tampered | (no subject)

(no subject)

WHO: YOU.
WHEN: Valentine’s Day, sundown – 4 a.m.
WHERE:

caughtthebullet estate, the Palace.

And what is a City overrun by Venice flair without its masque?

Come sundown, the overly-lit Palace, suffering under a sea of orchids and a white-and-gold palette, will be welcoming the ladies and gentlemen of our fair City as its guests to this year’s Valentine’s Day ball. Have no fear, the Palace staff has been given notice to help newcomers dock their gondolas!

Should they lack their own, ladies will be served a dance card, white cape and masque upon arrival. Gentlemen without can also be helped find a suitablemask.

Guests will not be introduced by name, but by their choice of pseudonym; instead, they can play the guessing game until masks are formally removed at midnight, giving their time, and maybe their hearts to some hopeful stranger.

jesusing_clown and a cohort of waiters will produce the evening’s treats;

taravata will be attending on any task that calls for strong arms and keen balance;

risetwice’s patisserie will be providing breads, cakes, and the evening’s tort; and

eagleofautozam has promised sweets and candied souvenirs.

The ball’s sponsor and delightful host,

caughtthebullet passes his compliments, and the

sparkling_by puts himself at your service.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Please, be welcome.

[ooc: up very early, but you know what to do! Thread, threadjack, take advantage of the masks for cute shenanigans, and most of all, have fun! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If only Aya knew the spark of a thrill that sent her pulse racing a bit. She did have a bit of a kleptomania issue occasionally. Usually she could control it but it kind of was exciting her at the moment. She tried to hold back a smile kind of unsuccessfully as they got closer to the front of the line for gondolas. It meant that her lips kind of twisted into this awkward on and off smile until she finally just pressed them together, the mask still sitting on top of her head, hopefully unnoticed by anyone but herself and Aya. What is this silence thing coming from Dawn? Strange, isn't it?

Aya couldn't help but smile to himself at what she was doing. The energy had was infectious. But he made sure not to draw attention to them as he helped her get into the gondola when they got to it, getting in after her. Taking off his coat to put it around her shoulders, trying to be a gentleman and keep her warm, he looked back as they pushed off. "I think it's safe to say we got away with it."

She accepted the coat around her shoulders graciously, not trusting herself to say anything just yet. Her lips still pressed together, she looked back as they moved away from the castle. Only after several heartbeats did she emit a high-pitched squeal of pure delight as she took the mask from her head and hugged it to her chest. "We did it!"

Her smile was bright even in the nighttime as she looked at Aya and leaned over to kiss his cheek without a thought and then sat back to look down at the mask in her lap. "Thank you! The perfect keepsake and I think we're the best Bonnie and Clyde out there -- minus the killing." She ran her fingertips lightly over the beautiful mask.

He covered up how the kiss flustered him a little by looking out at the water. Just long enough for him to recover. Then he was looking over at Dawn again, pleased to see her so happy.

"Dawn and Aya has a certain ring to it." He push his fingers through his hair then relaxed in the gondola while it moved through the water. There was a chill in the air but after living in England, this was mild really. "I'm glad you could keep it."

"It does have a certain ring to it. A very special kind of ring, possibly with magic." She wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. "Okay, no magic. Magic usually ends badly. Just the special."

Pulling the coat tight around her, she looked out over the City as the gondola passed through it. "It's really nice of you to see me home. All gentlemanly."

He didn't have much experience with magic but he could believe that it usually ended badly. He'd seen things involving super humans end badly. That was close enough in some ways.

That and there was that ceremony he'd stopped...

"I guess I can do some things write. I was raised to treat women well."

"I can tell." She looked sideways at him, just watching him for a few seconds. "I'm not really sure what I expected tonight to be or how I expected it to go but whatever it was I didn't expect it to be this great or to have so much fun. I hope it was half of what it was for me for you."

He rubbed the back of his head a little as he looked off. Mostly because it wasn't easy to admit to this but... "That's the most fun I've had in a very long time."

"A sometimes friend of mine would say you need to find the fun." She said, before leaning over to lightly bump his shoulder with her own. Of course she was thinking of Faith who was obviously not the best person to get advice from. "But I say you could let me find it for you and coax you with coffee and chocolate in that direction."

