Valentines Event: Gathering (Open via Applications)

The Halls of the Xoyan Palace had been decorated for the festivity. It was really a bother for Oculus, having to help set up and make arrangements for all sorts of dragons to enter. There were tables laid out with red cloth covering them, a candle between two seats with individual chandeliers over each table. The tables were spaced around a fountain, with a central elongated table holding a variety of sweets and drinks, and with fresh meat and fish laying on platters. Such a pain really. Oculus stood off to the side, near the entrance where he would greet each guest that arrived. He would inform them that there are food and drinks drinks available, and to go ahead and enjoy the scenery and also to grab a platter with gems on the side. There were many colours to choose from, being green, blue, red, orange, purple, yellow, pink, brown, white, gray, cyan, lime green, magenta and black. The black, however, was reserved for Haven, so no guest was permitted to take that platter. Once each guest had their colour, Oculus would be able to announce the activity, and be free from this bizarre gathering.

NOTE
So, feel free to post however you will, and to MAKE SURE TO GRAB A COLOUR!!!! Once a colour has been chosen, you may not pick that colour and will have to change/choose another one.
(iPad atrocities corrected by Vortex)

A white and black blur flew thru the air as Solarlight and Darksky approched their destination. The twins quickly landed near the entrance of the palace, and slowly began to walk in. They were both astonished by the decorations that were used, and the food. Though it was wonderful, Sky frowned a bit when she saw there weren't any tables for three. Solar noticed, and spoke to her through their mental link.

"We both knew it could happen."

"I know. It's just annoying." Both then noticed the other dragon that was there, and smiled.

"Um... hey."

Vortex was already there at the party, before the event was even open to guests. He was actually one of the few helpers who assisted in the setup of the entire event. You know, table-setting, decorating, lighting almost every single damned candle, the typical preparations for an event of this scale. It wouldn't be the first time he'd helped the Xoya with their events either, but to go into that would be irrelevant. Anyways, he'd been standing on the sidelines for a while now, waiting for a guest to arrive so that he would be freed of his volunteer duties. Not to his surprise, the first guest -or guests, as it was- was not too far behind. As the black and white pair entered, he nodded to the burly polizei who clearly did not want to be here, whom in charge of volunteers. After receiving a nod in return, he strolled off into the still fairly empty room.

Looking over the plates of food, Vortex selected one with a blue gem on the side. Normally, he would have gone for the black one, but he knew the rules and knew very well that was reserved for the Kommandant. Come to think of it, it was sort of funny how different the past Kommandant had been compared to Haven. Gemini had been very businesslike, fulfilling the role perfectly. Haven, now, treated the position as being more like a king, even though that wasn't what the position was meant to be about. Or perhaps it was. Vortex didn't really know or care. They were his own private thoughts and they didn't matter to anyone but him.

He would decide a table later, once others had settled down. Holding the plate with one paw, he wandered over to the white and black pair which had entered not too long ago. "Hello there." He spoke in Universal, unsure of which tribe these two were from therefore unsure of their native language.

EDIT: I REWORDED A SENTENCE IN PARAGRAPH THREE TO SHOW THAT AZRIEL WAS NOT HOLDING A COVERSATION WITH OCULUS BUT ONLY WAS TEASING HIM AS HE PASSED BY.

Preparations in the hall of the Xoyan Palace were made by a particularly disgruntled-looking General of Intelligence; this Azriel found out when he made his first trip to the massive space that would hold dragons attending the upcoming event, much to his glee. He had been mildly curious, wanting to at least catch the gist of what the hall would look like, so he wouldn't be caught by surprise. He was pleasantly surprised in when the tall gray body of Oculus came into view, and only a snicker would announce his presence before he ducked out, amused. Sadly, there was a masked male helping out the General, but the expression on Oculus's face was gold. He had since then made several more trips to the hall to check on Oculus's progress.

It was nearing the time for the event to begin, as could be seen when the first guests began filtering into the palace - the only time non-Xoyans would be allowed to enter the place from which the Kommandant ruled. He saw this all from a balcony, and turned to head back in, towards the place he would be expected to be present at. Azriel didn't want to be late, lest he miss out on something.

