Angels In The Night [INACTIVE]

[Jay]

Hearing the voice, Yue froze for half a moment and stopped walking all together. "Kali I suggest you don't do that...," he sighed a bit moving on his heel and turning to face the girl but was cut off at the sight of her in the dress and makeup. His single red eye had a rather surprised look, yet he rearranged his face rather easily and simply put a half amused look on his face.

"You could easily get kidnapped by a noble with that kind of attitude you know," there was a smirk on his face now as he moved closer to the point he could easily poke her mask in which he did just that. "And in regards to place... is it not all mine in the end?" he smirked before backing up again. "It's nice to see that you can clean up so well, Kali," Yue half smirked.

[Admiral Striker General]

... Why did this surprise her? It shouldn't have.. Not one bit. All she'd hoped for was a nice '..what?' so she could get a laugh at his reaction. But no, he couldn't give her even that. Hope largely dashed, she sighed and resisted the urge to shake her head. It wasn't particularly heavy or anything, though; she in fact remained quite content she'd at least gotten that moment of shock, however good he was at covering up. She was getting to know him well enough to figure out that was about the equivalent of his jaw hitting the floor for Leon Alias. The.. compliment, more or less, at the end may have been lackluster next to what she hoped for, but it was still technically a compliment at least. Yes, she was quite content with this indeed.

Not to mention she couldn't let him just get away with a few of those remarks. Smirking lightly, she shrugged and winked. "Doesn't matter to me whose it is as long as we go there~" she teased, chuckling softly. "But really, who says it'd be kidnapping? Some handsome young nobleman coming along to sweep me off my feet and treat me like a Lady? That doesn't sound bad at all." Again she laughed, wondering what he'd think of that. No doubt something else indifferent or infuriating, but it was fun to see.

[Jay]

"Either way I wouldn't let the man off," Yue grinned back rather easily. "Because you see, you're already my lab assistant, and I'm not about sharing." This statement could be taken many ways, and this was what Yue Leon Alias liked about it. He was still smiling and rather lightly at that, and the ease of keeping up this look was something that had only developed over years at forcing it. His eye moved around the room again and returned on Kali again.

[Admiral Striker General]

...EEP<3 However else it could have been taken, Kali heard only the part that made her heart soar. ....Not that-- ... Because she just liked the... She mentally sighed. All right, fine. So maybe she had just a little bit of a specific crush. As much as she was around him, that wasn't really so odd, right? It still didn't mean her logic from that afternoon was completely invalid. So he was the only guy in the room she was really interested in; he was also the only guy she actually knew. So that wasn't too bad. Of course, accepting this fact, this did mean she was more likely to try having a bit of fun with him.

"Well, then!" Kali exclaimed. "I guess I'll have to stay close so you can protect me. I wouldn't want my master getting upset," she teased. Moving a step closer, though primarily retaining a sort of 'loyal puppy' demeanor, Kali began to wonder about this mysterious patron. Yue had mentioned the person only briefly, and Kali couldn't help but wonder about the precise identity. Of course, not knowing what to look for herself, she instead watched Yue and he watced the crowd.

[Ethereal]

The duchess saw the lights from outside the castle doors. The party had already started, from what she could see. Adrian made it a point to be fashionably late, and it seemed she had come at the right time. She had spent the day at her own palace, training her pokemon. Adrian had almost lost track of time and before she knew it the sun had disappeared. The woman had rushed to get ready, but refused to leave her home without first embodying perfection.

This would be her first party as the southern duchess and she wanted to make a good impression on the Eran nobility that still lived. Of course she would enjoy this night, however, the duchess would not let herself forget her real intentions. To Adrian, this party was a recon mission to spy on her enemies. She would study the other nobles, make alliances if it suited her, and plan future prospective attacks.

Presently, Adrian fixed the hair that had fallen out of place. The winds of the mountains were beginning too grow in strength. She smoothed down her dress, put on her mask, then knocked twice on the castle doors. Her shiny houndoom Adelina was the only escort the duchess had with her, which was quite fine. Such a powerful figure could arrive alone and still be confident. Adrian flashed her invitation and a servant bid her entrance. The duchess strode down the main hall, her white heels clicking with every step. She could hear the sound of music coming from nearby and continued toward the noise. Now that she had arrived, the festivities could really begin.

She felt a bit insulted that her presence wasn’t formally announced, however she let that go at the sight of the assembly. The size of the crowd was impressive, and the group seemed to sway in unison to the beat of the music. A small, amused smile graced the dark beauty’s face as she wove her way through the gathering. So far she hadn’t encountered anyone familiar yet, but she was just as comfortable among strangers. Her gray eyes spotted the white head of her scientist stooge and she set a course for him.

