Mutants & Masterminds: Divine Intervention - [Divine Intervention] Winter Wonderland

[Sylvia Normanson]

Before they left, Sly collected his wands and pocketed them and started on their way, still carrying the plate with a pice of pizza still on it. "Her name's Marina. She... saved my life."

"That VTOL I got... well when testing such things you... need to take to the air and testpilots have notoriously short life spans for a reason."

"Luckily not I. Helped fish me out of a lake and helped me salvage the Cygnus. She's cool."

His smile was from ear to ear.

[Shosuro Miren]

They arrived back on the main floor as Puck grinned at his friend and promised, "I'll be your wing-man, if you want. It's good to see you so excited about a girl. And we'll talk about...everything else...more, later."

The party was in full swing now, with people everywhere. The pizza room even had its own devotees nibbling on the non-gourmet offerings, mostly kids and teens absolutely thrilled that things without complicated French names were available. When they reached the ballroom, Puck took stock of the guests, especially the more powerful politically and divinely, making sure that they look entertained and pleased with the evening. He sighed a little as he caught site of Darrik and Moira, thoughts of a much less public celebration passing through his mind. He grinned again at Sly. "D'ya see her? If you've got a picture of her somewhere, Xo can keep an eye out for her for you."

[Sylvia Normanson]

"Heh... actually between myself and her it's more of being in debt to her than anything. She is... quite amazing, I have to admit." He smiled. "Unfortunately there will be no nookie for a couple years... She's three years older than I and I'm still under age."

"Although once i'm 18... heh... I could stand to go steady with her."

"Oh right... picture..."

He starts rummaging through his pockets, then through his smart phone's picture archive...

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Beneath the restrained pressure of his hand, Praxis felt the immense solidity of Krysti's shoulder, muscles coiling with the inexorable strength of tectonic plates shifting. Young though she was, he could sense her real strength was far greater than her obvious physical development. His contacts had mentioned her greater than human might, via rumours and deductions of what she had done, but there hadn't been any indication of what her true limits were.

"Well... good then," Krysti said gruffly as she rolled her muscular shoulders, shrugging out from under Praxis' hand. But he could see the tension easing from her, and there was almost a sense of relief in the way she stood.

She stood up from leaning against the window, looking up at Praxis with a challenging smirk on her lips and an impish light in her large green eyes. "I'm glad you believe that, otherwise, I'd have to kick your ass." Her tone was playful, but there was something in her voice that suggested she wasn't entirely joking. "What would people think, the great Praxis, getting beaten up by a girl?"

With a sound suspiciously like a giggle deep in her throat, Krysti began moving through the event once more. She might not have been as attractive as the other Godblooded women in attendance, but she was still gorgeous by mortal measure and though she still moved with athletic prowess, Praxis noted a sensual sway to her hips, reminiscent of a dancer's grace, as she skirted the dance-floor.

With one more glance back at the entirely too sexy Darrik Reynolds, Krysti circled back to the side-room where the Domino's delivery had been set up. She filled a paper plate with boneless chicken bites, breadsticks and cheesy bread along with a couple slices of pizza. Looking around at the others chowing down on the grub - people mostly her age or younger - that back towards the ballroom, she grinned in bemusement.

"What kinda shindig is this?" she muttered. Hoity-toity corporate types, a variety of Divines - myself too, I suppose - along with various media personalities, and younger folk too. "I wonder if there's someplace I can find a beer? Or a rum-and-coke."

[Praxis]

Praxis accompanied the godling delivery girl around the dance floor. The pairing that they made would no doubt make some sort of news feed in the very near future as the media would wonder who this new starlet that had captured the attention of "the great Praxis" as he had been called. He was more than willing to let them, though to be honest he still had not decided what exactly his future involvement with this one would be.

"I'm glad you believe that, otherwise, I'd have to kick your ass." Her tone was playful, but there was something in her voice that suggested she wasn't entirely joking. "What would people think, the great Praxis, getting beaten up by a girl?"

