After parting ways with Miranda, dodging questioning glances from other much fancier party guests, and getting distracted by the table spreads, Cin eventually found his way toward the angelic fountain and the handsome man of mystery. “Ooo, what’er ya playin?” He asked leaning over to try and catch a glimpse. “You must be Wolf, I’m Cin. Congrats by the way.” He didn’t offer to shake a hand but seemed very curious as to what Wolf was playing. Though it wouldn’t take much to distract him again. Had someone said coffee?

This looks so fun!! I hope it's not too late to hop in…

Private Outfit

"Hey Boss! I finished trimming the topiary and the planting in the side yard. Me an' Sarge are gonna head out before the party s— oh."

Ready to clock out after a morning's hard work, TJ strolled into the garden in search of Roland, their little dog close at their heels. But they stopped up short when they realized that, like an idiot, they had just walked right into the middle of the very event they were supposed to take a half day off to avoid. Their embarrassment only deepened when Miranda flounced up to greet them.

"Uh, howdy Miss Miranda. I was just about to— huh? Wolf? Who?" TJ's already flushed face grew even redder at the word fiancé, and they immediately regretted some particular compliments they had paid to their employer in passing. But she didn't seem bothered, so hopefully she hadn't noticed? Or maybe… maybe this was some elaborately concocted revenge. Miranda seemed like a real sweetheart, but TJ knew rich people. Maybe, by inviting the help to stay at the party, Miranda hoped TJ would make a fool of themselves and learn their lesson: that they didn't belong in this privileged social circle, and they had been foolish to even flirt with her in the first place.

But… no. Miss Miranda actually looked happy to see them here, and she talked about Wolf with such oblivious glee that it had to be genuine. TJ found it hard not to be caught up in her enthusiasm, so they smiled back and decided to stay. Why not? If nothing else, there was bound to be fancy food, and TJ loved food.

But first things first. Their employer had given them an instruction, and TJ was resigned to their fate of meeting the fiancé. They wound their way through the gaggle of elaborately dressed young ladies (and ladies trying to be young) and finally found a man standing by the fountain, as Miranda had said. He was hot, TJ realized regretfully, and had the kind of disinterested air that girls seemed to eat up. It looked like he had been trying to avoid the crowd, but the crowd found him anyway.

"Wolf," TJ said gruffly, offering a curt nod instead of a handshake. "I'm TJ, the, uh, landscaper? I work for Roland and… anyway, Miss Miranda told me to say hi, so…"

"Hey there," Lypsyl says softly to Wolf, not wanting to startle him. When he looks up from his game, she continues, "I'm Lypsyl, um, a friend of Miranda's..."

She trails off and stands there awkwardly. As an introvert, she usually counts on Miranda and their other, more outgoing, friends to get a conversation going.

"Nice day," she finally blurts in desperation when Wolf makes no move to pick up the conversation.

Private Outfit

Oh joy of joys. This won't be awkward at all.

As I start to meander my way towards Wolf, I catch Nicolette's stare . I offer a slightly grimaced smile and lower my eyes as I carry on walking.

Finally I reach Wolf and it seems that he want's to be here about as much as I do. I go in for a slightly flimsy handshake, "hello there Wolf, I'm Bean. This is jolly good fun isn't it?"

I reach into my pocket and pull out a crinkled white paper bag, "mint?" I offer.

Private Outfit

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Arianwen was taken aback, both by the rudeness of Wolf's reply and by the way that all of the other guests had crowded around Wolf and were speaking only to him, but not to each other. There were many people present whom she didn't know, but that didn't mean they couldn't introduce themselves, did it? What ever happened to the old rule where the roof constitutes an introduction?

She knew that in Veta people were bound to find Upper Ziaran etiquette a little stuffy, but Miranda's family was very well placed, enough so that they'd gone to the same preparatory school before university and managed to become friends, so she had expected...

Something different. Not this. One person had just walked in and started reading a book!

Arianwen had never been Miranda's closest friend, but she was only just beginning to realise how much Miranda hadn't been saying in her letters.

"Your entire name is Wolf? You must have a fascinating family, then," said Arianwen. People had been asking this man a lot of questions, and he'd just blown most of them off. Perhaps she should be impressed that he'd deigned to answer her at all, but that didn't make it socially acceptable.

"How exactly did you and Miranda meet?" Arianwen asked, echoing Garrin. "It must have been very romantic, for you to be engaged already!"

