Connal, a Northern Wolfhound, Honeymare arrive, following Rosalind.

The Black Axe Pub hasn't changed much from its daily look to get ready for the party being hosted, but there is a long banquet table set up with different cuts of savory meats and cheese, fruits such as strawberries and grapes, almonds, dates, and different breads and butters. The pub's wines have been chilled and are ready to be served by a few servers, along with the different hard ciders on tap. Svana is fussing over a smaller table that has individual pumpkin bread loafs on it, perhaps guiltily eating one before everyone arrives.

Octavian, a silken spaniel arrives, delivering a message to Svana before departing.

Nina wanted to come and discuss fashion! Having recently been inducted into the Crafters Guild, she felt she still had a lot to learn. Today she's wearing one of Selene's gowns, in plum and purple, with shoes to match that she crafted herself. She greets Svana with a wave and immediately gets a glass of chilled wine.

Svana checked dexterity + sewing at difficulty 9, rolling 42 higher.

Rosalind comes dashing in, per her usual self. The limp is almost gone and there's the flash of red hair. "Am I late,"she calls out! Ask if she knows anything about fashion? Nope. Nothing. Notta. So much so, Rosa is still in her leathers. But she likes food and drinks and goes immediately toward the food and---wine?

Svana checked dexterity + sewing at difficulty 9, rolling 22 higher.

"Hello, ladies!" Svana says merrily, covering her mouth as she nibbles the last bites of her pumpkin bread. She wipes her fingers on a napkin and then her lips, smiling at Nina. "That is an exquisite gown! I would recognize the work anywhere, too. Selene Whisper. She does beautiful work, absolutely. Come and have a seat if you'd like." When Rosalind comes in still in leather, Svana can't help but grin widely. "Ah, Lady Rosalind. You did not disappoint! Perhaps someday you'll allow me to make you a dress."

"Apollo is making me new leathers. I'm saving for that. Then after th--"but stops. Like she remembers something. "OOOOhhhh...if you're insisting, I know who you can send your payment too. Now that I'm better." She laughs at that, but then frowns. Because that means, she'd HAVE to wear it. Eyeing the food in her hand, she grins,"Oh, what's this?"and pops a piece of bread in her mouth.

"Yes! She's my inspiration. I hope some day to be as good at crafting gown designs as she is!" Nina says, clasping her hands... and then, opening them as she gets a piece of bread. "Oh, this all looks splendid too. Thank you!"

Rosalind claims eating and Apollo and things things!

The still somewhat new mother moves to take a seat, and of course, there are definitely children strapped to her chest. She looks at Rosalind and grins. "Who can I send the bill to? Prince Kieran, perhaps? I would have to charge him double on sheer principle, you realize." Svana nods to them both. "Please, do take the pumpkin bread - I baked it myself! The babies and I like baking when we're not busy with other things." She looks to Nina and smiles. "I hope someday to get as good as Selene too. She played a part in my decision to become a tailor, whether she knows that or not. I still faithfully shop at Whispering Words."

Damien Pierce - A Charming Assistant have been dismissed.

Octavian, a silken spaniel, Ruslana, an aide in Kennex livery, 2 Kennex corsairs arrive, following Zoey.

"Oo! Why are we sending it to Kieran?" Nina asks, looking back and forth, and then laughing. "I'm Nina, by the way," she says to Rosalind. "Bard and now a seamstress too."

As if on cue, when Nina mentions being a seamstress Zoey walks into the pub wearing the gown that Nina made and Svana gifted her. She glances around, smiling warmly and getting a feel for the gathering.

Rosalind is blinking now. And just jams more food into mouth. Not saying ANYTHING. Swallowing, she finally grins over at Nina. "I'm Lady Rosalind Ravenseye. Ros or Rosa to most everyone and uh..." regarding the dress..."Because he said if I ever got a lycene gown, he'd uh...cover it." AWKWARD! "And then Rodica said she'd do my hair and put stuff on my face. You know, all that weird stuff.." So weird. Rosa's freckled face turns a shade red, the scars there now prominent.

