Lady Arachne's Summer Garden Masque - all visitors welcome!

[Shadowcaller]

[TD]

"'Crashed and burned'? The kid told us exactly what Electra wanted to find out since I asked, silly." Dena replies with a winning smile.
She throws a glance at Electra. "Looks like she might have as much, or more, trouble as us though. I think our mystery guest might be leaving." She was heading for the exit at the very least.
"So do you want to check back on Electra or should we check in on my negative copy back there?" Dena points a thumb at Awen. It appeared she was also leaving though, lame.

[Ashen Lilies]

Nocturne

Being an observer is dull, but it can attract attention, and indeed has. Cass will find herself approached by another young lady. Jack's probably around twenty, maybe a few years either way, with short black hair, grey eyes peeking out from behind her mask and a pair of large black wings emerging from her back, with wings in the middle joint of them. She's also missing her little finger on her left hand. She's wearing a slit black dress, which occasionally gives a hint of her bare legs and the hiking boots upon her feet. Her mask is chinless, with a long, upwards-hooked nose and a carnival grin painted on the upper lip. "You're looking a bit lonely, want company?"

[Nocturne]

Cass is taken a little off-guard at being approached. At least, directly. She'd been keeping watch on the party in general, but she'd let her attention lapse a little... focused on two people in particular.
"I... suppose I don't mind," she says.

[A Personal Affair - Nocturne]

A bit of time passes, but eventually Electra is once again alone. Cass's observation hasn't gone unnoticed by the reploid; she casually makes her way towards Cass, smiling, nodding and exchanging brief pleasantries with several patrons, before finding herself next to the sorceress. Despite her eyes being hidden behind her domino mask, Cass can probably almost feel the appreciative look up and down Electra gives her, but she doesn't speak right away, instead seeming to consider her words for a moment.

"And how are you doing this evening, miss?"

[A Personal Affair - Nocturne]

Cass gives a slight, sly smile as she notices Electra check her out, though her expression quickly returns to its previous state of pensiveness. She's definitely been hitting the champagne with frequency throughout the night, but she seems utterly sober when she turns to glance at Electra.

"I'm... taking in the atmosphere," she says, cautiously, hesitantly. "Nice night, isn't it?"

[Monarch]

He's so smooth. The half-human Holly is jealous of how smooth he is.

Unfortunately, she does get a little distracted by telepathic chittering about someone going where they shouldn't, but it sounds like someone else is taking care of that.

Anyway, where was she?
Oh, right.
Infatuated.

"Sorry, I was...distracted," she says, trying to imply she was distracted by him.
"Where do you come up with these lines?" Admiration tinges her voice. "After dancing with that tall woman" - she gestures towards where Felandria can be seen - "I didn't think I'd run into someone I could be more jealous of."

...
Because she's kinda short.
Average human-woman-height, which is far below Fel's height.

[Monarch]

"Experience and practice, mostly," admits Kal, with sudden candor. "Talk with enough people and you start to pick things up - start picking up a rhythm."

He looks over at the indicated Felandria. "...Jealous?"

[Arkhosia]

[The Mercenary]

The woman responds with reassuring look, clearly not too phased by the misstep.

A man by the name of Magtok. Cyborg, tends to wear a purple robe - believe he's working on the effects for the party? Name's Cantata, by the way. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. The mercenary performs a curtsy as she shows the second section of the message, an amicable smile in her eyes.

[5a Violista]

[Monarch]

Makes sense. Just practice and talk with people and then everything works out.

"Yes," Holly responds, also looking over at Felandria. "Imagine being that tall. You can see over everyone and don't have to worry about crowds or tall grass."

For context, Holly's height is literally 'average height for human woman even though she's apparently a half-elf'.

[Morty]

[The Mercenary]

"Magtok? I know of him. Some sort of former rich mover and shaker, now fallen on hard times? I didn't know he worked here," Fayyaad says. He does know that, of course. "Perhaps I could help you find him. It'd be a waste if such a charming lady had to spend the whole party looking for someone, wouldn't it?"

