[Public] Snacks, Sand and Swimwear

[Al Ciendra]

The sun was high in the cloudless sky and beaming down on Revenant.
It was a rather warm day for this time of the year and some people took the opportunity to head to the beach, most just went in small groups or alone to get a tan but not a certain Faunus.
Bartok had organized an entire party at the beach, she didn't know to what extent, and she didn't really know why, but she did know that he had invited her, for god knows what reason.
She chuckled a little, he probably had some sort of grand idea behind this all but Al was honestly just happy to spend some time with her...friend ?
It hadn't been that long, so she wasn't sure if she could call Bartok a friend, but he was certainly fun to be around.

As she was thinking Al was just making her way down the street to the beach, she was just wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt and some black shorts along with her usual steel mask and simple flip-flops.
As usual, she stood out a bit, people were staring at her masked face for more reasons than one, but probably because they thought she was crazy for risking the heatstroke, luckily she couldn't get one so wearing her mask was fine.

By now she had finally reached the beach, she could hear the waves and winds of the sea, children playing in the sand and some worried mother telling her son not to poke the crab...and the following result.
Ignoring that little scene Al headed further along the beach, looking for Bartok or any signs of a party, then she saw it.
There was were about three camping benches surrounding a campfire, a cooling box for drinks and even a grill, Al was stunned for a second she really did not expect this much, but it did put a smile on her face, this certainly was going to be nice to stay at...she really did wonder how Bartok afforded this, eh what ever.

Al looked around for Bartok, but she couldn't see him around, perhaps he was getting something else ?
Well where ever he was it meant she had some time for herself and could get comfortable.
Al stripped out of her shirt and pants, stuffing them into a small bag she was carrying and put it under the bench she was sitting on, hopefully people wouldn't stare at her for all the scars that were covering her pale skin, she really should do something about these.
But hey at least her bikini looked good, it was a simple back two piece doing a good job at showing of her well-built body, yet it wasn't too skimpy either, but it certainly did look good on her.
Al now got up and grabbed a drink from the ice box, a simple soda and sat back down on the bench to drink it, looking around for any of her classmates.

[Bartok Evergreen]

Bartok wasn't seen because he didn't want to be seen. Or move, apparently.

Bartok had sent out an invitation to a bunch of people he had met within the first few weeks of school and some others that he had seen in the hallways. Spending basically all of his money to get the equipment, he had set it all up long before the show-up time. When that was all well and good, he had dug a hole behind the bench and set himself into it, then filled it in. No one would look for him behind the bench.

He overestimated the freedom he would have by burying himself fully in the sand. Even his head and arms were buried in the white sand. He wanted to know who would arrive first without himself being present. His ears slowly popped out of the sand he was buried in and listened. He was behind the bench, assuming that no one would look back there for anything to notice.

It was a girl, undressing, presumably into her swimwear. He listened as she grabbed a soda and started drinking it. She was ready, now who else was going to show up?

As he waited, he realized he also underestimated how much air there would to breath.

[Vlithra Qing Long]

Why did she agree to this? Vlithra asked herself this question for the 6th time now as she made her way to the beach party she was invited to, by Bartok of all people even. The blind bat faunus in question left quite the odd impression on Vlithra the first time they met to say the least. It wasn‘t to say that he was a bad guy, just that his flirty attitude was more annoying than funny to her. One may ask, why did she accept the invitation in the first place then?
Thing was technically she never agreed to come, but neither did she ever decline.
To sum it up, this was a last minute decision that was only driven forward by the promising heat of the sun and the opportunity to just be at the beach. Just make the best of it and use this opportunity to bask in the sun‘s heat and just laze around for once.
Getting familiar with Beacon and adjusting to the new life there was getting hectic and stressful for her afterall.

The white tigress was approaching the beach in a more casual get up than usual. She wasn‘t even there yet and would already steal looks. She was wearing a green tight fit tank top and knee-length jeans. She wore sunglasses to shield her eyes from the intense light of the sun and a pair of black flip-flops.
Her pale skin wouldn‘t dare tan in the heat of the sun due to her faunus heritage, which was now all too evident due to the black-greyish stripes visible on her arms and legs.
She had a small sports bag with her, which was hanging from her shoulder via a strap. In it was, among a towel and some other things needed to go to the beach, her trusty short sword „Carnassial Talon“ just in case something would happen.
With how many looks she was getting, she was bound to have some unwanted people come up to her so she wanted to be ready for anything really.

Upon reaching the beach Vlithra looked around scanning the entire area for something akin to a party that Bartok could come up with. Shouldn‘t be anything to big or fancy, then again Bartok was known to either subvert expectations or to meet them completely as far as she was concerned.
In the end her gaze locked on three camping benches surrounding a campfire with a cooling box and a grill nearby. That‘s a surprise, for once something normal coming from Bartok. Speaking of, the flirtatious guy was nowhere to be seen, instead there was only a girl that had already made herself comfortable there.
Vlithra gazed upon a scarred body in a two piece bikini and… a metal mask? Well that‘s oddly terrifying to say the least. Though that made it safe to assume that she was a Beacon student and probably one of the other guests Bartok had invited. Actually didn‘t Bartok talk about this girl before? Also where was the blind bat even?

"What kind of host is not present at his own party, really?“ Vlithra mumbled to herself quietly while arriving at one of the benches across the one the girl is sitting in. Vlithra then took her sports bag from her shoulder to dump it on the ground and push it beneath the bench next to her with her foot. "Guess I'm not the first one to arrive for once."
After having gained her attention, Vlithra took off her sunglasses and smiled at the masked woman. "A well, as long as I'm not last. So... with whom do I have the pleasure?"

[Carmine Crest]

Carmine wasn't entirely sure what he was stepping into here with the whole beach party thing, he had never been to a regular party, let alone a beach party but he could take a few guesses on what was expected from him. Swim gear was more than fine, he dreaded heading down into the sun and sand filled beach with his usual clothing on, he'd likely die from the heat and even if he survived that, the sand clinging onto his clothing would irritate him for the next couple of months. Besides the swim gear, he'd likely have to socialize with the rest of the party and considering Evergreen, the faunus likely invited quite a number of people, he wouldn't be entirely surprised to meet a few familiar faces there.

There'd probably be food as well and maybe some drinks, although hard to say if alcoholic drinks would be involved. So eating, drinking, socializing and probably some beach games like volleyball or simply some swimming... All of which could be done, granted some would be harder than others. He doubted he could very much sneak away to eat in peace in such an open area... And topics to talk about would be challenging to find... Letting out a sigh Carmine turned his attention back to the path before him, the beach slowly coming into sight.

As he got closer however, he couldn't help but tilt his head at the sight of the other masked person within Beacon currently resting in a bikini with her pale scarred skin exposed alongside her apparent faunus heritage but more eye catching to him was the fact that she too was still wearing her mask. He didn't know what he expected honestly, maybe he thought she wouldn't be as attached to wearing masks as he was but now that he could see somebody else in swim gear with a mask, he really couldn't help but agree with the whispers of how weird it looks for someone to be wearing a mask in swimming outfits.

Across from Al sat another pale faunus that he haven't met before, the girl wearing a more casual outfit that suggested she wasn't going to swim which also meant Carmine could've got away without doing so. Suppose it was too late to switch out of his swim wear, besides it looked casual enough for both swimming and just relaxing in the sun. Even if the shirt would get in the way of an even tan.

