[EVENT] MASQUERADE! PAPER FACES ON PARADE

[khuimods]

Characters: Anyone and everyone!
Date: October 20
Location: Aisling Tower grounds
Situation: It's the annual event! The Aisling Tower hosts an elaborate masquerade to celebrate Shadow Nights.
Warnings/Rating: In individual threads - please remember to warn!


As dusk falls on October 20th, the bone white spire of the Aisling Tower gleams brightly in the fading sunlight. Once a year, the Tower throws open its doors to begin the official Shadow Nights celebrations. It's a lavish and popular event, attended by all walks of life in Aifaran.

But as the Night Parade approaches, the excitement in the air is tinged with trepidation about the barrier. Perhaps the donning of masks will help Aifaran shed its fears.


In the week leading up to the masquerade, the Tower is a flurry of activity while things are rearranged and set up for the influx of visitors. A special room is designated to provide suitable attire to rent for the evening to those who cannot afford fancy clothes as a staple of their wardrobe. All for the low price of the dry-cleaning bill for the outfit!

When the day finally arrives, preparations are made in earnest during the morning and afternoon, festooning the surrounds with seasonal decorations. The steady deliveries of food, drink, and decor create a buzz about the place. Tables dressed with fine cloth are brought into the courtyard and as the gates open, spirit lanterns in a variety of shapes and colors are lit, and the courtyard shines invitingly as guests arrive.



At the base of the Tower, an atrium that makes up most of the ground floor has been cleared for the masquerade. Wide, sweeping ramps lead upwards, dotted with tables and some cushioned benches for seating. The upper floors of the Tower are still off-limits to the public, and discreet guards stand watch. The interior of the Tower is done in whites and creams, with accents shimmering like pearls. As a result, the vibrant costumes and decorations stand out all the more distinctly, a riot of color across a blank canvas.

Let Shadow Nights begin!

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OOC Notes: The Masquerade log is available for threading throughout the rest of the month. While there are starters available for threading, feel free to create your own top-level comment! Enjoy the festivities.

Comments

[annihilist]

A - ICICLE IN THE COURTYARD - OPEN

It had taken some convincing for Devin to agree to attend the masquerade. He'd only gone to the last one because he worked for the police in Keeliai and had been there for security purposes. Even though he is not employed by the Sentry, when Devin arrives he opts to stick to the margins. Seeing as he would have a hard time hiding who he is to anyone who knows him, Devin is wearing a black brocade coat and a simple blue mask (lower).

Once he gets himself a glass of wine, he finds a spot at the edge of the courtyard to observe the festivities rather than engage in them. As is his habit, Devin keeps an eye out for trouble, which includes occasionally steering a few drunk attendees towards a couch or an exit before they topple over bushes or break something.

B - THE REASON FOR COMING - Closed to the Fool

In order to avoid a public announcement of their relationship and because Devin hates being the focus of attention, he and the Fool chose to arrive separately. This is part of why he's been aloof at the party; when the Fool does get here, he wants to be able to disentangle himself without arousing suspicion. That, and he's not really a fan of parties.

Undoubtedly, the Fool will make an entrance few will miss, so around the time he's supposed to arrive (and accounting for the inevitability of being fashionably late), Devin drifts back towards the gateway into the Tower grounds. He has some ideas of where they can find more privacy but no pre-determined meeting spot. So long as Devin can find the Fool (which will not be hard, he is certain), they can withdraw from the main crowd without too much difficulty. The anticipation is completely unlike what he's used to during hunts, and he tries to ignore it without much success.

B

[afoolsgold]

Some people say less is more. But more is also more, and this is evidently the guiding principle that informs the Fool's every wardrobe choice when he is given even the barest opportunity to flatter his vanity.