[Earl of Purple]

Nocturne & Jack

"That's good. I'm Jack. Enjoying the party?" Now she's here, Jack's a little uncertain about what to say and do. Maybe she should just try meeting people in the pubs again, things are a little simpler even if nobody's wearing such nice clothes.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[A Personal Affair - Nocturne]

"Indeed, it's a wonderful night," Electra says, before taking a deep breath through her nose, and exhaling it slowly, savoring the scent of the night air. "A fitting evening for a beautiful party."

She edges just a bit closer to Cass as she looks over the dancing party-goers, and glances at her again, her polite mask dropping for a moment to reveal a bit of nervousness.

"And for a beautiful woman to be utterly breathtaking," she says quietly, before taking a sip of her drink, and glancing nervously again at Cass. A blush slowly creeps along her cheeks, but she doesn't say more, trying to discombobulate her thoughts. She was so sure of herself on the way over here, knew what she wanted to say, but proximity to the sorceress seems to have tossed it all into disarray. She waits for a moment, equally to see Cass' reaction and trying to sort out what she wants to say.

[Murkus]

[TD]

"'Crashed and burned'? The kid told us exactly what Electra wanted to find out since I asked, silly." Dena replies with a winning smile.
She throws a glance at Electra. "Looks like she might have as much, or more, trouble as us though. I think our mystery guest might be leaving." She was heading for the exit at the very least.
"So do you want to check back on Electra or should we check in on my negative copy back there?" Dena points a thumb at Awen. It appeared she was also leaving though, lame.

[TD]

"Well, that's true, points for the direct approach, but we could have just opened with that if it was actually the plan," says Tina skeptically. Still, she can't help but smile back. "I dunno. It seems like Electra might be getting a little distracted. Should we really interrupt? It didn't go so hot just now!"

[Ashen Lilies]

[Monarch]

Makes sense. Just practice and talk with people and then everything works out.

"Yes," Holly responds, also looking over at Felandria. "Imagine being that tall. You can see over everyone and don't have to worry about crowds or tall grass."

For context, Holly's height is literally 'average height for human woman even though she's apparently a half-elf'.

[Monarch]

"Not to mention grab things off of the top of high shelves," says Kal, bemused.

"I'm sure there are downsides, however," he continues, seriously. "She must suffer all sorts of terrible jokes. And people talking to her must get an awful crick in their neck from looking at her face all the time. Assuming... that they do look at her face."

Nocturne & Jack

"That's good. I'm Jack. Enjoying the party?" Now she's here, Jack's a little uncertain about what to say and do. Maybe she should just try meeting people in the pubs again, things are a little simpler even if nobody's wearing such nice clothes.

[Nocturne]

"It's... pleasant." Says Cass, diplomatically. "Though in truth I'd had my mind on other things. Do you care for a drink?"

[A Personal Affair - Nocturne]

"Indeed, it's a wonderful night," Electra says, before taking a deep breath through her nose, and exhaling it slowly, savoring the scent of the night air. "A fitting evening for a beautiful party."

She edges just a bit closer to Cass as she looks over the dancing party-goers, and glances at her again, her polite mask dropping for a moment to reveal a bit of nervousness.

"And for a beautiful woman to be utterly breathtaking," she says quietly, before taking a sip of her drink, and glancing nervously again at Cass. A blush slowly creeps along her cheeks, but she doesn't say more, trying to discombobulate her thoughts. She was so sure of herself on the way over here, knew what she wanted to say, but proximity to the sorceress seems to have tossed it all into disarray. She waits for a moment, equally to see Cass' reaction and trying to sort out what she wants to say.

[A Personal Affair - Nocturne]

Cass hadn't noticed Electra's own nervousness, being a little occupied with her own. She'd been thinking of how to approach her all night. 'We need to talk' - a bit too... cold. Try and flirt a bit with her maybe? No, way too nervous right now. Trying to flirt would get messed up easily. 'Hey, how's it hanging?' When did we become so stupid?

'Hey, remember when you tied me up because I certainly do. With frequency.'

