[Event] The Red Masquerade

[Gemini Enigma]

The mask before him was intriguing—half wild, half tamed. The girl was unfamiliar, not that anyone here struck him as someone he'd seen before. And, more exciting still, she didn't know him at all. He was just a star in this constellation of a room, just another blossom on a branch. He tilted his head curiously at her. Did the enchantment disguise their voices too?

"Hello," he said, cracking a smile. "I suppose we can do away with formal introductions. Delightful, isn't it?"

It was like trying to fly, taking a leap and risking the thrill of falling. Glorious.

[Calanthe Willowlace]

    The atmosphere in the room was almost dream-like, all hazy and pink, it hardly felt real. Snow and petals drifted through the air, swirling each time a fae swept by and spun the air around them. In the sea of masks no one could tell who was who, status had little bearing here. She smiled, it had been a long time since she had been able to cast thoughts of such things aside and merely revel in the joy of an event such as this. She floated around the room, twirling and spinning from dance to dance, as she let herself relax. Perhaps later she would settle at a table, rest a while and enjoy the delicacies lining the tables, but for now she simply whirled and laughed, letting herself get lost in the energy of the night. A man on the outskirts of the crowd caught her eye, his mask resembled marble, cold and stony, carved like the pillars of manors. She couldn't tell if he was looking to enter the twisting crowd of dancers or not, but she reached out a hand regardless. An invitation, accompanied by a small smile, whether it would be rejected or accepted she did not know, but it had been extended either way, all that was left was to find out.

[Gemini Enigma]

@jazspar

He would have been content to observe, to take in the array of beauty and aestheticism available to the revelers tonight, but he knew that wasn't the purpose of this masquerade. If he didn't want to make himself too distinguishable, he would have to follow the flow of the crowd, even if he wasn't fully swept up in it. That, he supposed, meant that he needed to choose someone to talk to.

His curious, careful gaze landed on a lady with a mask and gown decorated with blossoms and roses. She seemed alone as of yet, giving a soft laugh beneath the faux snowflakes. There were many among the fae here who were truest to the nature of Faerie—wily, fierce-tempered, sly—but he didn't get as much of an immediate impression from her. That was enough to approach.

"Hello," he said elegantly, reservedly, then hesitated. "Forgive me. I must admit I'm slightly lost on how to begin when I can't ask your name. But your mask is beautifully made." He wondered if it bore any enchantments besides the obvious masking of her identity.

Despite the masks and revelry, she could not stop her trembling. To set foot in such a place was beyond her nature, but her curiosity had swayed her feet. Before she knew it, she'd donned the mask and found herself here. Her wonder at such a mystical place had her exploring the halls and various rooms of the building. Never before had she seen anything that had radiated such a sense of magic and wonder as this grand castle hidden in a shroud of fog. Before long, the main ballroom became the only place she hadn't seen. As much as she'd wanted to avoid it, its majesty called her forward.

Standing the shadow of the doorframe, she watched the fae decked in all their glitz and glamour fill the floor with merriment and celebration. Nothing bad would happen here. Nothing bad could happen here, something whispered to her. This place was protected. She was safe. Taking a deep breath, she summoned a wave of courage. With soft, hesitant steps, she entered the ballroom, quickly finding a spot to the side near the refreshments. Maybe a light drink would calm her nerves.

[Talia Avedon]

She turned towards the boy addressing her, his mask glittering and dripping jewels, like he was crying them. She wondered if they were real or just an illusion. Everything in faerie was its own sort of illusion, either way. Tonight was no different. 

"The macabre, always." she said, feeling a bit like she was mocking the aristocracy all over again. She could never hope to emulate them, not really. She had no dignity, no bravery, no class, just daggers and secrets. She would never be a noble. The word itself was an oxymoron to her nature. "Perhaps to drive off anyone not bold enough to ask me to dance," she added, tilting her head, studying him. She couldn't see much. His identity was blurred. But she didn't think that was what he wanted, anyway. 'Don't let me keep you." she said, somewhat politely, but still with an edge. She wouldn't have her time wasted either. 

