The Blank Slate Estate (Closed/Moving)

[DizzyThoughts]

Briar sighed, feeling better after taking a break and hiding in a corner of the ballroom. She tucked back a loose strand of her pale, blue locks and snagged some snacks as well as a drink from a passing, painted-servant. Her doe eyes scanned the crowd, and she was offered a dance by pure white gentleman, but declined politely. She wanted to circle around and observe the others a bit more before diving into the festivities again, just in case there were more legends and other recognizable creatures among them.

(( Just putting this here to add Briar back into the ballroom scene. I almost lost track of her. XD ))

[A Caracal Yokai]

(( My apologies for the wait, Barith. Sunday’s are not my most active days. ))

A Silent Servant, or better described as a man in a hotel uniform…or better yet, painted to look as such, as his face was rather distorted in the lack of details to his nose and mouth, even to his eyes, melted out of the mirror behind the reception counter and approached the man and his raven. The servant would bow politely before making a gesture towards the guest book, which listed several of the available rooms ( as seen on the first page for the first and second floor ), with names that were next to the ones that were not available. The servant would then give the man an invitation to the masquerade ball that was currently underway, to which it would point towards the man’s left…which generally directed him to the Ballroom, once he passed through the Billiards Room.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brian coughed abruptly from nearly being tackled by Willow, but managed to regain his composure before another vampire came to feed. Winnie herself was hastily drinking some juice to help regain the strength she had lost from that particular bite...before giving her brother a worried look.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It shouldn’t surprise the Lady Leo that so many were not addressing her as she would have expected. It was a Masquerade Ball after all, where usually no one knew to whom they were addressing…thus allowing a bit of mystery and whim to rule the evening instead of stifling propriety.

In the meantime, Chloe and the Man in Gold would dance until partners were switched and mingled and they could no longer converse in the private manner they had started at. Ashling continued to mingle as well, keeping an eye on the Lady of the Leos and her escorts…along with some others who looked like they might start a scene. The Woman in Silver started to make her way down to the main level again, keeping her sights on Rowan and Claire until she found herself at Briar’s side. “Tender Pixie…what makes you so anxious?” She asks quietly in a low, soothing voice that would surely make the flowers sing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Willow would eventually find herself partnered up with the Man in Gold. “Ah…it is the Young Mistress.” He mused politely. “I am glad to see that you are enjoying yourself again, and I would like to thank you for earlier kindness to my granddaughter.” He would say in a respectful tone as he twirled her about before gently pulling her back into the dance.

[DizzyThoughts]

Briar was startled by the voice, as she didn't realize that the Silver Lady had stopped beside her. With a tender hand on her heart, Briar looked up and then curtsied. "My lady.." She greeted gently, coming back up and giving a cheery smile. "Well, with all that has happened, why wouldn't I be?" She giggled some, and glanced towards where she last saw Chloe. ".. and that girl, er, the princess.. is a new friend of mine. Unbelievably!" She laughed a little more, then gulped down the rest of her drink, as her throat started to feel a but dry. The pixie wondered why these people were even bothering with her.. a little fae who was really no one special. But then she thought of Rowan, and her smile faltered for a split second.
"Might I ask what she is...? We were, er, trying to figure it out before tonight..." She carried on with a little shrug.
It was at least clear that Briar was not shocked anymore as much as bewildered at the whole night!

[Ceriza Elassidil]

DizzyThoughts

╒═ ℭℓαirℯ═╪
About me| What I'm wearing| Mood: Entertained.
Talk to me tenderly, tell me lies;
I am a woman and time flies.
╒═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╪




She giggled lightly at his charm. " Fair enough." She responded. When he questioned her about her wellbeing she shook her head. " Nothing of the sort, cat boy. I could dance all night if I wished. Fortunately for you, I grow bored of things rather easily. I am curious however, if you despise dancing so much what brings you here?"

(( Sorry Blocked XC ))



⇚╪══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛

It’s much easier to humiliate, degrade and just generally s**t all over someone than it is to admit that you love them.

[Wizard Barith]

Barith Shadewalker
The Wandering Mage

Barith nodded his thanks to the servant taking the invitation in his free hand. He took a moment to look over the guest book signing his name down into Guest suite 101. "Thank you." He said softly placing a few coins of various types on the counter. He turned moving into the billiard room, and taking a glance around the room intrigued. The raven cawed softly, and the young mage chuckled softly licking his wrist slowly. "I know a masquerade."

