[F11 - OP] Christmas Chaos (aka Come Eat All Of Koga's Food)

[Astreya 0]

(OOC- If it's standard Blackjack and not two-card high, then having the option to get more cards would be available and then stopping where she did would've just been silly and out of character :V)

Blackjack: 
ID: 203663
Roll: 14

---

Astreya gave a big sigh as she had lost the hand.  She might've had a chance if she'd played a little bit better, but she didn't really want to come off with all that 'beginner's luck' right away.  Poker was much more her game where she could see and pick apart her opponents' expressions and changes and little ticks.  That was where she really shined (and had swept a few tables with her boyfriend back in college) but she didn't really want to push that right now.  She got the feeling that if she were to do so, there would be a considerable lack of approval around the board if she did.

Beyond that, she didn't really want there to be any negativity coming her way- Astreya wasn't exactly the best at handling that and would, more often than not, just push it off to the side and deflect, while trying to find anything else to talk about.  So instead she didn't really mind losing if it meant that everyone else had a good time and the hands were to be won.  "Nice one, Koga!  All right, that one was yours, but this next round is totally mine!" she called out, grinning toward him as she sent over a few sweets his way.

Obviously, they were just playing for un, but all the same, the young woman couldn't help but to be excited at the cause of it all.  "Let's go again!" she cheered, getting another set of cards from Gaius.  Not too bad.  Fourteen was one of the ones that, if they had a dealer they were playing against, you'd Stand on.  Dealers had to hit until they reached a hard seventeen, which meant they could often bust if the cards just didn't go the right way for them.  Playing against the dealer was the way to make it work... but Astreya didn't know what anyone else really had.

Until she looked at Astralin, who was looking like she had a literal gold mine in her hands.  "Astra~ you got a good one!?" Astreya cheered, looking at the other girl, giving her a wide grin.  It wasn't like they had any real betting strategy here, so the hand being known was pretty hilarious to her as she looked on at the others, before she glanced at Yona, seeing the woman's face falling, and she couldn't help but to see that the other woman wasn't doing so well at all.

As Nari leaned in to ask, Astreya grinned widely, shrugging.  "I dunno!  I'm trying to get to 21, so I guess not very well?" she admitted with a small laugh.  "But that's like, totally okay!  This is all just for fun, so like, it's whatever~!" she cheered, excited for the as she considered her cards, and she decided that she'd hold onto what she had for now.  "So like, the point is to get to 21.  So if you're less than that, you wanna say, 'hit me' so you get another card!  But like, okay so like Gaius said, the face cards are all 10, and so are, like, 10, duh.  So that's four types of cards that are 10s, right?  So if you're 12 or higher, getting another card has a good chance to get a 10, and-" she explained, before Koga suddenly ran off and she blinked, looking over her shoulder.  "Are you okay!?" she yelled after him.

[Jevi 0]

"Thanks for the advice.. and keeping me company." The knot in her stomach rose all the way up to her throat, as if she felt like she wanted to throw up. Memories from her real life flooding back, and not ones that she wanted to remember. A time she wanted to wipe from her memory and hopefully leave in the past with her new life here. But what had happened to her, what was done to her, is not something so easily forgotten. 

The brunette had already turned towards the door, clutching at her leather sleeves, before she heard a voice call out to her. Familiar enough to have caught her attention. Shifting her gaze to look over her shoulder first, before turning her body to face back towards the kitchen. A bit of surprise, her eyebrows jolted upwards, her defensive, crossed arms loosened and fell slowly to her hips. The shock in her face hardened as her brows furrowed curiously, "..Hirru?" the name finally came to her, the green hair and.. strangely dripping wet again. He was not easily forgotten. "I haven't seen you in so long." she said with a scoff. For the time being, the reunion with one of the very first players she met took her mind off of the other player who reminded her too much of her past. "Why are you always so.. wet whenever I see you?" 

@NIGHT
@Hirru

[Gaius 0]

Results:
Gaius | 12 (a 23, bust)
Koga | 2 (a 3)
Astreya | 14 (a 15)
Astralin | 18 (a 19)
Yona | 5 (a 15)
Winner: Astralin

Feverously scratching his hair, as he added another card to his own pile. "Shit..I'm out." Flipping them over and revealing a Jack beneath that Queen and a three of hearts. As the pot would make motions toward Astralin and her nigh unbeatable luck on this hand. A slow pooling lake slid out from the kitchen, and a sopping wet dude went to talk up a chick that was hanging out in the corner. "Smooth." Gaius quips toward @Hirru, smiling and offering him a thumbs up. Girls really dig when you're just fucking honest, and there was no way they couldn't tell he was nervous.

