Raelyn | Female | 22 | Bisexual | Mentions: Lynx, Stephen

“Awww!” Raelyn exclaimed as she looked at Lynx’s cats. “Absolutely beautiful! Maine Coons are one of my favorite breeds” she looked up at her before continuing “Oh, I hope you end up finding the right one at the shelter! Then you could have the best of both worlds”. She let her eyes trail towards the sounds of the piano playing. At the bench an older man sat, playing the beautiful melody. She watched him for a second before realizing he had tears collecting in his eyes. She wanted to go give him a hug but refrained from doing so since she didn’t know the man. “I could go see if he was ok though…” she thought. On the other hand, she also didn’t want to impose.

“Screw it”

“Hey Lynx,” She said turning back to her, “I’ll be right back”. Raelyn got up and made her way to the piano. She could feel her anxiety rise as she got closer but didn’t let it slow her down. When she finally got to him, she stood quietly to the side and let him finish before she spoke. “Your playing is lovely sir, but…” she hesitated for a second “are you ok?”

??? | M: Everyone

The party is in full swing, guests meandering about and mingling with each other. Soft music and gentle chatter fill the room as people flock together, some enjoying the company while others shy away from conversation.

A figure stands alone at the top of the staircase, dressed head to toe in finery, from their meticulously pressed suit to the beautifully polished gems that decorate their fingers and their cuffs. They look out, scanning the crowd, and are pleased to note that everyone on the guest list is in attendance. A servant scurries past the bottom of the stars and the figure snaps their fingers, catching the serving boy’s attention.

The boy looks up and they beckon him forward. He hesitates momentarily, eyes flickering around before he slips past the stanchions. The figure watches passively as their employee climbs the stars nervously. The boy nearly trips over his own feet in his haste to get to them and the host resists the urge to sigh. The boy is only young, after all, he is bound to make errors.

The servant arrives at the top, slightly out of breath, and they reach out to lead him away by the elbow. The boy flinches, failing to repress a shudder as he drops his gaze to the floor. The host guides him off to the side, out of view of prying eyes, and presses an envelope into the boy’s hand. He grasps it gently, almost reverently, as if his entire bloodline would perish should the slightest crinkle be pressed into the paper. The servant makes to leave, but a hand snakes out to grab his wrist, pulling him in close as the host leans in to murmur in the boy's ear.

“Make sure this gets around to the staff. Dismiss anyone who hasn’t yet left and isn’t assigned to the project. The event will be starting soon.”

The servant nods frantically and the hand slips off his arm. The boy scurries away, nearly tumbling down the stairs as he makes a beeline for the ballroom doors and slips out. A few heads turn in that direction and the figure takes the opportunity as it is.

They exit through the top floor.

Ava looks up as a boy runs past. She then turns her head back to her plate, still seeming to be full of food. She picked up one of the last chocolate-covered strawberries off of her plate and looked around. People seem to be enjoying these. It is quite understandable though. They are delicious and possibly one of the best foods here. Ava thought, a stay strand of hair falling in front of her face. She delicately placed it behind her ear and started eating a bit more food off of her plate.

Hmm...people seem to be socializing a bit. Nah...I'll be good just standing out here with my food. Honestly, eating is better than being social. Ava thought, looking around at the guests. 11 people...not important but it could be a bit useful to know. Ava smiled before picking the last salami slice off of her plate.

Clayton Shaw | Male | 26 | Hetero | Mentions: Everyone

To his great disappointment, Clayton found no liquor of the golden kind among the many drinks, and had to settle for a glass of red wine instead. As wines went it was clearly of high quality, but he wasn’t over the moon about it. Hrmf, either they’re holding out on us, or the host has poor taste. Maybe he could find a servant to inquire about the whiskey he so longed for. The drive had been long, and Clayton felt it would hugely improve his outlook on this event.

He turned to face the crowd, taking a better look at the attendees. There only seemed to be 10 other people present, which seemed a low number for an event like this. A bit small for what seemed to be a group of strangers, judging by their interactions – or lack of it. There could be more joining for all he knew, but he doubted many would arrive much later than himself. A woman made her way over to the man on the piano, a concerned expression on her face. Clayton noticed the man had a somber expression on his face, and briefly wondered why, but it didn’t concern him. The man had played a lovely melody as he had entered the ballroom, so he had at first presumed he was a member of the staff, but his dressed-up appearance spoke otherwise. He also appeared to be the oldest person in attendance, as the rest of them seemed to be close to his own age, or younger.

