Spumoni, Strudel and Sweet Potato Pie

[kleineklementine]

Riley watched the hints of Edward's changing expression from beneath his mask carefully. The boy had become something of an expert at reading momentary flashes of sadness on people who were pretending to be happy. He felt a pang for the man, and then a pang of sadness himself. He took a moment to perform what had become his most frequent task: he made himself remember what his father looked like. In the past few years since his death, Riley's real, albeit childhood, memories of his flesh and blood father were already starting to transform into the still, lifeless painting of him that his mother kept. His greatest fear was that, one day, that picture would be all he could remember.

But tonight wasn't about Riley being sad, it was about making Dahlia happy, so he refocused on the task at hand.

"Are you a duke?" he asked, reconsidering Edward a little. "But you aren't going to dance with the Duke of Allar, are you?"

[visualspice]

"Me? A duke? Hardly. Well, not yet, but some day. I am the only heir to the Duchy of Highheart." he added, staring up thoughtfully as he touched a finger to his chin. But at the last question, he made a face, then a laugh. "I should hope not! The pair of us would look quite silly on the dance floor!"

[kleineklementine]

Riley looked him over, scrutinizing again, clearly considering some point. A duke wasn't ideal. Anyone really in the government, he knew, made his mother too angry. But maybe hardly-a-duke-but-maybe-someday was okay. At least for a dance or two.

"Okay, then I'll introduce you to my mother and you can dance with her. Your costumes kind of match, anyway," Riley stated, the matter settled as far as he was concerned. He looked over to the group his mother was in and frowned. "Well, maybe in a minute. I don't think I can safely go back over there with that crowd without getting my cheeks pinched."

[visualspice]

Like an adult, Edward laughed at Riley's statement, but then once what he said actually caught up to him, his face fell as he asked, "Beg your pardon?" Then his eyes went wide, he laughed again, cheeks red, (though it was a pleasant laugh- albeit, a nervous one!)

"Oh, I could not impose on your mother. What would your father think? I wouldn't want to cut in on any of his dances," he said in earnest, then proceeded to ask. " I don't think I caught your name..... nor you mine."
ANd he extended his gloved hand out for Riley to shake as he lifted his mask to reveal his face, a handsome one with warm brown eyes. "I'm Edward Draven. Er, Lord Edward Draven, if you want to be more correct." Politically.

[kleineklementine]

Edward's innocent question hit Riley like a ton of bricks and the boy just stared at him for several moments. Inwardly, in order to not think about the hurt that was probably plain on his face – or would be, if it weren't for the falcon mask – Riley thought how stupid Edward must be. Hadn't he been listening to anything Riley had said? What married woman with a living husband has to be escorted to a ball by her ten-year-old son?

"No, you wouldn't be," Riley answered eventually. His voice was quieter and a bit strained and his matter-of-fact composure compromised. "My father isn't here. Anymore. That's why I came."

Suddenly Riley wondered, what would his father think? And he felt horribly guilty. As though trying to take some small measures for his mother's happiness was some sort of betrayal of his father. Again, he forced himself to remember his face. His real face. And he wondered if they all had to remain sad to stay true to him. It was like a losing game, no matter how you played it, and Riley found he wanted to cry, something he rarely did. He wished he was old enough to run away to the army, like Milo, and feel that he was doing the right thing, no matter whose heart it broke.

It took several more moments for Riley to compose himself, and a few more to lift his own mask and reveal his freckle-dusted face and bright blue eyes. Then he took Edward's hand and shook it as firmly as he could and when he spoke it was with the distinct tone of someone trying to put on a brave face. "I'm Riley Gray. Master Riley Gray, if we're being correct. It's my brother who's Lord Gray, I suppose. But like I said, he just joined the army and couldn't come." 

((young boys are called 'master,' right? did I make that up?))

[visualspice]

At the boy's expression change, Edward looked at him curiously until the obvious was revealed. He felt himself pale in color, his expression fading from the warmth of formality to the understanding of grief. He flattened his lips, his eyes never leaving Riley's as he said,
"I'm sorry to hear that, Riley." He said with a slight nod, but then more warmly he corrected, "I mean, Master Riley." His lips afforded him a rare but genuine smile,  letting him know he understood. And he understood far too well. "I suppose we have a bit in common. You see, my wife too, is no longer with us either." And the pain from his grief was clear on his face, but still, he kept himself reserved and smiled to the child before nodding again. "But perhaps if you think a dance might make your mother feel better, I'd be happy to oblige."



