Seven: Night Before Dreams

Seven: Night Before Dreams
Date of Scene:	04 January 2014
Location:	British Countryside
Synopsis:	In preparation to the big Castle of Dreams ball, the villages are the area are having a pre-feast feast!
Cast of Characters:	Avira, Deelel, Maira, Aerith, Rhiannon Zellen, Chita, Louis LeBlue, Rylen Corvus, Edison Reece
Tinyplot:	Seven

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Louis LeBlue has posed:
It's evening, well enough into the night that during this winter's day, the skies are dark. Yet this particular town refuses to be captured in the darkness of the eve. In fact, darkness has no place in this town!

Upbeat music cuts through the air with string instruments and drums being strummed and beat. Colorful dresses flash and twirl around an enormous town-center fire that burns a beautiful red glow. Shops and stalls are set all around the large square. There is no snow falling, and they have cleared the plaza well enough. And the winter's cold is being held back by that very same flame.

It's a time for true merriment. Warm wines are being offered left and right, children and running through the plaza playing with hoops and dogs, and there are some birds happily chirping on the roofs along with the songs that are being played.

"Get your dresses here!" A few shops call out loudly, whilst others offer the to refit dresses of old and new to better fit peoples' sizes. Truly, many artisans have joined in on this opportunity, and there is certain to be no lack of people capable of handling clothing.

Maira has posed:
Maira can't believe there is going to be a ball. All her life she'd dreamed of going to a ball; fancy gowns, music, all the food you could possibly eat and stuff your pockets with...the romance of it...

So now she stood outside looking through an atelier's window, longingly gazing at the dresses displayed. She'll be wearing an old dress. It would do. She'd spent all of her money on everyone's presents (especially one person in particular...) but if she can go, she'll be happy. If only...well, courage was much needed.

Alcohol is liquid courage, right? Maira takes a glass of warm wine offered to her and takes a sip, her eyes going wide with wonder. "Oooh..." she says, looking down into the glass of mulled wine. That's even better than normal wine!

Since there seems to be a pre-party, Maira had dressed up a little in a black skirt and green sweater, her wild hair tamed at least slightly by a braid hanging over her shoulder tied with a black ribbon.

Rylen Corvus has posed:
The party atmosphere is certainly enough to drag one Rylen Corvus out from the darker recesses of the many worlds. He'd spent so much time in Halloween town lately that it felt strange to be back in his own skin. He hadn't seen any signs of the mysterious werewolf he'd rescued, but perhaps it's time to stop chasing after lost causes.

Festivities! Well, those are certainly one of the things that the wandering acrobat does best. When our scene begins, the Elf is balancing with one arm over a chair which is standing only on one leg, which is balanced again on a narrow table below. There are a few people watching the display with wide eyes, but when he dismounts to a reasonable round of applause, the young Elf just bows.

"Thank you! Your patronage is always appreciated, and remember, get your dresses from Blue Fairy's Dress Emporium. Fairy Godmother knows best." He offers a wink to a woman in the crowd, who flushes and looks away quickly.

Advertisement over, Rylen is all smiles, "Stop back for the next show in an hour. I can promise a fire-trick you've never seen before." As the crowd disperses, Rylen leans back against his performance table, looking out at the merriment.

"It's a good night, right Moko?" A chocobo's head peeks over his shoulder, and sounds a resounding 'Wark' in response. "So, what are my chances of finding a date to the ball, you think?" The bird pecks at his shoulder, then turns away, beginning to preen a wing. "Yeah, that's about what I thought, too."

Louis LeBlue has posed:
Amongst the crowd, a particularly 'nice-on-the-eyes' individual is stepping through the plaze wearing a thinner suit of fancy black-brown leather armor. Next to him, a woman dressed in a traditional white mage's robe is hooked onto his arm. It's hard to tell from the man's expression what he really thinks of the situation he's in. A little stern and all that. The strange pairing are interupted from their walk along the stalls by a set of kids running around the two.

"Hey hey now!" Louis' somewhat boisterous voice rumbles out as he grabs for one of them and lifts them to the sky with a bit of an adult smile on his face.

"Careful where you are going, almost didn't see you there." A play on the fact that the man is a little tall, before setting the amused boy onto his shoulder. The kid is a stranger, but it would appear kids have been harassing the blonde knight for a little while now. Or maybe it's just a distraction in order to get the white mage to let go for a moment. He ends up stopping just as Rylen gets off of the table-chair combo.

The little kid on his shoulder is quick to comment. "Awwww, an hour? But I gotta go to bed in an houuur." The kid complains.

Avira has posed:
While these kind of events weren't really something Avira would attend on her own time...there are many reasons for her to actually brave this endeavor! For one, she wasn't she same shy person as years ago and no longer feared social events. For two...she actually needed a dress and really wanted a nice one. Knowing how her best friend Maira feels about these things, coming to the festival was a natural choice.

Little does Maira know that, in spite of Christmas expenditures, Avira was actually pretty stacked for cash right now. She stands beside the fire mage, watching her look into the window. A glass of wine rests in her hands, only half drained, as Avira never really was one to do a lot of drinking.

At the moment she remains in her usual adventuring clothing-which given the typical Sky Pirate style, is actually kind of fancy..ish. Not ball quality though. "So~" Avira drawls, resting a hand on Maira's shoulder.

