[Log] Valentine's Gala, pt. 3
Maria also puts in a word towards the woman who has brought over Rufus's regards. "I'll meet him in a minute."
She seems to double-take though and Marianne gets a long and uncomfortable stare from Maria.
Marianne nods again, pausing then as she blinks at Maria curiously. "...is... something the matter?" she asks, tilting her head at the woman, going so far as to cast an uncertain look over her shoulder as though wondering if something were behind her.
Tierine Mayhew swallows, then steps forward. "I do want to talk to you, yes," Tierine says, looking down at Maria.
Maria looks smaller than expected, Tierine thinks, although part of that is because Ti is up high and the other part is that Maria actually is kind of small. But she'd built up the dangerous, menacing IPA leader in her mind until she expected someone big.
Tierine offers her hand, grudgingly. "I'm Tierine Mayhew. I have something for you..." She looks at Marianne, then. Well, she wouldn't have been told to give it to her now if it hadn't been meant to be seen in public.
Luke frowns when someone jostles Tirana, uncertain for a moment whether or not it had been on purpose - but then when the man seems embarassed and actually apologizes, it's promptly dismissed as a complete accident. People don't get that visibly distraught when they're causing problems on purpose. He's quick to help Tirana back to her feet with a small unhappy noise, but as she forgave it and it was an accident anyway, all's fine, right?
And then there's /inturruption/ and Kadaj is eyed as the music segues into a foxtrot. The young Dynast's awkwardness is noted; this fellow's either a friend she didn't expect or someone she didn't like but either way Luke's going to be watching - and steps back once, reaching a hand for Kadaj's shoulder to pull the young remnant back and murmur something to him, pointing to one of the other couples..
And then simply retreats with a broad grin and a thumbs up to both of them. He'll be back in a heartbeat if it looks like there's trouble brewing though.
Wait. Is that...?
If Meliadoul is watching her intently enough, she might just see Shanoa's head lift a bit, perking up as though she finally saw-- or in this case, sensed-- something that she was looking for. It's like having magnets of opposite charge close to each other, an attraction of sorts that draws her attention and her gaze around the room much more intently before finding it-- finding -him-.
By the way, 'attraction' in this case is closer to 'suspcicion' and 'wanting to maim.'
But Shanoa's going to be civil. This is a party, after all, and it's in a place full of people. The Glyph Mage's eyes shift to all-too predatory, and at last she sees him-- Soma Cruz. The raven-haired woman starts striding through the crowd, Kadaj harassing him or not, and moves to stand right in front of the younger, taller man with an intent, piercing stare. Then, of course, she remembers that she's in a fancy dress at a public party.
Gaze evasive, Shanoa speaks just loud enough for him to hear through the party's chatter. "Why did you call me here?" she asks, somewhat bluntly.
Ravi is rather glad that Mercade is wearing the hat-- it makes him easy to pick out of the crowd and avoid. Even if he hadn't swung offcourse so quickly, the Brit had already made attempt to avoid passing by him if he could.
He'll get over his childish dislike of the man one day. Probably.
But at the bar, the Brit is eyeing the alcohol with some interest. He is, as stated, no drinker, but maybe a little something.... A hand is raised, finally, and one of the bartenders is given the order. "Vodka and Orange," he says, because 'screwdriver' is just a stupid name for a drink. That done, he glances then to the blond young man standing nearby, giving him a funny look. "... can I help you?" he asks, just a bit warily. Now he knows how that funny gryphon girl felt, maybe.
Mercade is given a slight glance as he walks away. Talk to her? Hrmph... maybe she might.. Later. But first there appears to be others she needs to speak to. Meliadoul nods at Christoph and once again rests her hand lightly upon Christoph's arm. "If you are willing then let us go."
She allows the TSAB Agent to guide the two of them over to the ShinRa table and upon seeing Rufus, she pulls a bit of her skirt out and courtesys once again. "My lord," she intones. Though she quirks her brow when she sees Shanoa get intense from the corner of her eye. "..."
She coughs then and clears her throat, "Forgive me. I hope you have having a pleasant evening President Shinra and enjoying this ball. I noticed that your company was one of the sponsers. That was quite generous of you.
"Still, I am sorry," says 'John', nee the Unbreakable Forge of Compliance, hapless bodyguard to the Radiant Dynamo. "I was not watching where I was--"
"John," says Dynamo, "Let it rest. No one was hurt, and you didn't mean to." In the meantime, Dynamo offers Tirana and her date a soft, gentle little smile. "He's really a big sweetheart, he's just kind of a klutz at times."
At this, Forge actually... sputters a bit, and turns an even deeper shade of crimson. And then Luke is headed elsewhere, leaving Tirana alone with the two.
"What's your name, young lady?" Dynamo asks.
"I can try," Kadaj says smoothly to the princess, laughing lowly. It's all repetitive, and keeping in time to the music doesn't seem that hard. But now the tempo changes, and things are getting lively.
And Luke's added notes and tips make him look clueless.
"....Wh-WAIT A MINUTE!" he shouts, now in charge of leading Tirana across the floor. He curses under his breath, seething for a moment.
That man...he is so dead after this. AFTER. If he could find him again.
"...Let's do this," Kadaj grunts.
DANCING TIME! OLE!
Being told not to worry about anything doesn't really help Anise stop worrying at this point. "Okay... if you say so, Ion." She'll -try- to dance along, at least. There is a small, surprised squeak as Sync's hand goes around her waist, but she otherwise manages. Somehow!
At least the rhythm is predictable. Anise manages to not step on Ion's feet, and only misses a few steps before she gets the pacing of the waltz pretty well. "This is... kinda.. fun. Isn't it, Ion?" With each step, the girl grows more sure of herself, until she's finally smiling normally by the time the song ends.
Of course, then a new type of music begins, which doesn't match the previous at -all-, and Anise freezes.
Tokunaga, for his part, just watches impassively over her shoulder. He's looking at you, Sync! Just make sure those hands stay where they should!
Well...all right then. Christoph watches 'Marianne' stride away, the puzzled look lingering on his face. But, at least, Shanoa has decided to scoot away, taking away one point of potential conflict, and leaving them to take up the invitation from Shinra. And with Meliadoul's agreement, he escorts her over to Rufus Shinra's table.
As the Templar curtseys, Christoph salutes formally--bowing is not part of his culture, unfortunately. "Herr Präsident," he says in greeting. Focused as he is on the man before him, he does not notice Shanoa getting bristly off to the side. Neither does he see Dynamo, though even if he did, he might not recognize her disguise. Which is a good thing. "The Relief Society does good work; it is gut to see the Shinra Company assisting them." The glass of scotch is held securely in his left (metal) hand, but forgotten at the moment.
He hesitates a moment, then asks, "Und what can we do for you tonight, mein Herr?"
And all this movement out towards the dance floor leaves Talifah... more or less standing there alone. Damn. Maybe she should have brought another member of the Syndicate along as a 'date'. Just for appearances' sake.
Watching the couples dance, the noble takes the moment to drain the last of her glass and set it aside on a nearby table. She slips along the perimeter of the dance floor, aiming back towards the open bar. Well, if she can't dance, she'll drink and fish around for a little information.
It seems she's not the only person lingering at the bar. In fact, there are at least two single men. In fact, the darker of the pair reminds her a little of someone she used to 'play' with, back home. Back when she had a home.
It's him that she approaches first. Her gaze lingers on him for a long moment before she asks, extending a hand, "Would you care for a dance?" She's even smiling charmingly!
Ah, excellent, Luke is taking Kadaj aside to discuss the finer points of this 'formal dance' with him. An education is a noble thing! "Hmm, you are right, he really does come across as a big friendly bear," Tirana nods along with a bright smile to Not Dynamo's description. She dusts off the edges of her skirt one last time, making sure everything's as spotless as possible before perking up at the mention of 'young lady'. Said edges are grabbed in hand as she curtseys, "I am Tepet Tilis Tiranaaaaaaaaaaa"
Her name hangs in the air as she's caught by surprise by her dancing partner who is somehow not Luke. "Wha, Kadaj!?" she exclaims yet again in surprise, ensuring that by now everyone in the room knows his name. On one hand, she feels compelled to dance with the lad, she did ask him if he was going after all.
On the other hand, its a foxtrot and she's in a big poofy outfit wearing heels. Four dots of agility and five dots in performance don't fail her now...
This is why Tirana should choose LESS PUFFY DRESSES.
But then what sort of knock-off Disney princess would she be?
Er--he's staring, isn't he? Guy's quick to grin - albeit a little sheepishly - with a brief gesture meant to say 'it's nothing', even while he's trying to explain himself. "Sorry to stare." More soberly, he adds, "It's just... you look a little familiar." Glasses of their orders are placed on the bar before each, and Guy nods to the bartender gratefully. "Thank you -- Do you..." That part is to Ravi, of course.
Well, almost. He pauses again to consider if there's a better way to ask, and decides to plow on ahead anyway.
"Do you have a sister, by any chance?" Because he -swears- he's seen a woman who looks /just like/ this guy.
This is about when Mercade swings over to Maria, carrying a pait of wine glasses and smiling as he offers her one of them. "Her you are, Maria. My apologies for the wait, the bar was a bit crowded." Gee, you wonder why. "So, how is everything going? Anything else I can get you?" He sits down beside her, smiling as he relaxes in the chair, though it looks like he's more than prepared to go out again if she wants something.
"Big friendly bear?" Forge is a mighty, fearsome Soulsteel Exalt, the kind who strikes terror in the hearts of dissidents and heretics everywhere! To say nothing of what he does to Gremlins, oh no.
He just tends to be horribly, immensely awkward in social situations, such as this one. He settles for bowing to Tirana and then watching as she's hauled off by her new dancing partner.
"Ah, young love," Dynamo says, calmly. "It's been so long, but I still remember. I still remember." She pulls herself up against Forge's chest, walking with the disguised Soulsteel as they make their way over to where Maria and the others are sitting, taking seats of their own.
Tokunaga is always there. Watching. Waiting. /Grinning/. Lurking in your nightmares.
It *is* at least a simple enough dance, and Sync grins back at Anise as they get used to the movement of the dance. This isn't so bad; it's just a matter of using rhythmic footwork, and considering his fighting style, it's not difficult to adapt. "It is!" he agrees. "It's not as difficult as it seems, is it?"
And then the music changes to something rather more lively, and Anise freezes on him. Sync hesitates, then pulls his partner more towards the side of the dance floor, still keeping his arms around her as he watches the others dance--specifically, watches their feet. It looks like there's an undulating motion, the steps are smooth, and starts with slow steps that move into quick... So it's like the exact opposite of the dance they were just doing. Sync muses on how odd this seems before he tugs on Anise again.
"Okay, I think I've figured it out. Just follow my lead again--" He smiles again, enjoying himself. "And hopefully we won't look too foolish." How badly are they doing, Luke!?
Rufus nods politely to the first to invited guests to arrive, "A pleasure to see you again, Miss Tengille." He'll turn to Christoph with a friendly but less familiar smile, "And sir..well, I do not believe I had the pleasure. But please, have a seat and order whatever you like from the waiters; It shall be on me." To their compliment he will offer a amiable laugh and wave his hand, "Ah, you'll embarass me with such flattery, but I thank you. The Relief society has indeed done much good work, and I wish to make a strong statement that Shinra is committed to the support of such positive organization. Not only that, I felt everyone deserved a night of good feeling and celebration after so many...unpleasantries." He'll nod to Maria, "I was relieved to see Miss Tegawa returned to us safely." He'll finish off his scotch, singaling to a waiter for a refill, "I understand Mister Fair was involved in the effort. I'm glad to see he continues to live up to the standards of a SOLDIER. I'll need to congratulate him personally, when I have the chance."
"Oh, where are my manners?" The President shall chide himself, "You've already met the lovely Miss Kouzuki. Allow to me introduce you to my other companion tonight, Miss Cissnei." He'll gesture to the lithe brunette on his arm, and hopes the Turks has prepared some extensive small talk topics. With Kadaj a non-issue for now, he'd like to get a chance to converse with a certain someone in the crowd..
Really, Luke doesn't mind sidelining himself for the moment, there's plenty of night left. But he's watching with silent focus to make sure, /absolutely sure/ that this is a friend Tirana's dealing with and not an enemy. Her reactions didn't suggest she was angry or frightened at least, and as Kadaj determinedly sets to learning the foxtrot -right now-, the replica decides that it is probably okay for the moment. Long enough to shift his attention to Ion and Anise, anyway.
