Vali turns and makes eye contact with the Spanish nova.
"Hello sir. I'm Vali. This guy is Mythic," he motions the nova standing next to him.
Before he can say anything else, he looks over BlackStar's shoulder and whispers,
"Holy cow."

Amped makes the introductions and once again Vali smiles and introduces himself.
"Its good to meet you, miss."
Vali is all confindence and smiles.

And once again, Carver is speechless. "You shouldn't have, this is too much!" she breathes. Her hands stroke the stone lightly, as if caressing a child. "Thank you, anyway. I will cherish this."

She turns next to greet Dervish, giving her a quick hug. "It's good to see you - I wish you could come see us more often," she says.

As she steps away from Dervish, she sees Vali, smiling at Dervish. He’s barking up the wrong tree, Carver thinks to herself. Dervish really likes Amped. Carver looks past Vali and - is that Mythic? He's standing tall, a little taller than her actually, and he looks different – more confident, more like the young Nova that he is. Wandering over, she asks, "Harold, did Rene's promise come true already? If so, the look suits you."

"Hey babe!" Dervish replies, returning the hug. "Ya been havin' trouble with a certain big dumb bird-brain, I hear. He give ya any grief, gimme a call, an' I'll bad-luck him 'till he ain't nothin' but a big-ass canary."

With a look behind and an understanding smile BlackStar greets Vali and Mythic.

"Hi, Vali, Mythic, I saw your combat, well done!".

A short beat after, he turns and salutes the Nova adolescent, Dervish.

"How are you, Dervish?, I´m BlackStar".

With Carver temporarily distracted by Dervish's hug, Vali looks over at Mythic and gives him an atta boy smile and eyebrow rise.

At Dervish's threats his head pops back around like a shotgun and he stares at her with a neutral expression.

Whoa, this is a little bit much to take in at once... Dervish from Teen Tomorrow? More of the Knights showing up? Nah, it's okay, they're just novas like him, nothing more. Hey, Carver's back... Harold smiles at Carver with only a hint of a blush, "Maybe it did... and thank you, but I really think the your new look is better." There, that wasn't so hard, was it?

Turning on his feet while still standing next to Carver, Harold introduces himself to the newcomers, "Hi and good to meet all of you."

Carver shakes her head sadly at Dervish. "It won't be a problem. He's... not coming back. I pissed him off well and good."

She sighs and rubs her arms, looking innocent and slightly fragile. "I don't know that we would have ever been able to work anything out - he's way too hot-headed, and I can't handle that. So I don't think that I'll ever need to make that call." She smiles sweetly at Dervish, "But thank you. That means a lot."

Dervish shrugs. "Boys can be idiots. Ya'd be surprised at what guys do ta get my attention."

She grins at the new arrivals. "Nice ta meetchas. Hope ya ain't too disappointed with meetin' me for real."

Vali opens his mouth as if he is about to say something, but stops himself.

The Spanish nova takes a step towards the grill, takes a plate and put a bit of food on it.

Then, feeling the different tensions running in the backyard, declares: "I think I´m going to mingle with the rest of the people inside, see you later".

He enters in the house and goes along greeting and talking with any other nova, munching happily some food.

"No," Carver says slowly, her mind elsewhere. "I don't think that anything a guy could do would surprise me ever again, not after Wakinyan gave me a piece of his pelt."

The silence after her statement startles her into realizing what she just said aloud. She blushes sweetly and tries to shrug away the statement. "Forget I said that - it's over and done with anyway."

"Wakinyan did what?" Dervish yelps in shock.

Vali reacts with only a slight tilt of his head, but he parrot's Dervish.
"He did what? Sent you a part of his skin with feathers and fur attached? Why in the hell would anyone do that?"

It's still affecting her; something for him to check on later. God, that would be so unsettling, getting something like that... Uh oh, she's floundering. Harold puts a hand on Carver's shoulder, the comforting nature of it hidden in the friendly appearance, "Hey, don't worry about it, it's all said and done, right?" Oh geez, these guys are gonna flip, it's in their job description. How to defuse it.... how? God, escalation is the last thing everyone needs. "Guys," Harold says raising eyebrows, "Come on, I think we've all had a... uh... surprising day... Unless you do want to talk about it, Carver."

Vali looks at Mythic and nods. With a firm and authoritative voice he says,
"Mythic is right. We should step back and take a deep breath on this one. He's gone. This is Amped's and Carver's party and we shouldn't let his actions dominate what should be a good time."

"Sure," Carver says. "It wasn't quite how it sounded either; it was something he thought I wanted and he regenerates so fast that he didn’t really notice. Plus, he hoped that would pay for the sculpting that I did for him." Mythic’s hand is a comfort on her shoulder and she gives Vali a grateful smile.

