The Exploits of Misfit Company

Kasha gasped in surprise looking at Yvan. She bounced on the balls of her feet, clapped, and laughed gleefully - so very happy for him, and how he looked.

"You look handsome, darling. I wish that we could do this more."

Alys’ eyes would soften as her head would tilt only slightly and a smile would grow on her face. Her hands would reach out for a moment before she’d clasp them together in front of her as if to stop herself. She’d wait for Stella to give her approval and watch their spritely druid bounce around in glee. The elf couldn’t help but giggle a little from Kasha’s infectious laughter and bubbly spirit. “Kasha approved?” She’d ask as she’d step over to fix one of Kasha’s hair strands.

Glancing back over to Yvan, Alys would pad over to get a closer look. Her eyes would trace the lines admiring the designs on his fabric before looking up. “You look handsome.” She’d say softly reaching up and gently tug on the lapel on his suit as if to adjust the fit on his shoulders, then brushing a crease from his breast pocket. “How do you feel?” The elf would ask genuinely, hoping that he feels comfortable. Remembering an old check her mom used to do on her dad before things changed... Alys would clear her throat, step around behind their protector, placing two hands on the back of his shoulder blades. “Will you do me a small favour?” Her voice would start soft, but then she’d try to put a little bit of pep in her voice, “Life your arms, reach out and give yourself a nice big hug, or grab Kasha in one!” She’d encourage, wanting to check the give in the jacket for his shoulders, hoping he’d have full range of motion and didn’t feel restricted.

Kasha didn't even wait. She wrapped her arms around him and rested the side of her head gently against his chest, careful not to mess up her hair. She gave him a big squeeze and for a while, didn't let go. She took a deep breath and sighed a happy little sigh. She looked up at him with watery eyes, and smiled at him unlike any way she had smiled at him before. She let him go, and looked at him for moment - a look of approval, a look of happiness, a look of silly jealousy, but also a look of letting go with something else that he couldn't place. But that was Kasha. A mixture of emotions.

She took a step back with her hands behind her back and looked at both Alys and Yvan as she did. It was like a look that a parent gave a child who was moving away for their first day at college. She turned around to leave both of them alone.

Obsidian mewed at her as Kasha got close, and he flopped on his side, as if wanting something. Without missing a beat, Kasha knelt down and began to talk in her pet voice to him, and was happy to give him all the belly rubs he wanted. She smiled happily and weakly at the same time, she loved Obsidian, but sometimes wish he was a real person. Realizing it was a silly notion, she put her heart on the shelf once more and let the notion pass.

Yvan felt his nerves slowly melt away at the compliments, his cheeks still burning although he had been relieved that he looked good in clothing unfamiliar to him. "T-thank you.." He would murmur to the girls, his hand dropping back down to his side as Alys approached. Under her eye, he felt his blush creep to his ears. At her words, he feels that feeling again; the fluttering of butterflies in his stomach. He didn't understand it, but before he could think too much on it, she had gone to adjust his coat.

"I, uh... I feel... different." He answers, watching her as she continued to smooth out any creases. "But... it fits... It's comfortable." He's a bit confused when she goes behind him and is even more confused at her request, however is unable to say anything before he feels Kasha wrapping herself around him. Seeing that now he really didn't have much of a choice, he returns the hug, even lifting the druid up from the ground for good measure to ensure the suit could handle that type of motion. Once Alys made her assessment, he would gently bring Kasha back down to the ground and apologize if he had caught her off guard.

Evening comes and it's time for the celebration. You're led into a large gathering hall, with tables that are full of the best food you can think of. At the front of the room, there is a table raised up on a platform. Sitting at it is General Brakkus in his dress blues, as well as some other individuals who appear to be of high military rank. An aged looking man in very fancy looking white and gold robes stands up to speak. "I will try to keep this as brief as I possibly can, as like all of you, I wish to begin the festivities as soon as possible. Were it not for the valor of each of you in this room, our city would have been destroyed, its people either slaughtered or taken away to be slaves: a fate worse than death, and Riisel would be at peril. But because of the heroism of those in this room, as well of the heroism of those who unfortunately are not here to partake in the fruits of their labor, this fair city continues to stand and its citizens, as well of all of the citizens of Riisel, may sleep safely. I pray that Helm welcomes those who died for this city with open arms, and that he watches over all of us. Now, let the festivities commence!"

