The Mad God's Masque and Bellicose Ball (IC) (M)

[Azlan]

Kiet returned the clerk's smile with a large, sharp toothed, and excessively pleasant grin, "Indeed my good man.  Would you be so kind as to check the reservations for TiPaollo.  I imagine the Xe'Pherion delegation placed it, likely reserved by my cousin Durano R'Tan-TiPaollo."

The huge gryphon had chirped something about 'fetch'.  Kiet turned to see a somewhat frightened lioness had captured the large creatures entire attention.  The smaller gryphon had quickly headed for the scene with an air of responsibility. 

"The Gryphons decided to send one of their big hitters to this ball."

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace froze for a few seconds, eyes wide and tail fluffed out, her training taking over for lack of anything coherent going on between her ears. Frigfrigfrig, she thought, don'tmovefrigmaybeit'llfrigthinkyou'rearock... She was on the point of saying "yes" just to humour the Gryphon when Horatio gripped her arm and pulled her into the hotel entrance. "Ah... yeah," she replied, "I kinda like havin' me in one piece as well."

Inside the hotel lobby, the lioness paused and shook her head to get the windblown look out of her hair. "Whoof, thanks f'r th' assist, H'ratio," she said. "Never seen one o' those so close b'fore. Most queer an' disturbin'." She gave the fox a quick but thorough hug by way of thanks, took a deep breath, and strode towards the reservations desk.

[Aisha deCabre]

Rynkura watched with patience as the clerk checked through the papers with the quick precision that was perhaps required of anyone working at the hotel...certainly evident when he remarked about getting rid of the paper filing system.  She chuckled in reply.  "Indeed, things should be easier.  But then, who knows, maybe he simply prefers to be old-fashioned, as I do."  As the tiger gave her the gleaming key, she nodded back with a polite smile.  "I will, thank you, good sir."

As the Healer excused herself from the line, allowing the others to make their reservations, she couldn't help but glance back at where Tim was, dealing with another clerk...her keen ears caught bits of the conversation as it drifted towards the subject of Rover, whose gargantuan presence would certainly have been a surprise to anyone just taking a glance at the window and seeing it there.  She chuckled and kept walking.  Gods forbid that I may have to use my healing so early in this endeavor...

It wasn't at all a dull trip, heading through the hallways and up to room 212.  Whoever built the place certainly had done so up to a fervently strict and lavish code.  Not one thing seemed out of place, and not one portion of the elegance was lagged upon.  At least, for the moment's notice anyway.

And the rooms!  So used to living outside of her family's ring of nobility for some hundreds of years, it still surprised Rynkura to have been allowed to just see such a space, let alone stay in it.  Out of the windows it still looked like a good portion of daylight was left, as well.  It was a good thing too; she hadn't eaten since the start of the trip.

Humming with appreciation, the tigress set her things on the bed and promptly made herself at home, organizing everything down to placing the dress she had picked carefully into the closet.  Once done, all she took out of the room were the key, the coins in her pocket, and the staff that she never let go of, and started to head back down towards the dining area.

Well, new places, new faces, she chuckled to herself.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Tim paled, and zipped over as if she hadn't covered the space in between.

"No! Dear gods, no! Don't agree!" she burbled, wondering frantically how she could distract the behemoth, and get the lady out of his way. Fortunately, the fox behind the lioness seemed somewhat less overwhelmed, and dragged the two of them towards the hotel, and out of immediate range. Good. That was one problem sorted. Now for the other one.

The little gryphon promptly faced the big one down. She gazed up at him. He twisted his head back upright, and looked down at her. She tapped one foot, impatiently. He looked guilty, but confused - like a small boy who knows he's done something wrong, but isn't quite sure how he's transgressed, or what he should apologise for...

"We talked about this, didn't we, Rover?" Her voice was stern, correcting, and yet gentle. "Diplomats, right?"

His voice rolled back, mournfully, as he looked at his front paws, his voice quiet and the words slurring together. "Ys'm."

"And we agreed what to do with them, right?"

Paws fiddling with each other. No eye contact; an impressive feat, given how large his eyes were. Voice quieter, almost inaudible. At least, compared to usual. "Ys'm."

"We don't know who is a diplomat, yet. There is to be no fetch unless I say so, ok?"

A hurt look in the eyes, still looking down; one ear flicked acknowledgement; and the voice was yet more hurt, and even quieter. "ys'm."

"Okay." Tim looked up at the earnest, innocent face hanging above her, and patted his front paw - with an effect about on par with splashing a waterfall. "Things aren't what they seem, here, Rover. She might have hurt you." She sounded genuinely concerned for his welfare.

"ys'm."

"Good boy. I promise you, we will have some fun later, ok? Once we find out who can play, and who we leave alone."

Rover cheered up a bit at this. "Chee."

"Good. Good." she repeated, and patted his foot again, then glanced around. Noticing the clerk from the hotel advancing through the door towards her, she turned and headed in his direction, meeting him just outside the door. "Sorry about that. I wanted to avoid any, ah, diplomatic incidents, if possible."

Ray nodded. "We appreciate your efforts for the benefit of our image. Ah, I have here a key for your room, ma'am, room 419, overlooking the stable area."

