The year's grandest gala for those who have slipped in the spaces that stand between stories...

[foryourown]

Some time in the evening, a musical chiming starts in the atrium. A soft grumble, and then a roar, and one entire wall descends slowly on gears into the floor. Beyond it lies a resplendent marble plaza, walled on its remaining three sides in glass

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[breakmychest]

Spike doesn't necessarily mind parties. He likes people, and he likes socializing, or at least, he likes hanging around the edges and making snide remarks. What he doesn't like is formal wear. His normal outfit is a t-shirt, jeans, and his jacket. Sometimes there's another shirt thrown in to mix things up. The only thing his new outfit got right is the colours. The coat and pants are black, as is the bowtie, but his shirt is a bright red. His shoes are fancy and new and decidedly not motorcycle boots.

He gets rid of the bowtie immediately, stuffing it into a pocket and grumbling Then he undoes the first few buttons of his shirt. He still doesn't really feel like himself, but it's closer. He should know better than to drink something in a place like this, but he's not thinking completely straight. And he really, really wants it to be alcoholic.

He downs it in a gulp, then drops the chalice, letting out a gasp. There's some sort of catch in his chest, and he's breathing. That's not so unusual, Spike never broke the habit, but it's

[notalighieri]

Dwelling on the possible downsides of this whole weird-ass transformation quickly turned out to be a downer. Luckily there was this party going on that proved an excellent distraction. Fancy dress parties was about as far as possible from Dante's normal sphere of socialization but hey.. when in Rome or whatever, right?

Passing by behind Spike, he stops... and steps up beside the other man to offer him a smirk.

"Nice threads, dude."

That is to say, it looks like they're wearing pretty much the same thing: black coat and pants, a bright red shirt -with the black bowtie removed and topmost buttons hurriedly unbuttoned. Whether or not Dante's comment is genuine appreciation, or an ironic remark regarding a similar dislike of his own forced get-up, is open to interpretation. Most likely it's a mix of both.

[breakmychest]

"Huh?" Spike was busy feeling his pulse in his neck and wrist and focusing on breathing and all those silly human things he hadn't done for many, many years. He's enjoying this.

But the other man's words do register quickly enough and he gives him a sardonic smirk. "Oh, yeah. You too, mate."

[isaywe_party]

Buffy had taken a sip of her own, and after a brief round of nausea, she really didn't feel any different. She was also dressed up, and while she couldn't find anyone before the toast, she definitely went looking for them after. It didn't take long before she wandered over to where Spike was standing, placing one hand on his shoulder gently.

"Hey. You the only one of our group who showed?"

[savesherself]

If you'd asked her just a couple days ago, Emily would have said she didn't believe in magic. It's the answer any sane person would give, and while there are days Emily might not say she's entirely sane, she's close enough for the Bureau. Being kidnapped to a strange fort in the woods was one thing, as was the sudden appearance in the castle, and the strangeness of the castle itself. The talking cats were a little harder to explain, but not magic, not really. Just very weird, and possibly minor hallucinations.

All of those justifications went away immediately after the toast. When she can feel the magic in everything in the room, when she can feel cool liquid power pulsing through her own veins... somehow it's a lot harder to convince herself this is all going to sort itself out in a few days when she's recovered from that damn concussion

[bindingknots]

"Excellent question." Avery mutters in return, looking as if he'd really like to murder someone right about now. The dizziness and nausea caused by the drink have passed, but they've been replaced by a pervasive sense of numbness and just a little bit of panic. He was used to being able to feel his magic and the magic surrounding him, even if he couldn't technically access it, and the sudden void in his senses was... unsettling, to say the least.

He's still holding his goblet with one hand, bracing himself against the table with the other. (It's a testament to his very English upbringing that he manages to make it look almost casual.)

[savesherself]

Emily glances over, and no matter how casual he looks, if it's hitting him the way it is her... Well, it's a lot easier to worry about someone else than it is to stress over what's happening to her.

She pulls her hand away from the fur shawl and leans in to ask quietly, "Are you okay?" While she's not entirely sure if he's one of the group that came from the barracks, he does at least look human, unlike a lot of the other guests. Assuming he's on the same team seems like a safe bet for the moment.

[bindingknots]

"I'm fine," Avery says tightly, giving Emily a tiny shake of the head. "It was just a bit unexpected, that's all." That might be the understatement of the year, really, but Avery's not much in the mood to deal with someone else's concern.

He does let go of the table, however, crossing his free arm over the arm still holding his glass as he gives the rest of the party an incredibly unimpressed look.

[virginvampire]

She knew she should be worried about the whole situation but really, Jessica was kind of excited. Everything was so fancy and nice, it was like one of those formal dances her Daddy never let her go to when she was alive, the kind she didn't get the chance to go to before Bill turned her. She didn't even mind the southern bellesque dress (because she was from Lousiana, she was sure) the place had decided to put her in. It kind of made her feel like a princess

[harborofmyown]

Winny mimics everyone around her, shaking a little as she tries not to panic. She's grateful for the elbow-length white gloves she has on, even if they appeared from nowhere. Magic, she's finding, is kind of upsetting. Kind of a lot.

