Special Event: Pilot Ridge Holiday Bash!

[Hart Kenney]

Hart did not have a date to the holiday bash, not because he wasn't interested but because he remained reluctant to allow anyone quite that close. And besides, the woman he was interested in was his coworker, which made the ethics of asking a little tricky.

His roommate did have a date, and seemed rather reservedly excited about it, although he and his date were arriving separately, and so Hart had asked if Josef minded carpooling.

Unsurprisingly they parted ways almost as soon as they arrived, which left the shorter man to his own devices.

His own devices, as it turned out, involved scouting the party for signs of anyone he knew. He wasn't surprised not to see Renee (or Sloane, for that matter) but he didn't see Charlie, either. He also noted that he was (from what he could see) the only man who hadn't chosen grey or black or blue for his suit, having gone with a russet color because it was Christmas and he could be smarmy if he wanted.

He did a second scanning of the crowd for someone to dance with. There were two attractive women maybe a little younger than he was, but whether or not they were a couple they were definitely at the party together, and he didn't want to try and separate one. Maybe later, if they parted ways. There was a pretty young woman with dark-hair, but she looked like she was really enjoying her drink. There was also a somewhat heavyset African-American woman showing a ton of cleavage. She had a friendly, engaging aura about her, and so that was who he approached, having gaged that she was the least likely to mace him if she decided to reject him.

He sidled up to her by the bar, giving her what he hoped was a winning smile .

"Would you care to dance?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean’s typical modus operandi was to remain calm, and to take the route of least confrontation when in a public setting, particularly a relaxed public setting like the holiday bash. More people had begun to file in, some that Sean recognized from Hammel or had seen around town, and this was neither the time nor the place for a scene. That didn’t mean that he was happy to find himself face-to-face with someone who worked for Operation Patriot, since the telepath had strong opinions about the Military Industrial Complex and the notion of recruiting meta-humans; but he recognized that the annual town holiday party was a poor platform for airing those opinions.

Unfortunately, that didn’t stop his partner from reacting less calmly. That was to be expected; Sean had known Josh for more than thirty-three years at this point, and his partner always acted true to form. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Josh had managed to spill his drink, and wordlessly, Sean reached up, pulling out his pocket square to offer to the other man to aid in the task of cleaning himself.

They made eye contact, Sean acknowledging the comfort that Josh tried to provide, while simultaneously attempting to communicate that he intended to handle this diplomatically.

“So you know Lenore and Moira then,” he remarked. After all, the two women’s function at Hammel was to be the liaison between the school and Operation Patriot.

The telepath sipped his drink, idly considering the wisdom of switching to something harder. Considering that his current drink of choice was a cocktail of three different whiskies, harder was difficult to achieve, but still his thoughts drifted there. Perhaps spurned on by the fact that Josh was actively trying to reach a state of inebriation as quickly as possible.

That in mind, perhaps he shouldn’t find something harder.

“I’m the psychiatrist at Hammel,” he replied to the other man’s question, his voice lacking the venom that Josh’s contained. “For many years now.”

There was a lull, as he set his empty glass down on the bar. “Are you actively involved in recruitment?”

[Gregory Strickland]

Three teddy bears were cradled under Greg’s arm as he made his way to the Charity Ball as he liked to call it. He knew it was called something more suiting to the town, but thinking ‘Charity Ball’ just made him happy. He was also happy to give toys to children who would appreciate them, and he was admittedly glad to be getting out of Josh’s house and possibly making new friends. At the very least, he was hoping to run into some old ones and just had a good time. Oh, did he mention he was most happy about the alcohol?

After paying, and parting with the beloved stuffed animals, Greg hung up his coat and sauntered into the hall in a laidback manner. He was here to have fun, and meet new people he wouldn’t otherwise get the chance to meet. It seemed that most everyone in town was bound to show up to this event and he didn’t want to know those who didn’t want to come out and enjoy themselves. That, and it had taken a hell of a lot of courage for him to get dolled up and come out at all, so whoever he made eye contact with was already unknowingly congratulating him on his bravery.

