The apartment that Mr. Invention had arranged for was actually a suite in one of the very few hotels, not including the Phins' accommodations which were in a different part of the structure. The suite included a dining and lounge area and five bedrooms. One of these was immediately commandeered for the changing room so Tasha, Hakeber, Lacci, Katie and Tia could get changed for clubbing. Yue and Liza were going to search out ice-cream instead, which also meant Aaron would be going along, leaving Gabriel, Jonas and Shojo to themselves (and presumably Samael as well).
"I don't have party clothes," Lacci claimed. She mainly had only accumulated beach wear from their vacations, and was used to 'uniform dress' parties.
"We can arrange something along the way," Tasha insists as she rummages through her wardrobe. "What is acceptable, anyway? Does anyone know?"
"The only party we've been to here was the Seeder one," Hakeber says. "That was kinda formal. I haven't seen a lot of younger people here."
"The Pans will know where the parties are," Katie assures.
"Blouse and skirt and a clutch for hitting people with should be fine," Hakeber says.
"For dancing.. yes, wear something you won't overheat in," Katie suggests, eyeing Lacci's feathers. "Tasha, do Vartan's overheat?"
"Maybe the local net will have something to say. Katie, you know about these things don't you? What should we wear?" Tasha pulls out a few things: her shiny suit, what she thought was acceptable day wear but Gabriel told her was a little too risqué, and her programmable designer sim suit (which has since been cleaned). "I do have a blouse and skirt, long booties ... arm wear ... I think I have some neck pieces in here somewhere. A choker, uh ... "
"Shiny is always good," Katie says. She does start looking at her datapad though.
"We- they can. It depends on exertion, don't cover her wings up and she should be fine," Tasha replies distractedly. She holds up her button-up blouse and mid-thigh length skirt to herself and gives Katie a 'what do you think' look.
Tia unseals one of her 'bricks' from her ship, and removes some capsules from it.
Katie looks over Tasha's selection. "I'm more of a zipper person myself, but then my stuff is pretty.. tight. Buttons should let you vary the degree of looseness though."
"Shiny and tight ... " Tasha pulls out her programmable under-suit and the shiny suit she got and never wore, then rummages around until she finds her shiny gold skirt and sparkly top. She detaches some of the pieces from the tight suit and combiens them with the rest, leaving teh programmable suit alone for now. What she ends up with is a a lot of shiny: arm and leg-length clothing bits, the skirt, the top. "I don't know," she says after a moment of review.
Hakeber is going through Lacci's stuff, much to the Vartan's embarrassment. "Aha!" she declares, and holds out.. a long, narrow bit of multi-colored fabric. Definitely from a beach. "A cross-your-heart wrap around, will keep you cool and support your boobs! Then you just need shorts or something.."
"Not exactly support them," Katie corrects. "But restrain them at least."
Tia opens one of her capsules and extracts something that glows softly. She hasn't offered any opinions on dress so far.
Tasha tosses the outfit idea aside and picks up her programmable suit. She then starts punching in control commands on her wrist device and scrolls through options. "I bet I can fill in missing pieces with the suit and look like I'm wearing less than I actually am. Oh." More rummaging and she pulls out a spark lily jacket which she also never wore before -- because she has lots of sparkility outfits that always seem like a good buy choice but never actually get used -- and thosses it with the suit. The skirt also goes with the suit. "I could seem like I'm weraing a tight top and other clothes that match the skirt."
"I'm not into tight things myself," Hakeber notes. "At least, not for me to wear." She produces a rather aged looking tie-dyed t-shirt that might have had sleeves at some point, but has been hacked into a halter top that only goes past her ribs. The shorts look to be a more recent purchase, and match the color of her belly fur.
"I guess I can try and split the difference," Tasha admits, shrugging her shoulders. "I never did anything like this back home. All our parties were come-as-you-are, even the ones I came across in my earliest adventures when I was far from home. We only attended formal parties on Abaddon, and you know how those are Katie, especially since you dressed me up for one!" The red woman's frowns at her wardrobe is hard. Most of the women here know she isn't any great shakes at dressing up, having no background it it and constantly in new cultures. "Well I'll give this a try unless you want to go in matching zip-ups Katie."
Lacci goes for knee-length black trousers that look like their for exercising in to offset the colorful wraparound, and Katie goes for one of her jumpsuits, but one with transparent side panels. "I've never matched with anyone," Katie claims with a hint of pride. "We should all look distinct. It will cut down on people asking to be 'introduced to your sister' and such."
Tia has a knee-length, sleeveless and backless minidress, which looks like it's made of white and gold flames that actually rise out from the material, hiding her shape a bit. She doesn't have shoes though to go with it.
"I can't find anything on Vartan party fashions here," Katie reports from her perusal of the Caltrop network. "Karnors dress.. a bit scantily, but then the newer sorts are a lot fluffier. Pans wear shorts and skirts. Nothing on Human or Belter party attire."
"I wonder which of us they'd think is my sister," Tasha wonders aloud. She begins to undress right there, still frowning at her choice until she notices Tia is on fire. "Hypertechnology is so cheating," she says as she puts on what is merely advanced technology. She does end up putting teh booties over the suit and programs the suit to resemble shiny shorts with stockings going all the way down in to her booties, with a wrap around top under the sparkily jacket. As she said, splitting the difference, both loose and tight. It's all mostly gold, but the stockings are black, fittings silver, and the cloth elements and interior of the jacket are deep blue to offset her redness.
"It's magic, actually," Tia says almost apologetically. "Something from home."
"I think magic is extra cheating," Tasha insists. "And by home do you me-" Tasha pauses, watches Tia for a moment, then just goes right back to what she was doing. "At any rate, it's lovely."