When he arrives at the masquerade, he does so in the same manner that he seems to arrive anywhere: as though he's simply appeared here without the need for trifling things such as traveling. (Does Aifaran have an Uber equivalent? That might explain things.) His mask is undoubtedly the most ostentatious and eye-catching of his accoutrements, its contours enhanced by the judicious application of face paint and the elegant fall of his braided golden hair. In comparison, the layers of deep sapphire blue silk, velvet and tule that compose the rest of his genderless garb are far less eye-catching... except for when he turns just so in the evening light, and the peacock feathers reveal themselves amidst the fine fabrics.

He's go big or go home about these things.

And thus far, aside from being accosted by a few familiar faces, he doesn't appear to have made his grand entrance yet. Instead, having spotted Devin, he lifts his chin and strolls over to him with a coy, delighted little smile tugging up the corners of his lips, and turns about before him with a little flourish of his wrists.

"What do you think?" he inquires lightly, then adds with a tip of his head, "Too much?"

[annihilist]

If Devin ever had any hope of permanently being a discreet couple, it is swept away as the Fool enters and his fully composed outfit comes into view. Carefully and shaded beneath his usual aloofness, Devin smiles for a moment. It turns into a smirk before anyone else can see it.

"Maybe just a little," he needles. "But that seems to be what you were going for, if you wanted everyone's attention." The Fool certainly has Devin's, but that would have been true no matter what he was wearing.

The vampires glances around casually, as though looking for another guest. "Would you like to make the rounds and we can find each other again later?" he asks, quiet enough that only the Fool or someone with supernatural ears would hear. "There are a few places that are sequestered from the main party, but I don't want to keep you from the festivities the whole night." Well, he does, but he can share. Probably. Devin gestures around them. "This is your stage, after all."

[afoolsgold]

However surreptitious Devin may endeavour to be, the Fool glimpses that little smile, and a sparkling one of his own lights up his features. Ah yes, mission accomplished.

“I wanted someone’s attention,” he corrects ever so mysteriously.

The doorway leading to the rest of the festivities is behind Devin, and so it could reasonably be presumed that the Fool is merely strolling forward to make his grand entrance to the masquerade. Once the shadow of the doorway passes across the pair of them and shields them from view, however, he lingers close by Devin’s side and rests a hand against his chest. “I do enjoy a bit of dramatic pageantry,” he confesses, eyes aglitter, then lifts his chin. “But give me an hour and I shall be thoroughly bored of all company except yours.”

(Given how his eyes drop from Devin’s to his mouth, then up again, he must be contemplating stealing a kiss before slipping away.)

[annihilist]

"A bit of pageantry, mm?" The teasing isn't entirely out of sorts for his usual behavior, if anyone overhears them.

The same thought crosses Devin's mind when his lover's gaze drops; it is fortunate that they both have enough self control not to act on it. Eventually, public affection won't be off the menu but he appreciates the Fool's restraint in the meantime.

Devin probably needs the intervening time more than the Fool to hold up the pretense of his being here without a date. The masquerade is more interesting than many of the parties he's attended, and with the added benefit of not ending in bloodshed. It also allows Devin to secure a location that's actually private and conveniently still within earshot of music. When in use, it's probably some sort of classroom, and features one wall that is almost entirely a window that faces the coast.

After a bit more than an hour to give some wiggle room, Devin places himself where he can catch the Fool's eye again and waits patiently. His lover is the far more social of the two of them.

[afoolsgold]

The Fool has made the rounds--several of them--gliding hither and thither throughout the masquerade to greet friends and acquaintances alike so that he can impress and dazzle with his with and attire. Whether he outshines his artistic competition or not, he certainly seems to delight in the attention he receives, both good and bad, from rivals and possible patrons.

In any case, by the time he catches a glimpse of Devin lingering just within sight, he's rather tired of the performance anyway. And so after making his gracious goodbyes--and catching Devin's eye once more--he makes his exit through a different entrance than the one he'd arrived through, slipping into a separate corridor before, in a circumspect way, winding his way back towards Devin out of sight of prying eyes.

"Have you grown tired of the festivities?" he teases once he comes to stand beside his lover. He reaches out to fondly run his fingers along Devin's arm, down to his hand, where he laces their fingers together.