undergrounds | Game Opening: May Ball

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Game Opening: May Ball

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED.

It had to be done.

Welcome all to the Redbright Institute's May Ball! This evening is a celebration of the Institute's achievements over the past year. Students aged 16 and above can attend on their own, while younger students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Meanwhile, friends and guests of the Institute are invited as a gesture of friendship and harmony between the various factions.

Rules and etiquette
• This is a black tie event. Formal attire is required.
• No weapons. This is a school, there are children present. Any weapons or objects that could be used as weapons will be confiscated.
• No drugs or alcohol. Obviously. Don't try to sneak any in.
• No violence.

There is security within the school and present at the event. (In fact, if your character is a member of the Redbright Institute, you could have them acting as security if you want.) They will respond to and put a stop to any trouble.

Places to go
The main action takes place in the large Assembly Hall. This is where the Chancellor Sylvia Redbright will give her address. It's also where you can party later on. The disco is family-friendly – not exactly a rave, but the kids will love it.

Drinks and snacks are available in the dining hall. The drinks are non-alcoholic. Vampires, no need to worry about your cravings: blood cocktails are provided! They're given in good faith on the assumption that you won't be snacking on anyone else tonight.

Just off the dining hall, one of the classrooms has been converted into a chill-out area. The lights are off, the desks and chairs have been replaced by beanbags and there's a table in the corner with a chocolate fountain, marshmallows and strawberries. A video of young witches taking part in various night-time rituals (they mostly seem to involve chanting and bonfires) plays silently on the screen.

One of the lecture theatres has been opened up to showcase students' work from the past year. On the screen you can watch a slideshow of notable events and achievements. Strangely enough there aren't many people in this room.

Outside, there is a giant chessboard on the lawn. The pieces are made of plastic and can easily be moved around. Why, you ask? Why not, is the answer.

Finally, a large marquee has been set up in the quad. This is the adults-only area, with wine and cocktails served at the bar, nibbles available at a few high tables dotted around and a sophisticated atmosphere. No children under 18 allowed. (Note that the legal drinking age is 18.)

Timeline of events
20:00 – Doors open.
20:57 – Sunset.
21:15 – Sylvia Redbright makes her address in the Assembly Hall.
22:00 – Disco in the Assembly Hall. The DJ has atrocious taste.
01:00 – Disco stops. The event officially ends.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The bottle is accepted a bit more clumsily than is even typical for Stiles; he’s not sure if he’s drunk off of the amount of alcohol he’s imbibed or drunk off of the atmosphere here. Everywhere he turns, he’s surrounded by a mass of supernatural beings. It’s amazing. There are even vampires here. If he didn’t have the tiniest shred of self-preservation, he would have waltzed up to one of them already. As it is, he’s decided to nurse his curiosity for a bit longer before stumbling into an early death.

“I think this is basically the coolest thing ever.”

He doesn’t take a swig from the bottle just yet. Though quite accustomed to the wonders of underaged drinking, he’s more interested in freeing up his mouth to chat.

“Do you know all these people?”

say what you wanted about Nancy, but she knew the value of showing up at these things already drunk. it made the awful music better and it easier to stomach some of the whole mess. so it stood to reason that she happily offered Stiles all manner of shots before they arrived. and now, more booze.

look at that friendship. Friendship.

"me? God no," she said, laughing the idea off with a wave. "maybe a handful. the circles I run in- well, circle, isn't the most well-known for coming to these things. but it's free food and booze and it provides great networking." she took another drink of champagne.

"congrats on not getting yourself killed yet, by the way." seriously. mad props.

Circle. Stiles has overheard some talk about those—there’s apparently a Circle Daybreak and a Circle Midnight. Judging from the less than polite mutterings the latter elicited, he suspects that Nancy must belong to Circle Midnight. Right now, that means little to him; he’s way too intoxicated to do much with the information. Later, however, he’s going to research her affiliation.