"Can you make your hooves spark with that?" Lacci asks Tasha.
"Spark? I don't know, can I ... " Tasha peers at the controls, the suit half on making her look like a pilot doing pre-flight suit checks before she boards a particularly ostentatious fighter craft. "Lets see ... "
"I remember seeing a dance troupe that toured the fleet," Lacci explains. "They had metal shoes, and danced on a metal floor that would cause sparks when they touched it. It might have been electrified though.."
There are lightning effects, but they don't seem to be impact sensitive such that they could be triggered by dancing.
"Prooobably I don't have it. The suit's mainly for replicating a great many looks, it can even look like it's not there. Oh, lighting." Tasha punches in some lighting items, then turns them on. A subtle light blue glow runs down her body, emphasizing hips and other curves. "I mean I could set it to maximum shininess and sparkle, but we're not going to a Vartan-exclusive club."
"If it's smoke-filled, at least we'll be able to find you," Hakeber says with a grin and tail-wag.
"Well we're there to be seen, right? I hope it's not too over-the-top though, I don't want to look desperate or needy." Tasha finishes sliding the suit on, then begins pulling up her booties. The suit flickers, then assumes it's final design as she works.
"I'm glad it is just us," Lacci says. "I would not want Shojo to see me flailing."
"I think we can get a line on a party at the Surf-n-Turf," Katie says. "And a guide."
"Sometimes it's nice to be away from the boys, there's an expectation there, and, well, I have promises to keep." Tasha throws on the jacket and sits up, looking like a retro-future holovid tough girl meets sparklechique. "We can probably expect our guards will be around."
"Really?" Tia asks Tasha, sounding a bit hopeful about guards.
"Well yes, that's why we have them. They'll be lurking in the shadows. Even if you can I can handle most things, we can't exactly level hypertech and magic at someone in the middle of the concourse." Tasha adjusts her jacket some more, then pushes off the bed to land on her heels, which she's had some practice during the fun with Hakeber.
Tia frowns, and gestures for Tasha to come closer.
Tasha's passage is not exactly subtle in the get up. She leans in, conspiratorially. "If you want hake just get her a little drunk. Katie's a lot more work, but worth it. If you get Lacci let me know how it goes."
Tia looks confused by that, and instead whispers, "This structure is dampening extra-dimensional access. The ansibles aren't working and I can't draw on my power source either. I didn't want to say anything around Sam about it, but he probably knows anyway."
"So ... we're basically defenseless ansible-wise?" Tasha frowns again. "I can't say I'm surprised, the Sifra are no pushovers and they're quite capable of hyper-dimensional engineering."
"I would be panicking if I hadn't expected it," Tia confirms. "They would need such an ability to imprison the Ogdoad."
"Yes, and they can imprison more than just them. I've also seen the results of their technology breaking down, tears in space and time that let things through, things from who-knows-where. Thingss apparently not very resistant to anti-matter explosions." Tasha looks over at the otehrs and gives her best winning smile and even a thumbs up.
"No plotting against us!" Hakeber demands, pointing at Tasha and Tia. "Especially from the T-Party."
"Are we the T-Party now?" Tasha leans back from Tia and glances at her. "I suppose we are both a similiar sort of weird these days, and we ahve been conversing silently."
"I think she means our names both start with T," Tia guesses.
"I meant that too!" Tasha insists.
"I am the Slob Party," Hakeber says. She points at Katie and labels her, "Shiny Party." Tasha gets, "Exotic Party." She then declares, "Lacci and Tia are the Awkward Party. So they should hang out the most tonight."
"Wouldn't Lacci and Tasha be better as the Wing-Man Party?" Tia offers back.
Lacci actually squawks a laugh. "I get that joke!"
"Maybe we are! And besides that, maybe you all need our help," Tasha insists, arching a brow, then sticking her tongue out.
"Come on, we just need to find a party where we all fit in," Katie says.
"A party of Space Cadets," Tasha insists as she heads for the door as well.
"Hmm," is Gabriel's response when he sees them.
"Worried, O alpha wolf?" Tasha waggles her fingers at him. "Oh, and the guards will need to be lurking." And then her tilt of the head and arched brows speak of something more serious than grabby hands.
"Jonas is taking us to a Khattan strip club," Gabriel says. "Mr. Black at least will probably follow you."
"I feel safer already. If you get grabby, please describe it to me later. In detail. Maybe with the one you grabbed?" Tasha winks, gives a finger-wiggle wave, and then heads for the exit. "If we don't come back, save us!"
"Hah, we've got the best guard for carrying us back home if we're too drunk to walk," Hakeber says.
"I can come watch over you all," Samael offers.
"My guardian angel," Tasha replies without skipping a beat. She is, after all, used to Samael popping up out of nowhere. She does turn to seek him out, however.
"We can handle ourselves," Katie says, waving her hand. "Two military girls, a brawler, and.. Hakeber knows how to deal with drunks, I'm sure."
"She drinks their drinks first so they're never drunk in the first place." Tasha looks around for a moment, then asks the group, "Are we ready to go, or should we keep making witty banter?"
"We shouldn't waste it all before the party," Hakeber says. "Lead the way.. someone other than me!"
"I'm always leading, I therefore order Katie or Lacci to d it," Tasha insists, standing beside Hakeber. She even folds her arms in a very not going to lead on break kind of way.
So.. Katie leads! But they don't even make it all the way to Surf-n-Turf: Hakeber's party sense gets her to point out a group of loitering 'youths' outside of the restaurant. It's not large, a few Karnors and Khattas and a lone Eeee. But they seem to be waiting for something or someone. They're all dressed light, in shorts, skirts and kilts, with mesh tops or just jewelry and obscuring light effects.
