Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Familiar Strangers in a Strangely Familiar Land

[Yseult Sierra]

"Non, non, non! It's perfect. Just try it." Yseult insisted. It was perfect. "It... infers rather than insists. We'll get you the right shoes, and all the men will not be able to take their eyes off of you, you are so graceful and elegant."

"Juste une moment! You have just the thing to add." Yseult went up to Gwyn and reached into one of Aradia's bags. She searched around a bit, before pulling out a small, felt-covered jewelry box.

"I meant for this to be a surprise, but it is just right for this." Yseult opened the box, revealing a small pendant made of intricately, twisted platinum, with a small, smokey pearl in the middle. It depended from a simple silver chain.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia blinked at the box with the elegant pendant inside. She took it, looking a bit dazed for a moment. Then she shook her head, and tries to press it back into Yseult's hands, looking a bit overwhelmed.

"No - I, I couldn't.. thank you but.. it's too nice. I've never really - I mean, you barely know me. Why woud you..?"

Aradia trailed off, looking as confused as she sounded. Why would someone she barely knew give her such a nice gift?

[Yseult Sierra]

"Please accept it, Aradie. You remind me very much of my younger sister Gisèle, with your exuberance.. your joie de vivre. She even tried out for Cirque du Soleil, though from what I can understand, you are much better."

Yseult folded Aradia's hands around the jewel case with her own, her blue-green eyes bright with restrained emotion. "I.. can't.. go back to my family anymore and.. this is the closest I can come. Si vous plais? Please?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of Yseult's lips as she continued gazing at the other woman, younger than her by ten years, though the same by appearance. "And anyway, every girl should have a special piece of jewelry all their own. I'm sorry if it took till now for you."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia watched this little exchange, wondering how her sister would take it. While Aradia struggled with the decision, Olivia got her a colorful scarf and draped it over a shoulder. It's ok, she silently told the closest thing she had in this world to a sister, take if you want, or don't if you don't. No one will make you. It's Yseult's issues, and you don't have to make them your own.

It wasn't that she was unsympathetic; in fact, she reached out and gently squeezed the other woman's arm. She'd lost a sister-in-law, by her perception, just earlier this year. Jolena had been a lot like Aradia: vibrant and fierce, toughened by an abusive father who had controlled her life after her mother's death.

Click to reveal.. (Flashback)

"Mom's gonna be fine," Olivia said, adjusting her tiny niece in her arms. The baby was still and perfect; the picture was ruined as the hospital loudspeaker blared to life, making Matsu jerk awake. "Shhh, sweetie, it's ok."

"I... Olivia, it nearly killed me when my mother died," Jolena said, her voice shaking. "What if Mom... if it's cancerous..."

That was Olivia's fear, but she smiled for her sister-in-law. "Joly, I know you're scared, and so am I. But Mom loves being a grandmother, and there's no way she's going away so long as she has a child to dote on and adore. This biopsy will show nothing bad. You'll see."

"I hope so," Joly said. "I found another mother and a sister, by marrying Waki. I don't know what I'd do if I lost this family."

"We love you too, Joly," Olivia told her, then adjusted her niece again so that she could put an arm around Joly.

After a moment, the woman pulled away from the comfort, smiling. "You're right," she said, straightening up. "Delayah's way too tough to let a few nasty cells get her down. She's going to be around to pester us for a long time to come!"

Olivia was struck by how much Jolena reminded her of Aradia. Immediately, she smashed that thought: Aradia is not Joly, and you shouldn't push her to be. Do not go there.

She just wanted Wakiki to be happy.

[Aradia McConnell]

A small flicker of emotions crossed Ari's face.. sympathy for Yseult, and a slight touch of relaxation. Livy could tell that the other woman had said the right thing - if she had tried to make it about Aradia, it would have made her uncomfortable. But whether she realized it or not, Ari had always loved making other people happy. It was, in a way, another contrast between her and her mother.. where Jeanine had seemed to delight in misery, both her and other people's, Aradia seemed to relish other people's happiness.. and her own, too.

So accepting a gift like this was easier, in a way, because it was more a gift to Yseult for her to accept it than it was a gift for Aradia. Not that Yseult was being selfish by offering, it was a generous and well thought out gift. Coming to a decision, she smiled gently at the other woman, and pulled the necklace from it's case. She closed the box gently, and set it down before fastening the pendant around her neck. The chain was a nice short length, and it nestled the pearl in the hollow of the athletic woman's throat. She glanced at it in the mirror and smiled a bit before turning back to Yseult.