A smirk of pure delight curved his lips when he again spotted the one that had given him so much amusement and joy on this merry day. Oculus, the General who led Xoya's perhaps deadliest force, the Skyggers, was now standing near the entrance, preparations done, greeting and directing each guest that entered. Oh, how hilarious! Casually sauntering towards him, Azriel made a show of frowning at the decorations, knowing that Oculus would have no choice but to look at him. "Had fun?" he whispered to Oculus as he passed, hurrying away before the younger General could retort.

From the platter, he grabbed the grey gem before turning to the others in the room. A two-headed dragon was one of them, their appearance not at all weird to him, and the masked male he had spotted helping out Oculus. He approached both. "Hello," he greeted, bowing his head. Close up, he could see the details: The masked one was a length of smooth midnight-black, uninterrupted by any markings of other colours, and through the holes in his mask peeked pools of intelligent purple. And the two-headed one, shorter than he was and seeming shy, black on one side and white on the other, a yellow stripe running down the latter and blue and purple spots patterning the former.

((Forgot the gem.))

The twins looked at everyone, with Sky getting more nervous as more people flooded in. It didn’t help that the pair didn’t know anyone. ”Hey everyone.”

”Hi.”

And then they began to notice something. Everyone had a gem? Oh yeah! They needed a gem. Darksky decided to grab it, allowing a purple glow to surround one of the gems. It lifted, floating right into her paw. As she opened it, the gem was revieled to be cyan.

For quite some time Prasi had been contemplating sending  messengers to secure a meeting with the Xoya's new leader Haven so that they might talk about peace... or war, but not with her own tribe. She'd rather turn their attentions to the continent just north of their own, split by a narrow strip of sea. Surely foreign goods and slaves would be more lucrative and tempting than Valeterrene lands to the mighty Xoya.

However Prasi had also been holding that messenger off waiting for a time when her illness was gone or quickly on the mend. Only when she was in good health would it be appropriate for the Rossa to meet with another leader. She had to be as strong, noble, and intimidating as possible; not weak when visiting a powerful dragon.

So she'd waited, healing quickly from what could have been a fatal dragon flu. By the time the invitations for this party had gotten to her royal hall Prasi had been feeling much better, and the chance to more casually meet the xoyans was too much to resist. She'd accepted the invitation, forwarding a message to the Xoya thanking them for the invite and securing her spot at the party. Sure she didn't need to reply back, and most dragons wouldn't, but it was usually expected of major political guests to send an acceptance or refusal letter back to those sending out the invites.

Now she was arriving, alighting upon the earth before the grand columns and arches right before the doorway. The doors were opened for her and the she dragon entered with an entourage made up of two Vale guards and two advisers in tow. Seeing the festive and trusting mood of all the dragons inside Prasi quickly shooed her guards and advisers away to make friends and have fun. Then she slowly walked confidently through the center of the room past a few others without looking at them, and to the back where the drinks were.

Of course this whole time she had already tasted the air with her forked tongue and looked about at all the xoya within the room. Most seemed to be helping to run the event, carrying dishes piled with delicious foods or ushering guests to various events. Honestly there were only a few Xoyan's she would recognize, those being her own father and perhaps that one she'd met near the borders that one time. What was his name again?

Of course just as she'd thought about him Prasi's eyes spotted the fine fellow by a number of platters which held colorful sparkling gems. Seeing some guests grouped in that direction and important looking signs by the platters Prasi guessed that the gems were of some significance to a game or some other event. So she strode over, giving a coy smile and a wink to Oculus as she walked by him to the table. Once there her gaze switched the the words on the parchments and cards. Understanding that the gems were indeed apart of the event she glanced at the colorful minerals until deciding to pick the brightest most obnoxious green colored gem on the table. Then she made her way around the table with the platter and gem in hand before circling back to Oculus and standing near, but not too close to him as there seemed to be other high ranking Xoya near the dark male.

"This seems interesting so far..." She spoke up in a  casual growl in xoyan. It was not often that she used this language, though she was taught a bit of it from her father and other teachers so that she could speak to both sides of her family casually in their native tongues. With so many languages in her knowledge she rarely if ever needed a translator when meeting dragons on the shveki continent.

