(no subject)

[shivadancingnpc.livejournal.com]

Who: Open to All
When: The night of November 24th
Where: Lindblum Grand Castle
What: Yule Tide Celebrations
Warnings: TBA



That magical time of year had arrived again. The night before Yule Tide day. Lindblum was decked out in decorations. Every house, shop and street were covered. The poor, the rich, everyone was taking part - but of course the heart of the celebrations were taking place in the grand hall of Lindblum's castle.

A banquet and ball was being held for all citizens of Gaia, young and old. The Regent Cid had organised the event. There was food, music, dancing and even gifts for all those who turned up.

[ OOC: Party Style! Tag in, and tag each other. Ninja tagging and threadjacking is allowed and encouraged. Have fun and mingle! ]

Comments

[southswordsman.livejournal.com]

Zack yawned a little as he adjusted his clothes; formal, with a touch of class and elegance in the straight cut of the fabric, and solid, bold slashes of white and blue that seemed to dominate the design. He still wore his sword, he took the Requiem everywhere with him after all, though he was just as able to kick an ass with his hands as his sword.

He had asked Rachel if she wanted to go with him to this shindig, but he didn't know whether or not to expect her. It would have been nice to know, but he couldn't expect someone to tell him a solid plan of their own, but he was used to things changing.

[glenn-cc.livejournal.com]

Glenn had been worried after hearing of the return of Lynx. Showing up to this event might not have even be the smartest thing to do in fact. Yet for the past few months, he had to keep thinking like Lynx now that he could transform into the Dark Serge. It had taken a few days, but no doubt Lynx would try to ruin Serge's life while taking his form. And so he came here, searching for the mad cat and hoping to end his life for good.

He had been dressed in formal clothes as well, though they were darker and black in color. Luckily for him, they had been another parting gift from Garnet before she had left the ship and back to her homeland. Honestly, unlike Serge, he actually didn't mind wearing this sort of clothing, so long as it was not too tight or anything.

But he spotted a particular person, one he heard about all too well. Based on the description of information he obtained on Sephiroth, this was one of the few that ever fought him. Maybe if this person had some info...

"Excuse me?" he called out to Zack, walking towards the former SOLDIER.

[southswordsman.livejournal.com]

"Hmm?" Zack turned to regard the person speaking to him, eyes aglow with that eerie mako-enhanced light. His head tilted to one side, bemusedly, but it wasn't outside his expectations to see someone at the party that he didn't know. The ex-SOLDIER looked Glenn up and down, his posture relaxed as every, "Yeah? D'you need somethin'?"

For the most part, everywhere was need to him, as he had most certainly never heard of some of the more exotic locales, even in his time globetrotting for ShinRa. Lindblum or Balamb, for example.

[sheraflies.livejournal.com]

Cid ambled through the streets, his chin rough with unshaven stubble, his hair dirty and uncombed, his clothes wrinkled and worn. He didn't need to dress up for some stupid show. HIs spear was hidden safely away, by means of which he rather not get into right now as he spotted someone vaguely familiar through the corner of his vision sullied by the drinks he had been taking back since he got here.

"Hey you! Kid!." he called out to the blonde, 'Do I know you?"

[southswordsman.livejournal.com]

And just as suddenly as Glenn had come to talk to him, the blonde man was gone, leaving Zack blinking in a silly manner. There was another blonde shouting.. maybe at him? "Er.. you talkin' to me?" he looked vaguely familiar, to be honest, and Zack peered at Cid with those glowing eyes of his, "Name's Zack, but I don't think I ever metcha."

Now watch it turn out to be Cloud instead >DD

[zephyrs-aria.livejournal.com]

Rachel felt like a leaf in a river for a while there, being a bit shorter than many of the people attending the party. It made it hard to see over the crowd so while she'd intended to meet Zack in the courtyard and continue from there, that wasn't how things were working out. She made a little sigh and shook her head before pushing through the crowd again. It didn't help either that she was wearing a formal dress that wasn't as durable as her usual clothes, so she kept having to worry that she was going to damage it somehow. The sky blue fabric look almost glowing against her tanned olive skin and dark hair. However while her shoes were nice, she'd insisted on wearing flats. Heels would have just been a disaster in a setting like this.

Finally she spotted what she was sure was the hilt of his sword a few yards a way and started making her way towards that. Like a beacon in the crowd. "Hey..Zack! Is that you!?"

