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Jada // Outfit - Hair

Originally, Jada had meant to attend the masquerade in the Giulia-approved costume of Princess Jasmine. Castor, her toyger cat, would be her Raja, held close at hand all night. Unfortunately, her costume had been commandeered by a friend, much to her amusement; it had left her in a bit of a lurch upstairs, though, and she had needed to improvise. Her closet was half-strewn around itself, dresses of all colors thrown about like a tornado had hit. She'd narrowed it down to a few different dresses- a bridal-style gown or two that would probably cause heart attacks and likely would be better for a formal ball than a 7-year-old's attempt at a masquerade; her old debutante dress, which she was pleased to note she could still squeeze into, even if she fit the hips a bit more and the bust a bit less; and her selected dress, gauzy and off-the-shoulder, held up by a halter of flowery lace. The appropriate accouterments in order to dress as a fairy were shockingly easy to acquire when you had a small child living with you.

The mask was an old one she'd had on hand from a long-ago masquerade, that didn't quite match the colors of the costume, but worked with the costume beautifully. A fairy she was- and a fairy who was running late. Pinning up her hair and double-checking her makeup, Jada made her way down the stairs and into the ballroom along with the crowd, taking a minute to see who she recognized. That looked like Bell, and she could see Giulia being lovingly assaulted by another Princess, probably Lucia. Yvaine's costume was easy to pick out nearby, so that was probably Marlo and Elzo nearby. She couldn't yet see the costume thief, though she supposed they could have gone through the gallery first.

Someone else caught her eye, however, and the smile froze on her face. Sidling up on the man and the child in tow, Jada crouched, adjusting layers of chiffon as she waved to the little girl. "Hello~" she greeted the dark-haired little princess, heart melting at how absolutely adorable she looked. "And hello to you as well, Giovanni." it took her another moment before she looked up his body, sidelong, a brow arching as she held out her arms invitingly for her daughter to come closer. "What a surprise to see you here." and not dressed as Satan. "Taking advantage of Hope's open invitation?"

Dear lord, if Giulia's party got sidetracked by family drama... none of them would survive Cinderella's wrath. They'd all be wishing they were pumpkins.

Elex Yorke as Carnevale Devil

Of his short time in Destiny City, Elex never crossed the threshold of Jada's sprawling estate. Rather, he only witnessed the castle-esque mansion in photographs — largely aerial, usually done for architectural magazines that oft adorned his father's study. Occasionally some of the beauty shots coveted by his mother took place inside one of the grandiose rooms, but seldom with any context within the estate as a whole. Now, with the place opened up for company of all kinds, he finally took advantage of that opportunity.

And her mansion felt utterly, unconscionably, indescribably immense. With no expense spared, the Chamberlyns filled out much of the halls with opulence and decorum, bid the staff to take their roles in the masquerade, and indulged in Giulia's childish spirit via corny games and songs. He wondered, briefly, if any ill might descend on the place. If youma or spiders or other overgrown hostilities might tread upon their fun for a second rendition of the botanical gardens. The anonymity of a masquerade promised its own imminent dangers — such lack of personal responsibility inspired a certain boldness in guests. He imagined that the end of the night would hold its own unusual surprises.

Elex entered, glamour-fresh and pale-cheeked, with his devil's horns coiling out grandiosely from a golden mask. Its scorn froze on his face in its thousand wrinkles, and looking out to the crowd behind were sharp dark eyes. He found no familiar scents on the air; either Rowan wasn't present after the garden affair or he simply wasn't in the area.

Many gathered toward faces familiar or unfamiliar — new friendships bloomed, or old ones recognized and rekindled under incognito guises. Elex cut through the ballroom's burgeoning body count with relative ease, owing to his size; he sidestepped a swarthy woman with a boisterous ballgown train, and passed behind a gentleman in a remarkably Edwardian suit. Most opted for a modern approach, but a girl standing lone among a hundred lurid costumes wore a lunar moth's visage. The pale greens caught brilliant underneath the fractal lighting, and he approached out of admiration for that alone.

She needn't be someone he know. "Beautiful mask," he offered on approach. Hands knit behind his back in too-tight familiarity. "Are you waiting for someone?"

Michiko / Costume / Mask

Michiko smiled at the host in their Cinderella gown and mask. She blushed behind her mask and laughed a little at the suggestion to go look for her cousins in the garden. "Thank you, I will do that." She said softly before Giulia scampered off.

Michiko turned to the new voice that was complimenting her mask and she blushed again she didn't think her mask should gain her this much attention. She shook her head. "Not exactly, but I was looking to see if I saw anyone I had met recently, your mask is very pretty." Michiko said in a soft shy tone. She was still a very shy soft-spoken person. "Are you waiting for anyone?" She asked the question in return. Michi still had a lot to learn and didn't know everything. Though the words of the knight still haunted her looking at the mask the figure wore. Had youma once been human? And if so was dusting them fair? Why couldn't they be saved?

