Happy New Years 2011 (open to all)

Jin laughed at the thought of Amir learning to waltz with some stranger in order to do the dance with Mara. Funny as the mental picture was, no doubt the instructor thought Amir was an eager teen hoping to learn something scandalous, he understood exactly why the man would do it.

Mara.

"It was for a good cause."

It didn't need to be said that he would have made the same choice in a heartbeat. Of course, Jin would have enjoyed it far more for the sake of mischief and the social situations that it would lead to than the Huntsman. Knowing the waltz,like many other dances before it, had led to invitations and conversations that were invaluable to the Night.

The cha cha was a nice change and he gave Mara a big smile as they danced to the faster beat. He loved the complicated leg work and was glad that with this dance they could use visual directions to add more complicated hold changes and some flair. It had been near flawless dancing with Mara on Halloween and now it was even more seamless.

If they could send between each other like the Evenhet then the two of them could conquer the dancing world. Quite possibly even without such unfair communication aid.

The song came to an end and the slower music started. Jin noticed they suddenly had more company. He watched Mara to see if she wanted to leave the crowded dance floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him the choice.

Was there really any question? Not to his mind, but it was considerate of her to ask.

"I am happy where ever you are."

He slid both his arms around her waist and pulled her nearer. Leaning down, he whispered.

"But I have less excuse to hold you close at the buffet table."

Eiryk almost laughed when Alex looked a bit distressed at Aishe pulling him off to dance. It wasn't the most subtle tactic ever, but since Alex had agreed one couldn't fault Aishe at all. It was hard not to stare at his boyfriend, but as he didn't want to make Alexander self conscious he avoided it.

It was tempting to go off and find something to eat. But, since his New Year's resolution was to tell Alex about his diet, that didn't seem right. A client or two stopped by and he bantered cheerfully with them. He even managed to persuade one that they had a room that needed updating and get another to agree to let him do a vacation house her husband had given her for Christmas. God love the stupidly rich.

The house was on the water on Cape Cod. He'd have to send one of his other designers to over see a majority installations and execution. But, even though it was the off season, he might be able to persuade Alex to come with him for a working weekend.

She was just leaving as Alex and Aishe came back to the table. When Alex asked him to dance Eiryk practically beamed.

"Of course."Â?

Not giving Alex a chance to reconsider Eiryk fell over himself, literally, before escorting (or being escorted, it was hard to tell) to the dance floor.

Since Alex had just had a lesson Eiryk let him take the lead. Once Alex settled his arms around him Eiryk could have sighed with happiness. Instead he just maneuvered them slowly and steadily through the crowd on the floor. Feeling Alex was growing a bit more confidant he turned the 'lead' such as it was over to him and rested his head on Alexander's shoulder.

"It isn't me. I swear it is all your son."Â?

Nikhila laughed as he got them back to the table. Nikhila's eyes widened as she saw all the food on it. For a second she thought they had walked to the buffet instead of their table. As Aidan settled her in her chair she picked a bit of this and that. Oddly enough wishing for a very rare stake. But that wasn't likely to be there.

The bubbles in the sparkling water were amusing tonight. She had picked the drink mostly for the carbonation. The champagne had looked pretty and she had wanted something to match. Apparently her fascination with it was equally entertaining to the waiters who made certain the glass was always full.

Having eaten enough to appease her appetite, at least for now, undoubtedly they would be back to the table and she would eat even more. There were days she swore that was all she did was eat, but for now she persuaded Aidan to take her back to the dance floor.

It really was impressive that they managed to get even remotely close together while dancing. Just as they were finding pace with the music, even if it was probably too slow for the song, the baby kicked, hard. Nikhila twinged a bit. He was a strong little thing. But she refused to stop dancing. If she were to go into labor right now she might refuse. Labor took hours after all.

"You think I look dashing? That is probably not the best argument for normal attire. Now if you said you preferred less clothing.... that could certainly be arranged."Â?

If she turned and looked at him right at this moment, she would have noticed the twinkle in his eyes and the devilish grin. The expression was unfortunately ill timed with what appeared to be a requisition from Aishe. Clearly he had missed half of conversation somewhere. At first, Artemis wasn't sure what he was being signed-up for, but he quickly schooled his features before someone mistakenly assumed his impish mischief was directed at the wrong woman. That would only end badly.

