@Arnyn
Pink Wildflower
She smiled. "No, I don't think so," She answered with a little laugh to the question of whether there was any danger of Night Sky falling for Snowflake. She knew well enough what the relationship was between those two.
After the spinning and twirling, she was a bit surprised as Sir Sunbeam thanked her for making his evening better. "Did I?" She asked, and smiled as he spun her yet again, this time out away from him, and bowed. It seemed evident that the end had come to the dance, and she figured they had danced long enough. She didn't want to keep him occupied all evening, and besides, if she danced with this guy all night, she wouldn't be able to dance with the one she was hoping to catch the attention of. "Thank you, very much sir." She answered with a smile. "You've been very nice, and I'm sure I've taken up more than enough of your time," She mentioned with a little laugh. "Perhaps you could escort me to the food tables, if you'd like?" She suggested, feeling a bit hungrier now. She'd only nibbled on a few berries so far.
@Arnyn
He smiled as Fairy accepted the handshake, though he thought that her brief grip on his arm was an accident, due to her mask probably hindering her vision. He pretended not to have noticed so not to call attention to the fact. Hearing that she was indeed having an enjoyable evening made his smile all the more happy. "Glad to hear it." He replied. Her next words about not attending or 'brooding along in a corner' left him blinking in surprise for a second or two before the grin slowly returned. It was almost as if she somehow
knew what his brother was like. But there was no way she could. Right?
The part about 'regaling a not so gentle man with a glass of wine' made his eyebrow raise with intrigue, and he laughed lightly at the image that it conjured up, and smiled at the part about helping a friend and making another friend. He saw Blossom smile as well at that part.
"I would say so, yes," Blossom verified the words of the other woman with a smile. "Perhaps two, on my part," She added with brief glance back toward where Butterfly and Wolf..
had been sitting. They had abandoned the table by now, she realized, catching a glimpse of Butterfly's dress on the dance floor.
"Are you from this area, miss?" Dragon asked Fairy curiously. "That makes the second time I've heard someone speak with that same accent, this evening, which makes me wonder if it's common." He added, in explanation for why he asked.
"I noticed that Sir Cheddar spoke with a similar accent, as well," Blossom mentioned.
"Sir Cheddar?" Dragon asked with a curious glance at her, somewhat amused.
Blossom smiled in amusement. "That is the title I bestowed to the gentleman who asked me to dance earlier. He was full of.. rather
cheesy compliments," She laughed lightly. "Though he seemed nice enough, I couldn't help thinking it was a bit over the top."
"Hmm, well, at least he was complimentary, rather than the opposite. Right?"
"Very true. He was very polite." Blossom assured him, and smiled slightly at Fairy. "If he had not been, I'm sure my fairy friend here would have been happy to douse him in a drink." She added with a grin.
@Ercassie
Snowflake
She laughed softly and shook her head at the chicken coop comment. "Thanks." She had spent a lot of time on it, and it was nice to hear compliments about her work. "Seems a shame that it might only be used for this one evening," She mentioned, a little regretful that she couldn't think of any other use for such a mask. "But it made him happy, and that was worth all the time put into it," She added quietly. Their brother could certainly use as much happiness as they could give him. And he wasn't the only one, either, she remembered.
She found his reply about the conspiracy to be a bit tricky to follow, which he was ever so good at doing, but managed to decipher it well enough; that he had known about whatever BroT was up to, but had not been involved himself. "Hmm," She sounded disbelieving with that wordless sound, but let it go. But she was a little surprised when he added about her not 'putting her oar in', and nodded slowly as she understood what he meant. "I was.. rather preoccupied at the time," She shrugged slightly as she reminded him of what he surely wouldn't need reminding. That had all been during the time when she had been lost in the darkness of grief, and busy with secretive forge-work besides.
She was drawn back out of those thoughts just in time, as her brother asked her a question that caught her a bit off guard. What? She looked at him briefly, then shook her head, almost incredulous. Her first thought to reply was, 'No, I'm perfectly fine with you not getting involved, thanks.' But then she thought of a different answer and smiled slightly. "Yes," she answered, looking up at her brother with a little smile. "I want you to keep out of it. Enjoy the ball. Like BroT said.. you got all dressed up, might as well stick around and have fun." She shrugged lightly. "So. Let's see how well you remember how to dance." She smiled encouragingly at him, without seeming to notice the difference from his usual height.
@Ercassie
Lady Cat
For a time, she kept her entire focus on following the stranger's lead, keeping up with the dance. It was far from what she had expected, and yet not unpleasant. A little smile lingered on her face as she went through the dance steps, but it widened a little in amusement at the compliment to her nimbleness. "Are you surprised to find a cat to be nimble?" She replied, one eyebrow raising slightly in question, amused at the wording.
