A Party at the Castle [Open]

A party is subjective in Cressida's tolerance, a business party for one of the Schades companies was tolerable as she knew that could put money in her bank. A noble gathering was tolerable as she found the history interesting, although hers was a rough one filled with deception. However a quincy party can be very dangerous to a Schade, considering that it was barely over a century from the last party disaster.  When Cressida heard of the party, she made no plans to show up, she had other arrangements, but her father came to intervene. Cressida made plans to go out on a date with a man she meet in university, after returning to England she studied at Oxford full time as apposed to part time like she had for years since graduating high school early. When her father asked her to attend, Cressida could not say no. She tried, but she failed, ending in a long trip to Germany. 

Coming with her was the slightly younger daughter of one of the Quincy under her father's employ, while he paid for those who wanted to attend, they were commercial class not scheduled for a few hours after, Cressida took her entourage to a nice hotel where the Schades rented the entire building and posted notice to as many Quincy as possible that the building was available, Cressida took a nice suite as she pondered how many connections her father has. Waking up early the next day, she handed her entourage some money to do her job and then use the change for whatever she needs before spending the next seven hours in her hotel room getting prepared.



Donning the Schades uniform, she made the minor formal adjustments. Replacing the boots with flat dress shoes, under the cloak was a white military like coat, and normally women could wear a white skirt but Cressida chose to forgo that. As it was a special occasion, she left her hair down and soon was outside by roughly 3PM. A limo pulled up as her entourage, dressed in full formal uniform was driving, Cressida let herself in as she let herself in and as she didn't speak a word en route to the castle she sighed as she stared out the window. She knew this would end horridly, even when she chose not to take a seele Schneider, however she wondered if it was gonna be shinigami, hollows, or politics that would be the problem.

Resting her eyes, she drifted until the limo stopped at the entrance to the castle. Getting out she slowly walked as the limo drived off to park, taking a moment she looked towards the sky for a brief moment before walking into the castle. Walking into the great hall room after receiving the typical glares from quincy the Schades receive, she couldn't help but be impressed. 

Rubbing her wrist under her cloak she muttered "Maybe tonight won't be such as disaster. "

Wc 492

"If we strike now, sir, they may not expect it! We need those modified souls if we wish to civilize Hueco Mu-" The subordinate was cut off by a quick, agitated wave of Atraerus's hand. Atraerus was in the middle of his jam session, listening to 'Come and Get your Love' by Redbone. It was never clear how he got his hands on that old tape and boombox, but nobody ever asked. He was lip syncing to the song, bobbing his head back and forth, tapping his feet against the quartz desk in front of him. "Come and get yo' love!" He yelled out; the shinigami looked at him with a puzzled expression, before shutting off the cassette tape. Atraerus frowned with disdain plastered over his visage as his sepia hues drifted to meet the disappointed gaze of the shinigami who had addressed him. His bottle of sake was completely gone, he was rather drunk it seemed, as he greeted the shinigami with a loud burp and eyes that seemed to wander around. "As I was saying, I don't know why you're still stalling, we have everything we nee-"
"IF YOU LIKE PINA COLATAS! GETTIN' CAUGHT IN THE RAIN!" Atraerus began loudly singing to himself, so loud in fact, that the echoes of his voice carried out through the entirety of the Moonforge. From the outside, he could hear some of the arrancar and servitors sing the next few verses of the song. It was safe to say that the Division had a friendly working environment. The shinigami slammed his fist on the table, exclaiming loudly to his teacher and leader. "Must you always be drunk!? I'm trying to talk strategically!" Atraerus paused some, seeming to sober up abit as if never drunk, leaning forward to meet the gaze of his underling. His voice was much more serious now, with a foreboding, ominous tone to it.


"You don't know the first thing about strategy, kid. Tell me, when you're fighting a force far superior to you, what should be your first move?" Atra's face was only inches away from the boy's, he could smell the alcohol on Atraerus's breath. He stuttered a bit, and didn't say a word. "You get yourself some allies, connections, friends. Because that's who you need, now until you can find us some friends, we aren't going anywhere. Get out of my office and let me relax for a bit." Atraerus began to slouch over in his chair a bit again, before his pupil spoke out again.
    "Actually sir, I may have something for you." Atraerus raised an eyebrow, looking to the boy.
    "We intercepted a letter in the world of the living, being addressed to one of the quincy clans around the globe. Their queen is holding some sort of ball to get everyone together. It seems to be an open invite but I don't know how they would take a soul reaper just waltzing up to their ga-"
    "I am not a soul reaper, I am a dashing rogue, remember? And besides, I'm a master of disguise. If this party you're talking about really is about to happen, then it'll give me ample opportunity to sort out an arrangement. Hell, maybe we can be friends..."
    "Are you sure, sir? What if they find you? What if they kill you?" Atraerus smiled, standing up with a tired grunt.
    "I'm Atraerus, I can't be killed, silly. I'm just that cool." Atraerus said with a sigh. It was obvious he was joking, perhaps even lying to himself. It certainly helped calm his nervousness.

    "Notify Tony and Zero that they'll be accompanying me. Activate the OLYMPUS protocol, and keep SURTR DROWN on standby. It's time to get our party on, Pathfinders."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

   

 Deep below the castle, out of sight, opened a small black garganta. From it came Atraerus, but his looks were completely different; not even recognizable as himself anymore. Short ivory hair neatly combed atop his head to reveal a pale, youthful and handsome visage competed with bright azure eyes and a smile betwixt plump white lips. He wore a traditional quincy uniform, complete with ornate blue designs of crosses across the torso filled with golden buttons. Alabaster gloves and boots covered his hands and feet, a fine pressed garb free of any stains or grime as if brand new. In his hand he held a small golden locket attached to the right breast pocket of his uniform by a small chain. Before making his move up the to castle, he'd suppress his reiatsu as best he can to ensure that the red spirit ribbon would only show in scattered traces, should anyone try and follow it. With it, he made his way up to the massive, impressive structure, counting on his fireteam to be in place in case the mission went south.

He politely greeted those who met him at the door, and quietly stepped inside to behold the lavish decorations. This was quincy royalty? It surely wasn't anything to simply scoff at. It was something he had dreamed of creating for his comrades, a peaceful, beautiful home without fear, or worry. He much enjoyed the warmth and how welcome one could feel in this beautiful, ornate hall. The tables were filled with German and Scandanavian meats, and the smell brought back memories from when he was alive. His Swedish parents used to always make these sorts of meals, and little Atra used to love them so. Nostalgia washed over him. However, Atraerus must remain focused, as he was on a mission to form an alliance. He hoped the queen would listen to his words. Atraerus was not a diplomat, but his wisdom was as vast and far reaching as the sea. It was no wonder he had the reputation of the sage in the Division.

Despite his nostalgia, despite the gravity of his mission, Atraerus took a step back with a puzzled expression over his face. He seemed to be pondering over a serious matter, before releasing his thoughts vocally.

"Where's the bar?"

 Raised his hands up to rub his eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them with a grumble. Yawning quietly as he slowly stumbled out of the garganta. Tired from all the ruckus that Atraerus and Tony keep making when he tries to sleep.  "I sw... swear... I will break that boombox... He is just to loud..." Yawning a bit louder as he looked around seeing where Atraerus had brought him this time. Lifting his head into the air and taking in a deep breath. He could smell the power here, but more over he could also smell the human world. As he lowered his head, he would relax with a sigh of relief, though a small amount of his miasma would escape as he did. Taking this chance to form a puppet to look like a chaperone for him. Slowly the old shinigami girl he had come to favor as his more public face, would form up and stand there. Slowly reaching down to hold her master's hand. His eyes catching Atraerus before he ran off, noticing the more formal looking clothes and then back at his puppets. Changing her robes out for something more elegant like the kid once saw back in the crusades, her appearance almost looking like that of a princess in the modern era."A...at least i get to come home this time around... or at least somewhere out here.." Making her take the first steps as he hid his own spiritual pressure and lowered his head. Letting his jacket's hood cover his face for the most part. Letting her lead the way out and into the open world beyond the gate.  Using her eyes to look around here and there before walking by one of the doors with her.

