after-party ♔ june

[wynn]

♬ Jeux d'eau - Ravel

WHO || Wynn, any and all Knights not currently on missions (if you are uncertain if your character would be at the castle for this, ask!)
WHAT || Squiring Ceremony Afterparty
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Ballroom
WHEN || June 1st, 2014, 6:00PM [backdated]
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

[asuma]

[And guess who has been stalking her ever since he'd gotten word that another squire had just been sworn in under the same as him? Klaus watches her for some time because he's ... fucking weird, I can't even make excuses for this bitch, before he finally approaches her. From behind because he likes to make a dramatic entrance.]

Sir Mikaelson, was it?

[easily]

[Her brother is stalking her? Must be Tuesday tbh. But for once Rebekah is at least...not in a completely fowl mood to see him and might even smile a little as she turns to face him.]

It is. Though I've heard rumors there's two of us.

[asuma]

Funny you should mention. [Surprise, it's me. If she ... hadn't figured it out.

But then that little smile of hers tells him that unlike most, she must have retained at least enough of her memories to recognize him. And since she was playing along rather than recoiling at the sight or him or, you know, actively trying to murder him, her current mood must be far better than he'd expected it would be.]

How long has it been? [Since you showed up here, since you've been undaggered--she's really free to choose and interpret that question as she sees fit.]

[easily]

[She has most of her memories -- good and bad. He had been calling her back to New Orleans...for some reason she can't quite remember now. So it makes the exile she had been in a little easier to bear, at least.]

Not long, I was coming to see you when I ended up here. [Which probably just leads to more questions on his part, she has yet to realize he's so far behind her.]

[asuma]

[Yeah, he's a little confused by her answer. Gurl was literally in the next room last he recalls.]

To what end?

[easily]

[She's vague on purpose now, sensing a slight disturbance in the force, but to be fair, she also doesn't really remember.]

I don't know. I had been out of town for a while but I can't remember why I was coming back.

[asuma]

[Wow, gurl. Now he's getting kind of pissed because to him it sounds like you trounced the fuck off for the year he's been gone without so much as a worry regarding his sudden disappearance.

He sets his jaw and steps forward, making it very clear that he's not pleased with her response.]

And you never once thought to seek me out before this?

[easily]

[She tenses on reflex as he approaches closer to her. Please don't make a scene, Nik. Or she'll make one back tbqh. ]

We didn't exactly part on good terms.

[asuma]

[Just what they need, a full blown shouting match on her first day...

It's a good things her words only prove to confuse him that much more--and this time he isn't able to hide as much through his expression. He's clearly lost here.]

How do you mean?

[She had only been away for a short while, and after she'd gotten the justifiable anger out of her system, they were getting along rather well.

At least the intimidation factor from a few seconds ago had subsided.]

[easily]

[It's for the best that the intimidation factor has subsided. No one needs to mistake them as a couple who fights just yet. But it's only a matter of time, really.]

You really don't remember?

[She's heard tell of this, of people not remembering things but she can't imagine him forgetting something like this. But if he has she's not going to tell him again even if he probably doesn't have a white oak stake here.]

[asuma]

[omg this bitch. klaus takes a minute to reel his shit in because he doesn't really want to make a scene right now, surprisingly enough...]

I wouldn't have asked otherwise.

[easily]

[She huffs in annoyance at his tone. God Nik, she's still getting used to how shit works here, okay?]

Excuse me for being a little surprised, it's weird the whole...people not remembering things bit.

[asuma]

[This really wasn't the best way to start things off with her. Klaus ain't dumb, so incurring Rebekah's ire so soon after her arrival was something he was willing to go out of his way to avoid. His own irritation is supressed, and he reaches for her hands like they were starting over.]

Last I recall, you and I had just been reunited after ninety years. [His tone seems calmer now too. And that whole reunited after ninety years failed to mention that the circumstances of their separation were his own doing, but ... she'd already forgiven him for that, right? He'd given her Stefan back, after all.]

[consequence]

[Obviously somewhere in all of the catching up that Rebekah does for Klaus she slips in there that he might also have a miracle baby on the way. Because that's believable, right? Maybe he thought it was a joke until this pregnant werewolf just walks over toward him. Maybe she should have found Rebekah again, figured out the correct protocol for this, but either way it's gonna happen.]

I thought I heard you. [She says it so casually. Well, only as casually as she can considering the last she had spoken to him he was with Cami and she was on a hunt for Marcel. Explosions, etc.]

I was looking for the bathroom... [She glances around.] ...just in case, because the last one I got lost on the way to.

[asuma]

[Except when Hayley rolls up, Klaus' first thought is, "Do I know you?" But then he notices the hard-to-fucking-miss baby bump and recalls that one plus one equals two. Because Rebekah had mentioned something about a magical hybrid baby by now ok.

He is going to stare for a hot second because, supposedly, that was his child she was carrying (yeah, he's not really considering her at all as the baby's mother at the moment--are we surprised?).]

