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(So! The event is about to start, and we need to prepare for it! >w<)

Gray gazed the ceiling, her eyes were thinking by themselves. Rotten memories, forgot thoughts. The clock said 7 o'clock and a loud trill broke the streaming of her memories. She got up and sat on her bed, her eyes sought the most important thing of her room. When she found it, she put down her feet on the floor and reached a little wooden puppet that sat quietly on the desk. Gray took it in her hands caressing the smooth painted face.

"We have to go, Pierre" the wooden marionette gazed at the girl with its painted eyes. Its smile said much. She nodded.

After a quick shower, she changed her clothes in something more...formal for the event. Skirts didn't fit her preference, so she choose her beloved black and red suit (without the cape); the Masquerade has a rigid rule: "Don't put daily clothes. Always in something that fits the Masquerade" Gray snorted as she reminded the voice of her father. Too much traditional for her.
She looked around. The room was illuminated only by the lamp on the bedside table, next to her bed. The light reached her white mask too, hanging on a shelf; she shook her head and took the mask. When she put the mask on her face, a shiver crossed her back.

"What the...? Ah, maybe its the cold"

She tied the last shoelace, and with Pierre in the pocket, she headed to the main square were the event had already started.

Kaida stood up from her sewing apparatus pulling the flowing blue fabric off and holding it up to herself in front of a mirror. "Oh it did come out the way I had hoped! What do you think Sova?" She smiled as she turned to show it to the owl sitting on the antler of a dear head on the wall. Sova turned his round head to face the dress and let out a low hoot that sounded almost like a purring. "Oh I think so too! It is very nice..." She smiled into the mirror admiring how it looked. The old grandfather clock in the corner of the room tolled a loud 7 times. "Oh my... If I don't get dressed now I'll be late! She hurries around the room, gathering her simple flats, the mask, a brush for her hair and other things to ready herself.

After a few minutes she stood once more in front of the mirror. Her gentle wavy red hair falls over her shoulders, she ties the mask to her head and smiles beneath. She gently touches the nose with one tentative finger before turning towards the door. "Come on Sova, if we don't leave now, we'll certainly be late!" Sova flew silently over to her shoulder and nuzzled his downy head against her cheek as she set out into the already crowded streets where the party had already begun.

"How could I lose the track of time?" Carlos muttered under his breath as he ran down the trail towards back to the town. He had been in the woods since dawn, drawing himself away in the peaceful serenity of the wood. It wasn't until he had the urge to check his pocketwatch to see that it was close to being seven. Carlos had been too intrigued to his drawing to even realize that the day had passed by so quickly. His steps were light, his boots occasionally making thumps on the ground. Carlos was hugging his sketch book as he ran, his pendent hopping against his chest. It wasn't long before he made it back to his house.

It was quiet, considering that he was the only one that lived there. He deposited his book and bag on the couch and dashed to the bathroom. After washing, Carlos went over to his wardrobe his eyes skimming over the clothing. He stiffened slightly as he heard one of his clocks tolled quite loudly, signaling that it was seven. "Oh dear," He muttered, doing a small impatient bounce. He smiled finally finding his attire. "There it is," Carlos exclaimed.

He quickly dressed himself, humming during the process. His Lucky Rabbit was patiently waiting for him besides the door. "I'm going," Carlos said and shoved his foot into his boot before heading to the door. Carlos made sure the mask's ribbons were tightly secure, he emerged from his house and made his way to the main square, figuring that the event was way past started. "At least I'm not that late..."

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Scott shifted the beaked black and gold mask in his hands as he examined it while sitting hunched on his worn out couch. The artificial light from the ceiling lamp reflected off from the smooth paint and the young man simply found it hard to take his eyes off the magnificent object. However, he was rudely pulled from his trance as the front door swung open bit too forcefully. Snapping his head up, Scott laid the mask on the couch beside him and got up on his feet. Though he didn't have time to move before a familiar voice carried over to him from the hallway: "Sorry I'm a bit late, Katie wouldn't let me leave before I tried her new muffins."

