Seven: Dreams

Seven: Dreams
Date of Scene:	05 January 2014
Location:	Castle of Dreams
Synopsis:	Our heroes enjoy a ball and learn some of the secrets that the Castle of Dreams holds. But what's more... there is a dark omen that meets our heroes late into the dance.
Thanks to:	Oathkeeper
Cast of Characters:	Reize Seatlan, Will Sherman, Mercade Alexander, Tifa Lockhart, Zia, Avira, Deelel, Maira, Vespa, Lumeria, Aerith, Angantyr Vespar, Seith, Rhiannon Zellen, Chita, Raine Arland, Violet, Rylen Corvus, Edison Reece
Tinyplot:	Seven

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Oathkeeper has posed:
The castle is buzzing with activity! It has only just hit the afternoon, and the castle gates have been opened to those waiting outside of them. The Castle of Dreams truly is a beautiful thing to behold! Blues and whites are everywhere, and attendants are ready to help people around the castle.

The ballroom - the main hall of the castle - is entirely empty save for a series of chairs lined along the wall and tables lined with food. It's quite expensive food too. The only problem can be getting in - one needs to wear a dress or a suit, depending on one's gender. One isn't allowed in without.

Neither the King, The Duke, nor the prince or princess are in the hall quite yet. But it's likely that they plan on making a grand entrance.

An intresting thing to note is that the main hall also contains a series of rectangular objects draped in beautiful red curtains. It would appear they are planning on unveiling something.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart can wear a dress! It happens ever so unoften, but she can, really. The last time was, god, over a year ago right? Some auction party with Xanatos that gave her a nice sculpture for the bar. Since then, its just been one problem after the other, and never realy had a chance to wear a dress again. Leather dress, at best.

So anyway, she presents herself at the entrance. She got an invitation at least, so why not come and relax for once, after the new years and holidays. Its things she wasn't used to in her world, but she understands the spirit behind it, and she likes it too. She why not enjoy it.

Except for the Black Friday. She rather not think about it. Freaking ducks.

She looks around before entering, for anyone else she might know about.

Raine Arland has posed:
Despite being usually ignorant of the events of the world, Raine Arland had heard tell of this grand ball taking place at a castle located in the British Countryside. After the ordeal that took place on the Dias Plains, he'd decided that it was high time for a break.

And so, the young man arrived, decked out in a white vest, button up shirt, pants, and even his shoes were white. And on top of his head, an equally white fedora was comfortably nestled. "Heh...they thing they could have a 'grand ball' without my radiance brightening up the proceedings? Hah!"

Passing through the castle gates, hand on his self proclaimed 'stylish fedora', the swordsman strode on into the castle proper. "Look out! Here comes a daredevil!" He shouted energetically, whipping an arm out in dramatic fashion.

"And now, the party has truly started!" Raine spread both of his arms then and made 'come on' motions with his hands. "It's okay, it's okay! Applause to your heart's content!"

Someone was having fun already.

Vespa has posed:
"How do people walk in these shoes?", Vespa mutters to herself trying her best not to make a fool of herself if she falls while wearing high heels.

"And this dress. okay okay I'll stop complaining... Al."

vepsa for a change isn't in a maid outfit! She has to look proper and she didn't want to get mistake for any of the wait staff. The last time that happened. Well you don't want to know. She wearing a pink dress with a high collar and a few bows placed on the skirt. She also has her hair tied back in a pony tail. She wearing a silver chain around her neck with a axe shaped pendant.

She looks over at the new person entering. "oh great Raine is here. I need a drink..

Rylen Corvus has posed:
An invitation for free food and an opportunity to oogle women in attractive attire? That sounds like a win-win situation for a certain Elven vagabond performer. So, Rylen is dressed to the nines with a beautifully tailored white suit with a long tail-coat, silver lining and a black tie. Really, for all the time that he spends looking like some shirt-less piece of eyecandy, the Elf does clean up nicely.

Of course, he doesn't 'officially' have a date, at least one that he knows of, anyways. So instead, silver-haired acrobat simply enters by himself. There's no sign of his usual chocobo companion either, unless you count a little yellow feather pinned to his lapel.

His eyes rove around, a small smirk showing as he follows passing women in those hip-hugging dresses. "Oh yes, definitely worth an evening off."

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria's wearing a sky blue dress that's longer than her normal outfit. She puts a hand to forehead as she sees Raine, "Are you everywhere I go?" It seems like she can't get rid of him. The mage didn't think he would show up here, so this was certainly awkward. She notices the other with silver hair and pointed ears present, she hadn't seen him around him before.

Zia has posed:
It feels a bit strange to attend a ball like this by herself. When she'd first heard about the event at the castle, Zia had expected that maybe Skoll would invite her to go. No such luck. The werewolf isn't always the most aware of the fact that dressing up and taking a girl dancing is considered one of those things that significant others just... /do/. Then again, things between them had been strange lately.

So, Zia is oddly alone tonight. The white gargoyle has her hair pinned back in a set of silver clasps, leaving the rest to fall down her back. Her dress is a simple thing, with long flowing fabric that sinches in at the waist and then falls into a long skirt with slits along the sides and back for her tail. Her blue crystal glows faintly against her chest, and there's a small token that looks like a keychain dangling from a bracelet on one wrist.

"Luckily, some of us get away wi' no wearin' shoes, lass." Zia quips with a small smile towards Vespa. "Ah'm sure ye could manage te lose them somewhere should the need call for it." She suggests, tail twitching behind her as her eyes take in the room. Why is she here, anyways? Who knows.

Chita has posed:
The previous night having not exactly been the most pleasant to witness, thanks to Rhiannon having decided she'd pull out a scaple and ask for samples, Chita was relatively content with today. Things had mostly been well, he had at a previous chance purchased himself a rather expensive suit, and was happy to be wearing something nice. The Viera had even gotten a bit of material to wrap around his eyes of the same type as what he was wearing.

Walking slowly into the castle with Rhiannon next to him, ears perked up and listening to everything going on. "What would you like to do first?" he asks his 'date' for the night, hoping it's not going to be some smartass remark like collect samples.

Maira has posed:
"There you are!" Maira says, appearing from somewhere nearby (she does that, who knows how) and strides toward Rylen in a long red dress that looks to be made out of scales, though in truth are actually chains. Yes, its a chain dress, though the links are very light and drape nicely. It has an asymetrical hemline, baring some leg, as well as a tasteful amount of cleavage. Its pretty lovely, really. Skoll might just have a career as a tailor if the whole adventurer thing doesn't work out.

Maira's hair is pulled up, curls escaping in various places that manage to look artful. The only piece of jewelry she wears is an amber necklace, given to her by a certain fiery Esper. She had needed a new pair of shoes for the occasion, which Avira had so generously paid for while they were shopping; gold heels with a round toe and an ankle strap with a small, sparkly buckle (oou sparkly). To top it all off, crimson lips. FANCY!

"I thought maybe you stood me up! You're my date by the way," she informs him, smiling nervously. She really doesn't want to walk into that ballroom alone.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel thankfully with help from her friends she'd manage to get an dress she could wear. They'd also picked a pretty nice one that looked well enough on the program. So she's a bit shyer than she normally is due to a social situation that's a bit difer4nt program parties were closer to human raves and college bashes than more formal things like this.

Still she seems to be having fun even as she's looking about the ball. She seems to be in a pretty good evening. She's jut going to go out and have some fun with the white dress she's waring at the moment. Also Deelel's hair is far less wild than it normally is, but changing that much to her friends likely surprise took /seconds/ for her to alter.

She doe seem to be smiling a she sees Zia arrive. She will gives her gargoyle friend a friend a wave but as much as she'd like to bother certain people she'd rather not butt in on say Maira's date, right?

Avira has posed:
A lady enters the castle. With a cursatory glance it's easy to mistake her for a princess. But looking closer reveals a distinct lack of a crown. Even closer and the uneven scar tissue can be seen making lines marking wounds from well over a year ago now. It's Avira, though like this, it isn't easy to tell.

Her hair has been undone completely and crimped into curls, a particularly bouncy set dangling on either side of her head about her ears. Her bangs have been braided into a crown-like weave that wraps around the top of her head.

She has stud earrings on set with sparkling blue gems. Around her neck is a necklace with a pendant of silver and sapphire, the silver formed into the head of a howling wolf. Keeping in the theme of fancy, Avira has definitely opted for a fancy ballgown of green silk and lace. It is strapless though Avira has chosen to wear a gossamer white shawl over her shoulders. The dress is long enough to trail on the floor, concealing the white heels (!) she wears beneath it.

Gloves of silk that match the green hue of her dress adorn her arms up to the elbows. Due to the volume of her dress, she does need to grip the bottom and hike it up just slightly to move at any decent sort of pace. Strangely enough, there is absolutely /no/ sign of her weapon. If it is hidden under her dress, it is hidden very well, though that seems unlikely given its odd shape and large size.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
Rhia walked along with Chita, dolled up in a traditional wutai style dress. It was yellow with intricate white floral patterns sewn throughout. It hugged her figure, but allowed for movement by way of a partial slit up the side, ending at her upper thigh. Her hair was out of her usual twin buns and instead pulled back and held up with that expensive comb Chita had previously given her, along with a pair of ornate chopsticks.

There was no lab coat to be seen on her for once. A miracle to be sure.

Despite that, the scientist still held a tablet device in her arm, poking at it with a finger from her other had as she alternated between looking where she was going and the screen. "Hmn..."

Rhia mumbled to herself at Chita's question. She knew full well that he was hoping she wouldn't say something outlandish and weird. And that brought a smile to her face. It was tempting to do just as he expected, but....not yet. He couldn't see that she was working even while here. That was enough for now.

"I am not quite sure. Perhaps we should just mingle and see who is about? Get a drink? Ask some of the guests for samples?"

She couldn't resist.

Vespa has posed:
Vespa chuckles a bit as Zia remarks her mood lighting up somewhat. "Very true.", she looks around at seeing some familar and not familar faces. "Alot of people here tongight. It's a party at a castle. What could possibly go wrong?"

Raine Arland has posed:
Vespa is given a grin and a two fingered salute for her comment. "Yo! Well if it isn't the maid! You...." There was a start pause. "...You're /not/ wearing a maid outfit." His arm fell as if he'd just had a startling realization. "...What do I call you now!?" Either Raine didn't know her name or simply forgot it. Either way, it seemed to be somewhat, halfway serious about this.

Lumeria's voice is heard close by and the young man's attention is stolen away from Vespa as he turned to look. "Huh? Well, if it isn't my trusty business partner. Looking good, looking good." He quipped, hand returning to the top of his fedora as a smirk adorned his face. "Of course, not as good as I am." He should have stopped right before that. "I know we've got a deal worked out, and that I still haven't taught you Warp, but are you stalking me or something?"

There is a cavalier shrug to follow that statement and he then added. "I mean, I can't blame you. Looking at this gloriously manly figure of mine, anyone'd want a piece of the action! Ahahahaha!" An obnoxiously arrogant laugh came after.

Wow, someone thought highly of themselves.

And then his eyes rested onto the arriving Avira. "Wow, look at that one. She's pretty ho-" Wait a second. Raine rubbed his eyes and then looked again. "......No way. No freakin' way. Is that Mighty Midget!?" A wry laugh came then and he looked away. "I must be seeing things. Yep, gotta stop drinking so much."

But Raine, you haven't had a single drink yet!

Edison Reece has posed:
Another visitor to the ball was Edison. After all, if he went shopping for a suit, he'd better give it some use, right? Walking among the crowd, the wanderer is clad in a full black suit, a dress shirt with a necktie, and polished shoes. He feels a bit stuffy in this, but it wasn't like he could come dressed like some random vagrant, right?

"Well, let's mingle along," he muttered, eyeing the people around him before scolding himself for being too paranoid, "lighten up, you look like a burglar caught in the act."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
An adventurer has to be prepared for any and everything that comes their way. Part of being an explorer is to adapt to the culture and embrace it, no matter how odd it seems.


For one person... this is a nightmare.


Not long after giving the herb to a fallen comrade, Reize was to come to the ball on behalf of the Shard Seekers. However, the boy was to come to an attire that he did not feel well in.


"Argh! I don't want to come out in this! I am an adventurer! This is not adventuring gear! I hate these sorts of things!"


However, after coaxing, well, Reize was to be pushed out into the ballroom wearing a more regal attire. Reize, for one of the few times, does not appear as an adventurer. He is sporting a crimson suit that is buttoned up. The regal clothing is accented with a yellow collar garment around his neck. He sports a pair of silk black gloves. For the style, he has on a pair of black slacks and some dress shoes.


"I feel ridiculous!"


"You look like a prince!" says a maid. She offers a smile, "Now, you stay out there and mingle. Your friend will be coming along soon."


...Sigh.

Reize sweatdrops a moment, shaking his head. He looks rather nervous. Being from the boonies does not lend him well in an atmosphere that requires high etiquitte.

Still, the maid said that Violet would be joining him. Hrm... He wonders what could be taking her.

Rylen Corvus has posed:
A voice from nearby has Rylen turning, his eyes torn from appreciating some young woman walking towards the ballroom only to settle on Maira. Blink. His eyes widen a little bit, taking in the dress in a long, appraising look. Then, a smile spreads on his features. "Well, I certainly wouldn't want to disappoint such a gorgeous young woman." So much for not overdoing it with the flattery, then again, by the Elf's expression, he is clearly stunned by her appearance.

He draws one hand to his chest and bows, a few strands of silver hair hanging down into his face as he does so. "It would be my pleasure to accompany you this evening." As he rises, Rylen offers out an arm towards Maira. "So why the change of heart?" He asks, head cocked, ready to lead her on towards the ballroom.

Lumeria has posed:
That's what Lumeria just asked, "You haven't seen yourself in a mirror lately have you? It looks like everyone came tonight." There were several present who she hadn't met yet. The question was to who to approach first, she certainly didn't want to spend the entire evening with Raine. Thought it seemed like quite a few people already had dates.

Oathkeeper has posed:
As people start to mingle and get themselves comfortable, a small band starts to roll out on the balustrade. Music revs up to a happy tune fit for the royals, as Cinderella and her Prince Charming make their way from the big doors at the top of the main hall's first floor, and start to descend down the big flight of stairs.

When they finally make it to the bottom, a fancy looking man comes to the top of the balcony. "Announcing - Princess Cinderella, and Prince Charming!" The two of them bow before the crowds, who have inevitably made room for the royal pairing.

