The Masquerade Ball Event Closed

interacting w/ @Jack Warren & @Kaegen Deathmote & @Xailah Alptraum

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Throughout the far from plesant encounters she had with Kaegen, his appearance was always sickly pale resembling the skin of a very malnourished kid or perhaps even a corpse. A few weeks ago she had happen to pick up the Hogwarts Headliner issue and found the abominated face of Kaegen Deathmote on one of its pages. It did not surprise her to discover that he was a dhamphir. In fact, Aurelia had met a handful of dhamphires and with her knowledge, she was willing to help them to control vampiric nature. But Kaegen, she doubt that it was his nature that caused him to be such a malice.

The Ravenclaw had told her to mind her own business but Aurelia, was not going anywhere so soon, not until she got what she came for, an apology. Kaegen almost killed her, and through the last few months before the term ended, he hadn’t the remorse to at least find her to apologise.

“Perhaps you don’t recognise me, especially not with the mask. I was that Gryffindor Prefect last term and one of the victims of your stabbing rampage in the abandoned toilets last year.” Aurelia began, her arms crossing stiffly and she waited for a moment so that the boy might be able to refresh his memory.

“Don’t you think you owe me an apology?” She asked as assertive as she could, despite the unnerving atmosphere emanating around them that stood the tiny hairs on her neck. Her Grandmother, who taught her all about monsters and their whereabouts during the summer had taught her that it was the presence of a dhamphire. The creatures could turn it off but it naturally became more prominent when they were scared or felt threatened. Good, Kaegen felt threatened it wasn’t the other way around, at least for now.

Aurelia hadn’t noticed the other girl approaching until she spoke. The girl’s voice was familiar, Aurelia definitely knew her yet could not identify her with large cat mask obscuring her face. Not until a grey cat emerged from the girl’s dark hair and munched on her hair. Aurelia yelped and created a distance of a few feet or so between her and he cat. Oh, she knew this obnoxious cat very well and it’s mistress was none other than her roommate Xailah.

Cats didn’t both her much, at least when they were half a kilometre away. There was one problem Aurelia had with them, she was allergic. “Aah-che! Aache!” Came the sneezes and as per usual, her eyes began to water and itch. Her sneezes were usually modest and light but it was an entirely different when a cat was the trigger. Why in the world would anyone in the right mind bring a cat to the ball? She could just bring a damn petting zoo to the ballroom. And yes, Aurelia was upset.

“Xailah, do you -AaChEE- mind taking your cat somewhere else? I’m allergic!” She asked rather forcefully, almost screaming the word ‘allergic’.

@Brielle Gray, @Catriona Staverly, @Charlotte Marie Mahr, @Aphrodite Bloom, & @James McMurtrie

Just as Gem opened his mouth to respond to James, Charlotte had slid in and pounced on him, wrapping her strong arms around his neck. Ah. Speak of the devil and she doth appear, he thought with an upwards tilt of his chin, glancing around for a moment. There was James, a real happy camper - he wondered why he'd been so persistent about her whereabouts, but he got his answer soon enough at the grand introduction James managed to strangle out. Girlfriend? He ought to punch Charlotte right in the throat for not clarifying that to him. He'd told her about Brielle, she couldn't say a damn word about her and James?

"Christ! Ya mean ta tell me you lot were an item an' I wasn't the first to know? Way to get that around," Gem teased, gesturing between the two of them with his punch, which he took another sip of. The sweet, bitter taste of apple cider beer, like the one he had back in the summer with his dad. He grimaced the second he tasted it on his tongue.

And then another person wiggled their way into the group, a pleasant surprise that really got Gem to perk up and finally hug someone.

"Catriona!" He cooed, thumping the side of his head against hers, "finally! It's so good ta see you, this is Brielle, and Aphrodite, an' you know everyone else. You look smashin'!" He'd been nearly oblivious to the look on her face, mostly because he was doing what he wasn't used to - talking. He often observed, made a few comments and carried on, but that just wasn't the case now. He had to actually speak - be a person an observer observed. However, any sensible person would notice the fresh face of distress, the miserable drop in her tone. This wasn't a time he could pull her off to the side and ask her what was wrong, he couldn't figure out why, but it felt inappropriate. Instead, he kept that smile on his face and avoided asking any question that had even a similar connotation to; 'how are you?'.

