Event | Masquerade Ball

[redlightgreenlight]

Characters: All
Date: The Evening of October 30th
Location: The Courtyard of Public Opinion
Situation: Valdis and 'Rue' have put together an All Hallows Eve Masquerade Ball.
Warnings/Rating: None

The day has finally arrived and the morning and afternoon are spent putting together what will be the scene of the Masquerade Ball at the Courtyard of Public Opinion. Kedan can be seen coming and going, carrying in decorations and lights and later on, various foods and desserts. Valdis, and Rue can occasionally be glimpsed directing people and moving things around, but anyone not a part of the setup will be ushered on and discouraged from lingering.

As night falls, the Courtyard will be brightly lit and ready for guests...

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[redlightgreenlight]

She's drifting through the crowd, offering smiles, compliments and other small talk, ensuring the everything is running smoothly before allowing herself to relax and enjoy herself. It wasn't hard to get lost in the pleasant emotions of those around her, everyone seemed to be having a good time. Everything was going perfectly. When she took to the dance floor, there was little shortage of partners and she twirled from one pair of arms to the next as the songs changed, pausing every once in awhile to show a few steps or adjust her partner's hold. She was all smiles and laughter, perhaps for the first time in a long time, she was truly happy. The current song ended and after a curtsy to her partner, she would turn looking for the next.

[wrathfulkhan]

"Valdis."

Gene was attired in a classy black-and-red ensemble, his mask a black dragon with red-and-gold highlights. Someone fishing for meaning in it might say it meant he'd been letting his boyfriend make him a better person. True, though unrelated.

"Enjoying yourself?"

[redlightgreenlight]

"You look quite dashing," She replied, letting her smile answer his question. "Care to dance?" Her smile took on a teasing edge, "or is Tony claiming them all?"

[wrathfulkhan]

"I'm flattered," he said with a smile of his own - a genuine one, not a smirk. Less of a rarity than it had once been, perhaps, but still something to be made note of. "And you look quite lovely. As Pepper might say, we clean up nicely."

To answer her question, he sank into a short bow, kin to one he might offer his opponent before a sparring match. "You're one of the few people I'd trust to dance with me. Besides," he said, his teasing look matching hers, "I have a boyfriend, not a jailer. You might not hear this often, but tonight, to me, you're not a threat."

[redlightgreenlight]

"Pepper is a smart girl," she replied, offering a curtsy in response to his bow, and smiling back at him. Trust, even if it was just to dance...How odd that their friendship had grown out of a near death experience. She was still surprised that he had forgiven her, but she appreciated it.

"Just tonight?" She teased, rising out of the curtsy as the music began to play.

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene was no stranger to doing terrible things when one wasn't in one's right mind; that was why he'd been so apt to forgive, even when Tony hadn't.

"I meant romantically," he said with a laugh. "Shall we dance?"

[redlightgreenlight]

She raised a brow, her smile still completely teasing, "The question still stands."

But she steps forward, listening for the rhythm of the music, it's perfect for a friendly waltz, "Are you leading or shall I?"

[wrathfulkhan]

"Let's not test any other way," he says with a grin, "it might ruin the festive atmosphere. You lead, I think; I don't know this one."

[redlightgreenlight]

She took his right hand and placed it on her lower back, put her left hand on his should and grasped his left hand in her right, holding it up for the closed position.

"It's a slower paced dance," she said as she quickly explained the basic waltz box step. "You'll do fine."

[wrathfulkhan]

"Oh?" he said, the part of his face visible showing a cheeky smirk. "You think I wouldn't be able to handle something quicker?"

He picked up the box step easily enough; his footwork during dojo work always had been on point (though never en pointe).

[redlightgreenlight]

She simply smiled and moved into the progressive step, which allowed them to move across the floor and maneuver between other dancers.

"I'm certain that you are quite capable of going faster," she replied, "Those dances, however, require a certain level of intimacy that we have just established is not good for our health."

In other words, Tony would probably disapprove.

[wrathfulkhan]

"So they must," he said as they move across the floor. "I'd consider you more of an expert than myself. This has never been my forte."

As if Tony wasn't dancing with other people, anyway.

[redlightgreenlight]

"You are certainly a quick learner."

Next came a natural turn, then a return to the box step for a few moments, before she threw in an underarm turn.

"But yes, I have a history of dancing with powerful men," she sighed, "The things you learn out of necessity."

[gistful]

After his dance with China, Anton was perhaps understandably discombobulated. He didn't actively seek out Valdis as much as tried to put distance between himself and the source of his unease. Maybe he should have expected to draw attention from Valdis, given the state of his emotions.

They were hotly intense and difficult to parse individually; blends of fury and hatred and an uncharacteristic anxiety, and, amidst all that, a kind of unwilling interest.

[redlightgreenlight]

It wasn't until the song ended and she disengaged from her somewhat controversial partner that she felt the somewhat out-of-place negative emotions drifting among the pleasant and joyful ones. She immediately looked around, searching for the source that was somehow not overwhelmed by the masses. Anton.

Concern moved across her face and she gracefully crossed the floor to where he stood; putting on a smile as she gently took his hand in hers. She didn't know what had caused his emotional distress, but it didn't belong here, not now, and it was her job to take his mind off whatever had caused it.