"And now, please give your attention to our beloved King!" (The King!)

Out comes a chubby man with a white bushy mustache and barely any hair left on his head. He spreads his hands out in a jolly fashion. "Welcome, citizens, travelers, nobles, and all others, to this momentous occassion!"

Zia has posed:
At the very least, there's plenty of familiar faces amongst the crowd, and that helps ease some of Zia's nerves. Once, she would have avoided festivities like these, but the once shy gargoyle has come a long way in becoming a bit more outgoing. With a small smile towards Vespa, Zia shrugs, "Ye never know." She can only hope that the large grouping of heroes will discourage any sort of Shadow Lord Shenanigans. We all know how well that will likely work out.

She catches sight of a bit of movement, and spots a wave from Deelel. Zia raises a hand and offers the program a small smile. The two of them really haven't talked since returning from Castle Oblivion. It's as good a time as any to talk to her fellow Shard Seeker, so the gargoyle heads in her direction, talons clicking on the floor.

Of course, she only gets most of the way there before hearing a familiar voice. One ear quirks, then she turns to find none other than... Reize. "Oh my." Zia laughs softly, covering her mouth with amusement. She only just manages to resist bringing out her phone to snap a picture. "Ah dinnae know which was better, the maid costume or this..." She casts a glance to Deelel to see what she thinks of their leader all dolled up. Poor Reize.

Oh, and then there's the official introductions. Zia falls quiet, tail curling by her legs as she waits to hear what else the King has to say.

Chita has posed:
Listening to all the things going on in the ball, the music, the movements and such, it was all rather disorienting trying to figure out things past a certain distance. Close by he can generally hear others approaching and step a little forward, or step a little back to avoid such. Those standing still were a bit harder, though today he had changed his stave for a slightly shorter cane of sorts.

"One of these days, Rhiannon." his voice came out in a soft sigh before he heard the announcement, taking it upon himself to lean forward in a bow, cane helping to keep himself from getting disoriented and falling forward, because sometimes that happens to those who can't quite see to keep their balance.

Maira has posed:
Maira is certainly trying her best here. She doesn't exactly have the enchanted look of a girl attending her first ball. Well, sort of. She's kind of been to another, briefly, on accident. It totally doesn't count. She takes the offered arm, smiling hesitantly. "I didn't want to have to walk into here alone I guess. Don't, you know, feel like you need to stick with my though. You probably want to find women to 'court' right? Heh," she says, walking in sometime after Avira. They'd gotten ready together, so Maira knows how she looks. Mercade is going to go slack jawed. Maybe he'd propose on the spot. :|

"Change of heart? Not really...I just. Well, I figured I'd try. Besides, look at the /food/" she says, gazing at the banquet tables longingly. It will probably by the second place she goes. The first is to greet various friends. Like Raine! Who is making a scene, per usual. "Hey Raine," she waves, smiling lightly. She'd probably be assaulting him with food items by the end of the evening. She also greets Vespa and Deelel with a hug while completely ignoring Chita and Rhiannon. Nope, not going there. Maira also waves to Edison, who she'd sort of randomly called out of the crowd to dance with Avira--hopefully that'd gone well.

"Huh, where is Mercade? Running late?" she asks Avira.

Then, Cinderella and Prince Charming (seriously!?) appear and Maira's eyes go wide with awe. They are real royalty. Hard to feel like a real princess with Cinderella there. Idly, Maira reaches over for a dinner roll and places it into her purse. What's momentus? What's under the sheets?

Deelel has posed:
Deelel takes note of Avira's entrance and smiles as she makes for her friend before she gets caught up with someone else.

"Avira, your looking wonderful tonight. I'm just glad you and Maira took the time to ... help me with my cultural issues."

That's one way to put it she's happy she's smiling and she then notes,

"I think your going to stun Mercade like this."

Deelel takes note of a few others who are coming as the Prince and Cinderlla arrive.

She's now leaves Avira likely to go Mercade hunting to turn her attention to Zia and Reize.

"I think you look quite good and as for Reize well she tilts her head a little bit.

"I think he feels as out of place as I did, when I first arrived in Manhattan."

Violet has posed:
Two other maids had assisted with the process, of dressing the young woman and doing up her pale locks for the occasion. Strands so light that they could almost be mistaken for snow white, the same color of her long dress. Large flower decorating her head, several other tiny flowers are woven into her pale locks in a pattern much like the points of diamonds.

Her hair finally done, and the many layers of her dress now containing the young woman, Violet exhales a long breath, feeling butterflies in her stomach regardless of how tightly bound she is within the fabric. She's done this before, countless times. But this felt different.

Now her heels click softly, moving with practice ease as she approaches Zia, Reize, and the approaching Deelel. Her smile at first is hesitant, but it grows.

Vespa has posed:
Vespa takes a drink off a tray one of the maids is walking around with. She caually takes a sip. Then The King and Prince charming (who in there right mind would name there kid Charming? so many questions..) and Princess Cineralla. There defintly royalty, they look the part. She mutters and pulls lighty at her dress. "I hate this outfit she mutters. Too tight..."

Edison Reece has posed:
Edison turns towards the bacony as soon as the royals are announced. He takess a quick glance to the Prince and his partner, idly nodding in agreement with their choice of wardrobe and posture, before focusing on what the King has to say. He did notice the surprises that were around. Maybe this had anything to do with it?

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Yes, one of these days."

That was said in a rather distracted manner, poking and swiping away at her tablet. It was like she wasn't even at an important grand ball at all. Nope. Maira and the others are totally ignored in turn, mostly due to her not noticing them. The grand announcement of Princess Cinderella and Prince Charming rouse the woman out of her working trance enough to actually look.

She didn't think too much about their appearances. Though she supposed that they did look nicer than the average ballgoer. Hmn. Riveting. Even as the King was presented, she didn't bother to bow in respect. But she at leeast listened, nodding along to the old man's speech. "...I do wonder what this momentous occasion actually is however..." Her eyes casually surveyed the area, noticing a few cubical objects wrapped and obscured. That was an intriguing point.

She did eventually notice other familiar attendees and asided to Chita. "And your friends are here. I imagine they must be thinking less of you for being in my company." There was a tone of amusement in that statement. She wasn't worried about it at all.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize looks uncomfortable. This is a public scenario where he is not to be the adventurer, but an aristocrat. The boy looks around, looking at a few familiar faces here and there. In particular, his eyes drift over towards Zia and Deelel. Where normally, he would be rather jovial, they both receive a more awkward wave from the leader.

"Err, hey." He starts to think. "You both look great!" The tone in his voice is cracked with nervousness. This outfit an the atmosphere feels... rather alien to him.

However, his eyes drift over to see a figure slowly making her way towards the ballroom. Blink. Reize's eyes widen when he sees their member. Reize's eyes now become lost, the clan members and the surrounding people become part of the atmosphere as his sights set on Annalise, often referred to Violet.

The boy turns to face her, his hand extends over towards her hand. His voice is barely hushed.

"...You look beautiful, Ann--.." It is then that he catches himself, "Errrmm.. Violet." He coughs, "Violet, you look gr--..."

The tune signifying the arrival of the royals actually knock Reize out of his awkward phase, now bringing him to focus his attention towards the main hallway. The royal make their way from the big doors to the flight of stairs. "Ahhh..."

And Reize looks over the king's arrival, listening in on their talk.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart stepped in the ballroom after checking the etrance. Just in time for the princess and princess entry at least. She claps her hands from the side, although she does't know that princess either, she sure looks regal. She smiles as she spots Reize too "Hey, looking sharp." Well, as sharp as can be in this world. She feels... odd in her cocktail dress here. But she didn't have anything else regal enough for such a party. She's just showing more leg than most in this world, so that makes her a little self-concious...

Rylen Corvus has posed:
"It would be ashame to see a such a beautiful lady go unaccompanied." Rylen agrees. Maybe it's not quite what Maira meant, but any opportuntity to sneak in another bit of flattery seems to be welcome. At her suggestion that he could just wander off, well... "Maybe, but right now I'm pretty sure I've got the arm of the belle of the ball." Yep, definitely failing on that avoiding flattery thing. Oh well.

The Elf follows along as she greets various friends and aquaintences, offering a quiet nod here or there. The life of a traveling acrobat means not often getting a chance to get to know people more than in passing. Most of the people he's come across have been in Halloween town, and even then, most of them haven't connected the zombie-circus performer with the Elven acrobat.

While Maira is pocketing braed into her purse, Rylen doesn't seem to have any issues with scooping up some slices of fruit to munch on while the King goes about making his announcements. "Do you think his name is actually Charming?" He asks in a hushed voice, bemusemed eyes glancing towards Maira and Avira.

Will Sherman has posed:
Earlier...

There is a lady with a crazy look in her eyes, with wings, and a cat in each hand, held up by the scruff.

Will stares at her.

She stares crazily back.

Will stares at her...

She stares back, her eye twitching.

Will stares at her.

She screams suddenly and hits Will with a Cat.

Less Early...

Will, the size of a rat is running away from a evil looking cat.

Now.

Will finally, shrugs out of something, looking around...oh hey he's on someone's shoulder? How did he even get here.

He looks to the right.

"Stupid fairy godmother. For once can't I just have something normal in my li-.." he looks agast.

"Is this my voice?" he says in a squeek, "Is this /MY/ voice?!" he shrugs. He's also not being very quiet. And he's right on Avira's shoulder.

"Seriously, I thought I was immune to this bullcrap!"

Elsewhere. The crazy catgodmother collects a bag of marbles from Mad Madam Mim.

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria's attention turns towards Prince Charming. A real prince? Maybe she could get him to kiss her? Of course that might prove to be rather difficult with all the other people present. But there had to be some way to catch him alone. She begins mentally plotting before catching sight of Chita and wondering who his date was. She hadn't seen her around before.

Avira has posed:
What is this proposal stuff everyone is expecting about her!? Avira has no idea.

Right away Avira notices Raine because he's being his usual loud and jerkassery self. For a few minutes she's even able to ignore the guy-until he starts making comments about her. At first she's a little smug-hah! He doesn't recognize her at all! Then the implication starts to sink in, plus the whole 'Mighty Midget' nickname he's come up with for her and she bristles just slightly, flashes of the icy woman sparkling through the fancy dress. "Hmph, very funny." she quite pointedly turns away from him, addressing her fiery friend.

"He's going to be a little late, yes." Avira tells her, not at all bothered about walking in alone. There is only so much 'care' she had to give for the whole fancy succession or rules thing they had going on and it got all filled up with the clothing she picked on tonight. Her mobility was TERRIBLE in this dress-what if there was a Heartless attack!? There was nowhere to keep her weapon!

She shakes out of these thoughts when Deelel says hello. "Oh she did? That's good-she did a great job too. You look fantastic tonight, Deelel." A pause. "And I'm pretty sure it actually is Charming-"

She pauses, then calmy lifts a hand to tap Will's snout with a finger. "Shhh, my adorable animal companion. The King is about to make an announcement."

Raine Arland has posed:
"Hey Maira. Looking pretty good there." He greeted the girl, giving Rylen a nod as well as a 'Sup dude.' Raine crossed his arms, and moved aside a bit for some other arrivals. Lumeria is given a smirk then and he replied. "Look in a mirror? Well yeah, I did actually! And I looked pretty damn good!"

Brimming with misguided confidence, Raine jerked a thumb towards himself. At that point, he looked off to watch as the Prince and Princess were presented, followed by the king. "Look at that beard though." He quietly commented, snickering to himself after. Not the most appropriate comment to make, but he said it all the same without an ounce of regret afterward.

Not wanting to be stuck with Lumeria all night, he casually shuffled off into a dramatic stride. "Till the wind sees fit to bring us together again!" And then he escaped from the elf. Likely to her relief. Raine's epic journey took him right to the tables with the food to stealthily sneak a bite or two.

Oathkeeper has posed:
Reize must be a little confused. Don't Kings normally give out quests?

But this King is not here to give out any quests. The jolly fat man raises a hand to his mustache and twirls it a little while he waits for all of the attention to properly rest upon him.

"Today marks another yearly anniversary since my son met the absolute sweetheart, dear Cinderella." He reaches a hand out over the balcony towards the girl. And in return, the princess in her pretty dress smiles and makes a little curtsey towards the older gentleman.

The girl then turns towards the crowd. In a ways, she's much more than a mere princess. She's a radiant kind of person who seems to attract attention no matter where she goes. With her peaceful smile and her good looks.

Joining besides Will in the meantime, is a chubby rat and one ratty looking thin one. Jaq, Gus are in attendance. They've probably been invited. Same shoulder too - of Avira's.

"Shh shh. The king is talking." Jaq places a finger before his ratty mouth and shushes at him right along with Avira.

The King continues.

"And to celebrate that very thing, we also celebrate the story of how she got here. Many of you probably know the story of how the princess came here through the means of her Fairy Godmother, and danced with my young son, Prince Charming."

Suddenly, around the room, curtains fall off of beautiful paintings revealing rather interesting tableaus.

Maira has posed:
Maira looks away, smiling gently, though she doesn't appear convinced of the flattery. "I seriously doubt that--but thank you. I do appreciate it," she replies, seriously trying not to mope. "What a dress...I want a dress like that. All big and puffy--and I guess that is really his name. That's...well that sounds like something Raine would come up with. Prince Charming? Sheesh," she replies quietly to Rylen's quip.

Maira nods to Raine, smiling a bit. "You too, very handsome Raine--but you knew that," she adds with a snicker before looking back to the King, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.

Violet has posed:
His hand extending out towards her, Annalise could feel her smile growing with the distinct flush as she in turn reaches out her smaller hand towards him, the fingerless gloves slipping on top of his own fingers a pause before her other hands takes the skirt of her dress and sweeps into a graceful curtsey. After a longer pause, she rises. The gently beaming smile remains fixated in place. "You look wonderful as well. Exceedingly handsome."

The rise of the announcing voice of the king pulls Anna's attention, bright eyes blinking up at the couple as they enter, Cinderella and Prince Charming, but her gaze only lingers for a moment before she looks back to Reize. Still holding his hand, she takes a few steps closer, keeping his gaze.

Maira has posed:
Maira then looks at the paintings, eyes widening. "Whooa...who are those people? Keyblades..." she whispers, then looks to Avira to see if she has any clue.

Zia has posed:
Zia's amusement falters a bit as Deelel brings up feeling out of place. "Aye. Ah think some of us are still tryin' te feel like we fit in somewhere." Gargoyles aren't seen fondly, ven in their own world, so it's no surprise that she can relate, at least a little. "Ah'm sure ye'll be fine. There's all sorts here tonight."