She drinks along with the rest, then sets her glass down and whispers to the girl next to her. "Um. I'm sorry. I've never... What do we do now?"

That's about when the nausea hits, which makes no sense. Whatever she had just tasted like grape juice.

...Unless it was poisoned. Oh no.

[virginvampire]

Jessica's experienced worse magic in her life. At least the fairies weren't making everyone violent and sex crazed. Well, not yet anyways.

She blinked a little in surprise at the question directed at her. Did she look like someone who did this sort of thing often? She couldn't help but smile a little at the thought before shaking her head.

"I don't rightly know. I ain't ever done anything like this before"

[harborofmyown]

Winny practically goes limp with relief. "Me either! I've never... I didn't even know places like this existed anywhere, even in... magical kidnapping woods."

Because that's how she thinks of them now. "But I guess if both of us don't know... I mean, they would have told us if we had to do something... specific... right? I mean it's not a wedding or anything."

[painhumbles]

Gabriel doesn't want to be here. In fact, now that the reason for his being here is over, he really feels like there's somewhere else he needs to be, and yet, here he remains. Stuck. At the mercy of a chick whose only a little bit less scary than his ex-girlfriend, but a hell of a lot more powerful.

But Murphy and Anna are back to normal and he did swear up and down that he'd make this work somehow. He wanted to keep his freedom, but freedom isn't free, anyway, in this friggin' Wood- you get claimed by something or you wander around like an idiot until you die. Those just seemed like the only options to him. Yes, that's a cynical way of thinking, but he hasn't really had a reason to be optimistic in a long freaking time.

He considers not drinking, because drinking's gone so well for him in the past, but after the third or fourth piece of cake (because his need for sucrose overwhelms his suspicions), he forgets about fairy drinks being suspect and downs a glass

[tenoroftheskies]

There's a quiet sigh, and Tempest rests a cool hand against his cheek and forces him to look at her.

"Do not be afraid. Breathe deeply to a count of seven. Hold it for that same count, and breathe out to a count of seven once more. What is yours remains so. It will return. Breathe in again, as I instructed."

[painhumbles]

Gabriel tenses at the touch in surprise, relaxes, and then tenses again in irritation and defensiveness as he gently pulls his face away, although never quite taking his eyes off of her. He does, however, begrudgingly practice the breathing exercises, although his exhales keep coming out as agitated huffs.

"The last person I told not to be afraid of me? Wound up raising the Messiah," he says, with bitterness in his tone.

[tenoroftheskies]

"I do so swear on my word and name that I will not impregnate you before the night is through."

Can you hear the sarcasm, Gabriel? It's there. You have to listen closely.

"I would show you, if I had the power, that you are not alone in the fear you face."

[thatsortofaman]

One heart. That's the first thing the Doctor notices, when the immediate effects of the toast fade. There's only one heart beating in his chest, though that heart starts racing immediately the moment he realizes, as if it's trying to make up for the absence of the second.

The next thing he notices is that the room suddenly feels much cooler than it did before. Except he knows, instinctively, that it's not the room that's changed temperature - it's his own core temperature that just skyrocketed, far too warm for a Time Lord, but perfectly normal for a-

"Oh, that is rubbish!"

Yes, that was loud. And very noticeable. He doesn't care. He's been human before, and he wasn't particularly looking to repeat the experience.

[tenoroftheskies]

"My. It's a wonder you don't get invited to private functions, if our rituals engage you so."

Yes, Doctor, that would be Tempest at your shoulder, which makes the rest of your table rise to their feet and bow or curtsy. Or... bend, in the case of the very tree-like personage at the opposite end. Tempest waves a dismissive hand, before sinking into a deep bow of her own. "No, friends. This night is yours. If you will excuse us both."

She taps the Doctor once on his shoulder and starts to drift back toward the guests' atrium.

[thatsortofaman]

The Doctor rolls his eyes a little, but rises to his feet and quickly catches up with Tempest, falling into step alongside her. "I don't need to get invited to many functions at all. Just showing up and smiling generally does the trick..."

Well, that and a bit of slightly psychic paper.

"It seems a bit impolite not to warn someone before you go changing their basic biology, don't you think?"

[tenoroftheskies]

"Next time, I will be sure to inform you." It's very slightly wry. "Would you prefer a gilded note or verbal delivery? I did not know how the evening's entertainment would effect you, being what you are. If you had been gifted with power instead of removed from it, would you be protesting so?"

She nods to a servant, who taps on the wall of the atrium. A door opens soundlessly in the stone, this one revealing a winding staircase going in both directions, lit by multicolored torches. Tempest starts to climb without waiting to see if he follows.