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Day 13, evening - just as the party is starting

Standing in the doorway, Gus noticed a fair number of eyes turning their
way.  Wordlessly, she nudged Lainie forward and the moved into the crowd
of party-goers. An older rider she couldn^ñt quite identify through the
mask presented Gus with the first check to the evening^ñs scam.

All he did was smile and bid the pair a good evening, but Lainie^ñs perky
 - and immediately identifying - response was enough to alert Gus to a
large hole in the plan.  She smiled weakly and half-waved and the rider
moved on.

^îWhat^ñs the matter with you? Can^ñt you even be friendly at a party?^ï

^îCan^ñt talk.  Soon^ñs I open m^ñ mouth, they gonna know it^ñs me. Aint
nobody else ^„round here talks like this - you folks all talk...right.^ï

Lainie inclined her head in agreement.  ^îTrue... so don^ñt talk.  Smile,
laugh...,^ï she grinned viciously, ^îflirt.^ï

Gus glared at her partner through narrowed eyes.  ^îY^ñknow,  a real
streetrat would have some bruises...maybe even a fat lip.  I^ñd be more^ñn
glad to finish your costume for ya.^ï

^îJust try it,^ï Lainie challenged, unconcerned.  ^îI can arrange to have
Selene sit on you.  Or perhaps wail in your ears.  Your head would ring
for a week.^ï  Lainie turned to take in the assemblage, a smile blooming
on her lips.  ^îCome on...I^ñm not wasting another second of the fun.^ï 
She looped her thumbs into her waistband, adopting a careless swagger as
she threaded her way through the crowd toward the refreshment tables.

Gus shook her head.  Silly fool wouldn^ñt last five minutes on the street
- but this wasn^ñt the street and it didn^ñt matter.  Slipping quickly up
to Lainie - and then grabbing her arm to steady herself when the damn
shoes disagreed with her pace - Gus murmured in her partner^ñs ear.  

^îWe gotta split up.  They^ñll peg to us if we^ñre together.  Go, have fun.
 Dance with all the girls, lad.^ï

Chuckling at her joke, Gus moved away, careful not to upset the delicate
balance the shoes required.  She hadn^ñt gone ten paces when she was
swept into the gaggle of so-called maidens vying to be Ythfaru^ñs
consort.  Corwin was grinning madly, still on the dais at the front of
the dining hall brandishing both scepter and the necklace of cowrie
shells that would mark the victi-er, winner.

Gus oozed toward the back of the group, noticing that she wasn^ñt the
only one present but unwilling.  To avoid even accidentally catching the
tossed neckalce, Gus slipped her hands into her pockets....only to
discover she had none. Grimacing, she slid further back in the crowd and
clasped her hands behind her back.  

In a matter of moments, it was over.  Gus craned her head trying to see
who had won.  The greenish-haired mermaid-type was being led up to the
dais, wearing the cowrie-shell necklace.  Gus watched as Corwin
carefully laid the scepter into her arms and spoke.

^îTake this and rule beside me, Lady of the Waves.^ï  

The ritual phrase spoken, ^îYthfaru^ï leaned forward to kiss his consort,
and with that, the rituals were over and the party moved into full swing.

******
[Dolfis]

Dolfis glowered at himself in the mirror.  It had been years since he^ñd
worn any other costume than Ythfaru for the Feast Day.  Years since he^ñd
had to embarrass himself in some make-shift outfit.  Or lack of it, he
added, glancing in the mirror. 

Somehow he^ñd let Griffin talk him into dressing as one of the island
people.  He couldn^ñt remember which group - Jikka maybe or one of the
others, he couldn^ñt tell them apart - but they all shared a
certain...avoidance of much clothing.  He sighed.  

^îI am far too old for this,^ï he grumbled.  

The pants covered him well enough, but going bare-chested - even covered
with the swirling designs Griffin had painted on to look like the
islander^ñs tattoos - made him feel downright ridiculous.  And going
barefoot to a party where there would be dancing was just asking for
trouble.  