"Al. Nice seeing you again." Carmine would greet the familiar mask first, giving a simple nod to the girl as he sat on the only free bench left, preferring to have space for himself. "I don't think we met before, Carmine Crest." His attention would turn toward the more muscular lady, greeting her with a simple nod of his head as well. "I assume Bartok went... Do something?" Carmine would question as he looked around the beach for the familiar sight of the bat faunus, curious where he had disappeared to.

[Al Ciendra]

The first person Al could see approach was a tall and pale faunus woman, a tiger judging by the stripes.
With those sunglasses and the more casual outfit she looked really cool!
"Yeah it's a little strange, really thought he would be here by now."
Al shrugged, he was probably planning something, maybe he would hop out from some where once everyone was here as a 'grand surprise', that would be funny.
"Oh, my name is-"
Carmine had arrived and greeted her, telling this new girl her name in the process, guess this works.
"Nice seeing you too again Carmine."
Al greeted with a lax wave of her hand, yet looking at Carmines masked face did make her realize something, she was still wearing her own mask, guess she was just so used to it she forgot.
Either way Al got up, turning away from Carmine and the Tigress as with a "click" the straps of her mask came loose, Al hesitated for a second, before she pulled the mask of and stored it in her bag.
She felt around at the right side of her face, blinking as her eye got used to the world without the darkend tint of her masks lenses, before turning to Carmine and the other girl.
"Ah, much better. Now I can properly relax at the beach."
What Carmine and Vlithra saw was one of half of Al's face, the right side had bandages over it, which seemed to be partially hidden under Al's hair, only being visible on her face.
They completly exposed Al's mouth which still looked normal, besides the two sets of fangs now exposes due to Al's smile.
Besides that Al's exposed eye was as green as emerald.
A scar, looking like a giant claws scratchmark, covered her pale face, from her forehead to her jawline, but it had missed her eye.

[Bartok Evergreen]

Well well, Vlithra showed up. Bartok recognized her voice. He wasn't sure if she would, but he had hoped. It seemed proposing marriage to her on the airship hadn't detered her. Had it only attracted the stone-cold woman?

And Bartok quickly recognized the first girl as Al, the masked girl he had met before. And shortly after that, Bartok heard another form approaching and heard the muffled voice of Carmine. Well well-

Vlithra kicked her bag under the bench, throwing sand right into his ears. Irritation burned him, and he fought not to instantly break out and start digging out his ears. Huntsmen were masters of Aura, and that required discipline. But when it came to his ears, Bartok found he was very undisciplined. He almost started bkuncing on his toes as he tried to hold it in. He had to focus on something else, anything el-

Was Al... taking off her mask? That gave him something to focus on. He heard her voice before, she had still been wearing it, and so was Carmine. He figured there was something that made them want to keep it on at all times, and was certain that they would have come with their masks. They had. But now her mask was in her bag, and... what was on her face? He heard her hair come down and brush against something made of fabric around where her eye should be. What was that?

And now with no answer, Bartok had nothing else to focus on but the sans in his poor, poor ears. People were here now, though less than he would have liked before popping out. But three was enough to start it off, right?

He pulled his legs up about a foot, allowing sand to fill in below him to he had something ti push off of. To everyone else, Bartok's head and shoulders and about a foot of his upper chest exploded from the sand directly behind Vlithra. His hands dug and batted at his ears, getting sand out. He was also sucking in a deep breath, altogether forgetting that he needed that as he had focused on something infinitely more irritating until now. And with that breath, he let out a terrific and loud, "TA-DAAAAaaaa!"And he wiggled outreched jazz hands. One hand went back to his ear to scratch more sand out of it's own volition.

"I was here the whole-" He sputtered, spitting sand out of his mouth, then continued. "Here the whole time!"

[Vlithra Qing Long]

Upon hearing another voice, a male voice at that, Vlithra looked over her shoulder to see who it originated from. A boy, casual clothing, rougly around the same heigth as Vlithra, a defined body and a… another mask? What was with people and masks today?
Vlithra highly doubted this was a new trend or something of that kind. She guessed these two had their own reasons for wearing them and made a note to not pry on that topic in the near future.
So those two were Al and Carmine. Vlithra remembered a little too late when Bartok talked about these two. They were a great a help to him on the first day at Beacon apparently. Finally she could put faces no... masks to those names.

As much as Carmine gave a simple nod as a greetings, Vlithra returned the gesture in an equal manner.
"Vlithra Qing Long. Nice to meet both of you.“
Not even moments later Al took off her own mask, much to Vlithra‘s surprise. She must have been comfortable enough to remove it to show her half bandaged face just like that. Vlithra was actually kinda glad she did remove her mask. Seeing a scarred face like that still being able to smile with joy was something truly delightful for her to see.
"Well, wherever he is… he is missing out.“ Vlithra said as she smiled back at Al.

Vlithra then heard something behind her. It really took a mighty while for her to notice what exactly that sound was.
The white tigress looked over her shoulder only for her to shield her eyes with one arm, as Bartok suddenly exploded from the ground behind her and dusting himself off of all the sand.
Vlithra needed a bit to process what Bartok just did, but when she did she couldn‘t help but let out a dissapointed sigh. She would have been lying if she said she didn't want to slap him already, but what else did she expect from him?

[Carmine Crest]

Carmine would only tilt his head to the side as his attention turned the rising from of Al, curious what the masked girl was doing as she turned around only for his eyes to widen as she brought her hands to the back of her mask followed shortly by a small click. Now why would she decide to remove her mask now of all times? Perhaps it wasn't that big of a deal to her as it is to him, a closer community meant people would grow accustom to it and it was entirely possible everybody knew her before she got her injuries, making it less likely for her to be targeted.

The first thing Carmine noticed when Al turned around was that she had a single emerald colored eye, before his attention was immediately brought to the large bandage that was nearly covering the entire right side of her face and Carmine couldn't help but tilt his head further. Was the wound relatively new? Why would she need bandages underneath her mask? Regardless, his eyes turned to the next thing of note on her face, the large slashes of a claw running alongside the girl's face and narrowly avoiding her eye. A grimm attack? But the left side of her face was scarred over and it seemed to be faded so the wound it couldn't have been recent... Suppose the right side of her face was the main target for whatever had done this.

Well it was interesting to see her without her mask, it left him in a rather strange position of now being the only masked person left which wouldn't have been a problem before nor did he have any idea what he was supposed to say or do in regards to this. Or if he should, Vlithra gave a smile but with his mask, he couldn't exactly give a smile as well given his own mask.... With clear uncertainty, Carmine would give Al a single thumbs up in sign of his... Support? Appreciation?

Whatever gesture his thumb was supposed to represent quickly turned into a fist as sand would suddenly begin to fly and Carmine could see the shape of someone emerging from the sand, without a second's thought Carmine activated his semblance and brought up his hands while preparing to launch himself at the figure, ready to fight the would be assailant. However as his perception of time slowed, he immediately recognized the figure now that sand wasn't moving as fast and he could really take in the details. Why the hell was Bartok bursting out from the ground?

Admittedly Carmine allowed his semblance to run a few seconds longer than necessary as he simply stared dumbfounded at the bursting faunus before he allowed it slip from his control and time resumed it's regular speed. Turning his head down, Carmine would rub his eyes through the eye holes of the mask, trying to ease them up a bit as the small strain hit him, all while Bartok took a deep breath before letting out a loud tadaa. Shortly before declaring that he was here this who-oh never mind now he was coughing up sand.