Adrian walked straight through the crowd, letting people move out of her way, as was appropriate. Adelina growled if anyone got to close to her mistress, which ensured a quick path to her acquaintance. She stopped in front of Leon, unintentionally cutting off the teenage girl beside him. The duchess hadn’t paid much attention to the young girl in the red dress, focused only on her current interest which happened to be Alias.
“Good evening, Leon.” She greeted him smoothly, removing her feathered mask for a moment in case he hadn’t already identified her.

[Jay]

The white haired man had not expected to have been noticed so quickly but simply went with it none the less. Recognizing the duchess even before she took off the mask, the white haired man waited a moment to see if she would state anything else before proceeding again. "Good evening to you as well, Duchess Adrian," Alias answered back lightly as he wove a rather different type of smile onto his face. His single red eye moved to the Houndoom for a moment before returning with ease. He was not worried about the fire dog but simply made a mental note that it was indeed there. He would have been happier to release one of his own pokemon, yet he refused to have anyone identify him by said pokemon later on. Instead, he simply continued talking.

"You look very lovely tonight. I assume you are doing well?" he kept his voice rather easily knowing that respect was mandatory as it always was when one dealt with someone such as Adrian not to mention the fact that she was a patron to his lab. He would have waited for a reply, yet the thought came to mind of having introductions fully before proceeding. "Before that, if you don't mind may I introduce a new lab assistant of mine, Kali." With a half step, he moved to allow a full view of Kali. "She is currently helping with work. Kali, this is the Duchess of the South, Adrian Bane, our Patron of sorts."

[Admiral Striker General]

Kali had simply been following Yue happily, content to remain near him with the thought of him serving as her protector. However, when she was suddenly pushed quite out of the way by a very tall woman cutting between them, he didn't seem to react at all! Glaring intently at what she could see of the woman's black dress, Kali had been quite close to losing her tongue before the woman's words cut her off in a very different way. Good evening, Leon. So.. she knew--?

This stilled Kali's anger as she moved around to the other side of them, both to get closer to Leon again and to get a better look at the woman. Moments later, she wished desperately that she hadn't as her mind began to spiral. This-.. this-... WOMAN! Those curls. That face. Those breasts! That whole body, and that dress that hardly covered it! She-- she was GORGEOUS. No, that didn't even do it justice! She- she took Kali's breath, even, such was her beauty! The younger girl crossed her arms in front of her chest tightly as if trying to hide her inferiority as she shrunk back.

And then, oh THEN, as if she wasn't dying enough inside, You look very lovely tonight. ...That... That... Kali could not suppress her small whimper as he so boldly complimented the older woman. Once Leon gave introductions, she was eased a bit, both at being introduced first and at confirmation that this was in fact the patron she had been intended to meet. Eased, you know, in the manner that a small bucket of water eases a forest fire.

Looking over the Duchess again and again, Kali could not fight off the overwhelming insecurity that spawned at the sight of her. "I'm going to go crawl into a hole and die now," she said in her mind, mentally doing so as she announced it. Outwardly, she smiled sweetly as convincingly as she could, though the very smallest twitching of her face she could not seem to quell. Curtsying, she said aloud in a small but respectful voice, "A pleasure to meet you, Your Grace.."

[Ethereal]

Adrian nodded her head once in response to Yue,
"Thank you, my friend. I've never seen you look quite so handsome" She said serenely while admiring his black tuxedo. "I have been well, and I hope the same has been true for you."

The shiny fire pokemon sat down beside her trainer. She recognized the scent of the man, but the girl beside him was a stranger that she immediately disliked. A spiral of smoke floated from her nostrils and she growled at Kali. Adelina would keep an eye on the girl in case she tried to hurt Adrian.

The duchess didn't intend on speaking with her accomplice for too long, for the lure of chatting up other nobles was powerful. However, the mention of Alias's assistant had the potential to keep her around. Her steely gaze found Kali's face and only rested there for a fraction of a second,
"Oh.." Was her only comment.

Adrian happily returned her attention to Leon,
"Well," She said matter-of-factly, "I hope she proves to be a good assistant, and not a weight on our progress." The woman's brow lifted and her eyes shifted quickly back to Kali, "I trust your judgement."