Abruptly, Dolfis blew his breath out in a gust.  Nerves, that^ñs all this
was.  He had to relax - how hard could this be?  They were family after
all.  And this was Augusta...Gus, he corrected himself.  She liked him -
even had some hero-worship of the Seathief - so things would go well. 
Dolfis nodded.  After all this time alone, she^ñd likely be overjoyed to
have family again - even a wayward father.  He^ñd make it all up to her.

Dolfis gave one last inspection to his costume and nodded.  Tonight was
the night!  Smiling, he headed off to the dining hall.

******
[Gus]

Gus watched as couples swarmed onto the dance floor.  Strange how
covering over just part of your face could hide who you were.  She
hadn^ñt managed to identify anyone.  She shook her head.  As excited as
she^ñd been to hide her own face, she should have realized that meant she
wouldn^ñt see everyone else^ñs face too. Yuk.

Gus was still anxiously trying to identify the other revelers when a
dandy with a plumed hat stopped in front of her.  With a flourish, he
swept the hat off and bowed to her.

^îMay I have this dance?^ï

Gus bit her lip.  What the hell did she do now? She knew this person -
the voice sounded familiar, but she couldn^ñt quite place it - but was it
someone she wanted to dance with? Well, saying no would require speaking....

Gus nodded and took his hand, which was just slightly clammy.  As the
unidentified dandy swept her into position, she felt her heart lift.  It
was hard to stay worried or upset while dancing.  Out of the handful of
pleasant childhood memories, dancing lessons were among the best.  Now,
if only her present partner knew what he was doing.

He did - sort of.  He was awkward, nervous, and obviously counting
steps.  Gus smiled - if he had to concentrate, he wouldn^ñt want to make
small talk.  She followed his lead, allowing her mind to wander.  

<Seroth says his rider is quite taken with the stranger in the blue dress.>

Gus barely managed to smother a flinch. 

*You aint sayin^ñ this is...* 

Loki^ñs amused silence filled Gus^ñs head as she placed the voice.  Oh
man, G^ñret? She was dancin^ñ with G^ñret?  Pasting a vacant smile on her
face, Gus tried to determine how quickly she could get out of this.  

*Wait a sec, why^ñre you talkin^ñ to Seroth? You^ñll blow everythin^ñ!*

<Relax, I^ñm not talking.  Seroth never shuts up.>

The music ended and Gus gleefully made her escape.  Wiping her hand on
the dress, she looked around.  Even this early on, the party was going
strong - it looked like most of the warren had turned out.  What kitchen
staff that was on duty were setting up a buffett in a back corner of the
hall, well out of the way of dancers - and other celebrators.  There
were also some workers circling through the crowd with trays of drinks. 
Gus grabbed one off the tray as the girl moved past.

Funny glasses they were using - looked like a goblet that had gotten
squashed.  But the clear golden liquid inside it looked pretty, no
matter how strange the glass.  Gus decided it was some kind of wine and
tossed the entire contents back in one gulp.

*Oh shit, that was a mistake.*

The room reeled about her for a brief moment as the bubbles in the wine
went straight to her brain.  What wine had a kick like that?!  Breathing
slowly and deeply to steady herself, Gus set the glass down on a nearby
flat surface and moved away.  The effects of the wine passed off quickly
and she turned her attention to watching the dancers.

<The strings of flower things - what do you call them? - look pretty,
don^ñt they?>

*Garlands.  How can you see them?*

A silence lengthened, filled with unwanted information.

*Dammit, what are you doin^ñ? You don^ñt fit in here!*

<I just stuck my head in....well, and my shoulders.  I^ñm practicing
sneaking like you do.  I bet no one noticed anything.>

*Just don^ñt get me in no more trouble, ok?*

<You do that well enough on your own.>

Gus grimaced - but couldn^ñt really disagree - and turned to face a new
dance invitation.