He continued to swirl his hand slowly into the air forming a mist that in time turned into a raven mask of black. "What do you think?" Barith asked the raven who cawed his approval placing it over his face hiding it. He smiled softly as he pushed the door open, and strolled carefully inside the Raven taking flight a moment afterwards to find a perch. The mage looked around the ballroom the magical mask not hindering his sight anymore then his cowl. "Hmm so many people." He muttered as he moved ever further into the crowd of people his grip still tight in his right hand.

[DizzyThoughts]

Rowan chuckled a bit at her name calling, rolling his golden eyes as he shoved his left hand into his pocket, while his right still held his plate of food. "Would you like to find a place to sit on the upper story? I've got enough snacks for now.." He urged gently, wanting to be odd his feet as the shoes he wore were stiff and new - a bit uncomfortable for the likes of him. "And because I was invited. Simple as that." He told her, not wanting to really reveal why he was there.. as what he might be after could still be far from his reach, as far as he knew. He thought of finding Briar later, to see if she knew about the gunshot earlier or anything at all. But for not, the leocorn held out his elbow for the girl to take and lead her to the upper story, finding a place to sit amongst others that were as well relaxing their feet.
"What of you, if you used to love dancing, why are you here?" He asked along the way.

(( No worries, we all get like that some times razz ))

[A Caracal Yokai]

The Lady in Silver bowed respectively in return to the mortal pixie. “Yes…His Lord of the Dark Unicorns told me of your involvement in the princess’ life as of recently. We admire your endeavors to help her in search for the truth, but the magic that was placed on her was far powerful than even we expected to find upon her. I cannot say exactly how she fell into the caring hands of two very powerful practitioners, but we are grateful that they found her instead of someone who could have been more uncaring.” She started to explain, procuring a glass of water from one of the waiters before handing it over for Briar to drink.

“She is a child of the Dark Unicorn’s b*****d daughter, whose mother was a winged horse…a mistress of his who is very close friends with his wife, ironically enough. Combine that with her Leopard father, and you have a winged Leocorn.” She stated as she watched how fluidly Chloe danced, gracefully moving from one partner to the next. “But that does not make her a pureblood like the other Leocorn in this room.” She said as her glowing eyes averted to Rowan. “Now he, however…was born of a true union between one of my daughters and an actual Leo…not their cursed cousins the Leopards. How did he end up here?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A girl dressed in layered gown of fiery oranges, reds, and blacks appeared abruptly before the raven mage, as he had wondered into her path just as she was about to passed from one dancing partner to the next. Her caramel colored hair was pinned back…as if she at one point had been wearing a wig, and her amber eyes glowed with surprise. As she no longer wore a mask, he would probably not recognize her come morning once the ball was over; as she currently looked like a dark furred leopard-humanoid with spots that shimmered with gold. One particular spot on her brow looked more like a blooming flower, as did a few markings upon her shoulder blades, though one side looked freshly scarred.

“My apologies!” She gasped, her long tail puffing just slightly with surprise, only for her raise her arms up to catch the man as the person who she would have next been partnered with accidently slammed up against him. “Oh no! Sorry!!!” Chloe would either support the mage if happened to fall or stumble, and then usher him out of the way of the dances. “Are you alright?” She would ask, looking rather worried.

[Wizard Barith]

Barith Shadewalker
The Wandering Mage

Barith flinched back as he was nearly ran over by the most curious of women. He sighed softly as she braced him, before he could fall, and lead him from the edge of the dance floor. "Ah thank ya lass,and I am fine." He said softly fixing his long robes and cloak leaving his staff to simply float in the air next to him. Th young mage soon turned his attention back to the woman in front of him completely visible through the raven shaped mask of magic.

"It has been some time since I was around other people so I wasn't really payin' attention." Barith said softly glancing quickly over the dance floor again smiling under his mask. "Well the least I can do for what ya did is ask ya for a dance." The young man smiled the bottom half of the mask fading into glimmering smoke to show the man's white teeth. He also made a sweeping bow with his cloak offering the young woman his hand still leaving his staff to float there.

