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

[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.

Well now, aren't you the one who professed to be so good at making papier mache cranes? I'm sure we can come up with something...along those lines?

...besides, as far as I know there isn't a spell for pinata making. BUT, we could always order them made. You know, write it off as a training expense! Unless you have a better suggestion?

[She says the last playfully, giving him a teasing grin. Lol and apparently she is full of critical failures tonight because she just Crit Failed her Fort save v.s. the cold. The wind rises, sudden and unexpected from the lawn and sweeps the balcony with a biting gust of freezing wind. She can't help the violent shiver that suddenly rips through her frame, the wind completely reducing her ability to play off the cold to nothing, especially since she is wearing a sleeveless gown. Her arms wrap more firmly around herself, but she is nowhere near done with this conversation, so no little wind will deter her!]

Origami cranes... it's... totally different. [He fades off into a mumble, and then notices the shivering] You look like you're freezing. Are you sure you don't wanna go back inside? I mean between... the cold and the near death experience...

No! No, I-I'm o-okay, promise. J-just that wind t-took me by surprise. I c-can tough it out![Her teeth begin to chatter in earnest, but pfft she's tough, she'll be stupid and keep at it.]

Okay, s-so Origami and papier mache are two different things, fiiiine. What else could we u-use for the T-Tongue? Umm... well we c-could use cellphones, p-pen and p-paper...

O-oh! How abbbout a d-debate at the end!! We'd have to think of relat-tive topics, but the better debater would win! [She makes a face as she finishes saying that, not liking her own idea. The cold is starting to affect her thought processes.]

[He just watches her with increasing concern growing on his face, finally putting a hand tentatively on her shoulder, and turning her to face the doors] Somehow I think you freezing to death wouldn't really contribute to the scavenger hunt party festival mood. We've got a good start at least. C'mon, let's go... find a fire to put you by. Or start one.

[She gives in, turning with him and actually stepping a bit closer towards his warmth. She can't help it, his hand feels so good on her freezing shoulder she isn't objecting to the touch at all ~~like she would anyway~~. More shivers wrack her frame as they go back through the doorway and they start heading to the nearest fireplace.]

I t-think that sounds like a g-good idea. Do you l-like hot cocoa? I c-could make us some and we can keep going, if you'd like?

[She half-turns to look at him, her eyes wide as she tries to gauge his mood, whether or not he seems like he wants to be done for the night. She's sorely afraid of keeping him from doing what he wants, but even more afraid of him leaving so soon.]

I get the feeling enthusiasm is your middle name. [It's not teasing, he really does sound impressed and chuckles as they head out of the ballroom to the hallway.] And who in the heck doesn't like hot cocoa, that's my question...

[As the heat of the building and her close proximity to Mark finally begin to work their magic, her shivers begin to subside. She heads them towards the kitchen, smiling over her shoulder at him shyly at his comment. Her smile becomes a full-blown grin when she turns into the kitchen, a chuckle coming out of her mouth.]

"Enthusiasm?" Aye, I like that better than the middle name I don't currently have. [She chuckles again, stepping away from him to set the water to boiling.[] I wonder if I can get that on my paper work...

And I know, what a silly question to ask if ye like hot cocoa or not, but c'mon. Sometimes people are crazy like that. Gotta have some sort of screening system, eh?

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