Late? But it's just... Scott's thoughts were cut short as he glanced at his clock that claimed it was 7:08 pm already. How could so much time pass by so quickly without you even noticing it? Staring at the clock surely wasn't giving him an answer to that and the 'intruder' had now made it to the living room and interrupted the staring contest between Scott and the clock; "And she wouldn't leave me alone until I gave her an honest and detailed opinion. Why can't she just accept 'they're good' as feedback? Sheesh."

The 'intruder' was in fact Scott's sister, one of many actually, and she halted her monologue as she realized her brother didn't seem to be even listening to her, he seemed rather confused and out of it. A frown appeared on her face as she squinted her eyes at her brother, suspicion and worry taking over, "Scotty? You alright? Don't tell me you're-"

"No! No no no, that's not it. You should know that by now, Mira. I was just... I didn't realize how late it is already, that's all." Scott explained hurriedly after cutting his sister off. She didn't look entirely convinced though so the lad hoped changing the subject would help and directed his attention to the garment bag Mira was carrying with her; "Is that it? How did it turn out?" Mira wasn't impressed with the change of subject but she let his brother off the hook for once and began to open the bag while walking towards the sofa. "It's even better than planned. You owe me big time for this, kid." Scott waved her off with a quick "Yeah yeah, I know." before going to dive in to take a look at the contents of the bag but was stopped by his sister.

Instead of letting Scott grab them himself, Mira handed him simple black dress pants for starters and held out a black tuxedo with golden decorations so that Scott could see it properly. After a while of silence, Scott finally opened his mouth to speak; "Okay, that is pretty awesome. I owe you big time." While her brother was still gaping at the piece of clothing, Mira handed it over to him as well and started pushing him towards the bedroom. "Come on, move it, I wanna see my creation on you."

After changing the clothes on, Scott emerged back to the living room, feeling slightly uncomfortable under his sister's gaze. As he only got a grin as a reaction, the lad shifted awkwardly on his feet before crossing his arms defensively, "What? Stop grinning like that." He only got more grinning as a response but was soon let out of his misery as Mira finally spoke; "Look at you! I almost didn't recognize you at all, kiddo. You usually look like some kind of hobo." "No, I don't!" Scott retorted childishly but they both knew Mira was right.

The older of the two siblings grinned devilishly as she walked over to her younger brother and threw an arm over his shoulders, "You know, if you dressed like this more often, maybe you wouldn't be forever alone." Scott instantly turned a bright shade of red and pushed his sister away from him in a hurry with an embarrassed "Shut up!" aimed at her. The young man lunged for the mask that had been sitting on the couch, forgotten, for a while and put it on in a hopeless attempt to hide his embarrassment.

However, as he was hurriedly tying the ribbons to keep it on, a sudden feeling of cold dread washed over him and he froze completely. Something felt very wrong but he couldn't tell what. He didn't get to dwell on that feeling long either since his sister was rather confused due to the sudden change in him but read the situation wrong. "What's wrong? You forgot how to tie a knot or something?" With a few steps, Mira was behind Scott and she finished the job for him before petting his almost nonexistent hair. "You should get going already. You don't wanna be late, right little hedgehog?"

Scott was still a bit too dazed to react to being called a hedgehog as Mira started ushering him out of the door. He only started protesting when they were already at the door, "Wait a sec. Aren't you coming?" His sister merely laughed at him, "I'm a tailor who has five sisters and one whiny brother. If not making a costume for myself means I get to sleep at night, I'll gladly deal with that." "Oh..." was all the reply she got as she shoved Scott out of the door. "I'll just get my stuff. You can go already, I'll lock the door as I leave." Mira informed him before swinging the door shut.

