Summer Beachparty Twenty Twenty One!

[Morty]

[Bar]

Olvisin looks straight at the burger on the ground... or rather, pretends she does. Out of the corner of her eye, she glances at her own burger, then reaches out with her own hand to grab Jade's.

"Aha. It seems I've caught the burger thief," she declares triumphantly.

[Rebonack]

[Fire]

He should be glad that friends all share with each other because sharing is caring.

"Here, try it like this," Khannie says, handing one of the s'mores over to the lizard lad. "I'll be easier to chew it this way."

It doesn't occur to Khannie that lizards don't really chew food as such. They chomp things and swallow it. Is that how lizard folk work, too?

"I asked if it was a curse and it sounds like it is," Khannie replies a little crossly. "I know there are different sorts of vampires. This is the Nexus. There are different sorts of everything. That's why I asked since I didn't know. What happens if you eat other stuff, anyway?"

She finishes up roasting another marshmallow, sticks it between some crackers, and takes a big bite.

Dumb vampirism.

Khannie was trying to be nice by making crackers for her friends and Arthfael couldn't eat it.

"You can ask a question about me if you want. It might be fun we can get to know each other better."

[bc56]

Bar
Jade feels the hand close around her wrist. She looks genuinely surprised at this turn of events. "Washn me, ofisher! I wash hungry and... Ish free food right? Jusht a bite, pleash?" She can't even keep her story straight. "Cmon, let me go, pleash?" She tries to pull her hand free but is too out of it to manage much force. At the same time, she give Olvisin very large puppy dog eyes (or are they tricky vixen eyes) in an attempt to convince her.

[Ionbound]

[Volleyball]

Long tall arc? Easy. Clarissa gets under the ball in plenty of time to bounce it off her two hands (now featuring black fingernails!) back over towards Rose.

[5a Violista]

[In the Water]

June shakes her head.
"No, it's um..."

She thinks about it.
...
"Probably best not to tell anyone, so that nobody goes around looking for it," she says.
"On the other hand, it's potentially dangerous to wear for anyone other than me, so. . ."

She sighs, deciding whether it'd be better to not tell him or to tell him. "It's a tiara. Magic. Would recommend not putting on a random tiara if you find one behind a rock inside a hollow log. Not sure what it would do to you, but it probably wouldn't be pretty."


[By the Volleyball place]

Venus continues watching the volleyball game.

[Ironsmith]

Fire
Achuak pulls his slightly burnt marshmallow out of the fire and pops it into his mouth. "Oh, that's really sweet. And sticky." White goo stretches between his jaws and refuses to come off his teeth. "How do you eat this?"

[Fire]

He should be glad that friends all share with each other because sharing is caring.

"Here, try it like this," Khannie says, handing one of the s'mores over to the lizard lad. "I'll be easier to chew it this way."

It doesn't occur to Khannie that lizards don't really chew food as such. They chomp things and swallow it. Is that how lizard folk work, too?

"I asked if it was a curse and it sounds like it is," Khannie replies a little crossly. "I know there are different sorts of vampires. This is the Nexus. There are different sorts of everything. That's why I asked since I didn't know. What happens if you eat other stuff, anyway?"

She finishes up roasting another marshmallow, sticks it between some crackers, and takes a big bite.

Dumb vampirism.

Khannie was trying to be nice by making crackers for her friends and Arthfael couldn't eat it.

"You can ask a question about me if you want. It might be fun we can get to know each other better."

[Fire]

Oh. That was... pretty reasonable, actually. Now Arthfael felt kind of bad for chewing her out.

"Um... well, nothing." He says with a little shrug. "I mean, I can technically still digest it. It just doesn't do anything for me. Like, at all. Nothing but take up space in my stomach and make me have to go to the bathroom later. Hard pass."

Not that it didn't still smell good, mind you. He just didn't want to risk eating the s'mores, getting hooked, and then having to deal with all the ramifications of that.

So... what was he going to ask her? She'd left him an open invite, after all.

Um...

Well...

Hm.

He couldn't really think of anything. She was super interesting and all, but everything he wanted to ask felt like it overstepped some kind of personal boundary. They were the sorts of questions he wouldn't want to answer if it were him, so he wasn't about to ask them himself.