Nina puts some bread in her mouth, bites, and then as she's about to, almost squeals when she sees Zoey is wearing her work. She ends up biting down and squealing in the back of her throat, which is very ladylike. Then she properly squallows, and makes another squee sound. "Oh! You're wearing it! It looks so perfect." She nods to Rosalind. "Oh, I see! I do sew Lycene style gowns. I'll be opening my doors for new commissions very soon. My fingers have finally recovered from my previous work. I would be happy to make trouble for Prince Kieran and possibly also take his silver." She smiles sweetly.

"Hmm, knew it," Svana says, looking rather proud of herself for sussing that one out quickly. She motions Zoey in and points toward the little table with the pumpkin bread on it. "Please do take one!" She crosses her legs and laughs softly. "Rosalind, you would be pretty no matter what you were wearing or if Rodica fixed your hair or put makeup on you." She snickers wildly. "I could make you a nice linen gown with simple embroidery that might be more your style." She smiles at Zoey and her gown, nodding in approval.

Rosalind squints at Svana and snorts. "You guessed! It wasn't HARD! He's just nice!" But then she realizes and her face gets really red."That's not true, but that's really really nice of you. Thank you!" There's a grin at Nina as she nods,"Oh. Okay." Still awkward, but she's SAVED by ZOEY! Rosa waves a lot to the Kennex lady, greeting her,"Hello Zoey! How are you!"

Svana checked dexterity + sewing at difficulty 9, rolling 19 higher.

Zoey's smile broadens as she approaches the table. "A bit early in the year for pumpkin anything, is it not?" she asks. "We still have some summer left, after all. Hello, Rosa! Good to see you. And thank you, Nina. I have been wearing it all day and I absolutely love it. The shoes are as comfortable as they are stylish, I am happy to say." She reaches an arm around Svana to give her a hug.

"Oh, yes. I know. I hate summer," Svana says, smiling at Zoey. "Thank you for coming, Lady Zoey. You look terrific in that dress." She hugs Zoey gently and then takes Elanne and Rowan out of the carrier, holding them in her lap. "Ooh, you've got shoes to match! Delightful!" Svana looks at Rosalind and grins. "Prince Kieran is not nice, he's a little sh--" Svana, in this moment, reminds herself it's supposed to be classy in the pub. "...He's a little scallywag. I think he's nice to you because of other reasons!" She teases, grinning widely. "Please don't hit me, I've just given birth almost three months ago!"

Svana gets Rowan Grayhope from a black cloth carrier painted with Everwinter mountains.

Svana gets Elanne Grayhope from a black cloth carrier painted with Everwinter mountains.

Svana drops Rowan Grayhope.

Svana drops Elanne Grayhope.

Zoey gets Rowan Grayhope.

Zoey drops Rowan Grayhope.

"Oh hello, sweeties!" Zoey says when the babies come out, reaching toward them to take whichever one Svana is willing to hand over. "Thank you, Svana, I absolutely love it."

"Wait! WHAAAAAT?!" Rosalind exclaims at Svana. "Are you drunk?" She looks at the twins and back to Svana. There's a mumble from the Ravenseye. A not proper one either. "You're all crazy,"as she adjusts her leathers neatly.

Svana reaches out to hand Elanne over to Zoey, smiling. "I've been wanting her to warm up to people more... maybe another mother will set her at ease. She loves Apollo," Svana says, rolling her eyes good-naturedly, grinning. "Oh, Lady Zoey, it was my pleasure!" She laughs at Rosalind's assertion that she's drunk. "Surprisingly I have not imbibed anything alcohol yet today. This is the most sober I've been since it was proper for me to drink again after the babes!" She says, offering Rowan to Rosa to make it up to her. Svana cants her head at Nina. "You really do gorgeous work. Especially with spidersilk... it's so fine. I would say you're a great seamstress in your own right for that alone."

