A Party To Behold [Complete]

[Casey]

As Clovis entered Winter Liira's ball, he did his best to focus on his eyes not widening to the size of sauces. The women were beautiful, the men dashing, and the general splendor was breathtaking. From the gowns and suits, to the artfully placed food, to the rich colored fabrics and flourishes, there was not one thing that was unappealing to the eye. Uplifting music floated to his ears, and he could not help but let loose a grin. He'd get to show off his dancing, if nothing else.

He was mildly surprised to have received an invitation at all. Not that he wasn't qualified to go; he was of noble birth. However, he didn't get out much, hadn't created many connections of consequence throughout his life. Clovis's best guess was that because of the recent anniversary of his parents death, he'd been invited for part remembrance, but mostly for politeness. This was a perfect time to continue his parents' legacy by trying to make proper connections so as to get a respectable internship in one of the many subjects he'd spent most of his time studying.

Clovis made his way down a grand, intricately carved, dark wood stair case into the massive room below to find the hostess so that he might thank her for the invitation. He had to admit, he'd never met her before, so was unsure what to expect. All he'd heard were rumors of scandal and mischief, but was also unsure as to how true those stories were.

As he searched, his thoughts floated to clothes. He wasn't the best dressed by far due to fit. Clovis wore his father's old fine clothes, which were a bit big on his slender frame. He had an emerald green tunic of a velvety fabric that matched his eyes, laced up with silver threads. The silver continued in intricate stitching throughout the tunic. He also wore loose, dark tan pants and brown leather shoes worn from travel. Simple, yet elegant. Nice, but baggy. He'd tied his vibrant, crimson red hair back into a wavy ponytail. He was unsure of further fashion, so wore no jewelry. He'd only asked one of his servants briefly what to wear, and hadn't bothered getting anything taken-in in advanced.

[Anonymous]

Winter knew how to throw a good party. She couldn't stand those silly, stiff affairs that most nobility seemed to favor. No, Winter liked her parties to be fun and wild and exciting. She had found the most amazing performers. Apparently from Thanatos! And they were all oiled up, half naked and doing some very exciting...moves. They were these slow, sensual and flexible movements that were just fascinating.

Her own dress was flowing and made of shimmering spiderwebs, just a hint of sheerness to it. It would fade with the first light of day, but that just meant she had to be out of it by then. She moved through the crowds, waving and chatting. It was then she noticed a new face. She honestly had no idea who he was, but he was at her party so that meant he must be a friend!

Heading over, she beamed at the man, "Hello! Welcome! Having a lovely time? Have you tried the wine? It's amazing!"

[Casey]

Clovis was pleasantly surprised by the sudden approach of this striking woman. His face quickly developed a pink flush to it, which only accentuated his light brown freckles. He smiled awkwardly and bowed deeply, like a gentleman. "I--uh--yes," he stuttered. "I've just arrived, but it's..." he stopped, searching for the right words, "lovely." He looked around and grabbed a drink from a man with a drink tray walking past with glasses of wine. He didn't drink often, but he wasn't one to refuse a lady's advice.

"Actually, perhaps you can help me," he said as he started to search through his pockets. He pulled out a tightly folded, slightly wrinkled piece of paper. As he unfolded it, he continued, "I got this invitation from Winter... uhm--" he looked at the invitation. "Ah, Liira. Winter Liira. I was hoping to thank her for the invitation."

[Anonymous]

"Oh darling, you wouldn't like her. She's a terrible scandal you know." Winter's smile went from ear to ear. Such a baby that had stumbled into her party. She wrapped in arm around his, "Now, you'll want to look for an older woman, but still very well preserved. Age is only a matter of how you feel after all! Blond, with some green in it, grey eyes and I'm told she'll be wearing something shimmering. Let's see if we can find her together!"

[Casey]

"Oh... indeed," Clovis said uncertainly. He was uncomfortable agreeing or disagreeing with her opinion of Winter Liira. He didn't want to offend anyone in the room, certainly the woman who'd invited him. He'd heard of some of these rumored scandals, but in his eyes, she had honored his parents. Maybe she didn't know the Dussouiers personally, but someone else might have, then mentioned them to her, and in turn got him an invitation.   This was one of his first opportunities to show that he could be a gentleman, so he didn't want to mess things up.

To try to please both parties, especially the woman attached to his arm, he gave a vague, "I've never put much faith into idle rumors." He began to pace about the room with her, sipping on his wine and observing the people dancing about the room. "Older..." he said to himself somewhat quietly as he thought. He glanced sideways at the woman walking next to him: blonde and green hair, easily older than him. He glanced away and thought for a moment before turning to her and asking, "Is she your sister by any chance?" His eyes made it obvious that as a young man, he had no idea how insensitive his question was to an aging, aristocratic woman of 37.

