THE GALA ON ADSUM (Mingle Log)

[serpentis]

Who: Anyone and Everyone!
Broadcast: Nope!
Action: A ballroom on Adsum
When: 2/21, Evening-Night



[And the night has arrived! Dorian put out an open invitation, and anyone who is interested is welcome to dress up and meet up for a night of dancing and fawning over each other. Make sure to wear your best, everyone! It's a very special episode of Drift Fleet!]

((OOC: There was an open invitiation, but even if your character never replied or has had personal contact with Dorian, feel free to assume he's let them come along or be dragged along by someone else! I'll be tagging some threads, but if you want a thread to be closed, please just say so in the header.))

Comments

[unconfines]

[The closest thing to a proper party he's ever been to were loud, impromptu sing-a-longs at rowdy taverns in the wee hours of the morning. An event like this, with all its elegant dress and classic dancing, feels distinctly like a place he shouldn't be making a spectacle of himself. Which, if he's honest, is what really makes him relish making a spectacle of himself.

As such, he's approaching all this with the air of a party crasher, invitation or no, which essentially means he's helping himself to as much food and punch (Maker bless the kind soul of whoever spiked it, he needed it) as he can possibly have, as soon as possible. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for everyone else, he's very much lightweight, and he's flushed a bit pink as he ducks from person to person and tray to tray, still early on in the evening.

Which is what has him eventually sidling up beside her, picking at a plate of various finger foods. He leans toward her, with a loud, conspiratorial stage whisper:]

Now, now, that's not how it's done at all.

[dawnwillcome]

[And isn't he taller than she expected him to be? He's a human so it only makes sense he would be, but there must be something about the scale of the little videos she's seen people on before meeting them that's throwing her off.

So Anders is tall, and Anders is quite drunk. He isn't exactly conducive to her attempts to play wallflower, but it's a little hard to hold that against him when he looks so pleased with himself. Shouldn't she allow someone a good time with no admonishments when they're destined for things that are much less positive?

Tall and drunk and now very close, and isn't that interesting. She laughs, lightly, and steals what she hopes is a sweet from his plate.]

You'll have to be a little more specific, I'm afraid. As far as I was aware, I wasn't doing anything.

[unconfines]

That is precisely the problem. I had to come all the way over here to admire that lovely dress of yours, and isn't that a travesty?

[He is shameless and relentless. And happy to share, as it happens, going by the way the plate swings slightly towards her. He smiles broadly down at her; she is lovely and, as it happens, easy to talk to. Maker knows he could use more of that, these days.]

Of course, I'm here now, so that point is moot, but. It's the principle of the thing, you see. [He swirls his drink in his cup, takes another quick sip.] And let me tell you, the best parts of the party to crash aren't tucked away over here.

[dawnwillcome]

[For her part, flirting with her companions was something Jove had done often. Most of them responded well, and a few of them flirted back in the own way, but it was rarely ever as... obvious as Anders is making it. Certainly none of them had ever made their way into her personal space so easily, with the obvious exception of Dorian, but that was always playful, nothing that would ever lead to anything.

So this, this blatant flirting and his proximity? Yes, it might be making her blush a little, but it can just as easily be attributed to the drinks she's already had herself, or perhaps the heat. Yes, it's probably just the heat and despite it, she can give as good as she gets.]

I have heard that the good things in life are things you have to work for, so you should be thanking me for giving you the chance, don't you think?

[She'll just let him think on that while she takes a bite of the food she's stolen, and she feels intensely glad to find it is in fact a sweet, some wonderfully flaky pastry filled with chocolate. She could stay on this planet forever.]

Now that you've brought food I see little point in leaving my nice and comfortable corner, but I'll indulge you for the moment. Where shall we crash, Anders?

[unconfines]

Well. [He's delighted to be indulged, and his eyes are bright as his voice skims lower.] As it happens, I'm told I'm very, mm, industrious once I've set my mind to something. You should know I do nothing by halves.

[Is he talking about crashing the party, or is he talking about her? One, both, either. It's more fun not to be too precise. Either way, he soldiers on.]

Food is just the first step. Food might as well be the bottom of the barrel, which is why I went ahead and did it for you. No, no. We're going to do much better. A party isn't properly crashed until everyone knows you've crashed it. And every party could use a little excitement.

[Not that the party isn't nice. It's very nice, with all it's elegant decorations and carefully constructed pastries. But he doesn't belong in a party like this one, and the urge to make the slot fit better around him is strong, and not one he's ever been any good at passing up.

And anyway: he's drunk, she's fascinating, and he likes the color of her cheeks in the low light, when he leans close.]

Care to liven things up with me? [He offers his hand to her.] Fair warning: you're probably going to need more punch.

[dawnwillcome]

[The leader of the Inquisition would humor him, but eventually turn him down for party crashing. They shouldn't cause a scene, not when she really has no desire to be jailed on an alien planet and she's only here because Dorian's good name got her in the door. It would reflect poorly on him, and that isn't something she particularly wants.

But she isn't the Inquisitor here, and the only one who even knows she has titles is Dorian and she's fairly certain he would encourage bad decisions anyway. She's had a few glasses of the punch already, and what could a little misbehaving really hurt?]

Maybe we'll start small and work our way up, if you do well.

[She can tease him back, too, as she slips her hand into his. She really has no idea what he plans to do with it, if he'll drag her off to another corner or onto the dance floor, but Jove is certain she can handle it.]

I would like to avoid jail, if we can help it.

[unconfines]

Ooh. [He feigns disappointment, setting his half-eaten plate off to the side while his free hand curls eagerly around hers.] You drive a hard bargain. Still, as much as I enjoy being thrown behind bars, I think I should be able to cancel that part of the evening. [Stepping closer, head dipping conspiratorially:] I am here to please, after all.

[Dance floor, shmance floor. He intends to get started here and now. He'll draw her closer to him if she lets him, the other hand coming up to rest at her waist. It's a poor (maybe intentionally so) imitation of what he's seen other people doing on the dance floor.

Step one is getting her out of the corner, and what fun is walking when you can travel in style?]

You should know, I've never done this before in my life. [He sounds positively exuberant about it.] But there's a first time for everything, isn't there?

[dawnwillcome]

[She doesn't mind the extra contact, moving with him and resting her hand on his chest instead of his shoulder so she won't have to reach up too high. With his hand already on her waist he'll feel the shiver that goes through her when he all but whispers in her ear, but even that is something she can't bring herself to mind much.]

There's a line you've used before. Here to please?

[She'll ask about being thrown behind bars before later, but for now she pats his chest soothingly.]

You have nothing to worry about, I've got quite a lot of experience with this kind of thing. [That's true, and it doesn't become suggestive until she continues.] I promise to be gentle with you, Anders.