"Ah, thank-you." Tim hadn't expected a room; her boss had left her with the impression that she'd be bunking with Rover, as usual. A pleasant surprise. She waved one arm behind her, pointing around and behind Rover at the container. "I hope there's space round there for the luggage we brought?"

The tiger leaned to one side to peer, unflappably, around the fluffy mountain. "Yes, ma'am, I do believe there is space. Will you require some assistance in moving it?" He wasn't sure how they would manage to assist, but surely someone knew someone who had a forklift or something, and there were standards for how guests were treated.

Tim blinked. "Oh, no. That's awfully kind of you, but I think we can manage. Is there someone around there to show Rover where to put it?"

Ray smiled. "No, ma'am, but I'd be happy to show you to your quarters. Both of your quarters." Internally, he winced. The things he did for this job.

Tim smiled back, and turned to Rover. "Ok, boy! We're going up and over! Grab your box."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

The dragon wanted to stare, stunned, at the feline, but managed to check herself in time. Some formal event. Mel laughed silently to herself. An event that royalty and celebrities were honored to receive an invitation to and he thought it was the annual dinner dance of some fraternal order. She wondered who had thought to invite him.

"The Scarlet Masque is half ball, half diplomatic assembly. A chance for royalty, leaders, and famous personalities or their ambassadors to meet in a less overtly political environment."

[Stygian]

Looking around, sighing to herself and trying her utmost to relax in spite of the situation and the stiffness caused by the cold, Elyse stopped viewing the landscape, and paid full heed to the castle and the proceedings. Stepping down from the carriage - she politely denied the unbrushed driver's attempts at assisting her. Did she look like she was made of porcelain? - she paid him in the typical manner and with the typical expression that she used when she thought she was being cheated, but had no real choice; a complete lack of apparent emotion. She could have made him a lot more 'reasonable', but there was no chance of making him forget why he had went such a long way out, which could lead to other things, so she left it be. And thus, left standing with that feeling in addition to the cold, she felt a bit like just laying down and sinking hopelessly into the snow for a bit. Desperately she began going over ideas or plans of what to do, only to discover that she essentially had none, which brought a rather uncomfortable and long pause to her thoughts.
   It was the barring, unwelcoming sight of those iron gates, when she looked back over at them once more, that brought the bat out of her gloom. And effectively replaced it with a mild hint of irritation and anger. With herself, and with whoever it had been that had sent her that invitation. She had somewhat of an idea, by coincidence, of just what this 'ball' would represent, but that was already a greater irritation, since the idea of her being invited was in itself somewhat preposterous. She had no idea of why she might be in the first place. She thought of just turning back, but with the clopping sound of the carriage already fading far in the distance, and the reminder once again that this was probably unavoidable, that hesitation was snuffed out at last.
   Grumbling, she began walking toward the gates.

[e_voyager]

Aten nodded he'd had various statements similar to that but never from anyone who'd actually attended the event. still this sounded m0ore like an event his parents would attend them himself. why would he be invited unless someone in his family pulled some string to get to him? and if they could find him to deliver the letter why not just try to show up unexpected and catch him off Giraud?

"i see. thank you." Aten bowed his head respectfully. he wondered if his social manners were as rusty as he thought they were. "by you knowledge of the event is it safe to believe that you've attended this event before?" 

[Cogidubnus]

"I swear. If I wasn't here every year, this entire place would go to the dogs." LL said, with an air of injured nobility. Stephanie, a smallish otter, and also the assistant manager, sensed a  possible break in the lecture the elder dragon was giving, and her eyes gleamed secretly with forbidden hope. The dragon sighed dramatically, one arm crossed and one elbow resting in the palm of her hand - she looked as though she should be smoking a cigarette out of something long and ornate, but she simply gestured with her free hand, and then entourage began to follow.
"You can start scheduling appointments after the luggage gets brought up, Walter." she sniffed. Walter nodded, giving an apologetic smile to the assistant manager as he passed.

"Hm." she paused, looking round. The hotel staff held its collective breath. "It seems Melodie's run off." she said. The matriarch shrugged, continuing on. "I'm sure she'll come round when she gets hungry or something. Children..."
The hotel staff sighed, and began to resume normal business.

LL walked off, heading for the elevators, her retinue following. Walters stayed behind, and instead seemed to be speaking busily to another silver dragon, seemingly waiting for something.

* * *

Cog regarded Aten with a raised eyebrow, giving Mel a sideways glance out of the corner of his eye. He grabbed his drink and sipped on it, swallowing and coughing just a bit, and giving the feline a white-toothed grin.
"We've been here before, yes, although I think Mel more times than I." he said, setting his drink of amber liquid down. "So, she'd probably have more funny stories about what kings and dignitaries get up to when the've had too much to drink." he paused, adjusting his hat and leaning forward, giving the cat a look over the top of his glasses. "I daresay, though, it can be pretty funny watching wars start over what Their Harold did to Our William and whatnot." the wolf grinned.

He leaned back. "Even with the starched shirts, it's a great lot of fun." he said, pushing up his glasses. "'Specially when Luna starts causing trouble. But, ah - are you staying here, sir?" he paused, looking expectantly.

* * *

"Of course, sir." Fredrick said. If the concierge had possessed a mustache, he gave the distinct impression that he would have waxed it, religiously. A moment's walking back to the desk, where after fumbling through same papers and a few marks with a pencil, allowed the ferret to grab a large iron key, and shortly thereafter make his way back, along with a small card.