Fortunately, Pak had deciphered that Aishe was offering to dance with him. That was certainly ok, but he was more than a little disappointed that Pak didn't want to herself. He would have to try and change her mind before the night was over. There was nothing better than bringing in the new year with someone you cared for. Before Artemis could really say more than 'Hi' and 'Bye' to the other couple, Kem had whisked Aishe away to the dance floor. He couldn't help but see the humor in the situation, and started to laugh.

"Now that is a man on a mission"Â?

Still smiling, he greeted Alex and Eiryk and followed Pak around the table. He pulled out a chair for her as she sat down. Hopefully she wouldn't mind that he was ridiculously old fashioned in some ways. In response to Eiryk's comment he laughed.

"Not for lack of trying. She drove."Â?

Realizing that Alex was politely still standing, he took a glass of champagne from the waiter and sat down next to his date. Artemis sipped from his glass and watched the people dancing. He was amused as Alex returned from his dancing with Aishe and immediately asked Eiryk to dance with him. For a man who had appeared terrified of the dance floor, he was doing quite well for himself. In fact, he had strengthened Artemis's resolve to try and convince Pak to dance with him later.

To Kem, he smiled and asked, "Any New Year's resolutions you would like to share?"Â?

Mara chuckled softly. "I'm not sure he saw it that way. But he did it." The amount of creator-originated grumbling had definitely increased at the request. Mara didn't elaborate, though. She didn't want to discuss Amir tonight. He'd told her to stay away; she was doing so. And enjoying herself immensely while at it, which was the bigger surprise.

Jin's words actually made her heart do a little butterfly flutter. She stifled the panic that that caused, in turn, and didn't resist as she was pulled closer. Jin's hands settled at the curve of the small of her back and she smiled, peering up at him through thick dark lashes.

"All this time, and you were waiting for an excuse?"

If that was the deal, she wasn't going to be leaving the dance floor in the near future, because Jin's arms were comfortable and thrilling at the same time. His whisper made her shiver and she let her fingers twine themselves into his soft hair. Pressing her cheek against his she barely felt her feet on the ground as they danced. There were no illusions of following or leading here; there was no longer any space between them.

Jin was warm and perfect to cling to as they swayed; all planes and angles to her rounded curves. There was no softness to him; he was lean and too athletic for that, and yet there was no hardness either as he held her gently. Mara breathed in his scent; some sort of subtle spicy-sweet cologne that reminded her of night time. Beneath that the every day smells of soap and clean things that she loved. Together the mix was one she wouldn't soon forget.

((ooc: permissions and descriptions and such granted))

Hammer inwardly smiled at the LT's discomfort in seeing him kiss Lily. As young men, Hammer was not all that different than LT's uncle, but he was just more discreet about his women. One of the advantages of never marrying, he enjoyed the single life, empty though it was. Although kissing Lily publicly had taken some time, he had no reservations about his public display of affection now that she was properly his. Still, he was glad the LT had sought him out.

"I think you should consider your position within Command, Lothias. Dining with leadership is a burden you'll have to bear eventually."

"It's not a burden, sir."

"No, it is an honor." Hammer narrowed his one eye at the LT and was decidedly pleased that Lothias did not back down, but instead maintained eye contact and an authoritative posture. LT wasn't the boy Hammer used to always see following Brig around. He was far from it now. Hammer gave the boy a rare smile. "But I wouldn't want to either. The Pipers would definitely be more fun."

LT blinked and then returned the smile.

"You brought your girlfriend with you tonight?"

Lothias paused and then nodded. Apparently the boy wasn't ready to introduce her to leadership or to the pack for that matter. He would definitely not pressure him to do so if he wasn't ready.

"Why don't you go find her and enjoy yourself then? See to the Alpha and his mate until they leave and send an accompaniment to see them home after midnight."

"Already done, sir."

Hammer hesitated for a moment before he reached out and put his hand on Lothias' shoulder. "There's a good lad, then."

