@Lantaelen
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Forest Nymph &
Foxglove
"Oh, how nice!" The girl, who would henceforth be known as Foxglove, declared, smiling upon hearing that Swan's father had gotten her the feather.
"Ohhh, I thought maybe your brother got it, during one of his voyages." Nymph explained, nodding though, to hear that it was brought by a merchant. "Have you ever seen one?" She asked Swan, curious about these peahens. She couldn't help wondering why they were called that, and if they had any sort of resemblance to peas. But those were green, and the feather Swan wore was white. Strange...
When the other two young ladies suggested several possible names, the other listened with surprised delight to have so many options thrown at her, in so short a time. But when the young forest nymph suddenly thought of Foxglove, and Swan seemed so eager to agree with that one, she couldn't possibly turn down such a suggestion. Especially since she had no objection to it! Foxglove let out a little laugh. "Alright then, that seems settled." She grinned. "I'm not sure I have ever seen any of those flowers, but I will take your word for it, both of you." She declared, curious what their interest was in foxes.
"Perhaps we are in an elven fairy tale?" Nymph suggested with a grin, before dropping her voice as she leaned closer. "I heard the queen might even show up, so that covers the 'elf' part, right?"
"Yes!" Foxglove agreed, "And this whole beautiful ball is like a wonderful fairy tale of some sort." She looked around joyously before returning her attention to her plate, to take a bite while letting the other two talk.
"No," Nymph replied with a little sigh, to the question about dancing. "I've only had one dance, with my father." She explained, then glanced around. "My brother is supposed to be around here somewhere, but I have no idea where." She shrugged, not really interested in finding him, either. "He insisted on keeping his outfit and mask absolutely secret, so he could be disguised even from us," She explained. "He could be anyone, I suppose." Then pausing, she couldn't help adding innocently, "I would imagine he might be found somewhere near the bar, though." He was almost always loitering near wherever there were drinks, especially free ones, after all.
Swallowing her bite of pie, Foxglove shook her head in answer to Swan's question, as well. "I've only just arrived, and I was really hungry," She admitted, almost a bit embarrassed. "So, I went straight for the food. But I do hope to have some dances! I just
love dancing." She grinned happily, already looking a bit daydream-y as she glanced toward the dance floor.
"Close to
your age, you mean," Nymph corrected Swan with a little giggle, when she mentioned the Fox Prince. "I saw you dancing with him earlier," She admitted with a little smile. "I'm glad he was courteous, and hope you had a nice time." She added, happy for her friend, although she had not really seen any gentlemen here that were reasonably close to her own age.
When Swan asked Foxglove if she had come with anyone, she paused from eating, and shook her head slightly. "No, I'm here alone." She answered, but smiled a bit. "I'm just really glad I was able to get here. I wasn't sure that I'd get here in time," She added with a light laugh. "There was so much to do before I could come, you know. Do either of you live in the city?" She wondered curiously.
@Ercassie
Pink Wildflower
As she was spun so that her back rested against him, Wildflower found herself rather intrigued. This was quite different than anything she had done in practice, and yet, somehow, she didn't feel at all out of place, or unsure of what to do. It felt almost more like being hugged gently from behind, and guided into the steps without having to think about it. Just gliding along with him. She smiled happily and considered closing her eyes to enjoy the moment even more.
When he spoke again, reassuring her that he did not want to run her off, her smile widened a little. Then returned to a smaller smile, when he asked if she wanted to dance, or if she wanted to dance
with him. How could she actually answer that? If she said that she'd wanted to dance specifically with him, then he would want to know why, and that might be.. tricky. But she didn't want to lie, either, and say she'd only wanted to dance with anyone who offered. She tilted her head slightly, so as to try and gain a better viewpoint of his face, which was a little more difficult than usual, with their current positioning. "Yes." She smiled vaguely at him with a hint of teasing in her tone. Which, technically, could mean either one, or both.
