Masquerade Ball at Blackthorn [Everyone attending the ball posts here]

Leandra raised an eyebrow as the taller girl stalked away. "You're absolutely right, lady, I should go apologize to the boar." She said as to the demigod's back, then looked back to the male demigod. "Where were we? Oh, yes. I would love to dance."

Lena noticed another girl sitting in her gardens and approached her with her hands clasped behind her. Lovely isn't it? Mother had it made based off a dream she had one night before even Synyster was born. The daughter of death explained as she motioned for Stark to run off for a while, to which he did and darted through the gardens to the thick forest. With black hair and dress looking as perfect as she could manage Lena wondered if she really even needed to be at the dance, when she would give anything to be in the stables with her horses, or even to ride through the night bareback on her white stallion. My apologies if in interrupted anything but may I ask your name? She asked as she gracefully moved to the railing of the balcony to the gardens.

There were many guys in the world who dreamed of two girls fighting over who got to dance with him, in Andrew's case, it was still a dream, if you counted nightmares as dreams too. He hadn't even been aware that Lena was approaching, he'd had a feeling she might try to do something at some point, but not ask him to dance. Such a mellow and nice thing had turned bad fast, though Andrew couldn't blame the mystery purple girl, he would be furious in her shoes too. The tension and awkward strain in the air was intense to Andrew, he was beginning to feel like he could be on his death bed in a literal moment. Considering one of them was the daughter of death, it wasn't so crazy of a thought either.

The few times he actually was going to speak, he was thinking phrases entirely out of his nature to defuse the situation. He even noticed Dimitri coming over, but he discreetly glared at the demigod, as if to threaten and warn him both at once. Dimitri normally would have stepped in anyway, but he was supposed to be putting this information to good use, somehow. Andrew couldn't help but feel a deep pit of guilt when Lena walked off. He would go and find her as soon as he was done with Dimitri's lesson. Still, he had to admit, mystery girl didn't take crap from anyone.

It was actually an attractive feature.

He lent her his hand once more. His mind was still on the daughter of Thanatos, he wasn't sure how he was going to convince her this one actually wasn't his fault. Even if he chose to run after her to the gardens, he'd be leaving Dimitri astray, who was far too literal of a learner. Not to mention he'd spotted original-mystery-girl leaving there in that moment, having everyone be there was not going to end well. He wanted his face to still look like a face tomorrow, that and he'd taken on the commitment, and he had to honor it, though he definitely didn't mind the dance. "Sorry about that, that was an ex-girlfriend of mine. I think she's a little indecisive, kinda like yo-yo dieters." Andrew did a very mellow shrug, as he didn't want to throw off the dance. "You don't let people step on you. You'd make one heck of a gladiator."

Lena gave a small laugh as she noticed she startled Nika. Sorry for startling you, Nika. And yes, I would be Lena. She said with a small smile as the daughter of death moved to sit on the railing. How have you been this evening? She asked as she leaned on her hands behind her. It was nice out this evening, a little cooler but still warm enough to not have to really worry about it.

"Hey princess"I grinned as I turned around to pull her into an one-armed hug before pulling away and taking her hand to lead her to the dance floor. "Yes, I am perfectly fine, i just thought you would want to talk with your friend there and I didn't mean to be a bother"I replied, slight hints of jealousy evident in my voice even though I tried to hide it. I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I spun her around to the beat of the music, not wanting to ruin this great evening with stupid jealous thoughts

Leandra chuckled at the yo-yo dieter comment as they went out onto the dance floor. She shook her head when the comment about being a gladiator came up. "I'm an awful gladiator. Fast enough, for most things, but if I'm not in a large group I would rather use stealth. I had to learn not to take merde from anybody as a medic though. Too many soldiers filled with bravado and hubris. Have to keep them down long enough to get them better again." She explained as they started to dance.

Leandra was not the world's best dancer, or even half as graceful as Nika. Still, she knew the bare basic steps and had enough internal rhythm and sense of position to not step on feet or run into anyone.

"It was nice talking to them, but I missed you," she smirked, twirling under his hand. Holding his shoulder, she swept closer to pass an arm around his neck, leaned in for a kiss, then cheekily spun away whilst holding his gaze.

I chuckled at her antics and, as soon as she came near me again, I wrapped my arm around her waist and dipping her before pulling her back up in a hug and placing a fleeting, teasing kiss on her lips. "You, my dear, are a great dancer"

Oh i guess it's alright. I've gone to almost too many of these in my lifetime it seems. She admitted with a slightly annoyed tone in her voice. It was true as well, she had been going to these dances since she was ten and only started full time attending when she was thirteen. Have you really never attended a dance like this before? She didn't even call it a ball, because to Lena it wasn't. This was a Spring Formal that they were simply holding at her house and not at camp for the main reason being her mother wanted to give everyone the chance to travel to New Zealand.

