Cosette feels a slight pain on her right earlobe. Her face scrunches slightly in discomfort and Cosette starts to come to her senses. She is cold. Maybe she's outside? Her eyes flutter open and Cosette let's out a low groan as she starts to feel the pain from her fall to the ground.

As she looks around she sees some new and familiar faces. She remembers one is Kaelin's sister, but cannot recall any names. "I'm sorry about this," Cosette manages to mumble. She starts to try and sit up so she can find her friend. Seemingly exhausted, Cosette struggles a bit to bring herself up to the support of her arms. "Is Kaelin okay?" she asks. "How long was I out?" Cosette says, still mumbling. 

Maeve listened as Jeff talked, moving the bag to a more reachable spot and quickly orienting herself to his bag's contents. Blood pressure cuffs, blood glucose meters--how different this was from the last time they had worked together, where aluminum cues functioned as splints, and butterfly bandages were like gold! But then, Cosette was already coming to--a good sign. 

"Kaelin's fine, sweetie; it's just been a few seconds. Can you tell me your name?"

"Oh good. I'm Cosette, Cosette Langley." Cosette gives a weak smile. "And forgive me, but who are you both?" She looks to the lady and the man who is at her side.

Cosette takes note of the medical bag and realizes these two probably jumped to her aid. She must not forget to thank them.

Ian waved to the woman that had joined them. "Hi, I'm Ian. I'm new in town. I take it this level of excitement isn't new around here?" He decided against heading outside -- he still hadn't fully surveyed the dessert table, not to mention the present he still had to open.

He pulled off the paper, and chuckled at the ceramic elephant planter. "Well, here's one elephant we don't have to worry about feeding. A pleasure to meet you, friend. I think I'm gonna call you Hector."

Posted by: @arin
I wanted to say -- you were very brave earlier, facing that ... bull.

Moira's face fell. "Oh, you saw that? I suppose everyone did - I'm so sorry, I would have tried to keep him out if I'd known he'd cause a commotion. He isn't actually really dangerous, I don't think, just...prone to occasional antics. You weren't - I hope you - I mean, were you horribly startled?"

--

Posted by: @risto
Come, come. If you think back, you’ll recall I patted you on the back, not slapped you. My daddy raised me with more sense than to slap a wild bull. And I dare say, you weren’t merely silent. You were pretending to be a dumb bull weren’t you? It really was quite a convincing show. Now, should I be blamed for being taken in by your superb acting display? Really, you should be on stage. You have performed before, I presume? Perhaps even gone to one of the famous acting schools?

Norro whuffled heavily throughout Junior's speech. Keep it together. He caught sight of Officer Evans in a small group that rushed outdoors and quickly glanced back at the man talking - Don't attract his attention, Evans wouldn't like that.

"Should we quibble about semantics? A pat or a slap - the only difference is the amount of force and perhaps intention, of which we can disagree without positive proof. But, for the sake of argument, taking your interpretation - did your father raise you to pat wild bulls without ascertaining their intelligence and temperament? If you really thought I was wild, what made you think you could approach and pat without an adverse reaction? As for stages, performances, and acting schools, no - I was raised to much more worthwhile work."

[OOC: Norro's opinion of acting is his own and for the suggestion he should be an actor and not necessarily reflective of his opinion of the profession in general or any opinion of the author's.]

Posted by: @valiantarcher

Moira's face fell. "Oh, you saw that? I suppose everyone did - I'm so sorry, I would have tried to keep him out if I'd known he'd cause a commotion. He isn't actually really dangerous, I don't think, just...prone to occasional antics. You weren't - I hope you - I mean, were you horribly startled?"

Lauren snorted. "You could say that." She tugged at her blouse, still damp and now kind of sticky. "Jumped out of my chair, landed wrong, and spilled cider all over my blouse. And I wasn't even anywhere near the actual commotion! If that's how he behaves in new company, I'd say you ought to keep him out next time -- girls on chandeliers, people hiding under tables, that -- whatever-that-was that one guy sprayed into the air! If my blouse is the only casualty, we ought to count ourselves lucky it wasn't worse!"

She paused for breath, ready to go on longer and more loudly, but something in the other woman's expression finally registered with her. Lauren's eyes widened as she realized how she sounded. "I -- I didn't mean any offense," she said haltingly. "I don't -- my friend, he sometimes embarrasses me, but I still go with him places. Not that Ian ever -- oh shells. It's not your fault, what happened. I didn't mean that it was."

Posted by: @arin
Jumped out of my chair, landed wrong, and spilled cider all over my blouse. And I wasn't even anywhere near the actual commotion! If that's how he behaves in new company, I'd say you ought to keep him out next time -- girls on chandeliers, people hiding under tables, that -- whatever-that-was that one guy sprayed into the air! If my blouse is the only casualty, we ought to count ourselves lucky it wasn't worse!

Moira felt her face getting redder the more the woman talked, and her eyes started to water. It was even worse than she'd thought - what a horrible scene indeed! All the embarrassment that had been kept at bay by anger hit her in one giant wave; she wanted to melt into the floor.

I -- I didn't mean any offense. I don't -- my friend, he sometimes embarrasses me, but I still go with him places. Not that Ian ever -- oh shells. It's not your fault, what happened. I didn't mean that it was.

