happy holidays { open }

[disasdeer]

A HOLIDAY PARTY

I. Arrival

There were postings around town, and fliers going out around the end of November. The holiday party starts early evening, December 1, thanks to the help of several hands. They had worked for a couple of days prior to the start to get the large ballroom decorated to everyone's liking. He had rented out a large ballroom, and started decorating the day before, adding finishing touches early on the day of. Everyone was invited - and while there's no real dress code posted, everyone is invited to dress their best for the sake of the party.

When one approaches the building, there's a clear set of rules posted outside written in neat script:

There's only a few easy rules to ensure everyone enjoys their night:

One, no fighting - if you have to - please take it outside.
Two, no weapons on the premises.
Three, all children under the age of sixteen must leave before nine in the evening.

Welcome in. Grab a mask if you want - or don't - and join the party.

II. Welcome In

When walking through the entrance, the first thing that is easy to notice is how it is decorated. It has the colors of the holidays - red, green, blue, white. It’s mostly deeper shades with pops of brighter shades of the color. On the right of the entryway there is a table with a dark blue cloth over it. On top of it is a wide array of masks - different styles, shapes, sizes. Whatever their heart may desire, you can find here. Masks are, of course, optional! But who doesn’t love a great masquerade?

Above it is a sign that says Yours to Keep - so they may keep whatever masks they pick up.

Next to it is a large book with lined paper where people can drop a short message about the winter holiday they celebrate at home - their favorite part, how they celebrate, anything they'd like to share with other people! This will be picked up at the end of the party.

Not much further ahead is a dancefloor to the left - spacious as ever. To the right is catering - set up as an elaborate display of food and tables arranged so people can sit and eat. There’s food from a variety of places, including Golden Silence. They’ll find not only savory foods, but sweet desserts. In the back corner, not far from the food is a bartender, who is happily serving free drinks for anyone of drinking age.

Past the bar is a hallway with a couple of private rooms. These rooms are quiet - with none of the noise of the party being able to reach them. They're perfect for stepping away from the party for just a few moments of peace and quiet. In this rooms, there's decks of cards and a few simple board games. Each room can hold up to four people and can be locked from the inside.

Don't worry - there's signs posted everywhere so they'll will be able to find what they're looking for.

III. With So Much To Do

A. Dance the Night Away

The music at the party is provided by a variety of individuals. Various talents have been invited through the night, even! If no one is set to perform, there's a playlist set to play. The music goes on non-stop and the styles that will be played will vary. Most of the songs will be fairly upbeat through the night. Some of them are slower paced - so pick a partner and dance.

B. Mistletoe

Throughout the venue there's going to be mistletoe set up in a few spots throughout the building. The spots they're hanging are easy to identify. Most doorways have mistletoe hanging from them. There's also a few prime spots where there's some hanging - such as the corner not far from the bar. It's a perfect place to steal a kiss.

B. Charity Raffle

Near the food, there's a sign directing people to participate and purchase tickets for the charity raffle for a few prizes for people. There's donations (or things purchased) from a few businesses around Camelot. All funds raised from the Charity will go towards helping everyone who lost things during the events with Celliwig/Lestari. There's a variety of things: brunch for two, a date package, opportunities to learn a new skill, and other experiences. Several prizes will be raffled off, and people may purchase as many tickets as they want.

IV. Late at Night

After 9 in the evening, the entire feeling of the party changes. The lights get lower and glowsticks become available just off of the dance floor where they weren't earlier in the night. The music remains upbeat, though there's no performers for this part of the evening - only a playlist cycling through a variety of songs. This is a perfect time to grab a partner for a dance, or grab a drink. There's no real end of the night in sight, people are welcome to stay as long they'd like - even into the next morning if they should want.

Just be sure they're out by lunch the next day when clean-up starts.

Some quick ooc notes:

Anyone is free to assume their character participated in helping decorate.

Anyone who is a musician may get a short time slot to perform (15-30 minutes).

Feel free to have your character win anything from the raffle if you want - I'm not particular here!

Please mark anything NSFW as such in subject lines.

Have any questions? Drop one in my question thread!

Comments

Walter C. Dornez | Hellsing: The Dawn

[angel_of_death]

I. Arrival

[Walter, as many others, has taken steps to dress up tonight, and arrives in full white-tie regalia. However, on account of the short time available to prepare, the suit is rented, not fitting quite as closely as he would prefer.

