Re: MASS THREAD: The Débutante Ball

[Cosmo Barbary]

Penelope felt Shylock catch her under the arms and set her back in an upright position, where she wavered uncertainly. She smiled at him, her girl-like wonder already leading her mind astray. She was a damsel, and she had helped him. And then, she saw the direction his hands were tripping towards.

She stumbled backwards in horror, the reality of her situation finally settling onto her. She had not been saved, she had tripped on him. And now he was - well, she was going to assume she had misinterpreted that motion, and he had just been trying to root her to the spot.

She quickly resumed ranks among her friends, brushing her hair back into place. She tossed Audrey a 'please, save me, do something about him' face and responded, "I don't think Cerelia would like to be bothered." But she sure as hell didn't want to dance.

[Keith Nicholas]

Keith felt the sudden urge to violently bury his head into the wood of the bar in front of him. Of course he shouldn't have had Wally be the one to try any sort of sneaking or dashing - she was in a dress. What had he been thinking?

She thought quickly though, and it was obvious that the bartender was in no way capable of dealing with a sobbing, pubescent girl. "I got this," Keith said, stepping forward and taking Wally gently by the arm. "I'm sorry. She does this sometimes."

"I..." the bartender said, frowning. "You and her..."

"Nothing was taken. No harm no foul, right?" Keith asked. "I'm really sorry. I am. I promise. Here, take this," he said, fishing a few galleons out of his pocket and sliding them across the table. "I'm sorry for the trouble. We won't bother you again. She just needs some air. Sorry. Thanks."

Finally, they had backed away enough so that the bartender was no longer in sight, and Keith groaned, sagging slightly. "That was closer than I would've really enjoyed."

[Wilhelmina Abercrombie]

Keith responded as she had hoped, quickly pulling her towards him. She bowed her head against his shoulder, allowing her sobs to become quick, gasping breathy gulps for air, effectively cutting the bartender off at any time to speak. Keith made his excuses and led them away.

She held the charade for as long as it was necessary, waiting until they were farther off to drop it. She pulled from Keith, straightened up, and reached down to adjust her heel, completely dry-eyed. She shrugged at his words, "Meh, call me crazy, but I like the opportunity to make a man squirm in fear. Besides, all's well that ends well. Our marketing scheme worked. And I'll pay you back for the gold - no way am I finding myself indebted to you." She smirked.

[Audrey Montague]

Audrey's jaw dropped as her friend fell into, of all people, Shylock. He was in their year, but Audrey had never given him a second thought. Though she knew enough to remember the stories told of Shylock's slime bag ways with women. From what she heard, he was a flirt and an arrogant player. Of course, Audrey had been called some of the same things herself, and she hated rumors, but it was another story when his hands were anywhere near her best friend.

Audrey took care to watch Penny's eyes. At first, all seemed well, and then with what couldn't have been a slip of hand, her eyes widened in shock. Audrey let shock flood her as well. In the middle of the first pureblood ball of the season, of course. Only Shylock, she thought, her thoughts flooded with pison.

She looked over at Penny, seeing her look and pleaded for permission to give him a peice of her mind. Her temper flared but she with held it until she got the say so from Penny. Audrey fumed to herslef. If it had been her, he wouldn't be asking to dance. He'd be asking for help to walk. She was all for playful flirting, but the minute he laid a suspicious hand on Penny, Audrey was livid.

She still managed smile enough to say, "Penny, love, are you alright?" Thick with double meaning.

[Cosmo Barbary]

Penny could see Audrey's temper flaring, something that gave her more cause for panic than relief. Her parents were expecting a successful night - that meant a completely normal one. And having her best friend break the nose of a boy her parents would surely consider a suitable choice in suitor would definitely not be their definition of normal. She had to carefully defuse Audrey and remove her from the situation.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said, her expression still trembling a bit, her cheeks still flushed with embarrassment. She forced a laugh. "You know me - come here to dance, and end up falling over myself. Perhaps we should get out of the way - stand off to the side." Which was her code for : RETREAT!

[Audrey Montague]

Audrey shook off her anger, and recovered with a sweet smile. "Yes, I suppose dancing isn't the best idea as of yet, until you get a handle of heels." She said, laughing. Audrey knew to get rid of this creep elegantly, they needed an excuse to leave without being percieved as rude. Pureblood women weren't suppose to defy without good reason, and what Audrey considered good reason, probably wouldn't count among her elders. "Yes, let's stand over to the side for a little while. We need drinks anyway." She tilted her head slightly, "good evening, Sherlock."

She pulled Penny along by the nook of her elbow, whispering feircely "if he touches you outside of these walls, I'll break his nose." She said, honestly. She knew here and now wasn't the time to defend anyone's honor. Really, half the girls here were trashing their honor slowly trying to find a husband. Audrey just knew Penny deserved better than to be looked at as an easy target. She knew she was mothering a bit, but oh well. Penny would set her staright if she went over board.

