[Event] Snowdonia Winter Ball

[Deleted]

Words: 857

Ox had been feeling pretty nervous when he had asked Char to the dance floor, panicked when he actually set foot on it with her, and nearly fainted when he shakily began the dance. Once he felt the light squeeze in his hand from the beautiful pink-haired woman in his arms, all of that nervousness melted away, like a light snow in the afternoon sun of springtime. The longer the two danced, the more and more Oxford began to relax, giving a warm smile to Charuen, who was returning it with a smile of her own. It was funny how fast a person can change their outlook in such a short period of time. Before, he felt like his chest was beating so fast that it’d pop out and hop around the dance floor and win the prize for itself. Now, he felt happy, calm and excited, all at the same time. The sensation was something he hadn’t felt before, but now that he knew who triggered it, he’d probably try to see them a lot more in the future. Since they were in the same guild, they would probably have a lot of chances to run into each other. He smiled a little bigger as he heard the Cleric’s positive response to his question from earlier. “Definitely,” he replied, staring into those captivating eyes of hers. Just when he thought things couldn’t get any better, he felt Charuen’s head on his chest, her hair smelling nice and sweet, restraining himself from burying his face in it so he could smell it better. It was a gesture that he wasn’t expecting, but it was welcome in its own right. The euphoria Oxford was feeling right now seemed to carry him along as he danced, the rest of the world cut off as he felt a new kind of transcendence fall over him. Before he knew it, the pair had come along side another pair, Hirosame and @sugarygiggles, not very far from where Ox and his partner were currently dancing. Seeing his bro dancing with a partner of his own made him feel even happier, glad that they, possibly two of the biggest thrill-seekers out there in Londinium, had both somehow managed to get a willing female associate for the dance competition. Removing his hand from Charuen’s back for a moment, he offered a bro fist to the one and only member of BroCode, receiving a reply to his inquiry from his auburn-headed friend before replacing his hand back to its original resting spot. After the exchange was performed, the Guardian and the Cleric went back to their dancing, although at this point, it was more akin to swaying back and forth in-time with the music as they held each other close. It was a calm and tranquil moment, one that felt like it could go on forever. And then suddenly, there was Tobin, his heavily accented voice easily carrying above the music as he made conversation with Oxford, with Midori in tow as the two twirled around. Before he could reply, a comment was made about an event involving another certain female character that felt like had happened a long, loooong time ago. Ox let out a short burst of laughter, vaguely recalling what had happened back then. “I’d hardly call that ‘going down on me’. If she didn’t suddenly grab me, the only thing Elk would’ve gone down on was the floor,” he replied. At least, that’s all I can recall, he thought to himself. He thought he remembered a point in that old game when the entire top half of his body was slathered in oil, but he was too drunk to clearly recall what had happened. As he turned his attention back to his lovely partner, he thought he caught a glimpse of sadness in those cheerful, mirth-filled eyes of hers. He felt like he needed to explain the situation to her, but then decided that he should save it for later. Should she ask about it, he’d happily explain, but for now, he was intent on enjoying the final parts of the dance until the music finally began to wind down to an end. Oxford took a step back and gave the beautiful woman that accompanied him for this dance a formal bow. “You’re most welcome. And thank you for accepting my invitation to dance,” he replied as he heard Charuen’s words of thanks. He gave her another warm smile as he returned the polite nod, looking around to see what sort of other kinds of celebration were going on right now. He probably would’ve gone to the bar to grab a drink, but right now, he was feeling much too happy to wash those feelings away with strong alcohol. Instead, he plucked another glass of champagne and sat down at the now-empty table he had been sitting at before the dancing started. He took a sip of the bubbly beverage, watching the other couples mingle about on the main stage floor. If I didn’t know any better, you’d think there would be an idol coming in to sing for us or something…

template coded by oxford of ET

[Deleted]

475 words HP 100%		Tags: in RP MP 100%
The place was getting busier by the moment and with a lot of faces to look at, both familiar and unfamiliar, Caerbannog began to feel overwhelmed. Had someone called out to her or tried to grab her attention? She did not know. Well at least her husband Kumori had not run off to chat with other people just yet. If he did, she would have to tag along and OH GOOD HEAVENS NO she would have to talk to strangers! Being out in the field with a random party to kill a boss was not the same as chatting with people at a dance. There was no life-threatening event in the Winter Ball (or at least, not yet) and so the wolf-hair had no reason to team up with others. She was fine with her little dance and her hubby and her pretty dress... that was, until she caught a glimpse of someone familiar. Small and green and beautiful! The forest sprite was momentarily with someone, possibly Scoria; Caerbannog was not sure because the sheer number of dancers and party-goers blocked her view. The samurai was not even sure if it really was Kaguya that she saw, but once the little one dashed off to look for snacks, the wolf-hair's ears perked up from her thick black hair and they pointed forward. Her sight followed the sprite's movements and once the little one circled close to the dance floor, Caer led her husband towards the direction. She kissed him gently on a cheek and whispered, "I'll be right back!" "Baby!" Kyuu exclaimed as she broke away from the dance and dashed off, as quickly as she could, towards the Alraune. The young woman picked up Kaguya, snacks and all, and twirled her around once. Perhaps a dancer or two would be hit, but who cares? She had not seen the forest sprite forever! Excited at the reunion, Caerbannog ran back to her husband with the sprite in her arms. Although they were about the same height now, Caer was still physically stronger than the Alraune (and perhaps physically stronger than 80% of the people in the room). The samurai put Kaguya down beside Kumori, took a moment to admire how cute they looked together, and then with her right hand she took the assassin's left hand while her left hand took the forest sprite's right hand. "Let's dance together!" the wolf-hair announced. She waited for the forest sprite to take the assassin's other hand so that the three of them could form a merry little circle. It would have resulted to an odd scene in a rather romantic Winter Ball, but Caerbannog does not give a damn. Hey, maybe someone else could join in? Like Hirosame or Midori or @0x1dea or Charuen or Caradoc or Nursery Rhyme or Scoria or the Dwa- no, not the Dwarf.

[Scoria]

Tags: Caradoc @dindeen @0x1dea Tobin Blue
Words: ???
Notes: Muse 1 2

Scoria was content to keep tossing baubles up, but the hairs on the back of his neck seemed to raise softly and his eyes turned around in search of who prompted that reaction. His glaring gaze and merciless expression scanned through the crowd for a while, not immediately picking up that it was Caradoc, but no one could hide from Scoria's eyes forever. Sooner rather than later, the Druid (teacher system'd so his level appeared to be 1) spotted the wayward shaman. Hmm. His thoughts flickered to his creation of scribe objects with Oxford, and decided that in the nature of their joint silliness, there was more silliness to be had. Not that the stern-faced Druid would ever admit to that. Instead, he walked slowly over to Caradoc and fished out a few odd items. Specifically, Reinforced Wire, an Unstable Firearm Mana Fragment, and more Sorcerer's Ink. Stepping forward to stare down the Shaman, Scoria glared at the significantly shorter individual for a few seconds, then offered the quill he had been using to make the snowflakes and baubles in the first place. "Did you want to try?" Meanwhile, the Druid began dipping and coating the unstable fragment in the ink, tying a length of wire to it and a long, long length to his own hand. "It's like a 3d pen. The constructs are fragile, so be gentle."

Alraune, being the busybody that she was, had somehow acquired an entire armful of these christmas tree shaped cookies and was happily munching away on them when her favorite person in all of Half-Gaia called out her name. Turning somewhat excitedly to the incoming missile, the forest sprite grinned widely, her nervous smile and attitude washed away by seeing her friend. "Auntie!" The sprite hugged her back and spun around, letting out a giggle and a small 'woooo' as she was carted towards 'Mom'. Er... Kumori. Plopping down on the ground, the sprite shoved her face full of cookies and nodded energetically, teenager behavior vanishing in favor of having a fun time with her friend. She gleefully grabbed Kyuu's hand and glanced at Kumori's hand, then around to see if there was someone else they could drag into the fun. "Happy Turtle! Come dance with us! Bring Glasses Turtle!" Now that was a very precocious way of asking if Tobin and Oxford wanted to join in the festivities and she didn't actually expect them to, but it as a very solid invitation to people that the sprite was fond of. Of course, if they actually remembered Alraune's stupid nicknames for them was another story.

Scoria had spotted his secondary target for harassment, however, and tossed the unstable fragment up and down in his hands. He looked almost like he was going to throw it at someone, which wasn't entirely untrue. The fragment was attached to his hand by way of a wire and dipped in his Sorc Ink repeatedly. Hunting down Blue again, Scoria glanced at Caradoc and gave him the one second gesture. Then, in an action that was completely and utterly unsafe for a party or a gathering such as this, the Druid threw the fragment up over the crowd, waiting until it was over Blue to shove a bunch of mana into the device. Boom.