Tasha gives Lacci a big, confident, encouraging smile as they approach the youths. When they arrive she states, "Hake-bear here senses a party, do you happen to be awaiting a party, feckless and wandersome young gens?"
"We're waiting for Coyote," the Karnor girl says. She's wearing an impressive array of cheep bracelets and earrings and things in her hair, with a top that is just a bunch of loosely draped bead necklaces that light up at random. One of the Khattan boys stares openly at Tasha and Katie, and says, "Wow.. you look expensive."
"Incredibly," Tasha confirms, spreading her hands in a what-can-you-do sort of way. She then slings and arm around Hakeber and adds, "But my friend is available for a very reasonable price."
Hakeber grins, and gets the attention of the Karnor boys with her aura of in-you-league-ness and looking like an actual wolf. Lacci seems relaxed since there aren't any Vartans in the group. And Tia mostly keeps behind Lacci.
"So tell us about this Coyote," Tasha asks of the Khattan boy who commented on her. "He sounds like the party type, he's even named for, uh ... " She has to think on this one, it's not exactly in the powerful Noradic memories category. "Trickster. A Terran trickster."
"Well, he should be here soon," the Karnor girl says. "I'm Bangles," she introduces herself, being a mostly cream colored canine with floppy ears and a curly tail. The two boys look like twins in grey and brown, but with pale blue eyes. The Khattans.. look pretty much like regular Khattans, but with some neon-colored stripes and spots added. "Coyote is the party guy," Bangles says. "He comes and leads groups to where the party is. He's pretty cool."
"That sounds pretty cool," Tasha agrees, turning to Hakeber in her arm, "That does sound pretty cool, doens't it, Hake-bear?"
"Tells me we're in for a trek," Hakeber says. Then the youths turn towards an oncoming sound of.. music? It sounds more like a wind-up music box though. It is coming from an electric scooter that has a tall pole rising up with a flashing alarm light at the top. The handlebars have colorful plastic streamers, and the rider is an older Pan wearing a green sequined jacket and a pink tu-tu. He's also wearing oversized glasses frames with no lenses. "That's him now," Bangles notes.
"He reminds me of one of my teachers," Hakeber notes to Tasha.
"I feel like 'colorful fellow' would be an understatement here." Tasha watches the show with brows up and tail swaying like a snake. To Hakeber, she asks, "Did that teacher teach you to drink and party? I see why you became a scholar."
"Heyo, hiyo," the Pan greets, and looks everyone over. "How many of you are hallucinations? I need to keep count you know."
"Nobody raise your hand," Bangles warns.
Tasha stays silent, having been the target of enough enough weird beings that she's happy to leave it tto someone else this time. She does smile placidly, however.
"I see some new faces and other parts," Coyote says. "So, here are the rules: when you want to leave the party, you wait for me to take you back here. Unless you're leaving with somebody else, or just need to go lie down or puke or something. Or know how to get back on your own. Or are an hallucination."
"Also, everything is cash only," he add, and taps this side of his glasses-frames.
"Is he like a like a tour guide? And what's cash? Like a shekel? I Have't had physical money for over a year," Tasha whispers to Hakeber.
"I've got our cash," Katie tells Tasha. Given how tight her suit is, it isn't clear where she has it though.
"He's the Coyote," Hakeber says, as if that was the explanation. "Which means the party moves around a lot, probably to wherever they can set up and not get chased out right away. Like.. a warehouse or derelict."
Tasha will have to inquire in to this mystery cash later. For her part, she hasn't had any physical cash since Abaddon, and then not very much. She thinks she still has some Sinaian shekels stuffed in her locker back on the Bellerophon. "That explains why no electronic currency and why they need him to transport people. I'm surprised there's so many places you can be chased out of here. It's not exactly awash in local authority."
"So with that all settled perfectly to everyone's satisfaction now and forever more, follow me!" Coyote says, and turns his scooter around to move off at a more leisurely pace.
"Rival parties," Hakeber suggests. "Gangs. Not a lot of ways to make extra cash that won't get you killed in a place like this."
Tasha turns to shrug at her party, then follows along after. She wonders if she'll regret wearing the heels or not, it depends how far she has to walk. "I may need one of you to carry me."
The route is semi-familiar to Tasha: it seems to be heading toward the spire where she met Egypt Inconspicuous, which was very much a mixed use area of shanties and other no-rent structures.
"Battling parties. Now there's a war I'd like to see," Tasha remarks back to Hakeber. "Gangs ... I know about gangs, but I'd not run in to any. I know the types, though."
As they get into rougher looking areas, the value of traveling with Coyote is apparent, in that nobody accosts them, though they may watch. It could just be that they're a good sized group, or else nobody wants to cross Coyote.
Or cross Coyote's friends, Tasha assumes. The slightly-mad Pan may be an act, but even so she doubts he alone would scare everyone off. That means bigger players, and maybe even bigger players above them. She decides to keep an eye out and nose open.
Eventually they can start to feel the party. It's being held within a few scavenged walls with various fabric coverings, a bit like a fortified circus tent. The music is very heavy on percussion. There are also two Pan bouncers or guards at the entrance. Bangles and the other regulars hand over little chips, which go into hand-held readers. They're no different than the sort Egypt had, so 'cash' is still electronic here, just not traceable. Katie produces some from the sleeve of her jumpsuit to pay their entry fee.
The flimsy walls encompass a relatively large area, with support poles for the tent-like roof. These also support the lighting rigs, which swing colored spotlights around seemingly at random. The center is a hectic dance area, while there are competing bands at opposite sides, with bars at the other sides. These bands seem to primarily be Pans, beating on drums and drum-like instruments (some look like thick tubes). These are arranged in pyramid like platforms, with the lead drummer at the highest point.