And whether or not they get it right, they're trying, and it's absolutely adorable. If Tear had come she'd be mush right now, he's certain of it. A little more space isn't a bad thing, he decides, heading back over to where he'd last seen Guy, picking up Mieu on the way by his ring. He's in time to miss that /question/ Guy asks Ravi though. He'd been shocked to find out guy-ravi-the-librarian was the hot girl he'd /thought/ he was.
Boy was that embarassing.
Ravi patiently waits for Guy to get his wits about him, smiling only slightly as he mentions he looks familiar. "It is no issue," he murmurs, taking his drink and with it a generous sip as he waits. Another glance to him, then, as he suddenly starts to ask a question and aborts it midway through-- only to finally go ahead with it. He's hardly impatient, as it isn't as if he has anything /better/ to do than stand here and make something... vaguely and distantly related to conversation. "I have three, actually," he says, voice soft and possibly hard to hear over the crowd.
Of /course/ he knows this boy is probably confused, and at the same time he feels no need to clarify the particulars of the situation. He looks a little familiar himself-- someone he's seen at the library, no doubt.
Any following comments Ravi was about to make are thrown off by the sudden approach of Talifah. He blinks as he feels her gaze settling on him, and then again as she extends a hand. "...." Would he care for a dance? The honest truth is nearly spoken when he stops himself, glancing back towards Maria's table. That man and his hat are there now, and he may have already missed his chance. "... very well," he says, placing his glass on the table and offering Guy a nod. He'll inevitably be back for the rest of his drink, but that first sip has, at least, given him a small amount of comfort.
He doesn't quite smile at Talifah, but he does nod to her and takes her hand, stepping away from the bar and leading her towards the dance floor. "Shall we, then?" he asks, extending the hand he already holds outwards and slipping his other arm around her waist. Hope she actually knows ballroom dancing!
Soma's eyes widen slightly, as if he can easily - and probably can - read the words 'spoken' by Kadaj. Silver eyes then narrow, following the Remnant as he moves onward and cuts in on Luke and Tirana.
It seems only fitting that once again, Soma is taken unawares by an approach. The crowd sweeps aside for the intent stride of the former Ecclesia woman. But this time, he turns and seems calm as he focuses on Shanoa. Though there is a few moments that pass as he catches up to her presence and is able to answer. "I didn't call you here," Soma answers. He manages not to sound defensive, but still there is a relaxation to his voice when he continues, "But since you showed up... I guess I should say thank you."
"It is not flattery but merely a given truth," Meliadoul responds with a light smile and she nods at Christoph. "This is my escort for the evening, TSAB Officer Christoph Schmidt." She waits for Christoph to pull out a chair for him before she will sit. "Miss Cissnei." She offers the Turk another courtesy before taking her seat. "Yes.. I am relieved as well." She shakes her head, "I heard that Ser Fair is currently in quarantine for some.." Her brow furrows, "For some incident that I am not terribly clear on."
She looks about, "But it is a pity that he could not come. We are, as I have told you before, thankful for her and Ser Hewley's presence either way." She looks to Christoph then, "President Shinra has been kind enough to allow me to test some swords his company is currently prototyping as a potential replacement for Save the Queen."
She sighs softly and shakes her head, "I am thinking of taking you up on that offer President."
"Christoph Schmidt. Master Sergeant, Time-Space Administration Bureau, Ground Forces, und IPA SWAT team leader. Good to meet you, Herr Präsident." He holds the salute for a moment longer, then relaxes and drops his hand again. He is, after all, not on duty...and the President is a civilian. Sort of. Right? Now remembering his own drink, he takes a quick sip and sets it down on the table, proceeding to nod politely to Rufus' companion (and bodyguard), before pulling Meliadoul's seat out for her, then sitting down himself. "Fräulein Cissnei, guten Abend."
Maria now arrives, and he gives his boss a salute as well. Old habits die hard, and she is his commander, after all. "Chef," he says in greeting. Yes, 'Chef', which means 'Chief' in Belkan. "Glad to see you hier." It was a little frustrating not being able to attend to Maria's rescue personally and hearing it progress over the radio, but then, he did have another important part to play in the end for that operation.
Back to Meliadoul--he looks a little surprised. "Really? Well, I hope they work out, then. Danke sehr, Herr Präsident. Difficult to be without a gut weapon, in our line of work." And should Shinra's blades not work out, he's still got an inquiry back home about an extra Storage Device....
Maria shifts, sliding a foot out so she can nudge one of the chairs at the table aside so Mercade can sit down in it. She pays attention to Rufus-peripherally at least, nodding occasionally. She easily processes everything he says, it just might not seem like it-heck, it might even seem like she's ignoring him in favor of solving this Tierine mystery.
"Hello Tierine." Maria greets with a nod of the head. The lawyer /is/ very short, as Luke enjoyed pointing out much to her annoyance. It was rare that Maria was in charge of anyone shorter than herself-and when she was, she really /enjoyed/ it. "What would that be?" She doesn't sound worried. It's not like anything /dangerous/ can happen here in the hub. She figures it is probably a note or private request.
Turning her eyes to Mercade, she inspects him for a moment before a smirk creeps upon her face. "Once this is taken care of, Mercade, I would like to dance."
Mercade's grin grows another notch. "It would be my pleasure." He nods, and then looks back at the others, tilting his head slightly as he tries to figure out what's going on in this thread.
Squall, practicing his elite avoidance skills, has carefully not been caught by the people scouring the outside of the party for people avoiding dancing. He also swore he saw Selphie a few moments ago, so he decided to keep a low profile.
But he's somewhat accessible again, sitting down at a table. Hopefully he won't get attacked by wild partygoers. Or evil businessmen.
Well, Kadaj is giving it a whirl. He can move fast, but there are a few mistakes. Plus, Tirana's dress makes things even more difficult for the steps to work. Biting down on his lower lip, he curses certain people mentally. And looking back at Tirana, he smiles. While still biting down, yes.
Three? Large families aren't unusual! After all, he--
Uh. Yeah, not a great subject! Guy observes Talifah and Ravi depart for the dance floor, and turns to his own drink with the thought that he should've asked his name. It'd be interesting to inquire with the woman if he happens by the library again. To think, stumbling across someone's sibling in a place as huge and with as varied a population as you could find in the Hub. Small multiverse. That and having a drink that's quite unlike anything he's tried before do well in banishing the rest of his vague discomfort at encountering someone he remembers is dead in his own plane.
And then there's Luke.
"Huh?" There's a surprised double-take. "Luke? Aren't you supposed to be dancing with--" He starts to look for the nobleman's date, and instead pushes the daiquiri at him. ...It's the wrong one, unfortunately, but he'd forgotten to check. "...It's not going very well, is it." Have a commiserating look there, Luke.
Well, now that went well~ It's rather nice to find a man who knows how to treat a lady. This is also doing a lot for her ego, of course. "Yes, let's," the noblewoman purrs back, heading off with Ravi towards the dance floor.
Talifah knows how to dance. She might not be especially learned in specific dances, but sure, she can dance. She's graceful, athletic, /and/ a Solar Exalt, so as long as Ravi leads, she can follow along easily. With Charms if she needs to.
She also attempts to strike up a little conversation. "What shall I call you?" the noble asks, keeping a careful eye on the way he moves his body. Hey, if she's going to follow, she needs to pay attention. Of course, there may be other reasons~
Oh god, oh god.. Oh god! What was going on here? Maybe Cissnei should have paid a little more attention to what Rufus's been doing- sponsorship? Well, the good news there at least was that Rufus unintentionally brings her up to speed. As the guests arrive, Cissnei is presented with some sort of meat and cheese skewered by clearly expensive mini-forks, and she reaches to take one.
That's about as smoothly as it goes, the moment 'his' name is mentioned, too much weight is applied on the silver tray and it suddenly goes clattering loudly to the floor, the appetizers spilling all over the place. Her jaw goes slack in utter horror, the waiter looking similarly horrified, "M- My fault entire, so very -very- sorry mad'am, very sorry," he believes it's his fault, thank god!
Cissnei slowly turns her head, Christoph & Meliadoul giving an awkward smile, as she takes a seat as well. "A pleasure to meet you both," she says, gaze constantly shifting from the two to the hastily cleaning waiter.. guy.
"No, I thought it would be worse!" Maybe the natural rhythm of the fonic language makes it easier! Or maybe... well, okay, the waltz isn't really that hard of a step, and Anise is capable of following pretty well. As Sync leads her back off the dancefloor, she looks a little flushed... it can't really be from exertion, can it? Well, it might have something to do with the arms still wrapped around her.
As they stand and watch, Anise lets her gaze shift. First, she looks at the feet of the people dancing. Then she flances up at Sync. And back to the people dancing. After a moment, she slooooowly edges just a little bit closer to him.
Anise jumps slightly when he speaks up again. "Ah! R.. right! Yeah, let's try it." She beams a smile at him, completely innocent of anything he might think she was doing. Really! Though this one is faster, Anise is pretty decent at following. She's not perfect, but she gets the hang of it before too long, and starts looking like she's having fun again. With a quicker dance, it's easier to forget embarrassment with so much focus on not tripping over yourself!
Don't blame Tirana, she expected waltzes and slow dances, not something a little more up-tempo like this! If she had, she would've at least gone with a couple less petticoats. There's also something unsettling about the fact that he's biting his lip while he's smiling, its enough to make her own smile falter a little. "Oh, Kadaj, dances are supposed to be fun and romantic! Enjoy the moment!"
Wait a minute, how is he supposed to enjoy the fun and romance if she's stand-offish? The Exalt pulls him a little closer, as far as her dress will allow, and leans in a bit to bring his chest to hers. Wide blue eyes stare up at his and she can't help but to flash an earnest smile up to him. Hopefully Luke won't get jealous!
Could it be, a little bit of redness in her face? In truth, she seems to be a little bit embarassed to be dressed up like this, even if her hair isn't worn up or styled much like some of the other people attending the event. She feels cornered, in a sense, trapped in a situation that she can't entirely control. Still, at least she has her focus, her target, right where she can see him. He ... didn't, did he? Then if not, ...
No, it had to be him. He had to be lying. Right...?
Still, Shanoa stands in a somewhat relaxed manner, holding her other arm to her side while her weight shifts to one leg. There's hesitation in her voice, in the way she keeps watching him from the corner of her eye rather than staring straight at him. "Thank you ... for what?"
Quietly excusing herself, Marianne turns and goes to shuffle herself back into the crowd. She finds it easy to locate Kadaj and in doing so, Tirana, but with them both busy on the dancefloor, she supposes it wouldn't be nice to interupt them. She hopes that Maria hasn't realized who she is, uncertain as to whether her act was enough to throw the woman off. Still, she doesn't let this concern her terribly as she makes her way back towards the ShinRa table.
Ravi does know how to dance. This comes of having sisters who wanted dance partners for their classes, and also because he does, actually, enjoy it. However, like many of his pursuits, including music and fiction writing, he rarely indulges in them due to other priorities.
That and he's a bit of a fuddy duddy, now isn't he?
And so he leads Tali with, while not the flawless skill of a trained master, at least the grace of someone who has done this before and is not a completely clumsy wreck. Still, his movements are just slightly stiff-- that could, however, simply be because he's largely uncomfortable here. Notably he avoids meeting Talifah's eyes even as she asks him questions. "You may call me Ravi," he says, voice soft as conversation on the dance floor isn't as jarring as that by the bar or the tables. "And you are?"
Normally he'd give his full name, however, she could be a /wizard/, for all he knows.
The daquiri is taken. Hopefully it's the nonalcoholic one. "Tirana? Yeah, but her friend wanted to dance, and.." Luke shrugs helplessly. Was it going badly?! He doesn't know, and instead turns a bit to watch Kadaj and Triple with an expression of vague pain. Poor kid has no idea what he's doing out there, but Luke's unwilling to barge in and try to teach him how, it would be rude. "Yeah, it kind of isn't. But maybe it'll work out in the end, you know?" He's pretty sure Guy means how Tirana and Kadaj are failing to pull off the foxtrot perfectly. ..And his daquiri tastes a little strange but he doesn't think too much of it. Maybe they just use wierd fruit.
"Ion and Anise seem to be having a good time though, look. I bet you in another four or five years it'll be their wedding we're attending, huh?" That'll be after he and Natalia are married.. though he's still hoping to shuck that onto Asch; Natalia was more of a sister to him than anything else, with all the fighting and bickering that entailed.