Her commentary is forced to go silent when the king continues. The gargoyle's eyes shift first towards the King, then to the happy couple. With a light sigh, Zia flicks at the pendant at her neck, only to let it drop again as the paintings are revealed.

All of a sudden, it's as if she's frozen in place, staring at one of the paintings. Her eyes seem glued to the one with the blue-haired keyblade wielder. There are no questions, no vocalizations, only her eyes glued on that image as she takes a half-step towards it.

Vespa has posed:
"Oh wow..", Vespa goes looking over the mural. "What an amazing piece." She hmms getting a bit closer looking them over One catching her eye. "A keyblade user? Intersting.. Sometime we have to test out mettle against one...", after looking over the mural a bit more she goes over to where the food it to grab a bite.

Avira has posed:
Avira shrugs her shoulders very carefully as to not disturb the peanut gallery seated upon them. "None of them look familiar to me." Avira whispers to Maira. She's carefully comparing the brown-haired one to Mercade-nah, near as she knows he didn't have anything to do with this world. "...maybe the brown-haired one is related to Sora somehow?"

Chita has posed:
"Hard to say. At least, from my perspective. I can hardly see to discover such after all." Though as he listened and she mentioned that, he added, "I would hope they are sensible enough to not act stupid because of my company, but if they are... they are. I cannot control others." nor can he really understand why half of them act as they do half the time. Self-proclaimed heroes who speak of the good things but act otherwise.

Then the King begins to speak. "Anniversary it seems. How sweet."

Yes, Chita just called the event sweet. And seems to be among the few not making fun of the Prince's name. Who was he to judge a name? "Though I ask... what is that rustling sound all around? It sounds like a bunch of curtains being moved at once."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Occasionally, Reize is turning his head to look at a few familiar faces. His eyes widen, however, when he looks over a noblewoman with a couple of rats on her shoulders. He squints a bit closer.

...Avira?!

His attention quickly returns to the king, who now presents the mural as the curtains fall off. Scanning along the paintings, Reize whistles in appreciation. There are many of the images that display. They all look wonderful. However, they are unfamiliar to him other than the keyblades. "Huh, other keyblade users?" Reize has only heard a bit about those that have been capable of wielding it. Particularly Sora and Mickey.

The boy is a bit observant, however, as he sees the posture of Zia as she is frozen in place from the painting.

"...Err.. Zia? Are you okay?" Reize does not, however, let go of Violet's hand. He keeps a gentle hold of it.

Rylen Corvus has posed:
Rylen returns Raine's greeting with little salute with two fingers. "Not much. Keeping the young lady company for the evening." He motions his head towards Maira, leaving the explination at that. It's best not to make too many assumptions, just incase some big, muscly guy comes in and gets upset at the Elf moving in on his lady or something. It wouldn't be the first time.

At the very least, he manages to hold his tongue during the commentary about the dress. See? He's at least trying to contain the flattery. Of course, the moment he does seem about to say something, there is a 'shh' from some tiny creature on Avira's shoulder. The Elf can't help but stare. "You seem to have aquired talking animals, M'lady." As if Avira didn't know this already. "I wonder if that's a frequent problem." These new worlds sure were a lot different than his own.

At the 'big reveal', Rylen just continues to idlely chew on some food, glancing at each one. "Keyblades?" He looks at Maira and Avira, some confusion on his features. "Are those something important?" Guess who has been out of the loop when it comes to major world events.

Lumeria has posed:
"Did you break..." Raine's gone before Lumeria can finish her comment and she breathes a sigh of relief before her attention turns towards the murals. The artist was quite talented to say the least, she wonders if she can get them to do a painting of herself. The murals themselves don't have much meaning to her but they certainly were well done.

Edison Reece has posed:
Looking around him, the wanderer takes the chance to get closer to each of the paintings in turn, tryng to make heads or tails about the ones that involve those strange... maces? Swords? He can't really define those weapons.

His mind wonders about why would there be this paintings of war along with other, more familiar things. Are those people imporatant in any way? This questions replay through his mind as he slowly walks from painting to painting, deep in thought.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel is leaving the party food to the organic people for the moment. She feels it would be rude as she needs less to keep powered as it were, than they do. She'll try some in a big, she intends to enjoy herself after all, she doesn't want to act in a way she feels is rude.

"Thank you Reize, your looking pretty good even if you seem uncomfortable my friend."

She turns to Avira grinning for a moment.

"Thanks I was a bit concerned if I would make a mess of thing...."

She trails off as she sees the painting she stares, there's a look of dumb founded shock on her face. She looks at the Mural for a long moment and she looks to Avira, and Zia for a moment.

"I...know them...I seen them."

Memories come back to her, of a dream she had which has been at the edge of mind for some time she looks, she remembers seeing those three in heavy armour fighting a wicked looking old man, she recalls the mysterious program telling them they chose freedom for everyone else, and left none for themselves. The art here only confirms thing those three are indeed real and that would mnean the other things she saw likely are as well. She staggers for a moment as she attempts to take things in.

"Then everything else, by my user..."

Another mental image come up into her mind a the graveyard of where those three fought the man, all the fallen keyblades like blades of grass in a earthen field. This seems to be a lot for Deelel to take in.

"Zia this is important we need to talk in private later."

She has others she needs to find, but for now she takes in the art some more and a feeling comes to her, they would not be here today if not for them. She knows this deep in her heart this is true.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Hrm..."

Once the paintings were unveiled, Rhia's interested was piqued. Enough to actually lower her tablet. "Interesting...These are paintings that seem to depict three different keyblade wielders. Yet, none of them are people we know."

Tablet held at her side, the scientist stepped forward a tad, approaching the one depicting the tall, brown haired one in combat with heartless-like creatures. "My, this is intriguing. I do wonder how long ago this actually took place..." Musing to herself, hand to her chin, she went on. "Hrm, the world in it's current state is still rather recent, yet, if these exist now...then perhaps these three were visiting worlds long before they fell to darkness. Perhaps."

Rhia was mostly hypothosizing to herself at this point, but it also served as an explanation of what was unveiled to Chita. Somewhat anyway.

Will Sherman has posed:
Before the reveal...

There is a moment, where the door opens again...

Presenting...

A string from a guitar, and a low accompianment from a small mariachi band, out of sight.

A man enters, regal, waring a white mask that covers his face, while his dark hair runs down his back, seemingly flowing in the wind, despite no wind being there. The man is in a well tailored outfit, perfectly fit to his form, and a rose sitting in one of the pockets.

Angantyr has never felt more ackward in his life, but NO he had to follow the rules set down by his Fairy godmother, who is now playing at the piano.

Will has his nose flicked, and his words silenced!

"Hey! I am the /king/ of the rats! I will be respected! Minions...fetch us royal cheese. Or just any cheese, I don't care, I'm hungry." he says to Jak!

He also snaps a look at Rylen, "I am not an animal! Well, I am now, but I am /not/ normally one! Look, my godmother is crazy."

Angantyr is taken aback by the images he sees...

He just blanches...

Those three...his eyes fall on the blue haired woman. She is still out there too...in that dark world with no end. Angantyr frowns, deeply, shaking his head. Something to do with a man named... Xe...

A apple hits the back of Ang's head before it disappears. He turns towards the source, and the saucy looking fairy is holding her wand like a mic. She motions.

"...Seriously, why do I put up with this..?"

Raine Arland has posed:
Munching on a piece of bread, Raine glanced off as the paintings were revealed. "Huh, so that's what they were hiding." Munch, munch.

He grabbed another dinner roll for the road and then approached the nearest one; that being the painting depicting the blonde-haired boy with the key-like weapon. ".......?" The swordsman stared, and stared for a while. As if struck by some manner of deep thought. And then-

"Wow, I feel sorry for that kid. With a hairdo like that, it's no wonder his only friends are mice!"

And then he burst out laughing to himself. "Ahahahaha! Oh man! Oh wow!" Amusing himself so hard, Raine had to hunch over, hand on his knees as he heaved in laughter.

Violet has posed:
The paintings are revealed, and it seems to get mixed reactions. Violet keeps Reize's hand, her bright eyes watching his reaction first before looking back up at them, scanning over them carefully. She didn't recognize any of them, but if they're honored here they must be important.

Zia has posed:
People are talking. There is the low murmur of conversation, but it takes a moment for Zia's brain to come back around from her own thoughts. It's Reize that catches her attention first, and all of a sudden, the Gargoyle seems to come back to life, her muscles easing as she laughs uncomfortably, shaking her head. "Ah'm alright. Jus' had a moment of deja vu."

The truth is, she /has/ seen the image of the blue-haired girl before, just like some of the others. For now, she tries to just pass it off, hand reaching to cup her pendant again.

Then, Deelel is talking to her and Zia looks over, confusion written on her features. It seems, on the surface, that the gargoyle has no idea what the program might want to talk about. "Aye? Any time ye need, lass." She's left to watch the program appraising the artwork, but her own expression remains troubled.

Her eyes turn back to Reize, then. "Sometimes, Ah look at things like this 'n wonder just how little of the world we really understand."

Will Sherman has posed:
The mouse of Avira's shoulder stares at raine.

"And what's wrong with mice!" he shouts!

Ohhhhh! He is so mad!

Will litterally starts abusing his powers to start sucking the fortune out of Raine.

Oathkeeper has posed:
"Ohhh, look! It's Ventus!" Jaq suddenly declares on Avira's shoulder, pointing at the blonde. They don't know Terra nor Aqua as well - though Cinderella certainly knows them. "Who's Sora?" The fatter one follows up with.

The King notices the commotion forming amongst some of the crowd. "If any of you have questions, I believe my new daughter in law will be happy to oblige." He points out. Cinderella nods slowly, looking up at the paintings. She remembers her small-time friends well, but they made a great impression on her.

"But first, allow them a dance." The King continues, as the music picks up and nobles and villagers who know little or nothing about the Keyblades swarm to the dancefloor and begin to sway to the music amidst a beautiful waltz that might make Belle and the Beast jealous.

The rats in the meantime glance over at Will. Jaq crosses his arms. "I'm not taking orders from you." He declares, before the fatter rat rubs his belly and mumbles. "But I am kind of hungry."

"Oh fine." Jaq decides, before he grabs at Will's tail. "Come on king, let's check out the buffet!" And then he nudges Avira.

"To the buffet!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart watches the story with rapt attention. well, everyone is pretty busy with what's going on around too. But its not like she doesn't have a soft spot for faity tales, good endings and princess stories either. She has a fantasy of her own, even if she won't admit to it either.

She wants to make thenoisy nearby people hush, but then she realizes what's going on a bit there. And sweatdrops. Shouldn't be surprised either, but talking mouses... Its a good thing she doesn't have one of those almost-typical girl reaction there. She's beaten down bigger than mices. And more menacing too. She just frowns and stares for a moment.

She takes a sniff at her glass, and then at her own breath. She hasn't drunk too much already, has she? It has barely been a few sips. Unless its really strong stuff.

Raine Arland has posed:
A female voice rang out in Raine's mind then.

'I sense a certain force being drained from us. You had better look into that.'

"Wha-?" He turned then and looked in the direction of the voice he could have sworn he heard. His eyes end up settling on Avira....with mice on her shoulder. "....Wow, Midget. You keeping pets now? This isn't a zoo. Better leave those critters to get caught in their traps! Heh heh heh he-"

And then abruptly, a chunk of ceiling breaks and falls right onto Raine's head.

THUD.

"..............Ow."

The voice spoke again.

'I do believe that force stolen from us was our fortune. Let this be a lesson to you, fool.'

Chita has posed:
"Keyblades?"

Chita was surprised by this. "Damn my eyes..." he half mumbled as he listened to Rhiannon, stepping carefully after her. "I cannot imagine it being too long past. If the King is still celebrating such in this fashion, I cannot imagine his son and daughter-in-law are that old. Perhaps still in their twenties. Maybe ten years or less. I shall have to ask Merlin about such. Can you... take images of these for me somehow that I can show a wise fellow I know who might know more than we do?"

As Chita asks that, he listens to the King say to let them dance, then smiles and nudges Rhiannon. "And so the couple gets their own dance. Did you ever want to have such an opportunity as a young girl?" He knew nothing of the Wutai Witch's childhood after all. He had, however, had dreams from the storybooks he used to read to do things and be things he wasn't. Among them a prince.

Vespa has posed:
Uh-oh the King is coming towads the buffet. Vespa wisely and quickly fills up her plate and gets out of the way! She winces at the chunck of ceiling falls on Raine.

"Are you allright?", she says as she walks over to Raine.

Maira has posed:
The girl in red turns to look toward Deelel, frowning gently. What's going on? Deelel recognizes the mysterious people in the pictures? Maira had thought the only people with keyblades were Sora, Mercade and Angantyr. This was in the past, but it couldn't be far in the past. "I'll try to explain later Rylen, but yes, they are important. Very," she replies quietly.

Maira blinks to Avira, and her shoulder. "Eheheh...oh my gosh how cute," she says, reaching out to give Will-mouse a gentle scritch behind a mousey ear.

Maira blinks then, looking up. "Did someone hear a guitar...?" she asks, turning to look toward the door. Her eyes lock onto a really large man in a mask. Bliiiiiiink. Slowly, Maira tilts her head as if she can't believe what she's seeing. She'd reach up to rub her eyes, but that would mess up her makeup and we can't have that, can we? She opened her mouth to try to say something, but nothing but "huh buhhh...?" managed to come out.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will laughs.

"Watch who you're callin' a pet, fool! Or you'll never see your fortune returned!" Will says, crossing his arms with narrowed eyes.

Before Jak grabs his tail! "H-hey! Don't do that! Alright alright." he jumps from Avira to Reize's shoulder. "Hey! Take me to the buffett!" Reize gets a side quest without his concent.

Will-Mouse joins the party without your concent!

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr turns towards Maira.

He walks to her, offering her a hand, "Good eve fair lady, May I have this dance?" he says, as hooty-tooty as possible, and offers her a hand. It is large.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
Rhia was already in the process of taking pictures with her tablet, for her own ends. She was moving from painting to painting and snapping pictures. She unceremoniously stepped out the fallen body of some idiot boy who got hit by a piece of ceiling as she took the last picture.

