Event The Fall Ball (Masquerade)

Graphic by Leonard Oaksworth

[font=Times New Roman]Interacting With: @Melissa Carson and August Henry.
Tags: @Paisley Brown
Action: Leading his date to a secluded corner to hear her out and have a go at comforting her
Status: Closed to interaction

Stamina | 6 | Evasion | 5 | Strength | 8 | Wisdom | 5 | Arcane Power | 5 | Accuracy | 6

Abilities: Fearless

♢♦ Costume ♦♢

Jealousy. An awful piece of emotion that was often accompanied by others such as anxiety, anger, and ultimately, insecurity. It was the source of innumerable cases of animosity, resentment and decimated relationships.
As long as anyone could remember, jealousy had served as a breeding ground for pain and tragedy, never bringing a soul any measure of fulfillment, nor contentment. And yet, despite everything, it still remained prevalent in everyday life for most everyone, in some form or another.
When faced with the question of why this was the case, there was only one true answer that any novice or scholar on the subject could give; it was simply a part of human nature. No matter the personal beliefs or character of an individual, it would always find a way into their mind and heart at some point. But even still, that individual had a choice. When that seed of jealousy planted itself within a person’s heart, they could choose to nurture it, letting it fester and grow until it morphed into something more, or they could shut it down immediately, not allowing such a wretched thing to have any place within them.

In reality, such was the case with any negative thought or emotion. Without fail, everyone would inevitably experience things like hatred, jealousy, or selfishness. Due to their nature as human beings, it simply could not be helped. That is why the character of a person could not be measured by what they felt, nor the thoughts that flashed across their mind, but by the way they responded to the same.

Marshal was no exception to that unwritten rule. He would be lying to say that there hadn’t been a twinge of displeasure when he had seen the other boy with Melissa. However, he wasn’t the type to foster such an ill-founded feeling, and therefore had quickly disregarded it as baseless and foolish.

Melissa introduced the two of them, revealing the stranger’s name to be August. It was a swell name, Marshal thought, and certainly fitting for the season.
August then gave a wave, called him ‘sir,’ and made off before the blond-haired Gryffindor had the time to respond.
”Good talk!” he called sarcastically at August’s retreating back. ”Thanks for making sure Melissa wasn’t alone while I fumbled with my tie!”
And with that, the other boy was lost to the crowd, leaving his first impression very brief indeed.

Turning back to Melissa, chest puffed out proudly, Marshal said with goofy enthusiasm, ”He called me sir.”
The first-year had never been called such a thing before. He certainly hadn’t ever felt like a ‘sir.’ But his eleven-year old self would relish this moment for some time to come. He felt like a man, though he clearly wasn’t, in body or mind.

Before long, Melissa’s voice cut through his inner musings. Looking into her deep, green eyes, he saw discomfort behind them, matching the anxious tone of her voice.
Concern spread across his own face. ”Is something wrong? Are you okay?”
Glancing around at the numerous faces surrounding them, he took hold of her arm and gently guided her through the moving bodies, uttering the occasional apology or request for passage. As he led her, his mind raced with anxious thoughts. Had she changed her mind after all? Had his being late affected her desire to spend time in his company? Perhaps she was irritated with him, or perhaps his tardiness had made her feel less important than she truly was to him tonight.
If the latter possibility were the case, then he would have to inform her just how much her presence meant to him. Never would he have done anything to make her feel like anything less than his primary focus on this stormy night.
This dratted bow tie, he cursed mentally. It’s ruined everything, just like fancy clothes always do.

In the midst of all these anxious thoughts, he spotted a largely deserted corner of the room, far from the action that was taking place on the dance floor.
”We can talk over here,” he said softly, his voice reflecting none of his inner conflict.

