after-party ♔ march

[wynn]

♬ Jeux d'eau - Ravel

WHO || Wynn, any and all Knights not currently on missions (if you are uncertain if your character would be at the castle for this, ask!)
WHAT || Squiring Ceremony Afterparty
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Ballroom
WHEN || March 1st, 2015, 6:00PM [backdated]
HOW || Prose OR Actionspam

The "afterparty" is rumored to be the real main event of the night. A black-tie affair in the lavish, opulent ballroom, it is every new Knight's chance to mingle and meet some of their new brothers in arms. Of course, a couple hours are provided following the ceremony for everyone to change, do hair and makeup, and choose from the vast array of formal attire in the closets of the balcony "dressing rooms" located at the top of spiraled staircases on either side of the ballroom. A separate dressing room exists for men and women, and they include full bathrooms (with, thankfully, very modern plumbing).

The squires are usually among the last to arrive, and the ballroom is full to the brim with a fancy array of people, of all shapes, sizes and species.

Hope you aren't shy. They're all here to meet you.

Feel free to make your own open threads for people to come congratulate your newly pledged knight.

ooc; also if your Knight wants to get all gussied up, you can make a Disguise (Cha) check for how good they were at hair/makeup/stylin', etc! This goes for... any time.

Comments

[wanttobeahero]

[ Henry got semi-dressed up for the party. He's not really looking for anyone in particular, but as he makes his way through the crowd and spots a familiar face (okay, he's pretty pleased to see Cora), he smiles to himself and carefully makes his way towards her. ]

Getting some air?

[ Given how she's dressed, he's pretty sure she didn't mean to be here, so...yeah, he's teasing a little. With a smile. ]

[impetere]

[No, she did not mean to be here, but that doesn't mean she's not pleased to see Henry. Also pleased with the fact that he's semi-dressed up, because, well, it's Henry. She glances over at him with a shy smile before ducking her head a bit.]

Yeah. And accidentally came back in the wrong door.

[wanttobeahero]

[ His smile widens a little when she ducks her head, but then he glances around at the crowd of people before looking back at Cora. ]

Let's finish sneaking out and get away from the crowd. It's fun, but...a little much after a while.

[ Plus, he figures she'd like it, too. ]

[impetere]

[She grins up at him and nods, before gently reaching for his hand.]

Yeah, I agree. C'mon.

[There are way better places to be right now than the ballroom - no offense newbie squires.]

[wanttobeahero]

[ He looks down at her hand and grips it in return, grinning back as he spares a glance over his shoulder before making his way outside with her. It's almost like instant relief just to be out in the open air, and he smiles, looking up for a minute and closing his eyes, taking a deep breath. ]

That feels better.

[ Then he opens his eyes and smiles as he looks over at her, still holding her hand gently. ]

You doing okay?

[impetere]

[That's a complicated question. There have been a lot of shifts and changes in the past few months and some of them she's still adjusting to, but for the most part things are good. She's found ways to keep herself busy, and that is the important thing.]

Yeah. Definitely not doing bad, anyway.

[wanttobeahero]

[ Honestly, that's similar to how Henry's been feeling lately, so he can agree with that sentiment. ]

Same here. It's been a weird few months. My dad showing up, one of my moms not remembering me. I wasn't sure about going to the party, but... [ He shrugs with a little smile. ] I was hoping I'd get to see you.

[impetere]

[And there's that shy smile again because underneath all the bristles and tough girl attitude, she's still a teenage girl.]

I met him - your dad? He seems really nice.

[wanttobeahero]

He is. I didn't really get to know him that well before...everything. But, yeah, he's a really good guy. I'm glad you like him.

[ He's trying not to think much about it, but it's kind of nice they've already met and gotten to know each other a little. ]

Do you wanna stick around here or maybe go for a walk?

[ From where they're at right now, the music can still be heard so he wonders about asking her to dance. ]

[impetere]

[That thought doesn't even cross her mind, she's been out of teenage girl world for so long, and she just takes the question as it is, glancing around at the options, before shrugging.]

I'm good with either. Do you want to get away from the party more?

[wanttobeahero]

[ He glances back to the ballroom, then at her, and then...beyond. Partially he's not sure what she'll think if he asks, and then another part of him thinks it can't hurt just to go for it. ]

Well...I was thinking we could enjoy the music a little? If you wanna dance, maybe. And then we could go for a walk?

[impetere]

Dance?

[The question knocks her off guard, eyes widening a bit at the prospect.]

