Oh! Oh, Giulia was having so much fun. This was the best! So much the best, Benji was her new favoritest Prince, so much the best. "I am so glad you like me." Giulia's excitement was loud, her eyes wide. And together, she spun with Benji, giggling her way loudly and unfettered across the dance floor with him, coming to a spinny halt, swaying as the song came to an end.
She had spun way too much!
"I would be happy to teach another person to dance," Giulia chirped in agreement, "But I am really thirsty after all the spinning and giggling. Can we get a drink first?" her mouth was really dry, and she panted at him dramatically, almost a wheeze. "It will be the best favor for my new friend Benji, and it'll make me another new friend too!
Kapoxxxodles
Short tag so sorry
LokxxxisRose
Since you and I will both be locked up til Sunday, this frees up Pood to go get Giulia a drink or something and get sidetracked wink
"Certainly that's not true. You believe you've reached this far in your life by being nothing special?" it was perhaps easier for Cerissé to think that because as far as her parents had been concerned, she'd been exceedingly special. And as unspecial as she felt on certain fronts...she was also the woman afraid of being inside a moving vehicle.
She stepped gingerly after him as he moved through the crowd, somewhat more clumsily than she would have liked between moving bodies (HNNNNNNNNGH so many PEOPLE), likely even less graceful being down a little blood and up a little alcohol. Ohhhboy. But Cerissé was a proper lady, so she didn't reach out to try and stabilize herself on the tall man.
Or on anything else.
She did find a table to abandon the glass on though. Nope. She was done with that.
"I guarantee there are people here with cameras for their own benefit. Not everybody is going to be caught by the lens of whatever photographer they have here now. Why put that responsibility on a single person?"
Seth caught Ilian's eye, followed the direction in which he was looking, and let his gaze rest upon the dark haired young man. It took a second, but the understanding dawned, and Seth gave a small nod, lips quirking up into a faint smile before he looked back at Lysander, feeling a certain sense of satisfaction.
"Friends, perhaps," said Seth airily. "Though Drew is acquaintance of mine, as you say."
The invitation was pleasing. Seth arched a brow and took a small sip of wine, letting the taste sink through him, making him feel sweetly liberated. "I could request your talents for later, if I can," he said lightly. "I vish tonight vas more exciting, though. Nothing of note has happened."
Steele himself preferred a strong whisky, but he doubted there was any at this particular party. He was still glowering in the direction of his so-called best friend and business partner, Rob's arm wrapped around a pretty thing, but he snapped his gaze back to Jada, because she too was a pretty thing and he needed to Pay Attention.
He cleared his throat and flashed her a bright smile. "Yes, absolutely, I'd adore dancing with a lady of your delightful acquaintance."
Yes, good, that sounded good. Steele was back to his normal charming, smooth as silk self as he regarded his companion, blond hair slicked back with expert care, the suit expensively tailored and fitting him like a glove. All in all, Steele thought he looked pretty damn good.
"Common law and family practices, yes," he said airily. "My partner and I handle all sorts of affairs, really, whatever the client needs."
It could be seen on his face, in the uncertainty of his eyes, in the slight tremor of his fingers on Cordy's waist, in the cautious and careful way in which he held her hand. He hadn't done this in years, and couldn't remember the last time he'd been this close to anyone, disregarding his own brother or Hitch, and Fritz did not count either of them.
This was far, far different than a casual embrace from Rhys or even one of Hitch's outrageous and intrusive bear hugs. Fritz swallowed hard, trying to stay calm, trying to keep his breathing under control. The orchestra wasn't playing yet, but there was still music; light, floaty, airy music that fluttered everywhere and settled into Fritz's chest.
His foot moved back of its own accord, pulling Cordy with him to follow his lead. A step to the side, and then back again. Two steps left, one step back, one step right, one step forward, two steps back again, and then repeated.
His hands held hers a little tighter. Fritz pressed his lips together anxiously, ignoring the painful pounding of his heart, the feeling that the entire world was tilting under his feet.
"Okay?" he asked quietly, as he stepped back again, falling into a routine.
"Ignacio," said Adrien brightly, even as Yuuri shrunk further behind him. "Nice to meet you, that's a fun name!"
