The Masquerade Ball Event Closed

And here to steal the show, rich boy finally rolled up. But not literally this time. 

He had found something new for a change. And these were leg braces, and crutches. It was different, but by far he preferred it. 

Something that was not new though, was the fact that he had been to one of these many times before. He didn't know why he was going this time. He didn't have good feelings linked to these scenes, but... here he was. Maybe he was hoping for more than one thing to change. Just like how last time he had had a good time at the lake, maybe he could have a good time now. 

As he stepped into the ball room he found one of two things. One, he fit in. But in a way he also stood out. He was definitely somewhere on the higher end of attire. Most would have blushed from the eyes he drew as he stepped in, crisp white and gold like a flame among the colours that painted the room. A mask to match his extravagant suit, that he had had for a good year. Worn last time in France for some showy dinner if he remembered correctly.

But two, he found that this ball had been sufficiently baby proofed in an attempt not to have too many idiotic teens running amuck. But of course it was not full proof. Not like he was going to try anything, however he was definitely going to keep his eyes open.

Now here he was, standing in the doorway. Just looking around.

Seeing a familiar fluffy haired male, he slowly made his way over, still a bit like a newborn fawn. Stumbling on not too familiar legs. Thank the gods he didn't have to navigate stairs yet. 

Clearing his throat a bit as he approached, he put on a nervous smile, standing best he could. "Uh- Hey Miko." He said softly, trying not to look like too much of an idiot. He really didn't want to fall over. He should have practiced more with these things before he came here

RPing as Koko (at the moment)
and OPEN to INTERACTIONS!!

The night had finally arrived. This was the night that many students - and possibly professors - at Hogwarts and Ilvermorny had been waiting for, and Koko could not exclude herself from that count. She had been trembling with worry and excitement the night before, and she had hardly gotten any sleep. Nevertheless, she still looked quite pretty.

It had taken Koko a long time to find an idea of what type of dress to wear, and then she had to send out owls that, quite frankly, were full of begging. She had the money, yes, but did she have the resources to go out to Hogsmeade and buy herself a dress? Sort of. Koko did own a fake Hogsmeade permission slip, but she was not in her third year at Hogwarts - and being a prefect, she could not just blatantly disrespect the rules like that. So, sucking up her pride, she had owled her adoptive father and her Aunt Vienna in hopes that they could help her.

Oh, help her they did. She had sent Vienna a description of what she had wanted, and her aunt had helped her quite a bit. Koko wore the dress now, a brilliant emerald-coloured dress that was in no way casual but not yet a ball gown. It was form-fitting until it reached her waist, and then it expanded just a bit to allow the girl room to walk - or dance, if she decided to. It was made up of a soft fabric, but it had tulle on top of the skirt. Her sleeves were her favourite part, however; and she fingered them as she eyed the mask set out in front of her. Koko was still in the Slytherin Common Room, pondering her decision to go to the ball and whether or not it was the right one to make. Someone as fearful of people as she was wouldn't want to go to a large social event, but Koko was trying to slip out of the fear she'd created last year.

The Slytherin had played around with her hair before settling on a style. She had tied it back in a ponytail after crimping it and adding a white flower right where it would tie. It would take away from the mystical appearance that the outfit gave off, but it would also make her look more casual. Koko also hoped that wearing her hair in this type of ponytail would make her look more confident. She wasn't so sure of it at the moment.

In addition to trying a new hairstyle, Koko had also decided to mess around with makeup. She had never worn any before - she had always been told, even by Rosalie, that she didn't need it. But today was a special occasion, and she was able to make decisions for herself. So she added some eye shadow - just silver on the eyelid with green beginning at the crease. It would accent the girl's amber eyes quite nicely.

Koko was eyeing the mirror that she had on her nightstand. She was nearly ready. She was only missing a few things... Ah, yes. Shoes. Shoes were quite important, especially when they would make you stand at more than 160 centimetres. She needed these to complete her façade of confidence, her façade of sureness. It wasn't really like she knew what she was doing with this, but she could hope.