Sliding his hand and picking up cards, doing his best to do a shuffle. Wasn't quite of professional quality but it met the need. A couple cards tossed one after another to the next set. He was hoping he'd have better odds this time. "Yep, for fun. Gives us something to talk about. Instead of sitting here awkward staring at each other." Gaius admits, taking another swig of a bottle of wine and wiping his mouth. His attentions shift over to @Astralin "So what's with the books? You a librarian?"

Edited February 14, 2022 by Gaius

[Kasumi 0]

A sudden message catches the girl's attention, who'd spent the better half of the night stirring around floor 4. Although weather didn't shift as abruptly, it was nice to pretend by pushing into floors that matched what they should be. Her digits twist through a pair of mittens, as a white-hot cloud escaped her lungs. As she scanned the length of that page, a muddied mixture of excitement and embarrassment washes over her face. Their last memories ricochet through her head, including the moment she planted one on him. The harsh drum beat in her chest starts to pound away.

*Ding*

and another

*Ding*

And another. Final cleared, and she couldn't help but smile. "I was saving this for later, but I suppose a bit early won't hurt." The soft patters of snow being carved through, deft movement despite rather warm and limiting booties. Onto the warp pad, and a whisper into the cold night sees her jump upward. After a few careful moments, rushing down the length of streets. Finally, she sets upon the coordinates given, and breathes in sharply. "Here goes nothing, keep your head on straight." Clapping at the side of her face, she knocks gently on the door, pulling a small parcel out and holding it in both hands. "Koga, I got your message." As a bit of water starts to seep out, the space between the frame and the entryway.

Spoiler

Kasumi, The Pure Tide
Level: 32
Paragon Level: 41
HP: 800/800
EN: 98/98

Stats:
Damage: 23
Mitigation: 20
Evasion: 4
Accuracy: 4
Loot Dice: 1
KEEN: 1
P.V.O
PHASE
STK: 40

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Mugen Tenshin Perversion - Citadel [T4/Demonic/Handwraps] Phase, Keen 1, Paralytic Venom 1, Static 1
Armor: White Red-trimmed Gee [T1/Perfect/Cloth Armor] (3 Evasion)
Misc: Mugen Tenshin Decree [T1/Perfect/Trinket] (3 Accuracy)

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Martial Arts R5
Cloth Armor R5
Charge

Active Mods:
Blindside
Vanish
Athletics
Surprise Attack (Trickster)

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Ferocity
Stamina
Nimble
Precision

Active Extra Skills:
Hiding R5
Parry
Concentration

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal x1

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Angler: +1 material gained when fishing
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

 

[Koga 0]

Koga shut yet another cabinet, perhaps a little too hard, the sound sharply cutting through the air, but hopefully not loud enough to draw anyone's attention. The man sighed in frustration just as he heard Astreya call to him to check if he was okay. "Yeah! I'm just...looking for a mop...I guess..." This was not how he had planned this going. Looking around at the water, Koga was beginning to question how accurate SAO's physics engine was...How was the whole fucking floor covered in water. It hadn't even been three seconds!

Koga quietly navigated his way through the scattered groups of people in his house, to the supply closet, and grabbed a mop. "Sorry," he muttered as he as he shouldered his way past someone else. Lessa? He'd say 'hi' later, the floors weren't going to-

Knock, knock

The soft sound of someone at the door drew the man towards it, and he opened it.

Kasumi?

Koga shut the door. "Ha...I've gotta be dreaming, or hallucinating or something." He opened the door again, just to double-check.  Huh...not a hallucination. Koga shut the door again. Okay, not a hallucination. Not a dream either. Nope, this was more of a nightmare. Kasumi was here. At his house. Looking...looking...well to be frank, beautiful as always...and here he was instead, dressed like a Santa's Elf reject, holding a fucking mop with water leaking under the door like he tried to turn his house into a goddamn kiddie pool.