"They probably would be thinking to themselves about how incredible the battle was since you know I wouldn't go down without a fight."

Praxis liked this girl, headstrong, arm strong, and a body that men would (and have) kill each other over. Part of him wondered if it could actually be done. He didn't doubt that there were those out there physically stronger than him, he knew there were. If being an Olympian had done anything, it had taught him that there were always bigger fish in the pond. He watched her pile the food high on her plate and smiled. Like many of her kind, she had an appetite that was more suited for an animal than a human, but that was the price paid for metabolism. Praxis didn't have that problem thanks to his particular quirks, but good food was still good food.

He put a bit of food on his own plate. A bit by comparison anyway. It was still multiple slices of pizza and breadsticks. Enough for a growing man to consume and be full. When she sat down, he sat down across from her.

"You know, I actually think there are more than a few people that would pay to see that. What do you think? Would you be interested in putting your skills to the test on the grandest stage of them all?"

[Darrik Reynolds]

"Fair enough." Darrik accepted, taking a moment to look around. Puck was talking with a younger man, Moira chatting with a dark-haired girl by the bar... "Huh. Typical Puck. Ordering pizza for a party like this. Enough for a horde, too." Darrik grinned.

And Praxis seemed to be engaged with an attractive girl by the pizza too. "Hungry? Thirsty?"

[Karren Gaunt]

"So we're both here on second hand relations," Moira said with an infectious laugh as Cora drank her eggnog. She finished hers and set the glass down. "Oh, chaos isn't all that bad if you know how to control it. Take that woman over there."

One of the servants, keeping out of sight, stood by an entrance. Moira beckoned her with a come hither finger. The woman seemed hypnotized to do what she said. "M'lady," Moira said gently as the helpless woman was captivated by her, "You seem to be doing some fine work tonight. But you need some free time. Tell you what. I hear that young gentleman over there," Moira motioned over to one of the corner dwelling divines. "Well he needs some special service. I bet if you asked him real nicely you could get him he'd even take you home. You want that. Go give it a try. Don't take no for an answer."

The woman went to do as she was told. Moira winked to Cora, "See, harmless Chaos. Nothing bad can come of this. And if it does it's easy to clean up."

That got a laugh out of Coraline, blue eyes twinkling as she indicated her empty glass to the bartender with a gesture, "One more for me and one more for my friend, please."

She waited for the man to get on that before giving her full attention back to Moira. "Oh, I don't know. If I recall correctly, it was a party not too unlike this one where clashing gods resulted in a city being destroyed, one king getting very lost, and another getting murdered by his wife" she mused lightly, "Events tend to snowball around people like us, let alone any of our Divine Parents who might be glancing our way."

"Sorry. I'm a little on-edge. So by the looks of... everything about you, really... You draw your bloodline from a God with an emotional domain?"

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Krysti stilled, a piece of pizza hanging from her mouth as she stared at Praxis in surprise, her eyes beginning to narrow in suspicion even as a thrill raced through her veins. As much as it was seen as mere entertainment, she'd be lying of she said she had never thought of competing in the DWF before and the thought of the physical competition was exciting.

The only thing was, if she was going to compete, she wanted to make it on her own merits, not because some guy old enough to be her grandfather (however handsome he was) wanted to get in her pants or pitied the Godblood who was delivering pizzas. She quickly finished her piece of pizza than leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms and legs as she regarded Praxis with hard jade eyes.

"Why are you offering me a chance at this?" she growled. "Is it because you feel sorry for the... someone like me, delivering pizzas? You don't know me! I don't need the charity, I can earn my own way, thank-you very much."

"No, no, I'm not implying that at all," Praxis replied calmly. "You're quite right, I don't know you, but I've heard a bit I think - I have friends who tell me things. And I think you'd make a great addition to the organization."

