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"Hee-ro?" Hyo tried to imitate the voice she made, with the best of his abilities... Which he feared weren't much.
<"It sounds short. And weird.">
The boy looked into the scroll she held. It was hard to believe. The signs in it, which he guessed had the same meaning as words next to them, only in engrish, seemed so long and complicated! But this one was much shorter than its original equivalent!
<"...Are you sure it's just 'hee-ro'? It sounds...simple.">
He didn't comment her statement abut the 'worldwide language' thing. If there really was a language common to all, it would certainly be used by koreans!

"Most of my vestements were graciously provided by a friend. It was his idea to dress in this manner, as an Eastern Emperor."


She nodded. "Hello."

Not worrying about anything else he said, she felt a little badly; but it wasn't her fault that she couldn't understand any of it. She'd have to find some Korean recruit and make them do this instead. It would probably work out better.

She pointed out the words for yes, no and attempted to teach him "I'm Hyo". Thinking about what else he'd need at a masquerade, she added "How are you?" and "I'm fine" to his newly created repertoire. Figuring he should also be polite, "thank you", "please" and "goodbye" were next. For good measure, she added, "I don't understand" and "That's interesting" as well. If he couldn't think of anything to say, the least she could do was provide him with a catch-all.

Midori grabbed a napkin from the nearby table of food, narrowly avoiding crashing into a man with a white and red mask, and began to slowly copy out the phrases from the book onto the napkin. She presented it to the boy, proud of her handiwork.

"OK, see you later!"

Now to find something to distract her from all this... labour.


Shee was happy with how the night was progressing. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, even, she noted, Eponine. Even if she was dressed as half of a hamburger, which was no doubt an idea from the mind of Estrelas. Now to find out who everyone was. She could probably make most of them slip up somehow, she thought. And if not... well, she was always up for a challenge.

She spotted a man with a sack on his head and decided to start with him. Gliding over, she overheard his request.

"Just water? Sure you wouldn't like something else?"

"NO HE IS NOT SURE!" the left half of the hamburger roared to Shee. "MISTA RODNEY want what Ah drink! AH DRINK THIS- AH... ZIS! ANYONE HAVE LITTLE CLEAR BOWL ON TOP OF LITTLE STEM THAT LOOK LIKE FLOWER AND HAVE FUNNY GREEN THING ON TOOTHPICK? CAN AH HAVE THREE? HAMBURGER AND SACK NEED DRINK!"

The right half of the hamburger froze and turned to Shee anxiously. All her thrill suddenly dropped off. Oh no. She wasn't designed to- she wasn't built to- she couldn't drink- "Oh, just two, Es- ah, just two drinks- I mean, I don't drink... It's against my- ah..."

"STILL THREE DRINK! TWO FOR ME!" she bellowed.

Johannes was about to say something when he was interrupted by the giant thing and...


*hic*

He was getting a bit...tipsy. He was still coherent in thought and speak though...maybe?



He noticed Rodney at the bar and the fact that he seemed to have been doing...something. Or was it his imagination?


*hic* "Oi..." "Is anybody else seeing the room wobble for some apparent reason?" "Or am I just dreaming?"

Mokoyis watched both the Hamburger and Johannes. It looked as though the evening was going down hill rather quickly for them both- or it would be soon. She didn't particularly approve of drunkeness, but it was a party after all. She muttered a few pleasanteries to the 'explorer' and excused herself. She doubted he would even notice she was gone.

Someone else had decided to show up, and it appeared they were of like minds with their bird costumes. She smiled warmly and approached him. "Good evening!" She would have said more but Hyo and Estrelas begun their shouting contest. The woman hunched her shoulders around her ears. "Have you met Estrelas yet?" She asked between the cries.

Einar was about to tell both men that for some reason he felt that their outfits suited them to a 'T' when a loud sound similar to an animal being killed filled the air. He knew it to be the sound of screaming, particularly that of the two lady recruits he had met briefly before, and behind the safety of his mask he winced heavily against their barrage against the human senses.

If it screams, shoot it. If it's still screaming, crush its skull. Things that are completely dead can't scream ya know.

Those words filled his ears and seemed to block out the noise that threatened to make him move into action, and he was about to open his mouth and say something should the harpies continue when another scream and the feeling of something contacting his leg took precedence.

The screams were from some new stranger who shouted in an Asian language at him in a tone he took to seriously mean this person was terrified of him, and Einar's eyebrows pursed themselves downwards as he felt the confines of his inner restraint slowly being strained against. He could only handle so much screaming before he would act - it was almost like a second nature. Normally he would have let it all pass and even walked away before it could get this far, but he was in his storm suit.

The suit used for the mass genocides.

"God just...shut up. All of you just shut the hell up! I can't take all your harping and screaming like animals on their way to slaughter!"

His voice was loud, his voice was cold. There was no accent in it since he was yelling, and for a moment he huffed and scowled from behind the mask.

The sack was itchy, and Rodney couldn't resist rubbing it lightly against his face in an attempt to sooth the itch. Somehow, that made matters worse. Try as he would, it was a fruitless endeavor. For as grave a trouble as it was, he couldn't help but continue to smile. A bit of a snort had left his nose. The boisterous shouting, and the call for drinks. It reminded him of something - vaguely.

Rodney's eyes had shifted up in time to see a woman. For a moment, he had stared at Shee - as if he were a dumbfounded little boy asked a question he did not understand. Water; that was right, he wanted water. Pulling the sack somewhat further down his face, he had given somewhat of a gesture with his head.

"Y-yes ma'am. Just water. To tell you the truth ..." He had glanced towards the giant hamburger. The loud yelling and jubilant ways of seeming intoxication. "I don't do well with drinks." He had paused a moment, turning his head back to Shee - squinting as if trying to garner some form of an identity. Futile. "Unless you serve Cola? Just plain old Coca Cola. Haven't had that in God knows how long."

"In need of damage control, mademoiselle?"

Shee had been staring, wide-eyed, at the abomination of events that had unfolded in front of her, both hands clenched into fists. This was not... what was supposed to happen! What happened to the fairy-tale night she had imagined? It had been hijacked by a giant fast food product and a highly excitable little unicorn, apparently.

The voice brought her back to her senses. She exhaled loudly, and turned to the man who had just swept past her, a flash of dazzling gold. "How did you know? I was so careful too!"

"I think we should begin with how you knew it was me." He smiled slightly, watching Shee's expression change to one of disappointment at being found out.

"Mademoiselle was a bit much, don't you think?" Shee could not figure out how he'd known! She'd barely said two words the whole evening.

"Ah. The point is conceded. Now, if you'll excuse me--"

And Sebastien moved towards the bellowing hamburger, readying himself. He bowed to it, a mechanical remnant of his tattered past.

"You are having a good time, yes? Two lovely young ladies such as yourselves should feel at home at a ball such as this. But, I don't quite understand why you are hiding yourselves in this manner?"


Shee started as Rodney began to speak to her. In the commotion, she'd almost forgotten.

She laughed lightly at Rodney's reply, and struck out two names in her head. "Coca... Cola. I'm sure that can be arranged." She waved the bartender over and tried to maintain an aura of queenliness by whispering the request in the man's ear, adding something for herself as well. No sooner had she asked than there appeared a small glass bottle of Coca Cola and a long, thin glass comprised of something alternately red and orange.

There was a clue, although not a big one. Coca Cola? She didn't remember anyone being particularly fond of it.

"So, where did you get the idea for your costume?"