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 The lights are off, the desks and chairs have been replaced by beanbags and there's a table in the corner with a chocolate fountain, marshmallows and strawberries.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

There was that issue if Clara just tried to go inside and hope for that best. Three's a crowd for living people as it is. She doesn't think the fountain will appreciate it if they ended up both trapped inside.

But she won't leave her here. Oh no.

"If you don't want to risk it, we can wait it out also." The night is still young and surely people wouldn't notice the cold draft around the table. At least not right away. "We can talk and chat about all sorts of things while we're here. Night's still young after all."

"But that'd leave you stuck out here, too." Which is a no, automatically, because Clara deserves to have fun and somebody in this city needs to not be antisocial. She presses against her fetter again, harder this time, but it's still suffocating and pointless. Damn it.

"I'll get it eventually."

"I'll be with you then." There's nothing wrong with that in her opinion and she refuses, absolutely refuses, to leave her be like this. Clara had gone out to spend time with people and she is with Aradia.

... Not in the most ideal of cases but she does not want to leave her be. "We can try at least? If I get my hand stuck there it's only my hand. Plus we can have a funny story to laugh about later on."

She does have to think about it, because getting unstuck isn't going to be a thing anytime soon, and it would be nice to have company...

"Only if you're sure." She's still not entirely on board with the idea, but she's coming around. "I don't want to take up your whole night."

"I'm sure as rain and someone here not having a good time thanks to the music," she says because rain comes when rain comes and even Clara has to admit there are some faces pinched up. Almost like they were sucking on a lemon or worse. "Okay. On the count of three. One. Two. Three--!"

In Clara's hand it goes, finding the faint sensation of chocolate parting around her hand as she sticks into the machine strange. "Oh my! This is quite warm. Do you feel my wiggling around, Aradia?"

What a curious way to phrase it. She'd suspect that Clara heard about her little incident with the DJ, but then she breaches the fountain too and the sensation is weird, like oil in water and it's disorientating. So disorientating.

"I can feel your... hand, I think?" Get it together, Megido. "It's different then the chocolate. Like an ice cube."

Incidents will always happen when one is a spirit. Even if you're old as her or young as Aradia, in terms of ghost years, things will always occur. Clara definitely won't judge that.

And she pauses in her movement when hearing the confirmation, wanting the sensation of someone else, a part of someone else to be precise, being in there to not be too intrusive for her. "That's good!"

Now she says, "Can reach out for it with your hand? Take long as you need. I don't think anyone is planning to do any double dipping in this fountain. Which they shouldn't do at all!"

Aradia can't help but laugh at the double dipping crack, even in these circumstances - she remembers doing that herself while alive, along with sneaking in her own food and trying to con her way into the bar. "I'm not sure I know where my hand is, to be honest. Everything just feels like chocolate from here."

She tries wiggling her fingers and comes up blank, liquid rippling through the fountain instead. And dripping onto the carpet. "Oh, crap. Sorry!"

For a second, she almost pulls away when she sees it approach her but remembers she's a ghost. There's no need for her to worry about the chocolate getting on her clothes. So she stays still, watching it drip on the carpet and hear some people's complaints nearby.

"It's nothing too serious," she said, not wanting Aradia to feel embarrassed by it. It was an accident. The carpet, thankfully, was a dark coloured one so it would be hard to notice the stains unless you really look for it. "Though I have to stay: It seems we're in a sticky situation now!"

Clara. Please stop.

Whoops. She forgot other people existed for a moment, and regrets that chocolate fountains don't have eyes. How much is she missing out on, stuck in here as she is?

"I guess it couldn't handle my bubbly personality." Hey. Clara started the puns first this time, Aradia did nothing wrong. And maybe indulging in some bad humour would help take her mind off the situation, and the ensuing embarrassment about her screw-up. "I hope it's not that bad, though."

Ohhh! Someone is joining in on her puns for once! Aradia of all people too. It's impossible to deny her joy at the moment, the cheerfulness simply radiating off of her as she continues. "I certainly sticks to me! I guess you could say it has a bit of sweetness to it."

The annoyed mutters about the sudden surge of chocolate have quieted down. People are now focusing on other things that aren't the chocolate fountain, no doubt thinking someone else will fix the mess. For once hooray for indifference, Clara thinks as she looks around to be sure people have either drifted off or are paying attention to something else.

"You can try again? If you want. That was definitely a step towards something."

Game Opening: May Ball

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