Barrigona

The other woman's laughter made Barrigona's cheeks burn in embarrassment. Why did such an idiotic thing slip out of her mouth? She was never that awkward around people! But once the other woman, who'd introduced herself as Harmony, admitted to doing the same, Barrigona felt her shoulders and her mind relax.

"All right, I guess--er, I mean, I would love to," she replied, hesitantly allowing Harmony to lead her back to the refreshment table. Formal speech sounded foreign on her tongue, almost. How was she going to navigate her way through this?

Oh, right. She came because she wanted to see if she could figure out who everyone was. Well, so far, she was stumped. Both Harmony and Madame Lune seemed nice enough, but Barrigona couldn't quite put a finger as to who they might be. Oh well, if they turned out to people she didn't know, then at least she'd have made some new friends.

"You play music? That's amazing! What do you play?" Roseate asked Echo with awe. She handed Echo a cupcake and then bit into her own - it was divine. 

A woman began to approach her and Roseate smiled at the new guest between bites.

"Hi, I'm Roseate! I enjoy long walks on the beach!"

Why? She's only had two flutes of champagne and a cupcake. 

Roseate pursed her lips and blushed.

La Reine Intemporelle

The younger woman made a curtsy of her own, albeit a bit rough around the edges. She seemed so sure of herself, however, it was as if she was living in a fairytale.

She admired that about this person, the fact that she was so eager for the event. If only she could bring herself to experience such a feeling as well.

"I am La Reine Intemporelle", she replied, "Though call me La Reine for short"

"This night is quite lovely, is it not?", she said gesturing across the room, "Though to be quite honest... I feel a bit on edge this night and I cannot seem to ignore it....I'm not used to parties."

She covered her lips, she did not mean to say that!

Madame Lune

"Cheers!" Her glass clinked against Harmony's and she downed the rest of her champagne. It was really good champagne and even though she didn't drink often, she was fond of a good champagne. Oh who was shekidding, of course it's good champagne. This is the Crystal Palace after all! Lune had grabbed another glass of champagne and already she was feeling her cheeks get warm from the effects of the alcohol.

As she was admired the bubbly alochol, another guest appeared introducing her as Barrigona and even went so far to admit that she talks in her sleep. Lune's eyebrows raised at the comment and she cracked a smile. A small giggle escaped from her only at the thought that she remembered a certain someone in her life that would mumble in her sleep as well. Unfortunately the girl had started to head off in embarrassment before she could introduce herself. Oh no! She felt horrible. She certainly hadn't meant to laugh at her.

Thankfully, Harmony had chased off after her. Lune took another sip of her bubbly and followed after her. She caught up with Harmony and Barrigona just in time to catch Harmony introduce them. Madame Luna gave her a warm smile (maybe a bit too warm from the champagne) and downed the rest of her glass. Time for a third! She grabbed one from a passing waiter.

"It seems the enchantment of tonight and quick possibly this champagne..." she held the glass in front of her face and watched as the bubbles floated in the drink. It distracted her for nearly a full minute before she continue, "...has caused us all...to act a bit silly. But join us! This is a night for fun and relaxation, something it seems many of us don't have time for."

Madame Lune was beginning to feel even more warm and happy. What a lovely light feeling! She draped her arm over Barrigona, any normal restrictions at such an action having been...liberated.

"You know...you remind me of a certain someone that I've been a mentor to for all their life. Tell me, what do you talk about in your sleep exactly?"

---

Havoc
Havoc nodded in agreement at roseate's words.

"Beaches are fun, as long as you get a spot away from prying eyes, if you catch my drift."

She set her plate down on the tray where the other dirty dishes were placed. The tower of cutlery tottered over a bit, and havoc emitted a small squeak as she placed her hands on either side of the pile, steadying the dishes until they were no longer swaying.

"Haha...that was close." Havoc sighed. If any of those broke, there was no way she'd be able to replace them.

