"Hang on a moment, folks, I need to make a phone call," Infinity said, swinging her legs off the comfy beach chair and standing up. "I'll be right back," she added pointly to her guards. "I'll be right there, so you can let me have a private conversation, m'k?"

"Sure," Stanley agreed after taking a deep draw on his beer. "Just stay where we can see you and reach you in an emergency, Infinity."

"Yes, Dad," Infinity said sarcastically, rolling her eyes a little as she stepped away from everyone. She pulled out her phone and turned so that it would be harder for anyone in the food tent to eavesdrop on her. Quickly, she speed-dialed Skeet, eying Ptesan-Wi and the cluster of people around her while pretending to look out over the water.

"Hey, babe," Skeet said as a greeting, his tinny voice echoing strangely.

"I'm not your babe, pumpkin," Infinity replied, grinning.

He chuckled. "Whatcha need, Infi?"

"That tip you gave me? About the 'Lanche?"

"You already owe me for that tidbit I gave you," Skeet answered, his tone becoming professional. Skeet might be a flirt, but he knew when it was go-time. "It's going to cost of you want me to dig for more."

"No, I want to pay that off," Infinity said, digging her toes into the sand.

"What do you have?" Skeet asked.

"I'm at Elspeth's birthday party," she told him, "and someone who looks like Procyon showed up here. Only it's not him - he's too young. But Ptes- Ptesa-"

"I know who you mean."

"Yeah, her. She's hanging all over him, and she was always buddy-buddy with Little Golden Dog," Infinity said.

"Piccie?" Skeet asked.

"Give me a minute," Infinity muttered, casually turning and snapping a quick shot with her phone. She off-centered the group so that it would look like she was trying to grab a picture of the ocean. Then she uploaded it to Skeet. "How's that?"

"Fantastic, Infi," he purred. "You just got a bit of credit."

"Awesome," Infinity grinned. "Later - I've got a Jamaican Sunset getting warm."

"Have fun," Skeet said before closing the connection.

Infinity tucked her phone away and returned to the group. "Work done. Let's party. Anyone up for volleyball?"

Neil stepped up to Phaethon and extended his hand. As he did, his other hand came out of his backpack with a statue of a rampant Lepoard stepping upon broken chains. It was Ivory, gold, and onyx, with the Ivory shaped by Quantum inspiration instead of any common tool. Elspeth might have remembered it as being among her father's collection, seen many years ago in her true home.

To Phaethon
"Your father was well thought of in many circles. His courage and honest talk were an example to us all."

After a strong handshake,
"But tell us about yourself. What kind of nova do you see yourself as? What do you see yourself doing?"

Neil's tone is layed back. His demeanor is open and honest, half-way between older brother and family physician.

Elspeth had rushed over to comfort her mentor only to be beaten to the job by this golden boy she'd never met. When Neil arrived, she smiled broadly and said, "Hi. You must be Neil. PW seems to be having a bad day. She just swatted Jordan down, for flirting with her. I think the crowd has her feeling lonely." She said everything after the introduction in a quiet whisper so as not to offend anyone.

After PW had finished crying on the boy's shoulder and introduced him, "Nice to meet you. Thank you both for coming to my party." She smiled at Neil and Phaethon. Neil's gift was lovely and all the more so since it was the return of a childhood memory.

She hugged him and whispered, "Thank you. This means a alot."

Phaethon smiled in greeting, untangling one arm from around Ptesan-Wi and taking Neil's proffered hand with a friendly shake. His handsome features split in a bemused grin at Neil's question and he answered with a self-deprecating chuckle.

"Actually, that is the reason for my being here." He gestured with his other arm, gently releasing Ptesan-Wi from his clasp, though he stayed close as the sweep of his arm took in the beach and the ocean beyond in a curiously all-encompassing gesture. "I'm here to find out the answer to those questions."