"Do you see anything you like? While we're here we may as well try things on, right?"

Maira has posed:
Maira looks to her best friend, smiling softly. "I suppose we could...or at least you could! You don't have a dress, do you? You need a dress! Is Mercade taking you...?" she asks. He'd better be! A man who misses that chance would realy regret it!

Maira turns a bit to see Rylan performing, smiling more. Acrobatics is impressive! She couldn't do things like that. Though, when he mentions a fire trick no one had seen before, Maira quirks an eyebrow in what might just be professional scepticism. Oh really now? IS THAT A CHALLEEEEENGE!? ...Okay probably not. But his chocobo is cute! She smiles. "A fire trick eeeh..." she says aloud with a small grin to Avira.

Then she looks over toward the approaching adonis. Eyes widen and blink several times. She shakes her head then, and looks back to Avira.

Maira is, as of now, dateless. Mostly, because she's a little bit terrified to ask.

Edison Reece has posed:
Edison was never one for partying, yet even him had to admit the gathering was looking very inviting. He kinda missed the festivals back home, when they let the cadets relax for a bit and have fun for a change. Those times are long gone by now though, but the memory remains, to give him some warth on the cold winter nights.

Still, this was not the time for staying in the past, because he had a problem. A big problem. The only clothes he owned were the ones he had on his body, with a spare pair on his rucksack. He had some money on his pocket, though, so he could buy something fancy to dress on special occasions. So here we has, checking the shops for a suit that stroke his fancy... and that fit on his almost two meters.

Stopping for a moment his analysis of fabrics and coloring, he turned his face towards the fire, enjoying its warmth and humming a song he recalled from years ago...

Avira has posed:
"Fire trick, he says?" Avira's mind had been elsewhere, missing most of the street performer's balancing act. Only now, as Maira takes note of the promise, does she peer over to regard the elf. Her look is a long one as she quite clearly sizes him up. "Damn straight Mercade is taking me. If he doesn't, I will show him hell. Because seriously. We so rarely get the chance to do that kind of thing, you know?"

She looks to Maira with a grin, "Besides, according to him, Max taught him how to dance so he should be all ready for a ball." Her hand slides down to Maira's own hand, clasping it. "So let's go try some dresses on-but first..."

She tugs Maira over to the chocobo-because, well, it's a chocobo and who doesn't love petting chocobos? "Let's give this performer and his bird a visit, shall we?"

Rylen Corvus has posed:
The sad comment from the little boy brings Rylen out of his own thoughts as he offers the kid a grin. "You should ask your mom if she'd make an exception just this once. It is a special event, afterall." He offers, never one to really lean towards the side of 'doing what you're told'. That, and it brings the possibility of more patrons to one of his shows. Since his coinpurse went missing in Vector, money has been a bit tight.

Louis is offered a jovial sort of grin, but it's the strange expression he catches on a certain young woman that has him tilting his head. "Normally, I'd have some sort of suggestion, since I'm a hired spokesman for this little affair but... let's be honest, you'd probably look stunning in anything." Rylen lays on the charm in that moment, bowing his head in deference to the fire-mage.

Moko, on the other hand, seems to be watching Avira. The chocobo fluffs his feathers slightly. Chocobo-stare. Oh wait, they're coming closer! He puffs up a little, beak reaching out in an obvious choco-begging posture. Food? Greens?

Aerith has posed:
Town criers have a way of reaching out to those who pass by.

Aerith happened to be one of them, and while she did have other things to do, it wouldn't be right if she didn't have fun once in a while. The thing was, how was she supposed to find a proper dress? Just her plain pink one wouldn't do.

So here she was, looking for a good one, and who does she run into but several people she happens to know. They all seem to be in the same general area, so she heads over with a wave. "Avira, Maira!" She doesn't see Louis quite yet... but she does see a nearby chocobo. If only she had some greens!

Maira has posed:
Maira laughs and gives Avira's hand a squeeze. "He knows what is good for him then. Heh...no one has asked me," and by no one, Avira most certainly must know who in particular she has in mind. "I should just...ask him, shouldn't I?" she sighs.

Distraction ahoy! Maira blinks toward Rylen, then blushes at the compliment. Flattery. It should be expected from street performers, right? Heh...street performers. She wonders if this one is also a powerful sorceror and shadow lord in diguise! "I'm interested in the fire trick you speak of," she says with a smile, looking then to Moko. She pulls a litlte ghysal greens from her purse (Mao will be jealous!) and offers them out, grinning. "Here you go pretty! Hope you don't mind if I give her a little?" she asks Rylen.

Hearing her name, she turns and waves toward Aerith, smiling. "Oh, hey!" she greets.

Louis LeBlue has posed:
Louis puts the kid back down and gives him a little pat to the back to send him on his way. When that is all done and good, he smirks at Rylen before glancing over and noticing that Maira is giving him one of 'those' stares. That eyes wide blinking thing. He's used to it. He flashes her one of those mentos smiles before trying to todder off. But the woman at his arm is quick to grab him by the arm.

"Remember. My father said you had to take me to the dance." Well, that's the secret to Louis showing up for a Ball solved. The man mumbles something and then nods at the woman. "Very well, My Lady." He answers her. "One dance." He tries not to bump into anyone else as he takes the woman out onto the plaza.