Arianwen took a deep breath. She felt a little sorry for the stranger. The scrutiny of so many people at once had got to be overwhelming. But he wasn't doing anything to dispel whatever concerns people might have.

"We're all adults here. So you can tell us if you met on a dating app, or in a bar." Not that she had ever imagined Miranda just hooking up with someone like that. "But I'm thinking it must have been far more romantic than that!"

(What she wouldn't have given for a profile picture of this individual...just to run a discreet reverse image search.)

If that didn't work, maybe it would be time to propose some sort of get-to-know-each-other party game. If all the other party guests were only talking to Wolf, and he wasn't saying much to any of them, it was going to be a frightful afternoon. It wasn't like Miranda not to have something planned, either.

Arianwen had also noticed the phone case. This, too, was alarming. She had never let anyone go through her phone without her supervision, even before she'd been responsible for patient care and privacy. Sure, Wolf was playing a game right now, but that didn't mean that was all he had done with Miranda's phone.

, OMG! yes I forgot I was wearing them. lol. c: Thanks.

"Honest about the- oh, are people not happy about the engagement? That stinks, I-"

A crowd of people starts to form around us as one well-dressed guest after another introduces themself to Wolf. A girl in a red updo and fashionable pink and blue outfit started speaking to me- Oh! THIS is the famous Arienwen Rosier I'd heard so much about! Miranda mentioned ME in her letters to HER? What a generous woman Miranda is. I'm about to speak to her, but the crowd is growing so much that I've been pushed up against a large hedge, and my drink has been splashed into the dirt below us. I hope it didn't get on anyone's shoes...

Once I've brushed the leaves off my dress, I see Arienwen Rosier glaring at the crowd (deservedly, really) and tap her on the shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything back to you before. It's very nice to meet you, Ms. Rosier! I've heard so much about you! Seems I've spilled my drink. Would you like to walk with me while I get another one, and we can talk more?"

Private Outfit If Jasmín was to be honest with herself and everyone else, she'd rather be anywhere other than this garden party. She certainly wasn't comfortable wearing such bright colours or short clothes, nor was she particularly happy about having her hair down. She might have been vain enough to keep her hair long, despite her profession, but she wasn't dumb enough to keep it down on a regular basis: having long hair gave your enemy something to grab onto, something to yank and tug and rip out, which was a major disadvantage in her line of work. However, Miranda had been her friend for years, so she was willing to make sacrifices (but only a few) in order to keep her happy.

Tugging on the skirt of her dress, desperately wishing it was longer, Jasmín meandered her way toward where Miranda's new fiance, Wolf, was located. She'd rather hover near Nicolette, who was almost as awkward as she was in social situations, but she also needed to scope out this new individual insinuating themselves into Miranda's life. Most people would probably not be as suspicious as she was (and she was willing to admit that she was excessively paranoid when it came to her friend's safety), but Miranda has only known him a scant few weeks and they were already engaged to be married! Jasmín couldn't fathom getting close enough to any person, let alone a romantic partner, in that short amount of time. It took her years to warm up to Miranda and they were only friends, but maybe that was the reason why Jasmín had never had a boyfriend before (other than not wanting to be emotionally compromised and prevented from doing her job).

She finally made her way to where Wolf was, fiddling around with something, probably the newest inane game, on his cellphone. However, upon closer inspection, the case was covered in gaudy pink roses, so the phone most likely belonged to Miranda. Jasmín didn't know why anyone would willingly give up their phone, especially not unlocked, but she had long since resigned herself to never fully understanding why people did certain things that could be deemed a security risk. She moved silently, years of training allowing her to sneak up on him. The angel fountain faintly burbled behind him and she trained her eyes on the face of the statue rather than on him, tugging her sock up slightly to better hide the knife tucked into it.

"Hello. My name is Jasmín. You must be Wolf." Jasmín stated awkwardly, wanting to get this conversation over with as soon as possible so she could hide somewhere with a better vantage point and observe the party at a distance, as she was wont to do the majority of the time.

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Arianwen smiled at Zoe, a little uncertain. She really did want to hear what this Wolf had to say for himself, but it wouldn't do to just let Zoe flounder after getting completely knocked over.

"Excuse me," she said, "but I won't go far," she told Wolf and the other guests. "I'm dying to hear the story of this whirlwind romance!"

