after-party ♔ september

[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 || September 6th, 2014, 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

[wanttobeahero]

[ Henry enjoys meeting people, he's pretty friendly, but there are definitely moments when he just needs to take a breath, step back, and observe rather than be in the thick of things. Looks like the young girl by the wall is thinking the same thing. Remembering her from the squiring ceremony, he approaches with a soft smile. He's looking good by most standards (disguise 18), and that helps with some of his nervousness.

He knows he'll be good at this, just...there's a lot on his shoulders now. On everyone's shoulders, of course. And he wants to excel. But tonight, it's just about relaxing and having some fun. ]

How are you feeling about everything?

[impetere]

[Cora's trying not to think about the weight of it all. She can handle responsibility. She's handled it since her first shift, something her mother had drilled into her head since she was a small child. Beacon Hills was their territory, and it was their responsibility to protect it. With the Knights, it was the world and that seems like a much larger responsibility, but with her brother here, there really isn't anywhere else she'd rather be.

She returns the smile in kind, even if it's slightly awkward, but nods.]

Okay. It's just ... been a while since I've been around this many people at once.

[wanttobeahero]

[ There's still a lot to adjust to, namely the fact that he's squired to Hook Killian, and that his mother is in this world, but doesn't know him.

Those thoughts aren't suited for a night like this, though. ]

Yeah, you kind of need some time to just catch your breath.

Do you know anyone here already?

[impetere]

[She nods.]

A couple. Wynn let me live here for a while before actually joining up so I got to meet a few people.

[She glances out over the crowd before turning back to Henry.]

You?

[wanttobeahero]

Sort of.

It's a little weird.

[ How best to explain this? ]

I know them, but...they don't know me.

[impetere]

[Her eyes widen a bit at that, before she glances to him like that's something she recognizes.]

The Veil made them forget?

[wanttobeahero]

Yeah.

[ He bites his lip for just a moment, takes a deep breath, and the moment passes, the melancholy flickering away. They're here, not all of them, but some of them, and he'll hold onto that. He holds her gaze, though, a soft look in his eyes, like he can tell that maybe she gets it on some level, too. ]

At least we're not separated anymore, right? Silver lining, I guess.

[impetere]

[She nods. She and Derek were separated for a long time before she found him in the castle. Even if he doesn't remember her, he's there and not dead. That counts for something, doesn't it?]

My brother forgot me too.

[A beat.]

Well, he forgot everything. So ... it wasn't exclusively me.

[wanttobeahero]

God, I'm sorry.

[ And that's not just a line, there's genuine sadness in his voice, a heaviness when he speaks. He gets it, and he really is sorry she has to go through it, too. ]

Not a great start to things, I guess.

[impetere]

[She shakes her head.]

Before I got here, I thought he was dead. Even forgetting everything, just him being alive is a bonus.

[wanttobeahero]

[ Oh. Wow. That's even worse.

At least when he'd been separated from his family, they were alive, and he's never allowed himself to believe otherwise about them; to do so would've made him crazy by now. ]

That would be.

Have you told him anything yet?

[ And did he take it well, that's the real question. ]

[impetere]

[She gives a bit of a shrug.]

We're working on it. I'm trying not to overload him.

[As of right now, it mostly consists of the fact that he knows she's his sister, and that he has another sister, but they're building up to the rest, a little bit at a time.]

[wanttobeahero]

Yeah, that's a lot to take in. Is he...handling it well, so far?

[ He wonders, because he'll eventually need to at least tell Killian about their shared past. ]

[impetere]

[She shrugs.]

With him it's kind of hard to tell.

[Derek internalizes so much, he always has. Trying to see past all of that, to get at the feelings underneath is a lot harder, especially with him not remembering her at all.]

[wanttobeahero]

The strong, silent type?

[ He's had experience, with his own mother. At least they were in a good place when he left, and he can't feel any regret about their relationship. He just misses her. Both of them. ]

[impetere]

[She smirks a bit.]

Something like that.

[There's a pause as her face softens after that.]

He wasn't always. But I'm still ... getting to know him again, I guess.

[wanttobeahero]

I really hope it works out okay, and you guys...can get close again.

[ In some ways, he guesses that seems like something someone would just say in the absence of knowing what else to say, but he really does mean it, and he hopes the sincerity is evident in his eyes. He stays pretty hopeful about things like that. ]

You said you've lived here for a bit, do you have any favorite places in the castle? Or...outside of the castle?

[impetere]

[Subject change! Good! Let's talk about something not her.]

I've spent a lot of time in the woods. It's a really nice amount of space and it's pretty quiet out there, so long as you give Mellie some room to breathe.

[wanttobeahero]

I haven't been out in the woods that much, but I should...change that.

Sometimes staying inside for too long just makes me feel trapped, almost.

[impetere]

[Henry it is like you know her soul. She nods a bit in agreement, pleasantly surprised that someone else actually gets it.]

It's easier to breathe out there.

[wanttobeahero]

[ It's really nice to find a kindred spirit of sorts, especially since he's new here. ]

It's nice to know someone else gets it.

Don't get me wrong, I've been known to enjoy staying inside to read a good book, but usually that's right before bed, or on a cold, rainy day. And then that's almost always accompanied by hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream.

But I still like being outside even when it's cold and rainy, too. Makes me feel alive, you know?

[impetere]

[Yeah, it is. Not that Cora hasn't found a few people that understood her issues with cages, but having someone bring it up on their own is always nice. It doesn't make it feel like they're just agreeing with her to be nice.]

I just feel more at home out there. When I was a kid we lived on this huge nature preserve, so I've always been around a lot of open space.

[wanttobeahero]

So you like the open space because it's what feels most like home.

I like it because...I grew up in this small town... [ ...that was cursed, and that he escaped as soon as he was able, but it's such a long story it doesn't feel right to talk about it when he's just met her. ] and I like just knowing I can leave, get away and clear my head if I need to.

The nature preserve sounds nice.

[impetere]

It was. It was great.

[Until someone burned their house to the ground and killed her entire pack. But that's not something they should talk about now either.]

The woods here are a great substitute, though. Still plenty of space to run.

[wanttobeahero]

Maybe we should do that together, when there's time for it, you know, go for runs in the woods?

[ Unless that's the kind of thing she prefers to do alone, in which case, he understands.

But running is a good way to stay in shape, of course, which will make him more likely to be picked for missions, he hopes. ]