[Ayianna Belle Sivané]

She turned to face the mask that addressed her, a silver one embossed with gold. She watched it glitter under the lights curiously. He spoke like a noble. She cared herself like a queen. Perhaps it was their bearings that brought them together. She had been raised to believe that first impressions were all that mattered. 

"Yours as well, sir," she said. And now they were stumbling around courtly manors. She felt like she was being asked to do an impression of a lady on the spot. She felt out of sorts. The snow kept coming down around her, landing in her hair.

"I find the art unique." she said, hesitant to ask him to dance, unsure if it would be appropriate. "Were you inspired by some memory?" They weren't meant to remember this anyone, and memory was a curious thing. Trying to catch it was like trying to catch raindrops. 

[Marcellus Yong]

The dizzying splendor of it all was hard to not get caught up in. For him, at least. Not that he wished to resist; getting caught up in the beauty and grandeur of it all was good for the soul sometimes. However, he continued to float on the outskirts of the main dancing, content with observing the beauty of the masquerade.

He was content, until a girl in a mask like a bouquet of roses offered a hand to him with a smile. She wanted to dance with him? He blinked. Despite his surprise, he took her hand regardless, letting her lead him into the throng of dancers.

An interesting night indeed.

He was no stranger to this world of finery and dances. These events rarely found him leisurely. No matter the occasion, he'd always remained his stout, immovable self. Even now, with a thick air of mystery hanging in the air, he was still as stern as ever. It was not his duty. It was not his place to act guard or gatekeeper to this place, but he could not forget his nature anymore his blood. He studied each guest that walked through the gilded doors. Masks of flora and life, macabre and death, passed through the rose-adorned gates. Each just as mysterious as the next. He wondered what magic could so thoroughly hide tonight's visitors. No doubt as ancient as the faes' black throne.

His was a nature that found no joy in parties and balls. It seemed many shared similar sentiments with the number of attendants choosing to observe from the sidelines as opposed to joining in the song and dance. Arms crossed, he watched the partygoers with the sharpness of a wolf eyeing its prey. But the night would be sorely wasted if he chose to remain a stone-like guard. With measured steps, he entered the crowd, coming to a stop before fae in a bronze mask adorned in snakes. "How is my lady enjoying this night?"

With the festivities beginning to pick up, he'd seen enough of the guests from high above. Descending the steps, he merged with the crowd. Tonight would be nothing more than a distant memory after the sun rose in the morning. All the more reason to throw caution to the wind. Nothing he did here would have any repercussions on himself or anyone else. He had no reason to hold back. Not that he ever did.

Rather than the rambunctious ones dancing freely in the crowd, those would come later, he sought out one reserving themselves for the sidelines. A fae dressed in a mask of marine green accented with shells stood alone with a flute of champagne. A sly smile crossed his features as he approached, "It would be in poor manners to leave a lady to drink alone on such a night as this."

[Amaris Silvershade]

This night was a chance. It was a risk. It wasn't like she was usually seeking out a lot of attention or fame, but to be unknown was freeing in a way that felt unsafe. There was no way to know here who was a friend and who was an enemy, though maybe she should just play it safe and assume they were all the latter. She scooped a filled glass off of a table clothed in velvet as she swept past, draining it halfway; shattered, it would make a decent weapon, should the need arise. But maybe she should just try to enjoy the evening. Maybe she should take the one chance that she had.

[Amaris Silvershade]

Gemini Enigma

Fae attention shifted easily, and even if he had an unusual power of focus, no one else needed to know that tonight. He could chase whatever will o' the wisp, as it were, that he chose tonight. Of course, if they were really like the creature he compared them to, he'd be drawn off into the dark and driven mad, but he did sometimes wonder what lay on the other side of insanity. It was a curious possibility. 