Marlo had his eyes looking at his brother and cousin with a certain lightness to them. It was nice for once, to see Elzo embracing a part of himself, that childish impish part that he hardly ever was since he'd been in Italy for all those years. Elzo was not a hard man, but he aloof and often masking his real joys and mirth. His smile and joy at Giulia was genuine, and Marlo felt a bit happier knowing that his brother was lowering his shields enough to let himself love the children- a thing they deserved unconditionally.

Yvaine's words were not missed and he turned, a small smile still on his face.
"Aiden's idea. I could not be a wolf, and were I the wolf, well-" He shrugged, "it seemed a bit too overt for the character." And just like that, the little lady who had desired and semi-orchastrated the event came to them, Marlo wasted no time to bow to his cousin, knowing she would love the 'in character acting'.

"Dearest princess. You wound me, I am only here in hopes of seeing yourself and enjoying the party. Any ultra rear motivations I have are-" He could have laughed at the fact Jada would have scolded him, "-very much not going to interfere with your party or it's guests."

Elzo was just grinning, rejoining his brother and his lover, planting a very devious kiss to Yvaine's neck.
"Oh now, I don't know principessa, this beautiful faun has come into my sights and I fear I must simply have her. What kind of prince or hunter would I be if I let such a legendary being escape me?" Elzo planted another overt kiss to Yvaine's cheek, just to see Marlo roll his eyes at the couple.

"Giulia-" Marlo was about to say something when another child appeared and he laughed at the way she was such an attention getting.
"Seems little princesses come in pairs. Tell me, have either of you seen any queens around? I would love to stay and chat but, as you know, we royals must always say hello to the reigning nobles. "

Elzo snorted looking down at Giulia's friend. "Ciao bella. It is nice too meet one of Giulia's friends." He offered her a hand to shake. "I didn't know you knew other princesses Giulia. I'm hurt! Look Yvaine- She's not even 16 yet and she's keeping secrets from her father already!"

Giovanni had the gall to smirk as he saw her make her appearance. Fortune favored him clearly, given his costume and her own. "My my, you look absolutely delightful my queen." He grabbed her hand without allowing her any objecting pulling her a half step closer as he brought it to his lips, a kiss on the back of her knuckles.

"What kind of father would I be if I let my darling girl come unattended? Besides, networking is ever important." He looked past her for a moment, grin widening when he noticed his son and nephew occupied.
"I must say, we look the perfect family with how well we all match. But-" He crouched low, asking if Hope would like to meet his firned Jada- the girl just giggled, darting behing his legs and into his cloak.

"It seems she's a bit shy. Stay with me for a while- she'll warm up quickly if you offer her caramels or dancing." He looked strangely affectionate down towards the toddler.
"She is rather easy to please if you indulge her with anything that involves spinning her around."

Giovanni tugged her closer, imperious and every inch the evil king, and Jada gave him a tight smile, her attention more on the small child he had brought with him. "I do hope you're planning to be on your best behavior. This is Giulia's first time playing hostess, after all." the little girl rejected her grasp, choosing to hide behind Giovanni, and the flicker of pain was only brief.

"Perhaps I will have the opportunity, for a time, but I do have some company to greet. As you said- networking is important." a brow lifted, a smile playing lightly around her lips. "But perhaps you'll stay a bit after, once the main party dies down. The little princess will have much more room for spinning." she sent the two-year old a smile. "We'll spoil her until she has to be rolled out like a round little barrel." dark hair and those bright blue eyes and those pudgy little cheeks- Christ. Children were adorable. Though she supposed it helped when you were predisposed to like them.

There was someone else, however, who caught her attention, and Jada brushed her hands over the skirt of her dress, rising. A faintly familiar face, hidden by a mask. Was that Genevieve? Did that mean Christa had come? If so, Jada would have to make sure that the staff had them both as acceptable to pass to the family area- she could hardly deny Christa a library to hide in, once the other woman had been socialized to Genevieve's satisfaction.

"I will not come back until I have treats to woo the little Princess." Jada lilted her voice to the child, but refrained from bending over to try and say goodbye. "Please, enjoy the party." even if she would probably spend half of it trying to get the little girl to dance with her. Spinning. So precious.

Elex looked on impassively. Do devils delight you?

His stance broke when he tore his gaze from the luna moth and followed the bend of decorum about the room. "No." Others about them danced or talked or slunk around in costumes of variable grandiosity. Of considerable overstatement. Opulence was the new average. "I'm not waiting for someone. I'm waiting for something." A slip of the mask. A sordid segue into the supernatural. Strange phenomena happen when people gather like this. It's only a matter of time.

How long until the glass slippers come off?

"It might be a while yet." He offered his hand, whole and unblemished by black. "Do you want to dance?"

((reserving))