"Have ya tried e' punch, yet? It's fookin' dazzlin'." Good one.

Charlotte hugged James back tightly, not realizing how much she actually missed him until she was in his arms. It was a strange feeling to her, she felt warm, like she had just drank a bottle of sunlight. She never thought she would actually be happy to be there.
"I've been... around." She wanted to keep it short- no reason to get into detail when it wasn't important. What was important was that she was there now.
Letting go of the embrace, she stood next to him, cocking her head to the side as she was introduced. She giggled a little bit as her fumbled over his words, her laughs being cut short as he said the word girlfriend. It made her blush just about as hard as James was, but there was a definite sparkle in her eyes that shone a bit brighter than before, and a smile crawled its way to her lips. She nodded, barely able to make out any words. No- people were usually more crude in introducing, so this? It was total shock to her, not that it was a bad thing.

Waving a little bit, her eyes widened as she realized that this is who Gem talked about all the time. Gem's girlfriend. The word had a different ring in her ears at that point. She was pleased to meet her nonetheless.
"Should've gone for someone better really, he's not much of a fighter... or a charmer for that matter," She winked playfully, obviously just meaning to mess with her cousin.

"Uhm... I'm not really sure." She scratched the back of her neck and pursed her lips. "I would say we could find trouble but..." She looked around at the teachers, wondering if they could get away with anything.
"We could dance?"

Interacting with: @Catriona Staverly @Charlotte Marie Mahr @Gem Stuart @Brielle Gray @Aphrodite Bloom

“Hey ! Glad you’re here...” James said cheerily and then noticed her facial expression. He figured that perhaps the news of Gem’s budding romance wasn’t so exciting for all parties present. He thought about asking her if she was ok, or perhaps inviting her to go somewhere else with he and Charlotte. He was distracted, however, by Charlotte’s suggestion of dancing. He felt a nervousness rise in his stomach and which rose into a laugh.

“Really? You’re picking dancing over trouble-making? You’d better be careful, any more of this adorable stuff and you’ll lose your reputation as a tough street kid.” He grinned at her, “I’d love to dance with you”

He softly took her hands in his wandered out onto the dance floor with her.

“Will you do me the honour of sharing this dance with me Miss Mahr?” He laughed and presented his hands gently, “Uh- and- uh by the way- not that appearance matters and you’re-like- way too cool to care about this sort of thing- but- uh... for what it’s worth.... you look incredibly beautiful tonight...”

He felt his face flush hot, worried he was stepping past some line. Was he moving too fast? Was the compliment too strong? Would she think he was a weirdo? The anxiety swirled in his head like a storm as he awaited her response.

Some of the aspiring monster hunter's ideas were pretty accurate. Kaegen's mania was indeed only in very small part due to his bloodline, he was the way he was because of circumstances, and a mind so twisted it would make the darkest thorn thicket pale in comparison. But Kaegen's aura, the sheer wave of murderous intent that warped shadows into living things and made light itself flicker and fade, no, that was not due to defensive tendencies, or fear or anxiety. Kaegen usually felt fear, he was usually scared but his walls of terror were not always active. No, in his case they were erected by hate and anger, spite and wrath becoming things almost physical.

The flickering shadow marked a small slip in Kaegen's fragile hold of his own calm, it marked a crack in the social armor he was trying to keep up for the good of public decency, to not raise a scene. The Notresvance girl was clever, she had heard stories of Dhampirs and knew many of their ways, but she knew a surprisingly small amount about the half vampire that was currently staring at her as he tried to contrive a way to exit the scene.

Of course, Kaegen knew none of this. He didn't know what the masked girl was thinking, or why. He didn't know that he had let slip that small crack of his sanity, and he didn't even realize as his mind carefully patched the whole with weak tape. Kaegen was of a vastly different breed than a simple monster. Monsters were led about by their blood, they were driven to insanity by their very nature. Kaegen's nature seemed tame in comparison to his own human thoughts, his world a bleak wasteland of fog and monsters.

It took him a few seconds to remember, to trace back to the bathroom, then to that prefect, the one he had struck down first. That had been pathetic, easy. So she was the weak one, then? Either that or he had gotten lucky. Paranoia struck down the budding confidence like a lightning bolt as he tried to remember her face. It didn't matter, faces were more or less irrelevant at this point. Everyone was wearing masks, he couldn't rely on past experiences. Not here, anyway.

