A Masquerade Ball for All

[Casey]

I welcome all characters as guests to this party as long as they have a good reason for being here! That could be anything from buying a ticket, to sneaking in, to conning all the guests into thinking their character is an aristocrat when they're not. Have fun, and feel free to add as many characters as you want.

I ask that if you're going to play as different characters, that each post be about just one.
So one post would look like this:
"Thalion did this, that and the other."
Then, I would post a second time with this:
"Raven did this, that and the other."
But I would not do this:
"Thalion went over here, and Raven went and did this. But then Thalion saw that, and Raven moseyed over there."
It's too confusing.

Also, as the party keeps going and individual characters interact and react to others, please tag who you're responding to by putting "@" or "tag:" at the top of your post.
It would look like this:
"@ Thalion or Tag: Thalion, Raven

Enter your post here"

Last, if two characters leave the room to have a private discussion, please start that discussion in another thread and post a link to that thread so it's obvious that it's private. That would look like this:
"Thalion and Raven walk into another room ? insert link here"
Whenever they finish their discussion they can always walk back into the party.

Thank you and enjoy the thread! :]

[Casey]

The buzz about the ball had been a huge success. It became hard not to talk about it. Everyone wanted to know who bought a ticket, what they were wearing, why the hostess of the ball was selling tickets instead of sending invitations. This was a carefully planned event to make the aristocratic guests with tickets feel rich and superior, and the middle and lower class feel welcomed and accepted where they normally wouldn't.

The ballroom was fashioned with rich, dark wood floors with high ceilings and a marvelous grand staircase for the hostess to make her appearance. Beautifully colored tapestries hung were hung up all around the room. Candles and lanterns were placed everywhere like glittering jewels. Wine and beer were being poured in mugs and cups, ready to be served when the guests entered. The servants were dressed impeccably in matching uniforms, who were bustling feverishly about finishing the last minute details. Instrumentalists were fiddling with their instruments, getting ready to play for hours for everyone worth impressing.

Lillith Star had spared no expense. She'd even hired mages to magically enhance everything they could get their hands on. Colors in the room looked brighter, cups and mugs looked flawlessly designed, candles burned brighter and longer, the lanterns glowed fiercely. However, this evening was not about herself. It was about her beloved son and heir, Thalion Grey. She insisted on calling him Thalion Star to avoid people asking about her scandalous affair a long time ago that ended with a bastardized set of twins: a son and daughter, Thalion and Olivia. The time would come soon where Thalion would take over the family business and inherit everything she had. It was about time for him to be married. As long as the marriage benefited their family, then it would happen. Love could always come later, if he was lucky.

Lillith and Thalion waited in a private sitting room, waiting for party guests to fill in before they made their grand appearance.

[stelmarisa]

The room... it was beautiful. Ondina gasped in pleasure as she made her way through the doors, and stopped still, looking round appreciatively. She was no stranger to grand places and beauty, but this was something else entirely - the ballroom almost shimmered with its grandeur. One hand on her hip, she looked around, unsure as to whether there would be someone to check her ticket, or challenge her being there.

Of course, she shouldn't get challenged, she mused to herself. She had bought her own ticket as soon as she had heard of the ball, thrilled to have a fancy event to attend. And fancy she was. Tonight she was tall and shapely, her skin a deep aquamarine, silver hair piled on top of her head in a coiled updo. She had chosen a simple, but luxurious, gold dress, which fell to the floor in a long column, with a strap twisting rope-like over one shoulder. She felt fabulous.

As she stood there, she slowly stopped her self-admiration, pouting her lips in a slight frown. She hadn't yet been approached, and all she could see were the servants and musicians setting up. She couldn't possibly be the first one there, surely?

"Hello?"

[Anonymous]

Perhaps it was fitting that an abnormal being might take an abnormal method to get into an event such as this. Oh, Kai paid, to be certain, but not in standard coin; rather, it was a light assortment of gems and jewelry that he deposited into the hands of those selling the tickets for the event, strolling away freely with a ticket while they stood dumbfounded.

'Twas odd, to be certain, but it worked for him. After all, it got him in, and he definitely smelled food. Though, as it turned out, perhaps he was a little early. Few people yet seemed to be here, and thus the vulpine creature was just about alone.

Ah, and he'd dressed up, too. Technically. Really, it was simply that his vest and pants were pure white this day, patterned with fire around the edges. It was as fancy as he ever got, and one would have to be glad for so much as that.

"Hm... seems like this place should be fun soon enough," he idly commented, a slight grin forming upon his features; closed-mouthed so to not show off his sharp teeth, which many seemed to react badly to.

