party of the year :: errrybody

"As if you were expecting anything else," Remy said, knowing full well why Hadley had bee-lined for Arizona. If the party hadn't been thrown in Kavi's honor, Remy probably wouldn't have guided him over there in the first place.

As they drifted around the ballroom, Remy noted who was there for Hadley. "Only clio missing seem to be Kole, thank the gods, and Tamar. I don't think I see Aspen, either--that's surprising." Kole and Tamar didn't often come to overloridian gatherings, unless they pertained to business, but Aspen usually made an appearance at the social events.

"That Mayor's son is here, the adviser for Solas. And some other clio I've never seen before. Looks like Liam didn't bring Tahnee."

"Mm, we should prooobably avoid the Solas clio," Hadley said thoughtfully. Even though he had helped Amerie with the whole mayor business without any tricks or trouble, he had a feeling she still probably wasn't very fond of him.

"Liam brought someone different for once, huh?" he asked. Liam and Tahnee were both boring and predictable most of the time, so the fact that he'd actually changed things up could be interesting. "Let's go check them out. You don't have any issues with Liam, right?"

Remy gave a slight laugh. "I'm not sure anyone could have a problem with Liam," she said. He was always kind and hospitable, and Remy had never had issues when dealing with Cuir. He wasn't too bad on the eyes, either.

Remy led Hadley past Amerie and Luka, who were talking to each other quietly, and towards where Liam stood with another man that Remy had never met before. "He's with some guy who I'm assuming accompanied Paisley, looking at their outfits."

The man had a green tie that worked well with the Nadar overloridian's pale green dress. The man's coyote daemon stood close to his leg, almost leaning right up against him. Sure enough, the look in his eyes told Remy that he was nervous. "Doesn't look like he's too thrilled to be here."

---

Liam and Nils were chatting about how the latter had been enjoying Nadar when Liam saw Hadley and Remy walk up. "Hey guys," Liam said conversationally. He smiled at the overloridian and his adviser, who were walking arm-in-arm. "Nils, this is Hadley and Remy, they're from Earalas. And this is Nils, Paisley's boyfriend."

Remy smiled as Liam introduced them, and took a turn giving Liam a hug as well as Nils. "It's so nice to see you, Liam. And it's a pleasure to meet you, Nils." Nils looked like all he wanted to do was run away. Remy noted his eyes darting over to where Paisley stood.

Although Liam was perfectly nice, Nils couldn't stop himself from glancing over in Paisley's direction, hoping he could return to her side soon. He felt more exposed this way, as if the further he got away from her the more likely it was that something could go wrong. Like he'd say the wrong thing and offend somebody, or something.

His heart dropped a little bit when another couple approached them. Meeting new clio with Paisley was one thing, but on his own he felt exceptionally apprehensive. On top of that, this new couple had a sort of confidence about them that Nils found more intimidating for some reason.

Liam wrote:"Nils, this is Hadley and Remy, they're from Earalas. And this is Nils, Paisley's boyfriend."

He was a little tense when the girl, Remy, hugged him. "You too," he mumbled, glancing over at Paisley again.

"Hey Liam," Hadley greeted amiably. He didn't have to be able to see Nils' expression and body language to be able to tell her was nervous. He could hear the uncertainty in his voice. Interestinggg. "And nice to meet you, Nils." He held his hand out. "First time at a party like this, huh?"

Nils was a little thrown off by the way Hadley seemed to stare straight past him, and how he held his hand out a little too far to the right. It took him a split second to realize he was blind. "Umm...yeah," he answered, shaking his hand after a second. Was it that obvious how out of place he was?

Paisley was deep in conversation with Marisol when she glanced over at Nils. The last time she'd looked over he'd seemed nervous, but managing. This time, however, it was the clio talking to Nils that made Paisley worry. Hadley and Remy, the overloridian/adviser team from Earalas. Paisley had never had an issue with either of them, but of all the clio at the party, they were definitely the two that would make Nils the most nervous.

"Hadley and Remy," Paisley said to Marisol, gesturing over to where their dates were now talking to the new arrivals. "From Earalas. Hadley's the overloridian, and Remy is his adviser. Aaaand we better head over there, because Nils looks like he might pass out." Sure enough, Nils looked over at her, and they locked eyes. Help, he seemed to say.

