Quote:

Originally Posted by fanficfanatict

Being frozen meant that people would avoid him and not look at him. He found that with dinosaurs historically if one didn't move they were not pursued. And naturally, since he knew about as much about dinosaurs as he did about human interaction he felt the analogy was applicable. Meep.

Oh was Ms. Odessa telling him something? Yes, she was. Social conventions dictated that he had to listen and be attentive during conversation. Even in the depths of his anxiety, "I-I know..." BUG EYES. And he did not want people to look at him more. It was at times like these he wished he had a shell to retreat into. Skin was hardly serviceable.

Dragging his feet along the floor with squeaky shoes, he began to inch forward.

"You're doing fine," Aspen smiled at him encouragingly. "It's only thirty-seven steps from here 'til your seated. You can make thirty-seven steps. Big steps though, not shuffling."

She didn't know if it was really thirty-seven steps to the seating area, but if she got him thirty-seven steps in, then she could probably convince of him anything, right?

"One..." she began for him... One... one step, one REAL step, Ferris...

"That sounds like a GREAT idea," Jack said with a chuckle. MMMM YES. FOOD. JACK NEED FOOD. He looked around the room and tried to notice any more familiar faces. He thought there would be a lot more of his fellow Hogwarts graduates here, but he didn't see many...they must be off doing other things. Hmm. Interesting.

"Who knows? The man DID manage to make himself prefect without ever having gone to Hogwarts," he reminded her with a chuckle. Cale was something else. He reminded him an awful lot of Torin - they both kind of just FELL into situations.

"Oh, that would be fun! Maybe I can invite my parents with too, we haven't seen them in a while," he said. He did NOT say he was going to invite any of his siblings though. They'd never paid much attention to him when he was younger, but now that he was BIG QUIDDITCH STAR JACK FRITZERA they wanted to suddenly become interested in him. Hmm. He wondered why THAT was.

João kept silent politely while she looked at someone else--someone she knew?--and looked at some new faces too. His attention was back at her though shortly after, and for a moment he couldn't know what to do with his hands.

Folding them on his chest it was, and hoping she wouldn't take it as a sign that he didn't want to talk to her.

"It's nice to meet you too," he said, then chuckled once. "It's my first, so I don't know... but I think that's it?" Honestly... until she said it he'd found something to occupy his mind, but she was right. This was boring. He figured they ought to make it fun for themselves somehow--

Aspen Odessa.

With. A. Man.

That wasn't Dylan, but still a male. His attention was solely on her for a while as he quickly analysed the MAN--older than her, but certainly handsome.

Handsome enough for her to SMILE at him, apparently.

It took him about three seconds to evaluate the situation, then decided that he didn't want to surprise her while she was having fun with a MAN. Instead, he smiled at Chelsea as he inconspicuously moved to next to her to turn his back to Aspen, hoping she wouldn't notice him until she got rid of that MAN.

"I'm sorry, I thought I saw someone... Shall we see what's around?"

Please say yes?

Text Cut: Oliver, Willy and Alysson

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

A young woman approached their little circle and he raised his eyebrows as she introduced herself to the Minister. January? That was quite an unusual name.

Oliver glanced back at his friend. "Is she with you?" Had his friend finally found someone other than Cece Tillstorm?

Merlin, he hoped so.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

Ha, tux or no tux, William knew he looked good anyway. He smoothed out his tie and gave his bro a grin. "Yeah, you're just overdressed anyway." Trying to show up the Minister, Oliver was. He was about to answer the question about flying solo when...

...along came a January. In a gorgeous gown. Wow. Hey, it matched his tie! William hoped he wasn't drooling staring too much... he blinked a few times when Oliver whispered to him and shook his head. No, uh, nope, he wasn't exactly with her... but he did know her!

"Hey January!" he gave the redhead a small wave so she could come talk to them when she was done with the Minister. To Oliver, he added in a lower voice, "She went to school with us, but I think she's going to be in the same department as me." Cuz spirits and dragons went together like peanut butter and jelly! Clearly!

Oliver was probably soon going to realize he was on the wrong floor, heh.

Oh! Hey there was another one of his..... friiiiiiiends........ hehe. "Hi!" William greeted Alysson quite happily, even if she too wanted to talk to the Minister. Why was he so popular, gooooosh, he was stealing all the girls away.

