feast & after-party ♔ empty my heart | i've got to make room for this feeling

[wynn]

♬ Can't Take It In - Imogen Heap

WHO || Wynn, the new Squires, any and all Knights
WHAT || Squiring Ceremony Feast & Afterparty
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Dining Hall & Ballroom
WHEN || February 9th, 2012, 7:00PM / 9:00 PM
HOW || Prose OR Actionspam

While every dinner served in the Knights' exceptionally large Dining Hall manages to have a sense of occasion, given the sheer quantity of food necessary to serve the hundreds who take their meals there, the 'feast' Wynn's ordered for after this squiring party outdoes the norm. It's not a problem to produce so much food at the drop of the hat when mages can magically summon up entire banquets, and so the room teems over with the smells and spices of hundreds of unique dishes. Centerpieces built with peacock feathers and sweet smelling flowers dot the table at intervals. A silver cage in the very middle of the table includes several live birds, their feet and tufts each appearing to be silver as well. A banner hangs from the top of the cage, with the Knight's symbol of a black dragon on a silver field.

The food has a distinctly medieval flair to it today, which several of the older Shadowkind Knights express their boisterous appreciation for as they dive in. The first course consists of a civet of hare, a quarter of salted stag, a stuffed chicken and a loin of veal, the latter two covered with a German sauce with gilt sugar-plums and pomegranate seeds. At each end of the table is an enormous pie, surmounted with smaller pies, which form a crown. The crust of the large ones is silvered all round and gilt at the top; each contains a whole roe-deer, a gosling, three capons, six chickens, ten pigeons, and one young rabbit. Serving as seasoning or stuffing, a minced loin of veal, two pounds of fat, and twenty-six hard-boiled eggs, covered with saffron and flavoured with cloves.

A second course follows: aroe-deer, a pig, a sturgeon cooked in parsley and vinegar, and covered with powdered ginger; a kid, two goslings, twelve chickens, as many pigeons, six young rabbits, two herons, a leveret, a fat capon stuffed, four chickens covered with yolks of eggs and sprinkled with spiced powder de Duc, and even a wild boar.

Next came wafers and stars; a jelly, part white and part blue. A fourth course of cream with Duc powder, covered with fennel seeds preserved in sugar; a white cream, cheese in slices, and strawberries; and, lastly, plums stewed in rose-water.

Besides these four courses, there's a fifth, entirely composed of wines, and of preserves, which consist of fruits and various sweet pastries in the shapes of dragons.

---------------------------

Following this, assuming anyone is still capable of moving at all is the after-party: a black-tie affair in the lavish, opulent ballroom, every new Knight's chance to mingle and meet some of their new brothers in arms. Per usual, a couple hours are provided following the feast 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. 

All open feast threads should be made under the FEAST heading below. Any other threads below will be for the after-party. Feel free to make your own open threads for people to come congratulate your newly pledged knight.

Comments

DANCE: ota

[wynn]

[Wynn is looking particularly resplendent himself, in a silver and blue period coat with laced sleeves and tiny silver dragons on every button. His long silver hair flows down his back, restrained at the nape of his neck, and there's an expression on his face as he surveys the affairs of the after-party in the ballroom that could almost be described as more than just pride - but a hint of real joy. Quite a few of the elder Knights wind up moving over to speak a word with him privately, but his explanations seem to fulfill them, or at least they give up quickly enough. Now he stands alone, observing from the front of the room, with keen eyes.]

ota;

[aproperdoctor]

[Martha's pretty sure that her favourite thing about these parties is getting to wear all the awesome dresses. Seriously, the wardrobes are ridiculous; she wonders if magic is involved somehow, but she's pretty sure that everybody she meets is getting tired of twenty gazillion questions about magic.

Except Gar. Gar never gets tired of her dumb questions about magic and the opportunity to explain more. (Either that, or she's the most ridiculously tolerant person ever, which, Martha has to admit, is also possible.)

Anyway, Martha is in a dancing mood tonight, so she ends up doing a few rounds of the dance floor with some of the knights and squires. This isn't quite the dancing she's used to in the clubs back home, but it's not too hard to pick up, either.]

[nosdacaraid]

[Mark's dressed very snappily, as if he were born to be rocking a suit, no matter how awkwardly he might tend to come across outside of one. A tall dark-haired guy talking with him shoves an elbow into his side and points out Martha, and after a second of responding and obviously being egged on, Mark makes his way over, giving her a derpy smile, obviously uncomfortable with this.]

