Party on the beach.

[sarah_branigan]

It's a beautiful, sunny day on the beach. The ocean is a shimmering blue, and there isn't a cloud in the sky. The sand is warm without scorching, and the water is a perfect temperature. In fact, it might be the most wonderful day, weatherwise, that the beach has ever seen (It probably helps that Sarah is close friends with the person who actually

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[handle_gently]

Hanatarou had thought about bringing daikon or bok choy, but some kind of ready-to-serve side dish seemed better... there was something uncouth (it seemed to him) about bringing something that one did not personally know how to prepare, since there was the implicit idea that one's host would be burdened with preparing it (and knowing how to). (Not that he'd mind if he brought something that wasn't served, but the host might feel that he would, which would be another burden.) He'd also considered something like a cookbook with recipes for Asian vegetables, but he didn't know where to find an English-language version... and besides, it wasn't a very party-relevant kind of thing to bring. And he wasn't going to have a lot of time to wander around a Tokyo department store to find something else that did seem suitable... And even though bringing extra food to a party seemed somewhat normal and polite in his head, mightn't there be some hosts who would see it as a statement that their guest did not think them capable of producing an

[sarah_branigan]

Sarah would have been delighted with any of the above options (although admitted confused by either bok choy or daikon... or a cookbook in a language she can't read). All she wanted was the company of her friends, however, so Hanatarou's presence is gift enough.

"Hey there," Sarah smiles easily, hoping a casual greeting will put Hana at ease. She seems surprised by the bunny-like Pokemon with him. "Hi sweetie," she coos at Bun, before looking back at Hana curiously. "What's she doing with you? "

[dr_schreber]

Schreber is not far behind with a raven on his shoulder. He doesn't know Hanatarou well but Sarah's friends all seem nice and he smiles and pets the raven to soothe it. "Hello! Would you like a drink or anything?" He is learning to play host since Sarah's been hurt.

[handle_gently]

"Hello!" Hanatarou greets cheerfully. (He had uncertainty and some small measure of angst while pondering the options beforehand, but he's all right now!) "Thank you very much for having me. It's nice to see you again; you look great."

He turns to Daniel and bows courteously. "It's wonderful to see you as well, Dr. Schreber. Um, I'd like... punch? Or anything is fine, really. Thank you."

"Oh, well," he says, resting his hand on top of Bun's head, "Jeff got some kind of thing that made him unable to get back to his apartment, so I'm watching her for a while. I brought her along since I thought she might have fun, but of course I can easily take her home, as well." (He did bring a bit of her food, just in case it started to look like she was going to devour more than a proper share of the vegetable-related food items.)

[sarah_branigan]

"You're very welcome," Sarah smiles, "And thank you." She motions to one of the braces. "I'm starting to get the hang of standing up again." Just don't mind the slight strain she seems to be showing in her arms. She's upright for her party, darnit!

Bun gets another warm smile. She bends a little to tickle the pokemon under the chin. "Well, she's more than welcome here. Belle's around, helping me hand out drinks. She'll be delighted to see Bun again, and they can play together if Bun gets bored."

She'll wait until Daniel gets Hana his drink before asking, a little concerned, "Is Jeff okay? Is it some sort of LOL?"

[dr_schreber]

Schreber thinks the Bellsprout should not have to get all the drinks. He comes back with a cup of punch and offers it while the raven on his shoulder studies the stranger suspiciously. Schreber goes back to Sarah's side quickly. "We like animals... as long as they're well behaved." He smirks a little and directs this at the raven.

[raven_orwell]

The raven fluffs his feathers and makes some little clicking noises and looks around. Who, me?

[handle_gently]

Hanatarou accepts the punch gratefully! "I'm glad to hear that!" he smiles. And, to Orwell, he gravely directs: "It's very nice to see you, as well, sir."

[raven_orwell]

Orwell is really only as smart as a smart raven, and he only understands about a dozen words of English. He tilts his head and studies Hanatarou with one eye and decides he's okay, then studies his drink. That would be so much better with a worm in it!

[handle_gently]

Hanatarou smiles pleasantly at Orwell, then at his drink! Then, since he's not sure what Orwell means to suggest, he gives him another pleasant smile.

[handle_gently]

He thinks of telling her not to push herself or overdo it, but... well, she's a nurse; she can admonish herself if she needs it, right? (Something's wrong with that logic, but it's no big deal.) "Congratulations," he says instead.

"He's fine," Hanatarou assures her. "He did get LOLed recently into a were-something or other, but I don't know whether that's the same reason he can't get back to his apartment. He's staying in the Sanctuary right now... maybe he'll show up tonight?" (He glances around hopefully to see whether expressing the possibility of someone's arrival does, indeed, immediately presage the person's arrival. ... Hmmm, apparently not. Oh well.)

[sarah_branigan]

"A were-something? Oh dear." Sarah shakes her head. Jeff seems to get LOLed an awful lot, and never into anything cute and humorous good, either. "I hope he makes it, too. We don't even have a moon, so he won't have to worry about transforming."

Belle wanders over at this point, sans tray of drinks. "Bell!" she announces to Hanatarou cheerfully, before giving Bun a leafy hug. A pokemon friend, yay! "And how are you doing?" Sarah asks Hana. "Is summer is over at Soul Society?"

[handle_gently]

"Yes... I'm not sure whether it's that kind of thing or not," Hanatarou says, pondering (it's obvious that he's pondering, because he taps his lips with his index finger). "Moon-related, I mean."

"I'm very well, thank you. Summer is... nearly over now. The equinox is in a couple of weeks."

[sarah_branigan]

"Oh! Hmm." Sarah looks puzzled. "I don't know much about were-creatures," she admits. "I'm glad it isn't tied to the moon, at any rate. That could become inconvenient."

She nods. "Here, too. That's why this is still technically a summer party. And how is... ah." She frowns thoughtfully, "Mr. Iemura?" She hopes she remembered his name properly.

[handle_gently]

Hanatarou doesn't do a spit-take, but he does make a weird noise. (There's still a part of his brain that has never been able to acknowledge or comprehend that Iemura was in the Nexus.) "He's... fine?"

[sarah_branigan]

"That's good. I hope he hasn't been giving you a hard time lately. He reminds me of one of my old bosses."