"Thank you.. you're sweet. I love it."

Aradia glanced down at the dress again, and caught the scarf Livy had draped over her shoulder between her fingertips. It was a beautiful indigo colored piece of silk, with silver thread woven throughout it in a beautiful curvilinear pattern. She tested it's length and then wrapped it around herself, letting it dip in the back and hang from her elbows. The combination was more elegant than anything Aradia had ever worn, and for a moment she hadn't really felt like herself while she was looking in the mirror. But a glance at her reflection again with the scarf.. that one jolt of color and liveliness that Livy had picked out made Aradia smile at herself in the mirror, because now she recognized herself own reflection. Leave it to Olivia to make her feel like herself again.

"Okay.. I'd better go get changed back, so I can pay for this stuff and we can get going. If we don't leave soon, we won't have time to get ready for dinner."

She disappeared into the fitting room and changed clothes in what seemed to Yseult like record time - Aradia was very used to speedy clothing changes. Then she came out, and without much protest, let Yseult and Livy talk her into a few cute pairs of sexy panties and bras. After all, it couldn't hurt anything, even if she wasn't planning on showing them off to anyone. At least it would get them out of there faster! She rung up her purchases, and deposited her bags back on Gwyn and Ryan. All three men were pretty much loaded up now, and Aradia stifled a giggle at the sight of them.

"Maybe we'd better relieve them of a couple bags each.. what do you two think?"

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult gave Aradia a fierce hug at her acceptance of the gift, whispering in her ear, "Non, merci, merci beauscoup. Thank you." At Aradia's outstretched hand, Olivia joined the embrace too.

As Aradia was being handed various bra and panty sets, Yseult helped Olivia pick some nice matching sets too, including a garter and teddy set and a satin slip that went perfectly with the orange dress she had worn to knockout the men earlier.

Aradia's suggestion at carrying some of their own bags made Yseult raised her brows with mock surprise. "Why, you are quite right Aradie, we should. Then they will have space for the shoes." Yseult turned her grin on the men, even including Ryan.

Contrary to Gwyn's dire predictions, shoe shopping with this group of women was not a trial. They quickly and efficiently made their choices, and the salespeople were disturbingly competent.

Olivia and Yseult talked Aradia into a sexy pair of silvery, strapped sandals with a heel that was higher than her wont, but which she adjusted to remarkably quickly, her gymnastic balance evident. Otherwise, she chose a few pairs of flats.

Yseult picked out several pairs of pumps, one of which were stilettos with a surprisingly high heel, some flats, a pair of running shoes, and was limited to a single pair of thick-heeled boots after being physically restrained by the two other women. Olivia, being unaltered by the Artifact, chose a single pair of modest, heeled sandals.

With all the men loaded down with bags and boxes, even Cam pulling double duty, the Specialists made their back to the van. After using all the technical expertise among them to maximize the space, they all realized that they were not all going to fit unless they got friendly.

Adrian was the first to sit down, riding shotgun again, then easily boosting Yseult onto to his lap, to her laughing embarrassment. Cam claimed Olivia, sharing a smile that only meant something to the two of them. Aradia claimed Gwyn, easily slding onto his thighs with a flawless grace, her grin innocently wicked. Ryan just looked on, probably wishing he wasn't driving.

The seven Specialists drove back to Cheyenne Mountain, in this moment, sharing a rare camaraderie that usually took years to develop. The strangers among them had grown less strange, and time held infinite possibilies as they drove into the sun just beginning to set behind the mountain.

[Mr Fox]

It was both an enjoyable and uncomfortable ride back to base. Once there everyone quickly unloaded the van and headed down to the living quarters where there was another shuffle as the bags were split up to go with their owners, the men providing delivery service.

Once back in his own rather bare room Cam wasted no time putting his purchases away in a closet. It took a good twenty minutes and much of the stuff really needed to be laundered and pressed before he wore it, but he still put them neatly in the closet. His new civvy gear was kept in a separate closet from his military gear. It wasn't that he was some anal idiot, he was just efficient. It was part of who he was, and this way he would never be late for duty as a result of getting clothes mixed up. One of the guys in OCS with him had been washed out for that very reason as asinine as that was. He already had two strikes for other things and then been late reporting for duty one morning because he'd gotten his civvy gear mixed up in his locker and had put on the wrong shirt in the dark. Cam had always thought it was a damn stupid and pointless reason to miss out on his dream of flying. He'd never let anything like that stand in his way of flying and that attitude had been what propelled him to the top. He was a regular guy, but he was driven and did what it took to achieve his goals.

