December Event: Pilot Ridge Holiday Bash

[Event !]

Who exactly started the Pilot Ridge Holiday Party tradition has been lost to time, as at least three different people in town claim it was their idea. (It was totally Mrs. Perry, but not enough people can corroborate it, so she has to share the credit.) But no matter who first put it into motion, the party is a tradition the whole town anticipates every year.

It is held in the largest rental hall in town, at a nice restaurant. Admission is $20, and half of that is donated to the charity-of-the-year, or $10 if a donation is supplied. (This year's charity: Toys for Tots.) There is plenty of food, and plenty of booze. Not to mention, a lovely dance floor.

And they're serious about carding. No characters under 21 allowed.


This event will be closed on January 1. This thread is not eligible for Thread of the Month. It is a party thread, so do not worry about post order, so long as you have something to respond to. (And get people involved! Drink and dance with someone new!)

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt pulled up to the bright yellow house, sighing heavily. He really couldn’t believe he was doing this, but god help him, Elaine had asked him to escort her and he’d never really been able to deny his old friend much. Even if it hadn’t been so much asked as emotionally coerced. She’d given him The Face. The Face was a special talent of hers; something she’d been able to make as long as he’d known her and it always, always worked on him. Without fail. And it wasn’t even just The Face, even though that probably would have been enough. It was how she asked him, cleverly timed just after he’d announced over coffee that he wasn’t going.

“You’re not? Oh, I was going to ask you to go with me, but if you don’t want to go, that’s fine. I really don’t want to push you into anything. I guess I’ll just pack up my nice dress again in the closet and stay home."

And then she had hit him with her sad little face and now Cobalt was sitting in the car by her house in a coat and tie trying to calm his social anxiety and get over himself a little before going up to her door. Once he’d agreed to take her, he resolved to be a good friend and not let his personal desires (for space, quiet, solitude, etc) get in the way of Elaine having a good time. He was going to be a gentleman and put his social awkwardness in a box for the night. As best as he could.

Adjusting his tie, Cobalt pushed open the car door and limped down the driveway to knock on Elaine’s door. He waited, fiddling with the ends of his jacket sleeves absently. He could do this; it wasn’t as though it was something as disastrous as that poker night a few weeks ago. And he knew Elaine. This would be fine. When the door opened, Cobalt was able to relax into a smile. “Hey Lainey,” He greeted his friend, “You look very nice.” And it was true. One thing about the two of them: both could clean up well. Elaine admittedly a little better than Cobalt. He grinned teasingly and held out his arm, elbow crooked, “Shall we?” See? Gentleman. He could do this.

[Paulo Ortiz]

For such a quiet man, Paulo was strangely in his element at the party. It was loud, yes, with the music playing and people calling greetings to each other. But even though he hadn't spoken to anyone yet, and was just observing the people coming in, he was enjoying himself. This was the kind of party he liked, where he didn't have to talk, just sit near the bar and occasionally smile and nod while he people-watched.

Maybe he looked like he was waiting for a friend, or people just skimmed over the man who acted so unremarkably, but no one stopped to speak to him. And he didn't mind it. He was under cover, and probably shouldn't even have been in such a big crowd. But he could blend in, and it wasn't like anyone would recognize him as a classmate or something. He was truly anonymous here.

But he could only enjoy his solitude so long; Paulo had some work to do. More information on this Morgan character would be nice, and whatever he could return to Gabriel with on top of that would just be icing. With a mild smile at a woman passing by, obviously looking for someone, he swigged down the rest of his beer and stood up, then headed over to the bar. There were a handful of people there, so while he waited for the bartender to get to him, he spoke cheerfully to the person next to him. "Merry Christmas. Or Happy Holidays. Whatever we're supposed to be saying today."

[Elaine Tonaya]

Elaine smiled at Cobalt and took his arm. "Thank you, sir." They walked to the car and she waited patiently while he opened the door for her and closed it after she had gotten in. The ride over was silent, not even any music. She could feel the awkwardness in the car, and she fiddled with her purse gently.

Her bright red dress was one she'd picked up a few years ago and never had opportunity to wear. It still fit well, though, and she had some nice black kitten heels to go with it, so she'd pulled out the the knee-length, three-quarter-sleeve dress, thrown on a black scarf and jacket, and done herself up for the evening.

This night was going to be fun. She was determined to make it so. She was going to meet people and have a fun time outside of work. She was going to see people and laugh, and she was going to do it all with a really good friend. Admittedly, she was a little sorry she'd had to drag Cobalt out into this,but it was nice for her to have some support. There wasn't anyone else she felt really comfortable going with. Hopefully Cobalt would find some other friends to talk to as well.