"Hey, Kasumi!" Koga said, swinging the door open for the last time, a look that pretty much screamed surprise, discomfort, and absolute uncertainty about what to do plastered across his face. "Glad you could make it! Come on in! Don't mind the...uhm...water..."

Edited February 15, 2022 by Koga

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

Nari had barely been following Astreya’s explanation of the game – which seemed to her as much a game of chance as it was of mathematical calculations – when suddenly the girl was distracted by Koga flying across the room. A sudden cold feeling around her feet drew Nari’s eyes downwards, and she realised that she was now standing in a low pile of water. Water, which had begun to flow over the entire floor of the room.

“Uhm…Ir-Astreya…the floor…I think the house is flooding…” The words were calm, more statement of fact than anything else. But as she stared down, she wondered how that had happened. “Do…do you think he needs help?”

She glanced towards Koga, watching him open and close the door repeatedly, a look of shock and confusion on his face. Or at least, it looked like shock and confusion. ‘Is he okay? Does he think opening and closing the door is somehow going to get all the water out? This isn’t the SIMS…’

@Astreya

Spoiler

Word Count: 165

 

[Blueberry 0]

Handed cards, the girl would excitedly wait still for the game to begin. Why were they all just grabbing more cards and then getting upset? Confused, the girl simply sat and watched for a moment. As the round ended, Blue would finally speak up. "I don't even think that there is a 21 card. You guys are really bad at Go Fish, huh?" Suddenly Koga would shoot out of his seat towards the kitchen and curse loudly. "He's a real sore loser." the baker would mutter before looking to her cards. An Ace and a Queen had been her cards. Setting them down next to @Gaius she would tell him, "You guys play weird. I'm just going to watch from now on." 

“Uhm…Ir-Astreya…the floor…I think the house is flooding… Do…do you think he needs help?”

Electric blue eyes shifted lazily over to the speaker. When had this girl come over again? It was almost hard to focus on this many people at once. "Yo Frazberry," were the words to come out of her mouth giving @Nari-Lanreth the first impression she was talking to her. Instead, ripping itself off of her neck was a blue slime. A question mark formed on the surface of the creature's head. "I'll make you a batch of sweets if you go and clean up whatever mess is going on in that kitchen." The slime would turn itself to look towards the kitchen. It seemed to be pondering. "Two batches, final offer. You don't have long to decide." Suddenly, the small blue slime would start towards @Koga's kitchen. While she couldn't control the creature, she knew how to barter with it. 

Hopping into the kitchen through the door Koga opened, the slime would stop in the center of the room. A slurping noise would be audible as the water began to drain, the slime increasing in size slowly. 

[Astralin 0]

Just about everyone was staring at Astralin now, and her smile broke into an even bigger one. She really didn't have a poker face...and it explained why she was terrible at BS, too. Yona's expression melted down into one that showed worry. Did she really need to be that worried?

Astralin would win the hand, and there would be no further bets for any future rounds. Astralin handed one cookie to Yona, one cookie to a violet eyed player, thinking she was playing, and two cookies to Astreya. She considered handing a few cookies to the other players involved as well. She was just nice that way.

@Astreya @Nari-Lanreth

 

The dealer began to make conversation. He asked Astralin if she was a Librarian, due to the books.

"Nope," Astralin answered. "I might be respecting of others, but I'm nowhere near quiet enough for the job...it's not like I could always sit still, anyway. As for the books, the plain one was my book of alchemy notes, and this," She continued, pulling out her Skillbook. "Is where I log all of my skills and actions. Call it what you may, but to me it's my personal Spellbook." She stated with a grin. She put away her Skillbook and looked back to the dealer. "So...yeah."

@Gaius

[Hirru 0]

He caught her in time, as Jevi was about to walk out when she turned to look at him.  It was almost like looking at someone that you haven't seen in several years, which in this case was more a year or a couple.  Hirru had not kept up much with how long they have all been here, as he was far too busy hunting and fighting on the front.  Although, that wasn't particularly correct.

"It's been a bit too long really.  I hope I didn't catch you at the wrong time.  Didn't want to interrupt you guys.  Hey NIGHT!  Hope everything is going alright?"

Time was rolling along for everyone the same, but everyone perceived it differently.  Some saw that everything was speeding along quite fast, while others were aggravated that it was all too slow.  Hirru could say which side he really fell on, but it didn't quite matter now.  He rubbed the back of his head, feeling the slight wet feeling of the water as the beads fell from his hand and shattering upon the floor.  Jevi commented on his hair always being wet when they met, and the hunter had to smirk at that.