Oh no - now she'd made things awkward for the woman. "I thought he wanted to come and I told him to behave, and he said he would just avoid questions he didn't want to answer by not talking, which while may have been rude, wasn't not behaving and then that man came up and he said he slapped him and so he kicked him, which was inexcusably bad manners, but I still don't know how all that happened, and I all I wanted to do was to come to the party and have fun and meet people, but it's all ruined now," she said, ending with a sob. "Including your blouse! Do you think there's any chance of it being sponged clean?"

This was not the first time Lauren had made someone cry, but bringing someone -- a girl noticeably younger than herself, she was now realizing -- to tears was not something that became any less uncomfortable with repeat experiences.

Suddenly grateful she'd kept her purse with her, Lauren dug into it, pulled out a slightly wrinkled but quite clean handkerchief -- pink, with roses embroidered on the corners -- and offered it to the girl; well, more like thrust it almost in her face. "Don't cry, please! I'll just need to dry-clean this, which I would have done anyway, it's fine. It's fine. And nothing's ruined, I promise. Not for you, anyway. You didn't slap or kick anyone."

The girl's words processed a bit more, and she said, "Are you saying Gladstone slapped him? The guy with the tacky limousine? Geez, and I thought rich people were supposed to have good manners."

Moira gratefully accepted the handkerchief and wiped her eyes and nose. She was further comforted to hear that the woman's blouse could be cleaned and was not ruined.

Posted by: @arin
And nothing's ruined, I promise. Not for you, anyway. You didn't slap or kick anyone.

She hadn't, that was true, at least - she could only hope everyone else took the same view.

Are you saying Gladstone slapped him? The guy with the tacky limousine? Geez, and I thought rich people were supposed to have good manners.

"That's what he said and - well, he may be prone to exaggeration, but I don't take him for an outright liar. And he seemed very intent on begging one of Dan Baxter's cookies just prior to the incident, so it does seem logical that this Gladstone did something. I suppose fortunes don't buy manners or ensure the inheritance of them," she said, much more composed now. She folded the handkerchief carefully, trying to keep the dry spots to the outside, and held it back out. "Thank you for your kindness; it's a very pretty handkerchief... I'm so sorry, I didn't ask your name - I'm Moira."

Jeffery paused as the young girl regained consciousness and began to converse in full sentences with Maeve, obviously alert and oriented. She seemed relatively relaxed and collected for someone who had just passed out. 

"The name is Jeff; this is Maeve. It's a pleasure to meet you, Cosette; now,  can you tell me if anything like this has ever happened before?"

Posted by: @valiantarcher

She folded the handkerchief carefully, trying to keep the dry spots to the outside, and held it back out. "Thank you for your kindness; it's a very pretty handkerchief... I'm so sorry, I didn't ask your name - I'm Moira."

Lauren slid the handkerchief into a pocket of her purse. "It's fine," she said, feeling awkward; it hardly seemed like kindness to be nice to someone you just made cry. "I'm Lauren."

Posted by: @valiantarcher

"Should we quibble about semantics? A pat or a slap - the only difference is the amount of force and perhaps intention, of which we can disagree without positive proof. But, for the sake of argument, taking your interpretation - did your father raise you to pat wild bulls without ascertaining their intelligence and temperament? If you really thought I was wild, what made you think you could approach and pat without an adverse reaction? As for stages, performances, and acting schools, no - I was raised to much more worthwhile work."

“Now who’s quibbling over semantics? Fine, I should have said “dumb” bull rather than “wild” bull. No one would bring a truly wild bull into a party. At least, that is what I thought before you kicked me. Your kick was a bit much for such a simple mistake on my part.”

"Thank you, Lauren - it's very nice to meet you. Is this your first time to the party, or are you a long-time denizen of Ditto Town?" Moira inquired.

---

Posted by @risto:
Now who’s quibbling over semantics? Fine, I should have said “dumb” bull rather than “wild” bull. No one would bring a truly wild bull into a party. At least, that is what I thought before you kicked me. Your kick was a bit much for such a simple mistake on my part.

Remembering old advice, the bull dipped his head in a slight nod. "The kick was previously acknowledged to be a bit of an overreaction," he said. "Now, if you will excuse me, I see someone else with whom I need to converse. Good evening, sir." He gave another nod and trotted off towards the dessert table.
I don't see Dan, but maybe Faye will let me have a cookie if I ask nicely.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Molly looked around.  Most of the crises seemed to have resolved--there was no wild fight in progress, the girls had been rescued from the chandelier, and were being taken care of--there was nothing she had to be doing or rescuing or organizing.  Maybe, though, she ought to keep a closer eye on Mr Waters.  There was no telling what awkward blunders he might perpetrate if left too long to his own devices.

She found him, still in the corner, staring at his gift, which was a mug with a picture of Nic Cage on it.

"Do you suppose it is a clue?" he whispered, with a strange gleam in his eye.  "Mr X in the subway, you know?"

"No, I don't!" firmly. "That's just some actor--no clues, no mysteries, no suspicious characters.  This is a holiday party, Mr Waters; you need to eat another cookie."

Mr Waters looked so deflated that Molly hauled out her own present to show him.

"I've been meaning to get a new show bridle for a long time now.  And this one is absolutely gorgeous."

Junior stood by himself in the room, still holding the old drape. This night had not gone as planned, and everything he did seemed to make the situation worse. He felt that the conversation with the bull was not quite resolved. Should he try again to make amends? Perhaps not, as the bull had said that he needed to converse with someone. An interruption at this point may have unintended consequences. Junior rubbed his leg where the bull had kicked him.

With a sigh, Junior looked around at the other guests deep in conversation. Then, he gathered up the drape and walked to a chair by itself near the window, and sat down.