The Masque Begins!! {O..P...E...N!!!!}(of course!)

[Delerium]

(OOC: Found a pic to give y'all reference for Arkady's bodacious costume XD Click hyar *nodnod* I don't have a lot of time right now, unfortunately, so I'll bring in Anxo and Scarlett later. I PROMISE)

Wow... there sure were a lot of people here. Arkady pulled down the brim of the black leather cowboy hat he wore, casting his sapphire gaze in shadow. Both the hat and the leather trench coat he wore were black as ebony and decorated with silver studs. He wore no shirt underneath the long coat, but at least he wasn't throwing the outergarment wide open and flaunting his sculpted body beneath. Hey, he wasn't Cobalt.
Speaking of which, a wry smile tugged at Arkady's rosy lips when he failed to spot the obnoxious brute. Good. Don't need that eyesore spoiling my evening.
To complete his costume, Arkady wore a pair of dark, wrangler blue jeans with black leather chaps over top, the same silver stud motif adorning them. A silver buckled belt cinched his hips and kept his whip in place. Arkady questioned his intelligence in making the artifact part of his costume, but hey, he inherited it, it was his and he could do what he damn well pleased with it.
Black snakeskin boots complete with spurs completed his ensemble. Oh yeah baby, I'm a COWBOY! Arkady chuckled to himself. And why not? If he couldn't let loose and have fun at a shindig like this, then when could he ever?
Arkady just wished the majority of the student body were a bit older; that way maybe the faculty would've put in a bar and he could get a beer or two -or three, or four- and REALLY start feeling the party.
Ah well, he was sure he'd have fun anyway. Who knew? Maybe he'd actually take a page out of Cobalt's book and get lucky. It had been a while for him...

And so, with spurs jingling and leather creaking, Arkady wore a bright smile and joined the ball.

Catching sight of Dementia -whom he barely recognized- and Maya, 'twas then the young man's breath caught in his throat. Words failed him. They were, quite simply, spectacular. Never had a pair of more dazzling gems EVER entered his line of sight.
It took a moment for Arkady to realize that he'd stopped walking and was standing and staring with his mouth wide open. Giving his head a light shake, Arkady approached Dementia, seeing as Maya was speaking with someone.

"D-Dementia?" he managed to say, his words breathless and his icy gaze filled with awe. "You look... wow. Just... wow." Smooth one, Romeo. Trying again, he added on, "I almost didn't recognize you! You're just so... so... Heh." He laughed lightly and shook his head, unable to believe his own idiocy.
Clearing his throat, he struck a pose for her with one foot forward, one hand grasping the brim of his hat and one hand on his hip, forcing his coat open slightly. "Well! You know what I think of you; so, do like my costume?"

[Deon]

((Darnit... Missed Delerium...))

Dementia's eyes moved in a hurried motion though she stood stock-still in the wave of people, looking for Seaheart's entrance. She caught sight of Arkady and cringed inwardly as he approached her with a voice so obviously stunned by her appearance. Well. This wasn't what she was going for. Still, there was a strange pleasure that she felt in taking the words away from his mouth, in reducing him to spouting out gibberish, in drawing him towards her the way she would refuse to do so to him.

"Wow, I'm so... heh? I guess I could take that as a compliment," she murmured, trying to sound intensely uninterested as her eyes scanned the crowd once more. It made her uncomfortable, the feeling of his eyes on her body, the thought that he could ever want her as she so badly did. She could feel his stare, felt as if she was naked under a burning spotlight. Every inch of skin that was exposed to his casual glance seemed to scream out at her about its visibility, about its vulnerability. She wanted so badly just to run away from him as she had always done, to get away from feeling what she felt in his presence. Still, though, his voice, his body, it was all alluring. She allowed herself a fleeting glance as he struck a pose for her. The reluctance with which she let her gaze rest on Arkady's body seemed to underscore the meaning of the action and the emotions that she felt--the longing, the guilt, the utter hatred not for him, but for herself. She immediately regretted the action. Again she was struck by his beauty. It was something that belonged to a piece of art, not to something as low as a human being. She wanted to reach out and touch him, to make sure he was real. His chest was chiseled, his face was smiling--he looked like the kind of person she wanted to shelter from the harsh reality of the world, though the lines on his perfect face showed how well he had been through it all. And now he was trying to show off just for her with the few words that he could manage to get out. He looked good. More than that, he looked damn good. Too good. Better than anyone should. Yeah. Was she supposed to tell him that? How was she supposed to return his scanty, monosyllabic description of her? What she really needed to do was get away as soon as possible, to make sure she was not drawn into socializing with him. Seaheart would arrive any minute--he better arrive any minute--and what would he think if he saw her with him, him of all people? Especially when she had told him everything, told him all the feelings that she had previously refused to acknowledge, feeling that if they remained hidden that she would never act upon them. It seemed like conversation was unavoidable. She would have to pay the consequences later.

