her style. Yes she gave imperious commands but not out of the blue. Walking up to the first person she found that looked as though they might be useful (whoever is in the casino and wants to interact) she pulled herself up to her full height and lifted her chin, her golden horn nub glinting in the light. Excuse me, might I have a word with you?

How could no one notice that smell? Couldn't they smell it?

At least the invitation was nice enough. It was picked out of the trash in which this creature's black and gray claws dug. Most people called this one "The Mute," but it just called itself "Mute." Ticking at the corner, the ambiguous, though human-looking thing opened it up and marveled at the page. Mute? Invited? It was almost so surprised that the ripped red scarf covering Mute's face and neck trembled for a moment. This sounded amazing.

Just how would Mute appear to be a regular passenger, however? The most notable features included pale-gray skin, dirty and short white hair, plus those eyes. The ring was a deep red, bathed in darkness instead of white. Its only clothes were getting old, too. Black pants and a gray longsleeve were all it had, so those dog-like legs would see a little attention. The most notable feature, though, had to be the sticky, rotten, almost pulsing odor that was an old friend that Mute didn't know about. It was like that of rotten meat, left in the sun, then fried, and evacuated by a big, munchy, gross beast of gross. Flies wouldn't even come close enough to land.

Thinking about this invitation made Mute almost want a bath. It always wondered what one would be like.

The arrival had many turning away. Some gagged. Some couldn't wait that long. No matter how much they did this, Mute was oblivious. It was sure that this place couldn't be all that it seemed. It was making people sick. There were no bags to help with, and as soon as the announcement ended, the smell creature walked on. It was slower than everyone else. All these pretty lights were so much to take in. Mute already loved this place and had no idea what all of this was for.

It passed lights, and sounds...mostly of those who couldn't take the smell. It was ignored again and again. Sure, Mute could hear every word. It wasn't deaf too, but kept wondering if someone had a bad smell it couldn't pick up on. For a long time, the thing went forward, eventually finding the pool. This was new.

For some reason, all these people and others wasted this perfectly clear water. Mute stood a little angry. It couldn't stand this situation. No one could drink it while everyone wiggled their happy selves in it. They were close to naked too! This was inexcusable! An empty sigh voiced disappointment all its own, and yet Mute wasn't able to speak its mind. The mind rant ran on in the thing's head, making it oblivious to the man running up behind it.

-SPLASH-

He pushed the quiet one in for a surprise, and to get a little of the smell out of the air. Unfortunately for everyone else, there was a weird smoke-looking blackness coming from where Mute was. All manners of dirt, dust, and grime now infested the water. In the middle of it was the immediate victim coming back up gasping from behind a soaked scarf. It sounded like someone had been choking on porcupine covered in sand.

Surprisingly, Mute could swim well enough to reach the side of the pool. The only question was lying in the hands of others. Would anyone come to the aid of this thing that just ruined the pool?

Oh, Chet had been here sooner than you think, Tracyn. Granted, he had been here, and he had promptly been distracted by the awesomeness that was a hotel room. Because you know what? He'd never been in a hotel room like this before. What with the fluffy blankets and squishy white pillows and the tiled shower aaaaaaaaaand...

the mini-bar!

Okay, so after eating what probably was a few expensive candy bars and downing a bottle of what was probably a nice rum--and now wondering why there was a tiny little locked fridge-ish thing in here in the first place which he'd had to pry open with his beskad--Chet had finally been begged out the door by Lossiae.

She was his companion in this adventure today. The rapidly growing Comet had needed a break. Dealing with her Guardian of Danger brother took a lot out of her on a day to day basis as she stuck to her impulses as Guardian of Protection. Sometimes the Sky and the Comet would team up to outwit some 'greater evil' together, but quite frankly Gilrae was more trouble than he was often worth.

So to treat her nicely for a little while, Chet had brought her along. She still wasn't full size, which was nice because hotel rooms weren't exactly built with adult Gryphons in mind. She actually fit rather nicely on the bed, even with Chet already there.

But oh right. They hadn't talked to Tracyn yet, even though Chet had gotten the message. He just wasn't hard to distract with new things, and this casino/hotel/whatever business was definitely new.

With Lossiae hot on his heels, he finally moved out of the hotel room, stopping long enough to make sure he still had his key in his pocket. And then they were off, going down to the casino, Chet's keen gaze searching for his beloved.

He spotted her at the slot machines and he raised his voice in a shout. "Tracyn!" His hand came up, and it might look a bit different than the last time anyone (barring Tracyn) had seen it. After he'd done an idiotic thing and fed his original arm to Gask, he'd been taken home by his fellow Mandalorian and had been fixed up with this sweet piece of cybernetic goodness.

