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Debutante Ball
Topic Started: Feb 7 2009, 09:59 PM (1,796 Views)
Cyprus Kyst
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[ *  *  * ]
The Kyst family mansion hadn't been this full since Cyprus was small. Since his father's scandal and his aunt and cousins moving in with them, the once proud, full blood family had been bumped down to the bottom of the social ladder. In the past, the girls would have been presented to society earlier, right after finishing school, and although Lera was close to that age still, Kinshasa and Celine were behind in this matter, but he wasn't able to afford hosting one until now. And of course, he'd sent out invites to all people his family or he himself knew personally, inviting other girls to join who hadn't been debuted yet.

All the girls were upstairs getting ready, the guys escorting them were upstairs in one of the sitting rooms waiting. Although he was escorting Kathleen he had ventured downstairs to make sure everything was going ok.
The backyard was lit up with white fairy lights, white draped tables and candles. There was a dance floor made up on the back patio, as it was built for just a reason but hadn't been of any use for quite some time.

His mother and aunt were working the ball room at the back of the house, and he personally went around to greet everyone, talking longer with the ones he knew more personally such as the Felders and the Godwins. The debutantes would be presented soon, they were to come down the large stairwell into the ballroom – again, an area of the house that was rarely used.

High fashion. Everywhere. Bernadette had invited some of her model friends, and she herself was dressed in some sort of Audrey Hepburn creation over a long stretch of legs. Kathleen's mother was a designer. Lynn had designed a lot of the girl's dresses for their debutes. There was a lot of heads twisting and people talking and it was seeing all of this that he made his way back upstairs.

He wound his way through the house and entered the large sitting room on the second story where all the escorts were gathered. They were all dressed the same in black tuxes and white gloves. He felt a little bit silly, but some of the guys looked a little bit more uncomfortable than he was.

“Alright, we'll be heading down soon. Lynn will come and get us when the girl's are ready.”

[I'll post my girls and stuff! Everyone can sort of do what they like haha. Pictures of the house and such are pinned]
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Lynn Felder
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Lynn's dress: http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e316/Juliejss/JULIE2/SCOGGINS/JSSFOLDER/stelladress4324-1.jpg

She'd been working non-stop for a month now, working on the dresses for the girl's who were choosing tonight to debut. She'd had to put all other commissions aside for the time being – some of them were not too pleased about it – but she'd promised Celine especially that she would be the one to design the dresses for the Kyst girls. They'd all requested halter type white gowns, each a bit different from the other, but Celine changed hers when Lera and Kinshasa weren't there, claiming she didn't like the way halters fit on her. Lynn doubted that, but went along with it anyway.

Kinshasa was now standing on the opposite side of the room from her sister, looking at Celine as if she could rip her head off even though Lynn knew it wasn't in the girl to be violent. Celine was fixing her hair in front of the mirror while Lera stood next to her.
All of the girl's looked gorgeous.

“Gloves.” She held them out for the girls to take one by one, frowning at Celine when she said she really didn't want to wear them but she insisted, saying it was tradition.

She moved around the room, helping Kathleen with her dress – which Kathleen's mother had designed – and played a bit with Jerhimi's hair before grinning at her in the mirror. She stood out the most with her hair, and Lynn was silently glad for it.

“Absolutely stunning.” She told her in a whisper, kissing Jer's cheek and stepping back to get a full view of her before Lera appeared at her elbow saying she couldn't get her hair right, but Celine moved forward to help her before she could touch it.

She avoided Charlotte, because she really didn't know how to act around the girl, and she placed a hand over her stomach in a self conscious manner whenever she caught the girl looking at her.
The baby was starting to show, which was why she choose the dress she did, and why she was more than happy to help with the dresses and stay out of the limelight. She was certain that if she were downstairs mingling she would feel awkward.

She was sure everyone knew now. She felt the last person in the world to understand really... she hadn't completely worked things out with Wesley, and she'd backed off, giving him time to think everything over. She was avoiding Shaymon, although Riu had told him what was going on (after she'd pleaded with him to because she was too scared to do it herself).

"Alright, we're going to head down soon. Does anyone need any more help with anything?"
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Lera Kyst
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Lera's Dress: http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051&categoryId=-49995498&currentIdx=3&subCategory=-49999486|-49995498&catentryId=1000203

Kinshasa's dress: http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051&categoryId=-49991499&currentIdx=3&subCategory=-49999486|-49998992|-49991499&catentryId=1000210

Celine's Dress: http://www.herecomestheguide.com/images/drf/TheWhiteDress/TheWhiteDress6.jpg

She felt a bit silly, as she didn't like people making such a fuss over her. She smiled over at Jerhimi, thinking she probably felt the same way but her sister was fussing over her and Lynn and Kinshasa – whenever Lera wasn't standing too close to Celine, as the two didn't seem to be talking.
She hadn't asked for any of this, but Cyprus has insisted and her cousins were excited and she didn't want to let them down.

Afterall, this was something good for the family.

She fidgeted with her gloves, and when she couldn't get her hair right Celine pounced on her, insisting on pulling it up into some sort of twist that made her look like she had a giraffes neck. She wasn't into all of these feminine things. She would much rather be in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt... not paraded around in something that feasibly could be a wedding dress.