Finally reaching the corner, he turned to his date, a reassuring hand still touching her arm. Not another soul was within ten feet of the pair, giving them sufficient space to talk in relative privacy.
”What’s the matter?” His voice contained a genuine sense of concern, implying that she was safe to share whatever was on her mind. He then smiled lightly in an attempt to lift the mood a bit. ”I know my face is hard to look at for long - my mirror tells me as much every day - but I was rather hoping that the spiffy clothing would help to distract from that. That’s why I spent so long wrestling with this darned bow tie. After all, I don’t want you to suffer too badly.”
He hoped that making light of himself might lift her spirits. It seemed to work quite often.

Hanako's Morifying Outfit:

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[font=PT Sans]Now fan-less, he patiently waited for the Little Moon’s answer to his request and scanned the ballroom once again. For multiple reasons. One of them is to see if Percival had arrived. Hanako might have to see him a bit later than expected if the girl accepted his proposal of vengeance. While he didn’t see a mop of golden locks sticking out from the crowd ( which tended to be an easy thing to notice with the boy’s height ), he did saw a familiar face that happened to glance back to him as well. Little Henry at a masquerade ball? How surprising. Hanako wasn’t on the most peaceful terms with his dorm mate but for a little extra fun, he childishly stuck his tongue out and pulled his cheek down. A rude gesture to the boy who had not done much harm but excepted from the Japanese boy.

Now filled with a little more fun, he returned back his focus to the Little moon, who had now folded her arms with newfound determination. As if she had made up her mind. His mind had wandered so he was not entirely sure what she said before but he assumed she had agreed. Just as a sweet grin was about to be plastered on his face, they immediately fell down the second he heard the word ‘ date ‘.

Eh?

Date?

E H ?!?

HER DATE?!?!?

The displeased face she wore was immediately mirrored back with Hanako’s own mortified face. “ H- hey wait a minute- “

"But! You aren't allowed to hold my hand at all or do that scary whisper thing, okay? My name is Martyna and I'm in Hufflepuff. Remember that. Now we gotta go find her."

Hanako, stunned and empty-handed, had just enough mental energy to gape at her as he watched her make way into the bustling crowd. For a second he wondered why this kept happening to him. The second was how much he really didn’t care about her name. Little Moon would always be Little Moon. Third, he remembered his current misfortune. It started with him just wanting to have a little fun only to backfire with the one thing he hated the most next to cats? D a t e s ? Against his will?! AGAIN?!? First was the Russian dim sum student Slava and now a literal walking moon with reactions mimicking a 7-year-old? Was this god’s way of telling him to date someone? To hell with that! His stuff keeps getting stolen as well! First the sausage and now Paper Bag Chan and his fan?!? How was he going to whack people if- I mean - kindly charm them with its mesmerizing silk texture without it?

Just like that, his mood returned to a similar state as to when he just entered the ball. Where his eyes landed on that dratted ghost cat for the first time. He went on into the direction he saw a big moon costume walking about, which was quite easy to find because..reasons.

“ Hai, hello? Mary? “ he called out as he trailed behind her. “ Yea, hey. I know I suggested it and all and I love that you’re seeing things my way but let’s just slow down a bit- yeah?” he nervously grinned, seemingly starting to get tired from all the walking. “ Hahh.. soo anyway- right. I don’t do dates. Capiche? I’m more experienced with other things. Tripping her? Cool, that’s fine. Spill drinks? One of my best skills. Seriously, anything is better than me being your date, c’mon! “ he pleaded, desperate to stop being someone’s date for another second. While he tried to sound chill and cool while he worked out his ‘ suggestions’, it was clear that he was quite distressed at the thought of being someone’s date. Even if it’s fake and something he never seemed to have a say in.
[/font]

Posts : 「I」 「II」 「III」 「IV」

Abilities Perfectionist + Parseltongue

Open/Closed for chit chat

「Stamina = 5 」「 Strength = 3 」「A.Power = 8 」「Accuracy = 9」 「Evasion = 6」 「Wisdom = 4 」

Actions : Trying not to be someone's date
Mentions : @Henry Knight @Ruby Cazares's NPC
Interacting : @Martyna Romero

