Event: Eiko's Birthday Ball

[tidesnpcs]

Characters: OPEN to all party guests
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: A big party for a small girl. Yep, it's Eiko's birthday and she's having a ball.
Location: Lindblum Grand Castle
Date: March 21st, 1804
Warnings: N/A so far

Nobody could say that Regent Cid wasn't generous when it came to his adopted daughter, Eiko. In fact, some said that he was too

Comments

[livelyangel]

Rinoa entered the ballroom dressed in a cream gown similar to the one she had worn at the SeeD graduation ball, but longer and with a lacy patterned bodice. She was familiar with Gaian fashion now, and she had grown to like the style. It made her feel like she was in a fairy-tale

[brewing_storm]

Orders were orders. That's how Squall rationalized it. It wasn't his intention to be emotional, to cause emotional strain-- he just didn't want to be emotional. Simple as that.

Somewhere along the way, though...

Regardless, Squall was there. Wrangled into... something-- something for a ball, and in the end wasn't sure what to make of it all. Parties weren't his thing. Especially when he was in no mood to deal with anyone. Let alone find himself in a room full of people.

Needless to say, he was fairly adept at distracting himself; Mission Mode. Alert, aware, ready for... well... almost anything. At least in what felt like a completely unfamiliar place.

[livelyangel]

Rinoa looked sideways at Squall, having an inkling of how he was probably feeling.

"Wow, this place is packed!" she said. "There are so many people I should introduce you to. Look, over there is Regent Cid! He's the guy with the moustache. And that's his daughter, Eiko, the little girl with blue hair. Oh - did you see that girl go past with the rabbit ears? That's a viera - I think it was Mjrn..."

Rinoa knew a lot of people at this ball. She hoped that Squall would have met at least some of them by the end of the night.

[brewing_storm]

Truthfully, Squall... felt kind of claustrophobic about all of this.

He nodded, once, to acknowledge what she was saying-- things he might need to know, such as just who was hosting the party. Simple. Easy. Well... okay, maybe not-- he'd never heard of a viera before.

What am I even doing here? Outside of the obvious. He was never very good with... making connections.

[marquisofthesky]

Trying not to see the humor in Genesis' childish antics, the Marquis of Bhujerba kept his composure even when the blind man threatened to smite him. He ignored Genesis' complaint as he slapped that black hat upon the young man's head for a second try. Honestly, Genesis had no idea how dashing he looks with that sleek black hat. "Come now, you're embarrassing me." Ondore said with a faint chuckle as he stalked ahead of the duo.

Knowing it was a tad cruel of him to drag a blind man to a party, Ondore had little say in this idea. Vossler was adamant about dragging Genesis along not because he was fond of the blind mercenary, but because he didn't trust Genesis to be left alone in his estate. With no one but the servants to watch the two mercenaries, Vossler feared for the worst.

"May the gods strike me dead for deciding to venture here with the two of you...” Halim murmured with a slight sigh. Unlike his sour faced companions, the Marquis knew how to ‘smile’ and that smile looked rather good with his modest black attire. While the

[shuuhei]

No amount of complaints, or swinging a cane toward his head would have deterred Vossler from dragging Genesis along with them. Luckily, Ondore agreed to the deal. Blind or no, Genesis was a liability. It didn't matter that Ondore felt as though he could be trusted--the fact remained that he was unknown to them, and that he had allied himself with Vayne Solidor

[danceawaypain]

While royal balls weren't exactly her style, Penelo could hardly turn down the opportunity when it was open to the public and everyone around was eagerly looking forward to it. It helped that it gave her an excuse to pick up a lovely dress. While the majority of the clothes she'd seen were nothing to her style, eventually she'd found something that more than suited, 'fit for a dancer.' The bronze color set off her tanned skin and sunny hair, which she had left free-flowing around her shoulders like sheets of free falling gold adorned with beaded barrettes.

An inordinate amount of time had gone into getting ready for the ball, and the majority of that involved coaching, nagging, and reminding Vaan that they were guests and he was absolutely forbidden from stealing one blessed thing. Lectures that stood little weight, as almost immediately upon entering, she was separated from her pirating partner by the incoming crowds.

[crowned_jewel]

Garnet was very used to these situations; in the course of her lifetime, she'd been to and hosted more gala's than she could recall. She'd come with Zidane, but of course, it was hard to stay together -- She was socially obligated to mingle, and Zidane had his own fair share of people to see. Of course, moving anywhere was a bit of a chore; Alexandrian fashion consisted so much of laces, corsets, and absurdly full skirts, and her dress for the evening was no exception.

Still in the midst of moving from person to person, she paused,eyes catching on a strangely familiar face. She'd not seen that face in a very long time -- since the last gathering of this sort. Garnet had heard from Larsa that she'd gone, so to see her changed, somehow... was surprising, in the least.

"Excuse me..." a cautious question as the young queen approached, a hopeful smile in her voice. "Penelo?"

[danceawaypain]

Flooded by memories that still felt like a dream, yet she knew to be real, it took Penelo a moment to realize she was being spoken to. Months that flowed into years had passed since she'd last seen the Alexandrian queen, felt shock and dismay at having been so forward with a royal, and yet finding her company most pleasing to share.