When Lynn stood in front of the room and announced they would be going down soon her stomach errupted in butterflies and she took a deep breath, leaning on the vanity to steady herself. She watched Celine's eyes drift down to Lynn's stomach, which was well hidden underneath her loose dress. She would be having a baby. Lera didn't see any fault in this, in fact she was kind of excited for her, but it seemed like everyone was making a huge fuss over it. Because she wasn't married. Because she was “knocked up”. What if Lynn just wanted a baby? Couldn't people have a baby if they wanted to?
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Jerhimi Lannigan
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Jer's Dressie

This was honestly one of the silliest things she had ever done. Of course she knew what a debutant was, she had helped prepare and set up Laney's, but having to actually participate in one was something she had never imagined. She had just turned twenty years old for crying out loud, this was rediculous. Her sixteenth birthday party had been well enough for her. Thankfully, she had gotten her way with her eighteenth party, Jay had taken her out for a wonderful dinner to come home and relax with her family and friends.

Jer had desperately tried to opt out of this crazy shindig, but Blanche had seemed so excited, so naturally she couldn't say no. Lynn had created a fabulous dress for her, simple yet elegant. The white however, made her feel like she was getting married. The dress was strapless, another discomfort to Jer, she didn't feel like she had the bust to hold it up, but miraculously it stayed put. The skirt was a gentle a-line in soft taffeta with a draped bodice and some intricate beading. Jer had insisted again, that she just buy a simple dress, but again, Lynn had insisted and she was sure that Blanche had made it worth her while. Jer had to wonder if all of the work was helping to keep her mind off of her current situation. Not that Jer could blame her, she honestly had no idea what Lynn was feeling, how she would deal with a situation like that. It was something much more complicated than she thought Lynn was letting on, but she was proud of her friend for keeping it together.

Jerhimi smiled as Lynn came over and adjusted her hair, which was wound in some extravagant plait, a few tendrils hanging loose around her face. For some reason, Lynn's compliment eased her nerves a little bit and she gave her friend a gentle squeeze. She always wondered how she compared to the other girls, not that she thought she wasn't pretty, but that she just knew this fancy dress and tiresome shoes weren't her thing, whereas these girls had been born in heels. Thankfully, she'd found a silent friend in Lera too and caught her smile in the mirror; apparently she wasn't the only one who showed discomfort at these things.

Jerhimi fingered her mother's pearls at her neck with her gloved hands as Lynn announced they would be leaving in just a minute. Thank goodness at least her jewelry was simple, just the string of pearls and the matching teardrop earrings. her mother had said that they matched the beading on the bodice of the dress. She pretended the lacey gloves she wore were her favorite, worn in pair of gardening gloves, just to ease the discomfort. After the introductions and all of the parading around was over, she could just mix and mingle, which she had to admit she was getting better at. It had been coming easier and easier to her in the past couple of years. She wasn't a pro yet, but she figured she'd get there sooner or later, with enough practice.

"Let's get this thing over with." She muttered under her breath, ready to go. At least Jay was escorting her, that always made things easier. Plus everybody she knew was going to be there, her own parents, Jay's family, Elsie and her family, so she wouldn't be alone. She smiled at Lynn and Lera again, hoping they would be on their way soon, she couldn't handle all of this waiting around any more.
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kathleen MacDougall
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"Thank you."

Said Kathleen to Lynn after she helped her getting her dress on and taking a seat in a near by stool as she watched all the girls running around and getting the final details ready. She looked at the window and sighed, because in all honesty, she didn't quite understand why they were doing this ball in the first place. She looked down at her dress and smiled. She remember she almost went deaf when she told her mother about the debutante ball and how frenzy she became thinking on what dress to design for her.

Kathleen stood up and walked to a secluded mirror, seeing if she was missing something else, but the more she saw her dress, the more she thought her mom overdid things. She smiled a little bit, moving her hips to the sides seeing how her huge skirt made her seem like she was a bell.

Kathleen noticed how the girls were running around, so decided to stay away from their path and reach the stool she was sitting on. But just when her tush was going to reach the seat, she heard Lynn saying they were going to head down soon, making her stand and straightened up her body, looking around to see when they were going to go. Out of nowhere, nervousness hit her like a tons of bricks. She wondered what Cyprus was going to look like and if he was going to like her dress. Kathleen then began to fidget with some loose locks and tried to remain calm, thanking the heavens above her that she didn't have breakfast like the house elf told her. If she would have, she would be barfing so bad right now. She could feel it in her hands; her palms were beginning to sweat.

"Gosh... good thing I'm wearing gloves or else i wouldn't want to hold Cy's hand..."