Still, it wasn't the same and he eyed it oddly as it flashed metallic in the casino's blinking lights.

((Going to be vague-ish about his arm until we get through our ATW thread, but I needed to get this in. <3 <3))

Lobby
(Khryssie)
The hotel was efficient, and even with the influx of so many guests at once everyone was being attended to carefully and efficient, and Khryssie would not be left blocking the check in line for very long at all. We have all the amenities that you could ask for. The Orinoco answered affirmatively, blowing a surprisingly sharp whistle for a horse-like animal, how he did it anyone was free to figure out, but it did catch the attention of a pretty little pink Brightling that came Meep Meeping over towards her cheerfully. She'll take you on over there if you'd like. And with that the Orinoco was gone again to show another guest the way to their room and make sure everything was running orderly, leaving Khryssie in the Brightlings guidance.

The Brightling that was quite pleased to show the pretty woman around, looping casually around the woman as though to get a good look at her dress before darting off and out towards the pool, obviously expecting the woman to follow her. Come on then she knew just the place to get those nails fixed up all nice and pretty. The little spa building just to the right of the pool was fully staffed and as soon as Khryssie stepped through the door of the open building a cheerful Nocturne attendant that seemed to be running the place greeted her. Welcome darlings, is pleasure to sees you, what can we be doing this afternoon? Running off behind the little Nocturne was that... was that Blezur Powlet wiggling his eyebrows at you on the way by Khryssie? Did Powlets even have eyebrows? And where was he going in such a hurry?

Pool
(Apricot, Gwendolyn, Enke, Mute)
Perhaps, if you didn't want the opinions of the staff butting in on your conversations, it would be better not to be holding them around the crowded pool. As it was a passing Thorn Seedmorph overheard the suspicious conversation of the three that had gathered down by the pool, and he wasn't going to leave well enough alone without at least adding his two cents into the conversation. No traps or tricks here, just a bunch of incompetent losers. The Thorn grouched, which explained why he was down here by the pool on break instead of up at his table in the Casino where he should have been. His grouchy demeanor was waved off by an Adiemus Scelta that was passing by with a pool net, flashing a bright smile to Gwendolyn as he did so. Oh don't mind him it's a wonderful day, is there anything that I can get for you ladies? And the fellas, if there was anything that Enke wanted, of course, he was but here to serve.

Oh dear! Help! A little voice cried out as a Lilla Xys that had been enjoying the sunlight by the pool, scurrying over to check on the man that had been shoved off into the water, snagging up the neatly towel beside her as she did so. Here is a towel sir, it is generally appropriate to shower before getting into the water. I can show you where they are. Stepping back to allow the man room to get out of the pool, and indeed she would show him where the showers were by way of a particularly detailed mental image as she was calling for someone to come clean up the pool. There were other inhabitants of the waters after all, it needed to be cleaned up as soon as possible.

Lounge
(Zeph, Arlen(Meliai), Taki)
Zeph's order would be taken, and indeed his food would be very quickly returned with, a shout of And do try not to drop it dear! Following the Xheir Kyae and his very carefully balanced tray of food and water for the skeletal man that was eased down onto the table. I hope everything is to your satisfaction if there is anything more please just let us know. The lines had a note of careful memorization behind his eager cheerfulness as he hovered just a little bit longer waiting for some kind of indication from the man as to whether there was more that he wanted or whether there was anything wrong with what he had brought. The Firelizard seemed pleased enough, but he had no idea if the skeletal man had any plans for anything else.

Which mean the Xheir was still standing there when Arlen made his approach to talk to the man, and was followed shortly by the rather vocal woman. For a second the Xheir just kind of stared at them a little dumbfounded before offering, Is there anything that you would like? Mostly to the Shadowguard that seemed to be a little more approachable than the woman cooing over this man's wings.

But that was perfectly alright because Taki was attracting a completely different kind of attention, her loud shouting earning the returned caw of a Red Phoenix that swooped low over her head, grazing her with his tail as he passed. Now you looked like someone that knew what they were doing out here in the lounge, not like this boring stiff sitting there reading. Come on you seemed like a good partner to be causing a little trouble with!

