The Devil's Ball

[Shaehern Azhrarn]

Zeke was it? This one was nearly so cute as Kristopher and much more relaxed. Personal preference told him that while Kristopher would be more fun to terrorize on a regular basis that this Zeke fellow was much more compatible with him in the personality department. Maybe it was a human that could actually understand why he did the things he did. The very idea that a human could perform the mental acrobatics to even follow the twisted tracks that his train of thought ran upon was outlandish. Still it was fun to muse over.

"Shaehern Azhrarn. Fun-loving and self-proclaimed commotion storm of Wonderland." And buy the boy what? That made him laugh hysterically. Clearly this was too much for Shaehern. Clueless often came across as funny to him--it was even funnier if he found out later that it wasn't an act.

"I'll buy you two drinks for that. That's so wonderful." He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye with a little smile. Looking at Kristopher he noted that the boy was hardly dealing well with Shaehern's presence. What was it about him that set the boy off so badly?

Maybe he was like a dog that could smell the storm coming.

Regardless, the obvious distraction seemed silly and inappropriate. The boy wanted an out and Shaehern obliged by turning his head, but not before giving young Zeke a wink. Turning his head back the boys were gone.

"Oh dear, what a surprise." His voice somehow held the same enthusiasm he almost always spoke with, even though he was trying to make it sound forced in a way to be humorous. Surely he'd find company elsewhere in the room. Maybe he'd pester Naelona if he found no one else of interest. His heels clicked along as he walked away from the spot.

Except he didn't get to do more than turn around before having to pause once more. He was face to face with a short, but nonetheless adorable, woman who seemed to have been rather taken with his performance. Shaehern loved interesting people, and it seemed that the interesting person found him. What luck! Normally they ran away.

"I'm glad you enjoyed the performance. And yes, those boys do move rather quickly. I'm afraid it's an automatic reaction from some of them." He shrugged with his bared shoulders. "Not much I can do about it. My name is Shaehern Azhrarn." He found his hand taken by this 'Jasmine Krisp'. It was a gorgeous name and he wondered how his own held up.

The term 'token lesbian' just made Shaehern toss his head back and give his half-giggle, half-chortle. He knew better than to think it was a joke, but the wording just seemed so... appropriate. "You're the token lesbian and I'm the token fruit basket! Excellent! I imagine we shall get along swimmingly."

[Luther Verhulst]

A man far too large to be moving as silently as he did slipped around the walls of the ball room. Even with the ability to clear crowds with or without physical contact it did not change the fact that he disliked them greatly. Luther Gethsemane Verhulst was a lone wolf. Wolves were pack animals by nature, but the lone wolf broke that archetype. Honestly, so far as Luther could tell there was only one type of canine he had ever encountered that preferred to run solo.

One beast that preferred to run solo, and instead of letting them do just that he had to keep them all caged up together. And people wondered why they were such irritable little monsters.

Festivities were a bother and his presence here seemed largely unnecessary. Being told to come was one thing, but being told to dress up was entirely another. He had to get a new coat tailored for himself and he had to polish up the nicer of his two breastplates. Etching and designs hardly seemed a fitting addition to armor. Armor was supposed to serve a practical purpose and decorating it was nothing more than an obnoxious statement.

He was not even allowed to bring the weapon he had wanted to bring to the ball. Instead he had his personal crossbow hanging within his coat and enough extra ammo to probably shoot every slave in the room. That would have solved any and all of their concerns of a slave revolt.

Some slaves did not like mingling in the crowds either. Luther towered over them and paid most of them no heed. Who could blame them? They were obviously the prey animals and they could tell when one of their kind was going to die. Each and every one hoping that it wasn't going to be them or someone they knew.

One slave just seemed disinterested with the entire thing. "Boredom leaves a mind idle. An idle mind causes trouble." The voice did not contain the hint of a threat, but most anything said from a man like Luther could probably be taken as such.