"Let's go find Gisele, shall we? I haven't seen her in a while. I think I saw her with Katerina." She said, weaving through crowds until she saw their familiar faces. She found the both with flutes of champagne, and wondered why she didn't have one herself. She lifted one of the nearest waiters tray, and one for Penny if she wanted, and then approached the conversing girls.

She nodded in both of their directions, with a large smile. "Well, it seems like I haven't seen either of you in forever. Enjoying the party?" She asked, with a gesture to the flute in her hand jokingly.

[Cosmo Barbary]

Penny was just glad to be given an out in that situation. She glanced at Liesl and said, quietly, "You can join us, if you wish." She would have preferred distance from the leader of the Dark Followers, despite her attempts to make it public that she did belong to the organisation. She wanted people to believe she was, but the people in it made her terribly uncomfortable. She preferred the company of those outside of the factions.

As they walked off, Audrey spoke her threats. Penny whispered, "That won't help anything. It's okay. Let's just get away."

Audrey offered they join Gisele and Katarina and Penny readily agreed. Katarina was one of the few people in the school that took classes as seriously as she did. They were both ambitious, and both rarely seen on the social circuit. Gisele was also intelligent, and rather quiet. Both girls suited Penny's tastes exceedingly well.

Penny took her champagne, but simply held it, unsure of whether or not a drink would be helpful. She smiled at the girls, saying, "Hi, Gisele. Hi, Katarina." She still looked a bit shaken, but some peaceful conversation would be nice.

(Don't forget, the liquor supply has been spiked with drugs!)

[Clair Sauvage]

Sabina wound her way through the crowd. Eventually, she would get to the Deputy Minister and eventually they would dance. That was what the social season was all about after all, being social.

For now, she kept track of his movements out of the corner of her eye and circulated through the room, sipping on a glass of champagne.

Sparkling conversation and sparkling wine, that was the ticket.

outfit

[Aleksa Carlevaro]

To say she wasn't happy was an understatement.

This type of event waant her thing. She would do anything to be able to get out. Especially since she was a débutante. The gloves she wore were itchy and the dress a tad tight. Her mother had tightened the laces on the back a little too tight and Damitrius thought she was going to somehow suffocate in the stupid dress. She had a pearl white ribbon tied loosely around her neck and she tugged at it slightly.

"Why do I even have to go?"

She complained the entire way to the Ministry. She hated these things, her mother knew it too. She hoped she would find her father there, so she could at least not be with her mother. All she would do was try to embarrass her and the worst part was that she was bringing her new husband with her. That was sure to be something. Her mother had been strange lately, rarely staying sober and doing whatever she pleased. Everyone was changing somehow, including herself.

They entered the ballroom and Damitrius immediately separated herself from her mother and stepfather. Maybe she could find someone she liked to hang around with for a while. Not seeming likely, Damitrius wandered off to a table far away from her parents and she sat down, looking around. The girl played with the fabric of her dress slightly and sighed. What was she even doing here? She wished she could just go home.

[Andrei Dolohov]

"It's not like you really have a say in it, mate. But I gather we both still have a few good years until our families start getting serious about it. This is just a preview, to be honest. So be happy you're not the one dressed like a white sheep and made to prance all around the room in heels", Andrei said with a chuckle.

He had never really paid that much attention to what girls had to go through to be pretty and to please their parents, but tonight he had. It was so painful to even watch them, seeing how almost every girl in the room was so nervous she looked like she could jump out of her own skin at any moment now. Merlin he was glad he wasn't a girl. "But then again I do hate wearing these clothes. Makes me feel like I'm being let to an executioner or something", he said anxiously tugging on his bow tie. But still, the even had only started and there was really no use in complaining anymore.

"Tell me about it. Hufflepuffs are much worse than I though to be honest", he said through a laugh, thinking of how Alice's jealousy surprised him. She might be demure and the perfect shining example of a proper Hufflepuff, but even they had their dark side. The different was, Alice worked very hard to keep her flaws hidden, while Andrei did not.

Andrei's gaze turned to the girl Kaiden was talking about and he couldn't help a smirking at the sight. "Yes it is her. Bloody hell I didn't even recognize her, they all look the same to me in white. Shame she's a Gryffindor though, she looks too pretty and conceded to be in that house, just my type too", he said with a laugh. Looking at her sitting down at the table awkwardly, he couldn't help but chuckle. "And I thought I was taking the 'family's biggest embarrassment' prize this year. We should call her over", he suggested to Kaiden.

His thoughts were interrupted by Shadow's sudden presence. "Damn, you almost gave me a heart attack", he said staring at her in a very strange way. Was she really wearing a ball gown? And pearls as well? Sure that was the dress code and Shadow, like every other girl, didn't really have much choice in her clothing tonight. He had to admit that this style suited her in a weird way, She looked surprisingly beautiful. "I'm impressed you're actually wearing a dress", he chuckled.