"It's... very becoming," she replied, trying to keep her eyes from fixing on his bare chest. Becoming? The word hardly described him. She could devote pages of adjectives, stress her vocabulary to its fullest, and still she wouldn't be able to fully and adequately do justice to the way he looked to her now, in this moment. She could only sum it up to this: a god in western-wear. The sentence struck her as funny; never before had she thought she could use the two words in such proximity in a sentence. However, she was able to avoid the helpless, hysterical, painful laughing spree that the first sight of Arkady had sent her spiraling into.

"I'm flattered that you've left whatever lucky girl you've with to come compliment me, but I'm sure she misses being graced with your company," she started, trying to get rid of him, but at the same time wanting him to stay, wanting to fling herself into his arms, wanting to feel his touch, wanting to know the feeling of his lips on hers. The atmosphere changed subtly with the slowing tempo of the music in the background, only enhancing her want to have him and him alone. She had something else that she was going to say, but forgot it in the mad daydream that she allowed herself to admit no pleasure in.

[Delerium]

(OOC: Wow! That was an amazing post! *applauds*)

The intensity with which Dementia's gaze settled on him rather surprised Arkady. True, he was used to stares and glances from the female populace, but the hunger and longing in eyes of the woman before him gave him pause.
"It's... very becoming," she'd said in reply to his playful question.
Well, it hadn't been exactly what he'd been hoping for, but coming from Dementia it was quite the compliment - especially after how cold abrupt she'd been with him the other day in the Danger Room...
Ah well. No doubt he'd thrown for a bit of a loop coming in here all smiles, giddy and clearly ready to have fun. It was a stark contrast to his usual dour, no-nonsense persona and tight-lipped responses to absolutely everything.
"Is that so? Well, thanks. I did try," he replied, feeling really good about his choice of costume now.

"I'm flattered that you've left whatever lucky girl you've with to come compliment me, but I'm sure she misses being graced with your company," she suddenly said.
At this, Arkady's genuine, innocent smile faltered slightly. "No, I... Ha ha ha. I'm the oldest guy here; there's no way I could've gotten a date - and I didn't, heh." He'd replied out of obligation, but he sensed the push behind Dementia's words; she seemed... uncomfortable in his presence, despite the fact that her eyes were still roving over his body.
You truly ARE an idiot, Arkasha. She's waiting for her date, obviously, and she's POLITELY telling you to sod off! Take a hint!
Yeah... but he was surprised by the sudden stab of envy he felt in his chest. Why couldn't it be him? Ha ha ha, hmm, riiiiight... She deserved better.
Oy. It seemed even the band was conspiring against him, tempting him. The sensual rhythm and the curves of Dementia's body... His arms raised slightly, just for a moment, as if his body would simply disobey his mind... then they dropped to his sides again.
Mustering one of his usual phony smiles, Arkady tipped his hat in a roguish fashion and said, "Well, I won't keep you. Just promise me you'll have a good time tonight, you hear?" He turned and walked away, not waiting for Dementia' response. It was probably better this way.