"Alysson, this is my oldest and best friend Oliver." Introductions for everyone! And yes, Olly was totally old. Heh heh.

Speaking of old though... was it just him, or was there some chick staring at them from across the hall who looked EXACTLY like his sister?! William paled for a moment at the sight of the woman. Um. Had Olly brought her as a date or what??

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lislchen

Alysson stopped once she'd stepped into the entrance hall to take everything in. There were quite a lot of new faces among the crowd. This was what she liked about these kinds of events. They could get to know their future co-workers beforehand.

Now where were the people she did know?

Hazel eyes briefly scanning the room they finally fell on a small group of people which not only included the Minster but also William. Smiiile. Alysson swiftly made her way over to where they were standing. "Hi." Touching William's back lightly to get his attention before moving to stand next to him, Aly first smiled at him before directing a polite one at the Minister. "Minister." Good to see you too.

Now, those other people. Where they just standing there or did they know each other? She offered them a small smile as well.

No, January was also 'flying solo' tonight, because she hadn't been aware that she should have brought a date. She wasn't sure who she would have asked anyway, so it wasn't really a problem. But it was nice to find William there. Was he staring at her? It was making her a little nervous...

"William, it's nice to see you again," she said with a smile and a nod. She was looking forward to working with him, too. Well, working on the same level, at least. "Enjoying the party?" Eh. From the looks of it, he had just arrived. She wasn't good at this... social event work stuff. What did people talk about here?

After overhearing part of what William said to his friend (Oliver, was it?), January decided to introduce herself to him. "Hi, I'm January. I'll be in Magical Creatures." She offered him a hand to shake and another smile.

Oh and look, there was another person. William was quite the popular man, wasn't he? January also gave her a smile, but decided to wait to introduce herself.

Oh, Oliver. She'd soooort of heard about him. "Nice to meet you, Oliver." Alysson smiled at him, extending her hand for him to shake. And since William hadn't cared to introduce her (not properly anyway), she added, "I'm Alysson. I work in Law Enforcement." Since they were at a Ministry event she'd decided that her department would be one of the more interesting details about her.

And there was the other woman among them. Alysson didn't know her either. Was she here with Oliver? "Hi, I'm Alysson." She looked nice and it would be very impolite not to introduce herself to her. They WERE standing in the same circle of people after all. Did she work at the Ministry too?

Oh, so he was new as well. That was almost relieving, the brunette had yet to meet anyone else that was incoming. Just older employees. It made her feel more comfortable, if that made any sense at all. She chose not to mention this out loud, of course, and merely kept a smile. "I think so too," Which was sort of unfortunate. This event must be better for those who had been working in the Ministry for some time.. the type who knew everyone, maybe had children, and got to have a nice night off sort of thing.

Clearly, the brunette was not at that stage yet. She was barely out of Durmstrang, never mind settled down. For a moment, following João's gaze, Chelsea wondered and almost asked, if the woman and/or man, was a friend of his. She didn't though, because he'd moved and dismissed it before the words even came forth. "No problem," Chelsea said easily, waving off his apology. She could understand that. "Hmm, might as well, right?" In other words, yes.

Heels clicking on the tile floor as she entered the entrance hall, it took only a moment before Evelyn already wanted to leave the event. Though it was mandatory. For reasons. Unfortunately. However, her attention was drawn towards the months old child she held every now and then which kept things a bit lively. Big brown eyes, dark brown hair, adorable little grey suit...which one was wearing the grey suit again?

Looking all proud yet excited, for reasons, Josh walked beside his beloved Evelyn holding the baby in black suit. He wore his widest smile on his face as he was really proud to be showing off his twin sons. At first, he had worried about not being able to find anyone to watch them while they would be at the orientation, yet now bringing them felt like the best idea ever to him.

He looked down at the dark brown eyes of the baby in his arms as he walked. Wait....was the onein black suit Ryder? Or maybe Hunter. Merlin...he had to remember that.

''Evelyn...''

When he had outlived his welcome with Dorian and Tasha, Simon was about to move further into the gathering when he spotted a familiar personage, a smile gracing his face in response. He took his leave and headed closer to Evelyn and baby number one. His gaze looking around for sight of his best friend with baby number two who arrived just a second or two behind.

"There's a sight for sore eyes..." he mused with a smile at the former Slytherin, nodding at his former housemate. "Good evening Ev...Josh."