He comes with his own mask; a simple pattern adorned with the stylized depiction of a star-speckled night sky, to which one small modification has been added — the eight-rayed Star of Bethlehem is nestled next to the right side — his right, and any would-be observers left — as a subtle nod to the winter holiday celebrated by his people. A few silvery, flowing lines have been added as well, to tie in with the lines adorning the white, full-fingered gloves made by his friend. It is an understated mask compared to some of the others at the gathering, but he has slicked back the fringe of his hair to show it off properly, only the forelocks on either side of his jaw left untouched. Being longer, they wouldn't look right if he were to tuck them behind his ears.

A paper-wrapped parcel carried in his hands, Walter pauses before the entrance, reading over the rules. His lips turn downwards as his eyes catch sight of the third, but he shrugs, and continues on inside.]

II. Welcome In

[Pausing before the book, Walter shifts the parcel so that it is nestled firmly under his arm as he bends to write. He's not letting it out of his sight until he gets it to where it needs to be.

His penmanship is cursive, a few lines of letters written in the English language as he explains his country's Christmas traditions, both religious and secular.

That done, he heads into the interior of the ballroom, surveying the setup in quiet contemplation before moving to the area designated for the charity raffle.]

III - C. Charity Raffle

[This is what Walter has come for tonight. Making a beeline for the area, he sets the parcel down on one of the tables and proceeds to unwrap it. Two thin, velvet-coated cases are inside — the sort meant for jewellery; having cut a substantial quantity of labradorite from Lotus Pod Mountain, he'd gone and had a few pieces made for this occasion.

One box bears a wire-wrapped tree of life pendant. The second box, larger in size by a fair margin, includes a set; an ornate necklace and a pair of carved earrings.]

III - A. (Not) Dancing the Night Away

[Walter is perfectly capable of dancing. He's rather quite good, for someone who hasn't been professionally instructed. But he does not venture out onto the dance floor to seek out partners. Accustomed to social isolation, mingling is far from second-nature to him, and so he sticks to the side-lines like a very nicely-dressed wallflower, neither chatting nor drinking, but quietly observing, scanning the sea of bodies for sign of a familiar face.

III - B. (Oh No, Not the) Mistletoe

[A dreaded plant. Walter catches sight of the sprigs early on, regarding them with a heated glare each time he spots a new one. The doorways have been booby-trapped, it seems. And that corner by the bar, too. Better give that a wide berth.

The doors, however, are a bit more difficult to navigate around.

Standing rigidly beyond the bounds of one of the 'kissing zones', Walter grumbles to himself.]

I wonder if I can use the windows instead...

III -- A

[resistetmords]

[Have a slightly familiar face? Belgium at least was wearing something a bit more fancy than usual. Okay quite a hit more fancy. May as well have fun with things while she was here! It wasn't often that she got to dress like this, after all! Even if she's not used to wearing something all that showy. She does, however, notice him, and approaches with a smile.]

Mr. Walter~! How are the clothes fitting?

[angel_of_death]

They fit well! I only wish I could have managed to buy a properly sized tailcoat for you to alter... but it seems that the definition of formal wear has changed from what I remember.

[Black tie had been becoming more popular, but the trend of increasingly casual designs has clearly progressed quite a bit since then.

Finding proper formalwear for an adolescent frame like his had been particularly difficult. He'd rented the nearest-sized tailcoat he could... but it still feels a little loose to him.

Perhaps another day. Rather than dwell on the matter, he observes Belgium's choice of gown. It's not a style he's familiar with, but it looks lovely on her nonetheless. The gloves and the flowers in her hair are a nice touch.]

Did you make your dress?

[resistetmords]

Good, I was worried that it wouldn't have fit comfortably or not have been snug enough.

[Alls well that ended well here! She was just all too happy to help someone out! Whatever the case it all seemed to work out well for him.]

Oh...! Heaven's no! I don't think I could make something this complex for myself... or maybe I could. No, I ended up buying it a little bit after I arrived here. I wasn't certain if I'd ever get to wear it for anything though.

[She goes ahead and does a little swooshing twirl~.]

So late with this, sorry ;;

[angel_of_death]

Well, it's good that you did.