[Sarah Roberts]

Sarah noticed the boogie make his way along the wall. How could she not? The guy was huge. But, other than his size, he was no more interesting than the rest of them. She kept her attention on her brothers, chuckling in her head at Kris' sudden introduction to the flamboyant boogie Sarah had just nicknamed "Rocky". Poor Kyle didn't seem to be having much fun, but Sarah didn't particularly feel like getting that close to Naelona, let alone trying to make her way through the crowd. Not that Naelona didn't rank fairly high on the list of bodies Sarah wouldn't mind getting close to, but she was not in the mood to have much contact with the creatures who orchestrated this farce of a ball.

"Boredom leaves a mind idle. An idle mind causes trouble."

Even when the boogie had come to be within speaking distance, Sarah hadn't much noticed, and it took her a few moments to realize he was actually talking to her, instead of someone else entirely. "Hmm? Oh. Sorry. Just seems I am without my dance partner. A ball isn't as much fun without one." She beamed a smile at him. Her best fake smile. Hopefully, he would be satisfied with that answer, and move on. She didn't need to be harassed tonight. She wasn't too worried about the main event. If it was her or Kyle, she was sure they could take care of themselves. The likelihood of it being Kris was slim. So, she just wanted to get through this with as little trouble as possible so they could all three go home.

[Luther Verhulst]

The disinterested human seemed to ignore his comment. Luther hardly had time to beat the idea through her head and so he clenched his teeth together and started to walk away. He'd be damned if anything he ever said would make his job easier down the road. Words were little more than an idle force. If you wanted something done it required action.

Before he got away she commented. An excuse was hardly what he had been fishing for, especially from a slave. At the most pragmatic level he could consider it validation that the little one had heard his words. At a less pragmatic level it was information he did not need or desire. He growled at her as he showed the girl his fangs.

The lone wolf was really more like a bear sometimes.

"Results, not excuses." It was at that point that Luther should have added a 'don't cause trouble' to the end, but he honestly hoped she'd cause some trouble. It would give him a wonderful excuse to tear out her throat. There was hardly anything they were serving here that he could eat and hunger made him irritable. He was more than irritable enough without her smiling at him.

Most people took a smile as a friendly sign. Luther read signs like an animal. When an animal barred its teeth it was a threat or a show of power. A smirk wasn't so much a show of power--it was just an insult in Luther's book.

"S'farce of a ball anyways." Luther grumbled and started his slow walk away again. His teeth were still barred.

[Sarah Roberts]

The boogie growled at her, and made what would have been a threatening gesture from a dog or wolf. On a human, the bearing of one's teeth would have been somewhat silly, but it seemed right at home on a boogie's face. Even so, Sarah didn't so much as flinch, her smile unwavering. Boogies had thrown worse her direction than growls before. And she had pushed them a lot more than she'd pushed this one so far. She still hadn't gotten a chance to try out her improvised knife. Shame, really. It needed love, at some point. Maybe it would get lucky tonight?

Honestly, Sarah hoped not. Normally, she wasn't against a fight, if it came her way, but tonight she would rather just get through all of this.

"Results, not excuses."

Sarah's smile did falter, just a little, at that, and her eyebrow raised a little. Results? Did she miss the part where he gave her instructions? This one seemed a little more grumpy than normal for boogies. Which was saying something. Her hand moved slowly to where it would be in a better position to pull the knife if need be. She was still going to avoid that option, if possible, but she didn't want to be caught off guard.

"S'farce of a ball anyways."

The massive boogie started moving away, but that last line as he left caught her a little off guard, in a different way than she had been preparing against, and she let out a short, slight giggle. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had done, and her hands went to her mouth. She hoped he hadn't heard that.

[Doctor Nationis]

Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

The sound of a cane would be all but silent in the loud hosh-posh of an event, the music easily covering the repetitive sound of the dark brown wood hitting the ballroom floor. The heavy black robes brushed against the floor, swaying gently in the odd walk pattern the boogie was showing. Or was it a human? Whatever the beast was it needed the cane. Limping, he made his way through the crowd, some being polite to move out of the way for the crippled, fear for boogies, or just creeped out by the whole look.

The robe gave away nothing about the being besides the belt tight enough to reveal the skinny waist. The white gloves showed that the man, or woman, had humanoid hands, dismissing any thoughts that it was one of the boogies with more monstrous appendages. The wide brim hat cloaked the mask and hair in darkness, only those who dared to approach would see the light brown hue of this fragile looking creature. The mask topped the look off, blank, beaked, and bleach white. A bird? Could this be a boogie who had the luck of having a beak?