...Okay. Let's not even entertain that thought right now. Seriously, why did we even think that right now?

At any rate, she's definitely blindsided by Electra's quiet compliment. You'd think it's something she'd take fairly in stride. It's not like Fayyaad, ever the charmer, hasn't said similar things to her before. But Electra's demeanor, combined with Cass' already racing mind basically take a sledgehammer to Cass' thoughts, smashing her brain to pieces for a few moments.

"...oh." She says, after a lengthy pause, a dark purplish blush of her own spreading across her face. She clears her throat and takes a frantic (and pointless) sip of wine to try and hide the silence, too quickly, and it spills a little, leaving a few glistening drops on her hand that she hurriedly wipes away with a flick of a finger.
Well I certainly wasn't expecting that.
"I mean, I- thank you," she says, fighting to claw back some of her composure. "You look... gorgeous... as well tonight."

[5a Violista]

[Monarch]

Grabbing things off the top shelves is really important.

"When you're that close to her, it is pretty hard to look at her in the face," Holly says, agreeing. (Agreeing with whom? Dunno. But she's nodding.)

Then, she shrugs. "But she can change sizes, so I assume the benefits of being that tall outweigh the downsides." Or, alternatively, she's just used to it, or likes being tall. Any number of things could make sense.

[Shadowcaller]

[TD]

Dena chuckles. "Eh, it worked out even if I might have freestyled." Her attention is directed back to Electra by Tina, and wow. Electra was really going for it. She was impressed.
The gorgon lowers her voice to a hushed tone. "Pretty sure its our duty as friends and fellow women not to interrupt a lady getting lucky, Tina. That other woman is Cass. You've ever been with her before?" Dena raises an eyebrow in Tina's direction. "We did see her at that beach-party. And I do happen to know that she's a spellcaster. They can give you some pretty unique experiences in bed."

She quickly turns around and tries to gently pull Tina with her so it wouldn't look like they were staring at the two. "But we should mind our own business, shouldn't we? I mean, I haven't heard about any of your exploits for a while. I'd like to learn more about what my favorite cutie has been doing."

[Arkhosia]

[The Mercenary]

There's an elated smile in Cantata's eyes as Fayyaad makes his offer- but there might be the slightest hard glimmer that he may catch onto, a certain level of cold excitement. That would be absolutely wonderful. I'd much prefer to actually enjoy the party with everyone else, rather than fret about the errand I've been sent on.

[Deathkeeper]

[Isaac And Co.]

Isaac remembers that he never actually gave the whole scoop to Natalie.
”Oh, sorry Natalie. Yeah I’m here to lecture a very powerful faerie. I need to not get him mad or anything because messing with faeries is a bad idea; we’re just telling him off on principle. So...yeah. No shame if you want to sit that out. And if you don’t, standard faerie rules apply. Don’t accept gifts, say Thank You, or use names around him. He’s nice by faerie standards but that’s a really low bar to clear. He even told me to never trust him.” he explains.

[Rebonack]

['Fae' Lady]

You know what looks weird?

A quadruped dancing.

That's exactly what Maph is doing right now.

He isn't particularly elegant. But it DOES look like he's having fun bobbing and spinning and kicking up his feet. His fancy regalia jangles on him, leaving little glittering trails of golden sand that hangs in the air for a few moments before vanishing.

Honestly, he's pretty okay with the aelf fuming. That was, more or less, his whole objective here. Ruining the aelf's fun with this mortal pretending to be a faerie.

Is that petty and spiteful?

Probably.

But what are fae if not petty and spiteful?

"Hey you dance pretty good Midnight Magpie."

Oh come on, Maph, you aren't even trying.


[Observing]

Choir was watching again.

Some people moved from group to group. They would speak with one person, then soon move on to speak with another. Others stayed with the same people. If there were rules or order to the process, Choir was having difficulty determining it. Maybe this was what humans did in place of communion? They couldn't share their minds directly, so they required prolonged social contact. This made it difficult to guess what the 'right thing to do might be. For now... she would observe.