Oh. It looks like Tirana's taking Kadaj's education into her own hands. That's good. Luke's expression sobers over his daquiri, green eyes narrowing. This should be a little less embarassing for them, then. She really had a lot of skill, and if Kadaj learned fast..
It might have been a private request if it wasn't in public... or a party, since the request would have been work-oriented. Instead Tierine fumbles in the purse-like pouch strapped to her side, forcing her to bend at a slightly uncomfortable angle to get at it. "Well, um, I expected to meet you sometime. This is what I was sent to give you, though."
She eventually comes up with a little ring box covered in black suede. Closing up the pouch again, she offers it to Maria, stepping forward close enough that she can do so. "This is it. I don't know what's in it, but, um..."
Tierine pitches her voice very low, stepping probably unpleasantly close to whisper. Even her whisper is loud. "It's from, uh..." Well, Tierine hasn't been in his good books lately; she makes it worse. "An admirer. Secret."
Few people are perfect when trying to dance for the very first time. Sync has an advantage here thanks to having a natural talent for this kind of thing, but even he makes a few mistakes. Still, he has fun, and so does Anise, and he laughs quietly but genuinely as they move together--and Anise moves a little closer.
Innocent? Yeah, right. But Sync doesn't mind. Far from it, really. He leads her around the dance floor, minding the other dancers as they move along, and before long his movements become more natural. He even sweeps Anise around in a fancier step that he may have just made up, and pulls her close at the end. He doesn't say anything, he just laughs a little, looking down at the brunette in his arms with affection.
"Enjoy? That other person w-" Hold the phone. Did she just...pull him closer? Mako eyes round out at the sudden closeness between petticoats and material, Kadaj's 'dancing' sort of slowing. Silver strands of hair fall in front of his face as he looks at Tirana, a little paler than before. He even stays there. Lips twitch as the smile falls and becomes a line.
"..."
At this point, he takes Tirana's hand and tries to twirl her back to Luke...wherever he is. If not, then to any other males on the dance floor. There. That'll do it.
His movements /are/ stiff, although it doesn't hamper her following his lead any. While she's not perhaps a master of reading body language, growing up in high society's taught her a few things. He's uncomfortable. Nervous. Perhaps even... shy. The last's pretty likely, Talifah wagers, as he won't meet her eyes. Intriguing.
A red eyebrow's arched at the name he gives. "Ravi... hmm." The name's murmured, low, as if she's trying out how it sounds. "Then I shall grace you with my name. You may call me Talifah." If he's not going to relinquish much more indentity than that, then neither will she. Besides, they won't really need much more than that to call each other by.
As uncomfortable as he is, it's made no more comforting by silence between them, and for that reason Ravi (only mildly offended by having to be 'graced' with her name) meets her eyes-- for just a moment- before he asks, "Where are you from then, Lady Talifah?" Because it could go one of two ways-- she could be annoyed by his formality, which would be sweet revenge for her own arrogance, or she could appreciate his assumption of her nobility, and perhaps things might get slightly less awkward.
Maybe.
Tirana's eyes meet Kadaj's. She hesitates, her breath holds. There's an expectant air about her, as if awaiting... well, not /that/, but perhaps another crack in the Remnant's armor? Something beautiful inside that wasn't there before?
Nope, he flatlined. Tirana deflates a little. "Oh, Kadaaaaaaaaaaaaj"
This is turning into a recurring theme it seems, for one minute she's foxtrotting and the other she's spun across the floor. Normally she would have enough control, but there's too much momentum for her to do nothing but guide her in Luke's general direction.
Not directly to the prince, however, for its his partner in crime that will suddenly have a spinning and near dizzy Dynast falling straight into his arms. "Oof!" Hello Guy!
"Mister Christoph, then?" Rufus shall nod, "Good to meet you, always an honor to host those who risk so much for what the IPA stands for." He'll tilt his fine features inquiringly towards Meliadoul, "Oh? Then I take it your trip to Azeroth did not obtain the desire results?" He allows himself a slight frown, "I am sorry to hear that, but you are certainly welcome to stop pay visit sometime; We'll see what we can do for you."
He'll be distracted then by the commortion immediately to his left. The waiter passes it off as his fault, but Rufus prides himself on being able to read others, particularly his employees, and it's more than embarassment at spilling food written on Cissnei's face, he suspects. Reviewing back over the conversation, he thinks he might have the snag. Hmph, he though she'd been briefed...though not knowing about Kadaj ought to have tipped him off. "Everything okay, Cissnei?" He'll seem to hover over her protectively to their guests, his face turned away. To Cissnei, he'll have a rather serious look on his face and mouths 'We will discuss this later', or thereabouts. In other words, stay professional.
Seeing Marianne then on her way back, he'll direct his erstwhile paramour's line of view to her, "Ah, Marianne's on her way back to us, lovely." He'll then fix to rise from his seat, "I hate to remove myself, but there is something I must take care. I promise not to be gone long." He'll turn a smile toward the female Turk, "Cissnei, you and Marianne can keep our guests entertained for a few moments, yes?" Whatever her answer, he'll set off then for the table where a certain young member of SeeD sits, flagging his secretary to continue walking when he passes her.
Meanwhile, in the kitchens....
The sous chef is trying not to cry into the bernaise sauce. And he is, in fact, cooking much more quickly than before, as well as studiously not paying attention to what is happening behind himself. The other kitchen attendants are not so lucky; they are staring with horror as a hooded reaper perfects his art. There is a blur of blades--
And a ham falls into dozens of perfectly carved pieces. The staff cringes, because--
HA HA HA HA HA.
"Necro, stop laughing darkly, you're scaring everyone." Dizzy sighs, shakes her head, and proceeds to chop up the vegetables with a fishlaser. Yes, a fishlaser. Because Necro can't be arsed to cut up things that don't bleed.
"They really make a cute couple," Guy says, pulling a face briefly. "I'm not so sure about that, though." In another four or five years...
"But you never know!"
Blue eyes follow the direction of Luke's narrowed stare to Tirana and Kadaj, and then he laughs softly, looking back to his drink. "You know..." and now there'll be some light ribbing, between friends and all, "If you're jealous, you could just cut in and get her back."
Except Tirana's already making her way back -- Guy hasn't bothered to update himself on the status of that whole matter, namely because it's -obvious- when TWO people are staring at a couple, so he won't try to draw any attention to Luke's interest in who stole his date.
This is around when he peers closely at the other daiquiri and starts to realize he might have given Luke the wrong one. "..." Oh, crap.
And then something falls right across him - he catches, on instinct. And then lets go like he'd just seized a pot of boiling water, letting out a yelp that... that, well, in a gala kind of can't help but draw negative attention. "YAAAUGH!!"
Oh, so this one has a little boldness in him! Just a little. The self-satisfied smile only grows. Not only is she in a good mood tonight, Talifah expects nothing less than to be treated as the nobility she's descended from. "My, you have a good eye, Ravi," she says, as she once again draws close to him on the dance floor. She's obviously flattered by the use of the honorific. "I am indeed the daughter of a noble house. Surely, you must descend from a good family yourself?"
Meliadoul shakes her head slightly with a soft sigh, "Unfortunately my trip into Azeroth nearly ended in disaster. The armory was lit on fire because an interdimensional criminal by the name of Caim decided to reclaim what was his and set the entire place a blaze." Not to mention nearly cut her to shreds as well.
"But you may expect me at Shinra at your earliest convenience." She blinks when Cissnei tips over a tray and suddenly moves backwards in her seat, hand going to her side only to turn deep crimson as she remembers that no, she does not have a sword. "It is.." She watches hesitantly at the scattered food. "My pleasure Lady Cissnei."
As Rufus stands, the knight shakes her head, "There is no need to entertain us." She looks over to Christoph, "We can here to dance did we not? Shall we?"
"What? Hey, it's not like that!" Luke's rounding on Guy to set the matter straight means he doesn't immediately notice Tirana's approach right up until she falls over and into the waiting arms of the one person in the room most likely to drop her and recoil.
And then he's forced to set his drink down and make a hasty grab for the unfortunate Dynast as Guy predictably recoils with a very familiar screech; with luck he'll be able to catch Tirana before she hits the floor for a second time tonight.
The orchestra ends their foxtrot and there is a long moment of rest while they all stand up and file off stage. The only musicians who remain are Shane, the second violinist, a violist and a cellist. The four musicians move to the front of the stage where chairs and stands have been setup. A beat later, they begin to play. Those who are familiar with modern heavy metal may or may not recognize the song as they begin to play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4QtjFoLHW0
Oh dear. A muscle in Christoph's jaw twitches as the tray goes crashing down to the ground, his equivalent of a wince at the accident. "Ach," he says, beginning to rise instinctively to help. But then he stops, looking down at his clothes. This is a rental, and it would be a bit unfortunate to get them dirty right now. Besides, they've got staff for this...right?
He slowly sits back down, looking vaguely disquieted for a moment, but that is quickly replaced by his usual flat look. Though it again relaxes as he glances over at Meliadoul. "Sorry," he says. "Habit." He looks up across the table and nods to Rufus. "That is fine." He coughs, and adds, "Only doing my job." But he's not embarassed by the compliment, of course not.
He looks away to hide a scowl as Meliadoul now recounts her excursion into Azeroth and the meeting with Caim. Damn monster. But again, the expression is wiped away as he picks up his glass and finishes off the rest of his scotch. "Mmmm. Hm?" He looks up at Meli, and then smiles again. "Of course. Tanzen. Would be happy to." He stands, takes her hand, and inclines his head toward Rufus. "Danke sehr, for your invitation." He looks toward the dance floor, then the band as it departs, and blinks at the quartet that remains. Interesting. And he pulls Meli off to dance.
Oh, ever busy as usual, so Marianne sees as she approaches the table but to find Rufus having excused himself. She casts a glance in the direction he heads off to before looking back to those yet at the table. Another, yet silent greeting is made to Meliadoul and Christoph, and then the young woman looks to Cissnei.
"Do enjoy yourselves," she says once she turns her head back to the former two as they make to head to the dance floor.
'Private' request indeed. Gingerly, Maria takes the box in the free hand she has. With a gentle twist of her body, she turns so she can place the wineglass on the table and pries open the fuzz-coated box.
When Tierine steps in to whisper, Maria instinctively recoils, being someone who enjoys her personal space. The closeness doesn't matter right now anyways as Tierine speaks loud enough for her to hear. Mercade can probably hear her words as well. "A secret admirer," she deadpans, looking up at Tierine again, giving her a long glance. She's probably taking in her features very carefully so she can match them to something later, most likely.
She peers down at the contents of the box, then narrows her eyes. Carefull, she plucks the thin gold chain from the box. A key looped on it paired with a pearl-sized jade ornament slides out and dangles in the air. The box is placed on the table and her hand cups the hanging necklace pieces. The jade ornament is rubbed between two fingers. Oh yes, she knew exactly who this was from. It was probably meant to match the pair of jade earrings that she had pointedly /not/ worn to the event. "I suppose I will have to have a word with this so-called 'admirer' in the future," she deadpans, slipping the jewelry back in the box.
Abruptly, she stands and, agressively, grabs for Mercade's hand, just as the string quartet starts up with the new song. "Come on."
As 'shy' as he is, Ravi's discomfort in being so close to Talifah doesn't seem to get any /worse/, at least-- if anything he's relaxing just a little bit more as he moves in time with the music, feeling just slightly more at ease on the dance floor. At least most people are busy dancing with their partners and not staring at him. Or recognizing him, hopefully.
"We are not nobility," he admits, though without a trace of shame as the music pauses momentarily, "However my family line does come from the upper castes of India, if it means anything to you. In modern times, however, it means very little, particularly when we live in another country with its own royal lineages." As the music starts again he gives a shrug-- and a jerk in surprise, head whipping back towards the bar. What was that?!
It was totally innocent! Even more innocent than her glompings of Luke, since she has no ulterior motive to getting closer to the Fon Master like this! You know, besides getting closer to him.
As Sync picks up the pace and starts getting fancier, it's all Anise can do to keep up! She's definitely having a good time, though, letting out a giggle as they twirl. "Wow! That was..."
Then Anise makes the mistake of looking up when the song ends. She's pulled close, sees the look in Sync's face... and just sort of melts. "Um.. um um..." Yep, nothing more intelligible is going to come out of her right now. She's so out of it that she doesn't even notice Guy's scream, and that's something she usually likes to tease him about! That's how bad it is!
"Oh!" There's nothing wrong with being caught by a handsome man, even if he is the right-hand man of your actualy date. There's the tiniest moment where Tirana repays Guy's heroism with a bright grateful smile - which is utterly and completely lost when he lets go. She hadn't even fully recovered her balance yet either!