No. It was Iugo Nationis, dressed in an attire his father had worn to formal occasions, the mask a hand me down through the family line. The story went that somewhere down the Nationis time line, a boy aspired to be a doctor was taken to Wonderland, and had this on him. With their own interest in the medical field, the eldest of the family would wear the outfit to what ever event, such as a ball, that was going on. It had been years since it had seen use, as Iugo was either busy running around slicing children(or not) or simply hated the public enough to not go. Sure, his father wore it once or twice, but they remained mostly a country family, staying away from most business in the palace.

Was that... breathing? Yes, Iugo was breathing raggedly. For one, the whole costume was very warm and the mask was doing nothing to help his respiration. The second reason was that he was walking on a fractured ankle, which he acquired in a recent beatings, mere days before this lovely party. The Doctor had taken the liberty of aiding himself while Loki and Agony fended off those that would seek him harm. So why venture out with such an injury? Simple! Since his talk with Jasmine he had been trying to find more activities to distract his mind, even if he thought they were horrid ideas.

Moving slowly through the ocean of bodies, he found a table an sat, a hand rubbing his thigh to ease his pain, even if the source was in his ankle. A natural response, he mused. Taking the cane up, he laid it across his lap as his other hand dove into the robes. Taking out his trusty rusty knife, he stabbed two small holes in the underside of his mask, allowing him to ventilate his face much more efficiently. With a sigh of relief, he replaced it in the fold of his robes, looking around himself. Unbeknownst to him, he had sat at the very same table as one Miss Ezel, opposite her, though his mask's peripheral range did not allow him to see her in his quick sweep, nor the folk that were behind him that she was keeping an eye on.

[Piper Wren]

Piper tensed slightly when Elric placed a necessary hand on the curve of her waist but didn’t say anything about it; after all…it was just part of the dance. When he started to lead her on the floor Piper couldn’t help but be surprised that he was an extremely competent dancer. She was impressed that he avoided her feet. Once the overall nerves subsided enough for Piper to relax she actually started to enjoy herself a little. Even if she had to face Naelona afterwards…But that worry was soon extinguished with the loud entrance of a rather flamboyant woma-oh…it was a man, a man dressed like a peacock on speed for lack of a better description. When he broke into song, Piper realised the voice belonged to Shaehern and found herself freezing on the dancefloor. It seemed she wasn’t the only one either, there were similar reactions spreading across the floor like a bad smell.

Taking a glance over at Kristopher to see he looked more nauseated than anything by the display and the boogie up by the orchestra…anger was coming off him in waves. Piper felt Elric shudder and looked up at him, for him that was quite an unusual response…normally nothing bothered him much. It seemed Shaehern was a whole other dimension.

"Maybe it would be best if we stepped off of the floor for now."

The young woman nodded, eager to get further away from Shaehern if she could, that particular boogie still made her very nervous and she stepped closer to Elric, gripping onto the fabric of his sleeve without really thinking about it.

“I er…I think I agree with you.”

[Kyle Roberts]

As were the other members of his mistress' entourage, Kyle Roberts was silent as the grave as they made their way to and into the ball room. Like Elric he had fallen into position behind the two in front, Naelona and his brother Kristopher. It would not do for him to pass them by; one, he would have no idea where his mistress intended to seat herself, and two, he would be harshly reprimanded for such an untraditional act. Regardless, he was not far behind her, not even so far as Elric was. He was some two and a half feet or so directly behind and just to the side a little, prepared in case he needed to move quickly for any reason.

As they proceeded across the floor to the staircase, Kyle's eyes flicked back and forth over every face and body in the room. His body and manner were rigid, muscles taut beneath the leather of the outfit he had been made to wear. To be honest he wasn't very fond of the attire. Certainly it was better than Kristopher's, and better than the SS uniform she'd made him wear to the last ball, but he didn't like what it implied. The leather coat, pants, and glove were thick and tight; clinging to him so effectively that it was like he was wearing a second skin. Around his waist was a thick, metal adorned belt that covered his more vulnerable middle section. On his chest were heavy metal crosses; the largest with a tendency to lay across his heart. On his wrists were heavy bracelets; one made of something resembling steel, the other several thicknesses of leather with spikes adorning it. On his feet were not elegant dress shoes, but rather heavy combat boots. The whole outfit made him think that Naelona was anticipating something, something troublesome. Something deadly.