Krysti still looked a bit skeptical, but mollified as her eyes tracked Darrik for a moment. Gods, he even smells sexy. "I'm not much of an actress or nothing," she muttered, her lips curling up in a wry smirk, "but maybe I'd got a tryout or something. I don't want to be given my place, I want to earn." She hadn't ever really thought about going into a field building on the blood of her father, but.... "And it does seem somewhat more exciting than delivering pizzas - though you'd be surprised what does happen on some deliveries. The people in New York are crazy!"

Her vivacious grin faded into a faint frown as she thoughtfully folded another piece of pizza in half and began munching. "Um, and would I be able to compete on a trial basis, just in case I don't like it? I wouldn't like to break a contract, but I won't be tied down to something that I hate."

Her voice was firm, but then her fair brows arched uncertainly. "Er, and I would be able to do it part time, or mostly here in New York? I'm in school, and I just paid tuition and I'd like to get my degree and all. Just a bachelor of arts, but still..."

[Praxis]

"And it does seem somewhat more exciting than delivering pizzas - though you'd be surprised what does happen on some deliveries. The people in New York are crazy!"

Praxis smiled at this remark. Every once in a while he had to remind himself that most people didn't know how old he actually was. In this particular case, he didn't doubt that she meant every word that she said, but she also didn't fully realize how right she was.

"Um, and would I be able to compete on a trial basis, just in case I don't like it? I wouldn't like to break a contract, but I won't be tied down to something that I hate. Er, and I would be able to do it part time, or mostly here in New York? I'm in school, and I just paid tuition and I'd like to get my degree and all. Just a bachelor of arts, but still..."

"Initially you wouldn't be competing at all, there is still the process of getting you trained so that nobody actually gets hurt in the process. There's also the process of finding out how strong you actually are and how well you can take a bump so we know where to place you. If you're as strong as I think you are, you'll be able to step into the titan division without a problem."

Praxis paused to take a bite of some of his own food when suddenly his whole world started spinning. He managed to recover quickly enough from the vertigo before anything overly noticeable took place besides a brief glazed look as if he had a migraine.

What came next took some getting used to. Praxis was aware of every single mortal and immortal on the property, including a few that he had not noticed before. One in particular had an intensity of presence so bright that it could likely be said to be the cause of the migraine.

A brief, silent communication passed between the divine beacon and himself before the intensity dimmed to the point that he could focus again. Within a second of the event, he was cognizant of what was going on around him again.

He had skipped a beat or two, but fortunately the fact that he had chosen to take a bite of something would halfway mask it.

"As far as your school is concerned, there are more than a few options available. Depending on training and your schedule, you very well may find yourself with a good amount of time on your hands. Or, if you like, we do have a number among us who are phenomenal educators and have an arrangement with the Board of a few different schools.

In the end it is up to you. No contracts are signed until you know for a fact that this is the life for you"

[Shosuro Miren]

Puck grinned when Sly finally thumbed through to the right set of pictures. "Nice! You should text her, invite her over if she wants to show up....and is close enough, though between the two of us I'm sure we could get her here if she needed a lift."

He caught sight of the people raiding the Domino's room and laughed silently to himself. A small fortune spent on catering, and the Domino's was disappearing faster than the gourmet spread. He also spotted Moira talking with the beauty Sly had been fumbling around earlier. He clapped Sly on the shoulder and steered him in their direction. "C'mon, let's get a drink while we wait and see if your maritime romance is up for a party."

He picked up the drinks the bartender had just finished for Moira and her new friend and ordered himself an Dulce de Leche drink and a strong coffee for Sly, then slid in next to the girls with all four drinks. "Ladies, gentleman, your drinks." He smiled at the one whose name he didn't know. "And how is everyone enjoying the evening so far?"

[Sylvia Normanson]

"Well, it's an impressive setup, as usual, Puck."

Sly smiled, leaning against a doorjam and taking a sip of his coffee. Then suddenly...

"Whoooo! Outstanding!" He twirls around in ecstasy. "Old Sly is back! This coffee could raise the dead!"

He ginned, regaining some composure. "Can't wait to see the place complete."

"Well... that and our little project in action!"

