Poker Night [closed]

[Cobalt Weaver]

Oh no. Leila wasn’t getting away that easily. True, she had managed to indirectly guilt him into not standing up and sending all of these people out of his house immediately. If it were someone other than him, he’d actually be impressed with the efficiency of Leila’s emotional manipulation. It was quite a feat: not quite passive aggression, and more subtle than a regular guilt trip. Very impressive. Or rather, if would be. If it wasn’t happening to him.

Wait.

Cards?

He looked at the table, at the guests (who all looked just about as awkward as he), then lurched after Leila. He caught her on her way out of the room, grabbing her shoulder.

“Leila.” He tried to keep his voice level, “All the other complaints about this insane idea aside, I hope those cards are for you, because I don’t know how to play card games. Also, what the hell? You know I hate peanut butter. After all this, I would have liked you to remember that.” He scowled at her, trying to keep his voice stern even as it was sliding back into anxiety. “And what do you mean, ‘leave us to it’? You have to be here, you invited them! What am I supposed to do with them? I only know one of them!” Cobalt glared at Leila, shadows flaring out around him in a dead giveaway of how uncomfortable this was actually making him. Social anxiety? Maybe a little bit.

Finally, he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m not… good at this. What the hell am I supposed to talk about, anyways? You know me, my small talk is terrible. Also,” He added, raising an eyebrow dangerously, “If we get into an argument about Hammel and its policies and this ends poorly, it’s all on your head, you understand?”

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh furrowed his brow at Sean's revelation, more confused than ever. "...how could he not know?" He objected in a low tone. It made no sense that Cobalt would be unaware of a party hosted in his own home, with invitations sent out under his own name. Leila had certainly known they were coming and he had assumed the pair had planned this together.

"But she's mean up until then? How reassuring. I hope I get to know her quickly, then." He hadn't met many of his friend's coworkers -- in fact, Clarisse was the one and only -- but they'd had little opportunity for socializing since he'd arrived in Vermont. If he'd moved during a more ordinary time, perhaps he would already know the people Sean worked with but routine had been broken by violence and fear.

He nudged Sean in the side, trying to look more hurt than he felt, "Pardon? Need you? Last time I checked you haven't bothered introducing me to any of your friends here. I met all of them myself, car-less and all. Although," He admitted, "I'm not sure this counts as a social circle when you're the only person I've talked to more than once."

That looked ready to change, however, when both Clarisse and Riley entered the kitchen, although Clarisse was the only one who headed in their direction. "Dr. Prideaux! It's fantastic to see you again!" He greeted the younger woman after Sean had reintroduced them, eying the wine she carried with undisguised curiosity. "Do you think we have enough alcohol at this party? It's a good thing I'm not driving."

Before any further conversation could be conducted Ms. Gold finally explained what was going on and Sean's earlier comments suddenly made so much sense. "Oooh." He breathed, feeling much more awkward now than he had before Leila's speech. At least she'd made sandwiches; peanut butter and jelly was a staple in his home for both dinner and lunch and sometimes even breakfast, so he considered her contribution to be something akin to an actual meal.

He sighed mentally as he watched Cobalt nearly flee after the intern before turning back to Sean and Clarisse. "So. I suppose we're expected to eat now? Or just drink until this is no longer awkward."

He glanced over at the table, hoping their hostess (since Cobalt obviously wasn't their true host, regardless of whose home they were invading) had bothered to remember cups, plastic or otherwise. That was when he noticed Riley, hovering in the corner.

"Mr. Ad---Riley," He corrected himself, waving the other man over, "Come join us."

[Anya Vasiliev]

Anya wasn't normally one to be late.

Especially when she was late to something she was indeed, invited to. But since she'd bought herself a bicycle to get around Pilot Ridge, the poor woman had several strokes of bad luck. First, the cake she'd baked crumbled whilst she put it in a carrier, then Dashenka had eaten the smoked salmon bagels while she'd been in the bathroom. Eventually she'd managed to salvage the chocolate cake and make a simple prawn salad to replace the cat-licked bagels, and put everything on the basket of her bike, ready to go.