Making his way to the bar, full of men naturally, he approached the two he recognized and slung a friendly shoulder around each other men, interrupting their conversation with someone Greg didn’t know. Hell, he didn’t know most of the town. “Evening gents,” he said with a bright smile, “next round’s on me if you don’t mind paying for the first.” He laughed a little at himself before extending a hand to Gerard. “Sorry to interrupt, I just love doing so. Gregory, always fashionably late.” A charming smile danced across his face as he retreated back into his friends. This was going to be a good night if he had anything to say about it.

He lied. There was one more face he recognized. The crazy, dark haired woman from the shopping centre the other day. Greg sent Quinn a small nod to come and join them if she felt like it. He found it strange that she kept showing up in festive places but was never festive herself. The blonde smiled to himself – she just needed a few more drinks in her, that would surely fix her mood.

[Quinn Collins]

The bar was quickly filling up with men and Quinn couldn't say that she mind. She normally preferred the company of men to woman. The conversation seemed to be less idle and more entertaining then the things that most women seemed to talk about. She didn't care about gossip or drama or their damn kids even though she knew most of them from treating their colds and allergies.

Quinn gave a polite smile to one of the men who gave her a nod and then went back to her drink already halfway done. This was going to be an early night.

Finally, a familiar face walked in. The guy from the store. SHe chuckled to herself then sighed. He knew that she snorted when she laughed. Great. Most people took advantage of that then tried to get her to do it in front of other people. Truly the worst. She gave him a friendly wave, downed the rest of her drink and ordered another.

Upon getting her second drink Quinn decided that she really couldn't be trusted to stay by the bar. She had to slow down. So, she moved away from the bar and went to go look at the Christmas tree that was set up in the room. It was decorated beautifully and although she wasn't one much for decorations she could appreciate beauty and good craftsmanship. She looked up at the other person who was looking at the ornaments as well. "They look handmade."

[Benjamin Rhodes]

The bash was here again and as always, because of his family's attendance, Ben was present. At least he tried looking presentable and boy did he look sharp. He had shaven, he had a good night's sleep last night and he showered right before leaving the house. All in all, he felt pretty fresh.

Thoughts about his last interaction with whom he supposed was his ex [he still didn't feel comfortable calling Cobalt that] were pushed to the back of his mind and he brought Yulia with him, hoping she would bring a genuine smile to his face.

Turned out, he didn't really need much of a push because the moment he saw his family, he relaxed and the genuine smile did appear. His mother brought him around the room, introducing him to some new people and re-introduced him to some old friends. It didn't take too long for him to settle into his old self.

Tonight will be fine. Absolutely fine.

[Ella Tate]

Ella looked around the crowded hall and smiled at the few people she recognised from Hammel, raising her glass at them before downing it in one shot. She quickly asked for another and smoothed down her dress.

Chloe hadn't been in the best mood when they left. Of course, her 'not in the best mood' was barely a frown but she did vocalise her displeasure at leaving the house so Ella left her at home and went to the bash by herself. Tim had been LOA for the best part of the month and Ella chalked it up to an overseas long-haul mission. Stephen was sent to one of those, she remembered.

But tonight was all about fun. No other thoughts weighing her down. She wanted to forget things.

Looking around one more time, she noticed a familiar head of hair and grinned. She grabbed her drink and slid off the chair to approach the woman who was in the presence of a familiar redhead. "Janice, you look spectacular. Hi...Kateri, isn't it? From Hammel?" Ella smiled offering her hand for a shake.

[Josef Muller]

So Sam was happy to see him? The smile seemed to indicate so, and Josef felt himself relaxing. This was not so difficult. “Good,” he said. “I’m glad to hear it.” And at the man’s question, he laughed. So he’d been right about Vegas. Huh. Still, better get that straightened out soon. “Not at all,” he assured the other man. “It looks good on you.” And it did. The blue set off his eyes and it fit well to his frame. But when he mentioned the festiveness of the suit, he allowed his eyes to skim over it, as if pondering it, then smiled at Sam. “Oh, I don’t know about that. You could have said you were modeling yourself after Jack Frost. It’s just festive in a different way.”