Viddera wasn't really a party animal. She socialised, but mostly kept to herself. Her only proper 'friend' was the notebook she kept in the satchel that currently hung from her neck. Why was she here then? She found herself asking that same question as she stepped quietly into the hall. She glanced at Oculus as he greeted her and dipped her head in response, uttering a respectful 'sir.' She quickly grabbed a gem, this one scarlet red like blood.


She kept close to the wall, surveying the scene with hawkish eyes. She didn't recognise any of the dragons in the room. Not that she knew any dragons to begin with. Oh, the joys of being a lone wolf, she thought. Her gaze lingered on an enigma among the individuals; a two headed dragon. One head was bone white and gleamed like the moon, whereas the other sported a deep, ebony black. The candles dotted around the room set a glow to their faces that made them even more beautiful.

Adverting her eyes, Viddera moved to the centre table where plates upon plates of food beckoned the visitors to taste. Selecting a platter of fish, -just fish, mind. She couldn't understand why anyone would eat vegetables- she sat a little ways away from where the others were gathered.

To answer your question, she was here to hopefully make a friend. She'd been getting rather lonesome recently and had decided she may as well have SOME sort of a social circle. Her reputation as the brisk, swift speaking Spion who kept to herself hadn't exactly helped her to make friends. Hopefully she'd meet someone from another tribe who had similar interests and mindsets to her. Maybe someone who she could talk to.

Everything was going according to the plan. Come close like a mouse, whisper your prayers and sit down unnoticed. This plan of Harry's was going well so far. He landed pretty far away and walked most of the distance. He shuffled between crowds and turned his form to dark alleys rather than being out in the open. Finally, he showed the guards his invitation and slipped inside.

Harry nodded to whatever polite things Oculus had to say. His eyes widened, whole form shuddered. Was this... A pink gem?! The dragon took a step back, then 3 forward and lunged for it like an eagle falling from the sky on their prey.

Once in his claws, the anthro calmed down back to his form. He shyly slithered himself to the least crowded spot. From there, he could finally appreciate the chance to see the palace of Xoyans. The art style, beautiful lines and rich tradition, history painted in the land usually unwelcome to outsiders. Of course, it gave a chance to look for weak spots too.

"So is this the right place?" Pearla asked rhetorically, facing the towering Xoyan Palace in front of her. She wasn't fond of the boggy marshes she had encountered during the journey to here, although it was sort of in her element, she didn't like how sticky the air, ground and water felt. And it was pretty hot too, not that she isn't used to it.

But now she was here, Pearla made her way into the Palace, making sure to show her invitation to any suspecting dragons. She helped herself to an entire bottle of the water dispenser as she was very thirsty after the trip and listened to what the member of the Xoyan tribe had to say. Once she was instructed that she had to pick a platter with a colourful gem placed on the side, she headed over to the table with platters sitting on it. Only to feel disappointed when there is no platter with gems as blue as the ocean, Pearla then decided to pick her second favourite colour instead which was magenta and moved to a table.

The table had a red blanket covering it and a metallic stick which has sticks connecting to it and the very top of the sticks is on fire? Dragon objects can be very weird sometimes. Pearla sat on the seat and looked at the large sculpted stone, watching the water fly out of the top and make their journey down to the bottom then circle the stone like an artificial whirlpool.

As he walked up to the Xoyan palace, he nervously talked to himself in his mind. He had no clue who he was going to get paired up with. Hopefully a girl near his age, at least. He noticed how the palace was decorated extremely beautifully. As he walked inside, Oculus was there to greet him. "Thank you," he replied to him kindly as he walked further down the hall. He quietly sang a cheerful song under his breath, as it helped calm him.

As he entered the room that all of the other dragons were in, Storm looked around for a familiar face, but saw none, slightly to his disappointment. He saw the table that Oculus said to grab a platter from. Storm grabbed the platter with the purple gems, because he thought it fitting that he choose the color of his scales.

He had noticed a female walk in right before him. She seemed nice, so he took a seat next to her. She was seemingly very amazined in the fountain, which he found amusing. "Hello!" Storm smiles, setting his platter on the table. He didn't put any food on it yet, but then again he wasn't very hungry. "Are you excited to see who you are going to get paired with?"