There's a good mix of patrons, with Eeee surprisingly making up the majority, with Terrans a close second, Khattans in third place and quite a few Naga. There a few Vartans, and they stand out from their height and not being in the dance mix.
"I am amazed Eeee can handle this noise. Maybe there's something about the information overload?" Tasha looks around, brows up, trying not to seem like a tourist despite never having quite seen something like this before, save in the hazy gray of Nora's memories. "Well, who wants to do what? Drinks?"
"They likely aren't attuned to long-wave sounds, so might feel them more than hear them," Tia suggests. "The same for the Naga."
"Hmmm.. do the drinks look safe?" Hakeber asks. "We should investigate!"
"There sure is a lot of motion," Lacci says, with a bit of dread.
"I nominate Hake as our official drink tester. Why don't we head towards one of the bars, see what's on tap, and then decide what we want to do next. Try not to get too distracted, Lacci, it's be easy to lose someone in this crowd -- and look, Vartans!" Tasha snatches up Lacci and Hakeber's hands, then turns to the group that directed them. "Coming with, or doing your own thing? We can buy drinks at least, for the directions. Maybe dance? Want to dance later, Bangles?"
"There is strength in numbers," Lacci says, falling into line.
The bar is very basic, and doesn't bother with any sort of sitting options. It's tended by three Pans, one of them female from how she's dressed, and has a collection of bottles and other containers, plus what might be a still or a strange coffee maker. "That's some getup!" the first bartender says to Tasha.. possibly thinking the wings are fake and unable to see her feet. Tia is still keeping to the rear, behind Lacci's wings.
"It's a real improvement over my last 'outfit'," Tasha says as to her appearance, "It was to die for, but this one's to live for. Wha'cha got on tap?" Tasha then gestures to the people around her. "And something for our group as well, they can make their own choices."
"Tap?" the barchimp asks. "We got.. clear, and brown, and off-white, blue, green, purple which is a bit thick, and black. Plus coffee."
"I'll take the blue, it's eternal, you know." Tasha nudges Hakeber up to order, stepping aside to wait for her drink. As she waits she turns to Bangles, "So, are you a regular at this irregular party? Anything we should know, look out for?"
"Can I have a sampler?" Hakeber asks.
"The toilets are by the other bar," Bangles explains. "Don't hip-check anyone on the dance floor without checking if they're Eeee or Khattans first, or they can get knocked over. The cups the drinks come in only last a few minutes before they start to break down, and don't drink the purple stuff, it's for the Eeee. Vartans and Naga like the black stuff that isn't coffee, so might want to avoid that too."
"I'm a bit Vartan myself, maybe I should mix the thing Terrans like with the thing Vartans like," Tasha considers aloud, tapping the side of her muzzle with a knuckle. She then shakes her head and grins. "Or I can just try the blue stuff. I am supposed to be on shore leave, might as well have a bit of excitement."
The brown stuff turns out to be beer, and the blue stuff is unlike anything Tasha's had before, but is clear alcohol and some unknown additive that 'smooths' it out a bit.
Katie also gets the blue stuff, and Lacci decides to try some of the black stuff, which comes in a squeeze bulb instead of one of the printed out cups.
Tasha decides she likes her choice and will stick with it, sipping it as she waits for others to order. "I think I feel like dancing, but I'm not the best dancer. I don't think that matters here, though. Want to dance, Bangles? Or have something else in mind?"
"You gotta finish your drink first," Bangles says, drinking her own green liquid. It's one that seems popular among the Khattans. "Can't take it on the dance floor. I like to circulate through the mix, suss out the currents."
"At least nobody seems to be doing the same dance, if they're aren't.. just gyrating," Katie says. The all-percussive music is too fast to find a rhythm to follow.
"I won't turn down being told I must drink." And so Tasha works at her drink, as instructed. "I won't keep you if you want to mingle, I might as well do the same."
"Stay shiny!" the Karnor says, downs the last of her drink and just throws the cup on the floor, where it starts to evaporate. Then throws herself into the dance mix.
"With all those hands waving in the air, will be there any left for bein' grabby?" Hakeber wonders.
"I prefer Vartan rawrk music," Lacci claims.
"I'm not sure, I am a bit turn between going wild and, you know, responsibility. Before I'd just have at it, but now I know what comes from having at it." Tasha takes one more sip, then flicks her cup to the ground from between pinched fingers. "Maybe I'll just wander around? You should be able to spot me easily enough."
"Try to find Tia if you're going exploring," Katie says. "She vanished while we were getting drinks."
"Dancing looks fun, and violent," Lacci says. "And it will keep me from having to talk to the local Vartans."
"Oh, has Lacci gained a taste for violence? This was worth the trip just for that revelation, I knew you belong with us." Tasha taps the side of her head: intuition. "Maybe we can spar later or match our training routines, for now I am going to ... wander ... away ... like ... this ... " And then she sinks in to the crowd, though even then she still stands out as the winged canid woman, obscured mainly by the press of bodies.
There are lots of wings in the mix, although they are overwhelmingly Eeee wings. Given the close quarters, those wings are kept tightly folded to avoid being banged into, which seems to the main component of the local dance style. So Tasha gets pelted by Eeee from several directions, but it's Khatta that are a bit more handsy (in that they grab at her hands for a few moves then move on). The Karnors are the most sedate, even more so than the Humans. Possibly due to the need to avoid overheating in the close quarters. Tasha notices that many of them have little colored strips stuck to the the bottoms of their noses.