"How long were you even waiting?" Carmine would question as he looked back up and gestured to the fire, benches, grill and cooler, all things that would require some amount of time to set up and that's not even counting in the fact that he was only a quarter of the way out of the sand despite his explosive entrance. "Also... Why were you even waiting under the sand?" Carmine would ask the more important question as he tilted his head at the half body of Bartok currently looking proud of himself.

[Erin Cherrywood]

Erin frowned as she looked down at her scroll again; she hadn't seen Bartok since they left home and all of a sudden he remembered she existed. She hadn't left campus since arriving and didn't know the area so she had to rely on a map and some shoddy directions from people she passed on the way. Why was she bothering? Groaning, she pocketed her phone into her sweater and glared glumly at her bare legs. She had on black and gray swim trunks but she still felt naked, especially her feet. She had never worn flip flops in her life.

She finally spotted the beach and stood in place at the edge of the sand, trying to figure out where to go now. She should've just come with Bartok but that flighty jerk hadn't even had the decency to stop by when he asked her to come to his party; he'd just called, rambled off the information, and was gone. Part of her was pretty pissed that he'd just assume she'd remember what he said but the other part was kind of - barely - happy that he'd bothered to remember she was alive and at the same school.

Finally, she spotted a group of people. Frowning more she ran a hand through the hair she'd left down for once. She had no idea who was supposed to be here. What if this wasn't the group? She shuffled along slowly, edging her way closer in an attempt to feel out the situation. Then it happened. Bartok burst onto the scene in all his ridiculous glory.

Taking a deep breath she walked up behind him and carefully laid a light fist on his head between his ears with calculated accuracy so as to not touch them. "You really shouldn't do that." She chastised as she moved to wrap her arms around him, under his armpits, to help him pull himself the rest of the way out. She didn't acknowledge anyone else there but figured Bartok would introduce them or something when he was free of his sand trap.

[Al Ciendra]

Al was still very anxious about the reaction her reveal was going to cause, nervously she would look at Carmine and Vlithra, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked to the floor.
But she soon relaxed, Carmime seemed very confused unsurprisingly while Vlithra just showed her a kind smile, Al felt a weight drop of her chest as she giggled, smiling back at Vlithra.
"He sure is."

Carmines confusion was kind of adorable, yet Al also showed him a thumbs-up.

Al returned to sit on her bench and finish her drink but Bartok suddenly burst from the sand, so thats where he had been the entire time, as this happend Al was sitting on her bench and laughing, she found the idea and result hilarious, specially as Bartok was sputtering sand out of his mouth and getting it out of his ears.
She was holding her stomach as looked up to see another new person, wait..black, grey and white hair, attitued like a sour drop and a racoon tail.
Al's laughter stopped with a gasp as her one green eye widend in surprise.
"Welcome to the party, you must be Erin, right ?"
Al said as she got up and went over to the newcomer, looking to see if she could help, but it seemed like Erin got this."It's nice to meet you, Bartok has told me- well us so much about you."
Al showed her a warm smile, exposing her fangs once more, and offered her hand for Erin to shake.
"I'm Al by the way."

[Bartok Evergreen]

Bartok cleared the last of the sand from his mouth by pinching it off with his fingers. He must have added more when he did, because he kept sputtering. He pointed a finger at Carmine in reply. "Because it would kick this party off with-" he cut himself off, his ears turning to behind him. "A..." the widest open mouthed grin that anyone had seen on Bartok stretched into existence. "Surprise!" He threw his hands up into the air right before a fist hit his head.

A childishly joyous expression stayed on his face as Erin, his childhood friend, started pulling him out. He kicked his legs to get out faster, revealing that he wasn't wearing any shirt and wearing it well. Like a magazine model's role model, his skin deftly outlined his muscles and pale skin. Muscle tone was on point despite he never being able to judge himself in the mirror. As he kept being pulled out, his trousers started to slip off and with a little "Ah!" he brought one leg up to prevent them from getting too far.

As soon as he could, he turned and gave Erin a big hug, lifting her up and shaking her a little. He rubber his hair and face against her neck and jawline. "It's so good to hear and touch and smell and get hit on by you again!" He said cheerfully before setting her back down and fixed his trousers better around his waist.

As Al spoke and walked up, Bartok turned with an arm still around Erin's shoulders, ecstatic. "Yeah!" He shouted. "Al! Vlithra! Carmine! This is Erin! My best friend! Erin, this is Al who already introduced herself and she normall wears a mask," He would gesture to each one in turn, "This is Carmine, who aleays wears a mask and is a little paranoid. Maybe." He shook his hand a little, emphasizing the unsurety. "And this is Vlithra, my almost fiance and poker buddy."

[Vlithra Qing Long]

It was good to see that Al had read Vlithra‘s expression just right. It felt great when people understood you without you uttering a single word. It was so much more convenient than talking. Carmine was a bit more awkward with his feedback on a maskless Al, but it worked. Only issue now was Bartok‘s sudden emergeance from the sand. How does he come up with this?

And another one joins the fold.
The racoon girl inquestion pulled Bartok out of his sandy prison must have been the friend he looked for the first day, given that she matched the description from back then to the T. Given Bartok‘s rather childish behaviour towards the girl named Erin, they were pretty close to say the least. Almost seemed like the typical childhood couple even. Better not say those words out loud. She was also pleasant to look at in contrast to Bartok almost loosing his pants.
Not wanting to watch that spectacle, Vlithra calmly stood up and made her way over to the cooling box, presumably to get a drink. Everyone had some form of swimwear on, so she figured she‘d do the same while she was stepping away for a moment. She pulled off her tank top and dropped her jeans in one swift motion to reveal what she wore underneath.

Vlithra wore a one-piece swimsuit in black that had a cutout around where the bellybutton was, showing her toned abs. The suit also had green stripes going along the sides on the front and back that emphasized her strong figure. It was by all means not skimpy, but definetly attracted some more looks. Vlithra looked good in it and she knew it, even if she didn‘t appreciate people staring at her. The swimsuit also had a cutout on her back that left her upper back exposed, making it possible for others to see the upper half of the tattoo that she was so proud of. Whoever looked closely before she removed her top was probably able to see the tips of the Grimm Feilong‘s wings on the back of her shoulders, but now the whole upper body of the painted creature was for everyone to see. That is, if her hair wasn‘t in the way.

Vlithra then took two drinks out of the cooling box, a soda brand she actually liked, opened one can and quickly downed the beverage in one go. Just in time for Bartok to introduce everyone to Erin in which occasion Vlithra made her way back to her bench where she stowed away her clothing into her bag. She found herself happy having her mental assumptions confirmed by Bartok shortly after.

However hearing the bold claim of being Bartok‘s so called almost fiance got her visibly ticked off, crushing the can in her hand the moment those words were uttered. Good that it was empty by now. She put it down next to her as she sat down on her bench again. She then sighs with dissapointment… again. He'd better watch what he was saying, otherwise this might end with him head first in the sand again.
"Poker buddy? Sure. But fiance? Never... not even in your dreams.“ She gestured with her hand to emphasize on what she said. First she shrugged, then she waved her hand as if to shoo Bartok away from her. The glare she shot at Bartok, even though she knew it didn't matter, was a mix of annoyance and confidence. Instead, to make her displeasure clear to him, Vlithra decided to use her semblance. Her hair started levitating, her eyes, hair tips and stripes glowed momentarily as occasional sparks of green lightning started to jump around her body, creating tension in the air around her while channeling the energy. Vlithra then leaned back, keeping herself steady by holding on to the bench she sat on, and drank her second can of soda. Now being refreshed she deeply exhaled, loosening the tension around her and stopping her semblance.
"In any case, nice to meet you Erin."

