Newt found space for herself on the balcony, sandwiched somewhere between Toad and Frog  with her head shoved through the railing. From up high, she had a perfect view of the bright, swirling, sharp smelling, earsplitting, chaos below.

Though though the revelry below looked fun (or at least the people below seemed happy), Newt decided pretty quickly that parties were better enjoyed from the balcony. Too loud. Too many people. More to learn by sitting back and observing. Even if she wasn't always sure yet what she was looking at, it was still educational.

Tail wagging in a subdued arc, Newt drank in the revelry with wide eyes and a focused expression.

Having had her fill of the downstairs, she slipped back past the bar, stealing a few more of those fascinating fermented berries before skittering off once again. Upstairs was her next goal, the attic space promised to be a grand place to explore.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she noticed all the little wolves clustered at the banisters, staring down into the chaos below. Oh goodness. That would end well. With a dismissive shrug, she instead took note of one of the larger wolves sprawled near the stairs, likely corralling the Littles. She seemed oddly out of place.

Slithering up beside her, Naya deposited her pilfered berry stash at the wolf’s side. Stupid wolves, the mink muttered, jerking her head toward the ruckus below.

With a quick shake of her head, she was off again, skittering up the ladder and disappearing into the attic. From there, every nook and cranny was explored, delved into. If there was something to be found, she would find it.

Well, this isn’t what she expected. Honestly, she didn’t know what to expect…but was it THIS? She looked to Juniper, whose eyes seemed to glimmer in the direction of Lyra. Stardust’s own eyes flickered that way, and she did also find the bangles upon her quite interesting…sadly it is on a woman who needed a good bath.

She is nudged then by Juniper, who pointed her to a spot to sit with some stones. Stardust was about to move that way when a sound of a younger one catches her ears. It was Southeast! Her head turns to see the young pup, seemingly in amazement by what is going on, against Juniper’s side.

”Wait!” she exclaims to him as he runs off then, Stardust about to run after him when her ears and attention were brought to a singing man, Jaskier, who was QUITE OBVIOUSLY singing about her. She whirled to look at him, stunned for a moment, but the words were music to her ears. Never before had anyone sung about her. Her cyan eyes blink as she awkwardly stands, unsure what to do with herself.

”Why…that was…uh, lovely,” she says in almost an embarrassed tone. Was she supposed to respond? What the hell was she supposed to be DOING?

Stardust moves aside then, but keep herself somewhat close to Jaskier to listen to his tunes. She honestly couldn’t keep track of anyone else, and his singing was something she could focus on without being judged. Plus, he is sorta cute. A slender build, nice features…still needs a bath. Many of them needed a bath, and such scents in the air only confirmed it.

Stardust sits pretty then, her pristine form and pelt like a well polished statue in a magnificent castle hall that was about to be pummeled by a food fight.

Reunited with mathair- and, slowly, with the rest of his siblings- Selkie scrambled to a better position on her flank to survey the room. Three of the big Others were lined up staring, tails wagging, and Selkie's wagged too as he imitated their look with large dark eyes. The smells and sounds weren't as smelly or loud anymore, but still more than he had ever imagined could exist, and he shivered in a gust of cold air when a big dark shape barged through the doorway.

But didn't stop staring, or wagging. So many faces Selkie didn't know, and he drank them all in with eyes that had just started to figure out how to pick out finer detail. Vater was down there doing something Selkie did not understand- jumping from side to side and wiggling, like he was caught in the bad sack instead- and unblinking Selkie started to wriggle and imitate the movement, paws kneading on soft grey flank, until mathair lunged away and dumped him ungracefully on the floor.

Selkie made a yipped sound of protest when his chin clipped the wood, and squirmed himself to his paws, squinting wetly in irritation. But his attention was quickly captured by the little brown creature he found much more interesting than complaining.

He sniffed at it, and then at the smelly round dark objects it had tucked by mathair's side, and crept forward with hunched shoulders to chew.

Watching the chaos down below was only entertaining for so long to the little soldier. Vater pranced around the room, bellowing in a language she was only just beginning to understand, and she tracked his movements with sharp, curious eyes.

When mathair moved away, a displeased squeak slipped from her on instinct. Her gaze shifted to her sibling, who seemed even less pleased by the sudden loss of their comforting presence. Still, they didn’t linger in protest. Instead, they toddled toward a strange pile of something nearby.

Curiosity won out over stubbornness.

