Journey of the Elementals RP (Pm if Interested, Started)

[CounterAttack]

Gabriel emerged from the bathroom some ten minutes after starting the shower. He too had used some simple spellwork to speed up the process; cleaning spells had been drilled into him since his first studies. Apprentice-level stuff was easy. It was the higher-tier Mage, bordering on Adept, magic with which he struggled. Most of his time had been spent just standing under the running water, practicing some techniques to attune himself to his element a little better.

Isa, having watched the proceedings from her spot in the corner, smiled upon seeing his return. "Excellent. Your formalwear has been prepared in your absence, master Gabriel. Although I do feel the need to point out the odd actions of Lady Fei..." She indicated the fountain where Fei sat, a piece of candy in her mouth and her nose in one of Gabe's textbooks. Gabriel sighed, half amused and half exasperated by the situation. Of course she'd rifled through his bag when he'd told Isa to leave his things alone. Still, it couldn't hurt to let Fei have a look. Isa and her fellows were the ones with whom Gabe had trust issues.

"Ah... oh well. Some things can't be helped, I suppose," he noted, giving Fei a brief grin. "Just be sure to put that back when you're done, okay?" He glanced over at the neater of the two beds present, and his look changed to one of pensive apprehension. Regardless, he took the jacket, shirt and pants that Isa offered him, and stepped back into the bathroom to change out of sight.

Upon his return, Isa promptly approached him and began fussing over the suit. A collar tweak here, an adjustment there... Gabe wished she wouldn't. It felt as if he was about to be put on a stage. Eventually she stopped, though, and stepped back to examine him.

"You look... several degrees of presentable. The outfit suits you, I think. Better than those oversized trailing robes of yours, but it is a shade too large. I shall have to make a note of that." Isa approached the fountain and extended an alabaster hand to Fei. "Come on now, up you get. I'll escort you both to the party as soon as you've changed."

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

Cale was utterly speechless as he arrived at the castle with the others. As Seth asked on, Cale was wondering where all these women had come from and how exactly Edgar had them. It all seemed surreal as if this world wasn't surreal enough as it is. These women also didn't look a whole like women as some do them had different kinds of wings and what not. One of them, a dragon-like lady, ushered them inside or rather pushed them into stalls that Cale hadn't seen earlier either. The castle seemed ten times larger now and twice as rowdy as he remembered it. He entered the stalls, and to his surprise, hot water began to bathe him. Instinctively, Cale began washing himself but he didn't know what for. This all seemed so outlandish but Cale just went with it. In the hit steam, his thoughts drifted to Nydia as he wondered what her reaction would be to all this.

Just as he tried to guess her reaction, he heard the sound of clothes being hung up on the outside of his stall. Cale dried off and took the clothes which were the fanciest clothes he ever saw. Since his original clothes were taken away, Cale changed into those ones. He was a bit tall so his shirt felt a bit tight and his pants felt a bit short but otherwise, Cale wore the suit. He had some confusion as to where this button would go where but all was resolved by the time he exited the stall. He squared his chest and went to the dragon lady with questions lingering in his mind.

"Thank you for the clothes, but where did you get them?" Cale asked curiously. "And most importantly, where did you come from? When I was here earlier with Lord Edgar, I didn't see anybody else but him."

 

[NeoAC]

As the Nightshade remained lost in thought, the screeching voice of the dragon woman filled the shower room and broke Raven out of her self-induced cleansing trance. Oh great. Just what I needed. Hopefully she stays away... For a second it looked like Raven might get her wish, but sadly it was not to be.

"Water off!"

As the curtain whooshed open, Raven moved to instinctively cover herself. "What the f-!" She didn't even have time to get the curse out before she had some sort of glop dumped on top of her head. It stunk to high heaven and she quickly had to tilt her head down to keep it from getting in her eyes.

"If you're going to dye your hair, at least make sure to take care of it!"

The second the cold water hit her head, Raven shot right back up, coating the wall of the stall in the stuff as it gunk that hadn't seeped into her hair flew off. "Fucking hell!"

"Now wash out all the dye before it ruins your lovely skin, then get dressed! You don't want to be late!"

Raven was still in shock from the combination unveiling and chilling, but as the feeling slowly returned to her skin, the smell compelled her to rinse her hair of...whatever the hell that was. It was a quick process, very inefficient but it was more focused on speed to avoid having real frosted tips...and frosted everything else. Once she couldn't smell anything anymore, she hopped out of the shower and shut it off.

"Fucking crazy *****..." she cursed as she looked around for a towel before finding one. She didn't find anything that belonged to her though. "Where are my....fuck! She stole my clothes?! Ugh! What friggin' klepto palace is this?" She looked around for anything, but all she could find was a bunch of makeup and a dress that she would never wear at any point in time...except for the fact that she now had no other options for clothes. Not even a freaking bath mat...Fuck this place.

The only other things left in the stall were some makeups, a brush and a mirror. Raven used the mirror to check what that sludge had done to her hair and found that despite smelling like a manure pile at high noon, it did an admirable job covering up the orange that had crept back in to her hair during her time in this realm. A small miracle. Too bad I have to wear that with it... Left with no choice, Raven quickly threw on the clothes provided, the dress coming up snugly to her chest as she slipped her arms through the straps. At least it's black...ish. The purple wasn't really one of her colors, but it was better that then yellow or white or something else cheery. Grabbing the brush, she ran it over a few times to make sure her hair stayed down. The makeup seemed to match the color palette of her dress, as she applied some of the black eyeliner and crimson red lipstick. However there was a vital part of her arsenal missing, one she was reminded of by the freckles that plagued arms that hadn't seen daylight in quite some time. It was that which led her to run out of the stall.