He had little time to dwell on the matter however. Soon enough they had reached the table his mistress wished to be seated at, one well back from the crowds that nevertheless presented an excellent view of everything going on in the ballroom. Kris pulled a chair out for her and she seated herself, Kyle once more taking up his position just behind and to the side of her. He might have seemed to be acting a bit too much like a watchdog, but he felt that he was being underly cautious if anything at all. That Augusta had something planned for tonight he knew. Since the incident during the fire he had become deeply mistrusted by the majority of the rebels, but he was still privy to their plans nonetheless. Thus he felt the need to stay close to his mistress and brother, just in case something were to happen.

Unfortunately, he'd no sooner taken up his position than he was dismissed. It was not something that he was fond of doing but he saw that he had little choice but to go about his business elsewhere. Besides, perhaps by scouting the room he could uncover exactly how far Augusta's plans were progressing, and what matters the boogies were taking to prevent them. A grim smile was on his face as he gave his mistress a curt bow and turned away, moving toward the staircase and down it.

It was as he neared the bottom that the more grandiose of appearances began. All about him people were reacting differently; some with shock, some with horror, some were even retching. He however paid it no attention, casting no more than a sidelong glance at the obviously insane boogie. Instead he made his way around the floor, taking special note of the medallion centered in the room. He wasn't sure what purpose it was meant to serve, but he was positive that it had some special, and dire, meaning.

Unable to determine just yet what the medallion was meant to be in aid of, he instead focused his attention elsewhere. Casting through the crowd he picked out some familiar forms, Elric and whom he assumed to be Piper, Naelona's father on the stage, Kris fleeing for his life from the new arrival. But the one that caught his attention more than any other, was the behemoth boogie circling the walls. This one too was expecting trouble, judging from the armor he was wearing. And judging from the look in his eyes he wouldn't hesitate to kill everyone in the room. Whatever happened, it was clear this one would be the biggest threat. For that reason Kyle kept an uneasy eye on him, prepared to move at a moment's notice should anything occur.

[Jasmine Krisp]

"Can't say I understand why anyone would run from you. I can imagine being envious, but scared?" Jasmine's eyes glimmered behind the dark glass over them. There wasn't a drop of sarcasm in her voice. None what so ever. She honestly found this man, Shaehern, to be quite a interesting fellow. And not just interesting in the 'call the men in white coats' sense, but he was also fairly beautiful. In a feminine way, of course. Jazz never really understood how a man could be beautiful.

Though Shae looked like a woman enough.

The little Boogie woman laughed softly along with Shae, her voice soft and fluttery as it always was. "What a lovely name. I do believe we will, fruit-basket." Her gaze landed on the armor-clad man as he slinked about the room, squeezing his hand from a shot of fear that went trough her. Jasmine shivered slightly and then looked back up to the feathered Shae with a smile. "So tell me, where have you been all my life?"

Hiding under all those feathers?

[Luther Verhulst]

At this point ignoring the human would be the best course of action. It certainly was not the course of action that would provide him with the most pleasure, but he exercised restraint. There was a stern sounding voice in his head reminding him of a couple of important commands he was supposed to keep in mind for the evening.

Do try and mingle. That had been the first command. Of course, Luther absolutely despised crowds and would not mingle in the center of the room. Taking care of his personally sworn duty to size up everyone in the room while circling on the outside meant he could avoid crowds. It also meant he was likely to encounter those people who were also avoiding the crowds. Smart troublemakers would likely be talking on the dance floor, but it would be harder to coordinate commands in that fashion. Ironically it was the one place where one was least likely to be overheard talking about something.

