Holiday Ball at the Skylark

[birthright_npc]

The grand ballroom of the Skylark Hotel was awash in shades of forest green and gold. The charity ball had been arranged to benefit a local children's hospital, and so a large percentage of the proceeds from the door tickets and bar would be donated to renovate the facility. A two-story Christmas tree towered over the buffet tables of festive finger foods and chocolate fountain, and people had placed unwrapped toys under the limbs to be delivered to the hospital the next day. Champagne flowed freely. There were two stages for the live jazz musicians that would play all night. Santa's scantily clad elves wandered about the room with trays of shrimp and caviar. A dance floor took up the center of the space underneath a gleaming chandelier and there were beautifully decorated round tables on the edges of the room.

The ticket price was manageable, and a few tickets had gone out free for radio promotions and the like.

Luckily for the undead, the decor did not include wall-to-wall mirrors, though there were a few on the high ceiling.

In various corners, Vegas performance artists entertained to ooohs and aaahs. For instance, there was a man eating a gleaming sword in the corner.

Thread: Open to Anyone

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[ghargreaves]

Gerald had had the impression the building was very new, and talk of the opening ball confirmed that. He waited for the young woman to respond to the man's statement. He was curious himself in the young woman. She was clearly either not comfortable in the attire usually worn to these events, or so comfortable in her own self that she wore whatever she wanted and didn't give a damn as to the societal norms. Decades of attending debutante balls in London had given him ample opportunity to study the behaviour of young women, all part of the professional world of any Watcher.

[wolfs_daughter]

The younger of the two men had just the barest hint of an Irish accent, but it wasn't anywhere near as pronounced as Cian's. Still, the slight familiarity made Echo relax a notch.

"Not really high rollers," she answered with a slightly wider smile. "But I came into a little bit of money and decided to splurge. It's better than gambling it away, right?"

The older gentleman looked like a scholarly sort, maybe a professor at the college. The hybrid had been a good student in high school, if only because she hadn't had enough of a social life to distract her from her studies. Maybe he taught something really fancy like classical literature or Latin. "I like how the place looks tonight," she said, using her glass as a pointer to indicate the holiday decorations. "It must have taken a crazy amount of work to get that tree in here."

[blackirish]

"There's gambling and then there's gambling." Mike replied with a grin before taking another sip of his drink. He'd gambled by volunteering for a second tour in Vietnam, and again when he'd joined the Struggle. So far he was doing all right.

"There are worse ways to spend the money though."

[ghargreaves]

"There are many ways, good and not quite so good," Gerald contributed, looking across at the tree and the growing pile of gifts beneath it. Someone had donated a rocking horse, and there were a number of bicycles lined up, leaning against some tables which were laden with gifts of all sizes.

"Gambling, when the odds are good can be rather good, but then hardly a gamble," he suggested. "And then there's the days when you know you can't go wrong, the stakes are high, and you take that step." He paused and took a sip from his drink, wondering what it was the man considered as gambling versus gambling.

"By the way, my name is Gerald. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" he asked them both.

[wolfs_daughter]

"My name's Echo."

Gerald even sounded all professor-like when he talked. She wondered if he'd know the myth her name was attached to. Probably.

"It looks like a lot of needy kids are going to get Christmas gifts after all," she said, gesturing in the direction of the large amount of presents. "It's good to see that people are so willing to help at this time of year."

[blackirish]

"And sometimes you go in knowing the odds are against you, but you get lucky." Mike responded to the Englishman. When they gave out names he responded with his own. "Mike McKenna, a pleasure to meet you both."

He looked over at the tree. He'd made donations in cash, aside from the large teddy bear that was buried behind most of the other presents. "It helps that the economy is booming, if you'd gone to one of these three years ago I don't think people would have been as generous."

[ghargreaves]

Gerald acknowledged both of their names as declared, and turned again to look at the tree. "It does seem the economy has recovered," he agreed, taking a sip of his drink.

"And what's your line of work?" he asked them as the dance band started into some swing numbers.

[wolfs_daughter]

"Me? I don't actually have a line of work. I'm an artist, and artists are supposed to be poor."

Echo wondered if she was supposed to be embarrassed about that. Her shyness made her not really comfortable with working in retail or waiting tables, although she'd tried the latter and done okay at it. But with rent and groceries being reasonably affordable in Searchlight, her parents' assistance was enough for now. She might not have much left over for luxuries, but that was fine with her.

The change in tone of the music had the hybrid tapping her foot a little, and she laughed when saw a couple start to dance randomly on the sidelines.

[blackirish]

"That's all right Echo, you have to start someplace." Mike assured her with the air of someone who'd been down on his luck at least once in his life. "What sort of art do you do?"

He could barely draw two straight lines, let alone try and make art. "I'm in the bar and nightclub business myself."