SO she might of been a little late, but it wasnt like she had to be here when it started, she had THINGS to do, and she couldn't be rushed, it was very very precise things, you know.

Secret things.

She was here, now and that's all that mattered, She tossed her blonde hair back over her shoulder as she noted her curls already falling, "of course" she muttered to herself. She knew she should have done her curls later in the after noon instead of in the morning knowing they wouldn't hols all day. Rookie mistake really. Now, where were people?

Pfft.* William was just jealous that Oliver looked better than he did.* "I bet the ladies won't see it that way." Who didn't love a man in a tuxedo?* And he would have gone on and on about that but his BFF was talking to the stunning redhead and then whispering to him.
*
Oliver had to look at January again.* They went to school together?* Surely he would have remembered her.* "She went to school with us?* Are you sure?" This was like Cece all over again.* Hopefully this woman didn't have the same attitude as the blonde.* "How come you get all the hot women?" Although Oliver surely could not complain, he'd had his fair share over the years.
*
He followed his friend's gaze to see a woman looking at them.* A women that looked very much like Wanda.* Surely his obsessed on again / off again girlfriend was not stalking him at this event, was she?* Oliver quickly turned back to the lovely redhead and gave her a smile, pushing thoughts of Wanda to the back of his mind.

Oliver happily took January's hand and while he was tempted to kiss it, he didn't want to look like a dork so he merely gave it a gentle shake.* "It's a pleasure to meet you January." It really, really was.* "Oliver Jenkins." He let go of her hand and shoved his own into his pocket.
*
"Ahh and will you be researching dragons as well?" That is what William said he would be doing, right?* He really had no idea when it came to Magical Creatures.* "William and I go way back.* Anything you want to know about him just let me know." Hehe.* Hopefully his friend had heard that.* Of course he would never tell the woman the stuff that William didn't want anyone to know but his mate didn't know that.
*

Ohhh so this was Alysson. Yes Oliver had heard about the young lady. Not much though which of course made him think that his BFF may have a thing for this one. "It's nice to meet you as well Alysson." he said shaking her hand and smiling.

"Law Enforcement huh? I guess I better behave myself around you then." He was joking. He would never do anything illegal. Like steal dragon or something like that. But since they were all introducing themselves and whatnot. "I work in Accidents and Catasrophes." Pretty fitting really.

SPOILER!!: Oi, you lot

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahbooooooooo

No, January was also 'flying solo' tonight, because she hadn't been aware that she should have brought a date. She wasn't sure who she would have asked anyway, so it wasn't really a problem. But it was nice to find William there. Was he staring at her? It was making her a little nervous...

"William, it's nice to see you again," she said with a smile and a nod. She was looking forward to working with him, too. Well, working on the same level, at least. "Enjoying the party?" Eh. From the looks of it, he had just arrived. She wasn't good at this... social event work stuff. What did people talk about here?

After overhearing part of what William said to his friend (Oliver, was it?), January decided to introduce herself to him. "Hi, I'm January. I'll be in Magical Creatures." She offered him a hand to shake and another smile.

Oh and look, there was another person. William was quite the popular man, wasn't he? January also gave her a smile, but decided to wait to introduce herself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lislchen

Oh, Oliver. She'd soooort of heard about him. "Nice to meet you, Oliver." Alysson smiled at him, extending her hand for him to shake. And since William hadn't cared to introduce her (not properly anyway), she added, "I'm Alysson. I work in Law Enforcement." Since they were at a Ministry event she'd decided that her department would be one of the more interesting details about her.

And there was the other woman among them. Alysson didn't know her either. Was she here with Oliver? "Hi, I'm Alysson." She looked nice and it would be very impolite not to introduce herself to her. They WERE standing in the same circle of people after all. Did she work at the Ministry too?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

Pfft.* William was just jealous that Oliver looked better than he did.* "I bet the ladies won't see it that way." Who didn't love a man in a tuxedo?* And he would have gone on and on about that but his BFF was talking to the stunning redhead and then whispering to him.
*
Oliver had to look at January again.* They went to school together?* Surely he would have remembered her.* "She went to school with us?* Are you sure?" This was like Cece all over again.* Hopefully this woman didn't have the same attitude as the blonde.* "How come you get all the hot women?" Although Oliver surely could not complain, he'd had his fair share over the years.
*
He followed his friend's gaze to see a woman looking at them.* A women that looked very much like Wanda.* Surely his obsessed on again / off again girlfriend was not stalking him at this event, was she?* Oliver quickly turned back to the lovely redhead and gave her a smile, pushing thoughts of Wanda to the back of his mind.



