@Viola?

Yup! 

~Mitchell

I slide into my box and Iyana goes invisible as the stars begin to align.  For a happy few minutes, I am glad to see that she is as breathless as I am.  We both stare at the stars like the rest of the auitorium, and there is silence.  

As the stars finish aligning, I get out my sketchbook and record what just happened in a few swift strokes, then put it away again.  As people leave their boxes, Iyana appears in front of me, and cries, "That was awesome!  Like the way they all aligned and –"

"Yeah, we all saw," I cut her off.  "I'm glad I got at least a few minutes without your yammering."

"Aww, come on!  I'm not that annoying!"

I leave my box as the rest of the room starts dancing again.

~~~~~~

CLEARLY I have no idea what I'm doing… 

Oh, right! How could I forget… Also, I thought there was an open roof? As in, there is no roof. Meaning Ocean couldn't go there. And where are the boxes? Sorry, I'm just trying to lay out a mental map and it's not really working. Can I get a detailed description, drawing, anything? 

Nygrune~

The stars align.

There is a collective gasp, ooh-ing and ah-ing and the snapping of photos, fading into a few long minutes of quiet appreciation. I raise my binoculars and watch the shifting constellations. The pinpricks of light glitter, white and yellow beads strung across the sky. Slowly, gradually, the long thread of those aligned begins to warp and the music starts anew.

I tear my gaze away from the above and slip towards the boxes at the edge of the ballroom. Couples begin to dance. I'm looking around the room for a partner when I feel an echo of something familiar in my core.

Magic.

I scan the room again, this time for spells. I see only dancers and watchers. The echo is gone. I've never felt magic that way before… I could look it up, I suppose, in one of my books back at base. Which means it will have to wait. I file away the thought and return my focus to the dance.

A movement catches my eye, and I notice someone still in their box. A girl, around my age, blue-haired and petite. I walk over to her.

"Hello, my name is Nygrune. May I have this dance?" 

Sorry to interrupt this RP, but I have a question. Does Nova live in Northwestern Kyngdom?

Moonshadow~ 

I've always felt out-of-place at balls. I'm a wolf. I don't dress up, I don't dance. I walk on four legs. Out in the world I feel completely normal. But these balls…they're so…human. I never feel like I belong.

Sometimes I wonder why I even attend. Maybe it gives me something to do, or maybe it's because by now I automatically expect Catastrophe to crash these and I want to be there to fight when it happens.

But this time, it's going to be even more awkward.

I haven't been around much lately. I was there and then I wasn't. I was doing important things, attending to important business. And while I was away, everything in Kyngdom kept moving. Now that I'm back after all this time, I'm not even sure what's going on, or who needs help, or what I should do. I don't know if anyone remembers me, even though I remember every one of them. 

And now I have an even bigger responsibility on my paws. Or, rather, around my neck.

I got the news about my uncle months ago.

Murdered. 

I'm still not sure who did it, but whoever it was, they did it because of the Power. And they took it. It took me months to track it down, but finally, I found it.

The little white horn hand around my neck now, glinting under the light of the wrought-iron lanterns and bejeweled chandeliers, carved perfectly into the shape of a howling wolf. I hope it won't draw any…unwanted attention.

I will do whatever is necessary to protect The Power of Howl, for now that my uncle's gone, I am it's guardian. 

I've always loved the stars. I think that's the only reason I came. And that Anwen begged me to. She enjoys the balls, even though she doesn't know many people either. I can feel her long midnight-blue skirt brush against my fur as we walk through the building, finding our reserved box seats.

My fur prickles. Is it just me, or is it getting stuffy in here? Suddenly, among all the chatter and people, I feel dizzy. I take a breath and and walk out onto the balcony for some fresh air. I take a few deep breaths, and then notice a ladder to my right. I immediately decide to climb it. It is a skill that not many of us with four legs posses, but one which I have learned, for many purposes. I can watch the aligning from the rooftop, without worrying about the people or the ball. I climb slowly, paw over paw, until I reach the top.

I walk out onto the roof, and watch the stars align. They're beautiful. They burst with an aurora of color and light, and for a moment, it's hard to believe they aren't alive. My breath catches in my throat as I stare at the string of white lights, like snowflakes on a black roof, and suddenly I forget about everything else, about the ball and my discomfort, and I simply stare in awe. Then, slowly, the stars move away from one another, going back to where they came from.

I glance across the rooftop, and for the first time, I notice a girl with golden curls in a blue dress standing there. So I'm not the only one. She turns and begins going down a ladder on the opposite side of the roof, and suddenly, I hear her give a barely audible yelp, and hear the ting of someone slipping off a ladder. I cringe and wait for the thud at the bottom, praying she'll be okay, but it never comes.

Strange.

I trot to the edge of the roof and peer down. She floats in a cloud of gold dust, lowered gently to the ground. Confused, I decide it's time to go back.

When I enter the ballroom again, the dancing has begun. I sigh, and go sit in a somewhat shadowy corner, watching the couples spin and turn, skirts swishing, feet gliding, shoes tapping, only just audible.