Turning to Elspeth as she finished hugging Neil, he smiled at the pretty and obviously nova girl, his green eyes glimmering. "This is your party? A birthday celebration, perhaps?" He frowned slightly, an almost unbearable darkening of his features to those watching.
"I am very sorry, Elspeth." He apologised. "I came without knowledge of your celebration, else I would have brought a gift." He smiled apologetically at her. "I will have to make it up to you as soon as I am able. I can currently only offer my best wishes for this to be a happy day for you."

Sounds as though he's been nudged out of a nest, Ptesan-Wi thought to herself. Sent here to find his wings and his way... She stopped, then considered: I wonder just how much Procyon told him about me. And why, out of all the world, did he send his son to her?

Gracefully disentangling herself a bit more from Phaethon as she further recomposed herself, Ptesan-Wi tried for a bit of company-safe prodding. "I'll assume of course that this wasn't an accidental point of arrival, and that your father sent you here specifically to find me. Once the party is over, may I also assume that you will accompany me back to Inyan Kara for further discussion?" And to find out how if you are on Procyon's "Third Way" path? And if you know the full truth about me?

Phaethon, for his part, seemed somewhat energised and distracted by all the unfamiliar faces and setting, by the music drifting across the beach, and by the scents of unfamiliar food and drink. Still, he was able to follow the conversation at hand well enough.

"Right on all counts, Ptesan-Wi." He grinned at the petite woman, an expression that is so much his father's it makes the onlookers blink. "Procyon sent me to you, though I thought it would be at Inyan Kara I'd be emerging. I'll be happy to come back with you after the celebration." He glanced over at the food tent and the throng of novas around it, openly curious.

"So this is a party? I've never attended one. What sort of things happen here?" His expression is one of earnest, keen-eyed naivete.

"Yeah right!" Jordan blurted. "

With what powers? I mean, I've seen nova sports on TV and I don't think I'm cut out for that sort of intensity. I could program you a realistic physics model for the ball and probability analysis given different sets of player stats but out there on the actual sand I'm just as likely to explode the ball."

For emphasis, bolts of purple electricity flow up his hand and between his outstretched fingers like a mini tesla coil.

"Besides I've already started drinking. Do you really want me to stop now?"

A quick flick of his fingers and the waiter retirns to top of his nearly empty pint glass of hard Japanese Suntory Whiskey. Even for a nova he was drinking like a fish, though he had yet to show any effect for it.

At Jordan's outcry, Raijin looked over with a concerned grunt. Following his vision and suddenly ditracted from his waltzing water spouts, the young hostess had fled to the side of her friend in the wake of some mellowdrama.

"Hmmm." he grunted again to himself. With a wave of his hand he added the last "program" to the dancing waterspouts, making them "change partners" as they cycled through the various axes of rotation. Satisfief that his moving sculpture was complete and would sustain itself for most of the next day he flew silent and effortlessly to the libation tent.

"SAKE!" he ordered gruff and impatient of the baseline catering staff.

"No. All of it." he grasped the whole cask out of the bartender's hand before the hapless man poured the rice-wine into a tiny shot glass. Grasping the mini-keg in both hands, Raijin took a long and sloppy draught from it, his face dripping with clear liquor.

"Mmmmmmmm." he growled in satisfaction, suddenly bothering to take note of his companions in the room. He raised an eybrow at the exchange between Jordan and Katsuro but said nothing. When Jordan made his toast to Japan however, Raijin raised his "stein" and drank even more heartily before giving the poor young Nodespark a brutal slap upon the back and making him choke on his whiskey.

At Phaethon's arrival, the Nihonjin nova seems to be entranced by the Sun disk. After watching his freindly introductions with Elspeth and Ptesan-Wi, Raijin flies over with alarming speed.

"Hail scion of Ameterasu, child of phoenix! I am Saigo Shukenja Raijin Shinkeniki...Welcome!" He thrusts the burly wooden cask of sake in Phathon's direction with all the boistrousness of a drunken comrade in arms.

The food and drink area had several others at it. They seemed to be in animated conversation, and it would be best to leave them be. He walked past them, giving a quick glance to them and on to the table filled with food.