"Is that so?" He smiled at her and lowered his hand. Oddly enough, that offer didn't sound so bad. "I think I could manage to live with that. Though that might be a lot of work for you."

"Lucky for you I'm a hard worker." She teased him, glad she could see him smiling even in the dark. "Plus I'm pretty stubborn. Although I can also take a hint so if you ever want me to leave you alone or just go away you can just say so. I might whine a bit about it but I'm used to it."

Edited 2011-02-20 04:36 (UTC)

"I'll keep that in mind. Though, honestly, I like your company." It was nice to have someone who could make him smile and laugh this much again. It really had been a long time, he was realizing.

"Just when I think I can't get a bigger head tonight -- there you go making me feel even better." She looked back down at the mask to conceal both her blush and her smile that wouldn't seem to go away. "I guess you have another super power aside from silent strength."

"Super powers I didn't even know I had." Still, if she liked those traits then that was something positive. He could work to keep those traits up since she liked them so much.

"They often go undetected until suddenly, poof they're there. At least that's how the whole slayer thing works. And a lot of the comic books, their superheroes just suddenly one day have this power." And she realizes she's slipped into geek territory, which she usually doesn't like to show people until she's sure she has them hooked as a friend. "I'm so weird, huh?"

Reaching over, he rested a hand on her head. It was an affectionate gesture and he shook his head. "I don't think you're weird at all." He paused a second before adding, "But you'll have to teach me about the superhero reference. My knowledge there is lacking."

"You're the first one -- to not think I'm weird -- or at least to say it and never have given me one of those looks that clearly says 'I think you are a little bit different'. So thanks." And with that, she linked one arm with his and leaned into his side, watching the city pass them by on the way to the warehouse. They were almost there. "Hanging around me you could learn all kinds of crazy things you might have never really wanted to know. I have a bunch of knowledge, mostly useless -- some useful."

Aya shook his head. "I've seen a lot of strange people but I don't think you really count as weird. And, different can be refreshing." Different for him tended to be something normal. She was more normal, even with all the talk about slayers and vampires and becoming gigantic. He shifted just a little so she could lean closer if she wanted to. "Sometimes useless knowledge can prove to be useful in certain situations. So maybe you're just ready for anything."

It was easy to shift with him and Aya just happened to be very warm compared to the cool air so it was so easy to do. "Next time the scooby gang tells me to shut up when I'm offering my opinion, I'm gonna use that. I mean if you don't mind -- the idea that I'm just ready for anything and what's wrong with that?"

"That's fine with me. I don't know how much it will help you but it's something." He glanced around, his eyes memorizing the way to get to where she lived despite the fact that water obscured things. He could at least make an attempt to see where she lived and figure out better directions when things dried up. "If they think it's terrible, you can blame me for saying it."

Dawn lifted one arm to point to a growing building in the distance, the location right next door to the entrance to the Underground. "That's it." The shadowed outline of it made it look like any ordinary warehouse, a large one. "When Xander was here, he and Buffy renovated the inside so it's not all warehouse-like. There's a living room, a kitchen, eight bedrooms and a training room in the basement. It's pretty nice cause Xander does beautiful work. Lots of polished wood. That's his super power. He's gone now though. So is Spike. Did you ever meet them?"

"I was told that I've been here before. Honestly though, I don't remember ever having been here before. So if I knew them then, I don't have memories of it." That possibly sounded strange but it was the best way to let her understand what he meant. There were already some people he'd been told that he was supposed to know and have been close to but he knew nothing about them. At times it was like filling the shoes of someone else entirely.

Her gaze snapped to him, viewing his profile for a moment. "I have that same problem. People always telling me they remember me and -- then I feel bad when I don't remember. I mean I get it. And it's -- strange. Strange is a good word, right?"

He blinked because...she was the first person here to understand that. There were probably others but they hadn't admitted such a thing to him before. "Strange is actually the perfect word for it if you ask me."

"I like your opinion. You should probably get used to me asking you a lot of things. I mean if I get brave and talk to you again." She paused only a second before asking him. "I can talk to you again, right? I mean that's okay?"