The group had said to meet back at the motor pool in an hour and a half and that gave him time to kick back after putting his things away and think about all the other stuff he wanted to buy. His room was literally just four blank walls and military issue furniture right now, but because of the nature of the assignment they had special permission to threat these quarters as they would any regular base housing and that meant he wanted to make the place a little nicer. Given his condition he was smart enough to understand that the powers that be would never let him or the others really live off base and be part of normal society. That meant like it or not this place was home for the foreseeable future. Right now it was a very boring home. He was allowed to paint and to get his own furniture and he was going to do just that starting tomorrow.

An hour and a half later he was standing by the van in the motor pool in his brand new suit looking better than he'd ever looked in his life. He'd always had a good body because of the military, but the people at the store hadn't had to make a single alteration, it was like he had the ideal figure now, the one for which the clothes makers produced and everyone else had to adapt to suit themselves. As each new arrival showed up more words of appreciation had to be said to each other. This was one seriously good looking and well dressed group. Good thing they had reserved a private room at the restaurant.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia thanked Gwyn graciously when they got back to her room, and had him deposit her bags in a heap on the bed. That was as much thought as it all got for now from her, other than to pull out the dress. She had wisely packed all of the accessories she planned to wear with it in the bag when she took them off, so it didn't take long to get dressed and ready for the evening. The one thing Aradia had splurged much more on than most of them at Macy's was makeup - she loved colors, and she loved to mix, match, and blend them as much as possible. But today she kept it fairly simple, using a combination of purple and shimmery-grey eye shadow and white eyeliner to make her eyes pop with the dress and tie in with the scarf Livy had picked out. She coated her lips in a clear gloss that kept the emphasis on her eyes, and touched up the rest of her face with a light coating of foundation, powder, and blush. It was all applied very precisely, and with the hand of one who was well accustomed to creating whatever face she was in the mood for that day.

She finally pulled out the pair of silver heels and slipped them on, glancing at herself in the mirror. She reached up and ran her fingertips through her hair, shifting some of the white and silver streaks to purple, and then held out her hands for a moment before grabbing a bottle of clear nail gloss Livy had loaned her and brushing a coat over her fingernails. Normally they were quite ragged, but six months in additional training, without any bar or horse work had allowed them time to mend and grow to a nicely-rounded tip. She found that she liked it, and would have to put more effort into maintaining them in the future.

With that, time was up, and she'd even managed to keep herself busy enough not to be nervous about seeing Wakiki for the first time in nearly five years.

He's just Wakiki - same goofy guy he's always been, I'm sure. Stop stressing. He's like a brother. Besides.. you don't do that other stuff, remember?

She was the second one to arrive at the motorpool.

[Rorx]

After dropping off Ari's stuff it didn't take Gwyn long to unpack the things he had purchased. A brief shower and shave later and he was practically ready to go. Since by the time he was ready there was still 45 minutes to go, he took the time to head up to the warehouse level for a flight practise with the remaining time.

As a consequence he was third to the motor pool, Saluting the Major, and complimenting Ari on her dress.

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan smiled. Part of him thought abou wearing his Dress uniform, but that wasn't the image he'd wanted to display this evening.

Instead he'd bought a new suit in a rare moment alone in the day's misadventures in shopping.

It was a gray tweed jacket with black slacks, and a light grey Buttondown. The tie he wore was Black with grey lightning bolts running in lifelike slashes down the length of it. He wore a pair of soft leather dress shoes, Tonight was more about comfort than precision.

His short brown hair had taken some time to get to actually lay bac, he needed to get a haircut again, but for now he'd make do. He wore a small crucifix around his neck beneath the clothing, one of the only things other than memories he had to remember his mother by. Beneath the crucifix were his dogtags, the only thing he never took off.

Satisfied that he wouldn't be the worst dressed male there he made his way to the motorpool, Smiling and nodding to Gwyn, Cam, and Aradia.

"Good evening everyone." He Sketched a Salute to Cam, before smiling to Aradia.

"You look great Aradia, you really do." there was no insincerity in his voice, just the tone of a friend offering an honest opinion.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia smiled warmly at him, and looked him and Cam both over before nodding her approval.