A heel slips on the surface of the floor and backwards tumbles the Dynast. Events transpire in slow motion, and for the briefest moment she's back in Shane's bathroom again. Only this time, however, there's something to grab onto. Two things actually. One hand grabs the nearest part of Guy, the other onto Luke's outstretched hand. Whether this stops her from hitting the floor...
... not likely. Whump. But will she bring Guy and Luke with her?
Tierine Mayhew's features are pretty memorable. Even disregarding the gryphon half, she has a uniquely fine-featured face that looks almost sculpted in some ways, perfectly symmetrical; some people who have had plastic surgery look that way. Plus, her hair is kind of oddly coloured, a red-gold that isn't quite strawberry blonde. It looks more like copper in gold.
She backs up quickly to get out of Maria's way. "Yeah, um - well, that's it, uh, have fun!"
Tierine makes a pretty good escape back towards the bar. She moves pretty quickly when she's not worrying about etching the floor with her talons.
It's Soma's turn to blink, though he doesn't look embarrassed, even as he takes the time to study the dress and the woman; curiously, not critically.
....For what, you say? This actually brings a flicker of surprise to the young man's features and he's drawn back to the present conversation. "You kept your word." Soma shrugs faintly. "I guess after tonight, you'll be watching out for me again." However, that doesn't seem to matter, if the lack of resignation in his tone is any indication. In fact, he seems to accept it with a sort of quiet dignity. "But the ticket..." A gesture toward Shanoa's outfit also indicates the dress as part of the package deal. "...I wasn't trying to imply anything with it, so let's just call it a truce for tonight. You--"
The sudden outcry from the bar startles the vampire hunter so remarkably well that he all but jumps in place, his attention jerking toward Guy and Tirana and Luke as the former lets out a hearty screech. The events that follow in short order are directly related to the continuation of Soma's conversation with Shanoa.
"...On second thought, maybe I shouldn't offer to get you a drink."
Of course Soma realizes a little belatedly that this leaves only one other option. A faint sigh might be heard. "...Shanoa, do you want to dance?"
Cissnei really just has no idea what to do; is she dropped to a stonefaced expression that would be unnatural and awkward. But allowing herself to look embarassed is just plain humiliating. Rufus' lips are easily read and it's quickly becoming one of those situations where she wishes she could just unholster her gun, shoot herself in the head and then be done with this evening. Another good alternative would be suffocating herself with a pillow. Rufus must think she's a complete -idiot-. "..."
"The pleasure's all mine.." she replies to Meliadoul with a weak smile, and makes absolutly no effort to stop the two from going off the dance. Please! Only a brief glance is given to 'Marianne' before her gaze wanders elsewhere, hands on her lap.
And lo, the president did descend upon the mercenary.
As Rufus walks towards Squall, there's one of those moments. One of those moments where Squall sort of looks at Rufus. He doesn't say anything, but rather waits for the president to say what it is he's going to say.
(He'd better not be asking me to dance.)
At some point, Guy's drink has rolled away, leaving what was left of its contents oozing across the bar.
Its recent owner is quaking a short distance away, cringing--well, yeah, just as Luke had described it: recoiling from Tirana like she'd sprouted three monstrous heads that HUNGERED FOR THE FLESH OF THE LIVING or something. ...Alright, not quite -that- dramatic, but for a minute there he sure looked terrified!
That is until his attempt to back out of arm's reach failed epically at the realization one can't get very far when one's arm is still attached to the rest of your body, and there's a woman attached to the other end of the aforementioned arm.
She falls.
Guy falls.
Luke falls.
The glass crashes on the floor beside the feet of a mildly surprised bartender.
Kadaj has successfully gotten rid of Triple, and now he needs to get away. Off of the dance floor and into the crowd. "I've had my fun. I suppose," he says to himself, backing up and bumping into another couple prior to turning and going around them. No apologies whatsoever.
He's going to leave without saying good bye? Typical.
The thought of leaving is on hold when he stops to look over at the bar. Laughing.
Meliadoul rises to her feet, aided by Christoph's hand and when the two reach the dance floor, she blushes a little. The knight nods and looks up at Christoph. The music is unfamiliar to her, but they wouldn't be playing it if they couldn't dance to it right. "I apologize if I step on your feet," she murmurs. "It has been some time."
With a deep breath, she waits for Christoph to lead off.
Oh, on the other hand, Talifah knew there would be a possibility she would be identified. By people who might want her dead, no less! But in the Hub, well, there is nothing they can do about it, now can they~? In fact, she would dare them to try.
He's not getting tenser. That's good enough. Maybe he's just crowd-shy, or perhaps stunned by her presence. He'd hardly be the first.
India. She's not familiar with the country, but the Solar's intelligent enough to follow along all the same. "Thus your family lives diminished, in the land of another. How... tragic." There is genuine sympathy behind those words--for indeed Talifah views it as a tragedy.
She stops abruptly at the disturbance over by the bar. "By all the ances--" the Exalt starts with, staring.
Sync does hear Guy's girlish scream, but it sort of blends it with the background as Anise melts in his arms, babbling incoherently. He stares back down at her for a moment, holding her, his own mind turning blank for a moment. "I... Anise, uh..."
And then the orchestra starts up with their new music, and Sync seizes on that. "Th-this song's a little too fast for me," he lies--actually, the pace sounds to be just right for him, but he'd actually like to sit down and just talk now. "Why don't we head back to our table, Anise...?"
He squeezes her hand and leads her back, picking up their drinks from Luke's table, regardless of how she responds. He glances up sharply when he hears that breaking glass, smothers a smirk when he sees the human pile-up, and turns his attention back to Anise. "I've really been having a good time tonight. Thank you for asking me along."
Sync pauses, thinking back to how Anise didn't react when he called Tirana Luke's 'date.' He thinks again of the dances they just shared, and adds, again watching the girl carefully, "...I've never been on a date before, so I'm happy you did."
No good deed goes unpunished. No sooner does he manage to catch ahold of Tirana than she falls anyway, and he promptly overbalances and topples over too with a squawk of surprise, shortly later getting a faceful of poofy dress. On the bright side, it's a cushier landing, and he doesn't move for a moment or two, not entirely sure of what's happened--
And then very hastily scrambles back to his feet, face a mask of alarm. This isn't something that happens /every/ day - and Kadaj's laughter is HEARD from WAY OVER THERE. The choice of who to try to haul to their feet first, best friend or evening date, is a /really difficult one/, and he defaults to the one who'll cause more accidental hysterics if she grabs poor Guy again, this time bracing himself a little better before offering a hand, still looking a little frayed. "Are you two okay?" He's fine! Nothing's bruised but his dignity.
Settling into her chair as she casts a disinterested look at the glass of wine she'd left at the table before making her invitation rounds, Marianne then looks to Cissnei since they've been left to fend for themselves for entertainment. She smiles, perhaps in mild amusement at that.
"...so... I wonder if it would be appropriate to ask if you're enjoying yourself," she asks flatly as she leans back in her chair, casting a look back at the rest of the room. "...I suppose we can either sit and warm the chairs, or we can wander. And I'm sure there are people that will dance." She arches a brow at the female Turk. "Unless he already suggested something before he left?"
"Kein Problem," Christoph answers Meliadoul. "Am also out of practice a little bit." Besides, he knows some spells to clean scuff marks off shoes. It's a must in the Ground Forces. Some of those officers are pretty uptight about getting a spit shine going.
He takes Meliadoul by one hand, wraps the other arm around her waist, and with due deliberation, slowly begins to move her into a simple series of steps. This is as much for himself as her--it really has been a long time, and he isn't about to try anything tricky tonight. At least, not without a little more alcohol to start with.
The crash over at the bar is ignored. He's got a beautiful woman to dance with, and that really does take up all of his attention. Because really.
Don't worry Squall; Dancing is the furthest thing from Rufus' mind at the moment, and dancing with -you- doesn't even register. You are, however, absolutely the focus of his attention at the moment. "Pardon me.." He'll say when near enough, looking over the young man's militant outfit inqisitively, "But you work for SeeD, don't you?" He'll take a seat, surmising himself to be correct. "Rufus Shinra, President of Shinra Electric Power Company." He introduces himself hastily, not overly concerned with standing on ceremony here, "I recognized you from some IPA reports and vidscans...you're quite skilled, on par with someone from our SOLDIER program, I would say." Not meant as flattery or praise, the President states it merely as an observation.
"I'm sure you're here for other reasons, so I will try to be brief. I see much merit in what SeeD has to offer, and feel I could offer your organization some very lucrative terms. I have not yet had time, however, to learn more about your hierarchy. Who would I talk to about negotiating contracts and work? I'd be interested in speaking to them."
Mercade was expecting this. He smoothly takes Maria's hand and gets up, walking out onto the dance floor with her. Some might wonder if he can dance.
Seize the day, or die regretting the time you lost...
He can. It might be surprising, as Mercade easily adopts a fluid waltz, moving along in time with the music... though he soon begins to add his own flourishes. He smiles, looking into her eyes, watching the lights of the ballroom in her eyes. "It's been a hell of a time, Maria." He turns, deftly spinning around the ballroom with her, seemingly choosing his actions and compensating for Maria's own with a preturnatural grace.
It's empty and cold without you here, too many people to ache over...
"I admit, I had been watching you ever since you showed up at the IPA." He grins. "I've always found you to be a compelling person."
It takes a moment for the question to sink in, but Anise does nod. "Good.. um. Good idea." Besides, it's getting a little warm in here. It -is- just the temperature of the room and the exertion of the dance that's making it feel hot, right? Nothing else!
Anise allows herself to be led to a seat, and drops down into it in relief. Almost absently, she pulls Tokunaga from her back and sets the tuxed plush on her lap. "You haven't? I..." The girl clears her throat softly and turns to smile at Sync. "I'm having a good time too. I just wasn't expecting..." This time, she notices the sudden sound of the glass breaking, and looks toward the bar. "What--is that Guy?"
The flat look of annoyance Talifah earns is not /quite/ as severe as it would have been if there hadn't been such a commotion by the bar. That poor boy... But Ravi's attention quickly returns to the lady he's dancing with, lips tightening before he speaks. "Actually, my father is a well respected professor of religion at London University and I myself am due to earn my doctorate in the coming weeks. Despite the challenges and the expected racial discrimination we are quite successful by all modern standards." The indignant 'thank you very much' needn't be spoken.
He wouldn't have said it anyway, his gaze caught by a familiar peacock-feather hair ornament as they pass by Maria and Mercade. "..." He doesn't hear what Mercade says, nor does he attempt to, his eyes meeting Talifah's again almost forcibly as he refuses to look at them again. "You never did answer my question," he says after a few moments, "Where are you from?"
The benefit of wearing multiple petticoats becomes readily apparent. Tirana's on the floor again, and regardless of whether Guy or Luke slipped past her pendant and wound up in a rather compromising position, neither are in any position to discover the horrible unspeakable truth that only Mr. Fitzgerald knows.
At least she hopes so.
"Luke! Guy!" She waits for the two of them to get off of her dress before she tries to climb back up to her feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you and oh dear there's drink and glass everywhere-"
Did someone say 'Seize the day?' Oh yes, the music did. For dragon's sake, she's a Dragon-blooded, not a comic clown! Hopefully both boys are off her dress by now because she's actually leaping back to her feet - with a /flourish/. She's the one picking the red-haired boy off the floor, not the other way around, and, well, she's not so certain she can pick Guy up without something else horrible happening. "Its a beautiful song, Luke," she says to him as the lights catch her eyes as well. "Let's dance."
It would drive up Meliadoul's blood pressure if she knew what was going down at the bar. So her mind blissfully tunes it out. It takes a few practice steps. She mistimes one movement and nearly stumbles but recovers in time for the next step. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing though and it is not long before she's no longer accidently stepping on Christoph or nearly tripping over herself.
Years of training, drilled by professors at the Gariland Akademy is finally starting to come to her and when they do, her movements are graceful. Not exactly unlike the way she fights on the battlefield, except less forceful.
Good, good. Christoph nods encouragingly at Meliadoul, and soon is able to let his own instinctive movements take over. Well, he does have to be mindful of not colliding with the other couples out on the dance floor, but for the most part, he's now able to look at Meli rather than the floor or around himself instead. "Sehr schön," he murmurs, smiling contentedly.
The two of them move well, if not as fluidly as Mercade and Maria, as well as the other obviously more talented dancers on the floor--but well enough. "Think you are doing better than you worried, Meliadoul," he says, clearly enjoying this. And hopefully, so is she.