    Seeing those at the door he would make the puppet nod and smile towards them as she kept leading the little boy. Walking past the door with him in hand as she saw a small garden. Together they walked towards it. Settling in comfortably as she sat on a stone bench and the boy started to move from flower bed to flower bed, hedge to hedge.  Smelling all of the flowers and chasing after the butterflies, while making sure not to step onto any of the flowers. Playing with himself as he walked about to and fro, zoning out into his own little world. His puppet still sitting there on the bench, holding herself up right as she kept her eyes fixed on her master but her ears were listening, not to the party but the breeze and the plants. A smile on the puppets lips as they both got lost into their own worlds. It looked as though it was going to be a good night, a peaceful and relaxing one. Maybe he might even get the chance to visit his old home while he was in this world still.


    TWC: 484

Ambivalence. This was the state of a man who, while not exactly bored or depressed by the daily routine, was excited to have heard about his latest assignment. He was to attend some formal gathering, in fine dress, mingle with the upper crust. It was everything that he'd missed since leaving the Academy and the favour of the now virtually non-existent noble classes of the Seireitei. There was, of course, the question of 'who were these nobles' with whom he was to socialise with. Learning that this was to take place on Earth, and in the heart of Quincy territory, to actually be a gathering of those said people, and with the hostess of it all to be someone Alexander knew and might not do well to meet again... The joy and excitement tied to this event would now go hand in hand with a fear and dread. His 'partner' for this mission was the only thing that had him feeling more at ease. He'd known Victoria for quite some time now and she'd always seemed the strong and reliable type, even when he'd had to be there to support her.

They'd found themselves on the ground floor of a stairwell in a small nowhere building, a narrow little space, mostly abandoned and not frequently seeing the presence of humans, or any other sapient species for that matter. A sort of partition had been set up to make the space under the stairs a discrete little changing area, for decencies sake. Clothes were hung on the top of it, Alexander's on one side, Vic's on the other. She had the privilege of privacy, and he suspected a basin and other things with which to prepare herself. Alexander, out more in the open, changing in the corridor, simply had the luck of privacy. A professional, at this time, and respectful of Victoria, he wasn't inclined to peek. Furthermore, he had his incentives to be getting changed quickly. Accidently kicking an empty glass bottle that littered the flaw, a somewhat exposed feeling Alexander got undressed and then dressed again.

Seeing Victoria in her Gigai had been something of a shock, and the thought that he'd be walking into this soiree with her on his arm made him forget, almost completely, about the various dangers that would be associated with their attendance. It wasn't just the lack of scars that came with the faux body shell, but when he eventually saw her changed from her Gigai's more casual and discreet dress to what she was wearing for the gathering... her apparel for this event lent her towards a side of her that he'd not himself seen before, and he was caught somewhat off guard, abashed, and entranced by this. Without thinking, he'd found himself casting his gaze briefly up and down her, admiring the form he was seeing before him, before remembering himself, herself, where he was, and the fact that she, being right there in front of him, could actually see his reaction. He feigned a single cough and then, averting his gaze slightly, extended an arm.

"Right... well... erm... sorry... that, er... Shall we?"

Hopefully there wasn't anything to be too embarrassed about, or anything that Alexander had said or done to merit a scolding or reprimand. Coming out of the building, out of a door not far from where Alexander had gotten changed, they had a brief and short walk out through some alleyway before joining the main street, upon which there was a relatively short walk to their destination.

When it came to the clothing that he now found himself adorned with, there was little to be concerned about. The attire was old fashioned, but acceptable. Looking more like a gentleman dressed for the time of old Victorian London, Alexander was actually quite comfortable with the outfit loaned to him for this assignment. He found himself in a silvery grey waistcoat, a dark long jacket, a pronounced silk cravat and neat, though slightly tight, trousers. The pocket watch on the brass chain he particularly liked. With one end clipped to the buttons of his waistcoat, and the watch tucked into the shallow pockets of the same garment, he fought the invention quite ingenious. Clockwork aside, this particular accessory had a little hidden compartment on the back which, when slid open, revealed his Gikon. It was something he was hoping he wouldn't have to use, and might only find himself resorting to in an emergency. The Gigai were well constructed to conceal their spiritual pressures, but there was always that risk of being discovered, especially, Alexander thought, if he found himself by the Queen herself.

Word Count: 775
Total GP: 15

Aodh did not want to go to this stupid thing, he hated parties but the man had made the unfortunate mistake of staying at the castle after the last Quincy Gathering and as such he'd been unable to avoid Freyleif's inevitable "invitation" (really demand was more appropriate) to attend her accursed soiree. It seemed that retaking the throne had turned out to be a horribly boring task for the young Queen and she'd decided to alleviate the monotony with this social event.

'It probably isn't the worst idea. Things seemed a little heated last time our people gathered, it may be a smart move for her to give her people a chance to relax alongside their brethren.'

Still that didn't mean he agreed with having to go. 'Since when art parties mandatory.' he thought to himself petulantly.

Even after being strong armed into attending that wasn't the end of the little blonde Tyrant's interference. When he'd mentioned the night before that he was planning to wear his standard issue Quincy uniform but the short Icelander wasn't having it and insisted he wear something else despite his complaints that he hadn't exactly brought any formal wear with him to Germany when he'd attended the meeting. He'd gotten by so far with a few different sets of Uniforms to alternate between as well as some clothing he'd bought in Berlin. Of course that wasn't the end of it and shortly after he woke up this morning a maid had arrived at his room with a wrapped parcel, after opening the box the Quincy soon discovered an Armani suit.

Sighing the man looked at himself in the mirror and grudgingly admitted that the suit was nothing short of magnificent. The Soho Dinner Suit was a tidy slim fit and Aodh didn't even want to consider how Freyleif had got his measurements. The dark blue suit was such a dark tone that it almost appeared black and the black shoes and bowtie that came along with it matched perfectly. The Irishman grimaced slightly as he realised just how much all of this had cost and wondered just how much cash his Queen had to throw around, he'd known she'd inherit the ancient castle but he'd never considered just how much financial resources came with the role.

Seemed a bit obvious in hindsight.

Shrugging he ran a hand along his freshly shaven jawline and then through his tidy hair before sighing softly, there was no more putting it off. Glancing once more at the mirror he smiled faintly at the single gift he approved off. A small elegant silver badge that mimicked the Sternritter's badge of rank was pinned to his collar which represented the Birith Rune that marked his position amongst the Elite Quincy of the Order wreathed in celtic inspired thorns.

With another, almost huffy, sigh the man checked to make sure his Quincy Cross was properly affixed to his wrist before instinctively checking that the matching gold twin was properly affixed to his neck.

Leaving the room Aodh made his way down the hall, albeit at a purposely slow pace, as he made his way towards the Great Hall where the party was being held and entered with a nod to the doorman as he passed him, Aidan was well enough known around the castle these days that no one ever stopped to question his presence. Good thing to since he'd burned the formal invitation a few minutes after he'd been given it.

