Night of Many Faces

[Kender Bard]

"Tut tut, things will be starting soon," Cascata announced as she went about her house. Locket had left that afternoon, smuggling her outfit away as she bid all farewell and promised to see them later that night.

The Mother was affixing her mask now, fussing with it as she idly hunted for a mirror. Her outfit was meticulously made. Though most people would be going as more concrete things - animals, famous individuals, fantastic creatures and whatnot - she had elected for something more abstract.

Her outfit was a long, but very form fitting gown of deep blue, nearly black at the corset which gradually lightened to the palest of blues on the train. Along the hem of her train there was even a delicate sewing of lace and pearls, reminiscent of foam from the water's edge. Cascata's bright, blonde hair had been bundled up into a bun on the top of her head and the hairpiece stuck there were golden spikey prongs, reminiscent of the rays of the sun. At her neck were a string of pearls ending in an impressively sized sapphire framed in gold. Seashells ringed about her waist, hung on a belt of fishnet. Her mask was a wild thing of blue, with white feathers along the top, a portrayal of whitecap waves over the deep blue waters. She even had selected a perfume that was clean and airy with a bare hint of salt.

She was the Spirit of the River.

[Darastrix]

Crawford put the finishing touches on his own costume, such as it was. Without his mask, he would likely be pegged as a very wealthy or influential man, which he was. He was dressed in a richly embroidered blue doublet with a deep V-waistline and buttoned gauntlet cuffs, matching breeches, and high black boots. He slid on a gold ring which featured a silver sword where a stone would normally be, and fastened a cloak around his shoulders, the clasp also in the shape of a sword. Beneath the cloak was a heavy chain that held a gold pendant. Upon close examination, it could be seen as a small copy of some sort of card, with the image engraved into the gold upside-down. At his side was a longsword, peace-bound for the masque, but even if there were trouble, Crawford didn't typically fight with a sword. A false piece would have served, but he preferred the authenticity.

Pausing in front of his mirror, Crawford removed his glasses and placed them in a thin wooden case, which he tucked into his doublet. He couldn't wear them and a mask. Luckily, his eyesight wasn't that poor. He donned the mask, a severe-looking item painted to resemble cold marble that covered all but his mouth. Lastly, he placed a crown upon his head, the points of which were the blades of small swords that formed the circle, and stepped out into the hall to wait for the Mother.

[Kender Bard]

Cascata spotted him and couldn't help but smile in amusement as she glided - her footsteps measured and consciously graceful so as not to interrupt the smooth flow of her train - over to him.

"You look positively dangerous," she stated merrily. "I won't cut myself if I touch you, will I?" Her voice was full of mirth and playful teasing. "What are you precisely?" She cocked her head thoughtfully. "Surely nobody from history I have ever heard of." Her eyes fell to the card and her mouth quirked. "Ah. Very interesting."

[Darastrix]

"You know the card?" Crawford asked, curious. He didn't actually read tarot himself--what with having visions as a seer, he never saw the need to dabble in mysticism--but he was familiar with the cards and their meanings. He actually kept a fair collection of decks at home, more for the artwork than anything else.

[Kender Bard]

"No," Cascata admitted, sounding a bit disappointed. "But I know it's a tarot card. I've had readings before." Her eyes flick up to his and she smiles, but it looks a bit sheepish. "People say I'm a bit superstitious. I like to know what's coming, but don't have the patience or knack for mysticism myself. So I employ others now and then."

[Darastrix]

"I'm not a mystic, though I am a seer," he told her. "I was trained in foresight almost exclusively. I am quite familiar with the cards, however. There's little sense in collecting something you don't understand." His expression turned wry, though it was mostly hidden. "I am the King of Swords, reversed."

[Kender Bard]

"If you like, perhaps later you can tell me what that means," Cascata stated. She gestured to her own costume and smiled. "I am the River." She glanced to the stairs and raised her brow. "Did Nagi leave early too?"

[Darastrix]

"Not to my knowledge," Crawford replied, glancing that way as well. After a slight pause, he added, "He's coming."

In a few moments, Nagi finally came out. He had decided against a full costume, instead dressing formally in a dark charcoal grey and silver. His mask covered the upper portion of his face and was grey as well, but glimmered with some sort of powder as he moved in the light.

Smiling slightly at Cascata, he bowed and murmured, "You look very pretty, Mother Cascata."

[Kender Bard]

"Why thank you, darlin'," Cascata gushed. "That means a lot to an old fish like me. Well, if we're ready then, let's be off. I think we missed all the opening fuss and muss and now we can get to the good part."

Cascata led the way, pointing out why most celebrations like this were held in the town square. It was a precious bit of land, paved but not covered with a building, large enough to accomodate many people, but certainly not the whole island. That's why the entire island of Ronduin would likely be a giant celebration this night. Taverns and inns threw open their doors and in the twilight of sunset, savory smells floated out of each establishment, tempting individuals to step inside. Streets were mostly clear but alleys were clogged with couples and knots of people wishing to chat out of way of the flow of traffic. There was already much music and dancing within buildings - in general, the town square was being held by those who didn't already have a group to socialize with. Many would find such a group and walk off to more intimate locations to be festive, so that the center square would not become too choked. Minstrels and bards played all over, spaced just enough that their music wouldn't clash with each other terribly.