“Hey, thanks,” he replies amiably, pleased to be reminded that he is, in fact, still very much alive. “The night is still young, though. Maybe I’ll die in some kind of werewolf versus vampire brawl. I’d be like, a martyr. Stiles Stilinski, the patron saint of humankind.”

Okay, he’s pretty drunk.

truthfully, Nancy tried to avoid politics. she'd been raised by a member of the Unseelie court, and her own personal dealings slid her into Midnight. but beyond that, she didn't see any reason to care, truthfully. just another thing to worry about.

Nancy looked over at him and resisted facepalming. "don't do that- the name of the game here is peace, if you didn't hear." if it went over his head, she didn't blame him. there was a lot to take in and Sylvia tended to say a lot of things that probably made no sense to him.

"whatever you do don't make me regret bringing you. I want to have a good time tonight. and I know you do, too."

“Fine, fine. No patron saint Stiles.” Then, mutinously, “For now.”

Finally, he drinks from the bottle. The warmth hits his belly heavily, and he realizes distantly that he should probably eat something soon. But then Nancy’s words are distracting him, and he’s studying her intently.

“Yeah. Yeah, I want to have a good time too.”

Whoops, guess who took her harmless comment as a come-on. This guy.

“Plus, do you know how expensive it is to rent a tux here? I can’t let that go to waste. No way.”

"for now," Nancy agrees, raising her glass to him in agreement.

you know who is unaware of that mistake? Nancy. so she laughs. "Kenzi rented her dress too. that's where I found the five-finger discount is useful." once a thief, always a thief. and even for the supernatural, there was still money to be made picking pockets and the like.

Magic just made it easier.

with a slight hum, Nancy glanced over to appraise Stiles and his tux. "you
look nice." a little awkward but men in tuxes? she wasn't going to complain. "almost fit right in." the accent gave him away. just a little.

Though he's intrigued by this five-finger discount (and a little unsure of what to think about it), he's thoroughly derailed by her appraisal of his outfit. In spite of himself, Stiles' cheeks flush. He might even puff out his chest a bit.

"So do you. Look nice, I mean. Really nice. Niiice color on you."

He takes a hasty swig from the bottle and ends up sputtering on it.

Boys were absolutely adorable when they were flattered, Nancy had always thought, and Stiles was no exception.

"Thank you," she says honestly , with a full beam at him, which turns into a bit of a giggle. It was nice to be able to actually act her age for once. "I wore red at the last party I was at, so I figured I'd mix it up."

"Red! That's my favorite color!"

To be honest, he doesn't really have a favorite color; Lydia's strawberry-blonde hair has simply created a superficial bias.

"So, do you want to, uhm, dance?"

"Really!" Another smile over the rim of her glass before she raised it to her lips again.

Dance. She only hesitated a moment before nodding at him and finishing off the rest of her drink only to hand it off to a passing waiter. "Of course! Lead the way, Stiles!" She held out her elbow for him to take. It only later occurred to her that she should probably have been leading.

Stiles follows her lead in another sense; watching her finish off her drink, he does as well. Possibly not the best idea, considering how hard the alcohol is hitting him, but he'll regret it later. For now, he takes her elbow with the awkward hesitancy of someone who is aware of what's expected but has no personal experience in it.

Alright, alright, she'll take the lead, bringing Stiles with her towards a corner of the dance floor. With an encouraging smile, she takes his hand and moves into the crowd of dancing people. Without a moment's hesitation, she starts to dance.

Whew, that takes some of the pressure off him. Stiles has never been much for leader quality, instead opting to follow and assist from the sidelines, and he quickly falls into step with Nancy now on the dance floor. His movements are jerky, all over the place, but he's genuinely happy to be there and it shows.

"What do you do when you're not going to parties like this?"

She has a bit more grace, but she's hardly the best dancer. Whatever, they were drunk and it was time to have fun!