Billiards
(Gatsby, Zaerias)
In the Billiards room Gatsby's entrance would be watched very, very sharply by a Banded Onyx Hyard that patrolled the room with particular care. Best self watching. He said gruffly before leaving the werewolf to whatever he was doing, but there was a sense about him that no matter where he was the Hyard was watching. This was his room and he wasn't going to be letting any of you get away with any funny business. There was fine line between skill and cheating and he was particularly good at finding it, he wouldn't be putting up with any of that nonsense at his tables, thank you very much. Fortunately for Gatsby his attention wouldn't entirely be on him because another man had come into the room that also needed watching. Not that Gatsby would actually find himself alone, alongside the much pushier Celeste Cat, if he happened to be paying particular attention, he would spot a Herbkey Sukey watching him quietly from over the edge of the table. Don't mind him at all you just seemed like you were pretty good at that.

Zaerias would probably hear the rumbling Hyard before the Banded Onyx ever actually spoke up, watching carefully as the Fae looked over the pool cues as though he was just waiting for the moment that he was going to pull something. Even knowing what looks for? Perhaps not the friendliest welcome but you might almost pick up that he might have actually been trying to help. Probably mostly because he didn't want to see Zaerias break anything but at least it was something?

Casino
(Meliai, Tracyn, Katsumi, Da'chetre)
The casino may have been full of flashing lights and friendly promise, but that didn't mean you all weren't being watched. Patrolling the edges of the room was a Sand Reijan, he just knew that guy was cheating and if he had gotten there just a second sooner he would have been able to prove it. As it was he'd had to let the man go as he feigned confusion, and set himself instead to watching anything and everything else. Another one wasn't going to get away from him today that was sure.

On the opposite side of the room a particularly vivid colored Brightling was also making the patrol, his smaller self a little bit less intimidating than his Sand Reijan partner. Also a little bit less noticeable, and as he saw Tracyn slipping something into her bag as he passed that was exactly what he wanted to be. With a loud WHOOOOOOOOOT WHOOOOOOT He went diving for the felinoid woman, not quieting down in the least bit as he attached himself to her cheek, calling for the Reijan partner and refusing to let go of Tracyn. Unfortunately his path took him right past another feline, and Da'chetre was given something of a dirty look. You looked big, and a little dumb, those were always the ones to be watching out for. Don't think he wasn't watching out for you, he was just a little busy with something more important at the moment. Locating his partner and Tracyn and walking a slow circle around the woman suspiciously, What doing? Hey, he just knew an alarm when he heard one he didn't actually speak Brightling.

Atop the machine where the resident innocent dryad was apparently giving gambling lessons a very disgruntled Swamp Nogard was being woken up from his nap. At first he was perfectly fine with rolling over and going back to sleep until the use of the machine continued and voices drifted up to him through the loud noise that the machine was making, almost on an absent whim he rolled his head over the side to glare at the pair of women and their hippogryph companion. Come on now he had already been uprooted from the seafood tank once today, don't you get him ousted from this perfect hiding spot as well. Seriously who would think to look for him exactly where he was supposed to be?

Elevator
(Elouise, Ria)
While Cidonie would find help easily enough, but it probably wasn't the kind of help that she was looking for, the Purple Phoenix joining her by the elevator simply trilling with concern, as much as she would love to help there was not a good deal that she could do until the elevator actually got here after all. Though the Silver had already summoned the elevator and unfortunately El would not be spared another ride on the device as the doors closed behind Ria and the box went flying back to the floor with the Unicorn and her waiting companion. Quickly the Purple was zipping into the elevator to survey the situation. My, my what a very strange girl, though her panic seemed genuine. With a curious tweeting the Phoenix produced two tickets for free drinks down at the lounge, come now girls you both looked like you needed to relax and she was just about to put on a nice show.

Before the doors could close however they would be joined by a slightly noisier guest. With a particularly loud Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk that you wouldn't expect from a little Powlet such as the Blainor that came tearing through the elevator doors so close that they took a few tail feathers off of her as they closed, not that she seemed particularly to notice. Indeed she calmed down almost immediately as the doors closed and the elevator started moving again, blinking around with curiosity before her gaze landed on Elouise and her hair, without any hesitation she made immediately for the woman, pecking at her hair a little bit and then quite promptly sitting on it and preening her own shiny feathers. Yes yes this made a very good nest.

[Alright, from here on out I'll be posting for each group, and for anyone new who joins. The quicker you all post the quicker I will be able to as well!]

'Tracyn'

The call from not that far away drew her attention, her head turning quickly as she surveyed the mass of people that filled the room. At first she couldn't find the person to whom the voice belonged, but then she saw a flash of a metallic arm waving above the mass of heads to her left.