Servants make their way to each table, carrying cups of sweet tasting wine and trays of meats, cheeses, breads, and other tasty delicacies for you to feast on.

Before the group entered, Stella made sure to briefly pull Alys and Yvan each aside for a moment, to get a second alone with each of them.

To Alys, she simply said, "You look radiant tonight, and don't let anybody, including that little voice inside, tell you otherwise. And if you feel like you need some time away from all the socialization and party stuff, let me know, and I'll help you slip away." She gave the cleric a warm smile.

To Yvan, she said, "You look fantastic, and you can do this. You don't need anyone else's approval out there, so if anybody makes an idiotic comment, know that they're just some idiot who probably had too much to drink. You have the Misfits with you, and we've got your back just as much here as in a battle." She gave him a tight hug. "And if you feel like you need a break, let me know and I'll make sure you can step out for a bit."

Stella smiles and starts eating, looking absolutely in her element at the party. She keeps an eye on the other Misfits, and also looks around to see if she can spot Bix anywhere.

Kasha clapped and smiled, already stuffing her face and washing it down with any liquid that was in her reach. After a while, she eventually gave Obsidian “the look”, and he looked up at her and returned it. She gave an imperceptable nod.

She took a fork and “dropped it” on to the floor.

”Whoopsie!” she said, and slowly sank under the table to go “get it.” 

She never came back up.

Tonight Alys doesn’t have her glasses to hide behind, and when Stella pulls her aside for her pep talk, the elf would have to glance up towards the ceiling and avoid blinking for a moment, otherwise the tears welling up in her eyes would break free and smear Stella’s beautiful make-up work. After a sniffle and some corner eye dabs, Alys would grab Stella’s hands. “Thank you for watching over not only me, but all of us.” She’d return the warm smile before booping the rogue on the nose and pulling her into a quick hug. Stella had been keeping an eye on her, watching over her in her own way, and Alys truly appreciated her reaching out before they were about to enter the hall. She greatly appreciated her sharing her confidence with her. Alys admired Stella for it. The elf would then give her a reassuring nod. “I will.” 

Before she knew it, they were ushered into the gathering hall. Alys would swallow, fighting some nausea as she stepped to her seat. She’d obsessively self-check, stopping herself from fidgeting with her hair and constantly correct her posture. The cleric would remind herself to take deep breaths and remember Stella’s words. Her eyes would frequently glance around to see if she could spot everyone’s familiar face. When the man would begin his speech, Alys would eventually settle, outside of the occasional fidgeting of some feathers on her dress.

When the servers would come by with the assortment of amazing goodies, Alys would be guilty of snatching up a little bit of everything. She’d end up hoarding a little pile of food on a plate in front of her, but would only pick at a couple things here and here hoping her stomach would settle. The elf would start with some bread and wash it down with some water.

Bixby is nothing, if not prompt. But the 'fashion' he chose to arrive in his unique to say the least, in that he had not arrived as "himself". But rather as... a completely, painfully normal, middle aged human man. If anything at all stood out about him, it was the rather drab but formal looking robes; a glamour from his new leather suit. Everything else was completely, utterly forgettable. Regardless of whatever difficulty may or may not have been faced trying to make the festivities with the good general as a result, he arrived apart from the others, and politely excused himself from the them(if need be) as soon as the group were let free to enjoy the festivities.

Though not without paying at least some lip service in a "You all look lovely tonight" in an off-putting cheery voice. At least, off putting considering it had been a good few days if not couple of weeks since he's bother put much inflection in his voice at all.

In either case, if allowed to slip away, he finds some unobtrusive corner to stand in(or sit, as the case may be) and observe the festivities while avoiding consuming a single delicacy.

It was at times like these Yvan truly appreciated how observant Stella was and how she always knew what to say to help ease his nerves. To know she had been looking out for him (and the others), even willing to assist in helping him slip away, relieves him more than she could tell. His shoulders lax when given the hug, returning the embrace gently (as to not mess up her hair or make-up) with a soft smile, silently whispering, "Thank you, Stella."

Upon entering the gathering hall, the barbarian would try and stick close to the group, if anything acting as a protective barrier for them from people getting too close. He didn't like the closeness himself, but he would be damned if someone touched them inappropriately or ruined their hair. As they waited for others to be ushered inside, Yvan couldn't help but notice Alys' constant fidgeting and adjustments, realizing her anxiousness by those actions alone. He places a hand gently at her shoulder, hoping to distract her for just a moment, leaning down so he could say, "I'm here for you, okay? You look great."