She walked over to Zoe, her attention divided between Wolf and the girl. "Are you all right? I have some stain removing wipes in my bag if you need them. You can call me Arianwen, I called you Zoe after all. And yes, let's get you another drink."

Once they were a little bit away from the crowd, Arianwen said softly, "I don't know that people are unhappy about the betrothal. For myself I just don't know what to think. I didn't know Miranda was engaged until I walked in through the door, but I went back to Atebus after we finished school, so we haven't seen much of each other lately. Did you know?"

all right some new responses ♥

"Hanna? I think I remember Miri mentioning you," he's back at his phone after releasing her hand. It seems like his game is the most important thing to him right now, though he does spare at least a little focus on the guest, "Same size shoes, right? She said she always borrowed your 'cute ones'."

(The little expression changes in your HA are just adorable btw!)

Wolf fiddles around with his phone a moment or two longer and then frowns. Lost the level again. Miri will be so unhappy... He glances up briefly again. That girl just looks lost.

"Don't let 'Auntie' over there get to you," his eyes drift down to the screen again as he talks, "She's very unpleasant, and doesn't like a scandal. It seems I'm quite the big one too. So she's more... unhappy then usual now."

Startled by the slam, Wolf definitely pokes the wrong thing on his screen and loses that round. He frowns at the screen. Continues... continues... does he have anymore? This game...

He tries to be civil with Garrin, he recognizes the name of course. Miri always had nice things to say about him. Pleasant enough too which is how he manages to pry a few short answers from him. They met through a common acquaintance. Nothing special, though his Miri will definitely find a way to glamorize it somehow.

The text startles him a bit, and he actually fumbles the phone a moment, like he doesn't know what to do with it. He shoots a narrow eyed glare off into the distance, as if he's looking for someone.

(!! This is amazing! I'm so joining--time to make an HA and write up a little introduction! I've never done any RP stuff before but I want to get into D&D so I have to start somewhere, lol)

"Where is your pack, Wolf?" a most peculiar yet extraordinarily intriguing woman asked with a teasing grin. When the man looked up in confusion she said: "I'm Pearl Idyllicston, but you can call me P.I. . Miranda told me the two of you were engaged and I just wanted to come over to congratulate you. It's been a long time since I have seen her this happy which is why I am actually really grateful to you." P.I. waited for Wolf to give her a response, but he stayed quiet while looking her straight in the eyes. It was more like him staring into her soul and the icy silence which started to fill the air made her feel shivers run down her spine. She unconciously started swaying from side to side as if she wanted to escape his gaze. Normally, she was not the type to give in, au contraire, she was the person who was usually in control of the situation with a confidence and lack of uncertainty many admired her for. Only her closest friends, like Miranda, knew the raw Pearl, a side so rarely surfacing its existence was more disputed than the Veta Lake Monster's . Wolf, however, saw right through her. She felt exposed and uncomfortable, but the minute she caught herself feeling this way, she remembered who she was. She was the woman who would come to a high society tea party in pants drinking red bovyne and made it socially acceptable, she was the woman who could read people like books, she was the woman who could make major drill weep like a little kid and she could even lick her own elbow! So why was she not able to unravel this mystery? She wondered how Wolf acted around Miranda to have made her fallen so deeply in love with him. Wait... Acted? P.I.'s suspicion grew sky-high for a second before she could scold herself for not giving him the benefit of the doubt and being too overprotective of Miranda. While all these thoughts had flown around in her head, Wolf said nothing. What felt like eons to her were just mere moments. But there was one thing she was certain of now: Silence could cut deeper than words.

[Outfit=1000073]

this seems fun! Thanks for tagging me so I caught this, I love writing prompts.

I'll make a character based on this HA I made recently, since I'm unable to really use the wardrobe now due to bugs or whatever, not sure.

The blue skinned, pink haired girl wanders through the party looking for the gentleman of the hour, the fiance of her friend Miranda. She wonders what sort of man could have won Miranda's heart so thoroughly in such a short time, because while Miranda is quick to befriend people, she's never been so reckless, at least not that Lilah knew of.

Several others seem to have the same idea, and Lilah hangs back as each of them introduce themselves to Wolf. She doesn't eavesdrop, that would be rude, but she watches his reactions to each of them. Wolf seems reluctant to socialize, brushing each of them off fairly quickly to return to his cell phone, until one -- someone Lilah has never met, but she takes in their appearance carefully now -- seems to arrest his attention more than the previous few.

