Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Mmm." Lyoko shook her head and smiled as her delicate rose earrings chimed. Silk brushed against silk as her hands ran down her dress one last time. Wearing something that was more European than Asian wasn't exactly odd with her by now, after all she had centuries of practice, but she actually couldn't help but to admire this dress. To her it wasn't either. It was more of a mix of things, but overall it made a nice elegant ballgown decorated by roses.

"Momma looks pretty."

"Oh?" Lyoko turned and smiled down at her precious boy. "And doesn't Kaito think he looks handsome tonight as well?"

Tugging at his dark red vest one last time, the toddler shrugged. "I guess so. Though this thing is odd."

Lyoko grinned, "That's how it is."

"I know." He pouted before reaching over to take his mother's hand. "Can we go down now? I was extra careful and saw the sun sink this time. Nothing left ta fry anyone wit."

Fangs flashed as Lyoko laughed, "Oh, alright. We can head down and find Daddy and your sister. I do hope that everything and one is prepared." She added as she looked one last time over the room and closed the door. In front of them stretched a cold stone hallway. But that was their floor, it was on the bottom level where the ball would be.For a rare time, this night color and laughter would resurface in the old castle as a ball would be held again.

Dressing up two little girls and one very reluctant little boy for a party was no easy task, but somehow Tish had managed, and arrived at the castle in one piece, no less. She held Axel in her arms while Luvenia and Miriam walked on either side of her.

Luvnia wore a pink dress with ruffles all over it, and puffed sleeves. She's insisted on her mother giving her sparkly pink facepaint which had been used to make matching hearts on her face and Miriam's mask. The little blonde had her hair down, and her blue eyes took in the castle's sights with excited wonder.

Miriam wore a back velvet dress, that was trimmed with white lace around the sleeves and collar, and matching black mary janes over white tights. She had a white ribbon tied round her hat and carried her Chimera kitten, Corin, in her arms.

Axel had resisted his mother's every attempt at dressing him up, and refused to wear anything resembling formal wear. Tish had only reached a compromise with her son when she gave him a long, floor-length robe that had a hood, which the stubborn infant had pulled up to hide his face so that no-one would exclaim over how cute he was - though a few flame-colored locks escaped their hiding place anyway.

The two girls were looking forward to the party, but Axel seemed determined to pout the evening away in Tish's arms. The brunette sighed and vowed to change that by the end of the party.

Jaella made her to the ballroom, all smiles and sunshine. Her amethyst hair had been pulled up and curled slightly, her face framed with purple waves. Her star hair pin had been replaced with a small, delicate-looking flower bloom. A small, intricate golden cameo brooch hung from a thread-thin golden chain around her neck, shining in the light. The teen was clothed in a long, prismatic white dress that was accented with a small golden belt that looped loosely around her waist, the ends tied off with little white feathers. Her shoulders were covered by a white, silken, puff-sleeved shrug, gold embroidery swirls twisting lazily down the arms. Small, golden shoes peeked out from beneath the billowing, flowing material of her dress as she walked along.

Jaella would have looked stunning compared to her usual eclectic attire, but the red wagon she pulled behind her ruined the effect of her outfit. The wagon rolled along behind the teen, the pile of clear plastic containers it held swaying threateningly. What on Gaia was that girl bringing in? What else? Cupcakes! The teen made her way into the ballroom with her sugary cargo, eyes widening as she looked around. It was so pretty in here!

Not invited? To say that Howl was upset was an understatement. He was too used to royal affairs, with fancy invitations and fancier guests. This--this was unheard of! It wasn't fair--not at all fair that he had only heard about it from his ever gossiping cousins. It seemed that everyone he knew had been invited--everyone. Except him.

Despite his clear annoyance, Howl was looking his ballroom best. He was wearing a gray and scarlet suit; dove-gray boots complimented the look. His hair was the typical impossible yellow, and the scent of lilies followed him where-ever he went. Of course, he was only wearing this particular suit to tease Sophie. He had long ago removed the enchantment she had placed on it. He strode up to Sophie, forcing a smile. "You forgot to invite me," he weedled. He wouldn't tell her how he'd heard about the ball; she'd laugh at him. "If you don't already have a dance partner--" she better not have had a replacement dance partner, "I would be honored if you'd be mine."

A certain dark elf, being the wizard's father, was standing behind him. Zee clearly didn't approve of Howl's choice to come without an invitation. He gave Sophie a smile and a nod, before golden eyes veered about. Unlike his son, he seemed to not have bothered dressing himself as much. He was wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks. His naturally messy hair showed signs that he had attempted to comb it back; but those attempts had obviously failed.

"Do you think we should have kept pestering Howl like that?" Reiya asked, looking around. She had never been in a castle before. "It's not his fault he wasn't invited." She was wearing a light blue dress that made her skin seem to have more color. Her hair had been carefully curled, probably by her mother. A princess-cut diamond hung from a silver chain around her neck.

"He never would have come if we didn't make it seem like he was the only one not invited," Sammi pointed out. "Anyway, Sophie needs a dance partner whether he was invited or not." She was wearing a shorter dress, a pixie cut skirt. Her hair was tied back into a messy bun.

"So do we."

"...You have a point."

Jaella smiled brightly at Adrian as he approached, curtsying politely. "Glad I could make it too." she chirped, nodding. "I brought some cupcakes for everyone." she said, stepping aside to motion to the wagon. Her tail poked out from under her dress, balancing the swaying tower of containers before retreating back under the folds of white material. She looked down at Deirdre, smiling and waving to the little one.

"Of course," Howl said, taking her hand. "You could have saved me the trouble of being teased had you invited me." He gestured to Sammi and Reiya with his free hand. "How will your guardian feel, with my being here without an invitation?"

He paused, listening to the music for a moment. "Forget that. If we're dancing, he won't be able to talk to me long enough to scare me. Shall we dance? Or continue to greet your guests?"

Zee rolled his eyes at Howl. Of course, the boy's priority was to avoid Sophie's father at all costs. "It's nice to finally meet you," he said, smiling at Sophie. She certainly seemed polite; from the way Howl talked about her, Zee had expected the opposite. Oh well, maybe it was a sign of affection. He could only hope he and Stasia never got to that stage.

Samantha had finally spotted someone she was vaguely familiar with. "I'll see you in a bit," she muttered to her sister. She made her way towards Tish. "Niko told me to tell you," she started, when she'd finally reached the woman and the three children, "that he's very sorry he couldn't make it. Demyx had a fever, so he had to stay home." She paused, before spotting Axel. "Is this Xelly?" she asked. "Want to dance, Xelly? I've got fire, too."

Luvvie squealed and ran off to say hello to Eve, tripping over her pink dress and clamoring to her feet before she reached the ragdoll and her silver-haired friend. Giggling wildly, she bounced around in a happy circle. "Eve, Eve, Hi! Hi! How are you?! It's so nice here, I like it a loooot~!"

Miriam, meanwhile, wandered off with Corin in her arms, only to nearly drop her chimera kitten when she saw what looked to be a big version of her kitty. Shyly, she wandered over to her, whispering a soft, "Hi," the the furred child.

Axel scowled and clung to Tish trying to hide further in his robe as Samantha came up. "Go 'way!" He murmured, turning his face to his mother. "I don't like dancing," he said as he sulked. Tish shrugged and rocked him a little, shaking her head.

"Now, Axel, you go play with Sammi - you'll have fun if you give it a chance, sweetie." Not giving him the chance to say anything else, she handed the toddler off to the teenager with a smile, then headed to grab some punch and keep an eye on all three children.