Glancing around the room he frowned with annoyance at seeing Freyleif and striding straight over to the Queen he pointedly looked her up and down taking in the distinct design which had obviously been geared towards imitated her militaristic Quincy garb.

"Oh so it's alright for you to wear what you want then?" he asked archly his usually cold tone filled with vague annoyance although he was mindful enough to pitch his voice low, Aodh knew better than to disrespect his Monarch in public no matter how informal the girl acted despite her position.

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WC: 677
Total WC: 677

The Queenie mostly kept away from the crowd and stood by the doorway to the right wing of the castle surrounded by her bodyguards even if she herself was strong enough to take care of herself. Her spiritual senses picked up all sorts of Quincy pouring in and could've sworn someone just rifted in somewhere in the castle. She wanted to facepalm but the door had opened making her steer away as cooks came out in a hurry to get desserts out and all manner of cute maids with short skirts going out to serve their guests.

And, of course, Mister Icicles strode up to her with that annoyed look on his face.

“You look wonderful in that Aodh,” Freyleif grinned in reply looking her Atmosphere Dampener friend up and down. He actually wore the expensive clothes she had(made) him wear and she couldn’t help cover her mouth letting out a giggle. “Come on I wanted to see what you looked in something more extravagant than boring military garbs.” she put on a more friendly, albeit more serious stance, in speaking with her friend and scooted her way beside him.

The girl didn’t think she’d get this much of a crowd and she did see the familiar face and murmurs of Schade appearing - it had to be Cressida her green hair and formal wear of the Schade gave her out. The Queen was actually glad to see Cress return though had an inkling it probably had to do with her father forcing her just like her grandfather wanted her to be more social than a shut in.

“Aidan I’m nervous.” she hugged Ice friend’s arm and whispered. He didn’t even make a comment about her health due to her pregnancy but she shrugged it off like water on a duck's back. Without really thinking about it, Freyleif tugged on Aidan’s sleeve and pulled him down towards bar sticking close to the wall to hide amongst the crowd and guards.

The bartender showed off his fancy moves in pouring drinks for the guests then spun to face the Queen with a toothy, gleaming, grin. He wore a blue button jacket with a white shirt underneath it with frilly sleeves and lavish polished white pants.

“What can I get this fine man? And no drinks for you, My Queen.” the bartender said spinning the bottle in his hand and smiled to Freyleif knowing she wouldn’t be able to get alcohol no matter how much she complained even if it was within her ‘Viking blood’ she was pregnant after all.

428/670=1098

Looking around the room discretely with her eyes, she knew something was wrong here, and not just the smell of undercooked meat. If there is a place where Schades are dangerous, it's a party, for they have gotten away with alleged crimes there, coup d'Etat's, thievery, backstabbing, and arguably murder. Cressida is not the sharpest knife in the drawer for sensing reaitsu, but she could sense that not everyone was playing fair, so neither shall she. Slowly walking around randomly, she gave basic pleasantries as she analyzed for the key markers that give away imposters, a lack of/misplaced cross, a lack of typical quincy knowledge for a quincy outside of a group, an unusual garb, unable to get a tight list of suspects. There is too much reaitsu to disect which from which. 


Biting her lip she knew that this was not gonna end well, and for now, she had to tread water on the right ship. Walking around she slowly looked around and soon found the Queen herself with a man head for the bar... Stopping in her tracks she looked to the Quincy beside her whispering "Isn't the Queen pregnant?" and the Quincy nodded, confused as to why Cressida asked such a question they followed her original line of sight and too shared Cressida's confusion on the matter. Walking steadily towards the bar, she let her cloak fall over her arms, not letting anyone see what her body language would tell as she soon found heirself approaching the Queen.

Unsure what was more awkward, striking a conversation with the woman who took her throne, or discussing party crashers with a pregnant quincy, she stopped as soon as she saw the man with her, his vibe was not exactly trusting. Turning away, she seemingly wandered about as she soon encountered an odd man wondering where he could get a drink. She politely approached the man as she pointed towards the bar.

"Right over there Sir, but the bar is busy for the moment, I don't recommend ordering in front of the poor Queen. She's hosting a party but can't drink a single drop."

Offering out her right hand to shake, she carefully examined the man, wondering who exactly he was. He had a dashing appearance, but appearances can deceive.

"I'm Cressida Schade, an Echt from England."

WC 387

Atraerus merely needed to speak two words, party and booze.

It didn't take much to convince Tony to attend a party. Especially not one where beautiful women were involved. To top it off said party was at a castle, a freaking castle. How much more awesome could this excursion get? While Tony had heard of Quincy he hadn't much dealt with them much himself. Despite this fact he had come to the conclusion that a person was a person, regardless of their specific state. If this was a party Tony was sure that he would need to bring a gift. Traveling separate from Atra he stopped over in Kyoto, "Acquiring" a rather gorgeous Kimono from someone who most likely didn't need it. The Kimono was silk, it's pattern was a beautiful cascade of Cherry blossoms. They seemed to fall, an illusion created by the swaying of the silk, from the right shoulder down across the body. With his gift neatly wrapped in a box Tony made one final adjustment, he pulled his small jukebox out from his pack and had it ready to play. He was truly ready for a party.

The castle was grand, Tony stood at the entrance. He hoped that he looked every bit of dapper as he felt. His pinstriped suit the very embodiment of a Mafioso's zoot suit. A neat bowler hat lay crooked upon his head, the brim concealed his left pointed ear. His right ear defiantly reached into the sky, daring the onlooker's stare. His sapphire blue eyes glinted maniacally from beneath the bowler hat. His smile stretched languidly from ear to ear, his pearly whites gleamed from between his full lips. In his left hand he carried his gift neatly wrapped. He held on his right shoulder the small yet strangely powerful jukebox. He pushed play and proceeded to ascend into the grand estate. Ready for a party. The tune of "Careless Whisper" resounded off of the walls.

Walking through the door Tony searched for whom he could entrust his gift to. In the distance he saw Atra chatting with another woman. Tony was sure that Atra would know where the bar was.

TWC 362

It had been quite the while since she'd donned these artificial bodies they called gigai. So log in fact that she could not recall the last time she'd worn one. No matter, the latest models reacted for more fluidly than the ones they'd used in centuries past. So in tune were they with the wearers body that almost anything you could do outside of the fake form could be done in them. Everything save for shunpo and walking on thin air. All things considered the improvements to these puppet bodies they used made things a lot on easier for her tonight. A night she had secretly looked forward to since the assignment had been handed down. 

In truth the assignment was to look after the scribe, or Alexander as he was called. Specifics were not for her to care too much about nor could she bring herself to care too much as she slipped the frock she'd been wearing off her shoulders behind the privacy screen that had been set up. A slight shiver ran up her exposed spine as she sat on the well stuffed foot stool that had been provided for her convenience. She beamed as she sat upon the cushioned holding the dress she'd been wearing up to her chest. She'd not felt the chill of the human world in nearly as long as she had been without wearing one of these gigais. To feel something so tactile in the human realm was a treat for the old warrior. One that she savored as she changed her garments and prepped herself to don the thing she'd been looking forward to the most. 

This gown she'd selected, lets face it she was about to let some grunt who didn't have her measurements to go and pick her out an outfit for an evening like this, was what they called a mermaid or trumpet which meant she had to shimmy into the satin construct from the bottom. The dress clung to her body lines in a flattering manner as she fastened the last button behind her neck. Moderately high heels of a similar burgundy color found their places on her feet as she set about letting the long blond tresses fall free from the bindings that had kept them in check. Finishing touches were long thin silver chain with matching bracelet and earrings, a soft red lip stain and muted eye makeup finished the look before she began teasing the curls out more. 

