(2111) Roaring Court

[Samantha Nyugen]

Samantha could only watch as the night so quickly kicked into gear. The woman approaching her didn't have the air of a predator, but she would not let herself be caught flat footed. Or so she thought, until the woman spoke. She found herself unable to form her thoughts clearly at first, and then Jennifer continued to talk. A bevy of names and titles. Always with the titles. But despite her disdain for the institution, she found her instinct taking over when the Prince was pointed out to her. She mimicked Jennifer's courtesy even as it turned her stomach to do so.

She cleared her throat and smiled.

Let the danse begin anew.

Continued here

[Jacque]

Jacque made his way up the stairs and into the main event. He smiled, seeing the room transformed into the theme as prescribed. For himself, he wore a pinstripe suit and a flat cap along with his standard Rolex accessory.

Seeing the Prince already around, he made sure to bow first and longest to her, followed by a smile and a nod to Twist. After taking a few steps to circulate into the crowds he nodded to the other Priscii, first to Hazelton followed by Durant. His beast stirred in the presence of man familiar and unfamiliar rivals. The urge to lash out at the weak and cower from the strong was far from unusual to Jacque, but still made him loathe the futility of such evenings. He pressed back primal thing inside and forced his way through more small talk in the various social circles.

He took note of new faces in the crowds as he wandered. Soon he'd gather them to facilitate acknowledgement... soon.

[Connor OBrien]

The haunt casts a side eyed glance at Helen briefly for not addressing him by his proper title. However, it is quickly replaced by a smile and a nod of the head. "Miss Kingsley." He says, an almost singsong lilt to his voice as he does. Whether it was accidental or not, two can play at this game.

He then turns his attention to Conner's question. "No, Pastor Wells, I had been Kindred for over half a century before the 1920's. We must be adaptive if we wish to survive though."

The smile and nod was returned to Mable, perhaps a bit more formal due to her status as Hierophant of the Sacramento Crone.

A sincere smile is given to Quinn as she gives her own personal assessment of his small bit of 20s lingo. However, he doesn't speak. He's got an agenda tonight, and Quinn is the perfect distraction from that goal if he engages her in conversation.

To Wei Lin, he offers a smile and nod. Acknowledgement of her statement and silent agreement.

Simone and three of four Kindred he'd met while collecting rumors for the investigation into Pope approach. His beast wreaks havoc on his mind as it urges him to run. Swiftly and deftly he puts it back in its place.

The Whip's attention is briefly drawn to Mr. Hoyle, who's speaking with Vincenzo. However, he snaps back to attention at the presence of the strongest beast of the night. Almost on instinct he turns on his heels and sweeps into a deep bow before Prince Antinori; held for no less than 5 beats of the human heart.

A look is spared in the direction of the newcomer, but he choses instead to watch for the target of his intentions.

Then enters Twist, the vision of beauty one would expect from the Priscus of Daeva. He drops into a low bow, though not as low as the one to the Prince.

Then a smile and nod to Maeve. "Madame Maeve, you look lovely tonight." He hopes his old world speech is not taken as anything other than what it is.

"Good to hear, Mr. Northbridge. Hopefully your night continues to be well."

"Lady Notary." He says simply to Jennifer, a bow offered rather than a nod of the head.

Then finally, he arrives; the Seneschal. "Please, excuse me." He says to the group before moving to just outside of conversation distance of the Seneschal, delivering a bow equal to what was given to the Archon. Upon rising, however, the haunt chooses to linger near Jack; awaiting permission to approach out of respect.

[Mable Wood]

The Prince arrived, Mable dropped to a deep curtsy. When Twist arrived Mable gave a bow from the waist. She didn't know why she curtsied for the Prince instead of a bow but it felt right. Jack and Jennifer each received a respectful head bow.

Maeve arrived, Mable have her a smile and a wink. As others arrived Mable gave them a welcoming smile.

Mable was just about to join Quinn when Simone arrived with a few guests. One was kinda whiny. Simone's beast made Mable's scream. Mable wasn't sure if she should trust Simone but then there was nothing concrete and Mable was Simone's Hierophant. "Good evening, Ms. Perez." She looked at her for introductions and was wondering how Quinn would react.

[Helen Kingsley]

More people arrive, some a little more flashy than others, but all in varying degrees of costume. Duh ! Helen acknowledges Conner and Mable with a nod. "Mr Wells, Miss Wood." Mable's costume is nothing she would have picked, but then, Mable can pull it off way better than Helen could anyway...

Quinn also continuing language that doesn't really make particular sense on first listening ? Part of the venue, apparently. Still, in her opinion, there is something like doing too much research. So Quinn was among the unaligned now after leaving the Dragons. Helen's seen it before, so she knows where her money is in regards to where Quinn likely ends up. Still, it is something to keep in mind, especially with some of the avenues that still remain to be explored, so she makes a mental note for now and files it under stuff to be looked at at a better occasion.