[Anonymous]

"Oooh. You are a clever one. Close! Very close!" Winter gave a bright laugh, "I like you. I'll even allow you a dance!" Winter drained her mug, setting it on a passing tray, "I think I shall call you Lawrence. I've always loved that name, it's so dashing, don't you think?"

Leading him along, she tugged him onto the dance floor, leaving him with his wine still, "Drink up! It would be a waste to spill!"

[Casey]

Clovis quickly downed his wine and let the warmth of the alcohol spread throughout his esophagus and stomach. He set the emptied glass on a passing tray and allowed himself to be pulled to the dance floor. "Mmm, yes. Excellent wine, miss," he commented as he tried to make sure he was following all the different topics of conversation that popped up. He set himself into the proper posture for ballroom dancing, despite the sensual foreign dancers that suggested a more relaxed dancing atmosphere. "I suppose Lawrence is dashing, but I've already been given a name: Clovis Dussouier. Son of Jack and Claire Dussouier. I'm afraid I haven't caught your name?" he inquired.

[Anonymous]

"Oh no! Sush! I wont listen!" Winter clapped her hands over her ears, still laughing, "You are Lawrence and I wont hear another word. It ruins the mystery! No no." She pressed her finger to Clovis's lips, "Don't speak."

With a laugh, she tugged him into the first steps of the dance.

[Casey]

A slight frown began to develop on Clovis's face as he promptly stopped talking. This allowed his feet to follow the tempo of the music, his body to follow the pattern of his partner, and his mind to start drifting. Was he behaving how society expected him to? Was he supposed to get lost in emotion and be as frivolous and he was beginning to suspect the nobility of being? He'd been so sure of having a higher purpose once his parents had passed. He avoided the concept that he'd just invented the idea of his imaginary purpose, for it shattered his perspective of the world. He'd put so much faith in being a Dussouier. Maybe that didn't really matter. To anyone. After all, this is the first time he'd been in Kia's Court since he was 5. This was the first time he'd traveled here from Darken Vei. If he had no memory of Kia's Court, why would anyone here remember him?

His first encounter of the nobility was putting him through a loop. His vision of society was beginning to be  distorted. He'd put so much faith in the idea that acting like a perfect gentleman would get him a proper job. The anniversary of the death of Jack and Claire Dussouier had put extra pressure in his mind to get his life on track, to continue their legacy. It had not occurred to him that people had probably forgotten about them by now. He'd even forgotten what they looked like.

It'd been so long, in fact, that it was possible that friends of his parents only thought of him now because he'd graduated from his schooling, just like their children of his age had. "Oh, I'm so proud of our children for graduating. Did you hear that Clovis graduated? Oh, good for him. I wonder what he's up to now. Do you remember his parents? Oh, they were a fun couple. You know what would be nice? Let's invite Clovis to the ball as a graduation present! He'd like that I think." This was a much more realistic conversation than what Clovis suspected, which was that everyone else had memorized the date of his parents death like he had.

His biological parents were hardly people in his head. They were an idea, a model: "Your parents acted like this, looked like this. Now go forth and be that." He hardly even felt properly sad that they were gone, because he didn't know them well enough to begin with. He was sad because he was obligated to be. Honestly, they might as well have been egg and sperm donors. That was a disturbing thought.

The one track mind going on a loop in his mind started to derail as the wine made his thoughts fuzzy and sporadic. His had a hard time following his own thoughts, to the point that he gave up trying. Who was I trying to meet, again? Wow, those foreign dancers are so talented. Look at all these couples on the dance floor. I wonder what their jobs are that got them here.

[Anonymous]

Winter moved through the steps, moving and dancing and passing partners. It was a lively dance and her cheeks were flushed by the end of it. She managed to end back up with Clovis and attached to his arm again, "Oh! So serious that face of yours!"

Winter reached up, pinching his cheeks, "This is a party, in case you missed. For laughing and fun. Let's find you a pretty girl, or boy, and find a lovely little dark corner. Or both! Which way to you like Lawrence?"

[Casey]

Clovis smiled bashfully and stuttered, "Well—I mean... I've never really," he said awkwardly, trying to find the right words. "I've been so busy studying, I don't have time for... relations," he said, hoping he sounded like he at least knew how relationships worked, which he didn't. He never even flirted with a girl before, or a boy for that matter. He always tried to be either a gentleman, or a professional. To try and switch the focus off of him, he asked, "How come you're not in a... 'dark corner,' miss?"

