after-party ♔ july

[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 || July 1st, 2013, 6:00PM
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

[littledhampir]

[Even sharing headspace with Lissa hadn't rendered Rose immune to the effect the ethereal Moroi had on people, the Dhampir standing back and watching the way others responded to her as she mingled with the other Knights.

Through the bond Rose could feel the nervous energy that coursed through her and yet even now as she lingered on the outskirts, Lissa looked more like she belonged here than Rose ever had or probably would.

Wrestling two glasses of champagne from a waiter, Rose's face was the picture of strained friendliness as she approached the blonde, all but thrusting the glass in her direction as she tried for a smile that looked tight.]

So Wynn's kind of a badass huh... [Small-talk. Not something she excelled at but it was a start.]

[lastdragomir]

I don't know if badass is the word. [Most of the nervousness fades when Rose approaches, the sheer comfort at being with her best friend (even if her best friend doesn't remember her -- they've lived through worse, she hopes) enveloping her in a warm feeling and chasing away stray butterflies. ] You and Dimitri are badass, he is... [She shrugs after a brief struggle to find the right word. She can't.] He is something else. ...No offense.

[littledhampir]

[Some of the strain on her face fades along with Lissa's nerves, Rose expelling a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding in as she sips from her glass.]

Kind of scary? [A tiny smile pulling at the corner of her mouth before silence fell again, Rose's fingers drumming the side of her glass as she fought for words that didn't feel forced.]

So did we go to things like this back home? [She paused then adds.] Cause if we did, I'm assuming you dragged me...

[lastdragomir]

[Lissa nods, exhaling softly, almost a sigh. Part of her wants to just tell Rose she doesn't have to do this. She doesn't have to try if she doesn't want to, Lissa will help her as she learns how to block and they can just go their separate ways. But it's Rose, and Lissa is selfish. So she doesn't say that even though she knows she should, even though it would be easier for Rose.]

We did. You went very begrudgingly, bribery was involved most of the time. I had to go, for my family. [She lifts a shoulder in a shrug. She may be good at it, but she didn't always particularly enjoy it.] You were better at the school parties, we both were.

[littledhampir]

[It would be easier if she could just write this off and not have to deal with it but Rose wasn’t here just because it was her duty or because they were linked in ways she was still trying to understand – again. She was here because of the feelings that came through the bond when Lissa looked at her sometimes. Knowing that somebody had such unshakeable faith in you was a very powerful thing.]

Bribery huh. [She shrugs.] I’m strangely okay with this. [Trying for a small smile as she sipped her drink.] Did it involve food cause I do remember there never being enough at those things. [A beat.] I remember some stuff, just not - [You?] The details.

[lastdragomir]

Standing order of double cheeseburgers and fries. [She grins, such simple bribery, but it falls back to a softer, though still as effusive, smile as they move on.]

I remember you and Dimitri. [Though not that Rose and Dimitri are a Thing.] And court, but its hazy, like there're things there I don't remember mixed in with the parts I do remember. I remember St. Vincent's, but not any of our friends. [Her expression falls further, knowing she is missing something huge and important and not having any idea of what. Or, more accurately, who. But it feels so easy, talking to Rose, that she just sort of babbles on, forehead wrinkling as she puts an effort into trying to remember her past.] I know my family died, but I can't remember their names. I remember our bond and about Spirit and --

[She is about to say something about Spirit's effect on the bond but she snaps her mouth shut and slams the breaks on in her mind, forcibly thinking about something else (oh, hey, that guy over there is cute) so Rose won't be able to poke around and see her struggles with depression and where Spirit use could lead... She isn't very practised at keeping Rose out but she tries damn hard. (Will save 18) ]

[littledhampir]

More the events and the things you’ve experienced but not the people you experienced them with. [She understood what Lissa felt because Rose felt it too, not just in the literal bond sense but because it wasn’t all that long ago that she’d showed up here and had tried to wade through the haze that was her past herself. In true Rose fashion however, she’d pushed all that aside, chose to live in the now and file that under things she’d ignore until… now.]

