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...

Comments

[gistful]

China was right: Anton didn't. At least, not that it was the only thing. His gaze flickered when she threw back her head, following the line of her throat. His hand itched with the memory of having it under his palm, all the worse due to that taunting pet name. As if she owned him. His fingers curled in on her back, but aborted before they became a fist.

It was hardly more than a moment before his gaze snapped up again, but with as close as they were, it was unlikely China missed it.

"Persuade me?" Anton asked in a low voice--too low to even be flat. The slide of her hand upward made his skin prickle, and his heart beat fast, and it took effort to keep his gaze on her face instead of down to her bared throat. Was she even using magic on him? He couldn't quite tell, and that was discomforting all on its own.

He wanted to ask, wasn't sure he could afford it, wasn't sure he could afford not. In the end, the only reason not to ask was for pride's sake, so Anton said cautiously, "Are you already trying to 'persuade' me?"

[inkulcation]

And here she was, not even making a magical effort. How flattering. Even if that shift in focus was more likely up to Shudder's imagining ripping her throat out rather than any more pleasant caress-- the heat in his gaze was not altogether a peaceful thing.

"Hardly," China said, restraining another laugh in favor of smiling up at Shudder. "Rest assured, you would take note if I did. No, tonight all I meant was to ask. Won't you favor me with a second dance, my darling?" Even if her touch was a little more familiar than just dance partners warranted, even if that phrasing intentionally mimicked how she'd swayed him at the beginning of the month, even if she was calculating every move to draw his eyes and his attention and remind him of the woman pressed against him--

Shudder would never believe she had no other ulterior motive. It would gnaw at him, looking for the catch, wondering what she wanted. And so China had none other, truly, save to make him wonder. For the moment.

[gistful]

Yes.

The word almost tripped itself off his tongue, but Anton bit it until he tasted copper, and the line of his jaw was visibly tense beneath the edge of his mask. Unconsciously he licked his lips--unconsciously, with the gist's heat stoked at the taste of blood--and said shortly, "No."

She claimed she wasn't expending any effort above the baseline, but not only could Anton not tell; if it was true, just her baseline was making him stumble. China used the truth as much as lies to her advantage. He couldn't be sure.

"But I do hope you're not lying," he said, and in the movement between one step and another his hand slid up her shoulder, his thumb grazing across her collarbone where her love-sigils lay. The step ended and his thumb dug in, just enough to be warning--possibly enough to bruise--as his hand slid back down to where it should be. "There are ways to turn some things off."

[inkulcation]

Well, that was a pity, but she appeared to have accomplished what she set out to do, if the tension in his jaw and neck were anything to go by. China elected for tonight not to push, especially in light of that pointed pressure at her collarbone. Nothing compared to what he'd done to her wrist, of course, but Shudder was stronger than most men. Even that much would be sensitive to the touch for a little while, if it didn't outright bruise.

And the music was coming toward a close, and she would perplex him more by not fulfilling his expectations. "As you will," she said, continuing to smile serenely. The hand she had on his arm she let trail downward, a light tracery along his arm till she could take his hand, infinitely gentle in contrast to his pointed dig as she turned it palm-up in hers. "Far be it from me to stay you, my darling."

His focus seemed to be there, at least, and so China dared one last thing, reached with the hand lately on his shoulder to nudge the wolf-mask up an inch or two. And-- was that blood? China didn't dally to think it over, sure Shudder would not give her the time to contemplate, and so she simply leaned up to press a soft kiss at the corner of his mouth, where it could be taken a few different ways. Then she released him swiftly, stepping back before any return could be made. "Thank you for the dance," she said, and the curl of her lips was decidedly satisfied as she slipped back into the crowd, trailing only a wave of her fingers and a sweep of ice-blue sleeve.

[gistful]

Anton stepped back the very moment China gave him any leeway to do so, but even that wasn't terribly far, since she didn't release her grip on him. Her hand drew his attention first, if only because of how many sigils she held in it and the fact he had just threatened some of them. Like it or not, China's magic was more subtle, and there were things she could do in a crowded room which left him with no defence or retaliation.

Anton realised the mistake the moment her other hand left his shoulder, but by that point she had already pushed up his mask. He may as well have been granite for all the response he gave to the kiss, except that the hand she held palm-up clenched convulsively. Fortunate for her, that it hadn't still been on her waist.

But it shocked him, the wrathful, wanting heat that rushed through him then--as though he and the gist were, for a moment, in complete agreement instead of at odds, and combined to focus entirely on China. He didn't move because he didn't dare. He could have done anything, if he had.

It was only as China moved away that Anton allowed himself to reach up and touch where she'd kissed him; the area felt like it was burning.

Sooner or later. Her or you.

Still too warm. He bit his knuckles, hidden by the tilt of the mask, until some of the heat had faded. It had been a long time since the gist had come with words.

And yet, for all that, his gaze had tracked China's back until she was completely hidden by the crowd.