Appearing from behind the screen she took slight notice of the eyes the younger shinigami cast her way. She took some pride in causing such a reaction. Most of it she wagered was the absence of the numerous scars that littered her arms and face. In particular the two largest and most gruesome that covered a large part of the exposed skin on her right side were absent on this chassis. Scars she'd had the entire time he'd known her. Marks that had become associated with the ancient warrior along with the triangular ears that he replaced for the evening by gigais humanoid ears, a welcome change for the woman. Taking up a small clutch that contained the small soul cell as they were called that would allow her to get in contact with command if the need arose and exit this gigai in a hurry if need be. She continued to feign ignorance to his gaze as she made sure she had everything needed for this evening. Their invites, her soul cell set to vibrate only, a small vial of perfume to reapply as she needed and a small kerchief. Taking a short breath she takes his elbow in her gigai's delicate fingers. 

"Yes," she said in the softest voice she'd uttered in decades. A voice one might liken to that of a sultry female radio announcer and one she rarely found a need to use in her line of work where clarity and and conciseness mattered more than what was nice to hear. The walk was nearly nothing. Barely enough time to allow herself to get more acquainted with the shoes she was wearing and make note of how the dress moved and allowed her to move. She was definitely not going to moving very fast in any way or direction in this dress. Thankfully she had several options for getting out of it if the need arose. Her phone, both earrings and the small teardrop shaped diamond that hung from the bracelet on her wrist. If the need arose, and she prayed to her gods that it wouldn't, she could be out of this form and engaged in combat in the beat of a heart. 

Dashing the thoughts of what if and possibilities for the night from her mind she reaffirms the gentle smile that had made it onto her face as she finished putting the final touches on this ensemble. The door was just feet ahead though entry was slow as security had to do their job and check everyone. Royalty or no, such an event had to be well monitored and kept free of ruffians. These guards were nothing special. Barely spiritual with almost no difference in their spiritual output than most humans. They were probably only just aware of the spiritual war that raged about them but were unable to see it clearly. And that being the likely case, unless they were masters of suppressing their own power, meant that she and Alex, hopefully, wouldn't be called out by them. 

Easing the clasp of her clutch open she made ready to produce their invitations.

WC-934

Aodh clicked his tongue in his usual annoyed response to being teased by the little Icelander although part of him was pleased at her use of his proper name so he let it slide. "Uh huh. Well perhaps it would behove her Highness to dress a little more...stately." he commended with a faint momentary quirk of his lips.

The man was ready to throw out a few more sarcastic comments before she grabbed his arm making the man frown slightly and he only became more unsettled at her admittance that she felt nervous, admitting weakness wasn't a trait he had seen Freyleif display often. On one hand he was happy to see that she was perhaps growing wise enough to voice her worries although that was swiftly overridden by concern.

"Why?" he simply asked although he did so quietly. The man was tense enough being at the party without any additional worries being heaped on top, the awkward Quincy never had a head for social situations, he could barely function in a one on one conversation with close acquaintances half the time never mind a room full of strangers.

Before he knew it Frey had dragged him over to the bar and as the bartender spoke Aodh had already turned his attention to the crowd of people filling the hall as he give a quick glance wondering if his cousin was possibly here, the fact that he didn't see the red haired younger man didn't surprise him although he was still disappointed.

'Where are you cousin?'

Turning his attention back to the bar he blinked "Hmm? Oh. I'll have a whiskey, neat please." he requested of the bartender.

Even as he spoke Aodh allowed his spiritual senses to furl outwards, his relatively unrefined senses could fell the Spiritual Power that  saturated the room but he couldn't pick up individual auras aside from the powerful little girl next to him. However...where all those energies in the Castle of Quincy origin?

"Who exactly did you invite to this thing?" he asked softly with a glance at Freyleif  and suddenly he found himself wishing Miss Vietti-Thompson was here.

Aodh had actually took it up himself to organise the guard detail for the event beyond what his Queen had already planned, the castle's uniformed garrison was stations around the fortress and the castle grounds while a significant number of them where attending the party under the guise of ordinary party goers.  Still...the Spiritual Power of the average Quincy guards wasn't as high as Aodh wished, another sign that their people were undergoing a period of decline that needed to be rectified.  It was for this reason that he wished the other, more skilled, Sternitter was present or indeed any of the more potent Quincy. Freyleif was well into her pregnancy by this point and it was the duty of her subjects to keep her safe during this time.

He silently cursed Walter and Benjamin for vanishing as they did, if only the duo had managed to stick around a little longer until Freyleif had to children then things might have been more stable, hell if they'd even stuck around until the Sternitter ranks could have been properly organised then things might have been better.

Noticing his drink was on the table Aodh give the bartender a nod and lifted his whiskey taking a sip, it was good although with the sort of cash the Throne was flash around he wasn't sure why that should be surprising.

Noticing a small number of people down the bar where smoking Aodh glared at them before shifting his focus back to Freyleif  "In your condition you should have known better than allowing the guests to smoke...beside it's a disgusting habit to indulge in doors and the weather is mild enough that they could simply do so outside." he criticised. 

-------------------------
WC: 639
Total WC: 1316

This damn promotion was going to get him killed, but maybe that's what Kasumi had in mind when she assigned him. Here he was, in the middle of the wolves' den, spying on another one of her officers. Alexander had proved an interesting prey for Murat to be sure. His initial lecherous intentions toward the man had very recently burned away thanks to the ongoing investigation, and any suspected ties to the Quincy merited further attention. It was so that, with the Captain Commander's permission, he had secured entry to tonight's festivities.

It hadn't been particularly hard to get through. All he had to do was throw on his old accent, inject a little Turkish when using more complicated words, and nearly everyone he ran into had been either confused or racist enough to keep any conversation short. It had been almost been too easy getting past security, though that didn't surprise him too much as he had spared no expense in his disguise. The dark blue two-piece pinstripe suit was a mirror image of one he had in his personal wardrobe back in the Seireitei, but the golden star and crescent cufflinks and mirrored black Ray Bans really served to tie the outfit together. Ever since his accident, his Gigai had been afflicted with a lazy eye, and was he certainly happy to finally have a reliable solution for that issue.

He had come early, sure to both be there when his target arrived as well as secure in his outward appearance as just another intoxicated partygoer. With any luck, Alexander wouldn't recognize him. Even ignoring the lack of his trademark eyepiece, his Gigai's nearly trimmed gray-streaked hair would have served as an effective disguise from anyone from the Seireitei. He had been a little nervous that Ichiro or the enchanting Miss Klein might be able to pick him out, though the odds of either of his Quincy conquests causing trouble for him were almost nonexistent. No small part of him desperately wanted to see either of them and get some answers, but fortune seemed unwilling to smile upon him, at least as of yet.

Doing his best to appear a permanent fixture to the bar, a skill honed through nearly a century of practice, Murat took an otherwise unappealing barstool up against the wall, but with a good line of sight on the rest of the room. Despite struggling to resist ordering his usual double strength drinks, he was finally able to settle on a low proof Gibson Martini. The drink was pleasant and went well with the blend of tobacco in his pipe, but it would take him several more to get nearly drunk enough to truly calm his nerves.

His surveillance so far had been productive, even without his target showing up. A little small talk about soccer was all he had needed to get one of the guests, a large Scottish man who had apparently done some pre-game drinking, to spill all manner of speculative gossip about the current power structure of the Quincy, pointing people out animatedly as he spoke. The boisterous man had thankfully left him to talk with some long lost friend before Murat had to really use his cover story.