The dragon lady was standing there, looking please with herself. Raven was pissed though. "You," she stated. "Where's my concealer? You have to have it somewhere. I need it now."

 

[Mr. Omega]

Drew took a sip of his drink after removing the cherry and discarding it. "My companions and I are good at staying out of trouble, it seems. That and we were walking around aimlessly until we found this place. Lord Edgar's domain has been the first sign of civilization we've come across." He was speaking mostly truth, but he figured he shouldn't reveal all the details. He took another sip as Kane did the same.

"And I am fairly normal from at my own home. From my perspective, YOU'RE the most interesting one here. We have come to try and remedy a problem at our own home. My companion, Alexander, has more of the technical details." He turned back to the castle and muttered "Hopefully he's found something..."

Rather than try and think of what he was up to, he decided to drop it and keep talking "As for where I plan to go? I'm still waiting to meet with my other allies to see if they have any leads. If they don't... well, I have some ideas. But I would value some info from someone as well versed in the land as you. Edgar wasn't really that helpful in that regard..." He was hoping a bit of flattery might get Kane more talkative.

"Alexander eh? So your kind does have a set of names. Interesting how you hesitate to share yours. Course, I imagine you are trying to act foolish, which is far from the most polite of ways to speak with me." Kane replied, obviously growing happier as more centaurs and spirits made their way into the grand hall.

"So, is this Alexander going to be joining us here soon, or is there something else going on with him? Hope he didn't get lost, as this place seems...bigger than I remember it. Edgar musta been doing some remodeling recently." Kane finished his drink, not too surprising for how the man went about it. He sat the mug back down, and then stood up.

"I was waiting for a chance to introduce myself. It just never came up. Name's Drew. And as for Alexander... I have no idea what he's up to. Last I saw, he left with one of Edgar's maids." He went back to his drink, letting Kane know that that was all he had to say about that.

"There we go. That was better and easier, ain't it? Now, it seems ya got yourself a tiny bit tangled with Edgar's girls, which is...well, there are worse fates for a man, I'll be honest!" Kane said with a laugh and a look at Alice, who did not reply.

Kane resumed where he had left off. "You don't know of any civilization you've wandered through so far? Then you have not done any wandering. These lands are filled with things. My lands are not far from here, and the other groups keep to their borders quite tightly. Some a bit more than others." Kane said with a smirk as he began looking over the crowds, either getting a head count or looking for someone.

"So, how much value would you put on knowing the area? So far I haven't seen much from ya, unless your home is going to be sending you something worth my time. And honestly, those robes don't look like they hold much value, so I won't be accepting any of that." Kane continued, flicking at a bit of cloth on his own armored suit to add to his point.

Drew was now almost finished his drink, setting it down as Kane made him his offer. "Well, I don't have anything to offer you. Rather than a lay of the land, I had but a single question, and I'll leave you to the festivities. Both you and Edgar have mentioned a 'Mistress' character. It's not much, but at the moment it's the only lead I've got. So I have to ask: what is she like? From what little I've heard, she doesn't sound as friendly as Edgar."

Kane smirked. "Your question means that you have some idea whats been going on, which is...well, not the worst of things. The good 'Mistress', is cold a lot of the time. Well, at least she is for me. Doesn't much care for my nature, as ya can imagine. I'm not much of one for bowing down, or sitting down when told to. She's a bit commanding, pretty rough, and all that good stuff."

Kane grabbed another drink as another girl walked by. "And...well, lets be honest. She is very, very easy on the eyes, if ya get my meaning. Don't let that take ya too far, cause she's got the skills to wrap you around her finger and wear you like a damn ring. But she knows what she has, and uses it to get to where she is now....holder of a nice bit of the realm, and is always trying to take more these days."

Drew finished off the last of his drink as Kane told him about Serena, nodding with each bit of info. "So not a good idea. Caution advised..." he muttered to himself.

Standing up, the centaur stretched, seeming to be done with Drew for a moment, but stayed there longer to ask one last thing. "And thats about it for the 'free' advice. Unless ya got something else to offer me, I got a few people who I need to gloat and stand over, and you are cutting into the valuable time as later on they'll be too sullen to really take advantage of! So, ya done, or are you gonna produce something to interest me further?"

Drew then saw that Kane was bored with him, taking this opportunity to leave. He's rather end it now than push his luck trying to get more info. "By all means, enjoy yourself, Lord Kane. I'm afraid I have nothing that would interest you. Go have some fun!" he smiled as he walked off, grabbing Alice by the hand and pulling her with him.

Once they were a good distance away, he spoke to her. "Well, that was... enlightening. So... we have a party on our hands. What should we do next?"

 

[UnusualStranger]

Jade grinned in a way that could only imply a lot of trouble later, giving a small sigh as she untangled herself from Alexander and sat up. Giving a long stretch, probably intentionally drawn out for Alexander, she finally clambered off the bed and went to one of the nearby closets with a devilish grin as she seemed to sort through a few things. Nodding to herself, she pulled out a slim ballroom gown, which was in a light blue with a revealing back and no sleeves.

"So, my Lord Alexander....what should we get you to wear? Need to choose this out before going to wash...unless you plan on going without a bit of cleanup." Jade said, winking as she did so. "A bit of a scandal to spice a few things up if you wanted. But there is...quite the variety here. There are these very simple black suits with white shirts...or maybe you would prefer the vests and gems, like a proper lord of old. Or maybe you instead prefer something a little more casual...something shorter sleeved maybe?"

