The Masquerade Ball Event Closed

Interacting with @Piérre Marchonné @Dan Palmer @Maggie Parker @Adlai Rod , mentioning @Serena Towers @Catriona Staverly

Something had gone horribly wrong...

Jake trudged slowly through the party as if in a dream, staring up at all of the other kids around him. He suddenly felt very small...It was overwhelming - with the arrival of the students from other schools there were more students than there'd ever been before...It was noisy and crowded...and with everybody's face covered you didn't know who was around you - they were all faceless and ominous...But even more shocking than that, they were barely dressed in costumes at all.

The fancy clothes and dresses and suits that surrounded Jake almost made it look like they were at some kind of a Halloween wedding or something, except everybody had masks, In the wizarding world, Jake was realizing, you only dressed up your face, but a mask was the one thing that Jake didn't have. He looked down at his own brightly-colored outfit again, as his cheeks slowly began to redden. He looked nothing like anybody else did...

'Hello!' somebody said and the little boy in the conspicuous pumpkin outfit jumped. For a moment he stared up at her, not knowing what to say...and then he hustled his way past her without a word. He heard snippets of conversation as he did, some whispered some loud. Some were nice ('Woah, that pumpkin outfit is adorable!') but he also heard his least favorite sound in the whole world - the sounds of children snickering. Jake's heart beat faster...

Looking...everybody was looking at him...the attention pressed down on him like a 1000-pound weight. It didn't matter if the words were nice or mean. There were so many eyes in the room and they were staring at him - faces behind masks that he couldn't even see.

By the time the Hufflepuff made it to the punch bowl he was just about ready to cry.

"Psst. Yer sposta wear a mask, lad."

Jake looked up wide-eyed at the older boy who had said it. The Slytherin at the punch table waved his wand, and just like that a pumpkin mask appeared. Jake stared at it. It had just come out of thin air with the older boy's magic...just like that...! It even matched his costume...Jake took it in his own hands and clutched it, staring up and listening attentively to the rest of what the older boy said. He told Jake what to say if he got picked on, and Jake nodded his head. "Thank you," the Hufflepuff mumbled shyly, slipping the mask on over his head. As soon as he did, there was just a little bit of calm...his breathing slowed...that was a LITTLE better....Because if he had a mask on...well...then maybe nobody would know who he was (nevermind that he was possibly the smallest boy at school). If he had a mask on maybe it'd be like when he wore the badger suit at the Quidditch game. They would see a pumpkin but they wouldn't have to know it was Jake...

He looked at the other boy who had just approached them and began to introduce himself but Jake just stared down at his feet and gave the smallest of waves. He didn't want to meet anybody...not right now...he didn't have the courage to say anything back. He just had to get out of there. He stood on his tiptoes to reach the table and take a cup of punch (which, he was surprised to find out, tasted a lot more like apple juice than any fruit punch he'd ever had), and two cookies which he held carefully in his hands. Then he hurried away, trying to find a free spot, feeling just a little more invisible...now that he had a mask.

He scarcely made it a few steps when he heard a voice that sounded familiar, though he couldn't remember why.

"You guys look amazing!" the girl said. "Especially you, pumpkin kid."

Jake looked up to meet her eyes, his cheeks still red with embarrassment. He didn't think he looked very good at all. "I...I'm m-makin' a statement," Jake mumbled, remembering the older boy's words, and then quickly hustled away to find a spot on the wall, arms crossed over his chest, trying in vain to hide as much as the pumpkin as possible. He really wanted to go back upstairs to his room...but he settled for finding the emptiest spot he could, and sinking to sit on the ground, looking as small and un-noteworthy as possible, and nibbling on a chocolate-chip cookie.

Interacting with @Catriona Staverly

Kyle was sort of bobbing his head and listening to the music as he looked around. Despite him wanting to be here, sort of, he was slowly getting more and more uncomfortable as time went on. The silver pressed against his skin was a constant and nagging discomfort, and the powerful barrage of smells from all the boys and girls crammed into one room was giving him a migraine. He was sure that he wouldnt be able to smell anything for a week after all the perfume and cologne that was assaulting his nose tonight. He needed to find something to make this less of an issue, he knew the older he got the worse it was going to get.