Ruisen had never been to Shveki before. Anytime he had been on land was for mapping, and that was usually on Layrian, not in the other two continents. But here he was, and he was excited. Any reason explore a new area was a good reason, even a blind date party. The swim to the Xoyan territory of Shveki was interesting. The ocean grew warmer as he approached the Southern Atlantic Sea and even on land it seemed wet. He liked this continent so far.

He walked into the palace, looking around at the floor and ceilings and furniture, taking in the architecture on land. Ruisen nodded a greeting to the grey dragon by the door and walked towards the table with food on it. There was a variety of meats, but as much as he was for trying new things, he wanted to stick to what he knew best. Fish. Ruisen reached out for a platter, but hesitated when he was choosing a gem. Blue was gone, so was cyan, but he chose white, hoping it'd look nice with his horns and wings.

After choosing a gem and platter, he looked around at the room, scanning each dragon to see which one he'd like to converse with until the event started. A two-headed dragon grabbed a gem with magic, which was interesting to Ruisen. He balanced the platter on one hand and attempted to walk over there without making a fool out of himself. "Hi there," he greeted while offering a small bow towards the dragon and to the the masked dragon and to the grey dragon he hadn't seen right away. His eyesight was never the best out of water. "Name's Ruisen. Are you excited for the event to start?"

Landing rather lightly, a feet for a creature his size, Rihzome once more, compulsively, checked the clasp of his cloak. To say he had a flair for the dramatic and extravagant, especially in entries, would be an understatement. After being subjected to countless entries of Imperia into royal meetings, especially with other nobles and leaders, he had her flair for extravagance rather ingrained in his own… especially now that he was leader and was actually important to those outside of his own tribe. Checking the clasp once more to the heavy cloak, he strode forwards. The cloak that was wrapped around his form hid it rather well, brushing against the floor as he moved, shimmering. Darkest black, the material it was made from almost impossible to see or distinguish, it blended in with his scales proper, the only thing telling cloak from scales being the points of light, almost like stars, that seemed to dot and cover his cloak. Was it somewhat rude to make a grand-entrance when it wasn’t his event, or even tribal jurisdiction? Probably. Did he care? Yes. Did he think Haven would mind? … Probably. Regardless, he was doing it anyway.

Striding forwards, past guards, his head held high still, the small silver and sapphire circlet that lay above his brow was more than enough to signify his position of power. The fact that he he had Haven had spent time in each others company was just icing to the cake. Striding into the room, not like he owned the place, but had at least a reasonable claim to it, a small smirk tugged at his maw as he noted Oculus, talking to who could only be the Rossa of the Valeterrene, judging by her physical appearance the stance she held herself with in the home of another leader. Almost gliding across the floor towards them, he picked up the scent of a few individuals he faintly recognised, his gaze drawn to them. Vortex was the first familiar face his gaze was drawn to, a small smile cracking on his maw, making a mental note to ask the male how he and Caramina were getting along. His gaze trailing from him, he noted with a raised eyeridge that it wasn’t Tsidia attending, as her scent would otherwise say, but Harry. Then again, those two spent so much time in each others company it wasn’t a surprise to learn that he carried her scent with him. But to see him here alone… That was rather a surprise. Next on that list of familiar faces was Solar and Sky, a pair of scholars of his own tribe. He hadn’t been fortunate enough to properly make the twins acquaintance as of yet, but it was a rather nice surprise to see them here.

Of course, there were others. Those he hadn’t met but knew. Azriel, the General of Defense. From what he knew the general was the least war-like of the three of them, and often in fact enjoyed reading while sitting in a corner alone. The previously mentioned Rossa, Prasi. Currently single, but there were whispers she had her sights set on the General of Intelligence… Given how close she was standing to Oculus, and how easily, that seemed rather accurate. Of course, accompany those were unknowns. A rather average size dragoness, the frills that adorned… pretty much her entire body screamed water dragon, but there was no distinguishing marks or additions to mark her as from a tribe. An odd purple scaled dragon, who seemed mesmerized and astounded by the fountain. Maybe from a less… structurally inclined tribe? Vuari seemed the most likely answer. An odd black dragoness who seemed… unsure. He noted the speed with which she moved, decidedly away from everyone else… only slowing herself once they were far from her, or rather, she from them… and… How interesting. Another water dragon. No-one could mistake a Lindwyrm, especially with markings, colouration and fins such as those as anything else. And this one had a satchel wrapped around him. Rather well made… more than likely crafted by someone skilled in their trade. Quite possibly a Lakaran.