[Volleyball]

Long tall arc? Easy. Clarissa gets under the ball in plenty of time to bounce it off her two hands (now featuring black fingernails!) back over towards Rose.

[By the Volleyball place]

Venus continues watching the volleyball game.

[Volleyball]

The rest of the game is likely to go badly for Rose and Clarissa. Vlad and Miranda are both stellar players, while Rose is... not. She doesn't tire out very easily, but that's pretty much the only advantage she brings to the table. Unless Clarissa really changes the dynamics of the game, the end result is going to be a curb-stomp, and not in her favor.

[In the Water]

June shakes her head.
"No, it's um..."

She thinks about it.
...
"Probably best not to tell anyone, so that nobody goes around looking for it," she says.
"On the other hand, it's potentially dangerous to wear for anyone other than me, so. . ."

She sighs, deciding whether it'd be better to not tell him or to tell him. "It's a tiara. Magic. Would recommend not putting on a random tiara if you find one behind a rock inside a hollow log. Not sure what it would do to you, but it probably wouldn't be pretty."

[In The Water]

"Not really my style." Klaus smirks under his rebreather. "And that gives us a lot of options for searching a wide area. We could scan for radioactivity, do some magnetic imaging scans, that sort of thing." He starts fiddling with his Hotbox, which can apparently still work perfectly fine underwater. "My resources are at your disposal, June. And as you might have noticed, they are quite substantial."

[Morty]

[Bar]

"You could have just ordered two burgers." Olvisin's grip doesn't waver. The puppy and/or vixen eyes appear to be ineffective. "Or a bigger burger. You probably should eat something, though. You're three sheets to the wind."

[Volleyball]

Fayyaad seems to be idly watching the game, since it's not the right moment for the show he's got planned yet.

[bc56]

Bar
Jade is definitely three sheets to the wind. Maybe more, because she's having trouble understanding Olvisin's suggestions. Instead, she tries to break free. Quick as a flash she turns into a fox and pulls her paw loose from the goblin's grip. She grabs the burger in her mouth, hops off the stool, and breaks into a run, tails wagging triumphantly.

Fire
Achuak doesn't eat the crackers. Instead he begins scraping the marshmallow fluff off his teeth with them. He gets some of it and throws it into the fire. "What's it like being a mammal?" He asks Khannie.
What?
She said any question, right? He's curious.

[Rebonack]

[Fire]

Khannie wrinkles her nose a bit at that description. "Wow, that sounds like it really sucks. Being able to eat lots of different types of food is great. Are you able to eat cooked meat, at least? Or does it have to be raw?"

She's pretty sure the whole reason why stuff gets cooked is to make it easier to digest (and also taste better). If someone can't eat cooked meat then that is DEFINITELY a curse.

And then?

A completely valid question from lizard lad!

Khannie has to think about that one for a bit.

Because it isn't just what it's like being a mammal.

It's how is being a mammal different from being a reptile?

Having been a kangaskhan for most of her life, Khannie feels like she's in a pretty unique position to answer that question.

"Okay so first you don't shed your skin at all. I think it just comes off in tiny flakes all the time instead of all at once," she begins. "And you don't have to sit around somewhere warm on cold days to get your body temperature up. And lips! You get lips! Lips are GREAT for making all sorts of facial expressions and things."

Khannie crosses her eyes and sucks in her cheeks to do the classic 'fish face'.

"And you've got these little hairs on your arms! When it gets cold they all stand up to help you keep warmer I guess? But I think mammals have to eat more stuff than reptiles do since it takes extra food to keep your body warm."

Also stuff about making babies. But Khannie hasn't ever made babies before so she doesn't know about that.

[Fenric]

[Bar]

Keiko tries to think of a rhyme to follow up on Braeg's pair, and something to possibly enhance whatever she said, all that without playing any of the sort of mind-tricks that she would usually rely on...

Um...

Now that she's trying to focus, she stalls a bit

How long do you get to respond before ... um ... it counts against you?