[Carmine Crest]

As Carmine watched the buried faunus, he couldn't help but notice the new figure that was approaching, a racoon faunus judging from the bushy tail and colored hair she was sporting although it was tough to guess if she was like Vlithra in not wanting to swim or not since she wore a sweater and swim trunks. Suppose time would answer that question, for now he couldn't help but notice this was now the 4th faunus in the 5 person group with Carmine himself being the sole exception... Unless they thought he was a faunus? As amusing as that idea would be, it was unlikely, he didn't have any traits nor did they mention the lack of them. Regardless of their thoughts about his species, he couldn't help but feel a bit more like an outsider than usual, the only thing he really seemed to share in common with any of them was currently discarded with the rest of her clothing.

His attention was turned back to the ongoing party as Evergreen set to work on introducing his childhood friend, Erin to everybody and vice versa, his eyes turning to the girl in question as he noted the golden eye color. "Nice to meet you." Carmine would greet her with a simple nod of his head while his mind mulled over the faunus' opinion of him. Evergreen thinks he is paranoid? What gave off that impression? Who else would share that opinion? Could he do something with that reputation as well? Suppose he'd have more time to think about it later, Vlithra's introduction had caught his attention.

Poker buddy, he could figure out where the two met then but almost fiancée? Turning his attention to the girl in question, he was surprised to find that she had stripped out of her regular clothing into her swim suit and a crushed can before she made it vocally known that she was less than pleased with that declaration. Almost to prove her point, she begun to activate her semblance as green crackles of energy danced across her body and her hair begun to raise up, Carmine's attention fully on her as he watched the numerous small changes in her, noting her green eyes even seemed to brighten up with the use of the semblance.

His head would tilt once more as he watched the girl maintain her semblance while drinking her second soda and seemingly relaxing, almost demonstrating how effective she is with this semblance before the energy emitting from her would come to a close. Only then would she finally acknowledge Erin with an almost casual regard despite the display of power. "Interesting semblance... Some sort of power up I assume?" Carmine would question as his eyes retraced the small signs that had changed, wondering if he could spot any sort of drawback or weakness.

[Erin Cherrywood]

Erin was about to acknowledge Al's attempt to help her pull Bartok free when he twisted in her arms, almost losing his trunks in the process, and violently snuggled into her neck and face. Normally she'd have put a stop to it right away but it had been a while and, loath as she was to admit it, she had really missed her problematic best friend. She took a quick deep breath and gave him the briefest of hugs while she examined everyone around her for the first time. Before she could extract herself from his arms, Bartok had an arm around her shoulder and was rambling off introductions.

She awkwardly reached out the arm furthest from Bartok to shake the hand Al had offered her before looking towards Vlithra and Carmine. Her head tilted in thought, and confusion, when Bartok mentioned that Al and Carmine wore masks. She wasn't sure it was important information but she stored it away anyway.

Then came the bombshell. Apparently Vlithra not only played poker with Bartok - how the heck did that work when he couldn't see the cards - but was an almost (?) fiancée?

She was about to ask what the hell an almost fiancée was when Vlithra went all sparky light show and not so subtly expressed her opinion on that front. Erin had no idea what the heck had happened, or what the semblance actually did, but it was impressive nonetheless.

Like Vlithra, Carmine had a unique reaction to Bartok's introduction. Uncomfortable, clearly feeling out of place. Oddly enough, Bartok seemed to hit that one on the nose.

"Ah, yes, Erin." She said with an individual nod of acknowledgement for everyone she'd just met. "I can't say he's told me about you all, but then again we haven't talked lately. Nonetheless, it's nice to meet you too and I hope Bartok isn't too much of a nuisance."

Speaking of! She turned her head and realized Bartok still had his arm wrapped around her. She quickly spun so that she was standing in front of him. Grabbing his face in her hands she pulled him down so that her face was smushed against his goggles so they were as close to eye-to-eye as possible. Narrowing her eyes, her tail flicked in agitation. "Hey you! What have I told you about giving me false hope that someone else would take over as your future wife?"

[Al Ciendra]

Al was just a bit confused by all of this, but it seemed to be going well.
Bartok and Erin really did seem as if they were friends for a long time, with how well they seemed to understand each other and how comfortable Bartok was around Erin, while she herself seemed a little stiff but still accepting of Bartok's antics.
It was kind of cute in a way.
Al shook Erin's hand eagerly, showing her a gleeful smile, which may look kind of strange with her face half bandaged as it was.

As this scene continued Al was a little surprised at her introduction, she giggled a little, as she pulled the aforementioned mask out of her bag and held it over her face, just to show Erin.
"Here maybe this rings a bell ?"
If it didn't, Erin could at least recognize her in public, where she would usually wear her mask.
She put away her mask just Vlithra exploded with energy right next to her, Al flinched at the sudden display, taking a few steps back in a mix of surprise and shock, lifting her hands to cover herself...yet nothing happened.
She had half expected Vlithra to send Bartok flying across the beach, but she had just stopped.
Al eased up, blushing a little as she realized that she had been the only one with such a shocked reaction, she really hoped no one had seen this.

Al just sat back down taking a deep breath to calm herself but yet she looked to the other bench to see that Vlithra had changed into her swimsuit, finally someone else that wasn't still running around in their shirt.
She felt a little more comfortable in her lack of an attire now, but as she was looking at Vlithra, Al couldn't help herself but blush just a little, she did look very nice in it.
Al shook her head, better not to think about it too much and even better not to comment on it, instead she would focus on something else.
Looking around Al realized that the grill wasn't in use yet and neither way the campfire, well the latter could wait as it wasn't dark yet nor did she know of any wood that would be prepared over it but she herself was getting a little hungry.
"If you guys don't mind I would put some food on the grill, I don't know about you all, but I'm starting to get hungry."
Al said as she got up and went over to the cooler again, pulling out another soda for herself and also a few pieces of meat, grilled cheese and some corn.
"So if you guys don't mind I would start grilling."
She said and went over to the grill, which luckily was clean and already filled with coal, Al ignored the barbecue lighter and instead summoned a small fireball in her hand, lifted the grate, and promptly flung the fireball into the coal which lit up immediately and evenly, the benefit of being a pyromancer meant grilling was really easy.
Al closed the grate, and put the food items on top, which began to sizzle and grill.
"Oh and dibs on most of the meat."
Al said and flashed the group another grin.

[Ax L Rose]

Amidst the many faces and figures lining the sandy beach there was a tall, feathery young woman that stood out wherever she went. There were little black headphones in her ears, playing a low, poppy beat that was a perfect tempo for idly strolling along the beach, her tailfeathers bouncing slightly with each step in the hot sand. Her normally stand-out, steely electric blue eyes were covered by sleek, silver-rimmed aviators that afforded her great freedom with where her own gaze wandered. She strolled along at a leisurely pace - she didn't have anywhere to be. No rush, no plan. Just her, the sunny beach, and endless possibilities. She was in the middle of fussing with her long locks of pink hair and a small hair tie as she walked.

She tilted her head and curved her fingers to grip her hair into a ponytail, unwittingly drawing a little extra attention from passersby toward the black, velvety-looking cloth collar around her neck as she stopped where she was standing. With her hair now out of the way again she was able to focus on what was ahead. She recognized a face or two where there were tables gathered - most notably Bartok, the incorrigible bat faunus she'd met back at the school somewhat recently. She couldn't put a name to any other faces over there, but some of them seemed familiar nevertheless.

