Umgul's Open Terrain

*Morgan grinned when the woman said that Lokay imprinting on her was funny. It was a little funny, but also sad for Lokay's real mommy. But there was nothing Morgan could do about that now anyway, and she loved Lokay, so it was okay, right?

After a bit of a pause, the woman seemingly repeated what she had just said, only specifying "imprinting" verbally, and seemed a bit certain. Maybe she was just shy or nervous? Morgan definitely knew what that was like. Or... used to. She was told she had been very shy when she was very little... or littler than she was now... But honestly she couldn't remember, and the very concept seemed foreign to her, so she didn't worry about it much.

Instead, she smiled and nodded, saying,* "Yep! There's other imprinting too, like with akk dogs, I have one of those too! I bet he misses me... I miss him too..." *And really the jungle in general; there was nothing more fun to her than a day spent out there, Rush at her side and Lokay on her shoulder. But she'd be home in no time.

Another woman, the one who'd been with the other most of the time—Morgan really needed to get their names—commenting how delightful finding Lokay's egg must have been. Morgan grinned and said,* "Yeah!" *When asked if he was comfortable approaching strangers or would have to be lured, such as with bacon, she giggled and shook her head.* "Bacon would help, but he's not scared of people! He's very nice! But you might not wanna touch his bacon..."

*She giggled again as she watched her little tailring work through what seemed to be the last of the bacon. She sat in thought for a moment, then realized that she really needed to start remembering names if she was gonna have an easy time here; so far, other than those she knew from elsewhere, she only knew the names of Atlantis, Crystal, Andros, and Ryan... That would have to change.* "Um... what are your names again? Sorry, it's hard to remember a lot at once..."

*Wait, did someone mention toast? Oh, a toast, not bread. It was Atlantis who gave said toast, apparently including herself and her family as "new friends." She smiled sweetly, then... oh, was she supposed to raise a glass? She looked around for it, spotting it beside her chair, and leaned down to grab it and lift it up, almost spilling some of the food she had left on her plate. Her daddy and Michelle shouted 'Cheers,' which Morgan was sort of familiar with, but instead of seem rude, she echoed the call of,* "Cheers!" *before taking a sip and going back to her food.*

"Sor...." Ice began but caught herself before she apologized, once again. Holding up her hands in a semi surrendering fashion, then dropping them, she continued. "You're right, Andros. No harm was done. Lets just eat and enjoy the rest of the day."

"We gonna eat now?" Lukas asked as he switched off the datapad and stuffed it into Ice's bag before standing up and looking at her with a hopeful looked etched on his face.

"Yes, dude, we're going to eat now." Ice replied, ruffling his hair with an amused half grin before standing up to accept the plate that Andros handed to her. After thanking him, she glanced down to Lukas. "Why don't you go sit down over there by Ali. I'll be there in a minute okay?"

"Ok!" Lukas replied enthusiastically then padded over and plopped himself down next to Ali, who had given him a quick affectionate hug and a kiss on to of his head. Ice smiled, watching him then looked back to face Andros again. She knew that she was probably pressing her luck but she couldn't help it as she tilted her head a little to the side and studied his obvious good looks and seemingly aloof, or maybe it was more of a brooding, demeanor. After a moment she nodded her head, slightly, apparently coming to some sort of silent agreement with him - or maybe it was an agreement with herself about him. Either way, she turned on a heel and made her way over to the recessed lounge area and set her plate down on the table before going back over to where hers and Lukas' drink were still sitting on the table by lounge chair/pool.

Returning back to the recessed area, Ice set the drinks down beside her plate then took a seat beside Lukas. Ali was in a conversation with Ryan so Ice didn't want to interrupt that. Instead she began cutting up the steak so Lukas could begin eating. Lukas watched with great interest while she cut the meat into bite size pieces and when she was done he gave her a toothy grin before reaching for a small piece but stopped as if remembering something.

"Mommy, I needa fawrk!"

Raising an amused eyebrow, Ice handed him one of the smaller forks and he proceeded to eat with gusto while Ice took some bites of food from the plate as well. While they were eating Ice was listening to the banter between Ali, Ares, and Ryan and smirking when Ryan inquired as to how Ares had proposed. She chuckled, between bites of food, when Ares asked Ali if she wanted to explain or should he.

Arching a challenging eyebrow at Ali, Ice spoke up. "Yes, Ali....tell us how that proposal went down." Leaning forward a bit, she gave Ali a wry grin, knowing full well what happened when Ares proposed. She just wanted to see how much of the story Ali would omit and/or censor given the fact that Ares' family apparently didn't know that he'd been gone from not only their lives for the last year, but from Ali's as well. Another fact was that there were children present so whatever Ali told them, she would almost certainly leave out the juicier parts of the story - for now anyway. Crystal, however, had inadvertently captured Ice's attention when she asked if they needed anything else.

Smiling warmly, Ice met Crystals gaze. "I think we have everything we need, thank you."

"Dis is good shtuff! Can I 'ave sommore apple juish, pwease?" Lukas piped up after swallowing his bite of food and holding up his nearly empty glass for them to see.