It was thus that, armed with the knowledge of exactly who was approaching the bar, the Turkish Shinigami felt his jaw clench tightly around his pipe. The Queen herself had walked to the bar along the wall, coming up behind him and stopping less than 10 feet from his seat. Focusing as hard as he could on suppressing his spiritual signature, he used his peripheral vision to scan the room for exits, spotting a large curtained window a short distance away. It wouldn't be fun, even if his Gigai could break through the glass, but it was probably his best choice for escape if things went south. He'd just have to somehow charge through the Queen of the goddamn Quincy to get there.

Nervously looking on from behind his mirrored lenses, he hoped they would just leave him be. Every second they stayed nearby, he could feel the odds of him making it through this unscathed slipping away. How many well-wishers would approach the Queen here? What if she turned to him herself? Murat's heart threatened to explode as her companion commented on the smoking at the bar, causing him to stifle the burn on his pipe hastily and turn his head to nod at them, offering a simple, "My apologies." The words flowed out easier than he'd expected them to, probably a byproduct of the drink, but he had done it. A simple nod should have sufficed, but he just had to open his stupid mouth. This was not good.

WC: 790

Getting in hadn't proven to be too difficult, though the pessimist in Alexander couldn't help but ponder if getting out was the part they had to worry about. An invite fished out from his inner pocket, and another, similar documentation produced by Victoria seemed to satisfy the guards at the gates. The security forces were speaking German, and he had to consider that for a moment, as they walked on past them and continued towards the Soiree. Truth was, he hadn't spoken that language since the war, and somehow he doubted that being able to recognise the words for 'I surrender' and 'Put down the gun' was going to be particularly useful here, at least, he hoped so. Given his appearance, Caucasian, he imagined that perfect Japanese would be suspicious and given that the only other language he spoke fluently was English, he just had to hope that some of the people inside spoke it. Failing that, maybe the lovely lady on his arm, Victoria, was more versatile in her knowledge of languages than he was.

Their mission objectives had been vague at best. 'Gather intel' could mean a lot of things. For the most part, Alexander had to assume that, having heard of this gathering, the higher ups had thought it best to have at least somebody present, though hadn't managed to think exactly how this situation could be used to their advantage. Failing that, perhaps Alexander and Victoria were to be the distraction for a more covert operation taking place, which meant that they were either not expected to keep their cover very well, or by some predetermined planning, destined to have it intentionally revealed in some manner. Either way, he was determined to go through the motions at least, try to remain hidden as best as possible and get what information he could.

Right away, looking around, he spotted at least two people that he needed to be avoiding. The first he recognised instantly, though it was safe to say she was quite different from the last time he'd seen her (for one thing, she was wearing clothes). Everyone here, most likely, wanted to speak to The Queen of the Quincy and, needless to say it'd been quite a shock for him when he'd found out that was what she was. She doubtlessly had masses of people lining up to speak with her, and should, as such, be easier to avoid. The second, it took him a moment or two to recognise. They'd only met once, some time ago on Earth, and he could recall that he'd ended up revealing his true form to him. Safe to say their encounter had been less memorable. He could see the two of them talking at the bar, but from this distance it was impossible to make out what they were saying.

Alexander wasn't aware of what Aidan's standing was amongst his own kind was. He seemed to know the Queen and, so early in the night, talking to her, it was possible he was someone of a fairly high standing. However, it was more than possible that he was someone who could easily slip through the crowds without too much hassle. It'd be harder to keep an eye on and evade someone able to move about freely. He had the two people he knew he had to evade in sight and, with that in mind, he thought it best that his 'intel gathering' should involve finding out about the humans attending this event. Alexander was aware that the Seireitei was having to maintain some level of interaction with Earth economics, in order to obtain property, real world money for missions and so on. Surely knowing which groups of mortals were associating themselves with the Quincy and what connections they had would be useful information. First though...

"The Queen."

He uttered quietly to Victoria, casually casting his gaze to one side once he'd assured that they had both seen her. Then looking around, he searched for something that, though slightly different in terms of cultural and social settings, he had learnt to recognise and was practiced in spotting. Indicating carefully and politely where he was going, and wishing for her to come with, Alexander calmly made his way over to a group of people just finishing their conversation, a couple veering off from the four that remained. He smiled and spoke boldly with a smoothness and elocution to his voice that would have him appear a fine educated young man. In this 'role' he appeared far more certain and charming than those who know him the rest of the time might have come to have expected from him.

"Why hello there, I do not believe we have been introduced. How do you do?"

He extended a hand bravely to the people, the slightest of twitches resulting in him having to remember swiftly that this was not a culture in which one bowed. Alexander wasn't sure if they understood him, but nonetheless received some reluctant hands that were extended hesitantly in return. He held the hands offered him firmly and kept his smile as he faced them. Moving as swiftly, he lifted his arm up and around to present;

"...and might I present you My Lady, Victoria Aeserninus."

From its place hovering behind Victoria now, his hand rested briefly before, spotting a passing tray out of the corner of his eye, reaching out casually for a tall flute glass of champagne that was passing. His fingers gently closed, and he'd begun to bring the drink to him when he found himself having to avoid a look of surprise.

"Ah."

He took, with utmost care, the hand of the lady extended to him. That was a pleasant surprise, given how boldly he, a stranger, was approaching them.

"Charmed."

The customary bowing of the head and a little peck on delicate fingers. Of course, probably not her own idea, but merely following suit, he would have another lady with which to do the same. Wanting not to lose his momentum, or face question such as 'who are you?', Alexander moved on swiftly. 

"I do hope I'm not intruding, but I simply had to ask; Would I be mistaken in thinking that is who I think it is, speaking with our Royalty by the bar?"

Habitually he raised the glass to his mouth. However, remembering at the last moment how poorly he and even weak alcohol mixed, he was careful to keep his lips closed. He took a very brief 'sip' before continuing.

"Not that it isn't an honour to see her highness now, in all her radiance."

It seemed important to him that he established what sort of threat Aidan might present, and failing that, he was gathering intel on someone who was apparently close to the Royal head. He'd had hoped that maybe someone in the group spoke English, but he was soon faced with someone decisively German trying to say something to him, apologetic, polite and slightly confused.

{Ah...}

So that was how it was going to be. Well, this was the first hurdle, but it was important that he didn't stop smiling. He'd hope that they could begin the casual mingling among all the other people here, but it would appear that he was going to have to first get the navigation of this little problem sorted out first.

Word Count (Total): 1229 (2004)
Total GP: 40 

The scent of soul swirled into his nostrils as the visions of scarlet spirit ribbons danced within the peripherals of his gaze. His cromulent azure hues dimmed and eyes simmered with a seething malice as their aroma caught a taste on his tongue. His nostrils widened and contracted, and with the assistance of his heightened senses, managed to deduce that there were others here, shinigami were present. He silently sneered; he noticed one almost immediately, a woman clad in the same ancient scars as the one he had encountered in the Rukongai not long ago. She had her own entourage, as expected of her. He could only suspect that they had arrived to gather intelligence on the quincy, no matter. The rogue had not come here for such petty things, nor did he have the patience to sit and wait for an opportunity to arrive. His allies had arrived in their own special ways, and the protocols he had asked his subordinates to enact had been sammarily put in place. Atraerus adjusted his collar and tie, rolling his shoulders slightly as a quincy woman approached him. She had overheard his comment about the bar, which took Atraerus slightly off-guard and placed him in a sort of fight-or-flight mentality. This was unbecoming of the wolf, and as expected of him, he maintained his composure with a semblance of grace and nobility. 