Curious, Ax decided to approach and look around at what was going on for herself. Maybe this would be an interesting stop before she headed back. She was far from a paragon of modesty, clad in a slightly scandalous-looking black bikini top that defied physics and a pair of navy-blue denim hot-pants that settled sinfully low on her hips, leaving room for her tailfeathers to poke out freely from her lower back. Interestingly, she was still wearing a gauntlet on her flesh-and-blood left hand. Her right arm was clearly synthetic from the elbow down, but it featured softly glowing hardlight feathers that matched the real ones on her opposite arm.

She stopped a little ways away, taking stock of the situation. She wasn't in a rush to go introducing herself just yet.

[Bartok Evergreen]

Vlithra's response to being called his 'almost fiance' was less than he had expected, only dismissing him and crushing a soda can in her hand. If she really didn't care, why did she crush the can? It was a ploy of hiding her true feelings, of course. "My dreams? How do you know I haven't dreamt of marrying you? Or played a certain varient of poker~?" He said. He didn't see much, or anything, but he heard electricity crackle the air, some of the sand around her smoothly brush to the side. "So cool~" He cooed under his breath to no one in particular. He hadn't really been scared more than awed at Vlithra's display.

Then he got pulled down to see, actually close enough to see, Erin's golden eyes. They were some of the only things he's ever seen in any clarity, and they were beautiful things to look at. He'd look at them longer when he had free time, but he didn't want to tempt Erin that badly with his mouth being so close to hers. He was too magnetic, getting that close to women never had any vrituous results.

"I did say the almost fiance part, right? She turned me down on the airship." He explained, hands hanging limpy downward as she held his face.

When Al started talking about food, Bartok's ears twitched and he all but jumped for joy. "Yes! I knew your semblance would come in handy Al!"

And then his ears twitched again, and he turned his whole head in that direction. The song playing in her earbuds, the dangerously lack of clothing even on the beach(He could tell from where the clothing rubbed at her skin, or rather, where it didn't), the way she breathed and moved. That was her alright. He had forgotten to send her an invite! He brought Al and Vlithra and Erin and forgot about Ax! He raised and waved a hand, calling out, "Hey! Ax! Over here! We got meat for you! Oh, and meat!" He flicked one of his ears in a wink.

[Vlithra Qing Long]

In contrast to the others, Al got legitimately scared when Vlithra activated her semblance. That‘s however something Vlithra didn‘t notice as she was looking towards Bartok when it happened. What she did notice however was the looks she was getting afterwards from the others. Her reaction made her the center of attention after all, even if it was only for a moment. With that the white tigress leaned back and finished her drink.

She then crushed that can as well and put it beside her to the other. She heard Carmine ask her about her semblance, but didn‘t bother looking at him to answer.
"Sort of.“ She would answer the pale mask‘s question vaguely and in a non-chalantly way in order to not reveal too much about herself. Or was it because he felt off in comparison to the others?
She could feel that gaze of his on her without even looking at him. She wondered why. Was he trying to gauge her capabilities?
He seemed like a predator trying to find a weakness. ‘Well, don‘t hurt yourself looking for one.‘ is what she thought in that moment, being amused by it somewhat she smiled.
Letting him find the details out for himself was the most entertaining thing she could about that. Who knows? Maybe if Bartok kept this attitude of his going, she would end up giving a real demonstration. Oh who was she kidding? He will definetly keep it going.

Now, was Erin kidding? She must have been kidding if she “hoped“ that Bartok wasn‘t too much of a nuisance. Guess she didn‘t knew her childhood friend that well after all. Vlithra would have made a comment about it, if it weren‘t for the fact that pretty much everybody else around her seemed to like his flirtatious behaviour. Instead all that came from Vlithra was an annoyed look. Erin‘s reaction to the fiance claim didn‘t make it better, even if she seemed agitated.

As for Bartok‘s reaction to this, he was anything but intimidated by her display. Instead he was in awe and rebuked her argument with his own questions. Not quite what she wanted but whatever. She simply rolled her eyes as a non-verbal response. Maybe she should make that a verbal one instead? Nah, that‘s just silly.

And then Al suggested to start up the grill. To be fair, Vlithra was getting hungry herself so she visibly encouraged the idea with a smile as she turned to face towards the grill. She notices Al‘s pyrokinetic ability immediatly and, again, made a mental note on Al being as sort of pyromancer. Must come very much in handy when you are pretty much a human flamthrower of sorts. The sound of the sizzling meat on the grill were almost music to Vlithra‘s ears.
The only thing the white tigress opposed to was Al calling dibs on, as she said, most of the meat. She stood up and got herself another drink from the cooler. This time however, she would savour it instead of downing the beverage in one go.
“As long as you leave some for me.“ she would say as she returned a smile of her own.

Vlithra then heard Bartok speak up again and looked over to where he was to see what had riled him up this time. Must be another guest, or was it just someone Bartok knew? Couldn‘t have been, Vlithra was pretty sure to have seen the bird faunus in question before on campus. She played good music in the gardens sometimes, but thats all Vlithra knew about the newcomer. According to Bartok she was named Ax. A simple name to someone who… doesn‘t seem as simple.

[Carmine Crest]

The answer he had gotten left him giving a simple hum of acknowledgement as he considered analyzing Vlithra's vague answer, although if it was intentional or just general carelessness regarding him was another question all together, one that he didn't really care to ponder on as his eyes finished tracing over her body, not noticing any sign that she was even slightly winded from her display.

It was a short lived debate as he simply reminded himself he could think more about it later, right now he was currently at a party and his time was better spent attempting to socialize. Turning his attention to the rest of the party, he once again found his head tilting as he caught sight of the two childhood friends currently face-to-face in a literal sense as the tall faunus was currently hunched over to match the shorter girl's height as she seemed angry that she would apparently be his future wife still?

Romance wasn't something Carmine had any experience with but he was fairly certain that this would normally be considered a way of displaying romantic interest, even with the false anger that nobody would take over as the future wife she had claimed she would fulfill. Or it could be actual anger spilling in from the fact that her future husband just tried to marry somebody in a game of poker... Which now that Carmine thought about it... How the hell did Evergreen even play poker in the first place?

Finally his attention would turn elsewhere as Al stood up and proclaimed that she was hungry and set to work on cooking whatever was stored in the cooler, his eyes roaming over the available options of food and wondering how exactly he was supposed to eat with his mask on and that he was currently required to remain at the party... With a small sigh to himself, he resigned himself to just get something to eat after the party, for now he'll just claim to not be hungry.

Then she summoned a fireball. On pure reflex, Carmine activated his semblance as he watched the flame come to live in her very hand, fire that had once crawled so freely on his own skin remained locked in place on hers and was almost carelessly thrown into the grill and brought it to flames, his mind already picturing what would happen should the two masked people on Beacon ever come to blows.

As she closed the grate on the grill, he allowed his semblance to slip from his control and his previously widened eyes closed as the strain of using it hit him, yet his hand only moved to rub at his right shoulder, a dull ache forming on his right side. To prevent his mind from wandering, he instead focused on the sounds around, listening to the two fighter faunus try and claim the meat to themselves while Evergreen praised Al for her semblance before calling over somebody named Ax, telling them that there was meat and.... meat... Something about the second meat sounded... Sounded odd. Especially considering the meat was currently being claimed by the two faunus girls...