Physical contact with verbal appreciation just wasn't the Hammerthynn way. It wasn't Hammer's way. But he felt the LT deserved it for his blind devotion to the Pack and duty. When Brig stepped up into his father's Elder position, Lothias would fit easily into the Commander role, despite his young age. The LT was a good man and Hammer was proud of him.

LT's reaction was a slightly slacked jaw and wide eyes.

This was even better, Alex thought, than trying to dance with Aishe's little wisp of a form. he'd had ample time in the last couple of months to memorize everything about Eiryk; taste, smell, feel... everything. Now he could add dancing to the list of things they had done. And would do again, because Eiryk's reaction to being held was everything Alex could have asked. This was a far better picture than the previous image he'd had in mind of making a complete idiot out of himself while he clumsily tried to figure it out.

Alex searched the couples nearby and found Aishe and Kem on the floor nearby, holding each other just as close. As if on cue Aishe opened her eyes, which had been closed while she rested her head against Kem's chest, and blinked at him slowly. Then she smiled knowingly and closed her eyes again.

Alex dropped his own head to rest his cheek against Eiryk's hair. "Did I mention I love you tonight?"

The phrase was still fresh to him. Christmas in Vermont had been liberating in more than one way. Now that he felt the words were all right to say, he didn't want Eiryk to go without hearing them. "Because I do."

Inside his head, Alex was trying to figure out how exactly he could thank Aishe in a way that didn't involve his lifelong indentured servitude. By showing him how not to fuck this up, she'd inadvertently given him one of the best gifts she could have given.

Kem watched Eiryk with amusement as he managed to work business into pleasure without batting an eyelash. Then again, Eiryk loved his work. So maybe business had less to do with it.

Aishe and Alexander were gone for far longer than just one song, and Kem resisted the urge to check in on Aishe. From the way she 'felt' he could tell things were going well, from her perspective. She seemed calm... and curiously confident. And satisfied. He was dying with curiosity. If he could die again, that was.

He snapped back to the present as Aishe and Alex returned, and didn't quite manage to hide a wide-eyed expression as Alex boldly pulled Eiryk to his feet and they practically bulldozed their way to the dance floor.

[What the hell did you do, give him a lobotomy?]

Aishe smiled at him, holding her hands out, and he took them. Turning to answer Artemis he said, "I went easy on myself this year. I have resolved never to let go of what I love again. So, if you'll excuse me..."

He smiled apologetically at his two friends, but if Aishe said 'dance' tonight, he was dancing. She was irresistible to him on a regular basis... having her in that clinging gown with beads dripping from it, warm and molded to him, the love in her heart reaching out along the bond they shared to add another dimension to it. Well, suffice it to say he didn't need to be coerced.

They danced near their friends and Kem suspected Aishe was lending her silent support. He approved.

[Has anyone told you lately, you're a damned good vampire? I'm a little jealous.]

She only tightened her arms around him and laughed against his chest. [You are not. Now hush and kiss me.]

He didn't need to have his arm twisted.

((ooc: skip Aishe!))

Lily was more than pleased with Iov's response. Surprised but pleased. In a display that was uncharacteristic for her, too, she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his enthusiasm with enough to match and then some. It didn't dawn on her that they were being interrupted right away.

Peering over Iov's shoulder at LT, she flushed. A little. LT seemed flustered as well though, and Lily just smiled and hid the expression behind Iov's arm. She didn't want LT to think she was laughing at him.

"Thank you," she said when he complimented her. "And thank the Pipers, too, for being here for Aidan and Nikhila. They didn't have to. I know it's their holiday too, but... it helps."

When they had finished there, Lily and Iov went back to their table, sat, and ate with Aidan and Nikhila until the other two decided to dance again. They were joined by Brig and Viv after that, so they were never quite alone. But that was all right. No wolves truly liked to be alone. Even Lily, who was a bit distanced from the Pack, still liked to know they were around.

Smiling at Viv, Lily said, "Are you enjoying yourself tonight? You seem quite busy."

Pak blushed a little as he held her chair for her. She was old enough that that kind of gesture was natural and she just accepted it when it happened.

You'd think after a few hundred years and being a practicing member of the world's oldest profession for a century or so she'd be immune. But she wasn't. It was different when some one actually cared and was interested.