Zoey gets Elanne Grayhope.

"Oh, it is only spider-inspired. But I'll be working with seasilk soon. I got some lessons from Apollo and I know that Lady Zoey is eager to get a commission. But I have to think about rates..." Nina moves to a seat, taking a glass of wine with her. She shows off her shoes for a second, herself. "Matching shoes are so important with a gown. It was my pleasure to help out with that."

Rosalind takes Rowan Grayhope.

Rosalind smooches Rowan right on the head the moment he's handed over. "Your mom is crazy..I will tell you stories of her when she was younger. When she thought I was just some red head in trees.." Clearly Rosa knew EXACTLY what Svana was talking about that one day. "I have dresses by the way. THREE!" HAVE A HEART ATTACK GUYS!

Zoey picks up the baby girl and cradles her in her arms. "Let's see if this sparkly little snowball will melt for Aunt Zoey," she coos as she walks around with the infant. "Yes, you know I'm chomping at the bit for it," she says after Nina. "As much as I love designing my own gowns, I only have so many hours in the day. And neutral shoes that are still stylish are not an easy thing to create."

Svana grins at Nina. "As fine as the dresses are, you could have fooled me! Funny, I branched out from Apollo to become a seamstress and I'm almost positive he's better at it now than I am. The curly-headed..." Her lips twitch and the Northerner reminds herself once again that it's a /classy/ party, "...lovely man." She looks at Rosalind and then does a doubletake when the Lady mentions the trees. "I knew it was you, Rosalind Ravenseye! Ha! You helped me throw snakes at boys." Beat. "Three dresses?"

Elanne has come with a rattle, and sucks on it in Zoey's arms. Thankfully she hasn't started hitting the woman. Rowan on the other hand is all smiles as usual, but he looks tired, wobbling a bit in Rosa's arms.

The door opens, in rushes a gust of summer air and a true specimen of Northern ... er ... fashion. Baelos Redrain in fact looks mostly as he always does this time of year, which is to say as breezily dressed as possible. His plain shirt has sleeves rolled up to the elbows and is barely buttoned, hanging open at the neck. His long hair is pulled back in a pony tail and his scraggly beard may even be recently trimmed. Oh, and he has his own whiskey already - always fashionable! When he sees the group of very finely dressed ladies, and children, he looks around with a slightly confused expression.

"Yes. Yes I did." Rosa grins at Svana. "And Triton use to throw a fit and get mad and beat up the boys who used to try and hit me." Oh yes he did! "And yeah. Three! One Cady had made for me because I lost a bet, but it resembles the sea. One Aella chucked at me one day, and the other is just--for if I HAVE to wear it!"

When the door opens, Rosa blinks. And blinks more. "Bae!"she calls excitedly, shifting the baby a little. "Where have you been?!"


"Apollo gave me a little lesson in seasilk in fact, but I still have a bit to learn before I think I'm confident working a gown," Nina says. "One bit at a time! I'm looking forward to the new Pravus ward opening as my shop will be there, but I can still do some personal commissions too." At this, Baelos walks in, and Nina, sitting pretty and refined, turns her chair toward him slightly. "Hello there."

Zoey says in Marin'alfar, "Who is the sweetest little snowball? You are!"

Zoey starts talking to the little girl in an exotic tongue while gently bouncing her. Her face falls a little bit when Nina mentions the Pravus ward. "I do not suppose you will make house calls, will you?" she asks. Baelor gets a dip of the head in respectful acknowledgment. "Your Highness."

Zoey corrects herself. "My Lord, rather. Goodness, my mind is going."

Svana spins to see Baelos, her lips slowly quirking into a smile. She looks him up and down slowly. "Come to show off your fashion, didja?" She asks, before she looks at Rosalind as if to ask the eternal 'Who is this guy?' question. Slowly her smile turns into a grin. "Nina, you'll do well. Practice makes perfect. I was always too eager to show off the things I'd made straight away without the proper practice." Svana raises a brow when Zoey says 'highness', and Svana stands up to bow to the man. "You're welcome here. Please sit and enjoy refreshments. We could talk about... well, you know, blue would look great on you."

