Masqueraider

2 days ago

@profilingMasks[PM]

There are a few guests tonight who have become difficult to ignore because they seem to understand what a masquerade is actually for. The Noir has spent much of the evening quietly constructing a map of everyone else, asking questions just casual enough to pass for conversation while taking mental, and occasionally literal, notes. The Raven is doing much the same with considerably more grace, preferring to watch the room breathe before deciding where to step into it. The Rake, by contrast, has made herself impossible to miss. Confident, practiced, and apparently incapable of allowing a dance partner to leave without being at least a little flustered, she seems less interested in uncovering identities than in seeing what people become when given permission to pretend. The Vixen operates similarly, though with more patience. She watches first, approaches second, and seems to regard the ballroom as a hunting ground in the most recreational sense of the word. Then there are those who seem almost misplaced enough to become fascinating. The Mourner keeps himself to the margins with such deliberate politeness that one begins to wonder whether his distance is shyness, caution, or simply habit. The Scarecrow, meanwhile, appears to have wandered in from an entirely different story, complete with a badly behaved crow and enough earnestness to make the host's attention visibly overwhelm him. The Shikabane is stranger still. They have said almost nothing, yet their arrival has done more to alter the atmosphere than most conversations tonight, leaving petals, bells, charcoal, stagnant water, and uncomfortable glances in their wake. And presiding over all of it is the Magnated, who seems less like a host managing an event and more like someone actively feeding it. She drinks, sings, jokes, wanders, adopts strangers into her good graces, and generally behaves as though the entire ballroom is a stage she is delighted to share. #outglutmasquerade