General Halloween GP

[londoncallingmods]

Halloween was as spooky or dull as you needed it to be in London. From handing out treats to those who came knocking, to attending costume parties and concerts all over the city, there was something for everyone tonight.

 

Plenty of bars and clubs were offering discounts to anyone bold enough to turn up in costume, and even the underground was bursting with holiday cheer as costumed commuters came and went, breaking up the dull day to day routine one usually faced while making your way from point a to point b.

 

Even those who chose to skip the costume were indulging in treats or maybe a creepy film or two.

 

There was no excuse to be bored. Not tonight. Not on Halloween.

 

(General Halloween GP for those who aren't keen on the haunted house! Feel free to post your pup anywhere in the city, from fancy dress parties to street corners. Go wild (or, you know, stay tame. Your call) Also, because there are two GPs going up this week, both are open to new top levels for two whole weeks! And, of course, you can keep tagging long after that if you want. :D I'll post reminders daily on slack.) 

Comments

OTA

[codenameathos]

Athos was on duty. He attended the VIP masque because of some of the guests in attendance, and their political importance. Which meant that he was dressed in a sharp two-piece suit and wearing a lacey black and gold mask - and that he was carefully monitoring his alcohol intake. He was often found with a glass in his hand, but rarely drinking from it, although few people would have noticed that last bit.

He might be an alcoholic, but he was also a professional.

Re: OTA

[codenamemilady]

Milady should have known Oliver would be here. The mask did little to hide features she had once known better than any. She had not sought him out since that day in the charity souk, and an anger so cold it could burn came to life again when she saw him now. Her hand went first to the ribbon at her throat, then higher to adjust the hood to obscure more of her face, although the mask covered most of it. Then, knowing she was playing with fire, she passed slowly through his line of sight.

Oliver had seen her in ways no one ever had, before or since, and as much as she would deny it, there was some part of Milady that craved his eyes on her and only her even now after everything.

Re: OTA

[codenameathos]

Oliver brought his wine glass to his lips, eyes casually going over the crowd, trusting his instincts to warn him if there was something wrong, something worth his attention. But the glass stopped halfway to his lips, and his gaze followed the figure in dark red. There was something about the stranger hidden under that hood; the way she held herself, and walked. Something that held his attention.

He followed, his glass forgotten in his hand, but lost her in the crowd, looking everywhere for the flash of carmine that might betray her.

Re: OTA

[codenamemilady]

Stopped at the bar, Milady ordered a glass of wine, thinking of the image she would make, with the color echoing the rich tones of her gown and deepening the red of her lips as she drank. She knew she had caught Oliver's eye, but pretending to be unaware meant she hadn't been able to watch his reaction. She'd lost track of him, which could be dangerous, but she also couldn't show she was looking for him. Fortunately, the ballroom had several reflective surfaces, and these she searched as she waited for her drink, hoping for any sign of her greatest enemy and once love.

Re: OTA

[codenameathos]

Athos found that shade of carmine at the bar, and did his best not to lose sight of her as he headed over, the wine glass forgotten in his hand. But some people stood between him and her at the least minute, and by the time he had managed to disentangle himself from the unwanted conversation, she was gone, and he was starting over again.

Re: OTA

[codenamemilady]

Milady had caught a glimpse of Oliver moving toward the bar, and she slipped away when she had the opportunity. Later, she wouldn't be able to say what possessed her to act on her next idea, but in the moment, she found the idea too tempting to resist.

As she touched up her lipstick in the ladies', she turned to the woman next to her, a feline glint in her eyes. "Would you mind terribly, doing me a favor?" The woman, a blonde, English rose type dressed as, of all things, a geisha, was thrilled by Milady's story of a masquerade flirtation and agreed enthusiastically.

Which was how, a few minutes later, one of the cater waiters approached Oliver with a glass of the same excellent Burgundy Milady was drinking and a cocktail napkin note written in the 'geisha's' hand. You are following me.

Re: OTA

[codenameathos]

A little sweet-talking of the waiter and he was pointing out a blonde geisha to Athos as the one having sent the drink and the note. Athos turned down the drink (he wouldn't drink anything he hadn't seen poured from an unopened bottle) and told him to go back with a simple message. Not you.

He looked at the geisha for a moment and then, as she received the message, looked out for who might be watching her.

Re: OTA

[codenamemilady]

The geisha smiled sweetly at the message, turned first to find Oliver, then looked back in the direction she had last seen Milady.