"And done." She announced in short order before stepping back over to Chita. "Hm?" She mumbled questioningly, looking off to the dance floor. "I wonder." That was as cryptic an answer as any. She smiled wanly at the sight before rolling her eyes. "I can hardly imagine such nonsense. It's not useful." Always logic and usefulness with this one.

Chita had his work cut out for him.

Avira has posed:
"...you know them?" Avira turns to stare at Deelel. "...how? Some kind of data hidden away somewhere?" It's clear she's largely surprised by this-maybe the Grid had something to do with it? That mysterious world was as incomprehensible to her as the human worlds were to most programs. She'd press for more later, lest she get completely consumed by this mystery and distracted from what was supposed to be a lovely night.

...should...be a lovely night. Raine and being a rodent taxi was testing that greatly right now. "Will, settle down..." she looks over to fix a withering glare upon Raine. Almost at that exact moment, a piece of ceiling crashes down upon him. For a split second she starts to wonder if she had suddenly developed some kind of crazy telekinetic powers like Carrie. A second later she resolves to not use them and ruin this castle like Carrie would.

A mysterious masked man enters. For a few seconds she wonders if this is Max. But...no, the build wasn't right, Max was as thin as a rail. "Wait, who?" she looks to Jaq. "I don't know who that is, but Sora is a spike brown-haired kid with a keyblade." Her eyes half-lid.

"You guys get dropped off at the buffet I'm afraid. I too would like a dance at some point." she informs her merry rodent companions, stepping away from the small throng of people to the buffet table. Or she starts that way until Will-mouse bails.

"Well that's a real weight off my shoulders."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
A glance is given towards Violet, "It looks like things have gotten a bit interesting, don't you think?" Zia's reassurance has the boy smiling faintly. However, his eyebrows furrow when it looks like Deelel and Zia will have to have a talk. Something about the painting must have really gotten the two on edge. He won't pry, it is their business, after all.

As a part of the ceiling collapes on an individual, Reize yelps and he turns to face the source of it. It looks like a well-dressed young man was hit upside the head. "Errr..." He gives a sheepish smile, "I wonder if he's okay."

And then... there is a dance to be had. As the music picks up and the people are about to dance, Reize looks over towards Annalise, "Er..." Truth be told, Reize has never asked a person to dance, "...Violet, would you care for a da---"

And suddenly, a rat jumps over towards his shoulder, "Ack! Avira-- your fri--okay okay!"

> Reize has received Side Quest: [Buffet Transporation]

"Okay, okay!"

He looks at Violet with a sweatdrop, "Errr--after I give our furry friend a trip to the buffet." The boy gives a faint bow, then he turns to walk towards the buffet area. He then looks over towards the rodent, "...You sound a bit familiar." He squints.

Edison Reece has posed:
"Ask the princess after the dance? Fair enough." The Ranger is curious, but he can wait a while to look for some answers, on the meanwhile, he leans against a conveniently placed column and does what he does best.

Look around for familiar faces... was that a piece of the ceiling falling down?

Oathkeeper has posed:
"Ventus." Jaq decides. "Blonde kid. Good with that weird sword of is." Gus adds. "He helped us put Cinderella's dress together!" Jaq finally adds. "And helped us stop that stupid cat." That's right. Keyblade wielders - mainly recognized for their ability to take care of pesky /cats/!

Raine Arland has posed:
Raine twitched on the ground as Wil-mouse slings a warning at him. "...Not as planned." He grumbled with his face still planted into the floor. The sound of Vespa's voice roused the young man out of his misery. "...."

And immediately, Raine sprung to his feet, smiling as if he hadn't just gotten clocked by a chunk of ceiling. The wait staff promptly shuffles by, sweeping the debris away. "I'm alright now that a lovely lady has shown concern for my radiance~" His adjusts his fedora and grins.

At that moment, the music starts to play and Raine canted his head aside a bit to listen. "...Nice. Not bad." He nodded along to the music for a bit before glancing back to Vespa. "So, Miss Maid, might I bother you for a dance?" He spoke in his most best faux-regal tone, removing his hat and bowing slightly, other hand offered should she agree.

Rylen Corvus has posed:
There is a piece of a very big puzzle that Rylen clearly doesn't have. Of course, any questions he might have about just what Keyblades are and why they might cause such a reaction from so many people are forced to wait for now. "Hmm." He looks at the closest of the paintings, stroking his chin slightly.

At least, until a masked stranger makes his way over. The Elf looks between him and Maira, but then relents and takes a step backwards, bowing his head slightly. "Far be it for me to keep a fair maiden from a dance with a mysterious stranger." He leaves it up to her to decide, however, offering a smile.

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria laughs as she watches Raine get hit by the falling ceiling. Seeing how she doesn't have a dance partner she decides to check out the buffet before it's all gone. She then notices Reize with the mice on his shoulders. "Gross, you think this place would be able to afford better pest control."

Deelel has posed:
Deelel says, "Good, it's just a lot to take in."

the memories re more clear for her now perhaps part of her process being disrupted or perhaps because of the perfect recall of a Program. She doesn't know but she's got questions to ask, she does pick up the note from Jaq she now has an name for one of the three. She thinks more she'll need to speak to the Princess later. She might be able to get some answers. She also recalls several other thing, there is much for her to think on.

She looks to Avira.

"It's a long story best to speak on it later Avira, and not in public. So shall we focus on the party."

Deelel clearly goes to get a better look at the air, but it is two fold reasons. One she wants to appreciate but also given how her memory works she's recording the images for her own use. This was not what she expected to find, not what she expected at all.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will scampers up towards Reize's hair.

...How do you make this thing shut up and move.

Will grabs the hair of Reize, aiming to control him like a gaint super robot.

"It's me! Will! Look long story, but you're talking too much, and I am not eating enough. Buffet my steed! Hey my loyal retainers, come on! Food!"

Maira has posed:
Maira would appear to still be too stunned to speak. She blinks back at Rylen as he steps back, then looks back to Totally Not Obviously Angantyr, nodding dumbly as she takes his hand and allows herself to be lead out onto the dance floor.

When she finally speaks, it is to say, "I'm totally hallucinating, aren't I?" she asks.

Vespa has posed:
Vespa smiles and giggles lighty at Raine antics. She bows back. "I accept your offer. Lead on!", she offers her hand to him.

Chita has posed:
It was hard for Chita to not laugh. Which is why he wound up laughing as Rhiannon went and said what she did. Some things not only never changed, but were never different it seems. "I see, I see. You are... ... something else." That's the only way he can think to describe her personality. As grating as she was in most cases... something like that was just quite funny to him. "Were you ever like everyone else, Rhiannon, or have you always been this ... adorable."

The adorable wasn't meant literally of course, though he was amused by the response as he listened to the music as Cinderella and Prince Charming went about their royal 'first dance' of the night. His mind, though, was still on the keyblades in the paintings. He would have to try and get a chance to speak with the King about this at some point. Perhaps if he presented himself as a Judge of another land who had wished to speak with the ruler. "Perhaps if you mind your manners a bit, dear Rhiannon, if I present myself as the Judge I am - we may be able to inquire of the King himself, or someone else who may know, about the ones with the keyblades in the paintings."

Oathkeeper has posed:
When Avira arrives at the buffet table, they both bail and join onto the table with Will.

In some world, this would be a huge oversight on the healthdepartment side of things. In this world? Rats on the table is totally A-OK. They're royal guests after all!

Violet has posed:
As Reize is about to ask her dance, her face lights up with an expectant flush, though the rat jumps onto his head in that exact moment and she blinks at it. Talking rat. Right. She blinks again. "Um, sure." she answers him, looking from RatWill to Reize and give him a reassuring smile. "I'll join you." It couldn't hurt after all, and she doesn't really want to let go of his hand after all.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
The mysterious masked stranger nods towards the elf.

He takes Maira's hand and leads her towards the dance floor.

"Yes." he says, with a small smile, "But it doesn't hurt to dream, now and again does it?" he says. He takes Maira, and starts leading on the dance floor, enjoying being...just a normal guy for the moment. It was going to end, eventually, but right now...

Everything else seemed so far away.

Zia has posed:
With the paintings revealed and her initial shock having worn off, Zia shifts herself through the crowd, heading for the buffet tables. She could use a drink and some food to get her mind off of things. Maybe, if her mind wasn't so cluttered, she'd have watched the royal pair with their dance, but... it seems unlikely that she'll be getting much opportunity to dance tonight.

Luckily, there are some mice on the table, and they offer a reasonable distraction. "There's a nice tray of cheese over here, if tha's what yer lookin for." She offers, gathering a few various pieces of food from the table for herself.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Ahoge acquired. Mission controls, Reize is now controllable.

The boy's eyes swirl around as the dizziness overtakes him. Oh god. The boy is losing his will as the antenna hair is grabbed and is used like a steering tool. Reize falls silent and obediently heads towards the buffet.

Though, part of him wants to ask: 'Oh god why does everyone go for that hair?!'

Of course, with Violet holding his hand, she will find that she is dragged along for the ride to the buffet at a hurried pace. Must not keep the master who is controlling his ahoge waiting! After burner!

This would be the second time that Zia gets to see a rodent controlling Reize's ahoge!

Avira has posed:
Avira winds up at the buffet table /anyway/, if only for the other two. "Ventus...how long ago was that, Jaq?" she asks the little mouse before he makes off for the food. Inwardly, she does cringe, because she does come from a world where rodents galavanting amongst food on a table was only acceptable in Tom and Jerry cartoons. These were talking animals though so....that makes it...okay?

Why don't these guys have tiny mouse dressy suits though? If they could craft a dress for Cinderella...

Grabbing a few slices of apple for herself, she starts to wander, giving the tapestries a closer inspection. She is well aware of Chita and Rhiannon more or less doing the same thing and is pointedly avoiding them both.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart isn't sure that having rats and mice at the food table really is all that healthy either... She decides to stay clear of the cheese either way, just in case.

She lifts an eyebrow as Reize seems to be walking weird. She leans toward his side a bit "Is everything alright Reize? You seem a bit stiff."

Being steered by the hair by a mice/rat, would would ever believe that kind of story/nonsense. She does't anyway.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"I wonder about that as well." She rolled her eyes, handwaving another personal question about herself. Nope. Never was that territory she'd allow anyone to touch on. The mention of Chita being able to talk with the King did get her attention however. "Hmn. I suppose you still do have some use in you yet." A slight smirk followed that statement as she looked away from the dance floor. It didn't interest here.

"Mind my manners though? I don't recall going out of my way to cause any trouble since we arrived." Looking up at the Viera, she just kept her smirk and added. "Has your blindness addled your mind now?" She brought a finger to her cheek then. "Hmmm...but now I am tempted. I could ask Maira for a vivisection session. Or perhaps that obviously masked-Angantyr for a blood sample. Or perhaps I could heckle Avira avoiding me right over there. ...Or maybe I could stride through the dance floor and address the king without any invitation at all. Oh, the possibilities~"

Troll.

Raine Arland has posed:
Raine smiled and nodded, taking hold of Vespa's hand. "You have my sincerest thanks, my lady." And then he lead her onto the dance floor, facing her and taking the lead dancing position, one hand held, and the other at her waist.

There was a pause, and then he asked. "You /do/ know how to dance, right?" His smile turned sheepish at that. "Just looking out for my feet now. Heh heh-"

Will Sherman has posed:
Success!

Will jumps off of Reize's head, "Thanks for the ride! Go dance! Your if your girlfriend gets any more red I think she might explode!" Hee hee...

Will continues do drain the luck of a certain loud mouth, until he forgets to continue doing it. Because he's a jerk, and deserves to look the part of the fool.

Will ends up next to the others again, He offers the two mice some cheese he grabed.

Maira has posed:
Maira smiles, so bright and warm it could melt a glacier in its tracks. "The hallucinations usually don't admit as much," she replies with a small laugh, her feet following his steps. In the back of her mind, she is thanking Faruja profusely for teaching her to waltz. She has to rest the hand not in his on his chest rather than shoulder simply because its far more comfortable that way, even in heels.

Maira moves closer, leaning into speak quietly. "You know, the mask doesn't actually hide who you are, right? Why did you come? I kinda thought...well," she says, looking away for a moment. "And /where/ did you get those clothes?" she asks, looking him over. Gulp.

Why didn't she get the fairy godmother treatment!? Well..she did get this dress as a gift...GASP Skoll is her fairy godmother.

Oathkeeper has posed:
"A few years now." Jaq answers Avira, looking at his thicker buddy. "Sorry, I'm not good with years."

Then suddenly, Avira is forgotten as Zia brings them news of cheese! "Cheese?" Jaq asks. "Cheese!" Gus declares. The two looks towards where Zia pointed to. "Hey, 'King of mice'!" Jaq calls for Will. "Cheese!" And off they run.

The dance continues on the dancefloor, though it the first dance is starting to slowly end. It's sure people will have time to ask Cinderella the questions that are burning inside of their chests - waiting to come out.

But for now, more dancing.

Also, Skoll is NOT her fairy godmother. Phoenix is.

Vespa has posed:
"Oh I've had a little pratice.", Vespa says. She slips off her shoes. "That's a bit better.", she takes Raine had. "Just follow me lead okay?", she leads him onto the dance floor.

Edison Reece has posed:
Edison is still leaning around, only this time, he's tapping his foot at the rhythm of the music and giving quick waves to anyone he might recognize from his encounters in this world. Some might recognize him, others might not remember his face.

But why was the expedition leader to those ruins walking around with a mice on his head?

Violet has posed:
Reize's body seems to move on it's own accord as he seems to move and jerk awkwardly, steered in the direction of the buffet. A sound escapes Annalise, but she reaches out to grasp his hand with both hands to keep from letting go completely in the process.

When he finally gets to his destination and RatWill hops off the boy head. She feels a little relieved at that point, exhaling a small breath as her second hand falls by her side, smiling. "Never a dull moment." Anna murmurs, smiling. The rat's comment though, if she wasn't red before she is now.

Aerith has posed:
Late, but fashionably.

This was definitely going to be an interesting entrance to be sure, seeing as she was dressed in something those that knew her would probably not expect.

Aerith entered the castle itself wearing a sleeveless, strapless ball gown that hemmed at the ankles, with frills lined along the skirt. Save for the trim, the whole thing was pink silk, without a seam in sight, save for the lacing just behind her that held it together.

Her hair was no longer in its braid; instead, it was down and styled in waves, terminating at the small of her back. To cap it off, she wore a pair of pale pink elbow-length gloves.

The reaction from her friends would be something for her to remember.

