Ives was whisked away and Rook was left glowering at the guards that dare hold him back. He didn't want to get himself kicked out so he willed himself to calm. Crossing his arms and watching as some came up to take his companion's arm. Twirling him into a dance. It took only a second for Rook to recognize her, it was the Almoner. The woman who would have all the answers about what had transpired a few days ago and why Rook could remember practically nothing. What had she been after? What had been her reason for whatever she had done to them? Rook's lip wrinkled into a snarl but he could see Ives speaking with her. Hopefully he could get some answers. Making a scene would accomplish nothing other than to leave Ives alone with the crazy bitch. His foot tapped as he waited although unheard among the large crowd.

It felt like he waited hours before finally the lower class began to mingle with the nobles and royals, he took several long steps to come to Ives side. His blue eyes narrowing and following the retreating Almoner before returning to the Lore Keeper. Ives immediately told him that he had found out nothing and Rook nodded, letting his eyes study his face and stature for a moment as if checking for a weakness or ailment. "You are unhurt?" He ask carefully, obviously bothered by being unable to come to his aide. When the arm was offered Rook felt a bit of his worry fall away only to be replaced with something else.

"Are you sure about this, Ives? Arriving with me is one thing...dancing another." Of course the rumors had been flying arond them for a couple months now. But a rumor was different than something verified. Rook didn't take his arm but rather waited for him to be certain of his decision. This wasn't just something such as Ives revealing that he had a relationship with a man but it was 'Rook'. The drunkard hot headed soldier with more baggage than anyone should be allowed. "I wouldn't blame you." He said softly, his blue eyes flitting briefly to Ea. Yet another transgression that Ives wasn't even honestly aware of.

Oceane had decided to attend the ball. It was very odd, and perhaps an even more odd decision that she had actually suggested. Still, nevertheless she was here, found herself in this, attire of clothing that one would hardly imagine her to be in. Well it was a long story. She had decided to come to the very ball when the crew was notified about the occasion, receiving an invitation on perhaps one of the ships that they pillaged. With the scroll in their hands and reading allowed what they had said, most entirely dismissed the idea. Well, not Oceane. She had desired to go, only in hopes that they could find their previous captain. The current Captain, Captain Avander, eventually agreed to go. The pirate ship made its port alongside the shores of Emberi, the others were free to do as they pleased or even to come along with her and the captain. Though many took this opportunity to get themselves drunk at a local tavern. Seemed much like the crew. Indeed, they were not the most deadliest pirates that sailed the seas, however they managed somehow. Oceane had thought she had chosen fine clothing for this event. She chose one of her finest black coats, that went all the way down to the floor, the nicest boots, gloves, pants, and shirt that she could find. Not to mention the nicest hat that she could find. Coming to the ball dressed in such attire, she thought that she had done the finest job in making herself look presentable. Of course some of the clothing had been pillaged, though some had been what she acquired as a pirate over the last few years. They were very expensive, costing much coin though the ones that were taken she assumed must have been far more valuable. The hat, the dark brown material pointed over her head, was something that had found drifting in the ocean's water one day. She decided to keep it, however she had hardly worn it. This is one of the many occasions that she had decided to.

Marching up toward the castle, the woman looked left to right, seeing no sign of the captain. Well, that was because they had decided to arrive there at different times. He claimed that he had business to take care of before his arrival, which she found plausible, although she didn't know what it was. Some sort of personal business no doubt, she assumed. She continued her way up toward where the ballroom was, however she was not permitted entry. Questioning her concerns as to why, she was then brought to a seamstress, who apparently loved the way she looked. Taking off her old clothing and replacing it with the new, the seamstress had redressed Oceane in a manner far beyond her expectations. Well, her attire wasn't quite as flashy as most of the other dresses and suits she supposed, but the seamstress argued that a woman had no right wearing pants to such a ball. Oceane didn't like what the woman then stuffed her into, doing her hair up all fancy and whatnot all the while saying how much more gorgeous she looked. Looking into the mirror she had saw had been put into a dark blue gown, one that puffed out from her hips and all the way down to the floor, adorned in all sorts of flower and leaf patterns. Her hair had been done up in a do that was surrounded by flowers of all sorts, a few feathers and a couple of jewels. She didn't know what to say, and she continued to stare at herself in the mirror with widened blue eyes. The seamstress then placed a necklace around her, followed by more and more of them. The older woman then looked at her in the mirror, her head alongside hers as her arms wrapped around her shoulders. "There. Isn't it wonderful?" she asked. Oceane just looked at her confused. The dress was nice, but, she liked her original attire much better. Then the seamstress sent her off into the ballroom, without even a protest for her old clothes back. However she then heard from the others that they could retrieve their clothing back once the night was done, so she would make sure to retrieve them once all of this was over.