He led her to the table, offering a polite smile if by chance anyone made eye contact with him, swiftly taking a glass of refreshment for both his companion of the moment and himself. He offered Chameleon he drink, then kept walking around the room, closer to the other, but still out of their line of orbit.

Close enough to observe. Far enough to be left alone.

"So, Chameleon, what kind of woman are you?"

He asked, curiously, looking where he was leading them instead of her, mostly because the width of his mask called for a more cautious approach of everything. He didn't want to trip them both.

"Do you back off from danger and mischief?"

Huntress

The silver-attired woman shook her head vehemently.

"No, you don't need to apologize! Talking about your feelings is very important. That's what the people I know have always told me." Her voice was very insistent—perhaps it was the champagne taking effect. She hadn't even consumed more than a few sips of it. The bitter aftertaste and all those little bubbles were not proving quite as fun as she had always imagined they would be; maybe it was still too much of an "adult" thing.

She had managed to push most of her recent outburst out of her mind. Yes, ignore that. All the better. No one would have to know what a terrible secret she had unintentionally revealed. Focus on other things instead. Like the party!

Tethys smiled at the name 'Azure', thinking it a pretty color but an odd name. She had a feeling this was just the woman's code name, as Tethys was her code name, but didn't say much about it. Perhaps her friends really did call her azure?

Or, she could be lying, Tethys thought.

"Tethys is a greek Titan. She doesn't have a significant role in mythology, but I love the name," she responded, taking a sip of water. Just then, a woman she hadn't noticed before approached, not exactly speaking to them but not acting as if she didn't want to, either. Feeling slightly more comfortable now, Tethys decided to try and get to know this new guest (Split Pea).

"Hi, have you just arrived? I'm Tethys. That gown is magnificent!"

SPLIT PEA

There were so many options and they all looked so appealing! Split Pea couldn't contain herself as her right hand hovered over the various, colored drinks at the refreshments table. The sparkling red strawberry champagne looked scrumptious, but so did the electric blue raspberry vodka and the pink lemonade! She just couldn't make up her mind!

Another thought crossed her mind. What if she mixed her own drink instead? Two flavors would make for a much more exciting, perhaps even more potent drink than just one, after all! Smirking, Split Pea took a flute of the red strawberry champagne and a shot of the blue raspberry vodka and poured a little bit of both into an empty glass until she had created the perfect harmony between the two colors: a deep, foreboding purple. If anybody dared asked her about the drink, she would call it mixed berry.

Just as Split Pea was about to bring the beverage to her lips to test it, the nearby woman with the silver mask and the pink/black, sheer floor-length dress caught her attention by suddenly introducing herself and complimenting her (Split Pea's) gown.

Tethys?

Split Pea took a sip of her champagne vodka cocktail as she looked over at Tethys and Azure Sage. “I'm Split Pea, and I don't get out often,” she replied in a soft voice. Instead of covering her mouth and expressing apparent shock for blurting out an irrelevant or even embarrassing statement, as some of the other attendees had previously done, Split Pea simply took another sip of her fruity concoction. She had no interest in addressing what had just happened between her brain and her mouth.

Chameleon

'What kind of woman do you think I am?" she asked curiously, dropping her act a little, allowing a little of her dangerous aura to peek through. She was curious to see if he would be able to pick it up or if he was oblivious.

Her quick response caught him off guard, and her even faster save made him immediately suspicious, the warning therein making him want to turn around right then and there to see the potentially huge guy lurking in the background, ready to beat up this handsome gentleman in the white tuxedo dancing with his lady. Her following 'for now' just sealed the deal. She was very pretty, and very nice, but if he got beat up tonight for dancing with the wrong woman at the mystery masquerade party, he may never find peace again. He smiled nervously at her 'little finger' joke, hoping he wasn't obviously sweating, and just continued dancing, his eyes darting around the room for any potential huge lurking guys glaring him down and plotting his imminent demise. So far, no obvious suspects made themselves known --

Her question surprised him, but he managed to regain his step easily enough, smiling at her in embarrassment. "Who, me?" he repeated lamely, his anxiety obviously getting the better of him. "Mr. Mysterious, that's me to a T," he laughed, the short chuckle nervous above all else. Oh geez, he was losing it. He cleared his throat as a means of regaining control, and tried again. "I mean, there's not much to tell with me - what would you like to know?"