"Thank you, Ryan. You too.. you look very nice.. all three of you do. So let's see.. Ryan, Gwen, Cameron, Aradia.. we're just waiting on the other girls now, right? Or am I missing someone?"

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan smiles. "Thank you. Damien is coming along too I believe, besides it's not like anyone's late. We still have some time before we have to be there."

[Yseult Sierra]

As Damien set all her packages down in her new quarters, next to the boxes from her previous one, Yseult thanked him for all his gentlemanly help, barely restraining herself from giving him a kiss on the cheek. When he offered to help her put them away, she made some excuse about wanting them organized just so and that she would do it tomorrow, needing all her time now to get ready. Damien reluctantly agreed as she hastily pushed him out the door.

Just as the door swung shut, trembles wracked through her entire body, anxiety and shame released in a torrent. How dare I enjoy myself, have fun, when my family is grieving. I should be mourning too. And I should have never looked at Damien that way, thought those things, it is a betrayal to François. And to myself.

The tremors only increased, as tears overflowed her eyes; her contacts irritating, she tried to remove them, but her hands shoke too much. With a snarl of frustration and the soft stretching of skin, the contacts jump from her eyes of their own accord, and dropped gently into their hovering case. She slid down the door, knees pulled to her chest, and cried at her perceived weakness. I should stay here, say that I am not feeling well, but... but I do not want to. I am tired of being here, and I want to take every chance I can to go out. She snorted with self-disgust. I tell François to move on, then consider staying here to be bathed in my own grief. Hypocrite!

Yseult stood back up, wiping the last tears from her face. She rummaged through her new belongings, setting aside what she had chosen to wear for dinner tonight, then took a quick shower. The hot water running down her body soothed her, washed away the anguish for another day.

She dried her hair, styling it in soft waves, and applied only the faintest of cosmetics, some around her eyes, the rest too subtle to be noticed. She touched up her nails with a pale rose lacquer, and put on her new earrings, the golden hoops and turquoise studs.

Yseult slid on her dark hose and garters, then eyed the black dress she had decided to wear. Mouth pressed into a thin line, she resolutely slipped it on, then put on her strappy, black, open-toed stilettos. She calmly considered herself in the mirror, then added the cerulean sash Aradia had picked out for her around her slender waist, put on her new ring from Ben Bridges, and added several bracelets of silver and glossy black. Finally, she put on the fine, gold chain she had removed before taking her shower, kissing her wedding ring before carefully nestling it in her cleavage.

(She looks close to this, only with a bigger bust and a blue sash/belt)

With a burst of will, she sent her Prada glasses sailing to her hand, which she sat pushed up on her head; she would put them on to conceal her aberrant turquoise eyes later. She picked up her shiny leather clutch, straightened her shoulders and then, collected and reserved once more, made her way back to the motorpool.

The staccato gun shots of heels on a hard surface preceded the fifth Specialist to the motorpool, a cool smile on her lips, all trace of embarrassment and self-consciousness gone.

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan regarded Yesult with a smile, she was truly stunning. He welcomed her with a friendly tone. ""What they say is true, French women are among the most beautiful in all the world. With Beauties such as you, Aradia, and Olivia coming tonight, It's a good thing we have a private room, I think we'd spend the entire evening shooing away would-be suitors."

He looked to Gywn and Cam for back-up and nodded. This would be a great evening, a great way to get to know the others better.

(OOC I'm heading to work so don't wait on me, I assume Ryan will drive again if we get that far.)))

[Mr Fox]

Cam smiled and greeted each new arrival with honest appreciation. He didn't remember all the time spent in the coma so in a way it was like the last six months never happened, on the other hand he had felt the passage of time even if it was distorted. In some ways it felt like years since he'd done anything so normal as going out to eat. This would be fun, and despite not technically needing to eat, that didn't mean he didn't get hungry, and right now he was starving after that day of crazy shopping. He was pretty sure he could run an entire marathon right now and not break a sweat, but keeping up with the women at the mall had been hard work.

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult's lips curved slightly more deeply at Ryan's compliment, and she nodded at him graciously, only a hard swallow marring her carefully collected composure. "Merci, Majeur Hawke, you too are looking very handsome this evening." She turned to the others, her smile warmer. "All you men are."