Raine Arland has posed:
"Huh, wait wha-"

And then suddenly, Vespa's the one leading. Raine has a mind to object for a moment, but then just shrugs. "Fine with me! Let's do this!" He grinned and nodded along to the music, looking for a good point to segue into the dance.

"No need to worry about me though. I've had a little practice too." Just throwing that out there. No need for either of them to tip-toe in the dance.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize's current expression.

@_@

As Tifa questions about his well-being, Reize is still rather mesmorized, or controlled. It fades off once Will releases hold and jumps off of his head. He shakes his head to regain consciousness and he gives a sweatdrop at Tifa, "Hee! Yeah! I'm alright!" The boy blinks, "You look great." He tries to compliment her.

And back to Will, the boy nods slowly.

His attention to face Violet. A glance is given towards her as both of his hands hold onto her own.

"...Would you care for a dance?"

Pause.

"... Though, I don't really know how to dance."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will, transfers fate into Reize.

He doesn't know how to dance, but he might just accidently do it right.

Will is snarfing down cheese.

Zia has posed:
As Reize approaches, Zia can't help but notice that he's being controled by a rodent. Again. The gargoyle stares for a moment, "Ye should really get tha looked at sooner or later. Before some chipmunk turns ye inte a robot fighting machine or something."

Ear-twitch. Wait, did that mouse just talk? It's not the first time that Zia has heard talking animals, but usually you end up needing some sort of guide-book to communicate in squeekers. "Ah'll never really get used te this place." She laughs, leaning back a bit against the table to eat some of the food she's gathered.

It's then that she glances at Avira. "Seems like ye know a bit about the people in the paintings then?" She asks, curiously.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Mysterious man continues to dance with Maira.

"Perhaps not, but a lady who was very insistant that I be here tonight...perhaps just for more than one reason." The woman, is now singing on the piano. Probably 'I need a hero'.

Because that's what hip fair god-mothers sing.

Angantyr dances, gracefully, as if he can actually dance. He even twirls Maira.

"She's the reason for the clothes too.." he says, and shrugs. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

Chita has posed:
Chita simply shook his head. What could he even say. In the back of his mind, he wondered what about Rhiannon he even enjoyed, even as he listened to try and figure out who was where. "So then... take us to the King if you so wish, or at least approach his guards and let us see if they seem more acceptable to such." Assuming the King has some kind of guard. It's entirely possible they wouldn't even believe him, although he did have a ring on his right ring finger with the Judges Signet in it, as well as a rather drab-looking ring with a red X on it.

He pointedly ignored Rhiannons remarks, knowing full well that he would simply give her a rise if he said something about it. Best to ignore her choice of goading.

Oathkeeper has posed:
The song slowly comes to an end, and the Prince and Princess bow, before the two move out to mingle with the crowds. The prince moves towards the nobles, while Cinderella herself actually moves upon Avira and Zia. The blonde truly is what one would typically call beautiful.

And her presence. There truly is something radiant about it. And it's not just the sparkling blue dress. Though it certainly /helps/.

"I saw you looking at the painting. Do you know Aqua?" She asks. "I haven't seen her in so long. And I'm worried something might have happened to her." She admits, her voice truly showing worry.

Obviously, the songs continue - and the dances continue as well.

Avira has posed:
"Zia." Avira grins warmly, watching as Reize stumbles by to drop Will Mouse off at the buffet table. "Actually I know nothing about the people in the paintings. Deelel seemed to have some kind of reaction when they were revealed. All I know is what this little mouse here had told me." Avira gently nods her head toward Jaq.

"It seems..." she puts a finger to her chin, "That they were around several years ago..." she trails off as the Princess approaches them both and pauses. Wasn't she supposed to curtsey at this point? Avira actually tries to do so, somewhat awkwardly at that. Her eyebrows raise at what Cinderella says to them both and she nudges the gargoyle. "I'm afraid I have never heard that name. I recognize what a keyblade is though."

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
It would seem that Chita was learning. Rhia probably would have gone to cause some kind of trouble, had he bought into her sass. Instead, she leaves it alone and looks off in the general direction of the king. "Why not. Very well." She nodded and turned, walking off in that direction. Whether the king had guards, or was alone, she'd approach.

Smiling pleasantly despite her usual self, the scientist waved in greeting to get their attention. "Hello, excuse me, might I have a word with the King? If it's not too much trouble?" Showed that she could be courteous and well-mannered when it mattered. But it usually didn't to her. Hah.

Maira has posed:
"Well...I'm really happy you are here," she says, "I'm pretty sure...you know my reasons," she says with a blush.

Gift horse in the mouth? That's a really strange expression she totally doesn't care about thinking about right now. "Well they are nice...but not really...you, I guess. I prefer you as you are, without the clothes," she says, then realizes what she said and sputters. "I mean-uuurrrrggg," she groans, facepalming into his chest. Er, facechesting?

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr laughs...

He pats Maira's shoulders, "Maybe lady, my dear..." he says, as the dance ends... "Lets talk to the Princess...she...knows something I need to know, and I'll explain lader." he says, suddenly a bit seriously, "And we'll dance more...before later." He winks.

He leads her towards Avira and Cinderella, just in time to hear the name Aqua...

"Is that her name?"

Deelel has posed:
Deelel is going for the buffet at the moment and is just going to enjoy some of the food for now, she had let the other people get a first pass. So now it is her turn to enjoy it. A few years? So not that long, so she leaves that to stew for a bit as she goes to get some food.

Violet has posed:
Reize meets her eyes and Violet smiles, shy and warm, and positively glowing. If anyone were to compete with Cinderella with sheer lovey-dovey happiness it would be the princess in secret, Annalise. "I would be honored." she replies, her smiles subtly growing. "And we can dance slowly so that you don't have to worry about the steps." It didn't matter to her anyways. Waltz or not, it didn't matter in the least.

Reize takes the lead and leads Violet to the dance floor, where a hand slides to her waist and the other gently takes her hand. They begin their dance, to his pace, and after a few moments she dips her head a little closer to him, whispering something softly before straightening herself.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart just watches Reize going about weirdly anyway. But Reize is odd in his own way. She smiles at the compliment though "Thanks. But I feel really weird in this robe... everyone is weird more princess-y robes, and long ones too." She lifts her shoulders though. "Dancing is not hard, just move with the music, and follow your partner. Its like fighting really."

Maira has posed:
Maira flushes bright red. She looks like she is going to pass out for a moment. Princess? What princess? Knows something? Huh?

Maira blinks severl times and nods, taking Angantyr by the arm before she actually does fall over as she lead on over to the group. "Don't catch on fire don't catch on fire," she chants under her breath.

Distraction time! There is a mystery! A short conversation takes places over the VALK frequency that has caught her attention. She smiles to the princess, dropping a curtsy to her. "H-hello your majesty," she greets, then listens. Angan and Deelel had seen this woman in their dreams?

Zia has posed:
"G'eve Avira." Zia offers, returning the smile. "Are ye here by yerself, too, or is Mercade runnin' a wee bit late?" That seems to explain the lack of a certain werewolf, although perhaps not the reasons for his absense.

The fact that the VALKYRI leader is as unawares of some events leaves Zia thoughtful. "Aye? Ah think it may have te do wi' some of tha nonsense around Castle Oblivion a while back. Ah'm nae sure Ah know all the details, m'self." The bits of information that Avira offers get noted in her head, but before she has a chance to say much else, the conversation is joined by a Princess as well as Maira and the mysterious masked man.

"Ah've never heard the name, Ah'm afraid, m'lady." Zia bows her head to the princess. "There's... somethin aboot it tha looked familiar, though." Lying is not the gargoyle's strong suit, so skirting around it seems easiest. "M'friend Deelel could probably tell ye more aboot wha she knows."

Zia leans up on tip toes, trying to spot the program and wave her over.

Aerith has posed:
"Hello, Tifa. Been a while, huh?"

This was from behind the barmaid, as Aerith came up to her good friend. She was right; they hadn't seen each other in forever, just about. So now would be a good time to catch up. "You look nice!"

Edison Reece has posed:
With the dance over, Edison did not lose time as well, walking towards the princess at a normal pace. Wouldn't want to look like he was stalking her or something.

Okay, that sounded creepy. Either way, he got a name, and little else, arriving just in time to hear the question of a tall, masked man. Giving a smile and a nod to Avira, he listens attentively to whatever information the princess can give.

Chita has posed:
As Rhiannon walks off towards somewhere, Chita follows, the cane he was using in place of a walking stave making an occasional tap on the ground. Stopping when he didn't hear her heels making further noise, he heard her speak and nodded. "I would very much enjoy thanking him for the opportunity of attending, among other such." Which was true. Keyblade thing aside, Chita fully planned to thank the King for the event itself. It was nice to simply have a night out and enjoy things.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
A smile is rewarded towards Tifa, though he looks conemplative, "...Yeah, I agree." Upon Tifa's advice, Reize offers a nod.

The young man then turns to face Annalise, his gaze falling towards her. A smile grows. However, when Princess Cinderella passes by, the boy gives a bit of an awkward bow, and then he starts to take Annalise by her hands and they take to the dance floor.

As the boy sands to the center of the dance floor, his expression becomes more or less nervous. A gulp is given, but he keeps his posture up. His eyes cast over to the side to see some of the dancers moving to the tune of the music. It is a simple one-two step. They hold their partner close.

It's a waltz.

Reize takes a gradual step, braving his way to the waltz with Annalise in his arms. It is thanks to Will's fortune that the boy has been able to pick up the steps a little easier. While the boy is generally keen on picking up things, the awkwardness makes it more difficult. Perhaps it is Will's good luck that is relaxing the nervousness.

There is nothing else that draws him more than the young lady at the dane floor with him. He takes a step forward, then back. As the two dance to the wonderous slow pace of the song, Reize leans his head slightly forward to hear her whisper.

A smile grows as his eyes lock at her. Then, both eyes shut as he cants his head to the side in the midst of the dance.

Raine Arland has posed:
With the dance finished and the first couple moving off to mingle with the others, Raine parted ways with Vespa as well. He could see a lot of familiar faces gathering to Avira and Cinderella, but....nope. Not interested. These keys and heroes didn't interest him.

Narrowly avoiding tripping over his own two feet due to a lack of luck, Raine eventually made it over to Lumeria, who seemed to have been mingling about alone. Feeling a wee bit guilty for some reason, he spoke up.

"Hey, Lumeria, you doing okay here?" He grinned a little, rubbing the back of his head. "Can't have my business partner feeling under the weather now. It'd put a wrench in everything!" That said, he gave the elf a look, brow arched in curiosity.

Oathkeeper has posed:
The princess makes a small curtsey towards Angantyr as the mysterious masked man approaches, and then gives an affirmative nod. "Yes. Her name is Aqua." She never gave a last name. But in a world where people are called 'The King', 'The Duke', 'Prince Charming' and 'Cinderella'... people don't usually ask questions.


Rhannon finds the king to be without guards, enjoying the food at the buffet. He's just chomping away at a nice leg of chicken when Zellen interupts him. "Oh, of course my dear! What can I do for you?" The jolly King asks her, putting the chickenleg down onto his plate and patting her on the shoulder.

Chita joining in has the man nodding at him. "Ah of course, you are welcome my son."


Maira's presence joining Angantyr has Cinderella smiling at her. "Oh hello. I love your dress." She tells her. A compliment to set the girl's heart at ease?

"Oh, so your friend knows her?" The way Zia looked at the painting though, seems to make Cinderella a little suspicious. She may have a pure heart, but she's not easily fooled. Still, she smiles and chalks it up as nervousness due to meeting royalty. She looks over towards Deelel.

The Prince, in the background, is in the meantime disco-dancing. Something about Saturdaynight fever? It must be some animator's sense of humor. But look at him go!

Deelel has posed:
Deelel has got a few bits of food, and thinks there's no time like the present to speak to Cinderella. She moves a bit ahead to catch up with the Princess, Avira and Zia. She catches the name for a moment, and takes second before she speaks up. Zia has been quite helpful there, she will have to thank her in a little bit.

"I am aware of Aqua. I didn't have her name until you mentioned it, I seen her before, what can you tell me of them and the story behind those paintings? It's strange to see keyblade users like this."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smiles to Aerith, nodding "Yes, its been a while. I don't get to wear this dress that often, and it seemed like it was a quite party. Not, heartless ridden at least, but I hope I didn't jinx it either." She sighs. She wants a rest about those, its like relentless now.
She puts her drink down for a moment, as she also goes to take a turn at greeting the princess and the prince, curtsying to them elegantly (as much as she can muster at least), and then to depart not wanting to take too much of their time either as many others follow her too. Unless they want to chat to her some more at least. She doesn't feel at ease with royalty either.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr frowns...

Oh he knows...he knows where she lives. He becomes more...disturbed, thinking of where his vision was when they talked. The fact that she laughed at his sense of humor speaks volumes for how bad that place is.

Darkness without end. But even though he knows where she is, finding her in that place is impossible.

Truly...a grim fate.

Avira has posed:
"Mercade's running late." Avira explains. "He should be here later." Unless some crazy Shadow Lord abducted him again like...oh, over a year ago. While Manhattan was going down.

As Castle Oblivion is mentioned, Avira shivers. "That place. I've heard of others being called there but for this...nothing I've experienced there has..." Ugh, just thinking about all those things she was seen and subjected to in that castle made her stomach turn. Avira returns her focus on the conversation at hand, becoming an information-soaking sponge.

Edison receives a smile from Avira. "Oh, so you recognize me even like this?" She teases, taking a more playful approach to Raine's earlier taunting.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Ehehehe..." Rhia chuckled a little at the shoulder pat, but kept her pleasant smile all the same. "Thank you for your generosity, your majesty." A nod. "I was hoping to ask a few questions regarding those commemorative paintings that were just unveiled. Specifically, the figures depicted within them."

Tablet produced and a writing app opened, she was like a reporter prepared to record the juicy details. "Is there anything you can tell me?"

Maira has posed:
"Aqua," she says, looking at the picture of the blue haired woman. Well, that makes sense. "So she helped you somehow?" she asks. The pictures aren't really enough for Maira to put the whole story together. At the compliment, Maira smiles nervously. "Really? Thank you! I love yours. Its so /puffy/ and sparkling..." she says, going a little starry eyed.

Then Maira looks back to Angantyr, feeling his thoughts shift and become troubled like a wave. She frowns as well, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. "What happened to her?"