And someone else was thinking about dancing.
And champagne.
ANd wine.
And anything inbetween. Valia Coleridge, once Valia Chandos, also, she was sister to the Grand Duchess, was making a bit of a spectacle of herself (albeit, semi-in private). As usual, she and her husband had been arguing, and she, took to drink and huffed off to who own devices at the ball. She couldn't let her husband ruin all of her fun! So what if she enjoyed a soldier or two looking at her cleavage, or even striking up a moment just for a harmless flirt? She always adored being beneath men's administrations, and well.. having a husband meant it was a tough pill to swallow that she'd have to stick to the affections of just one.

She was still young, after all, and at her age she wasn't at all happy she had a child (which she ignored) and the frilliness of responsibilities.
No, no, she'd rather remain young and ignorant forever, and she was already nicely drunk on her fourth drink by the time she passed a narwhal and mongoose-rat.. thing. Turning to observe, she noted them fawning over a young gentleman in the center- and she, as she passed, scoffed at most obviously, sparing only one pink eyed gaze their way before she, in her elegant and (a bit too low cut) Goddess of beauty costume (which of course, consisted of layersa nd layers of pink..) strolled on by without a care in the world as she continued to sip at her drink.

Haha! That fool! It was hilarious to see others being tormented worse than her! And as Valia walked away, the narwhal and weasel-cat gasped.
"That's Lady Valia," one of them whispered. "You've heard about that one, I'm sure."
"Yes, never a good thing either." This was the cat lady responding with a sneer.
"Yes, and to think, she thinks she's so well off in this world, with her sister as the Grand Duchess and all.. but gossip will be gossip, and many could slander her for being so wretched to her poor husband!"
"I heard, despite them having a baby, their relationship is on the outs."
"Oh, my! A separation you think?"
"Maybe."
"Oh my. How scandalous!" And the woman pinched Oscar's arm. "Do be wise and find a woman who is not like that for yourself! And save yourself from all that gossip and grief!"

[kleineklementine]

"I know," was Riley's response, said plainly but quietly. He hadn't really known, but he had been fairly certain from the man's earlier expression. Taking some courage from Edward's smile, he grinned expounded with feigned nonchalance (deciding that, since they shared the same tragedy, he could joke around a little), "You're too old to just be single. But also," he added, his expression softening, "I could just tell. When you said the Duke of Allar was your 'date.'"

Riley gave a little sigh and looked at his feet. Though Edward had brought up his spirits a bit, he wasn't as certain that he liked this game anymore. Maybe it wasn't a good idea...

"Well," he said solemnly, looking back up at Edward, "not if you don't want to. But she can't think I put you up to it," he looked earnestly to convey the seriousness of this part. "She wouldn't like that at all."

[Vivi]

Oh Angsar help him, but this was embarrassing... Oscar would have liked nothing better than to shrink to the floor and disappear, but with his sister at his elbow and the flock of hens surrounding him, the cooing was not something he could easily escape. The irony of his costume was, at this point, not lost on him. Even the glare he sent his sister was far from ferocious, but he did the best he could with the face he had.

"Astronomy and Mathematics." He corrected her, looking round at the gathered guests as though his clarification would do any good. He had the overwhelming urge to defend his choices as something useful, not the overly romantic tripe his sister had painted it to be, especially towards the mustachioed badger, whose manner he found particularly grating. At least the knight had some joviality to him. "Oh, none taken at all!" He fought the urge to grit his teeth and laughed, ever the sweet, self-effacing sort. "There are two ways to solve a problem after all: either hit it until it goes away, or talk it to death!"

Ordinarily, Oscar was indifferent to champagne, the lads in the common room shunning the stuff like it was poison, but he could have wrung the would-be knight's hand for the drink pressed upon him. He took it politely, nodding along with his sister and the clucking hens and fighting the urge to down the whole thing in one. "Well, wasn't that kind? Here's hoping, dear sister." He fixed another smile on his face, nodding his thanks as he raised his glass to take a sip. "To your health, ladies."

It still wasn't enough. The drink may have warmed him on the way down, but the company was still decidedly chilly. Not to mention stinging. He gasped at the pinch, taking a step back. What on earth had that been for!? "I- I shall keep it in mind, ma'am..." He mumbled, though in truth he'd never heard of the object of their gossip before now. Presumably they meant the pink puffball that had just swooshed past them all, not troubling to hide her derision. Being rather more well-mannered than she was, Oscar's reaction was to eye his drink a second time, and after a moments hesitation, to down the lot.