As she chatted along, an idea suddenly seemed to strike, and she walked over to the door, listening closely for a moment. After standing there for a small quiet while, she suddenly gave a "Hmph!" and turned back to the dresser.

"That is odd. I would think she would be here by now, banging in the door to get me and you both prepared. Not like her to get distracted, unless your other friends are a handful..."

[hr]

As Seth suddenly found himself being interrupted, he couldn't help but be more surprised when Raven began cursing and saying less than...great things about the dragon lady whom they were working with. Or rather, who was doing the designs for them at this point. As he went about drying himself off quickly, he looked over the set of clothes that he had gotten. He wasn't a guy that really ever needed to do any kind of dressing up, so this whole...suit was kinda odd.

"Least the red is about right, I guess. Guess someone was able to see me at one point in my robes and figure it might work." Seth muttered largely to himself. As he stepped out, he noted that Cale had been giving a black and white suit as well, and looked like he was...clean. He almost would have started making jokes about the earthshaper finally not having the dirt on himself, but decided against it.

"Hey Cale! Nice to see you without the inch of dirt. Not too nice to start bothering the people who are helping ya do that though." Seth began, but then suddenly Raven came storming out.

She looks...fantastic. A nice dress, and all cleaned up, and with the black hair straightened out and...a very nice dress instead of the robes. I wonder if.... If there was one thing that would snap Seth from his thoughts, it was Raven being very upset about missing some...concealer? Whatever the case, he might as well see if there was something else going on here.

"Whats wrong? Is it something about what they did before? Or did they steal something?" Seth suggested, obviously not knowing quite what she was asking about.

"And uh....you look great Raven. Not that you don't usually, of course! Just that you look...well, very nice in the dress and everything. Without the robes and all, I mean. So what do you need....whatever-it-is, for?"

 

[Lambi]

Silvana took note of when the dragon lady came back, but didn't note much else until she was done showering and stepped out of the shower to dry herself. Her clothes were gone, and instead a white dress had been put up for her. "Are you serious? White?" Better than going out naked, I guess. Once she was done putting on the dress, she put on the metal cuffs she'd been given. It really interested her how they had red lines appearing on them as she touched them.

Silvana heard as Raven cursed and complained about a lot of things, it seemed, but she didn't pay too much attention to it, especially when she noticed the mirror opposite to the shower stalls. She didn't even pay much attention to the makeup, she just wanted to admire her eyes. No one has eyes like you do, darling. Quite pleased with herself, she applied some makeup on herself. Some eyeliner, a lipstick matching her eyes and a bit of other general makeup.

Once that was done, she looked over to where Raven was by the dragon lady, but she also noticed where all the shadows were together. She wasn't exactly sure what they were doing, so she went over to them, and stood beside her own shadow. "What's going on here?" she asked with a cheeky grin on her face.

 

[SkyeNeko]

The big mage was the first out of the showers. The dragon woman flicked her tongue in his direction, briefly, before letting him get dressed.
"Thank you for the clothes, but where did you get them? And most importantly, where did you come from? When I was here earlier with Lord Edgar, I didn't see anybody else but him."
"Gifts, souveniers, things forgotten. You'd be surprised how often visitors leave clothing behind. Of course we washed them all, steamed, no need to worry about that. Although, that one does seem a smidge tight... try not to gorge yourself on food, okay?" she winked, patting his stomach. "And as for earlier, well, I saw you come in. I've always been here." She stepped behind Cale, briefly obsessing with his hair.

"Where are my....fuck! She stole my clothes?! Ugh! What friggin' klepto palace is this?"
"Ah, don't worry, your things will be cleaned and... disinfected, and then they will be placed in your respective rooms. Oh, you don't know where your rooms are do you... oh well, it looks like you won't be getting your concealer back until after the party. Shame. I guess you'll have to deal with its unmolested current ssstate" she purred, as close to a dragon woman could purr, grabbing Raven's arm and rubbing her (kind of scaly) cheek against it. "Ah, your lovely lovely skin" she laughed loudly when Raven recoiled, releasing her arm. "And you see! You are attractive to the opposite sex without covering your spots. And whatever you were wearing was cheap anyway." She quickly ran over to Seth, convinced she wouldn't be doing any more work on Raven.

"Now where's Jade and Alice? I swear I'm the only one helping you around here. HA!"

[hr]

Fei made a face, but got up with Isa. She whined at the dress she was offered. "I don't want to wear thaaaaat..." she pouted. "Why can't I have a suuuit" When Isa tried to stuff her into the dress, Fei dove under the covers of her disheveled bed, peeking out through a blanket fort, making hissing sounds at the maid. It wasn't until Isa returned with a dress that looked more like a winter coat than an evening gown. It was dusty gray turtleneck, ending right below her knees. At Isa's request, Fei also wore blue leggings. More of a winter look, but it was good enough, and Fei was going to throw a fit if she had to change.

 

[blaze96]

Alexander appreciated the drawn out view as he himself got up and went back to the book for a moment, quickly scanning the rest of the chapter for any pertinent information before closing it and putting it on the table after marking the page he was on. Not bothering to cover himself in any way as he did so.

"Handful is most certainly a term that would start down the path of what my companions are. Also, should you try and put me in jewels and such I would end up getting us both noticed for my decided lack of clothing. I'd prefer to stick to something a bit plainer if you don't mind. Either something approximating my robes or a white suit." As he said this he walked over to his robes and unhooked the suns from the shoulders of them. He briefly just looked at them while running his hand over the objects, remembering his family and home briefly before setting them on the table.

"These will have to be able to go with whatever it is I'm wearing. They are of great sentimental importance to me and I will not be leaving them behind."

