after-party ♔ la lune trop pale caresse l'opale de tes yeux blases

[wynn]

♬ Complainte du la Butte - Rufus Wainwright

WHO || Wynn, any and all Knights
WHAT || Squiring Ceremony Afterparty
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Ballroom
WHEN || February 1st, 2012, 9:00PM
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 none of you are 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.

Comments

[aproperdoctor]

[Hey, Martha's cool with Alainn being a crazy bird lady. In fact, she giggles a little at their conversation and interaction, though her giggle has just a bit of a nervous tone to it.] Well, I'm...[she gestures vaguely] ...Not from around here.

[Never mind that her accent makes her sound like she was born and raised in London. Which, uh, she was.]

So joining up with a load of nutters in armour - not that you're a nutter or anything - is just a little bit more surprising than I'd...really expected. Though I suppose you can't expect a surprise, obviously.

[Yeah, Alainn, you aren't the only person feeling embarrassingly weird right now. It must be contagious.]

[attollores]

[Alainn grins hugely at that, glad she isn't taken for "a nutter," then snorts. Fede deigns to look at Martha now, cocking her head to the side curiously like she's not only listening to the other woman, but...like she understands her too. She's almost acting far too intelligent for a normal bird, much less a normal familiar.]

By "not from around here" I'm guessing ye came through the misty veil of forgetting and memory snatching and such? [she wriggles her fingers all mysteriously and makes weird faces while saying that last, still smiling impishly.] Don't worry, you're not the only one. I know you've heard it before, but take it from someone who's come through the damn thing herself.

[She sticks her hand out to shake Martha's, pumping it a few times vigorously.] Alainn O'Rourke at your service! No memories beyond five years ago, and I've turned out to be right peachy, if I say so me-self! And bird brain over here is Fede. Don't let her pouting fool you, she's really a push-over for people.

[At that Fede turns an honest to goodness bird-eyed glare at the side of Alainn's head, then with a prawk she hops from Alainn's shoulder over to Martha's, settling heavily on her and cooing softly at the woman. It kinda sounds like she's saying "hello." In bird. o.O]

[aproperdoctor]

Really? Wynn made it sound like it hadn't happened before. [Martha furrows her brow, looking a little confused.] I don't know, it seems like I remember almost everything from back home - but if I forgot something, how would I know about it?

Nice to meet you, Alainn. I'm Martha Jones. [Martha smiles as she shakes Alainn's hand] And it's nice to meet you, too, Fede. Have you been here for five years?

[Martha turns to look at Fede, raising her eyebrows.] Is there anywhere she likes to be, I dunno, petted or scratched or anything?

[attollores]

[Alainn is confused by Martha's reference to Wynn sounding like crossing through the Veil hadn't happened before. Maybe he was getting senile? In her mind, anyone over forty was super old and therefore next in line to lose their minds, and though Wynn looked rather young, the way he acted made him seem like he was at least fifty.]

Oh, she likes to be stroked either on her chest under her beak, or on her head and back. And yeah, she's been here five years like me, we kinda crossed over together. We're pretty much a package deal, she and I.[Fede coo's softly at Alainn's statement, and Martha petting her...if she does :).]

Where did ye come from exactly, if ye don't mind me askin'?

[She doesn't mention how very rare it is for someone who has crossed through the Veil to remember even the tiniest details of their lives before, much less everything. A slight pang of jealousy zings through her, but her eyes soften as she smiles much less crazily and more like someone who is genuinely curious.]

[aproperdoctor]

[Martha gently strokes Fede's chest feathers, smiling at the bird's sounds.] So is she...um...I don't really know what I'm asking here, but is it some magical sort of thing?

[Magic vocabulary, Martha does not have it. Woe.]

I'm from London, just...not this London. We don't have magic where I'm from, or Shadowkind, or anything like this. People don't just turn up from different dimensions in the middle of mist - usually they use spaceships. Not that aliens are terribly common or anything, but they're there.

[Not that she actually remembers most of the encounters she's had with aliens, and with one alien in particular. BUT OBVIOUSLY SHE DOESN'T KNOW THAT.]

[attollores]

[Alainn smiles gently at Martha's stumbling magical terminology, then nods as she answers.]

