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A soft giggle escaped her smiling lips. She still was embarrassed, but she was so inexperienced in the matter. Hell, she didn’t even consider she might be as special as all the girls he’d met before her.
“You… y’know, I… no, really, I…” she stuttered. God, how old was she, 13? There she went, fiddling some more.

Quick, say something smarter than that. “L-let’s sit down now, shall we?” she asked, already walking towards the nearest table. She clearly hadn’t expected to be approached by someone the minute she walked in. Actually, her plans for the evening went more along the lines of “dancing, being a wallflower, dancing some more”.

Waiters started moving up the stairs towards the fondue pots. It was time for those who were interested in the meal to start their way up the stairs for cheese, bread, and various fruits and vegetables that could be dipped in the plate.

The servers remained near the table after they had started the fondue so that they could explain anything to people who had never eaten it before.

Azzo was looking around for a bit, a little too late didn't he notice Aurora. However, when he saw who she was headed over to he almost chuckled. So she knew Marlo to it seemed.

It wasn't till a few seconds later that he noticed Melody. His smiled faltered for a second before he swallowed the bad feeling again before walking over to her and gave a swift bow. "Melody." He said softly.

"I half expected that I'd be the late one. Grams took her sweet time getting ready for Bingo." He said apologetically. He was still wondering what the propose of the party was. It seemed everyone had almost naturally paired off or something. He was curious as the last actual party he went to was a few years ago.

Tate was not misled, mostly because she was trying to fight off the green-eyed monster. It took conscious thought to pay attention to Howl when her best male friend was over at the bar, talking to some little redheaded tart--

Deep calming breath. She smiled at Howl, directing her eyes back to his. "Thank you," she said, "you look very nice, too." Still no mention of the unicorn comment. It was a normal Howl conversation, it seemed, for which she was relieved, and her smile was a little larger and more natural than normal for it. "I'm sorry," she said, "I'm distracted this evening."

Distracted was such a tame word for it. Every few minutes, she would glance up and over at someone else--Ladon--and then hurriedly look back to Howl. And it was slowly becoming obvious to her how clear it had to be to others, with her blush spreading across her collarbone. Height differences nothing, she'd rather dance with Ladon--it hurt her to think that he might think she didn't care for him, or had dragged him here as part of an elaborate joke.

She sighed. "Do you want to go sit?"

Looking around, Elke saw Azzo. She saw Melody, too, and watched Grayson twirl around the floor prettily with Imogen. This was good, she felt, watching the pair; Imogen dancing with Grayson was a lot more appropriate than him dancing with Ignacio. She sighed and rolled her eyes, then ran down the stairs to grab onto Imogen--gently of course, but she felt like she'd known the redhead for ever so long.

"Imo! It's been so long! Hey, do you want to sit with me? Please sit with me! I feel like we should sit together."

"I believe it far better for you to be late than me." He chuckled slightly nervously. "I mean after all, if I late then you could be mad at me." His eyes wondered around as he placed his hands behind his back.

His eyes flicked over faces, few he felt like he should remember, like Elke... But he didn't remember them. Then there was faces like Grayson and Nacio. "You're brother's here too." He said softly before glancing towards where there were apparently staff heading up stairs.

"I wonder what we missed." He muttered softly before flicking to the dance floor once again. He smiled, "So what do you want to do?" He asked softly, unsure if Melody was the type to dance or if she was interested in whatever dinner they might be offering when it was served.

As the song ended, so did their dance. Gracefully, the teal-haired boy managed to fluidly maneuver the girl from being held in the basic waltz position to once more to a basic escorting position. As a gentleman should, he sincerely uttered "Thank you for the dance, my dear." He nodded his head gently, ever considerate of her words and situation.

"It is okay, Miss Tatiana. It would seem as if I should apologize for cutting in line for snatching up a dance with you."

Yes, Howl had noticed. As he guided the brunette away from the dance floor, he continued to smile kindly. Already, the wheels in his head were turning, and a partial plan was already formed. In a casual tone, he asked something which perhaps would embarrass his current companion slightly. He had been a bit curious about the subject, but for now, it was strictly a tool to momentarily blind the ever observant Miss Tatiana Konstantin of his work.

"I am quite curious as to where you came up with that pet name you gave me, Miss Tatiana?" He paused to let the girl fully pick up on her own which name he had meant. There had only been one pet name she'd ever dare to call him. After a long enough pause, he added "I found it to be a bit surprising, but it is a rather charming pet name." He glanced to the girl as he proceeded towards the bar area, hoping to bring his current companion to her current distraction without being caught.

It had been a while since he and Ignacio had talked, and their last few encounters had been less than casual, anyway. Grayson was happy to see him being more himself, and it showed in his grin as he ran his hand down the length of his tie, straightening it. That was the problem with Grayson in a tie -- he seemed to always want to mess with it.

"Sure, I'd like to dance." He was beginning to feel more like his old self, and with the realization, his smile dropped a fraction. There he was again, starting to feel guilty for feeling good; it was a vicious, never-ending cycle that he found himself in. Grief was... a strange thing.

But distraction had worked so far. He would just continue to keep a good face until he got home, and if he needed to, he could feel as guilty as he liked out of the view of anyone else.

"Come on." He touched Ignacio's elbow lightly, nudging him to come along. His smile was back, and he started leading his friend toward the stairs. "We can probably sit together, I think. I don't see why not. Maybe you and Elke can even talk for a bit."

He knew they didn't get along. He knew why, on Elke's part, and he understood that Ignacio was frustrated because he didn't know why, but Elke was his sister and Ignacio was his good friend. Probably his best friend at this point, all things considered. He really wished they could get along.

Azzo grinned, "Good. Still. It's more polite for ladies to be late." He was probably going to get smacked with a handbag or newspaper for that one. Whichever was in reach.

He chuckled slightly, "Ugh... I hate faces I should know but don't." He muttered. Again there were a few that he felt he should known, though perhaps Mel shared that sentiment.

Azzo however, didn't hover long on that branch of converstation. He blinked and looked around. "Ohhh... I smell something good cooking." He said softly taking Melody by the hand, and softly nudged her side with his elbow. "Come on, lets see what's upstairs."

He started to escort her up the stairs to where the sent of food was wafting from. Granted most people probably couldn't even smell the food yet, he blamed his grandmother for this talent. It's how he woke up in the morning.