She thought as she bit her lower lip, like she often did when she was nervous.
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Victor MacAllister Jr.
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This was aboslutely absurd. How they hell had he magically been volunteered for this? Vic knew how, his mother had kindly offered him up as a sacrifice and Elsie had probably been just as enthusiastic since this was one of her friend's ideas. Yeesh. It sucked being the only unmarried man in his family, he automatically got thrown into things without even being warned or given the chance to refuse. And above all things to be paired with a Kyst. Not that he could say he'd personally ever had a bad experience with them, and he tried not to listen to the rumors, but there were just so damn many of them. Of course he had chatted Lera up at Jerhimi's birthday party, but that was years ago. Naturally he didn't get paired up with her either, nope, it was her sister Celine he was responsible for this time.

Standing casually, he looked around the small waiting room the guys were idling in. Naturally Jay was there to escort Jerhimi and Cyprus for Kathleen, but poor Shaymon and the new kid, Tobias, seemed less than comfortable with their pair. He wondered if it was too late to put in a last minute request to change partners. Not only that but his mother would kill him for being rude. He shuddered at that thought before checking his watch as Cyprus returned, announcing their momentary departure. Thank goodness, get it started with and over with.

He remebered how the drill went, he did it for his twin's debut and would have escorted Elsie, had she wanted to have one. It was the brotherly thing to do, especially when neither sister had wanted anybody else to do it. Bri had even been with Sam at the time, but had declined his offer, saying it was tradition in their family for a brother to do the debut. It was, after all, Sean had been Annie's escort and Clark was Jordan's. His mother had made it that way so that the boys felt part of the tradition, even though it wasn't common for men to have a debut celebration, this way they could still participate.

Vic was itching to go and he took another look around the room. He was sure it was much more calm in here, the men in their tuxes, whereas the mayhem happening in the girls' room, with the hair and the makeup and the dresses and everything else unnecessary that they required just to make everything perfect. He sighed audibly, leaning back against the wall, hands in his pockets, preparing for a quick. power nap.
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Aurora Burns
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There were so many people here. Europeans... most of which she did not no. In fact, she was sure she only knew a scant handful of people here. There were the ones from work, and the Felder's. She'd met the Kyst girl through club interaction, though they were upstairs getting ready. Oh mind you, Cyprus and Lynn were upstairs getting ready as well. Jesus... she really felt like an outsider.

She stood at the edges of the giant room, trying to act casual, as if she'd done these sort of things a thousand times. Her mother had been big on these sort of things, but this was still a bit different than those ones from her childhood. Reith would feel right at home... she'd have to send him a letter to tell him about it. He'd tease her for sure.

She was pretty sure she'd been given some kind of pity invite. Working at Promise part time granted her one, she supposed, with Cyprus and Lynn as her bosses, though wondering around she saw that Caz was here as well, and the two men who had been hired to work on the restaurant. What were they're names again? She'd forgotten, though she was always terrible with names and she'd only been around them once before.

So after a moment of sipping a glass of champagne and eying them up from across the room -- wondering if it was safe to wander over -- she got up the nerve and advanced, keeping to the edges so she didn't have to walk across the shiny floor. When she reached their side she smiled at Caz and the boys and tried a healthy "hello" before sighing and deciding being honest was the best way to go about this. "Well... this is something I'm not used to."

Aurora's dress: http://www.fashion-era.com/images/2006_7_trends_fall/partydresses/WomensGraemeBlackBrownDressAW06x.jpg

Edited by Aurora Burns, Feb 8 2009, 09:01 PM.
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Riu Felder
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It was very kind of Cyprus to throw a debutante ball for his cousins and the other girls, but he had a distinct feeling a lot of them weren't enjoying it as much as they should be. They had arrived a bit earlier than everyone else with Lynn and the dresses -- a huge mound of puffy purple dress bags in both his and Lynn's arms -- and he'd seen the Kyst girls (minus Celine) looking positively stricken at the thought of having to walk down the grand staircase that night on the arm of someone they didn't really know.

The whole thing was a bit dramatic, and though he remembered and liked his sister and Gintte's debutante -- liked very much -- he did feel sorry for the girls tonight.

They all arrived around the same time and were herded up to the room like cattle, Lynn going with them, which was all well and good because Shaymon would arrive soon and he didn't want to have to watch his cousin attempting to talk to Lynn while she did everything to avoid him. She'd resorted to hiding in the attic when he showed up the house the other day to pick up the papers he'd forgotten on his last visit.
Riu was getting rather irritated about playing the mediator between the two... considering it was quite silly because Lynn really didn't want to talk at all and he always just ended up speaking Shaymon's part which always either ended in Lynn bursting into tears or slamming the door in his face. The hormones had been making her strange, as he thought it was rather childish of her avoiding Shaymon altogether, but he couldn't tell her that without her getting angry.

Everyone had arrived. He wondered around with Ginette and the baby -- who was constantly being held by various people and she was starting to get fussy -- so when it was getting closer to the debut he let Ginette do all the greeting and took Claire himself away from the crowd for a moment so she wouldn't simply explode during the festivities. He'd was now more comfortable around her, and Ginette had told him she cries less around him, which was a good thing in his books.
He sat with her now in the very blue foyer of the house, on a fainting couch, lifting her up and bumping her up and down on his knee while she squealed in delight. She would clonk out in a few hours for sure.
He ran his hand carefully over the top of her head of her head, musing over how dark her hair had gotten in such a short amount of time.

