simplestgift: (Turn away.)
Archie Kennedy ([personal profile] simplestgift) wrote in [community profile] lucetilogs2012-12-01 11:05 am

Comfort and Joy

Who: Come one, come all! ...So long as you're appropriately dressed.
What: Luceti's second annual Christmas ball, old-world style.
When: December 1st, beginning around five in the afternoon and ending when the last person leaves.
Where: The Battle Dome.
Summary: Earth's eighteenth-century peeps are throwing one hell of a party. Again.
Rating: Well, considering no one is serving water? Probably PG-13 for alcohol consumption and the results thereof (there's coffee and hot chocolate!).

Upon stepping into the program at the Battle Dome, snow crunches beneath your feet. Great flakes of it drift silently from the dark sky above. And ahead...





The chill in the air is penetrated by the promise of warmth and light within the castle. As you approach, the music and festivities from inside reach your ears--tambourines and laughter and the clink of china dishes.

The doors open to a host of candles and a warm, old-world smell and feel. The scent of food and spices hangs in the air—mulled wine, wassail, evergreen boughs, fresh bread and roast meat--and you're only in the entryway.

Inside the dining room, cream brocades, simple but elegant, are draped over the walls. Traditional red rugs have been thrown over the floor. The single long feast table is impeccably dressed with light linen cloths and set with fine china and crystal.

The tables are lit with candles and chandeliers, giving the room a golden glow. On the tables, boughs of evergreen and holly surround the candles, and mistletoe has been hung discreetly here and there. In one corner, by a large and beautifully decorated fir tree (Buffy’s insistence), musicians are set up to play.

Things will begin with a grand dinner late in the afternoon, with a light supper (mostly consisting of cold meats, bread, and other lighter fare) at around nine o’clock. The selection of food on the tables is enormous. Most of it is meat-based and some of it is simply meat. Roast beef with mushrooms, goose in giblet gravy, herbed chicken, baked salmon, and a whole pig are among the choices. There is some hope for vegetarians, though, with spinach mixed with bread crumbs and cheese on small toasts, turnips (or rutabagas if you speak American), onions, carrots, parsnips, mashed potatoes, asparagus in breadcrumbs, and savory onion and wild mushroom pies. There is hot fresh bread and rolls with butter and heaps upon heaps of small mince pies filled with fruit, molasses, and yes, a little minced lamb. Moreover, there are fresh winter fruits like oranges and mikans and many different desserts, such as Christmas pudding, a rum chocolate dessert, and spotted dog with custard. Sit and help yourself.

Among the drinks throughout the evening are wassail, tea, hot chocolate (less sweet and much more intense than most modern characters would be used to, made with cinnamon, vanilla, and a hint of cayenne pepper), coffee, brandy, wine both mulled and plain, port, sherry, and gallons of rum punch. Even though the food is fantastic, the conversation is the point of the game, and who knows who they will wind up sitting beside. At the center of each table is placed a pineapple as a sign of welcome and wishes of prosperity.

In the ballroom, there is dancing light as the music itself, with Archie Kennedy and Elizabeth Swann teaching the steps of each dance before striking up the music and letting everyone go to town with it. They are poised and elegant but relaxed and seeming to glide as they demonstrate the motions with an effortlessness that comes with years of practice. They were both raised on these dances and this sort of social function and seem completely at home here. The dancing begins after dinner with the minuets and continues after a light supper with some informal English country dances. Anyone unused to dancing like this may find that it’s harder than it looks, but when one gets used to it, it feels very graceful, beautiful, and…fun! In fact, it's perfectly acceptable to goof off during these dances, as long as you're charming enough that people aren't irritated with you when you mess everyone up. The activity will only end when there are too few dancers left to continue, and will continue all night if possible. As dancers pass each other or move hand-in-hand, eye contact can be made, quiet words exchanged, subtle (or not) messages passed as they spin through the room, or perhaps the room spins while they remain still.

It might depend on how much they’ve had to drink.

Those who do not wish to dance have other activities to participate in. In one quiet room, card tables are set up with multiple decks of cards stacked up, and there is even a box or two of dominoes and a handful of dice. The tables themselves are round and made of polished rosewood or mahogany. This area is quietly away from the ballroom, probably as a mercy to the tone-deaf Horatio Hornblower who loves cards but can’t abide music. Here, discreet (or indiscreet) gambling is inevitable. There may be no money here, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to wager.