Cloudia even? :p

[southswordsman.livejournal.com]

Zack turned, and his perturbed look turned to one of delighted surprise, "Rachel!" the man made it to her with a few quick steps, eying the woman appreciatively, "Wow, that's a really nice dress.. you look great." he flushed slightly and rubbed at the back of his neck. It was a little different now that he'd asked her out, but Zack felt sure he could be charming and considerate with her.

"I must have missed you out in the courtyard, huh?"

You takin' jabs at my hubby? -__-

[zephyrs-aria.livejournal.com]

"Yeah well..." She said and trailed off. She wasn't all that comfortable making a big deal about her appearance. Still, she blushed appreciatively and smiled. "Yeah, it was crazy over there! So many people. What do you want to do now that we managed to meet up? I'm really hungry right now, but I'm afraid I'll drip things all over this dress." She felt like she was rambling a bit but Rachel managed to get herself under control.

Maybe. Cloud does crossdress y'know. :p

[southswordsman.livejournal.com]

Zack wasn't about to make a big deal past the complement, and he nodded, "Well, we don't have to get something.. drippy. There are all kinds of stalls and things selling dumplings and kebabs and other not-very-messy food. I'll buy you dinner." the ex-SOLDIER smiled and took her hand, giving it a bit of a squeeze, "Looks like all sorts of people show up for this thing. I wonder if they're all concerned about the Queen as well."

*AHEM*

[sovereign-fist.livejournal.com]

With a very untrusting look on his face Snow lifted one of the kebabs at a nearby stall to his nose and after a whiff he moved his lips to the right side of his face wondering whether or not he should try it. Before he could make a decision he overheard the comment about the Queen.

"Why, is she sick?" he asked without even introducing himself or politely entering the conversation. His laid back world tour had brought him to Lindblum, and just at the right time for the party it seemed. Though he had no idea who was ruling what country or any of the local customs. Really he just came here for the fun of it.

[mateusdespot.livejournal.com]

Mateus walked through the crowd, them parting before his visage in a elegant royal suit, designed to entertain royaty. Some watched in admiration, others in envy, he cared little for either, the only emotion he desired was obedience. Brushing aside roughly some peasant, he glanced at the proceedings with an eye-roll. "Such frivolities need not be wasted on the insects"

[royal-blitz.livejournal.com]

Banquets were rarely his thing, as a matter of fact Edgar was generally the one to toss himself into such things. However, with it being the celebration for Yule Tide he felt that he could make an exception, just this once.

While he may have decided to attend the event, he certainly did not decide to deck himself out in the royal wardrobe, like Edgar. No, he felt that it was enough for him to be scrubbed clean, and tossed into his normal clothing. It shouldn't matter too much, if the event was open to everyone, right? Not that he had the wit to feel abashed at any clothing snafu he suffered.

Sabin strolled through the crowd, talking with a few of the villagers about the various mundane things in life. Fall harvest, crop rotations, how their families were. He was just reaching over to stop one of the servers, who seemed to have a tray full of something that looked delicious when he suddenly lurched forward. Thankfully years of training had honed his reflexes to an edge, and he was able to stop himself before falling into anybody.

Turning around to see what happened, he saw some other guy apologizing to the people around him profusely. Apparently the guy had tripped, or something? Completely possible, with so many people around. It was hard to know what foot to put forward first, for some people. Just as he was about to turn his attention back towards his prior conversation, he heard Mateus' comment. Well,he only caught about half of it. Frivolities, and wasted being most of it.

"None of that now, you shouldn't be a grinch on the night before Yule Tide." His grinned in a lopsided manner, speaking loud enough to catch Mateus attention. Or at least, he thought so anyways. If the man didn't respond, he'd just try again. Even louder. That was just the kind of person he was.

[junglegau.livejournal.com]

Mateus pay the man no mind as he walked off, only for a new sound to be heard as a loud series of grunts filled the air just as Gau turned the corner, a rather large piece of meat being chewed on as he tried to tackle Sabin, missing as he slammed into the ground.

"Ow! Gau hurt!"

[royal-blitz.livejournal.com]

"Hey! Come on, you know it's impolite to walk away from a person whose talking to you?!" Of course it was also impolite to shout at someone in a crowded area, but Sabin was always more of a do as I say, and not as I do kind of guy. He even waited, to see if the man would respond to him, but apparently whoever it was had no intentions of even looking at him, let alone talking to him.