Finally, when they were almost at the party, Elaine cleared her throat. "I hope they play some good dancing music. It'd be nice to be able to do some nice dancing. Even if we don't necessarily look that great." She threw him a gentle smile.

They walked into the party arm-in-arm, and Elaine hung up her coat by the door. She wandered over to the bar. "A glass of red wine for me," she requested, opening up her purse to pay.

[Cobalt Weaver]

When the got to the party, Elaine made the comment of dancing and her general appearance. Cobalt elbowed her gently, “Excuse you, madame. You look beautiful.” He smirked at his friend; they’d long since gotten past the point where compliments were hastily accompanied by an assurance that they didn’t mean it like that. Their friendship was firmly established, and Cobalt didn’t feel embarrassed telling her she looked nice.

Hanging up his jacket, Cobalt glanced over his shoulder to see Elaine reach for her purse. “I hope you’re just opening your purse because you need gum or something,” Cobalt called out, smiling, “Because the first rule of escorting: the lady doesn’t pay. Duh, Elaine.” He nudged her shoulder with his own teasingly. He pulled out his wallet and paid the appropriate amount. He glanced around the room, wondering if he’ll see anyone he knew. Pilot Ridge was small enough that he probably would, but he hadn’t seen anyone yet.

“I hope they play good music too, actually.” Cobalt said, a slightly belated response to Elaine’s comment, “If I could have the honor of a dance, that is.” He added, with a teasing grin, “I’ve learned how, so don’t worry, I won’t step on your toes.”

He started, looking around when someone spoke up next to him. He turned to see an amiable-looking man whom he actually hadn’t noticed. Oops. “Oh.” Cobalt shrugged in response, “Happy holidays is usually the safer bet, I suppose.” He didn’t recognize the man, so he decided to be polite and hold out his hand, “Cobalt Weaver. I don’t think we’ve ever met.”

[Mary Savage]

Savage absolutely, without question, did NOT clean up well. That's not to say she didn't try. (Okay, so she didn't try very hard, but she tried!) She had gone through all her half-unpacked crap and managed to find the only dress she owned that wasn't 1) ridiculously short or 2) full of holes. It was a black vinyl mini-dress, though, so it wasn't exactly classy. She tried to dress it up with some tights and leopard-print heels, but in the end she just looked like a crazy lady in a dress instead of her usual crazy lady in a parka. She'd also attempted to tame her hair, and failing that had resorted to liberty spikes. Point is, she was feeling pretty, and as such was determined to find someone to take home with her tonight.

Savage sauntered over to the bar and scanned the blackboard that showed the specials before ordering. "Hey there," She purred at the pretty blond bartender, "get me a Jack and coke, would you, honey?" The bartender was really too busy to flirt with, but she was also very much Savvy's type - short, cute, and very girly. She hastily handed Savvy her drink and then hurried off to deal with the rest of the crowd.

Savvy sat at the nearest empty table with her drink and began one of her very favorite activities: people watching. Of all the creatures in the world, it seemed to her, humans were the most fascinating to observe. She also liked to see who was observing her. She figured out who it was that kept looking at her and made sure to wink or blow them kisses when they did. A little long-distance flirting never hurt anyone, right?

[Penny Stone]

Penny usually didn't try to bring attention to herself. She didn't want to be noticed more than just be acknowledged that there was a person there. However, tonight, she was determined to find Morgan. She was determined. It was going to happen. It had been too long since she'd caught any sort of 'useful' information and she was damn near tired of living in that apartment with Paulo---not that he was bad or anything. She just didn't like him enough to be living with him, with her own room even.

She was dressed to be noticed, this night. Her red dress clung to her in all the right places and drew attention to all those places as well, but it wasn't scampy and completely revealing either. She, being Chinese through and through, really didn't have that many curves, but she still knew how to accentuate what she did have. Her heels showed off her perfectly muscled legs and her make up brought heavy attention to her eyes. With her, she only carried a small purse with her Id in it and some money. Once she arrived at the party, she made her way through the dance floor to the bar. She got herself a drink before she started to glance around.

She wouldn't do what she normally did by being a fly on the wall. She'd be in the thick of it, at all times. She was not going to miss her chance. Once she had her drink, she moved towards Paulo, a small smile on her face. "Good evening." She was married to him, remember? She made sure to layer on the Chinese accent, since she preferred people thinking her English wasn't very good. She wound her arm with his and leaned her head against her should before she peered at the two people he was talking to. In all of her wanderings of the town, she immediately remembered both of them. The woman was a florist in the mall, and he was a new lawyer. Apart from that she knew nothing else about them. She still smiled like she didn't know them. "I will say Merry Christmas, always." Penny didn't give a shit either way. Ming Yue, however, was a cheerful girl happy to have found a good husband before she was twenty-five.