[visualspice]

Edward's cheeks rosied at the young boys comment, but he smiled none the less. Honesty was a good quality, and the boy was of good caliber. His mother raised him well (even if he had abandoned her for sweets!) Patting his shoulder, he leaned down, "I'd very much like to dance for her. No sense for either of us to be bored. Perhaps we will have fun, though I must say, I have not been introduced to her yet. Master Riley, would you do me the honors and introduce me to your mother, Lady Gray?"

[kleineklementine]

"What? Weren't you listening? No!" Riley shook his head, looking at Edward with that time-honored expression that only children can give to adults when they have no idea what's going on. "If she thought I was looking for single, appropriately aged men for her to dance with and bring them back to her, she would not be impressed. With either of us." Again Riley shook his head at Edward. "You'll have to do it on your own. And don't call her Lady Gray; she said the only good part of this party would be that no one would know who anyone was. And whatever you do, don't talk about the war."

Riley looked back over to his mother, considering if there was any other vital information Edward should know. Similarly to how he hadn't paused to consider whether the man was interested in the flight speed of peregrine falcons, Riley gave no thought now to whether this slew of information would make Edward uncomfortable or not.

"Wait," he said suddenly. "Are you saying that I've been boring you?"

[visualspice]

Edward hadn't considered the boy's earlier suggestion- because well, how else was he to be more rightfully introduced? Besides the fact, he was feeling a bit... shy. Oh, Angsar help him! And then the poor child though he had been bored!

"Oh!" Edward perked up. "That's not what I meant. I was referring to the dance floor but I can see what you mean. Though I don't know how to go about being so.. discrete without seeming obvious. ANd don't you think she'd notice us speaking and come to the same conclusion anyways after I might approach her soon after you and I had been speaking at the dessert table but a moment ago? But I do think we're in a predicament, perhaps though, we could figure something out together?"

[kleineklementine]

Dahlia tightened her grip on Oscar, grinning happily at him, to let him know that he was going nowhere! She turned to the knight-and-horse, gesturing with a tilt of her head to Oscar's finished glass, and said confidentially to him, "I think he needs another. Maybe something a wee bit stronger."

The man gave another booming laugh and went jovially back to the drink table. This was when Valia Coolridge wandered past, sending all the women into a storm of gossip. Dahlia's eyes followed the object of their attention. Unlike Oscar, Dahlia had been socially active for long enough (if not recently) that she did know who the young lady was. She considered whether or not she should try to get the young woman's attention and shove Riley in what looked to be her drunken path. But... well, maybe that was a step too far. So instead she turned back to the women, resting her head affectionately on her brother's shoulder. "Oh don't worry. Our poor dear lion wouldn't even know what to do with a girl like that! You need someone sweet and demure and domestic to tend to you, don't you, you shy little mathematician?"

"Well, didn't I see Bryony Carwick here earlier?" the Spindly Flower asked. "She's just the most darling little thing. Do you know her?"

At this, Elonged Cat and Narwhal exchanged very knowing and rather haughty looks. "Well, I don't know about Bryony," Narwhal said seriously. "Her brother is going to be a duke and... well..." She looked meaningfully at Oscar. Her look clearly said what her mouth, for once, did not: The Treyburns are not sister-of-a-duke material!

Elongated cat nodded in agreement. Spindly Flower, in her defense, looked disappointed.

Dahlia almost choked and had to momentarily bury her face in Oscar's arm, biting her lip to keep from bursting out in laughter. This was fantastic. For the first time in ages, Dahlia felt like her old self. This was what she loved about fancy, stuffy events!

Before the situation could get too awkward, the knight-and-horse returned with what looked like a double glass of something clear. It looked very stiff. He handed it good-naturedly to the boy. "There you go, lad!" he boomed. "That'll help you with the ladies!"


Meanwhile, Riley gave Edward an incredulous look. "Aren't you supposed to know how to do this?" He sighed exasperatedly. What would this man have done with his night if Riley hadn't shown up? He couldn't do anything for himself! "Well, it looks like she's teasing Uncle Oscar, that's good. But she probably isn't keeping track of me, then. I'm a pretty good kid, so she knows she doesn't have to worry about me getting into trouble. But just to be safe, you should probably stand back up and turn around like you're people watching."

In his own turn, Riley turned back to the dessert table and made a big show of looking at all the cream puffs. He had his back to Edward when he continued, "So what do you want to do if you can't introduce yourself to a group of people at a party? I guess I could pretend to choke, and you could save me," he offered, but it was clear from his tone of voice that he thought this was an extremely lame idea.