[Earl of Purple]

Tooth Brigade

"I don't think I've met a proper faerie since that time I visited the woods and spoke to a tree. The tree turned me into a chameleon, a robin and an otter." Technically a chickadee, not a robin, but I got fed up of forgetting what those looked like so I retconned it. It was Slii's old faerie wood, the nice one not the Weald. I can't remember its name, though. "Sounds like an adventure, count me in." She nods happily and looks around, before she realises she doesn't actually know what the faerie they're looking for looks like.

Nocturne & Jack

"Must be important, if they're heavy enough to distract from the party." Since she's found it a bit hard to think at times, with the noise and the people. "Yes please. Um, lemonade if possible? I don't drink much alcohol." And she'd probably need to be there to pick a wine or something she liked the smell of and hope it wasn't too alcoholic. Since flying whilst drunk is not to be recommended.

[Morty]

[The Mercenary]

"A woman of your charm definitely has better things to do at a party than look for someone," Fayyaad agrees as he leads Cantata away. "Let's find him quickly, then perhaps there will be time for something more interesting." As he speaks, he idly touches a spider-shaped brooch.

"She's looking for Magtok. I'll see what this is about. Probably nothing, but it won't hurt to keep an eye out."

[bc56]

"Fae" Lady

Sekhmet is somewhat caught off-guard by the compliment. "Uh, thank you?" Whoops! She didn't realize that you aren't supposed to thank Fae. It was inevitable, really. She never studied faerie lore.

[Arkhosia]

The Mercenary

One could say the same about a man of your charm - and yet here you are, lending a hand, the woman compliments with an appreciative nod. There's a bit more drive and purpose in her otherwise graceful stride as she follows the man, and outwardly she seems fairly eager to finally be rid of this task. The brooch doesn't go unnoticed, but it doesn't arouse any suspicion either.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[The Mercenary]

"Be careful. I'll have two of the overt guys shift to give you support nearby if you need it." Electra sends back. A quick order to two other MERC licensees sends them moving quickly and quietly to the area of the party nearest to where Magtok is working. Hopefully, that should be enough support.

[A Personal Affair - Nocturne]

Electra's blush deepens, and her smile is gentle, though still a bit nervous.

"T-thanks. I...." She trails off for a brief second gathering her thoughts. "I've been wanting to talk for awhile-" She cuts off abruptly as her eyes go to a full-on flare that's visible as just a bright blue glow from the domino mask's covers, and her face goes slack for a moment. Then she swears under her breath, blinks, and sighs as the glow fades. Nothing ever goes right when she needs it to.

"Sorry," she says, a single word filled with a genuine apology. She sighs.

"I really do want to talk, but I guess it'll have to wait. Duty calls. Some jerk just snuck behind one of the staff-only doors, then disappeared somehow," she says quietly, leaning in close to Cass so she can share what her drones have picked up. "I know there are spells that can turn people invisible, but I'm not sure that's what's going on now. Are there ways to get around them?"

[Spy On]

At his now current height, Agent C can see that one of the spiders passing through isn't really a spider, but a robot of some kind. Something seems to be ordering it, as well, as it moves towards the door he came in through with some sort of purpose. It pauses for a moment near the door, and seems to be looking around, as its body shifts up and down, and tilts, then pans. There must be some sort of cameras on it. It doesn't seem to notice him, though, his invisibility spell seems to have shielded him from its vision. It continues to look around, and moves some, seemingly ignoring the other spiders. Either whoever's running the thing doesn't speak whatever language the spiders use, or perhaps it's here for the same reason Agent C is. It makes no move to leave the area yet, however.

((I will leave the description of what else might be passing through this area up to WarKitty.))

[Murkus]

[TD]

Dena chuckles. "Eh, it worked out even if I might have freestyled." Her attention is directed back to Electra by Tina, and wow. Electra was really going for it. She was impressed.
The gorgon lowers her voice to a hushed tone. "Pretty sure its our duty as friends and fellow women not to interrupt a lady getting lucky, Tina. That other woman is Cass. You've ever been with her before?" Dena raises an eyebrow in Tina's direction. "We did see her at that beach-party. And I do happen to know that she's a spellcaster. They can give you some pretty unique experiences in bed."