"Join us!" The White Mage is quick to call out at Rylen and the rest.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel had to get a Dress for this, this was a bit of an odd thing for Deelel who so seldom changed her clothes, as far as any one could tell. World shifting changed her look more than she changed it on her own. So here she is looking about tyring to figure out about what to get and is very distracted, also she's looking very much lost at the moment. She's almost got this deer in head lights look, she's not quite sure what to do, and she might indeed need some help.

She can adapt better than many of her kind to user space, but? She's still a program and somethings are just beyond her without someone attempting to help her patch the issue that she's having.

Avira has posed:
"Yeah, just ask him." Avira advises Maira. "I know that one book 'He's just not into you' tells you to not do that but you know what? I think it's horse<goosehonk>. Take initiative! I know a certain someone definitely appreciates ladies that take initiative."

Still grinning, Avira approaches the chocobo and holds out her hand for it to sniff. Sadly, there are no greens on her but her friend obviously does have some. While the chocobo is eventually distracted by those, Avira pets the bird's soft feathers. "Hello there~" she coos at the chocobo. When Aerith calls out, Avira doesn't turn around but holds up a hand in greeting. "Heya."

The white mage 'date' of Louis calls out to them and Avira looks a little flustered, "But I don't have anyone to dance with right now!"

Rylen Corvus has posed:
There's nothing quite as wonderful as a distraction. Especially the attractive Elven kind. He might even give Louis a run for his money, if you're into the athletic, acrobat sort. Unfortunately, it seems like his chocobo is getting more of the attention. Ahh, such is life, to lose out on female attention to cute, fluffy things.

"One of these days, you need to tell me your secrets." He murmurs to the chocobo, seeming amused. He leans back next to the bird, who is more than appreciative of the attention from Avira and the offer of food from Maira. "I'm sure he won't object. We've been a little low on munny lately, so he's been a bit lean on the feed as of late." Rylen offers his mount an apologetic look. "It's the last time I try to help out a damsel in distress in Vector." No, no... it's probably not.

"As for my secret 'fire-trick', well, you'll just have to come to the performance, won't you?" The smile of a practiced performer lingers on his features, his voice carrying all the allure that one might expect of a salesman. "Though I'm guessing that you're might know a thing or two about that sort of thing? Maybe you could show me a few tricks." This time, Maira gets to be on the receiving end of one of the Elf's winks.

Seeing Louis get dragged out to dance leaves the acrobat chuckling to himself. He glances at Avira, Maira. "Well, it sounds like you two already are taken, so I wouldn't want to earn the ire of your companions. I would hope they'll be there tomorrow night. Otherwise I might have to steal dances from you."

Edison Reece has posed:
Edison is still on the sidelines, watching as people gather near the fire and dance to their hearts content. He taps his foot a bit as well, watching the dancers with his arms crossed and a sad smile on his lips. Did he still remember how to waltz?

Did he dare to do it and avoid stepping on anyone's toes? That wasn't a problem back in the day, but... oh well, he'll only know if he tries right?

Still, it's a bit hard to waltz with no pair. Which is why he looks around, trying to find someone.

Avira has posed:
"Don't be ridiculous." Avira suddenly interrupts, stepping behind Maira and pushing her towards Rylen. "Neither of them are here right now so there is nothing stopping you from stealing my lovely fire mage friend here for a dance."

She folds her arms over her chest, "Besides, it's a waltz, not first or second base." She pauses, "Er....ignore that last part." Neither of them are going to get those references, are they? Well, Maira might-they have watched a lot of Earth movies together. The elf? Probably not.

Maira has posed:
The fire mage raises her eyebrows. "That depends on the kind of tricks you can do--wether I can teach you anything," she replies. Then she blinks. That didn't come out how she'd planned. "We'll come to the performance though, won't we? We have to try on some dresses though. That's very important!" she adds.

Looking off toward Louis and the white mage, calling them to dance, Maira purses her lips. She wants to dance! "I don't have a companion! Or..well..not...erm...ah," small flail of annoyance. Then Avira volunteers her, and she flails more. "Steal!?" Then then mention of bases makes her flush. Well, /she/ get's it, and gives Avira a gentle smack on the arm. "You should dance too then! Hey, look! That guy totally needs a partner! HEY!" she calls, waving to Edison. "Dance with my friend here!" she says, and points at Avira emphatically.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith chuckled as the two of them began to call out random people to dance with them. She stood by for a moment, wondering if she could find someone to partner up with as well, but for the moment, there didn't seem to be anyone. Well at least the music was good, right?

She turned toward the chocobo and placed her right hand on his beak. "Hi there, big guy. Did you forget to bring a date too?"

Deelel has posed:
Deelel unaware of the gatehering going on at this point, as she attempts to figure out how to get this dress. After a moment longer she throws her hands up in the air and will attempt to deal with it later. She's going to see if anyone she knows whom is here, however she does spot Avira and Maira as clearly something is going on. She comes to see just how will they dance and she starts laughing.

"It seems this is something I do understand. Come Avira! Let's see you and Maira's friend dance!"