This being a castle, there are other rooms to explore. Up in the towers are bedrooms, nooks and crannies, and a large private library. Sneaking back to the kitchen between meals for a preview or stolen taste of supper to come is not out of the question, either.

Are you lingering in the dining room, drinking and talking loud and laughing with friends, or will you shyly sit and watch the dancing and games and hope to be invited in? Are you sitting quietly alone and listening to the music as your foot taps on its own, or are you unable to sit still and ready to dance all night if they’ll let you? Are you playing cards with a few new acquaintances, or are you hanging on someone’s arm and helping them cheat? Are you content to enjoy the presence of people, or are you exploring the castle with a special someone?

Whatever you do, have fun.
markofthebrave: (This Is My Other Neutral Look)

[personal profile] markofthebrave 2012-12-20 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
Katara nodded, "That's true."

Her gaze moved from Natasha's to track the movements of a seven-year-old girl before she gave Natasha her attention again, "Well, if you ever have any questions about anything, you can always come talk with me about it. I spend some time in the Welcome Center and in the Med Lab in the Battle Dome, so I'm not too hard to track down."
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Pondering)

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2012-12-20 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
That catches Natasha's attention and she gives the girl a closer glance. "Are you one of the healers there?"
markofthebrave: (This is My Neutral Look)

[personal profile] markofthebrave 2012-12-20 04:22 am (UTC)(link)
"That's right," she said, smiling a little. "I use a combination of my healing ability and what I've learned here."
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Heh)

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2012-12-21 04:07 pm (UTC)(link)
"That's always good to know," Natasha comments, then realizes that might sound a little odd. She chuckles, lips twisting ruefully.

"My companions tend to have the good fortune of finding themselves in messes that often require trips to the infirmary."
markofthebrave: (Heh | Well...)

[personal profile] markofthebrave 2012-12-22 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh." What do you say to that. 'I'm sorry?' "Well, Luceti can be a dangerous place. It's fortunate that there are so many people here who have such amazing abilities in healing. I've seen people here who can restore broken bones with a word, not to mention the amazing doctors here. I learned most that I know about making medicine and surgery from Chopper and Trafalgar. Anyone who works regularly in the Med Lab or the Clinic is highly qualified, and just about anyone can get in touch with Nala here. So if your friends run into any difficulties, I'm sure they'll be in good hands."
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Listening)

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2012-12-24 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
"Nala's one of the..." She pauses, searching for the right words, because the magical parts of Luceti aren't things she's looked at too closely yet. "The spirits here, yes? They're magic?"

She didn't offer more about the needing a healer part, because really, that wasn't entirely Luceti's fault. The people Fury had selected for the Avengers seemed to attract trouble like a magnet, one and all. Getting banged up was just an unfortunate side effect.
markofthebrave: (Wry Smile)

[personal profile] markofthebrave 2012-12-24 05:34 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, they're spirits," Katara shrugged. "I don't know if I'd call talking with spirits magic, although a lot of people seem to find that easier to say."
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Attentive)

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2012-12-27 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
"Spirits aren't something we have a lot of back in my world, magical or otherwise," Natasha countered, lifting one shoulder as she took another drink. "In my experience, people often think of them as such, if they believe in them at all. or if they're just dismissing them."
markofthebrave: This was recently drawn for me, so I'd appreciate if you waited a bit before taking! (The Look of Hope)

[personal profile] markofthebrave 2012-12-27 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
"It's definitely not a good idea to dismiss them," Katara said seriously. "Nala's healing magic is incredibly powerful, and while the elemental spirits aren't as powerful as bending, you can still learn to do a lot with them. You just have to be careful not to rely on them completely; they've become dangerous to use during the drafts."
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Questioning)

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2012-12-30 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
"Dangerous?" Natasha echoes this with a curious look, her lips curving down in a slight frown as her gaze narrows in thought. "In what way, if I may ask?"
markofthebrave: (Not Sure This Is a Good Idea)

[personal profile] markofthebrave 2012-12-30 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
"The Shift Hunters. They're... like dogs, except much bigger, and extremely vicious. They can sense when shifts are being used. Powers gained by pacts with filial spirits can also lead them to whoever is using them."