Oh gosh. Awkward question. "Depends!" She said above the music, shaking her hair back. "Studying, reading, working. Visiting my dad." Fagin was Fagin was Fagin. But he was the one who's last name she had.

They are so drunk. Who let these two fool teenagers drink alcohol. For shame. At least everyone else seems as pleasantly juiced as them; no one is pointing and laughing.

"Oh, cool!" he replies, raising his voice as well. "Is your dad a witch too?"

"No- he's Fae." Which was precisely how he got his name. "He's not my biological dad." Which hopefully cleared a few things up for Stiles. Later she'd have to explain how she really felt towards the man. And how she was morally obligated to spend time at his place helping him out.

Blinking owlishly, he tries to process this information. So Nancy was adopted by the fae? That seems kind of...interesting, to say the least. Stiles knows precious little about the fae of all the supernatural creatures, and what he does know mostly comes from pop culture and children's stories. It seems rude to ask "did he steal you as a child" so he refrains.

"Huh. Was it weird, growing up with a fae dad when you're...sorta human?"

yes. he did. sort of. Her mother had made the mistake of summoning him, and he took her as payment. of course she'd only recently learned that story. she was raised to believe he'd found her.

"yeah- Fagin kept me out of human things- never went to school or anything." she'd tell him the whole sob story when they knew each other better. how she had been one of many, how he'd used her, and others besides. he'd put her on the street when she was far too young. and he was going to keep doing it, no matter what she did. he was more devil than Fae.

"So I've never really been in any of the three worlds completely. But it's been interesting. and you are... American."

"Sure, but it's not like America is a whole different world. Not like...well."

It seems less cool and more sad to him that Nancy was never able to attend school. High school sucks. Hardcore. He is not one to champion its virtues. But he's had some incredible experiences there, and he's not sure what his life would have been like without it.

"Yes it is." She said simply. "California, right? It said on your license." The one that had proved that he was indeed Stiles Stilinski and she was not.

She didn't really consider herself better off for not having gone, and often lamented it when she saw classroom settings in films and on tv with life changing lessons. But it wasn't for her, in the end. And she was fine with that. She had to be.

"Yeeep. Good ol' California. Not nearly as glorious as it sounds. I live in a really small town. Lived, I guess."

Stiles frowns at himself, unsure. Since he learned about the Underground, he's been less inclined in so readily returning to Beacon Hills. But home is home—and London definitely is not home.

"You've ever been outside the UK? Besides...that other place."

"Still! I bet it was glamorous." She had a Hollywood-tinted view of the United States. "I'll come visit you if you ever go back." She probably wouldn't, but it was the right thing to say. And it would be fun, truthfully.

"No- I've never been anywhere. Never an opportunity for it. And when Fagin was off somewhere, someone needed to watch the boys."

It would have been the right thing to say, perhaps, but this is Stiles Stilinski—yet again, he totally misconstrues the meaning behind her words and fumbles. Ducking his head coyly, he focuses on not tripping over his own feet while dancing for a few moments. If Nancy did visit him back home, he could introduce her to Scott. He thinks they'd get along famously.

"Wait, what?"

Abruptly, he stops dancing. His jaw may have just hit the floor.

"The boys!?"

Holy shit, Nancy is a mom.

"Shut up!" She scolds, smiling. "They ain't mine- other kids Fagin's picked up along the way. He's been doing this for centuries." They grew up and got killed, more often than not, or just disappeared. It was awful, but she cared for them all the same. They needed someone in their lives that wasn't going to hurt them. And she was happy to be that person. She knew what type of man they lived with.

"If anything, I'm their sister." Though she did treat them like a mother would. She was paid back in Oedipus complexes.

Cue Stiles metaphorically wiping away the bead of sweat from his brow; Nancy is not, in fact, a teenage mom! Thank god. He likes to believe he’s open-minded, but being vaguely attracted to a girl who has kids at his age just does not compute. So he sags in relief and starts dancing with renewed vigor.

“Big sis Nancy. I bet you just eat that up.”

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