"Outside a formal event, I'll happily call you anything you like, but where I'm from, formal court means formal address." Helen's trying real hard to not antagonize Wei Lin too bad, but something about the way that woman goes about her name annoys her. Some trap, just to feel important ? Eh, who knows. They'll see soon enough whether that feeling persists or not. "I'll keep it in mind, though."

She only shortly looks over the incoming group of kindred, offering them a nod of greeting in case they're interested. She picks up a few names, but seeing how Simone Perez is the only one she can put a name to, she keeps sort of at the fringes of that bunch. Better safe than sorry, right ? She gets distracted anyway, by the heavily felt appearance of Prince Antinori. Thus she promptly curtsies for the ruler of the domain, even if that sorta feels awkward in that particular dress. It doesn't get to worst case, but still, she knows why she likes her dresses longer than this usually.

"Happy Halloween yourself !" she replies to Bellemy in passing before she sees the Archon enter and focuses on paying her respects.

"Thank you." she replies to Maeve's comment about their thematic costumes. "Got a mighty fine dress yourself, there, you'll fit right in."

As Milton looks somewhat confused, she decides to explain herself. "A joke about people who wear hats indoors, nothing more."

"And good to see you, Priscus Hazelton." Not much more to be said, as Jennifer soon enough excuses herself to walk over to what seemed to be a newcomer. helen hadn't really seen the woman among the other folks around, but now that she does, she only briefly wonders who that might be. They'll see soon enough after all. The Seneshal enters and so she pays her respects once more, inwardly glad that the domain officials are finally in and that matter is closed. Jennifer addressing Connor and his reserved greeting remind Helen that she's not addressed him as clan whip. Simply slipped her mind. Funny how those things go, though. So much for 'it's just an informal title' and all that...

"Sssssoooo... Do they do those themed courts regularly, or is it just an irregularity to change up the same old ?" she asks, no one in particular, but mostly into the direction of Quinn and Maeve.

[Conner Wells]

Court officials begin to stalk through the grounds, and Conner offers the propers bows of respect. Each one accompanied by an inner chill as that darker part of him hopes to escape notice.

The prickly response of Wei Lin irks him, but there's a morbid curiosity so well. What could drive someone to reject a name so fervently? But he nods in apology, content to let the mystery reveal itself in due time. He wasn't here to step on toes.

As the Succubus breaks off to the piano, Conner notices a new face in the room; An enviously bold figure who draws a look of admiration from the young Shadow even as the predator preaches caution. A new Gangrel? Savages had been a mixed lot in Conner's experience, but not without their compassions or sharp minds. He's tempted to look for an opening to join Priscus Hazelton and say 'hello' when Maeve joins the party. He allows a welcoming smile to cross over and tries his best not to dwell on the alluring neckline of his girlfriend. I wonder if she picked that just for you? "Welcome to the party, Ms. Maeve."

Ms. Perez's presence does pull a bit of Conner's attention; he remembered that she wanted to speak with Conner and Maeve just before Kowalsic's sentencing. He gives a pointed look to Maeve while Mable approachesSimone as if to say 'remember this one?' "Hello again, Ms. Perez." He gives the visiting Shadow a nod of respect as one of the Clan. He wouldn't presume to hold priority over Mable, given that she ran the Circle here.

So many directions to be pulled towards...

[Jennifer Hazelton]

Jennifer walks directly to Mable, seeking out the Gangrel Whip. Jennifer waits for a lull in the conversation. When an opportunity presents itself, Jennifer's Cursed voice sounds.

"Excuse me." Jennifer politely inserted, brown eyes looking to Mabel. "When you have a moment, Heirophant Wood, could we speak with you? Someone seeks an introduction." Jennifer gave a meaningful look to Samantha's direction.

ooc

You can start the side thread if you are interested in the conversation

[Samantha Nyugen]

Following just a few paces behind, Samantha waits patiently alongside Priscus Hazelton. Her dark eyes looking upon Mabel intensely, expectantly.

[Mable Wood]

Mable gave a nod as the serpents voice crawled under her skin, "Certainly, Priscus Hazelton. Right this way." She gestured toward a quieter seating area.

To the rest of the group near her, "Please excuse me." And she headed for the seating area.

[Alessandra]

The new face caught her attention for a couple reasons. One being her weak Beast, the other being that she was a Cousin. Would it be a Cousin that was useful or would it be like others before? More a headache than they were worth? Time would tell.

A smile and respectful bow of her head to Twist as she entered. The Savage had to admit, she was expecting something flashier and more colorful from the Daeva. But it still looked amazing on her.

The appearance of Jacque earned him a nod of respect from her. He had done a good job with the decorations and organization.

Watching Jennifer pass off the new face to Mable, Ale decides to be a bit social.

Well, within her own circle, but it still counted. Walking over to Twist , she offers a smile, “Buona serata.” She greets, “I like the dress for the night, it’s quite the look.” Could she wear it? Probably not. But she wasn’t a Daeva that could wear anything and look stunning.