Nightsky's confession that he had wanted to dance with her brought her smile back. "Oh?" She asked, inwardly thrilled to hear that. She listened with thoughtfulness as he went on, to tell her what she already knew. That he did not normally dance like this, and would not normally come to a thing like this. She was surprised then, to hear that she had stopped him from leaving. "I did?" She turned her head again, so her eyes could try and find his. "What exactly did I do to stop you?" She wondered, trying to hide a grin, though not very successfully.
And then, as he spun her again slowly back to face him, she was tilted backward, their faces suddenly quite close. The dark hair she wore was so long that the ends grazed the floor. Her eyes had no trouble finding his, now. Although her hands had come up by instinct, to catch his shoulders, she didn't feel the least bit alarmed. He wouldn't drop her. She knew him well enough not to feel any doubts, even if he didn't know who she was right now. And she hardly even noticed as they righted again, as their gaze was maintained.
Gloved hands remained resting lightly on his shoulders as they paused from dancing for a moment. For a brief moment, as she looked into his eyes, she wondered.. did he know? Had he guessed who she was, after seeing her eyes up close like that? And then, like that, the brief 'spell' was broken, and he stepped back. Was that an apologetic look? Or something else? She reminded herself, suddenly, to breathe. She was pretty sure she'd stopped at some point when she dropped backward and was caught safely in his arms.
“Is tonight what you expected?”
The question took her a moment to register, as she drew in a slow, deep breath. "No," She admitted with a small shake of her head, but she was smiling softly as she said it. "Not at all," She let out a soft laugh, remembering to use the accent. "I think I would say.. it's better than I expected, so far." She explained, smiling softly. "And you? Are you having a better night than when you thought about leaving?" She added with a tiny frown at that part. Thank goodness, he hadn't left! Otherwise, this whole evening would have been quite disappointing for her.
@Pele Alarion
Teal
He nodded slightly when she spoke of how she had before wanted to change her hair so not to stick out. "Well, I'm glad you didn't." He decided with a small smile. "It's part of who you are." He explained. "And you are... a great person, and you shouldn't ever have to feel like less than what you are." He smiled at her. "And besides, if you looked like everyone else, then it might be harder to tell you apart from all the others." He grinned slightly, only teasing about that.
He started on another morsel of food while she suggested the idea of asking their friends. "Yeah, good idea," He nodded in reply to her practical response. Then he laughed, hearing her suggestion of prancing up and down the streets. "I'm sure that would be amusing," He grinned. "I wonder if there's any laws against such things.. or, possibly, any sort of uppity folks who would disapprove." He considered that idea, wondering about the sort of people who lived in this city.
@Pele Alarion
She laughed softly when he said he was comforted by the thought of her uncle not watching him. "Well, we are at a dance." She pointed out with a little smile. "I think the idea is to dance with people." She shrugged slightly. Technically, yes, they had been dancing together for a bit longer than was usual. But she hoped there would be no frowns about it, later. "It isn't like anyone else was asking me to dance," She added softly.
She tilted her head curiously at him when he said not to worry about renting a horse. "Oh?" She considered mentioning that it was not really any trouble for her to spend her coin, but decided against it. "Well.." She thought for a moment. "Then, where should I meet you?" She asked, since there was no need to rent a horse.
@Pele Alarion
Lady Cat
She took a moment to consider Amethyst's words about hiding from friends. That was certainly not something she had even bothered to think about, since she didn't really have any. And certainly no one here would know her. Unless.. she refrained from glancing toward the man she had last danced with, but couldn't help wondering if he was someone she ought to know.
"I am not from this city, so I very much doubt I would know anyone here." She pointed out with a small shrug of one shoulder. She smiled faintly, nodding as the other lady spoke of how important it was to look ones best at all times. "Oh, absolutely." She agreed.
Hearing Lady Amethyst's reply to the other question, she smiled slightly. "Oh, your husband did not come with you?" She asked, mildly surprised. "Is he supposed to seek you out, or will he already know what you are wearing?" She was curious. She had seen some couples arriving together, and others seem to find each other after arriving. The two young singers, for instance.