Still slightly dazed, Scott shrugged the weird feeling he had gotten off and started heading down the street. Once he arrived at the main square, there was quite a bit of people gathered there already. As he was looking around, Scott accidentally knocked someone with the 'beak' of his mask. He instantly grabbed the beak with his hands on instinct while taking few steps back, "Ah! I'm sorry."

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{{I'm sorry if this post is too long, I got kinda carried away. I definitely won't be writing this much in the future. ^^;}}

{{Also, if someone wants to, here's a perfect opening to interact with my character. Feel free to be the person who got attacked by Scott's vicious mask.}}

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Kaida was just walking down the side of the road trying to get to a slight clearing, but as she took a corner when she felt something smack her across the face. She yelped as she stumbled backwards and onto the ground, thankfully not hitting her head off of the road. Sova, having been on her shoulder, flew off as she fell. "Ow! You should be sorry!" She yelled at the man who definitely should have been more mindful of his mask. She worked to get herself back up to her feet without ripping her dress. She sighed as she started brushing the dirt off of the back of her dress as Sova landed back on her shoulder and crawled under her bright red hair. She looked up at him and realized that she just yelled at him. "I-I'm sorry, I sh-shouldn't have yelled..." Though he really should watch where he's going... His outfit looks brand new... So does the mask, perhaps he just doesn't wear the mask often enough for him to get used to its size...

(Oh no please! Don't feel limited! You can write as much as you want!! *3*)

Gray ran quickly through every alley of the town. It was really dark, and the streets were only illuminated by the streetlights, a dim light that paint a gloomy atmosphere. Very few people were walking out of the place were the event was.

"I'll be late for sure" She shook her head. Suddenly she remembered a shortcut to the main square and turned on the left of a building.

She found herself in a dead end, the stink of trash was strong. She approached to the brick wall and passed a hand on the surface until she found a little irregularity.

"There it is!" she grabbed the escaping brick stretching her hand until she grabbed another one. By doing so, she managed to climb the wall and reach the roof of the building. She could see the whole town from there, and the main square too. It was surely crowded.
Gray looked toward a wooden board that connected the roof with another. She walked on it, getting to the top of a bakery. Lots of building were connected and she managed to reach the main square in half the time. She fell on a wagon that carried tons of tissues.

"Well, a soft fall indeed" She caressed her hip.

The square was large, characterized by the stone floor and the richness of colored lights. There was a wooden stage on the north, were many people engage in entertainment. Spread on the whole perimeter, lots of stands sold various things, from the food to clothes and masks. To the east side of the square were organized some attractions and games. The Ferris wheel couldn't miss, like the "Kill the bandits" game, the "Dark Lottery", the "Bet And Die" and the "Catch the Eye". Gray sighed as she reminded her childhood.

She walked around. She didn't know anyone, so she ended up sitting on a bench near a fountain, were two stone goblins sat near the spray of the water.

The orchestra started to play a familiar song

"Ah, Martini again huh?" She smiled.

{{Heh, alrighty. I shall keep that in mind. :p}}

Scott flinched visibly and took another step back as the girl he had managed to not only hit with his mask but cause her to fall over as well yelled at him in a not-so-nice tone. Though he had been careless so he kind of did deserve it. That simple fact didn't make him any less wary of the angry individual who seemed more worried about her dress than herself. Which wasn't that unusual, considering the dress looked like a lot of work went into it. And was that an owl? What the-?

Wait... I didn't even help her up! Scott felt felt like smacking himself after that realization. He had been so startled and intimidated by the girl that the thought of pulling her back on her feet after knocking her down hadn't even occurred to him. And then the girl apologized to him for yelling. He felt like a complete douchebag, what a great start for the evening.

"Uhh... It's fine. I should've, um, watched where I was going and... sorry, I really didn't mean to knock you down, I was just..." the young man's rambling was cut short when music started playing not too far from them. He was actually rather relieved by it, he really hadn't been finding the right words. Honestly, he was still a bit intimidated by the girl and the owl she had didn't really help. Maybe the bird was actually some rabid beast the girl used to do her dirty work and she'd sick it after him in a second. Or not.