Hayley, I presume...? [Said almost as though he'd just been brought out of a daze. She's granted a moment of eye contact, but he's obviously more focused on the giant elephant hiding in her womb.]

[consequence]

[Wow. That's not an elephant! That's your flesh and blood, Klaus. Get used to it.]

And... you don't remember me. [The tone from him had been enough of a clue-in for her. She might not know how to use Ancestry.com, but she can at the very least put together his questioning tone and the staring.]

I can say that this is still less awkward than the first time you found out about me. [The first time they met, that's a bit more confrontational and her being in his face about how she didn't want to be a hybrid sired to him. The surprise the baby is yours moment was a lot more accusations and death threats.]

[asuma]

[To be fair, he's not even certain how he feels about this just yet. It's one of those things that, because it was so squarely planted outside of the realm of possibility, he'd never really considered before.

The fact that she was standing before him made it feel much more real than simply hearing about it via Rebekah--who, up until this moment, he was half-convinced had been making things up. Even now, that reservation had not entirely subsided.

Which is why, when he does finally lock his gaze with hers, he seems to regard her with suspicion.]

I suppose there's no need for formalities, all things considered. [He really doesn't like being at such a disadvantage, be it with Rebekah, Hayley--anyone, really.] You certainly seem to have Rebekah convinced.

[consequence]

[Oh, this is definitely more amusing the second time around. Yes, let's just randomly choose to have witches and werewolves and humans alike all trying to kill her baby. Because that's the easy thing.]

Trust me, if I could've had any other magic miracle baby... [She huffs out her response.]

I didn't need to convince anyone. [The witches did their spell and Elijah... was Elijah.]

It wasn't candlelight and romance. It was one night and then eight months of everything in New Orleans trying to kill me or the baby. Including you at one point.

No one would pick that.

[asuma]

[Klaus doesn't exactly seem surprised by this. He may not be in a place where he feels the need to murder her or his child (assuming it was his child), but that didn't mean he was in a place where he was willing to accept it on her word alone either. Well, her word and Rebekah's--who was known for being easily influenced, let's be real.]

Perhaps not. [Which is to say, perhaps they would. There was the flip side of this argument, after all. Yes, they had their enemies, but Klaus and his family could offer a hell of a lot to anyone who managed to gain their favor.]

[consequence]

[She didn't gain favor though, she gained a pain in the ass. She gained people keeping her locked up and followed by security teams. She gained death threats and violence.]

It's fine if you don't want to deal. You didn't want to before and since you don't even know who I am, really, I'm not about to make you help me pick out a name.

[asuma]

[At least she's perceptive. For whatever that's worth.]

As I'm quite certain you understand, this isn't your typical situation as reflected on any number of daytime talk shows. So you'll forgive me if I appear skeptical.

[consequence]

[Hayley can understand that it's not the typical situation. She knows that he's definitely not even from a time that he would recall having sex with her, let alone a child to come from that one night. It still puts her on defense a bit stronger than usual, since she's had to fight for her life and the life of her child since day one because of who the father is and having him deny that very claim of hers, makes it feel like all of her struggle isn't worth anything except to say that she survived. From where she came from she'd been in the bayou. She'd been staying there with all the other werewolves that wanted to see her, to see the baby that was some sort of miracle. They weren't her family anymore than Klaus was - but having to start from the very beginning is a long uphill process for her to take on when she only has a month or so until the baby is born.]

You can be skeptical all you want. [She just won't be tossing you any forgiveness for it.] I just know that it's better to be up front with you than to just hope you hear the news from the right person at the right time.

[Her tone softens, from the directness that she'd adopted in her moment of defense.]

For what it's worth, she'll be born in a month or so. I haven't quite figured out if passing through the veil from one timeline to another does anything with my due date. You're welcome to be there. If you're curious.

[asuma]

[He may not express as much, but he appreciates her willingness to be open with him. It sets a good precedent, because he is not quick to trust. Of course, if she knows him as she claims, then she'd have also learned that about him--which lends some weight to her claim. As does the fact that Rebekah seems entirely convinced. Really, Klaus just hasn't wrapped his head around the whole situation yet. It would have been one thing to be told this could be a possibility, but to have Hayley standing before him one month from delivery? It was definitely a lot to take in.]

She? [He derails the conversation entirely for the simple fact that she'd assigned a gender. Klaus was not aware that this was something they knew.]

[consequence]

[Hayley smiles at the interest he shows. She nods for the moment, her hand moving to her belly.] I've known for a while, now.

If you want, you can see if she'll move. You might be able to feel it. She's strong.

[asuma]

[That was perhaps a little more invested than he'd planned on getting, but after a brief moment's hesitation he decides to take her up on the offer. None of this is real to him yet. Hayley was clearly pregnant, but the idea that it was his was not something he could grasp.]

Of course she is. [His daughter would be, at any rate. Klaus reaches out to rest his hand against her stomach with her permission. He's not sure why he bothers. An unborn child kicking would not magically alleviate his concerns. Yet here he was, humoring the situation...]