Atraerus turned to greet the young lady, his finely combed ivory hair pouring over his handsome visage like thousands of perfectly sewn spider-webs. His face white and smooth as that of a child's corpse, revealing the fullness of his features free of all blemishes and imperfections; save one single beauty mark upon the top of his left cheek, just below his eye. Atraerus stood straight and his posture and demeanor seemed to exhale nobility from every fiber in his garments to the pulchritudinous glow of his glittering blue eyes. Strands of his alabaster locks fell across his face as he turned to greet her with a calm and suave smile, and his fingers, clad in a snow-white cotton glove coalesced and combed the hair back into place. As he spoke to greet the woman, his voice seemed to reverberate and echo from his lips as mellifluous as a choir of angels; yet whispering like a soft, enchanting murmur. It was a charming voice, to perfectly match the lithe nobleman's elegant and dashing features. She'd notice the optics of his pupils cascaded by the blue orbs of his irises, focus in solely on her eyes. With a gentle flourish he bowed respectfully as any proper formal greeting would be done. Because she had been an echt from England, he had assumed she'd know formal british culture as he did. "Oh, my apologies, M'lady. That was a more rhetorical statement I'm afraid, but I thank you for your assistance."
Then she gave her name, and his smile only seemed to grow brighter as she introduced herself.
    "Ah~ what a lovely name, one methinks would be fit for a dutchess." His accent was a deep, proper anglo-saxon; old english. His words were sonorous and full of charm, and seemed to change it's vocal melody with each shift in attitude and movement, with each compliment and topic. He was quiet, a low whispering tone carried his voice, but did not once hamper it's suave tone.
His hand clutched her own gently, but firmly in a proper, professional handshake.

"A divine pleasure to meet you, madam. My name is Atraerus of Leads. I work independently and do not tend to come to such affairs; thus, I'm afraid you wouldn't be familiar with me. However, this gathering is an excellent chance to come to know my brethren, and perhaps learn of other Quincy working in England such as yourself."

There was nothing about his demeanor that seemed odd other than his overwhelming air of elegance and nobility. He gave her his real name, confident that the Quincy would not know the true name of a shinigami fugitive such as himself. This was a mission of diplomacy, after all; not for intelligence or to check up on a petty vendetta. He placed his hand beneath her palm, and with another gentle flourish, pressed his lips against the back of her hand in a gentle kiss before removing himself of her grasp.
"What a lovely party, and a lovely home, our queen has. I was never one to attend such affairs but now I'm beginning to see that I've been missing out on quite the festivities~" Atraerus cooed with a gentle snicker, before his optics focused elsewhere, onto the queen herself.
"And, I see our lady is with child, I'm surprised she'd hold such an event in her health; I wish her only the best." He then returned his attention over to her, his charming smile never leaving his snow-white face.
"If I may ask, from which part of England do you hail, my lady?"


827

Cerlain was not ready to be going to a party, let alone one where he was being forced to go in the first place. His uncle had practically dragged him to the castle, which he neglected to tell Cerlain was a LITERAL castle. His uncle had flashed two pieces of paper at men who looked quite like the images in Cerlain's books could the quincy really still be alive? His question was answered within seconds of the door being opened. It was quite a spectacle and it filled Cerlain with unending joy to be thrust with an image of not one or two, but hundreds of Quincy filling the hall. It did not however feel the same when he was slapped in the face by a wave of Reiatsu that far outmatched his own power. He nearly fell down under the sheer weight of the it all, there were so many feelings and emotions being sent through this hall some were angry and others were happy, he couldn't pick any specific people from this miasma of energy. He could however tell that one person stood far above all the rest. "is that energy the queens?" he asked his uncle.

"yes but we must hurry if you are to romance her, come now the night is still young!" He exclaimed as he dragged his nephew down through the hall. They passed by many faces, and many of them wanted to say hello to me, but i was not given the chance to do so. "no, no, no time for you to make any new friends we must meet the queen." he would say, it was strange how obsessed he was about meeting the queen of the quincy.

"Why is it so important for me to meet the queen?"

"Because our family deserves to be royalty and you are the key to that dream." they arrived infront of a young woman who was clearly with child and was clearly in the middle of a conversation. "Hello my lady how are you doing this fine day? My name is Sergal Baleforth and this is my nephew Cerlain."

"uncle she is very clearly in the middle of a-" he was interrupted by his uncle shushing him.

"you know not of what you speak boy," he shook him lightly and continued on, "My nephew is quite a young specimen if i do say so myself he taught himself everything he knows" he bumped Cerlain who looked at the queens slightly irritated face, "go on C show her." Cerlain felt a pain in his chest and it showed on his face, only people very close to him were allowed to call him that, and this man was strange and foreign to him who had no right to call Cerlain that.

Oh i'll show you something all right Cerlain focused himself and he looked at the two open doors that they entered from. Ok i can do this, he pulled the ambient Reishi around him into his body. It felt cold and dark something nearby is only pretending to be alive he thought to himself, i'll deal with that later if the mood strikes me. This version of blut was unfamiliar to him but he would make do with it. Cerlain could feel his veins bulging out and watched as they took on a deep red color. "Uncle it would appear as though you've invaded this young woman's conversation and you contain no form of tact." He stepped towards his uncle who looked slightly worried and he rightly should be. The young queen was about to call over some guards to remove the both of them when Cerlain stopped her. "One moment my lady this is a family matter." he said politely a concept that appeared foreign to his uncle as he said this he unbuttoned the top few buttons on his jacket revealing his black dress shirt and let down his hair and it covered his head in a shock of blond hair. "Now then, Mr. Sergal," he directed his attention to his uncle. "You have dragged me from my classroom, effectively removing my ability to teach my students, brought me to another part of the world only ever telling me that i needed to wear my combat suit and add a shoulder cape to it, and now you have interrupted this young lady who, by the way, FAR outranks BOTH of us, and you have done nothing but insult the family name since we arrived at this party by being rude to everyone here. Now i don't believe i want you insulting my family name at this party any further." He lifted his uncle above his head and threw him out of the castle. "i'm sorry for all of that my lady," he took a formal bow before her and released his hold on the Reishi inside of his body with a large sigh. "My name is Cerlain Baleforth and I am humbled to be in your presence, my lady." 

word count: 835
total word count: 835

Fáelán fastened up the top of his tattered and discoloured Quincy uniform and brushed off some of the sand that had gotten onto it while he hadn't been wearing it. 'Is it just me or is this getting blacker?'. The man twisted so he could see some of the back of the uniform, before straightening up and shrugging slightly. He had no idea what process that discoloured it in the first place was, let alone if it was ongoing or complete. 'A question for another time, if i take too long the party will be over.' The Quincy picked up a belt from the desk and fastened it around his waist. On the right side of the belt were three marble sized devices, 'Ilave Maestra' Zettai had called them, each designed to created a one-person one-way portal between Hueco Mundo and Earth. On the left side was a small pouch that contained a few Ginto tubes and the Invitation to the party.

Fáelán turned on his heels and headed towards the stairs in the corner of his room. As he reached the bottom he scooped up the hooded scarf that was on a hanger on the wall, wrapped it around his neck and pulled the hood up. As he dropped his hand in front of his face he gave his mask a slight tap, a habit he'd got after leaving the room forgetting to put the mask on and instantly dropping to his knees due to the toxic air outside. He strode up the stairs to his door, out into the town, and headed for the nearest exit. The man had thought that even though the use of the Ilave Maestra inside the town wasn't strictly prohibited, it was best to do it outside anyway, Just in case something went wrong.