 

[CounterAttack]

"There. Not our first choice, nor the best, but you are decent." Isa adjusted her own outfit, checked herself in the bedroom's wall-length mirror and nodded, satisfied. "Now then. The other guests will be delighted to meet you, I'm sure. I just need to set you in your proper places before we join the others..." With that, she stood Gabriel and Fei beside one another in the hall outside and firmly looped Fei's left arm through Gabe's right, before taking Gabriel's other arm to lead the way.

"Do try not to look as if you don't want to be here, either of you. You'll need to make a good first impression," she explained as she led the mages down the hall. Gabriel was uncertain of the whole situation. He would undoubtedly be meeting a lot of strangers in a short amount of time... although, that wasn't too big of an issue given the events of the past few days or so. It was still something to consider, though.

A fair bit of noise was coming from the room to which Isa was leading them; the sounds of music, clinking glasses, and many different voices engaged in conversation. It might have just been his imagination, obscured by the voices overlapping one another, but Gabriel thought some of them were in unfamiliar languages. Sure enough, this was the place. Countless differing forms and appearances greeted the mages; much as had been the case before, Gabriel stood out a bit because he didn't have any unusual traits, like Fei's wings or a tail.

 

[Pm0n3y]

Horatio scrubbed and washed, and washed and scrubbed. As expedient as he wanted to be, Joey also wanted to just relax in the warm, sudsy water. "S'been a while since I've been able to do something like this." He slowed down for a second. "This is...nice." He said through a sigh, slinking down into the water. "Do you think blue is a good color? Maybe you are more of a pink person..." His mistress mused from a nearby closet. "Well, it depends on the blue. And the pink. Like, a navy blue jacket (or maybe a vest) and pants, and like, a light pink shirt...? I could pull that off." He pondered on that look. "No tie, though. Gotta keep the shirt unbuttoned a bit, show off some of the chest hair." Which was funny, considering he lacked any prominent amounts of chest hair.

Rosa gave a sigh, obviously still just sifting through the clothes as it sounded like Joey was going to be largely useless in the endeavor. Though, when he mentioned that there were not going to be any ties she gave a small grin.

"Oh? And since when were you gifted with that kind of look? I'm starting to think that you have even less going for you than before." Rosa said with a smirk, grabbing a plain suit with a pink shirt to go with a black vest.

"Seems like you actually needed that bath. I almost think you would have been unpresentable without it, even with my help in getting you these clothes." And on the subject of the bath... "Are you sure you don't want to get in? Y'know, kick off your shoes, and unwind a bit. I know I could use a little unwinding." He dunked his head under once more, rinsing the soap from his bushy mane. He reconsidered his proposal as he resurfaced. "On second thought, I take that back, this water is really dirty now. Yeah, I really did need this bath." He admitted with a chuckle. He proceeded out after that. "Got a towel?"

"It almost sounds like you need me to take care of you at this point." Rosa said, sticking her tongue out at the rogue mage. She reached over to a nearby rack with a few hanging towels, and tossed one to the soaked mage.

"Lucky for you, I would like to see how you measure up with our other guests. I get the feeling you won't be anything special, but I think it'll be fun to try. Especially now that you are not wearing most of the outside with your outfit...which I've taken the liberty of getting taken care of." He used the towel to wrap up his hair, opting to just air dry the rest of his body. "Taken care of? Did you get it washed? Because, that might've been a pointless endeavor on your end." He asked. "You still have my dagger and pebble sack, right?"

"Washed, steamed, and whatever else they could possibly take to make sure that if you do dare to change into something less proper, it'll at least be clean." Rosa replied, leaning back against a wall and gesturing to a nearby mirror with a few what appeared to be hygienic products, like scissors and scented oils. With a small wave, it was obvious she planned on him being a little less difficult....or at least be able to do some personal hygiene and neatening up.

"So, if you think you could possibly manage it on your end, you could go through in trimming down some of that excess hair and whatever else that needs to be cut off...And don't make a show of it for me, as I think I've seen enough of you all together at this point."

"...Oh. Okay..." He couldn't really tell if that last comment was some sort of threat. It was probably more harmless than it sounded. She did have a bit of point, however. "Right. My acts are wasting us time. I shall make haste at once-OKAY, WHY DOES SHE KEEP SAYING THAT I CAN'T DANCE?!" As he combed and styled his hair (cutting any of it was out of the option), that one thought bumrushed its way to the front of his mind. It didn't help that she had said it several times, as if insisting that it was the word of god himself. "At first, I thought it was just playful banter, like we were bouncing off of each other's smarmy remarks, but now I feel like I actually have to prove myself!"

With his hair pulled back, breath freshened, and body odor eradicated, he proceeded towards the clothes picked out for him. "Hm. Black instead of blue. Still works. Ooh, this is just the type of pink I was thinking about. Reserved, a little subtle, neither loud nor obnoxious..." He mulled over the selection as he slipped into them.

"This is a really nice suit, I must admit. Almost seems like it was tailored for me...doesn't hang off of me or sag like some other suits I've seen." He rolled up the sleeves of the shirt to elbow length before placing the dagger on his hip and buttoning up the vest. But, he decided against putting on the jacket. Judging by the way Rosa was dressed, the occasion didn't seem formal enough for the jacket. Instead, he kept it in hand, slinging it over his shoulder. "Alright. I'm dressed." He confirmed, lastly placing his little gravel bag in one of the pants pockets.

"Well, at least you can manage that reasonably well. Might be some kind of hope for you yet!" Rosa smirked, circling around to see if there was anything that might possibly be out of place. With a nod, she stepped over to the door, and offered an arm.