[Paulo Ortiz]

"I don't think we have either." Paulo shook the man's hand firmly. A quick scan of the area, and he knew that both the other man and his date were meta. Perfect. "I'm Oscar Mendoza, and I'm still pretty new to town. Never been to one of these before." He gestured at the decorations and the crowed, smiling amicably. "I can't believe how huge this is."

As always, he was very particular about how he came across. Despite his difficulties, Paulo was actually a very good agent. It helped that he was attractive--a feature that had always come in useful when he was trying to get information--and he was a good conversationalist. He was careful about how he sounded as well, with his Cuban accent just prominent enough to be noticed. Most of all, he was able to look like he belonged.

And that goal was only helped by Penny approaching them. With a smile at her--damn, she looked hot tonight--he patted her hand on his arm and said to the other couple, "And this is Ming Yue, my wife." They were an attractive pair, even with the age gap. But he still looked young and well-off enough that it wasn't implausible. "Merry Christmas, cosita," Paulo said to her, still smiling.

Then he turned his attention back to the older two. They appeared older, but since they were meta and didn't have any trace of an accent, they were probably Hammel graduates. "Nice to meet you, Cobalt and...?"

Charming bastard.

[Elaine Tonaya]

Elaine laughed as Cobalt tried to compliment her dress. "Not how we look in our clothes, silly. We both look nice that way. I was talking about dancing, which I haven't done in years. I'll probably fall over myself."

She smiled at Cobalt as he paid for the drink, then took a sip of the wine. "I'm glad you've been practicing. I would like to dance, just don't expect me to be spectacular at anything." Then she heard Cobalt talking to someone and turned to look with a large smile on her face.

The smile froze as she caught a whiff of the man sitting there. She glanced between Cobalt and...Oscar, he'd said his name was? Sure, he looked nice, but Elaine was not liking his aura.

Then Ming Yue came over. Or at least, she said her name was Ming Yue. With the amount of deception that was floating around these two, it was impossible to tell who was telling the truth and who was lying. And about what. But it was probably all a lie, or at least that's the way Elaine decided to treat it.

She hadn't ever met a lot of evil people in her life. Generally people were misguided, or hard on the outside and soft inside. Yet recently she seemed to be running into more and more of these seemingly nice and suave people who appeared to have no soul. Was there some sort of infestation developing? And her poker face was not nearly good enough to hide a lot of the emotions she was feeling.

At least Elaine knew she couldn't keep lying about being friendly. She took hold of her glass with both hands to keep them from shaking and gave a nice smile. "I am Christina. Christina Morrison. It's nice to meet you."

A change in the music saved her. "Oh, Cobalt, honey, I love this song! Please, let's dance." She grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor. "Well, it was nice to see you. Maybe we'll spot each other around town," she called back over her shoulder.

Then she turned back to Cobalt. "Don't ever go near them again," she whispered when they were out of earshot. "Never. You know how there are certain smells you don't like? Yeah, well, I don't like the smell of evil."

[Leila Gold]

Leila had heard about the party, but she still hadn't really met anyone in town to go with. All the men she knew were old, gay, or taken. All the nice ones, anyway. So instead of trying to hunt down a date with only a few hours left, she just decided to go stag.

She dressed up specially for the occasion. She didn't normally get the opportunity, so this time she went all out. A light blue dress and three-inch silver heels, hair specially curled and make-up meticulously applied. It was tough, it had taken hours, but she was pleased with it. At least until she had to find a way to get to the party. She'd never bothered to get a car, so that left her with a bike or walking.

She took the bike.

She kept the wind away from her face and hair, instead using it to keep her dress from flying up or getting caught in the chain. And somehow, remarkably, she made it all the way to the party. She was starting to get a headache from using her power so much, though, so she popped down a couple Excedrin before walking in.

There weren't many people there yet, but the music was already going. Leila went over to the bar, ordered herself a rum and coke, then went to find a place to sit down while she waited for more people to come in.

As she looked around the room, she spotted a few couples, including her boss. Strangely enough, he was dancing with a woman. Leila was curious, but decided not to interrupt them. Instead she just smiled and made a mental note to tease him the next day at work. Then she continued looking around the room.