"Or not...." Ice mused with a half smile. Looking back to Crystal again she began to speak once more. "I can get it for him if you'll just let me know where it is. I don't want your food to get cold before you have a chance to enjoy it."

She didn't expect to be waited on, especially not when everyone was so nice and getting along so well. Except for that one tiny little hiccup she had with Andros, all was good. Before she could say anything further though, Atlantis proposed a toast to friends, old and new, and to the newly engaged couple. Picking up the glass of wine Ali had passed to her, she joined in the round of cheers when Atlantis finished speaking. Lukas even joined in draining his glass of juice and pushing the empty glass into Ice's hand with a giggle.

"CHEEWRS!" He exclaimed with excitement, clapping his hands together then moved in to wrap his arms around Ice's neck and give her a smacking apple juice soaked kiss on the cheek.

Laughing, Ice set her wine glass down on the table and held up Lukas' glass at eye level while hugging him with the other arm. There was an amused expression on her face when he pulled back a little leaving his small hands on her shoulders. You're suppose to say cheers before you drink, not after. We totally need to work on your dining and drinking etiquette, dude."

Smiling with a languid shrug of her shoulders when Franz suggests it may have been possible that the store owner had guessed that she was acquainted with the friends of Franz, and made a recommendation as to the wine she might bring accordingly, Ayodele says, "I suppose anything is possible, Franz. Patting Franz's forearm with an amused smile when he reiterates that he is glad she had welcomed his advances at the spa as well as his invitation to join him here today, Ayodele says warmly and genuinely, As am I, Franz."

Lifting her glass along with the others when Atlantis proposes his toast, Ayodele gives him a smile before taking a small drink, and then sets it back down. Picking up her plate, the contents of which she has moved around to give the impression that she has eaten, Ayodele selects a small slice of fruit and actually eats it, inasmuch as she is able to do so; possessing a digestive system designed for the unique diet of her species, she has no way to digest the fruit, and will have to eventually rid herself of the masticated remnants at some point along with the liquid she also has no way to digest. The mild discomfort she feels without betraying any outward sign of experiencing it is, in Ayodele's estimation, a small price to pay for having been witnessed eating and drinking, a trick she has leaned and perfected over the years as blending with humans has become more essential to her everyday life among them. Though she acknowledges to herself that her own mistrust of others may be at the heart of her act, Ayodele feels the small deception is as much for her own benefit as it is for the comfort of those she allows to come to know her; for she has seen how the alien or poorly understood is always a source of fear or mistrust among the majority of the inhabitants of the universe.

Lakehouse - Kitchen

Frowning as she puzzles out how they will be able to manage carrying the cakes and the plates and the cutlery, Elikapeka nods when Crystal says that she hasn't yet had the chance to talk with Ares in any real depth, snickering when she learns that Lily is responsible for the fact Crystal hasn't had the chance to get her brother alone, Lily having kept Ares busy in one way or another. Not aware of how it is that Lily had kept Ares busy, Elika asks, "Has she been giving him the third degree? Maybe you won't have to actually talk to him to learn everything, Elika jokes as she takes a large tray from a cabinet, Lily will probably have interrogated him and learned all there is to know before you have the chance."

Waving a hand to indicate Crystal shouldn't be apologizing, Elika smiles as, having one of her moments of self-clarity since she is comfortable enough with Crystal that her anxiety has abated entirely for the moment, she says lightly, "Oh, please hon', I think we both know that, in the final analysis, I am the one that makes myself uncomfortable without any help from anyone. Social anxiety disorder poster girl here, remember? Elika jokes as she arranges the cakes on the tray, and then begins hunting for a cake knife and server. Arching an eyebrow when Crystal observes that it seems Alisha's cousin appears to possibly be smitten by Andros, Elika admits, Hm, no, I hadn't noticed, then smiles as she holds up a hand in playful warning and says, No comments about what may have been monopolizing my attention please, we're talking about Andros now."

Arranging the cakes, cake knife and server in as aesthetically appealing way as she can, Elika purses her lips in thought for a moment, considering what Crystal has said. Being protective of Andros, and not knowing Alisha's cousin at all, Elika greets the news initially with a bit of apprehension; knowing Andros, like herself, isn't always comfortable interacting with those he doesn't know well, Elika's first hope is that Andros hasn't been uncomfortable, which leads her to worry about having invited him when she knew there would be a relatively large group of people, not all of whom Andros knows well. Elika also remembers that Andros had shared with her that he and Lara Drake were in a complicated phase, which she had taken to mean that they were in a relationship, which could potentially add to the awkwardness of the situation. Shaking her head, well aware that she is probably not only giving the whole matter too much thought, but also that, her protectiveness for Andros aside, it really isn't any of her business, Elika smiles as she says, "Actually, we probably shouldn't be talking about him, he'd hate it. That doesn't, however, mean that they can't talk about Alisha's cousin, and so Elika tilts her head to the side inquisitively as she asks, How well do you know Alisha's cousin?"