There were things on the table he had never seen before. Many things. As he surveyed the mounds of multi-colored food, he picked up and started sampling. Not only did he experience for taste and odor, but the texture of it inside his mout, and the noise it made when he bit into it. Netherworld had found a place where he could explore the unknown.

After Raijin had come and gone like a thunderstorm, Infinity rolled her eyes at Jordan. "Geez, you can drink anywhere, Telsa-boy," she said, leaning down and grabbing his arm. "If you don't play, then it's just me, Kitty-kat and the walking stereotype, and that that isn't a very good match. I don't have powers either, so it can be one non-powered and one powered on each side."

"Heh. We're going to play volleyball, I guess," Katsuro snickered, glancing at Stanley.

"Fuck," the C-Z guard grumbled around the pull on his beer. "I hated gym class."

"See?" Infinity insisted, tugging on NodeSpark again. "It'll be fun, and then we can come back and drink. We've got time."

The sudden approach and boisterous greeting from Raijin startled Phaethon, his green eyes widening as he took a half step back before he realised that the awe-inspiring figure was friendly. As soon as the realisation was made, however, the godling's smile beamed up at the huge nova.

"My thanks, Saigo-san" he said in perfect Japanese (albeit with an Okinawan accent), bowing his head respectfully. "You do me much honor with your greeting. More honor than this barely-fledged son of the One Race deserves, I might say." Smiling good-naturedly, he took the cask from Raijin and drunk deeply, coughing once as he lowered the vessel and passed it back to the large man with another bow. Smiling around at the others as he looped a friendly arm around Ptesan-Wi's waist, he asked "Shall we go over and join the party there?"

Ptesan-Wi, as close to fully recovered from her earlier outburst as she was likely to become today, nodded. "That sounds fine. Maybe we could take part in the volley-ball game, depending on the rules involved."

Elspeth looked around at the assembly of novas and smiled. The party was going well and people were enjoying themselves. There had already been a little bit of melodrama, and now people were drinking and starting to play games. Good party!

"Maybe we can play four people to a side. If the others don't mind that is."

He hugged the small nova with his free arm while listening to Phaethon. To Elspeth,
"Your welcome. You have more friends than you know. Remember that."

Once untangled from the birthday girl, Neil remained close to Ptesan-Wi, but still gave her and the fire young nova their space. Slowly, he gravitated toward the volleyball game and the novas he didn't know, or knew only vaguely.

"I'm not much of a athelete, nova-wise, and my powers aren't of much use in sports either, so I can be ref, if needed. My impartiality is universally reviled," he jokes.

"I've never played volleyball, but I'm sure my coordination can keep up," Phaethon said with a smile. "In any case, I'd enjoy giving it a try."

He wandered along with Neil, still with a companionable arm around the small Lakota woman. His brilliant green eyes studied the other group of partygoers that were heading towards the playing area.

While Neil approached, Stanley had gotten a volleyball and handed it to Infinity; she was bouncing it around in her hands, trying to entice Node-Spark to play. She stopped that to turn her attention to the healer. "Infinity Jones," Infinity offered, extending her hand to Neil. She knew who he was. When she was little, she'd been told that she could trust a few novas to not hurt her - the nova parents equalivant to saying always trust the police. Neil had been one of them. "It's good to meet you - my parents actually warned me about your impartiality."

But her casual and calm demeanour fell away when Golden Boy pulled Ptesan-Wi over to the group. It wasn't like Infinity had anything against the woman - other than she was bat-shit-nuts, anyway - but she was awfully pretty. It took all of three seconds for Infinity to become a shy, withdrawn, awkward girl holding a volleyball.

Katsuro interrupted her morose introspective mood by grabbing her by the chin and tilting her head up. "Mal's Future should never look like that," he murmured before giving her a bruising kiss. His stubble seared her face; his fingers trapped her in place. His lips were doing a good job of making up for that, but it wasn't enough to make up for being weird and embarrassing her like this.