Not feeling as enthusiastic as he had been when he'd first walked in, Arkady let his jaded glare rove over the room for anything to take his mind off Dementia. Well, there was Maya -and Arkady's heart skipped a beat at the thought of approaching her- but she was with that strange boy, Caynce, and if his last encounter with the odd youth had taught him anything, it was better to keep his distance.
Sighing heavily, expelling the air through his nose, Arkady began to wander aimlessly around the large decorated room.
Now what? He felt pretty miserable, that's what.

[Deon]

((That means a lot coming from you! You have such wonderful writing! : D))

A small smile graced Dementia's lips at Arkady's genuine happiness to her reaction, but immediately was lost at his reaction to her next sentence. She was actually a bit surprised that a man such as he didn't have a date to this masquerade, as many women were interested in older men, though she didn't even think that she was that much younger than he. She would be eighteen tomorrow, so... a little over four years, maybe? Oh, yeah. She would be eighteen tomorrow. Great. That meant another gift, another long conversation with her father, another time she had to come up with an excuse not to visit France, another awkward explanation of her social life. But her thoughts were digressing. She needed to get back to the matter at hand. With Arkady around her, she was afraid that if she wasn't entirely in control, if she wasn't totally aware of her thoughts and actions, that she would do something she would regret later. She didn't reply, simply stared.

She didn't like what she saw in his eyes, the green of jealousy, the red of temptation... She noticed the subtle movement of his arms towards her, as if desperately beckoning her closer, but then dropped. Why, she thought? Why did he stop? She wanted so badly for him to grab her, to hold her to him and not let her escape no matter what. Did he do it out of courtesy? That must be it. He must sense that she was waiting on her date. Well, she had tried to make it pretty obvious.

"Just promise me you'll have a good time tonight, you hear?" Yeah, right. She couldn't promise him that. The entire night she would be drawn to him, she would be imagining herself with him, she would betray Seaheart in her mind. And he wasn't even here yet. What was taking him? She wanted to stop Arkady as he walked away, dejected. She could almost feel the crushed emotion radiating from him. Her hand involuntarily raised as if to touch him, to make him turn around, but he was out of her reach. She let it drop without a word and watched as he milled through the crowd without purpose. She wrung her hands anxiously as he disappeared through the mass of people, afraid to lose sight of him.

Finally, as if propelled by something other than her conscious mind, she hurriedly pushed through the crowd to catch up with him.

"Wait!" she called as she approached, slowing the tempo of her steps. The tempo of her heart, however, only increased. What was she going to say to him once she got his attention? Why was she even torturing herself like this? "I... er, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings in any way," she said lamely, her voice rushed. She was already getting too deep into this. Oh, well. If she was damning herself, she might as well do it fully.

"I'm waiting on someone, but he's not here yet. Would you mind keeping me company? That is... if you don't have anywhere else you should be."

[Cakemon-kun]

Kamon entered the Danger Room again after leaving. He had been listening to Rammstein for the past few hours, and that cheered him up sufficiently to re-enter the gym. He was fully in costume, and was hoping to at least hear some good music while hanging around. He sat down at a table with some people, who immediately left after ogling his costume, and waited there. The music was all classical, so it couldn't have been that great, but it certainly was relaxing. Kamon leaned back in his chair.

[Krispey]

As Oshaya scanned the room, her heart skipped a beat as her eys landed upon Kamon..Kamon! Yes! He was there afterall. She was estatic, and had become weary of hiding her emotions, and if she was going to be excited about seeing him, she was going ot show it. A smile played on her featurs as she walked over to the table he sat at. She stood infront of it, peering down at him. "Hey there!" She said of the band's loud music.
"Nice ta see you here!" She meant it too.
Maya, awaiting for Caynce's greeting, peered into the crowded room. It was then when she saw Arkady. She thought he was going to come ove to her, but went to Dementia. Ugh. She despised that girl, but wasn't going to let old rivalries make her night go sour. She waited until he finally looked back over to her, and smiled, lifting a hand to wave at him. Just as she did so, the girl shouted, "Wait!" Maya sighed, allowing her hand to rest at her side. Maybe he'd come talk to her...It'd be rude for her to leave Caynce all alone after an attempt to greet him.

