"Celebrate" had been the word Cypher used to close his speech. They were going to celebrate the great news and for finally discovering Paradise. Sure his plans were yet to be realized but he was sure his people could use the nice change of pace. The past few months had been especially rough on them. They'd crossed paths with more raiders than Cypher cared to remember and the last group had managed to cut away a slice of his family. They were constantly on high alert and there were many nights when Cypher went without rest. At least now he knew why: They were in close proximity of the fabled city that many people were still searching for and not all of those people were of good intent.

Shortly after the speech was over, the communal tent was taken down, an easy task with all the available hands. The furnishing inside were set in storage while their collection of christmas lights were removed. They were strewn up around the clearing and attached to generators, giving the center of the camp a dazzling look to it. Tables were propped up on one side of the clearing while the rest was kept open for dancing later during the night. At the other end of the clearing, a small platform was placed for the "band", more a of a mix bagged of a few survivors who knew how to play instruments. They were rusty to say the least and could be seen hours before the affair already trying to practice and tune their craft. Before long they were able to play a few soft melodies in synchronization with each other:

For food, Doc, Adie and many other hands were tasked with preparing much of what they had in storage. There was no risk in running out fortunately for Cypher and since they had so much, he let them whip up almost whatever they wanted. An old large grill that had survived the war and been discovered and maintained by Cypher was set up near the tables. All manner of meats were being seared, rice was cooked, vegetables boiled. Many loafs of bread were baked in their earthen oven. They'd even managed to track and kill a two headed dear... a delicacy at least to them. Venison from their hunt was being grilled and soon the air was filled with the sweet scent. Of course to cater to those who weren't keen on the notion of consuming meat, many vegetarian dishes were prepared as well. For drinks, Shea made sure they had plenty of clean water to serve but kept the more potent liquids hidden away until later that night. They wouldn't come out until all the main courses of their meal had been consumed and the little ones had gone to bed.

Cypher himself was busy helping where he could. While most of his people specialized in certain jobs, Cypher had the odd task of bouncing around wherever he was the most useful... usually anywhere away from the kitchen. He was an awful cook and almost everyone knew it. They made sure to keep him away from the food lest it all spontaneously ignite and burn to a crisp. Instead, the man put his hands to use breaking down and setting up, repairing what needed to be fixed and as usual giving directions to those who needed doing. Course finding him was harder than finding natural clean water in the waste. He had a tendency to blend in with his people when working with them, trying his best to always remain among his family instead of above where they always wanted to place him. It was different up there than it was down here with everyone else. For Cypher, it was a gift to see his people flourish and thrive everyday, working together, flashing smiles, see the excitement in their eyes. The dangers of the dying world around them were lost and forgotten. Kids would laugh as they snaked through volunteers, playing a little too rough with each other in the dirt. Men and women chatted each other up chasing down potential partners for the intensity that would be that night. Soft music fluttered from their band of musicians, their song filling the air around the camp with a bliss that had long been missed. Cypher smiled. To him, it was... almost perfect.

[center][b]"...Almost..."[/b][/center]