Infinity transferred the ball to one hand and slammed it down on top of his head, breaking the kiss up by jarring his head away from hers. "Don't be an asshole, Katsuro," she growled as he dropped onto his butt and started laughing up at her. Still scowling, she turned away from him and trying to get her hands to stop shaking. She wasn't sure if it was from lust or anger.

"So, let's figure out teams and play," she said, trying to take attention away from what had just happened.

Connor nods enthusiasticly. "Sounds like a blast. Let's do it." Connor's sEufiber shirt and pants seemed to melt away into a simple pair of swimtrunks and white tank-top. Now out of his more stuffy clothes, he felt alot more relaxed. "Much better now."

The tanktop and shorts showed off his beyond human-perfection features and he smiled. Now the women would have two pretty young men to gawk at.

"Volley-ball?" Raijin asks. He finishes his large barrel of sake and crushes it with one massive hand into one of the waste bins situated around the site for the attendee's convenience.

"What is the object of this sport? In Japan, we play baseball." He says this with great pride.

Jordan is about to cave in and go along with the plan until he sees Ptesan-Wi walking over that way, with an entourage including a couple of exceptionaly good looking men, even by Nova standards. Suddenly the will to resist becomes all to easy.

"You know, you all have fun. I've never been that into sports. More of a book worm really."

He gives Infinity a smile that seems confident enough and turns to refill his pint. That being done he makes a pretense of going to graze the food buffet, even though he hasn't felt real hunger in weeks. It's a funny thing how not having an appetite removes some of the satisfaction in eating. Taste could only satisfy for so long before the palate adapted. So he ate a few grapes, a piece of California roll and some cheese and crackers, but his real interest was the very unusual looking Nova who appeared to be almost lost in sensation.

"Hi!" he ventured, engaging the alabastor nova in a friendly fashion. "Im Jordan."

Putting something into his mouth that had a sharp, yet creamy taste, Nosferatu couln't help but notice the others gathering around a net with a head sized white ball. Judging from what he had read, the others seemed to be starting some sort of ball-oriented sport. It might be fascinating to watch. For now, there was a table of different sensates to experience.



The man in front of him, was the same one that the angry primitive-looking girl had assaulted. For several seconds, Netherworld traced Jordan's facial features, stopping at his neckline. His eyes lingered there, noting how the light played on his skin. After several more seconds, he remembered that the man had spoken to him and he adjusted his gaze.

"Hello..I am Netherworld." He said, with a sleepy quality to his voice. Suddenly, he stuck out his hand for the man to shake. My mom told me that people did this when they introduced eachother, he reminded himself

"I am pleased to meet you." At almost the same time, Netherworld thought: I would also be pleased if you would tell me what the 'violent one' did to you.

Jordan clasps Netherworld's hand with just the right ammount confident firm pressure and gives a single hearty shake before letting go.

"Likewise! Where'd you come from today? Are you American?"

Jordan tries to identify any clues in Netherworld's voice and pronunciation.

After some good-natured ribbing - or at least, everyone pretended it was good-natured, even if it wasn't - the teams were sorted out. Mech, Ptesan-Wi, Katsuro and Phaeton were on one team, while the other team was Raijin, Infinity, Elspeth and
Stanley. Neil lounged on the sidelines and referred or offered advice and encouragement, depending on his mood. They played until people got bored of the game and attention started to wander away.

Infinity had enjoyed herself, despite the lack of powers on her part. No one had gotten too blood-thristy, out of respect for the birthday girl, but it had kept her jumping, nonetheless. Now, Infinity was hot enough that she was sweating, and she pulled off the jeans she'd been wearing over her bikini briefs. She may not have been impossibly beautiful, or ripped like a weight-lifter's wet dream, but she did have a body that was without baseline flaws. And when you want to wear a bikini, that mattered.

"You're going to have a sunburn," Katsuro said, appearing beside her with a tube of lotion. "Hold still."

"I didn't think this was part of the body guard package," Infinity said, even as she turned and let him smear the cool lotion over skin that was already getting hot and tight with injury.

"Call it a bonus," Katsuro replied. "Besides, if you have pale skin, you're an idiot to be running around out here without it."

