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((Arriving/Entrance - Inside))

The woman was not totally unaware of others arriving after her as she could hear perfectly fine and not to mention she had that odd tingle one gets when being watched. If people were just now piling up out front then that meant she had not been late, in fact she was most possibly one of the first to arrive. That was something that wasn’t exactly acceptable, as the woman had been taught to be ‘fashionably’ late for events like these. But since she was already there and people had already spotted her, it wasn’t like Ebony could just wait outside several moments. Not that she would anyhow due to the weather. Even with the black cloak wrapped around her slender form, it was still not thick enough to keep the cold out. The price one pays for elegance above practicality.

It seemed the dress was slowing her up more than she’d originally estimated as a man dashed past her. Of course she hadn’t taken into account that he’d been in such a hurry as to open the doors for the others, herself included. A blush threatened to crawl onto her tan cheeks at such a display of courtesy. The image of the cab driver’s odd behavior popped into her head again. Suddenly it all made sense and Ebony could no longer contain the blush. It had been sometime since she’d been treated in such mannerisms and she was embarrassed to not have figured it out earlier.

With a fluid motion, the violet haired woman snatched the elaborately designed fan from her purse and automatically swung it open. She waved it slightly only to give a distraction and to hide the pink burning that still lingered on her face. As she moved forward and past the male to the warmth of the building beyond, “Why thank you. Perhaps you will allow me to repay you with a dance later.” There was no indication of it being a question, she fully intended on dancing with him. Though of course the decision was completely up to him.

((Staircase=>Ballroom - Bottom of Staircase ))

Josh leisurely stepped down the staircase while he made sure every detail in the expansive ballroom around him was perfect. His gloved palm ran over the golden tinsel which was taped strategically onto the rich mahogany railing. Everything looked simply…. Wonderful. He gave the room once last assessment.

A pair of twitching ears caught his attention. The two honey hued appendages began to spasm and dive in the air. Josh peeked over the balustrade to examine them more closely.

Sure enough, LuLu was occupying herself with the table packed full of delicate mistletoe corsages. She made a tender act out of caressing each one with her fingertips, investigating each ridge and curve, before she moved onto the next one in line. She picked up one corsage that she considered particularly lovely. Her pink painted nails made quick work of snatching up the little bundle of green into her hand. She twirled it idly in front of her face. Her eyes dropped languidly as if she was mesmerized by its small, round leaves.

Josh chuckled out loud. It seemed as though LuLu was staying out of trouble for now. If anything, the boy expected her to be very restrained tonight. She had yet to gain any true social skills within her first few weeks of life; each new acquaintance she met seemed like an extensive struggle. To say the least, it was difficult to get LuLu to warm up to strangers. As a matter of fact, it had been an uphill battle just to get the skittish raevan to accept Josh.

The boy continued down the staircase and into the main ballroom.

((Arriving/Entrance-->Inside))

"I can't believe this, David. Do you know of something called punctuality? We're hosting this very important evening and--- ooh!!" Namini fiddled with the fingertips of her gloves, tugging them and then readjusting them back into place. Her sapphire eyes flickered nervously out the icy car window, looking for any sign of familiarity within the abyssal night. She had laid out his clothes, gotten all her homework done early, and still they were running late. David, on the other hand, drove with a calm and collected demeanor, breaking out into a mischievous grin here and there as the radio played or perhaps continued to overplay some very traditional Christmas songs. Just as the soothing voice of Mariah Carey flooded the car in her famous "All I want for Christmas is You", David came to a slow halt, pulling into the parking lot of a fabulously decorated manor.

"It really is a well-done, isn't it?" David gloated, remembering the pains of having to come the night before and hang those stupid but beautiful strings of colored lights along the entryway. Unfortunately, this joke did not lessen his sister's anxiety; If anything, David's only comment of the night, so far, seemed to increase them. The worrisome brunette turned to her sibling and showed that her eyes were filling with hesitant tears. A quiet tension replaced the cheery voices of the radio as David turned off the car and began to unbuckle, his eyes flickering guiltily between the manor and Namini's face. Finally, the dolled up teen followed her brother's suit, but not before asking,

"What if they don't like it? What if they think a ball was a stupid idea?"