Shaking himself out of his reprieve, realising he had been standing for a number of moments, a awkwardly long number, he trusted that the others who noticed his presence would simply take it as him… surveying the others, as he moved towards the table. Knowing full well that the black gem was reserved for Haven himself, it didn’t stop the drake from admiring it’s cut and polish. Rather saddened at finding all the other… acceptable colours taken, he eventually settled upon yellow, the stone reminding him of both the sands of his home as well as a star, the many golden interlaced with silver. Nodding ever so slightly to himself as he placed the gem in a pocket of his cloak, sewn on the underside, he moved then to the table containing food, admiring the spread, and not surprised to see a distinct lack of desert plums. Maybe a number of trees would be a fitting gift for Haven… assuming he liked the tart yet sweet taste… Maybe Azriel would enjoy them. He apparently enjoyed reading about trees… maybe having his own would be a good time sink. Snapping from his reprieve, he simply picked up a large platter of sea-food tidbits… moving through the crowd both silently and deftly, taking a place beside Vortex, Solar and Sky, inclining his head slightly to both. “Good to see you both.”

Watching as the two-headed dragon entered the palace, Oculus maintained his smile as he greeted them and watched them walk in, a slight curl on his maw.  He wasn't made aware of a two-headed dragon... only that those two would show up.  That would put a wrinkle into his plans.  Oh well... he would make due.  As he watched the two-headed dragon wander off, he watched as Vortex greeted them.  That was good, at least the first arrival would be entertained so he didn't have to budge.  Letting out a quiet sigh, a voice rang in his hear, and a vein throbbed near his eye.  That gosh darn tree walker!  He had been snickering and spying on him during the entire preparation, obviously enjoying his torment at having to help host a public event instead of remaining in the background where he would rather be.  While he would have liked to smack that General of Defense across the maw, he knew that would not look good, and most likely result in a not so pleasant visit to Haven.  So instead, he just gave Azriel a 'I am going to murder you' look.  As Azriel walked off out of his view, he had to take a couple deep breaths to calm any temper so nothing would flare up and that he could focus on just getting out of this darn assignment.  Looking up as he finally felt himself calm down a bit, his maw pursed as his talons lightly gripped into the tile a bit more firmly.  It was her... the one in the forest.  

    Doing all he could to keep calm and not let anything get to him, nor show it, he smiled back as Prasi came in, and as he was about to make comment about the event, he caught her smile and wink, immediately flustering him.  His body tensed as words failed him, and he watched her as she went and got a gem.  Letting out a tense sigh/huff, he shook his head, wishing he could be elsewhere.  Hearing the rough Xoyan speech, he turned and looked to see Prasi walked back towards him, and a half smile tugged at the corner of his maw.  "I am glad you find it interesting" he replied back in Xoyan, "But feel free to speak in Universal if its easier on the tongue, as that is what most of us will be using for the other folk."

    Watching as Viddera entered, he observed the dragoness, hoping she would at least socialize before the event started.  At least she was near the food, where someone was bound to bump into her.  Turning to greet the other dragon that entered, he watched Harry enter and go for a gem, giving Prasi a small tilt of his head as he didn't want to seem rude, but he still had to greet each new person.  He did however cock his head to the side at the reaction of Harry, but saw a water dragoness enter.  "If you need to, feel free to use the fountain, as it certainly is drier than the oceans."
    Shortly afterward, another dragon entered, and he gave a small nod of thanks as he was thanked by the dragon, watching them walk in and almost immediately begin to socialize.  As another aquatic dragon entered, he nodded and was pleased to also see that they went off to socialize.  As long as no fights broke out, it shouldn't be too difficult.  The next to enter was another tribe leader, the new one who was replacing the old stormcaller tribe leader...Imperial...or something.  He gave the same greeting to the over showy dragon, before turning and almost bumping into Prasi.  Giving a small smile, he spoke calmly, not used to having to small talk.  "Um...you must be... Scor...no...Prasi...right?"  Using the list of names of dragons entering, and crossing them off one by one as they entered mentally, he deduced that she had to either be Scortia or Prasi, but Scortia was more likely to be scarred, being a Ki'Shan after all.