You're one of the new squires, right? [And then seems to rewind his statement, pointing back over his shoulder and twirling his finger] Well... new... last week not... today...

ota

[servant]

[Merlin doesn't dance. He especially doesn't dance after eating two plates of food piled ridiculously high and two goblets of wine. But even without the rich food and drink, he's not naturally gifted in the grace department.]

[So he stands off to the side, something of a wallflower despite the fact that he's never been particularly shy. But watching others dance is familiar to him, and he enjoys it. So he smiles, watching the others as they waltz around the room.]

[bancroft]

[As if in direct defiance to the fact that this is obviously a classy affair, the Knight merrily winding his way through the crowd sports nothing in the way of formal apparel, whatsoever. Instead, he wears a ratty long black coat that seems to have seen many, many better days from the number of cuts, marks, rips, tears and what look like claw marks in the leather. Heavy black boots that are just as scuffed ring across the ballroom floor, and even his clothing beneath looks just as rumpled as the rest of him. There's a remarkable cheerfulness about his demeanor, and when he spots Merlin, he walks confidently in his direction, snatching a flute of champagne off a passing tray and downing a large gulp of it.]

And you must be Merlin. [He announces it with amusement, looking him up and down and grinning]

[oerban]

[Vanille targets the people who decide to be wallflowers. It's a combination of the fact she thinks they look lonely and miserable, as well as they're the easiest people to force into talking to her. So it's really no surprise that she eventually stumbles across poor Merlin, and recognizes him from the ceremony.

She can't remember his name, though, so she just stops and points.]

It's you! [She grins, leaning forward to rest on the tips of her toes. Her hands go to her hips before she lets out a soft chuckle.]

Um...what was your name, again? And why are you standing over here all alone?

[witchwoman]

[Myrilandel isn't comfortable at all in the dress that was picked out for her for the dance, but she at least doesn't find the cut completely foreign, as she's seen some of the more noble women try on our a dress or two like this when she's made it into the more heavily populated cities. Still, she doesn't know how to feel being surrounded by such... elegance. All she wants to do is draw herself in the walls and disappear.]

Oh, Amaranth... [She whispers under her breath when she thinks no one is near enough to hear.] We don't belong here.

[king]

Don't be ridiculous, you look lovely.

[ Apparently Arthur has taken it upon himself to bother the wallflower? He leans a shoulder up against the wall beside her, expression open and friendly. ]

You're the one who almost fell over.

[ Friendly and... lacking tact. ]

Would you like to dance?

[shootfirst]

[And eventually Kat will come tracking down her squire sometime during the party. Unlike almost all the women here, Kat's not wearing a dress - instead she's dressed in a black and white pant suit, her blonde hair hanging down freely, void of any ornamentation. Her eyes light up when she spots Myrilandel, and she slows to a halt as she gets nearby.]

Wow... talk about a dress.

ota

[befree]

[Oh good, she gets to do more socializing. Just what she needed after making an idiot out of herself repeatedly at the feast.

Decked out in a dress that looks like a non-sketch version of this, the girl on fire is leaning up against a wall somewhere, arms crossed over her chest.

Someone was kind enough to pin up and style her hair for her, and she passes the time watching others by tugging on a ringlet that's fallen out of it's clip and is hanging down into her face.

A nice change from the feast, she's isn't scowling now, at least. She looks nervous but resigned to the fact that she's stuck trying to figure out how to interact and behave in a setting like this.

It's entirely obvious that she's out of her element.]

Now it looks like I'm apparently stalking you... hope you don't mind ;)

[socialgraces]

[Francesca casually sidles up next to her against the wall. She keeps a comfortable foot or two between them, still close enough for conversation.]

Hi. [She says simply. She doesn't feel the need to make obvious observations about the girl's nervousness or lack of company as most would. She just wants her to feel a little more comfortable, and her intentions are almost tactile in the space between them as she turns to face Katniss, a soft, unassuming expression on her face.]

[vantol]

[He noticed her when they were sitting at the table ... relatively close together, and now that they're done eating, Sven can't help but approach her. He can relate to that out of place awkwardsan feeling.]

Have you been to many of these before?

[rationalizes]

[Annnnd Gar stops in the act of walking past Katniss to turn and gasp, smiling] Oh my! What an absolutely exquisite gown.

ota;

[attollores]

[Alainn wanders into the ballroom not too long after the party begins, eyes scanning the room as she stands there wearing the most elaborate getup she'd ever put on.

Her eyes catch on a scene not too far from where she stands and her stomach drops to her feet, feeling like there is a lead weight weighing her down. She swallows as she absorbs the scene, then scans the room faster for a distraction. Panic is evident on her features for a moment before she rushes around the dance floor to the other side of the room.]

