❝ the night starts here, the night starts here ❞[OPEN TO ALL]

[rivelata_madam]

EVENT - MADAMS' BALL

WHO: The Madam, her girls, and anyone who so desires to attend.
WHAT: It's time to celebrate the changing of Season, so what better way than with a party? :)
WHERE: The Castles Courtyard.
WHEN: 09/15/09

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[mercury_sparrow]

If he was being entirely honest with himself, Ishida Uryu didn't really know why he was attending the Madam's Ball. If left to his own devices, he probably wouldn't have; he wasn't terribly curious about the castle, himself, and while he had helped make several of the suits and gowns that Eagle's Splendour had made for this occasion, he had never been much of one for socializing and always felt awkward and out of sorts at parties.

Still, one of the newcomers, Lenalee Lee, had expected he would be there. While he was certain there were any number of other friends she'd end up making or chatting with due to her cheerful disposition, his Quincy's Pride would not allow him to shirk his obligations and avoid attending altogether.

And so, there he stood in his white suit, trying not to look distinctly comfortable. He had, as was his nature, arrived punctually... which, of course, meant that it seemed as if he had arrived early. Inwardly he sighed. Why did people never arrive on time?

[chappi_fan]

Rukia had only come to the ball under the impression it was an average social event for the city. From what she had heard over the journals, it would be unusual for her not to attend. Finding a dress perfectly tailored to fit her merely sitting on her doorstep only added to this belief.

Inwardly, she was not in the mood for a celebration. However, there was a part of her that could not help but grow excited at the prospect of such an activity. There was no telling what sort of customs or traditions the event may include, and it would not hurt to simply enjoy oneself from time to time.

Looking over the crowd, she managed to catch sight of a familiar Quincy.

"Are you enjoying the festival?"

[mercury_sparrow]

"As much as one might expect, I suppose."

In truth, Ishida was mainly idling away the time not by conversation-- though he would never admit to it, it had always been one of his weak points, and, despite Kairi's best efforts, he was only marginally better at it now than he had been before-- but by observing the various suits, dresses, and other attire, and judging it. Quite often, he found them, to his surprise, quite remarkable, showing ingenuity, creativity, and skill in concept and execution; the only thing he could criticize most on was, oddly enough, materials, though just as many were flawless pieces overall. He knew for a fact, however, that many of the dresses or suits were made not by Eagle's Splendour, as he kept careful stock...

"Kuchiki-san... if you don't mind me asking, where did you get your dress?"

[chappi_fan]

Rukia took a small glance at her own outfit. "I had found it at the doorstep. It seems others have received dresses in a similar manner."

She parted her gaze from him to look across the room. Others were dressed fairly similarly. Did the dresses come from the same place? Was it common to simply give them before an event? Despite her months spent in the city, there were aspects of it, as well as behavior of the human world, she was not familiar with. Even so, she would find ways to adapt.

"Do you know who made it?"

[kickshard]

The green haired girl walked into the courtyard gracefully. She had found a dress on the doorstep days after she'd arrived, and had assumed that it was a present for the ball.

Lenalee was no strangers to balls-- she had attended many at the Order. It still scared her a little, though. She hoped she didn't stand out too much.

Then she remembered that she was supposed to meet Ishida-san here. Lenalee looked around, trying to pick up familiar faces from the journals. Ishida-san should be around.. there!

Lenalee walked across the courtyard, towards Ishida. "Good evening, Ishida-san!" she smiled brightly.

[mercury_sparrow]

Hearing his name, the Quincy turned, offering a polite smile in return, reflexively pushing up his glasses.

"Good evening, Lenalee-san."

It still disconcerted him somewhat that she preferred he call her by her personal name rather than her family name, but after she had asked him explicitly to, it would have been rather rude of him to decline her request when it was so easily fulfilled. Still, that did little to ease the awkwardness with which he spoke with her, especially since her nakama Miranda appeared to be elsewhere at the moment... Not, of course, that he entirely minded having to deal with one person in a conversation rather than two, merely... unexpected. A pleasant surprise.

"You-- That is-- I-- Your dress is quite lovely."

Well. If he could manage to string his thoughts together properly in a setting like this.

[kickshard]

Lenalee blushed at Ishida's comment, and managed a small "thank you".

She glanced around eagerly. There seemed to be many people present today, though it wasn't unexpected-- it was a ball, after all. Though it appeared that Miranda and that other guy hadn't arrived yet. She did, however, catch a glimpse of Sachiko, her other housemate, talking to a blonde guy. She would have to go over to say hello later. Sachiko seemed to be a person who regarded manners as an important thing, and the last thing Lenalee wanted to do was to get on bad terms with her housemate.

Lenalee turned back to Ishida. "Enjoying the ball?" she asked.

[mercury_sparrow]

"Ah, I... suppose."