He was lost in thought with the nagging feelings and annoyances and then suddenly he heard someone talking to him and he turned his gaze towards her. The look of pain and discomfort was probably evident in his eyes if she was aware of such things.

"I'm— well, you know who I am. If you remember. Fancy seeing you here."

Kyle blinked at the girl, Did he know who she was? her voice seemed sort of familiar but he couldn't really smell her to figure out if he recognized her scent. she was small and thin but she was in a pretty dress, if you are into that kind of stuff, and didn't seem to be afraid of him. assuming he was who she was actually thinking of since most of his face was covered and he rarely slicked his hair back like it currently was. Though as he Raked his brain and ran through everything over the last couple of weeks he did sort of recall hearing her voice before. At the lake before him and San's fight. Damn it all why didnt he give her a nickname!

Kyle rubbed the back of his neck and offered a slight shrug "There are a couple people who wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I didn't come. Figured may as well." With his very noticeable Irish Accent if he was infact who she was looking for that would Settle it.

Open to Interactions

James let out a snort as Gem gave him the necklace.

“Thanks, I think it’ll take a little more than that to take people’s attention away from this,” he made a sweeping gesture across his whole body, “but I appreciate it.”

Gem turned to introduce James to the girls he was with. His eyes lit up at the mention of a girlfriend.

“Girlfriend!? How am I just now learning about this? We seriously need to Gossip more before we go to bed” he whispered in a hiss toward his friend.

He stuck out a hand. “Nice to meet you Brielle. How’d Gem convince you to go out with him? It was money wasn’t it... or like a love potion? Extortion?” He grinned cheekily, “Cool mask by the way, I was going to go hot pink too but I couldn’t find one that fit my nose right”

He turned to the other girl, “And, Aphrodite. I like your hair.” He smiled, “Has anyone had the punch yet? Is it good?”

James scanned the crowd again and saw Lark and Elz his mouth went dry. Lark looked beautiful, elegant and comfortable. And she was with Dale. His stomach turned in a mixture of jealousy and guilt.

He shuffled over to Gem.

“Hey, do you know what’s going on with Charlotte? I haven’t seen her in a few days... I sent her an Owl about this but I- I just wanna know if she’s ok.”

Interacting with: @Gem Stuart @Brielle Gray @Aphrodite Bloom

Interacting with|@Christopher Madson|
Mentions|@Quinn Healy|@Jake Morris|@Dale Kurt|@Kyle DeRook|
|Open to interactions|

Santario reached forward and accepted a glass of the everything drink. Taking a small sip she would stare at it in wonder. Hot chocolate with cinnamon?! It was her favorite drink and although the temperature was off it seemed to for once not bother her at all. Maybe that was apart of the magic of the drink? Though it didn’t much matter she thought as long as she enjoyed it. Now that she was settled with a drink she decided that maybe she should try to find people she actually knew, which would not be easy considering she had only known what one of them was dressed like.

Looking up from her drink she saw a boy in black dress but striking green mask. If it had not been made for a more masculine face, she would have wanted it for herself, but she was more than satisfied with her fox motif. Taking a step or two towards him with a pleasant smile playing across her lips. “I love your mask! The leaf design is absolutely stunning.” Her intense silvery voice could be heard as she spoke to him over the din of the crowd and music. Her sharp sapphire eyes contrasted greatly with the red and black of her mask, though her eyes would not stay solely on them as they scanned the crowd noticing the boy in the pumpkin costume, she knew who he was immediately and his choice did not surprise her at all.

There was a very tall redheaded boy which could no doubt in her mind be Quinn Healy. That suit looked really good on him and she made a mental note to tell him the next time she saw him. Then finally her eyes landed on someone that looked suspiciously like her friend Dale, but with that one, she just couldn’t be sure if it really was him or not. All of them were clicked together with their own people, something Santario would not interrupt. Lastly, those sapphire hues landed on Rook she knew what his outfit was going to be before the ball, so she knew he was going to be easy to pick out. Though she couldn’t figure out exactly what girl it was that he was talking to. After scrutinizing the conversation for only a second or so she would turn her attention back to the boy she had approached. It would be terribly rude to approach him and then not look at him while she tried to have a conversation.     