"I shouldn't sunburn," Infinity sighed.

"But you do," Katsuro said, giving her neck and shoulders a last rub. "There."

"Now what?" Stanley asked, brushing sand off his shirt from a dive he'd taken after a ball.

"Let's find someone to talk to," Infinity said, eyeing the young Phaethon. She pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Right after I top off the nicotine tank."

"Yeah," Katsuro muttered. "Find someone to 'talk' to."

He enjoyed the game. The blend of coordination and power necessary for volleyball was exhilarating for the young nova raised in near-isolation. Of course, his coordination and strength paled in comparison to some of those present, and the fact that his abilities were as psychologically natural to him as breathing caused a few fouls at first for his team, when he flew up to deliver a particularly nasty spike after a 'no powers' agreement. But he was as swift of mind as of body, and quickly got the hang of the rules.

Another problem was also evident. Although Phaethon's beauty was rivalled by a couple of the novas present, he seemed to be blithely unaware of the effect he had on the women present. To make matters worse he was totally unselfconscious and lacking in modesty. Though only clad in a waistwrap, the youth dived, leapt and spun with no thought to the expanse of bronzed flesh he displayed. In fact, only a prompt telepathic intervention from Ptesan-Wi at one point prevented the guileless young nova from stripping off the unaccustomed garment. Luckily, she was the only one that seemed to notice, and Phaethon readily accepted her advice that he would only cause upset.

The close-fought game was heavy exertion, on par with the training his father had given him, and Phaethon's lean body was glistening with sweat as the game broke up. Running a hand through his damp hair, the young sun god walked down to the surf and waded in to waist-depth before sinking into the water, submerging himself fully in the blissfully cool blue expanse. He stayed down for a few moments before coming back up again with a sigh of contentment, water streaming down him as he waded back out and onto the beach, heading over to the cluster of people with his green eyes sparkling.

The game had been enjoyable for multiple reasons. First and foremost it did the Healer good to see so many of his people getting together, putting ego aside, and having some fun. Right behind that was the sheer joy of watching a nova body function. Neil could see the life energy course through the bodies as the power coiled up within them and reached out for release.

It was even amazing to see how things went wrong, though they rarely did in this crowd. When the game ended, Neil opted to correct a few of the miniscule flaws that he had seen.

Neil walked up to Infinity and her minders. To the caucasian,
"Your elbow please?"
"Say what?" the man said pulling away and looking somewhat offended.
"You came down somewhat hard on your elbow and its strained. If you like, I can heal it and make the pain go away."
Suspicious, the man offered his arm to Neil, though he stole a look to Infinity. The power flowed out of Neil and eased the elbow back into the form it was meant to be in.

"There you go," Niel offered with a grin. Before the man could take further offense from Neil's contact, Neil moved on.

"Infinity, I can deal with that burn if you like. It won't take a second."
Infinity was looking like she was going to give him the benefit of the doubt. For her, Neil's touch started out as warm, but rapidly became a cooling touch as it erased the burn and returned her skin's vitality in seconds. He smiled down at her and said,
"That's all. I've got to get Ptesan now. She fell hard and is going to have a headache if I don't help out."
"Nice game," he said and then turned and walked away toward the Native American Goddess.

Connor enjoyed the game, all in all it was good fun to play against other novas. By the end of it he had eschewed a shirt and his skin was already starting to tan. He never really burned thanfully, but even so he could get a good tan. He smiled and dove into the water. He waves to the others. "Come on int the water's fine."

The game had actually been fun... all the more so with the "no powers" rule that brought everyone, if not down to her level, at least close enough to maintain appearances. And she had to admit, jumping around next to the mostly bare body of Phaethon was far from a chore; it was only with great reluctance that she had warned him to keep the small wrap in place, rather than toss it to the side as he had wished. The young man had clearly been raised to be a god....

