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.

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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.

Comments

[attollores]

[Her eyes flash to the table when he says that. She has a huge problem with getting caught up with other people very quickly. When she makes an opinion of someone, it is immediate and it very nearly never changes, and with Mark she had already begun to realize that her opinion of him was anything but neutral. She thought he was amazing too, but she also knew that telling him as much would more than likely scare him away.

Instead she kept them on this subject. He at least seemed interested in her story, so she would continue with that. She looks back up to him as she begins to talk again.]

Aye, really the whole family was that way, all amazing people. It didn't take me long to realize just how lucky I was to have been found by them. It could have been so much worse had it been nearly anyone else in that area of Galway.

[nosdacaraid]

A whole family, even. A lot of people show up here with nobody at all. It must be kind of hard... leaving that behind to come here.

[attollores]

[She swallows, nodding and taking another sip of her cocoa. She had realized just how much having them meant to her once she joined the Knights, but she hadn't been able to admit it to herself until just recently. She'd certainly never spoken about it with anyone else but Fede, but she trusted Mark. She didn't know how she did, but wasn't going to argue with her gut feelings about him either.]

Aye. It was more painful than I had really... let myself realize until recently. They were the only thing I had known when I came to this world but I... [She swallows deeply again, fidgeting with her mug. She licks her lips nervously, then pushes a strand of hair behind her ear.] I messed up pretty badly before I left home. I didn't think they'd... want me to be there anymore. So I um...

...removed myself from the problem. I've only begun to realize just how much of a chicken I was. Still am, actually.

[nosdacaraid]

[His face seems to fall more and more as she talks, and he drops his eyes to the table, looking a little paralyzed suddenly. The color's left his cheeks and his eyes seem far away.]

I doubt it. [His voice is harder, more cautious, as if he's erected a bunch of walls again.] It's not always that straightforward.

[Abruptly, he stands, the chair scraping out noisily behind him, and he nearly trips on it] I just realized I have to uh... I should...

[He turns from the table awkwardly] Thanks for the cocoa.

[attollores]

[Her head jerks up, surprised at his reaction. Oh gods, she'd driven him away, he probably looked at her like she was carrying some sort of disease or whatever. Here she went f-ing up again.

She stands with him, her hand reaching out for his arm and touching it gently, then quickly removing it, remembering his body-contact reactions.]

Mark I- I'm sorry if I've... offended you at'all. I... I've not made mistakes like that since then and truly... You're the first person I've said any of this to since I joined the Knights, and I just...

Did I say something wrong? Please, I don't want you to leave upset...[She stands there looking at him for all the world like she feels she just said the worst possible thing to anyone ever, her own face pale as she watches him nearly stumble and turn away from her. She gets a 19 Diplomacy check to try and get him to stay.]

Un-unless you're very busy. I understand... [She doesn't.]

[nosdacaraid]

[Indeed, her reaching out towards him just seems to make him all the more jumpy and his eyes move swiftly to hers and then away again. He looks more apologetic, but still at a loss]

No, you haven't said anything wrong, promise. It's just ...later than I thought it was. [The excuses fall more and more lamely off his tongue] Long day tomorrow... We'll uh... we'll plan this thing later though. Promise.

[attollores]

[She watches him completely draw away, emotionally and physically, having no clue how to fix what she had just done. He was making such a fast retreat that she was sure the fires of Hell must've been on his heels, and it had been something she'd said that had lit them.

She doesn't try to stop him again, her hands wrapping around her waist once more, her face flaming red in embarrassment. The excuses were so blatant that she wanted to call him out, but at the same time she just... couldn't. Instead she drops her head, her hair falling around her face as she tries to re-gain her composure.

So much for finally opening up to someone else. Her response comes out in a small voice, and though she tries to keep it contained it is still shaky and sounds so-so pathetic to her ears.]

O-okay. Later.