"Well then, my finely dressed wanderer, let us make our way to the party. They'll have fine guests, fine drinks, and enough talk going around that you''re well toned tongue will be useful in some regards." As Joey came forward to take her arm, she gave him a small nudge as they started walking through the halls.

"And a dance, but I doubt you'll be too interested in that. You don't seem much for public appearances." Horatio pursed his lips at the claim, seeming like it's been noted for the tenth time. "Alright, we've known each other for like twenty minutes, so what i'm about to say will actually be fairly reasonable, but...you obviously don't know me as much as you think you know me." He replied.

 

[UnusualStranger]

"Acceptance, red-eyed Silvana. It might be different for you, but we are not....what you are. Not all the way." Shadow Seth answered, crossing his arms as he looked over the cheeky grin that Silvana wore. It was a look of appraisal and...something else? It was there for a few moments before shifting to a more neutral gaze that seemed to take in the changed appearance of all the others.

"You look....different than I, uhm....red-eyed Silvana. I am guessing there is something going on? I know I look like....how you used to look. So where are we going?" Silvana's shadow asked, obviously still quite curious about what was going on about them, still trying to make sense of the world.

"It seems that you have plans and people to impress yet, red-eyed Silvana. It would be good of you to not talking to shadows, as I imagine looking like you are talking to nothing does nothing for your proper appearances." Seth continued with a small smirk as he gestured to the clothes that she wore.

"Don't mind him, red-eyed Silvana...He's just annoyed about..." Shadow Silvana again started, but Seth quickly tapped her on the shoulder, and she went silent.

[hr]

Seth was absolutely confused and outright surprised at this strange dragon woman, and what she was doing, and whatever they were actually supposed to be doing. She apparently wanted to rub her face against the skin...? The look on his face was largely self-explanatory, and was quickly changed to suspicious as she began to encircle him. He couldn't claim to trust most things in this world, and even less with whatever this particular dress up was leading into.

"Er...Jade and....Alice, right? Those were the ones that went with Alexander and Drew..." Seth began, turning some as the dragon woman stepped about. "And am I going to be seeing my sword? I get the feeling that you don't have talented blacksmiths here, to be honest...and what are you looking for?" Seth couldn't help but be a little annoyed, as he didn't think there was anything wrong with what or how he was wearing what he had.

And what am I even dressing up for? What kind of party is this even? I really wish I knew what was going on right about now....is there gonna be a dance? Can....Raven dance? This...is going to go somewhere, and I don't think I'm going to like it.

[hr]

Jade glanced at Alexander as he stood and got the emblems from his robes, apparently needing them for his dressing up. Though, with the mention of the white suit she quickly pulled out a white set of clothes. Not quite a suit, as they were more of a set of clothes fit for a prince. They were more on the lighter side, with a white vest to go with the darker colored pants and more elaborate undershirt for the outfit. It was made along with a large royal cape to go along with it.

"There we go...a good outfit for a more...royal acting individual, don't you think? Maybe not completely white and fitting, and not as many gems....but I think it will help you be a bit more plain. Especially once I get dressed up for my good lord..." Jade said, bringing out a thin light blue dress, long enough to cover a majority of her figure, but still low cut enough to show the skin that she might consider important.

"Might as well start getting ready...and I would think that those emblems should be able to go on to this. Of course, how you plan on putting them on is...well, another thing altogether." Jade continued, looking over the outfits one more time before going over putting on the dress.

"If we get ready quickly, we might be able to avoid....her. Which I advise you would be among one of the better ideas we could have right now." Jade now made her way quickly to the door to listen again, as if she was anticipating someone to be listening in.

[hr]

As Gabriel and Fei entered the halls, some of the forms inside of the hall did give the pair an odd set of looks, but overall everyone was largely interested in many of their conversations. Though, a few things did take notice of the mages, one of which was a much larger and better armored centaur.

"Well well! Look at you young things! Never seen a pair like ya. Let me guess...visiting? Or did you have some stories?" The centaur said, obviously having enjoyed much of his mug of a drink already. Though he was large, he seemed to have a regal set of armor about him, and obviously a command of some authority as the few spirits and other creatures seemed to give him some space.

"Ah, just take a seat! My previous entertainment has gone, and my usual entertainment has not arrived yet, so I would like to see how you are doing. Especially since I would like to think I recognize...most here, but there isn't much else to go off of at this point! So, do ya think ya could humor an old warrior? Or are ya planning on going off and dancing or something?"

In the meantime, other languages seemed to be drifting from many of the creatures, some of which were coming from the spirits of particular elements. They were usually 'seated' in some fashion, but others seemed to float about, or never seemed to need to sit down since they were made of rock.

Other women were finely dressed there as well, of many of the different combinations once again. Some of which with features of cats, dogs, some with scales and wings, and even from time to time nothing notable about them at all appearing 'normal'.And there were always a few maids wandering about, carrying trays of drinks and foods of many styles.

 

[Mr. Omega]

"What we do next is....well, you are a tiny bit under-dressed for this gathering..." Alice said, slightly exasperated but obviously pleased to be out of that discussion. The pair had moved a small ways away from the party, which Alice seemed to be even more grateful for.

"But, that would require us going out...this door and then making a way to one of the rooms. There should be some clothes and things to get you prepared. Then from there I could probably better advise you on what has been going on. I am....somewhat surprised how well you did. Lord Kane is not....easily dissuaded. He either has something else on his mind, or you did far better than I imagined."

Alice suddenly paused when she realized that she was still in her maid outfit, and suddenly facepalmed. She began shaking her head, as if suddenly a lot of other things began to fall into place and she fell back against a wall.

