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 The lights are off, the desks and chairs have been replaced by beanbags and there's a table in the corner with a chocolate fountain, marshmallows and strawberries.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

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[And here comes Nancy and her spastic date. Spastic friend. It wasn't a real date.]

There you are, Kenzi, I was looking for you earlier. [Someone still has a flute of champagne. She doesn't even remember how much she's had at this point, but it's glorious and she's feeling loose.] I wanted to introduce you to- [She gestures at Stiles, but stops.] -And it looks like I'm not alone in that. [She holds her hand out.]

Nancy Fagin. And this is my friend Stiles Stilinski. You are-? [She does her best to look the portrait of innocence, but when she's had this much to drink, it's really hard for her to do that. Especially if she may or may not be missing some of her blood, though any marks are covered by a simple charm.

And for the record, Stiles is not going anywhere. If he even so much as attempts, he's getting dragged back. So don't.]

Edited 2015-05-26 01:06 (UTC)

[ It was absolutely a real date. A real date that is apparently about to become a double date since Nancy is steering him over to another couple. Distracted by the warmth of a feminine hand on his elbow and the alcohol-induced buzz in his head, he doesn’t realize the trap he’s stepped into until it’s too late. Somehow, Derek manages to look a hundred times more intimidating when his countenance isn’t partially obscured by shadow. Probably because Stiles is now forced to appreciate just how impressive that scowl is, holy shit. He’s inwardly cringing at the introductions; as far as he knows, this is the first time Derek has been supplied with his name. Coming from a close-knit community like Beacon Hills, he’s fairly sure the werewolf will recognize the surname. ]

That would be Derek, [ he informs Nancy, voice going all croaky and high-pitched due to his discomfort. ] Derek Hale.

[ If he has to lose his anonymity, so does the werewolf. Without missing a beat, Stiles averts his gaze to turn his attention on Kenzi. He offers her a wide, lopsided grin. ]

So, you’re definitely not a cat.

[ If she’s expecting context to that startlingly idiotic remark, there’s none coming. Stiles simply gives Nancy a nod of acknowledgement. ]

[ fortunately, Derek is spared having to protect his own dignity and the I don't need to unclench goes unsaid. unfortunately, the approaching pair is a difficulty all in itself. Derek remembers the park all too well, has been forced to revisit that conversation again and again in spite of his best efforts to leave the past where it belongs.

dragging his eyes from the human, he takes Nancy's hand. his gaze slides sidewards to Kenzi, eyebrow raising quizzically - circle midnight? it seems like a safe enough assumption, and Derek can only assume that the other girl has been the necessary ticket in here. it's a thread of thought swiftly broken by the name Stilinski, and Derek's eyes cut briefly back to the now named Stiles as he tries to discern precisely what significance that surname holds in the murk of old memory.

he goes to introduce himself, and then realizes it's been done for him. mouth snapping shut reproachfully, he scowls once again at Stiles, this time emphatically, before glancing back to Nancy. his dourness lets up. slightly. ]

That's right.

[ for now, the cat remark goes ignored, and so do polite greetings. ]

[Kenzi, on the other hand, is focusing entirely too much on the cat remark.

While she thinks she understands Derek's brow-speak and responds with a exaggerated frown and a nod to confirm the question she doesn't know he's asking. She could have just told him to punch Nancy in the face.

The cat remark takes precedence, however.]

Last time I checked, no. But my street name was Meow Meow.

[Was. She was thirteen and entirely too into cats. As she says it, Kenzi looks at Nancy quizzically. What the hell did you tell this kid?]

not a cat, no. a witch. [She's rolling her eyes at the whole affair though. at least until it becomes more dour. letting go of Derek's hand, Nancy looks between him and Stiles.]

you two know each other. [there is a slight question in her tone as she watches Stiles carefully. two Americans knew each other. that seemed like trouble. a quick glance at Kenzi, trying to get a read off of her in regards to this situation.]

maybe the four of us should get a drink. take this outside.