[Vivi]

Oscar had a feeling there'd be a lot of drinks tonight. He could feel his sister's grip on him tighten, a little attention thankfully taken away from him by the pink tide of gossip that was Valia Whatshername. Thankfully, she didn't seem to be joining their little soiree, and despite being far from impressed with her at that moment, he felt a flash of gratitude as Dahlia waved the possibility away. He nodded along, eager to hammer that particular point home. "Oh yes, I daresay I'd bore her anyway. She seems a more energetic sort."

Well, at least he'd dodged that volley. After that things settled back into wittering amongst Flower, Weasel and Narwhal, the latter two not troubling to hide their disdain at Flower's suggestion. He wasn't sure whether that was supposed to be a hidden insult, but Narwhal's attempts at subtlety were as effective as her costume design, and even then she missed. Rather than feel put out by the slight, Oscar's mouth twitched in genuine mirth. Neither was he the only one. Peering down at the shock of black feathers now hiding in his arm, he felt a brief pang of alarm and concern, mouth falling open to fret and question... but she wasn't crying as he first thought. Crying laughing, possibly, but nothing as he feared.

In spite of himself, he felt a warm smile of his own creep onto his face, giving his sister a conspiratorial nudge with his elbow. He couldn't bring himself to feel dismay at how much she enjoyed his predicament - seeing her laughing like that, Oscar just didn't have the heart.

Not that it stopped him accepting the second drink, thanking the knight-and-horse with a geniality that could actually have been genuine. "Oh, you wonderful man! Thank you so much!" This lasted for approximately five seconds, before he took the first sip and broke into an immediate coughing fit, the fumes close to choking.

Dahlia had better appreciate this farce...

[visualspice]

Edward did as the boy suggested, finding it very amusing indeed to 'pretend' to be people watching.
"So am I doing this right?" he asked, smiling as he tried to avoid eye contact, hands clasped tidily behind his back. "People watching, I mean. Though it is a rather interesting sport. And now, I really do feel like a bird, perched on a tower top, or tree, looking in on all the people masquerading below..."

He drew in a breath, which made his chest puff out before he continued.
"And I must admit, it has been a while since I've been in any social affairs. Awkward as it may seem, Master Riley, some of us can get rusty over the implications of propriety." Here he sighed and mulled things over, trying too look around to something interesting when a drunken Lady Valia Coleridge stormed past.

Edward politely stepped out of the way as the woman moved behind him and he turned to Riley with a shrug. "Maybe, we can play off a nonchalant routine... though I don't know.. what would your kestrel do in such a predicament? Those birds are rather sharp..."

Though perhaps he wouldn't have to do much as far as gaining attention, for the drunken Valia Coleridge topped all- and was soon topped herself as she had turned the dessert table too sharply, not noticing one of the servers carrying a heavy tray load of strawberry cheese puffs so when she turned the table-.. so did he and..

WHAM the lovely lady in pink was on the floor, the tray tumbling over her and gooping her dress and hair in it's debris. The cheese puffs were everywhere- and for a moment, Valia sat there in shock- the entire room going quiet, even long after the rattling tray had settled beside her lap.

And Edward whirled around and gaped in horror. Not wasting a moment, as no gentleman should, he stood before her and offered a hand asking, "Lady Valia, are you alright?"
And at that comment, she stomped her foot-
"Of course I'm not alright! Do I bloody look alright!? I'm covered in cream puffs!"she shouted, taking his hair and yanking herself to her feet, but nearly taking down Lord Edward Draven  in the process. Luckily, he was able to steady himself, as he frowned.
"Perhaps a kerchief.." Edward began to say, moving to take his from his breast coat pocket when her pink eyes flared like flames towards him at such an idea.

She stared at the wilted kerchief, then back to him, and tightened her hands into fists.
"What's a kerchief going to do! My dress is ruined! My hair is a mess!"

Blinking, Edward tried his best in hopes to calm her by saying, "Well, that much is obvious, Lady Valia but do you not want any help-"

"HELP!" she shouted, cutting him off and turning to him with a glare. "As if I'd want help by you! Just leave me alone, all of you !" and she turned to storm off, except instead of storming off, she slipped on the serving tray and the most unusual thing happened-
For the tray carried her all the way across the marble floor, arms spinning like pinwheels, mouth screaming before ...

CRASH!!!
She plowed right into Oscar Treyburn.