Little did she know that her Veela ancestry would help to shape the look into something that she hadn't intended. She, the awkward, lanky pre-teen, would become attractive as she donned shoes that looked a bit more like sandals - silver heels that would make her feet hurt after the night was over, but that would be entirely worth it. They barely covered her foot, having only two straps, but Koko already loved how they matched with the rest of her look.

Her long fingers, for once, did not tremble as she reached for the mask. Maybe her identity would be concealed as she slipped it on her face, hiding the pale-as-the-moon skin beneath it. The mask had fit perfectly; Vienna had really outdone herself. Koko stepped back so she would appear nearly full-body in the mirror, and she couldn't help but let a gasp rush out of her mouth. She looked much different than she had imagined she would - but not in a bad way.

The trek to the ballroom was lovely. Koko took a moment to enjoy how different everything in the castle appeared from this different height. Even the paintings were coming from a different perspective. The young Slytherin proudly wore a smile, her ponytail swinging as she walked. This would mark the day of a revolution.

Upon entering the ballroom, the first thing that caught her eye was Professor Lear's decorations. They were perfect for the occasion. Koko's eyes scanned the room, and she saw neither candles nor a bowl of punch. Clever. The Blossom Ball incident would not repeat itself this time, would it?

That would be answered later tonight. Koko strode out into the centre of the ballroom, observing those who had already arrived. It was a great number of children already, and she was sure that within an hour, that amount would double. Hogwarts students loved a good party, and from what Koko had seen, Ilvermorny students would not miss out on the fun either. Koko could only hope that no alcohol - or any beverages, really - would be involved. Veritaserum-spiked anything would be terrible, especially with so many pubescent children around. The things that would be said...

Koko had not been around for the entirety of the Blossom Ball, but she had known about the spiking of the punch and was very happy that she had not been there for it. All of the punch had been gone when she had arrived. Now, at the Masquerade Ball, Koko couldn't help but wonder what could go wrong. It was a twisted thing to wonder - she'd just jinx it - but she couldn't help it. She couldn't think of an event that hadn't gone wrong except for that Gryffindor-Slytherin campout. That had been really cold, though. Did that count?

As she pondered the spiked punch, she began to wonder what types of refreshments there would be. Koko really loved pineapple, and she was craving chocolate. Would chocolate-covered pineapple taste good? Koko now wished to try that. It would be tangy and sweet... She eyed the lovely decorations of the ballroom once more. Koko finally spotted the refreshments table and began to stride over to it, her heels making click-clack noises as they touched the ground. She closed her fingers around a glass of punch and sniffed. It didn't smell any different - in fact, it smelled like mint tea, which was her favourite drink. But Veritaserum didn't smell like anything...

Koko remembered meeting her first - and maybe only - friend, Ruby Cazares. She had been so kind then... Would she be here tonight? Koko moved away from the table, taking a sip of the punch. Delicious. It tasted exactly like the way Vienna used to make the tea. Would Ruby like this tea? Maybe Koko would offer her some if she saw her friend. That was, if Ruby recognised her. Would she?

Then she thought about her parents. Her mum and dad would have been so proud of her, getting out of her shell and socialising. They would be eating the food just as happily as she would be soon. The dead would be eating... That was weird. God, Koko was beginning to get hungry. So hungry, in fact, that she might be able to consume everything in the room in an hour. That was normal for a preteen girl, right? To need to eat that much? To nearly create a black hole with her hunger? Maybe she'd even eat the black hole.

Koko grimaced as she nearly tripped over her shoes. She'd forgotten that she was walking. Oh well... Koko now noticed that no one would know who she was tonight. Tonight, she wouldn't be wearing that incriminating badge that made people fearful of her. No, tonight, she would be normal. She would be a confident girl, and a good one. No one would know who she was - she hoped.

The outfit:

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Open to Interactions!

So. The ball. Asteria wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole affair. It seemed a bit, well, ostentatious. Sure, it was Halloween (and that was a magical time right?) and sure, there were students from another school there, but did things have to be quite so dramatic? She wasn't a fan of it at all, if she was being honest. Still, the masquerade element was intriguing to her. It was a chance to be someone other than herself, even if was only one night. A new school was a new start, but this was a new start for a single night. If there was wreckage, if she intentionally chose (rather than her usual unintentional actions) made herself bold for one night, it could be left behind her. 

