Let The Spectacle Astound You

[tidesnpcs.livejournal.com]

Characters: OPEN
Progress: Continuous
Summary: The party you've all been waiting for: the Grand Ball of Alexandria!
Location: Palace Alexandria
Date: June 21st, 1803
Warnings: TBA. Eventually, Violence.

For weeks, the palace had been abuzz with activity; even more so than usual. On top of the usual hustle and bustle of daily life, there were the extensive preparations to be done for the festival, and this, the grand finale. The palace's largest ballroom had been decorated from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. Long elaborate draperies of silk and chiffon in white and cream, the stairs lined in a rich, crimson carpeting. Gold and silver everywhere, framing the large windows and the door opening out to the courtyard. A warm summer evening, with the roses in full bloom. Flowers adorned every table, column, and doorway. It wasn't just the ballroom that had been decorated, however; the entire palace was decked in regalia, the staff having obviously anticipated the crowd to be much larger than usual.

All around the palace, inside and out, the guard was on high alert. Every guest was greeted, checked, and in the case of the higher-ranked, announced to the company at large. The sun had not quite set, and already the ballroom was half full; nobles and low-born alike, natives and foreigners, all dressed in their best. The guest of honor had yet to make her appearance, but no one seemed to be fussed by the fact.

But the night was young, and there was bound to plenty of seeing and being seen before the night was over.

[[ooc: Here we go, everyone! Party style still applies. Tag in, tag each other, mingle, HAVE FUN!... while you can. Thread jumping and ninja tagging is encouraged. ^.^]]

Update: A fist fight broke out on page two. Feel free to ninja in to spectate, generally comment or gasp, or just read it and have a laugh. Appropriate authority figures... Squall, Steiner, etc may need to step in.

Comments

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

Terra could tell she'd made him uncomfortable, and she certainly hadn't meant to! "I'm sorry." She said quickly, as he looked away. "I was just..." There was a distance in her voice. How many people did she meet that looked like they might be part magic? But he wasn't, not really...he was more like Celes and Kefka, infused with magic rather than like her...being born with it.

"I don't meet many other people who look like they're magical. I didn't mean to offend you." She finally said, her voice soft.

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

"No, you didn't offend me... it's just a sore subject." He shook his head slightly then offered his hand to her, giving her a slight smile. He felt a little bit like a jerk for making her feel like she needed to apologise to him, but there was nothing he could do now. He couldn't take back words or expressions, after all.

Keeping his smile in place, Cloud tilted his head. "My name is Cloud. What's yours?" He was trying to be nice. It didn't always work...

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

"Oh. I can understand that." She nodded faintly. She didn't really ask Celes about her magic infusions either, though the half-esper was curious about them. It was a 'sore subject' also. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories, though. Not at a party."

Still, the subject change was welcome. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Terra," she tilted her own head in return. And then she smiled faintly. "That's an odd coincidence, isn't it?" She pointed a thin finger at him. "You're name is for the sky, and my name is for the earth."

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud smiled more at her observation, nodding slightly. "Hey... yeah. I guess that means we're supposed to be friends, huh?" He gave a slight shrug, not really knowing much, or anything at all really, about Terra. Cloud didn't know about naturally magical people.

The only people with naturally enhanced abilities were the SOLDIERS, Turks and... well, him. That was it. Even the Sephiroth Remnants were technically part of Sephiroth, making them SOLDIERs, at least on the inside.

He was an odd one out. He wasn't a SOLDIER or a Turk. He'd just been in the wrong place and the wrong time, let himself get carried away and ended up trapped for four years, being poisoned and...

Cloud paused that train of thought, not wishing to think about it anymore. "I hope your last name isn't as bad as mine... it's Strife. Cloud Strife."

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

"It would seem so," she admitted, though it took her a few seconds to get that it was a joke. "I have never used names as a reason for friendship but it does not seem a terrible place to start."

She watched him as he seemed to slip into his own thoughts, and said nothing to interupt until he brought himself out of it. She did it herself on a few occasions, worrying too much about the details and losing the focus on the event.

"Strife? That's...a somewhat dark last name, I would think? My own is simply Branford. Not very interesting, really."

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, we can start with our names." He gave a slightly brighter smile than he had done, and Cloud seemed a little more at ease with Terra. She was nice and he really did like the fact their names went together so well.

Then she spoke about their last names, and he nodded slightly. "It is pretty dark. I suppose it's a good name for me." Not eluding any further, he glanced around.

"Are you here alone, or did someone come with you?" It seemed a lot of people had come alone tonight and, like he and Tifa and Squall and Rinoa, coming together was quite a rarity.