Of course, then she realised she'd forgotten to give Dashenka her supper, and that the tap was still running. Yet more delays. But this wasn't even the start. Rain, followed by a car swerving in front of her caused the Russian woman to curse furiously, peddling hard as she zoomed through the roads towards the address specified on the RSVP, hurrying into a shop to pick up a bottle of wine to apologise for her late arrival. Dishevelled and somewhat wild looking, Anya slipped off the bike in front of the house and knocked on the door.

The next few minutes were spent fidgetting and trying to get her hair to sit right as it had done previously before she'd become the devil on a bicycle, ringing the water out of the tips and tutting. Late and messy, she'd be the least popular person here, and this caused her trouble, teeth knitting in her lip as she paced outside the door.

It started to rain again.

"Chyort voz'mi!" She growled. For politeness sake, I will not translate.

[Riley Adams]

Riley held back his laughter when he realised that Cobalt knew nothing about this game night. Leila's hasty retreat made him chuckle silently but he offered a sympathetic smile to Cobalt...'s back. The man didn't even make eye contact. Riley turned away and got himself a cup of soda. He minded his own business until the person he had just met a few days ago and thought was cute called out his name to join him and another person Riley knew from way back when and another person Riley had no idea who she was.

That wouldn’t be awkward at all.

It took him a second to contemplate on going over there and when he did, he regretted bringing his empty soda cup over. Now he couldn’t use the drink as an excuse not to talk. God why was it so awkward for him to meet new people who were guys? Okay so technically Josh and Sean weren’t exactly new people but they were guys. And Riley thought one of them was cute.

It wouldn’t be awkward at all.

“Um hey, Sean right? You were my senior at Hammel before...” strong introduction, Riley. Solid.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt shook his head and sighed, pressing his fingertips against the pressure headache at his temples. He didn’t want to look behind him and see the group of people looking to him to play host to this monstrosity. In a perverse way, he was almost grateful when the doorbell rang again. However, any feeling of relief was quickly replaced with frantic irritation. Christ, how many people had Leila invited to his house anyway? “…Shit.” Cobalt muttered, limping across the room, giving the group of people in his living room a wide berth. He pulled open the door and was surprised to find not only a rather irritated looking young woman, but also that it was raining. Which was nice for Cobalt, who liked rain, but apparently not nice for the woman, who was looking infuriated and wet.

“Oh. Uh.” She was looking so exasperated that Cobalt felt a bit of kinship toward her, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was raining. Come in.” He stepped aside to let her pass, “I’m Cobalt Weaver. It’s nice to meet you. Uh.” He looked at her wet clothes and irritated expression, “Would you like a blanket? Or a jacket? You look rather… soaked.”

He glanced over at the rest of his unexpected guests and rubbed his forehead. He felt a little resignation towards the whole situation in general. It wasn’t as though he had a legitimate problem with any of these people despite the fact that they were in his house uninvited on a Saturday evening. But that was really Leila’s fault anyways. He really should go and try to strike up conversation, but the thought of actively conversing made him feel irrationally nervous. Maybe he could just stand here and they would talk as they wanted on their own…

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“She’s not mean, she can just be a little stern,” the psychiatrist explained, defending her. Just like Josh could come across as very intense – or insane – to people before they could see the rest of his personality. But he did think they would get on well, and since they would meet at a social setting – even if it was the most uncomfortable one he could imagine since they didn’t belong here – and there was alcohol to keep the conversation flowing, he thought they would be fine. “But I think you’ll like her.”