[Erin Cherrywood]

Erin rolled her eyes and let go of Bartok when his ears swiveled around at the arrival of yet another faunus. If anyone other than Bartok had been the one to put this party together she'd have wondered about the obvious skew toward female faunus, but Bartok was pretty blind to people's physical differences. He may have a lot of unwanted qualities but he was an honest person who chose friends for who they were.

When Ax was introduced, Erin nodded a hello. She wasn't really a people person and hadn't gone out of her way to talk to anyone else yet, so why break the trend for someone who - like herself - had opted to watch from the edge of the party.

Al and and Vlithra were suddenly on the topic of meat and Carmine was watching them while absently rubbing his shoulder. She hadn't paid too much attention to him and wasn't sure what he was remembering but he seemed out of place still.

She hesitated a moment, trying to decide if she wanted to downgrade to her just her swim trunks and bikini top, but ultimately decided to go for it. She folded her sweater and set it down by the cooler before grabbing two drinks.

Awkwardly, she slid over to stand by Carmine. Clearing her throat, she lifted a hand to offer him a drink. She wasn't sure what to say, but she was curious about the human among them. "I could get a straw or something if its 'cause you don't wanna lose the mask." She suggested, not sure if that was why he didn't seem to be interested in the refreshments.

[Al Ciendra]

Al was happy to handle the grill, as Bartok had guessed her semblance was very useful for this, so making some more meat for her and the other carnivore faunus girl was an easy feat.
"Sure thing boss lady!"
Al noted with a slight chuckle and theatrical bow towards Vlithra, the flames of the grill rose upwards, forming a miniature version of Al dressed in a chefs apron and hat, repeating the same motion as the real Al, before sinking back under the grate.
Al turned back to the grill, focusing on the task at hand, whistling to herself.
A first batch was done soon, grilled cheese, an assortment of meat from chicken to pig and cow, plus some grilled corn cob were all available and served on their own platter each.
Al immediately snatched herself a piece of chicken and chowed down as she turned back to the grill to make a second batch.

Until she heard Bartok greet someone else.
Wait...Ax?!
Al turned to see the tall bird faunus standing not far away, dressed in another super fancy outfit, as was the usual for her.
With a snap of her fingers the fire extinguished as Al put away her tools and without a second thought ran over to Ax.
"Ax!"
She exclaimed as she ran, quickly closing the distance and soon standing in front of the taller girl.
"I didn't know Bartok invited you! Either way it's so nice to see you, come on I just put some meat on the grill!"
Al smiled at her full of excitement, her emerald eye practically gleaming in joy.
Yet she realized something, Ax had never seen her without her mask before.
"Uhm... I'm Al by the way, sorry forgot I never showed you my face before."
She rubbed the back of her neck, a little embarrassed.
"So here it is: Tadaaa!"
Al struck a little pose, pointing at her face with both of her index fingers.
"Or well half of it. Either way, I'd be awesome if you would join! I promise that you would not want to miss a pyromancers grilling!"
Al said as she showed Ax a smirk, before going back to the grill.
While Al had seemingly overcome her embarrassment the pyromancer was currently beating herself up about how tactless that was and had mainly retreated to the grill to calm down, keeping her mind on another task would help.
So the grill was lit again, as more meat began to sizzle.

[Ax L Rose]

Ax's lips slowly curved into a small hint of an amused smile at the pleasant invitation she was greeted with. It seemed that Bartok was trying to divide his attention between several women... that seemed pretty in-line with what she knew about the guy so far. She leisurely began to stroll over, raising a hand and greeting the whole of the group with a small wave of her metal hand, raising her opposite to start pulling out her earbuds and putting them away so she could hear people better. As she approached, she took her chance to get a cursory look at the other people that were part of this little get-together. There were enough people present where she wasn't especially confident in her semblance's ability to function precisely once she properly joined everyone. Ax's silver-rimmed aviators concealed her wandering blue gaze.

Her attentions were mostly captured by the girls there. Ax couldn't help but notice there was a particularly noteworthy, tall, very sexy tiger faunus amongst the bunch that radiated all kinds of intense energy. She felt like she'd seen her somewhere before, and she was a little surprised she couldn't recall where. She wasn't normally one to forget this kind of girl. The other girl there with the multiple-tone hair and the tail was also pretty hot with her golden eyes and her hourglass figure. She didn't get much further in her observations before her attentions were stolen by another girl who was zooming over to greet her. Ax's eyes focused first on the bandages obscuring a good portion of her face before her gaze trailed lower to admire her physique as much as she realistically could before Al reached her.

Ax slowed to a halt as the girl approached, and she got a familiar sense through her semblance, like she was in the company of a generally happy, pleasant person. It seemed familiar. Even more familiar was the voice that left the girl's lips - Ax was certain she'd heard it before. Her eyes lingered for a moment on Al's lips. Those looked familiar too. Where had she seen them before? This close, one could see Ax's eyes behind the tinted lenses of her aviators. As soon as Al gave her a hint, comprehension dawned. Ax's smile grew into a larger one as she recognized the now unmasked firestarter in front of her.

"Hey you," Ax gave Al a chipper greeting of her own, raising her hand to lower her aviators a bit, her eyes giving Al a very obvious up-and-down look. She didn't think she'd see Al without her mask like this so soon, but she was pleasantly surprised. And damn, if she didn't rock that swimsuit... even if had as many scars as Nym or more.

Al was, of course, adorable. Ax all too eagerly nodded and followed along, watching Al lazily and contentedly as they joined the others.

"Wouldn't miss it," Ax replied, adjusting her aviators as she strutted over.

She returned her attention to the others around this point. She tried to make a point to give at least a head nod to each of them - even the vaguely ominous-looking presence that was Carmine. Hopefully Bartok would properly introduce her to everyone? She turned to the bat faunus with an expectant look as she raised her hand to take off her sunglasses, folding them up and putting them away, her cool blue eyes full of life and light.

"So, what's the occasion? Care to introduce me to everyone?"

[Bartok Evergreen]

As Erin went away to socialize with Carmine, Bartok put his hands on his hips and 'watched' as everyone continued to mingle. Vlithra remained being cool and sipping on her third soda in as many minutes, Erin and Carmine were talking, Al was on the grill and- oh, and now she wasn't. The cooking meat was smelling quite good. Vlithra and Al had claimed the meat, but that was a joke. Right? Bartok had brought the stuff afterall.

He slid up next to the grill that Al had abandoned and took a plate, filling it with beef, cheese, and a cob of corn. He heard Ax and Al converse and head over. He would finish swallowing half of his patty of meat and cheese, eating it without buns, as Ax arrived.

"Yes, of course I'll introduce you!" He said and put an arm around her shoulder like they had been friends for years. They hadn't been, but Bartok and her and shared an empathic link a while back, sharing emotions and singing eachother songs. Turns out, you learn a lot about a person and can feel closer in a shorter span of time when you literally feel another person's emotions. Besides, he knew she wasn't into him, as much as that hurt.

"Ax, meet, well, a lot of people." Like had done with Erin, he gestured to each person in turn. "You know Al, the spunky but shy fire-wolf. There's Carmine, her twin in the mask wearing scheme but he's a lot more glued to that mask than Al is. Erin, my best friend who is my constant wingman." He reached the Tiger Faunus. "And Vlithra, my personal can compactor and, just watch, reluctantly-almost fiance." He stood there, beaming at her with a smile that wasn't sly or a smirk, he certainly wasn't making fun of her. He was just happy and hoping she would oblige a demonstration.