[Aphrodite Pandemos]

Moira smiled and winked, whispering a thank you to Cora when she ordered another drink for them both. Something she enjoyed about a mix of godly constitution, she could drink like a fish and never feel the ill effects of the poison. Though the other effects were the best part. Sometimes she wondered if she was more Dionysus than Aphrodite. Still, it took a lot to get there. And she wasn't turning down any drink.

"It's fine,dear," Moira said with a voice that was comforting, "I'm sure things could be a lot worse right now. As long as we don't try anything really stupid." Taking a sip or two of the holiday drink, she nodded at Cora's question. She laughed lightly, "Ah, looking for a direct answer. My mother is the goddess of beauty," she pause for a second to reflect on how to say the next part. Surely 'love' really wasn't an apt description for it. But hey, it's what the mortals though it was. "and 'love'," she smiled knowingly. "I'm a bit of a maven wen it comes to things of the sort."

And then Puck arrived. Moira stood up and curtsied to the group that had came over. "Greetings again, Puck," she said with an offer of her arm, "and your friend too." She reached out a hand to Sly.

[Sylvia Normanson]

"Sylvester... Sylvester Normason. And you are?" Sly said, although not taking any queue from the offered hand. He was... a bit clueless on that.

"Too many new faces around here..."

[Maia]

Maia nodded. "Abit yes." She looked over and chuckled. "Pizza at a party like this, it's almost scandalous." Her impish grin made it clear she was totally not opposed to it. "Tell the truth, I do love pizza." She looked at him. "We can continue dancing later, if you like."

[Darrik Reynolds]

"Well," Darrik observed Puck and the new knot of Divines. "I'm not hungry myself. Perhaps you'd like to meet the company over there after you have your plateful?" After Maia nodded, and he escorted her to the pizza, Darrik slipped over to behind Puck, who found a hand briefly groping his ass before familiar arms wrapped around him. "Puck, Moira. Could you introduce Maia and I to your new friends?"

[Shosuro Miren]

Puck started at the unexpected, but not unwelcome, grope, then relaxed against Darrik once he recognized the arms around him. The quite contented host smiled up at him and tilted his head to include Maia in his warm regard. "Well, this young man is my friend Sylvvester Normanson. He's helped me out on a few projects and I've done the same for him. Sly, this is Darrik Reynolds, Moira Eason, and Maia St.Croix; everyone, this is Sly."

He motioned politely between them all, ensuring that proper introductions had now been made all around, then nodded to Coraline. "And this beautiful woman, I haven't learned her name yet," he teased her, leaving her room to introduce herself as she saw fit.

The young billionaire was fairly glowing with pleasure and good will for the evening. The party was turning into a resounding success on a number of levels and the evening was still only warming up.

[Sylvia Normanson]

Sly smiled and nodded. Maia suddenly got Sly's full, undivided attention. He was already overlaying her potential measurements in his mind's eye as he suddenly enters a boyish sort of mental lock, fueled by his hormones.

So many girls... I'm too young for... everyone... He thought, while there wasn't any look of dissapointment, there was a sense of not being able to have what has been set for him on the table. If he was a child he would have stormed offin a tantrum from the teasing. But now... now it was just him getting slightly... envyous.

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

A furrow bloomed between Krysti's fair brows at Praxis' incongruous pause, but she didn't think anything about it. What he proposed sounded like a damn good deal, with a built-in out if she wanted it.

"That first way sounds better to me. I'm almost done one semester and already paid for the next. And I like my profs, some of 'em, at least." And I don't wanna be reliant on the DWF for my job and my education. She wiped her hand on her jeans then stuck it, using carefully modulated strength to give a firm shake on the tentative deal. "I think we have a deal, Praxis. At least for me to show up for tryouts and training."

Krysti finished her last chicken bite and stood up with a stretch, looking around the room and out into the ballroom - eyes lingering a bit on the table of gorgeous Godbloods - as she tucked a loose strand of blond hair behind her ear. "Speaking of school, I'm not sure how much longer I can stick around. I have an art project to work on, and I still need to get the mats."

