Gals and Non-Binary Pals Night!

[bossyboiler]

Who: The hottest group of people you know!
When: Thursday Night!
Where: A dance club downtown, complete with a light up dance floor.
Summary: All of the gals and non-binary pals have been invited. Now it's time for them to enjoy a much needed night on the town. DRINKING GAME ALERT! Spot Winter, take a shot.
Notes: This is a mix and mingle style log. Post your own top-level, respond to others.
Warnings: N/A at the moment, will update if needed.

They are all dressed up and ready to party.

On this evening of Gals and Non-Binary Pals, Yelena has picked the starting bar. She's picked a straight up dance club called Frenzy. It looks fun. The dancefloor lights up with the rhythm of the music. The drinks are overpriced but the shots are fun.

And when everyone has to take the bus to get there, there's no need for a designated driver.

Comments

[bossyboiler]

Starting things off the right way...

Since there are so many of them, Kate has found them a cozy booth in the corner of the club. As soon as they are comfortable, she shouts at a server. "Can I please get a round of jell-O shots for everyone please." That's right. The first round this evening is on her. It's tradition!

If she seems familiar with the club already it's because she is. Last Friday, she had gone with Yelena to scope out a few locations. She knows that the jell-O shots are delicious and a great way to get things started.

She is still a lightweight and so she has prepared for this evening. She has been drinking water the entire day and there is food in her stomach. At home waiting for her is another bottle of water and ibuprofen on her bedside stand. They have to work tomorrow and she'd rather not have a hangover.

Getting drunk is a given.

It's Middle Time!

Halfway through the evening, finds Kate well on her way to getting drunk. The more drinks she ingests, the friendlier she becomes.

Maybe she compliments you in the bathroom and tells you how pretty you are or how much she likes your dress. Maybe she says something nice to you on the dance floor. At one point, she walks up to someone and cups their face in her hands. "Have I ever told you how much you mean to me?"

In The End...

She's drunk. There's no polite or easier way to say it. She has had many Jell-O shots and other drinks in between.

All good things must come to an end. They have a bus to catch and a curfew to beat. However, there's always the next time.

Halfway to the bus stop, the heel of Kate's shoe hits an ice patch and down she goes. She trips backwards and lands right on her ass. Ow.

Start

[musicdied]

Yelena links her arm through Kate's, grinning slightly as her friend orders shots for the table.

"It's good to establish tradition," she says. "But after the first round, we are definitely going to try out the dance floor." You know, while they're both still coordinated enough to properly dance.

[bossyboiler]

Kate leans against Yelena and laughs. "Yes. We will and we'll either make everyone jealous or hot with our dance moves, maybe both." She can dream, right?

[musicdied]

"Both," Yelena says with a decisive nod. "Definitely both. We are too awesome for any other outcome."

[bossyboiler]

"Both is great." Kate laughs again. She may have pre-gamed the evening a little too hard by already having had a shot. What? Drinks here are expensive. It's not her fault.

The server comes over with a tray of jell-O shots and Kate picks the darkest red one. She then lifts up the little plastic container so that she can clink cups with Yelena. "Cheers!"

middle

[failedpromise]

Cortana is a little startled, smiling awkwardly at Kate when she cups her face in her hands.

"You haven't. And you don't need to, though I wouldn't mind listening anyway." AI wants attention now. Admittedly, she always wants attention.

[bossyboiler]

"Cortana, I'm so glad you came with us tonight. You're so special with you being our designated walker. You're also so pretty. That eyeliner really suits you."

[failedpromise]

And well, she both turns slightly red and absolutely beams at that. Clearly Kate has had quite a few, possibly a few too many, but the sentiment and gushing praise are both appreciated.

...Since when has anyone spoken to her like that?

"You're a really sweet friend, Kate." It's followed by a snort. "And you were the one who did the eyeliner."

[bossyboiler]

"I try to be, I really do." She finally lets go of Cortana's cheeks. "I just knew you'd be able to rock a winged eyeliner and a strong lip. You're beautiful."

rue | ota

[ruevealing]

[i. open bar]

[For how effortless their sense of fashion tends to be, bar hopping is not necessarily on Delloso de la Rue's list of activities they know how best to dress for. So the glamoured owlbear is looking just a touch out of place, with a stylish dress that flows around their legs and long, billowing sleeves that gather delicately at the wrist.