[Jay]

Heh... my judgment... was possibly the only thing that brought a genuine smirk onto Yue Leon Alias's face. Adrian's reaction was far less than he had expected it to be, but no matter. It meant an easy follow through which meant an easy acceptance which led to a easier work. "Ah, thank you for the trust then, Duchess. I'm sure Kali will bring much to the table," Yue answered back with ease. Yes... much also to be prevented with a child wandering around with such knowledge about shadow pokemon no matter how limited it was. "Things are moving rather smoothly, and...oh yes... may I borrow Xerxes for a bit later on? I have some research to do on a certain part of Riolu evolution."

[Admiral Striker General]

It was all Kali could do not to squirm, let alone keep up a convincing smile. The way this Duchess spoke, she had to wonder exactly how long she'd actually known Leon- yet another way she was superior to Kali with her mere weeks. ..For that matter, just how did they know each other? Yes she was their patron but.. could there have ever been--? ... Might there still be--?? Dear Arceus.

As if she needed another mood killer, Kali had quite decided by this point she did not at all like this Duchess. Weigh them down indeed. It wasn't as though Kali wasn't standing right there; she could speak to her face! She in fact seemed to be making a point not to speak to her directly, which only angered Kali the more. And then to make matters worse still, the Houndoom! Even the dog dislikes me! she mentally exclaimed.

Kali remained silent, however, as not much had been said to or of her and she did want to keep up the impression of being a good and quiet little assistant. Noticing she was leering a bit, however, she suddenly shiften to a nervous grin, hoping neither of her elders noticed her small fit. Mostly, she listen carefully Yue. She had a Riolu then? Well, that would be handy. Of course, Kali had wanted to go catch a Riolu, but.. whatever moved their research faster, she told herself.

[Ethereal]

Adrian, as a characteristically jealous person herself, knew all the physical signs of the trait. She in turn had practiced keeping those indicators hidden. This girl, on the other hand, did not seem to have much experience with it. The duchess could see through her smile complacent as if it were glass. She wouldn't embarrass Kali by drawing attention to her envy, that was knowledge that the duchess would keep to herself.

The duchess smiled, brief excitement coming to her eyes.
"Xerxes? But of course. I have been meaning to ask you how to go about evolving him." A shadow riolu was a nice trinket, but a shadow lucario would be a weapon.

[Jay]

Shadow Lucario Shadow Lucario Shadow Lucario Shadow Lucario Shadow Lucario Evolution from Happiness during the day...Unable to make shadow when Lucario due to its realization of shadow Aura...FAILURE. Yue would have twitched with irritation over the previous project failure to make a Shadow Lucario had he not already prepared for the rampaging thoughts that were to enter his mind. Instead, he kept his face light and smiled. "It's actually what I planned on studying, actually," he grinned lightly. "Evolution is such a tricky thing with those matters, but I plan to smooth that out through some research." He let a light laugh escape him.

[Ethereal]

Adrian looked slyly over to Kali while she listened to the man in charge of her scientific interests. She decided to make her own fun at this party, at the expense of the teen. Adrian wouldn't have flirted with Yue in any other circumstance, but she wanted to see Kali squirm. The girl was either jealous of Adrian's looks, pokemon, or the attention Alias paid to her. The duchess would find the answer to that within a few moments.

She took a step closer to the man, shutting Kali out once again. Adrian placed a hand lightly on Yue's arm,
"You're a very intelligent man, Leon." She complimented him while throwing her hair over one shoulder, showing off her cleavage. The duchess laughed along with him, "If anyone can figure out how to evolve Xerxes, it's you."

[Jay]

Well now this was interesting. What was Adrian up to? Yue raised an eyebrow and half smirked. He could tell some sort of change from the usual business attitude that Adrian kept up. This was something different entirely, and he wondered exactly why she had shifted. Putting a hand on his chin, the white haired man smirked. "And I will succeed soon enough," he smirked easily.

[Admiral Striker General]

Kali kept a calm enough face, overall, but nearly leapt out of her skin as the duchess began to make a move. Somehow, in the case of Leon, stroking his ego as opposed to direct interest only made her the more concerned. Leon, however, seemed to give this no greater reaction than any of Kali's various teasing of any nature, and she could not help but put a hand to her heart and let out a very small sigh at that. She was still swimming in a pretty thick mess of inner turmoil, sure, and the fact she told herself she had no reason or right to envy the woman so only made things worse. But swimming was better than drowning, and she'd managed to at least stop the latter for the moment, though she continued to watch the two like a hawk.


Mind a little clearer to think about broader things, now, Kali became suddenly aware her feet were already killing her. Not that heels were even doing her any good; Adrian looked to about as tall as Yue if she'd been flat-footed. Next to that, Kali looked like a child anyway. Dammit. Well, she couldn't hang around all night, could she? Anyway, Kali told herself she'd get used to the feeling of the heels as the night went on.