In one corner she saw a girl in a black mini-dress that appeared to be made of vinyl. Leila was subconsciously reeling at the garish outfit, then the girl winked. At her. Leila jumped a little and splashed a little of her drink. She was about to turn away, discounting it, when the girl winked again.

Leila frowned, then made her way slowly around the edges of the room. "Excuse me," she said when she reached the girl. "Do I know you?"

[Cobalt Weaver]

Oscar Mendoza. Interesting. Cobalt filed the name away in the hopes that he would remember it later. He seemed nice enough, in a kind of skeevy way he’d encountered before. Cobalt didn’t really like him, but he couldn’t tell if it was because of forty-five years of intuition, or if it was forty-five years of social anxiety. He chose to blame it on the social anxiety and continued talking. “Nice to meet you, Oscar. I’m a returnee myself, but I haven’t been to one of these before either.” He glanced around the room, “It is pretty big, yeah.” He caught a hint of the other man’s accent. It sounded Hispanic, but Cobalt couldn’t really tell. He was about ready to ask Oscar where he was from when someone interrupted his line of thought.

A pretty young woman who Oscar introduced as Ming Yue, his wife, approached and greeted them. Cobalt nodded at her, “Merry Christmas works as well. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ming. Cobalt Weaver.”

He started guiltily as he realized that he’d failed to introduce Elaine. Feeling a little chagrined, he turned partially to Elaine, saying, “Oh, I’m sorry. This is--” But he was cut off by Elaine herself. Giving them a false name.

Cobalt may have been away for a while, but he was familiar with his friend’s body language and facial cues; and right then, everything about Elaine screamed fear. Not really knowing what was going on, Cobalt kept his face neutral as she lied about her name and moved a little closer to his friend, attempting to silently give moral support and, if need be, protection. Thankfully, he had a far better poker face than she. Her hands were trembling; Cobalt’s shadows flared up. When she grabbed his hand and asked to dance, Cobalt said only, “Sure, Chris. Let’s go.” Giving a polite handwave to Oscar and Ming, he allowed himself to be pulled out onto the dance floor.

“Elaine, what…” Cobalt started, then was cut off by his friend, who explained what had just happened. He put his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down, “Okay, okay, Lainey. It’s okay. Just… look, let’s just keep an eye on them and… try to stay out of their way, then. Okay?” He didn’t like hiding or avoiding these kinds of things, but there was no way in hell he was going to do anything that may risk Elaine’s safety. “Hey,” He said, giving her a small smile, “Since you dragged me out here, let’s actually dance, okay?” He took her hand and pulled her into step with him. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the mysterious couple and looked thoughtful, shadows trailing after him as he moved.

[Penny Stone]

Penny's cute little welcome smile stayed on her face brilliantly, even after 'Christina' introduced herself and tugged her date away to the dance floor. Once they were out of ear shot she let out a small breath. "Metas, aren't they? She seemed to be on to us. 'Morrison.' Ha. She works at a Flower shop in the mall. It may be worth dropping in on her in the future. What do you think, Oscar?" Penny asked with a grin towards him. Now that they weren't presenting themselves, Penny stepped out of his personal space and put her back towards the bar. She took a small sip of her vodka before she glanced around the room, the mingling and the like. She hadn't recognized anyone from her Hammel days, for that she was glad, not that anyone would remember her--at least dressed like that they wouldn't. Penny was always a long-sleeved shirt, baggy jacket kind of teenaged--it was all her grandmother let her get anyway.

A few more tilts of her glass, and it was empty. She sat it on the bar and then turned her eyes back to Paulo. "Fancy a dance?" They were a couple, so it would make sense that they were dancing--of course they would stay away from Cobalt and 'Christina.'

[Mary Savage]

Savvy continued to people watch with quiet interest. A very pretty Asian woman in a slinky red dress caught her attention -Chinese, maybe?- but she let her go with a sign when the woman grabbed the arm of her Latin lover. Why did all the good looking girls have to be straight? She had finished her drink was about to go get another when she spotted a meticulously made up blond approach the bar. She was wearing a light blue dress, Savvy made a mental note to tell her how good she looked in it.

The woman at the bar turned around and looked in Savvy's direction, and she could tell exactly when the lady in blue spotted her. Her facial expression went from quiet interest to oh-my-God-what-is-she-wearing in about half a second flat. That was an expression Savvy knew well, and, honestly, one she rather enjoyed. She gave the other woman a huge, exaggerated wink, which seemed to throw her off even more. Ah, messing with people could be so much fun! As the blond was turning away, Savage gave her another, slightly more subtle wink that was accompanied by a come-over-here head nod. The woman obliged.