“If you’re so self-reliant, I can drive you back to Dunkin Donuts and let you get here yourself,” Sean replied, although it wasn’t a threat; it was merely a response to Josh’s criticism for not introducing him to any of his friends. He wasn’t friends with Leila, or Riley, and he didn’t know Cobalt at all. As for Anya, he had already explained why he’d failed to introduce them so far, and although he really liked Clarisse and did consider them friends, they were more the type of friends who didn’t spend a lot of time together outside of work so it hadn’t come up.

The telepath had no intention of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for supper because he already qualified for membership with the AARP and knew how to cook. He should have brought real food, he decided, but if necessary, he’d order pizza for everyone – or Chinese food – and pay for it himself. So many social rules had already been broken that he considered ordering food to come to someone else’s house potentially acceptable.

“I vote for drinking.” That was the only way to make this less awkward and there was more than enough liquor to go around.

Then Riley joined them which through an element of the unknown – or at least the unpredictable – into their conversation circle. For the sake of politeness, and because the telepath knew that the other man felt as awkward as the rest of them though perhaps for different reasons, he offered his hand to shake. He also silently hoped that the students at Hammel stories would end with that introduction. “I remember you, Riley. It’s nice to see you again.”

[Anya Vasiliev]

Anya had only just forced the curse out of her mouth when the door opened and a gentleman she'd never met stood before her. "Cobalt? A pleasure, I am Anya." Her voice softened from the previous words and she managed a somewhat soggy smile. "Apologies for being late, I am not having good luck today." Stepping inside daintily, the woman held her bag of goodies and offered them out with a gentle sigh of relief. "There's a prawn salad, a homemade chocolate cake and a bottle of Rkatsiteli wine... though it looks as if perhaps we have enough alcohol."

Looking around the room for a spilt moment, she couldn't help but feel relieved as she spotted Clarisse and Sean, and gave a slight, dignified wave before returning her attentions back to Cobalt. "Ah, you're too kind. I don't have a car so I walk, bus or cycle everywhere." She admitted, taking off her sodden mac and shaking it slightly to get the excess moisture off. "A towel, perhaps? That would be lovely." Dabbing a blot of water off of her cheek, she managed a better smile and gently put a hand on the older man's shoulder. "Thank you for inviting me, it's a pleasure to meet you." She added, making sure to wipe her feet on the mat before treading any further inside.

Setting her coat down over a chair, Anya slowly moved forward into the room, still mentally guiding Cobalt with her. The man looked slightly disarmed, and though she perhaps wasn't the best person in the world to get to know, she didn't want him feeling left out at his own party. "Sean." She said fondly as she reached the telepath, offering her arms out in a hug. "How have you been? And this must be Josh." Offering her hand out cordially, she nodded. "Sean has told me all about you."

Pressing her fingertips to her palms, the young woman took a few moments to completely take in her surroundings before giving Clarisse a gentle hug as well. Now this brought it down to three people she wasn't entirely sure she knew, and she felt much more comfortable, pushing her damp hair behind her ear and offering a smile, albeit slightly nervous.

[Cobalt Weaver]

“Nice to meet you Anya.” Cobalt responded. He allowed a brief, ironic twist of his lips, “No, that’s okay. I understand the feeling.” He blinked at the proffered bag of food and drink, “Oh. Wow. Uh, thank you.” He relieved her of her burden and stared at it a moment, wondering where exactly to put it. As Anya stepped in, he put the bag on the table next to the rest of the food. He nodded, “A towel? Sure. I’ll go and get one. You can… make yourself at home.” He made a sweeping gesture and turned to go and get a towel from the linen closet. Untidy though he may be, he was always up to date on his laundry.

He pulled out a towel and made it back to the group just as Anya finished acquainting herself with the rest of the guests. He stepped forward and handed her the towel, “Here you are.” He said, trying on a smile. Then he realized that now he was in the middle of a group of people he had inadvertently invited to his house, who all seemed to know at least one other person, and he couldn’t feasibly run away without being ruder than even he was comfortable with. He swallowed. He supposed the thing to do would be to strike up some kind of conversation, but under the circumstances, he was a little strapped for conversation starters.