[Casey]

A stream of servants arrived to wait hand and foot on the guests who'd arrived surprisingly on time. It seemed so fashionable to be late these days. They began to take tickets for validation, take coats to be hung up, and offer an assortment of drinks and fine finger food. The musicians took the hint and began to play an upbeat, beautiful composition with flutes and violins singing like sweet songbirds.

Raven had, of course, decided to come to the masquerade ball. A chance to make the acquaintance of the very people she intended to steal from? Absolutely. But she would not pay for this ball. She'd caught a servant off-guard out back and knocked her out before being seen. After putting on her clothes and sauntering through the back as if she had done that every day for a week, she ducked into the guest wing with her sack of aristocratic clothes. She wore a high halter dress with a low back. The dye on the dress faded from crimson gradually down to jet black on the bottom. She wore very simple black jewelry and threw her jagged bob up into a much more elegant looking jet black bun with hair fanning out like a tar sun stuck onto the back of her head. A simple black mask was worn on her face with black and red feathers protruding from it.

She strolled across the dance floor, well away from the front door as if she had already been there for ages, and stood pretending to admire the musicians. Her gray eyes had very little make up on, and her lips only had a sheer sheen. Raven sipped a glass of mead daintily, like a lady should, resisting the urge to shoot back a few beers and belch with the men. She happened to glance at the other guests who had arrived before she actually had and wiggled her fingers in, what she felt to be, a ludicrous feminine wave, complete with a wink.

[Rhindeer]

Tag: Raven

This seemed like a fun enough event, and not an exclusive one, either. One anyone could attend if they had a ticket, rather than relying upon human's strange concepts of hierarchy--their wrong concepts of hierarchy, at that! Aki had never quite figured out why he was denied access to the things so-called nobility were, considering he had been an alpha in his time. It was basically the same thing, idiot humans.

But in any case, this event simply required a slip of parchment to attend--a slip of parchment which required coin to attain. Apparently it was also a masked affair. Odd. Well, Aki didn't have the coin or mask, but he did have a solution.

Which was why he targeted a man hours before and stole both his ticket and his mask. Oh, and his fancy clothes while he was at it, fine-tailored trousers, tunic, and a surcoat. Why not? They were a little loose because the man was rather portly, but they did the job.

Problem solved!

He left the unconscious man in an alley, cleaned up a bit, donned his mask (a simple black and blue feathered thing) and headed off to join the party. Ah, the things he'd do for free food he didn't have to hunt, free mead, wine, and ale (he'd acquired a taste for it but didn't much care for the after-effects so he had to be careful), and free company...who he hoped would be very free with their company, indeed.

The ticket got him in without a fuss and he closed his eyes and inhaled the wonderful scent of food. Ah, he hoped there was a lot of it because he was going to hit that so hard. Striding inside and glancing about, he caught a masked lady waving from across the dance floor and arched an eyebrow.

Alright, then. That was easy.

He headed toward her, snagging some finger foods off the tray of a passing servant as he went and popping them into his mouth. "Well, hello," he said from around a mouthful of food. "Do I know you?"

[Casey]

Tag: Aki

As Raven set her hand daintily onto his own and ever-so-slightly curtsied with a nod of her head, she took in the site of him. His cheek puffed out with food, the ill-fitting attire, nice as the fabrics were. She forced back a sneer, and thanked Kia that she had a mask on to cover her raised brow. He gave her the impression he was not the fabulously wealthy type that she intended to get close to throughout the evening, but Raven gave him the benefit of the doubt. It was possible he was just the rebellious son of aristocrats.

"Why, no. I regret to say you don't," she replied with a flirtatious smile. "I'm Isabel Tennant. Of the Thompson Tennants," she said with such a confident matter-of-fact tone, that the average aristocrat would act like they'd heard of the rich family that never existed rather than embarrass themselves. "And you are?" With his black jagged hair, his striking gold eyes, his slender build, he was actually the rare type of guy she found attractive: a badass. But she knew this not, and assumed him either a rebellious son or a commoner.

[Anonymous]

Tag: Ondina

Such a little amount of time was he even here, and a few people began to arrive. Most garbed more fancily than him, all arguably more... ordinary than him. Then again, where could a humanoid fox be considered ordinary? Certainly nowhere Kai had found of yet. Perhaps wherever precisely he'd come from, for all he knew, but he'd never return there, that much was certain.

Still, it didn't mean he couldn't at least interact with these more ordinary folks. A few, it seemed... already... were?