A moment later, the fragment exploded, sending the sorcerer's ink flying about in an explosion that was entirely like a miniature firework. The difference was that this one was completely harmless, with no heat or sparks, and was simply a multicolored shower of light that seemed more like a mix of fireflies and confetti than ink. As it rained softly down over Blue like an obnoxious spotlight, Scoria flicked his wrist and tugged back, forcing the fragment to drive upwards and shoot a small shower of the same glittering lights up. A moment later, the fragment dragged the fragment back to his hand like it was a shooting star. "Courtesy of our good friend Oxford." That was his contribution to the event. It was a good thing that the ink was extremely easy to disperse as well, and a simple pulse of mana from Scoria could get it off anyone's clothes if they were supremely picky about nonsense like that. His attention turned back to Caradoc a moment later. Was he gonna try out this ink or what?

tl;dr for those who aren't tagged, Scoria has sent a miniature firework of glittery lights over Blue's head for funsies and there's a related (but harmless) explosion. The last paragraph is all you need to read.

[Blue]

Welcome to my world, kids.

1152

take up the C A L L

AND FOLLOW EVERYONE 

Sweet lord on heavens high, what was going on here? The writer had posted two, TWO pages ago and expected only one round of posting to go by before she made another. Was it simply her own procrastination or was everybody less busy than her during the holiday week? Ego told her it was the latter and she was more than inclined to believe so. Better blame family. Yeah, that excuse always works. Well, no harm done, one would suppose. Not like anyone was kept waiting up until now. The dance scene was coming to a close and it would be time for Blue to make her debut as Saki had mentioned in her previous post. Now it was just a matter of filling this post with meta and addressing the current going-ons of this thread.

Blue sat and watched her acquaintances dance about on the floor with a motherly pleasantness about her. It was fun to watch the couples dance about as she skillfully glided between them, correcting their form with subtle hints and the occasional poke and nudge. Some of these people were still children after all, and the Elder Tale demographic had never been one for ball room dance. At least that was still typical. Blue had her fun for what it was worth though. She didn't need a dance partner to enjoy a ball and it was pleasant to see these people enjoy themselves outside of the common day to day of Elder Tale. It was actually almost unsettling how little conflict was occurring in such an event. This world had a certain sense of humor involved with leading Adventurers into areas and trapping them unaware. The dancing bard could only pray this wasn't the case now.

Time flew by, and the dancing period of thirty minutes had turned into more than an hour of merry making and heart felt dancing. Blue had lost track of all the participants as the entire hall filled with party-goers and servants all looking to get something out of tonight. What a night it was to be alive and in Elder Tale. The mirth was distracting enough that the bard barely registered Scoria out of her peripherals. Oh dear. He had been the last of her friends she would have expected to show up here. Not that the surprise was unpleasant... she just felt there was going to be something to come of it and it might not be what anyone expected. Well played, dear Ice Bitch. Well played indeed. In their game of understanding one another, she had been left taken aback. The ball was indeed withing his court. Still, she had an image to maintain. The red head gently tilted her head in acknowledgement, giving a graceful wave to her grumpy looking companion.

There was too much of a crowd between them for her to engage him in conversation, so Blue decided to turn her attention to her original objective. This lull in the dance was the given signal to start the second phase of entertainment. Blue looked around for Hiro, cerulean eyes scanning the area for her partner of the evening. Last she checked, he was having a nice time of it with a cute Fox Tail. She wasn't familiar with the lass but it wasn't like Blue kept tabs on her boss's girlfriends. At least he was distinct from everyone. Must have been the protagonist aura about him. She'd have to discuss their storybook archetypes with him later, he was becoming much too predictable in that element. It made her feel like the wise background adviser. She said right before she took the spot light. The bard made the signal to Hirosame who she hoped was paying enough attention to take her meaning before stepping back towards the stage.

There's a thing about timing that you have to remember. It's not inherently good or bad, it all depends on what you do after. So when a flash of light materialized over Blue's crimson locks, her nerves locked, making sure to keep her composure over anything else. The shower of light fell over her in a beautiful motion, accenting the glow of her golden dress. She wasn't sure what to make of it, and briefly looked around to find the source of this wild card. Her eyes locked with Scoria for but a moment, and a devilish smile graced her lips. Thank you for that. That's what her eyes communicated as she stepped up to the stage, taking every advantage of this attention grabber as she could. The lights began to dim and focus on her now as she stepped up to everyone's view.

"Thank you all for attending this event. We have some more entertainment for you this evening so please don't go anywhere."

Blue smiled at the crowd, giving them a theatrical bow of her head before clearing her throat. How would she open this tonight? Something for Hiro to follow, but nothing too show stealing. She didn't want to give them her best in the beginning and have nothing better after. Ah, there was just the thing. Her fingers rose and snapped in a commanding fashion, and the band turned to her. "Paper Boats please." She said simply, smiling to the Landers who nodded in agreement. A slow jazz tune began to play, and Blue's body began to move with the beat. This was her element now. Time to steal the show.

Seconds march into the past
Moments pass and just like that
They're gone

The river always finds the sea
So helplessly like you find me
We are paper boats floating on a stream
And it would seem we'll never be apart

I will always find you
Like it's written in the stars
You can run, but you can't hide, try

Like the moon that makes the tides
That silent guide is calling from inside
Pull me here and push me there
It's everywhere, hanging in the air

We are magnets pulling from different poles
With no control, we'll never be apart

I will always find you
Like it's written in the stars
You can run, but you can't hide, try

I will always, always find you
I will always
I will always, always find you
I will always

I will always find you
Like it's written in the stars
We can run, but we can't hide, try

I will always find you
Like it's written in the stars
We can run, but we can't hide, try

I will always, always find you
I will always...

Somewhere in that song, Blue had lost herself in the melody, becoming a creature of emotion that knew the movements like it was first nature. In the time her performance had began, Hiro had likely joined her up on stage. At least she hoped. It was his turn after all, not that she minded if she could keep going.

I WON'T BECOME A NUMBER IN THE S Y S T E M

❖ NOX ❖

[Tobin]

(OOC: This is my post, I am sorry for taking so long and rushing the last part, I will probably edit in some more things later when I feel up to it. Oh and happy New Year!)

WC: 964

The Dwarf had given a slight nod in understanding, though his reply was delayed for there for there was an important task to preform; the rest of the dance! One can imagine it would look strange, with the fellows head under the lassies as they weaved, yet by now one had become used to being the underdog (get it) in such situations as he took it in his (half) stride. By the time the dancing had begun to ease a little, the dwarf finally found words.

“Aye, well tha’s ta thing realleh. People ar’ becomin’ resided to their fate so that they ar’ actually turnin’ their mind toward stayin’ ‘ere fa ta long haul. Then again; some people prefer tis barbarian, rough ‘n’ tufty lifestyle oaf adventurer then their previous life, so tis an improvement fa most, so whatevar mak’s one happy. Too maneh ships means wreaks thou’, thur be ice burrrgs in these waturs.”

A subtle rumble erupted from his throat, a reminder that the Dwarf was occationally capable of the more subtle humour; occasionally being the key word. Yet for the briefest of moments the gaze turned up to the ceiling as a thought foreign to his consciousness flickered into life. –Is this life an improvement to what I had?- there was a slight arc of the eyebrow. It was time for a internal monolog.

-Well, I’m one of those barbarians, who would have thought my mentality were so suited to adventuring. Just wish I had picked a body more sui-

-Well ya picked poorly in character creation, and the outrageous fake accent help’s.-

-Shut it. It’s not as if I were planning this out in advance for some role-play forum, with a puppet master fa each of us, am I mistaken?-

-You, know, too, much.-

A slight shake of the head dispelled the thoughts back into the never; a single thought followed

-Was a boring interal conversation anyway!-

By the time the melody created a lull sometime later, most of the dancers in the ball scene had finally began to wind down, their dance included to a slow formal pace. The squat fellow nodded gently to the first statement and as he briefly scanned the other party goers, the second question prompted a slight chuckle; sometimes the simplest questions were the easiest to take for granted.

“Ahahahah, well tis humble knight in shinin’ armour is Tobin Strider, slayer oaf the henge of scren and the phantom train in London’s depths, ‘n’ almost slayer of-“ Tobin froze briefly before he chuckled, perhaps it were for the best that Kumori didn’t hear that one now. “nah tha’ tales best fa another day, just consider I the Aeryn mascot as well as a fine brewer. Nice ta meet ya capt’n Midori.” The Dwarf accompanied the closing with a wink as the dance concluded, though via a deft manipulation of her hand she brought it up to his lips for a light kiss on the back of her hand, as was the ballroom custom. “Nay, thank ya for acceptin’, even if I had ta force ya hand a bit. Ahah! Ya realleh made meh feel like a man again in ya grace.” Underneath the lenses of pink there seemed to be a slight sparkle of something in his eye, though that disappeared with a blink, a rumble of the throat and a broadening of his grin. “A human I mean. Enjoy tha’ rest ya evenin’ mah ladeh.”

For a few seconds after the Dwarf lingered on that spot; his hand in a wave, before he gave a slight sigh as he pulled a handkerchief, dabbed himself off and strung it across a timbering boar as it wandered by. In reflection tonight had gone well so far, the Dwarf had been satisfied with his entrance, actually got to dance and for once had done something that Kumori approved of (Tobin inwardly sighed as he made a note to amend that at his earliest convenience.) the pink hued gaze flicked around the room; a few additional guests had arrived since the last check; kittygrey and Saber being the main two that he would recognise yet he didn’t approach; it wasn’t in his interest to interrupt their dance.