---

Carlos had picked up his pace, nearing to the square in a couple of minutes. He squinted due to the darkness as he made his way, thanking silently to the street lights that lit up the way. He glanced around, relief entering him when he saw that some others were still arriving.

He slowed his pace, letting a couple of ladies pass in front of him before continuing. He walked a couple of steps, his eyes landing on every speck of detail. Carlos stiffened ever so slightly when the orchestra began to sing its song. Carlos chuckled to himself at his jumpiness before heading towards one of the stores, hands behind his back. Without meaning to, he began to hum along to the tune his head bobbing slightly to the beat.

Carlos passed by the fountain, a lone figure sitting on a bench near it. He quickly identified the figure as a female due to her build. He tilted his head finding it odd for her to be wearing a suit. It wasn't that Carlos minded it, he could care less but it still sparked curiosity in him. Carlos then turned his attention away since it would've have been awkward if she had caught him staring.

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Kaida smiled and perhaps blushed slightly under her mask as the man started to apologize to her. He seems almost as shy as me... She visibly jumped as the music began to play. He doesn't seem to be confident in himself... Perhaps a childhood misfortune... Or mayhaps he was bullied causing him to doubt himself. She silently judged him with her eyes under her mask. "I-it's fine..." She finished checking to make sure there weren't any holes in the dress she spent days and many sleepless nights on. She took a deep breath and curtsied to the man. "I-I'm sorry we met in such... Unpleasant circumstances..." She said somewhat quietly before walking off and melding with the crowd of fancifully colored people. She seems to not like the man she's dancing with... Perhaps he begged her into going? No matter... She danced around the swaying and undulating masses as they all began to move along to the music. She made it to a small clearing, void of bodies under a tree nearby a fountain. "Ah... Is it not a wonderful sight Sova?" She reached behind her head and pet the soft down feathered head of her owl poking out from under her hair.

Gray passed a hand on the water. Everything was just like her childhood; she pulled a sad smile as she remind about her older brother...and the incident. She shook her head, trying to kick out all the bad thoughts.

"You know, Pierre...maybe we should play at the Bet or Die, just for fun" she smiled as she pulled from the pocket her little wooden friend.
She got up, looking around for the place where the game was. She reached the large stand; not a color one, but it was still following the theme of the event. It was lighted by many lanterns, some were haging on the wooden pillars who steadied the long sheet that covered the stand. On the floor were designed a row of blocks, that formed a double snake on whose ends two blocks were colored in red and blue.

"Aaah! A young man!" A figure came out of the shadows. It was a man tall enough, with short, wavy dark brown hair and a golden mask with a smile. He wore a golden frac on a dark blue shirt combined with long white socks and a pair of golden shoes, whose tip was curled.
"Please Please, Come in!" his movements were fancy, and his voice was slighly acute.

"Hm...in truth,I'm a girl" Gray said, trying to keep her sigh.
The man suddenly stopped. "Ah?" he then looked on the girl's chest.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Oh, I'm so careless! Will you forgive me young lady?" the man bowed and took the girl's hand, kissing its back.

"S-Sure, you're not the only one who thought that anyway" she rolled her eyes.
"Oh...I see...ANYWAY! Enough words! I'm Edward. And you are...?"
"Gray"
Edward jumped happily, reaching a weapon rack. He took a simple steel sword and throwed one to the girl.
"So, Lady Gary. Want to play?"
Gray giggled. "Tsk, Of course I want to! Show me your skill, Mister Edward" she grinned pointing the sword's tip to the man.
With a pleased little laugh, Edward called his assistant. A woman entered in the stand, muttering loud enough to hear some words.

"Oh my godness, I can't take a sip of beer in peace?! Oh, a man! Finally!" she clapped happily her hands.