"Not much veela blood, hey?" He asked her, speaking in a normal voice rather than the one he tended to use when speaking to her, "the baby voice" Lynn called it. He smiled when she gurgled back at him, reaching chubby hands up towards him face and he kissed her forehead as someone approached him.

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Cassandra Quincey
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Caz's dress

Delighted that she had been invited, Caz had sent her mum an owl to have one of her dresses sent over from Cork for the debutant ball. Fortunately, Owen and Bradley had been able to join her, as they'd arrived last week to start work on the restaurant. Neither boy had ever attended one, but Owen showed excitement and been able to persuade Brad into tagging along. It was fun for her to show up with a handsome boy on either arm. The dress her mother had owled over was a beautiful turquoise chiffon, fading in and out of dark and light tones of the same shade, with a higher hem in the front than in the back. A delicate halter kept the low neckline in place and the subtle rouching was pulled together with a gemstone detail under her bust. She'd toned her hair to a little more blonde than red, just for tonight and was set in tight ringlets hanging free around her face. Caz wore no necklace and had opted for simple silver hoop earrings, but her arms were littered with various silver bangles.

"This is going to be fun." She smiled to Owen, who grinned in response and patted Brad's arm in a comforting manner as he rolled his eyes. She knew he wasn't exactly comfortable at things like this, he wasn't the natural flirt like Owen was, but this would be a good chance for the three of them to mingle and make new friends. Of course she had done one of these when she was younger and it had been a blast, but she was little more out of control then. This time she planned to keep herself in check as she had two boys to keep track of.

Apparently the girls hadn't made their entrance yet, so all of the other guests were just mingling. Cas headed straight for the bar and ordered herself sangria to start the night off. Each of the boys ordered their own drinks and the trio started to make their way around the dance floor when Aurora approached them. Caz grinned at her co-worker and turned to stand next to her to introduce her companions. "Rora," She'd heard the girl called that before and hoped it wasn't forward of her to use it. Caz liked nicknames, obviously she never went by Cassandra. Ever. "I was hoping to see you here. Do you remeber Owen?" She gestured to the taller one of her companions. Owen gave her a deep nod and raise of his glass of scotch along with one of his heart-stopping smiles. Caz still got butterflies in her stomach when he turned it on her. "And his business associate, Brad," Caz turned on the blonde hoping he wouldn't clam up as usual. But never-fail, he gave her one of his nervous smiles and a weak, 'hello' as he redirected his gaze toward the floor. "They just arrived last week to start on the restaurant. Boys this is Aurora, she works at Promise, Cy's club.

Don't be silly Rora, it's just an excuse to get together and party. It's what pureblood families like these do. Any excuse they can find, they use." She didn't mean it in a degrading way, but it was true and her own family was guilty of participating. "Damn nice of Cy though to host this grand event though, don't you think?" She hoped it would be fun, a chance to make new friends. She desperately needed to find a girl for Brad. It was her new goal. She knew he avoided being the third wheel whenever possible, but she would like to include him sometimes and having a date or two would make that easier.

"I can't remember, have you been in London long Rora? You attended school in the US like the rest of us, no?" She was hoping Aurora would know more about London than she would have time to figure out herself. It would be so much easier to get around with a friend who knew where to go and the like.
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Aurora Burns
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Whoa. Owen, she would remember that. But then she distinctly remembered being told about him and Caz so that was off limits, but her stomach still did something odd when he smiled at her and she smiled back just as confidently -- lots of practice from school after all. Brad, on the other hand, seemed much more shy and she smiled the same smile at him, watching as he turned his gaze to the floor. Rather cute actually.

"Sorry, I met you briefly before at the club, I'm terrible with names."

But Caz was already plowing on in this disorientating way she does. Kind of like Cosar... only she seemed to be less opinionated.

"I can't remember, have you been in London long Rora? You attended school in the US like the rest of us, no?"

She laughed. "I did yeah, Sapienti University, I got my relations degree there." She shrugged. "And I've been here with the Ministry for around... 7 months now?" She made a face. "Wow... that's actually been quite a while. I had to pick up the job at Promise though... rent is horrible here." Even then her apartment wasn't fantastic. "They don't like young ones at the ministry apparently."

Now she found she was talking a lot. Maybe it was just natural around Caz.

"So you're both architects?" She wanted the quiet one to speak more, so she touched his arm as she spoke, personal space not really being an issue with her after being part of the Robeless and having friends like Cosar who's idea of personal space was non-existent. "Did you go to muggle school for that?" She knew they were both wizards, she'd asked Cy when he'd mentioned them, so she would know whether or not to avoid magic around them.



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Lynn Felder
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Alright. All the girls looked good. She smiled at them and moved towards the door, calling out as she did so, checking her watch. She flung open the double doors and moved into the hallway, gesturing for them all to follow her. She didn't want to get caught behind them with their big dresses, as she needed to enter the boy's room first and direct, so she allowed them to trail after her. There was a massive rustle of thick dresses and she smiled to herself, just thinking like this as a fashion show. She'd been doing more lately. Still small ones because business was good anyway. But she was putting herself out there more, and the muggles didn't care if she was pregnant or not because they didn't know everything attached to it.
It was nice. Disappearing into the muggle world from time to time.