Edison Reece has posed:
Well, this was unexpected. He didn't really expect to find... oh the heck with it. Approaching the girls, he gave a slight bow. "If the Miss does not mind my company, I'd gladly have this dance with her. Spaking of Misses, may I know your names?" he asks, smiling.

His clothing might be a bit worn, but it is always clean. And it gives him the look of a traveller... oh wait.

Rylen Corvus has posed:
The accidental innuendo draws a laugh from the Elf, who can't help but shake his head with amusement. "Well, I'll tell you a secret." Rylen leans in towards Maira then, speaking in a low voice, "I might be an acrobat by trade, but that's not all I can do." He holds up a finger to his lips as he leans back, grinning. "Just make sure you don't miss out. The life of a traveling performer means I never know where my next show will be."

And that's right about the time when Avira interrupts. There's a brief moment where the 'act' drops and there's a look of actual shock on the Elf's face. Wait, what? At the very least, it does show that there is a person underneath the performer, though. "Well, I..." He hesitates, and then just laughs.

"You know what? Why not." Rylen offers his hand out towards Maira, bowing his head, "Would you do me the pleasure of a dance, m'lady?" When he lifts his head, it's to give her a look with eyes that seem to dance with amusement. "I promise not to let my hands wander anywhere inappropriate."

Moko, on the other hand, seems to be following the conversation, or maybe it just looks that way. When Aerith lays a hand on his beak, he gives another 'wark' and then starts to bounce in place, as if to a beat that doesn't match the music. Choco-dancing!

Maira has posed:
Maira gawks at his brazen flirtations. If this was a year ago, she'd have passed out--or more likely not even have known what he was implying. A year can change a lot of things. The air around them, even on a cold night, grows noticeably warm suddenly. "H-hey..." she begins, but stops to watch him be caught by surprise. There is a glimpse of something besides the charm and bravado.

Then riiiight back to it. Maira groans. "They'd better not," she cautions. Second degree burns are no fun at all. "Just give me one moment," she says, then runs off to put her back down on a bench and make a quick call while she has the courage to do it.

She'd leave him standing there for a few, but return fairly quickly, her shoulders squared and her posture stiff. "Alright, lets do this. I'm going to have fun," she says, apparently trying to convince herself of that fact. "Oh! And I'm Maira," she adds, embarassed. Names are good.

Avira has posed:
Maira has been volunteered as tribute! Avira's grinning the whole time, knowing that despite her flustered flailing, the fire mage would enjoy this. It was just for fun after all, right? Then she sees the elf quietly hitting on (?) Maira and she can't help but smirk a little. "Well, me, I-"

Maira calls out to the first guy she sees, which is actually a familiar face to her. She's pretty sure Edison has previously worked with her as a hired mercenary at the Gummi ship test site. She doesn't point this out though. Deelel shows and eggs this venture on...to which Avira shrugs.

"My name is Avira." she says to Edison, placing a hand to her chest. "It is nice to meet you." There is a tense moment spent in which Avira eyes up Edison too. He obviously passes inspection because Avira holds out a hand to him.

Deelel has posed:
There will likely be a video of this from Deelel, finding its way into VALKYRI's hands later, it's just how the lady is. You can take the media program out of the grid. You can't take the media out of the program, it seems. Still she's having from just watching for the moment as she sees Maira is also getting to dance with someone. She admits she's not seen much dancing like this before...

Rylen Corvus has posed:
For a long moment, Rylen is left there, blinking as Maira excuses herself. The Elf stands up straight again, letting his hand fall to his side as he watches her go. "I've had less enthusiastic responses before, but usually I don't send them running for the hills." He reaches a hand back and scratches at the back of his neck, then hooks both hands behind his head, shrugging once. Win some, lose some.

Little does he know that she's actually off to make a call. His eyes glance over towards his enthusiastically bobbing chocobo, a smile quirking up. "Even the bird does better with the ladies." She does leave him standing there for a while, so the Elf decides to spend his time prepping for the next show. By the time she returns, he's changed into a red and gold colored robe which covers a tight fitting black undershirt. Certainly, it fits the look of someone who claims to be able to wield fire.

Her return actually gains another of those surprised looks, followed by a smile. "Well, here I thought I'd run you off. Glad to see I'm not so terrible company." He offers out a hand again, the charm, perhaps, a little bit more subdued. "I'm Rylen. It's a pleasure to meet you." And, if there are no further interruptions, the acrobat would try to lead her out towards the dancers.

Edison Reece has posed:
Accepting the offered hand, Edison nodded at the name. "My name is Edison, and likewise." Turning his head otwards the dances, he takes a deep breath as he tries to recall all the lessons that were drilled on his head during the time he was expected to be an officer and a gentlemen. "It has been a while since I did anything like this, but I shall give my best to make sure you enjoy this dance, Miss Avira."

The size difference might make it a bit awkward, but they should find a way.

Maira has posed:
Maira shakes her head smiling apologetically. "No, I just had to make a quick call and put down my bag. You didn't drive me off--I've gotten used to guys laying it on too thick to cover up some percieved inner flaw," she says, then looks at his outfit with a blink. She shakes her head. "Flashy," she states, then offers her hand.

Burn?

She winces then, and facepalms. "I'm sorry. That was terrible. Lets just...yeah," she says, and grabs his hand to hop off to start the dancing.

