after-party ♔

[wynn]

♬ Jeux d'eau - Ravel

WHO || Wynn, any and all Knights not currently on missions (Slovechnia group will be returned by this point!)
WHAT || Squiring Ceremony Afterparty
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Ballroom
WHEN || Feb 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

[uncurse]

"I don't dance."

It could be worse, of course. She could have simply said not with him. She shook her head, arching her eyebrows and nodding her head to indicate back inside.

"Plenty of other wiling partners."

[unhand]

"Wasn't asking them." It wasn't the dance he wanted, it was her.

[uncurse]

"Maybe you should." It wasn't particularly friendly to say, but Emma wasn't trying for friendly. She was trying to keep him at a distance that he apparently wasn't satisfied with.

[unhand]

"Maybe I would if I wanted to." He stepped in a little closer to her instead. "I hardly need your permission."

[uncurse]

"No, you don't," she conceded, not bothering to disguise the fact that she was sizing him up as her gaze dropped to give him a once-over. She steadied her attention back on his face, then. "I can think of a lot of other things you need." There was threat to the way she said it, a response to the fact that she felt threatened by his closeness, perhaps, or the unavoidable undertones of it combined with a declaration of not needing her permission. Things like a punch in the face, perhaps.

[unhand]

If the threat was supposed to dissuade Hook, well, she clearly didn't know him well. He could see this ending very poorly, and he didn't care. Wasn't worth doing anything if he didn't throw everything into it. He brings his good hand up to caress her face, running his thumb along her jawbone lightly while his knuckles curled in her hair. "I can think of some things you need too."

[uncurse]

Emma didn't slap his hand away, but she also didn't melt into it in the way she supposed he was looking for. There was a flutter in her chest that she hastily stomped out, and a warming of her skin, but she ignored it ardently. Instead, she fixed him with an intolerant, long-suffering look. Her jaw was tight, and she made no move to say anything, just glowered at him in the expectation that he'd back off.

[unhand]

Oh, he'd back off. But not right away. First, he leaned in and brushed his lips against the corner of her mouth, barely enough to have it qualify as a kiss.

Then he stepped away, letting his hand slip away from her face.

[uncurse]

Her heart pounded in her ears as he drew closer, and it leaped in her chest at the brief contact. Her breath hitched and she was too numb to move until he was stepping away, then reality crashed back in and she took her own sudden step back, anger and indignation rising to replace the fuzzy feelings she wanted so dearly to forget.

"What the hell was that?!"

Except it wasn't Hook she'd asked that. She felt dizzy at the memory. Graham suddenly pulling her in. She reached up and dragged the back of her hand over her lips, taking another, more staggered step backward. She hadn't had to think about that since …

She found herself steadying herself on the stone wall beside the enormous doors of the ballroom, looking away from Hook. Dammit. She needed to collect herself, compose herself, not lose it like this.

But no one had done that since Graham.

The words were out of her mouth bitterly before she could stop them, though they sounded distant and disconnected, and it was more obvious they weren't necessarily direct at Hook: "That was way over the line."

[unhand]

He shrugged, watching her carefully. How long had it been since she was kissed? Who was it that had given her such a reaction to a simple kiss? It had been a liberty he was taking, of course, but he'd expected violence, not... shock.

"Pirate, love. Lines don't mean all that much to me." He took a step toward her again. He'd meant to go back to the ballroom, but this was too interesting. "Besides, you could've pushed me away." She hadn't, though. Not even close.

rewatched the last 2 mins of the heart is a lonely hunter for this. cried deeply.

[uncurse]

Graham? Graham!

Her own desperate shouts echoed in her ears until it was deafening.

Maybe the Veil wasn't entirely a curse. Maybe some of the things they forgot were to their benefit.

"Get out of here," she said quickly, straightening and turning towards him as she stepped away, pulling herself out of his reach. Her tone was hard, but shaken.

you're so brave

[unhand]

"No." He stepped towards her again. "I know my kisses have a profound effect on most women, but this is something else." That was barely a kiss, and she's really panicking. He reaches out his good hand to touch her arm. "Tell me what's wrong."

my heart tho

[uncurse]

Her head cocked, she cracked her neck, and she shrugged her shoulder back, pulling her arm out of his grasp in a gesture of severe discomfort. She took a moment to collect herself, took a deep breath.

"What's wrong is you're about to lose the other hand if you touch me again."

[mud]

[unhand]

He didn't replace his hand. But he didn't back away either. "Poor lass," he said, voice soft. "Who was it that did this to you?" It had been his kiss that set it off, of course, but this wasn't his doing. This was the build up of... something. He couldn't begin to guess at what.

[uncurse]

"Where have you been? You just did!" Emma made a gesture between them, brow furrowed as she regained her composure, staunchly closing herself off to any possibility of talking about Graham. No. She couldn't do it. He was gone, there was no point. Heart attack. It couldn't have been helped. "You know, the comments are one thing, but they do not give you the right to put your hands on me."

[unhand]

He waved his hook dismissively. "This isn't about me. If it was about me, you'd have punched me before I even got close." Even so, he didn't touch her this time. Just stared hard, meeting her eyes. "I know you, Emma. It takes more than a bit of touching to rattle you so badly."

[uncurse]

"You know me? Why, because we took a ten-hour field trip together?" She laughed harshly, shaking her head. "I don't think so." Stepping in closer, Emma prodded a finger against his chest. "I'm not rattled. What I am is rapidly approaching pissed off. So maybe you should take a step back."

[unhand]

He batted her hand away with the side of his hook. "I know you a lot better than anyone here. And I'm not particularly afraid of you."

[uncurse]

Sourly, Emma simply moved past him and back towards the door for the ballroom. She was through with this conversation, and if he wasn't leaving, she would. Him knowing her better than anyone here didn't mean much - Gold had forgotten everything that meant anything, and her father had no idea who she was.

Hook had no way of knowing just how deep that barb had cut. More proof that he didn't know her half as well as he believed he did, and she didn't need to argue something that he'd made obvious.

[unhand]

He let her go. He was sure there'd be another chance to talk to her, and he could wait.

After a few moments, he headed back inside as well, but he didn't seek her out this time. Instead, he went to find someone who would dance with him. See how she liked it.