♞♞♞
outfit
[x][x][x]
post tracker

Interactions: [open]| @Nico Shymane | @Erin Ryan Mentions: @Breana Oliveire | @Quinn Healey

Jay confusingly looked at the girl in the teal suit as she stuttered and yanked her eight foot all friend aside, they barely understood what she said, something along the lines of 'excuse me for a sec, thanks'... that wasn't exactly a rejection, right? All Jay wanted was to dance with someone and laugh and forget about everything else. They placed a hand on their rapier, one finger tapping to the lovely music playing, just then the pretty red haired girl spoke to them. Jay went back into focus, their face slightly reddish, her voice was familiar. It was unmistakably the same girl as from the last masquerade, what a coincidence... Perhaps they were just wrong, but then she called them by Jane this meant that they had both met before. But where?

It then clicked. In the beginning of their second year they had gotten stuck on the moving stairs along with her, they remembered how stupidly they acted then. She was even more beautiful than the first time they met. Was she really the same girl as from the masquerade? perhaps they would ask her later, it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Um, yeah it's b-been a while, i'm doing quite w-well, thank y-you," they had lied, which was for the best, right now they just wanted to forget about their worries. Jays date was taken by someone else, again, and they needed to forget all of that. They missed Lily Gray, she would save them from such situation, she would probably try to sneak them out to the grounds and sit by the lake and talk about things and laugh like the silly children they were supposed to be. Before Jay could continue the small talk with miss Shymane or turn to the teal suit girl for her answer a new situation had taken place.

It seemed like the half giant, Quinn was his name? had gotten into a to-be fight with a girl, dumb jokes filled their mind, wow seems like mr tall guy in a fancy suit has some crazy ex's... ha... but those thoughts soon turned into pure annoyance. Jay Victoria, the melancholy green-haired Zorro just wanted to have a nice happy darn dance with someone that hopefully wouldn't reject them.

In the name of Grindelwald... Jay raised an eyebrow as Nico attempted to cast flipendo against the other girl, now they felt a mixture of annoyance and amusement. No, they weren't going to walk away, and no, they were not going to stand there, they were going to try to help bring things back to normal so that they could have a fun and lovely night. Without another word Jay put themself between the two angrily and said,

"Are you guys bloody mad? Attacking during a dance, the doors right there ya know," they said, giving the girl who started this an ugly glare. Where the heck were the teachers?

Actions:Attempts to use reasoning to stop fight

Stats

Reducio

The Martial Artist
Stamina: 2
Evasion: 6
Strength: 9
Wisdom: 6
ArcPower: 9
Accuracy: 8

𝐴𝑛𝑑𝑟é 𝐴𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒

Open for Interactions!
[But please owl me first if you would like to interact]

Interacting With: @Lucia Fox @Scarlett Aden @Lily Cawthi

Mentioning: N/A
Hex Code: #191970

Action Chatting

With a tone of voice. An oddity to what André usually used. He asked the question. But the eyes of André quickly caught the Scarlett girl. He watched while pretending to pay attention. As scurried off to go tell off Lucia's family friend. Seemingly quite proud of what she'd done, she began making her way back to the group.Giving André enough time to hastily listen to the last bit of Lucia's answer.

Scarlett's threats. Weren't good enough, even for André. While they were still empty threats. They wouldn't be good enough to get André to stop saying something much less worse. Didn't she have anything better to say? No pureblood would be scared of that. Threaten to turn her into a squib and you might get somewhere.

"-would jump in them and get completely covered." André heard Lucia say as Scarlett had finally got back over. André nodded. He assumed she was talking about jumping into piles of leaves. "I used to help my neighbors rake up leaves in piles for their younger kids to play in. The children were sweet. The mess after. Was not" He said. It was partially a lie. André used to help elderly neighbors rake of leaves to get on their good side. André didn't like younger children. He personally thought they were very evil creatures. But to each their own.