[Maid Melody]

Sofia giggled in delight when Alaric picked her up and spun her around, hugging him in return before he set her down finally.

Of course I'm here, silly. Someone had to come, and you can't really see your uncle having fun like this, can you?

At this remark, Sofia giggled and shook her head.
"No, Uncle doesn't really like big parties does he? Oh! Hi Ava!" she said in a cheerful voice, hugging Ava as well before turning to Alaric once again,"Oh, Alaric! I got a new pokemon! Do you want to see?"

Without even waiting for a response, Sofia took out a pokeball and opened it. A jigglypuff appeared moments later, looking around curiously at all the people in the room.
Sofia giggled and picked up the jigglypuff, hugging him against her chest.
"This is Jaden, my jigglypuff. He actually reminds me of you Alaric! Sometimes Jaden is silly and chases Harvey's piplup or riolu and even Candy, my buneary, because they're girls. He'll even give them flowers sometimes when they're being really stubborn!"she giggled before setting Jaden down again.

Jaden looked up at Alaric and waved happily before looking around the room once again as if looking for a potential date. Seeing none immediately, he sighed and straightened up.
"JIGGLY!" he said in a proud voice, acting as he was going to be Sofia's protector for the night.

Sofia giggled at Jaden and then looked back at Alaric before suddenly realizing something.
"Oh! You haven't seen Harvey have you?"she asked before taking Alaric's hand and leading him over to where Harvey was with his riolu out next to him,"Alaric this is Harvey, my best friend in the whole wide world, and Harvey this is my cousin Ali..Alaric." she said in a kind, cheerful voice as she released Alaric's hand and gave Harvey a hug.

Jaden dutifully followed after Sofia and winked at Rayna when the reached Harvey, but didn't say much else more.

Chrissy looked up at piplup and nodded before going back to playing with the flowers. After a few moments, she had finished one and happily placed it over Tim's head.
Happy! Happiny hap!" she said happily, telling Tim how nice the flowers made him look before going back to making more wreaths.

[Baroness Charmissey]

Harvey was looking at the drinks but noticed most of it was wine and other things he could or did not like to drink. This is part of the reasons he did not like partys... He frowned and looked around the room again looking at the other guests as they talked to each other and some of them flirting with each other. He made a face as all little boys do when they see people flirting and shook his head. He was glad Sofia was not the type of girl to flirt, but then again they where both do young to even want to do those kind of things. Harvey looked at Rayna again and smiled but only to see her have an annoyed look on her face. Harvey blinked and looked to where she was looking at and saw Sofia had called out Jaden. Harvey then smiled and looked down at Rayna. " Oh, don't worry about it... Ignore him like you always do." Harvey said with a smile.

Rayna looked back up at Harvey still looking annoyed. " easer said then done Harvey..." Rayna grumbled and then got tense when Sofia came over with Jaden and when he winked at her she just glared, folded her arms and looked away. Harvey saw Sofia come over with Alaric he looked blankly at him and looked at Sofia wondering why in the world did she bring him over here? Then when she introduced Alaric to him, Harvey decided just for Sofia to act like a gentlemen and be nice for a change... And that he did not want Sofia to get mad at him. But before he could say hello to Alaric, Sofia hugged him. That made Harvey blush but his mask covered most of the blush.

After getting over the shock he smiled and hugged after a few minutes he let go of Sofia and looked at Alaric and did a small bow before looking up at him. " Nice, to meet you Alaric." he said as nicely as he could. Not really wanting to talk to this Alaric even if he is Sofia's cousin.

[Da Smiffinator!]

I want to tear a big hole in what is to be,
To end all this infatuation with unity,
I'm seeking my salvation alone again,
I never needed to be one of you anyway....

Clutching the invitation in his hand, Jun had to wonder why the hell he had decided to take up the offer of going to a masquerade of all things... Perhaps a meeting between nobles would have been more up his ally, but no... a party. Jun Manjoume didn't know the meaning of "party" or "fun" or any of that bullshit. He was all about getting his goals done.

And it was from that point of view that he knew why he was here: his brothers Slade and Jagger. If they were here too, it was.... it was his chance to kill them. But still, what were the chances that he would be seeing them? Parties weren't exactly in their favorite category of things to do... no, that list was saved for torturing him most likely. Still, Jun was willing to take the chance of a miserable night even if he could only glimpse his stupid brothers behind a mask and refuel his anger and hate towards them.