Wincing, Edward rushed over in order to aid the poor fool and excused himself from Riley's side. But instead f helping, he found himself merely flinching and unsure how to help, but remained nearby.. just in case as he found himself looking up at the women in their costumes, Riley's mom included as his brows raised up hopelessly as he breathed, "I.. I was just trying to help!"

[Vivi]

"My, that's... stronger than I thought it would be." Oscar was saying, wiping his watering eyes and making a mental note to go very slowly with whatever it was he'd been given. It wouldn't do for him to turn into some tumbling fool because of a couple of-

Crash! Everyone in the room turned to see the drunken Lady Valia fall in a spectacular show of pink frills and a lot of strawberry pastry. Oscar winced in sympathy as silence fell, every eye on the woman sitting in a pile of dessert.

And then Lord Edward stuck an oar in the wheel-spokes, and everything after that was happening too fast. His efforts unappreciated, Lady Valia shrieked and demonstrated for the whole hall to hear, turning on her heel to flounce away in a huff - and she would have done, were it not for an unfortunately placed tray and an equally badly placed Oscar. There was no time to leap aside, he barely had time to shove his sister a couple of inches before-

Wham!

His glass fell from his hand and shattered as they went down with a scream and a yell respectively, both of them landing in a heap in front of the whole guest list and poor Otto swamped by pink frills. Tumbling fool, was that what he'd been thinking? Angsar had a cruel sense of humour.

"Lady Valia!" He scrambled to get out from under her without too much improper pawing or shoving, ending up on his knees beside her with both hands over his mouth. His mask was askew, his curls and the gold of his cloak smeared with strawberries. "Oh my goodness, are you alright!?"

[visualspice]

Being caught in the center of attention, and in such disarray and in such a way where embarrassment didn't even begin to describe what she was feeling, Valia found her eyes stinging, nearly to tears as her heavy breasts heaved beneath the confines of her dress. And as she looked around from one person to another beneath her pink, sparkly mask, she did the only thing a proper lady could-
and draped a hand across her forehead, fainting resignedly into the young man's arms.

It was really too much to bear!

[kleineklementine]

Dahlia was just starting to suspect that Oscar was humoring her - and thus considering extracting the young man from the knot of excited older women now that the fun was over - when Lady Valia started her little scene. She didn't have time to do anything before...

Crash!

Well, the night was certainly picking up! That's what Dahlia thought as she regained her footing after the last-minute shove from Oscar that had saved her from his fate. She was caught by Knight-and-Horse, thankfully, who even discretely offered her some of his drink to help 'steady her nerves.' Dahlia politely declined, instead taking in the scene before her. She raised a glove hand to her mouth: half out of surprise, and half to hide her amusement. On one hand, however drunk the lady might be, Dahlia felt badly for anyone who ended up at the center of a scene quite like this. On the other hand, it was hilarious that Oscar had wound up on the receiving end of the event. Just when she thought he was going to get away without being to  much more embarrassed!

And then there was this poor man who'd been the original target of Valia's ire. Staring at the aftermath like a deer in carriage lights and stammering like a broken record. As the crowd began to close in around Oscar and Valia with smothering offers of help, Dahlia decided that the situation was out of her hands and that she might as well, instead, help this poor lost-looking soul. She shot Oscar an apologetic look and little shrug when there was an opening in the crowd between them, then slipped over to the frozen Edward, taking him lightly by the arm.

"Just back slowly away," she instructed in a stage whisper, ushering him one step back, her eyes still watching the unfolding mess, "while you still can."

Inside the knot that had formed around Valia and Oscar came the dismayed cry (probably from Elongated Cat), "Oh goodness! She's fainted!"

Now, Riley had been borrowing some of Jillian's books, and they always had ladies fainting and the like in them. He knew exactly what to do. Pouring the largest glass of what-might-have-been-water he could at the nearby drinks table, he rushed to the scene of commotion, pushing his way easily through the crowd, and flung the liquid onto the unconscious Valia (and also Oscar, of course). Unfortunately, it wasn't quite water, but the strong spirit Oscar had been drinking!

[visualspice]

Edward could have jumped from his skin when the woman approached, and turned to her, glancing into her eyes through her mask, framed and lovely in painted lashes as he finally caught her words and, although gaping a little, he found himself nodding in agreement as he silently obeyed.
Though as he took the red-winged bird by the arm, his eyes were still glued with horror to the scene, and when he noticed what Riley was doing, he let out a gasp, about to tell him to 'No! Riley! Don't do it!' but it was already too late.


