genessia | [ Closed/Open ] A Nameday Party & An Open House

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[ Closed/Open ] A Nameday Party & An Open House

Who: Regina Mills, Neil Blair, Arya Stark, Charlie McGee and YOU!
What: Regina throws a party, jointly in honor of Neil's nameday and a housewarming. Afternoon (CLOSED to extended family, includes Alice and Maddie); evening (OPEN to friends, coworkers, Fayrenite neighbors)
Where: Villa Ascua in Fayren
When: 11/3.
Summary: Shortly after noon, the usual chaos of a Saturday afternoon morphs into a family party with a singular special event. Toward sunset, with the assistance of OUATE, the magically globe-lit courtyard and property of Villa Ascua become the site of a casually chic open house.
Warnings: schmoop, family nonsense, anything that heads NSFW will go to private journals (please).
OOC Note: Please indicate which part of the party your tag is for. Otherwise, feel free to tag in, tag around, have fun.

I. A Family Affair
A half an hour before noon, Regina absented herself from the yard where Charlie and Arya had engaged Neil in a sword-form show and tell. With a confidence she didn't feel, she teleported to Evie and Jack's to grab them and the decorations they'd stockpiled over the course of the week and bring them back to the villa. While the two of them hurried to decorate in shades of silver and blue, Regina made a circuit of the courtyard to remove the magical veils on what had been safe to hang, paint, and hide.

With the help of the cook, she drew the chest-high small round stone tables out from under the portico. They hurriedly set them: one with stacks of napkins, plates, silverware; one with boxes of pizza kept steaming with an innovative use of pieces of Eye of Ember; one with a large bowl of mixed greens and the fixings of an impromptu salad bar; and one with a glasses and a variety of beverages. A few extra chairs were added to those clustered around the shorter tables, and among the decorations, on poolside tables, ledges, and the ends of the (rented) wet bar were glasses filled with silvery blue rock candy.

At noon, Regina magically re-wardrobed herself in a black slip dress with silver jewelry, touched up her make-up, and let the rest of the extended family into the courtyard through the house. And at five past noon, Charlie and Arya "got thirsty" and dragged Neil in to join everyone else. At Regina's orders, no one hid, no one shouted "surprise," no one threw confetti (although water balloons were later very much in evidence). That there was a party at all was fuss enough to overwhelm Neil for a week. Besides, she'd arranged a special sort of fussing for after lunch.

II. An Open House
As afternoon shaded into evening, Regina, the kids and the OUATE staff cleared the traces of the previous party. The courtyard was returned to its usual warmer-toned state, the globe lights bathed everything in a golden glow. Pizza was replaced by the usual finger foods of an open house: crudites, cheese and crackers, small sandwiches, and desserts. And the wet bar was stocked and staffed. At sunset, luminarias lined the villa and led from the road to the open courtyard gates.

Friends and coworkers had been personally invited, notices had been set around Fayren, the children had told everyone they could think of (without Neil finding out). Music had been acquired. Now all there was to do was enjoy--and if you were Regina, worry and wait. She'd never thrown a party without the threat of punishment or worse to compel attendance. What if no one came?

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[ Regan was here with Emma, because these were Emma's friends and Regan wanted to meet more people. She had her white-board with her, just in case, not expecting everyone to know ASL. And she had a small drawstring bag at her side, hanging waist-height, perfect for her to put her cochlears in should the sound get to be too much. But the event was quiet and while there were people, the noise wasn't too terrible.

She was dressed in a goldenrod colored sun-dress and tan sandals, hair washed and brushed and the cochlear on her head decorated with a white and yellow daisy and while she was very interested in what was going on, she was also hanging back some. Just people watching and feeling a mild case of uncertainty and unease. This was the most people she'd been around in a good, long while.]

Regina had already had a word or three with Emma about not mentioning I'm parenting a kid when she showed up with a child. They weren't unpleasant words, although Regina was more hurt than she'd likely let on to anyone but Neil that Emma hadn't thought she'd want to know or whatever else had kept her from saying anything about it.

But she was absolutely determined not to hold it against the girl, Regan, and as soon as she had a few free minutes, she approached and said, "Hello, Regan," with a little wave. She didn't do the thing people did where they talked louder to people with hearing problems, but she didn't know any sign language and she didn't have the first clue where to begin.

Regan would appreciate that kind of thing. Honestly. While she can't exactly hear when people speak louder to her, she can tell. There are so many things that give that kind of crap away. So when the woman speaks, Regan is watching her mouth very carefully. Instead of writing 'hi' on her whiteboard, she simply waves at the woman and smiles, her happiness showing in every inch of her.

And then, the whiteboard makes it's appearance.

Do you sign? It's okay if you don't.

"No," Regina answers and shakes her head. "I'm sorry. I never had a reason to learn." Fortunately her diction is clear and precise. Something she never thought to thank her mother for. She hopes it makes it easier for Regan to read her lips.

"But I do now," she says and smiles. If the girl is staying with Emma, that makes her family. And every minute of every day, Regina's learning just how precious that is.

Regan is glad to have someone taking care in how they speak. Sometimes, accents make it hard for her to follow what's going on, the confusion making it harder for her to understand. But Regina speaks very clearly and very precisely and she can appreciate that. At what she says, there's a small smile on her face as she points at herself, eyebrow raised in question. There's nothing that needs said out loud. She's good with expressing smaller emotions and thoughts with just the right facial expression and gestures.