When the question came back to her, Lady Cat smiled. "Oh, I am taking any chances that come my way," She answered with a soft laugh, sitting back in her chair slightly to get more comfortable. "Although, it is also nice to speak to another female, in between dances." She considered for a moment, thinking on what she had said about 'hiding from friends'. "Are you hiding from any of your friends, Lady Amethyst?" She wondered, glancing at her with curiosity.
@Arnyn
Dragon laughed a little at Golden's claim that he might not guard it carefully. "Well, then you would be risking the wrath of a fairy, and I don't think that is a danger anyone would wish to call down upon themselves." He joked, and took a sip of his own hot chocolate. Nodding toward the two cups in Golden's hands, he mentioned, "You know, you could set those down on the counter, if you tire of holding them."
"Well, at least it would be easy to replace it, if something were to happen to the drink," Blossom pointed out with a small smile, before holding her cup up close enough to breathe in the rich, chocolatey aroma. "Mmm, the girls certainly missed out on this," She commented quietly, referring to her nieces.
That set Dragon wondering if they might possibly get a thermos of the stuff to go, when the time came to leave. But he was distracted from that thought when Golden asked whether he and his brother spent months apart, or not. He shook his head with a little grin. "No... actually, there's hardly a day that goes by when we are not together." He answered. "In fact, tonight is a rare occasion!" He declared with a light laugh. "I did try to convince him to come, but.. maybe it's better that he didn't. We probably could use some time apart, now and then." He admitted.
When he had asked about the Fairy, he was briefly confused by Golden's response, until he backed up and clarified his thoughts a bit more. Dragon nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm," He took another sip of his hot chocolate, thinking about the words the other guy had said. He smiled, though, when the question came about. Who was the
someone? He paused to think of how to answer that. "I don't think it would have been your sister," He decided after a moment of thinking back, and grinned. "If your sister is anything like my brother, that is." He leaned his back lightly against the bar, holding back a little sigh. "The lady in question was someone we met a few years ago, near Bree.. but she didn't have any sort of accent, especially not like Lady Fairy has." He tilted his head, thinking. "But except for
that.." He looked over at Golden. "Your sister's name wouldn't happen to be Celume, would it?" He had to ask.
@Arnyn
The Fox
For a second, when she said she had been enjoying herself, Fox had a fleeting concern that she might have rather stayed with her apparent friends, but he was soon reassured that she seemed perfectly fine with going with him to the dance floor, regardless. He smiled slightly. "Well, then I shall try not to disappoint you, lady Fairy." He promised, and his smile increased just a tiny bit when she said that she enjoyed dancing, and that she got so little of it, she wanted to make the most of it tonight.
Her question caught him off guard a bit, and he laughed slightly, ending with a grin as they stepped and turned smoothly across the floor. "Well, maybe I was just
a bit concerned," He admitted with a smile. There was a hint of teasing in his eyes though, which suggested he wasn't entirely serious. "Actually, as much as I hate to acknowledge such a thing.. I, unfortunately, happen to know that guy." He admitted more seriously. "And while I don't know what he said to you.. I have no doubt whatsoever that he deserved
exactly what he got." He explained with a little smile.. perhaps with a hint of mischievousness glinting in their blue depths. "Which is why it was such a delight to witness it." His smile spread into a grin.
"As for dancing," He remembered he hadn't answered that question, and took a moment to think. "When I was younger, I didn't want
anything to do with this sort of stuff. I had to almost be dragged to dancing lessons," He admitted with a slight laugh. "But now? I don't know.. somehow it's different." He stepped back slightly while letting go of her waist, while his other hand brought their hands upward and guided her into a twirl. "Maybe it's the masks?" He suggested with a small shrug as she came back to facing him, and he smiled slightly at her. "I guess it just makes it more fun than typical dances..." Where everyone knows who's who, and where there were much greater expectations and rules, and everything was far stiffer and more formal... but he kept those thoughts to himself.