"Your room, sir, number three-thirteen." he said, still smiling. "And along with the reservation, this was attached to your key. Your cousin wanted you to have it, I think."
It was a business card, boringly direct and simple. "Dr. Gerard A. Irisi, Archaeologist, 344 West Iril, Township of Damaske." On the back, a note scrawled in familiar handwriting.
"Kiet, be a chap and pay the man a visit for me. Studying something in the wilderness there for ages, fascinating stuff, tell me all about it. -Durano"

* * *
"They are larger than they appear, ma'am, not a problem." Horatio said, flushing briefly as she gave the white fox a hug and dashed off to the reception desk.

The clerk, Fredrick, was grinning happily to himself, until he looked up and saw a customer waiting to be addressed at the desk - and paused. And smiled again, and looked up more until he caught the face of the lioness standing in front of him.
"Can I help you?" he said, a surprisingly genuine smile on his face. A cough interrupted before Andrace could speak, however, and Horatio set a piece of cardstock on the table, with the Icewing symbol of outstretched wings over a field of thirteen snowflakes.
"Room 674, please." Horatio said, his face security-guard blank. "She's with the Family's group."

Fredrick's face changed remarkably, going from one sort of smile to another kind entirely, and he grabbed the key and put it on the counter without a second's hesitation. He nodded brightly at the both of them.
"We hope you have a nice stay." he said, and without another glance looked back down at the papers on his desk.

Horatio ignored him, instead waiting for Andrace to pick up her key, and pushed his shades back up over his face. He gave a small smile. "Time for that drink then, ma'am?"

* * *

"Ehrm...up?" Ray said, giving the smaller gryphon a large-eyed look. "I...I'm not...can he really lift that? Surely you don't mean to lift it -over- the building?" he said, wincing a bit more with every moment. "The stables are to the side, maybe...maybe we could call a forklift?" he said brightly, clearly afraid for his life that some mad, giant bird was about to drop a few tons of metal on top of the hotel - something which, while not outright killing him, would cause the owner to hunt him down and beat him to death with a tire iron.

* * *

People milled about as the healer made her way back down into the lobby, paying the Tigress not very much mind. The dining area seemed to be filling up quickly, however, and more and more people filed into the hotel every moment. If it was a meal she was looking for, it would be best to grab a seat quickly.

* * *

The gates opened with a creak, rusty iron protesting as the bat made her way into the courtyard. The bricks were dusted with snow, and the vegetation all around her was quite dead, still fast in the grip of winter. The doors to the castle loomed in front of her, again large, iron affairs, exquisitely carved until one saw the flecks of plaster beneath the metal patina. A large knocker was set into the door, a plate of iron affixed behind it. A snarling dragon with a ring in its mouth beckoned visitors to make themselves known.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Tim smiled brightly, and utterly, utterly innocently up at Ray.

"Oh, sure! He lifts that sort of thing all the time! No problem!"

"The stables are to the side, maybe...maybe we could call a forklift?"

"Round the side? Oh, ok. I thought they were over behind the hotel." She waved a paw in the general direction of the hotel door, indicating the direction she had thought they were heading. "No forklift, though; that'd take too long. We'll just pick it up and move it." She turned to Rover. "No flying, sorry. Maybe later, ok?"

A slightly disappointed response: "O-kay." *sigh*

"Oh, come on. You still get to move the box."

Rover brightened up. "Chee."

"Good boy. You grab that, and come with us." She turned back to Ray. "So... where were you putting him, then?" A brief pause. "And are you sure you don't want to fly there?" She grinned, mischievously, while behind her, a brief, loud, grating scraping sound, and a deep grunt, announced to the world that Rover was ready to go.

[e_voyager]

the mention of Luna caught Aten's attention even though his face remained impassive one of his ears twitched slightly. " Ah. well we do do foolish things for time to time why should or royalty be different?" he was smiling. "still this event sounds more like something i'd expect some one to invite  my parent to attend the myself."

privately Aten was getting a bit worried. was this someones ideal of a joke? his parent were the diplomats not himself. why invite someone who aside form being a virtual nobody in the who's who crowd but had vanished after school to an event where a faux pas could cause a war? and then there was that name Luna. he remembered reading about Luna but he'd have to do some more  before the event fortunately he was certain they town had a library. After all most good size towns did the question would be if they had the books he needed and if he had time to find the information he wanted before he had to rest for the party.

"may i sit with you? as it has been a long day and it seems i have much to learn and consider about this event i was invited to attend." he asked in a manner he hoped was polite. he had realized that the feline was indeed the dragoness he'd been following and that as such she was also royalty of a sort.

{edited to fix wrong words and add clarity.}

[bill]

Goss stared straight into the eyes of the creature in a bit of a daze, not entirely hearing what it said. Suddenly, he snapped out of it.

"No. I'm not. I've, uh..."

Goss looked around uncomfortably.

"I think I've got to go, now.", he said, and headed back into the hotel, which had gotten slightly busier in the last few minutes. He was about to head to his room, when he realized that his "guards" hadn't bothered to give him one.  He walked up to a clerk, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Need a room key for N. Goss. Seem to have misplaced mine."