With a sound like a growl, Jun wrapped his black collared coat around his face and lowered his mask to his face: perhaps the best way to describe the mask was... well, even he wasn't sure. It was a dragon to be sure, but it looked almost like two different dragon faces put together. One side was white, and the other was black, like a yin-yang.

It was the only mask he owned after all. The mask to what would have been his warrior suit had he stayed at the Manjoume household.... if Slade and Jagger were here, or his father who he doubted would be here even more than his two asshole brothers, then they'd know it was him immediately.

"Tzila," Jun said quietly as he approached the door. "Find an alternate way in and do some sniffing out. You know how to find me if you see Slade and Jagger."

"Houndour!" it responded, and then vanished into the night.

With a deep breath, the youngest of the Manjoume brothers stepped into the doorway to the party, and was at once overwhelmed with noise and... was that alcohol? Oh good god, by the time this night was over, Jun would need crates of it to survive this....

[Admiral Striker General]

Watching their cousin drag her brother off, Ava sighed and shrugged before heading toward a seat on the wall. Stopping momentarily, she decided a light drink couldn't hurt and might help take her mind off of how dearly she did not wish to be here. Grabbing one before she went, then, she took to her seat and simply continued watching the guests as she sipped it.

--

Alaric covered his mouth with a loose fist to hide his sheepish blush and grin, laughing silently and thumb idly stroking his jaw as he listened to the child compare him to her Jigglypuff. And he did try so hard not to make that impression too strongly when she was around. Certainly, he had no problem being seen as a romantic, but 'always chasing' girls? It was all he could do to continue to suppress his laugh. Sofia's adorable innocence always put him in the best of moods.

Some moments later, however, this mood was shot as she mentioned a 'Harvey'. He kept an even face, but inside a certain dark feeling brewed. Managing to paste on a light smile, he followed Sofia's lead as his eyes narrowed on the boy her age by the drinks. 'So this is the boy...' Harvey. Yes, he'd heard that name, all right, though he hadn't been able to meet him until now; after all, it was only sparingly he saw even Sofia.

When Sofia introduced him, as her 'best friend' and with a massive and reciprocated hug, Alaric's tension eased a little. But best friends now didn't mean anything in regards to six years from now, nor did friends even then mean she'd be so keen on what was really coming. Alaric kept his pasted smile as his mask hid his leering eyes. He was not Hector.. No. If the boy did not change drastically, Sofia's luck would be better than Linza's, at least. But that was still an if, and it did not make it good luck still.

Making no gesture of his own, Alaric's deep voice calmly replied, "Nice to meet you, Harvey." After a few moments of silently watching the boy, Alaric smiled a little brighter as he turned to Sofia. "Hey Sofi~ You haven't seen Honey in a long time, have you?" he chimed. "Would you like to play with her?"

In similar manner to her own Pokemon introduction, Alaric did not await a reply, but released the large Luxray from a ball on his belt, who emerged sitting regally as she gave a large awakening-yawn. "Honey, you remember Sofia~" Oh, how could she forget? Her fur still ached from the child's 'play time' in earlier years. Alaric's eyes- not at all shielded to Honey's x-ray vision- darted around in a certain pattern between Harvey, Sofia, Honey, and the Pokemon who were playing in the entryway. This combined with the words she'd heard upon and just prior to release and his subtlest gestures was more than enough to give orders to his soul mate of nearly ten years, but this did not mean she had to like them. Resisting the urge to facepaw, Honey gave a mental sigh and complied.

Suddenly, she was filled with the energy of a much younger Pokemon, prancing and jumping around Sofia like a playful kitten, even giving a few growlish mewls. Moving in closer after a few moments, she gently pulled the mask from Sofia's face and leapt off some ten yards before turning around, torso to the ground and rear and tail wiggling playfully high in the air as if to say 'come and get it!' Alaric laughed brightly. "I guess she really did want to play!" he exclaimed. Outwardly, Honey's face was a spry and mischievous as a young Shinx. Inwardly, she gave a long, drawn-out groan as she thought, I'm getting too old for this...

Alaric watched Harvey like a Luxray himself from the corner of his vision; if the boy made to move, he would block his path.

[Ezio]

Giving a small smirk as Teme asked where he was from. "I could tell you but would that really matter?" Ezio replied, taking a step closer, nearing Teme's ear, "Life is full of mysteries, what's one extra?" Ezio whispered before leaning back and taking a sip of his wine.

As he quickly glanced around the room, Ezio quickly took note of a Tall woman with her hand on a white haired man's shoulder with a younger woman clearly looking upset next to them. Turning back to Teme as he finished his sip from his glass, he gave her a half smile.