If Ishida noticed her blush, he gave no indication, quite possibly because he was fighting down his own. This was something a young man of his age was expected to be able to do, and yet behind all the battlefield dramatics and bravado, he was honestly quite clueless as to what to do in such situations. Most of what he knew about such situations came from books and television and movies-- not precisely the most reliable sources, he knew. Still, they were better than nothing, he supposed.

"This certainly is the largest and most ornate party I've seen since I arrived six months ago. I must admit, though, I'm a little surprised tey would choose to host one now when the earthquakes only seem to be escalating..."

[kickshard]

She nodded. "You're right.. it is strange.."

Lenalee pondered for a moment, then shook her head. This was a night of celebration, and she would certainly not have herself worrying about anything today. Lenalee glanced at her surroundings. There were many people dancing, and a sudden thought struck her.

"Ishida-san, would you like to dance? With.. me?" Lenalee asked, blushing yet again.

[mercury_sparrow]

While Ishida naturally would have been more inclined to follow the previous train of thought than jumping to a less serious, more cheerful one, after spending so much time with Inoue in Soul Society and so long here living with Kairi, he had become accustomed to such sudden shifts from more serious matters to more light-hearted ones, though he had yet to notice that his friends most often did this when he seemed on the verge of brooding about a rather serious matter. Regardless of how used quick change in focus he was, however, Ishida was still struck off balance by the exact nature of the request. Dance? With a girl? Well, certainly, he knew the basics of dancing, but only the utmost basics. Nothing fancy or ornate or skillful, nothing that would be adequate to keep up with a girl like Lenalee, who seemed graceful and light on her feet. Before he could fight it down, there his own blush was, coloring his cheeks.

"I... I'm afraid, Lenalee-san, that I don't really know how to dance very well..."

[kickshard]

Lenalee couldn't help but to giggle at Ishida's blush. "Well, that means you still know how to dance, right?" Without even waiting for a reply from Ishida, the girl gently tugged on Ishida's arm, and led him out to the middle of the courtyard, where most of the people were already dancing.

"I'm not really good at dancing either, but.. it'll be fun to try, at least!"

[mercury_sparrow]

"I, er, well, I do..."

For all of Ishida's resistance-- or, rather, lack thereof-- her tugging was more than sufficient to drag the blushing, bespectacled boy onto the dance floor. Still, despite looking even more flustered than before, he managed a small smile and nodded. This would likely be a complete disaster on his part, but when she asked like that, it was hard for him to say no.

"As you wish."

Watching the people around them carefully, Ishida mimicked the dance as best he could, not actually knowing this particular one himself. He wasn't bad at it, exactly-- he didn't step on the Exorcist's toes, for one-- but his movements were stiff, mechanical, measured, more like solving a math equation than working on perfecting an art.

[kickshard]

The girl matched Ishida's steps, though with a little more feeling. She could tell that her dance partner was rather embarrassed.

"Ishida-san, you should relax a little," she whispered.

In a moment of carelessness, Lenalee accidentally bumped into another pair of dancers.

"Sorry!" Then she turned back to Ishida, smiling. "Shall we continue?"

[mercury_sparrow]

"Ah, yes, of course."

The Quincy hadn't even noticed he was tense until Lenalee had pointed it out. Why was it so difficult for him now? It was a fairly simple thing to do on the field of battle, to clear his mind of all the clutter and move swiftly, efficiently, easily. How much harder could it be to relax in a setting where one was supposed to relax?

... Apparently, quite difficult, at least for him. If anything, in an effort to relax, he seemed to become more tense... at least until she smiled, and then, completely unconsciously, he relaxed just a little.

"Yes, of course."

Ishida was nothing if not a perfectionist, and, in truth, until he felt he had at least mastered this dance, he would probably go over it in his head a thousand times. Now that she had him here on the dance floor, there was little risk of him running off.

[kickshard]

Lenalee was enjoying this dance-- so much so that she couldn't help but laugh out loud. Ever since she'd arrived at Rivelata, she had been worrying way too much about Allen and the others, and she hadn't laughed like that in a while. Sure, she smiled at times, but she didn't laugh as much anymore. This night was exceptionally enjoyable for her, even if she was a little uncomfortable with the entire formal setting.

The music came to an end, and Lenalee smiled at Ishida. "Ishida-san, would you like to have another dance, or would you like to go get something to eat for now?"

[mercury_sparrow]

There were people who, upon hearing others laugh, tended to have the urge to laugh themselves. Ishida was not one of those people If anything, Ishida blushed a little harder at the laugh; he could tell by the way she had smiled before and from what he had seen before that it probably wasn't meant to be mocking, but all the same, it was unexpected, if pleasant.

Smiling lightly back at Lenalee as the dance ended and trying to fight down the color still staining his cheeks, the Quincy mused over the question for a moment before answering, finding himself a little relieved that the girl would want to dance with him again, and somewhat apprehensive at the same time.

"Whichever you would rather. I'm not partial either way. If you'd like to eat now, we can always dance again afterward."