WWXXXVI - Hallowolf

[Mynx]

Corban West surveyed the party with a small satisfied smirk playing across his lips. It had only just begun, but already the room was mostly filled with happy guests and their family, not a single unmasked face in the group. Dressed in a black tuxedo, complete with top hat, cane, and half mask - the Phantom of the Opera - Atlas Corp Ltd's new manager couldn't help but feel pleased with himself as he took in the carefully budgeted extravagance of the Hallowe'en party.

"You certainly have outdone yourself, Sir," Mia acknowledged, the PDA in her hands offsetting her own costume - Selena Kyle/aka Catwoman. "You made a saving on the previous year's party of at least twenty grand without sacrificing the standard..."

"I know, I did Mia," Corban chuckled. "We have to keep the masses happy, even if we're saving money while doing so. Now come on, put that toy away and join this Phantom for a mingle."

Mia obliged quietly, slipping the PDA into a special pouch at her belt and accepting Corban's hand.

Like the most gracious of couples (a topic that was under serious debate amongst the staff - just how far did Mia's relationship with Corban go?), Corban approached the first costumed stranger in the crowd and extended his hand.

"Happy Hallowe'en!" Corban cheered. "And who, might I ask, is behind this wonderful mask?"

 

OOC: Freeform RP for now. Feel free to interact with Corban as naturally as you feel comfortable.

[Mardrax]

She nudged a single strand of hair out of her face with one hand while she let the other be taken and moved it for Corban's mouth. The smile never left her face.

"I must say I'm not used to being undressed with words honey, but come now. I don't ask you what's behind your mask now do I? I must say though, you know how to throw a good party. D'you have a reason to get up early tomorrow yet?"

Edited October 14, 2007 by Mardrax

[Tanuchan]

Danelle waited by the door, smiling behind the wolf mask. She was rather curious to see Dan wearing his costume, and was prepared to act the wolf as soon as he put a foot into the party. She laughed quietly, remembering his face when he had lost the bet and had to agree to her mischievous suggestion for the party costume.

 

Shame that his family is around.... I hope those brattish twins behave. Though being a wolf gives me some good excuses.... She smiled again. It was good to be able to be anonymous, and off her strictly-business look.

[Ozymandias]

Kelly chatted amiably with one of the other guests, still suitably impressed herself at the lavishness of the soiree- it was her first year being invited to one the company holiday parties.

 

"The sad part is," said she with a rueful grin below her mask, "I really didn't think about the fact that I was dressing in a costume of someone dressing in a costume until I got here."

 

Every detail of the illustrious hero's attire had been painstakingly replicated with the finest period pieces she could afford, from the jaunty wide-brimmed hat, all the way down to leather boots that had been worn around her house all month in order to give them an authentically worn look.

 

The accountant even had a rapier which her father had left her- one which he had found in an antique store before she was born, and was purported to be from Revolutionary France.

 

It had a rubber stopper firmly affixed to it's point, of course.

[GLJordan]

Mr. Green/the Green Dragon Ranger absentmindedly wandered thru the crowd making notes of whom was had what by way of weaponry and how dangerous it was in real life despite the fact that he was off duty. Old habits die hard

[cryptomancer]

The door opened and a party popper went off showering a spray of small streamers into the room. Behind the streamers and pitiful amount of smoke a Ninja suddenly 'appeared' (pranced into view).

 

Well it was not really a ninja in the true sence of the word. There was a very ninja look to outfit, but covered with pirate boots, a floppy hat, with a long feather ptotruding from the brim, and an eyepatch in bright pink covering the alread ninjamasked face of Jimmy.

 

Brandishing a rubber cutlass and a rather small plastic katana jimmy entered the room looking stealthy, before bellowing loudly, "AVAAST MI'ARTIES!!! 'No Beard' the ninja pirate has arrived!"

 

The looks of 'oh dear' said it all, the giggles and general ignoring that followed showed not the slightest effect on Jimmy as he continued the stealthy ninja movements from group to group, loudly accosting people with a crip pirate vocabulary and accent.

 

[Mithrandin]

Dan Gray arrived at the party, with his two daughter in each side, tidying up his Little Red Riding Hood skirt.

 

"How do I look girls?"

 

The answer came in a sort of a giggle from both twins at the same time.

 

"Ok girls, now you must behave and..." before he could finish his sentence both of them had already dashed into the sweets table right on the entrance.