She reached the boys room, pushed the door all the way open and felt a little bit of a thrill when they all looked over, all in their matching tuxes and white gloves. So much fun. She loved this sort of stuff, though she took a bit of amusement out of the fact a majority of the guys looked like they didn't want to do this. She touched other sides of her cheeks to show them to smile before gesturing them out into the hallway with the other girls. "Down to the stairway." She told them all brightly, taking care not to get too close to Shaymon, deliberately putting the Kyst girls between them.
She walked backwards as she headed down.

"Most of you, I'm sure, know what to do." Funny, last time she had done this, Cyprus had been her fiance, now he was striding along at Kathleen's side, one hand on the small of her back. "The girls' names will be announced and you both walk down the steps one pair at a time. I'll be telling you two when to go down."

Oh god, who was presenting the name. "Cyprus who-"

"A friend of the family." He chimed in automatically. "He had the best voice for it."

"Oh, fantastic." She was just glad she wouldn't have to do it herself. She turned right way around and stopped the girls in the hallway, out of view of the rest of the guests, and a portly man with a large noise approached he and she gave him the set of name cards Cy passed to her.

She moved down the hallway, lining them up in order, starting with Lera because it was really supposed to be her night and working back. Kathleen was last because Cyprus decided not to head down until all of the girls had gone down, since he was the host. Jerhimi was before Kathleen, Charlotte after the Kyst girls.
She avoided pairing Shaymon and Charlotte, up. She wondered who had done it in the first place, but as she moved down the line she didn't grab onto Shaymon's wrist like she did the others and position him, merely skipped the pair all together.

Gentle music started to play from the band Cy had hired, who were tucked in at one corner of the stairs. Originally she would have liked to have the boy come in from the other side of the stairwell and the girls from the other, but Cy's hall didn't work like that, as there was only one access to these stairs from the upper level. She peaked around the corner and gestured each girl out on at a time as the man reading out the cards boomed out their names rather nicely over the music.

OOC: in regards to the two remaining Kyst girls...ummmm...whichever guys post with them first get them? haha
Edited by Lynn Felder, Feb 8 2009, 10:11 PM.
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Bradley Monroe
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Brad watched, silently amused, as always, when Caz spoke. He wasn't surprised that Owen and Caz had hit it off, but he had to wonder how anybody else ever got a word in edgewise; neither seemed to ever come up for air. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes again as he watched Aurora's response to Owen's signature grin, he took a sip of his congnac to give his hands something to do. He took a breif look around the room, still paying attention to the conversation as Caz rambled on. Leave it to the redhead to always be the life of the party. He wondered why he'd even bothered to come. This was all way too foreign to him. Of course he'd been raised a pureblood, but they didn't really do things like this back in the States.

Turning his attentiong back to the conversation when he felt a hand on his arm, he was glad he'd kept paying attention. "Yes, we went to Northeastern University in Boston." Brad shifted unconsciouly, it was a nervous habit, especially around women. It sucked knowing Caz was going to be on his case about finding somebody now that they were living with her for the time being. Not that he minded, for some reason the fact that Caz and Owen were together made her easier to talk to and he accidentally spilled that he wasn't confident around women to her. Big mistake. She now had it in her head that she was going to be his matchmaker and no doubt she was plotting right now. If fact, he could see the wheels turning in that pretty little head of hers.

"Caz gave us our first big break." Owen chimed in, watching his friend, knowing full why he was so quiet. Aurora was quite the beauty and now Brad would be even less inclined to speak up. "We're fresh out of school and that means we're completely broke." Though the firm they had been offered to join certainly made paying the loans easier.

"You weren't far away up in Salem then." Brad remembered hearing from his parents that there was a perfectly fine wizarding university not too far from Boston if that's where he truly wanted to be. But he had decided against it, opting for the traditional, muggle university, which nobody in his family had ever done before. His parents couldn't complain though, he was doing just fine for himself.

Unsure of where to go with the conversation, Brad turned to Caz for help. The strawberry-blonde noticed his silent plea and batted her eyelashes at him. "The ministry, that sounds very exciting. Brad your father works in the American Ministry, doesn't he?" She prompted, hoping it helped. "You'll have to show the boys around town sometime. We've done very little sightseeing, but you've had much more time to learn your way around. I'm afraid between pulling shifts at Promise and now working on the new restaurant, I've been a terrible hostess."

Brad just sighed to himself. She was never any help, she usually just put him in another awkward position. He always wondered why he even bothered. "I haven't done much travling," He admited. "It would be nice to see something other than the inside of an unfinished restaurant." Hopefully that didn't sound as strange when he said it out loud as is did when he said it in his head.
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Aurora Burns
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"Yes, we went to Northeastern University in Boston."

"Oh! Ok." Because she knew where that was. She found herself becoming amused at how shy this guy seemed to be, which was kind of strange considering how attractive he was. Usually guys -- like Owen it seemed -- were out going when they were attractive because they generally were well aware of the fact girl's liked them.