"Believe me, this doesn't always happen.  I just had to.."

It was then that time seemed to move around him as the consequences of his actions were coming up.  He heard Koga swear as he ran past them into the kitchen.  What was that all about?, he wondered.  As if the sound of the water was not there at all.  Gaius gave him a thumbs up while saying that was smooth.  Hirru didn't understand the sentiment, but kind of let it go as a compliment of sorts.  It was all he could think of before he heard Koga talk about the floor being wet.  The hunter's green eyes widened as he started to realize what happened.

"Wait.. did I leave the sink on?!  Sorry, Jevi.  Could you hold on a sec, please.  We can talk more in a bit."

Hirru would try to ask Jevi to stay with them for a bit longer so they could talk more, before he looked back into the kitchen.  Koga was running back and forth trying to clean up the mess that had happened due to Hirru's quick thinking.  Water had pooled into a thin layer upon the floor, but as Hirru was about to run in and help, Koga left to get someone or something, taking the only mop.

"Koga!  Sorry, I forgot to shut off the water!  Let me.."

He would say this, just as the pink haired wonder sent out a little blue slime thing.  It would bounce around a bit before starting to suck up all the water.  Slowly but surely, it was getting all the water that it could get to, but it was also gaining in size.  It would probably be an issue to get it out of the building if it got any bigger.  Still, he could only think to try and help out as best he could.  He would walk over to Koga while he was entertaining a guest.  Hirru breathed in slowly and breathed out, calming himself from the anxiety that was building up.  This happened far too often to him.  Hirru tapped the host on the shoulder with a hand on the mop.

"Hey man, let me do this.  You got guests to entertain.  This was my fault anyway."

@Jevi @NIGHT @Koga

[Astreya 0]

Astralin won the round, and Astreya couldn't help but to give a low groan- up until the blonde handed her a pair of cookies for the fact that she seemed to be upset about losing.  Not that Astreya was actually upset, but she was a sweets-hound, and that was rather obvious by the small horde of them that she had gathered around her, even if the girl wasn't using them to bet, she was still snacking on them as she went, and couldn't help but to grin slightly at the cookies offered.  "Thanks, Astra!" she cheered, before she handed one over toward Nari.  "Here you go!" she called, offering her friend one of them as well.

But at Koga's answer, she leaned back in her chair, the front legs coming off the ground a bit as she did so.  "What?  A mop?" she called after him, before she started to realize that there was a slight flood of water coming out of the bathroom.  "What the heck?" she called out from where she sat, not entirely sure where the water was all coming from.  "Like, Koga, it's way too cold to like, set up any sort of swimming thing!" she called back over at him.

When Nari followed that up with wanting to help, the young woman gave a small sound of thought.  "Well, like, I'd like to, but-" she began, when a knock came to the door, and Koga left his current task, dripping mop still in-hand as he moved back around to the front door.  Astreya couldn't get a good look at who was coming in, but just judging from the way that Koga's body stiffened slightly, she was imagining that it was either someone that he wasn't expecting- or someone that he did want to show up, just not with the house all wet.

"Okay!  Let's go-" she began, when Blueberry seemed to be addressing Nari as Frazberry.  "Is that like shnozberry?" she asked, before seeing the little slime begin to move. "Oh!  That guy!" she suddenly called, remembering the creature that had devoured all of the desserts when she'd first came in.  She watched the little guy go, but unfortunately for the dark-haired maiden, the chair she was seated in really wasn't able to tip back as far as she'd like it to and she felt the entire balance of the chair shifting.

CRASH.

"Ooowwwwwww," the girl called out as she hit the ground, giving a small grunt.  "That was like, totally uncool," she murmured, just staring up at the ceiling as she heard several others trying to try to deal with the water and she couldn't help but, despite the fact that she'd just fallen onto her back, smile a bit.  This was fun.  Getting to chat and talk with people and have all this chaos afoot.  This is what she really enjoyed about parties.  Still laying on the floor, she couldn't help but to laugh a bit, both amused at herself and happy where she was, at the moment.