[Henry Milokavos]

Henry smiled as he got out of the car he drove up from the city in. It was a dark purple(almost black) 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS, which had a deep bass growl as the engine revved while the Valet pulled the car into the parking area. While not the public figure that some of the earlier entries were, he still had a couple of paparazzi take his photo when entering the magnificent structure where the party was being held. As he paused outside the door, he took a deep breath, and chuckled to himself. Let's see if I can get the university to the forefront of some of these people's minds. And I hope there's at least some good whiskey.

And with that thought, Henry entered the ballroom, taking in the whole room in one sweeping glance. He looked over at the bar and made his way in that direction, occasionally stopping to say hello to one or two people that he knew, but never for more than five minutes. When he stopped at the bar, he got the attention of the bartender, and ordered a Balvenie 21 Year Portwood, with a splash of water.

When the drink arrived, he sipped it gently, and leaned against the bar, looking around the room at the "beautiful people" in attendance, scanning for the host for the evening.

[Praxis]

"Speaking of school, I'm not sure how much longer I can stick around. I have an art project to work on, and I still need to get the mats."

Praxis noted her pause as her eyes swept the room. As all relative newcomers to the divine scene tend to do, her eyes were held every time they passed over the children of Aphrodite. Praxis himself was at a point where he had grown all but accustomed to their way. They were still capable of grabbing his attention if need be. He couldn't speak fully for Darrik, but with his guidance, his own daughter had learned to use her appeal and charisma with surgical precision and devastating effect if need be. He was good, but she could quite literally make a room love her if she so chose.

"By all means, I don't want to keep you from doing what you love. But before you go, I notice that you've been watching that table over there and its occupants. I can't say I blame you, they are a stunning group. Would you like to be introduced?"

[Sylvia Normanson]

Sly looked around rocking back and forth on his feet, until he spotted someone that did grab his interest. "Excuse me Puck..." He said with a polite smile before walking over to Henry.

"Mr. Milokavos, I presume? Sylvester Normanson. I recently made a sizeable donation to the university, and was also suprised to see you on a couple history programmes recently. You do get around."

He smiled offering a hand to shake. Smiling with genuine interest. "It is indeed an honor."

[Karren Gaunt]

"Coraline Boehm," the Scionette of Eris eventually offered during a pause in the conversation, glass empty again, "A friend of mine who was friend to a friend of yours got me an invite despite some... intial reservations I had about mingling in such high profile company. I haven't regreted accepting so far, Mr. Ryuke."

She laughed lightly behind one hand, offering a wry look Moira's way and starting to enjoy the dance along the razor's edge between truth and lie despite herself. She couldn't make these people think the way she wanted with a thought. Not without actual effort and not without potentially getting caught. The challenge, and the pay off if she could get it work, despite all that she knew better, was... tempting. Very tempting.

[Shosuro Miren]

Puck ordered another round of drinks for the table as Sly slipped away to talk to...someone - Puck wasn't sure who, though they looked interesting-

Henry Milokavos, Divine-blooded scholar and theology professor at Brooklyn College. He's a world renown historian and fund raising guru for New York University.

Ah, thanks Xo.

And an excellent judge of scotch.

Order another bottle of whatever he's having and have it delivered to his office as a Christmas gift, if you would.

Done and done.

Despite the swift conversation in his mind, Puck's attention was firmly on Coraline. He took her hand, massaging it gently before brushing his lips over the skin on the back of her hand. Darrik made "behaving" difficult at the best of times, but between his flirtatious caresses and Moira's....Moira-ness, the young technological ingenue was hardpressed to be keeping the table at a PG rating. "I am pleased the evening has been entertaining for you, Ms. Boehm," he murmured against her hand.

[Darrik Reynolds]

"Yes," Darrik agreed, arms around Puck still. He couldn't help it, much less the caresses, the unfortunate self-requirement to respect Maia's wishes left the need for a target for his innately lascivious being, and Puck made a naturally willing object of attentions. "It would have been a shame if someone wasn't. I mean, who doesn't love these events?"