David restrained himself from releasing a rude sigh (his week had been full of listening to the worries of women and he was tired) as he extended his hands and placed them on his sister's shivering shoulders. Tranquil overcast-colored eyes met turbulent seas as David forced a sympathetic smile and pushed affectionate words through his teeth.

"Hey now. Don't think like that. Everyone will love it. Your.." David tensed at remembering how close Josh and Namini were. "Your friend thought it was a good idea, and so did that ..um.. other girl. It will all be okay. That is, IF this event's hostess can pull herself together. You'll be a total mood killer if you come in crying like this." A playful nudge and a deep breath was all Namini needed to bat the remaining tears from her eyes. She nodded and David asked her for reassurance once more. A final nod and they were out of the car.

Approaching the extravagant staircase dressed to the nines, David in an incredibly regal suit adorned with a light blue rose at the chest to match the rest of his outfit and his sister's, Namini in a shimmering gold-cream gown with flashes of cerulean at her hips and shoulders, the pair both silently noted the early guests. David broke out into a devilish smirk as he recognized a gorgeous woman, twirled up beautifully in a black and purple dress, her hair pinned and curled in just the perfect way to intrigue any man, walking up the staircase. Ebony. His eyes then wandered and transfixed themselves on a less formal but still, very cute, young girl who he remembered to be Anita. Oh, it was to be a fun night. Following the crowd up the lighted staircase and down it into the mansion, the brother and sister pair smiled, though for different reasons, as the holiday spirit finally hit them. It was time to party!!

(( Entrance (Outside) ----> Quick Department Store -----> Entrance (Inside) ))

A feeling of dread was beginning to fall upon her as she stood there beside her bike, kick stand propped up, watching the people enter the shimmering building with a sense of purpose and obvious style. So early on she was regretting coming, but as she saw a car pull up it took her a few moments of squinted stares to recognize the occupants.

The Nao's.

Her stomach dropped like a lead brick as the siblings stepped out of the vehicle, David looking like a prince and Namini a princess, matching in their exquisiteness.

Why? Why was she the only one that didn't understand it?

Even the young man who had rushed ahead of her, and the woman that seemed to have appeared from out of nowhere (though she had heard some bushes rustling... perhaps she was in the back yard?) were far better dressed then she. But there was no remedy to this; she didn't own anything even resembling a dress, much less something as ornate as what these people had on. How were they so prepared!?

Letting out a short huff, Anita kicked the stand back into place, swiveling her bike around and began a route away from the mansion.

There was only one solution here, and that was a rental store.

Though it was dark, it was still fairly early, couldn't have been any later then seven o'clock, so if she punched it there should be enough time. She hoped, anyway. The stress of the situation was making the minutes drag on to seem much longer, however, and she cursed lightly under her breath at the end of each block until she began seeing department stores, her salvation. She only had a little cash, but a debit card should suit the situation perfectly and that she definitely remembered to have on hand.

Three stores supplied rental outfits and it was just her luck that only one of them had any available. Truthfully, only one of them had one available. Something she would never have chosen, something she would never have consented to, but she knew it was better then going to an upscale party like this in jeans and a t-shirt with "I <3 Punching Your Face" printed across it.

It was this or... nothing.

Begrudginly, Anita tried it on just to be sure, taking it off in a flurry of movement and rushing to pay. She had to do all of this very quickly to make sure her bike wasn't stolen and that she wouldn't end up being late when before she was certain she was early. Perhaps David could vouch for her, she was certain they made eye contact, if only for a milisecond.

As she peddled, she felt as if the chain on her bike might snap from the tension building in her own mind. The time wasted, all those people, only this outfit, the money, David seeing her in this skimpy little thing, oh god it was just too much to process. Sliding up the drive away she maneuvered past a few more people entering and, still not sure where to put the bike, dumped her mode of transportation amongst the bushes before hussling inside, gift wrapped bag in hand.

How she hoped no one would think it was a gift for some one...

((Dang >.> Kaurii beat me to it!)

Joel bore witness to the accident and was shocked at the fact that he couldn't have done anything to prevent it. He was just a few steps behind the violet haired woman as well! With a sigh of defeat to a man who seemed obviously more "charming" than him, he made his way slowly down the steps.
Who was he kidding? His hair wasn't all suave like the others, or styled in a particularly fashionably correct manner. His was more like a shaggy trim of straight layered hair with some of it partially covering one side of his face.