[Anonymous]

"Because I'm being escorted by the mysterious and interesting Lawrence." Winter laughed again, leading her head against his shoulder, "Studying? That's for boys. You need to get out and experience life my darling! Sex is nothing to be ashamed off. Honestly, you can't even say the word! How on earth did you end up at this party my angel?"

[Casey]

Between the wine and her captivating personality, which was beyond out there for a noblewoman, Clovis was intoxicated. He finally let loose a small laugh despite of himself. "I'm sorry, m'lady. I do not mean to sound ashamed. I guess I haven't found the one, yet," he admitted. He romanticized finding "the one" to justify his lack of experience in the dating world, when in reality, he couldn't tell if someone was flirting, let alone liked him.

"I am surprised to be here, m'lady. I received an invitation on behalf of the anniversary of my parents' death, I thought. Did you know them? The Dussouiers. Jack and Claire. They weren't famous by any means, so I'm told, but I heard they were active and kind people in the community here at Kia's Court," he had begun rambling. Like once he had started he couldn't stop. She didn't need to hear all this. Either she knew them or she didn't.

[Anonymous]

"Oh goodness. That names sound familiar. But I don't think I knew them well." Winter reached over, hugging him, "You poor little angel. Such loss is never easy. But let us celebrate that wonderful life they had and the life you have to live!"

Waving another half naked servant with a tray, Winter took a wine glass and smiled again, "You are much more handsome when you relax. Smile my darling Lawrence."

[Casey]

Clovis grabbed a second glass of wine as well and forced a smile on his lips as she wrapped her arms around him. "It's not so hard," he insisted, as a blush broke out on his face. "I've every intention of doing something great. Something they'd be proud of," he continued passionately. "A judge, a business owner, a tutor. Someone who could take care of their wife and family. Right? What do you do, m'lady? Are you married?" He was loosening up and beginning to enjoy the company of this very outspoken woman.

[Anonymous]

"But...you are noble, are you not?" Winter frowned, a little puzzled. She hadn't realized he might not be nobility. That didn't bother her much, just surprised her. He must come from money then, here to catch some title she imagined. Though her parties weren't often that sort, too risque for most.

[Casey]

He laughed as the alcohol sank further into his blood and mind. "Ah, yes, a noble I am," he said with a slight roll to the eye. "But I'm obligated not to just live off of my parents' money, you see. The nobility has made it clear that I must be educated and successful to be a part of it." He sighed somewhat irritably. He had this feeling his parents wouldn't really care what his job was. They'd want him to be happy. That's what parents were for, right?

He leaned in closer to her and whispered into her ear, "I'll show you what I really like to do. But you can't tell anyone." He pulled away from her and smiled, and then sarcastically stated with a fake posh accent, "It would tarnish my reputation, you know." He took her by the hand and led her towards the garden.

The alcohol was making him bold, and slightly more offensive than usual. Normally he'd watch his tongue and his attitude if he could help it.

[Anonymous]

"Well, I can't speak for educated. Have you heard some of the nobles talk? I'm impressed they can lace their own hose." Winter laughed, leaning close, "Oh, do tell! Please! I promise I wont tell a soul!"

[Casey]

Clovis led Winter by the hand away from the ballroom and all the gossiping nobles that had drunk themselves into to a stupor. His steps quickened as he approached the gardens with her and his heart fluttered in his chest. He'd discovered the ability to do what he was going to show her by accident while taking lessons on controlling basic magic. He'd gotten better since then, but was by no means powerful yet.

The garden was already lush and elegant, though the flowers had closed during the night and the grass was becoming wilted with dew and slowly forming frost. He reached out to a patch of flowers, and after focussing for a couple seconds, they began to bloom brilliantly even at night. He smiled. He was intoxicated by the ability to make life happen in plants.

Clovis looked around the garden then set his hand on a carefully trimmed bush. It began to grow, slowly but chaotically. Vines that lined he walls outside branched out across the ground. They wrapped themselves around bushes and statues, twisted around themselves in complicated knots and shapes. The grass struck straight up and sprouted further from the ground until it was a tall chaotic mess of unkempt lawn.

Clovis suddenly swayed and collapsed awkwardly to his knees. He'd gone even paler than his normal complexion. He laughed nervously and shook his head. "Got a little carried away I think," he stated. He looked out at the garden he created with an exhausted smile. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

[Anonymous]

Winter blinked, watching as her well groomed gardens became over grown in a moment. Her comments died when the boy swayed and she quickly wrapped her arms around him, supporting his weight, "Lawrence! Are you alright? You should be careful! That was quite an impressive bit of magic, but you shouldn't burn yourself out like that."

Fussing, Winter got him over to one of the benches, brushing his hair back from his face, "It's a lovely gift and one you should be proud of."