-Well, and now it’s 5 ships in a harbour. Remind me to sod off that valentines event in the future if tis is anythin’ ta go by. Hahahah! What to do now though? Guess just get some grub and settle down somewh- wait, happy turtle?-

The dwarf’s gaze flicked again and with a big booming laugh he spotted the little sprite from all that time go that he had played high 5 with, well, she was little.

“Ahahahah! ‘ello there little turtle!” There was a pause; even the spite was taller then Tobin now! “Err, well I guess ya not so little aneh moar! I just get ‘im! ‘n’ a few others- HOT STUFF COMIN’ THROUGH!”

With that the dwarf took a moment to compose himself and then charged through the crowd, activating –hellfire overdrive- to become much like a comet to streak through the crowds of dancers to reach the guardian and with a sharp thumb gesture simply said “ya can rest in ta mornin’! Party over there!” before bolting off again, he then ran into his remaining Aeryn mates in order; @slieas (Who was still dancing, so slight slap on the behind would grab her attention before he bolted off again.) Nursery Rhyme and lastly but not least; Charuen as he glided across the table; somehow managing avoiding the hot chocolate and snacks in the progress. His message each time simple; “Ta parties ovar ther’ lets get to it!”

At that point Tobin would aim to join the ring along with whoever of those came with a simple statement; “Let’s make a multispecies centipede!”

[Stryke]

The urban clothed wolf hair felt really glad that none of the other more properly dressed people there weren’t disgusted by him. They were all very nice to him and a woman named blue directly told him don’t mind too much about how he was dressed, another girls named chauren also greeting him with much symphathy. For Leo it was a big relief, he thought that those people who attended this sort of party were a bit snob and wouldn’t forgive little mistakes of etiquette, but apparently it was his previous thought that many of the people in this world were just like him and thus didn’t care too much about this sort of things. Things started to get pretty lively there, the party had just started and as time passed, more and more people arrived at the ball, everyone with different clothes and a different style to them, Leo almost felt like he could understand why these events were so popular in the first place. The party though only got really lively once a strange figure appeared on a cart while carrying something in huge barrels, he was followed by other people who did the same and in a matter of seconds they arrived on stage where everyone could look at them. Leo wondered what the hell was that dwarf doing, then suddenly a rain of alcohol hit the stage in a really cinematographic way, that was the content of those barrels. The dwarf spoke with words that could only belong to most drunk Irishman alive. Almost immediately after, another figure appeared from the upper levels of the court room, it was a man dressed like a butler. This butler got everyone’s attention after that dwarf’s shenanigans and said that a dance competition was about to start, people could dance on their own or with a partner and after 15 minutes all the participants would get a reward. This wasn’t something Leo would’ve liked to hear, he already smelled like he was drunk thanks to that dwarf and his complete ineptitude in the dancing field made his final choice almost too easy, he wasn’t going to compete at all. He certainly didn’t want to make a complete fool of himself by dancing like a drunk monkey alone and he was sure that if he did find someone to dance with him, even if that girl accepted how he was dressed, he feared he could only hurt whoever was brave enough to dance with him, he was that bad.

The wolf hair sighed and sat on a nearby table, all around him everyone was making couples and soon after none other than rien and caerbannog were the one to start the competition by dancing first. Even Hirosame stepped in the dance field with a girl named Artemisia. After a few seconds the dance floor was full of couples and single people dancing happily, some with apparent embarrassment and some without a single care in the world. Leo felt interested in watching these people from his seat, it was clear that everyone was having a good time even though some of them could barely dance like him. He started to think that maybe he could find someone more experienced who could show him how to dance, he also felt very curious about that reward thing the butler talked about. The dance-inept man continued to look at the dance when someone caught his attention, the girl named blue who appeared to dance more skilfully than everyone in the room, perhaps she had the dancer subclass? Maybe that was the answer Leo was searching, he could ask that girl to at least to make him look so bad on the dance floor to get that reward without feeling like an imbecile.

The wolf hair sit up from his seat and then started following the girl, thanks to his height it wasn’t so difficult to follow her in the immense crowd of dancing people. Finally, he arrived near her, but as soon as he got there something incredibly weird happened. Leo heard a boom and a second after blue’s face was covered in ink.

Leo was left speechless, here there goes his sole chance to get that reward, there was no way he could ask blue to dance with him in that condition. Leo sent his palm directly to his face and quickly changed direction, in his mind he just screwed the whole thing, he just wanted some good drink to wash away his bad luck and irritation. He set to the bar and ordered a strong cocktail, drinking it in one go, then he heard a voice on the stage and that same voice started singing. The wolf hair stopped form asking another drink to turn around his seat and watch where that voice came from, he found with much surprise that the voice belonged to blue, apparently she could also sing as well as she danced. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing to not have participated in this competition, at least now he could drink as much as he wanted while he listened to a good singing voice.

“well, isn’t this a party full of surprises?”

He said to himself while sipping his drink, it felt like everyone was doing their best stand up and be at top condition that night: everyone with their fancy clothes, that dwarf and his shenanigan, that strange puppeteer girl that made her puppet dance for her and blue with that song. Leo wasn’t the type for these sort of things, he didn’t feel like the spotlight belonged to him at all, or that he could indeed stand out between others, but sometimes he wished he could, who doesn’t like some sort of attention every once in a while?
Why couldn’t he just explode on the dance floor like that dwarf over there? Maybe people were right when they said he was too stern sometimes.
Leo continued to drink like there was no tomorrow, he couldn’t dance and a good song had to be accompanied by a good drink, no excuses. He thanked his good star for his good alcohol resistance and continued to enjoy the show with his drink.


WC: 1038

[kittygrey]

The Pairings~

Ame's eyes flickered around the room to all the paired dance partners. She noticed Lavinia with a man that she had never seen before. She smiled, but doubted the small enchantress would notice her. She would make it a point to say hello to her later on, once their dancing was finished. She saw Tobin dancing with a cute girl and couldn't help but giggle watching them. They seemed to be having a grand time. Even @0x1dea and Hirosame had partners! She didn't know Oxford very well, said for the one time they took on a giant train conductor as a group, but even still, they girl he was with, Charuen, looked beautiful, her pink hair flowing. And Hiro's dance partner was a cute fox tail! She wished for a chance to meet them both at some point, perhaps she could tonight! There were so many people here that she couldn't keep count. She saw the young married couple, and then an odd, but interesting sight made her eyes flicker. She saw Bailin, the man she had mentored before with a girl she had met only recently, Saskia. They seemed like they might be an odd pair, but really, she liked the way they looked together and having met both of them and getting a feel of their personalities, she figured they would be a great couple. Her face beamed seeing all of the people dancing and she was ready to begin the night!

As Saber pulled her onto the dance floor, she felt her face flush, her dress flowing like her as she was whisked away to enjoy the music. He turned to her and her eyes watched him carefully and she let out a small gasp as he slide his hands across her waist, holding them still. The touch made her tingle and she lifted her own hands and put them lightly onto his shoulders, but as he pulled her in a little closer, she let her hands run down the upper part of his back and she crossed her arms for a slightly firmer hold. She felt her heart race and her breathing pace increased slightly, though she tried with all of her might to keep it calm. It was his next words that sent her over the edge, however, and her face became a bright pink and she dropped her head, smiling awkwardly. It had been the first time she was so close to the assassin, the first time he had called her beautiful. She brought her eyes back to his and nodded her head lightly. "Thank you Saber, you look-"

As her eyes lowered, she noticed that he hadn't been wearing the suit that she had bought him. Not that it mattered really, because his new outfit suited him much better than the tux that she had gotten. She felt her smile widen and she began giggling profusely. "You are one sneaky assassin, you know, I didn't even notice you had put that on. That's on me though, since I was in such a rush.." She lowered her gaze to the left and let out a small sigh. She pulled him in a little closer and laid her head onto his shoulder, hugging him into her. "This suits you much better. I'm sorry that I didn't notice until now, but you really look very handsome." Her voice was a soft whisper and her face resting on his shoulder hid the blush of her face once more. She felt her face nuzzle into the nape of his neck. "Thank you for coming with me tonight." She felt her lips grow into another wide smile and her heart began to pound in her chest. The whole thing was rather embarrassing for her, in a good way, this being the first time that anyone, and really, everyone, would see her paired with the assassin. It was all very surreal at that moment and she wondered if she might be dreaming.

Soon, however, a loud banging noise made her raise her head quickly, and her body tensed after it jumped. "What the heck was that!" Her voice called out and she found herself blushing yet again. She looked around the room, noticing that she wasn't the only one who had been startled. She looked back at Saber with wide eyes and tilted her head. "That scared me!" It took her a moment, her mind in chaos, before she actually calmed down and then suddenly, she began to laugh and shook her head, her arms still wrapped around him. "Geez, these things can get so rowdy so quickly." She giggled again and then resumed to rest her head on his shoulder, her breath finally calmed as her heart remained it's pounding song in her chest. She felt so happy to be here, so happy to be here with him.