Yseult turned to Aradia, her brillant blue-green eyes as warm as her smile. "You look very fine indeed, tonight Aradia," She said sincerely, a finger tracing a purple-tinted tress. "This look truly becomes you."

[Omar]

Omar walked up to the others at the motor pool, still dressed in his uniform. He saw the group coming back from their outing and bumped into several of them. He came to join them for dinner, knowing that it was important to spend as much time as he could with them. Besides, Major Hawke told him that going would go along way towards earning the others trust: he was still very much an outsider to some of them.

Seeing as the others were not dressed formally, Omar had his eufiber change into something more appropriate: a suit that looked like an Armani, but was in reality, infinitely more valuable. He would have to speak with Steve about marketing Eufiber to this world.

"Good evening." Omar said, smiling to the others.

[Yseult Sierra]

When the towering Iraqi entered the motorpool, Yseult didn't think anything of it, except to offer him a polite nod as he spoke to Ryan. When his BDUs fluidly shifted into a fine, Armani suit however, her slightly aloof composure shattered, her jaw dropping and her eyes going wide.

"How did you do that, Monsieur? Is it some sort of molecular manipulation? Can you affect both the organic and non-organic? Or perhaps it is an illusion, a hologram?" She hesitantly approached the immense man, then boldly poked him with a nail, running the fabric through her fingers. "It seems real enough."

Yseult thought about what she had seen and heard so far about the specialists, and another thought came to her. "Perhaps you can control you own biological composition, and this is just a manifestation of your.. your skin as it were, yes?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Riding in Cam’s lap brought back enjoyable memories of being a kid and doing silly things like doubling up in a car. It also made her somewhat uncomfortable, and she was glad that she trusted him as much as she did. Otherwise, she would have been a shivering mess. As it was, she still flinched once when his arm brushed her back. He’d looked at her, concerned, and she’d just shaken her head. She liked Cam, but she wasn’t going to share that with him.

Olivia took her bags from Ryan at her door. He had moved on before she could ask him to come back and escort her. She should be concerned, but she couldn’t be; she’d been in a state of high alert for over a week and she was tired of it. Shrugging, she focused on getting ready. She wished that she’d had time to do something with her hair; she was about ready for a change, and she wondered if putting it in braids again would help Vinny remember her. She hadn’t worn it in braids since that night.

She had no time for that, and hurried to get ready. Once, a man named Todd had bought her a little black dress for a lie; after his betrayal and failed seduction, she’d been unable to wear it again. She’d sold it at a used dress shop, but as she was looking around for things to get with her store credit, the clerk had pointed out another black dress. It was just as sexy without being the same dress, and in an impulse she’d later regretted, she’d gotten it. Ironically, it was a lot like one Mietzen had tried to get her to select, so some spite may have played a part in her selection. It had been her date-dress for the date with Vinny, and now it would serve her again.

She left her hair down and went with a minimum of makeup, but dug out her four-inch heels. After noting that her balance was better, she’d tested them and found she could walk in them. Deciding that it was a special occasion, she choose to actually dig out her jewelry box – most of it gifts from her family – and choose some silver accessories. For accessories, she choose an arm bracelet with a simple coiled design and a slave bracelet for her other hand. A silver anklet and small hoop earrings finished her look and Olivia left to join them at the car pool. At the last moment, she grabbed a dark shawl, handwoven by a Berkeley artisan in black and dark blue, in case it got cold.

The moment she walked into the room, she was kinda in trouble. Oh, god. The men all looked so good, as did Yseult – Aradia did, too, but she was Livy’s sister, so didn’t register that way. Livy had never been fond of blonds, but her hormones were willing to make an exception tonight. They were reminding her that this was for her birthday – didn’t she deserve a little treat?

“Hi,” she said, sounding strangely shy as she gave a little wave.

Click to reveal.. (Girly stuff!)

[Omar]

"No maam, it is separate from me, and very real." Omar said to the astonished and beautiful French woman. He changed the color of his tie from a soft blue to red. "It is called Eufiber and it responds to my quantum signature. I can make it take on any type of clothing or covering I want."

Omar smiled at the doctor. "There are only two in existence. I posess one of them and Specialist Donighal has the other. It is the organic creation of a nova." She was a smart woman and her curiosity about the Eufiber gave him and idea. It would have to wait until later.

"This material was created by someone who could had control over the creation of matter. At least that is what I remember." Omar was trying to bring forth memories from a long time ago.

