[@Xeron][@Astarael42][@arockysmith][@Kote]

[color=Brown]"I'll have whatever you're having."[/color] Cedar said. It looked way better than the rubbing-alcohol-esque wine from last night. She pushed the thoughts of her suicide attempt out of her mind and tried to focus on what was going on now. This room was amazing. Nina handed Cedar the lemon drop she had just made and began making another one for herself.

[color=BlueViolet]“I do have to decline, as I am underaged. I am only 19 years old, and to be perfectly honest, alcohol doesn’t suite my tastes.”[/color]

[color=ec008c]"Now, Chronus, don't worry about that,"[/color] she said in response. [color=ec008c]"It never stopped me before."[/color]

Chronus? His name was Chronus? Cedar felt an immediate, if minor, kinship. Odd names ran in her family. Her parents were hippies and she was named after a tree, after all. Her brothers began to settle into her mind, and she tried to focus elsewhere. She couldn't let the hurt settle in. It was still fresh from last night.

[color=ec008c]"Please, feel free to speak to each other. We are going to be spending the evening together, after all. I'm pleased to introduce Mr. Ryker Johnson, Mr. Chronus Klefkin, Miss Cedar Collins, Miss Sara Mackenzie, and Mr. James Miller III. "[/color] She indicated to each person with a carefully manicured hand.

Cedar nodded to each person, smiling at Ryker, the only person she had already gone through introductions with. James, the second man she had seen, looked to be tired and sad. Her smile transferred from Ryker to him, and then on to Chronus, and finally settling onto Sara.

Sara looked so skinny and so young. Cedar felt a pang in her stomach. Her brothers had been so thin the last time she had seen them, as tiny eight year olds. The pictures she had gotten didn't make it look like they were getting any larger, only taller, as they progressed through their teenage years. Cedar couldn't help equating this girl to her beloved brothers, and the grief was building deep inside her.

Cedar shook her head and looked back at James involuntarily. There was no way he reminded her of River and Rainey- he was older and taller than her, both elements of a person that helped her not see the playful smiles of the little boys she adored in everything they did.

Unfortunately, all three of the others- Ryker, Chronus, and Sara- all began taking on elements of them in her mind, and she wouldn't be able to handle this interview if she couldn't stop herself from crying.

Cedar turned and made her way to the table of food and grabbed a delicate black and white china plate from a stack of matching ones on the end of it. This was definitely a decadent spread. A lot of these items Cedar had never seen before. Chocolate covered rose petals? She wasn't sure she was brave enough to try them, even though they looked beautiful. She pulled out her camera and snapped a picture discretely. She put petit fours, macaroons, and strawberries on her plate. As she began walking away, she remembered something her mother said when she was younger.

[color=SkyBlue]"The head learns new things, but the heart forever practices old experiences."[/color] It was a quote from someone, but Cedar never knew who. This was one of the only things that ever got her out of her own head. She would never move on if she never took new experiences to live with, instead constantly living with only the memories of her missing family.

[color=Brown][i]But do you really want to move on?[/i][/color] Cedar pushed the thought out of her head. This was not the time. She grabbed a single chocolate covered rose petal, and ate it. 

The petal tasted like roses smelled, with a wonderful and delicate earthy taste, followed a bittersweet burst of the chocolate ganache. Cedar was impressed. She snapped another picture of the petals, and followed that up by snapping pictures of the spread on the table, her mind removing everyone else in the room. A few shots later, Cedar put her camera back into the bag at her side and she focused her attention back on her plate of food and the cocktail Nina had given her.

She hadn't been able to eat anything this fancy... ever. It was a treat.