[SpottedKitty]

As Horatio showed the card to the desk clerk, Andrace didn't try all that hard to conceal a look on her face that somehow managed to combine smugness and innocence. She bounced the backpack on her shoulder to settle it a little more comfortably and picked the key up from the desk. "Th' name's Kithara, Andrace Kithara," she said to the much shorter ferret with a friendly, if somewhat toothy, smile. The lioness turned and led Horatio towards the ornate main staircase, twirling the key on her forefinger claw.

"Somethin' t' wet m' throat'd be nice," she said over her shoulder to the fox. "But I'd like t' get settled in first; unpack a bit, clean up, get some fresh clothes on. Haven't had a decent wash in two, three days with all this travellin' — an' I'd swear what I'm wearin' now could walk t' th' laundry on its own."

Andrace kept a stream of light chatter going all the way up the stairs, talking about the weather during her journey (typically wintery, with a blizzard or two to break the monotony), how many times she'd had to change trains (four), places she'd seen in the rickshaw ride from the station that she hoped to visit before leaving; nothing substantial. She followed the signs to room 674, opened the door, and surveyed her new, if temporary, territory with satisfaction as she set down her backpack just inside the door. The minibar caught her eye, of course, but she spared a glance for the spectacular view of Damaske Castle itself through the large picture window, then the huge and decadently comfortable-looking bed, before she spotted something that she'd been looking forward to all day.

"A shower — great!" she growled. "Just what I need: m' fur's all knotted up, an' I'm sure that train seat's left an imprint on m' backside!" Horatio didn't quite see what Andrace did with the tight lacing down the front of her red leather jerkin, but a second later it was flying towards the bed as the lioness strode determinedly towards the open bathroom door. The black silk shirt underneath draped over the bedside table, then she kicked her trousers off in the direction of a stool. The fox just had a fraction of a second to notice she'd been completely accurate about the train seat before the lioness' bra flopped down over his eyes and wrapped itself around his muzzle.

[Aisha deCabre]

It seemed a little hard to discern at the time, but as Rynkura finally made her way down into the lobby, there seemed to have been many more voices than before mingling into a crowd and socializing.  The tigress hid some amusement in her seemingly-aged green eyes...she didn't really think that time of year was the perfect time for tourists.  But having not seen the place in tens of years, who knew when it was anymore?  The ball ought to have had something to do with it.

There were little to no familiar faces around, either.  But the Healer was never one to be concerned about that.  Instead, she simply followed her nose to the smell of a meal off into the dining hall.  And she being true to angel and tiger heritage alike, there may have been some fairly elaborate special involving meat that pricked the senses first.

At first it looked like there wouldn't be a seat to claim, with so many coming in to sate their hunger.  But contrary to that, there was a readily available booth nearby that she set her eyes on.  Whether she noticed or not, there didn't seem to be any argument letting the woman have it either.

She walked off into the area towards the seat, silent as a shadow of white, only perhaps more inconspicuous.

[Boog]

Jeremiah made his way down to the room with the velvet painting... And nothing else. Alone in that room that looked like it hadn't seen use, let alone a good dusting, in years was a comparatively brand new seeming painting, covered by a crisp red velvet cloth. The frog didn't pay it too much mind; big place like this was sure to have spare rooms, it was probably just being used as backup storage for the party. He lifted up the cloth to get a peek, grinning at whatever may be under said cloth just a-waiting his appraisal. He leaned forward, head under the cloth to take a look...
... Huh.
Not an artist he recognized, but it was very well done. Interesting subject matter, too. They managed to capture the play of light across it really well. Quite lovely, if a little more mundane than he'd been hoping for. Then again, everything looked dark and slightly red when looked at under the velvet. He may have missed details. With a shrug he lowered the cloth back in place and carefully hefted the frame, making his way out the room and down toward the ballroom. Anything to keep away from those boring potato peelings.

[techmaster-glitch]

   Karazkt was slightly confused when the surfacer just walked off, but in the end, it didn't matter much. Either he came up in the wrong place, or the surfacers didn't have a proper network like an Insectis hive did. This changed things a bit, but not by much.
   He climbed back into the mech, fitting his two antennae into two intake ports behind him. They flared orange, and shot fire down the intakes. The mech's quiet rumbling turned back into its sustained growl, kicking the thing back into action. Karazkt set it into a course straight for the castle.

[Pagan]

The library, once he had found it, was indeed a good choice. Nak had serveral pages of notes and references for when there was more time, and even the less helpful books had at least been entertaining. But now the demon began to realize the passing of the day and that he would have to rest soon. Making a couple of final notes, Nak started off to his room. He found the way back much easier than when he had gone for the library. Once inside the hearth, the ovine set to fixing the fire, lighting it after the logs had been laid. He sat in the chair and reviewed his notes before turning in for the night.

[Azlan]

Kiet continued his battle of the smiles as he took possession of his room key and the business card, "thank you my good fellow."

He glanced over the card with its little message and absentmindedly tapped the front of his muzzle with his index and middle fingers, "interesting, an archaeologist.  To creatures who live for thousands of years, or I imagine are time travelers, archaeologists are comical at best.  Still, they can be fun.  It is bound to be fascinating if Durano feels it should be looked into... though the last time I went on a little adventure, it took a year for the fur on my tail to grow back."