[ Flinching minutely in response to the handshake (if it could even be called that), Stiles sidles closer to his date-not-date. There’s an uncertain pinch to his face now as he glances overtly between the two witches. If Derek decided to go all steroid testosterone on them like he did on Stiles back at the park…hopefully they could handle themselves. He just met Nancy; it’d be nice if she wasn’t shredded to pieces on their first outing together. That’d suck royally. ]

D-drinks…? [ Uh uh. No way is he going anywhere with a group that includes Derek Hale. Weeks later and Stiles is still terrified of the guy. ] Pffft, don’t—don’t be ridiculous Nancy. You know I can’t drink.

[ Except that they’ve been drinking all night and he reeks of alcohol. ]

Don’t worry about it, though. You guys go have fun!

[ If only they knew how much he was dying to ask Kenzi about the Meow Meow thing. Still, survival instincts have trumped curiosity. ]

[ Derek, assuming that Kenzi knows what his eyebrow raise alluded to, takes her reaction to mean that Nancy is, indeed, Circle Midnight. and naturally, if Kenzi understood that, Stiles should understand the blatant repeat of you shouldn't be here currently levelled in his direction in Derek's scowl. for once, it doesn't last - the frown turned on Kenzi at the mention of Meow Meow is wholly confused, but in the end he shakes his head. he's not going to ask.

as for Nancy's question, he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to elaborate. as she continues, however, his gaze slides between them all before his shoulders sag. ]

I'm driving, [ he says, as though to excuse himself from further socializing - but he does step back to clear Kenzi's path to the bar, hand flicking up like she needs prompt or direction.

Stiles' whimpering, however, goes ignored beyond a glower. it seems absurd that he'd be frightened about going outside as part of a group, but if that's the case, Derek reasons that it's for the best. ]

[Kenzi smiles, slightly confused, at Stiles. He smelled like a bar and now suddenly had cold feet? Well, whatever. If he wanted to be a party-pooper, she wasn't going to stop him.

Kenzi turned to Nancy before slipping back into the crowd to the bar.]

Go find us somewhere to sit, babe.

I saw a nice bottle of champagne behind the counter a while ago.

[Obviously the entire bottle is going to go missing after she ordered something entirely unrelated.]

[Nancy just glares at Stiles, waiting a moment before giving him a what the hell are you doing? look.]

Stiles, it's alright- you gonna let me and Kenzi go alone? Derek can come along even if he's the driver. You two can watch us drink.

[Then she gave them all a look that clearly said they needed to obey the tiny ginger. She was small, but she could get scary.]

And I'll need all the help I can get scouting out a table. [So you are coming with her, boys.]

[ Stiles is doing everything in his power to avoid meeting Derek’s eyes, but he can feel that glare burning into the side of his head. Swallowing thickly, he considers making a beeline after Kenzi toward the bar, but doesn’t want to leave Nancy alone with the werewolf. Damn his misplaced sense of sexist chivalry! Resigned to his fate, he gives the ginger witch a defeated nod. ]

Alright, you win! We wouldn’t want Derek to feel like a third wheel, would we.

[ Yes. Yes, in fact, we would. Suffer Derek. ]

Come on. Let’s find that table. Uh, dude? [ This is addressed to Derek, without Stiles actually looking at him. ] Maybe you should go help Meow Meow out.

[ So he and Nancy can escape. ]

Edited 2015-05-28 02:45 (UTC)

[ Kenzi mentions champagne and Derek is momentarily distracted from his stewing to look mildly despairing. in fact, he appears to suppress a sigh at her disappearing back, partially because her presence is oddly supportive - not that he'd admit as much, not that he even thinks of it in any great depth - and partially because he knows she's going to steal.

when Stiles' interjects, it swings his focus back all over again, his eyebrows raising in something distinctly like appraisal. he is, in truth, a touch surprised that the little idiot is doing anything other than attempting to ignore him, but on reflection perhaps he shouldn't be surprised. getting him to shut up was, Derek recalls, unfondly, nigh impossible.

and so, it's at least a little bit out of spite that Derek looks to Nancy and smiles, stepping past Stiles in order to come closer to her. ]

All the help you can get, right? [ people make way for Derek, which happens to come in very handy. and if he's stepped between Stiles and Nancy and ruined his escape plans, well, that's a shame. ]

[Kenzi is already being an enormous flirt with the bartender and orders a shot of the one thing that he is really quite low on. Low enough to have to go get the reserve of it. Which means he has to step away from the bar.