[Get to wear it, that is. A dress that nice must have cost a pretty amount to purchase. What a shame it would have been had it stayed in a wardrobe or a closet.]

Are you planning on dancing later?

III-C but also a B sneak attack attempt

[hor]

[ Horus find himself wanting to see just what it is that Walter has come up with for the raffle. And so he attempts to sneak up behind him and look over his shoulder at the labradorite pieces. ]

It's good to know our trip to the mountains was fruitful after all.

[ Let's see how this goes before he ambushes him with anything less innocent. ]

Sneaky! But I approve.

[angel_of_death]

[The mere hint of a presence over his shoulder has Walter immediately pivoting, only stopping once he catches sight of those familiar features. Those eyes, that hair... he knows them well. The sound of Horus' voice relaxes what tension is left in his shoulders, vigilance born of bitter experience giving way to casual contentment.]

It was.

[The dragon's death had led to complications in the relations between otherworlders, and he, too, was feeling rather sombre after the news. But their mineral haul was unquestionably good; a desirable material, both for its usefulness and aesthetic qualities.]

Have you done anything with your share yet?

[hor]

I've sold a quarter of it for funds now, have been playing with a set aside amount for my alchemy, and I've decided to reserve the rest for emergencies. After the falls of Lestari and Celliwig, having a store of valuable minerals from a nearby mountain may become valuable one day should we not lose the whole of the universes. If nothing else, I can take it home to Egypt and have it made into ornate pieces as my gift to the kingdom.

[ It looks really cool, after all. Imagine an usekh made of it?

Either way, since Walter seems unalerted by his presence once he realizes who it is and hasn't pulled away, he leans in to plant a kiss upon his cheek, not bothering to let him see the mistletoe pinned to his attire. ]

[angel_of_death]

[Pondering over the merits and potential drawbacks of Horus' plan, Walter is thoroughly distracted when the god leans in.

When lips alight and press upon his cheek, all thoughts vanish. He stiffens as though frozen, dark blue eyes wide as seconds pass, a flush of pink manifesting and spreading beneath a mask of deepest indigo.]

...Horus? [He sounds bewildered. Confused.] What was that for...?

[hor]

I am told it is tradition. I took one for myself.

[ He smirks and backs up, enough that he can point to the mistletoe attached to himself. What a good reaction Walter has had. He's proud of it. ]

[angel_of_death]

[Tradition. Walter tips his head ever so slightly to one side, not understanding... until he sees the mistletoe.

All the colour abruptly leaves his face, and rather than confused, he instead looks, for lack of a better word, grumpy.]

That plant.

[He practically growls the words under his breath. He's been avoiding it all night, and now Horus has gone and brought it to him. And stolen a kiss with that wretched tradition as the reason.]

[hor]

It seems I was right to plot an ambush. You would not have let me if I hadn't.

[ At least judging by his tone. Horus's tone, however, has a bit of a pout to it. He wants a smoochie..!! ]

[angel_of_death]

Ah-hah. And now I shall be on my guard.

[Kissing him because of some silly tradition. There are much better reasons to kiss someone.]

If you want a kiss from me, you're going to have to catch me first.

[hor]

I already got one, though. Or are you perhaps challenging me to get a proper one~?

[ He leans in again, not to kiss, but just to get a reaction. ]

Have you been truly kissed before, Walter?

[angel_of_death]

...

[Lifting his gaze to meet Horus' directly, Walter leans in, too, matching the invasion of his personal space with a counter-offensive invasion of Horus'. Head tipping farther to one side, he all but breathes his response, words laced with challenge.]

...Never.

[And just as quickly as he comes forward, he pulls away, pre-emptively denying any attempt at taking advantage of their closeness then and there with a broad, haughty smirk.]

Catch me if you can.

[The heels of his shoes strike the ground with soft claps as he takes a few steps backwards⁠ — still holding his friend's gaze⁠ — before he turns, making his escape without delay.]

[hor]

[ There's a good amount of information Horus has to process in that flash of a moment. First of all, that was a blatant challenge. And knowing Walter as he does and Walter knowing Horus as he does can mean only one thing: Walter wants him to catch him. Not because Horus is confident he will win (he is) but because Walter is well aware he could simply tell him no and Horus would pout but he would listen. He was raised by women, he knows the importance of consent even if his culture allows him to be pushy and unrelenting when he wants something. the challenge, to Horus, says that Walter both wants Horus to kiss him properly and doesn't want Horus to get a big head about it- he has to work for it.

