The Samhain Ball - Come as You Aren't

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

A woman strides through the Nexus, garbed in royal finery of a distinctly Elizabethan style. In the crook of her arm, she carries an ebony scepter shod and capped in silver. There may be something familiar about her confident bearing, her angular features, her mismatched eyes. When she pauses to speak, the cadence of her words might spark recognition--is this Schön?!

"People of the Nexus, friends, in the world from which I hail we stand on the cusp of a special day, a harvest-fest when the walls between worlds grow thin, when masks and costumes are worn to frighten away the wicked spirits--or to invite them in on more congenial terms. So on this day, I invite you, each and every one of you, to join me in a revel to bid farewell to Summer, and welcome with fire and song the coming dark! Join me, won't you?" Letting her gaze sweep the crowd, she raps the heel of her scepter once against something solid, vanishing in a flash and leaving a sparkling trail for the curious to follow.

A cool wind herds dry, crackling leaves through the gathering gloom. On the cusp between the parklands and the residential district, darkness and cloudy skies have been slowly coalescing for days around a stately house of Gothic style, ivy-encrusted and showing its age somewhat. A square tower stands vigil over the entryway, tall windows overlooking the flagstone drive looping around a fountain gone dry. The house’s angular wings stretch to either side, the windows dark save for occasional glints and gleams of colored lights bobbing within. A glow does creep over the line of the roof, however, and the faint throb of distant music hint at something happening behind the house. The door stands open, a silent invitation to every brave soul who passes by.

((Happy Halloween! Enjoy the festivities. All LOLs are optional. Threadhopping is encouraged. Backtagging is forever, so don’t worry about missing out: we’ll still be here when you get back from your more mundane ghosties and goblins.))

Playlist
Visualosity
The Entrance
The Ballroom
The Banquet
The Bonfire
The Corn Maze
Dark Corners
Costume Icon Requests
The Photo Booth

Comments

[smartass_captain]

"Now that is an easy question to answer." Jim grins as though it was obvious.

"There's no magic in my world. i'm an explorer by nature, so the chance to see something new--something no one from my world has ever seen before, is more than reason enough."

Beat. And a chuckle.

"Plus, I think you're interesting, and this is an excuse to get to know you better."

[shardofwinter]

"You need an excuse?" Reynard grins and takes a generous swig of his wine. "Perhaps you'd care to share more about yourself while I think up something suitably impressive to do? Going from 'a small town in Iowa' to exploring space sounds like quite the tale."

[smartass_captain]

"Any I can get when it comes to a pretty face." Because what fun is it if there's no jokes? Jim finishes off his drink.

"I was born in space, actually." Still smiling, though it no longer reaches his eyes. "Moved to Iowa right after my old man died. Spend my life as the only genius level repeat offender in the Midwest, until I was scouted for Starfleet a few years ago." Jim smirks, shaking his head.

"Don't know why they wanted to recruit a hillbilly with blood pouring out of his nose having got into a bar fight with some Starfleet recruits, but there you go." There's a nostalgic chuckle. "That was a good fight."

[shardofwinter]

Such joking is met with playfully exaggerated preening. "Oh, Jim, you flatterer you."

Reynard sits back and sips at his drink while he listens, lifting an eyebrow at the mention of 'genius' and his grin widening as Jim recalls a bar fight. It sounds more and more like Jim's extracurricular activities match his own a fair bit.

"'Genius level repeat offender'. That's quite the title to have gotten yourself. I'll be honest, you're one of the more personable 'geniuses' I've come across in my years. It's very refreshing." He sets about opening this new bottle of wine. "So. How did you do in 'Starfleet'?"

[smartass_captain]

"I didn't give it to myself." Jim looks up quickly. The distinction is important. "Pike did. The--" The father figure he never had. The first man to see something in Jim aside from his past. The man who changed everything. "...The guy who recruited me to the fleet called me that. When he told me I was wasting my life in Iowa. That I could do something with my life."