Oliver happily took January's hand and while he was tempted to kiss it, he didn't want to look like a dork so he merely gave it a gentle shake.* "It's a pleasure to meet you January." It really, really was.* "Oliver Jenkins." He let go of her hand and shoved his own into his pocket.
*
"Ahh and will you be researching dragons as well?" That is what William said he would be doing, right?* He really had no idea when it came to Magical Creatures.* "William and I go way back.* Anything you want to know about him just let me know." Hehe.* Hopefully his friend had heard that.* Of course he would never tell the woman the stuff that William didn't want anyone to know but his mate didn't know that.
*



Ohhh so this was Alysson. Yes Oliver had heard about the young lady. Not much though which of course made him think that his BFF may have a thing for this one. "It's nice to meet you as well Alysson." he said shaking her hand and smiling.

"Law Enforcement huh? I guess I better behave myself around you then." He was joking. He would never do anything illegal. Like steal dragon or something like that. But since they were all introducing themselves and whatnot. "I work in Accidents and Catasrophes." Pretty fitting really.

Enjoying the party? Well he'd just really gotten here, but sure. "Sure am," he replied to January cheerfully. "It's better now that there's some people here I know." He'd only knocked one person over and scared off the Minister so far, but it was a good time.

"I like your dress, by the way," he pointed out, before he forgot. "It matches my uh, my tie." Willy flapped his little blue tie her way with a half-smile. Just a compliment. For a friend. Uh huh.

He elbowed Oliver back before he got carried away and caused another Tillstorm. "Yes, she was in Ravenclaw," he muttered out of the side of his mouth. "She's a Spectre Control Agent, I think." Which was like a Ghostbuster, which was like AWESOME.

As for the hot women comment.... William sloooowwwwwwly shrugged his shoulders at his BFF. He had NO IDEA how he'd wound up knowing both of them. Accident? He met them both by chance? He could feel his face getting red now though, great.

Back to Alysson. "I like your dress too, Alysson," he complimented her with a loooooong look up and down her outfit. Mhmm, pretty legs dress. "And Aly, this is January. She's on my floor! She's my friend I thought you'd be happy to take on a tour with us." Beaaaaaaam! Look at him, helping his friends make new friends. Wasn't he just the best?

Oh and... "We should probably move in, maybe go get some food," William suggested, just as his stomach gave a subtle rumble.

Text Cut: all y'alls

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lislchen

And there was the other woman among them. Alysson didn't know her either. Was she here with Oliver? "Hi, I'm Alysson." She looked nice and it would be very impolite not to introduce herself to her. They WERE standing in the same circle of people after all. Did she work at the Ministry too?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

Pfft.* William was just jealous that Oliver looked better than he did.* "I bet the ladies won't see it that way." Who didn't love a man in a tuxedo?* And he would have gone on and on about that but his BFF was talking to the stunning redhead and then whispering to him.
*
Oliver had to look at January again.* They went to school together?* Surely he would have remembered her.* "She went to school with us?* Are you sure?" This was like Cece all over again.* Hopefully this woman didn't have the same attitude as the blonde.* "How come you get all the hot women?" Although Oliver surely could not complain, he'd had his fair share over the years.
*
He followed his friend's gaze to see a woman looking at them.* A women that looked very much like Wanda.* Surely his obsessed on again / off again girlfriend was not stalking him at this event, was she?* Oliver quickly turned back to the lovely redhead and gave her a smile, pushing thoughts of Wanda to the back of his mind.

Oliver happily took January's hand and while he was tempted to kiss it, he didn't want to look like a dork so he merely gave it a gentle shake.* "It's a pleasure to meet you January." It really, really was.* "Oliver Jenkins." He let go of her hand and shoved his own into his pocket.
*
"Ahh and will you be researching dragons as well?" That is what William said he would be doing, right?* He really had no idea when it came to Magical Creatures.* "William and I go way back.* Anything you want to know about him just let me know." Hehe.* Hopefully his friend had heard that.* Of course he would never tell the woman the stuff that William didn't want anyone to know but his mate didn't know that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeelzeBubGirl

Enjoying the party? Well he'd just really gotten here, but sure. "Sure am," he replied to January cheerfully. "It's better now that there's some people here I know." He'd only knocked one person over and scared off the Minister so far, but it was a good time.