"So really, forget I said it," Carver says.

God, that was a dodged bullet. Does this always happen when these people get together? The XWF events are nowhere near as crazy at times. The worst that happens is Superbeast makes a dumb crack to Core and a few tables, walls, and rooms are destroyed. She's a great person but damn is he gonna need to toughen up a bit to be safe around her crowd. Harold turns his head so her can see Carver's face, "Sure, no problem." He's gotta remember this for later. She's already talked about it before but, damn, did she almost get really messed up.

Okay, party time, get back in the mood... Well, it worked once before, might as well try it again. Harold smiles again for Carver, "Conduit's food smells pretty good and I was just telling Vali that we should get what we can... you know, before Amped gets it all." He quickly shrugs at the blue nova, "Sorry, she tells me you eat more than I do."

Sensing the attempts to change the mood, Vali adds,
"Mythic, ya mook. The Appetite is standing here right next to us."
He gives Amped a wink.

"Baby, ya ain't seen nothin' yet. Every time we go out, I have ta order five nova meals - one for me an' four for Amped," Dervish grins.

"Hey now, if you all had a metabolism that moved 4 times as fast as most, you would be eating four times as much anyway. Besides, that stupid jeans commercial might as well pay for something." Amped cracks a smile, but at the same time he pulls an apple from his pocket and starts to chew on it.

"Regan! Good to see you again. Wow, there are more novas here than at Timeslip's wedding. I know what you mean though. Seems as though only the newly errupted have time for these things anymore." Alchemist sighs and shakes his head.

"When did less than four years as a nova become 'old and experienced'? Or is it just my real age making me feel like the old fogey here? No matter. How is the settled life working for you? The last time we chatted, I was a bit preoccupied with my own little problems, and I never got around to asking."

"Yeah, try cooking for him," Carver laughs, stepping forward to poke Amped in the shoulder. As the blue Nova attempts to remain cool while making his irritation known, Carver gazes at her stones.

"So, suggestions for what I should do with these blocks?" she asks the assembled group as they start to grab food off the grill.

"How about make them into two figures ... maybe lovers, but in conflict with one another ... intertwined."
He actually walks over to the two stones and begins running his hands along the sides, studying the grain of the rock, as well as the fractures and slight impurities.

"Oh man, statues are totally outta my league," Dervish admits cheerfully, looping her arm around Amped's waist.

"The settled thing is going well for me. I haven't forgotten anything from the wedding, trust me. Life has just intervened." Regan chuckled dryly. "Franklin developed new powers and we both trashed the house on the island. So we're taking a holiday. And you are you?"

This is good, everyone is having a good time again. Uh oh, maybe Amped isn't liking being attacked... nah, he seems okay with it. Probably a good thing to be on his good side - and everyone else's good side too. Why is he still using the word good?

Ah, sculptures... hmmm... Harold takes a look at both stones as Vali reviews them, seeing if anything comes to mind. He's never sculpted before... what does someone sculpt? What could be made out of those things? Hmmm... "Sorry, Carver," Harold says with a small shrug, "Nothing is coming to mind... I, uh, probably have some sketches pack in New York that might work..." Sculpting from paper? Oh come on, don't be an idiot. "Or I can just be a model if it's something I can turn into," he quickly adds with a bit of embarrassment slipping through. Oh, even better... best to just shut up before he goes to far off the deep end.

DigiGeist seems to be sort of... off.

"Huh... Oh yeah, I've seem Carver around, Al... Never mind me..."

DigiGeist heads back to his seat.

Vali pokes his head from around the Alabaster.
"Damn, Mythic. That's a great idea. All we really need is a telepath to link Carver's visions to you and you could be perfect model."
"Carver, what motivates you to sculpt?"

Carver looks suddenly uncomfortable. "Well, I just know what I should carve." She laughs, a touch tensely. "I don't get inspriation so much as instructions."

She sees the looks on her guests faces and tries to explain. "When I'm working on something, it's like I can see what to remove, not what I'm going to have in the end. I get a general idea - rose, horse, person - but I really don't get inspiration."

She looks at the rock that Jager brought her. "Jager thinks that this will not try to influence me; that it's so old that I will be able to work it, not be worked by it." She runs a hand over the cold stone and closes her eyes, waiting for the whispers.

They come soon enough, asking and tasking her with their desires. The stone says nothing useful, but still she listens, waiting for it to tell her what it will be.

Amped puts his hand around Dervish's shoulder while he takes getting picked on quite well, but he is blushing a bit. He's still got the roll of plastic under his arm that Alchemist gave him and curiosity gets the better of him. He slips away quietly and unrolls it on the porch. In appearance it's a keyboard, but still a bit different. Across the row of keys is a red line. He sets what appears to be the volume to a quiet level and begins pushing keys. It's obvious that it is not a normal keyboard, depending on where he hits the key, it holds either a constant note, or delays playing, it's a very curious device. Quickly enough though, he manages to get it to function like a regular keyboard and he begins to play out a bit of jazz piano.

