One step at a time. Moonlit Ball. [CLOSEDish]

The sight of Natalie's heels wasn't very comforting-- knowing how quick she could be off the trigger, those could do some serious damage tonight upon one extremely minor mistake. With her reaffirming that procrastinating probably wasn't a good idea, he'd chuckle nervously as they pulled up to the Ball entrance. A few people had still mingled outside, but it looked like the party was going on inside now from the figures standing about in sight of the opened double doors. Matt would peek over briefly as Natalie adjusted her hair and set up the tiara, slipping into his jacket.

For a moment, she had seemed completely different from the hot headed Faunus he's known so far. The regal-looking tiara hid those rounded ears, her makeup and hair looking nicer than usual as she set up a more elaborate ponytail than what he was used to seeing. Turning his focus to his suit, he'd smooth the sleeves and button the top button; strangely enough, she was... cute.

The sudden bump startled him from his thoughts, turning his attention to her with a look of surprise as his fingers fumbled with his pocket, making sure the handkerchief inside still was at a perfect triangle. Her harsh whisper would only be met with a sigh, bickering back with a hissing, "Okay, okay Princess."

Sliding from his seat, he'd get out of the limo, nodding to her butler with a smile as he smoothed his hands against the black jacket. Standing up straight, he'd take a slight breath as he took a more regal posture, free hand going behind his back, one hand extending out to his partner in the vehicle as he stared back inside. Blushing lightly, his green eyes would look away a moment before returning back to the Faunus before him, replying, "We've arrived... Miss." It felt completely unnatural to call her that, pausing slightly and hesitating to call her by that title.

"Well, I'm certainly flattered you think I know what I'm doing, because I certainly don't," Lí says, a genial half-smile in place as he confesses his lack of knowledge for such formal events.

He looks into his glass, seeing that his second drink is already near gone, then brings it up to his lips and tilts his head back, quickly finishing off the last of it. He brings himself to face Alicia once more, his smile still in place, and merrily suggests, "Rather than wallowing in misery, how about we just have fun with this?"

"Interesting, and what does your family's company do if I may ask?" Alonso said, moving his seat closer to Alexandra's. In the background the musicians started playing another song, people taking to the dance floor once more. Around the ball room, waiters started asking for orders as to what the guests wished to have, be it dinner or a mere appetizer. A waiter passes by Alonso and Alex and quickly pulls out a small notepad and asks,"May I take your order Madame and Monsieur?". Alonso looks over to the man in a vest with the memo pad. "I'd like a drink. Something light and not too heavy. I still have plans for this evening." he says, stealing a look at Alex.

"My family is engaged in many things," said Alex. "Industrial transportation, heavy industrials, and capital markets, to name a few. It's all related, so it's under a single conglomerate founded by my family It's one of the older families, so when the Kingdom industrialized, my family expanded operations alongside it. Of course that means a few extended family members have entered law and politics, but those really aren't the family occupation" Alex looked at the waiter. "I'll have a sherry, please." Looking back at Alonso, she asked. "Tell me, how did you come to organize this ball?"

The waiter nods and writes down on his notepad before setting off. "Oh, why I'm flattered but I was merely hired by the people running this event, well more like invited rather than hired. I cannot dare think of handling something so complex, by far the most I could do is arrange the music sequences for the dances. " He said, chuckling a bit at Alex's question. "I know some of the people organizing this event though I have yet to see them this evening. They may be busy in the background."

A they continued their talk, the waiter arrives and hands them their drinks in which Alonso takes up dutifully and raises to Alex. "A cheer perhaps?"

Alex smiled, "Cheers."


(Sorry for the 3-word post, but that seemed to me to be the best response that fits the flow of the conversation.)

Alonso smiles and takes a sip from his glass, wondering how the evening would turn out. As he finishes his glass he then says, "So, are you in a relationship?" Alonso asked, not really thinking of anything in particular at the moment.