She seems to double-take though and Marianne gets a long and uncomfortable stare from Maria.
Marianne nods again, pausing then as she blinks at Maria curiously. "...is... something the matter?" she asks, tilting her head at the woman, going so far as to cast an uncertain look over her shoulder as though wondering if something were behind her.
Tierine Mayhew swallows, then steps forward. "I do want to talk to you, yes," Tierine says, looking down at Maria.
Maria looks smaller than expected, Tierine thinks, although part of that is because Ti is up high and the other part is that Maria actually is kind of small. But she'd built up the dangerous, menacing IPA leader in her mind until she expected someone big.
Tierine offers her hand, grudgingly. "I'm Tierine Mayhew. I have something for you..." She looks at Marianne, then. Well, she wouldn't have been told to give it to her now if it hadn't been meant to be seen in public.
Luke frowns when someone jostles Tirana, uncertain for a moment whether or not it had been on purpose - but then when the man seems embarassed and actually apologizes, it's promptly dismissed as a complete accident. People don't get that visibly distraught when they're causing problems on purpose. He's quick to help Tirana back to her feet with a small unhappy noise, but as she forgave it and it was an accident anyway, all's fine, right?
And then there's /inturruption/ and Kadaj is eyed as the music segues into a foxtrot. The young Dynast's awkwardness is noted; this fellow's either a friend she didn't expect or someone she didn't like but either way Luke's going to be watching - and steps back once, reaching a hand for Kadaj's shoulder to pull the young remnant back and murmur something to him, pointing to one of the other couples..
And then simply retreats with a broad grin and a thumbs up to both of them. He'll be back in a heartbeat if it looks like there's trouble brewing though.
Wait. Is that...?
If Meliadoul is watching her intently enough, she might just see Shanoa's head lift a bit, perking up as though she finally saw-- or in this case, sensed-- something that she was looking for. It's like having magnets of opposite charge close to each other, an attraction of sorts that draws her attention and her gaze around the room much more intently before finding it-- finding -him-.
By the way, 'attraction' in this case is closer to 'suspcicion' and 'wanting to maim.'
But Shanoa's going to be civil. This is a party, after all, and it's in a place full of people. The Glyph Mage's eyes shift to all-too predatory, and at last she sees him-- Soma Cruz. The raven-haired woman starts striding through the crowd, Kadaj harassing him or not, and moves to stand right in front of the younger, taller man with an intent, piercing stare. Then, of course, she remembers that she's in a fancy dress at a public party.
Gaze evasive, Shanoa speaks just loud enough for him to hear through the party's chatter. "Why did you call me here?" she asks, somewhat bluntly.
Ravi is rather glad that Mercade is wearing the hat-- it makes him easy to pick out of the crowd and avoid. Even if he hadn't swung offcourse so quickly, the Brit had already made attempt to avoid passing by him if he could.
He'll get over his childish dislike of the man one day. Probably.
But at the bar, the Brit is eyeing the alcohol with some interest. He is, as stated, no drinker, but maybe a little something.... A hand is raised, finally, and one of the bartenders is given the order. "Vodka and Orange," he says, because 'screwdriver' is just a stupid name for a drink. That done, he glances then to the blond young man standing nearby, giving him a funny look. "... can I help you?" he asks, just a bit warily. Now he knows how that funny gryphon girl felt, maybe.
Mercade is given a slight glance as he walks away. Talk to her? Hrmph... maybe she might.. Later. But first there appears to be others she needs to speak to. Meliadoul nods at Christoph and once again rests her hand lightly upon Christoph's arm. "If you are willing then let us go."
She allows the TSAB Agent to guide the two of them over to the ShinRa table and upon seeing Rufus, she pulls a bit of her skirt out and courtesys once again. "My lord," she intones. Though she quirks her brow when she sees Shanoa get intense from the corner of her eye. "..."
She coughs then and clears her throat, "Forgive me. I hope you have having a pleasant evening President Shinra and enjoying this ball. I noticed that your company was one of the sponsers. That was quite generous of you.
"Still, I am sorry," says 'John', nee the Unbreakable Forge of Compliance, hapless bodyguard to the Radiant Dynamo. "I was not watching where I was--"
"John," says Dynamo, "Let it rest. No one was hurt, and you didn't mean to." In the meantime, Dynamo offers Tirana and her date a soft, gentle little smile. "He's really a big sweetheart, he's just kind of a klutz at times."
At this, Forge actually... sputters a bit, and turns an even deeper shade of crimson. And then Luke is headed elsewhere, leaving Tirana alone with the two.
"What's your name, young lady?" Dynamo asks.
"I can try," Kadaj says smoothly to the princess, laughing lowly. It's all repetitive, and keeping in time to the music doesn't seem that hard. But now the tempo changes, and things are getting lively.
And Luke's added notes and tips make him look clueless.
"....Wh-WAIT A MINUTE!" he shouts, now in charge of leading Tirana across the floor. He curses under his breath, seething for a moment.
That man...he is so dead after this. AFTER. If he could find him again.
"...Let's do this," Kadaj grunts.
DANCING TIME! OLE!
Being told not to worry about anything doesn't really help Anise stop worrying at this point. "Okay... if you say so, Ion." She'll -try- to dance along, at least. There is a small, surprised squeak as Sync's hand goes around her waist, but she otherwise manages. Somehow!
At least the rhythm is predictable. Anise manages to not step on Ion's feet, and only misses a few steps before she gets the pacing of the waltz pretty well. "This is... kinda.. fun. Isn't it, Ion?" With each step, the girl grows more sure of herself, until she's finally smiling normally by the time the song ends.
Of course, then a new type of music begins, which doesn't match the previous at -all-, and Anise freezes.
Tokunaga, for his part, just watches impassively over her shoulder. He's looking at you, Sync! Just make sure those hands stay where they should!
Well...all right then. Christoph watches 'Marianne' stride away, the puzzled look lingering on his face. But, at least, Shanoa has decided to scoot away, taking away one point of potential conflict, and leaving them to take up the invitation from Shinra. And with Meliadoul's agreement, he escorts her over to Rufus Shinra's table.
As the Templar curtseys, Christoph salutes formally--bowing is not part of his culture, unfortunately. "Herr Präsident," he says in greeting. Focused as he is on the man before him, he does not notice Shanoa getting bristly off to the side. Neither does he see Dynamo, though even if he did, he might not recognize her disguise. Which is a good thing. "The Relief Society does good work; it is gut to see the Shinra Company assisting them." The glass of scotch is held securely in his left (metal) hand, but forgotten at the moment.
He hesitates a moment, then asks, "Und what can we do for you tonight, mein Herr?"
And all this movement out towards the dance floor leaves Talifah... more or less standing there alone. Damn. Maybe she should have brought another member of the Syndicate along as a 'date'. Just for appearances' sake.
Watching the couples dance, the noble takes the moment to drain the last of her glass and set it aside on a nearby table. She slips along the perimeter of the dance floor, aiming back towards the open bar. Well, if she can't dance, she'll drink and fish around for a little information.
It seems she's not the only person lingering at the bar. In fact, there are at least two single men. In fact, the darker of the pair reminds her a little of someone she used to 'play' with, back home. Back when she had a home.
It's him that she approaches first. Her gaze lingers on him for a long moment before she asks, extending a hand, "Would you care for a dance?" She's even smiling charmingly!
Ah, excellent, Luke is taking Kadaj aside to discuss the finer points of this 'formal dance' with him. An education is a noble thing! "Hmm, you are right, he really does come across as a big friendly bear," Tirana nods along with a bright smile to Not Dynamo's description. She dusts off the edges of her skirt one last time, making sure everything's as spotless as possible before perking up at the mention of 'young lady'. Said edges are grabbed in hand as she curtseys, "I am Tepet Tilis Tiranaaaaaaaaaaa"
Her name hangs in the air as she's caught by surprise by her dancing partner who is somehow not Luke. "Wha, Kadaj!?" she exclaims yet again in surprise, ensuring that by now everyone in the room knows his name. On one hand, she feels compelled to dance with the lad, she did ask him if he was going after all.
On the other hand, its a foxtrot and she's in a big poofy outfit wearing heels. Four dots of agility and five dots in performance don't fail her now...
This is why Tirana should choose LESS PUFFY DRESSES.
But then what sort of knock-off Disney princess would she be?
Er--he's staring, isn't he? Guy's quick to grin - albeit a little sheepishly - with a brief gesture meant to say 'it's nothing', even while he's trying to explain himself. "Sorry to stare." More soberly, he adds, "It's just... you look a little familiar." Glasses of their orders are placed on the bar before each, and Guy nods to the bartender gratefully. "Thank you -- Do you..." That part is to Ravi, of course.
Well, almost. He pauses again to consider if there's a better way to ask, and decides to plow on ahead anyway.
"Do you have a sister, by any chance?" Because he -swears- he's seen a woman who looks /just like/ this guy.
This is about when Mercade swings over to Maria, carrying a pait of wine glasses and smiling as he offers her one of them. "Her you are, Maria. My apologies for the wait, the bar was a bit crowded." Gee, you wonder why. "So, how is everything going? Anything else I can get you?" He sits down beside her, smiling as he relaxes in the chair, though it looks like he's more than prepared to go out again if she wants something.
"Big friendly bear?" Forge is a mighty, fearsome Soulsteel Exalt, the kind who strikes terror in the hearts of dissidents and heretics everywhere! To say nothing of what he does to Gremlins, oh no.
He just tends to be horribly, immensely awkward in social situations, such as this one. He settles for bowing to Tirana and then watching as she's hauled off by her new dancing partner.
"Ah, young love," Dynamo says, calmly. "It's been so long, but I still remember. I still remember." She pulls herself up against Forge's chest, walking with the disguised Soulsteel as they make their way over to where Maria and the others are sitting, taking seats of their own.
Tokunaga is always there. Watching. Waiting. /Grinning/. Lurking in your nightmares.
It *is* at least a simple enough dance, and Sync grins back at Anise as they get used to the movement of the dance. This isn't so bad; it's just a matter of using rhythmic footwork, and considering his fighting style, it's not difficult to adapt. "It is!" he agrees. "It's not as difficult as it seems, is it?"
And then the music changes to something rather more lively, and Anise freezes on him. Sync hesitates, then pulls his partner more towards the side of the dance floor, still keeping his arms around her as he watches the others dance--specifically, watches their feet. It looks like there's an undulating motion, the steps are smooth, and starts with slow steps that move into quick... So it's like the exact opposite of the dance they were just doing. Sync muses on how odd this seems before he tugs on Anise again.
"Okay, I think I've figured it out. Just follow my lead again--" He smiles again, enjoying himself. "And hopefully we won't look too foolish." How badly are they doing, Luke!?
Rufus nods politely to the first to invited guests to arrive, "A pleasure to see you again, Miss Tengille." He'll turn to Christoph with a friendly but less familiar smile, "And sir..well, I do not believe I had the pleasure. But please, have a seat and order whatever you like from the waiters; It shall be on me." To their compliment he will offer a amiable laugh and wave his hand, "Ah, you'll embarass me with such flattery, but I thank you. The Relief society has indeed done much good work, and I wish to make a strong statement that Shinra is committed to the support of such positive organization. Not only that, I felt everyone deserved a night of good feeling and celebration after so many...unpleasantries." He'll nod to Maria, "I was relieved to see Miss Tegawa returned to us safely." He'll finish off his scotch, singaling to a waiter for a refill, "I understand Mister Fair was involved in the effort. I'm glad to see he continues to live up to the standards of a SOLDIER. I'll need to congratulate him personally, when I have the chance."
"Oh, where are my manners?" The President shall chide himself, "You've already met the lovely Miss Kouzuki. Allow to me introduce you to my other companion tonight, Miss Cissnei." He'll gesture to the lithe brunette on his arm, and hopes the Turks has prepared some extensive small talk topics. With Kadaj a non-issue for now, he'd like to get a chance to converse with a certain someone in the crowd..
Really, Luke doesn't mind sidelining himself for the moment, there's plenty of night left. But he's watching with silent focus to make sure, /absolutely sure/ that this is a friend Tirana's dealing with and not an enemy. Her reactions didn't suggest she was angry or frightened at least, and as Kadaj determinedly sets to learning the foxtrot -right now-, the replica decides that it is probably okay for the moment. Long enough to shift his attention to Ion and Anise, anyway.
