[img]https://i.imgur.com/roaeg9T.jpeg[/img]
[right][img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img][/right][right][sup][color=#d4af37][b]#d4af37[/b][/color][color=2e2c2c]...[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]...[/color][url=https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9d/6c/dd/9d6cddf90421ceb4a4114345d38541ee.jpg][color=9b9b9b][b]outfit[/b][/color][/url][/sup][/right]

[indent][indent] [color=#ffffff]Elias glanced down at the bottle he was nursing, then with a shrug set it back on the bar where he’d grabbed it. It felt like a fair trade in that one good turn deserved another, especially when dealing with someone as genuinely giving as Forest seemed to be. When Forest pressed the new, unopened bottle into his hand, Elias accepted it without hesitation, a lopsided grin spreading across his features. The glass felt cool and substantial in his palm, promising something better than the standard party fare, just as the previous one had. Of that he was sure. [/color]

[color=#d4af37]“Generous man,” [/color][color=#ffffff]he acknowledged, his thumb finding the seal and breaking it with an easy twist. Before taking a drink for himself, however, Elias demonstrated an unexpected courtesy by tipping the bottle first over Forest's glass and then his own, pouring equal measures of the honey-coloured liquid. [/color]

[color=#d4af37]“To greener pastures,”[/color][color=#ffffff] he declared, raising his glass with a meaningful look that acknowledged their earlier conversation about Demeter and growth. He clinked his glass against Forest's with a clear, ringing sound, then savoured the complex sweetness as he took his first sip of this new batch.[/color]

[color=#d4af37]“As for finding some…” [/color][color=#ffffff]Elias's eyes narrowed in thought. [/color][color=#d4af37]“A friend of mine was actually given a greenhouse with her cabin.” [/color][color=#ffffff]He turned, scanning the dancefloor for Tapeesa, his eyes quickly finding the spot where he'd last seen her whirling with abandon. She was still there but no longer spinning wildly; instead, she was engaged in what appeared to be an animated conversation (wasn’t every conversation with her bound to be, though?) with a redheaded man he didn't recognize.[/color]

[color=#d4af37]“As far as I know, she can't make drinks like you can, daughter of Apollo and all,” [/color][color=#ffffff]he continued, turning back to Forest with a smile. The classical references were coming surprisingly easily to his tongue tonight, it seemed. [/color][color=#d4af37]“In fact, I don't think she really drinks, but she was nice enough to me on our way here, so I doubt she'd mind a serious gardener taking a look.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Once, he might not have cared enough to offer. Elias wasn’t exactly the social tour-guide type, and he wasn’t in the habit of playing middleman for anyone else’s interests. But maybe the sting of that last conversation with Anissa still clung to him.  He could still misstep here;  another throwaway joke could land like a stone in someone’s gut again. This, at least, was something he could control. This, he could get right.[/color]

[color=#d4af37]“I can introduce you if you want. Might have to earn your keep, though. She's big on dancing... obviously. So, don't be shocked if you're dragged into some spin or two.” [/color]

[/indent][/indent]
[hr]Location: Bar
Interactions: Forest([@NoriWasHere])
Mentions: Tapeesa, Leo, Anissa
[hr]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/hQWXcuZ.jpeg[/img]
[right][img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img][/right][right][sup][color=#3b9ae1][b]#3b9ae1[/b][/color][color=2e2c2c]...[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]...[/color][url=https://i.pinimg.com/736x/95/7b/0b/957b0b01364489a296679724020ddb04.jpg][color=9b9b9b][b]outfit[/b][/color][/url][/sup][/right]

[indent][indent] [color=#667c0c]"Congratulations,"[/color][color=#ffffff] Wes chimed in with a lighthearted chuckle, a teasing smile playing on his lips. [/color][color=#667c0c]"You’ve survived your first [/color][color=#667c0c][i]Rae Kowalewski[/i][/color][color=#667c0c] tutorial rambling." [/color]

[color=#ffffff]Rae winced, though a tiny, reluctant smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Okay, so maybe she had a deeply ingrained habit of rambling when explaining things. It was an automatic response, triggered by a mix of excitement, anxiety, or even just the simple, solid comfort of knowing a subject inside and out (Again, never mind the fact that she’d only just learned how this particular magical interface worked moments ago). It was the same instinct that had led her teachers to hand her the dry-erase marker so she could “show the class,” and the same one that made her mother laugh and repeat her favourite motto: “If you can explain it, you can make it.” For Rae, explaining things wasn’t just a habit; it was practically how she breathed.[/color]

[color=#d87093]“Okay, ‘Rae Kowalewski,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Idris said with a friendly smile, though he slowed noticeably over the last name, his tone tentative as he navigated the unfamiliar syllables..   [/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“It’s Kowalewski with a ‘v’ sound for the ‘w’, yes,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Rae replied to Idris while looking sideways at Wes, lips quirking. [/color][color=#3b9ae1]“But you can stick with ‘Lewski’ if that’s easier or Rae. I don’t care.”[/color]

[color=#d87093] “I am,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Idris began, pausing thoughtfully as his gaze shifted from Rae back to the map. He pressed a finger firmly against the square marked Cabin 41, and in shimmering script, the name ‘Idris Orion Abbasi’ materialized beside the number. Now it was Rae’s turn to try. Hopefully, without mangling the pronunciation, something far too many of her high school classmates had done and occasionally on purpose.[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“Idris,” [/color][color=#ffffff]she started, the first name coming easily. [/color][color=#3b9ae1]“Orion…” [/color][color=#ffffff]She hesitated here, unsure whether to use a long “i” sound or a long “e”[/color][color=#ffffff][i] [/i][/color][color=#ffffff]sound and settled on the former.[/color][color=#3b9ae1] “Ah-bah-see?”[/color][color=#ffffff] she finished, her inflection tilting upward into a question as she looked to Idris for confirmation.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Wes took the opportunity then to introduce himself and extended a fist toward Idris. Rae noted the gesture and shifted to make room for the exchange.[/color]

[color=#667c0c]“If you’ve guys got this under control, I can always head back,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Wes said afterward.[/color][color=#667c0c] Don’t know how much help I can be when you have a map."[/color][color=#ffffff]  Rae couldn’t hide her surprise at his words.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]And cue the anxiety. [/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“Wait—what! But you just got here! I mean—[/color][i][color=#3b9ae1]I[/color][/i][color=#3b9ae1] just got here, and you—” [/color][color=#ffffff]She caught herself, hands flaring like startled birds before she reeled them in. [/color][color=#3b9ae1]“What I’m trying to say is…you don’t have to bail. I mean, you [/color][i][color=#3b9ae1]can[/color][/i][color=#3b9ae1] bail—free country, New Year’s, girlfriend, priorities, totally valid—but also I still don’t know where anything is.”[/color]

[color=#d87093]“The map is very useful,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Idris appeared to agree, to Rae’s dismay. [/color][color=#d87093]“Should I have brought a sleeping bag?  Not sure what the inside of the cabin will be like.  And I haven’t really done much camping before.” [/color]

[color=#ffffff]Rae pointed a little too enthusiastically in Idris’s direction.[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“See? That’s a question I can’t answer, but [/color][color=#3b9ae1][i]you[/i][/color][color=#3b9ae1] can. Think, Wesley! What if another question comes up that I don’t know?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]And okay, maybe she was being ridiculous. But she couldn’t help it; they’d only just reconnected, and already it felt like he was slipping away again.[/color]

[/indent][/indent][hr]Location: Near Camp Entrance  
Interactions: Wes ([@Mjolnir]), Idris ([@NoriWasHere]) 
Mentions: Trinity