(Feel free to post in any order for now, just have fun.  Waiting for last few to claim gems then I'll make the matches)

As the pair watched everyone walk up, Solar noticed that one dragoness, one that stood all by herself, was looking at him and his sister. The thing was, it wasn't a glare or disapproving look, like he was use to seeing, but one that seemed... interested in them. It was odd for him to say the least, and he looked until she looked away.

As her brother did this, Darksky was stuck talking to the others. She wanted to get Solarlight's attention, but she decided to at least try and face her fears. She looked at two black scaled dragons, Azriel and Vortex, that were there, giving a sheepish smile. "H-h-hi. I-I'm Darksky.... And he's Solarlight." It was clear she was was nervous, and this thankfully got Solar's attention as he turned back.

After this, another dragon, who introduced himself as Ruisen, came up. Solar smiled and gave him a nod. He like that everyone was being nice, but knew Sky wasn't to happy. The more people there were, the less confident she felt. He at least spoke to the new dragon. "Hey, Ruisen. I'm Solarlight, and this is my sister, Darksky." He also wondered how people would respond to the whole brother/sister thing.

After Ruisen, another, more familiar dragon appeared. It was Rihzome, the ruler of their tribe! While they had never really met him, the pair knew who he was. Sky also felt a lot more comfortable around him, since the Scholars said he was a nice dragon. The both looked at him before giving black dragon a respectful bow.

"It's good, and an honor to see you too."

"Yeah. n-now we're not the only Stormcallers."

(Unsure of who bumped into Prasi but here goes)

Seeing more visitor crowding around the table next to them filled with platters and gems Prasi did realize she'd likely be in the way. Though anyone in her tribe would have known better than to push their way past her. Unlike her mother though Prasi had a very high tolerance of rudeness and personal space. So right now there wasn't too much for her to be tense about.

Oculus regarded her in a favorable way as she watched the male fluster. She'd only met him once officially and yet it seemed that she had made a big impression on him. Silly male. Her smile widened as he spoke back answering her first in xoya then in universal. She enjoyed listening to those deep gruff tones in the xoya language, but universal would be more easily spoken amongst the other party goers.

Then someone bumped into her making the woman slowly turn to give a death stare to whoever had the gall to interrupt her. "I'll be over here if anyone needs me." she said with a small huff she then strode away to give the other visitors some space. It wouldn't be she who would start a fight on another tribes' territory.

Now closer to the drinks Prasi grabbed a sweet smelling pink liquid and tasted it with her forked tongue. It had a delicate aroma but packed a punch to her taste buds. Deciding to casually sip it she then stood and simply looked around at the other dragons. From dragons postures and the way they spoke or smelled the she dragon could usually tell who was a higher rank. Though occasionally a low ranking dragon who was very confident in themselves would fool her into thinking they were a higher rank. Her eyes settled on two dragons simply radiating power and confidence in the room.

One, a male she'd never met like most of the dragons here, was eating a plate of tasty seafood by three others who scented similar to him. She noted that they were likely all from the same tribe.

The other was a female, though she was off by her lonesome eating seafood as well. Prasi almost felt the urge to walk over and throw a joke out about how bad the party was. She'd rather start out communicating with a single dragon alone here than a group all together. It wasn't that she was introverted, but rather that she was being cautious. While she didn't have such the trust issues her mother had, Prasi knew that places like this could hold assassins. Plus in congregations with many tribes it was easy to offend someone who's customs weren't close to your own. So she just stayed away from everyone, much like Viderra was. If anyone wanted to chat with her they'd have to invite her over with a gesture, call, or smile. Even better if they actually came to her to chat and make friends.

A glance out of the corner of her eye caught one of her guards laughing and dancing with a smaller female. At least they were having fun... she thought getting bored now.