Still, the one time she was knocked into the ground had left her head spinning for a moment. When she saw Neil heading her way after the game, though, she raised a hand and shook her head slightly; "I'm fine," she declared as he reached out with his healer's hand. In fact, she was fine, to Neil's surprise. Privately, she explained: *You are not the only one with strong medicine, Neil Preston. I may not advertise such beyond the tribe, but I have at least some small skill.* With an almost impish grin, she added, *And now, I think it's time to get back to the fun. Come on!* She turned and, stripping off the leather tunic to reveal her bare body, lightly jogged off toward the water.

"Oh, fuck her sideways," Infinity cursed when she saw that fucking squaw strip naked and head for the water. She had been considering going swimming, but now the last thing she wanted to do was get compared to Ptesan-Wi. And she would get compared - that's what men did, especially teenage men. And while Infinity might have a body free of baseline imperfections, so did Little Ms. Brain-fryer, in addition to having bigger boobs, fuller hips and a prettier face.

Katsuro just laughed. "If you're going to make your move, you need to do it soon," he said. "He's coming this way."

Infinity perked up when she saw that the gold boy was coming their direction. "How do I look?"

"You look like you," Katsuro said, giving her a little smile. "Just right."

"Great. The last person I want to be," Infinity grumbled. Her eyes narrowed and she stared at Katsuro suspiciously. "Say, why are you encouraging me?"

"Because it will be fun to watch," he answered, then smacked her ass. "Go play with the boy-child."

Infinity glared at him for a moment but quickly walked toward Phaethon. "Hey," she said with a warm smile. "I'm Infinity. I'm sure you heard that, but I wanted to introduce myself to you."

Raijin had fairly dominated clost to the net. His tremendous speed, exceptional height, long reach and mighty arms made for some impressive spikes. Still the combination of both Phaeton and Mech on the other team made a potent counterbalance to his skill and allowed him to really enjoy the match.

He had a few errors where he set the ball with so much strength that his teammates couldn't react but he quickly adapted and pulled his punches, giving Elspeth some nice assists that made her look really good. Mostly he was just playing to enjoy the company of others, yet still for someone who had zero experience with this game he demonstrated peak athletic ability. He never even broke a sweat.

After the match was done, he could not help but notice Ptesan-Wi's gleaming nubile body as she disrobed before him. He immediately disrobed as well and flew easily beside her toward the water. It turned out that *everything* about the godling nova was massive. With no shame or self consciouness he flew next to her, emanating a primal aura of raw sexuality. He said nothing overt, nor made any clumsy attempts to hit on her. He merely allowed them to feel the proximiy of each other. They were gods, and they were woman and man. No words were needed to express the possibilities. When they reached the water, Petsan-Wi dived headlong into the surf, and Raijin followed.

"A lovely day for a first meeting, White Calf Buffalo Woman. You are every inch your Legend."

((Though ugly by human standards, Raijin nonetheless exudes powerful pheremones and an aura of attraction. I know we are just roleplaying through it, but just for fun, I rolled Raijin's seduction, 11 plus one Mega and came up with 7 successes. The Mega came up a 10. W00t! http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1673391/))

Phaethon's face was a picture as he passed Ptesan-Wi on her way down to the water. It was obvious enough to anyone watching that he had never seen a naked woman before, but that wasn't what was interesting. Without baseline mores or expectations infecting his attitudes, Phaethon's reaction was one of unabashed appreciation: the youth gazed at Ptesan-Wi's body as they passed one another before meeting her eyes with a smile. He was nearly distracted from his hunger and thirst, but the strange aromas ahead kept his feet moving over the sand.

Then Infinity approached him. Phaethon studied her as she came near, from her warm smile to the glints of light that were her piercings.

"Hello, Infinity. Yes, I did catch your name, but it's nice to meet you personally." Phaethon brushed his wet hair back out of his face and offered her a warm, dazzling smile along with his outstretched hand. "I'm Phaethon."

The man grabbed his hand roughly nad squeezed it. Is this how you shake a hand?. He tried to respond in a similar fashion.

Where am I from? American? He knew that they spoke the language of French in the area he first appeared in after his apotheosis. His mother spoke English and French to him as he grew up. Could I have been born in France? As for the American question. He only heard of it in stories