"I like your dress, by the way," he pointed out, before he forgot. "It matches my uh, my tie." Willy flapped his little blue tie her way with a half-smile. Just a compliment. For a friend. Uh huh.

He elbowed Oliver back before he got carried away and caused another Tillstorm. "Yes, she was in Ravenclaw," he muttered out of the side of his mouth. "She's a Spectre Control Agent, I think." Which was like a Ghostbuster, which was like AWESOME.

As for the hot women comment.... William sloooowwwwwwly shrugged his shoulders at his BFF. He had NO IDEA how he'd wound up knowing both of them. Accident? He met them both by chance? He could feel his face getting red now though, great.

Back to Alysson. "I like your dress too, Alysson," he complimented her with a loooooong look up and down her outfit. Mhmm, pretty legs dress. "And Aly, this is January. She's on my floor! She's my friend I thought you'd be happy to take on a tour with us." Beaaaaaaam! Look at him, helping his friends make new friends. Wasn't he just the best?

Oh and... "We should probably move in, maybe go get some food," William suggested, just as his stomach gave a subtle rumble.

January nodded at William. "I'm glad I found you. I only know one other person who might be attending this thing." And she highly doubted said person would want to be stuck with her all night. When he commented on her dress, January glanced down at it with a slight flush in her cheeks. "Oh, does it look okay?" Did it look okay? What kind of reply was that? "I mean, thank you." She smiled back at him. She wasn't used to being FANCY.

Aha, look. They did match! She laughed a little bit at the tie flying in her face. "So we do. And you know, you don't look half bad yourself. You clean up nicely." She offered him another smile with that compliment.

Oh, so her name was Alysson. January smiled. "Nice to meet you, Alysson." And she was juuuust about to introduce herself when William did it for her. Yep, January. That was her. Oh, and she was invited on a tour? "Oh?" she asked, looking up at William curiously. "That sounds nice, actually. Thanks." She gave both of them pleasant smiles. How nice of them to invite her to show her around. How wonderful, she was making friends already!

January turned her attention to Oliver who was now shaking her hand. He seemed rather nice, didn't he? "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Oliver." She flashed him another smile before answering his question. "No, I'll be working with Spirits. I'm a Spectre Control Agent." Just like William had said, but she was now confirming it. Oh, and Oliver was offering to talk about his old friend, was he? January raised a mischievous eyebrow. "Is that so? Well, we might have to sit down if you've got some dirty old secrets to reveal." Heh heh. Was William listening? This was FUN. More friends, yay!

Oh yeah, food? She wasn't really hungry, but she could go for a drink. "I'm okay with that," she voiced her opinion, stepping to the side a little. Standing in the entrance the whole time didn't sound ideal.

Yeahhh Rusty had no plans to linger in the entrance way, not when there was food to be had. Or there had BETTER be food to be had. There'd been food to be had last time he'd come along to one of these, when he'd first started here at the British Ministry, so it stood to reason there would be this time. He'd managed to clean up fairly well, but there was maybe still an element of scruff to him compared to some of the people around here... oh well, he'd done his best and his other decent suit had been puked on, so you had to just roll with these things.

He'd come alone and liked it that way, no asking what someone else wanted to do when you were alone, you could choose to go straight to the buffet without explaining or justifying it. So that was where he went.

Within seconds, the Obliviator had passed right through the Entrance Hall, and was gone from sight.

Now that he was there, Dorian could tell that something was bothering Natasha, or at least something was making her jittery. It may not have been anything wrong, but he still was curious what it was. Plus, he’d noticed her reticence in telling the man she’d been talking to exactly why the trip to Scotland was so eventful, but that he’d just chalked up to not wanting to make a big deal over it all. Honestly, he would rather not as well. He’d tell Wes, if he found the man, simply because he knew it was information he ought to know considering Isobel and everything, but aside from that, he didn’t see a need to broadcast any of it. There was a reason it was his personal life, and he also still had the slightest desire to keep it from getting to certain ex-friends. The likelihood of many people her at the Ministry having connections to criminals imprisoned in Italy was slim, but he’d rather be safe.