Yes, she's me Familiar. That's what they're called when an animal is bound to a Mage or Wizard, though...with Fede and meself it's a wee bit different. We were...connected, I guess you could say, when we crossed the Veil, and that was before I knew I had a knack for magic. That's not something you hear often, least not that I know of. [Which would sort of explain the closeness the two share, and the slight look of possessiveness in Alainn's eyes as she watches the bird fawn on Martha, though the look is tinged with acceptance as well.]

Ye had spaceships from your time?! [Realization of what Martha just said finally catches up with Alainn, curiosity coloring her gaze.]

Real spaceships that take you to different planets? Phew, that must've been so exciting!

[aproperdoctor]

So...[She gets that 'I'm going to ask a dumb question and I know it look' again] This is going to sound a bit daft, but can you two communicate through...some sort of psychic bond or something? I have to admit, I don't know a damn thing about magic.

Well, we didn't have spaceships on Earth, but aliens drop by from time to time. A spaceship crashed into Big Ben and landed in the Thames a couple years ago, right before something blew up Downing Street.

[attollores]

[Alainn chuckles softly, then nods at Martha's question.]

Please don't ever think you're daft for askin' a question such as that! Ye don't know about things in this world, and I never mind answering questions! I may not have all the right answers but that's never stopped me before. And yes, I can connect with her though... again that's a wee bit different than I've seen in others. Watch this.

[Alainn concentrates on Fede as the bird is preening her feathers. Suddenly, her eyes go gold, the same shade of gold as the bird, her pupils taking on the same shape as well. Fede looks up sharply to Alainn as this happens, flying back over the other woman's head and out one of the open windows. Alainn's eyes go back to their normal bright green and her gaze settles once more on Martha.]

She'll be back in a moment. Anyway, aliens? Really?! Wasn't that scary? That's so crazy to imagine, aliens just dropping by!

[She honestly doesn't seem to notice how yeah aliens stopping by sure is crazy, but for someone so freshly new to this world and seeing things like magic and elves and the such is just as crazy! Sometimes she is oblivious too.

[aproperdoctor]

[Martha's own eyes go wide as Alainn communicates with Fede, especially when the other woman's eyes change.] That's so cool! Do you see out of her eyes when your eyes change like that, or is it something different?

It was absolutely bloody terrifying - it's always terrifying like that, but sort of amazing, too, that other lifeforms can just...come to Earth. Problem is, a lot of the aliens don't exactly have good intentions. [The briefest of sad looks crosses her face as she thinks about her cousin, who died - as she only recently found out - in an invasion of Cybermen.] I guess it's a bit like Shadowkind, huh? Although I imagine most Shadowkind just want to live their lives here peacefully, and it's only a small minority wanting to cause trouble.

[Really, Martha thinks aliens are just as crazy - it's only been about two years since the Big Ben incident, and since then, aliens have been popping up more and more frequently, but she didn't even know about them for the first twenty-two years of her life.]

[attollores]

Aye, I see outta her peepers and she see's outta mine. Tis a trifle hard sometimes because I'm basically blind when it happens, y'know, not really seeing things from my perspective. [She gives a nonchalant shrug like it's nothing too big, then nods her head to what Martha was saying.]

From what I've noticed about the Shadowkind who end up here, meself included, we just mainly want to find our way in this world and live peacefully, just as you said. And o'course there are those who would disturb that peace, which is why I'm happy the Knights exist. We can defend this world against those who would do harm to it and it's inhabitants. That is something I've always been passionate about.

[Understanding crosses her features when Martha talks of the alien attacks and the sudden sadness in her face and tone.] There may not be any aliens here to fight against, which I know is probably a good thing, but at least you've found an organization where you can do something about those other terrors that no one else can. And you're not alone in doing it.

[aproperdoctor]

[This actually makes more sense to her than anything Wynn said - something resonates within Martha at Alainn's words, and she nods in agreement.] That's precisely what I want to do. If I'm stuck here - for as long as I'm stuck here - then I want to help the other people in this world, as well. It's nice to have other people who feel the same way. I- the people I worked for back home, their organisation was founded with that in mind, but it's changed over the years, I think, and it's not really about that anymore. Or it is, but with a more militaristic mindset.

[attollores]

Who was it that you worked for back home? Was it something along the lines of the Knights?

[aproperdoctor]

Not really. It used to be a government organisation - associated with the United Nations, anyway - but now it's private. It seems more military than the Knights are, less concerned with things like chivalry and helping people.