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

"By all means, I don't want to keep you from doing what you love. But before you go, I notice that you've been watching that table over there and its occupants. I can't say I blame you, they are a stunning group. Would you like to be introduced?"

"Oh, er, well, yeah, sure. I mean, I met Puck when I delivered the pizzas and I wasn't expecting that. Nor meeting, y'know, you," Krysti stammered, nodding at the group of Godbloods. "Never thought I'd ever even be in the same room as Darrik-fucking-Reynolds and the Moira. Not that I'm a fangirl or nothing..."

Krysti rolled her thick shoulders, nostrils flaring as she caught a whiff of an incongruous, but familiar, scent. She shifted to the side, peeking into the ballroom and saw one of her College Professors standing there, Mr. Milokavos. Bugger me with Mt. Olympus - how many Godbloods are there at this corporate party?

"I guess I could stop by and say hi, or whatever," Krysti said, seeming vaguely reluctant and uncomfortable. Praxis could tell the brawny young woman wasn't used to being in the company of other Divines, nor even in promoting her own lineage. "I can spare a few minutes."

[Praxis]

Praxis watched the young godling's conflicting states battle with each other. She was obviously quite interested in getting to meet more of her kind (particularly since most of the Divine tended to be exceptional and usually celebrities of some stripe). On the other hand, she seemed like she was getting to the point that she was overwhelmed. She clearly hadn't expected to see so many of them in such a small space. It was a bit much to take in for those not used to it.

He chuckled a bit, "I'm sure you can. Tell you what, here's what we'll do. You head off and take care of your school business, and we'll see what we can do about getting you all acquainted down the line.

"If you're going to be getting into sports entertainment, then you will certainly be seeing a lot more of Moira. And, where there is Moira, there is a pretty good chance you will find Darrik somewhere in the vicinity. They do tend to enjoy each others' company for what I'm sure are obvious reasons"

[Henry Milokavos]

Sly looked around rocking back and forth on his feet, until he spotted someone that did grab his interest. "Excuse me Puck..." He said with a polite smile before walking over to Henry.

"Mr. Milokavos, I presume? Sylvester Normanson. I recently made a sizeable donation to the university, and was also suprised to see you on a couple history programmes recently. You do get around."

He smiled offering a hand to shake. Smiling with genuine interest. "It is indeed an honor."

"The honor should be mine. After all, I finally get to personally put a face to the name of one of our younger donors." Henry took the offered hand and shook it vigorously. He smiled, "So, can you do me a favor... i'm not so good at figuring out the game of which one of the obviously very well to do has the honor of being our host. And since you seem like you didn't just walk in, can you point them out to me? I'd love to get a chance to talk to them. Oh, That reminds me. Have you given thought to where you'll be attending college? What sort of programs are you interested in, if you don't mind me asking?" Henry took a long sip from his scotch and awaited the response from the young man in front of him.

[Sylvia Normanson]

Sly points over to where he was with Puck. "The black-haired gentleman with the bevy of lovely maidens? That's Puck."

"As for me... well... I have a few places to consider. I've not had time over the past year, I'm afraid."

He sighed. "I have been considering MIT. Seems to be my path in life. See that beauty of a aircraft on one of the helipads out there? Built her myself. Even crashed once in testing. Heh long story how I got out of that bad situation."

He smiled. "But I and Puck did some collaboration on a couple projects of his too, and I have to admit he did help on the programming of my aircraft after the crash... had to rectify some issues with the VTOL transition system. I tried a mechanical solution that was quite prone to failure I found. And that was before I changed her hull to be a seaplane design."

"Crashing in the water inspires that."

[Karren Gaunt]

No Darrik or Moira though he was, Puck's kiss sent a shiver up the back of Coraline's neck. Oh. He was a dangerous one, he was. If he didn't have such dangerous friends and was so visible, she wouldn't have minded one bit allowing him to...