Shoe size? Shirt size? Casket size? He imagined his own funeral in high definition, his body laid out in a beautiful white casket, a certain someone standing by glaring at it. The room was wide but mostly empty, and the people that were there were all glaring. Every last one. He was going to die.

Roseate

"Oh my goodness, right?! I remember a fabulous time I had with a lovely beau one magical midnight, if you know what I mean," Roseate responded to Havoc with a giggle. Okay. No more champagne for Roseate.

"I am so sorry. I am being entirely inappropriate. I don't know what's gotten into me!" She put the flute down, shaking her head and blushing. She then realized that Havoc was also adding to the pile, daringly adding her own plate to the growing tower of dishes. Roseate nodded with a smirk. Havoc definitely fit her codename-sake.

Havoc
Havoc felt a rush of panic stab at her heart. Did roseate just chuckle at her? Why did she nod at her? She felt roseate's gaze fix on her-with seeming intent.

There was no way that was over the plate fiasco that almost occurred. Havoc responded to her increasing anxiety the way she always did: with anger.

"And just what is so funny, miss?" Havoc tried to keep her voice down; This was an elegant ball at the palace, after all-but her voice rose ever so slightly with her accusation.

Her thoughts were buzzing in her head, the simple image of the chuckle and nod replaing over and over again. With each replay, the image in her mind became a bit more distorted in Havoc's anxiety ridden state. It became accusatory, the nod seeming to hint at that not only did she know who Havoc really was, but was disgusted with her behavior. The way Havoc got tangled in the crowd, how she fished herself out for a cupcake, how she used the cutlery to fix her hair after pushing her way through said crowd, and the icing on the cake-or cupcakes, as it were-how she nearly toppled an entire platter of plates.

Roseate had found out who she was. Havoc was sure of it. She found out who she was, disapproved of the behavior giving Havoc's status, and was going to tell the queen.

Havoc felt a lump of anxiety in her throat. That couldn't happen.

Roseate

"Eh? Oh I was just impressed by the fact that you stacked your plate onto this tower and it didn't tip over!" Roseate said nervously. Had she upset Havoc? Why was this happening? Why was she blurting out her secrets and making someone upset? Roseate gripped her champagne colored clutch in her hand and pursed her lips. Maybe it was the food and drinks. She probably shouldn't have anymore - whatever enchantments were going on were causing her problems.

But, it's not like she meant to spill something personal or upset Havoc. What gives? Roseate could feel herself becoming agitated. Agitated and anxious. Maybe Havoc discovered who she was and didn't like her. But that's not very fair! Why did crap always happen to her? Why did nobody like her?

No, you know what? Fine. She'll play along. She'll play along alright. Roseate grabbed another cupcake and stuck the whole thing in her mouth in one shot. If this is a game, Roseate is in.

"What's with your tone, mademoiselle?" Roseate asked when she swallowed all of her cupcake, ignoring the crumbs dabbing at the corners of her lips. She, too, attempted to keep her voice down to keep eyes off of her and Havoc - she definitely did not want to make a scene.

His mind easily picked up on the aura leaking through, a small smirk stretching his lips.

"One who brings trouble with her." He pointed out as if it was the most natural conversation to have with someone else in a ballroom. "Or so I hope."

Then a sense of certain dread washed over him. He was unknown in these parts, but what if this woman didn't come from Earth, or from around? What if she came from way farther than that and what if she knew? Who he was, what he had done and how to neutralize him.