Avira has posed:
For a few seconds, Avira looks troubled about something. It passes as she grins at Edison again, unbothered by his tallness. A lot of the people in her life tended to be really tall though it was more that Avira was really short.

She glances over to Maira really quickly, a worried look on her face, but that look fades when she sees her engaging with Rylen. At least that should take her mind off of things.

Her fingers cling around his once contact his made and she follows him out to the other dancers. "It's been a while for me as well." High School was a really, really long time ago. She reaches to take his other hand, "So if we go down..." she winks, "...we go down together, alright?"

Edison Reece has posed:
The Ranger chuckles. "That's one way to look at it." he says, thoroughly amused by Avira's ability to see the glass half full. "And come to think of it," he muses, trying to get into the right stance to begin in the most delicate way possible (yes, outside combat, he tends to treat people like fine glass), "at least we won't be worried about pointing mistakes to our dance partner."

Now was it the left or the right foot? Edison's eyes dart do the sides for a moment, before he starts the dance with a muttered "Starting left?"

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
Ah, the British Countryside. Such a quaint place.

Even into the night, the people in this particular town refused to follow the whims of the darkness and retreat into their houses. It was quite a spectacle actually. And among those visiting, likely for the big party the next day, is a certain Shinra scientist. Rhiannon Zellen. She's dressed as she usually is. Short, blue wutai style dress with a floral pattern under a white lab coat. Black hair done up in twin buns with blue cloth coverings.

You'd think she didn't know where was a party on the horizon with how expertly she was ignoring the calls of various merchants to buy a dress or get herself fitted and so on. "My, my...such activity. Mmn...indeed. This would be a prime testing environment actually." She mused aloud, an ominous smile adorning her face.

Having said that, the woman glanced aside at her company. The Viera by the name of Chita. "I hope you haven't forgotten the price to be paid for me taking time out of my precious schedule to attend such a pointless gathering." Her tone was rife with amusement and she simply looked on ahead at that point, arms crossed into her sleeves.

The way her eyes roamed the surroundings and the people, it was like she was appraising cattle rather than people with intelligence.

"...Fine test subjects indeed."

Rylen Corvus has posed:
"It's alright. From what I overheard from your friend, I'm sure you've got someone important to ask to the ball." The Elf's smile is a bit more genuine at as he takes her hand, though it's hard to tell with performers. Could it just be one act exchanged for another?

Her comment on his choice of attire gets another laugh, though. "It comes with the territory. If you're going to do a fire display, the audience expects you to look the part." He pauses, and then tilts his head slightly to the side, "No audience in the world would doubt your fiery nature, but I'm afraid I have to work at it a bit."

As the two of them head towards the dance floor, the Elf glances over, offering a chuckle. "It's alright. Being charming is part of the persona I have to play out for the audience. Then again, it's hard to turn it off when I'm around beautiful women. Call it a weakness."

He politely holds her hand, letting the other rest on her hip to move lightly to the music. It's no surprise that the acrobat would be light on his feet. "So... your beau hadn't asked you to the ball yet?" Might as well at least try to get to know one another.

Chita has posed:
"Must you?"

Chita's voice was something between unamused and grumpy that she even made such a remark. "I swear, sometimes I think I cannot bring you anywhere." as if scolding a child who had acted up at the grocery store for some reason or another. Chita himself was wearing a simple cloak at the moment that covered most of himself, blindfold over his eyes, long silver hair unbound in any fashion. In one hand he had a walking stave of some kind that he was using presumably to keep from hitting anything in front of him. All in all, though, he did seem fairly content to simply listen to the bustle and smile, hoping she wouldn't actually be suicidal enough to do something like that right next to him and presumably others, openly. Or hidden for that matter.

"How about we occupy your attention span with getting you something pretty to match your eyes for the ball tomorrow?"

Maira has posed:
Luckily, Maira hasn't noticed Rhiannon yet-because oh would she notice Rhiannon. Rhiannon, despite having met her all of once, creeps her out in a huge way. Big flashy warning signs may as well rest of Rhiannon's head that scream "I want to dissect you!" and Maira is absolutely sure she is not...well.../natural/.

But, luckily, she's dancing with a nice looking elf who keeps calling her beautiful. That's much preferable.

Paying attention to her dancing partner, she falls in step with the music. It was all thanks to Faruja that she didn't make a fool of herself. The rat is an excellent dancer and had taught her at least the basics. At his questions, she sighs heavily and looks away. "He's not my beau--heh...think my feelings are probably unrequited," she replies quietly, trying to hide how much that hurts her. "I asked him, but he said no, so...yeah," she says, shrugging as if the physical motion would toss off her cares.

Maira squints for a moment at Rylen. "So you're a mage? I met another 'traveling perfomer once'," she continues. They didn't look much alike besides the apparent desire to wear tight pants.

Avira has posed:
"It's better giving it a try than just sitting on the sidelines, I always say." Avira remarks, entwining her fingers with his. "That is also a good thing. Too much criticism really ruins the experience." Her grip is solid-it's obvious she does a lot of physical work in her profession. Her brown eyes flick downward to glance at their feet for a few moments and there's a long pause before she answers him.