She locked her smile in place as she recovered from the mental slip as best she could, not having to force a chuckle. "Oh, you are a smooth one, Mr. Ryuke. Your infamous repution leaves quite a bit of that out of my normal circles," she responded, breaking eye contact to take in Darrik and reconfirming that he was that dangerously good-looking, "Personally, I prefer to be not quite so exposed. Call me shy, but I do my best work from the edge of things."

[Henry Milokavos]

Henry looked over at Puck's table, and sighed, then did a double take at what Sly had told him, "You crashed. In a device of your own design?" He shook his head, "Maybe I shouldn't be surprised. After all, few tend to be attracted to the softer sciences. Still, I think you should take a look at the teaching offered by the universities in New York City. At least to start with. However, getting back to the earlier topic, maybe you could introduce me to Puck and his friends." He smiled and took a large sip of his Scotch.

[Sylvia Normanson]

"Well... I learned from my mistakes... The Cygnus flies fine now..."

He shows a flash of realization. "Oh right... this way." He smiled, leading Henry to Puck's table. "Hey Puck! look who I found! Henry Milokavos Sooo cool!"

[Shosuro Miren]

Puck found himself pleasantly distracted and it took a moment for Sly's enthusiastic return to completely register. He blink several times, then smiled at the charming older man and held a hand out for a proper handshake. "Professor Milokavos, your reputation precedes you. I am Ryoke Hoetsu, though most simply call me Puck. I'm glad you could make it this evening. Are you enjoying the Balvenie?"

He really was doing his best to be a proper host, despite Darrik's flirtations and the bevy of unworldly beauty surrounding him. Henry could see the struggle in the teen, one all too often seen in his own students when a pretty girl or handsome boy joined a class. To his credit, Puck was managing not to obviously ogle the women or be too attached to Darrik. Teens and their hormones....

[Sylvia Normanson]

Sly smiled, at first he wanted to hang around, but the smell of the last few slices of the Gyros meat pizza started to summon him back to the layout. That and he wanted to listen to what Puck would talk about with Henry.

He quietly hummed ode to joy, just happy to be at the party, with a quiet, kind smile.

[Aphrodite Pandemos]

Moira was slipping! Darrik had Puck in his arms. The thought of sharing crossed her mind for a brief happy moment, and hey, it wasn't a bad idea. She would have to let Darrik in on what she was planning. She leaned softly into Darrik's space, her voice in his ear sounding like a cross between an inviting purr and a defensive growl, "My dear, I do hope you're not thinking about hoarding your young friend to yourself tonight. I have such plans for him. Though you know there are other options." The two looked at each other knowingly. They remembered the last person they shared. Puck was mortal, but something other than that too. Maybe he could handle it?

"Daddy and his date are coming this way," she smiled and waved Praxis and Krysti over

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

"Sounds good to me," Krysti agreed with Praxis, a hint of gratitude in her voice. "I'm just gonna..."

Just then, Krysti's noticed Praxis' ravishing daughter beckoning them over. She frowned faintly, an ear twitching as she caught mention of her being Praxis' date. And then Puck followed Moira's motion, glancing Krysti's way. It probably wasn't polite leaving without informing the host at an event like this - not that Krysti cared that much - but it would just draw more attention to her if she did.

"... head over there, say hi, and thank Puck for inviting me to the party," Krysti muttered wryly, then walked over to the table of Divine Children, taking a firm step away from Praxis as she offered a hand to shake, her voice initially sharp. "I'm not his date. Um, hey. I'm Krysti-Lynn Magnussen."

If the blond girl wasn't on par with the other Godblooded women at the table, she was still a stunning - if unconventional - beauty by any mortal standard, with her heavily muscled, yet still curvy, figure. She nodded at Henry in recognition. "Professor Milokavos." Then she offered Puck a mildly awkward grin. "Thanks for inviting me to stay at your party, Puck. I'd stay longer, but I got things I should be getting to." She tilted her head towards Henry and shrugged. "Like, school, y'know?"