"But do you blame him?"Â?

Pak looked for something on the table to throw at the crack about her driving. But the Piazza was too classy to leave sugar packets about and flatware was just mean. Instead she leaned in to nudge Artemis with her shoulder.

"And it would be wise to remember I have to drive back yet."Â?

There was so much back and forth and dancing and not, it was enough to remind her why she didn't go out on New Year's eve. Although it made her smile to see Eiryk and Alex make their way out to the dance floor. Maybe she hadn't used up her dancing quota for the year yet.

Kem was in one of his eloquent moods and Pak opted not to tease him for a change. Probably because she could feel the truth and sincerity in that answer. It was a bit of a surprise. Smiling she turned to her date,

"Does that mean you want to share yours? Or would you rather talk me into dancing? Apparently, we are missing out."Â?

For a change Pak had thought a head and her heels were only three inches instead of four. Well that and the music currently playing was slow and she could manage it.

"Or did I step on your toes one too many times on Halloween?"Â?

They were back to the dance floor sooner than Xeph had expected but he was all right with that. When his son kicked hard enough for him to feel it he laughed, albeit sympathetically. "Soon," he said to Nikhila's belly. "Tonight, you stay put. You'll have a New Year's eve soon enough."

Swaying with Nikhila over the dance floor, he chanced to look up and saw a sight both welcome and unwelcome. Kem and Aishe. They were everywhere. He growled softly under his breath. Nothing more awkward than to see two people he liked and didn't want to be around.

He began to move away but he was a little late; his mismatched eyes met Kem's and he nearly shuddered at the overwhelming effect of the vampire's presence and attire. He was colorless. He was ghostly. And he was nodding his head politely, his eyes as cool as ice and the same shade.

And Nikhila was greeting the couple warmly, which meant Xeph could do no less. There wasn't any hand-shaking, but they all moved closer together.

"You have been teaching him to dance while I've been a sleep haven't you?"Â?

Nikhila laughed while she marveled at the weird but wonderful sensation of the baby rolling over and with any luck listening to his father and hopefully going back to sleep. He was due any day now, but she wasn't looking to have a New Year's baby.

She'd caught sight of one person from the lab, but they hadn't noticed her and under the circumstances she was fine with that. Nikhila really hadn't expected to see anyone from outside the Pack that she knew here. After all, her work was mostly within the Pack. So seeing Kem and Aishe was a bit of a surprise. But it was a pleasant one.

Kem's appearance was very striking, but Nikhila suspected he knew that and had even worked to play it up. If that was the case he should be pleased with the effect. She had heard Aidan's growl, and understood it on some level, it was counter intuitive to be polite or even nice to their kind. But Kem had proven he wasn't holding a grudge. After all he had been quite a friend to Reign and Drew. He was still helping Drew.

She squeezed her mate's hand sportively. They wouldn't talk long, for everyone's peace of mind.

"Kem, Aishe... Happy New Year."Â?

Viv shook her head and started to pull away from Brig.

"Wait a minute...," he said gently tugging on her hand.

"Don't ruin this, Brian. Please?" Viv had used his real name, hopefully a very large clue as to the seriousness of her request.

"What is that suppose to mean? Ruin what?"

"This. Us. Don't pull this alpha bullshit with me. It was cute at first but I'm not your property."

"I just proposed to you. You have my ring. That says something, doesn't it?"

Viv felt the color drain out of her face. It took everything not to give him his ring back. A frantic feeling rose up from her stomach and began to suffocate her. Did he actually think she belonged to him like a piece of furniture or a favorite bone? Was he that jealous that he'd put those kind of restraints on her and put stipulations on her life? Was she about to start hyperventilating?

Viv closed her eyes and exhaled slowly from her mouth. Without a word, she turned away from him. The need to throw the ring back in his face and run was overwhelming. For the first time in Nachton, the first time she had been with Brig and been so fervently in love with him, she questioned it. She gave him a final look and she saw his face drop with realization of what he said and the irreparable damage it had just done.

"Viv...."