- Words -
809

- Attire -
Christmas Dress

- Skills Used -
---

- Notes -
---

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M
Modified by KittyGrey

[Deleted]

One tiny fox ear flicked a top her head when she felt Hiro’s arm leave her waist. She was about to question the action but before she could, she felt his hand return to its place and pull her ever so slightly closer. Her heart skipped, squeezed, and then slowly returned to normal as Hiro began to speak to her. As if he knew she would be curious about why he had let her go for a moment, he explained it. It was an easy explanation and she couldn’t help but laugh to herself internally. It was simply such a guy-like thing to do and she found it completely endearing.

Her dance partner continued to guide her as he spoke, answering her questions and random ramblings. She was surprised to hear he had come alone; it seemed very unbelievable given his seemingly kind and welcoming nature. Her cheeks flushed when he complimented her dress but Artemisia smiled up at him, content with listening to him for a while. For at least now, his words for her and her alone and she was going to enjoy every second of it. This was most likely the only dance she was going to have this evening, after all. Hiro continued, giving her a brief overview of himself. She smiled at his age, she was older than he was. She was surprised to hear he was a guild leader but after thinking on it for a moment, it made sense. He was certainly out-going enough. Once he had finished his mini monologue, he turned it over to her to give her own.

She hesitated a moment before speaking, “Well… I'm older than you, despite how it looks. I'm twenty-two,” It was the first time she had told anyone her true age since she had become a permanent resident of this game. She usually let people come to their own conclusion on it. “I can't say I'm anything as impressive as a guild leader but I do belong to one. It’s called House of Crowns,” She looked around, wondering if there was anyone she could point out as he had for Midori. The timing was perfect (too perfect) for at that moment, her own guild leader had just made his grand and late arrival to the Ball. “I imagine you, a guild leader, are much more informed than I about this world, so this may be something you already know, but there,” She tilted her head in the direction of Kitty and Saber, who had begun dancing on the other side of the large room, “That’s Kitty and Saber. They're both in the same guild as me,” She had a feeling this was just stuff he already knew but she didn't really know what else to say about herself. Although, perhaps she would get a chance to greet the assassin and give him a holiday well-wishing later but for now, he seemed occupied.

Her nose scrunched up as she thought about what else she could tell this man, “That’s about all I can think of for now… maybe we can talk more later and by then I’ll have come up something else?” Her cheeks lit up all over again and she immediately started back tracking while stumbling over her words, “I mean…! If you want to, I'm sure you're really busy and all, so it’s okay if you can’t…! I just think you're really cute and I'd like to talk to you more…” Her words trailed off as her mind caught up to her mouth. If it hadn't of been for Hiro’s arm around her waist, she would have considered running off and throwing herself face first in the snow outside.

As if a cue to save her from her own tongue, the song they had been dancing to faded and drifted away. There was a moment of silence as someone took the stage. Artemisia half turned her body to look up at the stage, it gave her an excuse to look away for a second. Someone in the crowd cast a sparkly explosion over the new singer, causing her to glitter beautifully in the light. She realized with a bit of disappointment that their dance had come to an end. She turned back to him and gave him her brightest smile. “I think that lady up on stage was looking at you, though. Do you need to be somewhere else?” She had noticed the singer, who was just now beginning her song, had looked in their direction.

She lowered her hand from his shoulder and stepped away from him. “Thank you so much for the dance, Hiro. I had a lot of fun. I'm just going to go sit down for a while, I think I’d like to get a little something to eat anyways,” She wasn't entirely sure how to part with him, she didn't want to but she couldn't monopolize his time all evening. Hopefully he would take her up on her earlier offer to come and find her again later. She smiled at him once more before she stepped off the dance floor, back to the table she had been invited to sit at before.  She didn't want to impose on her guildmates while they were enjoying themselves, so for now she would leave them be. It was much emptier now, except for the person Hiro had greeted earlier, Oxford. She smiled at Oxford and nodded her head in greeting, her cheeks still a little flushed from her encounter with Hiro. Her little fox ear twitched as she looked around, hoping to catch one of those waitresses with the delicious looking appetizers she had seen before.

---
Notes: Good enough I guess, I didn't want to hold Hiro up any longer lol
Tags: Hirosame and also very briefly @0x1dea, kittygrey and Saber :)
Words: 945

[Lavinia]

[attr="class","pictureA"]

Lavinia
Level 31: Enchanter
Level 22: Pharmacist
Level 11: Scholar

Note: Apologizes for the delay, couldn't find my muse.

Tag: @blazeedge, kittygrey

Lavinia looked at Klide and smiled, as Klide confirmed her worry was for not "Good I'm glad." she replies. Klide raising his hand and twirling Lavinia wasn't expected and after it actually happened wasn't unwelcome either, it was actually fun. This whole alien slow dancing thing was actually pretty easy and fun, although the latter wasn't unexpected dancing in general has always been fun to the enchantress. Ever since she was young, Lavinia loved music, always singing or dancing if able. She was even dreaming of creating music for a living and was actually making headway towards this dream before the calamity happened. But, this begs the question, why didn't she choose bard. Well, that is a simple answer, Lavinia was new to MMO's when she first joined. But this is a story for another time.

Blacksmith and Tracker, Klide's subclass choices didn't see all that odd, making himself new weapons would be nice and Tracker once leveled could be very useful. Lavinia smiled as Klide guessed all three correctly, she was an enchanter, a pharmacist and a scholar. He's seen Lavinia fight, and has seen her lab at her house, so his reasons for these were sound, but his reason for guessing scholar was incorrect. "Correct on all three, but my grimoire wasn't because I was a scholar. I just like to read and the thought of using a book as a weapon sounded interesting."

Swim team, while her school didn't have any kind of pool so no swim team but Lavinia understood the concept. Swim from one end of the pool and back as fast as possible or so she thought. "Well, if you count learning as a hobby then you can count that I guess and reading by relation. I like music, I listened to it constantly before this, I even started making my own. I got noticed by a popular artist and he gave me a free plug and I actually started getting a little bit of notice before all this happened. I mostly made the kind of music you'd hear at a night club." Klide was the first person in this world to be told this. Lavinia wondered what he'd say...

Klide's favorite color was red, and Lavinia was practically bathed in it. Lavinia wondered for a moment if he was just saying that for that very reason but then just figured he really liked her dress. Despite being covered in the color, red was not Lavinia's favorite color, it was high on the list though. "Red huh, no, red is not my favorite color although it is high on my list. Here is your only hint, it is on me some where." she finishes stepping back and twirls slowly just like before. Returning to her position and continuing their dance Lavinia looks at Klide, after all her favorite color is in the one place where everyone looks daily. Lavinia's favorite color was blue, more specifically, icy blue, just like her eyes. Although her eyes in this world did not match the real world counter-parts they were close, as close as she could make them with maybe a touch to make them look cooler.

The first slow dance was done, or at least the song and another began as soon as the other ended. Lavinia looked at Klide and wondered if he wanted to go again. Looking around the room, Lavinia see's Kitty, she was glad her friend made it and would have to go glomp her later. "So, shall we dance some more? I don't mind." she says holding out her hand to Klide.

Apprentice Philospher’s Robe

Apprentice Philosopher's Staff

Apprentice's earring / Apprentice's brooch

Apprentice's necklace / Apprentice's Hairpin

Health: 100%

Mana: 100%

Word Count: 600

Made by Sileas; with help from Neun, Kyou, Saber, Saki, and Oxford. Artwork: twitrounds.com and Kitto, Sumiwataru Asairo Yori mo

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[Charuen]

"KNOW THAT I'M ALREADY HOME" Charuen eventually found herself sitting back down at the table she had occupied earlier that evening, watching the remaining pairs sway on the dance floor with an expression of content on her face. She hummed along with the music, enjoying the overall atmosphere. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. A delighted smile graced her features as she took notice of the snowflakes that had appeared above.They graced the entire banquet hall with more elegance than before, as well as reinforced the theme of winter. The cleric looked around, wondering if it was a result of an adventurer's actions, or if it had been planned beforehand. Either way, she was certain that whoever came up with the idea was a very considerate person indeed. The pinkette spent another minute admiring the snowflakes and baubles, as well as the general decor, before looking glancing back at the tale that she was sitting at. The sound of a staff tapping rhythmically had caught her attention. A young man with a pleasant smile was observing the dance floor and chuckling to himself. The smile on Char's lips grew as she found herself being affected by the stranger's good mood. She would have started a conversation with the man, but by the time she had parted her lips to say something, he had already gotten up and walked off. The cleric internally shrugged as she watched him walk away. She supposed that if it was meant to be, they would have the chance to speak with one another sometime during the evening. A familiar voice calling out a very specific nickname broke the healer's train of thought. Turning her head slightly, Charuen found facing Midori, who had been dancing with Tobin earlier. The heretic made a short comment about the dance earlier, to which the pinkette nodded and smiled politely. "Thank you," she replied, before giving Midori and her puppet a small wave. She then patted the seat next to her, offering the raven-haired adventurer a seat. "As for a snack...well, thank you! I would love one." Charuen's hand reached out towards to meet the puppet's, and her slender fingers wrapped around one of the candy canes before she gently plucked it from the doll's hand. A smile tugged at her lips, and she nodded at Midori once more in gratitude. "You were dancing quite well yourself." Charuen said, looking at her friend. She was very fond of the magician; they had gotten to know each other quite well during their adventure in Stratford. "I'm sure Tobin proved to be a very exciting partner.'" The dwarf's words to Oxford came drifting back into the pink-haired adventurer's mind, but she forced herself to push them out of her mind. Right now her focus was Midori. "Do you have any other plans for the evening? People you want to dance with?" Charuen was momentarily distracted from her companion when she noticed movement on the dance floor that was unlike the rest of the pairs that were also present. The cleric watched with amusement as @dindeen, Kumori, and a sprite formed a small circle in which they danced together. While she was quite tempted to join in on all the fun, she was already in a conversation with Midori, and it would have been rude to leave. More importantly, Char couldn't help but look upon the trio and see a perfect family. It would almost be a sin to shatter such a picturesque scene. Thus, she remained seated. The half-alv's attention, however, was relocated once more, when she heard a loud bang in the performance area. Her eyes widened as a shower of light fell upon Blue and cascaded down her dress , giving her an unearthly glow. Charuen grinned at her friend, inwardly gushing at how beautiful the fellow pinkette looked. Looking at her friend, the cleric was vaguely reminded of a goddess. She listened with close attention as the bard spoke of further entertainment, and a jazz tune began to play. Char felt shivers down her spine as Blue began to sing. She had known, even in the real world, that Blue had an amazing voice. However, as she watched her best friend sway and become one with the music, the healer felt herself being moved to tears. The performance was so genuine, so sincere, so...raw. Charuen pressed her free hand (For the other was still holding onto the candy cane that Midori had offered earlier) against her chest as she felt a mix of emotions wash over her. Happiness, longing, loneliness, nostalgia... But most of all, pride and adoration for her friend. HP100% | MP100% WORDS 769 | ATTIRE x NOTES | Myrddin Scoria were briefly mentioned in this post, but no direct interaction