After that one departs, she waits a few more minutes and makes her way over. She stands quietly in front of Wolf until he looks up from his game. "I apologize for interrupting," she says delicately, "but Miranda asked me to introduce myself to you. I must congratulate you on your engagement. She's a wonderful girl."

Wolf stares at Lilah in seeming confusion.

Well, Lilah is used to that. Not many people look like her around here! "I'm Lilah Cerain. Miranda and I met on the Island." She assumes he knows which island she means; after all, Miranda would not have kept such an important part of her life secret from her fiance, would she? And if she has, well, that tells Lilah something, too.

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Arianwen watches Lilah walk right up to Wolf from the drinks table where she's standing with Zoe.

This is going to be good, she thinks, waving surreptitiously at Lilah.

If Wolf knows what the Island even is, she'll eat her headbow. Possibly both of them.

(!! omg this is so long I'm sorry lol) Outfit Not Found

Why am I always late for everything?? Rey sighed deeply as she anxiously rushed to finish getting ready. What’s that joke.. “I’ll be late for my own funeral.” Hah. If only there was a way. Okay, phone, wallet, keys. Water bottle, gotta fill my water bottle. Ooh, and my fancy shawl, and— It was an all-too-familiar routine at this point. Underestimate how long it’ll take to get ready, and then severely underestimate how long it’ll take to get there. And of COURSE my phone is ringing, why didn’t I put it on do-not-disturb?.. Oh, it’s—

“Hi Miranda, I’ll be there in 30 minutes—sorry, I’m chronically late as a person.” Get the apology out of the way now so it’s not awkward later. She put her phone on speaker so she could get her shoes on—a pair of well-loved boots that served her well on her hikes. No way am I driving all the way out to the lake and not going on a little adventure. Rey’s childhood friend assured her that there was no rush, and mentioned feeling a bit unwell. She said she may be napping by the time Rey got to the party. Right before the two hung up the phone, Rey overheard Miranda say to an arriving guest, “I’m so glad you could make it! You’re a little early..” Oh good, so I’m fashionably late today. Rey started up her car.

Forty-five minutes later she pulled up to the nicest villa she’d ever seen. The front gate had been left open, presumably so no one had to break away from the party to let in the guests. Rey carefully parked in startlingly close proximity to several $500,000 cars. As she made her way towards the home she admired the landscaping. So many flowers in juxtaposition with the famous pine trees of Veta Lake transformed the area into a wonderland. She pulled the invitation out of her dress pocket (and silently thanked whoever designed the garment). Garden Party.. this whole estate is a garden party! Guess I’m supposed to go.. around the back? She meandered her way towards the party with no haste, reveling in the alone time before all the noise, and scouting out quiet places she could go if she needed a break. After walking for five minutes she started to hear the chatter of the guests.

True to nature, Rey hung back to observe the party for a moment before deciding how to approach her introduction. She only knew Miranda and Nicolette, and she’d only spoken to Nic at the odd family gathering when they were all kids. That was years ago now. Rey was lost in thought when she heard her name being called. Nicolette walked over to greet her and Rey was grateful to be met by a fellow introvert. “How’s the party going so far?”

Nicolette informed her that so far, the party seemed like it was centered on Wolf. Rey filled with sympathy as Nicolette told her of the guests’ endless questions. Rey responded, “Doesn’t seem like it would’ve been so bad if everyone hadn’t crowded the poor guy. He sounds nice. I would’ve freaked out, being surrounded like that.” The two of them walked over to the beverage table and Rey chose a glass of red wine. She smelled it before tasting. “Ah, good. Dry, the way I like it. Oh, by the way, did Miranda go for her nap like she wanted to?” Nicolette, however, was unsure, and at that moment an older woman called Nic over. Must be the aunt I’ve heard so much about, Rey thought, as the resemblance was clear. She shrugged and walked off to check out the back gardens.

She wandered past roses, and hydrangeas, and rhododendron. Andromeda that sent off a sweet perfume as bumblebees buzzed around. Azaleas that were already losing their petals this late in the season. Beautiful purple flowers she’d never seen before. Topiaries as tall as three people. And there at the back of the garden was one of the gardeners ( )! Rey walked closer and noticed they were talking to Wolf. She overheard them say, “Miranda told me to say hi, so..” followed by a mildly awkward silence. A feeling Rey knew all too well. She chose that moment to step into the conversation.