Not that Milady was still, of course. But she was watching Oliver discreetly, over the shoulder of a man who was trying to ask her to dance. When she saw Oliver's gaze sweep over the room, she couldn't help her sly grin, which would have been fine if there'd been no one to see it. Unfortunately her would-be dance partner took it as encouragement, and Milady had to remove his hand from her arm more vehemently than discretion would have liked.

Re: OTA

[codenameathos]

Oliver might have missed her, if it wasn't for the sudden motion that caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He was on his way before he'd made it a conscious decision, and he wove his way through the crowd without daring to blink, for fear of losing sight of her.

Re: OTA

[codenamemilady]

A raised eyebrow and a few biting words had the man slinking off for another drink or a more biddable woman, but not in time for Milady to lose herself in the crowd. Or perhaps that was just what she told herself, with Oliver so very close to finding her, in a place far too public for blades or blood.

[codenameathos]

Oliver managed to reach her in time, against all hope. And now, what was he to do? She was in every way he could see despite the mask the spitting image of one he had long since lost. One whose loss lay so heavy upon him. He stood in front of her, and for a second, just looked.

"A dance, madam?" he requested, still unwilling to believe what his eyes were telling him. That was the only thing to offer, in a place like this, when he thought he might be losing his mind. He set his glass down, and held his hand out to her.

When she spoke, he would know. If they danced, he would know.

Beyond the shadow of a doubt.

[codenamemilady]

It was only years experience letting people see only what she wanted them to see which kept Milady's expression neutral, when inside was a maelstrom. She tipped her head and set her hand on his. "A dance."

[codenameathos]

At the sound of her voice, Oliver's hand slid to close his fingers around her wrist, his grip much too tight, as he stepped closer to her. Her voice. It was her voice. "Come to haunt me?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous, all pretense forgotten.

The body had been gone, by the time he had come back. But the wound had been fatal, he had been so sure of that.

[codenamemilady]

It had been said, usually by people who were later found dead, that Milady had no heart. Not true. It was merely buried deep, beneath a cold and bitter rage and the need for vengeance. "Halloween is a night for hauntings," she said calmly. "You're hurting me. I could scream."

[codenameathos]

"You're not," Oliver answered, and tightened his grip, finding himself unable to look away from her eyes. They were her eyes. She wasn't denying what she was. Her voice was that of Anne's, even if her tone wasn't. "Can ghosts hurt?"

[codenamemilady]

"Can uxoricides?" Milady countered, no more willing than he to look away. "Can they be haunted by what they've done? Can you?"

[codenameathos]

"Not a single breath has felt right since that day," Oliver replied through gritted teeth. He felt drunk, for all that he had barely had anything to drink. Was this what madness felt like?

[codenamemilady]

Why did that cut so deep? Milady wanted him to hurt. Needed him broken by the guilt of what he'd done. His admission should have felt right and powerful, and it did, to a degree, but it stabbed at something in her too.

Ridiculous. She couldn't give in to such things. Milady straightened her spine, reached up to pull his hand from her wrist, and made her voice as cold and hard as her heart. "Think how you will carry the memories of tonight."

[codenameathos]

"How are you here?" he demanded to know, refusing to let go of her wrist and willing his voice to be as hard, and miserably failing. He sounded angry, but underneath that hurt, tortured. Everything he was.

[codenamemilady]

"I am never far from you," she said, thrilling - thrilling, not any of those other things she did not, could not feel - at the hurt in his tone. "How could I be, after what you've done?"

[codenameathos]

"But you are never here," Oliver retorted, his voice breaking on the last word.

[codenamemilady]

"And whose fault is that?" she asked, seizing on the hint of weakness, pressing her advantage.

[codenameathos]

"I have gone mad," Oliver acknowledged flatly, after a beat. His voice sounded strained, from the lump in his throat. Madness was the only explanation, and it had only been a matter of time, of course.

He let go of her and abruptly turned to head out of the reception. Fresh air, to clear his mind. He might have been drugged? He certainly felt like it. Fresh air would help.

[codenamemilady]

The grip on Milady's cold, dark heart released along with the one Oliver had had on her wrist, and she watched him stalk out of the room.

She needed a drink, something with a bite. And possibly some pretty thing she could leave begging to lick her... boots. Something. Anything, to soothe the sharp edges and heat the chill within her.