André turned back to the question Scarlett had asked only minutes before. Something about what his name was. He'd already introduced himself. So he assumed she wanted his full name. "André Alarie" He said simply his french accent exaggerating his name just the slightest bit. "Charmed, I'm sure" He said. André also personally thought this English phrase sounded nice rolling off the tongue. "My parents didn't want to give me the burden of a name as long as some others, Miss Scarlett" André answered. André assumed anybody who wasn't pureblooded just had a normal name. Not the long over exaggerated André had grown a dislike for.

André liked the shortness of his name. Simple. And enough to get the point across without overdoing it. André had also heard people say you grow to fit your name. But he didn't see it. While sure, the name fit him. The meaning did not. It meant 'manly and strong, courageous and warrior'. He was none. Simply just wearing as the person who did fit such a name. André let his eyes explore the room once more as he kept active in the conversation. André had only realized it now but. This place was nice. Too nice. Something was up with it.

For moderation

Stats: Stamina ~ 6 Evasion ~ 5 Strength ~ 6 Wisdom ~ 8 Arcane Power ~ 7 Accuracy ~ 8
Abilities: Perfectionist ~ Charmer
^Charmer is in effect

[font=Monotype Corsiva]Roleplaying as iNPC Enzo Delcroix
When speaking in English uses: This Colour
When in French uses: This colour plus Italics & Bold
Interacting with: @Lana Monet
Mentioning: N/A
~ Open to brief Interactions - But owl first (: ~
Outfit:[/font]

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Enzo continuously was putting effort to be graceful on his feet, so much to the point where he was completely oblivious to the fact that his partner was having similar struggles.

"No no. Leaving will not be necessary unless you feel as if you are unable to keep up with my wonderful dancing skills" He replied as seriously as he could, though his mouth threatened to crack into a tiny uncharacteristic smile at his own comment.
He found it rather comical that he was there, doing something that his parents pressured him to do, and yet he was not hating it,, that much at least.

"Don't take it too personal. I tend to especially dislike the people my parents approve of” The french boy responded truthfully with a small shrug. Enzo had formed his opinions on the girl in front of him long before they had even met, and he was certain that she had known this since he neglected to ever hide it. For the short period of time that he knew her, he refused to see her in a different light because he was positive that he got her all figured out, and so he really wouldn’t be surprised if she had done the same to him but now that he thought about it, did he actually have a good reason to hate her as much as he had made it seem?
"But the feeling is mutual, is it not?"

The music died down for a moment as both she and Ethen looked around the dance floor to the other couples knowing that if the two continued staring at one another it would be impossible to conceal their emotions from one another.

Suddenly the music swelled filling the room once more as the shuffling and personal conversations of their peers were drowned out by a slow romantic song. “I guess no more jigging,” Ethen joked as Atlas responded with a soft nervous chuckle as she felt her new short hair wavering into her face. Quickly tucking it behind her ear, Atlas felt Ethen let go of her hand as he placed both of his around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

Goosebumps coated her arms and back as a chill sent a small shiver throughout her body. She had slow danced with her father plenty of times but never once had her emotions gone this rampant. Following his queue, the young girl placed her arms around his neck as the two gently swayed back and forth.

He's so nervous...ugh you are making him nervous...is my face red? Can he see my cheeks from this mask? He isn't saying anything...you need to say something...NOW.

"Did you know beavers can hold their breath underwater for 45 minutes?"

What--What the hell was that?! Beavers?? BEAVERS! Oh my god..you are forbidden to speak...ever again.

Her eyes wide with confusion, Atlas let out an uneasy chuckle as she painfully gulped puffing out her cheeks to complete her defeated look. Closing her eyes for a moment to try and regain her composure, Atlas tried to pull the sound of the music to the forfront of her mind as she hoped Ethen had been too focused on food to hear her trainwreck of a statement.

"I went to a Father-Daughter Ball like 2 years back and my father had all these impressive moves he was showcasing that put all the other dads to shame. He uhh tried this--" She said as she pulled away from Ethen turning away from him before she spun back towards him til they were face to face once more.

