Masquerade Ball - Totally not an ambush

[hiken]

Who: Anyone going to the Corsair Island Masquerade Ball!
Where: ...IDK?
When: April 26th - 27th (Early AM)
What: The Masquerade Ball + Ambush (12am)
Warnings: D for dancing, V for violence, A for Ace, L for Luffy
Style: Action or prose.
Status: Open to anyone attending!

There are going to be two main threads. One for the ball itself and the other for the Ambush! There will be an obligatory third thread for FASHION. Just remember to tag your muse in the subject header and OTA or 'Closed to ???' as you comment.

Comments

Open - earlier in the festivities

[maskedtyrant]

[Dakota Perkins, for all her show and discussion, is sadly absent for the Navy masquerade. She and her secret date have made plans for later in the day; presumably she's off somewhere preparing for them, like the diligent date she is.]

[The ginger woman who shows up instead is probably unfamiliar to most, if only because of the mask she wears. It doesn't seem like the little black strip of cloth over her eyes hides anything, and yet, trying to place her appearance after she leaves is...difficult. Maybe those with stronger senses other than sight will have more luck discovering just what's going on here.]

[In the meanwhile, the Tyrant sweeps her way through the crowd, casually listening in on conversations and hovering by snack platters as they pass her by. Occasionally--much less often than she would like, to be honest--she finds the lone party-goer and waves them in with a look or other slight gesture to engage them in conversation. Sometimes, she's lucky and they're actual Navy officers. Other times--]

Hey! Enjoying yourself?

[hoodwinking]

[Bonnie had taken a brief powder from looking cutely at the officers, taking little nibbles of finger food and she's approached by Dakota. She doesn't particularly recognize her and the voice doesn't ring a bell, but regardless, she smiles and bows.]

Mm! Everyone's been so nice and it's all really exciting... I can't remember the last time I've had this much fun!

[maskedtyrant]

[It's difficult to tell when she's talking to a real member of the Navy, but this girl seems pretty young to be a soldier, even by the rather backwards standards of this ocean world. She could be one of the officers' kids? A local? In any case, Codi feels pretty confident that she can act casually here.]

Isn't it? The food's great! They really went all-out for this, didn't they? [A beat; time to see if she can figure out who this is.] So--travel far to get here?

[windofthephoenixtemple]

[Fuu had been moving through the crowd, making nice and being able to convince people that she was an assistant to one of the officers and was just making sure everything was okay. Stirring a drink in one hand she looked over. She had no idea who was speaking to her, so she smiled and was going to be polite, hopefully make them believe she isn't just some random stranger.]

Enjoying it as one can. I'm sure I'll be needed soon, so I'm just hanging around until I am needed.

[maskedtyrant]

[Codi is a terrible person, so she decides that now would be a wonderful time to test how well Fuu is working this whole "secret investigation" thing. Letting on to a stranger that she has ulterior motives? Minus some points, there--but maybe she can pull a save.]

Oh? What for?

[windofthephoenixtemple]

[Now was the time to explain what exactly she had been doing... in sense anyway.]

I'm what you would call an assistant to one of the navy officers here. If they call me I have to go to their side and aid them in anyway. [And hopefully gain some info if possible, but that is something she'll be keeping to herself.] One can never be sure when they'll be calling.

[maskedtyrant]

[In spite of herself, Codi chuckles. As much as she likes toying with people when she has the chance, her poker face is terrible; she can't keep up the act for very long.]

...Good! Good. [The masked woman leans in closer and drops her voice.] Glad to see you're still playing along. Has it worked so far?

[windofthephoenixtemple]

[She paused for a moment, should she actually say something or wait until there was a better place to drop her guard. The choices that were before her made her think about it.]

How about we talk where it's a little more quiet?

[maskedtyrant]

[The Tyrant seems skeptical, possibly about to argue, but then she decides that the excuse to make another pass by the refreshments bar is worth the effort and caves in.]

...Alright. This way.

[She leads the way towards the room's empty walls, just as casual and conversational as before. At some point, she turns around to interrupt their walk with an extended hand.]

I'm the Tyrant, by the way. You're Fuu, right?

[windofthephoenixtemple]

[She looked around, noting the amount of people going down and down the further they would go. That was good at least. When they had stopped she took his hand and shook their hand.]

Nice to meet you, but how did you know my name?

[maskedtyrant]

[They Tyrant's handshake is vigorous and confident, to match her general disposition. What does she have to fear, after all, when she's behind the mask?]

I like to keep my ears open. [She taps her nose knowingly--not quite the right gesture, but she doesn't care.] You offered your services to help people in trouble after the Navy started increasing their patrols. I like that! You're a good person, you know?

