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

[rebellions]

Shut the hell up.

[It will be a cold day in hell before Ragna gives up on trying to maintain the air of superiority, no matter the situation. Though it would sound a lot more convincing if he didn't tense up so much the moment Kodachi came closer. He's... not very good at this physical contact thing, so he'll just stand there awkwardly until somebody tell him what to do.

... A little help here?]

I should probably mention... I can't dance.

[No shit, Rags.]

[cherrybombpie]

Shhh.

[Don't make her stuff your mouth with bread all over again, Ragna. To quiet his foul mouth, she placed a finger across his lips. Seriously. Just don't.]

[She ignored the way he tensed up as she came closer - it was probably a reflex, what with how antisocial he was. Plus there was probably that urge to throw her across the room. (Whether or not there really was one didn't matter; all Kodachi knew was that if she were him, she'd definitely have that reflex.)]

I'm not surprised.

Just follow my lead.

[She smiled and took a step back, nudging his foot with her own to follow.]

[rebellions]

[His response to that action is stiffening up even more, if that's possible, and it takes literally all of his willpower to overcome the urge to push her away. Maybe GAUNTLET HADES her for the good measure too. What the hell makes her think it's okay to touch him?! It's bad enough that he's about to make an idiot out of himself with an attempt to dance without her pulling shit like that.

... Though surprisingly, it seems to have worked, as Ragna doesn't argue any further and slowly does as instructed. Which, of course, comes out slightly awkward, but he's definitely doing his best there.]

[cherrybombpie]

[He was about as graceful as a wall, but Kodachi kept at it until he was awkwardly moving into the steps of the waltz. It was a good thing that she was a wonderful dancer; otherwise, they would've looked terrible on the dance floor.]

[As it was, she held her head high and continued to swirl around, as though dancing was, to her, as easy as breathing. Which, in fact, it was.]

Isn't that nice? ♥

[rebellions]

["Nice"? Far from it; to Ragna, it's stressful and makes him feel like a complete moron, but admittedly, the longer he does it, the less unpleasant it feels. The steps aren't overly complicated, so the Grim Reaper manages to follow without much trouble, even if his dancing is nowhere near as elegant or sophisticated as Kodachi's. Eventually, his expression softens a little, the corners of his lips turning up slightly in a small smile.]

... It's not terrible.

[cherrybombpie]

[Kodachi managed to coax him into the motions so that she was free to pirouette in his arms, her skirt flaring out dramatically. Coming to a halt, she positioned his arm on her back and guided him to sink her into a perfect dip.]

[She smiled slyly up at Ragna.]

My, my. That wasn't bad at all.

In fact, I daresay it was . . . quite enjoyable.

[She straightened up and sank into a curtsy, as was proper at the end of a dance, before applauding the orchestra and indicating that he should do the same.]

[rebellions]

[Ragna sure hopes his nervousness wasn't visible on his face when she did all of her... fancy moves (though he has to admit, they did look pretty impressive). He finds himself rather astonished that he's been able to keep up with Kodachi and not fuck up too badly in the process.

Giving the girl a small, awkward nod at the end of the dance, the Grim Reaper takes the clue and claps his hands a few times before looking back down to his partner.

And then... he laughs.]

You really are a lot like the Rabbit!

[The roses, the lady from a good house vibes... Maybe she's nowhere near Rachel's levels of verbal (and physical) abuse, but it's hard to miss the similarities.]

[cherrybombpie]

[Kodachi looked up at him in astonishment. Ragna? Laughing? Why, the world must've been spinning backwards. She too burst into laughter, half because she was pleased at his obvious enjoyment and half because seeing Ragna with a smile was just so unusual.]

Who is this Rabbit that you speak of?

[She held up a rose from out of nowhere, holding it up to her nose and taking a sniff, with her slate eyes fixed on him.]

I'm a rose, not a rabbit.

[But she was smiling. As for her verbal and physical abuse, well - just be grateful that you aren't on the receiving end of her mallet, Ragna. That's all.]

[rebellions]

[Ragna's guard is up the second the rose appears in her hand. Given his previous experiences with those, he'd rather not take his chances.]

Rabbit, she's... [A friend? As if; she's a pain in the ass whenever she shows up and treats him like he's her mentally challenged manservant. An ally? He has to wonder about sometimes; they're definitely not fighting against each other, but it feels like she's using him as a piece in a bigger game he's not aware of, and not knowing what it's about annoys him to no end.] ... an acquaintance from my world.

[Yeah, that works.]

[cherrybombpie]

[The rose vanished with a flick of her wrist. My, Ragna, aren't you a twitchy one.]

[She listened to his explanation, trying to read between the lines of what he left unsaid. It sounded quite complicated, based on the pause as he struggled to put a name to his relationship with this Rabbit.]

Hm. She must be a lady of grace and beauty if I remind you of her.

Ohohohohohohoho! ♥

[rebellions]

[Perhaps, but he's been given every reason to be.

Ragna doesn't let himself dwell on things like his relationships too much, so of course it causes him trouble. And Rachel, well... she saved him when he was on the verge of death, yet she treats him like utter shit all the time. It's hard to put something like that in simple terms.

The Grim Reaper raises an eyebrow at the girl's words. "Grace and beauty"? That's... as far from what he had in mind as only possible, but he can imagine the vampire describing herself as such, too, so it works in a way.]

... In her own opinion? Yeah, I'm sure.

[cherrybombpie]

[She laughed and gave Ragna another sly look - obviously she was interpreting his statement to mean that Kodachi was the prettier and the more graceful one.]

Who knows, perhaps someday she and I may cross paths.

[She looked around, and seeing there was havoc to be wreaked with the Navy, sank into a curtsy.]

Well, I'd best be meeting with some other friends. We have some activities to attend to. [Her smile was both sweet and sinister.] Thank you for the dance, and I shall see you later, yes?