@Astralin @Yona @Gaius @Koga @Nari-Lanreth @Blueberry

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

Nibbling on the proffered cookie, Nari couldn’t react fast enough as the chair tipped backwards, giving out beneath Astreya and causing the girl to learn the harsh truth about gravity – even in this system, the basic fundamentals still won.

Offering a hand to help Astreya up, Nari will grin slyly, quietly adding, “That looked like it hurt…”

Glancing towards the table and the cards, she’ll frown slightly, still trying to figure out the game itself. It appeared to be a combination of adding numbers pre-designated to cards, to get to a maximum amount. The call of ‘hit me’ was…. An annoyingly confusing choice of words, and one that she kept having to remind herself was part of the game and not an actual request.

“Swimming? I uhm…don’t think that’s what he had in mind… although. It is a fair better guess than… than what I had in mind.” Nari cocked her head to the side, her eyes glancing over at Koga, before she asked another question. “Uhm… Ir-Astreya. Do you know why he kept opening and closing the door? Does that make the water go away somehow?”

Spoiler

Word Count: 187

 

[Astreya 0]

Despite the laughter, Nari was quick to offer a hand to help her back up, and the young woman couldn't help but to give a sunny smile in return to the violet-haired woman.  "Thaaaanks!" she called cheerily, moving to set her chair back upright as well before she exhaled slightly, before shaking her head.  "Naw!  I've done worse than that before.  It's like, totally fine.  I'm good," she spoke as she adjusted the bottom hem of her skirt which had risen up a bit in the fall-to-getting-up and glanced back at Nari then as the girl posed a question to her.

That being- why Koga was opening and closing the door.  "I...hm.  I dunno," she spoke, honest in her response as she looked back over toward where the man was talking with someone now.  "Make the water go away?  What?" the girl asked, blinking as she looked back to Nari, trying to equate where that idea might've come from.  "I mean...I guess it is a game, so maybe?  Like some kinda... glitch?" she spoke, clearly not having any confidence in what she was saying.

"If so, I don't think it's, like, working very well," she murmured.

@Nari-Lanreth

[Kasumi 0]

A single step forward as the door would swing open, that is quickly closed again. "Was it something I said?" she rings toward the entry, as water started to make the snow turn to slush. The slight glimpse she'd manage to take showed there were other faces in there, unless it was ending soon? The door opens again, and she manages another brief view inside. "I can leave if I am interrupting something." Another outcry past the wooden barrier, finding her gaze on this rather seasonal garb that Koga was wearing. It was interesting, and wonderful that he was in the spirit of the season.

She inhales sharply and fumbles with the thought of leaving, maybe the invitation was an accident. Making it down a stair or two, a little twisted and confused. For the third and final open of the threshold, calling her by name. "Oh, uhm."

The pattering of her boots in the water as she walked in, mixing flakes of snow in it that quickly disappear. "It's very exciting to use so much water to clean up the place. I am a little worried about your floor, though." A slime slowly gaining girth as it fattened up on moisture as Kasumi looked down at her feet. She wasn't sure the context, but from her point of view, it looked like Koga was nervously trying to hide the fact that he was quickly polishing the place up before she got here.

[NIGHT 0]

NIGHT could tell something seemed unusual with Jevi, once the woman's gaze had floated to the front door as a new entrant walked into the scene. All tension seemed to melt out of her companion, fading away -- a nod to her friend was all she could give. She decided she wouldn't pry.

"No worries. I at least hope I could've helped."

Unfortunately, she'd speak up just a little too late.

What was immediately more apparent was the flash of green from that familiar player in the raid community. Somehow, her company seemed familiar with each other -- Hirru shooting NIGHT a greeting, to which she returned a nod -- and Jevi querying confused as to...

"Why are you always so.. wet whenever I see you?"

Well.

She'd already decided not to pry.

But the focus on Hirru's ramblings seemed to shift over to the kitchen. A sink left on -- rightfully, this shouldn't be much of a problem. But the yelp from behind the partitioning about Koga and -- was that a mop? Both initiated NIGHT to dip her head, turning to Jevi. "Seems like I'll need to excuse myself as well. Apologies."

It was back to her duties with NIGHT. And Oh My God Why Was The Floor Soaking Wet--

Was that the blue slime taking up all of the water? From the sink? Was it going to eat its host soon afterwards and grow teeth later?

No. No no no this was a lot to take in. And she swore she'd been paying attention.