Viv swallowed and turned back to him, her hand reaching into her hiding place in her dress and fingering the ring. "We need to head back in." Her hand balled up into a tight fist, making the prongs of the ring bite into her skin as she fought the need to give it back and walk away. "I'm going in."

She walked through the opened doors and slipped the ring back into her dress. Looking down she saw the impression of it on the palm of her hand. If Brig was behind her, she couldn't hear him, but the crowd of people pressed in around her obscuring his footsteps. Once she made it back to the table, she settled down into her chair and Brig appeared next to her within a few moments. Putting the happy mask back on was easier than she had thought it would be and she caught Red's eye as she looked up. With a grin, he winked at her. She stuck her tongue out at him briefly, making him laugh from his perch a couple tables away.

Then Lily was speaking to her. Was she enjoying herself, she asked. Heh, Viv thought and smiled prettily.

"This fanciness is just crazy for country folk like me," she said jokingly. "Actually, I'm enjoying myself. Saw a few people I know, said hello." Viv looked down at the food and raised her eyebrows. "I see we're all ready to start grazing?"

Charlie sat Carol down at the Piper's table and Domingo immediately inundated her with compliments and food. With a warning look, to which Carol and Domingo both smiled mischievously, he made his way back across the ballroom to meet up with LT who was just breaking off from seeing the Beta.

"Your woman is in the capable hands of Domingo."

"Oh great," LT whined.

"You better get to it, then." Charlie slapped LT on the back and moved toward the buffet table, selecting his own dinner for the night.

He watched as waiters lined up from the service station back toward the middle section of the ballroom and saw the huge helping of food stacking up on the Alpha's table. Grabbing a plate, he moved toward it and saw Vivienne and the Commander return to the table. Neither one paying the other any attention but sitting next to each other.

The seat next to Vivienne was open, presumably for the LT, but Charlie didn't think he'd be joining them with Carol just yet. LT's nervousness was palatable before they had even left the Den. So Charlie circled the table and stood by the empty chair, waiting for Viv to finish speaking to the Alpha's mother. Viv looked up at him and smiled as he pointed to the chair, not wanting to interrupt their conversation, and Viv nodded and pushed the chair part way out. The Commander turned and looked at Charlie, his face tight but not unwelcoming as he nodded and then turned back away.

Settling down with a plate, Charlie nodded to the Beta and smiled at the Alpha's mother, picking at some of the cooked food nearby, waiting for Viv to free up to chat.

Brig began to grind his teeth as he turned away from acknowledging Charlie at the table. The Sergeant felt familiar enough to sit at leadership's table, but Brig knew Charlie was there because of Viv. Reaching out, Brig began picking from the smorgasbord of food that Hammer had undoubtedly selected. There was plenty for everyone but Brig was fairly certain Hammer meant it for himself. He caught his cousin eye and winked as he partook in his food. Hammer narrowed his eye at Brig, making him laugh, forgetting that the woman he loved and just proposed to was on the verge of either killing him or giving the ring back. The former felt like the latter, in any case.

Charlie had honed in on Viv as if the asshole knew his chances with Viv had become infinitely better. Brig blushed, embarrassed he thought of Charlie so poorly, but he knew a vulture when he saw one. Brig angrily ate his food, trying hard not to listen to Viv talk to the Alpha's mother.

"Brian?"

Looking up he saw one of the lovely ladies from the balcony earlier standing a few feet away. Smiling, he politely rose. "Lisa, wasn't it?"

"Good memory." She pointed to the chair and asked, "May I?"

Pulling the chair out for the barely in late twenties female, she settled in and began talking with him. Brig turned his back to the rest of the table and concentrated on Lisa. Half of him knew he was acting according to the norm - a beautiful woman comes by, he was more than apt and ready to chat her up. The other half of him was embarrassed that he was chatting up another woman as he sat next to his now fiancee. He wanted to turn and introduce Viv as such, to put the thing out into the open, but anyone finding out about them was the least of his problems now. Brig pushed his plate away and tried to concentrate on the girl, hating himself for it.

Kem was ambivalent about running into Xephier; they had a tentative sort of truce going but he wasn't sure how far it went. Although no one was here for anything but a good time. In another world, he and Xephier could have gotten along much better.