She trailed after them quietly, careful and deliberate, until she came to their side. Lowering her nose, she sniffed at the pile of fruit. It smelled… sour. Sharp. Kind of gross, honestly.

Side-eyeing Selkie, she watched as they boldly went for a mouthful anyway.

After a brief pause, and a flicker of uncertainty, she followed suit.

Toad let out a shriek of laughter at Naya darted up the stairs and insulted the lupine race, leaning further between the slats of the balcony for the best view. Uncle Jaskier was singing, and even though she didn't know the words, Toad made some up and hummed along in a completely different key, and string of notes besides. At least she had enthusiasm.

But curiosity was hard to resist, and Wisp's brood had gotten something fun from Naya. Toad waddled over to investigate for herself.

Mal picked up on the cue and wagged his tail with answered enthusiasm, but his face twisted into a bemused expression as Ampoule nodded towards another wolf. The one Lyra had set her sights on — a tall, handsome man with fur the color of distant stormclouds. If his partner in crime hadn't snapped him up first, Mal might've been tempted to give his own luck a shot.

Th'…sea? Mal let out an unsure chuckle, and glanced between the two again. Ampoule sounded dead serious though. Reverent. Even tipsy Mal could pick up that much. In another time, before ghosts and gods and fae, Mal would've brushed it aside regardless. Now… Who — who 's he?

Mal blinked again though, refocusing on what likely mattered more to Ampoule. Curious or not, the last thing Mal wanted was to give her the idea he wasn't paying attention to her and was instead drooling over some other guy. Great way to get slapped.

Sorry, Mal said, covering for that and forgetting to properly introduce himself. That he'd blame on the berries. Or herbs. He felt good, but at the price of his thoughts being even more slippery than usual. I'm Mal. Like her, he offered no family name, and didn't bat an eye at her omission.

And the last bit — Mal only stumbled over a little. "King" had a nice ring to it, but what the fuck was a "bacchanal"?

After a second too long, he took the best guess given the context. Th' party? Well, we finally got this place up an' runnin', an' since Camn — Camahamin — uh, the druids were nice enough to set us up with the good shit — Mal waved a paw vaguely towards the berries and herbs. Figured it was time to have some real fun. Oh — help yourself, by th' way.

He thought she might have snagged a couple before he'd caught up to her, but it never hurt to get a little direct encouragement from the guy handing them out. Last thing Mal wanted was for her to feel unwelcome.

Rune Discovery: 「 Success 」

---

The bar sags visibly under the weight of its own age, slick boards dark with stains and old rain, yet inside the run-down establishment (if it could be called that) was a terrible, merry cacophony. Howls intermingled with bouts of laughter echo between the four walls, tails thudding against broken floors as bodies press in on another in sloppy, joyful motion; there is an electric tingle to the air, and even you can feel the way your fur seems to prickle up at the base of your neck as the night goes on.

Amid the Howff's party, something small yet refused to be swallowed by the commotion.

Beneath a half-broken floorboard, buried under a fine layer of sawdust and grit, a smooth stone gave off a faint, cold glow - pulsing gently like a sleeper's breath might in dreams. Each time a dancer's paw scuffs the floor, the light blinks suddenly into view, then vanishes again beneath the chaos.

No one has taken notice of it yet - but the glow keeps time with the rhythm of the room, as if listening, waiting when the noise would falter and the Row's secret would finally be uncovered.

It's always taken an effort to get drunk, for them. Good. Better to look that way around strangers than let it happen, but the buzz is...pleasant.

Taloka watches. Wisp at the top of the stairs, a swarm of children around her. Lyra in the middle of things, strangers one by one through the door. Interesting, how many they've gathered in so short a time. Never thought this place was too busy, game-trails or otherwise. Not much better to do in the dead of an ice age, they suppose.

They bend to drink, and something prickles uneasily at their neck. They can taste metal in the back of their throat.

Know a warning when they feel it. Taloka pauses, lifts their head in cold-eyed assessment. They're used to judging danger, in a crowd- maybe it's the smoke, but there's nothing to find. No faces that aren't distracted, no teeth flashing in warning...

There. The dancers part on a step, and a sliver of cold blue pulses between legs and tails. Taloka licks red from their lips and turns, shoulders around the edge of the bar. Nothing they've seen before. It's there, beneath the broken floorboard, sharp like ozone.

Their brow furrows. They turn their eyes on Wisp, gesture with a sweep of their muzzle. Knows more than they do, they're sure.