salon

[in_extremis]

WHO: Esteemed, invited guests (everyone).
WHERE: The greenhouse
WHAT: A party! And not the kind of crime that the Agrii commit. Come show them how it is done.
WHEN: During a very long and slow space trip.
WARNINGS: Mark your threads if you get into trouble.


pre-festivity...network?
[Over the shipwide broadcast system that everyone is lucky Tony has not made more liberal use of, accompanied by gently dimming lights as though signalling intermission was coming to an end, and Act II was about to begin.]

Your attention, please. Please give me attention. You're not doing anything important, I know you aren't, so if you would kindly make your way to the quote-unquote 'Green Room', the rest of us are waiting for you.

Wear something that makes you feel delectable.

[Did he have to say it like that? Of course, he's trying to set a mood.]

the event
The atmosphere of the Green Room, which had at other times been a battleground, and a quiet resting place, was what could be called a soiree. Some of it was magic, brought to brief reality by Billy to disappear as the get together came to an end like carriages into pumpkins as their clock ran out, and other things were altogether different kinds of illusions. Like the tree Cayde had worked to fell, hauled up off of the ground to brace in the branches overhead, its dying boughs slouching down toward the ground in winding tendrils that were strung with glittering lights, a fragrant curtain around the area conveniently cleared by the destruction of the tree to give plenty of room to pull a partner into a dance. The music, naggingly familiar to those who called Earth home but distinctly synthetic, was playing through the broadcast system, loudest near the clearing and progressively softer the further away from this hub, but continuous throughout the ship until it felt like a whisper from another room at the farthest points like the cargo bay.

The noise competed slightly with the raucous beckoning of the karaoke machine installed near one end of the Green Room. This corner felt like it hadn't quite received the dress code, dotted with balloons and nearest to what could be described as a sundae bar, with what looked like all of the right textures for a very indulgent ice cream experience. The Agrii were more than happy to help with the food, so be prepared for a less obvious flavour profile.

More (potentially?) savoury options were offered throughout the Green Room, in no centralized location but spread across tables that had obviously be borrowed and dragged from throughout the ship, flanked by equally mismatched seating, flat-enough surfaces, or piles of linens and pillows where the ground was less even. Some of these tables had a datapad left on them, locked to a curious list that could only be checked off and not otherwise tampered with, at least for those not particularly technically inclined. Each item seemed to describe a person, all following a similar format in various levels of complexity, starting simple with, 'Someone with hazel eyes...'

One of these datapads, on a table tucked under a heavy lattice of vines and under the drape of what looked like approximately 40 metres of a sheer silk, started the evening much more blank, only marked at the top with a bold WHAT WE KNOW. That was a broad statement. Surely, everyone had a little of something to contribute to an article like that.

Comments

[out_of_order]

Just imagining the highspeed playback of the songs he knows makes Cal laugh. "Fair enough." He nods, giving a brief wave of his hand. "Show me how it's done."

[doubled_speed]

It's not the high speed playback that he should be imagining. It's ULTRA slow playbacks.

But Tommy grins and starts moving, hips swaying, arms swaying in the air, his whole body clearly caught up with everything. And he looks happy. So damn happy.

[out_of_order]

It's amusing to see how easily Tommy gets into it. It's also nice to see him really appearing to enjoy himself. A party like this is what people needed after everything.

Cal lets his head nod along with the beat of the music, getting a real feel for the rhythm as he starts to sway from side to side.

[doubled_speed]

This really was the sort of thing he enjoyed most, dancing and moving and losing himself in the music. Sorry, Cal, unless you talk, he's mostly focused on the dancing. Or is until he opens his eyes and sees Cal and smiles.

"Move a bit more. You can do it."

[out_of_order]

Not that Cal knows what to talk about, but he figures it's fine letting the conversation lapse when Tommy's enjoying himself. He blinks when the speedster speaks up again, laughing a bit.

"I'm working on it," he insists. He still feels a little awkward at it, but at least moving with the music is easy enough a start.

[doubled_speed]

"Everything takes time to learn. Don't worry, I know you can manage this much."

Okay, maybe he's expecting more than Cal can really manage, but he doesn't care. He's pleased with him anyway.