MADE BY VEL OF GS 

[Hirosame]

Hiro's mind was completely fixed on @sugarygiggles for the time being. He didn't know what else was going on around him, and he actually didn't pay much attention to anything else. This girl, only a few inches from him, had his attention completely. As she began to respond to him, he found himself only a little surprised. Hiro had a feeling that she was a little older than he was, but he was surprised to see that his guess was almost directly right. Even if this girl was a bit shorter than him, she was still very beautiful, and he considered himself lucky that this girl would even look in his direction. Whatever guild he was in, and whether he was the leader of it or not, meant nothing to him. Hiro was just another member of the guild, after all was said and done. Hiro had no intention of saying he was better than any of his guild members, since so much more can be done when you work together as equals. But, to this girl, the fact that he was a guild leader didn't mean anything. Hiro didn't want her to respect him for such a thing. Hiro wanted her to see him as himself, not a guild leader.

Artemisia motioned her head over to the side, pointing out her guild leader and his date. Hiro was a friend of kittygrey, as well as an acquaintance of Saber, having worked with them both before on separate occasions. Hiro offered a nod over at the other couple, before turning his attention back to Artemisia, who seemed like she had something to say. What she did say, though, was rather adorable, and actually caught him off guard. Hiro's back stiffened a bit and he could feel some red flushing into his face. She just said he was cute? And she liked talking to him? Hiro could help but stutter a bit himself, but decided not to say anything right away. Hiro thought the same of her, perhaps maybe a bit more than he cared to admit. His attention very quickly turned a different direction, hoping to avoid eye contact for now, as she would have very quickly seen how much he was blushing. Upon doing this, though, he saw the golden-clad Blue making her way to the stage, giving him the signal. Hiro's blushing face turned serious for a second, nodding to the woman. Hiro then returned his attention to Artemisia.

It looked like she had also seen the signal, and could get a little hint that Artemisia, like Hiro, was a bit upset that their dance had to end right now. But, Hiro knew that he needed to be up on stage with Blue. Hiro offered a smile back at the woman in his arms. He let go of her, nodding. "Yeah, I need to be up there with Blue. We have some music to perform." Hiro smiled again as she thanked him for the dance, returning the favor. "I'll find you after we do our music, and we can talk some more, okay?" Hiro had a sudden urge to try and hug her, but he fended it off, deeming it not the best possible time for him to do that. He just met her, after all. He watched her walk back to the table, and hurried himself up to the stage with Blue. As her song began, Hiro stood by with a guitar being put in his hand, playing along with the music, in time with her voice. He knew the song beforehand, as both Hiro and Blue had spoken about it, and they had rehearsed it a few times. So, if everything went like they wanted to, Blue's song would go off without a hitch, which was Hiro's absolute intent to have happen. Blue's voice is too pure for things to mess up on her.

Hiro sang the male undertone, along with Blue, when he needed to chime in, as they had previously spoken about before. It added a mysterious kind of an aura to her song, which he was more than happy to assist with. His voice was quiet enough to notice it, but this was her song. He wouldn't try to overshadow her. As the song progressed, and the guitar needed to become more noticeable, he would pick up with how he strummed it, and die back down when the song called for it. All in all, it sounded just like they had intended. Hiro had to admit, Blue's voice was in top form tonight. Hiro shot an impressed look up to his fellow musician, marveling at how much more experience she had in this kind of thing than he did. Hiro had a lot more work to do, if he was going to get up to her level at some point, though. As her song ended, Hiro stood up, and applauded his friend, bowing to her and showing his respect. A smile swept across his face, as he stepped up to the stage. Taking a place right before the microphone, Hiro opened up his interface, and changed back into his normal blue dress shirt, black dress pants, and black shoes in a flash of light. Closing his eyes, Hiro took a deep breath, and...

"Ano hi mita sora
Akane iro no sora wo
Nee
Kimi wa oboeteimasuka"

Hiro's eyes flung open, and his voice blasted the song that he had been practicing on his own. This song that he had memorized from his childhood, by heart, in his native language. The song held no personal meaning, in the lyrics, to him. It had no place in a memory that he had. he just liked the song so much that he learned it, and still had it memorized. It seemed that the Orchestra before him had known the song before, and were onboard with him playing it. He did send in a list of songs that he'd sing for the musicians to practice beforehand, so nobody would be unprepared. Hiro kept his movements to a minimum, trying to keep the feeling of emotion in place, so that his voice would resonate better against the walls. While he sang, though, his eye caught onto Artemisia, who was sitting at the same table. A smile appeared on his face, as he began to sing the last chorus, belting out as hard as he could, while keeping the same volume. Once he was done, Hiro would resume his place at the orchestra, and resume his duty as an instrumentalist, until his next performance. Hiro was definitely more interested in hearing Blue's music than his own, especially because she had her own sense of class in her voice. Hiro was just loud and had a range. He wasn't super special when it came to this kind of thing. Which it shall be reiterated that he has a lot to learn still. Sitting back down, Hiro picked up the next instrument for Blue's line-up that he needed to play, and waited for her move.

[1174 Words]

((OOC: Blue, feel free to play any instrument during my song as you see fit. It incorporated Orchestral elements, so by all means. You could jam on the guitar, if you wanted. In any case, the floor is yours, my friend~))

[Midori]

[attr="class","polarisB"] [attr="class","girtabB"] [attr="class","gifB"] [attr="class","backgroundsinisterB"] [attr="class","stardustB"] [attr="class","starduskB"] [attr="class","lockedroomB"] [attr="class","psychelockB"] [attr="class","murasakB"] It was a weird gesture from the eyes of anyone watching this scene without context, probably due to the puppet's offering. Regardless, Midori was fairly bad at conforming to social norms once she had loosened up a little, despite her initially calm and elegant appearances. It was a sign that she was getting somewhat more comfortable at the party after everything that had just happened pretty recently. It was hard to say, because most of the other party-goers were people she had not really met. She did know most of the other guests, especially the other Aeryn members by name, but Midori hadn't actually met their acquaintances at all. Most of her social connections came from Hiro and we all know that Hiro was having the time of his life just right above this post. Read it for yourself. The other girl accepted the food gifts, so the empty-handed puppet was now able to rest its body as they both sat down at the adjacent table. Its body slumped down right beside her leg, leaning its blue-wigged head against her leg. She supposed that she could have just placed the puppet onto a proper seat due to the rest of the table being unoccupied at the moment, but that would have been a little weird even for her. The pink-haired girl brought up how she liked the magician's dance just a little while earlier. "A-ah! It was fun, but that was actually my first time dancing, here and in the real world." she thought for a moment as she gently bit the tip of the candy cane held in her left hand. Midori recalled a fair amount of memories from the real world and all the school dances she had passed up. For a while, she had hid behind the excuse that the school dances were very expensive and wouldn't have been worth it to attend. She didn't know how to dance after all, and the rave-styled dancing she had always seen on the school's media didn't appeal to her. Not to mention most of her friends weren't the type to go to the dances anyway, so it wasn't really in her best interest to fork out money to go alone. That too was also an excuse though. She had made sure to ensure that the opportunity would have been locked to her. The dark brown haired girl in reality had chosen to spend her lunch hours in secluded places every time one would pass by and she would immediately head straight home after classes. It was a convenient way to easily eliminate the chances that anyone would have asked her to a dance. Maybe she had been a little afraid to open herself up in the real world? As strong as she was able to convey her thoughts online, she would just hide under a shell without the security of being behind a screen. It was a bit of a disconnect now that her current body wasn't actually her real body, however. She was starting to feel like she was in the body of her online persona, which brought her some security. However, she would still have the tendency to hesitate, if by instinct or habit. Charuen's question made her think about what she was going to do from here on. "Hm... I'm not quite sure, really. And people I want to dance with...?" Frankly no one really came to mind. The raven-haired tactician had a way of not really making any friends until she had learned to trust the other person. Of the partygoers right now, she could trust Hiro and she was really feeling a similar feeling toward the pinkette at the moment. Their adventures in Stratford had been very enjoyable and she could tell that the Cleric was genuine in how she interacted with everyone. Charuen gave off a friendly atmosphere that seemed to cheer everyone up, so she really wanted to be able to get to know the other girl some more. A thought crossed her mind at that very moment and before she knew it, her need to respond for the sake of being social had made her speak a little too soon. "Actually... maybe I was wondering..." She looked at the other girl, whose eyes were turned toward the Aeryn leaders dancing together in a small group. She raised her cocoa mug in order to take a small sip, but mostly to eliminate the small frown that had formed on her face at that moment. Quite frankly, this too was one of her bad habits whenever she would go into places where there were large gatherings. It was a bit of a paradox, as she disliked the spotlight being placed on herself. And yet, another side of her wanted to be recognized by anyone. A subconscious thought crossed her mind. At this moment, no one is looking at you. You've disappeared, if only for this brief moment. It wasn't any better when her two Apocrypha guildmates had seized the spotlight then, turning the dance party into what seemed to be a karaoke performance night. Her eyes glanced up at the two taking center stage, looking around to watch the reactions of every other partygoer. Her eyes finally glanced over to her new friend, whose expression looked overcome with joy. Come to think of it, they were apparently acquainted with each other back when their two guilds had performed that leader breakout operation. "Never mind... They seem to sing pretty well." She reflexively raised the cocoa mug once again, lightly gripping it with both hands even with the large candy in position. Her eyes turned down toward the floor for a moment before finally settling out in the distance. One would think she would have been staring at the crowd when in fact her gaze was directed toward nothing in particular. It was a strange phenomenon, much like her real life self. Her avatar right now had perfect vision, but she was staring off with such a blank expression that resembled her former nearsightedness. Am I still just the same person I always was? [attr="class","notesbg"] NOTES ATTIRE WORDS 1020 CREDIT BY jumpstart! of btn and ote [attr="class","borderradius"] 皐月 冬子