[DizzyThoughts]

Briar nodded as the Silver Woman spoke, clasping her hand sin front of her. "I see.. How strange. I guess I never guess royalty in her.." Briar muttered, glancing to Chloe as she bumped into another young man, dressed as a mage it seemed with raven mask. The pixie smiled a bit. "But I'm glad she'd been found, poor dear, she seemed so sad before." Briar mentioned before the woman moved onto taking of Rowan. At this, Briar stiffened and her eyes adverted from the royal mistress. "U-uh... I-I'm sorry, your Grace, but.. I cannot answer you that." The pixie said, hoping it sounded more like she didn't know rather that she wouldn't tell. She didn't exactly know what happened to Rowan, though he did reveal a bit about it a while ago. Yet, feeling guilty for not saying anything about how or why Rowan was there, though it might have helped him find home, Briar looked up and said in a soft tone "but it's not by his will." Briar shook her head some in a sigh. She sipped at the water given to her while they chatted, nodding a thank you to the Silver Woman for grabbing it for her.
"I can't believe I was right... a real Leocorn.. And Royals!" She shook her head with a slight giggle. "And here I thought I would never be one to witness something so spectacular!"

[Ceriza Elassidil]

DizzyThoughts

╒═ ℭℓαirℯ═╪
About me| What I'm wearing| Mood: Entertained.
Talk to me tenderly, tell me lies;
I am a woman and time flies.
╒═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╪




Claire looked around slightly distracted. " That sounds great. " She answered him with a light now. " Ah, I see..." Well, that had been very informative. Though she didn't ask anymore about it. When he held out his elbow to her she took it and let him lead the way. This sure brought back good memories. This was part of what she enjoyed about balls. Most of them anyways. Being a bounty hunter was a tough business, but even more so if you were a woman. Specially with her size and height. Though that she had used to her advantage quite often. Even so, In her line of work the men she came across either wanted her dead or in their beds. Or both. Sometimes in a messed up order. So in the end she had to admit that she enjoyed being treated with respect for once.

To his next question she decided to be a little more cryptic. " Whatever should you mean by that!" She exclaimed as if it was a silly thing to ask. " Because of destiny of course." She smiled sweetly then. If anything was captivating about her was the way she smiled, the look in her eyes, it was simply stunning, even if she were faking a smile you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. " There are, after all, no coincidences. I am where I should be." She said as they walked and then went ahead and to a seat at the couch.



⇚╪══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛

It’s much easier to humiliate, degrade and just generally s**t all over someone than it is to admit that you love them.

[A Caracal Yokai]

While Chloe had grown accustomed to several magical things during her stay at the Blank Slate, some of it still amazed her, especially after this night’s earlier events. She curtsied politely in return to his bow. “It would be my honor, good sir.” She said in return, taking his hand before they returned to the dance floor.

As they waltzed, the girl felt compelled to inquire of the man, as she had not seen him around on the dance floor earlier in the evening, and felt that his arrival was perhaps the fresh breath of air she needed…in comparison to her previous dancing partners who would not stop trying to impress her with one thing or another. In short…she simply wanted to clear her head of the recent news she received, and wanted to pretend to be either clueless or normal again. “If you do not mind me prying, what brought you here to the ball? I mean…if you do not normally spend much time around people, it would seem odd to attend such an event.” She clarified with an honest smile.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Silver Woman sighed as she shook her head. “Unfortunately, she cannot be claimed as royalty. We call her a princess yes…but in time she will be given a Noble’s title, one that is at least fitting to her abilities and constitution.” She frowned as Briar explained that she didn’t know exactly…other than it was not of his own free will. “No…no one who comes and stays at the Blank Slate Inn ever does so of their own free will, my dear.” The Lady in Silver said…”…whether they admit to it or not.” She virtually whispered before plucking a glass of elderberry wine from one of the waiters passing by.

After a sip, she smiled down at Briar. “You never thought, but you were meant to be here. I can already tell that you will play a key role in the events between our two little Leocorns.” She purred with a smile, glancing towards Rowan one last time. “It’s a shame…we would love to take our lost children home with us…but there is still much they have to learn before they can leave the estates.” Her voice sounded forlorn, as if a great sadness fell over her. She then curtsied regally towards the pixie. “My apologies, Mistress Hailglimmer…but I must rest for a moment.” To which she took her leave, heading up to the second floor to rest on one of the couches.

[Wizard Barith]

Barith Shadewalker
The Wandering Mage

Barith smiled softly as they glided out onto the dance floor to take up a decent paced waltz. The young an danced with a surprising grace most of those his age would likely lack if they weren't of high-blood. "You are not pryin' at all lass." He said softly his thick accent proving him to not be of high worth as they danced, and the mists reformed the bottom half of his mask. "Normally ye are right I am nae normally around people, but that does nae mean I hate people."