Tasha assumes they're breathing strips, or perhaps some kind of drug. She's fully aware it was going to smell here, and this isn't the kind of place to rely on technology to filter the smell out. It might bother her, too, but she spent many of her formative years shoveling, sitting behind, and otherwise tending to large, stinky lizards on a ship full of occasionally washed mostly men, so manages it as she always has -- by tuning it out.
When people come to dance with her, she dances, and without any thought or pattern in mind. She does it automatically, which is at least a dance she knows, the ad hoc one, the favorite dance of roughly civilized get-together universes over. And as she goes she wonders what's missing, all her parties until Abaddon were with Vartans, so she ends up veering towards them in an unconscious drift.
The Vartans are fairly clustered together next to the other bar, but trying to look like they aren't clustered together. Three men, wearing coveralls. They seem more focused on drinking than anything else.
They must be of the type of Vartans who gave Lacci a hard time when I first met her, Tasha considers, head tilting even as she swaps dance partners between two Khattans and a Eeee., her eye tracking the Vartans. I wonder what they'll make of me. Part of her dreads knowing, the other part is perversely thrilled by the uncertainty. She hasn't spent much time around Vartans other than Lacci and Shojo since she was reborn -- none at all really -- so the idea sends an uneasy thrill through her. A preview of what awaits her back home, accusations, acceptance, uncertainty? She supposes she'll find out.
The Vartans don't give a particularly surly vibe, they just don't seem very happy as the suck on their squeeze-balls of black liquor. They aren't even talking, but all wear identical uniforms. They may work in the salvage yard. Currently one of them is trying to get the others to look at some Naga dancers outside of the central throng, but not having much luck.
Tasha decides to try and ply some of her classic charm, which is to say she barges in, tries to sound winning and quippy, and for the most part she doesn't get hit, or at least gets hit a lot less now adays. And usually when she gets hit for a quip it's after the weapons have come out, so she thinks she's really improved there. Whatever the case, she goes for it.
Tasha decides to try and ply some of her classic charm, which is to say she barges in, tries to sound winning and quippy, and for the most part she doesn't get hit, or at least gets hit a lot less now adays. And usually when she gets hit for a quip it's after the weapons have come out, so she thinks she's really improved there. Whatever the case, she goes for it.
"All the salvage turn out to be in perfect working order, Nagas not flexible enough today? Oh, maybe you're trying to cheer everyone up by making them seem happier by comparison, that's real self sacrifice," she remarks in what she hopes is a joke-conveying tone and not a I'm-made-of-more-shekels-than-you'll-see-in-a-lifetime mockery.
It takes a moment for the nearest Vartan to realize they're being talked too. "Rawk?" he says in surprise, squeeze-bulb still sticking into his beak. He finally takes it out, and asks, "Huh? We're breakers, we don't get the working stuff.."
"Hey, are those real?" the second one asks. Obviously he means her wings of course.
The third one, who was watching the Nagas, turns to see what's going on and just blinks a few times. His eyes are mismatched; one is the typical yellow-gold, but the other is actually brown.
"I like to break things too, occassionally myself." Tasha puts her elbows on the bar, realizing these are the kinds of people she actually knows how to talk to. Out there, on the dance floor, she's someone pretending to be someone pretending to be something, and lost between it all. At least with working Vartans she has something to draw on, old experiences, even if it's a new life. "I saw how sad you all looked and I thought that was a shame, besides there's just so many species and between you and me, I like Terrans, but I am surrounded be Terrans these days annnd ... " And she's not sure why she admitted that, but she goes with it and shrugs, "They're real. I'm real."
"Obviously you're real," the middle one says, but the first asks, "Why though? Why do you have wings when you're a.. Karnor?"
Tasha's been asked this question before; it always stings, at least a little. She doesn't bother to hide the wince. "'I am as gods and man made me.'" She flicks her wings, then shrugs with her hands. A moment later she asks the bartender for another blue drink and turns to lean back against the counter. "I'm not actually a Karnor any more than I am a Vartan. You could say I'm both and neither; throw in some Human and a few other things and you get me."
"Oh.. you were made then?" the first one asks. "Because you had mixed parents?"
"More or less," Tasha replies, spreading her hands again. "I had a unknown father and a real Vartan mother, and was created for a purpose I accepted later. As an AI I can proudly say I have completed my original task. Mission accomplished, Beep-boop." She salutes, grabs her drink, and starts nursing this one too. "But enough about me, why's everyone over here so down? This isn't a dive, you came to this place with effort, so why does it seem like no one wants to be here?"
"Look at us," the middle one says, gesturing to his work coveralls. "Everyone is really flash and bright, and we're dull. Plus dancing in the mix is dangerous, because we're so big. And can't dance. Well, not dance like that. No Vartan girls either. Just Naga and they dance.. they don't dance together, y'know?"
"Well, I'm close, so how about me? And if they see you dancing with me -- and the Khattans know what to make of me -- they'll wonder why, and then they'll get curious. And besides, here's a tip when dealing with non-Vartans: they actually don't care how shiny something is. Often, not even a little bit! I know, I know, it's very weird, but there it is. And there's all kinds of people, you never know who you'll meet. Like me. So, who'se first?" She pushes off, downs the last of her drink, then tosses it over her shoulde.
"S-sure," the first one says, and steps forward towards Tasha, his neck feathers fluffing out a bit. Then he just sort of stands there. "What do I do next?" he asks Tasha.
"See how no one matches behind us?" Tasha thumbs over her shoulders, "We do that, just shake and gyrate and feel some inner rhythm and look like you're having fun. The trick is to seem to be enjoying yourself without looking anxious or being obnoxious. If a squishy little thing gets too close, hold out a hand to offer to dance, or if you think you might hurt them use your wing to brush them away." And so Tasha demonstrates by gentle byt firmly redirecting an Eeee, grinning all the while. "A lot of it seems to be faking it, or believing what you're doing. If you look dull, and feel dull, and act dull, everyone else will think it too. But you're big Vartans, and a lot of people can find that exciting." And so she holds out her hands.