"Hey man, let me do this.  You got guests to entertain.  This was my fault anyway."

"You both," NIGHT immediately piped up from behind them, while noting the random familiar into the equation, although not really wanting to interact with that, either. "Koga, you're the host. Hirru, you're a guest. And whatever the hell that is--" she pointed to the slime -- "Someone get it out of here before it ruins something. Not me though. I'm pretty certain that thing's cursed."

And if she could've shoved all of the variables out the room, she would've. Removed the plug from the goddamned drain. Was this the psychology test with the bathtub and the containers, or something? Was the punch at the party spiked? Did they even have punch?

Immediately, there shouldn't be any more flooding in the vicinity. And what left of Koga's floors that were damp could only be taken care of by way of dry towels and mops. Not that her friend didn't first attempt to scavenge for some. But NIGHT was leagues more prepared for such a scenario.

So she got to work. Efficient. Almost as though the player had trained for this (and admittedly, she did, with pride). The only thing she couldn't manage to do was clean up behind the weird slime familiar. That was growing... excessively large for the interior space they were in.

[Yona 0]

Sometimes Yona was fine with chaos. There's be a tiny mess or two, it would be easy to deal with. Something might go wring, there was usually a way to fix it.

But this was an insane madhouse now.

After Astralin won the hand, the host left because some idiot had the audacity to leave the host's sink on, and said idiot was talking to girls while sopping wet. Ah, yes, the idiot in question was Hirru. Yona grabbed the cookie that Astralin offered, and aggressively chomped it down in one bite. She then began to search her inventory for a thing or two that might be able to help.

How she even had these in her inventory, she had no clue, but at least they would come in handy. First, she would take one, and due to its size, it was just enough to apply onto Hirru.

"What the hell is it with you and water?" Yona asked Hirru as she used the whatever-this-fabric-was as a towel on him. "Seriously, are you trying to catch a cold?"

She then gestured to the slime as she remarked, "If you're not gonna use that mop to clean up after it, are you gonna clean up the mess itself?" A very dangerous sentence she'd chosen to use, but she had a reason. "Seriously, it's gonna start looking like a horror movie if that thing gets any bigger." She added. "We gotta do something about it. It apparently belongs to a pink-haired dessert saboteur, so I'm at a loss for what to do here that doesn't end in starting violence."

Maybe one of the others in the vicinity might know what to do?

@Hirru @NIGHT @Koga

[Koga 0]

Koga was pretty much oblivious to what was going on behind him. Hirru coming and grabbing the mop from him, and offering to clean. Blueberry ordering her familiar to soak up all the water. Astreya and Nari conversing, Yona jumping in.

He was completely occupied by the girl at the door, and with trying to keep his heart from leaping out of his throat and onto the floor, adding to the complete and utter mess that his house had somehow become. What curse had Koga invoked to bring him down from his usual calm, even if it was only fake.

The answer was obvious of course. That enchantress, ever since she'd turn the tables on him, he hadn't been able to get his head on straight.

The man stepped to the side to let the girl into his home, the water slowly receding, but not quickly enough to prevent the quiet sloshing sound of shoes stepping water. "Eh, yeah, the water...was kind of an accident," he said with nervous chuckle as his eyes followed her into the - WHAT ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH WAS THAT!? @Kasumi

A giant blue slime. Just sitting there. In his kitchen. What in the...it just kept growing...

It was then that @NIGHT finally decided to come and help Koga out...and by help, what she was really doing was quickly chastising him and @Hirru. "Uh, yeah...once we figure out how..." Koga was still in shock about how the hell the thing had even got in here in the first place. It wasn't one of his slimes, that was for sure. The fact that it was blue though...Koga's eyes drifted over to the pink-haired girl he suspected was responsible. "Why?" he asked with a shrug, exasperated. @Blueberry

Edited February 19, 2022 by Koga

[Astreya 0]

As the other woman came into the room with the party, Astreya's gaze was drawn to her.  Not necessarily because she was interested or somesuch, but simply the fact that she was a new arrival here.  Someone that she hadn't seen before, and so the dark-haired girl's gaze drew over her.  Drinking her in, just making assumptions based solely on how she carried herself and how she talked.  And from there, to Koga as well who was certainly acting differently around the woman.  