At any rate, he extracted himself from his current conversation with the necessary niceties; her attention seemed cast elsewhere regardless, and his curiosity had been piqued by a lady in a mask adorned by snakes. She already had a conversation partner, it was true, but the fae cared little for any such claims. "May I cut in?" he questioned, approaching with a drink lightly grasped in his hand. "Your mask is a curious choice. Is it gold?" The fae, of course, cared more for beauty than value when it came to such things. 

[Jin-Hwa Mei]

She found herself in the middle of a conversation with two different individuals. It did not overwhelm her. Often, she would find herself as the center of attention. Often, she would feel studied, watched. It was nothing new. It was quite natural now.

Stars glittering to her right and a red dragon to her left. Immediately, the dragon made her think of her home. She sought be like the dragons, to capture their fire. Stars never burned as anything but signal flares. She would only find herself as a star if she was immortalized as a constellation. She would prefer a legend to a clear path any day. 

"Glittering," she said. "The decor and the conversation. Wouldn't you agree?" It was glittering. Shimmering flowers and glitter on tables. Glitter on dresses and glitter in eyes. The conversation was not intriguing so much as it was novel. Secrecy was something at which the fae excelled. Deduction was another matter.


"And to you, sir." she said calmly. The title fit awkwardly in her mouth. She was unskilled with general honorifics. "It seems we match. I could ask the same of your mask, but of course that would be impudent." The play of words was in the statement. She was asking just by saying it. She wondered if any would catch it, or if she was throwing a secret out that would never be seen, never be understood, left to drift like a feather on the water.

[Guinivere Marcel]

It was easy to throw her head back and laugh. It was easy to be hidden in the night, almost intoxicated by it. But intoxication carried its own edge of poison, and everything had its risks. That was part of the trick, to forgot and to be forgotten. To know what to remember. She moved forward, not getting snagged or snared by conversation. It was unlike her. But what would she be if she hesitated. The night was short. Consequences would come soon.

She wondered at the newfound anonymity. It would not last-- it never did. Icarus flew into the sun and many eyes followed the wicked. The tragedy would never change. She felt two sets of eyes on her-- the same set of eyes that were watching everyone, glittering from behind the mask of a crow. It was a trickster's mask, a trickster's look. She should probably have turned the other way. But it was altogether too easy to let herself be drawn in.

He was already speaking to an individual in a mask of seafoam spray. She didn't care to interrupt. But she joined their conversation none the less.

"I certainly don't mean to intrude," she said. "But now that I have, may I ask about where you got you mask, sir?"

[Annalise Lorelai Luce]

She watched those before her dance, but clearly they had never learned any choreography. It was what it was. Snakes and seas sprawled before her. Stars glittered in the courtier's eyes and dripped down their cheeks. Champagne was shared. She took one step forward, than another. She did not move too close to the throng of bodies. She had no taste for wine this early.


The figure beside her was wearing a mask adorned with Sakura petals. That was a welcome sign, for she knew those trees well. Their smell in the springtime by her lawns was an old friend. She held out a hand. She needed no words to lead a dance.

Wolfs and fire and dragons. All manner of destruction found itself here, tonight, under a glass roof. He thought dimly of how those in glass houses should not throw stones. If that was true, then those who danced under glass ceilings should not look up for too long. The sky was hazy. The clearest stars twinkled on a mask in the hall, as though they were afraid to threaten its brilliance. The ceiling rained petals. Glitter was caught in his hair. He brushed them off his head, sure he had not gotten them all. 

The point of the evening was to take chances, to mingle, to laugh. He was skilled in none of those things. A figure ahead of him snatched up a shard of glass. He had to laugh. He had been eyeing it. He walked over to the woman. Her mask was made out to look like a beast. He saw a twin flame.

"Its all hazy, how we arrived." he said in low tones. "But do you have any other shards of glass?" He wondered if she could see his face, if she took it as a threat. Here, now, it truly wasn't meant as one. Not unless she proved to be threatening.