To touch the rose unfearful is to meet the thorn

[handing]

Who: Anyone who wants to come!
When: February 14th, Evening/Night
Where: The Gardens
What: A Valentine's Day Party
Warnings: None in general, but please mark your threads if need be.



[Pulling together a shipwide celebration at the last minute isn't exactly the easiest task. Luckily, a number of people Pepper can't thank enough have stepped up, from those assigned to work with her on maintaining and improving morale, to others whom she's never before met. The effort is enough, even with the ship's limited resources, to offer something other than just dining in the mess hall on February 14th.

Anyone who wanders into the gardens will find the area decorated with bright lights, leading towards a central clearing. A banner is there, welcoming everyone to the Moira's valentine's celebration--notably written in what the computer savvy might recognize as "papyrus" font, thanks to the skeleton of the same name aboard the ship. There are also an abundance of flowers courtesy of Steven, grown in careful arrangements around the area to add a romantic touch. Tables and chairs have been set up here, along with a display of small plates provided through the efforts of the ship's head chef, Loki. The offerings are small, not quite the dinner she'd hoped for, but there's a variety of tastes available, both savory and sweet. This display is decorated with clearly handcrafted heart garlands provided by Frisk, who has taken care to include purple hearts as well.

Potentially of greater interest is the makeshift bar nearby, with people like Miles and Drew there to provide alcohol to those of an appropriate age.

At the center of everything is a space cleared for anyone who might want to engage in dancing. There are a few people who have offered to perform live, including Jay and Steven. She's asked for a mix of songs, from slow and sweet to more festive, since an important part of this is to encourage not just couples, but everyone to enjoy themselves. When people aren't singing, music comes through a sound system borrowed from Tony Stark's armor. Pepper's done her best, however, to wrestle away control of the playlist from him (although she did have to compromise and let one or two AC/DC songs slip into the mix.)

The party will last essentially as long as people would like it to; Pepper's got no set timeline herself, although for the sake of her younger staff it definitely won't be an all-nighter. Still, she's going to count on Papyrus and Frisk, as well as Med'an, Lara, and anyone else willing to show up early or stick around late. And throughout it all will be Pepper herself, bustling around to ensure everything goes well--although she does want to spend some time relaxing herself, when she catches the chance.]


{{OOC: Open mingle log for February 14th. Feel free to have your character show up to set-up, for the party itself, and/or to clean up after!}}

Comments

[tearmeanewone]

"My possessions?" Elizabeth arches an eyebrow at Clark. This is getting really strange. "No, I didn't notice anything was missing..."

He seems really upset about this for some reason, and that's probably spooking her more than potentially losing her wallet. Elizabeth can't imagine what could get Clark, man who could fly and survive being thrown around like a rag doll, this upset.

...apparently his doppelganger. Elizabeth's eyes go wide when she sees the picture, and she looks back and forth between it and Clark.

"He could be your twin! Oh my God, no wonder he acted like he had no idea what we talked about on Caducus Primary!" She makes an outraged sound and crosses her arms in a huff-- how dare he! "I could have told him something I didn't want him to know! What a grifter!"

[heliakal]

That's a relief, in one way, but he still has to wonder what Nathaniel was after with Elizabeth. He hopes that it was only a dance, but he doubts that. She seems to have the right idea about him too. 'Grifter' is a nice way to put it.

"I got paired off with him on Emiri. I only realized after that he'd been running around telling people he was me." He holds his arms, unconsciously mirroring her gesture. "I'll have a talk with him later. It won't happen again. What did he ask you about?"

[tearmeanewone]

"...you got paired with him? So you were dating your practical-twin?" Ugh, that's bizarre. Probably not as bizarre as it must have been for Clark, though.

"Well, to be fair he didn't actually tell me he was you, but he didn't say he wasn't." Which is, obviously, the real problem. "We didn't talk about much of anything-- just why you hadn't taken me out for coffee, I made some veiled remarks about what I told you about... I mean, what I told you on Caducus Primary. And what happened in the medical bay. Thank God I didn't actually clarify, but there were too many people around. I didn't want anyone else to know."

Yet the stranger had been right in front of her the whole time.

[heliakal]

"I didn't realize until he met me at the restaurant..." Clark rubs the side of his neck. Yeah, it was really weird, but to be fair at least they're not actually twins - they're not even the same species, as far as he can tell. It's just a bizarre coincidence.

"I'm glad he didn't get anything personal." But he'd come pretty close to hearing things that Elizabeth had spoken about in confidence. He's not sure he'd put it past Napoleon to sell Elizabeth's secrets to the first bidder he could find. Still, it's strange - he seemed like he'd been telling the truth at the restaurant.

