squiring ♔ i am bound to live up to what light i have

[wynn]

♬ Troy - James Horner

WHO || Wynn, Matt Byrne, Indra Crestrage, Nyna Dilant, Liam Dunbar, Stefan Salvatore, Rocket, Amy Pond, Sylar, Dean Winchester, Regina Mills,  current Knights attending the ceremony
WHAT || October Squiring Ceremony [backdated]
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Great Hall
WHEN || October 1st, 2014, 6:00PM
HOW || Actionspam

The impressively large Great Hall of the castle could easily pass as a royal throne room, with its length and the red carpet leading up to a set of steps. However, there is no throne set at the top of them, and the Hall is wide enough to accommodate hundreds of Knights. And indeed, several hundred Knights stand in ranks on either side of the wide stretch of red, each wearing the traditional set of ceremonial armor in their possession.   

While plenty of Knights try to get out of attendance once and awhile, Wynn personally ordered his Knights on Andres to cease their activities and flew them back for this ceremony, a step towards rebuilding in the wake of more tragedy.

The newest squires have been fitted to his armor after meeting with Wynn as always. It's traditional for them to appear for the first time before the Knighthood wearing it and they are assured that only a very small number of the Knights make use of their armor for other circumstances. It does, however, create an intimidating sense of unity as they stand shoulder to shoulder in rank and file to receive their newest pledges.

They enter together, with a flair of orchestral music that fills the hall with as much pomp as possible. It's a lot like that last scene in A New Hope. Yeah, you thought I was going to get through an entire post being all serious, didn't you.

At the top of the steps, Wynn waits, wearing a sword on his belt that canny eyes† might recognize as familiar.  Mark has, after all, brought it back with him from Andres - the famed sword, Excalibur.

It's one hell of a long walk past all those staring, curious eyes. Luckily, it's a long musical number.

For additional dice rolling fun (optional):

† Roll or randomize a d20. Those who roll a 15 or above can spot the sword for being the exact same sword that was suspended in the statue above the Round Table, when they met with Wynn in the Prologue.
† Roll a d20 dexterity check. If your character rolls a 2 or 3, at some point during their walk they're bound to stumble. A critical fail will lead to an epic faceplant ... or worse.

Comments

[martire]

[Stefan looks over the crowd once he's standing again, although he's not remotely thinking he'll see anyone he may recognize. He's curious about who's there, but not enough to be super inspecting.

Always the introvert, he steps off away from the other squires, moving out and into the crowd to try to find somewhere to maybe stand, observe.]

[littledhampir]

[Not somebody he'll recognize but somebody who does seem to be focusing on him. God what is it with Salvatores' and doe-eyed brunettes?! I mean...

Her gaze finally slides away and she's back to watching another one of the people standing up there (cough Dean cough) but she will, catch up with him at the After-Party.]

[martire]

[No exceptionally pretty brunette that's even remotely Petrova doppelganger-y gets anything less than a long, lingering glance. It can't be helped, Rose.

When someone continues to look at you, it's the polite thing to approach them, right? Right. He steps toward her, legit knocking into someone and bumping shoulders on his way (dex 3), proving that it's probably really not Stefan's shining day. He chalks it up to the ambiance of the room...or something.

Whatever.

He moves ahead again, assuming she was witness to that super slick move, foot catching on a thing that he immediately steps past because really. Thank some greater power that he didn't fall flat on his face...

Once he's standing in front of her, his features are calm and settled. None of that just happened, let's just carry on.]

We haven't met before, anywhere, have we? [Perfectly plausible question and totally not a come-on at all, even if it sounds like one in any other situation.]

[littledhampir]

[Well at least Rose manages to hold back a snort as Stefan manages to outdo himself from the already bestowed title of; 'Most uncoordinated Vampire she's ever seen', catching that collision but offering little more than a tiny smile in response. (Spot Nat 20 // WS 18).]

Nope. [Flashing him a grin.] But you'll be seeing a lot of me from here on out.

[Which, also might have sounded like a line if not for the hand that goes out and the words that accompany it.]

Sir Hathaway. Rose? You drew the short straw and landed me as your Knight. [Eyebrows bouncing. (WS: 13)]

[martire]

[No formal introduction from himself is needed, so he reaches to take her hand to shake it firmly.

He's not as with it as he'd usually be, even still, so] Stefan. [She knows this, but he rolls a Wis 13 and his usual eloquence is dampened. Plus side, she doesn't know that, how he's always tended to be, but she can still smile all she'd like.]

Short straw, huh? [He almost chuckles, eyes amused more than anything else.] Is that a justified lack of confidence, or are you trying to get me to laugh? [His clumsiness is worth a bit of humor!]

[littledhampir]

[She at least pretends to think about that for a moment.]

The second. [Nodding, just a hint of a cocky smirk finally playing across her lips.] I'm awesome and you're lucky to have me.