"Hello yourself." Baelos flashes a smile at Nina, before fixing his gaze back at Rosalind: "Oh, here and there. Miss me?" Which is to say, his player hasn't made up a good backstory for his absence. He also smiles at Zoey, not one to get too twisted up with titles. As Svana welcomes, he arches a brow: "Are you sure I am not interrupting? I feel like maybe I took a wrong turn..." He looks at his shirt. "Oh?l

Nina puts a hand on the table, smiling with a tilt of her head. "Commissions will certainly be available on personal consultations. I think it's important that I understand someone's personal method of style too!" Nina then contemplates the idea of Baelos in blue. She thinks about this perhaps for a long second.

Rosalind is really unsure when she asks,"What would I look best in?" Though she already has an idea. Because she has redhair and freckles. And hazel green eyes. Handing Rowan to Svana carefully, she hurriedly turns toward Bae and well--she gives him a great big hug,"Yes! Because sometimes I don't always have someone to go adventures with!" Though she was held up for a bit. "And you know--things! Welcome back!"

"It is an open event," Zoey tells the prince with a smile. She takes a look at Rosalind, considering. "Redheads generally look better in cooler colors. I could see you in violet, I think."

"We have some similar coloration," says Nina, who is also a red-head, though not so freckled, "So I can offer some advice." She nods to Zoey's comment about cool colors. Then she stands up as she happens to be wearing purple herself. "I like cool jewel tones the best. Though don't let anyone talk you out of red as long as you choose the right shade."

Svana takes Rowan back and kisses his head softly, putting the nearly sleeping boy down in the carrier. In Zoey's arms, Elanne's rattle drops and hits the floor. The little redheaded girl is down for the count. Svana looks back and forth between Baelos and Rosalind for a long moment, filing some sort of information away for later. "Oh yes, sir. The right shade of blue to match your eyes would make an impression on just about anyone." Svana pauses and looks at Rosalind, grinning. "I imagine you in white frequently, or shades of green... but I've long had an idea for a dress for you." Svana looks to Nina and considers Zoey's words. "Oh, I do think that Zoey would look best in violet!"

"Redheads also feel better in cooler climates!" Baelos adds (also a ginger) as he returns Rosalind's hug with a wink. "And sister?" He asks after Aella, before his attention returns to the hostess. "I do like to make an impression." He grins, aforementioned eyes twinkling and threatening bad behavior, as always. "What are we drinking then?"

"I will try anything off the top shelf," Zoey says with a grin. She looks down at the little girl asleep in her arms and presses a soft kiss to her brow. "I only have on free hand right now, or I would offer to get the drinks myself."

One of the servers brings Zoey over a glass of the Spiritberry Wine, while another gives Baelos a rundown of the menu, including all the different types of whiskey and the other hard liquor.

"She's good,"Rosalind assures Baelos. "And Cadern is going to be a father. He's all old and married now." She also listens to all the advice. Grinning. With a look that screams,"KILL ME!" she exhales at Svana,"I will--let you make me that gown. If you really want." She listens to Nina and Zoey too. Smiling as she gets comfortable. "I don't have much for clothes. I just figure I should save for other--things."

Svana moves over to Zoey. "If you don't want dead weight in your arms, I can take her." She looks to Baelos and smiles at him. "You've certainly made an impression on me. Mistress Svana Grayhope, pleased to meet you." She sees Rosalind's facial expression and snorts slightly. "Terrific! I will start on it as soon as possible." It sounds more like a threat considering the tone of voice that Svana uses. She turns to Nina and nods. "I prefer jewel tones myself, the cooler ones... though I've heard that I look better in warm colored clothing."