The man's hands are pretty big, talon-wise, but he takes Tasha's hands and.. starts swishing his tail and sort of rolling his shoulders. His wings do come out more as well. He has a lot of golden-brown plumage, so not exactly dull. He doesn't try moving his hips or feet though. The higher center of gravity makes it a bit more awkward for full Vartans.
"There you go, add more movements when you feel like it. Everyone starts somewhere, right? The more you put in the braver you get and the better you are, and if you're not, well, find someone who is and see what they do," Tasha elaborates, drawing as much form life experience as dance experience. She follows suit, but she can wiggle more given she's relatively tiny, short even for a Karnor, if not as fragile, "See? Nothing to it."
The Vartan tries to match Tasha's moves. The third one has finally gone over towards the Nagas, and the second on sort of moves his arms around without moving anything else.
Tasha waits for her partner to catch up, then increases complexity and waits for him to match. "So what's breaking like out here on the edge of civilized space? Ever get anything interesting? Old alien hulks, mysterious relics, dead space leviathans?"
"I don't touch none of that Titanian 'fish' stuff," the Vartan claims. "Mostly old machines, sometimes ships. Lot of crystal prospectors come to the nebula, then end up having to sell their ships and stuff to pay their way back to wherever they came from. Probably ten Khattan stalls out there selling fake Sifran crystal detectors."
Tasha barks a laugh at that before she can help herself; they have 'real Sifran crystal' stalls back home, too. She even bought one once, kept it because even if it wasn't a Sifran crystal it was still very shiny. "Any interesting ships, useful gear? Do you have an agreement or work for a company or a House, or do you contract out no-questions-asked?" She arches a brow.
"Eh?" the Vartan asks, finally getting his hips into it. "I work for Boss Venger," he explains. "He tells me what to strip apart. Don't know how it gets there or anything. He tells me it's not radioactive or anything. Hardly ever find corpses in the stuff."
"Well that's good." Tasha releases a hand and holds it out to the second Vartan so he can come in and get some practice too. "Corpses are always a downer. Is Verger here? Maybe I'll have some business for him, or, well, I can deal with it later, we're here to have fun, right?"
"I think he lives in the salvage yard," the first one says. The second one looks nervous at Tasha's invitation.. and then Lacci cuts and grabs his hand instead.
"Careful, she looks sweet but she's gained a taste for violence," Tasha says of Lacci, ending with a cackled laugh she doens't think she's heard from herself in a lifetime. "Hi, Lacci! Come help me teach these sad men how not to be sad, and how to dance!"
"I like sad men," Lacci claims. Maybe that Vartan booze loosened her up more than expected. "I still don't know how to dance! Karnor girl told me to find some space and just kick the air a lot!"
"Was that Hake? It sounds like Hake," Tasha remarks, shifting her dance partner so she and Lacci are on the same side, where Tasha can also keep an eye on her. And maybe ask for more booze if she gets closer to the counter. To the two Vartans she says, "This is Lacci, we work together. Be nice to her, okay? But not too nice." And so she winks.
"Yeah, my boyfriend is scary," Lacci claims. She doesn't kick the air, but does stomp a bit in time to the drums. She's not wearing boots, so her hooves strike the thin (probably metal) floor loudly. It's done in overlapping sheets of material, so has a lot of vibration possibilities. Her partner is soon stomping on it as well.
Tasha decides to stomp too, her own hooves being cloven, and lighter, produce a different sound. "Your boyfriend is a big sweetie, you can even tell him I said so. I'm still surprised he hasn't cornered me to stop teasing you."
"He thinks that it's cute!" Lacci fires back. "Where you two work?" the first Vartan asks.
"It is cute," Tasha insists, tail wagging. She angles towards the bar and barks, "One black bulb thing!" twice to make sure she's heard, and also because she can only manage twice until she has to return to position. "Us? On a ship! We just got back! You don't even have to wreak it!"
A black bulb eventually gets lobbed towards Tasha. "Ah, lots of ships come through here," the Vartan notes. "Some really big and weird ones."
Tasha catches it in her jaws before biting around it until it's roughly in place. She does still have to use a hand to squeeze and hold it though, otherwise she won't be able to speak (legibly). "Bigger and weirder than the Titanian sailing ship?"
"Never saw that one," the Vartan claims. "Saw the big Naga one in port now though, when they needed extra hands to help transfer cargo. Not a lot of robots here for that sorta thing."
"I still wonder how this station manages to function, but that's the Sifra for you." Tasha tries to hip-check Lacci, expecting it to not go well for her, but that's part of the fun. "What other weird ships have you seen?"
The liquid in the bulb is bitter, but very strong. Definitely a Vartan mix (or Naga mix, since they can't taste the bitterness anyway). Phins would probably like it.
"Confederate ships," the Vartan says. "No two look alike, can give you nightmares about being eaten though. Celestial ones can be pretty weird, or all rings and spheres or tubes and cyinders or wedges. Khattan ones are kinda sexy looking. I like the Vartan ships best, of course. Only ones with decent wings and beaks."
Tasha decides to bring the Phins along next time; Kaa would be a special hit, and appreciate a chance for some 'fishing'. She squeezes a big gulp, still not exactly sure what her limits are in this body. For all she knows she secretly runs on alcohol. "Can't say I disagree with your assessment of ships." Before she risks getting too drunk though, she is reminded to ask Lacci, "Lacci, did you see Tia? She wandered off."
"She's on fire, hard to miss," Lacci notes. "She's with the Naga and that other Vartan."