[See, she can actually be charming when she wants to be - albeit a smartass - and poor Stefan has no stat sheet yet so I kind of feel bad for this; (Charm 22).]

So don't make me look bad. [Joking. Maybe.]

[martire]

[In that case, he smiles along with her.

Smartass is better than outright asshole, the latter a character trait Stefan knows he's put up from a fair amount of people in his long life. Perceptive cockiness is worlds better than dickish antics, like what he'd expect from Damon! Not that he's thinking about Damon at all...no, he's focused on Rose, who...speaks words that appeal to him.

That they're in a physical place of good intentions - his perception of the entire shindig - helps ease him into nodding after she finishes, brow lifting as he begins to speak.] Well, I'd try to aim to please, but I'll even ice some extra layers on for good measure.

[A glance around them.] So what's this celebration made up of?

[littledhampir]

[Oh Stefan, that blank look on Rose's face means she sure did just Crit Fail her Wisdom Check and has absolutely no idea what you just said. It's possible that she's imagining you, quite literally, coating yourself in actual ice. As in frozen water, not diamonds.]

Sure. If that helps, have at it.

[Thinking is hard, okay.]

This? It's the boring formal part. The good stuff comes next. You get dressed up, eat, drink, try not to get into fights with people. [Like Rose did. At her Squiring After Party. No but really...]

[martire]

[She gets a few second look of expectancy, as if there's more she'll say, but his features settle back to neutrality once it's clear that that's it.

Everyone has a moment here and there of awkward! Some more than others.]

Speaking from experience? [Those fights. Who else would you randomly get into a fight with, other than someone you already know?] Is there anyone here you knew from your home - wherever you came from? [It feels weird to ask, to phrase it that way, but he's curious.]

[littledhampir]

[Might as well get used to Rose not getting it Stefan. You have been blessed with a Knight who can kick some serious ass but don't expect her to get half the things you're going to say.]

Yeah well, hows that saying go? Do as I say, not as I do. [Lifting her shoulder in a shrug. Rose tends to be of the belief that if somebody had it coming then she hadn't done anything wrong and yet? Funny how having a Squire of her own gave her new insight into what Luthir must have had to deal with when it came to her.]

Kind of? I don't remember them but there's a couple of people. [She does however pick up on why he asked the question (Wis 18) and is quick to respond.]

Oh, I didn't know the person. Some bitch tried to set me on fire so I broke her nose. [Will Save... Crit Fail.] Which you should... definitely... not... do.

[martire]

[Hey, at least he has experience speaking to those who are less travelled? Gogo being around high school students willingly when you're 164 and gone to various universities, etc.

Letting her words sink in, he's being a good squire and paying mind to her mentorship...techniques? He nods, mouth explicitly stating, 'All right then,' on his behalf.] Behave, don't make you look bad, got it. [He could do that. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully.]

[At the mention of this fire-starter, he chuckles.] Was she provoked already or does crazy run thicker in some of the people here? [A short, but lingering, glance around.] Colorful sorts? [Because he's definitely totally boring. Nothing to see here, Rose. Nope.]

[littledhampir]

Do those things and you and I are going to be awesome. [Her tone light enough that it's probable she doesn't expect him to take her seriously. Upside Stefan?! As long as you don't kill anyone, you're probably a less stressful Squire than Rose was to her Knight.

Rose might have explained it as High School with weapons only... her High School did have weapons.]

This is probably the part where I should find something nice to say but... [She lifts one shoulder in a shrug.] Bitch was crazy. You'll meet all sorts here but most of them are alright and there's plenty of ways to let off steam if you need it. [Which, Rose does. A lot.]

[martire]

[Stefan's adaptable, plus side of living through the decades he has where constant change and fads were a huge thing. No expectations were built within him to guess at what would happen after the squiring, who a mentor of his might end up being. So far, Rose is giving off vibes that he sees as capable enough. With many dashes of colorful language, happenings, and surprise to come in the future! He's fairly confident in that!

In this moment, he's perfectly confident in his ability to keep any questionable sides of himself in check. Nothing vampire-y has infiltrated his thoughts yet today, so, woo, the best of Stefan is on display.]

Some sword and board sparring [a wave at his armor] or maybe some jujitsu? [Clarification and details, he expects those to come later, his guesses based off simple deduction rather than detailed knowledge.]

[littledhampir]

Mostly I just wail on a training dummy but you can do all that too. [Rose might look like your average, human female at first glance but a lot of the female warrior types around the castle embody the 'looks can be deceiving' thing.] They don't skimp on equipment around here and they don't take a hands off approach to training which doesn't suck.

[She cants her head to one side, considering something, eyes narrowed as she takes him in.]

I'd try to make you come running with me every morning but I don't know how you'd go with the whole, sunlight deal. [A beat.] The thing I've noticed about the Vampires here, no two seem to be the same. [Yep, she sure does know you're a Vampire and I don't even need to roll for that one because when you're Rose?! You just know.]