The one thing about stealing is you have to just act like you own the place. Which sounds stupid. But confidence was better than any legitimate I.D or pass.

It was easy to get the bottle and four flutes and just step away before the bartender got back.]

[She knew all about Meow Meow. Aaaallll about her. But the real cat in her life was not ordering shots, but was instead sleeping on her bed back at Nancy's apartment.

Meanwhile, the human, a witch, an a werewolf look for a seat.]

Right- thanks, you two. I appreciate it. [There was something going on, and now that she'd seen it, she wanted to get to the bottom of it. So sorry, boys, you are not getting out of here easy.] You're both taller than me, you can see over people's heads.

[ If there had been any doubt before this moment, let it now be known that Stiles Stilinski hates Derek Hale. Not on the level that he hated Jackson, or that girl who stole his Optimus Prime toy in 3rd grade, but pretty damn close. All attempts to reinstate himself between the werewolf and witch are all for naught; there are too many people in the immediate vicinity, and the buffer that Derek’s bulk creates means that they funnel toward Stiles instead. Silently, he fumes. But he’s not silent for long. ]

You’d think so, [ he chirps with mock cheer, teeth grinding, ] but I can’t see over the big guy’s, here. Guess it’s too big.

[ Stupid fat head and stupid blocky shoulders. ]

[ there is a part of Derek that resents the vitriol he's faced with - it seems unreasonable, unfair when he had been acting previously with Stiles' best interests in mind. he's not so delusional as to believe it, however. more irritating is that Stiles has shown up again, and that's as much because Derek wants to be spared reminders of Beacon Hills as it is the urge to keep anyone safe.

either way, the childish retort might be irritating, but Derek's smugness is a soothing balm to his vexation. glancing back at Stiles over his shoulder, he smiles in as airy a manner as is possible for him. it's the type of lofty good nature that says he's not going to dignify that with a retort, thank you very much.

instead, he uses his stupid fat head to see where to go, seeking out a table that's a little removed from the crowd, but not so much as to stick out terribly. ]

It comes in useful. Nancy, [ he says, all pleasantness. ] Try over there.

[Kenzi finds her merry band of misfits quickly enough. They all sort of stick out in a crowd like this of posh elitist fuckers. At least to Kenzi's eye.

She traipses over with the bottle and glasses in hand and a clever little smile on her face.]

Look what I got!

[It's a three-hundred bottle of champagne. She was being economical by stealing it.]

Stiles, [Nancy manages to hiss at him, pulling at his elbow. SOMEONE needs to behave. She's here to have a good time, and honestly, she doesn't want anyone to get attacked right now. Derek was playing nice. Stiles was not. At least, that's how she saw it in this moment.]

I see it! Thank you! Let's quick claim it for ourselves before someone else gets there. [Which, with a large fat head in tow, was extremely easy. They'd just settled in before Kenzi appeared.]

You're perfect, [She told Kenzi earnestly.] Take a seat, let's let the two of us have a glass. Unless the boys want to join for a change...? [She looked at Stiles again, this time warmly. If he really was having a bad time, she'd let him go. But he needed to try first.]

[ Fuming, he doesn’t quite manage a contrite look in response to the hissed reproach. While he will readily acknowledge that he’s coming off childishly, he can’t stomach the sight of that plastic smile Derek is putting on for the girls—not when he can still so vividly remember Derek’s true smile, gleaming at him in the dead of night, all teeth and restrained violence. “Run,” he’d whispered. Stiles’ jaw tightens. Uncharacteristically silent, he pointedly sits down on one side of Nancy, arms heavy and tense on the table surface. For someone who is usually all flailing movements, he is unsettlingly stiff now. ]

The whole bottle, huh? [ he remarks eventually, but his tone is all wrong. ] Jeez, you must be loaded.