At the gesture, Regina's smile deepens and she nods. She thinks, probably, it's best to let Emma explain the complicated nature of their relationship, but she does say, "Emma is family," to suggest that Regan is too. She won't push that on the girl, who probably still has parents and isn't ready to adopt an entirely new family. "I'm Regina."

R-E-G-I-N-A. Regan finger-spells the womans name carefully, pointing at her at the end so she understands that's her. And then she points at herself and signs out;

My name is R-E-G-A-N.

Don't worry, Regina. She'll write that down for you, too. Everything she signs gets written down.

Is this your house?

Regina gets the R-E-G part of both their names, but after that, she's lost and she knows it. "Will you show me again?" she asks, determined to master at least one word today.

"Yes, this is my house. I live here with Neil, Arya, Charlie and Alice. Have you met them yet?"

[ Emma stayed pretty close to Regan for most of the party, trying to ride the line between nudging her into mingling but keeping a steady and encouraging presence. She came up after she'd raided the dessert bar and had in hand, a plate with a massive slice of cake on it, with two forks stuck in so they could split it. ]

Hey kiddo.

[ She'd have signed if her hands had been free. She did sign as soon as she set the plate down, still clumsy and awkward but learning a little more every day. ]

Doing okay?

[ Emma gets a grin, a special "Just for This Awesome Mom Figure" smile that goes from ear to ear, looking at the cake for a moment with wide eyes. That was going to take the two of them to eat, absolutely. She was more than happy to share. ]

I'm fine. I met R-E-G-I-N-A. She's lice.

[ Without hesitating, Emma nudged one of the forks at Regan and took one for herself, scraping off some frosting and cake with the tines and taking a healthy bite. Emma would've described Regina as complicated, but that was beyond her to sign at the moment. Instead, she set her fork back down and signed-- ]

R-E-G-I-N-A, family.

[ --Then hesitated for a moment to figure out how best to explain their relationship.

...Nope, couldn't do it. Too complicated. ]

Old friends. Really old friends. From home.

[ The hesitation has Regan curious, but not enough to ask why. She assumes it's because Emma is still learning ASL, so she lets it go and watches Emma sign. ]

From your world? I'm glad you have familiar faces here.

[ Emma nodded and waited a minute or two for Regan to try the cake before she signed again. ]

Fun?

[ She gestured with a tip of her head at the party in general, eyebrows lifted. It was okay if the answer was no. Not everyone was a party person, and if Emma were honest she felt a little out of place herself, mostly because it made her miss Henry and her parents that much more. ]

Crowded, but fun.

[ The only people this kid has been around for almost two years has been her parents, and her brothers. And it was quiet. This was an adjustment, but everyone seemed so happy and to be able to hear everything going on around her was amazing. She takes another bite of the cake and points at it with her fork, grinning. ]

This is good.

[ Emma flashed a quick grin, glad that Regan enjoyed the cake and that she was enjoying herself. ]

Not too much loud?

If it gets too loud, I can take my cochlear off.

[ Which she demonstrates with ease, holding the device in her hand for a moment before putting them back on. She reaches up and does a test-snap, just to make sure they're really working, and then smiles as she takes another bite of cake. ]

OK.

[ Emma had already made it clear they'd go if Regan was ever uncomfortable, for any reason, not just the noise. She just hoped Regan would ask and not try to stay to make Emma happy. ]

More food?

[ As in, do you want more to eat than just cake? Crazy question, she knows, but she should be a good substitute mom and, you know, vegetables and stuff. ]

I like your dress.

[ Arya--cleaner and tidier than she usually is, hair in a half braid to keep it from tangling and falling into her eyes--waved a little as she walked by, her hand resting on Needle's hilt. ]

What's that on your ear?

[ Regan only caught part of what Arya first said, but thankfully, it was the last three words. So Arya gets a smile and the sign for 'thank you' before Regan writes that out.

And the answer to Arya's question. ]

Thank you. I'm deaf. The thing on my ear helps me hear a little bit.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Arya shifts, awkward but fascinated. "That's really neat, though, that you can have something to help you hear. Can you...hear what I'm saying? Or should I write things down too?"

I can hear you enough, Regan replies, writing on her notepad and showing it to Arya. She writes again, smiling a tiny bit before showing her the pad again.

What's your name? I'm Regan.

"I'm Arya." She stuck her hand out for a handshake, delighted that the gesture was so common here between any and everyone, not just between men. "Arya Stark of Winterfell. I live here with Regina. And Neil and Charlie." But mostly with Regina. Not that Arya played favorites (she definitely played favorites).

I like Regina. I don't know Neil, or Charlie.

Regan tilts her head a tiny bit at the other girls name and then holds out her paper and pen after writing a quick note.

Can you write your name down for me, so I can show you how to spell it?

She wants to make sure she heard it right, at least.

"Oh, sure." Arya's handwriting is a bit untidy, not to mention in a style that will look archaic to Regan, but it's legible enough. A-R-Y-A S-T-A-R-K. She left off 'of Winterfell' because that just made things more complicated than they had to be.

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[ Closed/Open ] A Nameday Party & An Open House

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