[Yseult Sierra]

"This is most merveillieux, Monsieur. I would very much like to study it if I may at a later time. Organic you say, then to change in such a way, it must still be alive in some fashion, yes? Do you know what it feeds on? Nutrients from a host through osmosis, or body heat perhaps?" Yseult's excitement began to run away on her as she continued.

"And what else can it turn into? I cannot believe it is only facsimilies of various fibers. We may be able to use its adaptive abilities like stem cells, to remake destoyed organs and for other transplants. The possibilities are endless..."

As she noticed everyone turn her way, staring at the young, beautiful Brain, her poise nearly deserted her. She took a calming breath, then gave a dignified sniff. "We will continue this at a later time, Monsieur, yes?"

[Adrian Moss]

Who am I kidding ... whatever Caine found himself wearing, he made look good. It was that supernatural quality that he had, coupled with an extensive skill in making a wardrobe come out in the right way. Added to that ability was his apparent ignorance, or lack of concern, for how he looked good. Caine in casual was easy going and confident as always.

Mind you, he was impressed with the ladies and gentlemen and how they were decked out and complimented each as he came across. He gave Yseult a Magnifique, Ari a gentle kiss upon her hand, and Livy an look that said "Wow!" in a non-sexual, brotherly way.

"So, who get's this show on the road, Team. I could eat a horse and the sleigh he was drawing," he joked. "Seriously, I imagine we could all put a hurting on Colorado Springs' food supplies."

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan nodded as Omar joined them, and immediately launched into a debate about his eufiber with Yesult. When they wound it up he smiled. It would give the new teammates something to talk about.

When Damien arrived he smiled. "I hear that Major. I took the liberty of telling them to stock up, just in case."

He nods and motions to the Larger Van he'd gotten for this trip, knowing that Omar would be coming.

He climbed into the driver's seat and once everyone got in drove to The Warehouse stopped up front. "You all can get out here, I'll go park this beast and join you shortly."

[Mr Fox]

The group of overly attractive specialists arrived at the restaurant in time for their reservation and were greeted at the door by the Manager. It was important to personally greet any group that reserved an entire room, such customers were often demanding. Ralph Johnson, the manager, had arranged for four servers to preside over the dinner he was warned that the group would be quite hungry and would require constant attention.

Ralph was not very impressed to see a US Air Force van pull up at the front door, Airmen tipped well, but often caused such a ruckus that it was almost not worth the trouble. When he saw the group of well dressed and extremely attractive guest pile out of the van he quickly revised his opinion. He wondered why such patrons would be arriving in an Air Force van, but kept any questions to himself. Discretion was part of his job after all.

The group was led into the restaurant and Ralph explained the this month the works of a Texas Photographer were being featured. His photographs were on tour having just been shown in New York at a gallery premiere. The interior of the place was reminiscent of it's name Warehouse sporting brick walls throughout much of the interior and they were lined with many works of artists both local and national. Other guests of the restaurant looked curiously at the group as they were taken to their private room where they were seated. The four waiters wasted no time taking drink orders and getting the group started with bread and appetizers.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Wakiki was a little surprised when Livy called and changed the plans, but he'd taken it with good humor. Her birthday, her call if she wanted to eat at that required suits but sounded like the perfect place to store TVs, or have as a secret hideout for the mafia.

He had to be impressed when he arrived though. It was a very nice place and he was grinning as he walked in. He was glad he was wearing his simple black suit, though he'd chosen his irrelevant Family Guy tie to wear. It had an image of Stewie scowling near the bottom while the logo informed, "Victory Shall Be Mine!" He was intercepted by a pretty young woman who gave his tie a stink eye until he gave the name of his reservation. "Oh, yes, they just arrived. Ralph?"

The guy wasn't wearing a nametag, so Wakiki figured he was important - or thought he was. Ralph showed him to a back room, where Wakiki got two more surprises. First, his sister had brought a lot of people. Second, one of those people was the hottest blond Wakiki had ever seen in real life.

"Hey," he called and Olivia bounced to her feet and ran to hug him. "You look nice," he told her, happy to see her almost glowing with joy.

"So do you, though your tie choice is questionable," she laughed, tapping Stewie's melon head.

"I wanted you to be sure it was me and not a cheap impostor," he told her in a mock-serious tone.

"You look pretty cheap already," she giggled, "it'd be hard for an impostor to look cheaper. Anyway, everyone, this my brother, Wakiki. Wakiki, this is everyone." She ran through their names, and Wakiki nodded to each, though he waved to Gwyn.

