Finding Strength (CLOSED)

"Perfect! The more the merrier" Selena said with a chuckle. She finished her hot chocolate, and took the empty cup to the kitchen, emerging a bit later with four large trays. "Well, I'm ready whenever you are."

Meanwhile, at the Lotus lounge, Katherine wasn't doing to well. Due to the complete lack of interest from any men, or anyone really, she simply sat in the corner, nursing a large glass of wine. She looked like a broken woman, which she was.

Julian, and the other two, all finished their owm hot chocolates, putting their cups away, eager to go sledding themselves.

A man with light-blonde hair, not nearly as light as Katherine's, approached her, holding a half empty shot glass. He leaned up against the wall near her, and said, "My, my... What's a lady like you doing in these parts?". He was quite suavely dressed, yet his outfit was a bit messily arranged at some areas.

Selena raced outside eagerly, bundled up an warm clothes. She was so excited, and couldn't wait to experience sledding for the first time.
"This is going to be so much fun!"

"Same reason as you, I'd imagine" Katherine said with a sad sigh before taking a sip of her wine, she looked up at the man, and took in his appearance, smiling slightly. "So, what brings you to the lounge" she asked with a smile.

Julian smirked, following her and the others. "Just be careful not to tip over.
Nobody likes a nose or mouthful of snow."

The man shrugged, drinking what little was left in the glass. "New around here. Wanted to have quite some fun myself and try to forget some stuff, even just for a while.". He looked at her, the side of his mouth twitching. "Same with you, I take it?"

"I honestly wouldn't mind. Gotta try everything once, right" Selena said happily before leading the way to the hill. "Maybe we should come back here in a few months for some paintball."

"The same as you, unfortunately" Katherine said with a sigh as she swirled the wine around. She had tried everything the Lotus Lounge had to offer, but because of her healing factor, none of it had worked. She gestured for the man to sit next to her, smiling slightly.

Julian chuckled a bit, saying, "Yea,
fair enough I guess. Just don't complain when it happens.". He shook his head lightly, amazed by her wanting to try everything, good or bad.

The man sat, saying, "Same sorry tale that alot people have. Quite common with people,
I've noticed.". He extended his hand, saying, "Don't believe I've introduced myself.
Name's Samm with two M's because my parents wanted me to be unique.". He smirked lightly at that.

Selena distributed the trays just a few moments before arriving at the hill. She set her tray on the floor, and sat down, ready to go flying down the hill.
"Come on then!"

"Katherine" Katherine said happily as she took his hand carefully, so as not to accidentally crush it. "Samm, huh? Easy to remember. Short for anything?" Katherine crossed her legs, looking at Samm with some interest.

Julian smiled, following in her example, Evan and Kyle close behind him, Evan laughing along the way.

Samm shook his head. "Nah, nah.
Not short for anything at all. Just Samm.". He smiled a bit, and said, "So, what do you do? Any hobbies?". He casually relaxed in his seat, idly twisting a golden ring on his right middle finger. Weirdly enough, most of his fingers had tan lines in the shape of a ring.

Selena went flying down the hill, laughing happily, and landing face first in the snow. She lifted her head out of the snow, laughing even more at the happy little accident.

"Mercenary work, if the coin's good enough, I'll do it. Hobby wise? I draw and animate. You?" She looked at Samm's fingers, taking note of the ring tan lines. She had no reason to lie, and was quite proud to be a mercenary.

Julian came to a smooth end, getting up and walking over to Selina while laughing. Evan had fell out of his tray halfway, and had tumbled to the bottom where Kyle waited for him, smiling and checking on him.

"In the same vein as your answer -
I'm a musician and I'm a musician. Guitar, Bass,
Piano - especially piano. I love it.". His fingers strummed the table subconsciously, roughly in the pattern he would go if he was playing piano.

Selena lay there next to Julian, laughing happily. She took his hand, and stood up carefully. She grabbed her tray, and raced up the hill again. She set the tray down, and went flying down the hill again.

"Oh, a musician? The suffering of the artist creates the most beautiful art" Katherine said with a smile. Some of her best work had come from times of pain. She looked at the tan lines on his fingers, and looked up at Samm. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask, are you married?"

The three others repeated their routine as well, Evan managing not to tumble down the other times though.

Samm laughed, shaking his head. "No, no...". He raised his left hand up, showing the lack of tan line on his ring finget. It seemed to be the only finger without a line. "...I just like having my ring on different fingers. Gets stale and annoying, you know?
Eh. I'm probably just weird like that."

Selena kept riding down the hill, laughing happily, improving a bit each time. Eventually she had worn herself out, and simply lay there in the snow, giggling happily. She was happily living out her childhood dream of playing in the snow.



"Thank goodness. I can only imagine what it's like, changing fingers frequently" Katherine said with a chuckle, looking down at her ring. It was a silver claddagh ring that she wore on her right ring finger. Given how fair her skin was, she didn't have any tan lines at all. She seemed to relax a bit now that she knew he wasn't married. Katherine was many things, but a home wrecker was not one of those things. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

Julian knelt down beside her, enjoyment surging through him. "So, you quite fulfilled now? Live up to your dreams?". He smiled, very happy with himself.

"Oh, it's not too frequent.". He chuckled lightly, considering anything he would want to drink. "Eh... Surprise me.
I'll pay my half.". He stretched a bit, his mind wandering.

"It was all so very amazing, just like I dreamed it would be" Selena said with a chuckle. She was so happy that she finally got to play in the snow. She heard a feint noise not too far from them, and went white when she finally spotted the creature, "Is that... a bear... wearing a t-shirt?"