Ugh! Then he remembered what he was wearing! A formal suit, and with his hair? He must be the laughing stock in everyone's mind. Perhaps it was that which he had seen the violet haired lady trying to hide behind the fan earlier.
Another sigh of defeat pressured upon him as he put a hand to his head in a demeanor that made him pity himself. He reached the bottom of the stairs and by then the mess with the woman falling had already been cleared.

Then he remembered why he'd come, to throw a business proposal to the coordinator of this gathering, to try and get some business for his family's restaurant and their newly brought up catering service. "Oi, I must look like a fool.." was all he muttered to himself. "Maybe I should just go home and tell father they do-" His mouth came to a halt with words as he was looking around, his eyes stopping on the food tables in the far back. His jaw half open at the marvels that lay on those separated tables.. "uh.." Was all he could muster. He looked as though he wanted to dive into the foods, like a ten year old child on Christmas morning.

((Ballroom))

David flashed Ebony another cool grin as he shook his head lightly, his voice even gentler than his mannerisms, "I'm fine. But like I said, what about you?" He paused momentarily before letting out a lighthearted laugh and gave Namini a small wave of the his hand. His sister let out a small sigh and then gave her brother a small kiss on the cheek before leaving the two alone; She understood when David wanted to flirt and she was definitely not going to interfere, especially not on such an important night! Namini had other things to attend to. The curly haired brunette smiled politely at Ebony before departing completely, "I hope you enjoy the dance."

That's when someone also seemingly out of place caught the young girl's interest. Namini followed after the spiky haired man to the food bar and curiously watched his expressions. One moment, he seemed downtrodden and the next, possessed with an insatiable hunger. This was a perfect time to make friends. Making sure her gloves were completely covering the scars on her arms, she sneaked up beside the man and purred cheerfully, "You can eat them. They're not here simply for display, you know." In hopes of breaking the ice, Namini finished with a girlish giggle that would melt anyone's heart.

On David's part, the dark haired man waited until his sister was a few feet away before leaning in close to the violet haired woman and whispering hotly, "Your cheeks are notably red Ebony. You may want to contain yourself, I mean, the night is still young." And just as quickly as the comment was made, David withdrew himself and pointed to a booth beside the entryway and winked,

"If you think you can make the journey later, come up to the booth and drop me a visit. I'll be there in a little while."

And with that, David disappeared to wander among the rest of the dance hall.

((Entrance, arriving-->Ballroom Staircase))

Chris looked back pleadingly at her father as she stepped out of the car, but he simply grinned, encouraging her to go forward. Sighing in defeat, she gave one last small smile to him before she closed the door behind her and watched him drive off. For a few moments, she just stood there, the cold seeping through her dark blue suit pants and her breath puffing into mist before her face, but then she steeled herself and began to walk forward. Only to slip on a hidden patch of ice. Giving an oath as she nearly went down and her legs scrambled for purchase, Chris finally managed to steady herself, finger tips of one hand resting on the ground. Standing once more as her face flushed darkly in annoyed embarrassment, she carefully continued once more to the stairs. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Pause. Chris stared at the door for a moment, then her mind interrupted her indecision by saying Oh just go in you dolt!, and she opened the door.

The moment she stepped in, she was hit by a wave of cheerful warmth, so she closed the door behind her, then took off her coat to revealed her outfit. The outfit wasn't quite a naval uniform--since she wasn't in the navy and wasn't planning on it--but that was what one might think of when they saw it, with a double set of gold buttons down the front of the suit top, and the whole outfit in a dark blue that was almost black. With a slightly more feminine cut than an actual uniform, it made things slightly less confusing on the gender issue. Which might be needed, considering that Chris kept her brown hair short (and usually messy, but it was little more manicured than usual tonight), and that she was 5'9". The one thing that broke with this formal get up was her eyes. She had still outlined them in eyeliner, and the irises still looked like bits of seaweed.

Carefully descending down the elegant stairwell, all the while trying to keep her black flats from squeaking, Chris watched the other guests as she hoped desperately that none of them would provoke her. She didn't think she could hold her temper in check if they did.