The other commandment was more relevant to his current situation. Don't cause trouble. You're only there to stop it. Slaughtering humans before the appropriated time would hardly accomplish that goal. Egging on the beast was hardly a wise choice. There was a human saying that he had recalled. He believed that it went 'let sleeping dogs lie.'

This 'dog' contented himself with the idea that he was done. However, his ears twitched and he found himself turning sharply at the sound of laughter. Had he said something funny? Did this slave think he was meant to be some kind of dancing bear meant for her amusement? She covered up her mouth--clearly she understood the mistake she had made.

He forced himself to stop showing his teeth as he considered what it had been that he said. Luther supposed that a slave might find a Boogie who considered the ball to be a farce amusing. After all, it was nothing more than an ostentatious show before a ritualized slaughtering of a pig.

Except the pig was a human and the ritualized slaughter was more of a gladiatorial event. "Stay amused for as long as you can," he muttered and he finished leaving the girl be. It was time to go to his 'checkpoint' to check how his partner was doing.

[Shaehern Azhrarn]

There were moments when one could easily be convinced that something was meant to be. As of this moment Shahern was absolutely convinced that this Boogie woman and he were meant to be the best of friends. Others might see it as a friendship born of insanity, but Shaehern already felt like she understood him and the way he worked. Furthermore, she was hardly a drab and boring type. Looking at her one could simply tell that she also had a taste for the unusual.

It was those little things that made life exciting. As for the question of where he had been all of Jasmine's life... the odds were that he could possibly be much younger than she was. After all, Shaehern was barely an adult by anyone's definition of the word. In spirit he had the youthful glee of a child and in age he still had a great many years laying ahead of him.

"Likely it is that I've simply been hanging out with the other fruits in the orchards!" It was a brilliant place to be and Shaehern loved the native flora of Wonderland. It was at the point where he had even started cultivating his own plants in a private greenhouse. Resources were limited and that gave him issues, but it was a fun hobby and would likely keep him busy for many years. His actual business always seemed much more sinister and serious, but it was lighthearted antics that he always adored.

Shaehern had noticed that his companion had looked at something. The slender Boogie transvestite dared a glance and saw the hulking form that was Luther Verhulst. His skin paled a little bit before he gave a nervous laugh. He quickly looked around for a good place to hide. Maybe near Naelona's table would be a good spot. It was likely that if anyone's personality could repel the beast it would be hers.

"What say you to the suggestion that we go pester an acquaintance of mine, Naelona Ezel?" Naelona hardly ever bothered to meet or greet anyone who did not go out of their way to find her, but Shaehern imagined that Jasmine would not be the type to mind visiting the woman. If you ignored the personality that could be likened to a half-drowned cat she was a lovely woman and a hard worker.

"So tell me honestly, since you can give me an honest answer. Do I look gorgeous?"

[Elric Vlarintos]

They might have been able to stay on the dance floor for a while longer, but Elric was hardly certain that he felt comfortable there after that Boogie's entrance. It had been unusual and Elric was certain that he had missed some reference somewhere. For some reason there had been a line in there that had made him consider Kristopher for a brief moment.

Being the object of that Boogie's attention was not a fate that Elric would have wished on anyone after that display.

Elric did not know if he dared to think that he had fun dancing considering the circumstances of the ball. However, it had been a pleasant experience with nothing that could be used to ridicule him later transpiring. Even if he had done anything worthy or ridicule it would have likely been drowned out in the wave that had been the one Boogie's entrance. "Do you know that one?" he asked Piper. It had seemed like she might have recognized him. Considering her self-declared 'magnetism' for creeps it almost seemed to fit.

Elric paid no mind to the fact that she was grabbing his sleeve. As things stood he was too busy considering if he should take Piper back to Naelona immediately or give his Mistress some time. She was sitting at one of the tables with a peculiar guest that he did not recognize. Whatever mask the creature wore, it seemed something halfway between a deranged tengu and the skull of some unknown creature.

"Should we stay away from Naelona for a while longer?" he mumbled to her. Elric really had no desire to put it off forever, but there was really very little more he could offer to keep the encounter away. Guests at Naelona's table certainly could have been a good reason to stay away, but it hardly seemed like Naelona and her unknown guest were speaking.