“Sorry, you’re one of the gardeners, right? I’ve been admiring your work, the gardens are amazing! I love flowers so much. Never got into keeping plants though as I’ve always been afraid of killing them.” She chuckled awkwardly. The gardener introduced theirself as TJ, and their dog Sarge said hello with an enthusiastic lick.. of Rey’s kneecap. They all laughed and Rey used the opportunity to introduce herself to Wolf. She raised her glass of wine in his direction, and he raised his phone in a return of the toast. Rey considered that a victory and told the two she was going to go make her rounds, and say hi to everyone else. “Time to put on my people face!” She gave Sarge one last head-scratch and walked off.

Speaking of which, Kimi finally spots Wolf, who appears as disengaged and disinterested from his surroundings as a penguin in a zoo enclosure could look. She walks over to him and almost extends out her right hand as a greeting, before remembering how too formal and old-fashioned the gesture would have appeared.

"Hey, you must be Wolf! Sorry to disturb, but I wanted to introduce myself before the festivities started. I'm a good friend of Mir's, Kimi Bronte. Congratulations on your engagement," she genuinely smiles. Kimi feels a nudge on her right shin. "Oh, how could I forget! This is Misa," she gestures to the cute white fox curiously peering up at Wolf.

Private Outfit

TJ looked up in genuine surprise as one of the guests addressed them. They had assumed they would say hello to Wolf, scoop up some of whatever Richard had made, and see themselves out. Even if they stuck around, their dirty overalls would probably make them invisible compared to everyone's fluffy bright dresses and nicely pressed slacks. But still, who didn't appreciate a compliment? "Thanks," they said, ducking their head modestly. "It's nothing, though— Roland's the real mastermind, I mostly do the planting an' trimming an' grunt work like that. But… thanks." Sarge seemed to like the stranger too; he was usually wary of others, and had in fact been hovering behind TJ's legs this whole time, but now he seemed happy to soak up the scritches. He even tried to follow the stranger off into the crowd until TJ called him back with a low whistle. The dog turned and enthusiastically trotted back over to his master… and then right past them, so he could instead sniff the butt of a pretty white fox who had shown up with one of the partiers ( ). Oh well.

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Rey turned around just in time to see another guest arrive with a.. dog? Pointy snout.. smaller paws.. feline eyes.. Not a dog. Rey waved to the fox’s owner ( ), but was unsure if she noticed. Sarge bounded over to make a new friend as Rey traced her way back to the entrance of the garden. She passed by a beautiful display of wildflowers and stopped by the beverage table again, never one to pass up a free drink. The social lubricant, she laughed to herself. She rounded a large sculpture of a Malticorn and thought she saw a familiar face--and yes! It was , someone she'd met once at the bathhouse. Lypsyl had shown Rey around when she was just a newcomer. "Hey! Didn't think I'd see anyone I knew here!"

[img align=center]https://sapi.subeta.net/shared/1000014.png[/img]"Right. We used to swap her acquisitions from trips to Paris and mine from Seoul." Hanna noticed the party now milling about the fountain, waiting to introduce themselves to Miranda's now infamous fiance. Poor guy, he was in for a grilling. "It was nice meeting you Wolf ()." With that, she turned and headed for an nearby quiet spot by the Queen Elizabeth rose bushes to mull everything over. It seemed like Miranda had instructed all the arriving guests to greet Wolf. So like her to accidentally set an ambush on someone with her always good but usually misguided intentions.

Hanna was now more perplexed than ever. First of all upon closer inspection, was that Miranda's phone Wolf had so intently been smashing cupcakes on? Also, it still would have been rude if he were texting for work or something, but a game? Her little cousin Sam sulked in the corner and played video games at family parties because he was the only person under the age of 14, and even he knew it was bad manners to be on the phone and converse at the same time. She also couldn't help noticing the strange amount of party-goers with books.

It was turning out to be the beginning of an odd gathering. Miranda, shirking her party duties with a flimsy excuse about illness. Wolf, no last name and no details about who he was or how he became acquainted to Miri as he called her, and then engaged to so hastily. Hanna recognized some of the guests, but there were definitely some new and rather eccentric people in the mix this year. She had always looked forward to Miranda's Vesnali garden tea parties, but whether Wolf meant good or harm was worrying her, and it was going to be challenging to mingle and enjoy herself as if nothing was wrong. Hanna studied a newly bloomed rose, her troubles tugging at her mind.