[piratitude]

[Andrea notices Alainn's flight and sidles up to her once she gets closer. A look like that didn't belong on someone's face at a party, and she was curious to find out what put it there]

You alright? You look like you saw a ghost.

ota;

[slays]

[ Given that she caught on that her and Lan's little uproar caused quite the scene during dinner, Buffy is trying her best (again) to keep to the outskirts of the crowd. She found something of a fluffier dress this time around, but in a perfect world it will be more camouflage than the red from before.

It was a big hall. Maybe no one noticed. Or ... maybe everyone noticed and would be too nice to say anything. Or scold. Or ... god, Jack was going to take her out back and shoot her for mouthing off to a knight, wasn't he? ]

[socialgraces]

[Francesca finds her easily, as she too is in the outskirts observing the crowd.] You don't need to be embarrassed. [She offers kindly.] If anything, Lan is the one who should be embarrassed. He and Thomas. [And she gives the other woman a little smirk.]

[cabot]

[Not nearly enough camouflage to hide her, b/c Val'drin definitely seems to locate her. He slide up casually next to her as best as he can, hands in his pockets]

Fancy seeing you here.

[asap]

[Andie manages to find her, though, and... well, it's not that she's un-nice, she's just got all the tact of, well, Cordelia. So she goes over to find Buffy, looking positively gleeful.]

Hi Buffy! Did you really completely chew out Lan? That is so cool.

[piratitude]

[Andrea had very very close to throwing a fit in the dressing rooms. She hated dresses. HATED. She never felt very comfortable in them, for one, and two, they just got in the way.

By some miracle, however, someone had found her this getup. Shorts...built in to the dress. Fancy that. And the flowing chiffon was easy to move in.

Her hair is simply braided, falling down over her bare back, and adorned with a fake flower that matches the dress. She practically glides into the ballroom with a grin a mile wide on her face. You can maybe blame that on the wine.

She's not rushing off to dance - all that food needs a few more minutes to settle, but she is watching everything with interest - and keeping an eye out for potential partners.]

[luthir]

[Someone's apparently keeping an eye on her as well, from across the ballroom. He's quite obviously a full blooded elf, unlike many of the human crossbreeds in the room, and even his formal clothing is traditionally elven in aspect. Whether she realizes she's being watched so closely or not, however depends, as he makes no move from where he stands.†]


† A Wis check of 13 or more will elicit that 'someone's watching her' feeling, and a spot check of 15 or more will allow her to locate who it is.

ota

[asap]

[For this event, at least, Andie's on time. In a bright red dress with sequins on it. Because she's that awesome.

Anyway, she's just having a good time dancing and chatting and generally shmoozing. Yep. Go bother her.]

ota

[lightblindbadass]

[Riddick stands in one of the darkened doorways of the ballroom, barely visible in the deep shadows. He watches the other Knights and squires, observing their behaviors and listening to their conversations.

He'd debated whether or not to come to this thing, and had dressed like he didn't intend to stay long in a black tank top and black military pants with his customary black combat boots, and of course his black welders goggles.

The ten minutes he'd been standing there was pretty much enough to not only confirm he wasn't a "party goer," but that he also really had no idea how to even be social for the fun of it. It looked... stupid.]

ota;

[thebetrayer]

[Sven is dressed even less formally than he was for his own feast. Today he's only wearing a suit jacket over a gray t-shirt. I guess someone with a spot check of 15 or higher might notice that his eyes are actually silver instead of the pale blue they tend to pass as to unobservant people.

At least he's moved on from clinging to the wall to casually walking around and ... bothering other people who might be clinging to the wall. And even people who aren't. While chugging -- yes chugging -- some champagne.]

Closed to Mark // Off the dance floor

[attollores]

[She'd been watching him dance with Martha and had definitely noticed his nervousness, then his detachment as they danced. It reminded her of when the two of them had danced at her squiring party and his reaction had been the same.

He needed a distraction from whatever thoughts were troubling him, and she knew just the thing to brighten his mood. She grinned as she sidled up next to him as he left the floor, bumping her shoulder into his playfully and placing her hand lightly on his arm.]

Oh Mark, just the man I've been lookin' for!! Thank goodness I've found you! I know you're probably [abort, abort don't mention his awkwardness, think think think] really thirsty right?

I'll get us something to drink, but do you think you could help me with something really important? [She gets a 24 Diplomacy check to get him to help, and not come across as pushy or over-bearing like she normally does.]