[windofthephoenixtemple]

[She looked to the side slightly, was she still suppose to stick to the act or what. to be honest she still could technically. So with a smile and wondering just where on the winds this information came from she was going to try and not give too much away.]

That's is what someone is suppose to do. Help those that need it. Should they, I will help. That is all there is to it. [She didn't matter if it was native or not honestly either. Get a mission done and gain experience through it.]

[thethundersaid]

[The thing about the party being a masquerade means that behind the serious mask covering half of his face, it's not at all weird to have a pair of red eyes staring out at the world. It's not that Sasuke is uncomfortable in a crowd -- such a minor thing shouldn't bother a shinobi, so it definitely isn't an issue for him at all -- he just doesn't like them, and the press of bodies and wisps of strange chakras is easier to parse when he can actually see the energy in the room.

The Sharingan has been unexpectedly useful in identifying regular Navy sailors here and some of the odder, wilder energies of 'pirates' from other worlds, and here again he blinks a few times to clear the strange haze of misdirecting chakra before recognizing Codi's.

It's an interesting technique, he has to note, almost like a henge but much subtler.]

Is that your code phrase?

[maskedtyrant]

[She blinks a few times, taken aback but not willing to show it. Codi obviously recognizes Sasuke--they rode back to Empieza together in December, after all, and even behind half a mask, that deadpan is unmistakable. But this wasn't supposed to be a two-way arrangement. The mask hadn't failed her yet.]

[...Maybe he's bluffing? Codi defaults to that assumption and clings to it with all the finesse of a drowning animal.]

...Sorry, what?

[thethundersaid]

[... is Codi trying to avoid detection, or does she really not recognize him in this ridiculous costume? Sasuke takes a surreptitious look around them, concluding that unless she knows something he doesn't, no one within earshot is obviously listening to their conversation. That doesn't rule out someone subtly listening in, though, so he considers for a moment before trying instead:]

We've met before. [Another moment, thinking of an non-suspicious way to phrase it:] On a boat ride to Empieza.

[That seems innocuous enough, he decides, and hopefully it's obvious enough to Codi that she'll recognize him.]

[maskedtyrant]

[Oh no, she gets it. She understands very well what's going on here, and she does not like it one bit. How can he see through the mask? No one sees through the mask! And that hint only makes it worse!]

[Feeling a bit cornered, Codi squints and leans in, tone critical but hushed.]

How can you--? [Wait a second...maybe, if she pretends like it's not a big deal, he won't mention it to anyone else! Codi bites her lip and backs off, forcing a mischievous grin.] ...My costume isn't very good, is it? I thought you wouldn't recognize me!

[thethundersaid]

[Right, maybe he should have segued into recognizing her through an obvious genjutsu or henge of some sort, Sharingan in his eyes or not. The sheer number of people packed into a small space is getting to him, maybe, an unavoidable sense of being sitting ducks when confined into a room like this.]

I assume the -- [Other people around and listening, maybe --] -- special aspects of your costume would fool most.

[maskedtyrant]

[Codi squints again and, this time, can't stop herself from asking: ] ...How can you tell?

[thethundersaid]

[Sasuke quite suddenly understands some of the perplexed scramble he has doubtless put others through when asking about things they take for granted in their worlds -- even after this many months, he's had to use the Sharingan only in situations where it's not immediately obvious, and he hasn't had to explain what for him is a fact of life yet.]

I'm able to see ... [It's unlikely she'd know it as chakra.] Energy. Everyone's is distinct.

[That sounds innocuous enough for any eavesdroppers, he hopes.]

[maskedtyrant]

...Huh.

[Codi was almost hoping for something more specific, but it's not like she could do anything with that information. That was Dustin's job. Or in this case, Crocker's. Regardless, she doesn't want to dwell on it, lest Sasuke start asking questions instead of her.]

Notice anything interesting so far?

[thethundersaid]

[That's a complicated question to answer, and the look he gives her makes that clear enough even under the mask.]

Do you want the long or the short version?

[maskedtyrant]

Let's go with "short." I'm on a bit of a time crunch.

[thethundersaid]

Most of us are human, but many of us use energy in different ways that are shared by those from the same world. [It's as succinct as he can phrase it.] But the people native to this world don't shape energy at all for the most part.

[maskedtyrant]

[Codi nods, slowly. She thinks she understands what he means--at least, she gets that there's something very different about the natives. They don't have a natural energy? Whatever that means, it sounds important.]

That does sound kind of odd. Why wouldn't they?

[thethundersaid]

[He shrugs one shoulder, not particularly concerned.]

If they're not trained to use their ch- energy, they won't be able to shape it. It's the same with most civilians in my world, but it's weird that this world would have a military force of people who can only use physical attacks.