It seemed, from her handshake, that Lilla wasn't quite at ease with this whole scene -- Rory could relate only too well to that. When she started to back away from him slightly he wondered if it wasn't him who was making her uncomfortable... then she mentioned punch and his brain clicked back into gear. 'I'm making small talk while standing in a puddle of fruit juice -- I must seem like a complete airhead to her!'
"Ah, yeah... punch indeed." Remembering that he still had a couple of small kitchen cloths tucked away from handling hot trays earlier, Rory fished around in his pockets until he had hold of them and quickly knelt down to mop up the spilled punch that was spreading her way. "I'm, um, not usually one for events like these, but I guess it's a good way to meet people. I'm still trying to get a handle on who all the other first years are, to be honest."
Punch decently well cleaned up now, he tried quickly to figure out what to do with the damp soiled cloths, ultimately electing just to hold them for now instead of breaking away from the conversation at risk of being rude. As he stood up, though, Rory's mind went blank on what to say next, leading to a few moments of awkward silence before he finally managed "So... what kind of weapon do you use?".
It was good to see the students -- well, one so far, at any rate -- liked his festive gift idea. "Oh, well... for the most part." He still wasn't sure what to make of the odd exchange with Merletta earlier, but was doing his best to not dwell on it. The old Faunus smiled warmly. "This time of year always brings out the exciting and unexpected, to be sure. Truth be told, I've not been back for a holiday formal in... goodness me, decades now! Brings back memories, this."
"How about the two of you? Just coming in, I see. Big plans for the holiday season?