She dipped into an elegant bow, the flowing fabric of her dress billowing around her. "Your Majesty."

[crowned_jewel]

Garnet startled, unsure what to make of Penelo's greeting. Though they'd never been particularly close, Garnet had been fond of her, ever since they'd met in that shop in Lindblum.

"You don't need to be so formal!" she insisted, reaching for Penelo's arms, pulling her up and smiling at her. "I ... I had thought we'd never meet again." A pause, as her expression grew more thoughtful. "You've... changed a bit, since last time..."

[herownhero]

Night had fallen, and a steady stream of guests were beginning to filter through the castle gates as the celebration began. Quistis, however, separated herself from the rest of the Garden group as soon as they headed inside. Instead, she stood near the entrance, her hands clasped before her as she tried to appear as poised and composed as possible despite the slight fluttering in her stomach, a sensation she was trying her best to mentally suppress

[empires_lapdog]

After accompanying Larsa to the building, and allowing him his freedom from being guarded all night (though he'd definitely keep an eye on him), Gabranth had found his way through the crowds with less ease than he would've done if he'd wore his armour. Of course, this ball called for formal attire and though the armour was decorative he highly doubted it was proper to wear a suit of full plate armour while escorting a woman to a grand ball. Instead, he had opted for a much simpler yet more appropriate choice of attire in the form of a black tuxedo with bejeweled cuff links

[herownhero]

Quistis was still not accustomed to seeing Gabranth out of armor, so seeing him in a tux was a surprising change. His tall frame made it easy enough for her to spot him from the steady throngs of people, though, and her expression immediately softened as he greeted her.

"Thank you, Gabranth." She smiled warmly at him, her already colored cheeks reddening a touch deeper from his compliment. Her pleased expression lit up even further when he presented the rose to her-- a gesture she hadn't expected at all, but appreciated nonetheless.

"You're looking pretty handsome yourself." Quistis commented as she took the flower from his hands, twirling the stem delicately between her fingers.

[empires_lapdog]

Noah smiled slightly more at the look on her face and offered his arm openly this time. He'd had to do it to help her last time, but now they were actually at a function that called for the action and Gabranth was kind of glad being a Judge Magister meant he'd attended functions like this more often than one would expect.

"Thank you. Am I correct in guessing you've yet to tell your young friend Selphie of this?" He knew that people would probably take their friendship the wrong way after tonight, but words would always be just words.

Escorting her inside, he was at least glad that only Larsa was here from House Solidor. He'd never live it down if Drace saw him on a date, platonic or not, with a girl half his age. Even if he looked a lot younger.

[eidolon_soul]

Rydia entered alongside Edge, a whirlwind of green. Her jade-colored gown was more formal than her Cleyran garb, but still far removed from what she saw as typical Gaian formal wear. High collars, corsets and the like were far too restricting for her, so she went in the opposite direction, fashion-wise. The neckline was low, the skirt was long and loose, billowing out at every step. Her emerald-green hair was long and loose as well, though, she had woven gold ribbons into it and glittering clips kept it from falling into her eyes. What jewelry there was -jade earrings and a thin chain around her neck- did not overshadow her ensemble

[melodiesoflute]

The atmosphere within the Grand Castle tonight was one of pure excitement since Regent Cid Fabool was always known to throw such elaborate parties. It was rather beautiful here in Lindblum, beautiful enough to warrant the bard’s favor. Still silently giving his thanks to Rydia, Edward allowed his eyes to wander as he watched the guests wander into the main hall.

Like his companions, Edward chose to dress right for the occasion in the form of velvet crimson suit that was tailored made for his slim stature. He combed his blond locks neatly over his ear but the long wispy bangs did drape over the right side of his face. Looking rather regal for once now that he was out of his bard-like attire, Edward helped himself to a glass of champagne once a moogle strolled by

[eidolon_soul]

Rydia took a sip from her own glass, peering at the prince's attire. It definitely suited him well, and though she had no issue with his normal bard's clothing, a change of pace was nice. While she had no interest in him romantically, the summoner was objectively aware that Edward was quite handsome. He would have no trouble getting attention tonight. A warm smile emerged at mention of her young friend. "Eiko's a dear, I promise. I'll have to introduce you when I see her."

She glanced around expectantly. "Yuna ought to be here, soon. I really want her to have a good time tonight." The fact that Tidus didn't join them rankled at her for Yuna's sake but regardless, she was determined to see her fellow summoner have fun tonight. Hence, enlisting Edward's help.

[melodiesoflute]

“I am quite sure she is. You wouldn’t make a friend out of a mean spirited girl.” Wondering a bit about the royals native to Gaia, Edward decided he would pay his respects to the Regent before the evening is over. He heard good stories revolving around the elderly ruler and so far, he was impressed with the man’s blatant generosity to allow so many to attend his daughter’s birthday.

Giving Rydia a curious gaze once she mentioned the woman’s name, a soft smile settled upon the bard’s lips. “I trust she shall arrive here soon, Rydia. Do not be worried.” While the summoner spoke very little, about whom Yuna was, Edward was anxious to meet her.