What was that?! [Surprise and confusion etching across her features, Rose’s tone sharper than she may have intended as she felt the mental wall go up inside her head, like a blanket being thrown over a radio and muting all the sound, leaving only a low hum until the impressions that came through once more felt out of place.]

You just did something then with your - [Waving her hand around.] Brain?

[lastdragomir]

Yes I did. [She isn't going to lie, that would be useless, so she answers with a kind of tone that brooks no argument. Except... It's Rose, so she figures there will be an argument regardless and she braces herself for one, shoulders stiffening slightly.] You can't block, so I had to.

[littledhampir]

[Oh Lissa. It's good that you know her well. It saves you thinking you have a hope in hell of Rose letting this go.]

That's not an answer. You've been in my head all week, why did you decide to block me just then?

[lastdragomir]

Actually you have been in my head. [Some of her frustration at that, that their bond is only a one way street, seeps into the words before she can stop it, making it come out sharper than intended.]

There are some things you don't need to know. [A beat.] At least not right now.

[It isn't distrust that stops her, she trusts Rose implicitly. She trusts herself less and she doesn't trust the Spirit from bleeding into Rose. And selfishly, she doesn't want Rose to stop her from healing.]

[littledhampir]

[Rose opened her mouth to answer back but promptly closed it, frustration to much what she felt coming through the bond etched across her features. She knew the blonde didn’t like this situation any more than she did but it was the fact that she knew that and a bunch of other stuff that continued to make her irritation grow. Everything about this situation felt completely familiar and yet not at the same time.]

You know me right? Which means you should know that saying that – only makes me want to know even more.

[lastdragomir]

And we've known each other since we were children. I'm just as stubborn as you, Rose Hathaway.

[At least about this. She sets her jaw and her mouth turns down into the hint of a frown.] I will tell you, when you need to know. But right now you don't and I won't. [A beat.] Don't make me.

[littledhampir]

[Tension hunches her shoulders at those words. It was nothing new, Vasa - Lissa, had explained this already but it was strange to hear it, know it was the truth but still have no memory of it. The lines across her forehead deepened, vanishing only when she huffed in frustration.]

Well for the record I'm calling bullshit on you getting to decide when I need to know things but... whatever.

[Read: The only reason Rose is going to drop this is because she's already come up with a plan to find out what she wants. All she needed was a certain Russian and this weird bond thing.]

[lastdragomir]

Like you wouldn't do the same?

[REALLY ROSE, REALLY?]

[littledhampir]

Yeah but that's different. I'm the Guardian. You're the Moroi. You're on a need to know basis while I need to know everything.

[Would you expect any different from her? Really.]

[lastdragomir]

[She's about to say shut up, because Rose is pushing all her buttons and her frustration is rising, coupled with the fact that she is still actively trying to keep Rose out.]

No, we're both squires now. The only one that needs to know is Wynn. [So there. Well, maybe their respective mentors, too... Lissa would ask hers, see what she thought.]

[littledhampir]

[And this conversation is exactly why after it finishes, Rose ends up at the bar, her current annoyance written all over her face.]

Fine! I'll just get him to tell me then. [Yeah the chances of that were... close to zero but Bluff Check 20]

[lastdragomir]

Have fun with that.

[Part of her wants to... not fight at all. But the other part is stubborn and spoiled.]

[littledhampir]

Yeah - well... You have fun trying to keep me out of your head.

[And all that was missing from this was a couple of rounds of I know you are but what am I.]

[lastdragomir]

[They are just sass masters.]

Luckily I actually know how. [And with a flounce, she stalks off. Though as she stomps off like a petulant toddler, a little thought goes back. I'm sorry. And that's all Rose will get, because Lissa is still annoyed.]

[littledhampir]

[A petulant comeback was on the tip of her tongue but before Rose could form the words, Lissa was walking away from her, the brunette's eyes narrowing into a half scowl.

Later, when she got over herself, the apology would mean something to her but unfortunately, for now, Lissa using the bond only seemed to further fan her irritation, Rose too stalking away... right for the bar!]