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[Deleted]

Words: 1002

As soon as Oxford had set himself down at the table, a whirlwind of events occurred, each one affecting him in either a direct or indirect manner. The pretty fox-tail, @sugarygiggles, had also walked over to join him at the table, her cheeks still a little flushed as she gave him a nod and smile. Oxford returned the nod, his smile a bit bigger than hers as he thought about the cause of the fox-tail’s still-blushing face: was if from all the dancing, or was his bro Hirosame revealing a hidden talent of wooing his way into a woman’s heart? He decided it would be rude to ask such a personal question since they had barely known each other, so he sat quietly to himself, taking another sip of champagne from his glass. Out of nowhere, the spectral image of a being on fire revealed itself to him, barreling through crowds of people before stopping directly in front of him. The stout form of Tobin could be easily recognized as he excitedly shouted that mornings were made for sleeping in and that the party he was currently attending was located in the vague direction of ‘there’. The whole exchange was delivered in short-noticed, the dwarf taking off before the Guardian could get a word in. Confused about the whole situation, he felt it better to just sit back and enjoy his beverage. He munched on one the snacks that were provided as he watched the other couples continue to dance. He spotted the dancing figures of Saber and kittygrey, the sight coming as a surprise to him since he really didn’t figure Saber to be the type of guy to show up at social events like these. Sure, he had only done two quests with him, one of them also with Kitty, but during that time he usually kept to himself. Even during the battle on the train, the two of them managed to stick together most of the time. So in reality, it shouldn’t have been such a surprise to the Guardian, but hey, life’s full of surprises to whack you upside the head with. The two looked happy though, bringing a small grin to Ox’s face as he turned to see what everyone else was doing. That is, until a gunshot rang out and a large number of gasps filled the room. Ox quickly turned and found that the murderer with the smoking gun belonged to…Scoria? Well, if serious looks could kill, his could certainly drop you dead at twenty feet, so people would probably start pegging him as the culprit in this mad game of whodunnit. If he wanted to prove his friend’s innocence (or guilt), he would have to find the body first and then…ah, wait a second. The author has now been told that it wasn’t a gun that went off, but instead, a soft, cascading wave of what looked to be tiny bits of phosphorescent confetti paper that fell gently over every one. Like someone had taken an aurora borealis of the northern skies and turned it into a 3D floating mosaic painting of one. Oh, and apparently, Scoria was kind enough to give Oxford a share of the accolades. Hooray for science alchemy. At this time, the woman he saw in the golden dress from before (let’s go ahead and assume that Ox already knows that her name is Blue, do to various top-secret things that occurred within the Alliance at one point) took the stage as the improvised decorations fluttered around the room. The hall was filled with these warm ambient lights as the main lights dimmed. A spotlight was light and aimed at her so that all may see who it was that filled the hall with this soul-enlightening music. Ox lightly tapped his foot to the steady beat of the music, a bridge that connected the emotion in the song to the ones currently being held in his heart. As the Bard’s song ended, he was surprised, yet intrigued when he saw that his Monk friend would be performing as well. With a flash of light, his outfit had transformed, and Ox found himself hanging on every word as he listened to his friend sing his heart out. His voice carried a lot more clearly than Blue’s did, filling the stage with the song that sounded like he had always carried inside of him. Another sense of emotion filled him, but unlike Blue’s, which was soft and melodic, this one seemed to carry power, infused with a will to overcome whatever challenge that lies ahead. The blend of instruments added depth to his friend’s message as it dispersed itself into the audience. Once all was said and done, the music coming to an end and preparations for the next song starting to begin, Ox rose from his seat and applauded loudly. He didn’t care if he was the only one standing and clapping like a fool. It was acknowledgement to the artists that performed that their songs had found their marks in his heart. And they sure as hell deserved it. Anyone else who thought otherwise of the performances could take a nice dip in the large body of frigid water conveniently located over the edge of the balcony. Feeling a bit winded from the myriad of psychological stimuli that seemed to fill this room tonight, Oxford excused himself from the table. Aside from Artemisia, Charuen and Midori were there as well, making the Guardian the only male attendee at the table. Leaving the three be (or were there others here as well?), Ox made his way to the upper level of the place. Assuming that there is indeed an upper level and that the author was not mistaken in this assumption, the bespectacled young man leaned against the ornate railing as he watched the other party-goers mingle and socialize. He held his chin in his hand, staring blankly at nothing in particular as he tried to get his thoughts in order. tl;dr - Ox sat at a table, drank some champagne, liked the music, then disassociated himself from everyone while the author tries to figure out something for Ox to do.

template coded by oxford of ET

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

“One… Two… One… Two… Sweet jesus I suck at this.” You’re more nimble than a crow, Saber. Keep it up.

“Shut up you…” The Assassin internally rumbled as he moved his feet slowly and steadily, his body gliding around the small box he had mentally placed himself in as to not disturb any of the other players on the dance floor Kitty and he were on. He was no dancer, nor was he anyone with any kind of rhythm except for when he was in combat, but there was something to the music which put his feet in motion. His stomach whirled with the fleeting vibrancy of joy he felt and his heart warmed at the sight of the pretty woman in red who was in his arms. He hated being in large spaces with lots of people and he hated being seen in public with people even more, especially in just a weak and vulnerable state. But what he hated more was the thought of the sad look he probably would have received if he had declined Kitty’s offer. If he had said no to her, who would she have gone with? Would she have been here alone…?

He doubted it. Kitty was a bright and bubbly person who connected with a lot of people, and was actually apart of another Guild before she joined his. The name of it, however, escaped him. He never pried into the private lives of others but he had seen her running around with a bunch of other players before. On her friends list, Saber would not be surprised if she had a dozen or so male players ready to sweep her off her feet like a princess if she came to them without a date, and just the thought made Saber’s heart tinge. The bubbly blonde in front of him had barged her way into his life, bugged him repeatedly for even the simplest of things, and had invaded his personal space far more than once. She even popped up multiple times in locations where he planned to fight in. Saber didn’t believe in fate, but he did not doubt that there was a god above steering him around. It was quite annoying at times but it had made him happy. He would not show it often, but the woman he held in his arms put a crack in the iron maiden he had sealed himself inside… And that was worth every moment he’d spend drawing blades on other players who would even dare take her from him. Should he stand alone, the only person he prayed would stand with him was the woman he stared at.

What reassured him of his decision to get off his ass, put down the book he wanted to read so badly, and actually come out of his hole in the ground, was Kitty’s giggle and her smile. She looked at him with such joy and happiness that it made all of his exhaustion fade. He gripped onto her tighter and his fingers pressed into her waist a little more as he smirked. The sincerity in her voice told him more than she had said, and he couldn’t help but grin. She wasn’t a liar, not like the others he had played with. She wouldn’t rip out his heart for a bounty and he definitely wouldn’t betray him because of some pitiful reason… No, Kitty spoke to him with pure kindness, and Saber’s chest thudded as he heard her speak.