"....Apologies, Lord Drew. I did not realize that I was...still so unprepared. We really should get changed, or you'll be encountering things like....that the rest of the day."

Drew put his hand on her shoulder and smiled, trying to reassure her. "It's ok. You've been a real help." He looked at his own outfit, shrugging. "I guess I am a little under-dressed. I guess getting changed would help." he gestured for her to lead the way. Nodding quickly, she then took the time to lead Drew onward towards another set of rooms. Opening the door and peering inside, she gave a relieved sigh, and flung the door open. Pulling Drew inside, she gestured to a shower that was nearby, as well as a trunk that likely held a variety of clothes as well.

"There....you can get started washing up, and I'm going to see about changing and finding something for you in the meantime...." Alice said, already pulling off some of the extras of her maid uniform.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, but he was tempted to stay in the room a little longer. he shrugged and said to her "Got it. Thanks a lot." he walked to the shower and called back to her "And take a minute to relax. Take it easy. We're supposed to be having fun." he teased, taking off his robe and walking into the shower.

He took his time, enjoying the solitude. ....And now I'm alone. Feels like it's been forever since I could say that... I've been enjoying Alice's company... and the other guys before that weren't that bad... but it's nice to just be alone with my thoughts....

The water refreshed him, and he made sure he was as clean as possible. His hair was still a mess, but at least now he didn't stink. Better not keep her waiting. He dried off and wrapped his towel around himself before heading out. He noticed Alice wasn't there, so he went over to the chest and started rummaging through. "Ugh... Fei was always better at picking nice-looking clothes."

Humming a small tune, Alice came back to the room, having apparently made her way to another shower and was still a little bit damp. However, she had gotten to changing into a fine dress. It was a little on the darker red side, but with tussled layers of different shades.

Drew instinctively jumped as she walked in, holding his towel closer, but calmed down briefly. However, he then got a look at her. As nice as she looked in her maid outfit, after seeing her current appearance Drew struggled to not have his jaw drop. He still mouthed the word "Daaaamn..." before regaining his composure.

"Oh! You finished...faster than I expected. Have you found something already? I didn't think I would find anything....here." Alice began, obviously a little embarrassed of the situation. She did press on, however. "What would you prefer, Lord Drew? I imagine you have some color or particular style in mind." Alice seemed to carry herself differently in the dress, showing off a bit more skin, and also giving her a much more regal appearance with the changes that she had made, and her hair, while still damp, she was actually still seeming to try and style.

"Uh, yeah... I'm not really one for dressing up. I guess something white or grey. Kinda like clouds or something. And as something as comfortable as possible. I wanna look nice, but I still have to wear it..." He knew the situation was awkward, but he was trying to keep things going along as smoothly as possible.

"Oh...a white suit, maybe...? I don't know if we have one of those in here....did you look?" Alice asked, walking over next to Drew to take a look. She didn't seem to be bothered by Drew actually wearing nothing. "Mm...Maybe something a little thicker? It might get really hot wearing something like that...but clouds...? I'm...not sure what you mean." She pulled out a set of robes seeming to be more for a royal priest more than anything. A combination of greens and whites along the robes. She gave a small laugh, and continued her look.

He glanced at it, considering it. "That's not bad. Good coloring, decent design... but is there a simpler version of that? I can't pull off the whole regal look as well as you can." he started looking, hoping for something similar.

"Simpler version...? I get the feeling that there isn't much we can do to make it simpler...just maybe not wearing all the collection of robes and scarfs, maybe?" Alice suggested, now taking the robe a lot more seriously since Drew considered it. "Or maybe we could combine it from something else...? Uhm....Well, there is this grey shirt, but...I don't think it would work." Alice said, taking out a shirt for a moment, before offering it to Drew for more of his appraisal.

He took the shirt, nodding. "That sounds good. Looks good, too." he took it, eaxmining the whole thing. "Just give me a moment to get dressed."

"Oh....good that you approve of it! Please, lets get you changed quickly so as to make our way back to the party before...well, before anything changes too much." Alice said, going back and leaning on the wall, patiently seeming to wait for Drew to change. It didn't take long for him to get everything on. He took a moment to move around to get an idea of how it felt. He grinned and tapped Alice on the back. "Well? How do I look?"

"Oh!" Alice gave a small gasp, again seeming to not expect Drew to be finished and prepared as quickly as he was. Turning about, she gave him a quick look over, and nodded.

"There. I would like to think that having it in this way will help in how you feel as well as the other guests...Mmm....Do you think there is something else you need, Lord Drew? I would like to make sure you leave here quite comfortable..." Alice asked, obviously going back a little bit to her maidly attitude to get things taken care of. "And...you do know how to eat and drink properly, right...? Otherwise...well, the clothes may help, but you need to play a part as well!"

Drew shrugged nonchalantly "Had to 'behave myself' all the time back home. Still, I might need some advice on the cultural stuff..." he said, muttering the second half. "And I'm plenty comfortable. I just need one thing..." he said, taking her hand and walking out of the room, heading to where he assumed the party was. "Directions."

 

[CounterAttack]

"Well well! Look at you young things! Never seen a pair like ya. Let me guess...visiting? Or did you have some stories? Ah, just take a seat! My previous entertainment has gone, and my usual entertainment has not arrived yet, so I would like to see how you are doing. Especially since I would like to think I recognize...most here, but there isn't much else to go off of at this point! So, do ya think ya could humor an old warrior? Or are ya planning on going off and dancing or something?"

"Is that... a centaur?" Gabriel murmured to Isa, bemused by the unfamiliar creature.