Introductions done, he took his seat, noting that his sister had very distinctly put him between her and an empty seat. Wondering if his sister was matchmaking again, he casually asked, "So, are you all my sister's coworkers?"

Click to reveal..

Wakiki has a 3 App, 4 Charisma and 3 Style. He's clearly full Japanese and is only 5'9".

Also edited at Ari's request so that we can do the reintro better.

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan made his way in and smiled as he was shown to the room.

He held out a chair for Yesult, and once she was seated took the seat directly left of her. When Wakiki asked about being coworkers, he looked to Cam and then Damien and then back and nodded imperceptibly.

"Pretty much."

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult was proud of herself when she managed to refrain from tittering like a little school girl when Damien complimented her. Her cheeks barely coloured at all, when she returned a 'vous aussi' [You as well]. This going to be a long night. I am going to need wine, une bonne rouge... Merde.

She had been to the Warehouse several times, usually with Janet, and was surprised by their reception by the manager Ralph Johnson. Looking at everyone else, she realized that she shouldn't have been, the effects of the Artifact seemed universal in at least one regard; she was still coming to terms with the fact that she was considered attractive as well, to more than just her husband.

Yseult had been a little startled by the appearance of Wakiki, but a passing glance of her reflection in a mirror made her lips twist wryly. Who was she to talk, a French woman with a blend of Nordic and Asian features.

She found herself sitting across from Olivia's borther, between Damien and Ryan, which made her feel a little awkward, especially after they both reached for her chair at the same time. Damien relented with good grace, and everything was well, save for an unconquered flutter in her chest at the nearest of the beautiful Damien and Ryan, who could have passed for her husband's brother.

She found Wakiki quite charming, smiling enviously at the Izumi siblings' banter. "C'est une plaisir, Wakiki," her French accent cumbersome around his name. "I have just been.. transfered to the same department as your sister, but Olivie has been very kind, and invited me to dinner."

When the servers came around for drink orders, Yseult wasted no time in ordering a bottle of the Scarlet of Paris Pinot Noir.

[Adrian Moss]

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Wakiki Izumi. We haven't heard enough about you by half. We need to chide Livy about that."

He smiled at the man warmly, but couldn't keep his eyes focused there for long. His eyes kept wandering over to Yseult, internally curious about his facination with her. There was another person he felt for even though she had someone else. Should he move on?

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

French and blond? I think that the right phrase here is, "Heeeelllllllllllooooo, Nurse!" Thank you God... thank you Livy... Wakiki grinned at Yseult. "C'est une plaisir? What's that? I knew a smattering of French in grade school, but then became a lazy American," he told her. "I only know Japanese still because of Dad."

He glanced at his sister and some of the odd-ball charm fell away and became genuine affection as he said, "She is a sweetheart."

He nodded to Caine and added, "Nice to meet you too... wait, you're her boss, right?" He gave Livy a scandalous grin. "Is it bad protocol for me to repeat what Gwyn and Declan said about him on leave? Say, where is the big guy, anyway?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia allowed herself to fade into the background a bit as her social butterfly of a brother flapped his wings and made friends. But when he asked about Declan, she spoke up. "He's not comfortable in large crowds," she explained.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia excused herself upon entering the restaurant to use the restroom. After washing her hands and fidgeting with the ratio of purple to white streaks in her hair for another minute, she shook her head and headed back out into the restaurant. The hostess smiled warmly at her and motioned her back towards the private room where the rest of the group had been shown to. Part of her nervousness was how fancy the restaurant was.. she'd never been in a place this nice, aside from the time they'd gotten to spend in Vegas. The other part of it was getting to see Wakiki again.. which was stupid, 'cause he was gonna be the same goofball he always had been.

Stop it. Just be normal, you idiot. Well, as normal as you get.

She stepped into the private room, and with a grin realized Wakiki had shown up. The tie proved she had nothing to worry about - same old Wakiki. Her nervousness melted away, and she put a hand on her hip, and arched a brow at him.

"Where the hell's my hug, shorty?"

The irony, of course, was that Aradia was at least half a foot shorter than Wakiki.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"Oh, shame, because I think I owe him a-" Wakiki's discussion of debt was cut off by a familiar voice. Startled, Livy's brother looked up at Aradia, then grinned widely. Dear god... she grew up. And out. And up. And... damn. "Hey, Carnie-girl," he said, laughing. Getting up, he walked to her and picked her up in a big hug, lifting her off the ground.