He stretched out a hand and accepted the one offered to him, giving it a firm shake. He wasn't expecting Yuuri to want to, but to his surprise, Yuuri inched out, fingers sliding out of Adrien's, and Adrien felt a surge of pleasure and happy satisfaction because Yuuri had stepped out of his comfort zone and it was lovely.
It wasn't always easy to want to, Adrien knew, but it was a delight to see him try. Adrien was beaming at him as he stepped back, lifting his arm to wrap it gently around his waist and hold him carefully at his side.
"Here to have fun, really!" said Adrien brightly. "A night out and all that! And oooh, yes, what's your agent for, are you an actor, maybe?"
His smile was calm, his lips quirking up just slightly at the end. "Not precisely. I more meant that there are people who aren't really...fit for company, and therefore shouldn't be here. Prestige or not, some of the higher ups are almost unbearable to speak to, after all; inflated egos, and all of that."
That was the absolute truth, even if it was a little twisted. Archer did not care for egotistical, arrogant people who pretended they were worthy of a position that had been handed to them, not earned through hard work, blood, and violence the way his had.
Her hand was smaller than his, but not uncertain. Archer's smile was still calm, not gentle, precisely, but relaxed, almost. "A pleasure, Gweneth," he said, as he let go of her fingers. "And yes, it does seem as though the vintage here could be...a little better," he added, at the look on her face. "They put too much premium on other things, I suppose."
Archer took a sip of his own wine and sighed, though he looked amused at her assessment. Inwardly, he could feel the annoyance curling, but tamped down, his face the very picture of vague entertainment and curiosity.
"Surveying," he said with a small laugh. "I observe and submit data. It's really very tedious."
Freed of his conversational obligations, Julian had just reached out to get another glass of sparkling water from the table when he felt something slip from his hands, landing with a clatter on the floor. The watch he wore around his wrist had slithered off, the clasp too loose and undoing with the movement, and Julian made a noise of annoyance as he slowly knelt to retrieve it, a heavy sigh escaping.
The watch had skittered under the linen draped over the table. Julian lifted it with a certain amount of irritation -
- and stopped, because there were two cats sitting there, one extraordinarily familiar.
Julian resisted his sigh of disgust just at the last second, because he was not Hermes, he was Julian, and he had to maintain his quiet sense of identity before he gave something away.
"Ah," he said instead, "Cats. Wonderful. Just what would make this night better."
Austen was as enthusiastic in a fancy, sparkly dress as she was in her usual apparel of various, multicolored, rainbow outfits that generally consisted of many layers and a lot of makeup. The tattoos that covered all of her right arm and part of her left were a stark contrast to the tulle, but Austen had never been one to be conventional, anyway.
"Ashley, I love your hair," she said brightly, eyes roaming over it with interest. "I wish I could get that blue to stay in mine, it seems to just come out right away."
Her grin widened at the query. "I hail from London! My cousins are here in Destiny City, so I've come to join them, they're from Leavesden, but we grew up together. I've just become an apprentice here at Inkblot, it's a tattoo shop here in the city, have you ever been?"
Austen's hand snaked out, snagged a toothpick with what appeared to be a cabbage leaf wrapped around some sort of vegetable from a passing tray, and popped it into her mouth.
"This is all a big to-do, isn't it? Have you ever been to one of these before - "
Austen's question was cut off as a girl came fluttering towards them, all bright hair and bright smiles and tripping almost into Austen's dress, not that Austen cared. She reached out a hand and hoisted the girl back up, beaming widely at her.
"Hi, you're okay, look at that dress!" Austen said happily, hands on her hips. "I want a dress like that, I'm Austen! What's your name, cutie?"
Caspian's smile was dawning brighter the more that Mi-Hi - and Olga - both talked, half because he knew that Michael was probably about to have a conniption, and half because he just really liked Olga and Mi-Hi seemed perfectly nice and had complimented his shirt to boot.
"Thanks!" he said, grinning at her. "I love space things."
