Gathering: New Year's Eve Gala

[concierge]

The annual Nexus New Year's Eve gala began at 8 in the evening. Too grand to be contained by the lobby or dining hall, the gardens at the front of the hotel were employed, with long strings of white lights forming a twinkling canopy from the front doors all the way to the hedge maze. The weather was temperate and calm, and the night perfectly clear.

Drinks were served at various bars set up throughout the gardens and lobby, with champagne cocktails being the specialty of the night. Wheeling through the crowd was a bartender with golden cart providing warm drinks on the go: Tom and Jerrys, rum punch, negus, and Irish coffee.

Crisply-dressed wait staff wove through the collected guests with an abundance of hors d'oeuvres for all different tastes. The Bistro remained open with a limited selection of items for those who were wanting something more substantial.

Above the front doors was hung a large, gold-rimmed clock counting down the last hours, minutes, and seconds of the current year.

Comments

Re: Martha Jones - OTA

[legendthatwas]

Cocking an eyebrow, Martha signals the bartender for another round--they give her a wink, which would be unnerving in London, but here is a bit sweet. "Why aren't they? I mean, not like my family ever is."

They're better at not hating each other, now, thanks to...well...massive trauma. Sometimes Martha isn't sure about the tradeoff, though.

Re: Martha Jones - OTA

[trulyoracular]

"Try having four brothers of roughly the same age, all with god spirits, in the same general area," Olaf says. "All the ego and the madness and the power? None of it bodes well," he says. "I try to stay out of it, seeing as they can handle themselves, but that's usually when people start dying or getting killed."

Re: Martha Jones - OTA

[legendthatwas]

Martha's expression mirrors her feelings, which is to say 'vaguely horrified'. She nods, slowly. "I can see where that could be a problem," she admits, and swizzles the stir stick in her drink. "How...exactly do people in your town keep from noticing?"

London was big enough and still people ended up finding out.

Re: Martha Jones - OTA

[trulyoracular]

"We're not that powerful," Olaf points out. Because for all of their antics and abilities, it's pretty easy to put it down to a variety of causes -- drugs being the main one. "I mean, and what some of them do is really just child's play. True, I can't stick around the same place too often, but that's no bummer for me."

Re: Martha Jones - OTA

[legendthatwas]

"Okay," Martha said, completely confused as to what exactly divine powers did for one, now. "Why can't you stick around?" Admittedly, she was certain this could be due to drug charges, or at least to some extent.

Re: Martha Jones - OTA

[trulyoracular]

"Responsibility isn't the greatest, but sticking around when you're immortal and they're not?" Olaf gives her an uncharacteristically sober sad smile. "I'm tired of funerals. I'm tired of watching my kids grow up and age and die. I can't do it, not anymore."

Re: Martha Jones - OTA

[legendthatwas]

"So they aren't, then?" Martha said, a little taken aback. She reached out and put her hand on Olaf's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I hadn't thought it through. I gather from a friend who's pretty...er, long-lived, that that's damn rough."

Re: Martha Jones - OTA

[trulyoracular]

"It's not easy," Olaf agrees, feeling like it's a solid understatement, but he'd rather not fixate on the past. "Besides, I've found it much, much easier to enjoy myself with one-night stands," he says with a wink. "No permanent attachments, no heartbreak."

Re: Martha Jones - OTA

[legendthatwas]

Martha, to be honest, has always had trouble with one-night stands; she eventually gave them up about a year into uni as drunken pulls had lost a lot of appeal the less she drank. The less she had time to drink.

"No heartbreak, easier said than done," she retorts with a smirk. "Could be leaving a trail of broken hearts behind you, you'd never know!"