acrookedchild: (He found a crooked sixpence)
Abigail Widdowson ([personal profile] acrookedchild) wrote in [community profile] undergrounds2015-07-01 07:21 am

Stroke of Midnight [OPEN]

Miss Abigail Widdowson cordially invites you to Geap Manor on Wednesday, July 1st at 19:00.

Food, drinks, and music will be provided.

All are welcome, but individuals are to be aware that any hostilities during the evening's festivities will not be tolerated.


It is the first time in at least a generation that the doors of Geap Manor have been opened to the general population. Or, at least, as general as the supernatural community could be considered. Some invitiations were made personally, but most were formally sent to the higher ranking members of the various factions.

Dinner is announced precisely at 19:30. The small, intimate eating area for the family has been turned into a buffet room. The caterers Abigail hired have obviously been paid well to make sure there is something for everyone. Rich meat dishes, hearty vegetarian dishes, light fish dishes, plenty of accompaniments and finger food. There is also plenty of fairly fresh blood for vampires. For the others, there are wines, water, and tea available.

The grand dining room has had its large table removed, replaced, instead, by small tables that can comfortably hold four. They can, of course, be pushed together to allow for more room.

The ballroom is open to the guests, and the DJ has also been highly paid to make sure the music played is precisely to the hostess's tastes. There is plenty of modern music, good for dancing, as well as older classics. However, interspersed are classical pieces meant for waltzes and foxtrots and other such ballroom dances.

In the sitting room is a drink cart with wine, tea, water, and blood. Chairs and divans are available, as the room is a quiet place, a little away from the ballroom, so conversation can be had with ease. There is an unlit fireplace, and a portrait of Abigail a few years younger than she is now hangs above it.

Most of the rest of the house is locked. One can wander the hallways, but it may prove ultimately fruitless. One who simply walks up the stairways will find the walls of each lined with the Widdowson family portraits of every generation, starting with one of a ten-year-old Abby, her parents, and her six-year-old brother. As one takes in all the paintings, a pattern presents itself. Every Widdowson woman featured is pale, thin, and blonde.

The grounds are beautifully maintained and fenced in by wrought iron on top of stone. A very traditional look for such an imposing manor. On the path from the street to the house, there's little remarkable, save the knocker on the door. Behind the house, however, if one ventures away, one might get the keen sense of something from inside the house watching, waiting, and hungering. On the ground floor, the locked rooms are mostly unremarkable, save for the study at the back of the house. Linger too long near there, and one might hear a sound coming in a pattering set. It isn't a knock against the door, no. Instead, it is the sound of something hitting the wall. If someone were to force their way into the nursery on the second floor or the attic several stories up... Well. They likely won't be coming back to the party. Or to anything.

Wandering, of course, isn't a suggested enterprise. The old house doesn't like people poking around and trying to find its secrets.


(Everyone who has at least a familiarity with the supernatural is welcome, as the invitations were distributed widely. Mingle, make your own top comments, enjoy the food, etc!)
detectiveofthewest: (Heiji: hee.)

[personal profile] detectiveofthewest 2015-07-17 06:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Heiji gave her a friendly sort of smile back. Despite his reservations about the Night Council and Circle Daybreak (and therefore the Mother of Witches herself), everyone he'd met at Redbright Institute so far seemed decent. He liked them. So he figured he owed it to them to talk to their boss.

"Yeah, looks like it. I'm Heiji, by the way. Only moved here a little while ago. Actually, I kinda wanted to talk to you before, only there's usually a lot of..." He motioned vaguely with his hands, signifying the coterie usually to be found around her.

[personal profile] brightwitch 2015-07-17 08:06 pm (UTC)(link)
"People," she finished, and moved to shake his hand. "Yes. Well, here I am now, Heiji, it's a pleasure to meet you." She gave him a lopsided grin, the corners of her mouth turning up. "I hope you won't be too disappointed after waiting so long."

A little false modesty. It helped, sometimes, to put the other person at ease. Not that Heiji seemed to be at all lacking in confidence.
detectiveofthewest: (Heiji: excite)

[personal profile] detectiveofthewest 2015-07-17 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
"Not at all," said Heiji, returning the handshake. He enjoyed talking to people; it was easy for him. "I kinda heard about the Institute by reputation, and I've met one or two of the students there. They seem like they like it quite a bit." Maybe for different reasons, though -- he suspected Sasuke just liked the opportunity to learn. As much as he liked anything.

"You ever regret taking all this on? Sounds like a lot of late nights."

[personal profile] brightwitch 2015-07-18 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
She laughed; he wasn't wrong about the late nights. But she really couldn't imagine her life being any other way. Not when she had dedicated everything to her work.

"The late nights are worth it, I think, in the end. So what did you want to talk to me about?"

She took a sip of her drink, eyeing him over the glass. People approached her for a lot of different reasons. It kept her on her toes, at least.
detectiveofthewest: (Heiji: haha no way)

[personal profile] detectiveofthewest 2015-07-18 10:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well..." He looked a bit sheepish now that she'd gotten right down to asking.

"I hope I'm askin' the right person. I was wondering if there were any plans to expand your course catalog for non-full time students? I work part time, so..."

Heiji just sort of trailed off, but anyone who'd had to juggle work and furthering their education would no doubt understand the difficulties in doing so. Especially part-time workers like him, who had to deal with schedules that could be a little unpredictable.

[personal profile] brightwitch 2015-07-20 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
...Even at a Circle Midnight party, she couldn't escape questions about the school. She had to smile; it was so incongruous to hear a request like this here.

"We do offer short courses that are flexible for adults," she answered, going into automatic PR mode. "Why don't you talk to my colleague Alexandrie?" She nodded towards the other witch, who was seated on a nearby couch talking with a small group of witches. "She's putting together our summer school program at the moment. You might find something there."
detectiveofthewest: (Heiji: free spirit)

[personal profile] detectiveofthewest 2015-07-20 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)
The perils of the job...

Heiji nodded and gave her a broad smile. "I think I'll do that, thanks! Oh, and sorry for takin' up your time. It was nice meeting you!"

With a little wave, he headed over to talk to Alexandrie.