And whether or not they get it right, they're trying, and it's absolutely adorable. If Tear had come she'd be mush right now, he's certain of it. A little more space isn't a bad thing, he decides, heading back over to where he'd last seen Guy, picking up Mieu on the way by his ring. He's in time to miss that /question/ Guy asks Ravi though. He'd been shocked to find out guy-ravi-the-librarian was the hot girl he'd /thought/ he was.
Boy was that embarassing.
Ravi patiently waits for Guy to get his wits about him, smiling only slightly as he mentions he looks familiar. "It is no issue," he murmurs, taking his drink and with it a generous sip as he waits. Another glance to him, then, as he suddenly starts to ask a question and aborts it midway through-- only to finally go ahead with it. He's hardly impatient, as it isn't as if he has anything /better/ to do than stand here and make something... vaguely and distantly related to conversation. "I have three, actually," he says, voice soft and possibly hard to hear over the crowd.
Of /course/ he knows this boy is probably confused, and at the same time he feels no need to clarify the particulars of the situation. He looks a little familiar himself-- someone he's seen at the library, no doubt.
Any following comments Ravi was about to make are thrown off by the sudden approach of Talifah. He blinks as he feels her gaze settling on him, and then again as she extends a hand. "...." Would he care for a dance? The honest truth is nearly spoken when he stops himself, glancing back towards Maria's table. That man and his hat are there now, and he may have already missed his chance. "... very well," he says, placing his glass on the table and offering Guy a nod. He'll inevitably be back for the rest of his drink, but that first sip has, at least, given him a small amount of comfort.
He doesn't quite smile at Talifah, but he does nod to her and takes her hand, stepping away from the bar and leading her towards the dance floor. "Shall we, then?" he asks, extending the hand he already holds outwards and slipping his other arm around her waist. Hope she actually knows ballroom dancing!
Soma's eyes widen slightly, as if he can easily - and probably can - read the words 'spoken' by Kadaj. Silver eyes then narrow, following the Remnant as he moves onward and cuts in on Luke and Tirana.
It seems only fitting that once again, Soma is taken unawares by an approach. The crowd sweeps aside for the intent stride of the former Ecclesia woman. But this time, he turns and seems calm as he focuses on Shanoa. Though there is a few moments that pass as he catches up to her presence and is able to answer. "I didn't call you here," Soma answers. He manages not to sound defensive, but still there is a relaxation to his voice when he continues, "But since you showed up... I guess I should say thank you."
"It is not flattery but merely a given truth," Meliadoul responds with a light smile and she nods at Christoph. "This is my escort for the evening, TSAB Officer Christoph Schmidt." She waits for Christoph to pull out a chair for him before she will sit. "Miss Cissnei." She offers the Turk another courtesy before taking her seat. "Yes.. I am relieved as well." She shakes her head, "I heard that Ser Fair is currently in quarantine for some.." Her brow furrows, "For some incident that I am not terribly clear on."
She looks about, "But it is a pity that he could not come. We are, as I have told you before, thankful for her and Ser Hewley's presence either way." She looks to Christoph then, "President Shinra has been kind enough to allow me to test some swords his company is currently prototyping as a potential replacement for Save the Queen."
She sighs softly and shakes her head, "I am thinking of taking you up on that offer President."
"Christoph Schmidt. Master Sergeant, Time-Space Administration Bureau, Ground Forces, und IPA SWAT team leader. Good to meet you, Herr Präsident." He holds the salute for a moment longer, then relaxes and drops his hand again. He is, after all, not on duty...and the President is a civilian. Sort of. Right? Now remembering his own drink, he takes a quick sip and sets it down on the table, proceeding to nod politely to Rufus' companion (and bodyguard), before pulling Meliadoul's seat out for her, then sitting down himself. "Fräulein Cissnei, guten Abend."
Maria now arrives, and he gives his boss a salute as well. Old habits die hard, and she is his commander, after all. "Chef," he says in greeting. Yes, 'Chef', which means 'Chief' in Belkan. "Glad to see you hier." It was a little frustrating not being able to attend to Maria's rescue personally and hearing it progress over the radio, but then, he did have another important part to play in the end for that operation.
Back to Meliadoul--he looks a little surprised. "Really? Well, I hope they work out, then. Danke sehr, Herr Präsident. Difficult to be without a gut weapon, in our line of work." And should Shinra's blades not work out, he's still got an inquiry back home about an extra Storage Device....
Maria shifts, sliding a foot out so she can nudge one of the chairs at the table aside so Mercade can sit down in it. She pays attention to Rufus-peripherally at least, nodding occasionally. She easily processes everything he says, it just might not seem like it-heck, it might even seem like she's ignoring him in favor of solving this Tierine mystery.
"Hello Tierine." Maria greets with a nod of the head. The lawyer /is/ very short, as Luke enjoyed pointing out much to her annoyance. It was rare that Maria was in charge of anyone shorter than herself-and when she was, she really /enjoyed/ it. "What would that be?" She doesn't sound worried. It's not like anything /dangerous/ can happen here in the hub. She figures it is probably a note or private request.
Turning her eyes to Mercade, she inspects him for a moment before a smirk creeps upon her face. "Once this is taken care of, Mercade, I would like to dance."
Mercade's grin grows another notch. "It would be my pleasure." He nods, and then looks back at the others, tilting his head slightly as he tries to figure out what's going on in this thread.
Squall, practicing his elite avoidance skills, has carefully not been caught by the people scouring the outside of the party for people avoiding dancing. He also swore he saw Selphie a few moments ago, so he decided to keep a low profile.
But he's somewhat accessible again, sitting down at a table. Hopefully he won't get attacked by wild partygoers. Or evil businessmen.
Well, Kadaj is giving it a whirl. He can move fast, but there are a few mistakes. Plus, Tirana's dress makes things even more difficult for the steps to work. Biting down on his lower lip, he curses certain people mentally. And looking back at Tirana, he smiles. While still biting down, yes.
Three? Large families aren't unusual! After all, he--
Uh. Yeah, not a great subject! Guy observes Talifah and Ravi depart for the dance floor, and turns to his own drink with the thought that he should've asked his name. It'd be interesting to inquire with the woman if he happens by the library again. To think, stumbling across someone's sibling in a place as huge and with as varied a population as you could find in the Hub. Small multiverse. That and having a drink that's quite unlike anything he's tried before do well in banishing the rest of his vague discomfort at encountering someone he remembers is dead in his own plane.
And then there's Luke.
"Huh?" There's a surprised double-take. "Luke? Aren't you supposed to be dancing with--" He starts to look for the nobleman's date, and instead pushes the daiquiri at him. ...It's the wrong one, unfortunately, but he'd forgotten to check. "...It's not going very well, is it." Have a commiserating look there, Luke.
Well, now that went well~ It's rather nice to find a man who knows how to treat a lady. This is also doing a lot for her ego, of course. "Yes, let's," the noblewoman purrs back, heading off with Ravi towards the dance floor.
Talifah knows how to dance. She might not be especially learned in specific dances, but sure, she can dance. She's graceful, athletic, /and/ a Solar Exalt, so as long as Ravi leads, she can follow along easily. With Charms if she needs to.
She also attempts to strike up a little conversation. "What shall I call you?" the noble asks, keeping a careful eye on the way he moves his body. Hey, if she's going to follow, she needs to pay attention. Of course, there may be other reasons~
Oh god, oh god.. Oh god! What was going on here? Maybe Cissnei should have paid a little more attention to what Rufus's been doing- sponsorship? Well, the good news there at least was that Rufus unintentionally brings her up to speed. As the guests arrive, Cissnei is presented with some sort of meat and cheese skewered by clearly expensive mini-forks, and she reaches to take one.
That's about as smoothly as it goes, the moment 'his' name is mentioned, too much weight is applied on the silver tray and it suddenly goes clattering loudly to the floor, the appetizers spilling all over the place. Her jaw goes slack in utter horror, the waiter looking similarly horrified, "M- My fault entire, so very -very- sorry mad'am, very sorry," he believes it's his fault, thank god!
Cissnei slowly turns her head, Christoph & Meliadoul giving an awkward smile, as she takes a seat as well. "A pleasure to meet you both," she says, gaze constantly shifting from the two to the hastily cleaning waiter.. guy.
"No, I thought it would be worse!" Maybe the natural rhythm of the fonic language makes it easier! Or maybe... well, okay, the waltz isn't really that hard of a step, and Anise is capable of following pretty well. As Sync leads her back off the dancefloor, she looks a little flushed... it can't really be from exertion, can it? Well, it might have something to do with the arms still wrapped around her.
As they stand and watch, Anise lets her gaze shift. First, she looks at the feet of the people dancing. Then she flances up at Sync. And back to the people dancing. After a moment, she slooooowly edges just a little bit closer to him.
Anise jumps slightly when he speaks up again. "Ah! R.. right! Yeah, let's try it." She beams a smile at him, completely innocent of anything he might think she was doing. Really! Though this one is faster, Anise is pretty decent at following. She's not perfect, but she gets the hang of it before too long, and starts looking like she's having fun again. With a quicker dance, it's easier to forget embarrassment with so much focus on not tripping over yourself!
Don't blame Tirana, she expected waltzes and slow dances, not something a little more up-tempo like this! If she had, she would've at least gone with a couple less petticoats. There's also something unsettling about the fact that he's biting his lip while he's smiling, its enough to make her own smile falter a little. "Oh, Kadaj, dances are supposed to be fun and romantic! Enjoy the moment!"
Wait a minute, how is he supposed to enjoy the fun and romance if she's stand-offish? The Exalt pulls him a little closer, as far as her dress will allow, and leans in a bit to bring his chest to hers. Wide blue eyes stare up at his and she can't help but to flash an earnest smile up to him. Hopefully Luke won't get jealous!
Could it be, a little bit of redness in her face? In truth, she seems to be a little bit embarassed to be dressed up like this, even if her hair isn't worn up or styled much like some of the other people attending the event. She feels cornered, in a sense, trapped in a situation that she can't entirely control. Still, at least she has her focus, her target, right where she can see him. He ... didn't, did he? Then if not, ...
No, it had to be him. He had to be lying. Right...?
Still, Shanoa stands in a somewhat relaxed manner, holding her other arm to her side while her weight shifts to one leg. There's hesitation in her voice, in the way she keeps watching him from the corner of her eye rather than staring straight at him. "Thank you ... for what?"
Quietly excusing herself, Marianne turns and goes to shuffle herself back into the crowd. She finds it easy to locate Kadaj and in doing so, Tirana, but with them both busy on the dancefloor, she supposes it wouldn't be nice to interupt them. She hopes that Maria hasn't realized who she is, uncertain as to whether her act was enough to throw the woman off. Still, she doesn't let this concern her terribly as she makes her way back towards the ShinRa table.
Ravi does know how to dance. This comes of having sisters who wanted dance partners for their classes, and also because he does, actually, enjoy it. However, like many of his pursuits, including music and fiction writing, he rarely indulges in them due to other priorities.
That and he's a bit of a fuddy duddy, now isn't he?
And so he leads Tali with, while not the flawless skill of a trained master, at least the grace of someone who has done this before and is not a completely clumsy wreck. Still, his movements are just slightly stiff-- that could, however, simply be because he's largely uncomfortable here. Notably he avoids meeting Talifah's eyes even as she asks him questions. "You may call me Ravi," he says, voice soft as conversation on the dance floor isn't as jarring as that by the bar or the tables. "And you are?"
Normally he'd give his full name, however, she could be a /wizard/, for all he knows.
The daquiri is taken. Hopefully it's the nonalcoholic one. "Tirana? Yeah, but her friend wanted to dance, and.." Luke shrugs helplessly. Was it going badly?! He doesn't know, and instead turns a bit to watch Kadaj and Triple with an expression of vague pain. Poor kid has no idea what he's doing out there, but Luke's unwilling to barge in and try to teach him how, it would be rude. "Yeah, it kind of isn't. But maybe it'll work out in the end, you know?" He's pretty sure Guy means how Tirana and Kadaj are failing to pull off the foxtrot perfectly. ..And his daquiri tastes a little strange but he doesn't think too much of it. Maybe they just use wierd fruit.
"Ion and Anise seem to be having a good time though, look. I bet you in another four or five years it'll be their wedding we're attending, huh?" That'll be after he and Natalia are married.. though he's still hoping to shuck that onto Asch; Natalia was more of a sister to him than anything else, with all the fighting and bickering that entailed.
Oh. It looks like Tirana's taking Kadaj's education into her own hands. That's good. Luke's expression sobers over his daquiri, green eyes narrowing. This should be a little less embarassing for them, then. She really had a lot of skill, and if Kadaj learned fast..