His hand would return to his side and listen respectfully to the man giving introductories when he began, wondering for a moment if he had been some sort of priest of Helm considering the robes and mention of the God himself. Perhaps after eating he would gather up enough courage to approach the man and ask him some questions... then again if he hadn't been a priest that would have been very embarrassing... He would shake his head at the thought. Just focus on now.

When Bixby made himself known to them as any ordinary man, Yvan would merely give him a nod in appreciation for the compliment (despite how off putting it was), and when the festivities began and food would be brought to them, he would look at the food with curiosity, noting that even the food was fancy for tonight. He ended up taking whatever was brought to him, just for the sake of tasting it. He looks at the small mountain of food on his plate, similar to Alys'. "... Does anyone know what any of this is...?" He would ask to no one in particular.

Stella leans over and begins identifying things for those curious. "That's quince pie, that's a berry tart, this is a mini meat pie, that's a really good creamy cheese that I always forget the name of, this is brown sugar cured ham, that's a rosemary wheat roll with honey..." and so on, working her way through the various foods and occasionally popping a bite of the snacks into her mouth.

Hamsha and Obsidian:

Under the table, Kasha covered her mouth - struggling to hush her giggling. Obsidian trotted over to her and nuzzled her, ready to play. 

"Ok! Ok! Here we go! KhCKLkgkkhkh!" she could barely contain her giggling, the thought of causing mischief overriding any sense of decency, honesty, or common sense she could muster at the moment. "Scoop me up and let me ride you, then execute the plan like we KhkhHK discussed. Here we go!"

Obsidian nodded. She wild shaped into a small dwarf hamster with comical green eyes and crawled up to the cat's back as he lowered his head. Once she was aboard, he nimbly trotted away from under the table and everyone's feet and once out from under the table, ran at a decent pace towards the kitchen. 

In the corners and shadows, he was sure to avoid the workers and Hamsha hung on tightly, guiding him, more or less. Nudging the door open, Obsidian trotted into the kitchen and under the tables where he lowered his head to let Hamsha scurry off. They both looked for people around, and after a moment, it was empty. Obsidian jumped on to a table as Hamsha ran up a leg to the top and their eyes went comically wide at a freshly dipped tray of chocolate covered strawberries was ready to be served. Like a tree chipper, Hamsha immediately began digging in, licking the chocolate and eating the strawberries at a fantastic rate for a hamster, while Obsidian found some fish on another tray just begging to be eaten. They ate fast and hungrily.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and a gasp could be heard after a few moments. Obsidian and Hamsha both rapidly turned towards the gasp - Hamsha's cheeks engorged to an unnatural size - the server screamed. A broom was brought down rapidly upon them, along with cursing and cries of disgust, narrowly missing both of them as they lept off the table. Obsidian grabbed Hamsha in his mouth and scurried away under the tables. The broom came down hard and quickly, smashing dishes and knocking over pots and pans, but Obsidian was quick and nimble, ducking under tables and equipment.

Everyone else:

You can hear screaming and dishes breaking coming from the kitchen.

"Not this shit again." Vastra downs a glass of wine and starts eating the food before her at an increased pace. "I'll go attend to it."

As Stella went over the numerous amount of food items on his plate, he would give them a tiny bite, as tiny as a goliath possibly could, some even being completely eaten due to how small they were. He had halted at one of the food items, 'caviar', giving them a look of surprise after he tried a bit. "It... pops?" Such odd food...

At the sound of screaming, the barbarian looked to be unfazed, having known full well just who was the cause of it without needing to investigate further. For a moment, he puts a hand to his temple, but instead of being irritated, he looks to be chuckling quietly to himself. "Good luck, Vastra."

Vastra walks into the kitchen and sees Obsidian running around, with a small hamster on his back. "It appears that this cat and his small friend have gotten in here. Never fear, I believe that I can solve this for you." Vastra holds out her hand and casts Levitate on the cat that she's definitely never seen before.

Books needs to make a DC16 Con Save or Obsidian will be stuck in midair.

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Hamsha squeaked as Obsidian started floating. She hopped off as quickly as she could, gave him a look of sadness, but then saw something behind her and Vastra that made her eyes go very wide, and she squeaked even louder.

Like a guided missile, Hoodini was on an intercept course, having seen the fray from a high perch just outside the kitchen. Like a white torpedo, the owl swooped in on the hamster it thought was simply food, not a druid. Hamsha ran for her life as fast as her little legs could. Why did she eat all those strawberries!??