LAMIK'S PERSPECTIVE
---------------------------------------



As Lamik looked around the ball room, taking in all of its sheer scale and beauty, he couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of sadness at coming alone. Surely it was better to expirience it all with someone else; be it a date or simply a friend. Unfortunately, Lamik had no such luck, and though he assumed that later on in the evening he would find somebody to talk to, at that very moment he was quite lonesome.

That's when he heard a familiar voice. "Aideen!" He said, cheerfully. With a long, satirical now, Lamik greeted the girl. "Welcome, m'lady." The boy said, righting himself back up. "I hope you like my mask."

----------------------------

NOVUS'S PERSPECTIVE
----------------------------------------



For now, Novus didn't have much to do. Deciding that just standing around wouldn't do much good at all, the boy started packing around the ball room, searching for somebody familiar. A large part of him hoped to find Illvermony's one and only headmaster, Lazarus. Though Novus tended to be a quite and calm kid, he always enjoyed his headmasters... Peculiarity. Any other familiar face would do though, and if he was being honest, it would be nice to get to know some Hogwarts students for once.

OPEN TO INTERACTION

Katrina was kinda proud of her masquerade outfit. The ball had masquerade from Phantom of the Opera stuck in her head. The nagging tune had her almost humming during the last class. Right after class she had rushed to her dorm to get ready, most of the other girls were way fancier than her.

First she did her hair, the long red-ish locks had done quite beautifully in her unique waterfall braid. It looked quite complex, but in all reality- was super easy. Next she slipped into her outfit. The long-sleeved, knee-length, teal and white dress was a bit over-the-top. The top was pristine white lace and the bottom was a flowing teal almost tu-tu look. She had her old tie up white flats on that added quite a bit to her overall outfit. Katrina had- last minute- found a set of opal earrings that surprisingly matched the dress. Finally- she had scavenged a delicate mask to finish the look, the "under-water look" matched perfectly with her dress and earrings.

Katrina slowly made her way to the ballroom a bit late. Already- an overwhelming amount of people were there and Katrina desperately searched for someone she knew. She saw @Piérre Marchonné by someone in a pumpkin outfit? She walked over and grabbed a cup from the table she stood there, not wanting to interrupt- hoping someone would invite her.

She took a cautions sip of the drink. She remembered hearing about the punch last year at Blossom Ball; she was lucky that she decided to skip that event. To be honest- she still wasn't sure why she had decided to come to this event. She liquid tasted just like her mothers homemade grape juice. No way! How had they done that? She sniffed the drink but it didn't smell like it, she took another sip and was quite puzzled.

Interacting with @Kyle DeRook
Mentioning @Gem Stuart and @James McMurtrie
RPing as Catriona Staverly | text color #8d7cc2

Catriona breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been fairly certain she was approaching the right person, but who really knew with all the masks. It was the accent that settled it. He was clearly uncomfortable, but with what Catriona didn't know. Maybe he didn't like people, a bit like her. She could understand that. There was something deeply unsettling about being in a crowd, not just the amount of people, but also the fact that you're lost in the crush of people. If someone looked at you, they'd see a mass of bodies. You'd be invisible. While Catriona often wished she was invisible, that sort of erasure made her feel more uncomfortable than anything else.

And then there was the discomfort of seeing all these people here with their friends and romantic interests. All her friends had dates, except James, but James was so embroiled with drama that Catriona hadn't even considered going with him. Plus, James and her had never really been close. She was closer to Gem, Lark, and Charlotte and after the Charlotte and James debacle, Catriona hadn't gotten much of a chance to get to know him. She knew Asteria, not well, but she knew her and she liked her so at least there was that.

She didn't really know DeRook either, but he was an interesting character and some of his mannerisms... well they were a mystery for one thing. She wanted to get to know him, she really did. She wanted to help. "You look a bit uncomfortable. I don't blame you, I'm pretty put off too. Too many people here." She mostly mumbled that last part, not wanting to seem completely lame (which she definitely was). "Want to head somewhere a little more interesting?" she said, more on a whim than anything else. "Unless you're waiting for someone."