She had ended up having someone to go with at least: a girl named , who she had met the night before. There was something unexpected in having a partner for this, considering that up until that point she had planned on going alone; her plans had been to simply swirl around the room, creeping upon other to hear their gossip and then vanishing. Now at least there was the potential of someone to do it with, and the feeling crept up through her chest light a blossoming bright bud.

Stepping into the room, she felt her breath hitch slightly. It was gorgeous. This was what the room was meant for: life and light and people. The screaming din of the band had fallen into a rhythm, one that made her want to dance with someone- scratch that, anyone who was interested. Now she was glad she had come; being caught up in the tune and the motions of the crowd was a kind of magic that one couldn't learn even in one of the classes at this school. She scanned the room, looking for cat, but caught no sight of her yet.

She fiddled with her mask, touching the soft fabric petals that covered it. It felt so indistinctly her - there was something so clean about it, so delicate, that felt was at odds with how she felt inside these days. The strangeness of it made the stark shiny vinyl of her skirt almost a comfort. There was a certain hardness to it that seemed like what she wanted, who so wanted to be tonight. It was bold, just liked she hoped she could be. She tugged at the sleeves of her jacket, glad of its comforting weight over her shoulders, and of the fact that it had pockets.

Glancing around more as she made her way through the already blossoming crowds, she found herself going slack-jawed over the intricate nature of the other student's costumes. They really did go all out, she thought, playing absent-mindedly with one strand of hair. As she darted from side to side, weaving her way through the crowds and taking in the costumes, she became thankful for her sturdy boots - at odds with the formal nature of the event, but comfortable and reliable.

Finally, she arrived at her chosen destination, an eye at the center of the hurricane: the drinks table. It was a recluse, a place of calm, where she could watch the patterns of the dance and potentially strike up conversation. Sipping on one of the drinks that had been laid out she watched cautiously as other students began to arrive.

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Interacting with @Jake Morris

Interacting as dNPC Karilyna Kawahara || @Bridget Collins|| Otherwise open to interactions!

Karilyna awkwardly walked into the ballroom of Hogwarts, as some third year had instructed her to do. Thankfully, they were right this time, and she didn't end up in some deserted hallway like last time she had trusted a Hogwarts students. Honestly, the British students were kind of stuck-up and creepy, as far as she knew. Except Teiki. But then, they probably thought the same thing about Americans. She had heard it too many times here--"Americans..." 

So, she was here. Fiddling with her dress, she glanced around, wrinkling her nose as she saw both dresses and suits. Seriously? The sight of dress-clad figures holding hands with suit-clad figures reminded her that this was a ball. Rolling her eyes (well, no one could tell because of her very convenient mask), Karilyna couldn't believe these kids were taking this seriously. They actually had a date. Yeah, this was a dance, but wasn't it supposed to be fun? Not a date night for random people? Pushing past the idea of going with a boy, of all people, Karilyna scanned the room for a golden owl mask. Her best friend and partner-in-crime had left the Thunderbird room shortly before her, and Karilyna needed to find her. Events like this never went well at Ilvermorny, and she had no reason to believe otherwise about their British counterpart.

As she finally found her maroon-dress-clad friend, Karilyna hurried over, boot heels clacking on the floor. She cringed as a couple people turned to look at her--at least she had picked something practical instead of those disgusting atrocities called high heels. As Phyllis asked what they should do, Karilyna shrugged. "Um, I don't know, stalk people?" she suggested, half joking. Honestly, though, they didn't know many people and besides, you couldn't tell who a single person was in this room with the masks and all. Speaking of which, the Hogwarts staff had really outdone themselves with this ball prepared for both the schools--quite generous, honestly, as Plott would never have done such a thing. Lear himself was dressed up in some elaborate getup (honestly, she could only tell it was him from the large build of the dragon-mask-covered man. And another professor that Karilyna didn't know was dressed in a huge red dress. "I don't know, maybe we could talk to people? Or we could just sneak food..." Karilyna was probably one of the most extroverted people you could ever meet, but just then she was clueless. What was she even supposed to do at a bloody ball?