However, he hadn’t minded her greeting, either. Their relationship wasn’t exactly a secret anymore, so that little show of affection hardly bothered him. Except he let his grey eyes scan the room to see if certain department heads were around as a matter of habit before he’d returned his attention to his fiancée as she’d guessed his reasons for being late right away, simply from the feather he had handed her. “That’s one way of wording it,” he replied dryly. “My mother sends her regards.” He’d just have to try and keep the owl away from Lorelai next time, or there might be more damage done to his flat. He knew better than to assume that there wouldn’t be more owls. Both from Scotland and likely elsewhere, seeing as the news would get to her sister soon enough.

He’d glanced over at the sound of another voice, as well. “Simon,” he responded succinctly, giving the younger Auror a nod as well. “Have you made the rounds yet?” He may as well get the lay of the event from someone who was observant, before he obliged Natasha’s unspoken request to head further into the gala. That and there was every chance he’d be able to let him know if Wes was around, or anyone else. It paid to know what he might be stepping into.

Grinning back Tasha affirmed. "Yes really. I don’t know the new department head but transportation is a good department." It had been a good place for her to start out even if those who had worked there in her time probably had changed jobs and departments just like she had done. Hopefully Maya would like working for the ministry.

"Floo Network Specialist? So you’ll be working to make sure the floo network is working properly across the country and making repairs when needed?" Tasha wondered curiously. Not that she had had any interest in floo except when she used it. Knowing someone who did though that was always good.

Feeling a shiver coming on as a cold breeze entered through the open hall door she asked. "Want to head inside and see what else there is?"



Okay this didn’t exactly turn out the way Tasha had planned it exactly. Now she had three men around her who all showed more or less signs of being worried about her, when really she was feeling fine, no amazing. Focusing on Charles she flashed him a surprised smile. "Wow thirteen languages. I have enough trouble just being able to talk a few." It was no wonder she contemplated that Charles worked where he worked since what other department would benefit from his language skills more than International Cooperation?

Meeting Charles’s eye steadily she felt herself relax a little. "I want to tell you all about my vacation to Scotland. I do but not here, okay?" Hopefully he'd understand. At a ball like this you couldn’t be sure who was eavesdropping sadly and with Dorian in mind Tasha wanted to keep their news from ending up in next ministry gossip issue.

Letting her gaze drift over to Simon, Tasha couldn’t help but beam broadly. "That’s precisely what vacations are fore to just relax and enjoy life." Changing the grip on her handbag she asked hoping she wasn’t acting too nosey. "Did you do anything fun?"

Glancing back up into Dorian’s eyes she giggled slightly. "Lorelai is definitely a feisty owl." Maybe that was why the owl was so fond of Dorian because if push came to shove in his line of work he could be just as feisty too if the situation required it. At the mention of his mother Tasha spoke warmly.

"Remind me to write your mother back tomorrow. I really like her." Yes, and the feeling she knew was mutual even if they’d gotten off to a rocky start at first. Dorian’s mother could definitely be someone she could turn to for advice since it would take a whole lot for her to even consider going to her own mother for it.

Shivering visibly as a very cool breeze came into the hall she asked Dorian mostly. "Can we go further inside? It's freezing out here."

He heard the person who'd approached Tasha be greeted as Dorian, so Charles bowed his head to the man and the man who had greeted him that way politely. His attention was drawn back to Natasha when she smiled at him and he tilted his head, looking at her. "Well, not everyone is able to pick up more than one language, so you're already doing well with speaking a few." Yes, Natasha was intelligent and he wanted her to know that he knew she was!

Bowing his head respectfully when she said not here, he glanced to the man next to her and looked the man over, making a quick assessment of him before looking back to Natasha. "I hope we'll catch each other soon. And not on a magic carpet this time." A ghost of a smile appeared, which was more than Charles had given anyone in a long time. When she complained about the cold air, he bowed his head to her again. "Have a fantastic night. I'm going to stay here in the hopes of avoiding Gidyun's wife." Yes, he didn't like her and he didn't care who knew it.

Meep. Asp-BLINK......Ms. Odessa had given him a number. A goal, in a way. If he could make it thirty-seven steps he would be golden and could crumble up in a ball on his seat. She did have a point, he supposed. In nature, animals did not stand straight out in the open for fear of attack. A seat would be the same as a damp cave or his Mum's basement. An easy place to hide.

Mustering up some courage...or fear...his long fingers fumbled with the buttons on tweed jacket as he took three steps forward. In a lame attempt to distract himself, he figured keeping his hands busy would alleviate the stress....