As Serena continued to sip her Dr. Pepper that for some reason didn’t look like Dr. Pepper, more people entered the ballroom. One that particularly stood out was a boy who looked around her age. Instead of a suit, he had come in a pumpkin costume. At first, she couldn’t tell if the boy had chosen the outfit as a joke or if he genuinely didn’t know what a masquerade was. Judging by the boy’s face, it appeared to be the latter. Serena felt for the poor boy. It was nerve-wracking enough to put yourself in a new social situation. It would be even worse to show up in the wrong attire.

Serena took the last sip of her drink before placing the empty cup back on the table and stood up, making her way over to him. But before she could get there, a boy wearing a long black coat and a black and white mask made his way over to the pumpkin boy. Serena watched as the boy conjured up a cute looking pumpkin mask to go with the costume. Serena didn’t wait to see the pumpkin boy’s reaction before turning away from the two boys.

Well, while Serena was up, she might as well get another cup of Dr. Pepper. Serena made her way over to the food and drink table once again. When she reached the drinks table, Serena noticed that a boy wearing a black suit and a green mask was standing right in front of her path to the drinks.

Serena continued to walk towards the table. “Excuse me,” she muttered as she reached past him to grab a cup. Hopefully, the boy had heard her over the loud music.

✼ ✼ THIS IS A DOUBLE POST ✼ ✼
Both are open to interactions : Mentions listed in each post below!
First Post for Lark Flaer ---- Lower Reducio Post for dNPC Genevieve Davis

Interacting with @Dale Kurt @Elzabeth Gillan @Koko Riddle
Mentions : @James McMurtrie @Catriona Staverly

A blush rose on Lark's cheeks at Dale's compliment. "You look pretty handsome yourself." She locked eyes with the boy for a moment feeling a warmth wash over her staring into his brown eyes. A voice broke her gaze as a girl walked up to them. Lark hadn't seen her before but the dress she wore was gorgeous. Wow... Oh she knew Dale? Blinking Lark gave a sort of nervous head nod and smile as the girl introduced herself to Dale. Maybe they didn't ... wait.a.minute.what?!

"Used..I.I.Incendio on 'im?" Lark stuttered. Had this girl somehow set Dale on fire at some point?? A tiny flicked or anger burned in the back of her mind.

"Hey, hope I'm not intruding."

Mouth hanging slightly open, Lark turned her head slightly to see Elz appear. She was wearing the most beautiful shade of blue! "I know we had that dress night but.. wow Elz!" She smiled at her friend and gave her a hug trying to shake off this weird feeling the Koko girl's words had given her. Not wanting to be rude but feeling anxiety growing in the pit of her stomach, she focused her attention to Elzabeth and let Dale reply to Koko.

It was strange, she almost felt like a grown up attending such a fancy party. No parents, sure Professors but still! They were all able to mingle with each other without any hovering. "This place looks amazing doesn't it??" Lark wasn't sure if this was similar to things Elz or the others had been to, but Lark was certainly blown away.

Turning to whisper to Elz, Lark eyed the crowd trying to find the missing piece of their trio, . Was that Gem? And James? Who were those two girls? Wait a minute... was one of them Aphrodite from the night before. Another weird flicker of jealousy brewed in the back of the girl's thoughts."I'm ridiculously nervous still.. is it just me?" She swallowed the lump in her throat. Keeping an eye on the boys and the two girls Lark was unsure about, she wondered where was again. Had Gem brought someone else? Lark worried for her friend as a sick feeling chipped away at her pleasant mood. She looked to Dale who still was next to the other boy and... Koko. Should she slip away with Elz to find their friend, check in? That's when she caught the familiar bluish dress that had brought to the dress swap. She was talking to dark, brooding looking boy.