They remain a little outside of the group on purpose, not wanting to crowd anyone else with the size of their true form or to get in the way or to accidentally brush a stranger with their feathers. For how naturally easy it normally is for them glide through every social setting, there's an unfamiliar awkwardness simply in navigating this kind of packed setting while trying to remain discreet.

So near the beginning of the night, Rue can be found far away from the dancing, nursing a drink all on their own, quite content to simply watch their friends from afar.]

[ii. hold me close]

Forgive me!

[But there certainly comes a point in the night where Rue doesn't mind the closeness of the others in their group, no doubt dragged in closer for drinks and dancing and giggly gossip. Living a life as the consummate host means that Rue is woefully unused to participating in the events they throw, so all of this drinking and partying is quite new to them!

It's new enough, in fact, that they can't help but keep apologizing anytime they accidentally bump someone smaller with a wing or a furry hip.

Rue's just drunk enough for their grip on their own physical boundaries to lapse, a taloned paw curling around the bumped person's arm to keep them from falling.]

Pray, please accept my apologies, my friend!

i

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn's not even sure why she came. Maybe it's the novelty of the thing - she never would have been invited on a girls' night back home. The closest she's come is being dragged along to a gala. She never really drinks except when she had something from her parents' liquor cabinet after dinner. The only dances she knows are formal dances that she's never enjoyed. And this music is... "Loud" is the kindest word can think of for it.

So she's lurking on the outskirts of the gathering, watching other people have fun and feeling very much the social outsider that she did back home, despite knowing that here, at least, she'd be welcome to join in if she wanted.

Oddly, it makes her homesick.

When she spots Rue, also on their own, she makes her way over to them.]

Is that good? [she asks tentatively, gesturing towards their drink.]

[ruevealing]

[Loud is certainly one way to describe it! Nothing in the faerie realm quite compares to the bass-boosted shrieking of the speakers in this tiny club, along with the rowdy crowd drunkenly trying to sing along.]

Oh! Caitlyn!

[And even in the dim of the club, there's no missing the way Rue's normally neutral expression brights at seeing the woman. It's nice to meet some new friends tonight, but seeing a familiar face is even more of a delight.]

It's quite nice! [They hold out the glass, filled with some neon blue concoction.] It reminds me of the beach in the summer sun.

[And because they are friends, Rue pushes the glass towards her.] Care to try? I'll happily share!

[clavesregni]

Oh. Um.

[It's the polite thing to do, and the beach in summer does sound nice, so she smiles and picks up the drink.]

Thank you.

[It's surprisingly sweet. And it does remind her of a summery ocean breeze - there's something salty and bright about it.]

That is quite good. What's in it?

[ruevealing]

I believe it was coconut rum mixed with some kind of vodka. Blue raspberry, perhaps? It's a touch stronger than what I normally drink, but it's delightful.

[It's new to Rue, to drink out in public like this, after a lifetime of worrying too much about their glamour accidentally dropping to reveal the owlbear beneath. But this isn't a spell anymore, but some strange form of ADI-technology. Rue couldn't drop their disguise even if they wanted to - which they most absolutely do - so a little public drinking shouldn't be an issue this time.

Hopefully.]

You do not need to stay back from the crowd on my account, my friend. If you wish to dance with the rest of them.

I

[bossyboiler]

Rue cannot be allowed to sit at a booth. They simply cannot be allowed to be alone. It's supposed to be a fun night. That is why she brings over two glasses of champagne to their booth. "Rue. Rue. Rue. I've brought us some bubbly to celebrate." Kate is already tipsy.

[ruevealing]

Oh no. Kate is absolutely adorable tipsy.

"Kate, that's so generous of you!" Rue is more than happy to make a little extra room for the woman at the booth, but not before they drop a glamoured paw to Kate's wrist gently. "But you do not need to worry about me, my dear. If you wish to be among the rest of your friends, you simply must! I'm content to watch for now."