[Ionbound]

[Volleyball]

Clarissa tries really hard, and over the course of the volleyball game grows brown feathers over her body, yellow scales over her extremities, and a bird-like feathered tail from a cleverly concealed flap in her bathing suit. The further she gets into it, the more eagle-like she becomes, but even with her supernaturally-enhanced prowess, Clarissa alone isn't enough to win. At the end of the game, she sighs and looks around, now speaking with a changed, squeakier voice, "Well...Nice try there Rose, I guess. We did our best."

[Recaiden]

[Bar]

"Alright. You have an audience."
"I mean, I'm not much of a poet, but I can listen."

Anchor smiles and looks at Keiko, who is clearly overthinking it.

"Oh, hey Jack." she's distracted a moment by seeing the Clattering-member coming to the bar, and gives her a wave. Oh, with her shadow again.
Hopefully she isn't mad about that...

Jack's shadow has at least come this far with her.

Anchor's shadow has run off to the fire, where it's racing around and around, enjoying the flickering lights.

[Earl of Purple]

Darker Beach

"Your old boss sounds like a very smart person, unlike my old boss who was insane. Or the boss before that, who kept his secrets even from the people he hired to help him." To be fair, Felicity is totally unaware that the process she used to create the serum she injected into her body to change her biology and give herself superpowers was at least seventy-five per cent alchemy, with the rest being boring old-fashioned science. She'd be rather displeased to know that, too, she thinks what she did is actually reversible, which... it might not be, since it's magic. Earl hasn't really decided yet, but is leaning towards 'no' because it makes her fun. "I... haven't had much luck with bosses, have I? Geneva's much better than either of them." And she's only had two bosses, or two sciencey bosses anyway. She's not counting the manager of the fast-food place that she worked during the summer before she started university.

At the slightly insincere smile, Felicity will try to give Eun a one-armed hug, but will stop if Eun looks panicked or freezes too much. "You've got this."

Bar

"Hi, Anchor. Not the first time somebody's left me in bed before I woke up, but usually they don't take my shadow. She's come back to me, now, and seems happy. Did she enjoy her time with you?" She doesn't seem mad, at least.

Volleyball

Mishnehel also joins the crowd of onlookers. She's a half-elf with short brown hair and skin the colour of polished oak, and green eyes. She's got a ring in the side of her nose and mismatched piercings in her ears, as well as a stud in her bellybutton. She wears a white bikini as she wanders close to the fires.

[Ironsmith]

Fire
Achuak doesn't eat the crackers. Instead he begins scraping the marshmallow fluff off his teeth with them. He gets some of it and throws it into the fire. "What's it like being a mammal?" He asks Khannie.
What?
She said any question, right? He's curious.

[Fire]

Khannie wrinkles her nose a bit at that description. "Wow, that sounds like it really sucks. Being able to eat lots of different types of food is great. Are you able to eat cooked meat, at least? Or does it have to be raw?"

She's pretty sure the whole reason why stuff gets cooked is to make it easier to digest (and also taste better). If someone can't eat cooked meat then that is DEFINITELY a curse.

And then?

A completely valid question from lizard lad!

Khannie has to think about that one for a bit.

Because it isn't just what it's like being a mammal.

It's how is being a mammal different from being a reptile?

Having been a kangaskhan for most of her life, Khannie feels like she's in a pretty unique position to answer that question.

"Okay so first you don't shed your skin at all. I think it just comes off in tiny flakes all the time instead of all at once," she begins. "And you don't have to sit around somewhere warm on cold days to get your body temperature up. And lips! You get lips! Lips are GREAT for making all sorts of facial expressions and things."

Khannie crosses her eyes and sucks in her cheeks to do the classic 'fish face'.

"And you've got these little hairs on your arms! When it gets cold they all stand up to help you keep warmer I guess? But I think mammals have to eat more stuff than reptiles do since it takes extra food to keep your body warm."

Also stuff about making babies. But Khannie hasn't ever made babies before so she doesn't know about that.

[Fire]

"Of course it can't be cooked. It barely works when it's raw." Arthfael says, in a tone that implies "yeah, everyone knows that". "See, we don't eat sugars, or proteins, or whatever. We eat life force. When meat is raw, it still has stuff living in it. When you cook it, that stuff all dies; that's exactly why non-vampires do so in the first place."