She quickly turns around and tries to gently pull Tina with her so it wouldn't look like they were staring at the two. "But we should mind our own business, shouldn't we? I mean, I haven't heard about any of your exploits for a while. I'd like to learn more about what my favorite cutie has been doing."

[TD]

"Uh... yeah, Dena, that's what I meant," Fettina watches the two as their conversation progresses, but can be turned around. "Can't say I have though. I haven't slept with everyone, Dena. I don't remember her from there, either. I was kind of distracted." She winks.

"They do, huh? I dunno how many magic people I've taken to bed before. Although one that I did taught me how to shapeshift," says Fettina. She's fine being pulled along, especially with Dena paying so much attention to her. "Favorite cutie? You don't know enough people as cute as me for that to mean much."

"But for someone who recently got turned into a walking, woman-sized Christmas tree topper, I'm doing pretty okay. I've met so many cool people recently. It... helps."

[Shadowcaller]

[TD]

"Excuse me, but I know plenty of cute people." Dena starts counting on her hand. "Like just at the top of my head I could name at least four co-workers you don't know and also Electra. That list includes animal-people, Tina and you're still on top. That's not bad for a 'woman-sized Christmas tree topper', wouldn't you agree?" The gorgon smiles.
"Seriously though, I'm worried that all this stuff that has been happening recently is to effect you negatively. I know that I myself wasn't in the best of places when I got all these stupid snakes." She gestures at her hair. "The difference is that we're going to fix you though. You mentioned cool people, and we the said cool people got your back in this."

[Murkus]

[TD]

"I gueesss so," Fettina warbles, a happy little flush turning her cheeks from shiny chrome to the orange of a stoked forge. Compliments have always been the way to her heart, especially from one of her favorite people. "Thank you, Dena. For having my back, I mean. And the goofy compliments." She grins and pokes the costumed gorgon in the side.

"The new people I've met... Rein and this girl Cantata... they've been great too. But it's like I was telling Rein the other night... It's not all bad." Fettina fidgets and shimmies her hips a little. "I might even... say I like some things about it."

[Shadowcaller]

[TD]

That comment makes Dena's eyebrows go up. "Yeah? Like the wings you mean?" She gestures at them. "Being able to fly seems pretty cool to me."

[Morty]

[The Mercenary]

"It's a trifle, really. With my help, neither of us should spend much time on this and then perhaps we can focus on something more entertaining."

Cantata does look like someone he'd enjoy getting to know, assuming her errand is just what it seems. He leads her towards where Magtok is working.

[Lord Magtok]

The Mercenary - The Mag, The Myth, The Legend

Looking for Magtok, you say? Hoping to find the most infamous of Nexus cyborgs at the garden masque? Well, it is about time he finally honored his agreement with Lady Arachne and brought out the fireworks, so why not? Let's kill two birds with one stone, and make this a suitably bombastic and explosive entrance.

Needs peers at his wrist, nodding when the signal to begin is passed along. The cyborg's more magically-oriented brother has put aside his usual filthy orange robes for this party, instead dressing in the top hat and cape of a common street magician, and the Halloween mask of a deceased US president. Almost, Needs, almost. One day you'll learn how to dress yourself in a socially acceptable manner, but not today. Anyway, he rubs his hands together, reaches out towards the open air, and with one dramatic sweeping motion, pulls a magical tablecloth off the area our cyborg had been waiting, transforming a quiet, empty plot of land to a huge cage, with electricity menacingly coursing across its bars! One hazard sign on the cage warns of the high voltage threatening any who dare approach; another cautions passerby against the occupant within, asking all who look upon it to beware the one described with "DANGER: EVIL GENIUS" should they value their safety.