Reaching out for Matt's hand, Natalie fought back any sign of annoyance from her so-called date's pet names for her before he left the car, because of her butler, who was out of the loop about the plan, standing right next to them. "Thanks, hon." Natalie had to fake the smile about, trying to make the 'relationship' look as authentic as possible.

Forcing herself to go on, she hooked arms with him and began walking for the entrance. "Watch it with the names, alright? We're suppose to be in love, not wove~." She had said it low enough so that only they could hear it, maybe making it look like she was whispering sweet nothings in his ears or something.

Eating into the room, Natalie's eyes scanned across the large interior, not really that impressed by the setting. "Hmm, I guess it could be worse." It hadn't looked like the ball had been going for to long. Most people were just standing around and talking.

Alicia laughed, intending to down her drink as well, but discovered it was empty. Frowning at the glass, she set it on a nearby table and put a hand on her hip.
"Sounds like a plan. Oh, excuse me," She checked behind her to see if the coast was clear. The ball was relatively uncrowded, so she unfurled her wings and arched her back slightly, stretching to her full, deceptively wide wingspan of fifteen feet, about seven feet on each side.
When she had finished stretching, she folded her wings back up, subconsciously shifting them to be more comfortable.
"Sorry about that, you were saying?"

Fionn yawned a little, being a crazy alcoholic took work and he was certainly putting in the effort, having drunk quite a few of the drinks and tasted what there was to taste he felt himself quite pleased.
And then he saw her, stretching her beautiful and massive wings from about twenty feet away as she flirted with another guy, Fionn was quite surprised by this as he had never seen an Avian Faunus in person, and even though he had heard of their beauty he had always assumed it was all over-rated.
"Damn that Li, lucky bastard haha." He said to himself quietly as he tried a nice fifty year old White Wine.

"Let's just try to have fun," Lí repeats, setting his own glass down before stepping towards the dance floor, sweeping his left hand out toward it. "Cut loose, and not worry about what's expected of us for a bit." Looking back, he smiles and makes another gesture, curling his fingers on his right hand slightly to beckon Alicia to join him.

Sipping from her sherry, Alex thought how to answer Alonso's question. "No, I am not in a relationship at the moment, and I can't say I'm really looking for one right now." She paused a little bit and looked into the distance, absent-mindedly playing with the rim of her glass. "But who knows?" She took another sip of her sherry.

Smiling as Alexandra mentioned not being in a relationship Alonso takes this as an opportunity. "Looks like another song is playing. May I have your hand for this next dance?" He says, extending his hand towards Alex after getting up from his seat.

Feeling Natalie lock arms, Matt leaned into the harsh whispering's the faunus already had to offer, keeping his expression "joyful" and "happy" at the moment as he nodded and gave a light grin at someone. Speaking through his teeth, he'd scan the area for any sight of Natalie's parents as he leaned slightly toward her, whispering, "I thought you really had to sell it though... babe."

If there was any kind of enjoyment he was gonna have playing 'boyfriend' in such a rich atmosphere, it was gonna be pestering the hell out of his date for the evening like a sibling. Pet names were the one enjoyment he could probably pull off and get under Natalie's skin for... it just depended how long he could push her buttons for at this point. The further stick his point, the grin on his face would turn to a devious smirk toward the girl with a sly wink briefly, the sound of music starting again catching his attention.

Of course, music... An even worse sight had unfolded before him; a few of the patrons had begun to move from causal conversation toward the dance floor, Matt slowly shaking his head a moment as he tugged that hooked arm briefly. "Ooohhhh no... No, no, no! I thought you said this was just a social event!" His whisper would seem harsh before pulling to force a smile toward someone who waved toward the two before leaning toward Natalie again, "I don't remember this being on the note card..."

Alonso asked Alexandra to dance, and she snapped out of her absent-mindedness. She immediately looked away and blushed. She did not mean to say that last part out loud. What would Alonso think? what kind of message was she sending? Slowly looking back towards Alonso and his offered hand, she hesitated for a brief second before taking it. "Yes."