"Unless you are trying simply to assess who and what I am in order to use it against me?"

Azure Sage

As Tethys talked to Split Pea, Azure Sage was able to calm down again. Not only it looked like Tethys didn't notice the small mistake she'd made, the girl also invited another guest into their conversation.

But the thing she wasn't satisfied with was her answer. A insignificant Greek Titan? She simply liked the name? That is suspiciously not telling anything about her identity at all.

Split Pea on the other hand looked promising though. The first thing she told when joining them was that she didn't get out often. She just seemed like she didn't care about the contest at all.  Jackpot!, Azure Sage thought, while suppressing the urge to smirk.
But then suddenly something came over her and without really noticing a: "I really hate girls who are too smart for their own good", came out of her mouth. This wasn't something she wanted to say. No it just came out of her mouth as if it was done by... magic. But she didn't believe it was her mask influencing her, since the spell was made to make this contest possible in the first place.

And then paranoia began to struck her: What if Tethys is influencing her with magic?
And suddenly everything began to make sense to her. Tethys wasn't talking to Split Pea because she was a kind girl, no she was talking to her because she was already finished with Azure Sage. She knew her identity and now she is already on the next target while slowly getting rid of her.

After her inner thought process Azure Sage suddenly snapped. Her fake smile turned into a self confident one. "Did you really think you could use your dirty magic tricks to figure out my identity?", she began offending Tethys. "Well now that you know who I am, you should have also figured out that I am way too smart to not notice such tricks. Are you too stupid to figure out our identities without using your magic powers to make us say things about ourselves?", she began mocking Tethys while laughing into her face.

Chameleon

She smiled as he easily picked up the little bit of her aura that she had allowed to shine through, though that quickly became a frown when he asked her if she was trying to use it against him. 

"If you were trying to harm what I have sworn protect than the answer to your question would be yes," she said, making sure to look him straight in the eyes, so he could see her sincerity. "Although I doubt that is the case, I think we both came to the ball for different reasons, but we both are not here to cause trouble, unless trouble finds us."

Still, she couldn't help the thought that he might know who she was and by extension who she's sworn to protect and try to get to her through Chameleon. The thought made her stop cold, barely controlling her facial expressions in time. No, she wasn't one for paranoia, why was she starting now. She needed to think about this rationally.

"Maybe I am here to cause troubles."

He jested with a friendly smile despite the latent bad feeling. How could she know? Who could she be? Not many could claim to know his name, or his face, or anything really, so how and why and really, most of all, how? His fingers twitched and it started to feel not as fun suddenly.

He unhooked their arms politely with a small hum.

"I need some fresh air, these things really are not made for my mind apparently."

All their minds were bad enough, really. He bowed a bit in front of her, gave her one last charming smile and walked out of the room and to the mezzanine.

Chameleon

She raised an eyebrow as her companion retreated. Well, there went probably about the only person she could tolerate and have any hope of having any fun with. She looked around eyeing the crowd, trying to discern where she could move to next.

Mod Note: A character has used their powers and is currently doing this.

The cat swiftly went down the stairs and to the ground, looking around the room with a gleam that seemed more intelligent than most. It went directly to one of those table with food on it - it was food, what did they think a cat as it was would do when seeing food. It jumped on said table, stretched itself slowly, enjoying the feeling, then started pawing on the table. It purred a moment, then mewled. Whether it attracted attention or not, it gracefully paraded through the cakes, cupcakes and other sweet that was in the way of its paws. Once to the other side of the table, it simply jumped off and walked to the exit.

She knew.

He didn't know how he knew that she knew, or how she knew, but he was certain that she knew exactly who he was now, and his nerves went off the charts. If she knew, she knew who would like to know, and that maybe possibly might slim chance potential just blew wide open. Blackmail - was she the type to use blackmail? He hadn't done anything wrong by just dancing with her! He thought. He was pretty sure. In his book. But maybe not in hers. 

