(holiday party) show them the joy and the pain and the ending; Dovev, Luster, any

[Heartfire]

She's got the devil's eyes

She had heard of the party, of course. Had understood why her sister would wish to host such a thing. Something that could herald new beginnings and overcome the sins of the past. Something to provide relief to a land ravaged by strife and plague. It was a noble thought, something very much in keeping with her much gentler sibling’s nature.

She had been undecided whether she would try to come. She knows the pain she’d caused, and she cannot erase it. Does not even know how she might begin to try. But this is about more than just herself. And for once, she would try not to be selfish. She would try to be nobler than her nature so often allows. It’s what one does for family after all, isn’t it?

It had taken her time to make the arrangements, but in the end she had succeeded. It’s a rare thing that she does not, so perhaps it had been her own misgivings that had caused her to tarry a bit. But she is not quite ready to acknowledge them yet. Not quite ready to give in entirely.

Ether comes with, to provide them safe travel to the Island. For a once a promise he’d made to Luster rather than to her. But he says nothing, his yellow eyes unreadable as he peers from the safety of his shadows. Heartfire spares him a moment’s consideration before she steps through. Before she confronts Dovev. “Come with me,” she says, giving him little opportunity to resist. She touches the bare, dark skin of his neck briefly, running her nose lightly along the line of it before withdrawing abruptly. Her blue gaze lacks the usual hardness, but she is still just as unreadable, the vibrant depths almost daring him to question.

Without another word, she turns and steps through the portal, pausing only to ensure he’d followed before turning her attention the winter wonderland before them. Their children would be here soon. She’d found them, but she had not brought Dovev here for them. He should know all his children, even the ones he’d been inadvertently forced to leave behind. A year is too long in the life of a child.

and they'll cut you like a weapon

Heartfire

@[Dovev] @[luster]

[Tiphon]

One by one, they arrive.
They come alone or with families, clustered with those familiar. Tiphon, ever watchful, observes as the numbers trickle in and scatter across the beach. A smile stretches across his lips, thrilled in the sense of what is coming. This party of sorts is a welcomed change to the monotony and suffering that currently plagues all of Beqanna. With so much destruction and infection, it had been too beautiful of a thing to turn down. His home, this beautiful island, is more than perfect as a venue. Laughter will rise above the surrounding pestilence and smiles will brighten the exotic flowers and world around them.

To be excited is an understatement.

Tiphon eagerly waits, quickly stepping from the foliage and onto the shore just as Heartfire (a stranger to him) arrives with loved ones close on her heels. A face of hospitality smears across his handsome face as he closes the space among them, his molten eyes dancing across them. ”Welcome to the Island Resort. I’m Tiphon,” he doesn’t add his role, doesn’t include that he is the host to this marvelous gathering. The information is moot as excitement builds with every passing breath. His wings stretch to their tips, his aura illuminating each of them before he slowly closes them against his sides again. ”I hope you will enjoy your time here,” but this sounds like a closing statement! Not at all what he wants as he shifts with the sand hissing underfoot.

”Out of curiosity, where do you come from?” He has focused so intently on his own island that he hasn’t ventured beyond its borders. There is an entire world outside and yet he has isolated himself here, focusing on the families that fled to safety – to him. Very few have required his assistance, but he is a hovering entity, waiting to apply a balm to anyone’s symptoms.

Tiphon