"...As for being a mammal... yeah, pretty much what Khannie said." Arthfael doesn't elaborate. "But those are all the little details. I don't think that quite answers the question." He strokes his chin, trying to find a way to put things together comprehensively for Achuak. "Here, let me think... when you were swimming in the ocean earlier, how did it feel?"

[Volleyball]

Clarissa tries really hard, and over the course of the volleyball game grows brown feathers over her body, yellow scales over her extremities, and a bird-like feathered tail from a cleverly concealed flap in her bathing suit. The further she gets into it, the more eagle-like she becomes, but even with her supernaturally-enhanced prowess, Clarissa alone isn't enough to win. At the end of the game, she sighs and looks around, now speaking with a changed, squeakier voice, "Well...Nice try there Rose, I guess. We did our best."

Volleyball

Mishnehel also joins the crowd of onlookers. She's a half-elf with short brown hair and skin the colour of polished oak, and green eyes. She's got a ring in the side of her nose and mismatched piercings in her ears, as well as a stud in her bellybutton. She wears a white bikini as she wanders close to the fires.

[Volleyball]

Rose sighs and gives Clarissa an apologetic smile. "Don't worry about it. You did great. In fact..." She makes a show of shading her eyes and looking over at her old boss. "Ha! You've gotten Cortez sweating! I didn't know for sure if that was still possible!"

Miranda smiles and extends a hand to Clarissa. "Good game, miss." If nothing else, she wants to walk away from this encounter with a good show of sportsmanship behind her.

And then there's Vlad.

"Heh. Kicked your butts, didn't we?" He chortles.

"Oh, grow up." Rose mumbles irritably.

"You're one to talk." Vlad holds up a hand to the top of Rose's head, reminding her that she was a good fourteen inches shorter than him.

"Wow. Short joke. Didn't think you'd stoop to that."

"Well, I'd kind of have to."

Rose lets out a little sigh. "...Yup. Walked right into that one."

"Anyway." Miranda interjects. "Anyone else care to try their luck?"

[Bar]

Keiko tries to think of a rhyme to follow up on Braeg's pair, and something to possibly enhance whatever she said, all that without playing any of the sort of mind-tricks that she would usually rely on...

Um...

Now that she's trying to focus, she stalls a bit

How long do you get to respond before ... um ... it counts against you?

[Bar]

"Alright. You have an audience."
"I mean, I'm not much of a poet, but I can listen."

Anchor smiles and looks at Keiko, who is clearly overthinking it.

"Oh, hey Jack." she's distracted a moment by seeing the Clattering-member coming to the bar, and gives her a wave. Oh, with her shadow again.
Hopefully she isn't mad about that...

Jack's shadow has at least come this far with her.

Anchor's shadow has run off to the fire, where it's racing around and around, enjoying the flickering lights.

[Bar]

"Not very long, only a minute or two." Braeg quips, rhyming Keiko's line for her. "In all seriousness, I don't consider us to have started yet. We only just now got an audience, after all." He gives Anchor an apologetic smile. "However meager it may be." He pauses, before adding, "And in the real thing, hesitation is permitted, but generally does not reflect well on the speaker. I would avoid it if it could be managed."

Darker Beach

"Your old boss sounds like a very smart person, unlike my old boss who was insane. Or the boss before that, who kept his secrets even from the people he hired to help him." To be fair, Felicity is totally unaware that the process she used to create the serum she injected into her body to change her biology and give herself superpowers was at least seventy-five per cent alchemy, with the rest being boring old-fashioned science. She'd be rather displeased to know that, too, she thinks what she did is actually reversible, which... it might not be, since it's magic. Earl hasn't really decided yet, but is leaning towards 'no' because it makes her fun. "I... haven't had much luck with bosses, have I? Geneva's much better than either of them." And she's only had two bosses, or two sciencey bosses anyway. She's not counting the manager of the fast-food place that she worked during the summer before she started university.

At the slightly insincere smile, Felicity will try to give Eun a one-armed hug, but will stop if Eun looks panicked or freezes too much. "You've got this."