[Vlithra Qing Long]

Vlithra was genuinly surprised to see Al having such control over her semblance. This girl wasn‘t only adoreable, but talented as well being able to do mini-theatrics with her fire. The grilled meats also looked and smelled delicious, Vlithra was really eyeing the cow meat with an almost predatory urge.
As Ax nodded towards Vlithra, she did the same in return. As Bartok went on to introduce Ax to everyone, Vlithra decided to just lean back and drink her soda, taking a large sip from it and hoping that Bartok would shut up about the fiance thing.

And Bartok did it again, not only the introduction itsself, but also describing Vlithra as his fiance. Her hope had been dashed as quickly as it came.
She abruptly stopped drinking, exhaled deeply out of her nose and fixated her visibly agitated stare at Bartok. So he was really just going to keep doing this?

“Bartok…?“ She said with a dissapointed undertone in her voice as she walked up to him, immitating his smile in a somewhat annoyed way.
Standing in front of the blind bat she shook the can while covering the lid. After a few shakes she held it towards Bartok and removed her finger, which caused a bit of the soda to spray out of the can and onto Bartok‘s face. She really hoped she didn‘t hit Ax with it aswell.
There was still some soda left in the can though, which the tigress quickly drank in one chug.

It wasn‘t over yet though. Vlithra shifted her hand to the underside of the can in one smooth motion and pointed it‘s lid towards the bat faunus's head, she then channeled her aura.
Her stripes flared up in green color and her hair started levitating again, gaining equally green tips.
In a moment, same colored lightning shot from around her body towards her hand where the can was and not even a second later engulfed it.
And when she let go, the can was launched, right towards Bartok‘s forehead with enough force to stagger the flirtatious guy at least. Vlithra highly doubted he could dodge a point blank shot like this even if he anticipated something coming.

Upon impact the can wouldn't only be easily flattened due to the kinetic ennergy propelling the underside forward against the solid surface that was Bartok‘s head, but it also would make an audible cracking sound when doing so.
“...stop calling me your fiance, will you!?“ she followed up with a certainly agitated voice.

To be fair about it, Vlithra felt bad reacting like this around the others, especially since she was meeting them for the first time. Then again Bartok had it coming.
She went on to her bench to cram around in her sports bag, pulling out a small towel.
“Here Bat Boy, get that face dry again.“ She would say as she promptly passed Bartok and threw the towel into his face.
“Sorry about that.“ she would say as she met Ax‘s gaze for a mere moment and then looked at the others. She then excused herself back to the grill, her body appearing normal again as she deactivated her semblance. Afterwards she went with one hand through her hair to straighten it out again.

Near the grill again, she put herself a piece of grilled cow meat onto a fork and chomped a piece of it off to chew on. As the meat melted in her mouth she couldn‘t help, but smile with delight. “You weren‘t kiddin‘ with what you said, Al. Really wouldn‘t want to miss out on such spot on grilled perfection.“

[Carmine Crest]

Eyes still closed Carmine listened in on the ongoing conversations, Al apparently recognizing this Ax person as she happily, if not awkwardly, talked with them while Ax finally spoke, another girl judging by the voice and was willing to join, bringing the total number of guests to a solid 6. Opening his eyes, he managed to make a rough blurry shape of the new girl, brightly colored helped him get an outline and the feathers she had only helped get a general idea of her shape while telling him that this was yet another faunus... Closing his eyes again, Carmine had to wonder if Evergreen just didn't know any other humans, if that was even possible...

Some footsteps approached him and upon hearing somebody clear their throat, he once more opened his eyes, the shape and faunus trait telling him that this was Evergreen's childhood friend, Erin. His eyes glanced down to the object she was offering, it was round and wasn't hard for him to guess what it was before she offered to get him a straw as a work around for his mask. "Yes please." Carmine would tell her as he took the drink from her, his eyes closing as he opened it and let her retrieve a straw. Upon Erin returning with the straw, he would give a simple thank you as placed his straw in the drink, lifting his mask ever so slightly to begin to sip from it. Cream soda? Not his preferred drink but he wasn't going to complain.

"Surprised he met so many people already..." He wasn't entirely sure what to say or do but he knew parties were meant for socializing and while everybody seemed to have their little groups to hang out in, Erin seemed willing to provide him some sort of company. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that but he figured he should try and interact with her, the best bet was probably about the only thing they shared, knowing about Evergreen.

Speaking of the man, he gestured toward Carmine and introduced him once more. A mask scheme...? Either way, he'd simply give a nod to the new faunus girl being introduced to the party, his eyes opening once more to look toward her, his eyes a bit too blurry to still make any real details out. At least he could look around the party and make out who was who and what was happening.

Which is why he wasn't surprised when Evergreen referred to Vlithra as his almost fiancée again, she once more took action against him letting Ax know where she stood in regards to that. A hissing sound, followed by the sight of green energy before the beverage that was in her hand a moment before flew straight into Evergreen's forehead. "He... He really likes to joke, doesn't he?" He'd comment as his eyes closed once more.

[Erin Cherrywood]

Erin sipped on a cherry cola next to Carmine as Bartok started introducing everyone again. She'd hoped that Bartok would have some tact and learn from his last round of introductions but it didn't seem to be the case.

Introduced as a wingman, huh? She thought with a tilt her of head. She wasn't sure if it was a promotion or demotion but either way she'd roll with it. "Hey again." She said with a nod.

She looked up at Carmine again. "Yeah. Bartok is quite a friendly guy. It's kind of refreshing to see him actually making friends though. Back home and at our last school he was more often avoided."

The interesting thing about Vlithra being around was that she didn't have to be the one to smack some sense into the boy. Erin watched as Vlithra quickly launched a semblance powered soda can at Bartok's face after shooting him in the face with some drink first. Erin was both impressed and a little concerned; she couldn't be sure if anyone knew to stay away from his ears, but she also didn't want to enable him so she stayed put in place, tail swishing anxiously in case she needed to step in.

When it was clear that he was okay, and Vlithra's reaction was over she took another sip of her drink. "I don't think it's the joke so much as he wants her to show off a bit." She said shaking her head. "One thing about him is that he likes to lift others up." She explained. "I think its why all of us get a silly introduction, its supposed to make us feel more comfortable with each other."

[Al Ciendra]

Al was happy with how things were going, people were getting along well and everyone was having a great time, she herself was just standing at the grill and kept making meat, specially since Bartok had taken a plate already which left her with a little less than she liked.
She was humming a song again, having a tiny flame copy of herself dance to it on the grate as she swung her hips a little, perhaps someone could turn on some music ?

It was then that Bartok introduced everyone to Ax again, she looked a little confused at him, not sure if she liked being called fire-wolf, but it was accurate at least.
She waved over to Ax, maybe she'd like to grab a plate as well, while she was grilling Al had put enough meat on her plate for herself then she heard the crackling sounds of Vlithra's semblance.
Her ears stood up in a bit of fear as she turned to the scene behind her and looked just as Bartok had the soda can thrown at his face, she flinched a little as the impact looked like it must have hurt.
As Vlithra turned away Al couldn't help but worry about the poor bat faunus, she knew he had probably gotten on Vlithra's nerves, but this seemed excessive.