Moving to the front again, she waited for the captain. There was no sign of him nor the previous captain as she continued to wait, her arms crossed over her chest as her eyes glanced around. Then Avander did arrive, and seeing that he came greatly pleased her. None of the others were going to be in attendance, she thought, so seeing him was like a bliss within the midst of a storm. She looked at him as he arrived, seeing him in a fancier attire than she ever saw the pirate captain in. There was a woman by his wide, not an unusual sight. "Thank you," she replied to his compliment. "You as well." Her attention then turned to the other lady, that stood at his side. His younger sister? Well, Avander never talked much about his family with his crew, and that was quite understandable. Though, she didn't know if she knew about him being a captain or not, so Oceane decided to play it carefully.

"Pleased to meet you Sefira," she greeted. "I am Oceane, a fellow worker of your brother," she decided to say, her eyes averting to him. She then began to face toward the long hall, head turned over her shoulder back to them. "Shall we go then?" she asked.

Dress Front Back

Luhan felt his cheeks grow warmer at Ladon's words, causing him to shyly avert his gaze. He tried his best to suppress a shy smile but he failed, feeling as if butterflies inhabited his stomach. "Thank you. Although, you always look attractive no matter what you're wearing." A gentle smile formed over his lips, only to widen his eyes in surprise as he watched the other simply walk towards the dance floor. "Oh-- I--" He bit his lip nervously for a moment, gracefully holding onto Ladon's hand and following after him. He went along with the male's lead and after couple moments, he couldn't help but stifle a small laugh as they danced. He felt more relaxed now, he didn't know what he was so nervous about earlier. He only hoped that Ladon was having fun too.

He shyly gazed up to him, his own ears perked up as he swayed his tail in content. There was this.. fuzzy feeling in his chest, but he then remembered that both of them were dancing among a lot of people. Surely, the prince was taught about ballroom dancing, around the time of that masquerade ball he mentioned earlier.. He simply forgot about those dance lessons throughout time. Holding on to Ladon's hand he slowly moved it to rest it along his own waist, Luhan's hand then resting on the male's shoulder. He leaned forward to nuzzle his nose against the male's jawline before pulling back, containing himself from any further actions. "You're really good at dancing after all. Did you secretly prepare for the ball without me?" He joked playfully, before examining his surroundings. "This is really nice.." He hummed in delight as they continued to dance together along to the music, wishing that both of them would have fun like this more often.

Outfit

Before Eriu could reply, the man was lost into the crowd, and she was unable to find him again. She had reached out a hand in the direction where he had gone to bring him back, but he disappeared into the midst of the ball. The fae then decided to search around more, to see if she would encounter anyone else she knew. But as the music continued to play, she bobbed up and down dancing all in her lonesome, however happy despite it. Her head gazed around at all the other people here. There were so many of them! She lost herself into the very crowd as well, eyes dazzled by all the fabulous wear. She bumped into a few dancing couples, then made her way between the arms of a few, which made them angry for some reason. She then found herself headed toward the aisle where the entrance was, taking a break from all those many people in the center. Though the bubbly fae still looked around, the pink hem of her dress twirling a little. It was then she saw a familiar face come down the hallway, accompanied by two women at his side. Rushing up to him when he arrived to the ballroom, Eriu nearly jumped into his face.

"Avander!" she greeted joyfully. "It is good to see you here!" Her wings fluttered behind her excitedly, however she did not lift off the ground. She then turned to the girls at his side. Both of them looked really nice! "You two are gorgeous!" she smiled widely. "I really love both of your dresses!" She took another glance at their clothing. Indeed they were extremely fancy, probably even nicer than what Eriu was wearing. They were both dressed in darker colors, and she liked the sparkles on one but also really liked the flowers on the other. The blonde girl just gave a curt smile as a greeting and a thanks. Eriu then turned to face Avander again. "Did you guys just arrive here at the ball? What do you guys think of it so far?" she said all too quickly. She looked giddy and excited, almost jumping up and down since she was having so much fun here. She then realized they just came, didn't they?

"Aw! You guys missed the best part!" she suddenly frowned, which looked comical in a way as she then slumped. Just as fast as it arrived it was gone and she was back to her cheery self. "You guys just missed the first dance. Everyone was dancing so well though! You guys should have seen the princess dance with that other guy!" she then went on and on about how the ball was. Then, from the corner of her eye, behind the trio, she thought she caught a familiar sight. Long blonde hair, those big blue eyes, and a familiar blonde man... was that Larkin and Felix? Immediately, her face then lost all frivolity, pausing speaking as her head turned in that direction. Was that really them? She had to make sure and she then turned up to the man before her, speaking to him quickly. "I think I see someone I know. Oh, you can come with me," she then offered. If he wished to come with her that was. Though then she took off toward the two. She thought she had seen their faces within the crowd here somewhere. She then moved quickly and soon enough was standing beside them. "Larkin, Felix," she said, trying to get their attention. Were they really away from those bad guys? Were they ok? Those bad guys weren't going to be here, right?

Avander Tarygen Larkin Silvaris Felix "Volkov" Cairo

(Whoever wants to reply lol. Avander can also follow her to her conversation with the other two.)