Michael was looking disgruntled. Or maybe annoyed. Or maybe a lot of things. Caspian just gave him a look and reached up to accept the glass of champagne that was being shaken in front of his face, resisting the urge to blow him him a kiss just to be obnoxious.
"I'm Caspian, by the way," he added, because introductions hadn't occurred properly yet for Mi-Hi. "This grumpy guts here is Michael, my fiance, and this is Olga, his bestest friend ever."
He was trying very, very hard not to smile and failing miserably. "We're all really close," he added, without looking at Michael, keeping his face as straight as possible. "What're you doing at the gala, Mi-Hi? You just coming to visit and stuff? And don't worry, Olga," Caspian added, with a nod at her. "Michael will totally dance with you later, and so will I, and Mi-Hi totally will too, right Mi-Hi? Right Michael?"
If she'd been hoping to dance, Kailey might have been a tad disgruntled at a three person group. Such were not her hopes however, and she was relaxed without really any issue of Rhona staying, a smile on her face even as she remained curious, and slightly skeptical per her norm, about the sort of person was being so friendly with her childhood friend. "No the year he's screwing up, it's the dates inside he's conveniently forgotten. I see how it is." But her mock hurt voice was played up in an obvious way, leaving little room to doubt she was only joking and teasing at his expense. Though to the notion that he had good moves--well.
Kailey snorted and chuckled a bit at that. "Only ones I recall were when you're three sheets to the wind. And I wouldn't call those moves." Drunken shenanigans though were a bit more of her usual experiences, so wasn't like she held it against him. "Or when you didn't heed my warning about leaving your drinks unattended."
The commotion was something Kailey had been ignoring, though with both Rhona and Jason looking towards... whatever it was--wasn't involving anyone she knew, she judged by a quick glance over, so didn't concern her--she sparred the incident another look. Clearly someone that at least for Rhona was important, and Kailey turned her bright gaze to the other woman's face as she weighed her options.
Not the words she'd have chosen for the situation. Or perhaps even the reaction. Not that she held either against Rhona. It just stirred up things she'd rather not think about. Things she'd gotten away from for a while. Sort of. Words were poetic and sweet as too thick perfume. Kailey kept her silence, though her narrowed gaze as she looked away--from them, from the commotion, from the party--and slight down turn of her lips spoke of bitter thoughts as she drained the rest of her champagne.
A look that only continued to darken when Rhona stepped on a landmine that, in her defense, she'd had no idea existed. The look she shot at the other woman was venomous, a clear expression of disgust on her face as she set the empty flute on a waiter's tray and plucked a fresh drink out in exchange. "I worked. I'm a burlesque dancer. If the guy I thought I was seeing isn't going to bother returning my calls or texts any more without a reason, it's not difficult to find another person willing to give me the time of day." Her words were sharp, brittle and acidic. And after a few sips of her drink, she did at least cuss and her shoulders fell. "Sorry. Was seeing a detective. He decided I wasn't any more and didn't give me much of a heads up about it. Sore subject still."
Even though she'd been the one to tell him, repeatedly, they'd only crash and burn. At some point, she'd begun to believe that maybe... maybe they wouldn't.
Ignacio was, admittedly, pleasantly surprised that Yuuri decided to stop shrinking and move to shake his hand instead. Not that he was complaining, though. Ignacio was trying to project a friendly, open exterior that wasn't too overbearing. It must have been working, or at least it was working well enough that this particular shy boy was willing to talk to him, which was good enough for the moment.
He offered a smile at Yuuri when he asked the question about his career, and went to answer, but then Adrien filled in actor, Ignacio laughed. "Good guess! Do I just got the actor look?" For a moment, he puffed his chest out and ran his hand through his hair, but that quickly fell apart and he gave a somewhat embarrassed laugh. "But yeah, I'm an actor. You guys? What do you do?"
Honestly, neither of them looked that old. Yuuri was definitely younger than him, and Adrien was likely his age or a bit younger. If he had to take a guess, they were probably both students.