Due to the slower nature of the next song Alonso decides to take this one gently and instead of the traditional dance hold he decides to pull her in closer with both hands on her waist while waiting for her hands to hold his shoulders. "If it's ok with you we could stay like this. Or is this too awkward?" He asks with utmost sincerity in his voice.

Alex felt both of Alonso's hands on her hips. "Easy there, tiger" she thought to herself. She looked at Alonso. "Well, it is a bit difficult to dance a good dance with this forme, even if it is a slow dance." She took one of Alonso's hands on her hips and held it in hers, resuming the proper forme. Still, she drew herself a little closer to Alonso. It was a slow dance, after all.

A little shy now, are we? Alonso thinks, a bit amused at her reaction but decides not to force her into doing something she doesn't want to do.Alonso chuckles a bit before continuing the dance."Sorry about that. Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?"  he says after a few steps, eyes looking only at her but still not missing a  step.

Alicia smiled lightly, glancing around at the other couples joining the dance floor. "Ah, what the hell." She agreed, taking Lí's hand and following him onto the floor. She vaguely registered that the song was intended for slow dancing, but she figured now was as good a time as ever, who cared?
She did make one thing clear, though. Raising a wry eyebrow, she warned, "Careful where you put your hands, I'm not drunk enough yet not to notice."

Alex smiled at the comment.  She blushed again.  "Oh Alonso, stop.  You're making me blush."  The continued to dance the slow dance, and while she did enjoy it, she reminded herself that she needed to tread lightly.  After all, she did only just meet him.

Lí chuckles slightly, a smile still persisting as he bows his head in acknowledgement. "I wouldn't dare try touching you in an inappropriate way, Alicia, don't worry," he says, stepping close to her. Gently, he places his left hand on her waist, and his right on her back, just beneath and behind her arm. A slight shiver works its way through his body at the unfamiliar sensation of feathers gently brushing against his hands, but he keeps his smile in place, glad to be having a good time with her. After taking a moment to gauge the tempo of the song, he makes a step, very gently pushing and pulling in tandem to lead Alicia through his simple dance.

Alicia went still when Lí positioned his hands, albeit respectfully, on her. His reassurance helped, but only a bit. He seemed genuine, though, and Alicia relaxed, putting her hands on his shoulders. She had no idea whether this was right or not, but a quick glance at other dancers told her that it was more or less alright.
She followed Lí's lead as best she could, since while she was very coordinated, ballroom dancing had never been a subject taught to her. The heels weren't helping either, but the song was slow enough that she didn't stumble. She was still a bit tense, rigid even, but she was actually enjoying herself. Stress was a common issue among avians, and she knew how to deal with it smoothly.

Liz took the drink from the man who she assumed to be a waiter who had lost his tie. "Thank you," Liz said as she briefly glanced at the man before looking back around the room for someone who might be important or familiar. As she looked around, Liz noticed that the man was still there and turned around to look at him. "Is their something you want."

Varius gave a quick smile and took a sip of his drink. "Yes there is. I'd love to get to know the beautiful women in front of me." Varius took a step forward toward the girl. "I am Varius Nemaeus a pleasure to meet you." A little rough around the edges but I can't say I don't like a challenge.  

"Oh, but it's true." He said. "Anyways it truly is a beautiful night as well if I do say so myself." After a few steps Alonso leads Alex in a slow twirl across the dance floor before holding her once again. "So, you're a beacon student, yes? How do you find our wonderful academy so far?"

Alex stifled a small laugh. "You're such a sweet talker, Alonso." Following his lead, they continued to dance with such elegance and grace that they began to catch the attention of onlookers.  "The Academy's great.  I'm meeting lots of new and interesting people.  I haven't really been on a mission yet beyond the training exercises, and those are starting to get a little old."  Alex did another twirl.  "So how are things for you?"

"Well, after a year doing a couple of stuff with my teammates I guess I could say it's been pretty productive." He said without missing a step. "I've learned a lot since I first came to Beacon and I've gotta say it's not always fun and games. But since this is one of the rare opportunities that I get to go out I'd like to know more about you."