"Care to dance, Fadir?" She asked, tugging on his hand to draw him further onto the dance floor.

[gistful]

It was only once Valdis had come near and taken his hand that Anton turned, staring down at her. For a moment his eyes flickered with something impassioned, rage or hatred or something else; but it was only distant. A moment later he focussed on her, and it was gone.

"Please," he said, following her prompt until they reached a clear area.. His voice was tight, the sort where emotions were near the surface.

Valdis wasn't nearly as tall as China, Anton noted absently as they took positions. That was good. A discrepancy. A difference on which to focus.

[redlightgreenlight]

She didn't miss the look in his eyes, nor the deep rage that simmered below the surface. He was a difficult man to affect in such a manner and Valdis wondered once again what had affected him so badly. She kept her smile bright, pretending that she hadn't noticed anything, pretending that everything was fine.

"You know," she said as the music started, "This is our first father-daughter dance."

[gistful]

If Anton had had the capacity, he would have been worried Valdis would bring up his mood, try to figure out what was wrong. He did have the capacity for a bloom of grateful affection and it felt like a cool drop; not enough to assuage the rest.

She wasn't asking. Just distracting, without him having to make a request. The Dead Men had been like that. "So it is," he agreed. He was leading, but a little more aggressively than he usually would have. It was unlikely Valdis had missed the tension. But Valdis was keeping up, so although Anton forced his muscles to loosen he didn't ease the pace. "Your evening has turned into rather a success."

[redlightgreenlight]

He was agitated, she could feel, not just through her empathy, but in his grip on her hand, in the driving pace, in the way he moved. If her reflexes had been slower, if she had been less experienced, then it might have been a problem. It took a lot to drive Anton to this level of agitation, she knew because she hadn't yet managed it. Valdis didn't know how much control he currently had, and she couldn't risk setting off the gist, not now, not when there were so many people around, especially not when she didn't know of anyone left who could stop it.

"It has," she replied, her voice cheerful, containing none of her own tension. For all appearances, she was completely at ease. "Sometimes people just need a party to boost morale." She laughed, "Besides, it's an excuse to wear a fancy dress and dance with my favorite people."

[gistful]

"I'm glad to be among them, in that case." Ordinarily Anton might have made a joke about coming beneath Yunxu, but the thought made irritation boil. Then he decided that was the best reason to do so. "Though I do question my ranking under Yunxu, if so."

It didn't work, precisely, but it made him feel a little more in control nevertheless. When the jokes stopped, that was when it was time to worry. It was the Dead Men way.

"I have received some compliments for the clothes you chose for me," he added, and regretted it. China had been among those compliments. He fell silent again, focussing on the music and the steps and letting that bleed away the heat in his chest.

[redlightgreenlight]

She frowned, but it was more the teasing kind, though she felt his irritation and it bothered her. "That was business," she replied, her voice light, "This is pleasure, besides, Yunxu isn't nearly as fine a dancer as you are."

The teasing frown was quickly replaced by a smile, this one a tad less genuine as it became harder to focus. His emotions were a stark contrast to those of everyone else around him, a burning darkness in a sea of light as it were.

"Jeg elsker deg, Fadir," She said, loud enough for only him to hear.

disclaimer for google translate

[gistful]

"Flatterer." He might have tried to force another bit of humour, but her words at the last made any response die on Anton's tongue. It didn't take away the heat of the gist, but it shocked him away from feeling it so greatly and that would take the edge away from Valdis too.

They were words he hadn't heard, or spoken, in a very long time. Five hundred years. The Dead Men didn't express their affection this way. "Is breá liom tú ró, mo leanbh," he said softly, and managed a smile. It fell a little flat, but not completely, and came out shades of wry. "I'm sorry I'm not ... better company, tonight."

I use Google Translate all the time :P

[redlightgreenlight]

The intense anger suddenly lightened, falling to the outskirts of her senses, still there, but not nearly as strong. His words, matching hers, brought a sense of relief as well as joy.

"I recall several incidents when I haven't been the best of company," she replied, "But you were there anyway."

She pulled her hand away from his, bringing the dance to a halt, laying her head against his chest and closing her eyes as she hugged him. Hugs were soothing, or at least, Wan's always had been.

"Evandau may have been an awful leader," she said quietly, "But I'm glad he brought me here, because I met you."

[gistful]

The hug, somehow, was unexpected, and it made Anton pause. That Valdis rested her head on his chest was not lost on him, or on the gist, and while it would be warmer than the usual human's temperature it was at least constant. Controlled.

Anton rested his hand on the back of her head, using his thumb to brush hair behind her ears, and the other on her back. "He wasn't so bad," he said quietly. "Distrusting and prone to shouldering more than necessary, perhaps. It was just unfortunate those traits contributed to his death."

[redlightgreenlight]

He was warm, his touch gentle, he demeanor calmer than before and she was glad that, for once, she had been able to help him.

"When you put it like that, it makes him seem like one of us," she replied, "I don't believe he was a bad person, but a leader cannot afford to be distrusting. Wary, yes, but they have to be able to rely on someone."

Like she could rely on him, and like he could rely on her, though he might not know it.