"Caz gave us our first big break. We're fresh out of school and that means we're completely broke."


She turned her attention on Owen again then grinned at Caz at the praise. "I know the feeling." She really did. She was incredibly poor all through school, living in that old woman's house through summers. It always smelt like cat piss no matter what she did. And then coming to London and finding her flat... she didn't really like to bring people to it because it was kind of embarrassing. Her brother told her it didn't matter and that once she got more secure within the ministry she'd be able to afford something nicer but she doubted it. People in Relations didn't tend to make a lot of money.

"You weren't far away up in Salem then."

She shook her head, smiling, and then turned to Caz as she spoke. Well, at least she was getting entertained.

"The ministry, that sounds very exciting. Brad your father works in the American Ministry, doesn't he? You'll have to show the boys around town sometime. We've done very little sightseeing, but you've had much more time to learn your way around. I'm afraid between pulling shifts at Promise and now working on the new restaurant, I've been a terrible hostess."

"I haven't done much traveling, It would be nice to see something other than the inside of an unfinished restaurant."


She chuckled, turning to look at Caz for a moment, clicking in to what she was doing. Things like this didn't go over her head. Caz was trying to set her up with Brad. She gave her a mock-stern look, both her eyebrows raised, eyes wide for a moment before turning to the boys.

"I can show you around yeah. I'm afraid I've been too busy to do any real sight seeing myself." She cringed playfully. "Sad but true..."

The music changed and she turned towards the stairwell. It looked like they were ready to start.

"And the show begins." She muttered it to herself, taking a sip of her champagne.

The dresses were gorgeous though, she had to admit, and the men all looked really handsome.
She lightly touched Brad's arm to speak to him over the music, leaning in so he could hear her. He wasn't too much taller than she was, so it was easy, but she was used to that. "They still do this down south... thank god I didn't have to do this." She'd escaped her Mom's house before she was forced into something like this.

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Bradley Monroe
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Glad for the distraction of the begining of the little debut ceremony, Brad turned his attention to the grand staircase in which the girls were being lead down by their escorts. He didn't envy those guys one bit. Even though the focus wasn't direcly on them, they still had to be perfect. All of the young girls looked very stunning in their white dresses. It almost looked like parade of brides as they descended the stairs. Some seemed pretty comfortable, but he noticed the petite redhead looked like she'd rather be anywhere else in the world and he knew exactly how she felt.

He missed the wink that passed between Caz and Aurora. Caz was glad that her co-worker seemed to get where she was headed. Owen on the other hand, watched the little feminine bonding and had to roll his eyes. He gave Caz a harsh pinch on the tush and her squeal brough Brad's attention back to his company. He had definitely missed something and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know what it was.

Leaning down slightly to catch what Aurora said over the music, he found himself a little too close for comfort and the touch of her hand on his arm sent a little shiver of nerves up his skin. Why on Earth was he always like this. Owen said he needed to lighten up, but Brad wasn't sure that was the problem. He could be loose when he wanted to be. He'd just spent so much of his youth lost in books trying to be as good as his siblings, he hadn't had much socialization time and now he realized that it was coming back to bite him in the ass.

"Yeah, I grew up in Virginia, but we never did anything like this for my sister." Thank goodness. He was glad that American purebloods weren't all about the blood lines and all of that crap. Well mosf of them weren't. It didn't stop his family from doing all of the parties and hosting and all the other weirdness he tried to avoid at ever possible moment. "I don't think I'd enjoy anything like that either." He agreed, straightening to take sip of his drink. This was always the part of socializing that he'd rather avoid- the talking. He never knew what to say. His brother had always said he was all brains, but it never connected to his mouth. It was no wonder he was the black sheep of his family. "So em, are you enjoying living here?" What a dumb question. He sighed to himself at his own awkwardness.
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Aurora Burns
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"Yeah, I grew up in Virginia, but we never did anything like this for my sister. I don't think I'd enjoy anything like that either."

Virginia. She smiled. She mused this to herself, finishing off her drink and setting it on the tray of a passing house elf who continued to serve the room while everyone was made to stay still and watch the girls come down the stairway. The last girl came down -- Kathleen with Cy -- and she turned back to Brian when he spoke. She was beginning to expect little in the way of conversation from him, so she was pleasently surprised when he spoke again.

"So em, are you enjoying living here?"


"Yes and no." She shrugged, turning her full attention to him. The girls were being brought to the side of the dance floor and nothing much would happen until their dance -- the way she understood it anyway. "I miss home sometimes. Not Florida... but it was great going to school." She didn't miss her childhood home in Florida at all. "Not that I've rooted myself in one spot for very long. But it's kind of a shock to be shoved out into the real world of work." She chuckled. "I got offered a job here in London after graduation, so I took it."

She smiled. "I would have liked to go to a muggle university, like you did. Too late now anyway."

"Where are you and Owen staying? With Caz?"
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Bradley Monroe
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He understood completely how she felt. "Yeah," Brad tried to loosen his tongue a little bit. "I don't exactly miss Virginia, but I do miss Boston, I just got so used to that city." London was a completely different beast, well the little of it he'd seen so far between working on the restaurant and rejuvinating after the time change. Right now he was just trying to get used to everything, the food, the people, the customs. He was pretty sure he was getting over the culture shock, but it was taking a little while.