After retrieving another key for Camoile and her staff, Kiet headed upstairs, passing an angel tigress intent on pursuing a meal in the dinning hall.  Kiet was happy that there appeared to be quite a number of interesting beings and creatures present.

Ascending to the third floor, Kiet and company located the thirteenth room.  Unlocking and carefully opening the door, Kiet found it to be a sizable suite fit for a high noble or a head of state.

It was within these walls that echoed an odd squeak, as the room's intended occupant flopped upon the voluminous cushions before zipping about the various side rooms.  The retainers tried ever so hard to not roll their eyes or shake their heads as the grandson of their founder pranced about like a kitten.

It was not that Kiet had ever been guest in establishments as fancy or greater, or that he had taken leave of his senses and lost all maturity that comes with age.  In actuality it was the first time that he was given rooms of this magnitude and had absolutely no responsibility attached to them, as well as the fact that for once he was actually free, free of stray thoughts, errant emotional drifts, and bursts of sensations from those around him.  His rooms were shielded, a very refreshing thing for a Cubi, and surprisingly uncommon in the world... despite its complexity of beings and creatures.  The subtlety of this little feature did not escape him, he was most certainly aware that the protection was more for others then himself.  The master of this affair was very aware of the game his people played so very well.

While Camoile and company arranged the luggage, Kiet dressed down into comfortable evening wear suitable for dining, a fine maroon silk shirt, black pants, comfortable shoes and a respectable, dark cloak.  He adjusted his glasses in the mirror, checked the Tekka was in its spot, and brushed a bit of dust off his sleeve. 

Leaving his mother's people to do their own thing, the ringtail slipped out of the room and headed downstairs.  He drifted about the dining patrons, making a sort of meal of his own and stealing tidbits of thoughts where he could.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel gestured to the nearby seat, indicating Aten was welcome to it. As the feline slid into the booth beside her Mel turned back to Cog and asked, "How long have you been here? Did you get in before that last blizzard? Our train was held up for hours. Try being in a train car with grandmother then. I have no idea know why she just did not move the snow away rather than get all huffy at it."

A silent and discrete waitress hovered nearby waiting patiently for attention. Mel gestured her over and ordered a drink. Something named in her native tongue so it probably wasn't particularly healthy to non-dragons.

[e_voyager]

Aten gratefully sat and waited a moment before speaking. he hear Mel speaking in her own language which he found incomprensible but then he expected no less as he never understood his uncle Eliander when he spoke the dragons tongue either. oddly thong he could almost hear slight difference in the language. when an opening in the conversation appeared he asked. "as a fist timer her and some one whom really would rather not start any wars is there anyone that you would recommend i steer clear of?"

[Shadrok]

Aruk continued to look down at the blade of his great grandfather's cane, when his stomach growls.

"Heh, I should have eaten something when I was on the train."

He returns the blade back to it hiding place in the cane and puts his jacket back on, then leaves the room and heads down stairs to get something to eat.

[Sunblink]

Elizabeth's ears slanted fractionally, the tapered ends flickering impatiently. Despite Tobias's charm, she felt slightly disappointed that the name that left his mouth was entirely different from the one she was expectantly awaiting. And when he wanted for her to introduce herself, she was reluctant to divulge her identity. After all, she had spent years dwelling in relative isolation, under an entirely new identity. She learned to live in constant fear of being discovered. But ultimately, pride won out over paranoia. Fair was fair, she supposed, since he had obliged her ridiculous and impulsive request. Out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth finally spotted her luggage, and she went to retrieve the trunk while still talking to Tobias.

"Elizabeth," she responded evenly. "Pleasure to meet you."

Somewhat effortlessly, Elizabeth twisted her trunk around and hefted it, resting it beside her. She was perfectly capable of bringing her luggage to the hotel, so Elizabeth decided not to trouble any of the employees. Besides, she was apparently late (or at least according to the deadline she organized in her head coupled with her perfectionist streak) for her arrival at the hotel. Coughing a little into her hand, Elizabeth decided to succumb to her curiosity once more, and possibly extend her conversation with the intriguing individual.

"I digress, it seems we're heading to the same location. Would you care to join me?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound too personal or grating with her invitation.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

No one to open the gates, and then they swung up all by themselves. A classic trick to unsettle someone, Elyse knew, and she frowned. It wasn't always as dramatic, but in this case... Walking down the path, snow crunching under her heels, she walked up to the gates, and felt somehow how some of the overwhelming air was taken out of the situation. Still, when she saw the knocker, and realized that she would have to announce her arrival in such a manner as to use it... She was somewhat uncomfortable with loud noises, not to mention with the concept of making one's presence known so outright. Frowning, she took a step back, turned a bit and looked around. There was no one in sight, no side doors or viewing windows or grates. Solid stone encapsuled her where she stood in the door archway, and she sighed. If she had to, she had to...
   Gently, she raised a hand and grasped the iron knocker, giving three solid but not too loud bangs of metal on metal, and then released the thing as if it were somehow filthy, rubbing her fingers together nervously.

[Cogidubnus]

"Dragons, probably." the black-clothed wolf said, giving the feline a polite smile. "But unless you rule a country, I imagine starting a war won't be a problem."