...it didn't. He was internally screaming. So. Many. People.

But he kept walking...and even offered her his arm. More to help himself stand straight up because he felt like fainting...but he supposed to an outsider it looked friendly. Gentlemanly, even.

SPOILER!!: Mr. Neves.

Quote:

Originally Posted by StarShine

...


This was boring. He figured they ought to make it fun for themselves somehow--

Aspen Odessa.

With. A. Man.

That wasn't Dylan, but still a male. His attention was solely on her for a while as he quickly analysed the MAN--older than her, but certainly handsome.

Handsome enough for her to SMILE at him, apparently.

It took him about three seconds to evaluate the situation, then decided that he didn't want to surprise her while she was having fun with a MAN. Instead, he smiled at Chelsea as he inconspicuously moved to next to her to turn his back to Aspen, hoping she wouldn't notice him until she got rid of that MAN.

"I'm sorry, I thought I saw someone... Shall we see what's around?"

Please say yes?

The thing about taking Ferris out for science was.... he was sort of like walking a turtle. Getting him here, then inside, then to his SEAT was a process, and not a fast one. So she had time to look around while he thought about her offer of "just 37 steps" ...

....and.... who could miss her Brazilian boy toy in a suit? He... had he come to surprise her? .....? She SHOULD have been suspicious but she couldn't let go of the idea of him finding out about this event and boldly showing up as a surprise.

SPOILER!!: DOING GOOD FERRIS. WE ARE PROUD OF YOU

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanficfanatict

Meep. Asp-BLINK......Ms. Odessa had given him a number. A goal, in a way. If he could make it thirty-seven steps he would be golden and could crumble up in a ball on his seat. She did have a point, he supposed. In nature, animals did not stand straight out in the open for fear of attack. A seat would be the same as a damp cave or his Mum's basement. An easy place to hide.

Mustering up some courage...or fear...his long fingers fumbled with the buttons on tweed jacket as he took three steps forward. In a lame attempt to distract himself, he figured keeping his hands busy would alleviate the stress....

...it didn't. He was internally screaming. So. Many. People.

But he kept walking...and even offered her his arm. More to help himself stand straight up because he felt like fainting...but he supposed to an outsider it looked friendly. Gentlemanly, even.

Aspen was HAPPY to take his arm. Proud of him even. She turned her "My Brazilain is here!" grin on to Ferris. "How many steps was that?" She KNEW he was keeping up with the counting. "My boyfriend is here." Just to keep him in the loop. Ferris was special and all, but Aspen did try to make a point to talk to him like he was human. He was. He was just ...different.

His attention was still pretty much on Chelsea--because unlike Aspen, he wanted to make a few... acquaintances, at least. But his ears were also on his girlfriend and the MAN beside her, even though the chatter in the hall made it harder to listen to them.

He wanted to "Surpriseeeee!" Aspen, but he'd foolishly dismissed that chance by offering Chelsea to wander around. There was a MAN that could be injured would ruin the romance, though. WHY was there a MAN? He was left to hope that he would catch her alone without her seeing him first.

"Let's follow them," he said--his face betraying none of his annoyance--as he indicated to a woman walking to somewhere intently.

Oliver. It was great to finally meet him. Alysson's smile turned into a small grin when he said something about behaving himself. "If you don't want me on your back then yes." So it was up to him. Wait, was HE the one William had wanted to bring to their tour through the Ministry? If so then Alysson could soooort of agree with that. Of course, she HAD already agreed. But now she wouldn't even MIND taking Oliver along.

"Oh, with Aron." Aka his new Department Head. The one who was now married to one of William's former co-workers. Speaking of, she hadn't seen him in quite some time either. Maybe she'd pay him a visit at some point. Actually, he was probably here at this party too. Hmm.

Her brief glance around was interrupted by William catching her attention again, though.

Too?! Alysson had picked up on that and there was a second of her just looking at him in silence. Then she simply smiled however and smoothed down her dress before meeting his gaze again. "Thank you. And look at you all dressed up as well." She reached up to tug on his tie softly, sending a grin his way before turning to face January again.

..............so not Oliver then.