"I guess she found me, some Vartan-eyed what-it I am," Tasha remarks, shrugs, and then tries squeezes the bottle with just her jaws. This ends when she coughs, but she grins anyway and returns it to her hand. "Hope she's having fun! Are you having fun Lacci?"
"I don't know yet!" Lacci claims. "More research is needed! She's dancing.. I think. Like how the Naga do, but with legs. Ignores the beat though!"
"Tia is a strange creature," Tasha says by way of agreement. To her partner Tasha asks, "So, have you figured dance out yet?"
"Don't step on others, be ready to hold on to partner if either starts to fall over, be drunk," the Vartan explains.
"Look confident, feel confident, become shiny!" Tasha throws her hands out, then retakes the hands she had been grabbing. "I should go check on Tia, though! You may both dance with Lacci," and so one of those hands gets pushed over towards Lacci to take.
"Hello!" the Vartan says to Lacci when Tasha nudges him. The third Vartan is over by a group near one of the bands. It's mostly Khattans, who are sitting down. One of them, a girl, is doing a traditional sort of dance that Tasha had seen plenty of times in Abu Dhabi. There's a Naga woman, ostensibly dancing with (or at) the Vartan in another performance-style dance that is even more sinuous than the Khattan one. Tia is somewhere in between. Her dance is very sinuous, but not exactly sensual, looking a bit more ritualistic but very languid. None of them are even trying to match the beat of the drums they're next to.
Tasha decides to just plop herself down with the sitting Khattas, needing a moment to evaluate herself and her drinking adventure. "Hi," she says belatedly to the Vartan from the floor. "I came to check on Tia!" And so she points at Tia.
"She really on fire?" the Vartan manages to ask Tasha, only half looking at her. The Vartan drink is making everyone look a bit soft around the edges.
Tasha knows the answer to that: more drink. "It's some kind of magical technology thing I don't know how it works," she explains, shrugging with a hand as she has another sip. "She's so boring some times and then she pulls out a fire dress."
"Clothes aren't everything," the Vartan claims. Since his partner isn't wearing anything but an armband and a choker, plus what might be glitter, he may be right.
Tia turns towards Tasha and stretches one leg and her arms behind as she comes forward on a very bent knee until she's at Tasha's eye level. "Your breath smells flammable," she comments.
"I keep saying that to some people and they don't believe me-" Tasha pauses at the sudden arrival of Tia, whom she grins at, and even wigglers her ears. "I'm a dragon."
"Doesn't smell quite the same," Tia claims, and actually smiles a bit before pulling away, then curling over backwards until she transitions into a handstand while her legs are still sort of dancing. It doesn't last long before she sweeps herself back onto her feet. Another magical property of her dress is that it doesn't ride up or let her pop out of it.
"Cheating," Tasha declares again. She then hops up, crushes the squeeze bottle in her jaws, and then ejects it on to the floor, empty. "What's next!"
"I'm not used to dancing while wearing clothes like this," Tia claims. "Next?"
"You know, next! I helped the Vartans, I helped the Lacci, I found the you, there has to be something next! I am saving the universe." Tasha then pauses, then sits herself right back down. "Sitting is next. I can save the universe sitting, right?"
Tia spins around and then ends up collapsing into a sitting position in front of Tasha. "Something to eat, maybe? I haven't eaten in ages."
Tasha squints at that. "Literally or figuratively." But then she starts to rise, albiet more slowly this time. "Right, the hunt for food, the Karnor calling. Lets find some food to ... hunt. And eat. Commmme aaaalong fire dress."
Following, Tia asks, "Are you inebriated? I don't think they have food here. There's a Khattan selling not-drugs but similar. The purple drink is some sort of syrup."
"Oh." Tasha stops. "I might be inebriated. No food? Probably can't find Bangles to make out with either ... Lacci is busy ... " She stands there thinking for a long moment. "I guess we're done?"
"Making out is the same as eating?" Tia asks, looking at Tasha with a bit of concern.
Tasha blinks at this. Then she shakes her head. "No no ... priorities. Mental lists? No food, what else, can't do, so now we leave. I bet Mr. I. already has then best food, maybe make out after ... Where is everyone?" She looks around for a moment, again.
While Lacci is easy to find, the others less so, unless the particularly dense parts of the crowd indicate where they might be.
"Oookay lets grab everyone and go get food, come on Tia-bean." Tasha grabs Tia's hand despite being the inebriated one, dragging her first to collect Lacci, then through the crowd to find others.
"Hey Lacci want to make out later?" It comes out of the blue.
"Yeah," Lacci says. "With Shoji," she then clarifies.
"Oookay," goes Tasha, who doesn't so much as flick an ear otherwise. "Where is Hake? Katie will have a crowd following her at least."
"Katie will know," Lacci says with the confidence of the slightly buzzed.
"Kateboom knows everything," Tasha agrees, nodding excessively. She starts sniffing around in the hopes of finding Katherine; original Karnors smell different, though Katie usually tries to cover that. If that fails she also has her eyes and Katie always draws a crowd.
This leads to the denser part of the crowd, which requires a bit of shoving to get past to where Katie and Hakeber are, understandably surrounded by both Karnors and Humans.
"Hiii you two!" Tasha walks forward with her arms out. "We knew you'd be here!" Her tail is wagging, too, though it does occasionally try to grab things -- and people.
Since Tia is in the way, she's usually who gets grabbed by the tail. "Hey, you sound like you've been having fun," Katie says, grinning. Hakeber is still dancing with a Karnor boy who looks shorter than her, somehow.
