<span class="bbc_u"><strong>Character's Name:</strong></span>Johara Qussandei<br/><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Location:</strong></span>The Starting Point tavern<br/><span class="bbc_u"><strong>With whom:</strong></span>Jack, whoever else might be nearby<br/><br/><hr/><br/>New Evergreen was certainly a rather queer place to be around Winterfest, or at least it seemed that way to Johara. Behind the masks of empty joy and veils of faux-mirth that everyone put on for the festivities hid an insidious sadness that was eerily reminiscent of the life that she'd once had, and when she actively thought on it, it chilled her down to the bones even more than the weather. At least her eclectic group of companions seemed as unaffected and merry as usual, drinking and laughing unrestrainedly as they sat around one of the establishment's larger tables.<br/><br/>As for Johara herself, her situation was quite the contrary to the of the city's denizens; she probably looked miserable, huddled up under a thick fur cloak that Tiriana had gifted her, shivering noticeably as she cupped a goblet of hot spiced apple cider that she'd been sipping on, but she really wasn't. Her body was simply unused to the cold, and especially the humid sort of cold which she'd never had to face in the desert, not even at nighttime, but other than that she felt fine.<br/><br/>Other than the being in the company of her friends and adoptive family of sorts, Shira's singing was surely also playing a big part in maintaining Johara's good humor. Her voice, sweeter even than the honey in Johara's delicious drink, filled the tavern with a sort of cozy warmth and made it feel just a little bit more like one of those magical places that you heard about it songs, fables or stories. Jo couldn't help but look on affectionately as the lithe blonde's body swayed from side to side airily up on the stage, losing herself momentarily into memories of last night when Shira's prodigious silver tongue had been singing a very different tune, buried between her thighs.<br/><br/>Apparently, her little daydream had been the most effective thing for warming her up, and she soon found herself having to remove her cloak, leaving it on the back of her chair instead. Jo also started to feel a bit restless, possibly because Basal had shut the carnival down earlier than usual that day due to the stormy weather and she hadn't really gotten a chance to do much, so she decided to go have some fun and dance. It was of course one of her specialties, but more importantly it was something that Jo loved doing just for the sake of doing it, and on top pf that it was an excellent way of keeping warm!<br/><br/>Now clad in nothing but her performing outfit, she was certain to draw a lot of attention as she gracefully waded through the sea of chairs and tables. Adapting to the whole winter theme, Jo had designed something more specifically appropriate for the occasion. Instead of her usual purples or reds, the wispy strips of silk that made up her long skirt were a soft baby blue, and so was the halter style bra that she wore as a top, although the cups were mostly covered in snowflake patterns of imitation diamonds. Even her jewelry was different. Her headdress and long, dangling earrings were all fashioned out of silver and more of the same fake diamonds, as was Jo's necklace, which was connected to her matching belly button piercing by a thin length of chain. Another chain, also connected to her navel piercing, looped around her taut belly and dangled a couple of inches above the thick belt made of ornate silver discs which sat loosely upon Jo's hips. All in all, the girl's ornaments jingled and jangled merrily with every step that she took, as was the intention.<br/><br/>She hadn't even made it out from between the tables when the presumably drunk man stumbled into the tavern noisily, causing a brief distraction and moment of silence, but it wasn't until a few seconds later - when the music had picked back up and everyone started getting back to their business - that a rushing serving girl bumped into her without even as little as an 'excuse me'! Although she stumbled momentarily and was unable to regain her footing in the cramped space that she found herself in, Jo managed to recover at least partially, twirling prettily before landing right into some stranger's lap and throwing her arms around his neck as if that had been what she'd meant to do all along.<br/><br/>Being the sociable and extroverted creature that she was, Johara decided to make the best of the situation, flashing a charming smile towards the three other men around the table and then finally treating the man whom she was sitting on to the same pleasure. "My savior," she offered playfully, taking a moment to get a better look at him. Definitely well built, she'd been able to gauge that just from feeling his neck and shoulders as she held on to him, and not at all unpleasant to look upon either. For stumbling onto a random person inside of a tavern, Jo could certainly have done much worse.<br/><br/>"Join me for a dance so that I can repay you?" Without giving Jack the chance to reply, she hopped off of him and was already on her way towards the small open area in front of the stage, her hand lightly trailing across the entire length of his arm before tugging on his wrist suggestively as she jingled away.