"He did a dip too after one of the spins and like a spinning showboat move but it feels harder in my mind then how he made it look. You are doing really well, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were a dance instructor." Atlas praised meeting her best friend's eyes once more as her heart throbbed in her chest.

ACTION: Slow Dancing and Drowning in Nervousness with Ethen!

Reducio

Any godmodding has been agreed upon by both parties i.e. Atlas and Ethen

STATS:
Stamina: 8
Evasion: 8
Strength: 4
Wisdom: 7
Arc. Power: 7
Accuracy: 8

ABILITIES:
Fearless
Effect: Fear effects such as a dhmpir's aura, the ability terrible presence, a lycanothrope's intimidation or certain charms, potions and jinxes that would normally cause a fear effect do not work on you as you are immune to them.

Atlas's Dress and New Hair:

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Interacting with @Atlas Reid

Okay, step...and sway...step...and sway. We got this just don’t smash her foot, Ethen told himself as they moved. He had never danced before but he was trying to occasionally glance to those around them to see what they were doing. It was proving increasingly difficult to focus on anything beyond Atlas, however. The moment she placed her arms were placed around his neck most of his thinking capacity had faded to a husk of its former self. Instead, he poured all of his focus into ignoring his heart pounding and the soft music filling the room.

The longer he went without speaking the more awkward he felt about saying something and every time he focused on her face he couldn’t read her. The mask shrouded most of her usual expressions and he didn’t know if she had been waiting for him to say something. But what? He didn’t know what people said in these situations but he was pretty sure her sudden outburst was not the solution.

Beavers? Since when does she care about beavers? Oh, damn am I supposed to share this interest…. Um she is waiting. Beavers...beavers…. Think, Ethen rattled off in his head trying to figure out how the hell to respond to the girl.

“Oh… that is interesting. um yeah. Beavers. Beavers bite trees, you know? Of course, you know. Yes,” Ethen nodded diverting his eyes from the girl as if he had something else he needed to see. Trees? They bite trees? That was hopeless…

There was no salvaging the beaver conversation it seemed but at least Ethen didn’t have to wait in silent torment for long as Atlas was quick to fill the void. For a moment, Ethen tried to imagine Atlas’ father dancing and broke a quick smile before his eyes widened. Allowing her to take the reins, Ethen watched with an endearing girl slowly separated and spun before returning to him. It was simple enough but he found himself completely and utterly encapsulated by her in that moment.

His brief reverie was ended as she discussed some other moves and believed he vaguely understood what she was referring to. He had seen muggle movies with dancing where the woman would be dipped down. It was fancy and seemed risky but Ethen reminded himself that risk was his middle name...well, it wasn’t actually his middle name and he reminded himself that it was actually Kavarro. But after a short series of stalling reminders he smiled back at his date.

“Thank you. But I don’t know. It kind of seems like you are the professional here. You have been hiding your secret dance skills,” Ethen teased holding her eyes for a moment. The time has come Ethen...should you fail this maneuver… you are on your own, he told himself as he began to build some courage. How hard could the little dip be, he knew he could do it.

As they continued their close dance, Ethen exhaled and began extending his arm to the left as Atlas had done while leading him. Just as before he allowed her to begin a slow spin back towards him. However, quickly he used his free hand to push his mask up and off his face. As Atlas returned to him, he widened his stance some for balance and dipped Altas backward to his right side. He kept the movement slow but deliberate to make sure he didn’t let his date fall. As he held her in the position, he shut off his mind and ignored the hammering of his heart as he dipped his own upper body down and pressed his lips against hers.

He held the kiss for only a short perfect moment before separating and pulling her back to straight standing. Ethen doubted the dim lighting would conceal much of the smile that forced its way across his face as he stood in peering into those ever-familiar enchanting blue eyes. “I am getting the hang of these spins,” he said softly as he continued to smile stupidly at the girl.