Wait... surely such a color skin, not too far a cry from his own color fur, couldn't be normal? Perhaps there would be something of some interest here after all, besides the obvious of the food.

"Came alone, I guess? Doesn't seem like many people did... or stayed that way for very long," he observed, wandering over to the woman with an hors d'oeurves or two still in hand. Another brief, sweeping glance of the proceedings followed. His tail swayed slowly from side to side behind him, as like a pendulum following the beat of the music that had since started up. He did, in fact, seem perfectly content even if he by no means fit in. "Well... doesn't seem the best kinda event to be alone, I suppose. My name's Kai, mind if I ask yours?" he inquired, a little grin reaching across his face; closed-mouthed such that his sharp teeth wouldn't show.

[stelmarisa]

[Tag: Kai]

Ondina had hesitated before reaching for a glass of wine. She tended to avoid alcohol, as a rule - it didn't always have the best effect on her stomach (and the hangovers were terrible) but, well, it was a special occasion! Sipping at the glass, she looked around the room as it started to fill, preparing for the evening ahead.

Her reveries were interrupted by a voice - turning, she did a double take as her eyes swept over her company. A fox... or a man? Or some combination of the two. Not a creature that she had ever encountered before, but one that looked just as out of place her as she probably did herself.

"I did, yes." She answered his first question simply, nodding her agreement to his later comments. It looked as though singles would be in the minority at this event. "I'm Ondina." She offered him a smile and her hand, stretching out a bangled arm.

[Anonymous]

The whole thing was quite exciting and a little scandalous. Just the type of event Winter adored! Commoners and aristocrats all mingling together with wealth being the only thing one needed to get in. Winter found that utterly thrilling!

And it was a masked ball! Even better! It gave everything that hint of mystery. She could be anyone she wanted and she planned on using that to her fullest. Qiana was coming along as well, because now that her beloved was the Queen, it was much harder to get her to parties. Having royalty there changed everything. But tonight, she could be just another noble couple.

Winter was dressed to the hilt, her long hair piled onto her head in a riot of soft curls, with a few loose down her back and a slender silver circlet woven with dainty golden leaves kept the rest of it up. The dress was a shimmering silver white dress, woven from magic, mist and spiderwebs. It had a low neckline, lined with a delicate gold flower pattern embroidered along the edges. In the center of the bust, a large, blossoming flower was done in gold, with more gold designs trailing down under it. A red rope belt, artistically tied around her waist gave the dress some shape, the rest hung long and flowing.

Her favorite part was the robe. Qiana had told her it was too much, but Winter wasn't going to listen. It was a rich, deep red, lined with the soft, warm fur of a white snow cat, beautiful black spots patterned along it. The entire inside was lined in it, and along the sleeves as well. Her shoes were the same red as her belt, with a lace gold and white mask as well. Her eyes were heavily lined with kohl and had used arsenic to bleach her skin to be a perfect, creamy white.

Entering the party, Winter glanced around, letting a servant take the glorious robe. It would be too warm to wear it in the party, but one must always make an entrance. Qiana was still in the carriage and Winter wasn't going to wait! Taking a glass of wine, she wove her way into the crowd, ready to mingle.

[Casey]

Now that the ball had far more people and was bustling with activity, music, and dancing, Thalion and Lillith made their entrances. The only reason Lillith made the grand entrance was to let everyone know this was her idea, but it was Thalion's show. He had his hair slicked back into a wavy bunch tresses of brunette with a slight auburn tint. Those tresses fell down the middle of his head like a sophisticated mohawk. He was clad in a long green coat that was embroidered in intricate patterns of gold and silver woven together in a metallic flourish. He had a velvet black tunic underneath that was stitched in silver and laced up with the same metallic silver. He had fitted black pants on with well polished black leather shoes.

The dress Lillith wore was one bought for her by her very own son. The dress flowed and shone unnaturally like glassy water on a perfectly still morning lake. It was long and sea-green with a deep v-neck cut and a small train that followed her. Her long wavy brunette hair was pinned up on top of her head with glittering white beads and white feathers. She wore a mask that sparkled much like her hair: with white gems, pearls, and feathers.

The group of instrumentalists stopped briefly as all the attention turned to the emerging pair. A servant announced, "Lady Lillith Star and Lord Thalion Star!" They walked down their grand staircase slowly, to make an entrance. Once they stood at the bottom of the stairs, the music started back up and Lillith stalked off to allow her son to shine at his ball.