[Cakemon-kun]

Kamon leaned back forwards until he sat straight up, and his eyes widened, invisible below his mask. She was here. He had come back, and was glad for it. kamon's stomach hurt, but he didn't really care at the moment. It was a good kind of hurt. "Greetings, Ms. Satan." he said. "Feel free to take a seat."

[Krispey]

Oshaya smiled. He was so nonchalant! She loved that about him. Whether he was nervous, excited, whatever, he didn't let it show. Oshaya began to think...If we had a relatinship, sometimes, that'd be comforting...If we were in a tough situation, but then again... She shook her head, taking a seat beside him. He was looking 'spiffy' as they'd say in the olden days. "So, hows going?" Oshaya asked, gazing at Kamon.

[Cakemon-kun]

"Getting better." he said. Damn, that didn't come out right. "There was nothing to do here earlier, so I left and listened to some music. Now I'm back, and now you're here, and there is no Maeve in sight." Kamon just looked at her. Her hair was black, but was reflectin purple/pink in the occasional lights that danced around the room. "Well...I'm thirsty. Would you like a drink?" he asked. The movie is my only source of information, but if I conformed to it, I would be acting oddly. So I must improvise occasionally, Kamon thought.

[Krispey]

Oshaya nodded, taking in what he said, "That's good." He asked if she wanted something to drink, "Yeah, that'd be nice..I'm parched." She had noticably (To her anyway) gripped her pitch fork tighter when she neared Kamon. He's soo cute!! Erm..What is this? A crush? Maybe...

[bandit]

Caynce slowly reopened his eyes, dull gray, or even light brown pools staring around the room. Now many people had arrived and he was tempted to leave for some reason, until he began to scan the crowd. Perhaps, he thought, if he found someone to talk to, then he could have an excuse to stay for a while longer, though it wasn't going to be a very hard-working attempt. He didn't want to come here, he wanted and needed sleep more than anything else he could possibly think of.

His eyes lit up slightly when he saw Maya, and he rubbed his arm for some reason before blinking sleepily, his eyelids feeling remarkably heavy. Even so, he made his way over to the girl, approaching her in a way where she could see him without him having to say anything to her, all because he didn't think he could speak right now. As a matter of fact, as he came forward, he raised his hand slightly in a half-hearted attempt at a greeting. Caynce continued to approach her until he stopped what seemed like an abnormal distance for a regular person.

Despite the fact she was the only person he allowed to touch her, proximity still frightened him beyong belief, and so he watched her nonchalantly, his eyes giving away nothing of his true emotion, apatheticness showing plain as day on his face as the boy waited.

[Delerium]

(OOC: ^^;; You're too kind)

The corners of Arkady's mouth quirked up ever so slightly when Maya caught him looking and waved. He waved back and seriously considered joining her -

"Wait!"
It was Dementia.

And against all logic and reason, Arkady felt his heart soar. He immediately paused midstep and turned; the vision of Dementia pushing through the crowd made him ponder if this was how Arthur had felt when the Lady of the Lake had parted the waters and stepped forth. His imagination running wild now, Arkady could see the delicate mist wrapping around the woman's form; then she would reach for him, her arm clad in the purest ethereal glow...
Snap out of it, you stupid shit!

Arkady blinked a few times, just realizing Dementia had spoken to him; apologized to him. And for what? "Oh...? No, no... nothing like that," he half murmered in reply. "Why would you think you hurt my feelings?" He gave her a smile. You did, but I sure as hell ain't gonna admit it... I'm not that big of an idiot.
At her request to keep her company, his smile broadened with genuine delight once more. "Sure!" he replied quickly; perhaps a bit too eagerly. "There's... no one else, and a daper damsel like yourself should be seen with a gentleman... so as soon as I see one I'll let you know!" He chuckled lightly at his own lame attempt at a joke.
God she was beautiful... Arkady had to stick one hand in a coat pocket and the other on his hip to keep from fidgeting.
Was one dance too much to ask? YES! She just said she's waiting for someone! Someone that's not YOU, Arkasha!
Yeah, hmm, well, if anyone was good at making due with what they could get, it was Arkady Belmont. Trying to quell the nasty little voice in his head, he tried to just enjoy Dementia's company. But it was still difficult; his biceps infrequently twitched as if they would betray just how much he wanted to sweep her off her feet and give her a taste of his passion for dance.
And romance.
...You're a fool Arkasha.