Reducio

*Permission of any godmoding of Atlas discussed and given by...Atlas*
Action: Doing what is known as a dance with Atlas
Stats:Stamina: 7/ Evasion: 7 / Strength: 5/ Wisdom: 8 / ArcPower: 6 / Accuracy: 7
Abilities:
Keen Eye | Calming Presence

Interacting | @Alec Mason
Mentioning | No one at the moment...
Action(s) | Be nervous, Talk to a random person
Open for interactions! Just owl me first.

[font=Times New Roman]

This was not going to be good. As long as nothing weird happens everything was going to be fine. She was still quite new to this magical world and if there were going to be some people who would start shooting hexes at the crowd; she would vow to never come again.

Once she entered the ballroom, she immediately felt sick. Tonight was the day to talk to somebody, to make a friend. That was the point of coming, right? To meet someone, right?

After a few hesitant seconds, she decided the best thing to do at the moment was to probably go slink into the corner and wait until something happens, after debating that for awhile in her head, she decided not to. She decided to go up to a person and at least try and strike up some sort of odd conversation. Even some sort of argument is better than going to a corner and acting as a coward. Wasn't that what an Aires was supposed to do? Not wait for it to happen but instead cause it to happen? Yes.

All of the sudden something clicked and she seemed to wake up, focusing on what was happening not on anything else, which was obviously where she was but she won't admit it. Not thinking, obviously, she had walked over somewhere and decided to start a conversation, "Hey," Did those words just come out of her mouth before she could think about it!? Realizing who she was talking to, she made a little smile and waived her hand slightly.

Reducio

Stats:
Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 7 | Wisdom: 8 | Arcane Power: 6 | Accuracy: 8

Interacting With: @Ethen Emrys

Letting Ethen retake the lead, Atlas gently followed his arm as she spun away from him, a smile escaping her lips as she was relieved her random animal fact had not thrown him too off-kilter. Slowly spinning back to him, Atlas could feel her heart leap in her chest as she was guided down into a dip followed quickly by the feel of Ethen's lips on hers.

The million thoughts running through her mind washed away like waves on the beach as her whole mind went blank. The only sign that told her she was still awake was the tingling sensation coating her lips. Gently removing one of her hands from around Ethen's neck, Atlas placed her free hand on his cheek. She had never kissed anyone before and she had no idea if she was doing it right or even what exactly she was supposed to be doing but none of that mattered.

Feeling him gently pull away from her and guide her to her feet, Atlas stood for a moment as her mind tried to wake back up. She knew she had the dumbest smile screaming across her face but as she looked up to see Ethen mirroring her emotions she couldn't help but laugh before stiffling it with a bite to her lip as she darted her eyes to the corner of the ceiling.

Opening her mouth to reply, Atlas could not find any words as she gently ran her finger over her still tingling lips. "Uh--yes you really have a natural talent for spins." She replied bashfully as she made a quick look to those on the dance floor making sure no one was staring at them.

Trying to relax once more, Atlas felt her smile spring back into action like a rubber band. Feeling some of her jumbled thoughts organize, Atlas only felt it right to be honest with Ethen as he had so bravely been with her so before her mind could go blank once more she quickly spoke up.

"Ethen. I like you a lot. You are my best friend and have been for years now but I confess that my feelings have only grown since we almost died in the basement last year. I don't want our friendship to be damaged but the logical part of my brain tells me it never will. So I'm letting you know that I like you. You inviting me to this masquerade, and the cookies and the uh kiss, make it seem that you feel the same way so yeah--my word vomit is a little much right now but I am so lucky to have you in my life, Ethen. And I uhh hope this night starts a new chapter in our wacky and weird relationship. So yeah...yeah."

Staring at Ethen, Atlas had no idea where to go from here as she gently reached down, interlocking her fingers in his as she felt each long exhale escape her lips staring into his warm and inviting eyes.

Regardless of what happened tonight, she would never forget this evening. Ethen had kissed her and that meant the world to her. Were they boyfriend and girlfriend now? Time would tell but nothing would be able to rip this grin off her face. Tonight she was a princess and Ethen, the prince her father always said she deserved.