Luckily for him, the song ended. He abruptly took his hands off of her, bowed politely, and excused himself. "It was very nice to meet you, have a wonderful night!" The words came out rushed, all in one breath, and the mechanical way he rushed off the dance floor was no friend to staying inconspicuous, but now was not the time to worry about that. He needed plausible deniability. Or, at least, to distance himself from the extremely pretty girl on the dance floor before other people could notice and embellish on the story to the point that there was no coming back from it and he was officially doomed. 

He found a large group of people, sidled up behind them like he had been there the whole time, and laughed loudly with a nervous edge - "Ahahahaha! That's hysterical!"

And then he heard it. A mewl. His face froze and slowly turned towards the sound, hoping that he hadn't just imagined that it was familiar - but he couldn't see it. His eyes swept the entire area, but he saw no cat. 

Doomed.

“I don’t normally make it a habit to confide my feelings to a stranger, though,” she admitted with a laugh.

Though strangely, now she began to wonder if the person she was talking to was a stranger after all. She had a sinking feeling that her identity might have been uncovered, and that she was talking to someone she knew after all. Was it one of them? Were they laughing at her inside, so amused by her futile attempt to conceal herself? Was she behaving inappropriately and were they going to chide her for it later?

Firelight suddenly found herself at a loss for what to say, afraid that anything she said would reveal who she was to her companion. She stared at the other woman, trying hard to see past the magic to figure out if this was really one of the people she knew in her life.

Huntress

That long, focused stare.

Huntress swallowed hard, laughing feebly in an attempt to make herself feel less nervous. (It didn't work.) Why was this woman fixated on her so piercingly? And so silent all of a sudden?

Maybe... maybe she knew.

"OH SWEET SILVER MILLENNIUM," the silver party-goer panicked. Her mind was whirling with all kinds of options for who this woman might be. All kinds of people who would definitely chide her for speaking of Crystal Tokyo in such an inappropriate way. "Yes," she decided. "This is the stare of disdain and disapproval."

"Of course they're wonderful people! Kind rulers!" she blurted, hastily, hoping to redeem herself. It wasn't being found out that bothered her as much as being found out while she was embarrassing herself and her station. "It must be tiring! They probably have compromised immune systems from all that stress!"

Havoc
"Are you mocking me, miss?" Havoc felt her face flush with anger; though she was sure the mask hid the crimson hue on her cheeks. It failed to hide her true identity, so it should at the very least help mask the boiling rage she had inside.

She eyed her as roseate stuffed a cupcake into her mouth.

"I think you know exactly what this about." While her voice didn't raise any higher-she took extra care to ensure that it did not-it did come out as a sneer; an anxiety induced sneer.

Did this woman enjoy tormenting her like this? What was her problem, having this draw out any longer then it was supposed to was making Havoc even more anxious.

La Reine Imtemporelle

La Reine was quite astounded to hear wailing from across the ballroom. It seemed that people had drank a bit too much and were now experiencing its effects. She wondered how in the world they were ever going to get home in that state, that is if they could.

She focused back on the person in front her, hoping she'd forget her little slip up. No embarassment was going to happen this night.

Or maybe...she was saving her remarks for something bigger. Something that could...gasp...REVEAL HER IDENTITY?!

Alright, calm down La Reine.  She tried to think critically, but the growing unease was strong. Agh, what was wrong with her??

Barrigona

Barrigona stared at Madame Lune, one eyebrow raised. What kind of a question was that? As if she'd reveal that sort of thing to a complete stranger. Must be the champagne, she realized. A lot of people seemed to be feeling the effects of it. As someone who hadn't drunk a drop and who didn't like alcohol in general, Barrigona puzzled over what had made her slip up in the first place. It wasn't like she was feeling very nervous.