Aerith has posed:
Aerith follows Tifa for a few moments, yet she can't help but overhear a few snatches of conversation from the buffet table. Tifa was unmistakable in what she wore, so Aerith would find her regardless of what else happened. Instead, she told the barmaid she would be with her in a moment, and headed toward the growing throng of people around what appeared to be a member of this castle's royal family.

She made no move to curtsey or introduce herself until she found an opening to do it. Instead, she silently mingled with the group, and listened.

Lumeria has posed:
Well, the prince is alone but he's still in everyone's sight. Lumeria knows she won't be able to get any privacy if she does approach him. Her thought process is disturbed upon hearing Raine's voice. "Yes, I was just thinking about something." She serves herself some food onto a plate trying not to think about the rats. "How was your dance?"

Zia has posed:
"Aye." Zia affirms with a nod. Afterall, she wasn't the only one in the room to have a reaction to the paintings. Anyone who has seen a keyblade would probably be given pause, and she's seen Sora, King Mickey, and Shiki all carrying the mysterious weapons. Any suspicious looks are met with a darting of the eyes as the gargoyle glances at the food on her plate instead. Really interesting food.

Hearing Maira ask 'What happened to her' only sends a shiver up her spine, one that the gargoyle masks by reaching for something to drink in the mean time. Her tail twitches behind her, doing that cat-thing of revealing far more than she'd like about her inner state. "Ah'd be curious te hear the story, m'self, m'lady."

Edison Reece has posed:
"I've gotten used at recognizing people even if they're dressing outside their usual clothes." he replies with a smile and a bow towards the princess. After all, recognizing people inside and outside their armors took some work to get used to.

"Aqua..." he asks, turning towards the relevant painting. He heard the word Keyblade several times by now, and so he has a name to give to their strange weapons. 'What happened to her?' sounds a mighy good question indeed. "I wonder the same thing..." he mutters, waiting to know more.

Chita has posed:
"Indeed... hearing that you have paintings of such figures and what is in them from my ladyfriend here has sparked both of our interests in them." Chita answers as he nods to the King about his return of phrase from the thanks. No guards it seems, which he thought was interesting. But perhaps this land simply had no need for such, which was also a refreshing idea.

Raine Arland has posed:
Raine adjusted his hat and looked over in the direction of the prince...who was at the moment 'stayin' alive'. "...Wow, that man can move." He muttered to humself, shaking his head after. "Thinking about something though? Heh...It can't be anything good." He grinned mischievously and then added.

"You know stalking royalty is frowned upon, right?" Another dinner roll is grabbed and then devoured in short order. That done, he downed a glass of water before smirking and offering a hand. "You seem like you need a distraction. Nevermind the dance I just had; care for a dance yourself?"

Raine chuckled after that and added. "I mean, as your employer, it's my job to make sure you don't get into trouble, huh? Am I right? I'm totally right!" Not.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel looks to Maira and comments "We'd not be here if not for her and her companions from what little I do know. As for the castle I have been there. To save a friend from someone experimenting upon her. We got lucky everyone got out of there."

A disc comes back to mind she's been trying to decrypt it but it's been slow going, she needs to track down TRON and ask for help on that.

"Still I'd very much like to know what you do, still even knowing her name I think is important."

She takes a bite of her food and waits, she seems quite interested to know more just from her body language alone.

"Also if I might ask how long ago was it you met her?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
And then there is someone who is late to the ball.

Really, really, really late.

Mercade Alexander shows up, wearing a leather Ivalician overcoat instead of his usual beaten and worn leather 'Detective Classic' trenchcoat. The coat is closed at the moment, and he's wearing a black fedora instead of the usual brown leather as well. Seemingly in concession to the situation, he is wearing some nice dress shoes.

He's doing a decent job of not looking totally lost, at least. With some negotiations at the entrance, Mercade enters the ballroom, looking over the plethora of well-dressed and beautiful people.

He sighs faintly to himself as he straightens his shoulders, bracing as if preparing to go out into a storm.

Oathkeeper has posed:
The king shakes his head at Rhiannon. "I'm sorry my dear. I only ever met the young man on that pointing." He points at the one depicting Terra. "He saved my son and his wife from a monsterous incursion. "Princess Cinderella knows far more than I can tell." He pauses for a moment, before adding; "Are you a friend of theirs?"


The Princess nods appreciatingly at Maira. "Yes, she helped me take care of this really mean looking pumpkin. Her heart was troubled though." She notes. "But she was strong. Not just because she beat off that monster. But all of her." She then looks back towards Deelel, who has now approached. Her hands are laid before her belly, one in the other.

"It's a long story really. You see, a few years ago, I was nothing but a girl living in one of the villages. I won't bore you with the details, but during major events in my life - these keyblade wielding heroes always found a way to bring me the strength I needed."

She's about to continue the story when...

Seith has posed:
The large castle doors suddenly are swung open roughly, a dark pressure pushing behind them. At their center stands a man with silver-white hair, draped in a black armor. Depending on how close Mercade was standing to those doors, he might get blown away!

"Good evening, Gentlemen and Gentlewomen!" Some of those here certainly will recognize this man as nobody other than /Seith/! Staring out into the hall, letting the cold air fill the castle hall. Some of the candles blew out during his rough opening of those doors.

"Your entertainment for the night... /has arrived/!"

A masterfully snide laugh points into the crowds, his eyes locked on Cinderella.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade is just about to move in when those doors send him sprawling into the room, sliding on the marble facefirst. His fedora goes flying in the air as well.

For the moment, he appears insensate. See? There's even little stars and birds flying around his head!

Lumeria has posed:
"I'm not interested him romantically if that's what you're thinking." Lumeria answers. Then again she wonders if t would work at all seeing how he's already married and it wouldn't be out of love. "I would if the library is open. She could go for a good book about now...You want to dance with me?" Thankfully the awkward moment is broken up by the man in black armor.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith didn't bother glancing behind her. The voice, that aura, it was enough for her. Fortunately for her, she was always ready for a good show, and apparently he had come to deliver it. She did nothing but smile and turn toward the noise. "I know this music." She walked toward the doors. "And I know how to dance to it."

She did not will her staff forth yet, that would come in due time. Aerith did however have her magic at the ready... "Good evening, Seith. I doubt you're here to dance... but could I offer you one anyways?"

Reize Seatlan has posed:
It is a wonderful moment to enjoy with Annalise. In a way, it actually lets her be the princess again. In another sense, it feels like a growing, yearning feeling is stirring in the boy. He holds her close to him, taking in her heartbeat with his own. And yet, the dance---

--- is cut short as the pendant begins glowing ominously.

"Huh?!"

That is when the castle doors are blasted open by the dark pressure. Reize twists to turn Annalise away from the force of energy, "Anna, get back!"

Then, the boy recognizes the Shadow Lord, Seith. It's as if on cue, the pendant continues to glow ominously. Sprinting along the front of the crowd, Reize is already shifting to an aggressive stance.

"You're not welcomed here, jerk! Get out!"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr shakes his head...that poor girl. He remembered that strength, even as it was waning in that place...

His thoughts were interupted by...

Seith. Angantyr doesn't even hesitate, moving infront of Cinderella to block off his view of her. His hand extending...and something familar happens to those who know of tehse things. Light and darkness coalesc for a moment, before the Tyrant Breaker appears, a massive Keyblade held in hand as he moves to engage with Seith.

"It seems you don't know when to quit.." He says, followed by another string of the guitar.

Oh god that's going to happen all night.

He looks back to the Princess, "They're after you, I don't have time to explain." he says, and turns back towards the target. "We can't split up, the last time we did, they kidnapped someone else."

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Oh dear." Rhia mumbled at the King's answer. Seemed they went to the wrong person. Nonetheless they did get some info out of him. "So you met the brown haired one. Thank you for the information." She smiled still and noted it all down. "It's much appreciated."

She didn't get the chance to move off and bother Cinderella at that moment however as Seith made his dramatic entrance. "....My, my. His timing certainly is impeccable." Amusement bleeding through her voice, Rhia watched the proceedings, not looking too surprised or indignant about his interruption. "I do wonder what 'they' want here however..."

Her eyes settle on Cinderella at that moment.

"Ah."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart turns around as Reize calls Seith out as well. She didn't realize that a Shadow Lord would be hanging around here either. She did jinx it with her comment about Heartless, didn't she? Or was it going to happen before she mentionned it.

She shakes her head, but she keeps on the ready... if he decides to do anything weird, he's going to have a good chunk of the various hero groups around ready to pounce, it would seem.

Avira has posed:
Speak of the devil. It might actually take a moment for Mercade to recognize Avira, what with her hair done up all fancy and the fact that she's actually wearing a dress. But she is there, by the buffet table, listening as Cinderella explains the intervention of keyblade weilders in her life. Avira really wants to interrupt to ask how many years ago but...something else interrupts them.

Seith.

In his entrance, Avira actually notices that Mercade has come too, but has been knocked cold onto his face. Anger boils in her mind and Avira's proper lady act seems to crumble in an instant. "WE ARE HAVING A NICE EVENING HERE, SEITH!" Avira screeches, her fists balled. What a time to not have her weapon! "GO AWAY, NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE!!!!"

Zia has posed:
The story told by the princess draws a more serious look on to Zia's features. It wasn't fair what happened to the hero of that tale, but there's still so much she doesn't know about the others. Ventus? The gargoyle is just about to speak when the doors slam open.

Her body tenses, eyes narrowing as she looks towards the incoming Shadow Lord. Zia isn't as familiar with him as some of the others, but it's clear from their reactions that this can only mean trouble. Her eyes glow an eerie red and the gargoyle snarls as her wings flex, moving to protectively flank the princess.

Raine Arland has posed:
"Well, yeah. I mean, why no-" BLAM. "Holy cra-" The loudness of the doors slamming open blotted out Raine's surprised curse. He watched a familiar looking detective slide across the floor. "...Dude's seen better days." Not that he could talk. Luck being drained and all.

But more importantly.

Seith is given a look. "Man, do you /have/ to do this now?" He sighed and rubbed the back of his head in exasperation. Hoping this wouldn't ruin the night. Might be a bit late for that.

His left eye glowed a deep blue however as a voice rang out in his head again.

'Be wary. I can sense great power from that one.'

Raine arched a brow then. "Really? Interesting. Laevateiin never warned me about that. Damn slithering little..."

Maira has posed:
Maira nods. "She'd have to be, to weild a keyblade," she replies to Cinderella. The story, even as short as it was, surprises her. She was just a normal girl? From humble backgrounds? Heh...maybe they have some things in common after all.

"I'm sorry princess, if something happened to her...if there's anything I can do to help though--" then she is interrupted by the door slamming open and Seith appearing, his eyes moving to Cinderella.

Of course. She's a princess of heart. Of COURSE!

Maira narrows her eyes toward Seith. "Oh no you don't. You are /not/ going to ruin tonight, and you are /not/ taking anyone." she says. Oh, she is so glad she wore this dress tonight. A hand rises, sheathed in flame. She's ready to fight.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel listens and now has a rought idea of a timeline now, she owes the pricesses wuite a bit she settles into listen to the story but well? That's not to be, that's not to be at all, why is that? Because Seith has dropped, well crashed the party in just abotu every sense of the words. Now the question is, why is Seith here?

Edison Reece has posed:
Edison nodded with the explanation provided by the princess, noting to himself the tidbit of information he got about these Keyblade Wielders. So, there were some kind of wanderers that helped people, huh?

However, the ruckus caused by newcomer snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned his head towards the guy at the doors, his eyebrow raised in a question voiced some moments later: "Who's the clown?"
However, the reactions of the people around him put him in high alert. "Bad news, I assume?" he asked rhetorically, even as he called upon his armor and lifted his handguns.

Chita has posed:
Suddenly...

A very choice foul word comes out of his mouth. "I cannot chance fighting him here..." he has already used his illusions once to twist the Viera into doing something else. "Dear King, I suggest you take yourself and your guests and as many of your staff as you can and leave another way. This fellow has a habit of using illusions quite well and I would not want anyone to get hurt if it is at all avoidable."

As Chita says that, though, he holds out his right hand and a large metallic spear appears in it. He didn't want to fight, but he /would/ attempt t odefend.

Seith has posed:
Seith smirks as Angantyr moves in front of the Princess, and brings his hand out only slightly in order to send a wave of crackling energy around him, forming a black-purple swirling barrier of sorts around himself. "Ah, you misunderstand my dear boy..." So he begins his little monologue.

The princess in the meantime, lets out a loud gasp as Angantyr steps out before her and releases the Keyblade. "It's..." She starts. He's asking her to leave, but she now has questions /for him/. "Are you a friend of Aqua's?" She asks him. The Prince is quickly at her side, taking her hand and having drawn a sword, protecting her as well.

"Thank you friend. I will keep her safe." Prince Charming tells Angantyr. "Though it truly seems like we haven't seen the last of people bearing that type of weapon to protect our family for a long time longer." Zia's joining in gets her a good appreciating nod, as will anyone else who comes to the rescue.


The King is quickly joined by a series of guards from out of nowhere. Chita gets a nod from them.

"Now now now. What kind of welcome is this?" Seith asks, raising his hands while smirking that annoying little smirk of his. "No no. I'm not here to ruin the party at all. I wouldn't want to harm such a beautiful and idyllic little castle." He glances down as Avira comes running at him, and she suddenly finds herself forced down to the ground by a massive wave of darkness just before she can reach him. With some struggling, perhaps she could impress him and reach his boot.

"No no. I'm here simply to give you a warning. Or you can call it a threat, if you want." He makes a little curtsey, bowing before his 'audience'. "And because I am feeling generous, I will even give you some extra time. It's my /gift/, to the royal pairing."


Cinderella tries to step forwards, but inevitably will be held back by her protectors. "We don't need your kind of gift!" She declares with strength in her voice. She's no longer that frail girl that Aqua met.


"Ah, but I must insist, m'lady." The man answers her, looking at the paintings. "It's after all, the perfect occassion for this, is it not?" Such an interesting tableau indeed!

"In two weeks time, on the eve of Friday, I Curse You!" He points at Cinderella. "To Sleep The Eternal Sleep. This is my warning. And when you sleep, I will come to /collect/."

The crowd gasps. The King gasps. Clearly, what he is saying somehow holds weight here. He's not speaking of death however.

"And no True Love's Kiss will save you. I promise you that. Stand in my way, and your kingdom will suffer the same fate."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade gets yelled at by a mousy Will, who is trying to wake him up. He gets pulled at, and he flops over, staring up at the ceiling while Seith makes his pronouncements.