This was ludicrous. People did this kind of thing all the time, there was no reason for him to act like some self-conscious teenager when none of these people seemed very threatening at all. In fact, if the rest of the guests were anything like Josh (the only person he somewhat knew), everyone was probably unbearably kind. He shuffled his feet and took a breath. So he’d never had guests over before. He’d done riskier things. He needed to get over himself.

“So…I hope everyone is enjoying themselves thus far?” Cobalt punched himself inwardly. Who said things like that? Still. Show no fear. Just like in court. Just act like you know what you’re talking about and eventually you will.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I see. I hope you're right because if you're wrong I'll have to demand a replacement introduction to someone else." He warned, although he doubted that would happen. Sean was a good judge of character, being morally upstanding himself as well as a telepath. And a psychiatrist, that probably helped, too. On the other hand, Sean put up with him, which just went to show that even the best judge of character could fail sometimes. Or was too patient for his own good, that could have been it as well.

"You could but since we're already here that seems counterproductive." He pointed out, "But fine, I admit it. I'm only your friend for your driving abilities. Once I learn to drive, sayonara." He laughed, wandering over to the kitchen table in search of cups. "That's two votes for drinking, then." He announced, grabbing plastic cups and handing them to Clarisse and Sean. "Clarisse? Your vote? Although if you say no to drinking you're still out-voted at this point."

"So you two knew one another from school....that must be nice. I don't know if I'd even remember anyone I went to school with if I met them again." He admitted when Riley wandered over, pouring himself a beer. So nice of Sean to remember to get Yuengling despite a preference for wine.

He was fortunately just as oblivious to the younger man's thoughts as he had been when they first met, and so had no idea that his awkwardness was due to anything other than the discovery that they had all been tricked by Leila. "It's nice to meet when you're not working." And when his smoking wasn't a point of contention. He wondered how Riley had made it onto the invite list; he seemed nice enough, but surely a landscaper was out of place in a party full of professionals. "Did you bring alcohol, as well? Or more dessert? Not that I'm complaining about either..."

And finally the last guest arrived, looking soaked, which made him more pleased that Sean had agreed to transport him. He took the disheveled blonde's hand as she very disconcertingly deduced his identity without introducing herself. Then again, there was only one person she could be, unless there were more guests that hadn't been listed on the invitation he'd been sent. "All lies." He responded, wondering what Sean could possibly have said to her about him. He hoped that the all in all about you was an exaggeration; there were certain secrets he would never have approved being told to anyone for any reason. He didn't think Sean could have any rationalization for telling her, though. He was probably safe. Probably. That didn't stop him from eying her suspiciously. Sean's prediction that they would get along had better not have caused him to divulge matters without consulting him.

Before he could prod to see just how much she knew (or comment on the fact that she had just assumed that he would know who she was) their host returned, apparently with intentions to actually talk to them. This was a relief; he had enjoyed Cobalt's company the other day and hated to think that what had looked to be a friendship with one of the few other people who shared his distaste for Hammel would be ruined by one unruly intern, friendly as she was.

"Indeed!" He replied, holding up his beer. "Alcohol, food, good company, what's not to enjoy?"

[Clarisse Prideaux]

OoC: It was brought to my attention that I flubbed on the number of bottles of wine Clarisse was carrying. The answer is TWO. Sorry for my continuity errors <3

Clarisse dipped her head politely when Cobalt opened up the door, smiling a disarming grin as she held out the daisies to him. “Hello. I’m sorry I can’t shake your hand just yet…These are to warm up your new home.” She said, her gentle French accent smoothing her already soothing words. “I am Doctor Clarisse Prideaux. Thank you for inviting me, and Welcome to Pilot Ridge.” She said, stepping inside and bending at the knees to kiss him on the cheek (he was a rather small man). The woman often forgot that the show of gratitude in France was occasionally an invasion of space in the United States. Too late now!