The point of this evening was for Thalion to find a suitable woman with both money and power for a marriage. However, there was no part of him that was interested in marriage, especially not some ditzy rich girl with a pair of tits who didn't challenge him. Thalion needed someone to challenge him and argue with him and disagree with him, and tell him when he was being an asshole. Which he was, most of the time. He grabbed an expensive mead, made from exotic fruits and brewed powerfully strong and ridiculously sweet. He walked slowly around the room with his head held high, his gate powerful, waiting to greet guests.

[Rhindeer]

Tag: Raven

Aki at least had grace enough to swallow his food before he gave his best imitation of a bow and lifted her hand to his lips, brushing them against the back of her hand.

"It's a pleasure, m'lady," he answered. "I'm Aki. Aki DeRiva of House DeRiva. It's up north. You may have heard of it. But why bother with boring talk like that tonight, eh?" Mainly because he wouldn't be able to bullshit this story much further because he could name only a couple provinces off the top of his head and had no idea, really, what a House was. He had the feeling it wasn't a literal house, for it sounded far more important, and it was something he'd heard nobles toss around during introductions so it sounded like something he ought to do, too.

He smiled at her, carefully so as not to flash his fangs. It was always a toss-up what kind of reaction they would earn him.

"Besides, I can think of plenty of other ways I'd like to spend my time with a gorgeous fem--ah, lady."

[Anonymous]

Tag: Ondina

Already Kai fortunately had some idea what to do when that hand was held out... even though what he'd observed here disagreed somewhat with what he knew. Whatever the case, though, lest one accuse the vulpine of being unobservant, he'd at least picked up a few things already.

So he rested his hand lightly under hers, palm up, giving a slight bow. It felt... a little odd, perhaps, but it was what he'd seen here, so it must be right, surely? Granted, he'd also noted people introducing themselves in complicated fashions, but he had none of that. He was just a humanoid fox that lived in the forests, nothing really special there.

"Pleasure to meet you as well, Ondina. So, er... what kinda stuff do people do here, really? Except maybe eat, drink, and meet people..." He couldn't help it, he had to ask, his head even cocking a little to the side in curiosity. His ears even tilted a little further in that direction, granting them a slightly lopsided appearance that he very well couldn't help, try though he had at times.

Indeed, if it was fitting in to an event like this, the fox came short.

[stelmarisa]

Ondina raised an eyebrow as Kai bowed, eyeing him curiously. She had been expecting a handshake - admittedly not the stuff of high society. She smiled as his head cocked in curiousity, unable to suppress her amusement as his ears followed suit. Cute.

She glanced around them as she considered the answer to his question, giving an elegant little shrug. "Well, from what I can see Kai... we eat, drink, and pretend to fit in with the bourgeoisie." She laughed. "Probably best to keep a low profile, at least until everyone is so drunk they don't know who's nobility and who's not."

[Casey]

Tag: Aki

Raven forced herself into an embarrassed smile as he kissed her hand. "Aki DeRiva, of course," she said politely, trying to sound thrilled by his presence. "Oh, but you're right, let us not talk of politics tonight! Such a droll topic, don't you think?" she said while gently pulling him onto the dance floor. She positioned herself in his arms so that she could observe the other guests over his shoulder without being caught.

It was ironic, really, that the two of them would meet each other. Little did either of them know that they were making up their own houses and authority. Raven's dove gray eyes flitted quickly between everyone there. She was trying to judge just by a glance who was rich. The rest of this house was also of interest to her. She could only imagine what fine pieces of luxury were available for the taking, here.

The young Star heir, robbed. That would certainly keep her status up amongst her small group of vigilantes. But the money she earned from this would not go towards herself, but towards those in need. Of course, many of the criminals she worked with considered themselves more needy than the next. It was a delicate balance, keeping her guild happy.

"What brings you here, Aki?" she asked seductively, brushing her lips lightly against his ear. While she distracted him here, she pretended to innocently move her hands across his body, while in reality checking to see if he had anything of value on him.

[Winters-Feather]

Sha-Razi stepped into the ballroom, trying to contain her awe. She had requested a week's trip in Arca for the sole purpose of this unusual, but elegant event. The idea behind it fascinated her- naturally, the nobles would probably have better suiting clothes and a different air to them, but the masquerade still made it difficult for the  guests to assume too much about each other. They could form new identities, be anyone. How could the woman miss this? Parties like these were some of the best places to get news of international kingdom relationships. The woman was adorned in a beautiful green ball gown with flowing sleeves in order to conceal the tattoos on her body. It wasn't the type of clothes she typically owned; in fact, she was borrowing it from her hostess.The mask she wore was of a parakeet , and a hibiscus flower ornament adorned her hair, which she had left flowing down, save for two small, thin braids that neatly curved around her head like a circuit and connected in the back.