"Dammit Will, the wallet isn't under my hat." He mumbles.

Mouse!Will begins slapping him in the face, yelling about him losing badass points, and several stars fly off, while birds flutter irritably away.

Mercade blinks, his eyes focusing. "Uh...." He pauses. And then he blinks again, focusing his eyes upwards. "Oh..." He pauses again. "Ooooohhhhhh..."

He suddenly bolts upright, scrambling to his feet in front of the incensed Avira. "Oh god! Avira! You look amazing tonight! I mean, I'm sorry I'm late, really, look I'll make it up to you!" His hands wave, frantically trying to calm Avira down.

And still not realizing Seith is there making dire pronouncements.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize looks at the man, then he grits his teeth. The boy winces as Avira is moving in for the strike, but the force will prove an obstacle for her. Reize sees that he won't make any effort by charging in. He hasn't quite attacked yet either. Too many people at risk.

A curse?!

Reize's eyes narrow, the boy feels the rage within his soul burn. The essence of the magic resonates... and Reize is able to see 'something' form. The pendant allows the boy that sight of magic.

"What the?!" The essence of the magic from beneath the man's armor is spilling. "Oi! Something's coming out from his armor!" Unfortunately, while Reize can see, he can't counteract a spell.

Seith has posed:
There may or may not be a little twitch at the corner of Seith's eye, as Mercade clearly doesn't appear to be noticing him. Incoming gravity-pressure on his position to get him to 'pay attention'.

Nobody ignores Shu Sh~... Seith!

Will Sherman has posed:
"STOP!" says a voice.

He flips from Mercade's hat right infront of Seith.

His hands glow, a bright and fierce color. "I will not allow you to do so, little man! You overstep your bounds, For this woman and kingdom have the protection of..." guitar string.. "WILL SHERMAN! KING OF THE RATS!" and Will proceeds to punch Seith, aiming to try and counter the forming curse...with fate breaking fae magic!

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr shakes his head... "Now's not the time for exposition, Princess." He says towards Cinderella, "Forgive my words, but we have bigger fish to fry." He says, and is unable to block Curses?!

"Damn.."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart immediately moves between Seith and the roayl couple. She doesn't know of their fighting sstrength, but she's doing to assume that they wouldn't take as many hits as she can. or give as many probably. Plus, royalty, protect them "You're not gettig through us that easily either." She stands firmly, legs wide in her fighting stance, with her fists held up toward Seith.

She's always been a protector, in many ways, and this is one of those occasion. Just not protect as the shield, but rather as the sword.

Avira has posed:
For someone who was unarmed, Avira was still pretty aggressive. Not ladylike at all in the least either. It looks very well that, on her way, Avira's going to punch or smack Seith for this intrusion. She's expecting a fight, not unlike when they recovered Alice in the tunnels beneath the Wind Shrine. Mercade intercepts before she can get that much farther and she starts to calm.

Then Seith taunts her again and she makes a step forward-only to fall over ONTO Mercade from Seith's gravity spell, trapping him beneath her. Surprised, angered, and flustered she tries to pull herself back up all throughout Seith's monologue. "He can curse?" Avira gasps in surprise. "I didn't know he could /curse/." There is a small bit of relief as she does see Prince Charming is ready to defend his princess. At least if something awful were to happen right now, he'd have her back while Ang and Maira fought.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel is reaching for her disc, it's been perhaps an oddity on her dress but it's something Deelel can not go without. Would you leave half your mind and soul somewhere that wasn't in arms reach if you had to? She however is waiting on some others before she moves, she does pull the disc and arm it, it hums to life. She's moving in to add what support she can do. She looks at him for a moment and narrows her eyes.

The program wants to fight now but she knows that's not the best thing to do right now. She halts for a moment as Will now appears to punch fate right in the strings.

She's now making ready to move, she holds the chakram like it's a part of her and she keeps ready, in two weeks? They got two weeks to deal with this. Deelel suspects this is something from Maleficent has taught Seith recently or he's uncovered some powerful magics as of late.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith pouts. "Oh come on, that's it? You just come in and proclaim something like that? I thought you were here to participate, not to deliver a message." She smiled. "Well consider the message received. If there is nothing else, the door you just kicked open... is still open. Feel free to leave."

Maira has posed:
Maira, fiery thing that she is, starts walking toward Seith, her hands balled tightly into fists. "Seith! Why are you doing this?!" she demands. After his appearance at their party, talking and socializing like a normal person...its difficult to right him off as gone, insane and evil, as she once may have. If he is actually trying to cast a curse and there is any sort of magic to try to reverse or block, Maira would try, but she suspects this is just the promise.

Raine Arland has posed:
At this point, with all the confusion and Seith's dire warning, Raine stood back and crossed his arms, watching the proceedings with an impassive gaze. "Tch, the things that happen when you think everything'll be fine." Regardless, he wasn't moving to make heroic announcements or move to defend. He just stood off to the side by Lumeria to bear witness.

"...A curse, huh?" And then he smirked. "Sounds like fun. I can't wait to see how this pans out..."

And then the king of the mice launches an epic attack.

Raine has to blink and then look again to make sure he's not seeing things. "Okay, NOW I've seen it all." He hasn't.

Edison Reece has posed:
Behind the faceplate, Edison grinds his teeth in annoyance. A curse... He never faced such things before. Worse, given the shields that the newcomer seemed to have, chances are that his shots would be deflected and hurt someone else.

"Tch! Between the sword and a hard place." he snarls, frustrated over his inability to do something. "Why did you come here, dark one?" he asks loudly, voice undistorted despite wearing a closed helm, "Why announce so boldly that you will curse the Princess?" Why indeed, announcing his intentions so boldly made no sense in Edison's mind. Why lose the element of surprise? Was he so confident on his abilities?

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
Rhia meanwhile is content to watch all of this with a smile on her face still. She had no interest in the struggles of these heroes. Rather... "I do wonder what will happen if this curse comes to pass." She eyed Cinderella and her entourage of protectors, including the prince. "...It would no doubt prove to be an invaluable research subject." Stepping away from Chita then, she casually, and slowly navigated the ballroom, ignoring all of the scrambling and loud threats and statements from all around.

"Perhaps this night was worth it after all." Continuing to smile, she gradually moved to approach Seith, even as he was in the middle of contending with...a mouse. She didn't think too much of it. "I happen to have an interest in this curse of yours." She spoke in Seith's direction, tucking her tablet away. "I would like to know more about this."

Definitely not a hero.

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria watches as Seith curses Cinderella, she couldn't intervene directly but what if she tried to remove the spell as it hits? If she saved the Princess they would have to give her whatever she wanted in return right? She begins casting trying not to draw too much attention to herself as purple spheres begin to surround the Princess. There's no telling if it would work or not, but it was in her best interests to try right?

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade feels the sudden pressure surround him, and he begins turning to see what's causing it. That can't be Avira, she doesn't have that kind of...

But that doesn't keep Avira from falling onto him. "WAGH!" He yells, flailing as they both collapse. Mercade looks up at Avira and immediately turns beet red. "What the... Curses? Who's cursing? What's cursed?" He says, before he looks up and over. "Well now. That's a thing." He says, letting Avira try to peel herself out of the miniature gravity well before he tries to stand up.

"Why does a mouse have my hat?" He also asks, as he tries to move.

Chita has posed:
"..."

Did Rhiannon really just...

Yes, she did. What was he even supposed to do in regards to that? Say in regards to that? "Damn you... why do you have to go and do this now of all times." He can't defend her if she does something at the moment and others jump on her. Or maybe he could... but it would certainly be a futile effort given he wouldn't risk fighting back with Seith here.

Seith has posed:
Will finds himself face-to-face with the power of a proper and honest to god Sorceror. Sure, he is no Maleficent, but there is some serious punch packing behind that curse. Like something other than just /this man/ is pushing back against his attempt to break the curse. It writhes and twitches beneath his power, and then...

Streams right through Will's very own heart, before it pushes straight over the crowd and descends upon Cinderella - piercing and destroying Lumeria's spheres. The power of the curse takes root within Will, tendrils lashing out and raging. It's a good thing /only Will/ can see this part. The spell tries to crawl out towards the crowd... no, along the threads of his own connections. Trying to infect those present he holds dear.

But one of those tendrils lashes back, grabbing onto Seith as well.


The only thing those others can see, is Seith suddenly buckling over a little, grabbing at his heart. At the same time, Cinderella falls to her own knees! "Cinderella!" Prince Charming calls out.


Seith slowly rises back to his feet, grimacing. It would appear that Will has leveled the playing-field in a ways. He smirks at Maira and Edison, who are asking him a poigniant question. "To give away the secret, would make it no longer interesting of a story - now wouldn't it?" He asks her.

He then draws open a portal into darkness, right where he stands. He then looks down upon Rhiannon. She's not a Shadow Lord - nor does he 'know' her. "Do not approach me so lightly." He warns her. And then begins to step through.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith grimaced. She knew that he wouldn't reveal his intent so easily. Rhiannon certainly had the right idea, though she didn't have the best of intentions. Not for the first time did she wonder how exactly Chita could put up with her. Aerith glanced behind her as the princess fell to her knees, her eyes narrowed. Well there it went.

When she turned around again, Seith was gone... and he'd left more of a mess than she figured he would. There was a mouse that she'd heard talking, and he'd announced himself as Will Sherman. How long had it been since she'd seen him, and why was he... well, a mouse?

She jogged over to him and scooped him into her hands. "Hey, you okay there?"

Maira has posed:
"NO!" she says, as Cinderella falls to her knees, assumably under the weight of the curse that was just placed on her. There was nothing she could have done. She didn't sense the sort of magic he was weilding. He was too powerful!

Powerful, and gone. Damn those corridors of darkness! "UGH!" she exclaims in frustration, turning and look toward Cinderella, sheltered by her prince. "It can't be as simple as all that. There has to be a way to stop him, and if there is we'll find it," she tells them, her determination evident in the burning intensity of her eyes.

Clearly any reprieve they'd had from the Shadow Lords was over.

Raine Arland has posed:
"Not bad. That dude's packing some mean dark magic." Raine mumbled, asiding to Lumeria. "Hate to say it, but I don't think your spell stood a chance from the getgo." He shook his head and calmly observed Seith leaving through a portal. "But that's power to aspire to." He smirked a little and then closed his eyes.

"Looks like the fun is just getting started." And a chuckle followed that casual statement.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
The pendant affords Reize the ability to see things such as the essence of magic itelf. He can tell when someting is about to go wrong. He can see the flash of magic protrude from Seith to curse the princess. Reize can also see the fact that Will is emanting an odd aura. There is a collision of magic going on.

The pendant is glowing ominously as the boy is able to see the struggle. What complicates things is Will, who has another form nearby. He can see both the mouse form of Will and then... another presence that isn't pleasant to see.

"Buh?!"

Flashes of magic spark in the air, forcing the boy to shield his eyes. He tightens his fists, then he takes a step back.

"Buh?!" His eyes drift towards Cinderella. "... No!" Then, he turns to face Seith, gritting his teeth. "...You jerk."

While he turns to face the princess, he makes no effort to move over to her. After all, it would be a large crowd that she doesn't need. Reize furrows his eyebrows and he looks at the others. "Oi! Is there a heal--?" He then realizes who are around, "Maira, anything you can do?"

Lumeria has posed:
"I'm a powerful mage, how could my magic not stop that?!" Lumeria's a bit stunned by that. Of course if her magic couldn't stop her sister's curse what chance did have against even something worse? It looks like she needs even more power, but how would she gain it in such a short amount of time.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will thinks...why was he so strong..?

Will's not a sorcerer...he's sort of a strange demi-god thing. It's complicated, and he isn't really carying about that right now. Fate crashes against the curse, trying to dispurse it...It strikes his very heart, and scatters out...but he tries to draw the curse back in, trying to use his own power to break it...he can't protect Cinderella...

But he CAN return the curse to sender. He grins as Seith sneers at him...

"Come back when you've got some experience under your belt, son." he says, barely holding himself on his feet...that took everything he had to do, to protect against the powerful curse.

When Seith finally leaves, Will-mouse collapses, plum out of juice, as Aeith picks him up. "Because my fair godmother is crazy.." he says, dreamily, and passes out.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Aw, but that is no fun at all." Rhia spoke lightly, a hand resting on her cheek. "Have you no capacity to indulge the whims of the curious?" She asked the retreating figure of Seith, though making no move to actually stop him. In due time, all pieces eventually fell into their rightful places.

"No matter. I suppose I just need to play the waiting game then." She sighed and turned around to observe the proceedings. "My, my, quite a turnout." She mused to herself, tablet back out and herself taking notes on it rapidly.

She didn't move to help anyone. After all, their suffering was such prime research material!

Aerith has posed:
Aerith grimaced. "Wonderful." She stood and walked toward Avira, who may very well be rising from that irritating gravity magic of his. "We need to stop meeting like this, you know that? Never thought that a mouse would be able to turn a curse back on someone!" She smiled. "So... you got a plan?"

Will Sherman has posed:
"Not just any mouse...THE KING of mice." Will says, passing out again.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr is at a loss at all of this...a big loss.

He ignores Rhiannon, because seriously this was getting out of hand.

He frowns, as Cinderella was cursed, shaking his head. He lets Charming do what he does best...but he guesses he'll be sticking around as a guest, because she had questions for him.

The keyblade disappears.

Maira has posed:
Maira takes a deep breath. "I don't know...but I will try. I think he's a sorceror and that's different somehow," she says, looking over toward Will. "I know that Will did what he could though, and we've got time to figure out something." Maira may not be a sorceror, but she knows a couple.

Maira waves lightly toward Will, sending a little wave of healing toward his mousey form. He'll need rest, but maybe that will help at least a little. She'd smile to Aerith. "Take care of him, okay?" she asks.

Maira looks over toward Avira and Mercade then, only to find Avira on top of Mercade. Her eyes widen. WELL OKAY THEN! "...bout time," she grumbles, then looks back to Angantyr. "We'll figure it out. We'll protect her. When Seith comes back we'll kick his <goosehonk>."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith called out to Maira. "Will do!" And yes, they would knock him into next week. But he'd given them time, and that was perhaps the one flaw in his plan they could exploit. Time to prepare, to plan, to ready themselves. She tilted her head to the right, addressing Avira once more. "So... do you have a plan for this? Because if not, I could help you with that."