Paisley gave him an "oops" expression, and then slipped her arm through Marisol. "Shall we?" she asked with a smile, leading Marisol back over to their gentlemen.

---

"How are you enjoying Adhbhar?" Remy asked Nils. He didn't seem to be enjoying it at all, actually. "It's not my favorite eilemaiden, but the estate is nice."

Liam wanted to laugh. Who said stuff like that? The way Hadley and Remy held themselves showed their confidence, though it was an entirely different sort than the confidence that Marisol possessed. Arrogant, almost.

Nils didn't respond right away, mostly because he didn't know how to. He was a little taken aback by Remy's comment about Adhbhar not being her favorite eilemaiden, since it was after all his eilemaiden. Things suddenly felt very awkward. "I...I mean, it's fine," he said finally. He looked over at Paisley yet again, and was massively relieved to see her and Marisol walking over to hopefully save him.

"You seem a little nervous," Hadley commented casually. "Don't worry, I know Remy can seem intimidating, but she doesn't bite as long as you stay on her good side."

"I'm not...I didn't..." Nils stammered, before Paisley and Marisol mercifully arrived.

Marisol walked over, stopping right in between Nils and the Earalas couple. "Hi," she greeted with a smile, not the least bit nervous or hesitant. "You guys must be Hadley and Remy. I'm Marisol, Liam's girlfriend." She reached over and grabbed the hem of Liam's jacket, tugging at it slightly to get him to come stand by her.

"Oh it's nothing," Arizona replied as she waved her hand dismissively. "I think she thought I wanted Hadley once upon a time or something stupid like that." Remy could waste her time thinking poorly of Arizona all she liked, but it was no skin off Ari's nose. Just as long as Remy didn't try stealing the spotlight from her best friend and brother, tonight was going to be perfect.

---

Neeva, like the others, had also detected the coldness between Remy and Arizona, however she didn't comment on it. As long as there were no insults thrown or fights started, she wanted to keep the negativity out. So she slid her arm through Kavi's after the Earalas couple left and she looked at him. "I'm not sure what to do here," she told him honestly. "Do we go around greeting clio, or do we stand here and let them come to us?" She giggled, "I've never been to one of these before, let alone be the reason for it!"

Although Luka didn't know very many of these clio personally, he still felt comfortable and at his element. However, he hoped none of them would mention his father. After the hearing and the arrest, all kinds of clio would approach him. 'I can't believe he would do such a thing! It's a damn shame! He seemed like such a good mayor!' None of them would ask Luka how he felt about it, none of them came to Luka's defense. It was all awful, but he learned to deal with it. At least now he could be more like himself, even though it wasn't much different than how he usually behaved.

"I think I recognize everyone," he said to Amerie, while glancing around the room. "Except for a few of these overloridian's plus ones." He didn't recognize the two men with Paisley and Arizona, nor the girl with Liam. He was surprised that it wasn't Tahnee. Even though he had only been Amerie's advisor for a few months now, he still knew a lot of important clio just from being the mayors son. He grabbed Amerie's hand, and bent down to kiss the side of her head. "Shall we go mingle?"

Remy shot a disapproving glance at Hadley, though she knew he wouldn't be able to see it, just as a girl who introduced herself as Marisol stepped in-between she, Hadley, and Nils.

One of Remy's eyebrows raised. "It's nice to meet you, Marisol," she said, though she couldn't decide if it really was nice to meet her or not. Remy watched over Marisol's shoulder as Paisley walked over to Nils and whispered in his ear. Probably telling him not to listen to Hadley, which was good advice.

"I was surprised Tahnee wasn't with you, Liam," Remy pried.

---

Liam felt himself be pulled over to Marisol as she introduced herself to Remy and Hadley. He allowed himself to be tugged over, and wrapped one arm around Marisol's waist.

Remy wrote:"I was surprised Tahnee wasn't with you, Liam."

Liam paused for only a moment at Remy's lack of subtlety before responding, "She's working on some things back at the estate." He wasn't sure what else to say. He had felt slightly bad, leaving Tahnee out of the festivities. Besides being his adviser, she was the closest thing he had had to a best friend for many years.

---

"Sorry," Paisley said quietly to Nils, stepping next to him as the focus shifted to Marisol's introduction. "I didn't realize you were with Hadley until it was too late." She gave him an apologetic smile. "He's not the... most sincere overloridian." He wasn't the worst or anything, but of the clio here, he was probably the last clio who needed alone time with Nils.