******
[Dolfis]

Struck with another attack of nerves, Dolfis stopped just outside the
doors to the dining hall.  Slow and easy, he reminded himself.  Darcron
said to go slow and easy.  Dolfis closed his eyes to let the breeze from
over the surf blow away his nerves.  It whispered over his face, filling
his nostrils with the sweet-salty tang of the sea and tickled his chest
hairs....Dolfis opened his eyes in surprise - that wasn^ñt the breeze.

Grinning up at him was a small woman.  Despite the costume she wore, she
was obviously both female...and an islander.  She ruffled his chest hair
once more and giggled.  With that, she grabbed his hand and tugged him
toward the dance floor inside.

^îDance,^ï she insisted firmly.

Well, Mama always said it was rude to refuse a lady.  Dolfis grinned
broadly.  He allowed the diminutive woman to lead him onto the floor and
then tried to mimic the strange moves of her dance as best he could. 
When the song ended, she bobbed a half-bow at him and flitted away
through the crowd to find a new partner.

Dolfis turned to do the same, only to run into a sight he^ñd never
thought to find on land.  Alsinar, HarborQueen.  He curtsied reflexively
and then smiled.

^îHow may I serve your Ladyship this evening?^ï

*****
[Gus]

Gus leaned against the wall and tried to ease her feet.  The damn shoes
were killers - just as she^ñd thought.  She^ñd pay Lainie back for this,
make no mistake.  Looking around to try and spot her partner, Gus
noticed the new rider that had crashed a few days ago...Silver, that was
her name.  No mere mask could hide her identity - not with that streak
of silver hair standing out like that.

She also noticed with alarm G^ñret headed in her general direction.  One
dance with that jerk was more than enough.  Gus oozed into the throng,
seeking to evade G^ñret long enough for him to find a different partner. 
Glancing back over her shoulder to check on his progress, Gus careened
into someone....who careened into Silver, spilling the contents of a
wineglass onto the rider.

^îSorry,^ï Gus muttered, leery of saying more and giving herself away.

^îYou should be.^ï

Gus smothered a grin as Lainie helped the other woman minimize the
damage.  When that was done, Lainie whirled on her, but Gus moved faster.

^îGotta go, pard.^ï

Waving impishly, Gus darted away.  This time, however, the high-heeled
shoes disagreed on the direction to go.  She stumbled and would have
fallen if not caught by a bare-chested, heavily tattooed man.

^îGuess you^ñd like a dance,^ï he rumbled merrily.

Gus swallowed a gasp and nodded weakly.  Dolfis? Dressed as...as...as
Aitzan? An entire wing of butterflies took up flying practice in her
stomach as the pirate captain led her onto the floor.

Dolfis could sense the girl was nervous - perhaps she^ñd been upset to
have dashed into him?

^îAre you all right?^ï

She responded only with a nod and he frowned.  Why should she be so
tense?  Despite her skill at dancing, she was stiff in his arms and
didn^ñt meet his eyes.  

Gus struggled to draw in a reasonable breath.  She HAD to get control of
this stupid hero-worship before she made a fool of herself.  Perhaps
another glass of that fizzy wine would help.  

^îYou scared of me, little one?^ï

^îI aint scared o^ñ nobody.^ï  Gus answered automatically, not even
thinking of her cover - or blowing it.  Realizing her mistake, she
yanked out of Dolfis^ñs arms and backed quickly away.  ^îI gotta go.^ï

Dolfis shook his head as his erstwhile companion escaped him.  Funny
that such a young lady should talk like a streetrat.... He gasped. 
Augusta!  Peering through the crowd, her cursed softly.  He^ñd lost her -
but he^ñd find her again.  No matter what it took.

________________________
Submitted by:

Katrina (aka Gus/Loki and Dolfis)

NRPG:  Ok, peoples, I tagged a few of you specifically and the rest of
you I hereby tag now.  Let^ñs get this party ROCKIN^ñ!!!

Feel free to claim a dance with Gus...or Loki, if you REALLY want.  Or
Dolfis, if he^ñs more your type. <G>  Enjoy.