She immediately recognized the familiar faces of Josh and Sean and nearly squealed with relief (something awfully undignified that she wasn’t privy to) at the sight of them. “Sean!” She declared fondly, pressing her head against his shoulder in a half-hug. The wine bottles prevented much more affection beyond that. When she righted herself again, Sean was taking the liberty to introduce her to a man she’d already met and become quite fond of.
Blushing humbly at Sean’s introduction of her as a miracle worker, Clarisse shook her head. “Oh please. Sean, stop it.” She said, swatting him playfully and moving to drop off the wine on the counter. On her way, she chuckled at Josh’s comment. “There is no such thing as enough wine, Joshua.” She teased.

When she returned, Leila was making an awfully heartfelt announcement about making friends in new places, as well as the semantics of the evening. When the bubbly woman stepped out of the spotlight, Clarisse almost felt compelled to applaud. Thinking of what a great lawyer Leila was going to make, Clarisse re-joined the two older men and finally greeted Josh properly.

“Mister Bernstein!” she cooed, gently kissing his cheek. “Good to see you again.” Clarisse stepped away and noticed an unfamiliar face joining them. That must have been the other name on the invitation. Riley Adams. She nodded gently to him. When Sean had made his introduction, Clarisse extended her own dainty hand. “I’m Clarisse Prideaux. I don’t believe we’ve ever met.” She said softly, careful not to intrude on the conversations of others.

Laughing at Sean, Clarisse shook her head. “My dear Sean, in my home town the wine would have been broken into before I even set in on the counter. I never say no to drinking.” She took the cup that was handed to her just as the most pleasant surprise of the evening dripped into the door. Her green eyes lit up with glee.

“Anya you poor thing.” She murmured, returning the hug of her peer and trainer. “Would you like a glass---er…cup?--- of wine to warm you?” She offered, feeling in no way out of place taking a position as waitress. Cobalt didn’t really seem to know what was going on. If Clarisse could help soothe the matter, she’d do her best to do so.

[Riley Adams]

[OOC: Sorry for ze late reply!]

"Uh yeah," Riley replied lamely when Josh mentioned school. And to think he'd been such a conversationalist with Leila before. Now he was just some dope at a stranger's apartment with people he had never truly been acquainted with and sipping an empty cup. Hopefully no one realised his cup was empty.

The arrival of possibly the youngest person in the room brought Riley even further back into the shadows and he was about to stuff himself with his corn chips and dip when the pretty brunette introduced herself as Clarisse. "I suppose that wouldn't be much of a stretch seeing that I'm only acquainted with Miss Gold who's not exactly the owner of this apartment. And with Misters Bernstein and Neville but I'm not quite sure we actually really talked." And suddenly he was back to being gabby.

"I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself." He shook his head and took her hand, squeezing it lightly. "I'm usually not this chatty but trust me I have manners. I'm Riley. Pleased to meet you Clarisse." He gave her a smile before she went back to the two men Riley was still curious of what their relationship was.

It was weird to be in a group where majority of the people had already established relationships with at least one other person. Who did Riley have? A semi-crush on a guy he had snubbed for smoking, a schoolmate from four decades ago he had thought was extremely dangerous because he knew everything about everyone, and a friend [the term is used quite loosely in this situation] he made over juice and flying fliers. Not much to go by really but somehow he was pretty determined to change that.

So off he went to Cobalt and offered him his dip. "Uh...I made this myself. Wanna try? I really like cheese." Oh why did he even try?

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt threw a twitchy grin in Josh’s direction. All things considered, he was marginally grateful Josh was here; at least the other man knew what to say to him. He was pretty sure Leila’s little speech had just revealed to everyone the true nature of their visit, which really only served to make everyone feel awkward and the last thing this disaster needed was more awkwardness. As Josh grinned at him, he decided he would try to be a little more conversational towards the older man and his friends. He didn’t want Josh to think that he was purposefully ignoring him. It was just basic evasion of the unpleasant situation. But that wasn’t really helping anything now.

