undergrounds | 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 The lights are off, the desks and chairs have been replaced by beanbags and there's a table in the corner with a chocolate fountain, marshmallows and strawberries.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

Clint hadn't really been expecting to get hit with real emotion tonight. He's here to scope out the competition, not to see tiny magical children's school projects. But despite his better judgement, he ends up in this room anyways.

He'd been absent for a lot of his own childrens' school functions due to his job. Plays, science fairs, career days... not that he'd have been able to honestly participate in that one. 'Hi, I'm Lila's dad, I'm an assassin.' Nope. A lie would have been suitable, anyways. As far as his kids had ever known, Clint had been in the Army, away on active duty; not out playing spy. It had been hard to balance a family with that other life, but he'd managed. And he'd trade anything to have it back.

So when Clint stops and stares at these students' projects, he's not just seeing weird magic and potions and enchantments. He's envisioning the kids who have put in the time and the effort to create the displays. Goddammit.

Eventually, he ends up staring at the same piece that Derek is examining. There's a steaming glass vial containing a bright green potion, and he's just kind of watching the steam rise inexplicably off of the liquid without any sort of flame to cause it to boil.

"Are you... uh, a potions-guy?"

Although Derek has maintained an awareness of who - and what - surrounds him, he's been content to keep it peripheral. At least, nothing has put him on any particular edge so far, which amounts to the same thing. He meanders through the displays with a rare aimlessness, steadily ignoring the memories of younger sibling science projects.

Studying the vial as intently as he is, it might appear that Derek is wholly ignorant of the world moving around him, but his focus has always veered towards single-minded. However, the moment the other man speaks, his eyes flick up to look at him across the case. Before any response maps itself upon his face, he's assessing - human, he's fairly sure, which raises more questions than it answers. The purposes of humans here is always harder to tell, but while it's something to keep in mind it's nothing to jump to a conclusion about.

The corner of his mouth quirks, and he shakes his head.

"No," for a moment, that appears to be all he's going to say. Eventually, he continues. "These are a little beyond me."

Clint is ready to move on when he assumes the scruffy guy wants nothing to do with a conversation, but when Derek does offer more than a simple 'no,' Clint stays put. "This stuff is beyond me, too. Then again..." There's a slight pause as he taps on the glass encasing the potion, like a kid bothering aquarium fish. "I was a high school dropout."

In supernatural situations, it's always harder for Clint to get a solid idea of the capabilities of the people around him, unless they're chasing him, or the other way around. He can pick up on hints when they're present, but Derek isn't dropping any of those. Of course, Clint is well aware that this room is affecting him on a personal level, so he could just be missing something. But he doubts it.

"Not that there was a school like this around anyways, where I grew up." Or that Clint would have been able to go, if there had been. Magic and monsters were just stuff in stories, for most of his life.

Despite Derek's general aversion to conversation, there's nothing to really avoid when it is neither particularly prying nor offensive - and Derek nurses his curiosity about the humans in attendance. Meta is possible, but so is hunter, and both are worth taking note of.

"Yeah, same," he says, huffing in a way that can barely be called amusement. Leaving had, arguably, been a choice - but staying had been unthinkable. "But I don't think there are many of these around to begin with," he replies, which is perhaps evidenced by the amount of Americans here tonight - or maybe they're all just unlucky.

"Didn't think so," he muses, turning to tap on the case of another potion; something shimmery and rose-pink in color. He's no expert on the matter, but he's only heard of a few witch schools. It's something that he imagines would be kept secret, even from other supernaturals. As a hunter, he never would have imagined actually getting an invite to a place like this. Then again, there are a ton of rules in this city, stating who he is and isn't allowed to go after. He's not used to that, at all.

"You just visiting, to see the school? Or do you live around here?" Because, yeah, he's noted Derek's lack of an English accent. It is kind of odd that there are so many Americans hanging around. "I'm Clint, by the way. Clint Barton."

It is not a name that Derek recognizes, but that doesn't exactly lower his guard. Still, even if he was wary, even if the questions - and an introduction - did have the potential to lead down a route Derek would rather avoid, Derek is an alpha now and his lifelong pride has been made ironclad with the idea of standing for his pack, staking his claim.

"Derek," he says, and there's an infinitesimal pause before he adds: "Hale." Carefully, he tracks Clint's expression as he continues. "I moved here a while ago."

Game Opening: May Ball

lecture theatre, or, MY FAMILY IS ALL DEad. I'm terrible, i'm sorry

wow...samesies...............

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