A young servant boy scurrying up the grand staircase at the end of the ballroom caught his eye, leading his gaze to the mysteriously dressed person waiting at the top. I swear they were not there a moment ago. There had to be an entry point somewhere on the upper floor. The person seemed to be spectating the guests, while they waited for the servant to reach the top, not making any effort to meet the boy half-way. Something about their slightly rough behavior might have been a little unnerving, but this wasn’t unusual among the rich crowd. Servant were after all there to serve, not be helped…

Clayton kept his eyes on the boy as he scurried down the stairs and through the room, feeling a little sorry for him. He clearly couldn’t get wherever he was going fast enough. After the boy had slipped out like a little weasel on steroids, Clayton glanced back at whom he presumed to be their mysterious host, only to find the upper floor empty. And so they remain a mystery…

Hazel Jones | F | 21 | Straight | M: Aaron Cardinal, and Stephen Tyrrell Long, Lily Thorne, Eris Narkissa.

Hazel was about to refuse, afraid she would be taking the man's food but then accepted once as she realized there were few strawberries left, and she did after all want to try some. By now the ballroom was filled with multiple guests. Hazel noticed the older man going over to play the piano. She briefly listened and knew he must have had some sort of experience because he sounded very talented. Although Hazel herself barely had heard piano playing.

Turning her attention back to Aaron she was curious to know how he did arrive. “So how exactly did you get here?” Hazel grabbed another one of the chocolate covered treats off his plate and popped it into her mouth. Surprised at how delicious the strawberries were, she started to eat more. Am I really this hungry or are the strawberries just the best thing I've ever tasted? Hazel silently wondered this and for a moment she forgot that the plate she was eating off of wasn’t hers and in fact belonged to Aaron. Holy crap- Hazel’s face flushed with embarrassment. Did she really just eat all of his strawberries?

Another girl walked up and asked them all if they were enjoying the party, Hazel, still feeling embarrassed, decided to ignore whatever Aaron had to say and instead replied to the girl. “Oh! Yes the party is great, just can't wait to explore this place more.” Assuming this was the only food table Hazel could see why more people were coming up to it. Normally she would try to stay out of everyone's way and keep to herself, but she had a feeling it would be a good plan to socialize a bit more. Her original plan was to stick by the food, after all food was a comfort to her when she got nervous, it was a strange habit of Hazel’s to stick by wherever there was food.

Her thoughts were interrupted as another guest approached the group. This time the comment seemed to be directed at the strawberries, which Hazel couldn't help but noticed were now all gone. “Well it appears they are.” she nodded at the girl. Before going back to her thoughts.

Aaron Cardinal | Male | 24 | Heterosexual | M: Hazel Jones, Eris Narkissa (ind)

Before his eruption about the strawberries, Aaron had blushed when Hazel asked him about his mode of transportation. He had doubted that she needed to ask, as he smelled like horse. However, he felt like he needed to explain.

“I own a sleek Ferrari and I was cruising down the road when it blew a tire. I didn’t have a spare so I had to call a tow truck. It was getting late and it was taking forever, so I left it. Looking back I’m regretting that decision.” Aaron scratched the back of his head and pursed his lips. “Anyway, I ran and walked to the manor, used google maps of course, until I spotted a horse and I borrowed it. So about an eighth of the journey was by horseback.”

Soon thereafter, he heard Eris Narkissa talk about the strawberries, and Aaron had stupidly left his plate with Hazel. After eating all of the strawberries left on the table, he returned in hopes of having the rest of his already-picked strawberries on his plate.

They were all gone.

Hazel wasn’t looking so pretty now. Aaron first just stared at her. His breathing was sharp and he felt like fainting or something. She had eaten them. She had taken the precious. Stephon’s mournful melody that he hadn’t noticed before now entered his ears and spoke to his heart. The old man’s cries were now his cries and he felt like squeezing Hazel’s face like a stress ball. He knew that he couldn’t do that, they’d take him away and sue him for all he’s got. So instead he screamed and howled about his loss. If he hadn’t closed his eyes oh so tightly, he would’ve noticed the mysterious boy and girl talking to each other and he would’ve puzzled over it.

Stephen Tyrrell Long | Male | 41 | Pansexual | M: Raelyn Bear, Lily Thorne

Finally, Steve paused for breath. He looked up at the younger woman beside him, responding with a soft mumble of, "I'm-I'm okay," as he swiped tears from his eyes.

Deciding to have a little fun, he made a quick run-through of some Pirates of the Caribbean songs, then stood up from the bench, delicately sliding the wooden masterpiece back into place. He pulled the old pocketwatch of his out and snapped open the lid, giving it a few flicks when it faltered in its creaky ticking. Ten, he thought, mindlessly carressing the wood of the piano as he walked towards the doors to leave the ballroom. It was getting late. He normally didn't stay up at this hour. He should probably be getting back to his cats.

He rested his hand on the handle of one of the doors and pushed. He almost fell in surprise when it didn't give way.

He shared a wide-eyed look with the person at the other set of doors, realizing they had come to the same epiphany. "This one's locked too," he called, his voice slightly wavering in anxiety and alarm.