[Kitsumi]

Taking a tiny sip of his drink, Sorin gave his sister a satisfied smile. "Ah, luckily you seem to have good taste. It's almost as if a little someone that you've been spending a lot of time with has taught you about the finer things in life."

Myrym quickly shoveled a forkful of food into her mouth to avoid answering. She could feel her face warm, and it wasn't from the crackling fire. "Shut up and eat," she said, once she had chewed and swallowed. "You want to have time to dance and enjoy yourself before we have to make a run for it, right? Then you better hurry up, because once I start filling my pockets, I won't be able to wait around for you to finish gallivanting."

[Jaykobell]

Sergio relished in the food. Usually, he was a reasonable man who rarely gave in to sin. But this kind of gluttony was an acceptable sin, as far as he was concerned! It would be rude and uncalled for to refuse such food, and in such amount, wouldn't it?

Clovis definitely thought so, too. He was never one to truly follow the rites - in fact, he was the type to sin rather than try to avoid it - and tonight proved it firsthand as he busied himself with eating, saying not a word.

[Adelie]

There was a point to the whole starving artist student stereotype, y'know.

For one, she had put herself in a career where her expected income depended entirely on how well she could court people with more money than sense into buying one of her ineffable stone sculptures or blown-glass mobiles. For another, she had just come out of a long, productive day in the studio where she had absolutely been in the zone, and now she was hungry enough to eat a horse. Figuratively and literally. She was too hungry to be picky.

Thankfully, she didn't have to worry about the contents of her inadequately-stocked refrigerator today. Someone had so kindly tipped her off to the Thanks for Life celebration going on nearby, which had almost come as a shock - free food? Without having to listen to some tech company recruiter drone on about how their company was hiring the best and brightest minds in the college? Without having to fill out some market research survey that was probably a soul-sucking contract in disguise?

Yeah, she'd take that. Sometimes, there were still kind people in the world.

[Wyvern]

While her companion was occupied looking for seats in the grand dining room, Adriana gave the nearby vineyards a quick visit. The raptor excitedly paced between the grape plantations, taking in the scent of not only the planta themselves but also picked up the smell of a variety of fresh fruits from close by. She could see a few wooden huts at the further end of the garden, which she assumed were the storage rooms for the fruit and newly created wine and beverages.

To her surprise, there didn’t seem to be anyone watching over the gardens. Or at least not that she was aware of. As much as she was tempted to get away with taking one of the grapes to snack on, she knew she had to resist. “Ugh, I wonder what Mir would think if I grabbed some grapes. Maybe I should just go back to the mansion... this is making me hungry... and thirsty for wine.”

Adriana paused her long steps for a few minutes, pondering. She huffed softly, before reaching out to quickly swipe at a nearby vine which had vibrant purple grapes hanging from it. She swiftly caught the handful of berries that dropped from it. “It’s just a few, and Mir isn’t here to see, anyway...” The Serraptor calmly reassured herself, before starting to snack on the grapes in her claw.

[crow]

_{*note: the site was down for me ~20min from rollover; per Discord messages with Kylo, using this screenshot as proof that I at least wrote this post prior to rollover (timezone is PST, 3h behind Evelon time) @_@}

Seeing Callum take a seat at the table, Bran sighed. He hadn't planned on eating here, but the nature of his task today meant he couldn't wander too far from Callum, and he would stand out rather sorely if he simply stood to one side and watched Callum eat. The sorts of conclusions people would draw if they saw an adult staring at a high school boy were almost universally unsavory, regardless of whether he appeared to try to be discreet.

Bran took a seat a little ways away from his charge. The long table left him no room to find a private table, and there weren't any unoccupied swathes of chairs either, so he simply said a few polite interjections and inserted himself between an older couple and a disinterested-looking young woman who seemed to be accompanying the rest of her family. Hopefully they would be too absorbed with whatever they had been occupied with to pay him much mind.

[GrayGriffin]

As Tweety continued fluttering through the halls, he nearly bumped into a small shape crouched behind a pillar. Blinking, he realized that he recognized that face.

"Nikey?" he asked, blinking in shock.

"Oh, hey Tweety!" said the Kirund-boy, turning to smile at him. "I figured if they were going to keep us kids out, I should do the same as you and find a way to sneak it as well! And find all the secrets of this place while I'm at it."

"You know, that might be why we weren't allowed to come...not that I'm not down for secret hunting, of course!" added Tweety quickly.

[Kitsumi]

"Ugh," the male gave an exaggerated sigh as he began to eat. Chewing slowly, he took his time to savor the taste of the food before swallowing and speaking again. "We could... you know, just enjoy the ambiance without taking anything, you know. I know you have this whole roguish reputation going on or whatever. But can't you put it aside for one night?"

"No." His sister spoke firmly, leaving no room for further questions. "Not if you want us to be able to throw parties like this someday. Come on, think about it. This place has got to have some great items. If I play my cards right, we could be set for a few months. Long enough to settle down somewhere and pull off an even bigger job."

[Wyvern]

Scanning one of the tables for two spots open close by, and these to be relatively a bit afar from the other guests as so to not disturb them, the green Werecain's head tilted at every little movement she could observe from that particular table. The lupine was a bit hunched over, trying to appear smaller; she was a bit embarrased about just waltzing into the place without a word, even though nobody didn't even notice her to begin with. Mir couldn't help but think she had to be quick to find a good seating for her and Adriana. "Let's see, let's see... a spot she'll like the most..."

Meanwhile, her partner was trotting the path to return to the front of the mansion. She could still see more invitees exploring the gardens and a few proceeding inside the grand doors. By this time, Adriana had already eaten up the grapes she got away with grabbing from the vineyard.