Her voice is also low and muttered, "Starting left." she agrees, not entirely sure what that means but assuming that they will be moving to the left first.

Rylen Corvus has posed:
The Elf raises an eyebrow at first, perhaps doubting the whole idea of such a girl having an unrequited love. His expression softens, though. "That's a shame." Maybe he's not quite used to people being honest with such emotion around him, because Rylen takes a moment before he says anything else. It's enough to follow the flow of the dance for a while longer.

"You should go anyways." He seems to say out of nowhere, looking at the fire-mage through a few strands of fly-away silver hair. "You deserve a chance to enjoy yourself and be swept off your feet by plenty of people who would appreciate the opportunity to court a lady like yourself." Rylen squeezes her hand lightly. "I may not know you well, Lady Maira, but I'm sure your pretty face would look gorgeous with a smile on it."

With that said, he seems to startle a bit at her question. "Of a sort. I believe the technical term is red mage, but I've never really taken to using weapons like most of them do." He shrugs. "Though I can assure you I am a singular sensation. All other performers pale in comparison." At this, he winks again, laughing to himself, clearly not meaning a word of it.

"What about you? From your interest in my super secret technique, I'm assuming you know a thing or two about fire, yourself?"

Edison Reece has posed:
Edison takes a step to the left, moving slowly to make things easier for both of them. He doesn't say anything at first, trying to recall the steps and avoid stepping on his partner's toes, but he eventually comments on Avira's grip, recognizing it from a life long gone. "The grip of your hands reminds me of something. Swordplay?"

He once used melee weapons, and even now that he uses guns, the knowlege he got from back then comes back to his mind every now and again, when things call back to those things...

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"I wonder."

Rhia replied casually to Chita's initial grumpy question. These festivities really weren't for her. Thus made it all the more entertaining to think of the possibility of calling forth the Black Omen and letting it eat a few hearts. ...But not tonight. There would be other times to run experiments. For now, she'd avoid doing anything /too/ outlandish.

Though considering who she was, her brand of 'acceptable' might not actually...nevermind. Best not to think on it.

"Get me something pretty?" The scientist asked, not looking at Chita. No point in making eye contact with a blind man. "I hardly see the point. I have little desire to impress anyone." Amusement bled into her tone then. "And my company happens to be blind, so there is no point in dressing up still." She giggled a bit at that, clearly not caring about the ball she was supposed to be attending tomorrow.

"Besides, I have no love for the style of dress on display here." Nope. No way she was getting into a british ball dress. No way in hell.

It was around that point that Rhia had begun to notice familiar faces. "Oh my...I see your friends have come as well~" She intoned mischievously, a hand brought to her mouth as she observed those she could see.

Maira has posed:
Maira is fairly content to dance without talking for those moments. Why not be honest? It wouldn't even occur to her not to be.

"Heh, I don't know. I might. Some of my friends will be there after all--and there's sure to be amazing food," she adds. "As for the courting, I doubt it. I'm not a lady at all, so you can just call me Maira...course that never stops some people," she replies with a small laugh. "And if you flatter me anymore I'm going to just fall over. Really, you don't need to do that," she says.

She's much more comfortable when he starts up with the egotistical act again. "Uh huh, I'm sure," she laughs. "A red mage? Huh. I haven't really heard of it...I didn't know there were different color mages? I wonder what color I am," she says, quite curious now. "Ah, yes you could say that. Fire is kind of...my thing," she says. This is an understatement. Indeed, he may notice just how /warm/ she is. She radiates like a furnace, which is awfully nice in winter. Really saves on the heating biils.

Maira catches sight of someone she knows, waving over toward Chita. "Hey! Chita!" she calls, the pauses. Who is that woman he is with? She looks familiar..."OH MY GOD!" Maira hisses, suddenly pulling Rylen closer to hide herself.

Avira has posed:
Every now and then, Edison will notice Avira glancing downward. Much like him, she seems to be checking her feet every now and then so she doesn't wind up stepping on his toes. There is also the sense he'll eventually get that Avira is just following along and doesn't really know these dance steps. Fortunately, Edison is moving slow, which makes it easier for Avira to properly move. In time, her movements grow smoother as she adapts to her partner.

"Yes." Avira says with a bit of surprise. "You can tell just by how I hold your hands? Interesting, you must be very experienced yourself. With many weapons I am guessing...I swear I have seen you before, and using a gun then."

In a quieter voice, she leans in to his ear, "You're doing great, by the way."

Chita has posed:
"Just because no one else is seeing it, or rather, just because the one who wishes you to get dolled up cannot see it, does not mean you should not enjoy the chance to show off a little. You do not get out enough, of your own choosing, so you should enjoy it to the full when you do. Think of it as a gift to me?" It was a simple attempt at getting Rhia to play along as he listened to the various people around him, shifting a bit to get out of the way of one person who wasn't paying attention and nearly bumped into him as they were stopped. Nice having large ears and being used to listening for things like that.

"Friends?" Chita sounded confused before Maira spoke. ... she knew he knew Maira? Or was it an assumption? "Hello Ma-- what is wrong?" The panicked blurt from her surprised him, looking a bit on-guard.

Aerith has posed:
It wasn't until Maira took notice of someone that Aerith looked in another direction. And when she took noticed, Maira let it be known quite adamantly. Aerith glanced over at her from where she stood, wondering what the trouble was. Then she looked in the direction Maira faced... and blinked.