But what caught her interest was the comparison that Madame Lune made. Was the other woman onto something? Possibly; while Barrigona hadn't been completely shoving her identity in people's faces, she hadn't been making overt attempts to hide it either. The other seemed to be very smart.

But two could play at that game. Dodging the question (because that just wasn't the kind of thing she'd share to ANYONE), Barrigona asked, "Oh? Well that's interesting. What kind of person are they?"

But wait...if she reminded Madame Lune of anyone...then what if her identity had been discovered? Barrigona began to feel an odd sense of unease, sweat appearing on her forehead and her expression twisting into a frown. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, being uncovered before she managed to figure out anyone else. She hated losing, that was for sure.

Madame Lune

Barrigona answered her question with another question and then it seemed she had grimaced right afterwards. "Was that too much? Did she think I figured her out?" She didn't think she had but...suddenly her heart dropped and she felt a uncontrollable panic overwhelm her. "I knew I shouldn't have mentioned work! She knows who I am!!"

Lune quickly gulped down the rest of her champagne, hoping another server would walk by soon. So much for that good floaty feeling, it was all erased with panic and anxiety. It wasn't even like her to get like this at ordeals like this, what the heck was in this alcohol?

"Um..er...she's a...royal crybaby!" Madame Lune's hand clamp over her mouth tight. That was bad! The worst! How could she have acted so out of line! The room was beginning to spin and she wasn't sure if it was the affects of the alcohol or her sudden on set panic.

"I...I...Excuse me!" Madame Lune hurried off in another direction, that happened to be towards the dance floor. She snatched another flute of champagne from a passing server. As soon as she stepped on the dance floor she took a moment to pause and take a deep breathe.

"This is certainly not like me at all."

Princess of Wisdom

  What in the world had just happened? The Princess watched in confusion as her dance partner hurriedly mumbled her a good night before dashing off nearly as quickly as he had said them. They were having a nice, pleasant conversation weren't they? What had she possibly done to earn such a response? Did she say something wrong? Was there something on her face? Did her breath smell? No, that couldn't have been the cause. He had looked down right terrified of her. Her mind was racked with questions as she stood utterly perplexed in the center of the ballroom when suddenly her feelings of confusion grounded to an immediate halt and were quickly replaced by anger and paranoia. Could he know who I am? What I am? It would explain why the stranger had turned tail and fled as if his life had depended on it. It would have been wise for her to flee this party herself before her identity was fully revealed to everyone but she wasn't known for following the smartest route.

  "Hey! Just wait one second!" She shouted towards his parting back. No one ran away from her like that and dared to get away with it. Shoving her way through the crowd, she bumped into a girl in purple as she rushed off the dance floor and debated about stopping to apologize but ultimately didn't. Some princess she was. Why was she in such a hurry to look for this man anyway? It wasn't like she had a plan once she found him. What was she going to do? Lock him in a broom closet? Either way, she had to catch him fast; she would worry about the 'how' later.
 
For better or worst, she could at least say this night was turning out to be one to remember.

Roseate

Roseate took a deep breath; her temper was rising. She didn't want to sound angry or even be angry. She really needed to gain control of that temper. There was no reason to be angry - this girl hadn't done anything wrong. Havoc's tone caught Roseate off guard but Havoc still hadn't done anything troublesome - yet. Roseate was thinking of playing along with this girl's shenanigans but she could feel something amiss with Havoc. Roseate needed to keep up a good appearance. It was her duty.

"I'm sorry, mademoiselle. You seem to be uncomfortable. If I have said anything that has troubled you, I do sincerely apologize. This is a party after all and we are meant to be having fun."

Roseate put a hand to her head. She could literally feel her personality swinging back and forth inside her - it was worse than that time of the month. She had never felt something like this before. It's certainly not something alcohol could induce so it must be some sort of spell. How odd. One minute she's blurting out personal information, the next she's feeling anxious and silly, then her temper is rising at some poor girl. Keep it together, Roseate. Remember, this is all someone's game.