Really Vegas then. He could think of nowhere else—except perhaps his high school prom—where he’d seen a sky-blue suit. But as this was the first mention Sam had made of Vegas, he decided to let it be. He was here to enjoy himself. The man could tell his story in his own time.

But he was forward. Josef’s brows climbed at the compliment, but his own lips curved into a crooked smile of his own and an equally quiet, “Thanks.” And then, almost added as an afterthought, “You’re not so bad yourself.” He finished his order and, once armed with a beer, reflected that he was still really rusty. Oh, the things he could have done with the line….and that was all he had come up with? God, he needed some help.

That was the important question of the evening, was it? Josef managed to suppress the urge to smile and instead managed the serious expression that Sam had adopted. His eyes, however, danced. “I don’t expect you to do anything,” he admitted, somewhat serious theres. Expectations had led to trouble in his experience—he was willing to just see where it went and not to fret. But then he did smile and tilted his head to the side, brows arched suggestively. “If I’m honest, you could stand there all night and look good and I wouldn’t complain. But no.” He laughed. “I don’t expect you to dance. Not your thing?” 

[Esme Bakus]

When Feivel offered his elbow, Esme took it instinctively. Her tiny fingers wrapped gently around his elbow as she looked up at him, listening with interest at his proposition. She smiled when he offered that they would walk, which she actually thought was very romantic and she started hoping that would snow because that would just make it---

Esme’s smile paused half-way through its execution and quickly turned to a look of shock, and quickly turned again to sparkle-eyed glee. “You can do that? I mean do you want to do that? Am I too heavy?” She asked her questions in rapid, excited succession, her pearly painted nails digging gently against the fabric of his coat.

“That…That would be amazing!” She finally sighed, her toes curling with glee inside her shoes.

[Gerard Mayburry]

There were certainly qualities about Gerard that his children often found endearing. The most common one was the fact that he couldn’t ever understand why people disliked, looked down upon, or disagreed with the military. In his opinion, any man or woman willing to lay down their life for their country and people they never knew was a good man or woman. Gerard just generally assumed that everyone felt the same why.

That was why he was so glad when the subject turned to his work, and when Mister Bernstein and Doctor Neville both seemed to know what he was talking about.

And also why he couldn’t detected the dislike from either man.

Gerard’s brow lowered over his hard eyes when Joshua explained why he ‘didn’t much care’ for Operation Patriot. “Well neither can I, Sir.” Gerard agreed amicably. “What exactly gave you that impression of Operation Patriot?” He was going to crack heads if it was one of his employees.

Gerard’s eyebrows raised again when Josh explained his profession. “That’s excellent!” Gerard enthused. “It’s good to a see a man with a commitment to the rights of others.” He shook his head. “The world we live in…People need to stand up for each other.” Gerard raised his glass to Josh and took a drink.

As he swallowed, Gerard nodded slowly. Lenore and Moira were by far his most interesting employees. “That I do.” He acknowledged, about to inquire as to how Doctor Neville knew them until the other man admitted his occupation at the Institute. “Oh, I see.” Gerard replied.

Setting his drink down and letting his fingers idly play over the lip of the glass, Gerard bit his lip thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t say as actively as I was before. I worked as a recruiter for some time, but now I’m the Director over at Operation Patriot.” Gerard leaned slightly against the bar and gestured vaguely. “I’ve given some talks and held some meetings, but nothing like I did when I was recruiting, y’know?”

[Kandi Aoki]

Kandi got excited as soon as she saw the flyer plastered on the coffee shop cash register. The new Pilot Ridge bombshell didn't care what her sisters had planned - Kandi would definitely be making an appearance at the annual Holiday Bash. Besides, she needed something to take the place of her usual flurry of star studded Hollywood charity events. As soon as she located the local toy store, Kandi got down to business. She grabbed a few more presents to send to Haruto, then dropped a few hundred bucks on toys for the charity. Despite being known as the self absorbed Aoki sister, Kandi had a big heart. Especially when it came to kids. Her generosity was the one redeeming quality that saved her from being labeled as a hopeless Hollywood party girl.