[Darrik Reynolds]

Darrik let go of Puck a little, and leaned back to listen in to Moira's feisty thoughts, while simultaneously admiring more of the Godblooded beauties and VIPs presently clustering in. "I hardly would think of being greedy, Moira." Darrik replied as he gave her a quick though less than chaste kiss. "I think he'd really like the train of your thoughts right now."

[Aphrodite Pandemos]

Darrik always knew that perfect kiss for her. Moira could taste a little bit of honey and suggestion with it every time. It felt like a reward for something she didn't do. Her brain had to jump in front of her heart for a moment. Sure, she could get Puck to abandon his hosting and the three of them would trot off and be happy for the rest of the night. Though Puck had things to do. Other than them. Like hosting. Dammit. She sighed with a satisfied smile and pointed to the table, "Come Darrik, let's have a seat."

Just in time too! Krysti had arrived. Before sitting down Moira hugged the new comer. She was quite cute. One of the standouts of the crowd. If not for her looks definitely for her apparel. "Excuse me dear, didn't mean to get things mixed up. You and daddy seemed to be having quite the discussion over there. Daddy does like a lively conversation from his women."

And finally it seemed everyone was seated.

[Sylvia Normanson]

Sly was still standing, enjoying the last of his coffee and his last slice of pizza. He was quite full at this point, and getting more hyper. He walks over to some of the holographic decorations and looks at them more closely, wondering how Puck projects these holograms. He as of yet just can't figure out how to make hard light...

He looks around, looking for projectors as he stays close to the rest in case Puck calls him over. But also staying out in the common area to see if his friend Marina shows up.

[Maia]

For Maia, standing back and watching was a novel idea. She had eaten her fill as she listened, noting the Professor's arrival and nodding when she'd been introduced. The addition of yet more daughters of the Gods made her smile. They're definitely a randy bunch.

It wasn't all together difficult to see that Moira, Darrik, and Puck would end up leaving together, which reinforced the decision she'd made earlier. Sylvester seemed a nice young man, though from the narrowing of his eyes, she knew he'd sized her up, and likely, wasn't quite so used to the attentions of the "beautiful people." Coraline was someone she didn't know of, and she shrugged inwardly. The things I do not know in this world could fill a library of books.

[Praxis]

As Moira beckoned him and Krysti over, Praxis turned his attention to the table full of Divines. He had been marginally aware of their presence and to some extent their activities this whole time but had been intentionally dimming his senses.

As he looked on, things that until earlier required deduction and figuring out were just patently obvious. Glancing over the newcomer, Professor Milokavos, he half pondered just how much of his own long history was known. His presence at a number of historical events increased the likelihood but only time would tell.

Praxis had made his way over to the table by this point, Among this many Divines, Praxis's demeanor was fairly the opposite of Krysti's. This was his home environment, among others of his kind, this was where he belonged. There was an ever-so-subtle shift in his demeanor. He projected less of the social superstar and hyper personable face of a mortal media darling. He also seemed to be more of a timeless force of nature at this point, more possessing of the eternal majesty of a snow-capped mountain than the charisma of a fast-talking spin doctor and performer.

"You and daddy seemed to be having quite the discussion over there. Daddy does like a lively conversation from his women."

"My women? Moira, you flatter me by suggesting that I could make any with the blood of gods in them 'my woman'. I wouldn't dare to claim any of our kind as 'mine'. Especially since at that point I would have to count your mother among 'my women' and I am fairly certain that would not go over well"

Praxis moved over to a chair and pulled it out, looking like he was going to sit in it before glancing over at Krysti.

"At any rate, I don't see any harm in joining you all here. Also, as much as she no doubt would like to stay, Krysti was just telling me how she had to get back to her school work. Self improvement being as important as it is, I don't want to keep her from it."

Praxis glanced around the table, a friendly smile on his face, though the more perceptive among them or those who knew him particularly well could see that he was all but daring one of them to try to contradict him. You can take the warrior out of the fight, but you can't take the fight out of the warrior. After a short time he returned his attention to Krysti, and the warrior was gone for the time being.

"Besides, I'm sure we'll be seeing each other later"