He snorted at her when she said he was too young. ”I am not. I am just right.” He was a proud wolf of who he was, where he came from, and what heritage he had. There was no doubt about that. Even if his brothers were a little rougher on him. Even so he learned a lot from his mother when the boys bullied him out of a lot of the male social gatherings. He learned what he needed to know and how to survive despite not having a positive male role in his life. It was okay though he was pretty sure he was doing a hell of a lot better than his brothers and possibly evens his father. Despite his mother being looked down upon for being a woman she had one hell of a head on her shoulders and Romeo couldn’t thank her enough for the time she put in. He supposed that was where his choice of company had stemmed from. Men just rubbed him the wrong way in general. A bunch of them were just bullies… but the ladies they had a welcoming yet primitive way of thinking and doing and he appreciated it. ”Coming from a world I did. You would be grumpy too.” he stated in a matter of fact tone. His dark eyes were cooled as he gazed at her this time. He didn’t come from a world of physical abuse it was more so mental. Mental from being the runt of the group and not like his bulky stronger brothers.

But look where it got them now.

She said there was still a million things she didn’t know about him and he laughed. ”Rome wasn’t built in a day.” he said off handedly. ”Besides I think if you learned too much about me in one sitting you would get bored of me or find that perhaps I am not worth your time.” that was probably the hardest truth he wasn’t quite ready to face yet. What if she did decide he wasn’t worth her time? He had fallen in so far as it were now anyways… there was no backing out. Instead of him hooking the fish… the fish hooked the wolf. He rolled his eyes at her when the mention of his drawings came about. ”I won’t admit a thing.” he said stubbornly. ”My lips are sealed. Just like those drawings won’t see the light of another day.” He pinched her side playfully as he grinned at her. The only other person who saw them was Branwen and even she teased him about them. ‘A mermaid on the brain’ was what she called it. ”Really think about what? I don’t think about it often. Don’t really have to.” Why would he? He sees the real thing quite a bit why would he have to worry about a dream version of her? Or was she talking about the whole aspect of him actually dreaming about a real person? ”Its…. Odd.” was all he could say. ”But you know ever since I actually met you haven’t had them anymore.” and now that he says that watch him dream about her tonight. Would be his luck.

Noelle was attempting a very offended act as he called her a premadonna. He was pretty sure he was right on the nose. ”Because then our relationship would be too normal and I don’t know about you but I would rather not be mainstream.” He purred. He was swaying in the dance with her now. Leading her around with ease. ”Im not a very mainstream sort of guy.” He said offhandedly. Which he wasn’t. Her perhaps went against the norm of his kind and though he had attempted to get in with a pack he had quickly backed out last second.

He tsked her about the spinning and she said that she couldn’t help it. Her next statement of course got him arching a brow. ”Im not sure I would enjoy being knocked into.” Though he knew what she meant. ”Im giving you a hard time.” His features relaxed. Giving a shrug of his shoulder he spoke once more. ”To be honest I figured you would have been going anyways and I thought to myself maybe I could make it in if I had a pretty little princess on my arm.” once more he was teasingly jabbing at her. ”And look where we are. I got in.” His arm crept a little lower though he of course was doing this subtly to not bring full on notice to them. He then spun her out and then pulled her back in his nose lingered close to hers, eyes on her lips for a moment. ”How does all of that make you feel?”

Djinn had little interest in a ball, especially one held in the Emberi kingdom. He had a bit of a ...name for himself in Cendra. Hopefully none of the guards that had been pulled in to keep the peace would recognize him. He was here to gather coin from the overflowing pockets of nobles who were just dying to flaunt their wealth. Royals would be around as well but they were more dangerous game than he cared to hunt on this night. He was dressed in white and gold with his dark brown hair slicked back against his head. His pale blue eyes glimmered with mischief as he stood at the top of the stairs and off to the side a bit just peering down at the dancers.

It was by chance that a beautiful dark skinned woman would enter then, and make quite the impact. He smirked at the theatrics then looked down to see several curious eyes turning to watch her. He laughed softly to himself and turned back to the beautiful woman who....had a silver mages mark? No...No it couldn't be the mage from the woods? Could it? There was something familiar about those dark eyes, her presence. It wasn't as if many mages carried the same mark. Well, she certainly cleaned up nicely. Djinn smirked and decided to swoop in given that there wasn't a companion on her arm.

With all the fluidity of a cat he slipped to her side and looped his arm around her own, his free hand moving to pat her hand in an almost reassuring way. It was then though that his fingers would feel a tingle, a slight jolt that made his eyes slip to her in a sideways glance. Little minx was worked up apparently. But she did live in a swamp...something like this might be out of the norm for her. Hell...it was out of the norm for most of them.

"You look stunning." He said in a most proper way that was unfitting for him. But then following those words he would lean in to whisper in her ear. "But who is guarding the kelpies?"


Djinn's clothing although the cover is much longer and coat like.