[Krispey]

Maya smiled as Caynce joined her..Though he did indeed stand a terrible distance away. Maybe he was afraid that she'd touch him again. Well, she wouldn't..Unless it was just terribly needed. Then, He glanced over at Dementia with Arkady. Arkady with Dementia, rather. Her glance was more of a glare at Dementia. maya gritted her teeth as Dementia had stole Arkady away without even trying. This vexed Maya. Only if she had the capability of laying a spell upon the prick. How dare she? Ugh!! You know what, I'm not going to let her have him just like that. Maya didn't know why she had even thought about "getting Arkady". He was apparently older than her, and obviously wasn't interested...Maya silently cursed herself for being so young. But still, even though she knew she probably had no chance at all with Arkady, she'd be sure that she wouldn't be pushed aside just as some naive adolescent.

With that thought, Maya saw that Caynce didn't look in the mood to make small talk...And neither was she. She strode ever so gracefully over to arkady and Dementia. A smile played on her features, as her eyes graced Arkady's stunning features. "You look...Rowdy tonight," Maya said, slightly chuckling at her joking compliment, completeley ignoring Dememntia. Although she seemed cool calm and collected on the outside, her heart raced, many thoughts roaming through her mind. She felt kind of pathetic for even making this out to be a small competition. But with someone as gorgeous as Dementia on the map, how was it not a competition? And plus, Dementia was obviously older than Maya, which gave her a clear advantage, whther she was trying to gain Arkady or not...Truth is, Maya actually had feelings that were developing for Arkady, he wasn't just a game piece in this litle "competition". But you had to fight for what you wanted, even if you did lose...And Maya wanted Arkady, or wanted to better her status with him, and wasn't about to let that be ripped right from underneath her, leaving her there to cry as she had done many times before. Alls fair in love and War.

[Seaheart]

Seaheart walked in, eyes flashing a green that seemed brighter than usual. The light of the disco ball flashed in his eyes, and it took some time to get used to. His first dance....well, kinda.....his last dance he hadn't had a date, hadn't gotten dressed up, and was there for five minutes. This was different. Dementia...where was she......he knew she would be outstandish...if that was a word. She said she'd be puttign something special on for him. He couldn't say the same for himself.

He wore a fancy white shirt with ruffles. It still looked....exquisite? The same suit you see when people go to those proms. He wore a black suit over it. It had buttons going up and down, shining in the light when the disco ball flash passed it. He wore black leggins to go with it, having certain designs on them of what seemed to be dark roses, almost looking withered. You could only see them in the right light, and they seemed to bulge out when you did see the, almost entrancing you. He added another twist to his suit.

He decided to model it after his new weapon. He had buttoned up the suit all the way, then had worked awhile with certain sprays and artworks that Crest had helped with, and it looked like an S on the suit. But it looked like an S linked by chain links. He modeled it after his chain power, and it came out nicely. He had then put white rhimestones on them to make it stand out. OK, he wanted to look good for her. She said she loved him. It had made him feel whole again....ahhh. Then for a mask....a strange thing, but a reminder of Dementia's and his relationship's beginning. It looked like half a skull. Just the top half. Nothing too bad about that....right? Wrong. It was a real skull. A murdered man's skull. A murdered policeman's skull. One of the policemen he and Dementia had beheaded in their rampage. He had pained his eyelids black so when he closed the, the eye sockets looked hollow, adding to the half skull man look. It held a deathly beauty, to know how you could carve death into whatever you desired, to hold it as an accessory, knowing it'd devour you some day. That was it. He wore elegant dancing shoes made for the waltz. That was his suit. what did you expect? He's not one for dances, much less his first real dance a Masquerade Ball.