Silk bobbed his head to show he was listening as he stuffed his face. Mentally taking notes. So...lay on more ample chests while he was little. Ladies liked a small cute cat. That'd be easy to do. The kitten paused in eating to slowly stare at Bob, his expression a bit puzzled. "Take advantage of a skirt?---"
The small corrupted Guardian went suddenly still though as a watch happened to clatter on the ground right in front of them. His eyes went a bit wide as he stared, and soon enough someone bent to claim it---and then revealed their hiding spot and found them. He looked like one of those super snooty types. Silk felt like he was immediately rubbed wrong by the man, and his golden eyes narrowed.
The kitten then sat on his haunches, picked up a shrimp between his two front paws, and then lobbed it at Julian.
There was still a slight hesitation on his part. He'd no intention to ditch Ilian--he'd invited his friend out for a reason, not to just... abandon him out there--but he wasn't seeing any of the demands--silent or otherwise--to avoid the dance. Or at leas, none he could see.
He'd not laughed when Cassadega when she called Ilian boss man--even if the term did almost seem strange when out of uniform, and Ilian's youth felt even more apparent to Jericho--but the teasing didn't rile any feathers or do any damage so far as he could tell, and things felt... alright? Light?
Maybe he was too biased. He was following after her to the dance floor, though he'd no experience in the slightest in how to move to music. There was no missing--for him, at least--the shocked expression on Melinda's face when she caught sight of him with the young woman. She didn't approach, merely observed, though Jericho didn't see anything in her expression that set off warning bells in his head. Curiosity if anything.
Not that he was focusing on his adopted mother for long. The movement of green out of the corner of his eye and he was quickly looking back to her, a hand moving to her hip and enjoying the feeling of her body's movements beneath his palm and against his frame as she pressed to him. His head dipped a little in response. Her pull back wasn't exactly met super well. Eyes narrowed, a gruff rumble in his throat barely audible but plenty felt. Fingers curled against the fabric of her dress and pressed hard against her flesh beneath. If he got his arms around her, he could easily lift her back up. Or just bend down further. But where was the fun in that?
A date she cared about. For a moment, he wondered, idly, how many that consisted of on a regular basis--a thought met with a smirk on his face. Amusement. "We'll see if he's aware of his placement." There really wasn't even an ounce of thought left for whoever the guy was. He'd been a means to an ends, and so far as Jericho was concerned, the part was completed. His eyes had snapped up in a bit of irritation when she'd looked off and smiled, waved, to someone, but seeing the kid that was crashing at her place, his hackles simmered back down. No reason to get upset. More reasons to play. The small tugs of her fingers against the buttons made him raise a brow, lowering his head till his lips brushed against her ear. "What sort of dance are you looking for, exactly?"
He wasn't arguing with the notion of the dance being short and returning to Ilian, wincing a bit as he straightened. "You can hang around with us. Your call what you want to do." If she wanted to do her own thing however, he wasn't going to hold it against her. Wasn't like he didn't understand the annoyance of being a third wheel, something he didn't intend to inflict on either Cass or Ilian.
With both hands settled on her hips, his fingers flexed as her hands skimmed up over his chest to his shoulders. A bit of a scowl settled on his features as he looked down at her, then to the others dancing around them. Trying to look for a clue or a sign or something. "Following's never been a strength of mine," he grumbled, but looked down to her expectantly nonetheless.
Just because he disliked following didn't mean he was about to ignore who the real dancer here was. Didn't he keep following after her anyways?
Jason gave Kailey a face of mock horror and covered his chest with his hand. "My heart! You got me right here." Seriously though, he was pretty upset with himself for skipping out on her Birthday. He'd just have to make extra sure that they'd have a fun celebration some time soon. Maybe he could go to the mall and look for a gift other than booze for this one. If he was lucky maybe he'd find a cute shirt for her, or some earrings.
Jason was about to egg on Kailey a bit with Rhona, knowing she must have done at least something that day. She had told him about a guy she had been seeing recently, however he zipped his trap the instant her mood took a nose dive. Well, that was another bit of news he had missed out on. He just bailed on her? As far as he knew it seemed like things were going well, and that was saying something when Kailey actually got serious about someone. Still, it was a bit harsh. At least Kailey seemed to apologize.
"That...really sucks. We can all go out sometime to make up for this....whole thing." Jason draped his arm over Rhona's shoulders and gave them a little squeeze.