He rubbed at his eyes as Mel ordered her drink. The sibilant tones of draconic speech practically slithered across the table, nearly unintelligible to all but those raised to speak the language, but the waitress simply nodded politely, scribbled on her pad, and scurried away. Cog put his chin into his hand, leaning up on the table.
"That sounds like a very fun time, Mels." the wolf said, smiling dourly. "But I've always wondered why you take the train anyway. I guess moving the snow would have ruined the principle of the thing." he grinned, and shrugged. "But, I got here awhile back. Before the party rush."

* * *

Kiet's wanderings went largely unnoticed, most of the patrons simply too busy with their own personal activities to pay much attention to anyone else. If there was a class of people who had brought the art of ignoring others to perfection, it was royalty, and there was certainly enough bourgeoisie floating around to indifferently rule half the planet.

The dishes were varied, within certain limits. Undertones of excitement was a common garnish - the occasional red meat of anger, pepper-spicy irritation, sweet cakes of delight, carefully simmered roasts of amusement and the rare, occasional slow-cooked tenderness of true happiness. Delicious.
And then, something like gravel and pus and blood, nearly as strong as a physical blow. It wasn't entirely clear what emotion was being broadcast, but it was clearly something the incubus had never tasted before.

A hand touched Kiet's shoulder, gently pushing him to the side just a bit as someone walked between him and the fern to his right. A man in a long overcoat and leather hat brushed past, tipping his hat to the ringtail and muttering as he walked past, and towards the grand piano in the corner. A long, ragged gray tail swished beneath the bottom of the coat, and without pausing he put the hat on the smooth, lacquered surface, and sat down. His eye - the other one was gone, a large two-forked scar running over the milk-white orb - was the most virulent yellow he'd ever seen. The feline, mottled black-and-gray, cracked his fingers as he sat down, and flipped the lid of the piano up with a bang.
The room went silent for just a moment, conversation dwindling off with a surprised pause. The cat wasted no time, instead putting his fingers to the ivories and playing.

The sound was rich and smooth, delightfully mellow, and yet somehow off. Chords ended too soon, trailing into new ones that began too quickly, and ended up having the effect of making one's internal ear lurch around like a drunkard. Once one got used to it, it was quite pleasant, but even so, quite different.

Conversation resumed, but the ringtail was still left with that disgusting taste, lingering in his mind.

* * *

Horatio had followed the lioness to her room with barely a comment, merely a deferential 'Of course', and following at a polite distance behind. His shades prevented anyone from seeing where those green eyes were looking, of course, but one couldn't help but notice the small smile on the his face as he watched Andrace ascending the stairs in front of him. He responded politely to the lioness's stream of chatter, with a hint of amusement - he suspected that the actual content of his responses didn't really matter.
A short while later, they reached her room - and, with a moment's hesitation, the fox followed her inside.

He recognized the layout of the room quite easily - except that it wasn't made largely of ice, the sixth floor had a tendency to resemble the rooms in the Icewing fortress very much. He wondered absently if all the rooms looked like this, or if each one was modeled after a different chamber in the ancestral house, when his brain caught up to what his ears were hearing Andrace say. He turned.
And caught sight of Andrace's bare backside for two lovely, hip-rolling steps - knotted fur and all - before he felt something flop around his muzzle and around his eyes, obscuring. He coughed, and removed it daintily, laying the bra neatly on a nearby chair, and turning dutifully to the side. There was a slight grin on his muzzle, the arctic fox pushing his shades up firmly over his eyes.
"The things I do in the line of duty..." he said to himself, still grinning, and studying the walls very intently.

* * *

An otter turned, looked Goss up and down, and produced as though by magic a dazzling, dead-eyed smile. "Of course. This way sir, if you please."
A moment later, after looking him up and having him sign by the dotted line, she handed him an iron key emblazoned with his room number.

"We hope you have a lovely stay." she said, giving him a curt nod before excusing herself, ostensibly to attend to other matters more important than a badly-dressed human.

* * *

Ray seemed to visibly wilt, his ears folding flat against his head, and his expression growing very small. He nodded glumly to the smaller gryphon. "I don't...I...er...that's going to scratch the pavement something terrible..." he said, looking worriedly at the giant gryphon and the metal box he was pushing. "I...how does this sound." he said, his expression pitiful. "I'm going to walk to the stables. If you want to follow me, I'm sure that I won't be looking behind myself. A gryphon could move anything it wanted any-way it wanted then, you know?"

He sighed, and turned on a heel, walking towards the edge of the building and then around the corner.

* * *

Rynkura found herself quite quickly a white shadow on the wall. She was very nearly beginning to relax, until a waistcoated, bright faced waiter appeared in front of her, literally materializing from nowhere. His coat was buttoned, his hair slicked back - his notepad was embossed with gold leaf, and his pen had never heard of ball-point or gel, or anything since calligraphy cartridges were invented. Here was a man who was verily ready to wait the hell out of the world, and Rynkura was just another step up the ladder. His smile was very nearly predatory.
"Will mistress be dining alone, this evening?" he said, a gleam in his blue eyes.