The Quincy strode towards the gate with a spring in his step, he was rather looking forward to seeing his teacher again. Although he hoped she didn't scold him for vanishing without a word, and then not getting in touch for a couple of months. He nodded to the guards as they opened the gates for him to step through. Once through the gate, he took one of the Ilave Maestra and flicked it in front of him. The ball flew forward a couple of feet before dropping onto the ground and shattering. At the impact point a small black hole had appeared which steadily grew larger until it was approximately 3 feet across, at which point Fáelán jumped into it. As he fell through the darkness he summoned some reishi under his feet to make a platform to stand on and keep his speed steady. On previous occasion of travelling through this place, his companions had always summoned the portal vertically and they had to run through it, but this place gave Fáelán the creeps and found travelling vertically was both faster and easier.

The man glanced downwards and saw the other end of the tunnel appear, and through it he could see a street rushing up to meet him at a fairly rapid pace. This was the only downside to travelling through this gateways the way he did, stopping at the end often turned out to be faster than he was comfortable with. As he landed on the ground his right knee buckled slightly causing him to lose his balance and stumble. As he straightened himself out he glanced upwards to see the mouth of the portal close and vanish as nothing had ever been there, 'I'm sure there is someway we can use these for stealthy sabotage missions.' he mused to himself.

The Quincy glanced around to try and ascertain his location. An alleyway it seemed, at least he wasn't dumped into the middle of the street where he would have not only been seen appearing from thin air, but also probably run over. He lowered his hood and undid the straps that held his mask in place, he didn't need it anymore and it would only draw attention. Fáelán walked out onto the main road and glanced down the road, and smiled. Zettai had programmed the coordinates perfectly, the castle was just a short distance down the road. As the man walked towards the castle he noticed he was getting some funny looks from those he passed, he glanced down at his attire, 'It's probably the Black and tattered clothing.' He then looked at his mask in his hand, "You wont fit in my belt pouch, so what do i do with you? aha..." The Quincy placed the mask on the upper portion of his right arm and with a small amount of trouble tied the straps around his arm to hold it in place, "Perfect."

Fáelán reached the bottom of the steps into the castle, and paused to take in how impressive the structure was. He'd been here once before when he came to be made a knight in the order, but even though it was his second time seeing the building, it was still just as imposing as ever. As he began to climb the steps his mind flashed back to the last time he was here, with his cousin, 'Oh shit, Aodh might be here too. What is he going to say about me just up and vanishing?' The thought of his cousin attending the party had only just occurred to him. It would make sense that Aodh was here, he was a Sternritter after all, and one of the Queens personal friends. The man shuddered slightly as he was sure Aodh was going to be furious with him.

As he approached the guards one of them held up his hand asking him to stop. "Is there a problem, guardsman? I'm here for the party that the Queen is holding. Don't tell me i missed it?" The guard raised an eyebrow at Fáelán, "This is a strictly private function, sir, and only persons with an invitation are allowed in." "Oh yes, i have one of those." Fáelán opened the pouch on his belt and produced the invitation, handing it to the guard. The guards eyebrow raised once more, he clearly did not expect this dishevelled man to have an invitation, this irritated Fáelán and the fingers on his right hand twitched, releasing a small amount of reiryoku from the tips. The guard sighed, "This does seem to be an invitation, but i still cannot allow you to enter, sir. This is a formal affair and i'm afraid your attire is..." the guard looked the stranger up and down, "Lacking."

Fáelán was now thoroughly annoyed, his right hand twitched quite violently as ribbons of reiryoku span around his fingers before evaporating into nothing. He tried to keep his anger in check but he could not remove it from his voice completely, "I am an knight of the Order and both student and personal friend to the Queen, and i demand you let me pass!"

As the man before her spoke, behind her false smile was an annoyed look, she knew this man was lying and telling the truth, but picking which from which was the tricky part to do off hand. Feeling his firm hand, she loosened her grip in a specific motion, slowly moving her fingers forward gently running near close but not touching the gentleman's wrist before returning her hand to her side. She keeps her cross tucked in her glove, but she could tell that this man was not wearing a cross, either the signs of a fool, or an imposter. Not jumping to conclusions, she followed along with his introduction as she bit her lip, Leeds was supposed to be vacant of Quincy, there's been talk of unfairness towards 'selected unqualified' by humans in the Schade companies in that area. Also suspicious was that this man, gave no surname, this was starting to make Cressida aggravated as she knew every quincy she brought with her, but this man was not among them.

"Tread this carefully, he already made serious mistakes."

As he fixated on the queen, Cressida began to speculate that if this man was indeed not a quincy, he had his eyes on the queen. After he was done with basic pleasantries, even through the gloves she thought his lips were fake. Uder her cloak she reached her other hand to the back of her formal jacket discretely as she let her finger tips graze the seele schnieder in the hidden compartment, knowing very well that if this was a spirit using a false body, a seele schnieder can cut it out. As he started to ask about her family again, she let her fingers loosen of the seele schnieder as she lead the man aside, to a more quieter corner, tapping specific people twice on her way.

looking into Antraerus's eyes with a gaze cold enough to chill the bar, she spoke in a strict, cold, heartless tone as her business mindset took full control.

"To answer your question, a manor down south in England. I have a question for you, do you take the Schades for fools, or are you running away from someone? Those are the only explanations I can think of. The Schades have an information grid that the closer you get to England, the stronger it is, we have scouts regular in England alerting us to all spiritual incomers, but from the looks of it, no incomer, human, quincy, matches your likeness. There is no way i'd not know of you, and absolutely no way you'd be unaware of who my family is, unless you killed a quincy."

Stopping for a brief moment, she wondered if she'd make progress, or otherwise. No time to question anything she continued to press.


"Either your a foolish quincy who forgot his cross and wants to fib some rubbish, or, maybe-

As there was a bit more distance between the crowd and them, Cressida found it easier to sense spiritual energy in the slightest as she sense a foreign being stronger.

"-your not one of us."

wc 518

The Queen merely smiled up at her friend at his distaste of having to wear something far more dignified than her military garbs. In truth, she despised wearing some frilly dress like the Queens before her and wanted to change it up a bit toward her tomboyish nature, and the German seamstresses were best at sewing something to her liking in the modern Quincy era.

All kinds of emotions and spiritual energy overwhelmed the Queen as she kept up her spiritual senses - not one Quincy would go unnoticed from her draconic senses. The feeling of an angry couple by the table across from her lured her curiosity for but a gazeful moment until she heard loud music being blasted by the entrance causing her to wince and place a shaky hand upon her forehead as if to rub the bad feelings away. She wrapped her arms around Aidan’s for a split moment and leaned against him as if he was the conduit filter of removing these hurricanes of emotions flooding in.

“I’m not used to big crowds, do you think they hate me?” she whispered back to Mister Icicles with a frown before loosening her grip on his arm and pulled away embarrassed. She was not used to being showing her weakness to her other friends when it came to her feelings and stature; even so having to go cold hearted against those who wanted her crown. Trying to keep the Quincy together without them resorting into Markus’ or hollows was becoming wearisome on the woman’s shoulders like the whole world now had its eyes on her. Now she knew how Weylin felt when pitted against his own kin and the year before at the dramatic summons having to kill his own mother - was the Wolfstein curse hovering over her head now? Could she carry the burden of the crown and unite the Quincy for once and not turn tail in the face of hardship?

“I sent letters to all available Clans and Families my intelligence could pick up.” she replied back and steadied herself against the bar counter to gather her senses.

Perhaps it was prudent to have better security but the guards stationed around the hall were the best she could pick out though she had wondered if Jian came and her lover was most certainly nearby lurking in the shadows, no matter how hard she tried to sense for him he had gotten well in using his powers and suppression against her own. One day she’d get her shit together and train her kin to be better prepared with these kinds of events, for now though, she had Aidan and many other smarter Quincy to guard her.