"Where's your skinned knees and dirty nose?" he asked, his eyes twinkling as he held her chair for her. Just before taking his seat, he stripped off his jacket and put on the back of his chair. After he said, he loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves. "Better.

"Wait," he said suddenly, turning to Aradia. "Are you Livy's co-worker?"

[Yseult Sierra]

"Oh sorry, the French, it slips out sometimes, sometimes often. 'C'est une plaisir' means it is a pleasure to meet you." Her smile was subdued, but pleasant; she kept her eyes downcast, trying to draw attention away from her eyes. Looking through her lashes, she realized that it wouldn't be much of a problem, eyes turned her way tended to drift lower, especially in this dress.

When she saw Aradia enter, and the chemistry between her and Wakiki, she pulled back, focusing her interest on Damien and, to a lesser extent, Ryan.

Seeing the bottle of red empty, she ordered another.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia stuck her tongue out at him playfully at the comment, but accepted the chair gratefully and sat down. She hesitated for a moment at this question though - it suddenly dawned on her that he'd probably ask questions, and there was no way she could tell him the truth, and no way he'd believe that she had signed up for the military on a voluntary basis. But there was nothing to do about it, so she flashed him another grin and hoped he'd buy her answer.

"Yup.. working for the man, at least for now. What about you? I hear you're in a band?"

Distraction tactics.. distraction tactics..

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"A band? A band?! A band, dear Ari, is what high schoolers in a garage have. I am an artist. Or would that be 'artiste', Yseult?" he asked, glancing at the beautiful woman.

"You're a rapper, Waki," Olivia laughed.

"Doesn't mean I'm not an artist," he said sincerely, with only a touch of self-mockery. "So is the Air Force becoming Uncle Sam's Flying Circus in truth, or am I losing my mind?" His sudden topic change was a classic Waki maneuver. "No offense, Ari, but... you? In the military? I've dropped into bizarro land where the US hires models," he waved at Caine, "librarians," he looked at his sister, "and acrobats." He glanced at Aradia again.

He looked at Yseult. "Given the way things are going, you have to be... an accountant? Not that you look like one. Or maybe you also fall under the Air Force's new 'hire models' clause." His gaze was appreciative as he looked at her.

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult couldn't help but be flatterd by Waki's attention. It was different, coming from someone who didn't know about the circumstances concerning her transformation. Her restrained smile widened, showing brief glimpses of white teeth.

"Actually, I'm a doctor and scientist, Wakiki, a Canadian contracted to the US military. I do do my own taxes though." Her narrowed eyes glowed with mirth, their colour vivid.

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan smiles. "It takes all kinds to run a military well Wakiki."

"I'd go so far to say it's good to have unique skills in the military, even if it is hell for commanders to remember each one for each person."

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

So that's what having smoke blown up my ass by a major feels like, Wakiki thought, looking at the man intently. "Right, then. So, Dr. Yseult... what are your specialties? Doctors and scientists all specialize in something. What are you special at?"

He was paying too much attention to one lady, and Livy was going to give him hell about it. He told himself he'd talk to Ari more right after her question - unless Yseult's specialty was gynecological care. Then all bets were off.

[Yseult Sierra]

"My doctoral specialty is in pharmacology, Wakiki. I also hold degrees in microbiology and molecular physics. I like figuring out how things work, to the smallest detail, and then make them work better. Cell and atomic structures can be beautiful under the right magnification. And surprisingly, when you look at them closely enough, they really are not all that different."

Yseult was warming to the subject, willing to go on, oblivious to the slight glazing of Wakiki's eyes. Her gestures with her wine glass were animated and she seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself.

"What about you? Is it only the rap you do, or do you play other music too?"

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia smirked slightly at him, and shook her head.

"I just can't see you doing rap, Waki. In my mind, you're always going to be singing Monty Python and that song about Camp Grenada."

She waved away the offer of alcohol, and picked up the glass of ice water the waiter had poured for her, sipping at it innocently while she waited for Wakiki's reaction. If she embarrassed him a little, well.. she'd been watching the men fall all over Yseult all day, and while she didn't feel like admitting to herself that she might covet the attention a little, she certainly didn't feel like watching her old friend fawn all over some woman he barely knew for the next two or three hours in favor of getting to catch up, at least a little.