They reached the center square with ease and Cascata gestured vaguely. "Have fun, prince," she said to Nagi and reached for Crawford's arm. People were laughing and dancing. Cascata had been correct to say that the steps weren't terribly difficult to learn.

One young woman dressed to look vaguely like a cat of some kind bounced over to Nagi and held out her hand to him. "Fancy a dahnce sah?" she asked.

Meanwhile, Locket was locked in a knot of her pathmates - the Soahcian wing was more than happy to join the citizenry in one of the few occasions they wouldn't stand out or look strange.

Her outfit was meticulously planned but surprisingly simple for all the work that went into. She had a loose and puffy dress of black that, at a glance, seemed to be made up of hundreds of layers overlapping one another (though it was only the first two that truly were fashioned that way). Behind her, quivering in every slight breeze, were butterfly wings made of dyed cloth stretched thin over the boning usually used in corsets. Stiched to the edges of her sleeves and fastened to the side of her dress were many long, brightly colored scarves - a second set of 'wings' that were more abstract. When her arms were kept down, she looked to be very dark and black save for her wings. When she moved her arms up, however, she flashed brightly with colors. Her mask was hard, shiny and black, and two thin black strips of something poked out from the top - antennae.

Locket held the hand of a male Generous priest dressed in a riot of colors of his own with no sense of meaning to them. She found a clear enough space and set to being taught the dance of the season which involved making circles within circles, slow at first and then ending with the male partner gripping his partner by the waist and spinning once with her before literally passing her off to another or simply setting her down if there was no waiting hands.

[Darastrix]

Crawford allowed her to take him by the arm, silently telling Nagi to stay out of trouble. Of course, Locket was really the one that needed the reminder, but he wasn't in the mood to end up arguing with a seventeen-year-old. Again.

"Um...." Nagi glanced around, feeling a touch nervous at being abandoned. "I don't really know how to dance," he admitted.

[Kender Bard]

"Ah, well, I can teach ya," the girl replied easily and snatched his sleeve. "C'mon nah, 'tisn't hard at all!" She pointed the closest dancing couple. "Just do as they do an' take yah time till yer comfy with it."

"This is fun!" Locket enthused to her partner. He smiled and nodded, giving her another spin and setting her down before wrapping an arm about her. "Wonder where Nagi is."

"We'll find your man," her partner assured her. "Mebbe he's goin' as a frog." They both had an amused laugh at that and wandered off into the thicker part of the crowd. It didn't take long before Locket was almost forceibly snatched away and pulled into another dance, but she went with it easily.

"Are you my prince?" she asked the man that danced with her. She knew he wasn't but asked anyway - this man was too tall and his hair too light.

"Sure," he replied easily. "C'mon back with me to mah castle an' I'll give ya the royal treatment."

Locket giggled and then slipped away with ease and bounded away. The man took a few half hearted steps of chase but then found some other buxom woman to steal into a dance and Locket flitted about in her search some more.

[Darastrix]

"Well...all right," he agreed. Surely it wouldn't kill him to try, and she seemed nice enough. It was probably going to take a while to find Locket anyway. Wait.

I'm an idiot.

~Locket, where are you?~ he asked, attempting to follow the couple's movements at the same time.

[Kender Bard]

That's cheating! she thought, loudly, and laughed aloud. You're supposed to find me, or I you. But I'll make your hunt easier in a minute.

She hunted around until spotting a different pathmate dressed to resemble a crow slightly. She bounded up to him (cutting into the dance in progress) and whispered into his ear.

"Sure," the crow-priest agreed and took her hand. Both of them activated their wind signs and abruptly leapt into the air together. His feathery cloak and her bright scarves fluttered into the wind. With no real set steps the two of them set into a vaguely aerial dance, looping back and forth around and with each other, snatching hands briefly to twirl and release again. All the while, Locket scanned the crowd below, trying to find Nagi.

[Darastrix]

Nagi did a slight double-take at the sight. That had to be Locket; there's weren't that many Winds about, surely.

~You never said there were any rules,~ he teased lightly. ~I see you. Now, try to find me. I'm with a cat of sorts at the moment.~ Nagi actually wasn't doing a terrible job at picking up the actual steps, though his lingering self-consciousness was making his movements a little stiff.

[Kender Bard]

The cat-girl, seeing he was picking up on the concept of the dance, laughed and gave him a slight push on the shoulder. "Come on now, I don't bite unless you ask me to."

Locket came back together in the sky with her raven partner and the two hovered up there as she hunted more carefully now. At length, she picked out what she thought was Nagi and pointed him out.

"Go on," her partner said and gave her a slight push. Grinning, Locket swooped down to land lightly near Nagi.

"Are you my prince?" she purred to him.

Cascata, meanwhile, was happy to just watch the other dancers. She wasn't much in the mood to join in on her own yet. She was still enjoying the novelty of having a man on her arm at a large event. "If you like, Sir Crawford, we could always go somewhere a little bit less noisy and rambunctious. I'm certain that Lord Yonwin will have his home open to the more upper class citizenry and things will be a bit more restrained and subdued."