[Darker Beach]

"She is. Smart and strong and confident an-" Eun stops when she realizes she's gushing just a bit more than might be appropriate. "...I think you'd like her."

And then comes the hug.

Oh.

Ooooh no.

No.

Not touching.

Just... no.

Eun visibly seizes up when Felicity puts her arm on her, to the point where she might appear to have shrunk a couple of inches. "T-... t-thanks..." She manages, cringing in such a way as to try to get out of Felicity's grasp without looking like she's trying to get out of Felicity's grasp, followed by her throwing all subtlety out the window and scooting away from Felicity altogether, hugging herself and shaking like she'd just walked out of a meat locker.

She really.

Really.

Was not comfortable being touched. Except maybe by a few of her closest friends.

Unfortunately, even as nice as Felicity's been, they still don't know each other all that well. They'd had two encounters, both of which involved Eun breaking down and (in her own opinion) being the peak physical manifestation of an embarrassment. To say she was still uncomfortable around her would be an understatement. Eun internally berates herself for making a big deal about it; hopefully, Felicity wouldn't take it personally.

[Ionbound]

[Volleyball]

Clarissa studiously ignores Vlad and offers a scale-clad, eagline hand to Melissa, then quickly withdraws it when she realizes that her fingers hand morphed into sharp talons. She looks incredibly embarrassed, a blush almost visible even under white feathers covering her face, "I-I'm sorry. I-it was a good game but I need to....Go somewhere else now. I'm so sorry." She turns and walks away from the volleyball game, trying to find a secluded corner to morph herself back to being human.

[bc56]

Fire

Achuak listens. He guesses that makes sense, but it's all strange to him. Arthfael's comment doesn't make any sense though. "It felt wet. Why?"

[Recaiden]

"Ah, it's not like that." Anchor says, although Jack doesn't seem mad, she feels like she has excuses to make anyway.
"I mean, I just had a long way to travel that day."
"The shadow though, she's been great. Had all kinds of excitement. Did you get along alright without her?"

[Zefir]

Volleyball

Mishnehel also joins the crowd of onlookers. She's a half-elf with short brown hair and skin the colour of polished oak, and green eyes. She's got a ring in the side of her nose and mismatched piercings in her ears, as well as a stud in her bellybutton. She wears a white bikini as she wanders close to the fires.

Volleyball

Zefir who was at the bar just stps up to the volleyball field as well. He's wearing some dark blue swimming trunks and a white ****s. an amulett with a piece of marble hangs tight around his neck and his sunglasses ar put up into his hair.

"Hey, do you play as well?" he asks. and points at the volleyball.

[Fenric]

[Bar]

Keiko nods

Ok, that's reasonable enough. So more like a standard party and not like the Winter Solstice where you have to answer immediately or you're out.

The slightly cross look on her face hints at being eliminated fairly early on the times she didn't manage to avoid the contest altogether.

So... who goes first? The challenger or the challenged?

[Ironsmith]

[Volleyball]

Clarissa studiously ignores Vlad and offers a scale-clad, eagline hand to Melissa, then quickly withdraws it when she realizes that her fingers hand morphed into sharp talons. She looks incredibly embarrassed, a blush almost visible even under white feathers covering her face, "I-I'm sorry. I-it was a good game but I need to....Go somewhere else now. I'm so sorry." She turns and walks away from the volleyball game, trying to find a secluded corner to morph herself back to being human.

[Volleyball]

Clarissa's fast, but Miranda doesn't let her go without shaking hands. If she's bothered by her opponent's slow transformation into a raptor, she doesn't show it. "Do whatever you have to do." She smiles. "And... good game, miss."

Fire

Achuak listens. He guesses that makes sense, but it's all strange to him. Arthfael's comment doesn't make any sense though. "It felt wet. Why?"

[Fire]

"Oooh, it felt wet!" Arthfael groans sarcastically. "Whoa, isn't that a revelation! Here I was thinking being in the ocean was a dry experience for everyone!" His mocking smirk drops away abruptly. "No kidding, it was wet. But what else? How did the water actually feel on your scales? Did you feel at all apprehensive about going under? Can you still feel the salt after you get out of the water? There are a lot of pieces you leave out just by saying it's 'wet'."