"Oh well. You always run into grumps like that at these kinds of events." He could remember a few, from his heyday's back in Figaro. Mostly grumpy politicians, who could never get down off their high horse enough to enjoy a holiday. (Some people might have called that responsibility, but you know Sabin.)

"Anyways, it was nice meeting you folks. Hope you enjoy the holiday." With that, and a wave of his hand Sabin disengaged himself from the group, only to pause, and tilt his head to one side. He heard something, over all the claptrap of the people around him. Grunting? Was someone out of breath, or something?

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of movement, enough for him to pivot to one side to avoid the mysterious figure that seemed for all intensive purposes, want to crash into him. His eyes lit up in surprise as the person passed him, and hit the ground. "Whoa there! Gau, are you alright kid?" Now that Sabin knew who it was that wanted to jump all over him, he had no issue with walking over. Crouching down, and offering the kid a hand to get him on his feet. Not that he'd need it, Gau always seemed to be a wellspring of energy. Even moreso than himself, depending on the day.

[riot-blade.livejournal.com]

Terra had almost convinced herself not to go to this ball at all; social events had never been her forte as she had been to so few of them. When she had made her way to banquets or gatherings in the past, she always felt at a loss once she had arrived, nervous and self-conscious and not sure what to do or say, and always desperate for a familiar face to talk to. It was only during the past year or so that she'd had familiar faces of any kind to look for, but the novelty of the luxury of friendship was not something that was likely to wear off anytime soon.

She had finally talked herself into attending, assuring herself that her nervousness would pass (she was getting much better about that these days, after all) and that it would be a pleasant evening if nothing else. She had dressed up for the occasion, in a simple but elegantly cut red dress, a color chosen both for its seasonal significance as well as because it was one of her favorites. She had been unsure of what to do about her hair, curly and difficult to tame as it always was, but wound up pinning it back with a pair of combs so that it remained reasonably neat.

The crowd was overwhelming at first, and it took a few moments for her to adjust to the noise of people talking loudly over the music that was came from somewhere she couldn't quite discern. She moved stiffly through the throng of people, careful not to bump anyone as she passed, and felt an incredible surge of relief when the people in front of her parted just enough for her to spot two faces that were a sight for sore eyes.

"Sabin! Gau!" she called over the chatter of the people around her, offering the pair of them an almost bashful wave before attempting to weave her way through the remaining crowd to reach them.

[junglegau.livejournal.com]

Gau accepted Sabin's hand as he was brought to his feet, letting go Gau swayed a bit before steadying himself and pointing excitedly down the street. "free! food!" Gau said as a figure approached from that direction. A girl just younger than Sabin with greenish-blonde hair waved as she called their names. "Friends!" Gau shouted as he looked around at the rest of the crowd to see if he spotted any of the others.

He turned to Sabin and Terra. "Others here?"

[royal-blitz.livejournal.com]

Sabin could not help but chuckle as Gau regained his footing, and immediately exclaimed his excitement over free food. "Trust me, we'll all pay for it later." he responded, about as cryptic as Sabin would ever get. Not that he could say much if Gau overate, he almost certainly planned on doing the same thing. Nights like these were for drinking, and being merry, and he had a lot of merriment in him!

As the familiar voice cut through the din of the crowd, he lifted his head in surprise. Eyes scanning the people nearby in an attempt to locate the owner of that particular voice. "Terra?" He called out, about the same time Gau shouted. He was surprised, that another of his friends would be nearby. Other than tonight, he'd only seen Edgar, and then only during his brief trip to Figaro.

"Terra! There you are!" He sounded rather happy to see yet another friend. Not that he would tell anyone, but he'd been feeling a little on the lonely side since they had all parted ways. It was hard to simply go back to being a wandering martial artist, when they had all spent so long together, doing so much. "I'm not sure if anyone else is here. Seen anyone Terra?" Personally, he wondered if Edgar might have found the time to make an appearance. These kind of events were made for his brother, more than himself. Yet with a couple of friends with him, there was the potential for a great night ahead.

[riot-blade.livejournal.com]

Smiling warmly from ear to ear, Terra shook her head as the distance between the three of them closed, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear with one hand while laying the other atop Gau's head in a show of affection. "I haven't seen anyone, I just got here," she admitted. "Feels like I haven't seen either of you in ages! I can't think of anyone I'd be happier to run into right now. Have you been here long? Do you think anyone else will show up?"