OOC: I'll wait for Vivi to reply as Oscar before I post something as Valia <3

[Vivi]

He should have known it was all too good to be true. Just when he felt he could handle the discomfort, the world decided to up the stakes, and now here he was, crouching in squashed cake and spilled drink in full view of everyone. He'd wonder how it could get any worse, but if that didn't tempt fate, then nothing would.

Of course, it happened anyway. "D-don't you worry milday," He attempted to reassure her, the lady looking very near tears. "It's all just a dreadful accident, we'll have you set right." Clearly though, she'd reached the end of her tether, as the first thing that Lady Valia did upon regaining her senses was to lose them again. He scrabbled to catch her before she struck her head on the mosaic tiles, left cradling a strange woman on the floor, an awkward position to be sure. His sister thankfully had caught Lord Edward before he could make a bad situation worse - something he was supremely grateful of - but sadly that meant that no-one was watching her son.

"No Riley, don't-!" He saw what the boy was about to do a split second before it happened, but his warning shout was drowned in a glass of alcohol. There was little he could do to shield Valia or himself from it (thank Angsar it was a glass, and not a full pitcher) so unfortunately, both of them got a faceful, the fumes making him splutter and cough. It was times like this he wished he had Braxton's vocabulary. A few good swear-words would have been great right about now.

"Oh for goodness- What's next? Shall we have the ceiling cave in?" He struggled to his feet, the superior weight of Valia (or more accurately, her dress) causing him to stagger. He looked a mess, rumpled and sodden and now stinking of those bloody spirits. He was only glad his mask was still in place, so they couldn't see the mortification on his face. Take control. He told himself, taking a shuddering breath. Calm down, don't panic. Damage control. "Can't we find somewhere to lay her down? She at least needs some air!"

[kleineklementine]

Oh no. Dahlia caught what Riley had in mind and, like everyone else, opened her mouth to stop him too late. Instead, she clapped a hand to her mouth, wincing as she witnessed her son's action. After the spirits hit Oscar and Valia full on, she let out a small groan of dismay. Oh Riley...

"Sorry, you're going to have to orchestrate your own escape," she informed Edward, looking up apologetically at him. "The little feather-bag trying to swoop to the rescue is mine..."

Dahlia gave his arm a little squeeze to give him the reassurance he seemed to need, then hitched her dress with one hand and hurried over to Riley, pushing her way past Elongated Cat and Knight-and-Horse. She grabbed Riley by the cuff of his jacket and pulled him roughly to her side. This might appear to be an admonishing gesture, but really it was to remove Riley from the vindictive path of Valia should she wake up. The last thing that Dahlia wanted was the drunk young woman to exact her wrath on Dahlia's son.

Riley, for his part, looked quite guilty (and a bit confused!) in light of the shocked reactions to his efforts. Hadn't he done it right? When Dahlia gave him an incredulous What were you thinking? look, he insisted in an urgent whisper, "But that's what you're supposed to do when a lady faints! I read it in one of Illi's books."

Dahlia heaved a little sigh and shook her head at Riley. Leave it to one of Jillian's books. "This isn't a book, kiddo," and she had to stifle some amusement from her voice when she added, "and that wasn't water. You're going to have to apologize when she wakes up."

This illicited terrified expression from Riley. That woman was terrifying! All she'd done was yell... and run into things! And he'd just been trying to help her. But in reality, Dahlia was in no rush for Valia to come to, either.

While Dahlia had this exchange with her son, the Badger reappeared with a chair, carrying it high over the heads of the gathered crowd. "Okay, okay, make some room, people. This isn't a show! Here you go, lad." He set the chair down next to Oscar and helped the poor, ragged lion transfer Valia to the chair. Looking up at the horror-struck ladies, he demanded, "Surely one of you has smelling salts."

"Oh! I do!" The response came from Narwhal, and Dahlia was hardly surprised such a woman would have smelling salts on hand. She fished the satchel out of her bodice and handed them to Badger, who waved the salts under Valia's nose.

Before she could come to, Dahlia squeezed Riley's shoulder and told him quietly, "Go find one of your aunts or uncles. You can come back and apologize later when she's recovered. And don't think you'll get away without it!" Dahlia was sure Oscar needed her more now than Riley did, and once the boy scurried off, she came to Oscar's side and brushed some cake off of her brother's sleeve. There wasn't anything to say at the moment. She was just here for moral support now!


Riley hurried out of the circle of gathered people. He did not need to be told twice! But rather than finding one of his aunts or uncles, he returned to Edward. The boy was still looking rather pale and surprised by what had happened. "That," he told Edward breathlessly, "did not go as planned!"