* * *

Aruk found a table quickly - his status as a veteran garnered him a table fairly quickly, and a free drink that he couldn't pronounce, but fizzed rather entertainingly in it's glass. The staff's suggestion he drink it quickly weighed heavily on his mind, until strange, nearly otherworldly music poured from the piano in the corner. The table nearly turned a flip-flop before his brain adjusted to the odd cadence, and he realized that someone was standing next to his table. It was, in point of fact, a waitress, pen poised in her hand. She was beginning to give him a strange look - probably waiting for him to order something.

* * *

The path to the castle was long indeed - Karazkt had been traveling for ten minutes by the time he had gotten to the base of the small mountain upon which Damaske Castle was built upon. Fir trees, snow, and biting wind assaulted the denizen of the underground world, the warmth of the earth absent underneath the high-vaulted sky. Frost formed on the extremities of his mech, although it wasn't cold enough to really impede the machine's travel. The clank of iron and metal echoed throughout the forest, occasionally startling a family a birds, occasionally simply deadened by the ever-falling snow.

* * *

Jeremiah had just gotten done with setting the picture on it's hook, and putting the silk cover back over it before a loud knock echoed through the stone castle three times - another visitor. The badger's appearance, as though from thin air, almost went without saying.
Except that, when he appeared, Jeremiah was nowhere to be found. The badger blinked, frowning suddenly, and scratched his head.

Jeremiah was already walking down the hall, stepladder in one hand, and heading for the front entrance.

* * *

To her surprise, the door stayed closed for quite some time - almost suggesting that no-one was even there to answer it, the vampire bat being a day early to the festivities, and was simply wasting her time and money standing a very cold courtyard, before the door nearly slammed open with surprising speed. A frog carrying a stepladder blinked at her for a moment, the amphibian oddly juxtaposed with the icy climate.

* * *

"Of course. I've never been here before, you see." the fox said, picking up his own luggage of plain, squarish leather things. He gave her a charming smile. "And I'm afraid there were no maps on board the train. I was so disappointed! There were no maps at home either. Where I come from, you won't freeze to death trying to find a hotel, however." he grinned, walking with the succubus towards the carriage pool. A quick glance over heads and shoulders revealed a very long line, and no carriages in sight. He frowned, and gave the succubus a quick glance.
"It looks like it's faster to walk, I think. Shall we brave the tundra, then?" he said, laughing. Another smile.

It was faster walking, and they arrived at the hotel largely without incident. All along the way, Tobias talked about the weather at home - largely sunny, nary a cloud in the sky, and a few days of rain a year. He was from a very arid climate, nearly in the desert, where he and his compatriots made their living in the metal trade. This party came as a strange surprise, and a wonderful vacation for him. His hope was to scrounge business up from the nobility gathered, although he doubted any of them would care about iron imports at a party like this.
"Is it cold where you come from?" he said, dusting the snow from his shoulders as they entered the hotel and into blessed warmth.

[e_voyager]

 Aten smiled " as far as i'm concerned i'm not even cut out for the family business part of the reason for my extend vacation after i finished classes at" Aten brought himself up sort. he was not her to talk about himself he was hear to learn about the ball and if his family was some how using it to bring him back. Perhaps they wanted him to be a diplomat but that was not their decision. he  would pick out the path of his life not them.  " but i digress. you don';t want to hear about me. " that said he order a drink non alcoholic but then you didn't want to get drunk when you were trying to lead things.

[Boog]

Jeremiah gave the woman a quick once over.
Yeesh lady, shouldn't you be off trying to skin a bunch of dalmation puppies or something? It was one of those moments where he and Bal both thought something at the same time. Those moments were becoming worrisomely more frequent (worrisome for the both of them, for approximately the same reasons).
"Welcome to castle Damaske, madam!" The frog said cheerfully, professionalism belaying his first impressions, "You're a touch early, but if I may see your invitation I'll show you to a guest room forthwith."
Yeah! Nailed it this time!
Ooh! Ooh! Does it get a gold star?
Fuck you too, Plic.

[Stygian]

If Jeremiah had expected a warm greeting in return though, he was fooling himself. The bat's expression never thawed more than moderately as she looked at him. Of course, inside she was heating up rather quickly, perceiving his mental remarks all too clearly, but she had learned long since that those things came no matter where or when, and that keeping composed in face of this was as easy as advantageous.
   It took all of three seconds to break down that composure though. While she stepped forward, putting down her bag, the chiropteran's expression grew from dismissive and chilly to surprised to disapproving. She blinked, then easily looked over the frog, behind him and around as far as she could see in the main hall, watching for a good while before returning her stare to the sleazy amphibian. The surprise gone from her features, once again chill dominated her expression. But now there was a tense wariness there as well. Or perhaps it was disgust. Not waiting any longer, she produced her invitation without flair.
   'If it's not an inconvenience then', she said, her voice, both crisper and stronger than the frog's, smooth but as frosty as her looks. 'And unless you'd rather leave the task to someone else.' Her eyes were not narrowed but hard as stone, and Jeremiah felt as if he could almost sense a headache coming on just from feeling that gaze alone.

[Boog]

"And miss out on making such a vision feel at home? Not a chance!" Hag. Probably a lousy tipper, too.
I like her.
You would. A small part of him was willing to concede that it was unpleasant out, and thus her behavior may not be completely out of the blue. A significantly larger part didn't care at all.
"There are guest rooms on the third floor, I'll show you right up." He offered another friendly grin. Always be polite in the face of adversity. Nothing pisses it off more. "This way, madam."