"Indeed he is. Don't stare, be polite! Honestly, one might think you'd never seen one before!" Isa's grip on Gabe's arm tightened for a second.

"That's because I haven't." Regardless, Gabriel approached the speaker and took an indicated seat, his assigned companion settling herself beside him and Fei taking a space on his other side. Gabe briefly glanced around the other beings; many were clearly non-human. The feeling of being out of his depth intensified; he thought he felt himself begin to sweat out of nervousness.

Damn... just breathe, and focus. Basic introductions. "I, er, I suppose introductions are in order... were I to know your name and profession, good sir, you would know mine and more besides," he hesitantly began, fidgeting with the silver cufflinks on his jacket.

At his words he thought he felt Isa tense up beside him; had he messed up already? She might have warned him... but then, he doubted she had the time to educate them on such things.

 

[blaze96]

"That part is easy Jade." Alexander said as he walked over to the suit. He then lifted the sleeve at the shoulder by placing a hand up the sleeve and he used his other hand to make a small laser to cut a hole in the cloth. He repeated this on the second shoulder before attaching the suns through the holes.

"There, a symbol of my craft made by family and myself." He then gave a small laugh and turned to her smirking.

"A crest if you will, since you seem so dead set on declaring me a lord." He then dressed and looked himself over.

"Formal yet not showy, I'm glad for that. Though I am more glad to have a proper escort and dance partner for the night." He walked over to her and put an arm around her waist with a smile.

 

[SkyeNeko]

"Alexander and Drew? Well, I hope they're not just fooling around with them! We have a party to attend to! Honestly, we get a few guests, and suddenly no one knows what to do." She found Seth's appearance appropriate, amused by his sudden abrasive attitude. "Your sword is perfectly fine, along with your female's "concealer". In your rooms. Do you think you'll need such an open sign of violence on you at the party? I hardly think it would match your clothing. I could provide you with something more fitting, unless you really have a deep attachment to that piece of metal."

She didn't answer all of his questions, clearly having something better to do, as she head to the door. "The gala event awaits, my dears, and we should quickly present ourselves! Come now, chop chop!"

[hr]

Fei stared expectantly at Gabriel, then a bit worriedly as he devolved into a small mess. He didn't seem hesitant when ordering the maid around. Now, she had never seen a centaur in real life until now, but she had read a bit about them. From Isa's serious gaze, and the fact that this centaur was wearing the coolest armor she had seen so far, she assumed that he was some kind of important. "I'm Fei, and this is Gabriel! Pleased to meet you!" Fei's heart was really racing too, but somehow having someone else there who seemed just as scared as she was made her feel a little braver.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

Cale listened to the dragon-lady's explanation but he turned to face Seth who was also looking quite... regal with his new clothes. He wasn't quite used to having such fancy clothes on so he tugged at his collar a bit. Cale wasn't sure if it was actually the suit or the fact that he had to wear one for the rest of the night. Cale never really got to experience the finer side of life growing up but if this was what they did then he considered himself somewhat lucky.

"The gala event awaits, my dears, and we should quickly present ourselves! Come now, chop chop!" The dragon-lady said once more, trying to usher them out.

"Miss, where is Lord Edgar?" Cale said, saying questions quickly as they appeared in his head. "Also, what's a gala?"

 

[NeoAC]

The other mages seemed to emerge as Raven confronted this dragon woman, and once she started fondling her arm, she really wished they hadn't. It was creepy as hell the way she slithered all over her arm, an arm that was now revealing all the freckles she had tried to keep hidden for years. Her repulsion had almost, ALMOST distracted her from what Seth had said behind her, and as the D-woman's attentions thankfully turned away from her, she was able to reflect a bit.

Maybe it won't be so bad. Seth said I look good. Great even. Isn't that what matters right now? Why am I so worried about what these crazies think? Yeah. Know what, screw them.

"I guess I don't need it now," she answered Seth as they moved towards the door. "Let's just get this over with."

Cale was still asking questions. "Miss, where is Lord Edgar?" Who? "Also, what's a gala?"

Raven rolled her eyes with that question. "An Italian girlfriend," she retorted. Seriously. Even I know what a gala is. Don't know why the hell we're going to one though.

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Well. This place filled up quick." Horatio put on a small look of astonishment as he and Rosa entered into the main hall. He was more surprised by the sudden increase in quantity, than the look of some of the more exotic guests. Though, quite a few of the new folks were definite head turners. Almost as soon as they entered the space, he could notice the massive figure from the corner of his eye. This humongous guy, covered in armor and horse parts. Seemed to be quite enjoying himself, and seemed to be turning into a real centerpiece.

"That's a big guy." Joey stated the obvious, aiming to find a seat at the table that was as close to the action as he could muster. The two managed to find some chairs, three others already sitting beside the centaur. As soon as he helped Rosa to her seat (y'know, had to get those gentlemen points up), he instantly noticed the one fidgety mage sitting nervously inbetween the two girls.

"What's his name again...? Gage...Gary...Gaston...Ga...guh-" He snapped in realization. "Gabriel." Yet, as he looked on, it seemed the fellow mage had a hard time producing words, to the point that one of the girls beside him had to do it herself. Instead of interjecting into the conversation himself, he took his seat beside Rosa, waiting intently for the moment in which Gabriel totally beefs it. "And by the look of things, he's already halfway there." "So, is this like, a usual thing? The food, the dancing, the camaraderie...Or is this for some sort of special occasion?" He asked his hostess, making sure to face her as he asked the question.