Conduit greets everybody that comes up to him. He excuses his distraction due to keeping an eye on the grill.

Eventually the meat is just right, the peppers are blackened just so, and the tortillas are nice warm. He says in a booming metallic voice, "Alright everybody, the food is ready. Don't suck it all down though. I made it for taste, not to satisfy the appetites of a dozen Novas. There is no way I could afford that." He moves the food to plates and brings it into the kitchen. "I hope you enjoy."

Carver grins as she tries some of Conduit's food. "God, this is good," she almost moans as she eats.

"Come on, guys, it's good."

She wanders back over to the stones and touches the alabaster. Suddenly she smiles and turns to Vali. "They like your suggestion," she says and looks at Mythic, "but you inspired their forms. A minotaur and a female gladiator, locked in mortal combat."

Carver grins and quickly cuts off two corners on each statue. Her claws flash as she quickly carves the four tiny pieces. As the others talk quietly or watch, she takes a piece of alabaster and a piece of balast and somehow twists them together so that they are now one piece. She does the same to the other. Both are knotwork pieces, but each is unique.

Carver hands one to Mythic and one to Vali. "For the gift of inspiration," she says with a smile. "For once, my rocks have asked for something that my friends want, and you have no idea how happy that makes me."

Vali steps up and takes the twin stones, acting as if the display of art and power was the most normal thing in the world.
"Thank you."
He passes Carver and Mythic and helps himself to Conduit's fixings and chows down.
"Very good, indeed," he praises the chef.

Looking closely at the miniature sculpture, Harold eyes go wide as he turns the gift in his hand, not noticing Vali moving away. She did that so quickly... so precisely... and he helped inspire this? Should... should he display it? Protect it? Insure it?

What should he say? Oh, right, duh... idiot. Harold looks back at Carver with a meek smile and blush, that embarrassment slowly sneaking back into his face, "Wow... thank you, Carver, really. I've never been an inspiration before." Oh yea, he'd better insure this little slice of art. It's a gift; it's priceless.

Alchemist makes a dismissive gesture at Regan's comment. "No worries. If I thought it was time critical, I'd have asked Jager to put me in touch with his friends. The man's got fingers everywhere, and I'm still not sure if that frightens me more than the fact that I still haven't figured out what makes him tick after six months of having him as a teammate. My life? Well, as the Chinese curse says, I live in interesting times. Never a boring momment and all that. But I'm adapting to it. My only regret is that I can't have my children here in Chicago with me, but it's far too dangerous here."

Alchemist eyes DigiGeist as he moves off, rather concerned for his teammate, but nothing seems physically wrong with him. If he wants to talk, he will.

"I think I heard the dinner bell. Coming?"

He heads towards the back of the house, where Conduit has finished his grilling. Taking some food (and complementing the Chef), Alchemist spots a couple of new Novas he's never met before. They seem preoccupied with their host, so he waits for them to notice him.

Carver is still feeling the tingles of pleasure from Vali and Mythic's compliments and appreciation. She turns to see if Conduit has any extra food and sees the Alchemist. He nods politely at her, and Carver realizes that the hostess duties call her again.

"Alchemist," she says, moving over to take his arm and lead him over to the young Novas. "I think that you've met Amped and Dervish," Carver says, "and you probably know Vali through Jager. This is Mythic, the XWF wrestler. Mythic, this is Alchemist, the man who kept me sane when I was in the hospital."

When Alchemist starts to humbly shake off his efforts, Carver firmly states, "No, if you hadn't given me that neuro-inhibitor that actually blocked the pain, then I would have gone crazy. Thank you." She gives him a light kiss on the cheek in gratitude.

As Alchemist steps up to greet the new novas, Jager comes up behind him and says,
"Alchemist, its the challenges in life that make us grow, and besides, as long as I'm here as an option for you, you always have a back-up plan."
It appears that keeping himself somewhat of a mystery to Alchemist is pleasing to him.

Regan laughs softly and joins everybody where the food is.

"I haven't eaten peppers since my taste was enhanced. This should be interesting."

DigiGeist starts ehading for the grill. Noticing his stomach is grumbling, and the Ampwell knock-off is kicking in his toxin-filtering.

"Don't worry about me too much, Al. This knock-off isn't a real ampwell. It's a POS really."

He stumbles slightly. He also knows Alchemist is watching closely incase something bad happens. Didge though is enjoying himself. Or perhaps distracting himself.

He parks himself over where the food is being served.

"So.... Anyone got a piece taht still Moos?"