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Karilyna's Outfit	Karilyna's Hair

Entering the ball with @Rosie Parker

There was a moment where Dymphna almost decided not to go. Too much happened in the previous years - both times the ballroom had been set on fire and she heard rumours that someone spiked the punch. Not to mention that any time there was a school-wide event, something went wrong. Not even a school-wide event but at the Second Year Graduation Dance too! That was partly her fault or at least, that's how she felt about it. Would tonight's ball be like all the others?

Dymphna was already dressed for the occasion in a light green dress with floral details. A few butterflies were placed sporadically throughout. Her hair was in loose waves as usual and her mask was simple. Despite the Masquerade theme of this ball, her dress was the statement piece. On the outside, she was very well put together in what her Great Aunt Dior suggested she wear, but on the inside, she wasn't ready at all.

Her nerves were getting the best of her already. Where was Adam when she needed him? Somehow, without even saying a word, he could make her feel better. They hadn't made plans for the ball however. Dymphna would be going stag. The last ball with Sebastian wasn't exactly a date either, merely showing some hospitality towards a fellow Irishman. There was still something about boys that wasn't exactly appealing.

She didn't even ask Reid if he would be attending, only assumed he wouldn't. Why would anyone after what happened before? Why wouldn't the school stop having dances altogether? Before she could get herself even more worked up, an angel appeared. Rosie seemed to float down the staircase towards her and they entered wordlessly together, Dymph almost trailing behind her. Upon entering, she facepalmed at the armour. Headmaster Lear had outdone himself this time.

A nervous laugh bubbled up out of her and the blonde let herself relax. Perhaps this ball wouldn't be so bad. When she finally spoke, her voice held no trace of how she was feeling. "Cute dress, Rosie. Pink's a good colour on you." It was a colour she might have gone for herself if her auntie hadn't chosen for her.

Dale looked in the mirror once more, he straightened his suit once again and readjusted his mask, his hair was still as messy as always, and there was no time to try to fix it. Dale had been looking forward to the masquerade ball for weeks now, he was going Lark, but only as friends…. Dale assumed, he hadn't given it much thought, and he wasn't about to think about it now, some things are best-left unclear.

He checked himself once more in the mirror, he sighed and walked out of the abandoned bathrooms, he didn’t want to use the regular ones, since a lot of people were in there doing the same things as Dale. he started to walk over to the ballroom, last time he went to a party it ended with him being on fire, hopefully, this time would be different.

He arrived at the grand doors of the ballroom and entered the ballroom. It was really well decorated, the only thing that struck Dale as off was the band playing, sure he expected there to be live music, but he thought it would be more like an orchestra and less of a… heavy metal band. Maybe Dale had the wrong opinion on the headmaster.

He scanned the room looking for Lark, she didn’t seem to be here yet, that was fine, Dale was just happy that he wasn't late, there were already quite a few people, Dale couldn't really make out anyone he knew, mostly due to the masks. Dale could also spot out some people from Ilvermorny, not that he knew any of them. It struck Dale that maybe if his parents didn’t move to Britain from America, he would’ve gone to Ilvermorny, he wondered if Ilvermorny was very different compared to Hogwarts.

Dale found a nice table to sit down and wait for Lark to arrive and tried to drown out the bad music with his own thoughts.

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RPING AS:

Owen Morrison - text color #B45F06

he's literally just wearing a black suit with a black mask, nothing notworthy haha

MENTIONS:

@Emma Hill, @Gem Stuart, @Lark Flaer, @Catriona Staverly, @Elzabeth Gillan, @Asteria Kurokawa, @Lamik Fillestar, @Thora Larkston, @Jake Morris, @Erin Ryan, @Adlai Rod, @Miko Limof, @Rowan Bane, @Koko Riddle, @Dymphna Teague, @Dale Kurt

Owen pulled at his sleeves, shifting his weight from side to side as he waited. He'd agreed to meet Emma at the Ball, but she hadn't shown up yet. It wasn't like he was nervous or anything, though. Never.