With the presents bought, Kandi went back to Hoshi's apartment to get ready for her first Pilot Ridge social event. It took her about an hour to flat iron her hair and gloss it to perfection. Once she was dressed and ready, Kandi called a cab. After leaving a note for her sister, Kandi grabbed the four large toy store bags and headed downstairs to wait. The ride there was a pleasant one. Once they arrived, the driver helped Kandi unload her generous donation and deliver them. The bewildered gentleman in charge of collecting the toys stammered out his thank yous as the petite woman presented him with her contribution. With one of her award winning smiles, Kandi blushed and responded delicately. "It's my pleasure to give." And it was. With the same demure smile, Kandi paid the taxi driver and bid him good night before heading into the party.

As soon as she walked into the poshly decorated restaurant, Kandi missed Hollywood. She missed the DJ saluting her arrival with her favorite song. She missed the bartender greeting her by name. She missed the little cluster of Hollywood socialites pulling her away to dance. There was none of that here. In Pilot Ridge, there was no Kandi Aoki - hair stylist to the stars. In Pilot Ridge there was only Hinata Aoki, middle daughter in an average Japanese American family. Feeling utterly alone, Kandi kept a polite smile on her face as she headed straight to the bar. A bit of liquid courage would breathe some life into this deflated social butterfly.

As soon as the bartender noticed her, Kandi ordered her usual. "A White Russian with a vodka chaser, please." The look of skeptical look from the bartender brought a smirk to her lips. He seemed to be concerned about the petite woman's ability to handle hard liquor. As he slid the order across the bar, Kandi lifted the vodka shot and downed it without hesitation. As it warmed her throat, she lifted the White Russian to her lips and sipped it more delicately. Now that she had a bit of fire coursing through her veins, Kandi was ready to party. Her eyes fluttered around the crowded room as she smiled at the party people closest to her. The pulse of the music caught her attention as she watched a few people on the dance floor. Hopefully she'd find someone to drag her out there, soon.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"That impression," Josh informed Gerard between tending to his drink, "Was given to me by Mr. Kells." He said no more than that; if pressed he would happily tell Gerard all about their disagreement over the Occupy movement, but at the moment his drink was more interesting and the opportunity to rant and rave at someone and explain how they were wrong and morally reprehensible passed.

That he didn't air his grievances as directly as he was sometimes wont to do was perhaps why Gerard wasn't defensive about his organization and instead toasted the attorney for his own career. Josh was so taken aback that he missed his mouth, sending liquid sloshing down his shirt.

"Ahhh...." He began, then awkwardly raised his glass back at the other man. "Glad to meet someone else who thinks civil rights are important."

Perhaps Gerard wasn't so bad, military influence or no.

Fortunately before he had too much time to ponder the fact that he was willing to forgive a marine and military recruiter his sins, Greg made an appearance, and his attention shifted to the blonde.

"Greg! Glad to see you could make it! I would have been saddened if you'd missed the opportunity for a party." He remarked, smiling up at his friend. "Don't apologize if you're not sorry," He chided with a laugh, knocking back the rest of his drink and calling for yet another. "Join us?" He jerked his head toward the stool on the other side of Sean. "Still late after all these years. Good to know some things never change."

[Victoria Jefferson]

With so much energy and people around, Vikki hadn't lingered on Gerard and the couple he was engaged in conversation with for long. Her eyes flit around, happy that so many people were having such a wonderful time. She knew, or guessed, that it was a good mix of meta and 'average'. She hated that comparison, but couldn't think of a better one. Regardless, Pilot Ridge was already mostly integrated. She doubted many of the residents didn't know or suspect what the school was. Many of them were family of students or faculty.

Lost in her thoughts as she watched couples dance, laugh and converse, Victoria didn't notice at first when she was approached and only when she'd been offered a dance did she take notice and was more than happy to have done so. Turning her usual beaming smile on the man she set her now empty glass down and stepped away from the bar.

"Absolutely."

The fellow cut an amazingly handsome figure, and while she wasn't seeking a relationship partner, Vikki wasn't above enjoying the view from time to time. As far as she was concerned no hot blooded woman was.