Horus is nothing if not patient and hard working. Walter may not know the frightening 80+ year extent of this, but knowing he wants it and wanting to make his friend happy is more than enough to ignite his more predatory senses. He may only be the god of the sky now, but one day there are a number of titles added to that for good reason; one of which will be god of the hunt, a title passed to him from his master, Neith.

So let the hunt begin. Walter seems the slippery type in his experience, but he can't see him involving other people in the potential disaster of Horus's wake, so he can be sure he'll head for somewhere they'll be more isolated (add the benefits of privacy upon eventually being caught, which he knows Walter will likely seek). But he has to chase him first, to get a sense of his direction and eliminate pathways, otherwise, he'll have the run of the whole venue. And so step one in the hunt is a regular chase to drive Walter off to a particular area of the building containing the ballroom and eliminate exits. Surely, they have an unspoken agreement that the party itself is the grounds for this mischief, so Horus thinks it's a fair assumption this will work and chases after Walter at top speed.

There's probably at least one person telling them not to run indoors, which Horus ignores. ]

[angel_of_death]

[Rounding the bar, Walter makes for the hall just the other side. Private rooms line the passage. He knows not what they contain at the moment, having not ventured that way, but the signs tell him enough. He aims for one oriented along the exterior wall of the building, ducking inside the first open one yet unoccupied, and cheerfully slams the door shut behind him.

There are, perhaps, a few grumbles about that; the rooms are for people to get away from the noise and bustle of the party. But, Walter pays this no mind, for he intends to lead his friend on a glorious chase, and he's not about to let anyone get in the way.

Doing a quick survey of the room, he notes the window, and, turning around, a lock on the door.

Grinning, he flips it, latching the door shut.]

I've locked you out~! Can you find a way in?

[From his glance around, Walter counts two other potential avenues aside from the door--the window, and the air vent.

Ah, but Horus is an alchemist, isn't he...

Well, he'd better get moving! Fortunately, he has kinetic magic to even the odds!

Popping open the air vent, he simultaneously unlatches the window, loudly sliding it open as he leaps into the building ductwork.]

[hor]

[ The playful excitement he's gotten out of Walter is riveting and Horus can't help but feel a predatory glee about it. Walter's so cute when he's having fun, even more than when he's embarrassed. There's not a chance in hell he's letting him get away like this.

Horus leans down and scratches a little circle into the doorknob. It's a very simple one that he's found very useful- just about any material gets sucked into a straight rod shape, with a slight variation depending on what he's working with. Horus is nothing if not a good study though, so he's come to be able to identify a lot of common elements. Which means the doorknob isn't long for this world and he can simply pull the rod out through the hole in the door and pull it open.

The air vent is noticeable, but Horus has no idea what it actually.. is. He likely loses a bit of ground as he investigates the room, but decides that is the only possible direction that he could've gone. Tricky, Walter. Very tricky. The entrances are in the ceiling, and he doesn't recall seeing any clear outlets to the outdoors, so Horus decides his alchemy is also the solution to this problem. He pushes the door up into the vault vertically and scratches another alchemical symbol into it to essentially seal off the exit. Walter can't go back now, and Horus just has to go room to room now looking for vents and sealing them off. Pet comes in through a window to speed up the process of the sigils.

After a few of them, he pops his head up one and puts his arms over the edge of the vent, looking down it. He can't see Walter, but he assumes the echoes might reach him. ]

You're going to come to me, Walter, I don't need a way in!

[angel_of_death]

Is that so?

[The tone responding from the darkness remains playful, and it's coming from not too far away. Having circled back to the original room, he's discovered the vent is now sealed firm. So, Horus is cutting off his means of movement... but, given his words, he doesn't appear to intend to seal him in completely.]

Are you plotting to have me fall into your arms?

[Leave one vent open, and herd him towards it? He'll not be going down so easily!]

[hor]

As an alchemist, I've gotten decent at mixing potions. Perhaps I can find some ingredients for a sleeping draught and aerosolize it, if you don't come out to play? Or will that reach all the other rooms? I don't quite know how these ceiling tunnels work... if we get in trouble, that's another way to trap you, I suppose.

