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

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

♬ 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.

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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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He takes the glass, staring down into it as he registers her comments]

Oh, you know, the fun never stops around here...

[It's half-hearted, but he seems to pay more attention when she asks for advice] At what sort of thing? I don't know what I'm ... especially good at.

[A pause] Except for making those origami crane things.

[She leads them to some chairs set just off the floor, sitting like a lady in hers since she's still in that damn dress.]

You can make origami cranes?! Oh, you'll have to teach me someday, I've always wanted to- [She cuts herself off, the ADD in her nearly making her forget what she was going to say.] Wait, before I get into that, which I will later for sure, back to the original topic!

And see, I know you're good at this, ye hang out with Kat and Fred! [She leans in closer, her eyes lighting up with genuine mischief as she begins talking with her free hand.]

See, I promised one of the new Squires to show him how to have fun because apparently he only had fun like, once or twice a year if ye can imagine! [She rolls her eyes at that with a slight shake of her head, the disbelief thick in her voice.]

Sooo, I was thinking that, with a little help from someone else who knew the castle lay-out as well as I do, we could try to organize a scavenger hunt!! Maybe for people who wish to be involved, if they have a Squire then the Knight they're assigned to could help them navigate the castle while looking for the items we say, and it would help to orientate them so much better than a regular tour!

And I figured since neither of us have Squires, then it would be perfect to lay out the rules and what we want found, and where!

What do ye think? Would you be interested in helping me? [Her face is entirely lit up, her smile threatening to break her jaw and she can't hide the excitement at all as she nearly bounces in her seat. She seems to think of something though, and quickly interjects before he can respond, some of the fire going out of her as she speaks.]

O'course, ye- Ye don't have to help if you don't wish too, I don't want to push you into this if you're busy or... just not interested. I just thought it might be a bit... fun?

[He takes the other seat with something that seems like relief for not having to stand around in the middle of a crowd anymore, trying to nod along with her non-stop rambles, splitting his focus between her words and keeping an eye on the crowd. But splitting one's focus while talking to Alainn doesn't work so well, so he ends up just nervously glancing back and forth a lot.]

A scavenger hunt...? [He repeats it with raised brows, chewing over the idea, sounding as if he's never even heard of something like that before.] ... Like a ... treasure hunt, but inside the castle? ... Yeah, that sounds like it could be a lot of fun!

[She gets the mega-watt smile back on her lips when he agrees with her, making the "yes!" pose with her fists. But she also notices how uncomfortable he still seems and she sorely wants to help. He really seemed like he needed someone to talk to, but she knew how skittish he was about the strangest things and really did not want to scare him off. Her happiness deflates again a bit as she tries to calm down and keep her rambling to a minimum.]

Are you... looking for someone? I'm sorry if I'm distracting you, I just wanted to catch you while I was thinking of this. [She can't keep the tinge of disappointment from her voice, but she forges ahead, trying to put some more pep back in the words.]

But then again, you probably don't want to talk details at a party, what was I thinking?! I- I guess I can always um... text you or something so we can bang out the details some other time. If you prefer that?

Huh? [He jerks his head back to look at her, his expression melting into chagrin] Oh! No... sorry. We can talk about it now! Just... distracting atmosphere. [He wiggles his fingers at the crowd. And then seems to figure out a solution.] You wanna go outside?

[When he suggests they take their discussion outside, she really does try her hardest to keep her smile contained. TRIES SO HARD. She stands quickly before he can retract his offer, a small smile on her lips.]

I would really [don't say love, don't say love, don't say love] love that! [Shit.] What I was thinking was maybe we could find something, or make something to represent each section and hide it somewhere in that section. [She says this quickly as she stands, hoping he wouldn't notice her verbal gaffe.

She waits for him to stand as well, then walks through the doors closest to them, bringing them to the nearest balcony. When they get there she hops up to sit on the edge of the balcony, ~~for a 21 jump check~~ never mind the fact that she is wearing this dress. And that it's winter still, and cold. Lol and with a 12 Fortitude save she's gonna start shivering in just a few minutes, not that she'll admit it.]

Ah, this is much better out here. Not so much noise, and definitely not so stifling. [She cranes her head back and around, looking up at the sky.] And the stars are beautiful tonight. Good choice, Mark.