"Chita," she muttered. "And he brought *her* as a date."

Aerith was nowhere near surprised. Disappointed perhaps that he'd bring such a major threat to a large gathering, but not surprised. Thus, she said nothing. He'd... try to keep her contained, at least somewhat. She hoped.

Never mind that though, there was a party going on. The stare only lasted a few moments before she occupied herself with other thoughts, and wandered the crowd of people. She still didn't have anyone to dance with, but that was okay. It wasn't like she could pull someone she knew at the last minute. That didn't mean she couldn't have fun!

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Showing off, hm? I can't say the notion interests me even slightly."

Rhia shook her head as she eyed the immediate area, not too interested in getting dolled up still. "But if you must insist that I change my attire, I believe I may have something of my own to wear. I have no need to waste additional funds on a dress I do not even enjoy." Made sense.

The woman smiled like the cheshire cat at Maira's 'OH MY GOD.'. "My, such a colorful reaction. It warms my heart~" Rhia spoke casually, taking a step towards the girl and her dance partner. While she did so, she produced a scapel from her lab coat and waved it slightly. "Do you finally agree to submit to vivisection? I would love to have a look inside and see what makes you tick~"

She wasn't helping.

Aerith was given a brief sidelong look, being recognized as 'that woman on file', but thought little else of at the current moment. Maybe she'd bother the flower girl next.

Edison Reece has posed:
"Thanks," he says, "I guess I'm remembering things as I go." After those first, awkward steps, he recalled the sequence and kept on it, still going slowly.

"Using a gun... yes, that is my latest focus. I once defined myself as a blademaster, but when /they/," a tinge of cold fury lacing that last word, "took my homeland and my bretheren from me... something changes. When I woke up here, there was neither sword nor spear, just those guns." He sighed, sadness present in his eyes and in the way his shoulders slumped slightly.

After a moment or so of silence, he sighed once more, closed his eyes, and regained his bearings, a grin returning to his lips. "But, tonight is not the time to think about my sad tale. So, in short, yes, I know about a lot of weapons, even if I'm not able to call them anymore."

A strong front to stave back the sadness of the lost ones. Such is the way Edison copes with the fall of his world. Oh, and shooting lots of Heartless, too.

Rylen Corvus has posed:
"Well, at least think about it." Rylen suggests, but he doesn't seem to push matters too much. Afterall, he's just a stranger, and it wouldn't really be his place to do so. "I'm going, so it's always an opportunity to get another dance." He chuckles, but beyond that, the Elf just continues the dance for a while.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I will do my best to refrain from trying to flatter you." And he does, at least for now anyways. Who knows if it will stick for any sort of length of time.

"How to explain...? Red mages are somewhere between a mage and a fighter. If you mostly wield fire, I'd say you're a black mage. Though it's all a bit wishy washy these days." He releases his hand from her side to wobble it back and forth. "The worlds have changed things."

And that's when she stops dancing to greet Chita, the Elf turns, blinks, and then suddenly has a Maira behind him. "Something the matter?" He looks in the direction she'd been looking. Since they're still on the dance floor, the Elf reaches out a hand to Maira. "Come on, let's get out of the way." That, and it would give him an opportunity to put more space between Maira and... whomever the hell it is that's upsetting her.

Avira has posed:
Though she doesn't see it, she certainly hears her best friend's reaction to Rhiannon's appearance. Further words are exchanged between the pair, also heard and not seen as Avira continues her dance with Edison. Though the first change Avira gets when the pair turns just the right way, Avira will peek around Edison's armos and glare in a disapproving manner at the scientist.

If Maira's dance time was ruined, Avira was going to make /someone/ pay for it.

"They..." Avira recognizes right away based on the tone of Edison's voice that he speaks of nothing less than the Heartless. He was obviously from a world or piece of a world that was destroyed. Though guns...perhaps he woke up in Manhattan? "A...similar thing happened to me. I was thrown into the darkness when my world was taken and woke up in a new place where I adapted to using blades. My current weapon contains a piece of my former world." There's a strange sort of fierce pride in her words at this.

Her eyes soften at the stoic man, "Yeah, let's not think about such things tonight. Let's continue to have fun. Maybe go a little faster? I think I've got these steps down." She's no longer checking their feet.

Maira has posed:
Well, she's been seen. It is no use hiding now.

Maira looks to Chita. She looks long and hard. She gives him A STARE!

Then she remembers he's blind now.

"I don't want to hear it about Angantyr from you ever again," she says simply. He'll bloody know what she's talking about!

Rhiannon pulls out a scalpel and moves toward her with the threat of vivisection, and Maira goes rigid. Maira has faced down a lot of terrible things and people. If not for recent events, Rhiannon's little display might not have been a big deal. Since being experimented on, tortured, drained, used to make something horrible...

Don't feel too good about the reaction Rhiannon. Vector got to her first.

"I'm sorry Rylen, I will be going...now...before I burn down this very lovely village," she says to him. She is extremely not kidding by the sound of it. Are her fingertips on fire? Sure are.

With that, Maira starts to run before collateral damage happens. She is not okay.