"I actually really enjoyed it. Going to a muggle university that is." Whether it was the booze or the fact that they were talking about something easy, Brad was finding it a little easier to chat. Aurora was obviously a pretty girl, the kind that usually choked him up, but she was like Caz in a way, and he had no problems talking with Caz. "It was a pain to hide the magic all of the time. But Boston is just such a great city." It was also easy for him to talk about things that he loved, like Boston and art and architecture. "Luckily Owen and I were roommates, so we could close the door and do our homework with magic." Brad laughed, a good-natured, chuckle that was usually reserved for his close friends. "I'm looking forward to seeing the buildings of London though." If he had to admit it, the architecture was the real draw for his little sebatical in England. Starting over somewhere fresh, where nobody knew his family was also a big plus. Even in Boston he was always trying to live up to the family name.

"Please tell me there isn't going to be dancing." He murmered as his attention was momentarily diverted towards the girls and their escorts. There was another thing he had never mastered in his entire pureblood existance. "I was never any good at that stuff." He admitted, blushing a little, hoping the dark lighting would hide it. That was Owen's thing. Dancing, he could sweep any girl around the dancefloor whether it was a waltz or some other insulting imitation of dance-like activity.
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Aurora Burns
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"I actually really enjoyed it. Going to a muggle university that is." She smiled, a little bit envious. Her Relations professor had gone to a muggle university. He obtained a PhD in Sociology at a University in Canada. She always wondered if she could have gone the same route as him, but she'd always wondered if she would be able to hide her magic that well. Her mother wasn't big on hiding it. Mind, her brother and Grey were muggles, and though they knew about the wizarding world, she had to hide it around their friends.

She supposed the grass was always greener on the other side, as cliche as that sounded.

"Luckily Owen and I were roommates, so we could close the door and do our homework with magic. I'm looking forward to seeing the buildings of London though."


She nodded her head. "It's just neat to be in a country with such a long history..."


"Please tell me there isn't going to be dancing. I was never any good at that stuff."


She looked over towards the dance floor, where the girls and their escorts were lit with spotlight. She tried to hide her smile, clamping her lips, tilted her head up but the smile came through anyway. "I'm afraid so." She breathed out, letting out the breath she'd been holding to keep from laughing. It came out anyway.
She turned to look at him, her eyes drifting over his face for a moment before she smiled fully again. "You don't have to dance. You're not an escort. Relax."

She kind of wanted to dance with him. But she wasn't really very good at doing it. She tended to try and lead whenever she was on the dance floor, and lead wrong. This was far different than dancing at the club, although that sort of dancing would come later she was sure.
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Bradley Monroe
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Brad automatically tensed when Aurora told him that he would have to dance. Crap, think of an exit strategy, which he was pretty good at; lots of practice. In just how many ways could he embarass himself tonight. He'd already made a fool of himself in the ways of conversation, dancing would be the cherry on top of his personal little cupcake of misery. How the hell had he let Owen and Caz talk him into this?

Brad's stance visibly relaxed as he realized the joke and that he wasn't required to dance. That also solidified the fact that he would never, ever, offer to be an escort to one of these crazy things. Thank goodness he was past all of this nonsense anyway. The girls seemed younger and Brad hoped that this was some sort of tradition that was kept in the teens, which he was definitely no longer one of. He'd never really been a teen to begin with. His mother had always called him an old soul, fourty before anything else. But dancing was never one of those things he had ever put any effort into and he had never been much of an athlete. He knew the basic steps of all the usuals, but that was it. Sure he liked to run for his workouts, but that didn't require coordination. Braving a look at Aurora's face, he hoped he hadn't disappointed her.

"Two left feet." He shrugged, the relief overtaking the mild irritation at the joke. "That was cruel." He let out a shaky laugh. "You have no idea how much I absolutely loath dancing." Of course there had been times in his life when Owen had gotten him so tanked that he had danced, but those were nights he didn't remember, so he didn't count them. They were very few and far between. It was a wonder to him that he even let go enough to have that much alcohol. When he drank, he drank heavily. It was another unfortuante inheritance. Fortunately, he had much more control over it than his father did, or even his brother for that matter. He was able to have a cocktail socially and not let it become extreme.

"Really Brad, I've heard you're a wonderful dancer." Caz gave him a sly, all-knowing smile. Curse his mate and his inability to keep his mouth shut.

"Yes well, Cassandra, there was lots, and I mean lots, of alcohol involved." Brad said in retort, forgeting Aurora for a minute, hoping to irritate the redhead with the use of her full name. Caz was like the little sister he had always wanted and it was easy for him to get into squabbles with her.

"Excuses, excuses." Caz laughed, ignoring the dig from the use of her given name. "At least now I know what it takes." She made sad puppy-dog eyes at him in mocking, raising her glass to make her point.