Inflated egos? Gwen was starting to think the same of him. Sure he didn’t talk about himself all that much, but the air about him spoke enough.
Then again, she could just be being a b***h considering her lack of interest of being at this Gala anymore. God, she shouldn’t have even come in the first place. Standing around pretending like she wanted to be a part of society right now was not her idea of a good time. But, here she was.
“Data collecting?” She said curiously. “I imagine that could be mildly interesting depending on what sort of thing you need to collect. So, are you just here catching info on people who visited?” She tilted her head slightly as she looked up at him, unconciously noting that he was quite a bit taller than herself. “That, I have to admit, sounds dead boring.”
She turned so she didn’t have her back to the majority any longer and could glance at the people around them. This put her closer to archer in proximity so she could still converse with him while ‘studying’ what he was studying. “So, anything fun that you’ve noticed?” She quirked an eyebrow at him, offering a slight grin. “Something to lighten up the mood of this place?”
kuropeco
Kolina
Inquisitive Agent
Offline
Sweenys_Revenge
Dangerous Lover
Offline
Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 9:07 pm
Kaefaux
Leopleuradon
Rhona's eyebrows shot up into her hairline as Kailey began to come loose. It wasn't like Rhona was a stranger to purely emotional reactions, and as such she didn't take it personally. However, that didn't mean that she wasn't surprised by the sudden expression of anger. She tried to hide that surprise in another sip of water to as to avoid any other adverse reactions that should have been avoided. she even looked away, keeping an eye on Xi-wang who seemed to be leaving at the moment. Maybe that was for the better, though she had wished that she had caught him before had, if only to let him know how handsome he was tonight.
"Oh no," Rhona said automatically as Kailey apologized, turning suddenly back to her. "Don't even apologize for feeling. That's your prerogative. Besides that, I'm a big girl. I know the difference between an emotional reaction and a calculated attack." She waved her hand in front of her, as if to emphasize the fact that she was already over the issue herself.
"Men can be dogs anyway, present company excluded, of course. That why I tend to spend my time with the fairer sex." She winked then, to punctuate her teasing. It wasn't flirting, persay, since Rhona had enough wherewithal to understand that now was not the time. But it was friendly and showed that she was not offended and that was what she wanted.
By some respects, Lilith was likely a bit paranoid. And that was even what she owned up to, when Matt questioned how she'd adjusted to these odd happenings. You never get fully used to it, I think. Though it might have turned me a tad bitter towards social gatherings.
It was... excessive, on her part, at times. But considering how many public events turned into horror shows? There were reasons her parents moved out of the city and were still reserved about attending functions there. How many of her friends, senshi and knights, stayed the hell away from large public events as well now, except when they came armed for trouble?
Oh how she envied the knights not needing an object to transform, though.
But it was still nice to just... chat with Matt. It had been a long time since they hung out. "How've things been with the team?" Wasn't often she was able to attend the little league games, though now and then her dad would visit if his work schedule allowed. She knew he was out of college--a strange concept to her now, for how many years she'd been a student--but beyond that, she wasn't too sure what he was up to these days. Besides, apparently, moonlighting as Siwa.
"Food sounds good to me," she grinned, letting him direct. She could hear some faintly familiar voices, in terms of some of the usual members of upper society she'd sometimes encounter at parties she'd attended previously, though none that stood out especially well to her. "Have you ever been to a fundraiser event like this?" It was small talk, but it wasn't awkward--at least, she didn't feel it was. It was comfortable. Someone who she knew, and who knew about that double life, and they could just... talk. And relax. How long since she'd been able to do that?
Isaac smirked “Even if that were possible I at least know who to go to if I get hurt.”
“But while we’re on the topic, I should warn you as well. It has been a long while since I’ve been to any sort of dance. So aside from basics, I wouldn’t expect anything fancy.” No he could not Rumba or Salsa. Aside from the basic box step or slow dancing he was pretty hopeless.