"I helped sad people and drank a lot of liquor!" Tasha collides with Katherine, then promptly leans against her. It's easier now that Tasha is shorter, slighter, and half not nearly as strong. "I'mabeyourarmcandynowdowhateverwanttogetfood," she mumbles from her new resting place.
"Food?" Katie asks, as if this is some surprise. "Not sex?"
"Sextoo," goes Tasha, who then tries to also hug Katie with her wings, but they only go so far, "Ohorboth, both both!"
"That could get messy! We'd have to consult Hakeber about that," Katie claims. "What kind of food?"
"Allofit," Tasha insists, being what can only be described as extra cuddily. "Hakehelpmeout."
"Pizza!" Hakeber declares. "The sexiest and messiest of foods!"
"What's pizza?" Lacci asks. It may or may not be the sort of food suitable for beaks.
"Okay, help me walk everything is trying to be fuzzier than I am," Tasha says as she leans back. She stuffs herself under the taller woman's shoulder after turning around and grabs her arm. "FORWARDMARCH."
They manage to get out of the party, then Katie says, "I suppose we wait for the Coyote here."
"They should have delivery," Hakeber claims. "Can we get pizza?"
"You can get Terran donuts, I'm sure they have pizza. If it's cheep and oily, this place will have it."
The jaunty jingle of the Coyote's scooter can be heard, approaching, if only because it's not drumming.
"Backtobase, forwardtowedgeandcirclefood!" And so tasha thrusts her free arm out, and marches forth. Becsude she's holding on to Katie, it mostly means she treis to push Katie towards the cart.
Eventually, the women make it back to the suite with several pizzas and a supply of beer, along with pizza-adjacent snacks. They actually make it back before the men, and Yue and Sam are playing cards when they arrive.
Tasha is slightly less drunk by the time they arrive, perhaps owing to her pristine and efficient new metabolism. "Heyyy, it's like one of those deal with the devil paintings," she remarks of Samael and Yue. She then holds up a box. "We brought pizza and pizza souls!" She blinks. "Rolls! Pizza rolls!"
"And beer?" Yue asks, gesturing to the unused parts of the table.
Tasha only has pizza, so she puts those down. She left the heavy lifting to Lacci, who is still a Vartan to Tasha's somewhat less than pure Vartan-mess. After this she flops down on the couch, patting the seat next to her in exaggerated fashion for Katie to sit beside her.
"I'll be right back," Tia says, and heads for the room they all used to change in.
Lacci does set down two large cases of beer. "It's Terran beer," she says. "So a soft-drink."
For her own part Tasha just kicks off her skirt, followed by sliding out of her jacket, then changes her under suit display. She has some trouble, however, because momentarily she's wearing what looks like a cat suit, in that it makes her look like a cat from neck down, tail and all, but then it shifts to a very shiny set of close fitting pajamas. "Lacci's sad she can't have more black-stuff, and come to think of it, so am I."
"Were you drinking Vartan booze?" Yue asks. "If so I'm surprised you can still stand."
"I had regular beer," Hakeber says. "No hard stuff for me. Not for partying!"
"The blue cocktail wasn't bad," Katie says.
"I didn't have anything to drink," Tia says when she comes back out, wearing a plastic-looking t-shirt and shorts that are probably pizza-proof.
"Iiiii'm an advanced life form created by powerful beings!" Tasha, in her faux-pajamas, promptly flops over to rest her head on Katherine's lap, picking up the woman's hand and putting it on her head. "I had two blues and two blacks! Or maybe one blue and three blacks, whatever, it was a lot."
"Have the sleeping arrangements been figured out?" Tia asks as she brings actual plates and such to the table. And then tries to claim one of the pizzas for herself.
"I'm sleeping right here after I have defeated the pizza," Tasha insists, here probably being the couch, Katie, or both. "And! The beer. I must know my limits, ex-tremely important."
"There was some talk of it before the boys left," Yue says. "I'm with the bunnies. Tasha and Gabriel are in one room, we thought Katie and Hakeber could share one. Shojo and Lacci in another, and one for Jonas. Figured Sam and Tia didn't need one, since they don't sleep."
"Well if you eat a lot of greasy food, you will learn your limits quickly enough," Katie says. "But not on my lap."
"Tia can move the couch in with Katie and Hakebear, I'm going to sleep with Katie and Hake tonight an-y-way." Drunk she may be, but not so drug as to want to leave Samael and Tia staring at each other all night, apparently. Katherine gets a hurt look, and then Tasha rolls over and tries to make cute at her, which works better with this body.
"Aww, poor Gabriel," Katie says. "He'll probably be all worked up from watching the kitties, too," she notes, but grins anyway. "And I didn't think Tia would want to watch.. unless you're going to be passed out from the booze and food."
"So many choices," goes Tasha in a mock-groan, she rolls back around and then tries sitting up. "Maybe I should hold off, I can wait here for Gabriel -- unless he gets home late." She wrinkles her muzzle, then her nose, then touches her nose for some reason. "How to cover everyone ... maybe I should switch rooms a bunch?"
"The beds are a bit small," Katie laments. "No orgies. Unless we can get an extra bed into one of them, and just push them together."
"I can bunk with Jonas," Tia suggests, while managing a bit slice of pizza.
"Going native then?" Sam teases.
"How could Mr. I. not forsee this, do you think he's slipping?" Tasha cocks her head to the side; could it be true? "Or maybe it's a warning? I have to figure this out now, or maybe I'll just go to sleep and whomever picks me up gets me for the night."
"It's probably just what he had ready," Yue says. "It's a pretty big suite, all told."
"I guess we'll have to suffer in these primitive conditions," Tasha insists, flopping right back down in Katherine's lap, yawning, then stretching. Her tail flicks until it settles on curling around her leg. "Ookay eat, I will be, um, here." And then her eyes close.