Barith chuckled softly as he carefully spun her as was required of the dance. "I simply needed rest from my journies my own friend Raven would likely agree wit the oddness though." He smiled softly as he simply waltzed with this beautiful, and interesting young woman. "You yerself seem a bit tense." He said softly his robes slowly starting to change from there blues to a more black, and silver pattern with his cloak turning into dark feather. He looked down seemingly surprised by his change of garment, before simply shrugging not missing a beat. "What bothers ye lass?"

[DizzyThoughts]

Briar blinked and raised a brow behind her mask, a bit of a pout on her lips. No one came her by will? Well, that wasn't right. Briar roamed in all by herself. She could have chosen to fly the other way on that gull she was riding then, but instead the pixie dived right in! So did many patrons, who could have chosen to keep walking, at least that is how she saw it. Rowan was literally thrust onto this property, as Briar was told by him.
Meant to be here, and part of what might go on between the two Leocorns? She didn't get it.
"Why would I have anything to do with them? They're.. far above me. I'm only a traveling pixie, my Lady." The pixie would say, not understanding. "I understand." She continued, "They are both very out of the loop, Sire - er - Rowan is even at best still very bestial... It must be hard to have a family so split." She ended it in a softer voice, looking down at bit, as if remembering her own pixie clan in Spiderwood. "But I assure you, I know that Rowan wants to go home more than anything." The pixie lastly said, just before the Silver Woman bade her goodbye. But, she didn't recall ever saying her name to the Royal...
After which, Briar sighed and decided to take up dancing again with one rather round gentleman. He was clumsy and almost stepped on her feet twice, even, so Briar moved one to a man dressed in purple. He had a feathered mask of the same color, and at least he could dance...
She almost just wanted to get lost in dancing now!

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

Once finally upstairs, Rowan looked for a place for them to lounge. It wasn't too hard to find, as there was a place with three chairs and a couch nearby. He lead Clair there and had her sit before he picked his own seat, listening to her talk. He nodded with a polite smile. "A believe of destiny. I cannot say that I am not one as well..." He mused, scratching at his silver and white goatee.
"But then I also have to assume you're a new patron of the Blank Slate." he smirked, looking her over with his golden eyes, seeming to glow again underneath his mask. "You're not the first to say that exact thing to me." he told her as he reclined back on the chair, putting his arms on the arms of the chair. His lion-like tail lethargically twitched beside his left leg, curling up and then releasing down to the ground again.
"When did you arrive?" he inquired, wondering why Cery hadn't sent for him to show them around or something ridiculous.

[A Caracal Yokai]

Her steps were just as graceful, as if dancing was second to walking…but the way he spoke made her feel that he was much older than his chin and voice portrayed. Then again…for all she knew, he was yet from another realm the Blank Slate happened upon, which was not surprising for this particular night. The layers of her dress billowed as he spun Chloe around, though she made sure not to let her tail whip him…something she was extra cautious about, since it was an appendage she wasn’t entirely accustomed to.

“Your friend Raven? So you do not travel alone, but with…perhaps an animal companion?” She asked, finding it a bit intriguing, only for her amber eyes to widen as his attire changed…making her wonder if the Raven was a part of him in some way. But he asked her what was on her mind, having noticed somehow that she was a bit agitated. She smiled humbly. “I recently learned of what I am earlier this evening; I would guess just before you arrived. And since then I have received more attention than what I am used to from so many who are more knowledgeable than I of my new circumstances.” She explained as vaguely as possible, only because she didn’t want the man’s honest friendliness to change. “My apologies if you find this quite silly, good sir…but it is a bit refreshing to be able to dance and speak with someone without being propositioned by them.” She admitted with a light chuckle, her smile as sincere as the glow in her eyes.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The man in purple of whom Briar was dancing with had a costume that changed color...and if she looked closer, he was wearing platform shoes...and had horns similar to Cery...probably because he was Cerynitis!!! "Whoops!" She giggle, immediately dipping Briar right before she could make the connection, only to pull the pixie back up and changed their waltzing to that of the tango. "Fancy seeing you here, huh?" She giggled some more, spinning Briar about before tugging her back into the dance again.

[Wizard Barith]

Barith Shadewalker
The Wandering Mage

"Ah but I do travel alone in a way he is an animal yet somethin' more at tha same time." Barith smiled softly as they danced taking care to listen to the young woman's words and nodded slowly having seen many such things in his travel. "I'm goin' ta guess yer either a powerful race or a royal." He said with a simple shrug as he waltz the air about him not changing in the slightest. "It does nae bother me ta tell tha truth I am a traveler of the plains I see many such things." He said the kindness still in his voice as they shifted into a slower waltz with the music.