"I'm sorry you feel like you deserve an apology."

His left hand suddenly vanished up his sleeve, leaving a loose sleeve by his side. He could take them both in one shot, it wouldn't be hard. He might get hit in the shrapnel, however. And the bystanders would also suffer. But what did he care? The bystanders were the bystanders, they were no concern of his. No, his only concern was for his own life. Everything else was secondary. In the past there had been other things he would have placed above his life, but not anymore.

His mind was still working on his move when someone dressed as a fanged demon came from behind. And then, lo and behold, the fat cat shrodinger cast steleus on the prefect. He made a mental note to thank the cat, and probably also the cat's keeper, whoever that was. He couldn't see the girl-creature in the crowd, and it didn't dawn on him that the fanged demon girl was in fact the girl-creature. So he nodded to the cat and it's artful spellcasting, and ducked back and away into the crowd, trying to keep his distance from the pair who had confronted him.

"Keep to your own life, prefect."

If aurelia and co gave chase, Kaegen would keep moving away, placing groups of people inbetween them. If she continues to give chase, Kaegen will stop and confront her by the open dancefloor, to give himself room to move. If she does not give chase, Kaegen will hang about a table towards the side, but not right by the wall. As out of the way as possible without being obviously out of the way

interactions| @Adam Harringtom, @Reid Kovacs, @Dorothy Shafiq

“Jinx it!”

Eris gasped, an easy grin sliding into place upon her face. “Why, you- you blubbering pig fart!” That was quite a good insult. Eris’s cheeks flushed, as she prayed the teasing tone would allow Adam to know she wasn’t actually insulting him. “I won’t jinx anything! If anything you’ll jinx it.” Eris, relishing her newfound height, took the moment to swat at Adam’s arm playfully. “Pigfart.” She repeated again, words accompanied by a peal of laughter induced by her own brilliance in coming up with insults.

Once Adam started giggling, Eris couldn’t help but laugh along. There was something so right about being in the presence of her best friend and being able to laugh along with him, even when the dynamic of their friendship was changing before the two’s eyes. As he linked their arms, Eris’s face turned even pinker. Which in turn was another small reminder of the fact their dynamic was, indeed, changing. Grateful for her practice in heels, Eris skipped into the ballroom alongside her date.

What a nice word, date. Eris could get used to that word, she supposed. However, what she couldn’t get used to was the lack of dramatic flair one had to exert into skipping! “Skipping isn’t dramatic! You know.. for a Ravenclaw you’re all looks, no smarts.” Eris teased, before pausing. Had she just complimented his looks? Eris blinked, scratching at her shockingly short locks of brown hair.

As Eris opened her mouth to spend an absurd amount of time explaining an offhand comment to Adam, she caught movement out of the corner of her eyes. Brown eyes averting to study a nearby blonde girl, Eris caught a first-hand glimpse of what seemed to be a bizarre dance move, where the girl nearly fell and then rocketed upwards into a rigid solid line, acting inconspicuous. It was a funny dance move, to be sure. Or maybe she had just been correcting a potential fall, but nonetheless, the sight was enough to crinkle the corners of Eris’s cheeks as she attempted not to laugh.

Then, to her shock, the blonde made her way over to Adam and Eris. As she came into view, Eris was able to recognize the features of the girl’s face, identifying her as one of the few hufflepuffs Eris was able to tolerate. Dorothy Shafiq, the girl unfortunate enough to be related to Meredith Shafiq. Eris grimaced at the memory of the lavishly dressed woman and her eccentric manners. Feeling a particularly strange kindred energy with Dorothy, simply because the two of them both shared atrocious family members, Eris grinned at her.

Glad for the intrusion, which was a saving grace in alleviating Eris’s newfound awkwardness, Eris greeted Dorothy with a fair bit of excitement. Perhaps too much of it, as her chipper attitude only seemed elevated to incorrigible heights. “Hey, Dorothy! You look so nice! I like the outfit. Reminds me of Halloween.” Which, was what all the costumes should have reminded Eris of. But Hogwarts students had an infallible policy to go all out when it came to dances, even if it meant sacrificing the integrity of the theme of the party.