It might have been a private request if it wasn't in public... or a party, since the request would have been work-oriented. Instead Tierine fumbles in the purse-like pouch strapped to her side, forcing her to bend at a slightly uncomfortable angle to get at it. "Well, um, I expected to meet you sometime. This is what I was sent to give you, though."
She eventually comes up with a little ring box covered in black suede. Closing up the pouch again, she offers it to Maria, stepping forward close enough that she can do so. "This is it. I don't know what's in it, but, um..."
Tierine pitches her voice very low, stepping probably unpleasantly close to whisper. Even her whisper is loud. "It's from, uh..." Well, Tierine hasn't been in his good books lately; she makes it worse. "An admirer. Secret."
Few people are perfect when trying to dance for the very first time. Sync has an advantage here thanks to having a natural talent for this kind of thing, but even he makes a few mistakes. Still, he has fun, and so does Anise, and he laughs quietly but genuinely as they move together--and Anise moves a little closer.
Innocent? Yeah, right. But Sync doesn't mind. Far from it, really. He leads her around the dance floor, minding the other dancers as they move along, and before long his movements become more natural. He even sweeps Anise around in a fancier step that he may have just made up, and pulls her close at the end. He doesn't say anything, he just laughs a little, looking down at the brunette in his arms with affection.
"Enjoy? That other person w-" Hold the phone. Did she just...pull him closer? Mako eyes round out at the sudden closeness between petticoats and material, Kadaj's 'dancing' sort of slowing. Silver strands of hair fall in front of his face as he looks at Tirana, a little paler than before. He even stays there. Lips twitch as the smile falls and becomes a line.
"..."
At this point, he takes Tirana's hand and tries to twirl her back to Luke...wherever he is. If not, then to any other males on the dance floor. There. That'll do it.
His movements /are/ stiff, although it doesn't hamper her following his lead any. While she's not perhaps a master of reading body language, growing up in high society's taught her a few things. He's uncomfortable. Nervous. Perhaps even... shy. The last's pretty likely, Talifah wagers, as he won't meet her eyes. Intriguing.
A red eyebrow's arched at the name he gives. "Ravi... hmm." The name's murmured, low, as if she's trying out how it sounds. "Then I shall grace you with my name. You may call me Talifah." If he's not going to relinquish much more indentity than that, then neither will she. Besides, they won't really need much more than that to call each other by.
As uncomfortable as he is, it's made no more comforting by silence between them, and for that reason Ravi (only mildly offended by having to be 'graced' with her name) meets her eyes-- for just a moment- before he asks, "Where are you from then, Lady Talifah?" Because it could go one of two ways-- she could be annoyed by his formality, which would be sweet revenge for her own arrogance, or she could appreciate his assumption of her nobility, and perhaps things might get slightly less awkward.
Maybe.
Tirana's eyes meet Kadaj's. She hesitates, her breath holds. There's an expectant air about her, as if awaiting... well, not /that/, but perhaps another crack in the Remnant's armor? Something beautiful inside that wasn't there before?
Nope, he flatlined. Tirana deflates a little. "Oh, Kadaaaaaaaaaaaaj"
This is turning into a recurring theme it seems, for one minute she's foxtrotting and the other she's spun across the floor. Normally she would have enough control, but there's too much momentum for her to do nothing but guide her in Luke's general direction.
Not directly to the prince, however, for its his partner in crime that will suddenly have a spinning and near dizzy Dynast falling straight into his arms. "Oof!" Hello Guy!
"Mister Christoph, then?" Rufus shall nod, "Good to meet you, always an honor to host those who risk so much for what the IPA stands for." He'll tilt his fine features inquiringly towards Meliadoul, "Oh? Then I take it your trip to Azeroth did not obtain the desire results?" He allows himself a slight frown, "I am sorry to hear that, but you are certainly welcome to stop pay visit sometime; We'll see what we can do for you."
He'll be distracted then by the commortion immediately to his left. The waiter passes it off as his fault, but Rufus prides himself on being able to read others, particularly his employees, and it's more than embarassment at spilling food written on Cissnei's face, he suspects. Reviewing back over the conversation, he thinks he might have the snag. Hmph, he though she'd been briefed...though not knowing about Kadaj ought to have tipped him off. "Everything okay, Cissnei?" He'll seem to hover over her protectively to their guests, his face turned away. To Cissnei, he'll have a rather serious look on his face and mouths 'We will discuss this later', or thereabouts. In other words, stay professional.
Seeing Marianne then on her way back, he'll direct his erstwhile paramour's line of view to her, "Ah, Marianne's on her way back to us, lovely." He'll then fix to rise from his seat, "I hate to remove myself, but there is something I must take care. I promise not to be gone long." He'll turn a smile toward the female Turk, "Cissnei, you and Marianne can keep our guests entertained for a few moments, yes?" Whatever her answer, he'll set off then for the table where a certain young member of SeeD sits, flagging his secretary to continue walking when he passes her.
Meanwhile, in the kitchens....
The sous chef is trying not to cry into the bernaise sauce. And he is, in fact, cooking much more quickly than before, as well as studiously not paying attention to what is happening behind himself. The other kitchen attendants are not so lucky; they are staring with horror as a hooded reaper perfects his art. There is a blur of blades--
And a ham falls into dozens of perfectly carved pieces. The staff cringes, because--
HA HA HA HA HA.
"Necro, stop laughing darkly, you're scaring everyone." Dizzy sighs, shakes her head, and proceeds to chop up the vegetables with a fishlaser. Yes, a fishlaser. Because Necro can't be arsed to cut up things that don't bleed.
"They really make a cute couple," Guy says, pulling a face briefly. "I'm not so sure about that, though." In another four or five years...
"But you never know!"
Blue eyes follow the direction of Luke's narrowed stare to Tirana and Kadaj, and then he laughs softly, looking back to his drink. "You know..." and now there'll be some light ribbing, between friends and all, "If you're jealous, you could just cut in and get her back."
Except Tirana's already making her way back -- Guy hasn't bothered to update himself on the status of that whole matter, namely because it's -obvious- when TWO people are staring at a couple, so he won't try to draw any attention to Luke's interest in who stole his date.
This is around when he peers closely at the other daiquiri and starts to realize he might have given Luke the wrong one. "..." Oh, crap.
And then something falls right across him - he catches, on instinct. And then lets go like he'd just seized a pot of boiling water, letting out a yelp that... that, well, in a gala kind of can't help but draw negative attention. "YAAAUGH!!"
Oh, so this one has a little boldness in him! Just a little. The self-satisfied smile only grows. Not only is she in a good mood tonight, Talifah expects nothing less than to be treated as the nobility she's descended from. "My, you have a good eye, Ravi," she says, as she once again draws close to him on the dance floor. She's obviously flattered by the use of the honorific. "I am indeed the daughter of a noble house. Surely, you must descend from a good family yourself?"
Meliadoul shakes her head slightly with a soft sigh, "Unfortunately my trip into Azeroth nearly ended in disaster. The armory was lit on fire because an interdimensional criminal by the name of Caim decided to reclaim what was his and set the entire place a blaze." Not to mention nearly cut her to shreds as well.
"But you may expect me at Shinra at your earliest convenience." She blinks when Cissnei tips over a tray and suddenly moves backwards in her seat, hand going to her side only to turn deep crimson as she remembers that no, she does not have a sword. "It is.." She watches hesitantly at the scattered food. "My pleasure Lady Cissnei."
As Rufus stands, the knight shakes her head, "There is no need to entertain us." She looks over to Christoph, "We can here to dance did we not? Shall we?"
"What? Hey, it's not like that!" Luke's rounding on Guy to set the matter straight means he doesn't immediately notice Tirana's approach right up until she falls over and into the waiting arms of the one person in the room most likely to drop her and recoil.
And then he's forced to set his drink down and make a hasty grab for the unfortunate Dynast as Guy predictably recoils with a very familiar screech; with luck he'll be able to catch Tirana before she hits the floor for a second time tonight.
The orchestra ends their foxtrot and there is a long moment of rest while they all stand up and file off stage. The only musicians who remain are Shane, the second violinist, a violist and a cellist. The four musicians move to the front of the stage where chairs and stands have been setup. A beat later, they begin to play. Those who are familiar with modern heavy metal may or may not recognize the song as they begin to play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4QtjFoLHW0
Oh dear. A muscle in Christoph's jaw twitches as the tray goes crashing down to the ground, his equivalent of a wince at the accident. "Ach," he says, beginning to rise instinctively to help. But then he stops, looking down at his clothes. This is a rental, and it would be a bit unfortunate to get them dirty right now. Besides, they've got staff for this...right?
He slowly sits back down, looking vaguely disquieted for a moment, but that is quickly replaced by his usual flat look. Though it again relaxes as he glances over at Meliadoul. "Sorry," he says. "Habit." He looks up across the table and nods to Rufus. "That is fine." He coughs, and adds, "Only doing my job." But he's not embarassed by the compliment, of course not.
He looks away to hide a scowl as Meliadoul now recounts her excursion into Azeroth and the meeting with Caim. Damn monster. But again, the expression is wiped away as he picks up his glass and finishes off the rest of his scotch. "Mmmm. Hm?" He looks up at Meli, and then smiles again. "Of course. Tanzen. Would be happy to." He stands, takes her hand, and inclines his head toward Rufus. "Danke sehr, for your invitation." He looks toward the dance floor, then the band as it departs, and blinks at the quartet that remains. Interesting. And he pulls Meli off to dance.
Oh, ever busy as usual, so Marianne sees as she approaches the table but to find Rufus having excused himself. She casts a glance in the direction he heads off to before looking back to those yet at the table. Another, yet silent greeting is made to Meliadoul and Christoph, and then the young woman looks to Cissnei.
"Do enjoy yourselves," she says once she turns her head back to the former two as they make to head to the dance floor.
'Private' request indeed. Gingerly, Maria takes the box in the free hand she has. With a gentle twist of her body, she turns so she can place the wineglass on the table and pries open the fuzz-coated box.
When Tierine steps in to whisper, Maria instinctively recoils, being someone who enjoys her personal space. The closeness doesn't matter right now anyways as Tierine speaks loud enough for her to hear. Mercade can probably hear her words as well. "A secret admirer," she deadpans, looking up at Tierine again, giving her a long glance. She's probably taking in her features very carefully so she can match them to something later, most likely.
She peers down at the contents of the box, then narrows her eyes. Carefull, she plucks the thin gold chain from the box. A key looped on it paired with a pearl-sized jade ornament slides out and dangles in the air. The box is placed on the table and her hand cups the hanging necklace pieces. The jade ornament is rubbed between two fingers. Oh yes, she knew exactly who this was from. It was probably meant to match the pair of jade earrings that she had pointedly /not/ worn to the event. "I suppose I will have to have a word with this so-called 'admirer' in the future," she deadpans, slipping the jewelry back in the box.
Abruptly, she stands and, agressively, grabs for Mercade's hand, just as the string quartet starts up with the new song. "Come on."
As 'shy' as he is, Ravi's discomfort in being so close to Talifah doesn't seem to get any /worse/, at least-- if anything he's relaxing just a little bit more as he moves in time with the music, feeling just slightly more at ease on the dance floor. At least most people are busy dancing with their partners and not staring at him. Or recognizing him, hopefully.
"We are not nobility," he admits, though without a trace of shame as the music pauses momentarily, "However my family line does come from the upper castes of India, if it means anything to you. In modern times, however, it means very little, particularly when we live in another country with its own royal lineages." As the music starts again he gives a shrug-- and a jerk in surprise, head whipping back towards the bar. What was that?!
It was totally innocent! Even more innocent than her glompings of Luke, since she has no ulterior motive to getting closer to the Fon Master like this! You know, besides getting closer to him.
As Sync picks up the pace and starts getting fancier, it's all Anise can do to keep up! She's definitely having a good time, though, letting out a giggle as they twirl. "Wow! That was..."
Then Anise makes the mistake of looking up when the song ends. She's pulled close, sees the look in Sync's face... and just sort of melts. "Um.. um um..." Yep, nothing more intelligible is going to come out of her right now. She's so out of it that she doesn't even notice Guy's scream, and that's something she usually likes to tease him about! That's how bad it is!
"Oh!" There's nothing wrong with being caught by a handsome man, even if he is the right-hand man of your actualy date. There's the tiniest moment where Tirana repays Guy's heroism with a bright grateful smile - which is utterly and completely lost when he lets go. She hadn't even fully recovered her balance yet either!
