Masked Ball

[Sky]

"Perhaps," Sky said as a grin began to spread over his face. "Or perhaps not." In a dramatic tone of voice, Sky sighed as he lied, "You see, I am quite the unnatural dancer; I simply cannot carry on a conversation and count steps at the same time. It makes me quite the boring partner because I am far more concerned with making sure that I don't step on your feet than I am with making small talk. You'll have to forgive me, m'lady."

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine merely arched an eyebrow but said nothing. She allowed herself to rest her head against his shoulder and let him lead them. "If that's the case, m'lord," she said softly. "Then we shall just dance and save the talking for later."

[Sky]

"Later, eh?" Sky teased. "From that I can only assume that you plan on monopolizing all my spare time for yourself; well, I can't say that I can complain, but I must warn you that I have a feeling that some of my other friends might not enjoy this attention you are bestowing upon me as much as I am." With mock severity, he continued, "They may very well have to resort to plotting against you."

[Chris Strongheart]

"Oh, I intend to share," Christine said primly. "I just feel like spending most of my evening with my prince," she added with a light laugh. "Besides, you're the only person I really recognize this evening. Besides Layla and Stella. And well... yeah... that would be awkward," she laughed again.

[Sky]

"Oh, come now," Sky replied, wiggling his brows mischievously, "you can't honestly tell me that you don't want to dance with Layla." Grinning in amusement, he laughed as he continued, "Actually, you'd probably be surprised; she's supposedly one hell of a dancer. In fact, I have no doubt that she'd be a better partner than me."

[Chris Strongheart]

"Yes, but all the gossip," she said, with a light laugh. "Gasp, two women dancing with each other. Scandal," she said in a mock shocked tone before laughing. She didn't feel like telling him that they were having a conversation while dancing and that he hadn't stepped on her foot yet.

[Sky]

"Oh, yes, very scandalous," Sky replied with a chuckle. "And can you imagine what a field day the tabloids would have over that? And of course my mother would be absolutely thrilled because she can be terribly evil like that. But as for the majority of the guys in this room, I can assure you that if two women were to dance together, it would be quite the welcome sight." With a mock sad shake of his head, Sky finished, "You see, unfortunately men tend to be disgusting pigs and not innocent little mice."

[Chris Strongheart]

"And I prefer to stay out of the tabloids," she added. "After the last few issues," she shook her head. "I'm just grateful they stopped talking about us."

[Palladium]

admin said:

"For the most part," Flora said quietly. "It feels so strange to be able to," she paused, searching for a word. She smiled when it came to her. "Relax." She shook her head. "Hopefully, this dance will be less eventful..."

His thoughts immediately flying back to the last dance, Palladium grimaced inwardly before he forced himself to push the thoughts away. That last dance had been a long time ago and though they may still be experiencing the repercussions of it, especially in the case of Bloom's continued mermaid state, it was time to move on. After a few moments, Palladium replied with a slight chuckle, "Yes, I must say that I agree with you - less eventful would be something greatly welcomed in my book."

[Demeter]

Flora stood next to him, watching the couples dance. "And would be a welcome change of pace given the events of the past couple of dances. You'd think we went to a drama school and not a school to teach us how to be proper fairies," she said with a light laugh.

[Palladium]

Mildly curious as to how the once shy, reserved Flora had suddenly transformed into the social person he was talking to now, Palladium frowned slightly. He could only hope that she had not decided to cast some sort of confidence spell - he knew from experience that when students tried to use those, trouble was not more than two steps behind them. And trouble was the last thing he needed tonight. For once, he simply wanted to get through one of these functions without some sort of scandal. Surreptitiously glancing down at his watch, Palladium breathed an inward sigh of relief. It was already almost eleven o'clock. That meant only one more hour until midnight when everyone would remove their masks, have one last dance and then retire back to their rooms. One more hour. That was it. Besides, what could possibly go wrong in one hour?

Turning his attention back to Flora, Palladium replied, "Yes, I admit that when I agreed to teach here I was not quite sure what I expected, but I know that it wasn't this." Hastily, he added, "But it has been a rewarding experience all the same."

[Demeter]

Flora nodded. "I'm just glad my family hasn't found out about all the excitement. Knowing my mother, she would have pulled me out so fast, I wouldn't have had time to breath," she said quietly. She wished she had the courage to ask for one dance but... he was her teacher...

[psi]

"My Love" Psi whispered in her ear, holding her close. "I know you feel safe where you are, but what about those out here worried about you." He kept holding her to him, glaring at Quinn. "Please my love, come back out, so we can go back to our tree, and finish the book." Psi's voice was soft, laced with concern and caring for Tash.

[quinn]

Quinn stayed were he was, oddly at ease with the gentleness Psi was showing. Could someone like him really have the ability to love?

[tashii]

Tash's features scrunched a little as Psi spoke to her, she could hear him and part of her wanted to go back but a larger part of her wasn't ready to brave the pain.