Al quickly turned the last slices of meat on the grate before grabbing a soda can from the cooler as an improvised ice pack and went over to him, she knelt downwards and laid the cold soda can onto his head.
"Here that should help."
Al showed him a smile and got back up, to get back to the grill where Vlithra was now grabbing herself some meat Al had grilled.
"Oh, of course, having perfect control of that fire does help."
Al shrugged as she went over and finished the last few pieces of meat, putting them on another plate as she grabbed the plate she had prepared and sat down.
Smiling as she tasted her work, yep she did great!
"Mhmmm...just right."
Al closed her eye and just continued eating, looking to Carmine and Erin.
"You two should grab some food too before it's gone."
Al said as she just took a bite of a piece of grilled cheese, a string connecting the piece in her mouth and hand which Al slurped up.
Yes this was a good day, she wondered what else Bartok had planned for this party.

[Ax L Rose]

Ax stiffened almost imperceptibly as Bartok's arm slid around the back of her neck and over her shoulders. Outwardly, Ax was a model of coolness and calm, but her momentary discomfort with being touched seemed to echo outward from her aura. Fortunately it was minor - hopefully not enough to meaningfully impact the rest of the scene, as the last thing Ax wanted to do was start spreading bad vibes the instant she showed up at the party. It was probably a good thing that Bartok moved deliberately enough that Ax could at least tell what he was about to do as he did it.

Ax took a good look at each other person there as Bartok guided her through some brief, very informal introductions. She wanted to get a good idea of what the general vibe of this group was going to be like. It'd give her an idea of how long she would be a part of this whole thing. If she didn't seem compatible, she could start making up an excuse for why she'd bail nice and early. She watched Al as she waved Ax over nearer to where the smell of food must've been coming from. Ax wasn't sure how hungry she was... but she nodded and smiled cheerily over at Al to assure her that she'd be over there soon enough. Her eyes flicked back to Bartok as he introduced Erin as his wingwoman and Vlithra as his "almost-fiance", her mouth opening slightly as though surprised, her eyebrows raising slightly.

She felt a little burning ember within. It didn't burn hot enough to be rage, but someone at the party was definitely reaching the limits of their patience with Bartok. Honestly, she wasn't sure she could blame anyone. She got the strong impression from early on that Bartok's heart was generally well-meaning, but he'd incidentally misstepped enough in their first interaction where Ax was pretty sure she'd have smashed his face if they'd met a few years earlier, when Ax was younger and far more impatient.

Ax had the sense to figure roughly what was happening next. Recognizing intent in the tall, pale tiger faunus' expression led to Ax taking a cautious step away from Bartok pretty much just in time to end up splashed only with stray droplets from the can - the majority of the incoming jet of bubbly sugar-syrup would be Bartok's to evade.

Ax raised her flesh-and-blood arm in defense but didn't get too dramatic about it - Bartok had the majority of her attention and Vlithra's righteous annoyance that had burned in Ax's veins melted away an instant later, replaced by Ax's amusement. She could handle a little soda on her skin. Her amusement turned to awe as Vlithra completed her impressive little display at Bartok's expense.

"Damn..." Ax let out what must have been an approving whistle, taking a chance to oggle Vlithra for a moment while attention seemed to be focused on the subject of her soda-poppy wrath. What a woman... Ax definitely hoped she'd be getting some of this chick's attention at some point while she was here.

"Nothing of value was lost," Ax grinned a little in response to Vlithra's apology and gave the tiger a sly little wink, in case it wasn't clear enough that Ax had no hard feelings about stray droplets of soda. Her gaze flicked back to Bartok after that, and she stepped over and knelt down, offering him a hand up. Touch was different when it was on her terms. Before he could accept, Al was practically already on the scene, eager to help him herself. She'd still help the guy up if he accepted her outstretched metal hand.

"...well champ, how you feelin'? I can see why you wanna marry her so bad," Ax let out a low chuckle as she moved to check on the bat who had kindly encouraged her to join this little get-together.

She was also listening as conversation continued around them. She picked up a bit from Erin throughout this whole affair - apparently Bartok hadn't been much of a social hit in the past. It earned him a little sympathy from her. She knew a thing or two about wanting to lift others up, too.

[Bartok Evergreen]

Bartok knew exactly what he was doing. Sure, he figured that she would crush the can in her hands like she had last time. He underestimated the woman. He knew what shaking a soda would do, and was impressed with her creativity in dealing a punishment for his joking manner along with a way to restrain her violent urges. Instead of breaking his ribs or kicking his balls into his throat, she instead sprayed the soda all over his face. With his goggles on, there wasn't a chance any would get in his eyes. However, that wasn't the same about his ears.

He flattened them to the back of his head and sputtered as the sticky liquid sprayed onto him, but his hands went to hold his ears back and cover them more than stop the spray of soda. He was asking for it, afterall. And then that static electricity surged through the air and he realized just too late what she was doing next. He guessed violence wasn't off the table, then.

The can slammed into his head and crushed itself to just the top and bottom bits with sharp, pressed metal in the middle, the whole not taller than a Lien coin. The force sent Bartok falling straight onto his back, his body hitting the sand with a pahf!. He lay there, stunned by her as she yelled, threw a towel on him, apologized to Ax, and then went back to Al and the food.

Slowly sitting up and wiping himself off with the towel, Al came over and put a can of soda against his head. The cool can felt really good against his skin, and he could feel a bump forming. He found the can with a hand(he heard it hit the sand after he did) and held both soda cans, crushed and uncrushed, in the same hand as Ax pulled him to his feet with the other. Holding the cool can to his forehead he held up the other crushed piece of metal for Ax to see.

"I'm fine. And what did I tell you?" He whispered. "Personal Can Compactor. Used my person to compact a can." He turned it over in his fingers, feeling the whole thing to get a better picture of it. "And at long last, someone else sees my interest in her. Everyone else says I'm crazy for saying such things, but man, ever since my proposal on the airship, I can't say I made a mistake. Maybe my charm and good looks are just too much for her, huh?" He asked, flashing a toothy grin.

[Vlithra Qing Long]

Having almost literally inhaled the first piece of deliciously grilled meat, Vlithra couldn‘t help but get herself another piece. She didn‘t even bother stepping away from the grill in order to stab herself another piece of meat onto her fork.
"Better get some while it's hot." she said adding to what Al said to Erin and Carmine.

Only then she walked back to her bench, curiously looking into the round of people that had gathered while doing so.
Everyone was taking her soda-outburst surprisingly well, even Ax smiled, who Vlithra innitially felt bad about splashing soda on. But the little wink she gave earlier reassured the tigress that Ax was pretty chill with everything that was going on so far.

As Vlithra sat down and leaned back on her bench, holding herself steady with one arm, she ate away at the beef on her fork bit by bit. Her gaze continued to scan the people around her. It was time to relax, which was why she didn‘t rush into the next social interaction right away, but rather waited patiently to see what would happen from here on. She kind of hoped Bartok had prepared more than just a get-together of his new friends.

Speaking of the guy, Vlithra overheard what his childhood friend Erin said to Carmine about him. Great, thinking about it now Vlithra felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb, due to her being the only one who got genuinely annoyed by his attitude.
Then again she wasn't the only one, the same could have been said about Carmine as he was the only human in this group.

Deciding not to dwell on those thoughts more than she has to, Vlithra grumpily devoured the last bit of the cow meat on her fork. She then spun the fork around in her fingers, like she was doing knife tricks of sorts, before slamming it down next to her into the bench and letting out a satisfied and more relaxed sigh. Almost bored her gaze wandered from the party, over the beach, to the blue ocean.
Damn, now Vlithra felt the need to go for a swim before finding a cozy place in the sun to doze off in. Yeah that would be great now,but..., she thought as her gaze went back to the party. It would be better to just stick with the others for now. No point in heading away if noone was going to follow.