Once on the dance floor Isaac held his left hand out for her to take and put his right hand on her side. “If I haven’t said so already you do look very beautiful tonight.” With silken fabric beneath his fingertips, he couldn’t help but note, that since they met, this was probably the closest they’d been. He would be lying if he didn’t, at least in part, admit that he felt quite a bit of relief that she didn’t shy away
The little girl who held his hands was so incredibly light and excitable and it easily just transferred to Benji. And he was more than happy to take a break from dancing himself, atleast for a moment to get them both drinks.
"Well, how could I deny the request form the best dancer in this whole gala! Just make sure you wait for Princess Gigi, okay? She's super super nice and will be so thrilled to dance with you!" He grinned and straightened Giulia's tiara just a bit, having send it wiggle a bit free after a countless number of spins. He also took a moment to fix a loose curl before nodding and heading towards the buffet and punch area.
About halfway to his destination, he found himself spotting a familiar, friendly face, Surely his new little friend wouldn't mind if he made a little detour, right? Especially not if she found herself distracted by Gigi. Not that he meant to accidentally leave the older woman with the tiny little princess... She'd be fine, right? She seemed like she was plenty good with children, after all she did manage to to influence him enough back when he was still a kid.
"Hey! I wouldn't have thought you'd come here! Hehe, I guess you could say the same for me, since we both know I lack class and etiquette. " With a cheerful sound, Benji approached Ilian with a grin that still hadn't seemed to fade since dancing with Giulia. It certainly must have seemed strange, given how normally sour he looked in most recent days. Thoughts of the Negaverse or of the stalkings and fights he had been in recently were the furthest thing in his mind. Actually, right now, besides the vague reminder that he would eventually have to return to Giulia and Gigi with drinks, the only thing on his mind was Ilian.
"Are you here alone? Oh, maybe, did you come with Lovely? Or someone else?" He moved to stand beside Ilian to look back out to the crowd on the dance floor, not paying the server too much mind since he assumed he'd be on his way shortly anyway. Oddly enough, he found himself drawn to return to it. Maaaybe not back to Giulia just yet, but with the music starting up again... Well, how could he deny the beat?! And with all of his smiles and renewed energy, he just didn't want to stand still for too much longer.
"If you're not busy, would you want to dance with me? I was just dancing with this little girl and my neck is killing me from looking down that long. Hehe, you probably already know THAT doesn't happen often!" After spewing out words faster than he realized he reached for Ilian's hand, already prepped for hearing a 'sure!' and eager to keep going.
And yet it hit him. Maybe... s**t, maybe this wasn't the best way to ask someone to dance, especially someone who he only really saw once and a while. The red on his cheeks from dancing only grew darker and he laughed awkwardly but not releasing the other boy's hand. He really didn't want to back out but.. s**t, it was way too fast.
"Um... I mean, if you want to! It'd be nice to, you know, not have to look down anymore. Atleast my neck is used to looking up... I just want to keep dancing, but you really don't have to if you don't want to. Especially if you're waiting for some one. s**t... I'm rushing things, I'm sorry, I just... I'm so excited, and it's great to see you, it really is!"
Infinities
Giulia Montgomery - BYE, HE MISSES YOU!
LokisRose
Gigi Gennaro - Bye Sis! biggrin
Sunshine Alouette
Lovely Belrose - You're watching, right?
Guine
Ilian Jones - The music here isn't nearly as wonderful as the kind you make. How about we make some more ;D
“Mmhmm.” Aiden eyed the crowd appraisingly. “I’m not surprised”
Unlike Alexandre, his own suit was quite plain. A simple black suit and tie with a white shirt which fit him just fine considering it was a rental. Pride was a bit of a fickle thing and while he actually owned several outfits for such occasions from when he use to participate in ballroom dancing competitions with his sister, Aiden was not of mind to draw any attention to himself. His presence here was solely because Alex had asked him to come, he wasn’t here to dance with anyone but him.
“It’s not quite as big as the masquerade a few years ago but still an impressive turn around.” They both knew well how that event turned out since that was the first time the two of them incidentally met. Hard to believe it has been that long.
“While I prefer not to eat before dancing, I am kind of hungry. Would you mind getting some food with me?” The buffet table had some items on it that made his stomach growl and mouth water; perhaps swimming earlier was not the wisest of ideas.
