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-too lazy to get on muley-

This party sure was a big one. Rayna felt so out of place, even as she made her way around other pirates and people. Gwyn followed close behind, and Rayna refused to return her to her ball and be left in this fray all alone.

The refreshment table seemed to be destroyed, though she saw one punch bowl untouched and some cupcakes that were spared. She was knocked around several times as she made her way to it, and by the time she reached the punch her face was as red as her hair.

Worst. Halloween. Ever.

And that was saying something, because she loved Halloween. The candy, the costumes, the decorations... It was right up her alley. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Gwyn flit from hanging ghost to hanging ghost, pretending to be a decoration herself. Rayna had to giggle.

(@Natalia/Mau/Asch)

Aila matched the stranger's posture, leveling a gaze at the woman that implied more capability than did her height. Internally, however, she faltered at the word 'fiance.' It made sense, of course, given what she knew of Asch - or rather, of Luke fon Fabre - and what she suspected of this young woman, but somehow it was surprising nonetheless. Surprising and vaguely offensive. If some girl who appeared out of the blue felt she was more entitled to Asch's company than his partner, then Aila felt strangely compelled to prove to her otherwise. Was she so self-absorbed that she couldn't tell Asch didn't want to speak to her? Or worse, didn't care that he didn't want to speak to her?

In spite of her mounting indignation, she stood quietly and patiently to a side as Mau spoke, proving himself as skillful a diplomat as ever. She was grateful for his willingness to intervene in the situation. She met his glance with an expression of appreciation and a brief nod of approval before turning to the woman to await her response. She didn't seem the type that would appreciate her company dismissing itself without her permission. Haughty was the word that came to mind, among others. Aila scarcely appreciated her pushiness.

(Alba, Presea)

Unfortunately, Inigo's obliviousness wasn't an act at all. "Really?" He said, eyebrows raising after Alba had answered the girl's questions. "You seem pretty young to be a journalist, that's really cool. And it's an awesome costume," he agreed with an enthusiastic nod and a lop-sided grin. How old was this girl? Man, she must be a really good if she was a journalist so young. "What're you asking all these questions for?" She certainly had a lot of them. "Do you write for a newspaper or magazine or something?" Or maybe it was a school paper? That made sense too. Was she in school still and just an intern? That made sense too.

As Aila and Mau kept Natalia occupied, Asch made a break for the costume room. This was his best option at the moment. Storming past the woman who had given him a hard time before, he forced his way back in.

"What the... Where are you going?" the woman asked, clearly befuddled as to why the fussy princess has returned. "I need a different dress!" he barked back at her. Leaving the woman to stare in disbelief.

Again he streaked past Izaya and Faleen as Asch frantically started searching for a different costume that still fell under the princess category.

When he finally opted to look elsewhere than the vanity mirror, Izaya took note of Claire and Isadora. He hadn't expected anyone else to overheard his and Faleen's conversation, but in the case that they had, at least he could rest assured that they, too, were fellow Rockets.

However, as a blur of red and black rushed back into the room and past them, the superhero turned his head sharply. Seconds ago he was certain he'd heard a deep, male voice barking at the party staff member attending the door to the dressing room, but when he looked, there was no man in sight. Instead, the royal, red-headed scowler had returned, looking more perturbed than ever. Had he heard right? Something about needing a different dress...?

Hopping to his feet, Izaya scurried over, as if in the same distressed state as the princess. He was, in fact, worried, but probably not for the same reasons the red-head was. After all, even a new dress wouldn't have saved him from Shizuo. "Need some help?" he offered, pushing through a few poofy hoop-skirted gowns to try to get closer to the lady. He wanted to see her face. "You seem like you're in a rush. Got a suitor to impress?" By his tone, it was difficult to tell whether he was sincere or simply teasing the princess.

It was a shame Asch had hardly ever spoken more than a sentance to Izaya, or the informant might have been able to confirm his identity long ago. He also might have had a better mind to watch his tongue around a superior agent, particularly the partner of Aila. Maybe.

Somewhere amidst various commotions, a certain redheaded boy bearing a striking resemblance to one already in attendance sauntered into the party hall, dressed more the part of some kind of winged forest elf than the fairy he was supposed to be. The attendants had encouraged him towards a more feminine variety of the creature, but he had quickly taken a firm stand against that. It wasn't as if he didn't have better things to do. If they wanted to make him dress like a woman, he would just go back to training. Fortunately, they relented when he proved that he could build an outfit fitting the theme without as much as touching a skirt.

This left the question, though, of what he was doing here. When invited, Luke had declined to attend. Sure they had finished their training in Hoenn, but that didn't mean he couldn't still become a better trainer. His pokemon, however, had eventually tired out, and practically everyone Luke knew in Kodo was at this stupid party, so... He grumbled irritably. This was stupid. He should have been training. Why was it so hard to practice sword maneuvers by himself?

Luke was startled by his grumbles by a sudden shout, "Someone's looking for you." He turned and raised an eyebrow at the source of the voice, a child with a hat that was clearly much too big for her. She said nothing more before she continued on at a meaningful pace. Well, that was... weird.


(@Mau, Natalia, Asch, Izaya)

When Asch took off, Aila followed suit. If Asch was leaving on the grounds of discussing this matter with her, then it wouldn't help their story if she lingered. Besides, perhaps she could offer some assistance in strengthening his disguise.

As she approached the costume room, moving at a clip, she took note of a certain boy who bore a startling resemblance to her partner. Ah, so this was the one... An idea struck her, and she stopped just before passing the boy, spinning to face him, "Someone's looking for you." Hopefully he would run into the blonde woman and she would leave Asch alone. She offered no more explanation before carrying on her way, locating the room, locating Asch within it, and-- Ahh, wonderful, Izaya had found him. This would perhaps require a bit more delicacy than she had anticipated...

Slowing to a more casual pace, she approached her partner and recruit, regarding the latter entreatingly, "Would you leave this to me?" Ask no questions, said entreating expression begged. Please just ask no questions and let it be.

@ Natalia, Aila, Asch

He was, to say the least, a little startled that the man would bolt so quickly. He nodded to Aila when she took off after him. It took most of Mau's willpower not to sigh at them. He turned his attention back to Natalia. "I don't believe I caught your name, Ma'am."

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@ Alba and Inigo

When one of the magicians would comment she appeared young, her tone became flat and she answered honestly. "I'm 28." She turned her head so she was looking more at Inigo as she addressed him, and one could not see her eyes behind the visor. "I am attempting an article about the event. Those who came are a large portion of this event, thus I am curious what everyone thinks of it. How it's run, the costumes. Things of that nature" She hesitated to tell them as of right now she was unemployed and looking for work. Presea knew as well as anyone that an article on a Halloween party wasn't likely to win her any respect in the journalist world unless something amazing happened.

She was banking on that slim glimmer of hope for a fiasco.