[bossyboiler]

"But Rue, Rue we haven't celebrated your engagement." Kate first sits the glasses down on the table so that she doesn't spill them as she sits down next to her very good friend. She places her hand on top of Rue's clawed one. "I've danced before and I'll dance later but first you." She pushes one of the glasses over to Rue. "Congratulations are in order. Proper congratulations."

ii

[musicdied]

[Yelena's not new to partying, nor has she had enough to drink that she's unaware of her own physical space. She has, however, had enough to drink that she's forgotten to account for Rue's actual size, and not just their glamoured appearance - she's left room enough not to be hit by a stray human elbow, but not quite enough clearance for a wing.

Even for Gloucester, being unexpectedly bumped by invisible feathery appendages is unusual, and she actually lets out a yip of surprise. She's only saved from overbalancing as she startles back by Rue's talons on her arm--

And that, too, is incredibly strange, feeling talons but seeing a hand shaped much like her own.

Magic.]

It's fine. I'm fine. It's just part of the club experience.

[ruevealing]

[She's fine - Rue visibly relaxes at that reassurance, their paw loosening it's grip only as Yelena catches her balance and looks steady on her feet once again.]

I'm so glad! I would be most cross with myself if my first night out I was banned from attending again!

[Around them, the crowd doesn't seem bothered in the slightest by the near mishap, their friends and strangers alike dancing without a care.]

Yelena, correct? [Maybe it's the worst place for an introduction, but hey, now that they're here.] I promise I am not usually so clumsy. It must be the drinks.

[musicdied]

[Yelena laughs and shakes her head.]

You would have to do much worse than accidentally knocking someone over to be banned. From the club, or from group outings.

[As long as no one starts a bar fight, they'll be fine. And given the people most likely to start a bar fight aren't in attendance, that probably won't be a problem.

Probably.]

That's right, I'm Yelena. And you're Rue, yes?

[They're hard to miss within the ADI compound, but the glamour's unfamiliar. Still, it's a simple process of elimination - everyone else in the group, she already knows.]

Winter is Not Here

[worthallthis]

It isn't that Winter doesn't trust friends to be safe. He does. Yelena is there, Cortana is there, Kate has done well with learning her self-defense. And it's unlikely that tonight of all nights there will be trouble in the bars they can't handle.

It's just that he just likes to watch them, after all this time. He takes up position on a nearby roof, with a rifle out of habit more than any real thought of need, just in case. He has coffee and snacks. He's going to lay on the rooftop, fold his arms on the edge of the roof, set his chin on them, and watch.

Whenever the gals and non-binary pal move on to a new bar or club, he moves to a new perch. Catch him watching, and he'll smile and wave.

[abrightboy]

At some point in the night, on some rooftop across from a bar where some friends are having fun, Malcolm climbs up on the roof. He doesn't try to be quiet about it; he figures it's safer if he doesn't.

He plops down next to where Winter is in position and holds out the thermos.

"Hot chocolate?"

[worthallthis]

Winter watches him approach out of the corner of his eye, but he smiles a bit at the thermos, accepting it. "That's usually what I say," he comments. He's more than once carried his own thermos of cocoa around. "Are you here to watch them, too?"

[abrightboy]

“Not really. I mean, if something happens, I’m happy to help, but. I came to keep you company,” Malcolm tells him.

[failedpromise]

A designated walker, though...

Cortana is all dolled up and ready to party.

A)

She may not be able to drink, but that doesn't mean she can't enjoy herself, right?

When she isn't chatting with her friends, Cortana can be found on the dance floor. Sure, a lot of what she's been formally taught would be really out of place here, but it's not exactly hard to just copy what she's seeing... even if she does get a bored and try to spice things up with her own move ideas on occasion.

B)

As the night goes on and her pals get increasingly drunk, Cortana can be found checking up on people.

Such as now, when she's coming over to your table with some water and whatever sort of snack she could buy (probably nachos).

"You know, you'll be a lot less likely to have a hangover tomorrow if you make sure to eat something and stay hydrated."