[ His tone has an almost dangerous playfulness to it, and he taps his fingers on the inside of the vent at his entrance. ]

Or I can just wait you out. You'd be surprised how patient I can be.

[angel_of_death]

[The proposition is swiftly met with a teasing scoff, his voice echoing in reply.]

How dull! You tire of the chase so easily. Are you sure you're not old?

[hor]

I'm not a chaser, Walter, I'm a hunter.

[ He slips down again and closes off this vent, moving off to look for another one with a loud clanging of metal. He wants Walter to chew on that statement for a moment. To feel excited that he's being hunted, not chased, and it's got more of a dangerous element to it in that context. He thinks Walter might like that.

He hums when he's found another vent, wanting Walter to hear him from another direction. He hopes it is, anyway. ]

[angel_of_death]

[A hunter... How bold a declaration, to declare one a hunter of him! How many had tried! How many had fallen! Enough to grant him the moniker Angel of Death.

But he doesn't want to kill Horus. No, nothing quite so large, so grand as that. But a smaller turning of the tables--now that has appeal...

In time the hum reaches his ears, and he purposefully hums back, note for note, the same tune, softening his voice so he seems ever so much farther away. Then, oh so quietly, he slides back towards the way of the ballroom, towards vents more difficult to reach.

It's time for a change in scenery.]

[hor]

[ Horus closes off a few more of the vents that he's able to find, but eventually he stops being able to find new ones, and yet hasn't really found Walter yet. Well, time to smoke him out. It's not quite a potion, but the threat is good enough for a feint, so he opens up the last vent he had already sealed and stuffs some crumpled paper in it he found just hanging out, then grabs a candle used for decor to light the edges and blow it out, keeping blowing on it so that it creates smoke rather than fire. Once it's smoky enough, he seals it back up. It's not enough to suck up the oxygen, but certainly enough to start spreading smoke and scent through the vents. They very much could get in trouble for this. Oh well.

It will at least give Horus a chance to trace back to look for some knight statue decoration and take the sword and use his alchemy to sharpen the sword by drawing particles from the edge to make it thinner and clumping it onto the base. Is the sword ugly now? Yeah. But it's a nice way to quickly sharpen. Much of Horus's alchemical practices have been focused more on circles and how to improve his strength in a regular battle-- he has small circles drawn in on his skin so he can draw his gold jewelry in as a dynamic armor. Lighter that he only has to wear jewelry that he can move across his body to block shots. He's learned to move molecules to sharpen edges, to seal things off to create traps, and to use the ability to draw elements in from distances to create projectiles and spikes to impale, create walls from the ground to create temporary defensive towers. But what he's choosing to do now is create a sharp implement to shove into the ceiling along the track he thinks the ducts have gone. He doesn't know where Walter is, so he has to rely on his own strength and control not to push the sword two hard, but he wants the loud noise to echo when he thrusts the sword into the vent-- Only about two inches. If he is anywhere near Walter by chance, it'll just require stitches or a quick heal. It'll be fine. And if he's nowhere near, it'll at least terrorize him a little once he figures out what Horus is doing. ]

[angel_of_death]

[It's just as he's preparing to exit into the ballroom that Walter catches whiff of the smoke. Was some idiot burning trash in the wc? How juvenile.

Popping down in one of the more remote corners of the ballroom, the youth immediately starts to dust off his clothes. And they're quite dusty; he's going to have to clean the tailcoat thoroughly before returning the rental.

Glancing up to keep a watch for Horus in between working on getting the dust off his arms, legs, and front, Walter starts to wonder if the sound of the ballroom is drowning out the other boy's voice. Walking back towards the hall he first disappeared into--the one with all the rooms and the network of closely-linked, now sealed vents--Walter is keen to find Horus and see what he is up to...

...that is, until he hears the sharp puncture of something piercing through the metal of the ventilation shaft, which has him immediately turning to investigate the sound of conflict... only to find that it is Horus.

Feeling the good humour drain from him, Walter scowls.]

What the hell do you think you're doing? You're breaking the party rules.

[There is a time and a place for the stabby sort of flirtation, Horus, and right now and right here is not it.]