He got the text, and started to run, pushing through the doors. A little too eager.....oh well. He had a feeling he could spot her, no matter what. He found her....talkign to a guy....Arkady. He knew it was him, like he knew death. An instinct. Wonderful. simply wonderful. OK, if she had still been normally conversing with him-including oogling at his chest- he would have stood back, look at her, give her a wink that it was OK for her to have one dance, knowing her longing, but no. She had practically begged for him to be with her. Wow....she looked amazing. Her showing off her body made him almost want to show her his scars, no, allow her the PRIVELEGE to see his scars and burns, his history. Then..... his heart almost tore. Even if would have had some self control if that were Yuna. His eyes turned red, like Chaos, glowered at her through the skull. He stood back, looking at her, until he was sure she saw him, then started to walk around, perhaps looking for Ven, knowing that his insults would be better than the way she could have abandoned him so easily.

[Deon]

A tiny smile formed on Dementia's lips at Arkady's lighthearted joke, though her brow furrowed in a slight sadness at the way he responded to her apology. She could tell he wasn't speaking the entire truth. She noticed the faint motions of his arms, the way he looked at her, his imagination soaring to who-knows-where... It hurt and delighted her at the same time. Part of her was screaming out, "Why are you doing this? Why are you both depriving yourselves of what you want? Love is a celebration of life!" The other, much more dominant part was sure that there was nothing to celebrate about the way that she had lived.

Still though, all trace of any emotion but annoyance was quickly wiped off her face as... she came. It was that little bitch who had yelled at her for screaming at her little scared rabbit. Hm. She seemed to have left the rabbit behind to see Arkady. Curious. The way that she walked, with such a put-on confidence and grace, only showed how badly she wanted to be here and how desperate she was. Well, well, well. Look who we have here. A little girl hopelessly fascinated with an older man. Her aura of jealousy was stifling--the way she ignored Dementia entirely, the way she looked at Arkady, the way she laughed at her own lame jokes--all easily gave it away.

Dementia pleasantly greeted her before Arkady was able to reply to her compliment. "Oh, hello... Maya, correct? It's been a while, hasn't it? Are you still into naked girls, or was I just a special exception?" she asked sweetly, though there was an evident evil undertone in her voice. She was both saddened and relieved at her intrusion, for it gave her a chance to escape easily with an excuse, both for herself and for Arkady. But she wasn't about to leave this... thing alone with him if she could help it--or at least, alone with him on good terms. Yet, she couldn't bring herself just to use Arkady like that, the way she might have someone else. Fine. But it was because of him, not because of Maya. Mercy, Dementia? No. Love, Dementia? Maybe.

The hairs raised on the back of her neck as the annoyance dripped off her face and she gazed at Arkady with eyes resigned to the fact. She felt as if holes were being bored into the back of her neck--that someone was watching She turned around just in time to see Seaheart glaring at her with a look that would have killed any lesser person in her position. She was stunned by the intensity of his stare, the way that he looked at her with such utter, pure, unadulterated hatred. She was frozen to her spot for a few seconds, though it had seemed like an eternity had come and gone, all seen by his red eyes. She'd never seen him like this before. Oh, god... What had she done?

She couldn't lose him like this! She wanted Seaheart just as much as she wanted Arkady, but she loved him in a different kind of way. He understood her. He helped her face reality. He forced her to be strong, when she felt like breaking down. She wasn't able to resist a brief second glance at Arkady, the look in her eyes betraying the mixed emotions she felt, before she took off practically running towards Seaheart, her gown trailing behind her in the waves of a tempest ocean.

"Seaheart! Seaheart, wait!" she called after him, shoving past a girl holding a fan of huge peacock feathers. Her breath caught in her throat as she approached him, for his fury at her was even worse up close. She was almost afraid to touch him, as if the feeling of his skin would burn her hand. "Seaheart, please! I was just talking! There was nothing happening! Why are you doing this to me?" She finally mustered the strength to grab his arm, forcing him to turn around and look at her in the face. "You know I love you, damn it!" Her long nails were digging into his arm desperately as she pleaded with him.

((Augh... suxxxorz...))