She quietly went on her way, following the other guests inside, as if nothing had happened; if anything, she had a little grin on her face. The only evidence of her mischief was a faint scent of the purple grapes she snacked on, coming from her body. But with the whole mansion smelling heavenly of food, hardly anyone would seem to mind much, right? Now, she had to go find Mir inside the dining room.

[Jaykobell]

The two continued to eat comfortably what seemed to be an endless amount of food. Meats, vegetables, fruits, desserts...there was everything. Not a thing on this table would leave someone indifferent, for sure.

Eventually, Sergio felt his stomach tighten, a surefire sign that it was time to call it quits, hard as it was to leave so much good food uneaten. "I've never seen so much food in my life," he said as he turned to Clovis, "but I think I have to stop."

Even Clovis had started to slow down, but he seemed to still have a little of space left for more.

[Adelie]

She scans the crowd diligently from her awkward position in the parlor, looking for 'a short girl in a Santa hat.' The identifying article of clothing had been chosen because it would stand out in a crowd - who would wear a Christmas hat to a party for another holiday? - but evidently, people hadn't gotten the memo on exactly what a Thanks for Life celebration was, and she'd already apprehended one other very confused short girl in a Santa hat.

Well, there was the possibility that she hadn't been wrong, and she'd actually gotten stood up. A slim possibility, hopefully. She certainly wasn't the best-looking woman in the room and her erstwhile bandmate had taken one look at her this morning and wordlessly handed her a tub of extra-strength eye cream, but she didn't look that different from how she presented herself online, at least. If anything, she probably looked better. Her friends always told her she texted like an old man who was still discovering the existence of flip phones.

Besides, it wasn't like this was a date. It was just one friend meeting up with another after discovering they had been living in the same city for five years. The part where she might be hoping it would turn into one was an afterthought.

[zapdragon555]

It was an incredible windfall, happening upon a place like this. True, the people of this country were often generous to a fault, and around this time of year when winter began to creep at the edges of all living things' souls, it was more important than ever to share in bounty. But for these two particular travelers, it was somewhat lifesaving. Their meagre funds were growing thinner all the time... and Grimmer was determined to keep his somewhat eternally-withering friend as healthy as he could be. Tenma seemed to have a tendency to stress-starve, Grimmer had observed; it wasn't an uncommon reaction to anxiety and tension, especially for someone as self-sacrificing as his shorter friend. But... it just wouldn't do. Tenma deserved to eat well... he deserved to relax for a moment, and not fear that the authorities would be at his back within the minute.

"It's quite beautiful in here, isn't it, Dr. Tenma?" Grimmer chirped cheerfully, a hand humorously held over his eyes as though taking in a great view from a mountaintop, rather than observing the inside of a lavish dining hall. Tenma couldn't help but be reminded of the equally lavish dinners that Eva had taken him on, what felt like a lifetime ago. He'd never quite felt like he fit, there in his suit and tie. But now he felt like he fit even less, wearing clothes that most would assume were thrifted from a previously homeless person's possessions. Holes, loose threads, and all.

"It is," Tenma murmured, admittedly captivated by the warm light, the orange glow from lanterns and candles. It put him more at ease than he felt he deserved, quietly sinking his posture until his arm gently brushed Grimmer's longer one. And after a beat of quiet, Grimmer gently moved that arm to wrap around Tenma's shoulders, squeezing soft and guiding them forward. "It smells lovely in here, too."

Grimmer perked up at that, a cheerful chuckle in his voice as he nodded and clapped his hand gentle, affectionate, to Tenma's shoulder. "It does! I hope they have delicious warm bread, a fine cheese... maybe some mulled wine we can share?" Tenma couldn't help but look up at the taller man with a tired, but fond smile. It... was a pretty thought, sharing a bottle with him again, like they'd done on that mountaintop...

[SpringsSong]

"Ah, so he is simply checking in on how we are doing?" Lana asked. "For a moment, I was concerned that maybe you had sensed Theron, or Arcann, or Senya - or one of our children, having made their way here without any of the ones I just mentioned," she said.

"Oh, that's a very real concern, too," Xyshari said, looking back to Lana. "Savona, Kelsa, and Khiso are all entirely too curious for their own good - though they do come by it honestly."

[crow]

Unfortunately, while Bran's guess turned out to be on the mark for the older couple, he was quickly proven wrong as far as the young woman was concerned. She glanced up as he sat down, then back to her phone, before abruptly doing a double take. Never a good sign. Bran tried to look interested in the food, hoping she wouldn't go as far as to address him, but those hopes were dashed too.

"Hey," she said. Bran didn't respond, but she simply turned in her seat to face him more fully. "Hey, aren't you that--"

"No," said Bran, before she could blurt something that might draw in more attention. "I'm flattered, but you're mistaken."

She frowned. "But you didn't let me finish."

"I get the question all the time. I'm beginning to consider plastic surgery," Bran replied.

[GrayGriffin]

Tayne leaned against a wall, sipping at a glass of cranberry cider as she contemplated just heading home. She did want to have a meal with her actual family before they all went to bed, and it seemed the food was slowing down anyways.

As she contemplated, one of the walls behind her suddenly spun around, sending a figure flying out and landing in front of her.

"Oof!" exclaimed her brother, before looking up at her.

"Um...I can explain?"

[SpringsSong]

"Yes, they certainly do, don't they?" Lana asked, continuing to pick at the food that was on her plate. "I didn't think that was one of your things that you struggled with as a Jedi - you always focused on learning exactly what you needed to for a situation, and not a thing more unless it benefited your understanding of a scenario," she said.

"You're right, I am not overly curious," Xyshari said. "I attribute that to... daring to ask my Padawan-brother how our first master died."