Exy wandered through the hall with everyone dancing and chatting but somehow the son of Hermes was lucky enough to not have to deal with those other demigods and 'richies'. Taking a glass of champagne the teen downed it quickly and moved to lean against one of the pillars that was vacant and right next to where the others were dancing and milling about. His thoughts wandered to the night he spent with Maddy at the rave just due to the main number of people here and the fact that there was alcohol.

Laure giggled and let the rhythm guide her, twisting her body to the music. Dancing with Andrew felt so good. He looked at her and only at her, it was like no one else was here. Twirling into his arms, she rested her head against shoulder for a moment before resuming her dance, swaying her hips against his.

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Maddy walked in. She was dressed in a funky yellow dress and Sophia Webster sandals. Her mask had a small beak and was decorated with green, yellow, red and blue parrot-like feathers, her brown curls pinned up.
She hadn't told anyone she was coming. For once, she wanted an anonymous night, having no one know who she was, and what's better for that than an actual masquerade ball? The only people who knew she was here were the Duchannes kids, and she was meaning for it to stay that way.

Walking over to the bar, she looked around. Shimmering get ups, Venitian masks, ornate jewelry and glitter. People really took themselves seriously, she thought, maybe a bit too seriously. She actually found it a little unfair of the richer kids to come with such extravagant outfits when not everyone at camp was that rich. She personally didn't mind, but she knew others who did. It was kind of rubbing the financial gap into their faces.

But all that was quickly forgotten as she arrived at the large bar. After the first two flutes of champagne and a little salmon snack, she felt like going for something a bit stronger and ordered a mango daiquiri. The bartender handed her the drink in a stylish cocktail glass, garnished with fresh pineapple and crushed ice.

"Thanks mate," she said and took a long mouthful. Wow, that was delicious. As the alcohol entered her system, the daughter of Dionysus turned to the dancefloor, where couples were gliding to some music. Maddy put a hand on her hip, toying with her glass. What was this, the court of Versailles? 17th century? This was a party. Just because the people who organized it puked money didn't mean everyone else was high society here. It was time to have some fun, screw the violins!

OOC: Her sandals, as I could never describe them successfully.

"Potty mouth." Andrew commented, in a light-hearted voice.. He hadn't actually spoken any Latin whatsoever, but he happened to have heard a few select Italian words in his life, one of which had come from mystery girl. "Stealthy medic who doesn't mind ripping that stick right out of someone's rear? I can get behind that." Andrew spoke again. As much as he was doing this for Dimitri, he was becoming an increasing fan of this girl, though he was pretty aware that she was Roman and didn't care for Greeks too much, based on her previous comments. It wasn't so uncommon to find prejudice in either camp, although Andrew himself didn't think it was fair, he lived with it. She didn't need to know he was Greek anyway; it's not like he'd see her around at camp.

Andrew's form during dancing was better than one might expect from him; he'd actually wanted to try dance relentlessly when he was younger, but there was no one in the world who knew that. For a son of Apollo, he was gifted in surprisingly few instruments, perhaps he made up for it in dance. "My name's Andrew, or Erik, if you like the costume." Not that Andrew knew much about the play; he'd only re-visited the subject as it was a perfect costume for the masquerade. "Yours?"

Lena smiled and thanked Nika before looking out into the gardens and hearing wolves howling in the night. It was either Netha or Stark with them seeing as the wolves around her home were very used to the other hounds. Looks as if someone found the wolves already. She laughed a little.

Exy had spent a decent amount of time people watching before one girl in particular caught his eye, wearing an almost identical mask and a yellow dress. With masks on there was no way to really know who was who, which made this more social, so this was going to either be really good or really bad. Walking over to her as the song changed he held a hand out and gave a mock bow. Care to dance? He asked with a smirk half hidden by his mask.

Leandra chuckled at Andrew as he talked about getting behind her being a sneaky medic, and then introduced himself. She was a little focused on her dancing, so it took several seconds for him to recognize the joke about the Phantom of the Opera. She smirked a little, "I guess you could call me Christine then, although I don't fit the part of a soprano. Leandra, daughter of Angerona, 3rd Cohort." The younger Roman replied, her introduction more of habit than anything.

Leandra felt comfortable dancing with this guy, but she wasn't entirely sure why, and there was also something bugging her in the back of her mind. It was weird. "Greek then? I have to admit, I don't often socialize with Greeks. A friend didn't want to come alone, so she dragged me along."

Dimitri's eyes narrowed at the sight of the pair dancing. They seemed like an odd mix, he admitted. He couldn't hear anything they were saying, but even so, Dimitri wouldn't have been comfortable eavesdropping anyway. He wasn't about about deceit or stealth. He had to admit, everything Andrew had been telling him had crawled under his skin. Dimitri wasn't typically the type to feel paranoia, or even jealousy, but under the circumstances, tonight was different. At that moment, Dimitri heard a voice, and his head tilted. Though, he'd already known who it was that was talking to him.

He'd recognize the voice anywhere, and not just because it was one of the only Russian voices in either of the camps.

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Leandra was a nice name, Andrew figured. Something did ring a bell, but he couldn't quite figure it out. "That's a good thing to admit." Andrew joked. "Fun fact: In Elf, Buddy's dad wasn't a fan of elves. But at the end, he ended up helping Santa Claus and saving Christmas." Andrew said. "All it takes is a little TLC. Maybe a little Christmas spirit too. I actually had a pretty bad experience with a couple of Roman campers once." Andrew said. He didn't hold it against mystery girl though, it wasn't like it was her fault. That, and, she still looked good in purple. "Leandra..." Andrew repeated, originally he was practicing her name, but as he said it, he couldn't help but think something wasn't quite right.

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Dimitri froze, what was he supposed to say, he couldn't lie to Dominika! "My friend, he's dancin'. He told me to watch." Dimitri said. He could only hope to God that she wasn't going to ask why that was. He felt a fear seep down, he wasn't ready yet. Still, he was happy to see her, enough that he could feel himself smiling. "That ain't gonna work out too well then." Dimitri insisted, a grin showing on his face. He knew the entire point of the masquerade was to wear a mask, but his hands slowly rose to her forehead and moved her mask up. "That's better. Now you look even more cute."

"We haven't been able to have just this for a while." Dimitri commented. His heart yearned for the daughter of Jupiter. He rested his forehead on hers. "Dominika, if you wanted to... y'know, have a different idiot, you'd tell me, right?" Dimitri asked. He'd last second changed his words, he felt fear for asking her what they were. He adored everything about her, and he was absolutely certain he was her idiot. But so much had clouded his mind. All he wanted was security.

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Andrew happened to glance back to Dimitri, and he was standing with the girl he was trying to get with. One of Andrew's eyebrows raised. He, in a feint tone, heard her speak, and the accent rang a bell to him. Then, he saw her face, and despite the distance, he recognized the face. No way. Andrew continued his dance with Leandra, now pretty distracted. He didn't care much for the Russian girl, though he hated her friend who had dumped the punch on Netha.

What was her name again?

Andrew's eyes widened for the moment being, though he didn't let go. "No way..." Andrew said. The odds that the same two people were so closely tangled together in this situation? And Lena and her had gotten into a verbal fight too? Andrew swallowed a heavy breath, it was a very awkward moment internally; he was pretty attracted to this girl and now he was just realizing she was one of his worst enemies. "So, there's no really good way to say this..." Andrew began. "Anyone-here-who-has-never-gotten-drunk-on-'punched'-'spike'-then-poured-it-on-a-beautiful-wolf-say-I, Leandra, not so fast!" Andrew blurted out relatively fast, though not loud enough for everyone to hear. If he gathered attention, Leandra and Lena and Dimitri, and the Russian lady would all want to beat him to death. The situation was pretty odd, considering he was still holding her. He stayed silent for a moment. Adding to the fire was a bad idea, right?

".......Check please."

Leandra stopped mid-step in the dance and put her foot down, dropping her hands from his grasp. "You. You're the idiot with the unnatural love for your dog and the propensity to spit in punches instead of just, oh, warning innocent people that punch is spiked." She said, her voice suddenly a lot colder. "Oh gods, I danced with you. I need a shower."

Lena watched as a now heated exchange of words passed between Andrew and the girl who was so rude about her old manners earlier. Now this is going to be fun. She smirked as she watched but didn't intervene. These encounters were best left to be solved between the two considering she wasn't really fond of the girl and wasn't sure if Andrew would be keen on her joining in.

Then things took a rather nasty turn when the girl pulled her hands from his and literally put her foot down. Whistling into the night, knowing Stark was always within ear shot, she slid off the railing and walked closer, her white alpha by her side. Is there a problem here? She inquired looked between the two as she got closer. Stark was stone faced as ever and watched as his master took the right approach to the confrontation. Syn and Malik were on the outskirts of the ballroom talking but took notice and stayed were they were, but glanced up every so often.

It didn't feel real to Dimitri, watching the hurt expression on Dominika, it felt like it had to be a nightmare, that he couldn't be facing this reality another time. Everything slowed down for the demigod, and he accepted the fate he'd given himself. He was a child that was born through some divine being who didn't care to even look at him again, a god that wasn't even relatively liked or known by others. He was surrounded by other masked people, while there was a killer on the loose that had killed friends of his, and his parents, whom he loved so dearly. That same killer could be simple steps from him if they wanted to be enough. He'd been haunted with visions of things that weren't real, and to top all of it off, the only person that took care of him was now walking away, all because of something he'd said to her. Dimitri felt regret, he should have listened to Andrew and followed his lead.

Dimitri's heart sank, and his body literally quivered when she turned away from him. It hadn't been the first time Dimitri had accidentally hurt the daughter of Jupiter, who he cared for so deeply. It only burned him that much deeper that he was responsible for so much hurt in her, and for some reason, she continued to forgive him. The demigod grew disoriented, to the point where he wasn't seeing straight. He rubbed his eyes, relatively violently with all things considered, but it didn't relieve him. It all seemed so horrible. So hopeless. What else was new for the demigod, though?

Dimitri grabbed Dominika's hand while she walked away, hoping to stop her. "Don't go..." Dimitri said, weak willed. All that was on his mind when he grabbed her hand was her problem with physical contact. He hadn't worried about it for so long; she'd trusted him and he'd come into physical contact with her now whenever it was common, almost like she didn't have that fear. He hadn't worried about triggering her fear for what seemed like forever now, but now it hung in the balance over his head.

"I..." Dimitri wasn't sure what to say. There was so much he yearned to say to her. But the thought had crossed his mind when he saw her crying. He had a tendency to screw things up in relationships. He was good at what he'd been doing lately, but he wasn't good at this. "This ain't the first time I've made you cry. I ain't good at this. I love you, so much, but I'm doin' so much wrong. I have nothin' to give you that you need or deserve. I'd have loved for you'to've met my mom and dad, but that just ain't gonna happen." Dimitri was pretty panicked and anxious, which was clear from his facial expression.

"You don't realize it, but I'm a lost cause." Dimitri confessed. "I'm never gonna truly heal. I don't wake up in the mornin' to smell the flowers anymore. I wake up in the mornin' to find Lear. You've been through so much. I don't want you to look back and remember me as some regret that you coulda avoided." He trusted her with everything, but he couldn't bare to weigh her down even another ounce with his own problems. He couldn't believe what he was hearing come from his own mouth. But it wasn't for him, it was for her.

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Things were heating up quickly, and then she called Netha a dog again! Andrew's lips curved outwards, readying to whistle for Netha, then he halted when he noticed Lena approaching. Oh no. They were on such weird terms, what if the pair worked together against him? As Lena approached, Andrew could only think of one thing to say. It was a line that was becoming more and more useful to his array of bad situations. Before Lena could even speak, Andrew let out another one.

"Check please." Andrew called out again. If he was lucky a new person would come each time until there were couples dancing between the two.

When Lena sided with Andrew, he actually breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled. He was going to have the backup on this one, and coincidentally, the backup happened to be the host of the party. They could just remove Leandra if need be! The news was looking good, until Andrew happened to glance back to Dimitri. Andrew's smile faded as he realized, the Russian girl, who he now would just call Helga, would back up Leandra no matter what. If Helga got kicked out with Leandra, then Dimitri wouldn't have his chance, and Andrew would be a bad wingman by association. Why wasn't there anyone else around wearing a purple dress?!

"Okay, first of all, she's a wolf! A very elegant one!" Andrew argued. "Second of all, nobody ever looked cool putting up a sign that says 'spiked punch." Andrew continued on. He wasn't sure how he was going to keep this mellow long enough, but he was going to have to roll with the punches. "And my love for my wolf is completely reasonable! What, do you think I'm knitting little sweaters for her or something?" Andrew was trying to keep his arguments mellow enough that Leandra wouldn't get as intense as she did last time. He looked to Lena, then to Leandra, then to Lena, then to Leandra once more. "I'm just a dancer, dammit!"

Lena was, surprised to say the least that someone would a)call Netha a dog and b)spike punch at any occasion. Andrew. She said resting a hand on his upper arm she gave him a look of "relax and everything will be fine". Turning towards the other girl she took a deep breath. I don't know what happened between the two of you and I don't care to be frank. So if you would please find a way to handle this maturely and formally I would appreciate it or I will be more than please to escort you and your attitude out of my home.

Malik looked at his older brother before moving towards his sister and standing behind her not for intimidation, because there was nothing in his appearance that even hinted at being intimidating, but rather in case something needed to be done. There was only one person outside of his family that knew about his power so if things got to the point where someone needed to be escorted out he would be the one to make sure they go quietly.