"Greeaaat." Did she sound a little too enthusiastic there? Was it believable? Actually she didn't really care. That was going to be one lovely tour. And then William suggested going inside. "Let's go then." With that said Alysson took hold of January's arm lightly and started walking. Because hey, apparently showing people around was her new job now and all. "I like your dress by the way." It really was pretty, yes.

Were the others following? She didn't really care.

OW!

Oliver made a very obvious point of rubbing his ribs and giving his BFF a LOOK! What did he do? It had been a simple question that merely required a simple answer. "Okay. Geez, I was just asking, you don't need to get physical about it." Now he knew where Wanda got it from.

He also managed to pay attention to the rest of what Willy had said and he nodded is head. Right. Got it. As for the shrug that he had just received, Olly grinned and slapped his friend on the back. "Good, then you won't mind sharing."

And his plan was to spend the night getting to know the lovely January. And thanks to William, he already knew where she would be working, but he didn't mind hearing it again. It sounded better coming from her anyway. "That's awesome! I've always been interested in that kind of thing, you know? I used to work in the Department of Mysteries years ago." Before he decided he wanted to be a teacher. He called that his two year hiatus.

He grinned back at her and nodded. "Oh the things I could tell you." He was actually in most of those stories as well but of course he would make himself look good.

Oh it seemed that Alysson had a sense of humour. He liked that. But since he was pretty sure that his mate had a thing for this woman he decided to keep the retort that was on the tip of his tongue to himself. Not to mention they were at a ball and were supposed to be behaving themselves.

But man, there was a line there and he so wanted to use it.

"I promise to behave then." He even marked a cross over his heart. Hehe. And back to talking about work. "Yep that's the one. He's okay for a boss." He'd had worse that's a for sure.

And he thought the ladies looked lovely as well but since Willy got in first he was not going to say it now otherwise it would look as though he was just copying. He would say it in his own good time.

Yes food! That sounded like a good idea and he was just about to offer January his arm when Alysson beat him to it.

O_O

Okay then. "Looks like it's me and you, bro." And with that he linked his arm with William's and pulled him toward the food table.

Ferris was hardly paying any attention to Ms. Odessa or the beam that was now present on her face. No, Ferris was far too absorbed in counting. It grounded his mind and his anxiety at a pace where could actually stand and walk forward without fainting. To be fair, her arm was also keeping him upright. His legs were a tad wobbly.

So. Many. Humans. All. Conversing. In. One. Place.

Not turning to look at her, because counting each of his steps was over dire importance, he stuttered out, "T-t-ten now." BLINK. HOW HAD HE GONE SO FAR?

...and her boyfriend was here? How did humans respond to such random outbursts of information. He tried to harken back to a book he had read on social interaction and landed on one phrase, "No...I insist...after you..." That was a typical reaction to opening a door for another human.

He had no idea why he had just said it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanficfanatict

Ferris was hardly paying any attention to Ms. Odessa or the beam that was now present on her face. No, Ferris was far too absorbed in counting. It grounded his mind and his anxiety at a pace where could actually stand and walk forward without fainting. To be fair, her arm was also keeping him upright. His legs were a tad wobbly.

So. Many. Humans. All. Conversing. In. One. Place.

Not turning to look at her, because counting each of his steps was over dire importance, he stuttered out, "T-t-ten now." BLINK. HOW HAD HE GONE SO FAR?

...and her boyfriend was here? How did humans respond to such random outbursts of information. He tried to harken back to a book he had read on social interaction and landed on one phrase, "No...I insist...after you..." That was a typical reaction to opening a door for another human.

He had no idea why he had just said it.

As far as conversations with Ferris went, this one was actually going pretty well. He was using words and full sentences and for the most part staying on topic and relevant. The step-counting was working AND even though he was miserable, he was being socially acceptable. It was a huge accomplishment.

"If you insist," Aspen answered and took a few steps ahead of him, small steps though so she could keep his arm.... and keep an eye on Joao... who.... just left the room with some other woman.

Interesting.

"You look nice tonight, by the way. Are you hungry? There's food here somewhere."

Shifting the baby to her other side, she kept on the lookout for people she knew, despite not wanting to be there in the first place. Might as well have SOME fun right? Whether it be actual friendly conversation or not, it didn't really matter which. These heels were killer already though. Sitting was a must! "Hmmm?" Her automatic response to Josh as she turned her gaze to the baby in the black suit, until she looked up towards him. "What..."

Well now, there was certainly someone she knew. "Simon. How are you?" she smiled.