Eris took the moment to look around the room. Most people must have been looking at how beautiful it was, but Eris was searching for suspicious figures or anything flammable. One could never be truly safe, even if the prospect of the older Ilvermorny students with magic was all that kept Eris from screaming at the top of her lungs each time the blurred vision of a masked figure caught the corner of her eye, only to turn out to be a smiling teenager talking to their friends. It was easier to calm down though, as most of the masks hardly covered anyone’s face. It was only those rare few masks where the wearer’s facial features couldn’t be determined that terrified Eris.

Nevertheless, conceal, don’t feel. Eris was going to be fine. There was no way the ball could go badly. Not for the third year in a row. And, Ben was gone. Dead in a ditch somewhere, if wistful thinking was any indication of someone’s whereabouts. She was fine. Everything was fine. As Adam himself had said, ‘don’t jinx it.’ Eris wasn’t going to jinx the ball with her negative thinking. Everyone was having a splendid time. Thus, she would try extra hard to have an amazing time and not think whatsoever about the past. And, that started with talking to Dorothy. However, Dorothy also seemed spaced out. Eris winced, not having realized how intent she’d been upon her own thoughts.

“Save me a dance or a cupcake, will you?” Eris commented, catching the way the Hufflepuff prefect’s eyes caught on the refreshments table and the American boys. Eris, who was quickly becoming boy crazy in her own right, figured that Dorothy was desperate to get away and intermingle with the Americans. For, while crass, they did have quite fascinating accents.

Then, once again saved from awkwardness by the arrival of a new person, Eris turned to see Adam talking to someone. Someone tall with brown hair. Someone she knew! “Reid! You absolute madman! Your shoes are normal!” Directed to look at his shoes by Adam’s comment, Eris grinned and pointed at her own silver heels. “I wish I was tall enough to wear converse. Being short is hard work, alright?”

As Adam asked about them having any plans, Eris frowned and looked around the room. Her plans mostly consisted of not dying, getting to eat something, and hopefully dancing with Adam. But, she did also want to find the rest of her friends. Rhea was going to attend the ball, for one! Eris wanted to go to an actual ball with her cousin, for once.

“I think the main goal for the night to have a pleasant ball without anyone getting caught on fire.” Eris started off somberly, before remembering her vow to have a good night. She then laughed. “Remember the girl our first year who dumped punch on herself? Remember how she left the ball and came back with a crazy yellow dress?” Some memories of the past weren’t all unpleasant, and it was easier to recall happier tidings when in the company of people who she enjoyed. Maybe this ball would be a good one. Fingers crossed.

Interactions: @Christopher Madson
Meantions: @Kyle DeRook, @Santario Martin

The girl's eyes lifted to the other girl, adorned in a red and black dress, just before she took her leave. Perhaps if she'd paid the girl more mind, she'd have figured out who the girl was as she made her way over in Kyle's direction. It simply didn't occur to her.

Flitting her attention back to the lad, she smile, looking down at herself and her dress as he paid her the compliment, "Thank you. I got a little nervous at first I went a little too all out, but I think I'm safe this time about." she spoke sheepishly. As the boy made the quip about nothing being set on fire yet, the girl shifted a bit uncomfortable, though she tried to play it off as best she could, "Thankfully I think the school took the measures to keep that from happening again. The last party was just short of a nightmare, I think."

At least, for most of the student body. Illowy wondered if the boy had been at the Blossom Ball the year previous, or if he'd been among the herself and the other students who had been trying to help put the fire out until a Professor arrived to help. The snake did her best to push those memories away of the Blossom Ball and the nightmarish events that had followed for her.

Absentmindedly, the girl fiddled with her glove a bit. She'd hated the idea of wearing them, but even more so hated the idea of trying to look nice without them, "I'm almost disappointed they don't have the cupcakes from the last party though. Granted, I didn't touch them because I wasn't about to regret my life over a gross cupcake, but it was funny watching the other poor souls who got bad ones." she chuckled.

Interacting with @Eugenia De la Cruz

Mentioning @Catriona Staverly

When the other girl spoke to her, Asteria nearly dropped her drink. She had been shocked out of her reverie, watching the milling crowds of students. The Illvermony students sure knew how to cause a splash - maybe it was a result of them being Americans, maybe it was the exhilaration of a new school, who was to say? But the drink partially tumbled out of her hand; she hadn't been expecting someone else to talk to her. Catching it awkwardly with one hand, she looked up at the other girl, taking in her outfit.