Too many emotions, memories, regrets..when it comes to Pike. Jim licks at his lower lip while he considers how to continue. You're being too serious, Jim. Charm, remember? His smile comes back. Jim seems to have remembered himself.

"Four years to graduate as an officer, eight to get your own ship." He gives Reynard a knowing grin. "I did both in three." Granted, there was a lot more to it than being smart to getting his own ship, but that's a whale of a story.

[shardofwinter]

After their first conversation, Reynard is aware that some subjects are going to get danced around as they pull up unwanted memories and feelings. He's been friends with soldiers before, with people who'd seen too much. They're the people who've survived blizzards in their time, and he's able to afford them patience. He has time, after all. Perhaps even more importantly, he won't comment on it, simply matching Jim's smile when it returns.

"Twelve years brought down to three. Are you sure that wasn't just your competitive streak?" Reynard asks and then hiding his querying look behind another swig of wine.

[smartass_captain]

"Might have had something to do with it." Okay, we're back on full thrusters. Jim can even manage a wink over the new drink he'll be grabbing from a passing waitstaff.

Reynard not commenting on it means Jim can bury it somewhere deep and away, where it belongs and get back to the matter at hand. Which is of course flirting and bravado.

"I don't like being told what my limitations are. Makes me want to prove them wrong."

[shardofwinter]

"A motivation that can be used for both good and evil," Reynard muses aloud while he quietly wonders where the bet for Jim's costume falls in that category.

"You must frustrate your superiors no end... And they still gave you your own ship... Your own ship..." His brow shoots up. "That makes you a captain." And then it drops down suspiciously. "They still have captains in charge of ships in space, don't they?"

[smartass_captain]

Sexy is neither good nor evil Reynard. It just is.

"Guilty as charged, but they know that I get the job done. And that I know what I'm doing." You know, if they don't look at the regulations too closely. "Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise. Best ship in the fleet." An opinion, and one up for debate probably, but there's no arguing with Jim Kirk when it comes to his ship or his crew.

He'd die for them.

"Rank doesn't mean much here though, so."

[shardofwinter]

"Captain Kirk, well that does have a nice ring to it." Alright, he's impressed, and it shows. Commanding a ship is not an easy task, and that someone so young managed become captain, from a legitimate authority no less, has to be recognised for the achievement it is. "I've known captains who would be outraged if someone neglected to acknowledge their captaincy, but if you would prefer me to stick to first names and no titles, I will."

[smartass_captain]

"I think so." Jim's proud of the work he does, but gone are the days where he'd remind everyone to call him Captain like a little shit. He's learned some modesty.

"Eh, getting snubbed by the fleet is one thing, just getting to be me is another." Jim gives an easy shrug. "Jim Kirk's still the hillbilly kid from Iowa, not some Big Damn Hero everyone has huge expectations of." He'll pull out his bow from it's holder on his back and grin.

"Besides, today I'm just Hawkeye."

[shardofwinter]

That modesty will come in useful later in the year.

"You're lucky it's not February. You'd be mistaken entirely for Cupid." Reynard's grinning morphs into a thoughtful look. "Hawkeye is one of those costumed criminal chaps, isn't he? Hangs around here sometimes. Thankfully with trousers."

[smartass_captain]

It's not much, but take what you can get, right?

"That's entirely fine with me too though." Jim grins mischeviously before shaking his finger. "Tsk tsk. Hero. Hawkeye is a hero. And also a relative of mine. This is actually his genuine old costume from the 70s. I stole it out of his closet a while back along with his practice bow and a few old arrows."

[shardofwinter]

Reynard raises a hand. "Hero, my apologies." The latter part gets a snigger. "You stole it from his closet? Oh I bet he loves you for that."

[smartass_captain]

"He's not exactly thrilled that I'm reminding everyone that he actually wore this at one point, but he's being a good sport about it." Jim shrugs.

"I bet him a long time ago I could make anything look good. Even this. He might have the muscles, but I definitely wear it better, hahaha! He didn't think I was serious."