Her gaze scanned his face as he spoke his next comment, or what she could see of it. The first time.. what? Between the mask and his beard, it was difficult to find anything that would identify him at all. When he finished what he was saying, the faint smile returned to her face. "That is something to wonder about, isn't it?" She replied, but it was a moment before the dance allowed further speech between them.
She realized, hearing him speak the words 'careful and daring' aloud, that one did seem to contradict the other. But it made sense in its own way, or at least in her mind. There were times to be cautious, and other times to take risks, and she was generally able to tell when do to which. "It is a bit swift," She admitted with a little laugh. "Certainly not a dance which I expected to encounter tonight. Yet, I don't mind. I enjoy a challenge." She concluded with a wider smile.
@Pele Alarion
Teal
"What made me decide? Well," He tried not to stumble when she misstepped slightly, and somehow managed to get them back on track. "All the talk about how wonderful it would be, and the fact that it is rather a unique opportunity. When else would I have a chance to attend a Masquerade Ball?" He grinned. "And the fact that everyone I know here was saying they were going." He shrugged.
"I do hope perhaps that we could try to have some sort of fun events like this after we get back home. It'd be nice, don't you think? Or, do you think folks back home would think this was all far too elegant?" He asked with a grin. "Perhaps we could practice these new skills out in the fields or something." He mentioned with a little laugh.
@Pele Alarion
She was a little surprised to hear that he had orchids at home. "Really?" She had not really met very many young men, and it seemed surprising to meet one who enjoyed flowers, since it seemed to her that usually, most thought flowers were too girlish for men to enjoy. "Well," She smiled shyly at his question, "I would like to
think that I am, at least. Resilient, that is," She laughed softly. "I'm.. not sure 'lovely' is very fitting, but I thank you for the compliment, anyway."
"It is indeed my first time being in this city," She nodded. "I believe my uncle has hopes of visiting with a friend before we return home, and perhaps we will have a chance to explore the city briefly. Do you live here, sir?" She smiled faintly at his comments about the masquerade. "I hardly know anyone here," She admitted, which would hardly be a surprise. "But I know my cousin and uncle. And I think I saw one or two others I might have recognized, but I'm not certain."
@Pele Alarion
The Hawk
"I guess there are some things that could be important." He agreed with a small shrug, but smiled as she seemed certain that her husband would come. "I'm glad, for your sake, then, that he will come. As for me, I think the only way anyone could get me to work on an evening such as this, is if they had asked me to join the band." He grinned with a little nod toward the musicians. "Which, no one did. So, I'm happy to enjoy the music of those with higher skill and musical education than I have." He was not very accustomed to playing along with a group, and wasn't sure whether he would have been good enough to keep up with their playing.
He was glad to hear that the lady thought his dancing skills were sufficient. "Thank you, m'lady." He smiled as they moved fluidly along with the music. His smile then grew bigger when she asked about him playing music. "I enjoy playing even more than listening, actually." He said with enthusiasm. "And singing... I've actually been learning to play an instrument with strings so that I can sing as well as play, but my favored instrument is, and probably always will be, a flute." He did have it with him, as always, though it was concealed well enough not to give away his identity too easily to anyone he might not want recognizing him. "I enjoy writing my own songs, too." He added with a small shrug. "And, what about you, my lady? Any musical talents of your own?"
@Lantaelen
The Fox
He gave a soft laugh at her question.
"Perhaps, something like that." He glanced around the room briefly before looking back at the young lady. He was mildly surprised to hear her say that she had a river near her home. But, of course, there were many rivers.
"Linhir is right at the mouth where the Gilrain and Serni rivers meet," He informed her, in case she was not familiar with this information.
"There are many good swimming spots along the course of these," He grinned, and was happy to hear that she also liked to swim. Swan was quite an appropriate name, then, he decided.
He was a little puzzled when she declared him 'so very clever' and wondered what he had done or said to prompt this.
"But do not the rivers pass through the forest, at times?" he pointed out, smiling.
"And foxes come to the river for water." he added with a little shrug. He stepped away slightly and twirled her slowly. He thought for a moment while he was doing so, and as she returned to the prior position, he tilted his head curiously.
"But what makes you think I would be a 'woodland boy'?" He asked with a little smile.
"Aside from my choice of costume," he added.
"Do I smell like the woods?" He couldn't help making a little joke, since he knew surely could not be the case after how well he had washed up in preparation for this.