"Really? That's it?" Joel asked Arizona, surprised that an overloridian's adviser would be so petty. He'd expect that kind of thing from an unsettled teenage girl, not a high-ranking eilemaiden official. The clio running the other eilemaiden were all so different from his own, he was always running into surprises like this. Though he had to say, he admired the way Arizona brushed it off. She could be mature underneath all her silliness. "I'm glad you don't let stuff like that get to you." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

He looked over at Neeva when she mentioned to Kavi that she wasn't sure what to do next. "Everyone else seems to be mingling," he said, glancing around. The Earalas couple had joined up with several other clio. He noticed one isolated couple that he hadn't seen before. They had a matching gold theme going on--Solas, probably. "What about those two? They don't seem to have anyone to talk to."

---

Paisley wrote:"Sorry. I didn't realize you were with Hadley until it was too late. He's not the... most sincere overloridian."

"Oh, no, I mean he wasn't...everything was fine," Nils whispered back, even though he had just been silently asking her to help him. Hadley and Remy hadn't been rude or anything, just sort of...imposing.

---

Hadley had to suppress a snicker. He figured he probably wasn't supposed to be able to hear the whispered conversation between Paisley and Nils, but his hearing was pretty sharp nowadays. "Paisley," he greeted, nodding in her direction with a smile. "Always a pleasure. And I mean that sincerely."

---

Marisol didn't know how to feel about the way the conversation had somehow become about Tahnee. What was so surprising about Liam bringing Marisol instead? It wasn't like he and Tahnee had ever been dating. "I mean...I'm his girlfriend, so you know, that's why he invited me instead," she said with a shrug. "Liam and Tahnee are just friends."

Paisley was about to tell Nils that she wasn't too fond of Hadley, either, when suddenly Hadley made it known that he had been listening to their entire conversation. Her ears turned red as she looked over at him, her heart skipping a beat. "I... uh, likewise, Hadley," she said, finally, her face burning.

---

"Well that's good, then," Remy said to Marisol. She wasn't so sure that's what Tahnee had thought, though. Remy remembered the last time they had gotten together, and the conversation she'd had with Tahnee. It had seemed she'd had other ideas about her and Liam's relationship. Remy wondered if she was jealous, now.

"It is good," Liam responded, hugging Marisol just a little closer. "Tahnee loves Marisol." Love may have been a bit strong, but it wasn't jealousy that kept Tahnee from getting too close with Mar--it was the age difference that Tahnee was upset about.

Remy smiled. "Also good."

Nils glanced nervously between Hadley, who was smiling with a sort of fake-friendliness, and Paisley, who looked a little flustered. He didn't think he'd ever seen Paisley look flustered like this before. Somehow he thought that this awkward turn of events must be his fault, so he shot her a brief, apologetic look.

---

"Aw, I'm glad to hear that," Hadley replied amiably, knowing full well that Paisley was just being polite (not to mention embarrassed at being overheard) and took no actual pleasure from talking to him. It kind of made him want to mess with them more, rather than let them politely excuse themselves like they undoubtedly wanted to do. "Hey, would either of you mind showing me to the bar?"

---

Marisol smiled. She guessed it was a little unfair for her to get insecure about Tahnee. It was just that she was trying her best to fit in among these important clio, doing a pretty good job of it in her opinion, and she didn't wanna feel like she was being compared to someone else--someone probably better. "This estate is pretty amazing, huh?" she asked, changing the subject. "It's just one house, but it's like the size of all of Redfern."

Arizona looked to where Joel was talking about and saw Amerie and her boyfriend/adviser together. She smiled and waved her hand over to them, calling out Amerie's name. She liked Amerie, she was very sweet and caring.

"Ameria, Luka!" She replied, when they finally made it over to them. "I'm so glad you both could make it!" She hugged both of them individually before stepping back and introducing Joel and Neeva to them. "This is my boyfriend, Joel, and this is my best friend slash future sister-in-law, Neeva!"

---

Neeva shook both Amerie and Luka's hands. "It's nice to meet you both, and thank you for coming!" She had heard about the two of them through Ari and Kavi, but this was the first time she ever met them in clio.