"Happy New Year," he said, as Aishe echoed the sentiment. "Not a bad party so far."

Nikhila's condition was obvious and he nodded his head toward her. "Congratulations," he said. He wasn't entirely sure that what the world needed was more werewolves, but this wasn't the time to be unfriendly. It wasn't normally time to be unfriendly when you were him. So Kem smiled and meant what he said.

Aishe glanced up at him and squeezed him around the waist; he relaxed marginally and sighed. And smiled again, a little more genuinely. "It's good to be able to celebrate. Staying for the fireworks?"

Lily returned Viv's smile, as usual not entirely comfortable making small talk. Some days were better than others, but she had been cut off from her own Pack for so long that it still wasn't natural for her to interact informally with anyone.

"I'm glad," she said when Viv told her she'd said hello to a few people. She was sure Viv was downplaying her experience. The adopted Vyusher always seemed on top of her game to Lily, and also seemed to get along well with just about everyone she met. Just about.

"Grazing time, indeed," she said with a short laugh. "It was kind of Iov to make sure everyone was provided for."

Like some sort of Brazilian grill, the waiters continued to come. The plates had very little time to be emptied before more were offered up by harried-looking servers. Lily didn't envy them; feeding the Pipers was not for the faint of heart.

"From what I understand it isn't possible for the Piazza to do a bad event."Â?

It wasn't surprising that Aidan wasn't being terribly chatty, and didn't press the issue. At least he wasn't chasing them off and Nikhila did like Kem.

"Thank you."Â?

She smiled and placed a hand on her protruding belly before casting a quick look at Aidan.

"I'm looking forward to them."Â?

It wasn't exactly an answer. They had planed to leave early but she would like to see them. Even if they stayed for the fireworks the party would continue for a few hours afterward and could avoid most of the crowd going home.

Trying not to drag things out she switched subjects rather abruptly.

"I did want to say thank you. I got the note you sent back with Drew and understand you were quite helpful to Reign as well."Â?

Vampire or not Nikhila wasn't burning any bridges here. Not when Kem had already provided a good link between Reign and the blood sample project.

Aishe had fallen silent after greeting Xephier and Nikhila and Kem knew she was doing what she generally did in these scenarios; acting shy, making observations, letting him do the talking. He raised his eyebrows with interest at Nikhila's words.

"I hope it was helpful," he said regarding the note he'd sent with Drew. "I could only guess at your research topic really, but I wanted to throw the ideas out there."

Yeah. He knew what she was looking into and if he was right it was the sort of thing he shouldn't be helping her with. But he didn't get a bad vibe from Nikhila and furthermore, Aishe didn't. That spoke volumes. So he was willing to let it go for now.

As for Reign, Kem just smiled. "She's our neighbor. And our friend. We do our best."

He didn't say he hoped it would be reciprocated; he knew it wouldn't be. Xephier had made it clear. Kem remember their previous conversation though, and knew there was more Xephier was hiding. Almost thought there was more that he wanted Kem to know, but how to go about learning it was beyond either of them. It was frustrating, trying to communicate this way.

Xeph gritted his teeth, trying to avoid asking personal questions. He was still feeding information to the jackal, although as far as he knew there had been no action on it. He'd never been told what it was for. Maybe no harm would be visited upon them at all.

He refused to get stuck in that train of thought. It was just another layer of vampiric compulsion, he told himself, to make him complacent. He wouldn't do it.

Xeph finally managed to force a smile from somewhere. Kem didn't realize how lucky he was, to be free to do what he wanted. To talk to the people he wanted to. To tell Aishe whatever he wanted to tell her. He never thought he'd be jealous of a vampire, but, Xeph realized, he kind of was.

"Reign's lucky to have you as neighbors," he was able to say. His smile to Aishe was far less forced, but he meant the words sincerely. Reign had been lucky several times over and at least a couple of those instances had been due to her friends.

He wrapped his arms around Nikhila and tugged a little. "Will you excuse us? I only have limited dance time before I have to get Nikhila to rest. Happy New Year."

Xeph didn't want to stay and chat with them. He definitely didn't want to know more about their lives. He refused to feed that jackal silu any more than was strictly necessary.