[Azlan]

Kiet leaned heavily against the wall catching breathes in short gasps.  Countless millenia he has dwelled in lands near and far, all manner of mental whisps he has grasped, but none as vile as what he had caught in passing.

The cat finished his first tune and a single clap interrupted the stunned pause.  Before any other patron could chime in with their own appreciation, a dark form drifted up to the open area to the right of the piano.

Kiet's eyes narrowed to near slits, a burning sneer crossed his muzzle showing pearly, sharp teeth as he approached the other feline.  He paused just before reaching him, his cape exploded outward, billowing to and fro as his arm jutted out from his side.  In his hand was a bow, but not one meant for arrows and in his other rested a violin so dark red, it was nearly as black as coagulated blood.

His expression softened immediately, "I canna, say that this little thing can match the ivories of the piano... its a whole different type of instrument.  However, what ya have bein playin is a tad eclectic for this room.  I thin the lads and lasses need a little speed in their music."

Kiet fiddled a very brief, lightning fast few chords before pausing, "now, this has a bit of a story to it... all fiddlin has a tale ta spin.  This little song involves an immortal soul... nary did this recently spiritually disenfranchised lad have a second to spare, nor anything to give but this challenge."

Kiet paused, as if reliving a moment in time, "now for this lad, the stakes were down... all he could do was challenge his gran to a game for it... the only way he could, with a fiddle.  And this is how it went."   

The ringtail began with a song wild and passionate... chaotically it drew all who heard it through a cacophony of emotional ranges stretching them to near nervous collapse.  the end was like the sharp crack of a mind snapping under mental strain.

The second song, his song, was a rush a dizzying chords that wrapped themselves around a person's heart, forcing the organ to beat at the pace of the fiddler.  Each jump in chord, affected the listeners, causing hearts to skip, flutter or leap with an alarming pull.  The furious end was just short of what would have been needed to burst a being's heart, but Kiet reigned in his own emotions just in time to halt that near fatal note.

Amid the swirling cloud of shaved horse hairs, the ringtal's head popped up, locking his eyes with the lone yellow orb of the piano playing feline, "sorry again, but your piano work inspired me to rehash an old appointment..."

He offered his hand, "I am Kiet... you are?"

   

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace strutted into the bathroom with a parting swish of her tail and opened the shower stall. She had a small, tight smile on her muzzle and one ear cocked back towards the suite's main room. She'd noticed Horatio paying more attention to the room than to herself. She'd certainly given the fox an eyeful to concentrate on, and possibly a snoutful as well, if the cough she'd heard meant her last toss over her shoulder had been properly aimed. Just a little distraction to soften up her target... normally the lioness didn't like to rush things when she tried to "persuade" someone to give up information, but if this mysterious meeting was going to be in just an hour or so, she didn't have much time to waste.

She thought furiously as the hot water and shampoo soaked into her pelt, soothing her stiff muscles and washing the last few days' travel grime from her fur. Her smile was washed away as well. The family had dealt with Icewing Clan before: two or three times in the last few hundred years, if the oldest musty records in the Kithara archives were accurate. The information they'd traded then had been valuable, but the price had very nearly scared Andrace's fur white when she'd read about it. Those deals had been negotiated by the family matriarchs and their sneakiest, twistiest-minded advisors. And here she was, a single Pride member, about to meet the dragon clan's matriarch herself. Why? Was she about to be offered something? Would she like the price? Just worrying about that was likely to give her grey hairs before tomorrow...

A brief but thorough wash later, Andrace sauntered out of the bathroom, trailing wisps of steam from the shower stall. A large fluffy towel was wrapped around her hair, another round her waist, and a third — not quite long enough — draped (mostly) over her shoulders. "Won't be much longer," she said to Horatio with a cheerful smile. "One o' th' best furdryers I've ever seen in that bathroom, it'll get me dry an' fluffy in no time!" She picked up her backpack, propped it up on the bed, and started taking a few things out of it. A spare set of clothes, of a similar style and colour to the ones she'd worn on the train. A bulky, tightly wrapped bundle which she laid carefully at the foot of the bed. A grooming kit; and she rummaged about with her arm right down inside the pack before she finally came up again with fresh underwear.

"Don't go 'way now, I'll be right back," Andrace said to the fox as she tailswished her way back into the bathroom, the grooming kit in one hand and the bundle of clothes folded over her other arm. Horatio heard the furdryer running, then a few minutes later Andrace came out again, fully dressed and combing her still slightly damp hair.

"Right, let's get back downstairs!" she said eagerly. "I saw a bar on th' way in, there's a drink down there with my name on it!"

[bill]

Goss' two suitcases were neatly packed into the corner of his hotel room, when he finally arrived. He sat on the bed and sighed. He didn't want to be here, not when he had work to do, people to meet, and an audit in five weeks.

He opened his bag. His dark grey formal military uniform, with matching mask, lay inside, along with his travel papers. He put these aside, and paced around the room, thinking about the ball, about the bizarre event in the street, and about how little he knew about what actually was going on.

"I need a goddamn break", said Goss, under his breath.

Goss lay down on his bed, closed his eyes, and tried as much as he could to relax.