The woman, still clutching her ticket in her hands, looked around the room in search of the host and hostess of the party. She wanted the opportunity to thank them in person and try to talk, but of course they were no where to be seen. Razi sighed and glided over towards the punch table, her green eyes scanned the guests in curiosity, wondering where they came from and what their backgrounds were. In a way, she found herself to be a little ... overwhelmed.
Calm down, she coached herself as she picked up a drink.
It wasn't as good as the fruit juices from home, but it would have to do.

[Rhindeer]

Tag: Raven

Oh. Uh. Dance floor. Shit!

Now was probably a bad time to admit that he'd never danced in his life.

Not that he was really worried or cared, because he had a lady in his arms--a rather handsy lady, at that. Something told him that she wasn't truly interested in the dancing part and he was fine with that! Besides, he could sort of figure out what to do by looking over her shoulder at the other dancers...

He shivered a little, badly wanting to flick his ear but unable to in this form, and settled one hand on her waist while clasping her hand in the other. "Oh, you know. The promise of a good time, good company, and beautiful sights--like yourself, m'lady," he said, lightly nuzzling her neck and pulling her closer, bodies pressed together. And the food. The food was definitely half the reason he was here.

Which reminded him that he really needed to find an excuse to raid that table soon; he thought he'd spotted a whole pig there! Reminded of that, he turned Isabel a little so he could spot the table from over her shoulder. He needed to get to the pig before anyone else did!

"From the moment I spotted you, I couldn't take my eyes off of you. You're positively ravishing, m'dear."

And he was oblivious to the fact that she was searching for his purse. Which wasn't his purse, really, but he had found it among the man's clothes and there was a decent amount of coin there.

[Rhindeer]

Tag: Winter and Sha-Razi

Just this once, Qiana had allowed Winter to dress her up in something she personally viewed as ridiculous. But then she did favor simple elegance as opposed to Winter's wild, eye-catching style. But a ball like this was about being something you weren't so she would dress in something she'd never wear otherwise.

The entire premise of this ball was interesting. A ball anyone could attend if they could afford it? Intriguing--and scandalous, this idea that the classes should mingle. But Qiana had always had a taste for the scandalous (she blamed Winter) and the thought of mingling with lower and upper class, all unaware of her identity, was an amazing one.

So she'd donned her mask, a peacock-feathered one, and had gone with an entire peacock motif for her dress. If she was going to be ridiculous she may as well go all out, after all.

Entering the room, Qiana spotted Winter in the crowd and hurried over to her--and bumped into a woman wearing a parakeet's mask. "Oh! My apologies, m'lady," she said, reaching out to steady her.

[Winters-Feather]

@Winter

So enveloped in her thoughts was Razi that when Winter bumped into her, not only did she trip over the hem of her borrowed skirt, which was just a bit too large, but she also spilled some of her drink onto the floor. A bit landed on her skirt, but the dress was dark enough that the stain thankfully wasn't obvious; it would dry in a few minutes, anyway. Still, it was embarrassing to behave in such a way in a foreign court. Razi gratefully accepted Winter's hand.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, "Thank you very much."

The woman observed Winter's get out. It was certainly eye catching and a little bizarre, but also quite fetching and daring.  She curtsied and gave a bow of the head, remembering that was the way women greeted others in this kingdom.
"May I be granted the pleasure of knowing your name?" Razi asked as courtly as possible. She didn't know to whom she was talking to, after all. This stranger was dressed in fine material and fashion; she had to be at least nobility.

[Casey]

Tag: Aki

Raven smirked just slightly at his compliments. She was looking rather good tonight, wasn't she? Not only that, but she thought she had him right where she wanted him. Trusting her, shuddering at her touch, wanting to be close to her. When her fingers brushed over the coin purse buried in a pocket of his clothing, she could barely contain she excitement at having success already.

"You're looking handsome yourself, Aki," she said pleasantly. With her hand in his own, she lefted them so that she could spin under them, and step out away from him. Then she spun herself into him. On purpose, trying to make it look accidental, she hit his body harder than anticipated, at least on his side. Using this at her distraction, she simultaneously grabbed the coin purse so that the motion of it being pulled out hopefully wouldn't be noticed.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I must be dehydrated. Could you be a gentleman and grab me a refreshment, dear Aki?" she asked, batting her eyelashes innocently. Her hands were clasped together against her dress, hiding the purse between skin and fabric.