Really if he didn't want Jim to borrow it, he shouldn't have shown it to him in the first place. "And really, his brother helped me steal it, so it's half his fault too." Such terrible relatives Clint has.

"Not exactly everyday attire, but I think I pull it off well enough."

[shardofwinter]

The spirit's eyes roam up and down Jim's costume again, firmly pinning that crooked grin to his mouth. "There's not that much of it to pull off, my dear. It looks like the the eighties tried its hand at making a tunic." He leans a little closer. "Clint knows people wore trousers under those, doesn't he?"

[smartass_captain]

"This was the entire costume. I am being historically accurate." He snickers though. Jim knows it's a ridiculous getup. Being ridiculous and not caring is half the fun.

"Still, with that outfit you're wearing, I bet we make quite a pair. Shockingly bright color duo!"

[shardofwinter]

"I would love to see everyone else's costumes, if that was acceptable back in the day. A catwalk show of them would be marvellous fun, I'm sure." Or it would blind everyone, it's hard to tell.

He sniggers. "Shockingly bright indeed. The only way we could draw more attention is if one of us did a fantastical display of magic. Or if you put that bow to mischief."

[smartass_captain]

"Speaking of which, wasn't someone going to show me their moves?" Jim can meet your quirked smile with one of his own Reynard. "Or was that just a clever white lie to get a bottle of the good stuff out of me?"

"Not even going to ask me to dance. Really, what a cold ruler you are."

[shardofwinter]

He leans back and interlocks his fingers before stretching. "I'll accept your charming little offerings. Any requests?"

That gets a snort. "You got me a bottle of wine. Dancing isn't optional here, my dear."

[smartass_captain]

"You can do magic right? Is it just like...ice stuff? I don't know anything about magic. A guy from Tamriel showed me a ball of light earlier? That's about all I've seen myself." Jim seems excited by the prospect of magic.

He can't help it. It's a New Thing. Doubly more interesting because a friend is capable of it.

[shardofwinter]

"Ah, a good old mage's trick." Reynard nods approvingly and then strokes his beard. "No, it's Winter magic. That includes ice, snow, wind, yes, yes, all of that. But also festive feelings, survival instincts, the excitement of Winter days... You name it, and if it's Winter, I can do it." A brief pause and he corrects. "Right now I can only do a tiny fraction of it... but at Winter, yes, everything! So, a request? Or shall I decide?"

[smartass_captain]

"Something cool looking maybe?" Jim leans his chin on a hand, watching Reynard form across the table. "I'd rather let you decide. I wouldn't know what to ask, man. Magic is so new to me. it's like asking a blind guy what his favorite color is."

[shardofwinter]

"Hm." The Winter spirit casts his eye around, searching for ideas or for something to click into place. After setting down his glass, his fingers wriggle and flex, bringing his power to his fingertips while he thinks. "Something... fitting for the old understanding of Samhain... I'm sure our host would want nothing less..."

He bangs the small table with his fingers in an 'Aha!' gesture, sending frost patterns spiralling across it. He laughs and stretches out his hand and focuses. The frost builds until a small figure of a spindly, frosty fairy forms at the tip of one of the patterns, as if the small creature had been the cause of it. Reynard blows it off so that the frost reveals perfectly crafted ice sculpture. It has a particularly sharp, nasty expression on its face and looks like it might move at any second, spreading more frost designs in its wake.

Reynard grins, proudly, rubbing his fingers together and evaluating his work. "A good little start."

[smartass_captain]

Jim always loves the face people make the first time he shows them his holopic of the Enterprise. He loves the wide eyed wonder and appreciation for his ship, his workplace, his home.

That face is the one he makes as frost spreads from the tips of Reynard's fingers, etching their way across the surface of the table, before coalescing into the frost fairy who apparently started the entire commotion. And then it changes and Jim has to remember to close his mouth because he's gaping rather obviously.

"...That...that is the coolest thing I've ever seen." Someone's impressed!