[ Derek regards the spoils of Kenzi's excursion with a sigh. ]

She's something. [ muttered, just audible through the throng of people - though gruff, there's a fondness there, or at least a familiarity. he takes the seat across from Stiles, because even if that's likely to be uncomfortable it's probably the lesser of evils. for what feels to Derek like the hundredth time, his gaze flicks over him again, brow furrowing.

annoyed, he looks back over to Kenzi, affecting nonchalance. ]

I'm not bailing you out again. [ Nancy seems quite aware of Kenzi's pasttimes, and Stiles - well, Stiles is Stiles. ]

[Kenzi sits and places the four glasses down with soft, careful clinks. She knows Derek isn't having any and Stiles is being....weirdly standoffish for a teenager with two attractive girls and guy near him, but it's the thought that counts. She starts unwrapping the foil around the cork while giving Stiles an estimating look. She can't quite figure him out.]

So what's up your butt?

[Directed at Stiles and - shockingly - not Derek. Always to the point, that Kenzi.

She starts twisting the wire cage around the cork off and is pointing the bottle away from people - because that was all she needed. If it hit someone who could murder or curse them she was booking it.]

Who said I even wanted you to bail me out Mr. Smart Wolf?

[It was a lie, please keep bailing her out Derek.]

[And this is one of the many reasons why she loved Kenzi. She had no problem asking wtf was wrong with people. Even if she'd just met them and they were her date for the evening. But she's right.]

Wait- You're a werewolf, Derek, am I hearing that correctly? [She decided, maybe, it was for the best if she ignored Stiles just right now and focused on Derek. Maybe it was rude, but, so was Stiles.]

[ The blunt, direct question immediately puts him on the defensive. Weight shifting, he leans away from the table as if to instate space between them and then folds his arms over a narrow chest. He affects an innocent look, one that seems to say, “Who, me?” but doesn’t get a chance to answer before the conversation moves along. ]

You heard right, [ he tells Nancy, though his eyes are now settled warily on Derek across the table. ] I found out a few weeks ago when this guy nearly put me through a tree for being on public property.

[ Well, the cat’s out of the bag now—or the wolf, as it is. ]

[ once again, Derek is opening his mouth to answer when Stiles does it for him. the look he fixes him with is remarkably petulant, the reproach there bordering on childish. his shoulders tense, visible even beneath his suit.

stubbornly, he looks back to Nancy. the harsh lines of his posture ease up just a little, though it takes considerable effort. anger threatens to make him run flush with heat, because he'd had to -- ]

Part of the East End Pack. Their alpha. [ he's the alpha. although his tone couldn't be called soft, there's a warmth there that doesn't come from frustration.

at least, until his gaze snaps back to Stiles. he doesn't feel a great need to redeem himself in his eyes, or even to gain his understanding, but the argument is open and Derek's awed by his stupidity. ]

And that would have been better than the alternatives.

Edited (whoops) 2015-05-29 23:50 (UTC)

[Kenzi probably should be horrified that something like that happened to Stiles and she does feel mildly sympathetic. Supernatural shit is scary and even scarier when you're just...you.

As it is, she instead looks incredibly amused.]

Aw, dude, is that what's got your panties all wadded up?

I'm too tipsy to make a cherry popping or bad first time joke, but it's in there. Somewhere.

[She gestures wildly to her head before attempting to pop the cork out with a little leverage.

It's not going well.]

[Nancy couldn't help herself. She giggled. Just a little. Okay, a lot, and to make up for it, she put an arm around Stiles and drew him close, affectionately.]

Oh my- Stiles! Oh, love, I'm so sorry that happened. I just- [And it was rude of her to laugh and she knew it.] I'm sorry, Stiles. I really am. And I'm sure, given the evidence, [she gestured over to Derek and nodded.] while there may or may not have been another option, Derek is sorry to have startled you and hurt you.

[Now say yes so they can get their drink on and make new friends! Her arm didn't stray from around Stiles, his head right near her shoulder.]

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