ACTION: Experiencing her first kiss!

Reducio

Any godmodding has been agreed upon by both parties i.e. Atlas and Ethen

STATS:
Stamina: 8
Evasion: 8
Strength: 4
Wisdom: 7
Arc. Power: 7
Accuracy: 8

ABILITIES:
Fearless
Effect: Fear effects such as a dhmpir's aura, the ability terrible presence, a lycanothrope's intimidation or certain charms, potions and jinxes that would normally cause a fear effect do not work on you as you are immune to them.

Atlas's Dress and New Hair:

Reducio

Interacting with @Kara Capricorn and @Heather Blair Moretti
Open to other Interaction

Piper wasn't quite sure how to feel. Kara led her toward the center of the ballroom, showing her where to place her hands. Disney music played in the background - Piper's favorite! Maybe this wouldn't be a total failure after all. But...Sure, she hadn't known what to expect, but...this? Slow dancing? Piper's hands on Kara seemed so foreign. However, there was something oddly fun about dancing with her. She especially liked how Kara actually asked permission before doing anything. This never happened in the Muggle movies. Kara's short hair faded in and out with the light, and her eyes smiled encouragingly. Piper grimaced at herself. No. She was most definitely not noticing how pretty Kara was. Or how stupid she looked in comparison. Nope, the appreciation for Kara's simple but elegant style most certainly did not occur to Piper.

The fun ended, however, when Kara began waltzing. Nooo!! Piper panicked inwardly and thanked the almighty heavens nobody else knew who she was. She decided it might be a nice idea to go die in a hole once she had stepped on Kara's feet twice. "Ouch," Kara muttered. "I'm sorry," Piper said. Ordinarily she would have made this statement out of simple courtesy rather than sincerity, but right now she really meant it. Kara amended this easily with a comment on her first dances with her father.

The music continued playing on and on, and Piper did her best to follow Kara's lead, going in circles this time. She still kept tripping (why, oh why had she made the skirt so long?), but she could at least feel some improvement. This was just like a ball in her fairy tale book - so grown-up. Not that she'd ever say something that stupid aloud. "You know, your eyes are sparkling like sapphires. It's really pretty." Piper was infinitely glad she had a mask on, to say the least. Her face turned red with embarrassment. What did one even say to that stuff? Piper had the feeling she was supposed to respond back with a different compliment, but none came to mind right away. "I..you...uh. I like your hair." she managed magnificently, before she was saved by a girl twirling by. Or not.

“Kara! It’s me, Heather,” The girl said. Piper was surprised at how much the girl - Heather - reminded her of herself in looks. She was blonde, and blue eyes peered from beneath an ornate golden mask. She twirled away though, obviously put off by the fact that Piper and Kara were preoccupied dancing. That had to be Heather, who Kara had mentioned! Pleased with herself for deducing this, Piper asked, "So that's Heather, right?" Just to be sure. "And uh...thanks for showing me how to dance...are you wanting to find Heather? I don't mind hanging back if you want to go with her."

Piper surprised herself. She didn't usually care what others did. But part of her wanted Kara to stay. The other part wanted to make her go to Heather so that Piper could finally start digging her own grave. She imagined the headstone now: RIP PIPER CLARK. TRAGICALLY PERISHED IN A TERRIBLE STATE OF AWKWARDNESS. "I mean..otherwise I don't mind talking more. I think." Congratulations, she thought. You formed a barely-passable-as-cohesive-sentence. Possibly she was overthinking this, but didn't everyone? She hadn't really had many friendly acquaintances before (much less magical), and all this was a first. But maybe Kara would accept. And if not, honestly the food table was looking good right now, with or without company. These boots were downright painful.

Action: Very awkwardly asking if Kara would like to continue talking and/or dancing

Reducio

Stats:
Stamina: 6 || Evasion: 5 || Strength: 4 || Wisdom: 8 || ArcPower: 6 || Accuracy: 6

Again, I'm so sorry I took so long.