"Though, I think that means I still owe you for coffee..." Clark inclines his head. "Maybe we should take a walk?"

[tearmeanewone]

Oh God, she thought her first date was awful, barfing in an alley? She can't imagine showing up to a date and meeting someone who looks exactly like her. She's glad he didn't get anything from her either, it would have been an absolute disaster or worse, blackmail?

But more pleasant things-- coffee. Walks. Elizabeth sighs out the affront to her privacy and concerns about secrecy and nods to Clark. "Please, after an inconvenient truth like that, I could stand to have someone make me smile."

She holds out her hand for his. At least, it seems fairly natural to do when a walk is involved.

[heliakal]

He takes her hand in his with a smile. "I'll do my best."

And even despite the mess with Napoleon, it's not difficult to be swept up in a better mood in Elizabeth's company, among the fairly lights and flowers. He takes her on a meandering path through the garden, hand in hand. There's plenty of food and drink laid out, they can settle down for coffee any time. "How have you been, anyway? Did you get through all of that chaos on Emiri alright?"

[tearmeanewone]

"I got through it in one piece, at least," she says with a little laugh. "Ivan and I managed to call for a seismic-activity drill and empty part of the facility. That was more or less my claim to fame on that particular day. What about you?"

[heliakal]

"I don't know what's more impressive - the plan, or the fact that you somehow got Ivan in on it. How'd you manage that?" He's mostly teasing. He knows Ivan is a good person, as much as he tries to be unremarkable, but he's sure Elizabeth's persuasiveness had something to do with it, too.

"I dropped in to help out where I could, and after most of the activity died down, I picked up a few of the kids who'd been hiding..." He shakes his head, his expression going quiet and distant for a moment. "I'm just glad it all worked out in the end."

[tearmeanewone]

"Something tells me it had a lot to do with a shirt with a low neckline, and a pair of extremely short pants," Elizabeth smirks and arches an eyebrow at Clark. She wants to believe that Ivan cared about the evacuation, and getting the children to a safe Moira, and her inability to leave an exploitative situation alone, but... Ivan does have very simple wants and needs sometimes.

She's glad it worked out as well, and shakes his hand a little to get his attention. "After the previous situations we've been in, it's a bit of a novelty when something works out for once." She could be referring to just their time on the Moira or potentially something that stretches just a little further. Elizabeth's leaving that up to Clark's interpretation, she knows what her history is.

[heliakal]

"Definitely sounds like something that would have helped," Clark agrees, laughing. He can only imagine, which he promptly does, and then feels at least a little guilty about it.

He looks down at her when she pulls him back to reality. "It is. But I like to think that there's always a chance for things to work out better." He gives her hand a light squeeze. "And you know, even despite everything that's happened, sometimes it's not so bad traveling the universe."

With anyone else, he might not have said more than that, but this is Elizabeth. He knows some of her history as well as he knows his own. "Do you ever think about staying?"

[tearmeanewone]

"Staying here?" Elizabeth asks, looking up at him with a smile that doesn't have a hint of surprise or contemplation. "All the time. I want to stay here.

"Or at least, I want to travel the universe. Visit new places, meet new people, see what lessons I can learn. I've been able to do that here."

And she'd never be able to do that if she went back where she came from. The thought of potentially being ripped off the ground by the Ingress and taken back to Columbia or Rapture or that moment before the Ingress had grabbed her makes Elizabeth hold Clark's hand a little tighter. "I know everybody else wants to go home, and I can't blame them. They have things to do, people they miss, places they love..." She shakes her head a little and gives a helpless shrug. "I'd miss this place, and these people, if I went back to where I came from."

[heliakal]

Elizabeth says it like it's simple. Maybe it is.

They've seen their fair share of danger and hardship even on the Moira, but it's like she says: they're traveling the universe. They're meeting people, helping people, learning. They're just two strangers among many and no one here has any particular interest in taking them apart.

In some ways, it's not really a choice at all, staying or going. If the Ingress does take her, there's nothing anyone can do. He stops when she squeezes his hand this time and turns to face her, closing his hand gently on her shoulder.

"If you can stay - and I hope that there's a way - I don't think you'll be the only one."

[tearmeanewone]

Elizabeth raises her eyebrows at the contact, but she doesn't look alarmed or otherwise displeased-- the opposite. She likes the contact, unexpected as it is, and she smiles despite being curious about Clark's response.

"Do you not want to leave either?"