~~~~~ 

Nygrune~

The girl looks away anxiously. "No." She glances back, for a moment. "I-I'm sorry, no thank you."

I bow slightly. "Perhaps some other time." 

A young lady with an eager tongue accepts my offer, and I find out a few interesting things about the diplomatic meeting as we dance. We converse for a few more songs, until another boy cuts in. I let him, and wander out to the gardens for another look at the stars.

Kimi~

I've never been to a 'ball' before. I've heard of them…but apparently I didn't get the memo that you're supposed to wear fancy clothes to one.

I look down at my traveling clothes. I'm wearing all my belongings over my shoulder in a tightly closed satchel, and my bow is strung across my back. I glance back to what everyone else is wearing. Dresses…jewelry…very different from my own attire. I briefly reflect that I've never been one to enjoy dresses anyway.

I shrug. There's so many people here, nobody will probably notice me. And that's how I like it.

For a while I simply wander around, gazing at the shiny decorations that someone had the bright idea to hang within arm's reach. Silver spoons, fancy plates. Jewelry on almost every attendant. I tell myself to look but not touch.

The night is relaxing, and the mood at the ball is calm. Music plays softly; people dance and talk.  It is announced that the stars will soon align.

I remember, back when I lived in the Deocy Forest, when the stars would align once a year. Legend had it that the line they formed pointed the way out of the Forest–but if you followed the line in the wrong direction you'd be lost forever. No one in the tribe ever took that risk–except for me, once, when I was eight. As soon as the stars formed that line across the sky–I was out of there. It was an urge I couldn't control–I just knew that I had to get out of those woods. And somehow, I knew which way to go–which way was the right way–which way would lead to freedom. But my parents came after me. I desperately tried to stay ahead…I could even feel what must've been a breeze coming from the outisde of the Forest–but they finally caught me and took me back to our camp. What I had been feeling that night was called hope, my parents explained. Hope was the Decoy Forest's greatest weapon; it was deadly to anyone within it. And it would be the hardest emotion to ignore.

From that day on out stayed inside my hut for the alignment of the stars. I haven't seen it happen in nearly eight years.

Suddenly the announcement comes–it's about to happen! The roof starts to open and my breath catches in my throat. I never thought I'd see this outside of the Decoy Forest.

Soon the night sky is revealed, and a collective gasp floats up from the audience. Great Claaws, I'd forgotten just how beautiful the alignment of the stars was! I watch, my neck craned upwards, as the stars travel the last few inches to join together. The final result is breathtaking, and the gathering sits in silence.

Adrenaline gets my heart pumping. The air feels crisper, sharper. Something inexplicably fills the atmosphere as the stars become a perfect line.

I need to get outside. It's too cramped in here.

I head out into the garden and breathe a sigh of relief as fresh air fills my nostrils. Suddenly, the aurora borealis explodes across the sky, lights waving and bending like water above the horizon. It's beautiful. But all too soon the stars begin to slip out of their places, and the light show starts to fade. But a subtle charge still fills the night air. 

I hear someone else come out into the garden and I slide behind a spindly bush before I can be spotted. Someone else comes out not long after–I wait until they pass me by before slipping back into the ballroom, where dancing has begun.

Ah, everyone's occupied. Now's my chance to find the food.