The thing was, her outfits was lovely. It was lovely but simple, compared to the grandiose ball dresses that swirled around the room and the strange suits in dazzling colors. The other girl's dress was restrained, it knew what it was doing. There wasn't a need to peacock in it. Her mask was the same way: sharp lines with a crisp white color. Asteria caught herself fingering her mask and its messy assortment of petals self consciously. Wait. Why was she caring so much about her outfit? Hadn't she believed the whole ball was silly, a thing that she came to simply to watch the chaos? Why did the perspective of this other girl suddenly make her care about it, not as an onlooker, but a participant?

Suddenly, she realized she had been rudely staring and not answering the other girl's question. "Oh! Uh- sort of? A friend had asked me to go with her so well, here I am. I still haven't spotted her though." A flush crept over her cheeks and she became deeply grateful for her mask and its ability to conceal her tendency to blush easily. What was going on with her emotions lately? She constantly felt aflame, either with anger or sadness or something else. There was an ache in her, that she could not name. had asked her the night before, at that strange sleepover. She hadn't really anticipated anyone asking her but she couldn't deny that it was nice, for someone to want your presence. "And how about you?" she asked, "Any special person you're hoping to meet?" With what she hoped was a joking smile, she beamed at the other girl. There was a slight uncertainty in the smile however, the dark nudges of anxiety, twining their way around her.

"Also, I uh- I hope this isn't rude, but do you have a name? I mean, you obviously do, but is there something I can call you. It doesn't have to be your real one because of this whole thing," she pointed at her mask, "but I'd love to make your acquaintance in some way."

Charlotte smiled widely at the appearance of , but her face fell as soon as she got a good look at her. didn't seem like the happiest person- and that worried her immensely. They were supposed to be having fun, right? She signaled to write her about it- after all, Charlotte hadn't really been in the loop with any her friends recently. She had a feeling it had something to do with Gem... If he had done anything to her, she swore she would have his head on a skewer.

Charlotte squinted at the taller boy, her nose scrunching up as soon as he spoke.
"You talk an awful lot for someone who wouldn't be able to beat me in a one on one." She smiled, shoving him to the side a little bit. Despite all the playfulness, Charlotte was freaking out internally. No one had ever treated her this well before... it was honestly pretty refreshing. She chased after him, waving behind her at everyone else. No way was she going to miss this chance.

"I would love to," She took his hand and looked up at him, noticing him in a different light. Although still having to look up at him, she noticed how long his eyelashes were, how his features were starting to become more defined. she could hear her heart racing in her ears, alreading knowing how red they were turning... but the redness of her ears didn't compare to the rest of her face after he spoke again.
"I-uhm.." She was at a loss for words yet again- which did not happen often, but it seemed to become a pattern with him. Once again, she'd never been treated this way before. It was confusing, but she loved it. "Thank you," it seemed like it was barely over a whisper, she had only hoped he had heard it.
"Well, for what it's worth, I think you're really handsome too," She straightened out the collar of his shirt and looked back up at him, her blush dying down to a rosy dust on her cheeks.

She looked at him for a while, a comfortable silence falling in between them before she broke it,
"So, do you know how to dance or do I have the honours of teaching you?"

Interacting with: @Charlotte Marie Mahr

James snorted in laughter, “I’m guessing you’re expecting something more complicated than jumping up and down. If we go anywhere beyond mosh-pit thrashing then you’ve totally lost me.” He grinned and lightly held the girl’s hands. Giving her a faux-serious look. “But I’m willing to do whatever it takes to learn. Teach me what you know,” he slowly pulled her close.

He looked into her eyes. They were deep and sad, as if they were straining against the weight of their own history. He studied the curve of her cheek bones, her smooth skin peeling just a little under her ear. And her lips, pursed tightly with nervous energy and curled up slightly at the edges in a small shy smile.

He wanted to kiss those lips.

“So, tough-girl, where’d you learn to ballroom dance? Don’t tell me you’re actually some kind of secret princess.” He laughed and pulled her a little closer, “Oh my gosh, you totally are, aren’t you. Like undercover royalty, slumming it with the peasants to discover how the other side lives, with the hopes that one day we’ll teach you how to be truly free... and you can teach me proper etiquette and what a desert fork is and shit.”