[Mason McQueen]

While Mason really isn’t all about parties and he’s vowed off drinking ever since that incident with Kali (who’s doing well by the way), the town’s annual Holiday Bash is something the man simply won’t miss. It’s one of the first town events he’s attended, and though it was relatively uneventful for him (he missed all the drama by the bar, mostly because he left early as he spilled something on his shirt), he could say that it still is a good way to get to know some of the people around town. A good way for newcomers to get their toes wet in town, so to speak.

Which is why he dragged Evgeny along with him. True, the man isn’t all that new to town, but he’s still less than a year in which means he hasn’t been to the party yet. And he’s such a kid (and that’s something coming from Mason of all people) that Mason feels like he has to nudge his colleague at times to things that he thinks would be of interest of him. Yes, he’s talking about dragging him along for yoga and Josef’s self-defence classes next time around. (He would’ve dragged Levi and Sam too, but they said they had previous appointments. Weird.)

He told Ev that he’d be the one in charge of their toy donations, and by that night he had three toy trucks and two Sour Patch kids in hand when they walked in. There’s nothing wrong about overdoing it if it’s for a good cause anyway, right? He gave his suit one last brush with his hand just to make sure it’s still good then lead the way, giving Ev a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry dude. Tonight will be awesome!”

The hall was already bustling with people, but despite it that sky blue suit just stuck out like a sore thumb. Give it to Sam to know how to stand out of the crowd really. He tilted his head to tell Ev that he’s heading by the bar, placing both his hands on his best friend’s shoulder as he crept up from behind him. “So this is the reason why you won’t come with me eh?” asked the man with a mischievous grin in his face, then turning to Josef with a wink, “Oh, guys this is Ev. He’s my co-worker. Ev, my best friend Sam and the self-defence instructor I’m telling you about, Josef. I’m roping him in to join starting next year.”

So far so good. He can stay away from shenanigans, right?

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[Dr. Sean Neville]

It was encouraging to know that the director of an organization which made Sean uncomfortable found civil liberties important. Considering the behavior of the military this past decade, and longer, and the government generally in that same time frame, the telepath was often concerned. But while Josh was won over by that, Sean maintained his reservations; government control of metas wasn’t an abstraction to him. He knew too many from other countries who hadn’t been fortunate enough to be within the jurisdictions of Hammel, Kocher, or Eisai gakkô and who suffered greatly as a result.

However, that there was less active recruitment was slightly relieving. “Yes, I know.”

The telepath had sensed Greg’s familiar mental presence long before the blond approached, but he then felt an arm slung around his shoulder and heard his friend’s voice in his ear. Sean turned to smile at the blond, moving to slip one arm – the one not attached to the hand holding his drink – around his friend’s waist. “You’re more than one round behind us,” he remarked seriously.

“Josh and I are on our third.” That comment was followed by his partner spilling alcohol on himself and finishing with his glass. The telepath corrected himself, “Well, Josh is moving on to his fourth, but I’m still in on my third. But because I’m generous, I’ll pay to catch you up.”

With that, Sean set his glass down and gestured at Gerard. “This is Gerard Mayburry, and this,” the telepath gestured at Greg, “is Gregory Strickland, whom I believe is Josh’s aforementioned missing partner. So we can scratch finding him off our to-do list.” In other circumstances, Sean would have made a joke about having an affair with Greg, but with Josh's insecurity, that seemed both unwise and cruel.

He picked his glass up again, taking a sip, and spoke seriously to his blond friend. “Order what you want; you have a lot of ground to make up for.” Then he added with a smile, “I’m glad you made it.”

[Hart Kenney]

Hart offered the woman his arm along with a broad smile as she accepted his offer, leading her onto the dance floor. Granted, none of the music playing was exactly waltz or ballroom material, but he didn't actually have the least idea how to do either dance. They would have to do their best to make some dance moves up when they got there.

"I'm Hart, Hart Kenney." He informed her, elbowing his way through the crowds milling about in their way. So many people seemed to think it necessary to stand in crowds with their drinks, making it difficult for other people to navigate.

It was a good thing he wasn't shy about forcing people out of his way.

"I'm fairly new to the area. Trying to meet new people. This seemed like a good opportunity."