"Children." Owen warned, a laugh on his lips and a sparkle in his eye. He knew how the two would get and he had to admit, it would probably loosen Brad up a little. "You'll have to excuse the youngin's; they're always bickering." He smiled to Aurora, reminding Brad of her presence. And that became the sprinkles on his cupcake, promptly cealing his lips. He mentally slapped himself for talking too much, but smiled weakly over at Aurora, hoping he hadn't offended her.
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Elsie MacAllister-O'Rourke
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Elsie's Dress

This was an event Elsie could honestly say she didn't have any personal memories of. Her empathy hadn't been under complete control when the other girls in her class had held their debutants and she had opted out of one when it was. Els had never been one to be the center of attention, but she did remember all of her sisters going through the hullabaloo. They had all been very excited and she was excited for them, but her heart wasn't broken because she hadn't had one for herself. Her wedding had been perfectly well enough of a celebration. That was the day she truly imagined when she wore a white dress and the flowing veil. She had to admit she found it a little tacky that girls wore white for their debut, she sincerely thought that should be reserved for weddings only.

However, she gladly attended, only to observe and participate in the festivities as a guest. She didn't envy the girls one bit. Elsie had had her own big day and was completely content to celebrate with them. She mingled here and there, on Duncan's arm of course. The two had spent a lot of time apart in the past couple of weeks due to Duncan's travels for the ministry. She didn't mind because she felt like she was suffocating him, but it did make for long, lonely nights in a kingsize bed by herself. Elsie was glad to have him back and tried as hard as she could not to bring up families and babies. It was on his mind and she obviously knew, no matter how hard she tried not to pry.

Watching as the girls descended the staircase, she smiled at Jerhimi, the same look of disguised horror on her face as always. She had faith that the young Lannigan would come into her own, it would just take a little while longer than it took everybody else, which was perfectly acceptable considering her circumstances. She had personal experience there. They moved through the introduction ceremony without delay and were readying for the dance, which she hoped she could convince Duncan to join her for, after she check in with her friends.

It amused her to watch the flurry of activity around Gin, Riu and Claire and Elsie kept a watchful eye over the couple, feeling very protective over them. She could obviously feel their constant flow of pride for their baby girl and all of the compliments she was recieving, but she could also feel the mild irritation flowing from Riu at having to constantly pass his daughter around. It was understandable, he wanted his baby girl all to himself, which was natural. Things like this came a little bit more naturally to Gin, the socializing and the like. Elsie understood how Riu felt and she felt he understood her position more than anyone else, so she excused herself from Duncan for a moment and followed Riu as he broke away from the crowd.

It was heartwarming to watch her friend with his only daughter, the careful motions, the whispered words, the silly voices and baby sounds. She hadn't meant to interrupt him in his alone time, but couldn't help the need to check in on him. "Tough night, having to pass your only child around like a shiny new toy, huh?" She laughed, coming to stand beside him and run a soft finger over Claire's cheek. "You're doing magnificent." Elsie said, extending the compliment to both father and daughter, taking the time to check on the latter's mood through a gentle push of her boundaries. It would most certainly come in handy with her own children.
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Charlotte Beau
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Charlotte's Dress

Charlotte didn't want to be here - amongst the Kysts of all people. Her Mother had told her she should go out of courtesy, to accept the invite on one condition: To find a young, handsome, wealthy bachelor. Hopefully her luck would be with her. She would be paired up with someone who matched that perfectly - just like her older sister Louise had done.

Louise had helped choose her dress for her, helping her get ready, and had everything done as perfectly as possible. It hadn't been designed by Lynn, which already made her stand out from the rest of the stupid posse assembled here. Things were awkward since she didn't really like them, and they didn't like her. But she didn't care - after all, she was more interested in the men...

Or so she'd tried to convince Louise.

She had recently fallen for someone else however.

Letting her waves fall over her shoulders, she rose to look out of the window. She caught Lynn's reflection in the mirror. There was a reason why Louise had told her not to have anything designed from that...whore. Louise had spat the word out and she gasped. It was no news that Lynn had her own way of experimenting and finding her life partner - but to have a child? That was beyond what anyone could have expected from her.

There was only one reason why Lynn was still not kicked out of the circle, and it was because her own family, and the Godwins still stuck to her side. It was a bit frowned upon - but whatever the power families did, would be whatever the circle accepted.

Mother sometimes said she was worried about Louise having married into that strange family, and sometimes said it would have been better if their own family, the Beaus had become a power family.

How did Lynn feel? What was it like for her?

She wanted to talk to her, to ask her why she hadn't chosen marriage...or why she hadn't just used some form of protection. How did she feel being in the shadow of her perfect brother and his perfect family?

It was obvious to everyone who the next power family would be - as soon as the pair had united. Louise had dreamed of that, and now it was her dream too...but she doubted she'd get as close to it as Louise had.

The pout would not do - she had heard that her luck didn't hold - she would be paired with Shaymon Ross.

He was certainly handsome, and quite wealthy, and a bachelor...but he never made a move on any woman at any event. Maybe she'd change him? She doubt it.

Oh well, might as well have some fun and try...she didn't really have to stick to him the whole evening, right?

Slipping on her gloves, she pulled on a bracelet over her glove on her right hand and turned to be led out by the man himself.
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