He wore the simplest thing in sight: a literal black suit with a plain black mask that was currently propped up on his head like a headband, pushing his brown hair up behind it. It was uncomfortable- plus, it's not like any of these kids knew him, anyways.

"You don't think she-" Owen asked, turning his head towards Don and Hunter, who were waiting with him for their dates. His gaze caught on the door though, lingering there for a moment before facing Don and Hunter.

He and Emma had a, well, rival-like relationship, and at times, Owen wasn't sure if Emma even liked him. Hell, the only way he'd gotten her to go out with him was winning a date with her through a quidditch match. He was convinced that he'd won her over, though, and he would be pretty surprised if she didn't show up. It's not like she, Vi, or Del were lste either- most people were arriving at this time.

Speaking of, Owen preoccupied himself by gazing around the room, observing the other partygoers. Besides him, Don, and Hunter, he saw two other Illvermorny students. One was a boy a bit younger than Owen, he was pretty sure his name was Novus. He only knew because the boy was a bit of a myth, being a half-blood and all. The other was a girl he thought he faintly recognized, but he couldn't remember her name or anything, only that she went to Illvermorny as well.

One Hogwarts student that stood out to him, and everyone else, most likely, was a small blonde kid wearing a bright orange pumpkin costume. Owen nudged Hunter, nodding towards him with an amused grin on his face.

"I can already tell- Vi and Del are gonna love that kid." he laughed, thinking of the other half of their group. One kid wore a piece of paper with eye-holes cut out of them as a mask, something Owen admired- he'd have done the same if he could've gotten away with it without Emma scolding him.

There was a tall, muscular-looking girl who looked like she could beat the shit out of Owen by sneezing at him. She had purple hair and a flowy green dress on, and Owen would've thought she was stunning had she not looked like she wanted to rip someone's face off. Another girl wore an intricate white mask, that almost looked like it was made out of ice. He saw a boy in a deep purple vest, along with another boy in an all-white suit with gold accents. One girl wore a dark green dress with tiny gems sprinkled across the bottom, and another wore a light green dress with flowers scattered across it.

Point is, the Hogwarts students had gone all-out. Owen didn't feel bad about his choice, though, simple was fine with him. He'd never really been notorious for caring about clothes and style, and he wasn't about to start.

"I'm gonna go meet some Brits," Owen announced, "I'll be back with some tea and biscuts." He laughed, his horrible British accent making the already over-used joke ten times worse.

He walked over to a table where a boy in a plaid suit was sitting alone. He had brown hair, and an intricate silver mask that covered half of his face. He looked nice enough, so Owen approached him with a smile.

"What's up?" he asked, "You go here, right?"

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Serena's Outfit:

dNPC Astrid Kovac | @Bridget Collins@Thora Larkston | Open to other Interactions

She wasn't used to the mask. While she had been to plenty of parties, none of them had been masquerade parties. She also wasn't really used to the magic aspect of a ball. She was sure they could incorporate it somehow into a party, but she wasn't entirely sure how she would notice. She glanced down at her dress. If this was really supposed to be a Halloween dance, she could at least say that her costume was a modern take on the Little Red Riding Hood. If no one cared, then, well, no one cared. She realized that she was probably overthinking the entire thing.

Astrid followed some girls in. Deciding that she needed someone to converse with, she caught up to them. Despite the masks, she was pretty sure she had seen these girls around. They were certainly Ilvermorny students, as she hadn't really talked to that many Hogwarts students. A little ironic, considering she came all this way to meet more Ilvermorny students.

"Hi, it's Astrid. I feel like I recognize you, but I can't really... Masks sure are good at their jobs." She laughed softly, glad the mask could hide her blushing.

"I'm sorry if you'd rather I'd leave you to peace, but I was behind you when coming in, and I really liked your dresses. And the recognizing thing." She shrugged, not really knowing how to continue. It seemed the two had started a conversation, so she was glad she hadn't overheard any of it. Proper manners and all that.

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Dress:
Mask: