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

Cleopatra was twirling on the dancefloor, dancing with a masked boy whose shimmering costume resembled a musketeer's. Her girls were also dancing or standing next to the buffet -- she had to watch them, they could not get sick tonight. She knew some of them liked a bit more alcohol than others.

Leaving the arm of her musketeer, she approached one of their hosts in a ruffle of champagne silk. His white blonde hair told her it was Malik, though she had no idea who the golden-masked girl he was talking with was. She had overheard her argument with Lena though, and knew this one had some bite.

"Excuse me, very quick," she said, stepping in. "Malik, if you're talking about non-alcoholic drinks, would you mind asking the staff to only give mocktails to the three girls over there?" she said in a charming voice, pointing over to a group of girls in pink, yellow, and burgundy dresses.

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Maddy listened to him purr compliments into her ear. She knew that voice. She knew it. She hadn't heard it in a long time, but this couldn't be a mistake.

But she wouldn't say who he was. Maddy loved masks, secrets, games on identity, and masquerade balls were favourites of hers. Maybe because masks were a thing of Dionysus'?

Twirling in Exy's arms, she danced with him for the next hour before breaking away. "I need a drink," she told him breathlessly, and headed over to the bar. In her funky yellow dress, she was a real splash of colour amongst all the other girls in ball gowns and glamorous attires. It made her feel very good for some reason. She was different, and she liked it.

Pierre shrugged slightly at that comment. "P-Probably right. My father was invited to balls and formal dinners for his work. When I got older, I was invited to several as well. D-don't see it very much outside of huge fundraisers and such." Pierre said as they danced, before he dropped Andrew into a dip and pulled him back up again.

"So, where d-did you learn to dance?"

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Leandra shot at the Graecus for using the plural as a masculine singular, then decided not to say anything. She couldn't speak much by way of Ancient Greek. "I would appreciate if Gregory did locate her. As for the drink, I will pass. Call it paranoia, if you'd like, but I think it will be a while again before I trust Greeks bearing gifts."

Dimitri felt a very peculiar and strange sensation when he felt Dominika practically cuddle his arm. It was warm and different from anything he'd ever felt before. In the moment, he could have forgotten that they were at a ball, in a garden, and even that she was wearing a dress since the first time they'd met. In the moment, he felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time. He'd felt like maybe he was home, despite being so far away from it. His head slowly leaned down, resting on the top of Dominika's head, before promptly giving her a kiss on the top of her head. He felt, for lack of a better term, fuzzy on the inside.

"No, but, y'know, sometime I still think 'bout it." Dimitri couldn't help but be somewhat dark on the subject, especially with the marks on his legs. But he realized she was just kidding and quickly perked up. "Oh! Uh. No. Cheese is beautiful." Dimitri said, somewhat abruptly. Andrew had said to say something like that... hadn't he? "I mean, the stars are. But you are. More than the stars." Dimitri's tone was pretty confused. "I'm not doin' this right, am I?"

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"Wow, that dip was... pretty awesome. I'm usually the one doing the dipping. This is what being an oreo feels like." Andrew voiced his opinion out loud to the other demigod. It was pretty sweet to be caught, despite all your weight weighing down. Andrew was starting to rethink this whole dude thing. He could easily get down for the switch. Opportunity to be a hunter, being dipped during dances, and for some reason following friends into the bathroom? Sold.

"My dad was also invited to a lot of balls and dinners, but, he didn't always keep his formalities together. Learned the Cotton-Eyed Joe at a ball once. Turned out that wasn't supposed to be a thing." Andrew said with a shrug.

Of course Cleo. He smiled before whispering to Gregory and then watched as he motioned for another servant who walked to the kitchen himself. As for your friend Leandra, I will have Gregory notify the staff. He said giving a nod to his butler and watched as he walked away as well. I apologize for what the Greek did to cause you this paranoia but there has to be something I can get you for a drink. He said formally with one leg crossed over the other. He wondered why Cleo even walked over to the two of them, seeing as the wait staff could have easily been talked to instead of interrupting the two talking.

Dimitri felt a very foreign sensation when his new-found girlfriend began to laugh. He'd heard little laughs from her, including giggles and snickering, but this was one of the first times he'd heard her laugh, nearly into a fit. A smile crept onto his face, he felt a very warm feeling in his chest, as though he'd had a heating pad against it. Her laugh inspired a hope within him; he couldn't understand how she could laugh after everything she'd been through. Yet, he didn't feel despair at the thought. He wasn't sure what he was feeling. He couldn't remember what hope felt like, but he felt like this must have been it.

"Someone was tellin' me to say somethin' like that." Dimitri said, his tone confused. "I think I screwed it up, but uh.... it kinda still worked." Dimitri questioned the chain of events. Was that actually what he was supposed to say? Andrew's advice had been pretty flimsy, and even contradictory in many aspects, but he still went through with it. Though, to be fair, by Andrew's count, Dimitri was supposed to be inside watching him dance. He wondered how that was going.

"Hey. What would I say if I was a boat?" Dimitri asked out of the blue. Humor was very far out of his forte, but Dominika's laugh was so precious. In the moment, he wanted to hear her again.

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The song was beginning to come to an end, and Andrew glanced around. Where the hell was that kid? Even if he was older than Andrew, Andrew figured Dimitri qualified as a kid, with his lack of understanding for the ball. He turned back to his dance partner. "Well, it was fun dancing with you, but I have a stupid farmer kid to save from drowning!" Andrew declared, before stepping away. He technically was telling the full truth.

He approached Malik and Leandra, the last two people he'd needed to see. What was more awkward than approaching someone who wanted to kill you? Approaching two people who wanted to kill you! "Hi Lena's sister who gives me dirty looks in the halls. Hi evil Roman girl who dips wolves into alcohol." Andrew greeted the pair, in his classiest tone. "Leandra, where's your friend? Sort of an emergency. Like. Def-con 5."

I didn't even see you in the halls Andrew. I was with Syn and Lena in the study like always. Turning to Leandra he stood up and have a bow. It was a pleasure to meet you my dear and Gregory will no doubt find your friend for you soon, to which he knows to return. Now if you'll excuse me, i have a brother to find and a sister to probably calm down. Leandra, Cleo...Andrew. He said giving a head bow to each of them. AS he walked away the teen stopped in his tracks and looked back at the Roman. Leandra, if you would like to accompany me to the dance floor later in the evening I would love it deeply. He said before turning and walking towards the gardens to find his sister.

Leandra stood up quickly when Andrew said there was an emergency. She was intimately aware of the pugio strapped to her leg. "What's the emergency? Is Nika in trouble? How would you know from dancing with Hagrid?" Leandra asked in rapid succession, stepping forward. Her leg hurt, but it was starting to fade with the rush of adrenaline. She knew this ball was too good to be true. Then it hit her that she didn't know where Nika was, that's why Gregory was sent to look. "I don't know where Nika is. She was here to meet a, uh, a special idiot."

"It wasn't really my idea. He found me outside a couple nights back, and we heard a noise'n the middle've the night. It happened to slip out that I had feelin's for a girl and wasn't sure exactly how that worked." Dimitri rarely brought up any personal problems to anyone besides Dominika. Andrew, however, had knawed on the situation until it had cracked open like a walnut. "He was pretty persistent that he knew best. I guess y'gotta have some sorta ken to you, if you managed to get a wolf to follow you 'round all the time." Dimitri concluded. "Trust me, I'm just glad I know what we are now."

"It's gonna sound stupid." Dimitri said, a somewhat nervous smile was planted on his face. "I'd say this garden's row-mantic." Dimitri had randomly thought of the joke in the moment. He'd just simply loved her laugh so much, he yearned to hear it again. He couldn't figure out how everything about one person seemed so perfect to him.

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"In the study for three days, get a load of this guy." Andrew had muttered. The Duchannes family had always been pretty good at excuses; at least Lena was. The gesture didn't have any meaning to Andrew, as he was pretty sure he wasn't going to be allowed in Blackthorn after all of this. He was pretty welcomed by the head of the house, and somewhat her daughter, but he'd had history of telling off the head of the house's husband. He also didn't have a good standing with Malik or Synyster.

Maybe he should have kissed one them instead.

Too late now. "I'll have you know his name is-" Andrew paused. Was it considered rude to not get the name of a dancing partner if it was a masquerade? "Paul." Andrew finished the sentence. There was nothing wrong with a little white lie to put to the case. "And he is a nice man! Large, and able to dip like whatever pop artist does the dip, but still a nice man." Still, he had noticed he'd left Leandra a little frantic. Was emergency too harsh of a word? Maybe take it down a notch?

Then again, she'd be a lot more inclined to look if she thought it was a real emergency, right? Besides, wingman troubles totally defined as an emergency in the official rules of life.

"Maybe lower it to def-con 4. Maybe even 3. Y'know, shorter than 5 feet." Andrew said, the goal was to ever so slightly lower the expectations for real danger, while maintaining the willingness to help, and getting a height joke in at the same time. Still, what she had said was golden. "Ha! He's definitely one 'special' idiot." Andrew didn't feel the need to expand on the joke, it was pretty self-explanatory, and pretty borderline on breaking the rules of his humor.

"But, yeah, he probably shouldn't be around her at the moment, long story short, and I have a hunch that he's around her. Do you not have any sort of Russian tracking method? Don't they have those sleeper cell trigger words?"

Leandra was still stiff, but didn't look as bug eyed and paranoid. Her hand still kept creeping towards her thigh. She took a deep breath, looking at Andrew carefully. Her anger was starting to rise. "And why should he not be with her? I haven't seen her in here, so maybe the out in the gardens?"

"Blue, huh?" Dimitri asked. He'd thought she looked absolutely beautiful, though he typically carried those sentiments every day anyway. "Your mystery friend knows her colors, but I don't think you could look any more beautiful than you do right now." Dimitri, surprisingly, wasn't trying to flirt at this point, despite just how cliche and cheesy his words were. He couldn't help but wonder what she might look like in blue, he smirked slightly at the thought. He lived for moments like these.

It was almost like nothing was wrong.

"I'm glad you wouldn't have me any different." Dimitri remarked. "I share your sentiments. Your voice ain't one that I could go without hearin'." Dimitri was in a minority group of accents at Camp Half-Blood in general, but he imagined Dominika was at in even bigger minority at her camp herself. She was the only Russian he talked to on a regular basis, yet she was so easy to understand to him. He gave her a gentle nuzzle before he took her hands, despite he hugging his arm, and gave her another kiss on her head. "I love you." Dimitri summed it up. They had said it to each other before, but not under the circumstances that they were officially together. He wanted it to feel special to her.

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Andrew had a simple blink before speaking. "Wait, whoa, her name is Nika? No way." Andrew replied. It wasn't Helga, like he had hoped from a Russian. But, Nika was so simple to play on other terms. It'd be pretty easy to make a Pokemon joke, Andrew mused. "Okay, okay, I'll have plenty of time to put that knowledge to good use later." Andrew said. The gardens actually was a good idea, Andrew had been there before many times while he was dating Lena. It had become just an average place to him.

"Right, well, if you need an abridged tale, he's literally the most clueless person to walk this planet when it comes to girls. Or boys, if he swings that way." Andrew mused. He briefly shrugged afterwards. "Guess I did just dance with a huge guy, but this isn't about me. This is about hooking up a farm boy with a Russian." Andrew gave Leandra a fake salute. "I'm off to smooth things over!" He announced, before turning away to the gardens.

Maddy took a sip of her drink, her senses starting to get numb as her spirit went up. Smiling, she turned to the mystery guy she had been dancing with and kissed him, just like that. Her mouth glided against his, her tongue drawing across his. Her hands around his shoulders pressed him closer to her. The kiss was at least ten seconds long and when finally she drew back, she just shot him a wink through her mask, downed her drink, and went back on the floor.

Exy was both taken back by the kiss but very much pleased with it. He knew who this was in an instant after the kiss.The way their lips moved and the tug in his gut there was no denying who it was. As she flitted away to the dance floor he followed and wrapped an arm around her wait, pulling her close, before anyone else could get to it. Well little luv, seems as if we may have given ourselves away.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Maddy said. She twirled out of his arms, keeping her fingers laced with his though as she resumed dancing on the floor, pulling him closer then pushing him away, all in rhythm with the beat.

Exy chuckled and continued to dance the night away with his crush of the longest damn time. Well then. He said lifting his mask. Allow me to ruin my disguise. He said now dancing with the girl with one hand and holding the mask in the other.

"No!" She exclaimed, pushing his mask against his face before pulling him close in the dance. "Don't you think I know who you are, silly?" she whispered into his ear. "Let's just keep pretending. That's what a masquerade ball is for, right?"

Well then. I think I'm falling for my mystery girl. He whispered back at her as the two danced in a sort of embrace. As the music droned on Exy enjoyed himself having never been to this kind of party before, which was just another reason why he was glad to have Maddy there with him.

Leandra followed after Andrew, her face flushing a dark caramel. "You're telling me this 'life and death' emergency is about a hook-up?!" She said in a hiss, wondering if there was literally anything that the Greek held sacred.

She beat Andrew out to the gardens, partially because she needed the cool air to calm her down and prevent her from literally killing this man. She stopped suddenly when she was Nika...cuddling...with whom she had to presume was the idiot. "Hey, moron, your life and death emergency is going fine."

I only chuckled with Laure's commentary of the scene unfolding before us, I wasn't much for gossiping but I did love some drama. Pretty soon it was over and we went dancing again before I decided that I wanted to be a bit more alone with my new girlfriend. I gently tugged at her hand as I headed outside the ball room. "Hey there, pretty lady. Wanna go check out the garden? I caught a glimpse earlier and it must be spectacular!"

OOC: Sooooo sorry I've been away, I had exams coming up. They're starting in a couple of days so I don't know how much I will be able to post but I'm really sorry for just disappearing.