"Hahahaha! I've done it! It's finally complete! Foolish mortals, quake in fear and gape in awe at the latest of my technological miracles! Behold, the Panoplicon!" exclaims the tin man, hamming it up perhaps a little more than he would normally consider acceptable. Lady Arachne is paying for this little spectacle, after all. Right now, making sure she gets her money's worth is a little more important than staying strictly within the boundaries of our public image. Anyway, the Panoplicon is a big brass beast of a machine, most likely meant to resemble some sort of abhorrent love child between a church pipe organ and a Napoleon-era artillery weapon. Every time Magtok plays a key on the abomination, it starts belching fireworks into the sky with each of its bizarre gargoyle mouths pointed in all directions, sending all sorts of vibrant colors and patterns skyward. Some of those patterns, like the huge dragon overheard, linger a bit longer than fireworks ought to, acting out silly little animated battles with other firework patterns. Needs' work, I imagine. Nothing that requires the sorcerer to stay here, however, as the more introverted of the two MagClones quickly teleports back home, now that his part in this silly nonsense is over with.

[Arkhosia]

The Mercenary - The Cute, the Mute and the Magly

Cantata nods. "My, I'd certainly love to take you up on that offer," she responds with a flirtatious look, but there's a glimmer of unhappiness there, as if she's almost going to regret what'll happen next.

The duo arrives as Magtok begins performing, and she pauses to watch his wondrous orchestrations for a second, giving a low whistle - one of the few vocalizations she can still make, it seems. She consciously chooses to hang back and avoid Magtok's , typing another message to Fayyaad. "Thank you, I really appreciate your generosity. Perhaps we'll have to find a way for me to repay you... but for now, I must apologize." as soon as it seems that he's finished reading, the phone will be dropped and Cantata will whip off the scarf on her neck and attempt to squeeze it around Fayyaad's, driving her knee into the back of his own and trying to choke him into unconsciousness.

[Morty]

[The Mercenary]

Well, Fayyaad didn't see that coming. Maybe he should have? He had a feeling all along he was being too cautious, but then, Magtok supposedly has many enemies, so one can't be too careful. And his caution has paid off now.

"Wha-" Not enough to avoid the scarf wrapping around his neck, though. He does start to struggle and manages to avoid the knee. As he thrashes around, he makes an exaggerated stomp with his legs that sends a plume of thick smoke in Cantata's direction. More importantly, he touches the spider brooch and sends out a somewhat frantic request for aid. The two MERC security posted nearby start moving towards the altercation.

[Murkus]

[TD]

That comment makes Dena's eyebrows go up. "Yeah? Like the wings you mean?" She gestures at them. "Being able to fly seems pretty cool to me."

[TD]

"I mean... the wings, the focus, the energy. The invulnerability. And I'm playing piano like I haven't in years. I don't... feel like myself. I don't feel like I need things so badly. And that's really scary... but... but even the fear is sort of dampened," says Fettina. "Or maybe it's just me. Changing. Maybe this is doing something to my mind..." The chrome gal shakes her head.

Then Magtok starts his show, and how do you not look at that. "Oh, wow. I didn't hear anything about fireworks for this." A pause. She looks at Dena. "...You wanna get a closer look?"

[Arkhosia]

[The Mercenary]

Cantata grunts as Fayyaad thrashes to break out of the scarf's hold on her. Irritation flares - is this stupid man trying to force her to kill him instead? Stumbling backwards as the tiefling yanks his feet up and briefly forces her to support all his weight, the mute attempts another forceful strike into the back of his leg with a determined growl.

Retaliation blinds her to the smoke before it swells upward and chokes her sight and lungs, forcing her eyes shut and triggering a fit of coughing. It earns Fayyaad a bit of slack before Cantata wraps the fabric tighter around her pale fists and she attempts to exert empathic influence, tempering his panic with calm and acceptance... but the stinging smoke ruins the woman's focus. If her powers affect him, it will only be in brief and sporadic spikes.

[Lord Magtok]

The Mercenary

The fireworks are loud. The cyborg's attention is elsewhere. If there's anything at all amiss going on around here, he doesn't know about it. Too busy playing his ridiculous pipe organ/firework cannon monstrosity. Consider him skippable for now, as he cackles maniacally and fills the night air with a dozen flaming spiders, in tribute to his employer and our esteemed host.