[She gives him another smaller smile, swinging her legs gently back and forth.]

[He doesn't seem to notice the cold at all, with his manly nat 20 Fort save. :| He just shoves his hands in his pockets and looks off the back balcony, occasionally peeking over at her]

Sometimes crowds can just be a little... crowded. [He finishes lamely, and then immediately seems to regret saying it and looks away again, jaw working back and forth] Ok, so for items, like a ... big papier mache dragon scale for the Dragon's Hide? [He is srs about this]

[Her smile remains in place, and when he makes that first statement she looks over at him for a long moment. She nods gently, looking back over her shoulder as she answers.]

Aye, they can be. Too many people in one room with too many different motivations and expectations. It can be a little much at the best of times, but most especially when we have two of these in less than two weeks. Especially if the second one far different than the rest we've had.

[She grins as he says that last, letting out a delighted chuckle.]

Yes, exactly like that!! See, I knew you were the right person to go to. Kat would've just tried to get everyone to fight it out or something.

How about... [She bites her lip, looking down at her feet in deep concentration. Suddenly her eyes light up and she bounces in place on the ledge, her hands flying up in excitement. Unfortunately for her, she also just rolled a Critical failure on her balance check. Cuz she is on the ledge of a stone balcony in the middle of winter. Oh Alainn.

As she lands back on the ledge her silky dress slips on a patch of ice. Having raised her hands to emphasize her point, she brings them back down roughly to the stone below her, completely missing it. One of her hands hits the stone with a loud thwack and she jams her thumb as the other flies completely behind her into open air. She only has enough time to let out a yelp of surprise, her face turning from excited to petrified in less than a second.]

NO!

[It takes him a moment to really react, because he doesn't understand what's happening as she starts to tip over. In fact she's practically slipped entirely off the edge before he springs into action, moving flush against the ledge and shooting out a hand to grab onto her wrist with a strong grip. It isn't the farthest drop ever from up here, considering the ballroom is on the first floor, but the balcony is still raised by the height of the front and back staircase, which would make for a nasty spill.]

Alainn! [He reaches his other hand down to yank her back up, relieved]

[She fumbles for his hand, finally grabbing onto the one he has on her wrist with a tight grip. She takes a deep breath through her nose, pulling up as he does, her legs curling once more over the ledge and straining against her weight. With his help she clears the ledge, dropping over the other side on wobbly legs, catching herself on his shoulders.

She knows she needs to pull away, he was bad with personal contact on his good days, but right at this moment she literally can't move her legs without falling on her face. She slowly moves her head to look up at him, eyes still wide in surprise. Her breathing is heavy as she holds eye contact with him for a long moment, then she registers the position she is forcing him to be in.

So she does the only thing her brain can process to do at that moment. It was probably not the best idea, but it was the first to occur to her.

She bursts into a fit of laughter, still not able to support herself as she heaves breaths out against his neck.]

Oh my GOSH! I'm so sorry!! Oh gods, I am so stupid!!

[He grips her shoulders to steady her as she catches her breath, not seeming bothered by her having to lean on him. His face is clouded with concern, and he awkwardly pats her back trying to be comforting]

Hey, it's ok. Happens to the best of us...

[He draws back slightly to give her a serious expression] You ok?

[Her laughter slows after just a few seconds, the shock of what almost just happened causing her to begin to shiver slightly. She pulls back just enough to meet his eyes, her smile coming shakily now. But she sure is gonna try to brazen out the fact that she was idiot enough to almost spill her ass off the balcony onto the lawn below.]

Ah, so ye've fallen off many balconies before then, Mark? [She gives a slight chuckle to show she's only trying to joke, her eyes dancing.]

Aye, I'm okay, just... feeling a wee bit stupid is all. Thank you, by the way. I think that would've bruised a bit more than me pride if I'd actually fallen.

[Now that she seems to have her feet under her, his hands slip away and he steps back to glance over the edge of the balcony]

... I'm gonna plead the fifth on that one.

[She steps up beside him to lean her stomach against the balcony, sad that she can no longer partake in his body heat. She wraps her arms around her middle, leaning over to look down to the lawn, then back up to him.]

Well, I guess it's good if only one of us has actually almost fallen from a balcony, otherwise I think it wouldn't be the smartest idea for us to be out here. [She gives him another little grin, cradling her hurt thumb with against her side.]