"Aehm...girl..." Edward coughed sarcastically to correct the woman.
The lady looked at Gray's chest before opening wide the eyes.
"O-Of course! I was just joking...ahahahaha..." she turned around her head to hide her embarassed smile, not realizing that she wore a full face mask.
She reached a wooden table an took an old parchment, written with a beautiful gothic font.

The two took place on the two blocks precisely positioned at two opposite sides of the "snake".
Gray took the red, Edward the blue. Then, the woman started to read with loud voice.

"Two souls aspire to become rich
But the two were captured by a blood witch
For the fun
Of this one
They need to play an insane game
So hear the song of a dame,
Dance on this bloody stage
And try to free yourself from this cage
Dance, Dance, Dance
Catch the elusive chance.
An eye of glass
The tooth of brass.
Someone whisper
"Will you bet or will you die?"
Put your cry
Out of this lie
And bet with the death
'Till you lose your breath"

As the woman stopped talking, Edward stepped toward.
"I bet, that the capitain can lose his head with the number 4!" Edward yelled fiercely.
She throwed two dices, as big as the palm of her hand, and it revealed the numbers 2 and 5. The young man stepped behind.

"The capitain survive, and you lose one life!" the woman said.

"I bet that 5 pigs out of 8 can die by a wolf!" Gray said, stepping on the block toward her.
With this throw of dice, the two cubes revealed 1 and 2.

"Your bet is right, go ahead and take the light!"

The situation continued until the two stood face-to-face, with the drawn swords;

"Well young lady, its the showdown"
Gray nodded at the words of her rival, and with a quick move the two started to fight , crossing and beating the steel; The sparks were seen well.

With a pretend move, Edward managed to put the blade between her feet, making her stumble and fall to the ground abruptly.

"Damn it!" Gray puffed her cheecks and slapped the sword on the floor. The winner offered a hand and helped her to raise on the feet.
"Oho! Good job young lady, you did well"
"Yeah Yeah whatever. Need to go now, thanks for the match." she waved her hand while she walked out of the stand.


(I got carried away too........ qwq
Psss, you can try one of the games by yourself, I'll control the other stuff ;3
Sorry for the horrible writing....)

{{I dunno what "orribile writing" is but it didn't bother me (sorry, not sorry). xP}}

Scott bowed hurriedly when the woman curtsied to him, not bothering to try to say anything else as she started heading away from him. He'd probably say something incredibly stupid that would make him look even more moronic anyway so it was best he kept his mouth shut. At least the woman or her predatory bird hadn't shredded him to teeny tiny pieces so he considered that a win. If he managed to avoid being shredded by anyone or anything else for the rest of the night, he'd call it a successful one.

Letting out a breath, the young man reminded himself to keep tabs on his mask for the rest of the night before starting to make his way through the masses of people who were either busy dancing or otherwise socializing to take much notice of him. However, Scott stumbled slightly and came to a sudden halt when he emerged from the crowd and found himself almost next to a fountain. Swallowing dryly, he made a sharp turn and started heading towards the game stands without putting much thought into it.

The lad eventually came to a stop in front of the stand for the Catch the Eye game. Great, he needed something to focus on and the game would do for the moment. Scott stepped closer a bit warily with an unsure "Hello?" leaving his lips.

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Carlos had skimmed through random clothing, nothing catching his eye. "Hmm," His eyes landed on one of the game stands. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to play..." He trailed off and headed for one of the stands named 'Kill the Bandits'. The very name sent chills down Carlos' spine but he paid no mind to it. He knew that he was afraid of many things.

He came to a stop in front of the stand. He stood quietly for a few moments, wondering if he should speak up. I'll be standing here all day if I don't. He reminded himself. Carlos sighed and stood straight. "Um, is any-" He paused when his voice cracked ever so slightly. He cleared his throat and began again. "Excuse me," He apologized to the stand. "Is any one there?"

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