[Bar]

Keiko nods

Ok, that's reasonable enough. So more like a standard party and not like the Winter Solstice where you have to answer immediately or you're out.

The slightly cross look on her face hints at being eliminated fairly early on the times she didn't manage to avoid the contest altogether.

So... who goes first? The challenger or the challenged?

[Bar]

"The challenger, of course." Braeg nods to Anchor. "Which would be me, you weren't here for that part." He produces a mandolin from under his cloak and starts plucking at it idly. "Now, let me see... oh, yes..." He starts strumming out a simple series of chords, warm and wistful in tone, which he keeps going as he sings his opening lines.

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
To dance and sing with her again
Through summer haze and winter rain...

Braeg continues playing, but nods toward Keiko, indicating it was her turn. If she doesn't take it immediately, he'll give her more time to think by whistling along with his playing, keeping it up until she looked to be ready. He'd done his best to make it easy for her, seeing as to how she was apparently an amateur; he had given her a simple meter and rhyme scheme to work with, and intended to keep the music going to elevate whatever she came up with. If nothing else, lost loves were a common choice of subject for poets and songwriters, so Keiko would have plenty of potential material to plagiarize if she couldn't come up with anything original.

[Fenric]

[Bar]

Keiko's ears perk up: following that one wouldn't be so bad. Her reply is quick enough that she has obviously done a bit of adapting of a poem she already knows, and she replies

But then I think back on the pain
of word and look and cold disdain
And so again, I choose for me
a life of romaing far and free...

then she waits expectantly.

[Ironsmith]

[Bar]

Braeg nods his approval at Keiko's response; the direction she'd taken it made him think for a moment, but fortunately, they'd already set up a good pace for that and he's able to make the transition look seamless.

The open road, uncharted sea
Such is the way I choose for me
But when I lay my head to rest
I feel her heartbeat, hear her breast

[Fenric]

[Bar]

Keiko pauses a little bit, the music carrying on for perhaps three skipped lines before she picks back up

remember her soft hair carress'd,
and deeper pleasures yet unguessed.
All these come back to me, unbidden
troubling me from paths unridden...

[Ironsmith]

[Bar]

Uh-oh. Keiko was breaking meter; that was probably going to cost her points in Anchor's eyes. More pointedly, Braeg couldn't think of many ways to rhyme further with her lines; all that came to mind was "something something something hidden", which felt a little forced. So, before starting his third and last verse, he slows down the tune, to something a little more somber.

If he but knew he'd have my head
For my flight from his daughter's bed
The very night before we wed
And they both would wish for me, dead

[Morty]

[Bar - Burger Theft]

Olvisin makes a not particularly articulate sound of outrage, before hopping off the barstool and giving chase after Jade. She's not likely to catch her, but it's the principle of the thing that matters. Stealing people's food just isn't done.

[Fenric]

[Bar]

Keiko blinks as Braeg heads off a completely different tangent than she had been thinking that worse for her, didn't follow the track of the poem she'd been mangling. She squirms, and frowns, and finally goes just a tiny bit darker yet...

A poisoned dirk, an arrow's flight?
A strangling rope in dead of night?
My life cut short, for cert' they will.
My love, my life, my doom fulfill.

[Recaiden]

[Bar - Poetry Contest]

Alright, time to listen.

Hmm. That first rhyme sounded wrong. She can't say why, having forgotten most of what she ever learned of poetry, but that's a penalty, surely.
Keiko picks up faster than Anchor had expected, given her usual opinion on poetry contests. That third line kind of set up an expectation for the second that wasn't there. Should have chosen a different word.
Braeg turns the poem to a part of the topic she doesn't care for - are you allowed to deduct points for that? But maybe the vivid picture painted by those words should earn him back some credit.
The word 'unbidden' is like a rock in the road, a lurch expecting that one more step to have come before. At the same time, this stanza gives the whole thing a level of poem-ness it hadn't had before.
The next verse, with its new rhymes, is promising, but what was that? That's not how you say 'flight' at this point in the poem, surely it's not!
And then, in the final stanza, there was a point where it seemed poised to break the bounds of the poem and become something more, but it just...didn't.