So, back on topic! A papier mache Dragon scale for the Hide, check! I was going to say that whatever we come up with for the Hoard, we should totally have it being flown around by a remote control airplane, and they have to guess which remote is the right one, but only with certain clues will they know, and that is the only way to get the piece!

[She looks over at him again, grinning and hoping he'll think it's genius too.]

What about a... bust of Einstein? Like one of those hollow wax sculptures? [He grins] What kind of clues are we talking about? [HE IS NOT SO GOOD AT TRIVIA]

[She nods enthusiastically, grinning back at him.]

That's good! Umm... clues, clues... Well, it would only make sense that it has to do with the Hoard itself, but it also should be things the new Squires would know, or remember being told! So, something along the lines of the kinds of equipment they have available, the kinds of research the Hoard does umm...[She drums her fingers on the railing, getting a thinky-look on her face.]

Think it would be a bit demeaning to have one of the questions be "Who is the Head of the Dragon's Hoard?" I mean, I think we'd be surprised at how many of them actually don't know. [She makes a :\ face, gauging his reaction.]

And it's not like Lis'sa's probably been drilling it into their heads... Yeah, probably a better idea to stick with the things they've actually gotten to see for themselves.

[THINKING THINKING] What are we going to do for the Dragon's Light?

A... giant... Band-aid?

[She can't help the tremble on her lips as she tries not to laugh, but she quickly loses that fight, letting out a few good-hearted chuckles. ]

I like it much better than what I was going to suggest. I don't think the Clerics would take nicely to the holy-toga thing I was going to try and rig up. [She lets out another chuckle, still thinking. After a second her eyes light up and she snaps her fingers.]

I've got it!!! So, Clerics have to have a specific focus item to cast their spells, right? Well, how about we make some fake items with a band-aid symbol on the front? Only they'll all open up and...have the next clue in it!!

Am I going too overboard with this? [Her smile turns sheepish as she asks this, knowing that she has a tendency to get too wrapped up in details.,]

Just overboard enough. [Her smile's infectious and he finds himself grinning back] So who's that leave us with?

[And then he feels dumb] OH. Right. [He points at her, wagging his finger] The mages. And the Dragon's Tongue.

Aye, the Mages... [She bites her lip, crinkling up her nose as she thinks.] I think the obvious thing would be a spell-book or wand... I really want to use something from Harry Potter for this, but it wouldn't be fair to those who've never heard of it before.

How about...

Okay, so how about this: The clue that they get from the Dragon's Light will be like, a simple incantation that they have to decode, and speak out loud in the Mage's Library. OH! The clue could totally be a Cross Word puzzle! That way they have to figure it out, say it and get...

An animated Dragon statue!! A miniature Dragon statue that will only animate if the correct incantation is spoken out loud!! You don't have to be a Mage to speak an incantation, just be able to read it!!

[She looks incredibly proud of herself, her fists raised once again in the "yes" pose.]

And now for the Tonuge.

I'm thinking an actual tongue is... probably off the list of possibilities.

But now I'm sort of... stuck on that imagery. [ :( His life is so hard ]

Hahaha eewwww, yeah probably best to... keep that off our list. But now it's stuck in my head too. Ugh. [She bites her lip again, then after a second snorts out a chuckle. Then another, followed by a volley of laughter.

She actually doubles over, slapping her open palm on the balcony, laughing until there are tears in her eyes.]

The- Dragon's- Tongue- As a pinata! Just... just picture it!!

[Laughing:] I'm pretty sure no one would be able to stop laughing long enough to break the thing open.

You know that saying "I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole..."?

Pfft, I bet there are plenty of people here, though they wouldn't admit it, who would love to take a whack at the Dragon's Tongue. Or just certain members.

[She gives a few more chuckles, swiping the tears away from her eyes with the palm of her hand and wiping off most of her makeup as she does. Finally she heaves out a breath, leaning her side against the balcony to face him, hugging her stomach once more to stay warm.]

Yeah, now I really like the idea of a huge Tongue pinata, I can't lie. Can't think of a single thing that would be better...

Unless there were multiple tongue pinatas.

You know, I really hope you've got some kinda spell to whip these up, because my pinata making skills are not what they used to be.

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She is so full of the rambleezzzz

/pets her

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