"The sun CAN be murder," Nina says with a slight nod. She gives Rosalind a nod. "I understand. The prices right now are much too high in the markets. I hope the weather turns, but realy who knows... how long it might finally be...." She looks thoughtful as she has a drink.

"No need, we are fine," Zoey tells Svana. "Wine in one hand and a baby in the other makes me a happy Lady. And getting my fix buys my husband time before I ask him to give me another." She looks to Rosa. "What is this about Cadern becoming a father?"

Baelos is true to type, and swiftly orders some more whiskey after a glance at the menu. "Cold." He directs the server. Eyes lifting, he makes a face at Rosalind: "Old and married? Can you imagine?" Clearly still stifled, he loosens another couple buttons on his shirt as he turns back to Svanna, "Likewise, Mistress Svana. I am Baelos Redrain, of Farhaven." He leans in, "Grayhope, hm? You all are known to be a fun lot. But..." He gives her a once over, "You don't look Southern to me. Married?"

"As you wish, m'Lady. I understand about wanting another, though I think we've decided not until these two can walk," Svana says with a laugh. She looks at Rosalind to give the info about Cadern's impending fatherhood, but nods a bit glumly at Nina's mention of the market prices. "Well, we do what we must." Svana's attention is very much divided when Baelos starts undoing the buttons on his shirt. She isn't listening for a second, then it all registers. "What?" Beat. "Oh, yes. I'm from the Bonespire. My husband was adopted by the Grayhopes. He's from the Lower Boroughs himself. I am old and married."

Nina watches the unbuttoning, with a few blinks. "Oh. Are you planning on getting a new style right here and now?" she asks. She watches him quite closely now. "And you're not OLD," she insists to Svana.

"You didn't know Elly was pregnant?" Rosalind grins, the excitement clear in her eyes. "I'm going to be an aunt." She watches Baelos and blinks,"Are you--geez." Rosalind amusedly shakes her head and agrees with Nina about Svana,"And no. You're not old!"

Zoey rolls her eyes. "Stop it. I am older than you, and *I* am not old," she says to Svana. "And I gave myself a year an a half between birthing my first and conceiving my second. Plenty of time for the body to recover." She grins back at Rosalind. "That is wonderful! When is she due?" She checks the floor around Nina's chair. "I see no sewing tools or bolts of fabric."

"Am I what??" Baelos protests at Rosalind. His drink arrives, and after a very generous gulp, he raises one finger in a matter-of-fact way at Svana: "I knew it! Bonespire, eh? I will have to ask Volcica about you."

There's a chuckle from Svana at the protests of the other ladies present. "I know, I was only joking. I'm just twenty-two now. Still young for babies, I think! I certainly didn't see myself with two marriages under my belt and two kids as well this young." She chuckles at Nina's response to the unbuttoning of 1013, nodding in agreement. "I live just down the hall here. I'm sure I have fabric." Upon hearing Volcica's name, Svana turns to Baelos and gives him a small smile. "Ah, yes. I used to serve House Stahlben - for a very long time. When I first came here, in fact. Lady Volcica has known me since I was just a child. Perhaps... you shall not get a glowing review from her, though. I left House Stahlben, and I think there are cracks there still being repaired."

"I didn't bring any," Nina says with a small laugh. "I've recently moved my house in preparation for my new shop being set up so things are in a bit of disarray. It's very quiet though. Just the sound of the water out the window." She sighs.

"Well that does sound lovely," Zoey says to Nina. "The water. Not the disarray, obviously." She looks to Svana. "What sort of fabric do you have? No, do not tell me. I need to use what I have stockpiled first."

"I was just the redhead in the trees that used to throw snakes and go on mammoth hunts." Rosalind grins at Svana and Baelos. There's talks of fabrics and Rosa kinda just--looks clueless. Nope. Knows nothing.

Baelos has the look of someone who has left a bit of destruction in his wake, so he only shrugs at Svana's history lesson with a faint grin over his whiskey. For the moment, his attention returns to Nina - lucky her - "No fabric? I thought there would be something blue for me?"