A cat-like grin spread over her features as she leaned into and against Nari a bit, glancing over toward the party's host.  "He's like, totally into her," she murmured, not wanting to be too loud and disrupt any of the conversation abound, but it was still quite amusing to watch to see how he reacted to the woman.  The water was still abound, of course, but Astreya was mostly just amused at watching all of these conversations all happening around her.

Hirru too, seemed to be talking with the one woman that the other woman who had been identified as NIGHT (by Koga) had been talking to a moment ago before it seemed she'd gone into full cleanup mode with all of this water.  The night was wearing on, and she could tell that some people were starting to be a little closer.  Jomei and that blonde girl were still talking quietly off to the side about something, but Astreya wasn't able to really tell what what they were saying so much as she was able to just read the comfort there.  

"Hey!" Astreya spoke up, pointing at Yona and Koga both as they had regarded Blueberry with words and looks that were partially blame and partially exasperation.  "She and Frazz are like, just trying to help!  Otherwise we'd be totally swimming right now!" she called, before she hopped up, moving over toward the slime, not at all intimidated by its size.  "Frazz are you okay?" she asked, looking up at the swollen slime, unable to resist poking it with her finger just to see if it jiggled.

[Gaius 0]

Continuing to deal out cards, watching on as shit just took a seriously insane turn. The whole place had a slowly creeping puddle of water, buncha people rushing around trying to contain it. Gaius just sat there, playing the observer with a dumbstruck look on his face. "Blue you're the weird one, the hell is that thing?" he gestures to the sudden inclusion of flan that was expanding like a muffin in an oven. "Might want to get that thing checked before it pops the lid off this joint." Reaching up and rubbing his eyebrows and top half of his face, this was stressing him out. "Anyway, puddles of fun aside." Choosing to ignore the elephant in the room, instead of adding more fire to it.

@Astralin

His attention shifts to the blonde, being the one he was talking toward at the table of a few remaining. "So alchemy, like the witch and a journal. You got some weird hobbies. But guess its 'yours'." Flicking a few more cards out, letting the shit commotion play out behind him. The ripping about and shouting providing the most interesting contrasted background. "What's your deal? Just like eating things off the floor?" looking to @Yona and keeping conversation flowing while chaos tired itself out.

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

Nari cocked her head slightly at Astreya’s words. She wasn’t quite sure she understood them – he was into her? Did she mean…? She must’ve meant that. Deciding she’d go and confirm the situation, Nari slid away from the table, crossing over to where Koga stood. Face slightly red as she bowed her head, looking at the ground, she forced the words out – ‘Remember, this is a battle field. You need to spar with your opponent. Just…only with words.’

“Uhm…Koga…Astreya said you’re…into the girl at the door? Is…is that true?” Nari felt herself redden more – unsure if she’d spoken quietly enough that only he heard or not. She fidgeted with her dress for a moment, before continuing. “Does that mean…well…does that mean you and Bismuth aren’t – aren’t a thing? He told me that you…”

She tried to remember the exact wording Bismuth had used, but the entire thing slipped from her mind. Deciding she would do the best she could, she finished her sentence – adjusting it to match what her memory provided for her. “Well, he said that you…uhm…kissed him? With your…tongue?”

@Astreya@Koga

Spoiler

Word Count: 181

 

[Koga 0]

Before Blue even had the chance to respond for herself, Astreya leapt to her defense. And the slime's. Mostly the slime's as she got up from her seat and walked right up to the bloated ball of a gelatin and gently poked it as she asked it if it was doing okay. That girl...confused Koga...

Nari too had stood up from her seat and walked over to Koga, as if to ask him something. Too tired to put up the kind front, the man simply cocked his brow, as if to ask in a very confused tone if she needed anything.

And he immediately wished she hadn't asked what she had just asked. "Eh-heh, n-no, Nari," Koga said nervously chuckling before risking a glance over at Kasumi, trying to gauge her reaction, before locking his eyes back on Nari. "I mean, yes I kissed him, but no, we're not dating, I just..."

Fuck, there really was no good way to say, 'I was offended you pretty much called me average at best, so I just smooched the one person who apparently thought otherwise, as if that would actually accomplish anything or prove you wrong. It was a very half-baked plan.' So instead, Koga opted for: "Look, it doesn't matter, point is Bismuth and I are not dating, no."

Please let that settle the issue.