She lightly tousled Gau's hair before reclaiming her hand. "You're enjoying yourself, I hope!" she said specifically to the younger of the two. She hadn't been sure of what to make of him when they first met, but as time went on, she had developed quite a soft spot for Gau. Children of any age always made a big impression on her these days.

[junglegau.livejournal.com]

Gau cocked his head to the side at Sabin stated that they would pay for it later, his mouth grew small. "Gau no money!" he said as he beamed at Terra as she messed up his green hair even more than usual. "Gau have fun!" he said before remembering something, turning to Sabin, he pointed in a random direction.

"Gau go to place, machines! lots of machines!" he said as he did a poor impersonation of a engine "Very shiny things!" Gau said as his eyes grew wide with the thoughts of shiny things

[pinwheel-ninja.livejournal.com]

This place was perfect.

Yuffie hadn't bothered to dress up much, just enough that she wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. The place was filled to the brim with people, all crowded together and drinking and eating and talking and not paying attention to what was going on behind their backs. The perfect setup for her to make a clean sweep on her way to wherever it was they were keeping the food.

"This is gonna be cake," she said to herself, grinning as she rubbed her hands together in anticipation. Making an effort to appear as inconspicuous as possible, she headed into the crowd, quick hands prepared to loot any particularly vulnerable-looking pockets.

[fallennemesis.livejournal.com]

Leon took a bite of the apple he had bought from the store as he rubbed his dark hair and adjusted his cloak. Glancing up at the sky, he grunted slightly as he took another chunk from the apple. Finishing the fruit, he tossed into a nearby garbage receptacle as he placed his hands into his pants pockets, glancing at a nearby flower shop, a bouquet of roses in the front window. "Hmm...hope your dream is doing well, Firion"

[forgivensoldier.livejournal.com]

With booths back to back, just on the other side of the food aisle was Cloud perusing the weapons being sold. The decorative ones were worth a look but really his bright green mako eyes were looking for a possible addition to his Fusion Sword. Though six seemed like a lot, he had almost used each one in his fight with the remnants so long ago. There had been a few times Cloud has taken the Fusion Sword off his back as some of the merchants seemed very curous about it. One even tried to purchase it from the ex-SOLDIER, but Cloud had to decline what could have been a small fortune of gil.

His usual black attire had been keeping him warm in the cool weather thanks to the added sleeve cover. Just as he was moving to the next weapons booth, Cloud saw a familiar prowling figure slipping through the crowd. Walking in between the booths, he stood next to a food booth that was selling smoked jerky. His black leather gloves rested comfortably on his hips as he regained sight of Yuffie. Part of him wanted to startle her and falsely accuse her of stealing her of something, but really he didn't see her doing that kind of thing anymore.

...He hoped.

[pinwheel-ninja.livejournal.com]

If Yuffie had noticed Cloud, she made no indication just yet. She was busy casing the figure in front of the flower shop, though his hands shoved deep into his pockets were serving as a major deterrent. She huffed to herself. He would have been perfect, distracted as he was. She folded her arms, almost pouting as she studied the man from behind. Well. He was easy enough to spot, she could keep an eye on him while she checked out other likely people in the crowd.

It was then that Cloud's completely un-mistakable hairstyle caught her eye. "Great," she muttered to herself, straightening up and pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead as she sighed. "Already with the buzzkill."

[fallennemesis.livejournal.com]

Leon's thoughts were driven off the rails of his mind by the arrival of a person with a most peculiar weapon. A fellow with uncombed blonde hair that stuck up in mild spikes in leather, his weapon being a large sword that rivaled any other Leon had ever seen. How the man, who seemed to barely be bigger than Leon, could lift the thing was a surprise. The former knight walked over to the man, clearing his throat with a slight cough.

"Excuse me, good sir. I was wondering whether you can wield the blade that you carry."

[forgivensoldier.livejournal.com]

Unable to hold back the smirk that spread across his face when Yuffie had noticed him, Cloud casually waved at her. But before he could take a step in her direction when a nearby cough caught his attention. The question wasn't a strange one, not at all. In fact it was one of the ones he had been accustomed to answering with a well memorized answer. "Yes, it takes some special training on doing so." Within one fluid movement Cloud unsheathed his fusion sword from his back and brandished it over his head with practiced ease. After his victorious flourish, he re-sheathed it on his back. "The one I had to train with was heavier to help get used to the size." Cloud's eyes drifted to Yuffie to see where she was and then he noticed the blade the man carried with him. "Were you looking for a new one?" he asked with a slight motion to the blade.