[Naelona Ezel]

With all this hustle and bustle, Naelona was beginning to wonder where that drink was. Watching Shaehern with a wary eye she soon found exactly where it was as Kristopher and another boy was glomped by the boogie. Watching the pair she grew a bit confused.. which was Kris? They were both blond.. about the same size but.. her eyes narrowed in thought ..at this distance the only thing telling them apart was their clothing. How peculiar.. but if Sin was around.. a small note of discontent slipped from her throat.

Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Naelona felt the back of her ears tense as the sound came along the balcony, and another presence joined her at the table. Glancing across the table the boogie looked just in time to see the figure stabbing a rusty blade up into it's mask it to create some holes beneath the long beak.. nose.. thing.

What a lovely first impression.

Naelona made a face of disgust and turned her attentions away from the intruder and back onto the chaos below. There had been a reason she'd taken a seat so far away from the main floor. And at least one of them had to have the cheek to intrude on that. Ah well, they didn't seem to take notice of her and being she didn't recognize them, returned the favor.

It only took a moment to spot Elric again, and also Shaehern. Wasn't that other boogie with him the one who'd been up here moments ago? If they were acquaintances, she hoped they didn't return. Something seemed to bother Shae as he was suddenly looking for elsewhere to go.. and that suited her just fine. Hopefully that meant he would keep his distance for the evening. But that meant one thing, something worse than Shaehern was on the floor, and it wasn't her father, Kazn.

Scanning for the disturbance, Naelona's gray eyes finally settled upon a very large and moving shape. Her lips pressed thin, and all thoughts of a glare had only one destination. It was Luther, if she ever saw him. True, Kazn had said the beast of a boogie would be attending.. but still.

Sitting back with a small huff Naelona pretended not to notice the lurking form while debating which was worse. The fact he was currently wandering around and would probably be here the entire night - or the more unsettling fact that he seemed to be coming this way.

[Piper Wren]

"Do you know that one?"

Piper nodded slowly, glancing back at Shaehern with a truly uncomfortable look in her eyes. Her last run in with him had been less than pleasant...mostly due to his rather forward interest in claiming her for his own with Tristan no longer around. His voice made her skin crawl and the thought of being chased down the corridors of the south wing again...even if it was cut short by the appearence of Zarek. Why did she attract creeps? She still didn't understand even to this very day why she was a target. Her knuckles were showing white through her skin as she was still holding onto his sleeve like a lifeline.

"Yeah, I do...he was interested in..well, claiming me as soon as he heard Tristan was dead. You can probably guess why he gives me the creeps..."

"Should we stay away from Naelona for a while longer?"

Another nod, Piper knew she couldn't put it off forever, but she would prefer to have Shaehern well away from her if she was going to be speaking to Naelona. She took a deep breath to cool her head, it was nice to see Elric treating her somewhat normally again despite everything that had happened over the last few weeks.

"That would be good...if I have to speak to your mistress I would rather do it without Shaehern breathing down my neck."

[Elric Vlarintos]

So it seemed that Piper had met the crazy one before. Really, there should have been no doubts in his mind. Somehow the more wild and crazy the Boogies got the less it seemed to bother him. Piper, on the other hand, still was at the stage where the strange behaviors created a nightmare of the unknown. With everyone wearing their respective masks and with the nonstop music in the background Elric felt like things were going to be bad.

"He's obviously a sleazebag," Elric commented on Shaehern before letting the entire situation go. Honestly, the way the Boogie acted seemed to pour off nothing more than warnings for anyone and everything to keep away. The powerful stage presence suggested that there was either more to him than a harmless man in a dress, or that he was loud an obnoxious. Either way, Elric did not want to ever deal with him.

Staying away from Naelona a little bit longer suited him just fine. "I honestly don't think she'd tolerate that... Shaehern character near her for very long." If nothing else, Elric had discovered that certain types of behavior garnered something resembling respect from his Mistress and other behaviors earned you a solid scolding. If Shaehern was her slave he doubted that she would ever stop reprimanding him.

"We'll hang around by the walls then. Maybe we'll find someone else you know." Elric hesitated to ask the last question. "Did you know if Tristan kept any slaves other than Aione and you?"