"Well, if you went to Hammel 5 to 12 years ago you might, but I doubt it." Savage responded with a lopsided smile. She was proud of herself for finding such a sneaky way to ask the other woman if she was meta. She pushed the chair next to her out with her foot and waved her hand at it, offering it to the other woman. "Sit, sit! I'm new here - well, new again - and I'm trying to meet some people. Name's Savage." She stated, sticking out her hand for a hand shake. "You look great in that dress, by the way." She added, with a slightly lecherous smile. The woman could take it how she wanted, if she didn't swing that way Savvy would tone it down - maybe.

[Jacob Dalton]

So: two weeks at Hammel. Already he was becoming caught up in the flow of classes, students and staff: some more so than others, but that was typical. He was making friends, settling into new routines and the chaos of mid-terms.

And now, a formal event? There was no question of him finding a date, even in pretense. He considered excusing himself from it altogether, but that would have been inappropriate. None of his coworkers deserved the slight.

So: if he was to go, he would not be idle. That evening he collected his tux from the cleaners and made a side trip to the local florist in preparation. Shower, dressing, and then he stood a moment quietly before the mirror.

He closed his eyes, drawing in a slow breath and exhaling even more slowly, to the count of ten. He let his mind go blank. Then he opened his eyes.

The image that looked back at him was calm, serene. Was it superficial? No. For the moment there was no sense of the dull ache that had haunted him for so long. He knew there would be times that sense returned, but perhaps he had reached a turning point. He smiled at the mirror, and switched off the light.

At the hall he presented his ticket, bought in advance, and entered. It was early yet: dark out, but in December this far north, dusk came early. There were a number of folks here he did not know from Adam: he glanced about, not immediately spotting anyone he recognized. In the end, more to have something in his hand than anything else, he approached the bar. He nodded affably to the oriental girl in the tight red dress -- was that supposed to be a geisha outfit, he wondered? – leaning back against the bar, then turned to the bartender.

“DiSaronno and Seven: or Sierra Mist, Sprite, whatever you have. Tall, splash of grenadine.”

He left a spare dollar for tip, and took a sip. Yes, the bartender had done it right. He could nurse this drink all night if need be.

[Emiko Nakajima]

*--outfit

Emiko, as a teenager, had never been a party person. So many fears in one room made her jumpy and nervous, and with that came problems. School dances left her in her dorm, watching television or studying. If she had been an American student, she would’ve likely skipped her prom. But as she matured and her power developed, she found group settings to be much less intimidating. However, the problem with her missing so many social functions while she was in school left her with poor socializing skills. Even though she was in her early thirties now, she still lacked the social aptitude many people took for granted.

Somehow, she had managed to find an escort for the dance, be it for better or for worse. Someone that was likely just as antisocial as her, if not more- the librarian at Hammel. More than a few people had gossiped and guessed as to how she had accomplished it, but even Emiko couldn’t give an answer. (The theory on everyone’s minds was that she had intimidated him into it, but that rose another question, what exactly was Eli afraid of?) The date was informal, anyway. It was more than probable that by the end of the night she’d walk to her apartment alone and he’d go whichever way he went to his home without her. As it was, she had already arrived, early, and had stood outside for a short time waiting, but in the end she drifted in and gave her coat to the correct person at the coat check.

She had really tried to dress up for the event, going so far as to put earrings in all both sets of piercings, resulting in the dangling earrings from her upper cartilage that was nothing short of exotic. She drifted through the cloud of fears being pelted at her, gaining a sort of giddy energy as she made her way to the bar- many nervous people amounted to a cloud of nervous fear. It pooled in her abdomen and she felt almost cozy as she turned, admiring the decorations. She sat at the end of the bar, asking the bartender for a glass of water, if she could manage. Emiko wasn’t fond of drinking so early into her evening.

She turned on her stool, looking out over the filling dance floor with a sense of longing, almost. She saw Mr. Dalton toward the middle of the long counter and waved at him, smiling before looking down the bar. Another Asian woman, Chinese, was standing next to a darker toned man. Farther down there were a couple more women, and in-between there were smatterings of people, some of which she knew, others she did not. She reminded herself that tonight she should keep her powers and her identity low-key. She didn’t want anyone to leave knowing her position at Hammel if they didn’t know already.

“Ariga- I mean, thank you.” Emiko muttered to the bartender who brought her a glass of water with a lemon on the rim, filled with ice. She took a small sip and watched the party, scanning for Eli as she did.

party, party time!
a masquerade of facades
fronts of false intent