Anchor folds her arms and looks thoughtfully up and to the side.
"I think it's a draw."
She glances around the bar. Does anyone else want to vote? Maybe someone less hard on the contestants?

[bc56]

Burger Theft
The fox goes scampering off across the party site with the burger in her mouth, making muffled happy fox noises and struggling to walk in a straight line. She won't be too hard to catch, but she'll lead Olvisin on a merry chase first.

The moral of this story?
Don't trust a fox not to steal your food.

Fire
Achuak looks a little irritated. "How was I supposed to know that's what you wanted me to say? You asked what it felt like, and I told you. It was wet!" Clearly what we have here is a failure to communicate.

[Earl of Purple]

Darker Beach

As soon as Eun freezes Felicity panics and pulls her arm back. "Sorry! Sorry. I... I didn't know you didn't like being touched. I'll not do that again. Um. Oh, I'm sorry." Felicity blames herself for that, because Eun can't control how she reacts. So she's internally berating herself too, though possibly not as harshly. She'll take a sip of her lemonade to try and compose herself.

Felicity may now think Eun has high-functioning autism, but it's also possible there's another explanation and Felicity's aware of that, too. So she's not going to pry, at least not now.

Volleyball

Mishnehel turns to Zefir and smiles. "No, I'm just watching right now. I don't know the rules. Why, are you interested in a game?"

((I'm guessing you misspelt 'shirt' there, Zefir. It fell afoul of the forum filter.))

[Ironsmith]

[Bar - Poetry Contest]

Alright, time to listen.

Hmm. That first rhyme sounded wrong. She can't say why, having forgotten most of what she ever learned of poetry, but that's a penalty, surely.
Keiko picks up faster than Anchor had expected, given her usual opinion on poetry contests. That third line kind of set up an expectation for the second that wasn't there. Should have chosen a different word.
Braeg turns the poem to a part of the topic she doesn't care for - are you allowed to deduct points for that? But maybe the vivid picture painted by those words should earn him back some credit.
The word 'unbidden' is like a rock in the road, a lurch expecting that one more step to have come before. At the same time, this stanza gives the whole thing a level of poem-ness it hadn't had before.
The next verse, with its new rhymes, is promising, but what was that? That's not how you say 'flight' at this point in the poem, surely it's not!
And then, in the final stanza, there was a point where it seemed poised to break the bounds of the poem and become something more, but it just...didn't.

Anchor folds her arms and looks thoughtfully up and to the side.
"I think it's a draw."
She glances around the bar. Does anyone else want to vote? Maybe someone less hard on the contestants?

[Bar - Poetry Contest]

Braeg looks around the bar expectantly; surely someone else heard the music and decided to watch the contest, right? The barmaid, perhaps, if she wasn't too busy? Or possibly the goblin and fox la- oh, wait, no, there they go.

If nobody else chips in, Braeg will reward Keiko's efforts with a brisk round of applause, prompting anyone nearby who might listen to do the same.

Darker Beach

As soon as Eun freezes Felicity panics and pulls her arm back. "Sorry! Sorry. I... I didn't know you didn't like being touched. I'll not do that again. Um. Oh, I'm sorry." Felicity blames herself for that, because Eun can't control how she reacts. So she's internally berating herself too, though possibly not as harshly. She'll take a sip of her lemonade to try and compose herself.

Felicity may now think Eun has high-functioning autism, but it's also possible there's another explanation and Felicity's aware of that, too. So she's not going to pry, at least not now.

[Darker Beach]

"Does anyone?" Eun grumbles, before letting out a little sigh. "...It's okay. Really. You didn't know." She turns and gives the woman a little smile. "...And your intentions were good, I know."

She lays back down on the fire blanket and looks up at the stars overhead, listening to the sound of the waves breaking rhythmically on the beach. Once she has a moment to get comfortable again, Eun resumes drinking this all in, giving a contented little smile. "...You know, Felicity?" She says finally. "I'm glad we came out here. And not to some bar." Not that she had anything in particular against The Battered Shield, mind, but a building full of people intoxicated to various degrees just... was not someplace she really wanted to spend her spare time.

"...We should come out here again sometime."