I, uh. I've never really ... danced?

[wanttobeahero]

I'm not really...the best at it, but it could be kind of fun, maybe? If we both fail miserably, at least we're in it together.

[ And just have a nice laugh about it if it ends badly. But at least her reaction is better than an outright no. ]

[impetere]

Um.

[She glances back to the rest of the party for a moment before nodding slowly.]

Okay. Sure.

[wanttobeahero]

[ Now he's kind of wondering what he got himself into, if he'll regret this when they both realize he's terrible at it. But he's not about to back out, either, not with this chance in front of him. So he clears his throat and tries to seem confident (bluff 13).

He smiles, reaching out to wrap an arm around her waist and take her hand with his other hand. ]

Go easy on me.

[impetere]

[She's too nervous about the dancing to really pay attention to that bluff so she's going to believe that confidence and hope it informs her own a little. One arms slides around her waist, and the other takes her hand and he's so much closer than he's been before that she can't really hold is gaze and she just focuses on her feet instead.

Which helps, because as far as dancing goes she's doing ... okay. For now (perform dance 11).]

[wanttobeahero]

[ The moment they start dancing together, some of that nervousness fades, and it just feels...nice. Part of him can't believe it's happening. He likes her, he knows that, but dancing with her sort of seals it for him - yeah, he definitely likes her. More than if she was just a friend, though he's in no hurry to beyond that, and if she never wants to, well, he likes just knowing her. Surprisingly, he's not doing too bad as they dance (perform dance 15), maybe it's just from relaxing enough to enjoy it. He picks his head up a little just to smile. ]

[impetere]

[Cora honestly doesn't know what her feelings are doing. She's never been in this situation before and while in all other areas of her life she's brash and charging in without really thinking things through, this is different, mostly because she doesn't really know how to approach it. This doesn't seem like something she should just barrel through.

(She does like him though. That much she's sure of.)

She glances up at him when she catches his head moving before smiling back, her head ducking shyly.]

You're pretty good at this.

[wanttobeahero]

[ He knows she's not the type who would just say that and not mean it. At least, he thinks so. So he must really be okay at this, and that makes him relax a little more, the smile permanently etched on his face for now. ]

So are you. I'm glad we took a chance.

[ He squeezes her hand a little as well. ]

[impetere]

Me too.

[And she's glad she hasn't fallen flat on her face yet. Also slightly regretting not going back and changing when she realized what was happening. She feels underdressed in comparison to her partner, and while she isn't really a dress up sort of girl, she at least feels that she could have done this differently.

Which isn't what she wants to be focusing on at the moment, but she isn't entirely sure what to say. So she keeps her eyes focused on the shoulder where her hand is resting, before shifting it just slightly so that it was more curled against his shoulder. The way it bends her arm moves her a little bit closer, but she doesn't think that Henry would mind.]

[wanttobeahero]

[ Henry only really notices the way she's dressed in the sense that she hadn't been planning to come. But he doesn't care about anything other than just...being with her. This is nice, and he doesn't mind at all when she's suddenly a little closer than she was. He smiles again, just a faint, soft thing. ]

Maybe after this we should go watch a movie? It'll be pretty empty in the TV room, I think.

[impetere]

[She glances up again, then back to the party before nodding.]

Yeah, sure. Movies are ... good.

[She's still playing a lot of catch up in terms of pop culture, but watching them with friends is fun, and if there's something happening to distract them, maybe it'll take some of the pressure off.]

I'll get popcorn and meet you upstairs?

[Because she has to get momentarily sidetracked by her BFF.]

[wanttobeahero]

[ When he pulls back, he smiles softly and nods. And he's glad that gives him just a little time to dress down really fast, not exactly wanting to relax with movies and popcorn wearing the outfit he's wearing. This'll be better. ]

Yep, I'll meet you there in a few.

[ And then he just lightly squeezes her wrist before taking a shortcut back to his room to change, then head upstairs. ]

[impetere]

[And she will have a brief chat with Abigial, detour to the kitchen and meet him in the TV room, bowl of popcorn and a smile when she sees him.]

Fair warning - I haven't seen a lot of movies, so I don't really know what's good or not.

[wanttobeahero]

[ He's got his legs stretched out on the coffee table in front of him, wearing just sweats and a t-shirt, way more comfortable. But he sits up a little when he sees her, giving her a little wave. ]

That's okay, I can work with that. Is there...any type of movie you completely hate, though?