“I actually considered staying in the library… I hate these things…” The Assassin whispered in response to the pretty fox tail thanking him, his voice just loud enough for only her to hear. Though, what he wouldn’t say was that he wouldn’t have gone with anyone else. He wouldn’t have left his pit if someone else other than her had asked him, and that it made him actually happy that she had asked him… It was the first moment someone had ever needed him so badly since he was dragged into the world he was now trapped inside. It made him feel needed…

To the world, he was just some random Assassin. No one thanked him for things, no one greeted him into an area, and no one called out to him or waved to him. No one sent him messages for things and he hadn’t received an invite to anything since he had begun his journey. It hurt, but it was a path he was content with walking. It was a path he could withstand, and one that his body could handle. He took it like a blessing as much as it was a curse, and clawed his way to the top by his own power. He didn’t need help, he didn’t need to rely on anyone, and damn it he was stronger because of it. Strong enough to where he could hold the jewel who danced with him gently enough to where she wouldn’t be hurt, but firmly enough to where she would be safe. She was something worth protecting in this world…

“Talk about a sob story…” It’s your sob story, get over it.

A moment later, as the song continued, a loud bang erupted into the room. Immediately, Saber pulled Kitty close to his chest with his left arm as his right hand shot back onto the hilt of his concealed dagger. He squeezed it, the weapon moulding to his hand as the mind of the man switched from dancing to battle in a split second. His blood pulsed, his teeth wrenched together, and his eyes narrowed as he squeezed Kitty against him to protect her. Though, as he looked up towards the source of the sound, his grip loosened; the supposed danger was just someone setting off fireworks… inside of a building. Genius. Absolute genius. But, at the simple discovery, Saber released his weapon and loosened his grip on Kitty even more. He held her gently in his arms again, and snugged her body against his as she placed her head on his shoulder. The man rumbled in his throat and he leaned his head down softly so it was placed on hers.

“And that’s why I hate these things… People…” He whispered into Kitty’s ears and gently rubbed at her sides, his hands slowly snaking around to her lower back. He held her gently and caressed her back with as much care as he could, his hands trembling as they moved. It had been a long, long time since he had to take such care with something. He was so used to simply ripping things apart or breaking things that simply cradling the woman he cared for was a tedious task…

“I’m sorry for being such a fool, Kitty…” Saber whispered as the song changed once, but slowly it started to fade. His awareness of the world around him slowly began to shrink the longer he held Kitty until he was practically blind to everything which was beyond five feet from him. His eyes stared down towards the floor, his hands squeezed her against him, and he listened to the distant sound of her heart beating… The world could end, and he would die happy.

“I went through this game expecting to always be by myself, and I was content with it. I never asked anyone for help and I never let anyone get close to me…” He spoke softly as he danced with Kitty, speaking just loud enough so that she could hear him over the rest of the noise in the room.

“And I was a fool for it… But I’m happy that it was you who showed me that I was wrong to do so.” Saber closed his eyes for a moment and his fingertips pressed into Kitty’s back. She was warm… So much warmer than the cold air of the forest, the frozen floors of the dungeons he usually slept on, and hotter than the moon he lived beneath. His body felt so cold and the longer he held her, the more he could feel the ice encasing his soul melt away.

“Thank you, Kitty… For not leaving me behind…” The Assassin barely was able to mouth the words as his body tensed up. He closed his eyes and squeezed her a little tighter.

“Damn it…” He gently kissed the side of Kitty’s head and pressed his head against hers. His body felt so heavy now, but light… It was as if Kitty was keeping him up, and if she let go of him, he felt as if he would fall and crash into thousands of pieces.

: Post Title :
-A Cracked Shell-

: Word Count :
1441

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, kittygrey

: Notes :
---

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

"Really? You were doing music before this? That is impressive. Lavinia, I am sorry to hear that you got stuck here when you had such a bright opportunity waiting for you on the other side." Klide genuinely felt sympathy for the young enchantress. He was happy that she was successful in the outer world, but this news was bitter sweet, she was trapped in a world where she was not playing at night clubs (as far as Klide knew) and ever though she had the skills in the real world, she was not a bard, so her musical abilities were likely less proficient. Klide distracted himself with her next comment. "Not red huh? Well then, let me take a look." He scanned Lavinia's body for another color that stood out. suddenly his face became a bit redder as he realized what he was doing, though he found his mystery color. "Is it blue? The most brilliant color on you is in your eyes." It was true, in the lights of the great hall, Lavinia's eyes were sparkling with a fluid beauty, apropos to the blue depth of her eyes. Just as he shared his guess with Lavinia, the song ended, and a new one began. When Lavinia asked if he would care for another dance he bowed and said "But of course, I will dance with you as long as you would like." He smiled at the red clad girl and took her outstretched hand, bowing low as he did so. Then he brought her close to him again, and they returned to the slow swaying that had come and gone with the last song. "So have you seen any of your friends here yet? You were with that group of adventurers by the table earlier, and a lot of people have come since then." Klide only knew a few people who were currently present at the ball, though he wouldn't be surprised if most of them had forgotten about him. Most of the people here, he had only met on one adventure, or gotten caught up in events that did not involve him at first, but circumstances forced action.

Word Count: 360
Total Word Count: 1402+360=1762
Tag: Lavinia

[Murasaki]

Reminder: You have 1 more week to post in the Winter Ball for bonus event-completion rewards. All posts made from here on until midnight PST on February 1st will receive an additional +50% to their word counts.

Posts made prior to this week will receive retroactive rewards. Since many have already claimed their posts from this thread, I've gone back and counted up how many words you should get now that this bonus is added. You may link to this post as proof for your AP Claims.

@sugarygiggles: 265 + 462 + 434.5 + 472.5 = 1634
Blue: 220.5 + 276 + 576 = 1072.5
Bailin: 438.5 + 321 + 475.5 + 443 = 1678
@dindeen: 505 + 292.5 + 237.5 = 1035
Caradoc: 243
Charuen: 399.5 + 646.5 + 467 + 384.5 = 1897.5
@dumah: 604.5
Hirosame: 331 + 754.5 + 457.5 + 563.5 + 587 = 2693.5
Isolde: 298.5 + 537 = 835.5
kittygrey: 848 + 404.5 = 1252.5
@blazeedge: 285 + 250 + 166 + 180 = 881
Kumori: 453.5 + 269 = 722.5
Lavinia: 256.5 + 184 + 224.5 + 300 = 965
Magma Hirimito: 173.5 + 95 + 62 + 90.5 = 421
Midori: 316.5 + 439.5 + 368 + 495.5 + 510 = 2129.5
Myrddin: 550
Nursery Rhyme: 392 + 400 + 175.5 + 153 + 83.5 = 1204
@0x1dea: 249 + 316 + 292.5 + 428.5 + 501 = 1787
Raniya: 346
Saber: 460 + 720.5 = 1180.5
Saskia: 629.5 + 507.5 + 524 = 1661
Scoria: 194 + 362.5 = 556.5
Stryke: 344.5 + 519 = 863.5
Tobin: 375 + 598.5 + 281 + 482 = 1736.5

[Sophia]

After a long trip on a horse and buggy, Sophie had arrived at the place where the winter ball was being held, just as the directions had said on her invitation. Once she was inside, she immediately widened her eyes and smiled large as she admired the beautifully lavished establishment. She took a moment to look at all the well-dressed attendees of the ball, including the staff and servers. She, on the other hand, was still dressed in her plate mail armor. But not for long. Before leaving for the ball, she had bought some clothes to wear for the ball. She simply had chosen to wear her armor on the way over, as to not dirty her attire for this evening. Dancing in her armor, imagine that. Even she had a chuckle at the thought of doing so before coming the ball. 

She looked around from where she was in the ballroom, for the bathroom. Her wondering eyes would eventually catch sight of a sign with a simplistic graphic of a woman for the female bathroom. She walked over to it and disappeared inside. Moments later, she came out in her clothes for the evening. She wore a long creamy white dress that ended at her ankles. On her shoulders, she had on a short sleeved, baby blue short coat and a pair of matching blue low-heeled shoes. She had also weaved her blonde locks into a braided bun behind her head. She had noticed that attendees of the ball were already dancing to the music playing in the background. She let out a little sigh, as she had hoped to bring some of her friends along, but however, they had over plans. But still, she was glad to be at the ball, even if it was by herself. The all around joy being spread in the ballroom, also brought her joy. She found it quite infectious, the good kind.

She walked over to the nearest table she could find, sat and watched the people dance and the band perform. Every now and then she would tap and sway her body to music. It was only until things started to quiet down a bit that she turned to the only other person in the table, a bespectacled, brown haired youth in a tux. She thought maybe they could chat bit before the next song plays, and maybe, perhaps they can dance. "Hello! How are you doing this evening?" She smiled sweetly at him. She then paused for a brief moment, as she realized that the boy seemed somewhat familiar. "Oh, wait. This might be a silly question, but haven't we met before?" She said, while trying to think back where she might had met him.

