Comfort and Joy

[simplestgift]

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.

Comments

[widows_kiss]

"I am, yes."

Natasha blinks at that question, looking startled. "There's an Earth with two moons? I... no. No, ours only has one. This is the first I've been asked that." She wondered how the scientists of her group might have latched onto that particular tidbit.

"What is your world like then, if that's not too intrusive a question?"

[markofthebrave]

"Well, apparently there's only one Earth with two moons - or at least, so far as I've asked. But the first person I met from Earth had them."

So it was a useful way to try to tell them apart. And besides, the idea of two moons had enthralled Katara. Now it was just a habit to ask.

"And no, I don't mind. What would you like to know?"

[widows_kiss]

"I'm sure that would make quite a difference in the night sky," Natasha mused with a faint smile, taking a sip of her drink.

"I... Anything, I suppose? I'm still not used to asking people about worlds I know nothing about. What is your land like? Your people?"

[markofthebrave]

"Well, I'm from the Southern Water Tribe," Katara said, reaching over to pour herself a drink. "That's in our world's South Pole."

But Katara's been explaining her world for a while now, and she can anticipate the next question, "There are four nations in my world, and each of them identifies with one of our four elements, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads."

[widows_kiss]

Natasha is intrigued, listening to this explanation with a tilt of her head, inquisitive expression on her face. "Is there a reason your countries associate with the elements? Is it divided into terrain that way or does it have some other meanings?"

It sounds a little like some of the more ancient cultures in Earth's history, those that associated themselves with something similar, or the great creatures they hunted or worshiped. Although there was nothing about Katara that appeared primitive, but who knew how different worlds could evolve in different ways, under different circumstances?

[markofthebrave]

"I can't say that's something I've thought about much," Katara said. At least not until people started asking me that kind of question here. "It's just always been the way things are. It might have something to do with the way that the Spirit World interacts with our world, or the reason why different types of benders are born into each nation. It's probably all entwined."

[widows_kiss]

"It can be a little strange, the different viewpoints that come from different worlds," Natasha admitted with a faint smile. "I suppose we're all a little shaped by what we know, what we can compare to. What are benders?"

That was a term she was unfamiliar with, although Katara said it like it should be common knowledge.

[markofthebrave]

"Benders are people with a special connection to their element. I'm a waterbender." Katara didn't even have to glance around the table. She could sense where the water was, and it was most strongly concentrated in some tea. "It's easier to show you than to explain."

So Katara held out a hand and made a pulling motion, summoning the tea over to her. It streamed towards her as smoothly as if it'd been released from a hose and she flattened her palm so it could hover over it, a perfect sphere.

[widows_kiss]

Natasha's eye widen slightly, because tonight was turning out to be just full of magic tricks of all shapes and sizes. "So you can control the element of the land you're born into?" she asks, glancing from the sphere to Katara's face again, looking a little amazed. "Can everyone in your world do this?"

[markofthebrave]

"A lot of people," she said, tilting her head and considering. "I'd say about a forth of the population is made up of benders. There used to be more, but..." flexing her fingers, Katara returned the tea to where it belonged, "...the war changed a lot."

[widows_kiss]

Natasha's head tilts to the side as she considers that, thoughtful. "A war between the nations? Or against an outside force?"

[markofthebrave]

"A war between nations," she said. This is an old pain. The shadows of it slide into Katara's clear blue eyes with comfortable familiarity, claiming the vacancies as if they have the right. There is, however, a certain steadiness about her gaze, a hope that burns with more single-minded focus than the shadows can hope to quench. "It's been going on for a long time now. But I've heard from friends of mine in the future that it will end soon. That's something to look forward to."

I still have work to do.

[widows_kiss]

Understanding flickers in Natasha's expression, because she knows that look all too well, and she gives the girl a small smile.

"I suppose people aren't all that different, no matter what world they come from," she murmurs, taking a sip of her wine. "But it's good to hear that there is an end in sight for it. It's hope."

[markofthebrave]

"Yeah, that's... one advantage to people coming in from your future."

The other side is that you end up with a granddaughter you've had via a guy you haven't even kissed yet.

Life's a party.

[widows_kiss]

That draws a chuckle from Natasha, because that expression on Katara's face gives her quite a different impression.

"I take it there are some other advantages that aren't quite as thrilling? The time gaps here do seem to make things complicated at times."

She knew that as well as anyone here.

[markofthebrave]

"A lot can change between people in a few months," she said, smiling with a faint light of pain in her eyes, fresh and personal. "Even if the important things remain the same, it's hard to hear about all the things that will be. The longer that you're here, the less that person feels like... you."

Katara shrugged one shoulder, her gaze sliding over Natasha's shoulder for a moment, "But knowing that we won... that we will win - that's worth knowing everything else."

[widows_kiss]

Natasha averts her gaze, staring into her wine for a moment, granting the girl her own moment of privacy, because she hadn't missed that flash of pain.

"We're all shaped by what we experience. What happens to us, the choices we make... The person you are now is different from the one that was there." She glances around, a wistful look on her face.

"I don't think there's any way that anyone could come here and not be changed by it. The people we encounter, the things we endure, the knowledge we gain..."

[markofthebrave]

"I know," she said quietly. "It's really memories that make up a person. Memories and choice. But when we're sent home... we lose this place."

Katara returned her gaze to Natasha and shrugged a little, "But at least we're not here anymore."

Even if the 'we' that we now are ceases to exist. "Anyway, this is a strange topic for a party. How long have you been here?"

[widows_kiss]

"This place is full of strange topics," Natasha chuckles, taking another sip of her drink. "I'm not sure 'normal' or 'typical' exist here. But yes, I know exactly what you mean."

And she can sympathize. All too well. The thought brings a small frown to her lips, but she purposefully does not let her gaze wander to where it otherwise might. Instead, she latches onto the topic change with a faint smile.

"I've just arrived with the newest group. So almost a month now."

[markofthebrave]

"Oh, that's not so bad," she smiled a little. "Are you getting a feel for the place?"

[widows_kiss]

"Trying to," Natasha answers honestly, inclining her head. "It helped that I had companions here before me. But I'm slowly learning my way around. Some things are easier to adjust to than others."

[markofthebrave]

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]

That catches Natasha's attention and she gives the girl a closer glance. "Are you one of the healers there?"

[markofthebrave]

"That's right," she said, smiling a little. "I use a combination of my healing ability and what I've learned here."

[widows_kiss]

"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."