 

[UnusualStranger]

"Oh?" Rosa mocked slightly, obviously not concerned with Horatio's questions or concern as far as how well she knew him. As they finally arrived at what could only be assumed to be the source of the party, the large ballroom seemed to be already pretty packed with people and creatures and food and anything else that could be fit inside.

"Well, I'm guessing that you have a very thorough self understanding, as well as what your position is right now, don't you?" Rosa asked, giving a small wave to one of the maids as she walked by. "Until you are able to show a bit more sense than you showed in the girls dressing room, I get the feeling I know what you are going to do rather well. Here, we shall sit here...unless of course you would rather sit up front? Apparently that is where a lot of other 'special' guests are going to be sitting. Not sure if you classify as that yet."

As Joey took the seat beside Rosa, she noted the pair of mages sitting with the larger centaur, and gave a nod at the group.

"That is Lord Kane. He's quite the...outspoken fellow, in case it wasn't obvious. from your previous note." Rosa explained, then chuckled at Joey's second question.

"Oh, this is kind of a special event. You were introduced at a very...particular timing though. This is more of an...event before an event. A time for everyone to enjoy themselves, have a good chat, just so there is good sporting fun later on when the fights get personal. So...it is a little bit normal, but usually isn't quite this...exciting. I think it might be because of one of the special guests that had done some work on the castle....Need a drink? I would like to think you can manage that, at the very least. Who knows, might make you more bearable to the right people!" Rosa laughed, facing Horatio as she did so.

"But, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were looking for something to go wrong over there."


[hr]

"Hey, it was just a question about my things." Seth said, starting to head towards the door. The place was strange, and he began hoping the gala would be a way to get away from this strange woman.

"And I don't even know what I'm attending, so...maybe violence is something to have?" Seth continued wryly as he began to step through the door behind the dragon woman. He didn't like just being led around, but at the moment he had no other plans.

"Miss, where is Lord Edgar? Also, what's a gala?"

"An Italian girlfriend,"

Seth barked a laugh at that. While he never figured Cale to be the fanciest of people, he figured that he would assume a gala was a party. But the thought that he might think it to be an Italian girlfriend was too good to pass up.

"Well, I think if you can keep this up we'll have all sorts of fun at this thing." Seth whispered as he began walking in stride with Raven as they kept on walking down the hall to the party place. It was already apparently pretty packed with all the noise. Feeling like he needed to do something extra, he offered an arm for her to loop with.

Here is to hoping this isn't going too far? Maybe I shouldn't? Well, too late now! Sure she'll let me know if this was a bad idea.

[hr]

"Well...I would be being dishonest if I said I expected that." Jade said, watching Alexander as he crafted the emblem on to the suit that she had chosen out for him. With the quick addition done, she wrapped an arm around him as they began going through the hall.

"With that emblem, it seems like you are the lord of your own kingdom here. Its going to be an exciting party. And I am happy that you would like me to escort and dance with you as well." Jade said as they began walking down the hall. During their travel, another figure stepped out of one of the doorways in an elaborate armor set.

"Well, look at you, my fine Alexander! It seems I was wise in asking Jade to see to helping you." Edgar commented with a wide grin. He looked quite different without the blood red armor of before, but still was dressed up. A cape fit for a king, with decorated boots and shirt. "Apologies for not telling you more of the events, but I was...distracted by another guest. Wanted me to take care of someone in particular...of your party, no less! But, I am happy to see Jade got you ready to go, and that you two are getting along."

As they walked along, they finally came to the main banquet hall, where it seemed that already many guests were lingering about. Spirits, soldiers, and women who were maids and guests alike milled about everywhere.

"Please, take a seat at the front table there. An honored guest should get an honored spot. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have people I need to confront." Edgar finished, a grin appearing as he made his way past some tables.

"Well, my Lord...Shall we take a seat? Or did you have something else in mind? There are many drinks, and delicacies as well...I can only imagine that you are hungry." Jade said with a wink, taking a few steps forward. Meanwhile, Alexander could spot the other mages either entering, or already seated in the hall.

[hr]

"Mmph....I can only guess blood relation at this point..." Kane uttered, largely not concerned with both Fei and Gabriel hearing it, but smiled when Fei decided to speak up and tell the names. With a small nod, the centaur gave a small wave.

"Nice to meet you Fei and...Gabriel. Most know me as Lord Kane. I think in this instance Kane would do just fine. I guess what I do is be a wanderer, leader, and warrior all at once. I'm...pretty well respected for it, and have been doing this particular stint of battles, feasts, and other such things for...a long time now. How about you two? Have a particular story or reason behind things here?"

Kane had taken a seat, and another centaur stepped close and muttered something to him. The language was a strange one, more of a growling, than anything, but Kane gave a dismissive wave, and the other centaur seemed satisfied and went back to drinking.

 

[CounterAttack]

Blood relation? Does he think she and I are siblings? Or has he already met Drew and put other pieces together?

"We are... well, for lack of better words, not from around here," Gabriel explained, glancing over at Fei. He had no idea of how much to tell this Kane fellow, but figured the basics couldn't hurt. "Fei, myself, and about half a dozen others travelled here through a portal from our own world. We were tasked with finding the cause of the issues in our home, which were theorised to have come from the other side of the portal, and resolving the problem." Although I have no idea of who, what or where that cause is.

Isa looked at Gabe, eyebrows raised. "This is news to me, master Gabriel. I shall have to inquire further about this in due course. Now is not the time, however. Please, continue."

"I, however, remain more or less uncertain of why I was chosen to become part of the expedition. I'll be honest, I'm probably the least capable of the team." This comment earned Gabriel another look from Isa; one of concern. "It's why I brought the crossbow; I mentioned that to Lord Edgar," he quickly explained to her.