---

Word Count: 456
Tags: @0x1dea

[kittygrey]

The Only One

Ame listened to the assassin's words. She took them in, looking at him, gazing into his gentle, lonely eyes. They had been hard when she had first met him and he had acted so tough all of the time, but, on rare occasions, the one's she normally had run in to him at random, she had begun to see a different side of him. Now, as she looked at him, she could see that he cared for her and she only hoped that he could see that she truly did care for him. If she hadn't been able to force him to this ball tonight, she doubted she would have come. She wanted to be here with him, to show everyone that the assassin before her, was hers and that she had cracked the hard ass he had once been. Perhaps she even hoped that a few of his enemies could see him like he was now, when he was with her, perhaps they wouldn't hold any cold- hearted feelings towards him. Then again, it may have made her a target too. Either way, she didn't care, she was just happy to have him be the one that she was here with and as he whispered his thoughts to her, she gave him a small, pure smile. "I'm glad you didn't. I know you hate things like this, but, I really wanted to come and if you hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to. I-" Her words were cut off before she could finish as the loud bang intruded her thoughts and had scared her into the shoulder of Saber.

Ame would admit to being afraid, but the bang made her more than happy, more than excited even as the assassin, out of pure instinct, grabbed her close to him. Her breath was soft as she felt the pressure of his body pressed against her and her face flushed with the feeling, but as he relaxed, clearly seeing what had produced the bang, she almost sighed as he loosened his grip on her. She held her stance, however, and continued on with the motion of dancing, somehow feeling protected, just by being near him. At his next words, however, she felt her stare rise to his eyes and her grip tightened on his firm shoulders. She blinked once and before she could tell him he wasn't a fool, he began to explain his words. Even as his eyes shifted, hers did not. She remained still, then, watching him, feeling him pull her close to him, finally feeling the hand that he had placed on her back. Her body was a mess of tingles as she became aware of how close she was standing to him, his words flowing through her ears as her tailed wagged softly from side to side and then stilled. She began to move once again, following the motions as they danced together and she listened to him as he continued.

She couldn't help it when her heart skipped a beat, then two, then three as he spoke, pressing her close to him. Her face was probably more red than the dress she wore and it became more red as he continued. She didn't know when it had happened, but her breath had become heavy with his words and the feeling of his body so close to her. The cold assassin she had once known was no longer there, or, if he was, he was drifting away and it was because of her. She felt her hand slide from his shoulder, over his neck and rested as it held the side of his face as he kissed the side of her head. She let out a soft sigh, a happy sigh as she felt her head press into his lips, wanting the warmth of his lips to never go away. She wished time would stop, wished that they could remain in this moment forever. Though it hadn't, it was as if time had stopped. She couldn't focus on anything but the warmth of his body, his hands that caressed her with tender care. She wondered if the assassin knew he could be so loving, warm her heart so much. She pulled her head away from him, running her thumb along his cheek and stared at him, her eyes sparkling as she held him, tightening her grip on him. "I won't leave you Saber. As long as you want me here, I will be. I only want to be with you." The last line she spoke, she had wanted to say before, but the bang of the fireworks had stopped her. She was happy it had, though, as she felt that it went much better with the current situation happening between them.

She felt her breath calming, but her heart raced more and more and she just couldn't seem to help herself at that moment. She didn't care who was watching, if anyone even was, for to her, they were the only people in the room. As her finger reached the end of his cheek, she slid her other hand across his upper back, bringing him in closer to her and without hesitation, pressed her lips into his. She didn't care what happened next. He could push her away, run out of the room, kiss her back, it would all be the same because all she could feel was his smooth, warm lips and his body embracing her. She had wanted time to stop before, but no, this moment was the one she truly wished to stop. At that moment, she knew her true feelings for the assassin, it wasn't just a small crush, or even a big one, it was something much bigger than either of them, or this world, or the other. As she pulled her lips away from him, she looked him dead in the eyes. Whether he would return her feelings, or bury them, or whatever he wished to do with the, she knew that it was time for her to make it known. She whispered, very softly, so that only he could hear and just barely at that. "I'm in love with you.."

- Words -
1030

- Attire -
Christmas Dress

- Skills Used -
---

- Notes -
Oh the muuuusshhh~~ teeheehee XD (Sorry everyone, deal with it :p)

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M
Modified by KittyGrey

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

The room he stood in was empty, oh so empty… It was cold at his back and he could feel himself standing on nothing but thin ice. He felt the weight of a thousand souls tugging on his shoulders, the sounds of screaming in his mind, and the feeling of knives, daggers, clubs, and needles stabbing into him. The ghosts of his enemies crowded him, cornering the Assassin as his eyes squeezed shut, his arms wrapped around the little fox tail he held. She was the only warmth he had in the world of frozen lies and hatred, of war and false promises. This game was like a trap and he had fallen so deep into it that there wasn’t a speck of light where he now stood. Everything he saw was through a thick, black filter. Every face was distorted, every word twisted, and every truth flipped. Nothing was right and everything was wrong. No matter what he did, Saber could feel the eyes of thousands dig into his back. No matter how many players he saved, no matter how many landers he protected, and no matter how many fighters he carried home; he was wrong. Always, always wrong…

As he let everything he felt pour out to Kitty, that veil which covered his soul tightened. It was suffocating and he could remember everything. Every step he had took, every life he had stolen, and every scream he had heard pasted itself on the back of his eyelids. Each moment played like a movie in fast forward, his broken memories shattering more and more and more, tinier and tinier, smaller and smaller. Days blurred, nights disappeared, and faces became blank. Names were nothing but whispers, friends became ghosts and strangers, and even his own image became twisted. His hands were covered in blood. This world took from him one thing he vowed to never lose, and it snatched it right out from under his feet; his humanity. The man who held Kitty ever so tightly in his arms wasn’t a man, no he was just a ghost of one. He was a vessel of battle and war, lost to the world he stood in, and it hurt. Oh it hurt so much.

Then, with his mind twisting around itself, the vines of insanity wrenching down on his thoughts, Kitty pulled her head back. She placed one of her soft, little hands on his face and the Assassin frowned at her. His eyes blinked and his grip loosened as he let her move away from him slightly. He just wanted to hold her again and the little space, to him, felt as if she had moved to the other side of the planet. Yet, his fingers still found a way to keep her close to him, keep her within reach where no one else had cared to stay. His fingers pushed back into her lower back and the Assassin listened as Kitty began to speak, her words causing his heart to crack. His throat clumped and his eyes blinked again. The Assassin sucked in air, his teeth clenching as he stared into the kind blue eyes of the beautiful blonde.

It only took one more wordless action from the blonde to break the Assassin; she kissed him. The woman pulled him down to her and placed her little lips against his own. The heat washed over him like a hot shower and a sharp electric shock went down his spine. His arms subconsciously pulled the woman in close to him and he pressed against her. His eyes squeezed closed and water streaked down his cheek. The dark world he lived within brightened just a little and then light seemed to flare in his face as he opened his own eyes, seeing Kitty’s face so close to his own. This moment was the first time Saber had felt truly loved since he left his real home for college long ago. On that day, two years back, his mother gave him one last warm hug and one more kiss on the cheek before he boarded his plane for Britain. For two years, Saber lived with his uncle and his dog, the original owner of his current alias and the inspiration for it, Saber. Yes, the Assassin could remember that Dog’s smile, his flapping tongue, and his furry body. Saber was the Assassin’s only true companion in the real world, and that dog never left his side. Hell, he was probably still waiting for the Assassin to return to him.

That same, unconditional love he felt come from his pup, he could feel come from Kitty’s embrace. It made him feel weak, and his body trembled in her arms. He shook violently and could barely hold it all in. When she pulled her lips away, he nearly chased her, but then she gave him a look. Her eyes were hard, serious, and made the Assassin stop in his tracks. He froze up and clenched at her lower back, hoping she wouldn’t run away on him like the others had, but as she opened her mouth again, everything he knew just… died.

No words came to mind, no voices rang in his ears. Saber just stood there, staring at Kitty as his mind and heart replayed the words again and again. He found himself stuck in some kind of unbelieving loop. Was this a dream? Was he under some kind of spell? Maybe this game was just a test and some scientist was fooling with his mind, but as Saber stared at Kitty, as he felt the warmth of her body, the softness of her hands, and remembered the wetness of her lips, he knew this was real. And he couldn’t handle it. His mind didn’t work that way, and it never had. He was always fighting, always finding some way to resist, always pushing against some sort of hard place. That didn’t work here, not in this situation. No, the place he was trying to push against was inviting him in; it was waving him along and smiling at him. This time, there was no fight, there was no resistance. The fighting was from him, the resistance was his because he didn’t want it to be true. No, he didn’t believe it.

After living the way he did for so long, Saber never believed that someone would come for him, that someone would look at him with such a kind smile. He never believed that someone would care for him, or think that he mattered in some way. He never cared about his own actions because no one cared about what he did. He never cared about a thank you because he had never been shown appreciation… and now that Kitty was showing him all of that, his mind couldn’t take it. He couldn’t formulate any words or any courses of action. His mind went blank.

So he held her. The Assassin pulled Kitty in close to him and buried his face against her neck. He closed his eyes and squeezed the woman in red against him, embracing her softly but tightly against his body. He stopped dancing and just stood there with her. Everything around him and in the room vanished. He just froze up… and quietly began to sob.

: Post Title :
-a Light in the Dark-

: Word Count :
1218

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, kittygrey

: Notes :
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Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M