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Hoodini grabbed Hamsha with sharp talons, and lifted her off the floor in a graceful arc. Hamsha began to panic now, in a few moments, she would be food for the owl. Hoodini, realizing there was no where to fly out, landed on the highest cabinet and slowly, like in dramatic cinematic moment, began to move Hamsha towards his mouth.

Obsidian lets out a loud, displeased meow at being dangled in the air in such an undignified fashion.

Out in the hall, Stella pauses as she swallows a cracker, then smiles faintly and shakes her head. "You got yourself into this mess, get yourself out," she murmurs before turning to Yvan. "Caviar can be quite good, if a little weird at first."

Kasha de-hamsterfied on top of the cabinet, much to a startled Hoodini. He flapped his wings in surprise that his meal was now a young woman and moved a few feet aside. Kasha gave hoodini and Vastra a glance. "Sorry, Sir Hoots A Lots, time to go!!" The cabinet and the ceiling were close, and while squirming away, she lost her footing and tobogganed down the cabinet, on to some food ready to be served and fell to the floor as it all came crashing on top of her. She peeked out from the debris on top of her and held up a fork.

"I found my fork!!" she said sheepishly.

Alys would immediately freeze in place as if all the air was sucked out of her when she’d feel a touch on her shoulder. Oh no, am I squirming- Her eyes would glance over at the same time her body would register that it was Yvan’s hand, feeling herself lean in to accept his comfort. She’d reach to correct her glasses only to remember she wasn’t wearing them. The elf would have to swallow from the fluttering in her stomach before she’d look up to him with slightly pinked cheeks. “T-thank you Yvan.” She’d smile softly with a slight nod. “I appreciate that. I know I’m a little all over the place...” Her eyes would glance down before looking back up. “But I’m here for you too.” Without thinking about it, her shoulder would lift a little as she’d tilt her head to briefly press the side of her face against his hand before he would pull it away.

Her shadow of anxiety faded for the time being, feeling better grounded than before. Alys would smooth out her dress one last time as if to tell herself ‘that’s enough fidgeting’ for now. Hearing Bixby’s voice, the elf would look up to find him. Truthfully she wasn’t expecting to see that he had shifted, but seeing that he had, actually brought a genuine smile on her face. After how rough he had it during the last battle, and the fact that she hasn’t personally spoke to him in a long time, she was happy to see him. Although his complement may have simply been lipservice, it didn’t matter to her. B was here and said something. He didn’t have too. The elf would lift her hand and wave in a quick greeting as he passed.

Alys would then remember something and would open up her clutch and start looking for them. When Yvan would pipe up again about the food, she’d look back up to his food pile. She couldn’t help but chuckle. The elf would lean in to inspect his plate when Stella would start rhyming off all the extra things Alys didn’t know or even notice. “Brie?” She’d blurt out a guess to the rogue when she’d mention the creamy cheese before looking back up to Yvan. “Looks like you can reach all the good stuff!” She’d wink, trying to be a little playful to keep her nerves at bay. Alys couldn’t help but giggle a little as she’d watch his face react to the caviar. Her nose would wrinkle wondering if she’d try it.

Finally, the elf would pluck something besides bread from her plate to start nibbling on as she’d lean back in towards Yvan and Stella to ask a question, “Are we supposed to do any-“. Screaming and breaking dishes suddenly come from the kitchen. Alys’ body would tense and her eyes would go wide, panning the area to where the sound came from. She’d blink a couple times before her head would snap to Vastra. She couldn’t hide her face of surprise when Vastra would chug and chow at an impressive rate. When her mentor would set out to right the situation Alys couldn’t help but look at the others, “I think she’ll want a refill.” Another little laugh will escape her lips. As politely as she could, the wizard would flag down a server for a round of refreshments for the table, including offering one to Bixby, even if he would turn it down. She decided she could maybe enjoy a cocktail tonight.

And then more chaos ensued. Not that it was unexpected to see Obsidian caught up in the mischief, but Hoodini too!? At the sight of her own familiar being a point of the madness, Alys would flush red. Eyes wide, mouth open. Mortified. As Kasha would lift her newfound dinglehopper, Hoodini would fly to perch on Alys’ shoulder. She’ll sink in her seat, wanting to slide all the way to the floor and to crawl away. A hand will reach up to feel the table for her glass, and then pull it down to her.