A bright smile crossed her face as she saw her love walk toward her, it was good to see him up and about, and outside the bastion after his long recovery. It was even good to see that he was getting used to his cybernetic arm, and she tried not to feel guilty about the fact that she had not possessed the technology to cover the arm in synthetic flesh. The guilt passed quickly as she glanced up into Chet's face, he always seemed to be happy with whatever the world handed out his way, and she liked that about him. Lifting her arm she waved in the man's direction with a bright smile of her own, her lips partially open to greet her love, but the sound only left in a surprised squeak as a vivid brightling decided to plaster himself to her face with a loud whooting.

Oh PIF - not one of these guys.

She let out a low groan as she tried to survey the annoying animal, her ears plastered against the back of her head due to the proximity of the loud sound. Sure brightlings might be cute, but their loud noises also put them on the annoying spectrum of shinies that called the weyrd their home. Not only that but his whooting had attracted the attention of a patrolling Reijan whom was now asking what she was doing, and she let out a long suffering sigh as she pointed to the brightling attached to her cheek. "I'm being tortured by this thing, that's what I am doing" she replied grumpily, and who could blame her for the brightling was being very loud indeed.

Gambling really Umber’s thing. It implied that one had a skewed belief concerning the laws of probability, and Umber didn’t. She also believed in cheating, and thus avoided opportunities to lose her hard-earned money like the plague. That is, if Umber had any fear of the plague. It was more like a small sinus infection to her. Anyway. The witch came in on the tail end of the first big clump of guests, probably giving the staff only a few seconds of a breather. Lady and Garnet played the parts of both shiny and fabulous fashion accessory, extra shiny and beautiful as they glimmered at the shoulders of Umber’s riding jacket. Yes, looking prim and proper and morally grey as always, Umber.

The witch eventually settled on watching the Blazemount races. She wouldn’t bet on them in a million years, but it was at least a little fun to pretend that the jockeys were racing honestly. She and the duo of Psyders passed the entryway, smiling at the staff and taking note of the trouble her fellows would probably cause. Gatsby, gambling? Better to avoid that one before the staff had a riot and the werewolf ended up charming half the building out of landing his head on a pike. Speaking of trouble, it didn’t seem like Geoffrey or T’Rae were there yet, either. Excellent.

Umber settled into a little booth by herself, for the moment. Sooner or later, trouble would probably find her. But, for now, all she needed was a strong drink and her day would be complete.

This was bliss. He floated serenely near the pool's edge, sipping contentedly at the nameless concoction the blessed bartender had given him. Quite good, quite good. It was almost gone, in fact, but he'd yet to muster enough energy to leave the relaxing waters to order another. And then came the tremendous splash.

His pretty pink and unfairly delicious drink was now a thoroughly depressing brown. That was perhaps the most worrisome thing, even more horrifying than the vile stench and the teeming grossness of the water that was rapidly approaching Enke. It had been so perfectly mixed! He mourned it for several seconds, pitifully eying the now-cloudy liquid. Someone must pay!

"My drink!" he thundered, brows knitting as he swung around to find the culprit. The creeping tide of blackness rushed toward him. "Agh!" He detested filth. Abandoning his glass abruptly--so abruptly that it shattered on the concrete side of the pool--he scrambled up and out. Anything to get away from Mute and his wave of death.

"Charter preserve us, did you just emerge from the bowls of a Ferenk?" he all but howled. He could see no other explanation for such grime, and he was more aghast at Mute's state than he had been at anything else he'd seen on Planet. There was an unfamiliar Shiny offering the newcomer a towel and oh, how convenient, another of those equine-avian things at his elbow, smoothly at their service.

He shot a Look at the grouchy Thorn--of course someone had to be slacking, even at such a fancy resort--before replying to the Scelta. "A new drink; I would appreciate a new drink!" His urgency was shocking; it seemed absolutely imperative that he have spirits, now. He pointed sadly to the shards of his glass in their pink-tinged puddle.

Pluve had been paralyzed with fear when the flailing form of Mute hit the water, but now he crept toward Enke, skirting around the biohazard zone where the helpful Xys waited. He positioned himself to the right of his bond and summoned his courage to address the Thorn and the Adiemus.

Please pardon my bond. I don't believe he has ever had spirits of this world before. They seem to have...impassioned him.

Luckily, Enke was too busy inspecting himself for signs of rapid-growing fungus to heed the Toku's words. He would've scoffed at them, at any rate. One drink was nothing! He could imbibe barrels, all on his own, without a waver in his step! One froofy pink drink was scarcely a drop upon his tongue! He required several more as soon as possible, in fact. Had the Scelta not gone and returned with his drink yet? It smelled positively rank, as though a cloud of pestilence had descended over the pool. This was all probably a set-up anyway. See, he knew. HE KNEW. But he still wasn't leaving without another drink!