It seemed she had overlooked the idea of smokers and abundance of alcohol being served at the bar. She mentally face palmed after hearing Icicles criticized, she just wanted people to be happy and celebrate in their own way.

“I overlooked that.” she whispered back and sat down on the stool beside her. “Please keep me safe.” she whispered back and sat down on the stool beside her. “Please keep me safe.” she mentally sighed.

Her vision locked on a particular fellow smoking a pipe and could practically feel the oozing nervousness he exerted about him. The Queen stood up tantalizingly slow and made a short stride over to the handsome man with shades and her eyes gave a glint of mischievousness behind them. Looking Him over with a cursory glance; he definitely was of Turkish origin, there weren't many Turkish Quincy in this meeting from what her quick glances brought back. There was one pretty lady with beads covering her face from Istanbul donned in her own style of Quincy uniform across the entrance.

“Hello, my good sir! How are you enjoying the party?” she asked jovially taking her steps to thrust herself into socializing with the fellow people. “I’m glad you decided to show up. Do you have anything you would like to discuss?” she gave a flashy toothy grin that gleamed under the Candelabra’s light or perhaps something more devious behind that smile? Her attention lingered fully on him and tried to wave away any smoke that neared her unless he put it out. All the murmuring and music were blocked from her senses as she paid attention to this man.

Something else ticked in her spiritual senses no matter how much she tried to ignore it. “Do excuse me.” she stressed in a polite tone to Murat before standing up once more to hobble over towards Alexander and the glamorous Victoria in a dress.

“A pleasure to meet you both,” she held out a hand to Alexander and to Vic if they so wished to make their formal greetings. “Please join me at the bar.”

The guards narrowed their eyes on the man with the boombox and asked politely if he would turn it off. Gazing upon the gigai-ed Alexander she couldn’t help but smile yet kept her knowing information to herself even if she couldn’t sense Victoria - though she did look somewhat familiar.

The Queen gestured the two over while gazing over to miss Schade engaged with a man and pointedly cornering him. She gave a small chuckle before striding back to the bar only to be stopped by another man.

“A pleasure Sergal Baleforth!” she beamed and looked to his nephew sizing him up with her emerald gaze. “Nice to meet you too, Cerlain.” she couldn’t help giggle softly at the Uncle’s verbose over Cerlain. Regardless, the Queen gave her undivided attention to Cerlain’s demonstration in manipulating the reishi through his veins in what she noted was Blut. The guards looked unpleased and were about to step in to remove the goofy old man and his nephew until Cerlain spoke up through the displeasure interruption.

Shock dotted around Freyleif’s face as the two argued and the young man tossed out his uncle with such ease before turning back to her. The Queen waved her guards off and reached to pat Cerlain’s right shoulder after his formal bow and said, “I would love to hear more about you, why don’t you join me at the bar?” she gave him a smile before gesturing him to follow her back to the bar.

“Sorry about that, needed to show my face around.” Freyleif said as she stole her seat back next to Murat. She waved in one of her guards to come over and spoke in Icelandic as the young guard leaned forward at her request. “Please get more chairs for my guests and clear anyone loitering.” with a bow, the guard did as asked and made some room for the others if they so wished to join the Queen.


1124/1098=2222

-Please make a separate post if you're not addressing the Queen herself, I would like to keep this a main thread where only those are engaging Freyleif now

He ignored her as he grabbed his arm once more, this time leaning into him, the young Queen was more than entitled to taking whatever little comfort she could from the proximity of her friends during these times. He knew it couldn't be easy for such a young girl to handle the throne of such an unstable peoples especially a child as...well...somewhat immature as Freyleif often seemed. When she asked if he thought the people hated it her part of him wanted to remind his Monarch that it didn't really matter, she had both the right and power to hold the Crown, not to mention the loyalty of some of the stronger Quincy out there but he knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear. Instead he allowed a small smile to grace his face.

"Of course not." he said glancing at the party where the attendees were obviously having fun. He could see groups of Quincy all over the Hall laughing, drinking, some where even dancing to the beautiful music being played. How long had it been since he had observed so many of his kind in such a happy way? In this at least the party had been a success.

He went silent again as she mentioned that the various Quincy Families had been invited from around the world and briefly wondered if any O'Mongans had thought to attend the event although with his brother in charge it was possible they simply failed to see the political advantages in attending. More importantly there was that foreign energy permeating the room, there were Non-Quincy...Non-Mortals present, of that he had no doubt.

"I think a few others managed to find themselves invites then." he murmured quietly so that only Freyleif could hear as he pondered just how these unwanted guests had managed such a feat, hoping that the invitations hadn't been forcibly taken from any of the invited families.

Hearing a man speaking down the bar Aodh turned to see a Turk apologising as he tried to snuff out his pipe. The Irishman nodded and raised his glass slightly to express his gratitude although his expression retained it's usual cold facade. "Thank you."

However now that he was focusing on the man the Quincy realised something felt...wrong..off...it reminded him of something...someone he'd met-

'Ah.'

He turned away for a moment and closed his eyes and focused outwards. As he slowly opened his eyes the air was filled with Reiraku, mostly blue, but a single red ribbon could be seen running off to one side directly towards their neighbour at the bar.

'Of course they're here. You can't do anything these days without them sticking their nose in our affairs.'

As Freyleif walked off Aodh put his glass back on the bar and glanced back at the man with the pipe giving him an icy smile. "Enjoy the party."

As the Irishman made to follow his Queen he was intercepted by a guard who pulled him to one side "My Lord there's a man at the door demanding entry, he's definitely a Quincy and has an invitation but he doesn't quite...appear like someone who should be attending."

Aodh sighed at the use of the title, he'd been trying to force the guards to simply call him "Sir" when on duty but too many had been raised by or around Nobility to forget he was both an Echt Quincy from an ancient line or his position in the Order. All that aside it was hardly his job to verify guests but doing so was better than allowing someone to cause a scene at the front door of the Queen's castle. "Fine. I'll deal with it." he assured the man who smiled gratefully and give a sort of short bow before striding away.

Walking off Aodh caught up to the Queen who was now speaking with an attractive blonde woman in a burgundy dress and a slim man wearing glasses who sort of reminded him off...

'Oh you must be joking.'

Reigning in another sigh of exasperation Aodh joined the three and nodded to the two guests "Apologies for the interruption." he said before turning to Freyleif and bowing with one hand on his chest "Excuse me your Majesty there is something I must attend to." he informed her formally, his attitude switching now that they were in the company of others. "I shall return as soon as things are dealt with."

Straightening up he give the other two a nod before locking eyes with Alexander, there was no point hiding the fact that he recognised him as no doubt the other man remembered him too "Sorry again for the interruption Miss, Mr Vülfne." he said politely before leaving the hall. As he left he signalled for one of the plain clothes guards to walk over to him and swiftly provided the descriptions of the two male Shinigami he'd identified so far as well as that of the woman accompanying Alexander although he'd sensed no Spiritual Power from her to determine who or what she was. He also left orders for them to keep an eye on Freyleif while he was gone and to contact him immediately if anything went awry.

As the guard left Aodh shook his head thinking about the sheer amount of lecturing he was going to have to give the men for the utter failure of security tonight.

Striding down the corridor the Sternritter withdrew the small earpiece from his pocket and popped it into his ear, brushing down his hair to hid the equipment from sight. With an annoyed frown on his face he made his way to the front door.

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//Thread Exit - Continued in a Separate Thread:  A Party at the Castle - The O'Mongan Cousins

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