Chita has posed:
Assuming everything is beginning to calm down, Chita lets his weapon vanish before trying to figure out exactly what was going on and where. Now that Rhiannon had walked over and in the show of power and 'villainy', made an ass out of herself by casually asking about the curse and is now seemingly... well, he has no idea what she's doing now. Thus, he simply feels around a bit for something to lean against and does just that, hand coming to his face to rub tiredly.

Deelel has posed:
Rhiannon has fallen into Deelel's do not trust list in one single action, she makes no hostile act at this point. She does not move to strike if they do not do something but right now wait what did Will do? He had to have done something because something strange is happening at least she thinks so. She's not moving to strike there's other things. They have a time limit, but she's not going to forget about Rhiannon but right now she's got other things to worry about. The story from the princess is going to have to wait, her well being is more important.

Edison Reece has posed:
Though the armor vanished, returning him to his black suit, the scowl on Edison's face never vanished. "Damned sorcerers and their fixation on mysteries." he curses, before turning towards the princess, his scowl deepening before he cursed again. "Damn it!"

Edison does not have a lot of experience with Shadow Lords, else he'd be able to identify Seith as such and what he did to escape. The only things he knows, is that the Princess got hit, that mouse did something to the Sorcerer, and they had two weeks to solve this mess.

Shaking his head, he made his way towards Avira and a man that he recognizes from a past mission. Of all the people around, they are the ones he knows to some extent, and they also seemed to know who was that sorcerer. Maybe they have something in mind to start...

"Do you need a hand?" he asks to the fallen duo, extending a hand.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Frown.

Reize shakes his head, then he looks over towards the group. "It looks like everyone's clearing out. Let's make room so everyone can get the the princess to a place of rest." He looks back towards Rhiannon with wariness. However, there is nothing that can be done or to be gain from it.

He knows that the guards are likely on edge and well...

Reize smiles at the tired Willrat, "You did your best." He looks rather somber. "It looks like we'll have to clear out, soon."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith turned toward Reize. "If you don't mind, I'd like to take him with me back to Cloud Nine. Got a few questions I'd like to ask him anyways, and we have plenty of space for him to rest up." Well at least she had ideas.

Oathkeeper has posed:
People sound startled, and the guards look at Cinderella worried... but the girl slowly gathers herself and gets up. "It's alright." She says bravely, laying her hand on her husband's shoulder. "It's okay."

She then looks at Angantyr. "There is someone here who wields a Keyblade. This may be a troublesome time, but I am sure that things will work out alright." The girl looks at Angantyr with trust in her eyes. "Please. Don't stop the party. Don't let dark words cloud the light we have here."

The King snaps his finger, and the musicians begin to play again. The doors are closed and the candles are lit once more. It would appear that the Castle of Dreams will not allow dread to enter its very heart!

Raine Arland has posed:
"Heh, looks like those guys are going to have their hands full after all." Raine shook his head, talking like he was an outlier to the bunch. Maybe he was. Whatever the case may be, he grabbed a roll and started munching on it as he watched everything calm down.

Well, with Cinderella putting on a strong front and the King restarting the party, Raine looked to Lumeria. "Well, no point worrying about that stuff tonight huh?" He smirked and shrugged a little. "Since things seem to be back to normal; still care for that dance?"

Maira has posed:
Maira looks to Cinderella, then looks to Mercade, then back to Cinderella. "Two, actually," she corrects, a smile of hope appearing. "But I think you should let him dance with his lady for a bit," she adds with a small laugh.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
By this point, Rhia had finished her note taking, retreating off to a seat off to the side to continue browsing notes and files on her device. Even with the party back in full swing, Rhia was more interested in perusing the data attained and comparing it to the data she had previously.

"Hrm...three keyblade wielders from years before the worlds became what they are. A curse on the princess from a sorcerer of terrible dark power...this is all very intriguing." Nope. The ball was the furthest thing from her mind now. She even forgot about Chita likely kicking himself for bringing her here now.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
However, it looks like that the Princess gets up, "Buh?!" As Cinderila gets onto her feet, the boy looks relieved. It looks like Will did manage to save her. The boy gives a smile, then he looks over to see Annalise as she has remained by herself. Reize is approaching her once more.

He'll continue to dance with her for a little while longer. It is a night to enjoy the mood. Still, Reize cannot help but be unable to shake off the feeling that something went awry in the battle of magic. He felt it from his pendant.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" Mercade calls at Maira, as if reading her mind. A few minutes later, he's helped Avira to a seat and appears to be pondering the sequence of events that led to some kind of curse and him losing his nice hat.

He'll peorbably talk to some people in a minute, but right now he's sorting things out. Or someone might go to him. Also possible!

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr isn't used to the praise...but these Princesses seem to have a feeling he is not as bad as his darkness suggests.

This makes five. He scratches the side of his head, and shrugs...

"Your question, Princess...is yes. I do have a idea...it is not a pleasant place, but where exactly, or how she ended up there...I know not."

"But she gave me some kind words and some help when I was lost myself. I want to return the favor, someday."

He rolls his eyes at Mercade and Avira. "I see they take no time into getting back into care free attitude."

Aerith has posed:
Having asked Avira and gotten no real response, she took note that she was asleep. Oh well, that was new. Never mind though, she needed to get herself acquainted with the one they were going to be defending from this point. After all, the Shadow Lords did not go after someone directly without a good reason.

She headed toward Mercade with a smile. "Hey, could you hang onto Will for a bit? I need to mingle." She gave the mouse king to Mercade as she headed toward the princess. She glanced at Angantyr for a moment as he replied to... something. She hated being late to these things, really she did. Yet another one she'd have to speak with later.

With that, she turned her focus toward Cinderella. "Pardon me, Highness..." She gave her best curtsey. "Aerith Gainsborough. An honor to meet you, and we're all glad you're all right." Though she wouldn't be in a few weeks' time. "Interesting story you were telling, there... about keyblades and people that used them. I've always wondered what one was and what it did, exactly." She tilted her head to the right. "Maybe you could tell me?"

Lumeria has posed:
"There's not much else I can do for now, maybe I'll have a look in the library later." Lumeria tried at least. "Sure, why not?" They certainly had an odd relationship between them. At times she's wonder how they managed to stand each other to begin with.

Oathkeeper has posed:
The Princess bows her head at Angantyr. "I am sure she will find her way out of that place." She answers him. "If not by her own power, then the power of her friends." She looks at the paintings for a moment, longing to see her own dear friends again. But then her attention is drawn by Aerith. She smiles and nods at the girl. "Perhaps another time. You are welcome to visit the Castle whenever you wish. But for now, I think it's time I join the prince for another dance."

One must keep in mind, it is royalty's duty to show the masses that things are okay. If they can dance - Cinderella, a woman who has only just been put under a curse - then surely the people can be at ease. And as such, the music picks up properly and she joins the prince on the dance floor.

Maira has posed:
Maira sighs quietly, looking back toward Angan and Cinderella. "Oh, they deserve some nice time to themselves..." she says, then reaches for a pastry from the buffet table. The food wasn't cursed, right?

"Well, if she helped you I'll help you help her....that was a confusing sentence, but you know what I mean. Just let me know, okay?" she says to Angan.
% She supposes hoping for another dance would be pointless now. They couldn't let Seith ruin the things that kept them going, no matter how hard he tried.

As Aerith approaches, Maira smiles warmly to her. "Well I could have told you some of that...the keyblade can unlock a person's heart. You know, when Manhattan fell to darkness? Avira had a world shard in her heart, Sora used a keyblade to unlock it, which released the light of her heart and restored Manhattan. Well, that's mostly how it happened anyway..kind of complicated I guess," she replies.

Maira purses her lips thoughtfull. She'd really been meaning to bring the whole..unlocking heart's thing up with Angan for a while now. Isn't that what she should do? She would like to hunt for world shards but she doesn't know where to begin.

Maira curtsies to Cinderella as she goes to dance with her husband again. Maira smiles.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr nods once.

He looks at Maira, masked, and shrugs.

Oh no, you wanted to dance, you begged him to dance.

You're dancing. Angantyr takes Maira to the dance floor to boogy all night long.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith smiled. "I'll hold you to that!" She sighed as Cinderella walked away. "Great... I'll never get the answer to that one." At least not from someone she could count as a reliable source. Then again, she did have access to a few newfound wielders. Maybe it would be for later.

Or not, as Maira began to explain, at least in part, what it did. "Is that so?" She turned toward the young lady. "I suppose I'll have to ask either you, or this guy." She thumbed toward Angantyr with a grin. Then they walked away and she huffed. "Okay fine, just take her away..." She headed for the buffet. "I suppose I could at least have a nice dinner before I go."

Raine Arland has posed:
"Heh heh, good, good. Then let's get down to business!" Raine took Lumeria's hand and pointed to the dance floor. "The defeat the hu-er, I mean; to dance like we mean it!" Phew, almost slipped up there. With another partner found, Raine led the elf onto the dance floor, joining Cinderella and the Prince, as well as the other dancing pairs in the renewed spirit of the ball.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade Alexander just kind of holds Mouse!Will in his hands, confused. "Okay." He says, smiling to Aerith. "Enjoy yourself, okay?" He tries to think of what to do with the mousy Will...

And then he retrieves his hat, putting it on his head... And then Mercade looks up and quickly puts Will under his hat.

Safe and sound.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will wakes up for just a brief moments to sap Raine of more luck.

Then passes out.

Chita has posed:
With Rhiannon no longer around him and, as far as he knew, having left already and left him here on his own(She had done similar before), Chita listened to try and see if there was anyone near him that he was partially knew. He thought he recognized a voice here or there, but the one that he picked out easiest was Aerith, who seemed to be relatively close.

Aerith?"

The question was asked aloud as he was also near one end of the buffet, as that is where the short, pudgy King had been. "Is that you?"

Maira has posed:
 !!!

Then Maira is yanked away back toward the dance floor, flailing toward Aerith. "Sorry! We'll talk more later!" she calls, but can't help but smile as she'd dragged away by an extremely handsome masked man. Insert swooning.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glanced toward the voice that called out to her, and smiled once she saw who it was. "Chita!" Forget dinner. This was more important. She lifted her skirts and headed in his direction, light on her feet. "I figured you would come tonight." Of course, she figured it because Rhiannon was here, and at the party-before-the-party. Mostly she just opted to stay out of his way, and yet they kept running into each other.

Aerith did not believe in coincidence, but she didn't know what this meant just yet.

"Aside from that interruption... how goes your evening?" she asked as she stopped just about two feet away from him. "And for that matter, what brings you here? Didn't know you were one for parties."

Deelel has posed:
Deelel looks to Ang and then to the princess.

"Prehaps but if we can help her someday we should I think."

Deelel understands why the princess has to go, she needs to keep the people's spirits up, but there are people to talk to and things to do. She looks back to Ang.

"Well...we'll talk later I think. Mercade you as well."

Chita has posed:
"You thought I would come... but did not assume I was one for parties?" The contradiction in that statement hurt Chita's head even more than it already did, quite a headache at the moment forming. When she got close enough, though, he reached an arm out to rest on her shoulder before leaning to press a kiss atop her head in greeting. "I brought someone else here in hopes that they could behave long enough to possibly enjoy themselves, but it seems my own idiocy has yet to reach limitations."

Grumble grumble.

He may have called Maira an idiot the other day, but he wasn't hypocritical enough to claim he wasn't the same. "And you? I was unaware you had anyone who you would bring here."

Edison Reece has posed:
Grabbed by some random young noble girl, Edison was dragged to the dance floor. He still had a lot of worries, but for now... well, he couldn't look at the girl with a frowning face, right? Tomorrow would be a new day to think about everything that happened here.

Avira has posed:
Weight jokes aside, Avira will be glad to have Mercade help her up. She seems to space out for a few moments, perhaps taking that time to calm down and get her thoughts together. Will did what he could against the curse. They could always lay a trap for Seith when he came to 'collect'. There were any number of precautions they could take.

But that could be discussed later. This ball may as well be the only one she gets the chance to go to and this was the last moment she wanted to spend fixating on her anger. Daintily, she offers a hand to Merccade. "I wish I hadn't gotten so mad earlier. Let's put that all behind us now and enjoy the rest of our evening, my handsome detective."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith giggled. "Yeah, I know. It's confusing." She smiled at the kiss to her forehead. "There's only one way *she* can have fun." She glanced over at the Shinra scientist. "See the look in her eyes?" Aerith blinked. "Well, no you can't... but I can. She's got that expression when she sees something or someone she wants to experiment on. She's only got eyes for that tablet of hers right now, and nothing else." It wasn't like Aerith knew what she was planning, or wanted to know. No one in their right mind should trust her.

Perhaps that included Chita, but for some reason... wait, she knew exactly what that reason was. "That can't be all there is, though." He was blind, she was not exactly date material, so they weren't here for the festivities alone. "But maybe I shouldn't ask, you know? I don't have any right, after all."

Chita has posed:
Smiling faintly as she giggled, the following remark made him shake his head a little. "I think you have been snooping a bit too much into things that should not concern you. Especially since it seems you have been snooping enough to find out a few personality traits. I care less, though, than you might realize if others ask things." Considering the party for a moment, though, he does say, "I apologize, but I have quite lost my interest in this ordeal as it is. People trying to pretend such did not just happen, going about things, my own anger starting to get the best of me at certain individuals... I should probably leave."

Chita does lean to whisper something to Aerith, however, as he goes to walk off, faintly hoping it was in the right direction like he thought it was and not towards a wall.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glanced around the party for a moment and could understand exactly what he was talking about. Though honestly, she knew why it was going on. Lifting peoples' spirits was important indeed. She didn't know why he thought she was snooping around. She'd seen the look before, sadly. More times than she'd like to, in fact. Sometimes it was even directed at her person.

Aerith made her way toward Chita and touched his right arm. "I know you don't like it... but let me help you at least this once."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade nods to Avira, attending his own lady as he smiles to her, holding out a hand to pull her to pull her up once more. "Everything will be fine, Avira. We have time, right?" He walks with her out onto the dance floor, then. "I think your advice is wonderful. Let's do that."

Chita has posed:
"...fine, but I am leaving regardless of anything else. So if you do not wish to come now... I will be staying at the local inn another night." He waited for a response from Aerith before simply taking off. He had no interest in being mopey here in the party of false good spirits.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded and hooked her left arm just around his, as if he were escorting her out. Then she turned toward the doors and made as if they were getting a breath of fresh air. At least they were headed the right way now. "So... where did you have in mind besides the local inn?"