.:Chrys' Party:.

The sweet melancholy sound of a viola weeping… it fills my ears…

Thomas played the last note of his favorite song to play slowly, letting the fermata take on its own essence before letting it fade to nothing. He opened his deep sapphire eyes to stare idly at the empty living room of the home he shared with his sister. Their parents were wealthy and well off, but Thomas preferred to live simply, so when he had finished college he'd moved out into this simple three bedroom home where he entertained no guests but his sister.

Well at least it's quiet.

He nestled the viola beneath the crook of his chin and shoulder, lifting the bow to start another song when his senses barraged him with warning. He set the bow down and sighed heavily.

"I know you're there."

Chrys' face popped out in front of his own, upside down and pouting, her cheeks red and yellow with her runes. "Oh boo! You always know! Why can't you pretend and let me surprise you one of these days? You're so boring!"

Thomas gave his sister a placid stare. "You're predictable. Can't you do something productive with your life? You haven't even gone to college yet and you're almost twenty one. I have three bachelor's degrees, two masters and two PhDs – and I know fifty languages fluently. We have a reputation to keep up, you know."

His sister's face wilted even more. "Ohhhh, you're just smart! Books are boring! I want to know more about our magic and stuff!" she leapt over the couch above his head to land lightly in front of him, giving him a smoldering look. "We can be more than what Anthropia can offer us – we could be, like, super heroes!"

She threw a punch at her brother and he deftly caught her fist without so much of a batted eyelash. He looked back at her with a bored expression. "Do you really think that other world has so much to offer you? It offers a new perspective and new faces to meet but it's rather more like a disappointment to me. I can't really meet people there – I tower over everyone."

Suddenly, Chrys' runes brightened and darkened in one fell swoop, and an impish grin changed her features. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that…"

Thomas eyed her sideways. She's plotting something – I know it. "What are you planning?"

Her grin grew wider, made all the more sinister looking with her sharp, carnivorous teeth. "Nothing~!"

"Nothing my tail," his runes dimly showed his annoyance before disappearing. "You're plotting something I can tell."

Chrys leaned her head back in a dramatic pose of feigned ignorance, putting one finger against her chin as if in thought. "How in the world could I be plotting anything? You know me too well to let me pull the wool over your eyes."

A raised eyebrow was all that met her in response.

"But you should probably make yourself more presentable. Preferably in the next ten minutes." Chrys grinned again, pushing her blonde locks aside. "Granted, you always look presentable, but you aren't wearing your vest or tie when you stay at home. Pity."

Annoyance flared up in Thomas again before he could quell the emotion. "Did you invite people to my house again without my consent?"

"Maybe," Chrys dragged out the word in the least innocent of tones.

Thomas groaned in frustration with his sister, which made her grin even more. She loved getting under Thomas' skin. "You know there's no food or drink in the fridge."

"I catered."

"With my money?" her grin widened and he sighed with resignation. "Well at least I'm well enough off without father's help to not worry too much about that. What did you order?"

Chrys put on an honest look of thought and her runes finally vanished. "I got a few exotic vegetarian dishes, the ones you like, some fish and pork, and several different pies. The fish I got were shark, halibut and swordfish. Shark being my favorite of course."

Thomas got up and began putting his viola away so he could start tidying the house. Not that he ever left anything to be cleaned in the first place. He lived as he presented himself – immaculately. "How many people did you invite over?"

"That's a secret."

Thomas just sighed again. There was no use pestering her over and over if she wanted to keep something a surprise. He set up the large table in the dining area they used when Chrys had "impromptu" parties and set the table. He wanted to be sure that everything was set and looked nice before anyone came over.

The ringing of the doorbell caught Thomas' attention as he placed the last fork on the table.

"I'll get it!" Chrys called in sing-song. Something about the way she was going about things definitely gave Thomas the impression that she was up to something completely, and utterly, no good.

"Hey guys!" a familiar, gravelly female voice rang in and Thomas turned to see their spotted feline friend walk in with the white and purple cow in tow, not Marius. This only furthered the blue bull's impression that his sister was scheming.