A heel slips on the surface of the floor and backwards tumbles the Dynast. Events transpire in slow motion, and for the briefest moment she's back in Shane's bathroom again. Only this time, however, there's something to grab onto. Two things actually. One hand grabs the nearest part of Guy, the other onto Luke's outstretched hand. Whether this stops her from hitting the floor...
... not likely. Whump. But will she bring Guy and Luke with her?
Tierine Mayhew's features are pretty memorable. Even disregarding the gryphon half, she has a uniquely fine-featured face that looks almost sculpted in some ways, perfectly symmetrical; some people who have had plastic surgery look that way. Plus, her hair is kind of oddly coloured, a red-gold that isn't quite strawberry blonde. It looks more like copper in gold.
She backs up quickly to get out of Maria's way. "Yeah, um - well, that's it, uh, have fun!"
Tierine makes a pretty good escape back towards the bar. She moves pretty quickly when she's not worrying about etching the floor with her talons.
It's Soma's turn to blink, though he doesn't look embarrassed, even as he takes the time to study the dress and the woman; curiously, not critically.
....For what, you say? This actually brings a flicker of surprise to the young man's features and he's drawn back to the present conversation. "You kept your word." Soma shrugs faintly. "I guess after tonight, you'll be watching out for me again." However, that doesn't seem to matter, if the lack of resignation in his tone is any indication. In fact, he seems to accept it with a sort of quiet dignity. "But the ticket..." A gesture toward Shanoa's outfit also indicates the dress as part of the package deal. "...I wasn't trying to imply anything with it, so let's just call it a truce for tonight. You--"
The sudden outcry from the bar startles the vampire hunter so remarkably well that he all but jumps in place, his attention jerking toward Guy and Tirana and Luke as the former lets out a hearty screech. The events that follow in short order are directly related to the continuation of Soma's conversation with Shanoa.
"...On second thought, maybe I shouldn't offer to get you a drink."
Of course Soma realizes a little belatedly that this leaves only one other option. A faint sigh might be heard. "...Shanoa, do you want to dance?"
Cissnei really just has no idea what to do; is she dropped to a stonefaced expression that would be unnatural and awkward. But allowing herself to look embarassed is just plain humiliating. Rufus' lips are easily read and it's quickly becoming one of those situations where she wishes she could just unholster her gun, shoot herself in the head and then be done with this evening. Another good alternative would be suffocating herself with a pillow. Rufus must think she's a complete -idiot-. "..."
"The pleasure's all mine.." she replies to Meliadoul with a weak smile, and makes absolutly no effort to stop the two from going off the dance. Please! Only a brief glance is given to 'Marianne' before her gaze wanders elsewhere, hands on her lap.
And lo, the president did descend upon the mercenary.
As Rufus walks towards Squall, there's one of those moments. One of those moments where Squall sort of looks at Rufus. He doesn't say anything, but rather waits for the president to say what it is he's going to say.
(He'd better not be asking me to dance.)
At some point, Guy's drink has rolled away, leaving what was left of its contents oozing across the bar.
Its recent owner is quaking a short distance away, cringing--well, yeah, just as Luke had described it: recoiling from Tirana like she'd sprouted three monstrous heads that HUNGERED FOR THE FLESH OF THE LIVING or something. ...Alright, not quite -that- dramatic, but for a minute there he sure looked terrified!
That is until his attempt to back out of arm's reach failed epically at the realization one can't get very far when one's arm is still attached to the rest of your body, and there's a woman attached to the other end of the aforementioned arm.
She falls.
Guy falls.
Luke falls.
The glass crashes on the floor beside the feet of a mildly surprised bartender.
Kadaj has successfully gotten rid of Triple, and now he needs to get away. Off of the dance floor and into the crowd. "I've had my fun. I suppose," he says to himself, backing up and bumping into another couple prior to turning and going around them. No apologies whatsoever.
He's going to leave without saying good bye? Typical.
The thought of leaving is on hold when he stops to look over at the bar. Laughing.
Meliadoul rises to her feet, aided by Christoph's hand and when the two reach the dance floor, she blushes a little. The knight nods and looks up at Christoph. The music is unfamiliar to her, but they wouldn't be playing it if they couldn't dance to it right. "I apologize if I step on your feet," she murmurs. "It has been some time."
With a deep breath, she waits for Christoph to lead off.
Oh, on the other hand, Talifah knew there would be a possibility she would be identified. By people who might want her dead, no less! But in the Hub, well, there is nothing they can do about it, now can they~? In fact, she would dare them to try.
He's not getting tenser. That's good enough. Maybe he's just crowd-shy, or perhaps stunned by her presence. He'd hardly be the first.
India. She's not familiar with the country, but the Solar's intelligent enough to follow along all the same. "Thus your family lives diminished, in the land of another. How... tragic." There is genuine sympathy behind those words--for indeed Talifah views it as a tragedy.
She stops abruptly at the disturbance over by the bar. "By all the ances--" the Exalt starts with, staring.
Sync does hear Guy's girlish scream, but it sort of blends it with the background as Anise melts in his arms, babbling incoherently. He stares back down at her for a moment, holding her, his own mind turning blank for a moment. "I... Anise, uh..."
And then the orchestra starts up with their new music, and Sync seizes on that. "Th-this song's a little too fast for me," he lies--actually, the pace sounds to be just right for him, but he'd actually like to sit down and just talk now. "Why don't we head back to our table, Anise...?"
He squeezes her hand and leads her back, picking up their drinks from Luke's table, regardless of how she responds. He glances up sharply when he hears that breaking glass, smothers a smirk when he sees the human pile-up, and turns his attention back to Anise. "I've really been having a good time tonight. Thank you for asking me along."
Sync pauses, thinking back to how Anise didn't react when he called Tirana Luke's 'date.' He thinks again of the dances they just shared, and adds, again watching the girl carefully, "...I've never been on a date before, so I'm happy you did."
No good deed goes unpunished. No sooner does he manage to catch ahold of Tirana than she falls anyway, and he promptly overbalances and topples over too with a squawk of surprise, shortly later getting a faceful of poofy dress. On the bright side, it's a cushier landing, and he doesn't move for a moment or two, not entirely sure of what's happened--
And then very hastily scrambles back to his feet, face a mask of alarm. This isn't something that happens /every/ day - and Kadaj's laughter is HEARD from WAY OVER THERE. The choice of who to try to haul to their feet first, best friend or evening date, is a /really difficult one/, and he defaults to the one who'll cause more accidental hysterics if she grabs poor Guy again, this time bracing himself a little better before offering a hand, still looking a little frayed. "Are you two okay?" He's fine! Nothing's bruised but his dignity.
Settling into her chair as she casts a disinterested look at the glass of wine she'd left at the table before making her invitation rounds, Marianne then looks to Cissnei since they've been left to fend for themselves for entertainment. She smiles, perhaps in mild amusement at that.
"...so... I wonder if it would be appropriate to ask if you're enjoying yourself," she asks flatly as she leans back in her chair, casting a look back at the rest of the room. "...I suppose we can either sit and warm the chairs, or we can wander. And I'm sure there are people that will dance." She arches a brow at the female Turk. "Unless he already suggested something before he left?"
"Kein Problem," Christoph answers Meliadoul. "Am also out of practice a little bit." Besides, he knows some spells to clean scuff marks off shoes. It's a must in the Ground Forces. Some of those officers are pretty uptight about getting a spit shine going.
He takes Meliadoul by one hand, wraps the other arm around her waist, and with due deliberation, slowly begins to move her into a simple series of steps. This is as much for himself as her--it really has been a long time, and he isn't about to try anything tricky tonight. At least, not without a little more alcohol to start with.
The crash over at the bar is ignored. He's got a beautiful woman to dance with, and that really does take up all of his attention. Because really.
Don't worry Squall; Dancing is the furthest thing from Rufus' mind at the moment, and dancing with -you- doesn't even register. You are, however, absolutely the focus of his attention at the moment. "Pardon me.." He'll say when near enough, looking over the young man's militant outfit inqisitively, "But you work for SeeD, don't you?" He'll take a seat, surmising himself to be correct. "Rufus Shinra, President of Shinra Electric Power Company." He introduces himself hastily, not overly concerned with standing on ceremony here, "I recognized you from some IPA reports and vidscans...you're quite skilled, on par with someone from our SOLDIER program, I would say." Not meant as flattery or praise, the President states it merely as an observation.
"I'm sure you're here for other reasons, so I will try to be brief. I see much merit in what SeeD has to offer, and feel I could offer your organization some very lucrative terms. I have not yet had time, however, to learn more about your hierarchy. Who would I talk to about negotiating contracts and work? I'd be interested in speaking to them."
Mercade was expecting this. He smoothly takes Maria's hand and gets up, walking out onto the dance floor with her. Some might wonder if he can dance.
Seize the day, or die regretting the time you lost...
He can. It might be surprising, as Mercade easily adopts a fluid waltz, moving along in time with the music... though he soon begins to add his own flourishes. He smiles, looking into her eyes, watching the lights of the ballroom in her eyes. "It's been a hell of a time, Maria." He turns, deftly spinning around the ballroom with her, seemingly choosing his actions and compensating for Maria's own with a preturnatural grace.
It's empty and cold without you here, too many people to ache over...
"I admit, I had been watching you ever since you showed up at the IPA." He grins. "I've always found you to be a compelling person."
It takes a moment for the question to sink in, but Anise does nod. "Good.. um. Good idea." Besides, it's getting a little warm in here. It -is- just the temperature of the room and the exertion of the dance that's making it feel hot, right? Nothing else!
Anise allows herself to be led to a seat, and drops down into it in relief. Almost absently, she pulls Tokunaga from her back and sets the tuxed plush on her lap. "You haven't? I..." The girl clears her throat softly and turns to smile at Sync. "I'm having a good time too. I just wasn't expecting..." This time, she notices the sudden sound of the glass breaking, and looks toward the bar. "What--is that Guy?"
The flat look of annoyance Talifah earns is not /quite/ as severe as it would have been if there hadn't been such a commotion by the bar. That poor boy... But Ravi's attention quickly returns to the lady he's dancing with, lips tightening before he speaks. "Actually, my father is a well respected professor of religion at London University and I myself am due to earn my doctorate in the coming weeks. Despite the challenges and the expected racial discrimination we are quite successful by all modern standards." The indignant 'thank you very much' needn't be spoken.
He wouldn't have said it anyway, his gaze caught by a familiar peacock-feather hair ornament as they pass by Maria and Mercade. "..." He doesn't hear what Mercade says, nor does he attempt to, his eyes meeting Talifah's again almost forcibly as he refuses to look at them again. "You never did answer my question," he says after a few moments, "Where are you from?"
The benefit of wearing multiple petticoats becomes readily apparent. Tirana's on the floor again, and regardless of whether Guy or Luke slipped past her pendant and wound up in a rather compromising position, neither are in any position to discover the horrible unspeakable truth that only Mr. Fitzgerald knows.
At least she hopes so.
"Luke! Guy!" She waits for the two of them to get off of her dress before she tries to climb back up to her feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you and oh dear there's drink and glass everywhere-"
Did someone say 'Seize the day?' Oh yes, the music did. For dragon's sake, she's a Dragon-blooded, not a comic clown! Hopefully both boys are off her dress by now because she's actually leaping back to her feet - with a /flourish/. She's the one picking the red-haired boy off the floor, not the other way around, and, well, she's not so certain she can pick Guy up without something else horrible happening. "Its a beautiful song, Luke," she says to him as the lights catch her eyes as well. "Let's dance."
It would drive up Meliadoul's blood pressure if she knew what was going down at the bar. So her mind blissfully tunes it out. It takes a few practice steps. She mistimes one movement and nearly stumbles but recovers in time for the next step. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing though and it is not long before she's no longer accidently stepping on Christoph or nearly tripping over herself.
Years of training, drilled by professors at the Gariland Akademy is finally starting to come to her and when they do, her movements are graceful. Not exactly unlike the way she fights on the battlefield, except less forceful.
Good, good. Christoph nods encouragingly at Meliadoul, and soon is able to let his own instinctive movements take over. Well, he does have to be mindful of not colliding with the other couples out on the dance floor, but for the most part, he's now able to look at Meli rather than the floor or around himself instead. "Sehr schön," he murmurs, smiling contentedly.
The two of them move well, if not as fluidly as Mercade and Maria, as well as the other obviously more talented dancers on the floor--but well enough. "Think you are doing better than you worried, Meliadoul," he says, clearly enjoying this. And hopefully, so is she.