"I think I need a drink.." Lark's head spun and mouth felt dry. "What about you Elz?" She leaned towards Dale, Koko and the other boy. "Do you guys want anythin' ta drink?" She looked to the blonde haired girl and heart sunk. Koko was beautiful and her eyes were stunning... plus in that dress she looked gorgeous. Normally she wouldn't be comparing herself to others but standing in front of Dale she felt rather self conscious. There was no way she could compare to this girl.. or Aphrodite.. or anyone else. Wetting her lips nervously she chuckled and didn't wait for an answer, feeling like she needed some air for a quick second. "I'll go get us all drinks an' such. Elz?" She looked to her friend hoping she would come along. A trip to get drinks and some snacks would give her enough time to calm her nerves as well as compose herself in front of her date. Date? Was it a date? My head hurts already.. Her thoughts were spinning out of control. Gathering part of her skirts she gave Dale a nervous smile and waited for Elz so they could go to the refreshment table.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

✧༺♥༻∞　　∞༺♥༻✧

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post for dNPC Genevieve Davis

Interacting with : @Catriona Staverly and Hunter @Elzabeth Gillan

Del's words made Vi feel much better... of course she would knock him dead. Right right... She was Genevieve Davis. She bumped hips with her friend gently as a thanks before Del could escape. Trying to give herself an internal pep talk, she noticed Hunter had set eyes on them and was making his way over. She felt like everything was in slow motion watching him make his way over, jacket squaring his already perfect frame and mask showing off his jawline. Hair She should've brought a damned hand fan... was she having a hot flash? Her cheeks felt like they might burn off as she kept her eyes on Hunter. Holy...-- Vi let out a breath not realizing she had been holding it in this long.

"You look amazing."

Words.
What even were words? What is a word... what was she.. right. Oh wow.
Stumbling over her thoughts a smile parted her lips.

"Way better than me that's for sure."

"Don't sell yourself short Reys." She slid her hand into his. Instantly the touch of his skin warmed her fingers and sent a tingling through her arms and into her chest before weaving up her neck. This felt very different. So very different from Illvermorny and how they acted towards one another. At least some of it felt that way.. Being around Hunter still felt comfortable and safe but there was something new there now. It scared Vi but not to the point of wanting to run away. Instead she wanted to run headlong into whatever this newness was.

"You're the only good looking one I see." Taking a step closer to Hunter she gave a wink. "I'm positive that I'm the lucky one tonight."

Role-playing as Bridget Collins || Interacting with @Thora Larkston || Mentions @Jake Morris ||Open to Interactions

For the record, Bridget had very nearly not come. It was a ball, after all, which already sounded bad and on top of theat, there were bound to be a claustrophobic number of people. But to stick with her goal of making the most of her second year after an uneventful first one, here Bridget was on the edge of the ballroom, feeling quite out of place.

The young girl didn't particularly like dresses. She was, after all, a tomboy. The dark blue thing, which was thankfully simple, had been her Christmas dress last year, but it wasn't as if she'd grown out of it. Her parents had managed the owling system and sent the dress so it arrived just in the nick of time. The small girl was seriously regretting not bringing a sweater--it looked like she might very well be spending a while shivering (although all the bodies were sure to heat the grand room up soon enough). Besides, a sweater would help minimize the awkwardness a bit. She had still kept a bit of averageness in the form of her footwear. Ballet flats had been the plan up until the last minute, but she'd changed to sneakers on a whim before leaving the Common Room. There was no point being extra uncomfortable anyways.

The second thing she had against coming to the Masked Ball was just that--the masks. The already distrustful girl had a slightly knotted feeling in the pit of her stomach as it was nearly impossible to determine who was who, whether they be friend or foe. And if rumors of the last ball were true, which she'd had the fortune not to attend, these things tended to end badly.

Nevertheless, she was here, so that was some form of accomplishment, albeit a small one. Luckily it seemed as though most people hadn't gone for a traditional costume but more a dress/suit and mask. Bridget would have hated to be the odd one out as a certain first year was (at least pumpkins were festive). For now she figured she'd just stand off to the side until she had a feeling for what was going on, praying that no one would take her for lonely and initiate an uncomfortable exchange. At least, that was the plan until she spied a slight figure with faded auburn hair. A grin played on her features as she was practically certain this could only mean one thing--her probably-friend Thora Larkston was here too. The hazel-eyed girl sauntered over to the table her housemate was sitting at, checked one more time to make certain it was her, and then slid down in one of the vacant seats.

"Hello Thora. How're you? I like your outfit," she said. Perhaps it was a weird way to start, but that was the norm for them. Maybe being with Thora would make this evening better, if even just a little bit.