Thomas came up and gave an eloquent bow. "Good evening ladies. What brings you to our home?"

The two women exchanged equally conniving looks. Something was definitely going on and he was sure he'd be the center of it. "We're just trying to get some of our friends to branch out and meet new people. I think you'd be the least threatening of all my friends and my apartment isn't so people-friendly." Azubah chipped in. "My male roommate fancies himself a womanizer and my female roommate is rather lacking in people skills. Plus Chrys graciously offered your place for everyone's first visit to Anthropia." She paused. "Well except Belle here – she's been here before."

"Well welcome to our home," Thomas glossed over his greeting, not letting any curiosity or emotion creep into his thoughts. "I hope what we have to offer will be worthwhile."

"I'm sure it'll be plenty nice Thomas!" Belle said. "Is the food here yet?"

"Not yet!" Chrys called from the door. "They'll be here shortly. Probably just after I get everyone else. I'll be back!"

With that she disappeared out of the door with the door thudding behind her. Thomas shook his head. "In the meantime – would either of you care for a glass of water until the catering company gets here?"
_________

"UGH! I can't believe I let myself get dragged off to here of all places!"

Thomas picked up the grating voice – clearly feminine – before they even neared the driveway of the house. Whomever it was wasn't quite as enthused about the gathering as the other guests.

"Aw shug, don't worry about it!" a honeyed southern female voice chided. "It'll be fun – and both you and McKayla can meet some new faces."

"I don't need to meet anyone!" the voice hissed back. "And this place sucks! I can't do anything here! I might have hands, but this stupid ribbon still won't come off!"

"I think it looks delightful on you," a third voice, soft and timid, pointed out. "But… there won't be any laddies there?"

"Ah, don'cha worreh lassies," a thick male voice with an Irish accent piped up. "It's jus'ta be dinner."

There was an embarrassed mumble to answer him.

"Awwww, cheer up sugar, it'll be great!" Thomas could imagine a southern belle, grabbing both resistant women in a giant bear hug. "There'll be pie and strawberries and all the pickin's! You won't have to worry your little heads about boys!"

Thomas was ready when the knock on the door finally came. Azubah, however, swooped in and put a white hand on his chest to stop him. "Hold on tiger. I'll get the door. We don't want any mishaps right off the bat."

"I'm not a tiger," Thomas replied evenly, but let the sand lipard answer the door.

A large black cow made her way through the door, dressed simply, with one large arm over two equally thinner girls with totally different expressions. The dark grey had a look of utter disgust twisted upon her face while the daintier light brown had her face hidden behind her hair, embarrassment written in every fiber of her being. "Hey shug! We're all here for tha feast!" she sang loudly as she clamored in.

Behind her, a well-toned, shaggy red-brown bull came in – his eyes lost behind a fluff of hair. "'Ello there lassie. Good ev'n to ye."

"Where's Thomas?" The black cow said, finally letting go of the other two women. The darker grey still had a smoldering look on her face and brushed her arms off as if she were trying to shake off all the goodwill that came pouring off the larger woman. The other stood with her face pointedly facing her feet, her arms wrapped around her waist.

"Right here," Azubah indicated, gesturing to where he stood.

Immediately properness took hold of him and he made an eloquent bow. "Good evening Mrs. O'Donnahail, Mr. O'Donnahail. Welcome to my humble home."

"Aw, shug, there's no need for all that niceness," the larger woman chided. "You know us! You can just use our proper names – Zoey and Fearghal or Ghal iffen you'd like." She motioned to the two women standing beside her. "This here's Evelyn and this's McKayla – Fearghal's sister."

He bowed to both women. "Pleased to meet your acquaintance."

Thomas could see the skin under McKayla's fur turn an iridescent red and she wobbled in place while Zoey pulled out a fan from some hidden pocket Thomas couldn't even begin to fathom where. But Evelyn gave him a rather nasty look instead.

"Oh please," Evelyn grumbled, giving him a wrathful look. "What next? Are you going to take our hands and kiss them in turn?"

Thomas couldn't help but cock an eyebrow at her comment, but remained composed. "That would be proper for ladies of your age, but Mrs. O'Donnahail asked me not to be proper so a bow would suffice."

Evelyn scowled. "You touch me and I'll bite you."

Azubah couldn't help but laugh at that. "Bite Thomas? He's got skin thicker than an alligator's." Evelyn glared wrathfully at Azubah but the sand lipard ignored her. "Let's head to the dining area. The rest of the company should be arriving shortly."
______

Thomas did his best to manage the hodge-podge of guests Chrys had brought over. And it was a tribute to his level of patience as most of them had never used a knife and fork – let alone used their fore-hooves to help them eat at all. Chrys kept up most of the conversation; which pertained mostly of her telling stories to the group, with Bristol filling in some of the gaps (or sarcastically correcting a great over-exaggeration by Chrys). The rest of the conversation revolved around Zoey's new child (which also contained barbs from Belle at Azubah about her lack of any commitment or babies with Marius).

It seemed to Thomas that Chrys had invited almost the entirety of the bovines from the other world. Hopscotch and Zoey tried in vain to out-eat the other, but Anthropia's physics had them struggling to best one another. Hopscotch's much smaller size also hampered her ability to best Zoey. Marco repeatedly tried to one-up Chrys' stories, but the dragon-cow had some pretty out-there experiences that were difficult for the younger bull to top. Chrys' voice was taunt when she spoke to him – apparently he was much younger than she had first thought. Goliath munched contently on the food he was being served; quite possibly the only reason he was here at all. Jack sat with his face staring pointedly at his plate, his face alight with a red hue; Thomas could see him shyly looking up through his bangs at McKayla across the table, who mirrored Jack's pose and expression, but she only looked at Evelyn, Zoey or Fearghal at the table. Evelyn had a scowl on her face, but Thomas could tell she was actually faintly interested in Chrys' stories. Charlotte was eagerly interested in everything. Zoey was boisterous – but she always was; encouraging McKayla or Evelyn to add a comment. Li'l Dutchin was mostly silent, though he did make some comments here and there.

At the end of the dinner they all moved into the living room while McKayla and Evelyn excused themselves to go outside. Zoey had frowned a bit at that, but let them be. She did, however, ask about what Thomas did in his free time.

Thomas just shrugged. "I play music. Sometimes I write music."

"Oh, oh!" Chrys was suddenly alight. "Play something fun! I'll play with you!"

Zoey nodded encouragingly. "Oh shug, you don't happen t'know any dancing songs with a fiddle now would you?"

Surprise flashed on Thomas' face as she mentioned the slang term for violin. His favorite instruments were all the stringed instruments. "I can make something up I suppose."

He pulled out his violin from its case beside the viola. His sister took the viola and both tuned their chosen instruments. When they were ready he played a five note key so his sister could catch what key they would play in. Then he closed his eyes and played.
_______

"This is so boring," Evelyn griped to her friend.

McKayla frowned. "Well I suppose…" she sighed. Zoey always seemed to press her to meet new people. Well, she had met Evelyn. Isn't that enough?

Suddenly the vibrant sound of a violin hit her ears. Even Evelyn turned toward the house at the noise, but her expression was different.

"Now what," Evelyn growled.

Then the music started in earnest. A fast paced string of notes like the pulsing of an excited heart came frothing out of the house as McKayla listened. The melody reminded her of the dancing songs that would be played at festivals in Ireland. The instruments sang with happiness, courting one another. A steady beat of clapping started up and she heard her brother's handsome voice add to the song in their native tongue and she felt swept away by the music.

She grabbed Evelyn's hand and tugged at her friend. "Come on, let's dance!"

"Excuse me?!" Evelyn gave McKayla a frustrated look. "I don't dance."

"You don't really need to know how to dance to this music," McKayla encouraged. "You just need to frolic to the beat."

"I don't frolic," but McKayla dragged Evelyn into a prance with her; much to the dark grey bovine's dismay.

The music bubbled with life as Charlotte added her voice to Fearghal's and Bristol added her own. A fourth, a sweet tenor took up the last missing piece to a full choir and the voices floated along with the music and the beat. The song repeated itself over and over again, the words the same, but the story different.

Finally the melody ended and McKayla promptly came to a halt at the ground, dragging Evelyn into a sitting position too. Both were breathing hard from exertion. However, while McKayla's eyes danced with happiness, Evelyn had a scowl on her face.

"That's – that's the last time – I let you – let you drag me into – dancing," Evelyn huffed, more frustrated that this world hindered her abilities. Otherwise she wouldn't have felt even a tiny bit tired.

Another melody started up again. This one just as upbeat as the last, but this time had the feeling of southern bluegrass to it. This time the violin paired with a banjo, and the steady voice of a deep alto speaking lyrics, rather than singing. McKayla felt compelled again to let the music carry her away, but curiosity nagged at her heels. She wanted to see who was playing the music.

She creeped over to the window and peeked over the ledge to see inside.

Inside was alive with movement and life. Zoey and Fearghal danced with one another in a makeshift circle of onlookers. Those gathered about clapped to the beat, while to one side the two hosts of the house played the banjo and violin. The blue male's bow streamed against the strings of the violin so quickly she marveled at how well he could play. The girl's fingers flew on the strings of the banjo, her voice flat, but matching the music. Fearghal took turns with the other girls who were tossed into the circle, then swapped with a nervous Jack who took turns dancing with others in an odd square-dance style. Then Bristol dragged Li'l Dutchin into the circle and danced happily, Brie overjoyed at the chance to dance with LD.

McKayla didn't hear the door open so she jumped when she heard Zoey's voice at her ear. "Come on, sugar! Come and dance with us!"

"I… I don't know…" her face felt hot as she blushed at the thought of being so close to so many unfamiliar faces again. It had been a strain before – but thankfully no one really directly spoke to her during dinner besides her brother and Zoey. Not only that but the amount of females far outweighed the amount of males at the party. However, her heart fluttered faintly at the thought of having to dance with any male who wasn't her brother.

Zoey patted McKayla's shoulder as if reading the younger woman's thoughts. "Don't worry. You don't have to dance with anyone. Fearghal will dance with you if you want to dance with someone."

Evelyn made a retching noise at the sentiment in Zoey's voice, but Zoey ignored her. "Have fun!" she turned and crooked a finger at Evelyn. "You too!"

Evelyn rolled her eyes as McKayla grabbed her arm and the two were dragged in as the music stopped once more. Zoey placed McKayla next to Fearghal and set herself beside her husband and Evelyn took McKayla's other side, scowling at the blushing Jack not far from them.

"Alright!" Chrys said, setting down the banjo. "What should we play next?"

"Oh, oh!" Bristol waved her arms frantically. "Play a romantic song!"

Evelyn made a face at that and voiced her opinion loudly. "Yuck! Let's not."

Brie pouted. "I wanna dance with LD!" She wrapped her arms around Li'l Dutchin's waist for emphasis.

"Aw, it won't hurt nothin' shug," Zoey chided. "I think I'd fancy a dance with 'Ghal too."

"It's decided then!" Chrys chimed happily, elbowing her brother who sighed with resignation.

He picked up the viola this time and his sister went into the side closet, pulling out a cello. They tuned their instruments while the young man played five key notes before Chrys started up a somewhat melancholy tune, the sound seeming to weep in the air. Zoey and Bristol took their partners into the center of the semi-circle while Chrys struck notes alone.

Then Thomas began to play. His melody struck chords with his sister's – sounding with hope and welcome. Chrys' notes changed to match the new tone – of hope and love as the two instruments seemed to sing together and apart – creating a love-song that was perfect for slow dances. McKayla spotted Jack shyly looking over at her and she fixed her gaze at the ground for a moment as she caught her breath and then turned her gaze fixedly at Zoey and Fearghal's dancing forms. She heard Evelyn growl something incomprehensible toward Jack but she didn't bother to look.

Thomas then started to sing, his voice singing in the range that bordered the tenor and alto. His voice was welcoming and hopeful in song. As Chrys took up the next phrase of the song, her lyrics sounded weak, melancholy but with the longing of hope. When their voices joined in the chorus, both professed love, hope and yearning.

McKayla yearned to sing too, but she feared an audience. Instead she settled to softly humming along in her head. Everyone clapped at the end of the song and dance.

Chrys began to pack away the cello while Thomas did the same with his instrument. The younger sister spread her hands emphatically toward the audience after she'd finished packing away the instrument. "All right ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – this'll be our last set. It's getting dark and I assure you that despite how expansive this place may look Thomas does not keep enough beds for any more than the two of us. But I do have a…" she started, with a waggle of her brows but the comment was never finished as she was served a brusque slap to the back of her head by her brother.

"Chrys…" his tone was edged warningly, "That isn't proper."

She shrugged in response, a not-so-innocent-but-I've-just-been-had smile on her face. "Sorry! Sorry! We've got children here I know." She waved her hand flippantly in the direction of the younger crowd, Bristol's eyebrow twitching with indignation. "Anyway! Yes – there are no guestrooms. So last song! What'll it be?"

"Oh! Oh!" Zoey nearly knocked over Fearghal and McKayla as she hopped up with excitement. "Do a square dance sort of song Shugs!"

"D-d-d-dancing?!" McKayla squeaked next to her, her face turning a bright pink under her thick fur.

"Aww shug, don'cha worry," Zoey amended, fanning McKayla with her fan. "You can dance with me and Fearghal when we swap in 'n' out. That outta help out with gettin' ya courage."

Thomas bent down to pick up his viola's case again, his long bangs hiding his eyes from McKayla's eyes. "We can do a good sort of repeating fast-paced section of bars with a viola and a violin," he said to the group, unpacking his viola as he spoke. "If those not in the center could clap a beat it would make do for a square dance sort of song."

"Great!" Chrys beamed. "I love randomized situations!" The tan colored bovine picked up the violin out of it's corresponding case and quickly tuned the instrument again.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Chrys prompted, as they moved to the outskirts of the circle. She picked out a fast 8/8 beat. "One and two and three and…"

McKayla's breath was taken away as the two rushed into a fast, heart-throbbing beat that harmonized perfectly together and it became obvious to everyone where the clap beat should be and all those in the circle started clapping in tune with the music. The song thrummed in McKayla's veins and through everyone else as they hopped or danced in place to the song. The music just begged to be danced too. The arcs of the circle had all the males on one side and the girls on the other, to be traded in and out during the music.

Suddenly Bristol and Li'l Dutchin were thrust into the center and they hooked arms and danced in a skipping loop, hooking up with a random person on the other side dragging them into the dance with them then throwing the two together in the center. McKayla's heart beat fast and she felt slightly dizzy when she was pulled in by Fearghal, but to her relief Evelyn had been pulled into the circle to dance with her. There were more fillies than there were laddies so she breathed a secret sigh of relief as she jaunted about the circle breathing easily and laughing at Evelyn's face, which was contorted in a show of great distaste.

A few more rounds and McKayla was beginning to find herself able to ignore for the most part the people around her. The music still begged to be danced too and that was what mostly consumed her thoughts in the moment. She found herself hooked by the arm by Zoey and she laughed as she danced with her sister-in-law.

"Having fun?" Zoey nearly had to shout to be heard over the music.

"Yes!" McKayla said back. "It's much easier dancing with you and Fearghal."

"Good! I'm glad you're having a good time. This is a good way to meet new people," Zoey winked and passed her off to the person she was going to dance with.

McKayla felt her heart flutter as she found her arm hooking with Jack's. But the blue-grey bovine's face was a deep scarlet and he hid his eyes under his long bangs as if he was just as shy as she was. Breathing a mental sigh of relief, McKayla found herself falling again into the music as they danced about the circle.

But in the next moment Jack spoke up and her heart nearly stopped as she felt the blood drain out of her face with shyness. "I…I..ahhh…you dance nice…"

The world spun for a moment before she blacked out.
__________________

Thomas found himself having fun playing his viola at a quick pace, tapping his foot to the time and swaying lightly every other bar. His sister however, danced heartily to the music, her cat-like grace allowing her to play deftly and dance at the same time. Thomas could have done the same thing if he had felt the urge, but he wasn't one to over exertion. He liked to reserve his movements in concise, measured use.

Though his eyes were mostly closed, he kept an eye on the crowd and dancers. He wanted to make sure that none of them became too exhausted or suddenly became faint for any reason or another. He'd seen Zoey fanning the young woman McKayla earlier – she might not be used to Anthropia's strange physics and it was making her feel faint.

It seemed to him though that she was acclimating quite well. She came in and out of the circle a handful of times before he felt that she may be comfortable with the world. He turned his eyes to the rest of the crowd. They were only starting to wear away.

He closed his eyes to let the music carry him when suddenly his senses warned him about something about to happen. He flashed his sister a sharp look and found to his relief she'd sensed the same thing and they rounded out the measure flawlessly as if they'd timed the ending to this very second.

And in one deft movement, Thomas flipped his bow in the air and caught it with two of his fingers with the hand still holding the neck of his viola and with uncanny swiftness positioned himself behind McKayla in mid fall, catching her with his free arm before the rest had come to the realization that she'd fainted.

The young man she'd been dancing with – Jack was his name Thomas concluded – was surprised and then affronted at Thomas' intervention. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

"Aye laddie," Fearghal appeared at Thomas' shoulder, the side he was cradling McKayla with. "Don'cha be thinkin' ya ken jest jump in an'-"

"I apologize," Thomas said coolly, just as McKayla started to come to again. "She fainted. I merely moved to catch her before she fell. I don't want anyone to be getting hurt within my home."

Thomas noticed out of the corner of his eyes McKayla's cheeks turning pink again though she'd made no motion to look as if she'd come to. Perhaps she was just shy? Very, very shy.

The blood drained from Jack's face as an expression of horror came upon it. "Oh my… no! No! I didn't do anything! I swear! I just…I mean… I said…"

Fearghal moved to put a hand on Jack's shoulder, who flinched from the touch. "Ah laddie, ya could'n't've known she be shy around laddies. Jest sayin' a waord ken make her get tha woosies. Ah should've warned ye."

Understanding hit Thomas like a ton of bricks. She's boy shy! "Don't worry about it," Thomas soothed, trying to get the younger man to get over his own embarrassment. "I'm sure with time she'll be able to tolerate a complement from you." Handing his viola and bow over to Chrys, who was leering at him with a waggle of her eyebrows, he swept up McKayla easily to better transfer the faint woman to her brother. "For now though, I think that's the end of the night. I think you should carry your sister the rest of the way back to the portal. I don't want to cause her to have cardiac arrest from lack of proper flow of her blood."

"Leave it to you to make things convoluted," Chrys said, rolling her eyes. "Can't even take advantage…"

Thomas whipped his tail into the small of her back hard, causing his sister to stagger forward in surprise, her runes lighting her face. "Chrys that is un-ladylike thinking. And I'm a gentleman – I don't go picking up girls for fun like some people…"

Chrys held her hand up in mock defeat as Fearghal took his sister from Thomas with a word of thanks. "Okay, okay! I get the hint, oh Reverend Thomas! Thy whose never—"

This time the flat of his hand whapped the back of her head, but rather than flinching she merely smiled at him with her cheeks lit with dark runes. "Get your head out of the gutter, Chrys," He chastised and bowed to their leaving guests as they all gave their farewells. "Thank you all for coming to visit our humble abode. I apologize for the lack of anything more entertaining than us playing and feeding you…"

Zoey and Belle waved their hands flippantly at him. "Oh shug, don't'cha worry!" Zoey called to him from the door. "It was great! We should do this all again sometime! You play wonderfully!"

"Thank you," he bowed again. "If you all choose to visit again, do let me know rather than my sister. She likes to…" he glowered at her while she held up her hands in mock innocence, "not tell me anything until the last minute."

"It was fun, really!" Belle chimed as they all started saying their goodbye's all at once. "Good-bye! Thanks again for the food and the strawberries!"

"You're welcome," Thomas bowed one final time. "Have a good evening; all of you. Best wishes."

He closed the door and turned to glare at his sister, his annoyance apparent in the runes that were faintly glowing on his cheeks. "You've got some explaining to do, Chrys. Right. Now."