“Oh good,” Cobalt said as the others talked among themselves, “Good to know that alcohol and food are all you need to be happy.” He teased, trying to make up for ignoring him earlier. Just a little. “Glad this isn’t a total disaster. Yet.” Cobalt shot him an ironic look before turning back to watch the rest of the guests.

He still wasn’t entirely sure who everyone was and how Leila knew all of these people, but he suspected the majority of them were employees of Hammel. He tried to decide how he felt about this. They were all very nice, and it would be stupid to dislike them for their work choices; after all, many metas believed that Hammel was heaven on earth. It wasn’t their fault they were still so blind to Hammel’s faults. And he suspected that Josh and this Sean were rather good friends, so if a discussion about Hammel arose, he couldn’t even be guaranteed Josh’s support. But still. Hammel. Of all the people Leila had to surprise-invite, it had to be a group of people from one of the few establishments that made him so very angry. He decided to see how it went.

Cobalt started when Riley turned to him, not really noticing the other man until he was right there. He blinked, then grinned, just a little. It was gratifying to know that he wasn’t the only awkward person in the building. “Oh. Uh. Yeah, I would. Thanks, I also… really like cheese.” If Cobalt hadn’t had a chip in his hand, he would have smacked himself in the face. Awkward indeed.

He bit into the dip-covered chip and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Actually, this is really good.” He mumbled through a mouthful of chip. “Thanks for bringing it.”

Okay, so maybe if there was good food, this would turn out all right. Just as long as he kept his talking down to a minimum and nobody tried to get into an argument with him about Hammel. Then maybe this wouldn’t be a totally disaster. Maybe.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I’ll put it down in my planner, if I can get her to agree to another introduction, if it’s necessary. If not, you’ll have to accept it.” Sean didn’t believe it would be necessary, because he was sure that they would get along swimmingly, particularly given the theoretically laid back social setting of a poker night.

“I’ll buy you a pair of fuzzy dice for a parting gift,” the telepath told him, deadpan, although he was joking; he was happy to carry this out to whatever degree necessary before either he or Josh gave up on the thread of humor.

When Anya arrived, he frowned briefly upon seeing that she was soaked, and his hands immediately went to his sweater and pulled it over his head; although it was somewhere in the realm of twice her size, she was still welcome to it. At least it was warm and dry, which couldn’t describe her clothing. “Take this, please.” He felt terrible for not checking to see if she had transportation, since he knew she didn’t drive. He also resolved to give her a ride home at the end of the party, assuming that he was sober enough to do so. Otherwise, he had enough money in his wallet for cab fare for all.

Sean returned her embrace, greeting her enthusiastically. “I’ll be fine if you tell me you brought brownies,” he replied with a smile. He then nodded and stepped back, gesturing at his friend beside him for some semblance of proper introductions. “He is.” He then turned to Josh and added a mental, Of course I didn’t mention your secrets, upon hearing his friend’s train of thought. He’d sooner quit his job and vote Republican than betray his closest friend.

He also returned Clarisse’s half-embrace, although she was shorter than he and her hands were full which made for this bizarre act of affection. When she returned after getting settled, and then Josh returned with their wine and beer, he was able to relax a bit. “You might come to regret that; you’ve never seen me drunk.” He would try to keep it that way, but considering this crowd, he might not be able to maintain that goal.

Despite being socially awkward as a student at Hammel, Sean had developed into a well-adjusted adult. Yet he remembered himself as a child which was, perhaps, why he found it bizarre to be the only man here who was not displaying some sort of anti-social tendencies. He loved Josh, but his mannerisms could be, in their own way, just as ridiculous as Cobalt’s at times; which was possibly why he counted a social circle as consisting of people with whom he’d had a single conversation. And yet Josh was still less awkward than some of the others here; although they had excuses. Cobalt hadn’t known that there was a party in his house, and Riley didn’t know anybody and was trying to suppress his attraction to Josh.

Well, this just had the potential to go horribly awry. Perhaps he would try to maintain sobriety after all.

Sipping his wine, he asked the rest of the crowd, primarily Leila because she had masterminded this. “Are we playing singles or doubles?” They had an odd number here, but he figured that, if necessary, they could tag in and out. “Because if it’s doubles, I pick Josh. And if it’s singles, you might all want to just hand over your wallets now and save time.” Then he laughed, because he was only half-serious.

[Anya Vasiliev]

Anya smiled warmly (as best as she could) at the present company, delicately bowing her head. "I am Anya." She said simply, looking over to the table of food. "I brought cake and salad, if anyone is hungry." Then the towel arrived, and the young teacher towelled herself off, managing to salvage her hair and make up. Folding it absently, she laughed musically and shook her head. "Goodness, all this fuss! It's just rain." She said playfully, wiggling into Sean's jumper and gratefully taking the beaker of wine.

Supping it thoughtfully, the woman turned the cup around and around in her hands for a moment, quietly listening to the others. "Do you cook, Mister... Riley?" She asked politely, daintily nibbling a dipped chip in thought. "It's lovely, you must give me the recipe." Anya broke into a better smile, then returned to musing into her cup, settling comfortably beside Josh and looking up at him. "I had terrible luck today, first the cake crumbled, then Dashenka licked the smoked salmon sandwiches I'd made, then I left the tap running, then I forgot to feed my little kitten." She exclaimed, shaking her head ruefully. "Then the rain came. Today has not started well, but I hope it ends better." Her voice softened, nodding slightly.

At the mention of poker, Anya looked a little like a deer in headlights and she shrugged her shoulders. "I admit I have no clue how to play." She laughed nervously, stepping from foot to foot. "Perhaps I could just watch and pick up that way?" The young woman spent most of her time reading, and the only card game she could play was snap. Pushing her fast drying hair back and taking another hearty swig of wine, the Russian gave Cobalt a warm, reassuring smile.

Feeling the conversation going nowhere fast, the brunette cleared her throat and she grinned. "So, how has everyone else's day been? Anything exciting?" Sadly, Anya had no clue that she might have been skipping through a mine field should anyone bring up Hammel. Her own feelings towards the school were fond ones, though she could easily understand how someone wouldn't like the cooped up feeling of the institute. "I heard on the news that a senator for the state killed himself yesterday." She added sombrely, adding in a loud thought to Sean; Gabriel? "Such a shame."

[Leila Gold]

Leila was tired. She'd worked hard all day cleaning up a disaster area and making it presentable to the public. And quite honestly, she'd never planned on staying for the whole party.

"There's an odd number of people," she said in response to Sean, "But only for a moment. I'm going to be stepping out and sitting back for a while."

Leila turned to Anya. "If you don't understand the game, hopefully people here will be able to teach you. But yeah, you might want to sit out just a couple rounds to get the hang of it."

Then she looked at Cobalt. "Well, it's your party now, partner. If everyone wants to leave early, well, that's their call. And maybe this was a bad idea, but...I don't know...I just wanted you to make some friends."

Truth was, she did feel pretty bad about putting him on the spot like this. It was kind of fun to see him so embarrassed, but then again, it was an incredibly awkward situation. She had just kind of hoped to make friends in the neighborhood and get people on speaking terms with one another.

Leila was worried that after this people wouldn't be able to even look at each other because they were so embarrassed. But still, she had tried, right?

"I'm just going to sit in the back here for a while and recuperate from a long day's work. Don't mind me, I'm just here in case you need anything in particular." She pulled out a folding chair and parked herself in the far corner of the kitchen, near the washer and dryer. Putting her head back against the wall, she felt her eyes slip shut for a moment, just a moment.

[OOC: Leila's going to be stepping out of this for a minute to help cut down on the overall confusion. If you need her, just give a shout and wake her up.]