Rylen Corvus has posed:
While Rylen certainly doesn't understand much about what is going on, he does stand there between Maira and Rhiannon for a moment. With the fire-mage making her hasty retreat, he's left just standing there looking awkward.

"It's... alright." He murmurs, then lets out a breath, running a hand through his hair. "Well, I've got a show to prep for anyways." And, as he steps off the dance floor and back into the square, Rylen can't help but chuckle to himself, "I bet the chocobo had more luck tonight than I did. Ahh well."

At least he'll make some money pointing ladies towards dress shops.
Got to look to the positives.

Chita has posed:
"..."

Chita can't stare back, or see the stare, but the awkward silence was relatively obvious. Then she spoke and he couldn't help but laugh. "You don't want to hear it? Maira, do you realize Angantyr is far worse? Though I was unaware you knew..." then Rhiannon spokes. "... nevermind. I might just ask him on a date myself if she can't learn to avoid acting like this."

A tired sound came out of Chita before he slowly followed after and said, "Do not make me tie you up. Please behave." Though he was almost certain her answer would simply be sass back towards him. "I have been trying to convince her to stop fawning over a murderous idiot and then you go and open your mouth." He would throw his hands up if it made him feel like it would accomplish anything. At least Rhiannon was logic as compared to anger issues, among other things.

Turning his head, though, he listened again because he thought he heard something familiar. Was that Aerith?

Edison Reece has posed:
"Sure, why not?" he smiled, increasing the speed of the sequence he was been following. Avira's words replay through his mind. "A piece of... hmm, how curious." a glint from the corner of his eye sees the metal of the scalpel, and his instinct leads him to unconsciously draw upon his powers. However, with no focus, it's only a momentary thing, but Avira might have noticed an armored glove on Edison's right hand.

Whatever happened, however, seemed to be quickly defused... sort of. Recalling that his current partner was with that girl, he leaned in discreetly. "I think someone upset your friend. I'm not going to pry, but I get the feeling she could use some help right now."

Avira has posed:
Avira's eyes narrow, rage building within them. It is clearly not directed at Edison but the sudden increase in tension from the girl would no doubt be a little unnerving to see. But before that there is at least a few moments of quicker dancing. Though...

Something-some kind of feeling from Edison? What, exactly, she wasn't sure but it was certainly some kind of power.

"She's very upset." she says quietly. "I ought to go make sure she's alright." There's a sad smile on her face as she looks Edison in the eye for a few moments. "Thank you for being a good dance partner." Her hands release his and she smoothly steps backwards, retreating after Maira.

Rhia gets a nasty look from the scarred woman as she passes.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Oh dear. She ran away."

Rhia mumbled, sliding the scapel back into a sleeve of her coat as if it were a hidden weapon. She must have had some form of martial discipline to have handwork like that. That done, she glanced up at Chita and shrugged. "Tie me up? I would like to see you try." Smirking then, the scientist lowered her arms and then folded them back into her sleeves, relaxing her posture again.

"I was just having a little fun. That girl's reaction was far too tempting to not capitalize on. Ehehe~" A giggle followed that statement and she looked away. "I do recall seeing that girl with that Angantyr fellow last we met." She mused to herself, though perhaps Chita would comment.

"Speaking of that man, I still do want a sample of his blood. It would be quite useful to my tests~" Avira would get a simple smile in response to the nasty look in passing, her eyes following the scarred woman, but not bothering to shift her head. Once she was out of sight, the scientist turned away.

"Well then, I suppose I should secure accomodations. There is yet time to do some work while that ball has not yet arrived."

Edison Reece has posed:
Edison bows once again towards the retrating Avira. "You're welcome," he says, "been a while since I had the chance to relax like this."

He looks around for a few seconds before recalling something important: he never got that suit! Well, no time like the present, right.

As he left, he snuck a glance at the lady of the scalpel, just in case he ran across her along the roads of life. Just. In. Case.

Chita has posed:
A nod came towards Rhiannon as she spoke of accommodations, still seeming confused. So many voices he thought he recognized, but he couldn't put a finger on most of them. And, for that matter, none of them were really doing anything to bring themselves to his attention like Maira had. Had that whole group of people come? It would make sense. Sort of.

"Well enough then. And please.... would you refrain from causing other people to want to kill you? As much as I cannot blame them with how you act, I do not want any violence to come out of this ordeal. This was meant to be something fun."

He was almost begging Rhiannon to please behave.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded to herself as she glanced over her right shoulder amidst the crowd. Good, at the very least he was keeping her somewhat in check. She wouldn't be the one to start things if it went out of hand, but in the back of her mind, she was prepared to will forth her staff, just in case. Her expression didn't betray her intentions though, and the glance was only a cursory thing. However as others left, she gave a shrug and left the scene herself. She really needed to get that dress, and from what she saw around her, the flower girl had the perfect idea for her design.

Now to find someone willing to do it!

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Something fun?" She asked, apparently rhetorically as she spoke on. "I could be having fun back at my lab right at this very moment. Your concept of fun eludes me."

She never did agree or disagree to the call for her to behave. No promises! And with that said and done, she walked off to find an inn, quite heartlessly leaving Chita to follow with his walking stick and ascertain the sound of her heels through the rest of the pandemonium of the square.

What a nice person.