"Please, allow me." Katherine called a waiter over, and ordered actual champagne, not that bubbly wine that most people bought. She also ordered a rather expensive platter for two. As soon as the waiter left, Katherine leaned back in her chair, looking at the man before her with a slight smile.

Julian chuckled a bit, saying, "Now,
don't be sil-" he stopped talking as he turned, seeing it himself. "Evan. Kyle. Bear.
Actual bear.". The two looked over, seeing it as well. They slowly started backing away.

Samm raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Your mercenary work must bring you plenty of money, I would assume." he said, pouring some for the two of them. "That, or your animation hobby is a lot more profitable than I ever imagined." he finished with a slight grin.

"RUN!" Selena started running straight for the cabin as she thought it was the best idea at the time. She didn't know the first thing about bears, and she didn't have any weapons, so running was her only choice.

"A bit of both, actually" Katherine said with a chuckle. She looked at Samm with a slight smile, still trying to figure him out. Eventually she decided 'Fuck it', she was there to have a good time, to forget everything even for a moment, and if he turned out to be evil or abusive, she had her healing factor, and she could teach him a lesson.

The other three followed suit, nobody else bothering to take a second look at the beast.

Samm chuckled lightly, taking a sip from his own glass. "Haven't had something this good since 23...". He missed a beat, quickly adding, "...rd of December, a couple years ago.". He downed a bit more of his drink, slightly nervous yet still managing to actually enjoy the taste.

Selena raced to the cabin as fast as her legs would carry her. As soon as she reached the cabin, she quickly got inside, holding the door open for the others.
"Come on!"

"Why so nervous, Samm" Katherine asked curiously, a hint of concern in her voice. She leaned over, her cleavage quite clearly visible, and took a fine truffle from the platter before eating it, savouring the flavour.

Everybody managed to get inside, Julian shutting the door as he was the last inside. He panted, sliding down the door in exhaustion. "Okay... It should eventually leave...
If not... Cal, Mikey, or Kat'll be 'ere eventually... Tomorrow...". He sighed, not wanting to ever relive that moment.

Samm shook his head, downing another bit of his drink. "Nothin', nothin'...". He let out a sigh of relief, and said, "Say,
you do any music yourself? You look like you'd be in your element as a, hmm... Early 60's singer. The smooth voice, the dress, the hair - brings it all together. Specifically Lounge music."

"What the hell..." Selena stood at the window, looking out at the bear, her heart racing. "Ok, the fact that it's wearing a red t-shirt tells me Katherine had something to do it. Should I phone her about it?"

"Mid fourties to sixties. I play piano and guitar" Katherine said with a smile. She thought for a while, thinking of any other music she was good with. "I'm also quite partial to indie. You know, Anadel, Cigarettes after sex, Low Roar, Janel Drewis, and Wye Oak to name a few." She looked around for a moment, as if looking for something. "Strange, I thought they had a piano here somewhere." She was hoping that there was a piano, as she loved playing the piano, and found it to be quite soothing.

Julian nodded. "Likely here. If you don't mind, politely call her and ask how in the hell she managed to do that even. Man, I'm two steps away from getting a heart attack.".

Samm nodded eagerly. "Nice taste, and yea... Would have expected one around here too.
Good thing there isn't probably would be too busy trying to play it to be over here.". He chuckled lightly, and continued, "Always loved 40's to 60's. Nice, relaxing music. Love that time."

"I can't promise it will be the most polite phone call ever since there's a damn bear outside." The bear casually sniffed about outside, studying the cabin. Selena took out her phone, and called Katherine, anxiously waiting for her to answer. "Come on, Katherine... pick up the damn phone!"

"Well, I suppose it's a good thing there isn't a piano" Katherine said with a warm smile. "I loved Ella Fitzgerald especially." She thought for a moment, thinking of how wonderful it must have been to live through that time. She was about to ask something, but her phone rang. She looked at the caller, and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Samm, but I have to take this." She picked up the phone, and answered it. "What's up, Selena?" Selena was practically shouting into the phone.
"Hey, Kitty... So, we were busy sledding and generally enjoying ourselves when all of a sudden..."
"What, Selena?"
"A bear wearing a red t-shirt started chasing us."
"Oh" Katherine said with a chuckle before continuing, "that's Pooh."
"Pooh?! You named it Pooh?! What the hell, Katherine?! How did you even get a shirt on it?"
"Old Russian secret. Look, Selena... Do you want me to come deal with it" Katherine asked, sighing slightly.

Selena turned to the guys, her heart still racing.
"Katherine asks if we want her to come deal with the bear."

His panting getting lighter, Julian said, "It's not an immediate threat I guess... And I don' really wanna interrupt her having a nice time. She needs the break.". He sighed, just taking in air.

Samm nodded, slightly intrigued by the call. "Could practically hear your friend...
And man, I had no clue you were that talented. Bears are fiesty as all hell.". He chuckled lightly, twirling his drink around and seemingly slightly reminiscing on something.

Selena let out a sigh realising that the bear wasn't much of a threat to them while they were inside. She heard a feint voice on the other end of the phone, and smiled slightly.

"You know what? You can deal with the bear when you get back, if it's still here by then."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Positive. Enjoy yourself, Kitty. As Jules says, you need this break."
"Thanks, Selena." Katherine ended the call, turning to Samm with a smile on her face. "Thank you, Samm. I'm sorry you had to hear that."

Selena put her phone away, and looked at the bear before turning to the others.
"Pooh... Figures" she said with a chuckle before breaking into a fit of laughter.