 

Looking around, he discovered how imaginative people can be when it comes to fun. If only my department would work like this every day...

 

And he wandered into the crowd, thinking how could he had agreed to made such a bet with Danelle, and lost....

 

*pulls down his skirt* This thing is so short...

[Venefyxatu]

(OOC : Co-written with Patrick - who makes a great like-minded twin! )

 

When they entered the room, quite a crowd had gathered already. The eyes of the twins grew wide at the multitude of wonderful costumes, but they couldn't suppress a soft “ooo” when they saw the richly laden table.

 

“Polly want ...” one of them started, “... a cracker?” the other one finished and both of them erupted in giggles.

 

With an admonition from their father to be careful, the “Weasley” twins were set loose in the room. Both of them started to head for the buffet, and both of them were almost immediately distracted when someone in a ninja-pirate costume snuck up behind them to yell “YARR!! Ye two'll walk the plank!”

 

"Want to blast him George?" one of them asked, her voice forcedly deep, while the reply came even before the question was finished, "Expelliarmus!" the other twin yelled, and simultaneously her sister yanked the cutlass from the ninjapirate's hand and threw it into the air, giggling.

 

Of course, neither of them had expected a necromancer standing behind them. When said magician got hit in the arm by the flying cutlass, evoking an eep-ishly sounding shriek and sending the weapon bouncing back to the original owner, the two twins let out a surprised “eep” as well. Not wanting to tangle with more powerful mages than themselves, they each darted off in the opposite direction.

 

Circling round the large banquet table, the two twins met again on the other side, their minds yet again on the food and far from necromancers and pirates. Delicious looking bowls of dessert and sweets glared at them. With a glance they ascertained that their father wasn't looking and dug in.

[Tanuchan]

"You look delicious, you know?"

 

Dan almost jumped at the whisper in his ear, turning to meet the bright eyes of Danelle-wolf. She looked amused as she checked him from head to toes, and he pulled at his skirt again.

 

"Stop that, dear," she took his hands away from the skirt. "The skirt is okay, and you do look good in red."

 

"Danelle, I swear you'll never hear the end of this..." He pulled the hood over his head, shadowing his face so others wouldn't see his grin.

 

She smiled, and Dan caught himself looking at her soft lips. "How sweet your lips are, grandma..." he murmured, touching them. Danelle caught his hand again, smiling. "The right line is, how big your mouth is, grandma."

 

"Argh... why did you have to choose Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf? Couldn't be Prince Charming and the Sleeping Beauty?"

 

"Well, there was some appeal in the thought of you being a little girl instead of a wolf, youk know," she teased, for a moment glancing in the general direction of the sweets table. There was a lot of giggling and quite some rustling coming from there, and she shook her head. "Your twins are really in character as the Weasley twins."

 

"I'm glad they are not mages... you have no idea what they're able to do just as normal girls...."

 

Danelle smiled again, then her eyes caught sight of Dan's legs. "You should have shaved."

 

He groaned, pulling at his skirts again. The Wolf kissed his cheek, giggling, and slapped his behind not quite discreetly.

 

"Danelle! Stop this! What have you been drinking?!"

 

"Nothing more than you, Dan. Come on, relax... this is a party. Forget business, and forget the office please. You aren't immediately recognizable without your beard and with that hood up; and certainly no one expects Miss Efficiency to be teasing a "little girl"."

 

Dan looked again at Danelle, who was indeed pretty far from the everyday efficient, business-like secretary. She was elegant as always, but he wolf half-mask covered her face and freckles; the velvet dark-gray hooded blouse and pants gave the right impression of wolf fur, and the tip of the attached tail was artfully hooked in one of her wrists.

 

"Do wolves keep their tails lashed to their paws?" He tugged at it, and noticed some strands of glossy coppery hair escaping from her hood.

 

"Wolves usually don't have to worry about tripping on their own tails...."

 

Both of them smiled, then left that private corner to join the others, chatting as good friends.

[Gryphon]

Zane wanders into the party and immediately heads over towards the buffet helping himself to a handful of chips before moving off to drift through the party leaving a faint smell of dip in his wake.

 

He laughs loudly on seeing the 'Weasley' antics and follows in their wake across the floor to see what else they'll come up with next. As he passes the Green Dragon Ranger he waves his hand mysteriously and says "These are not the droids you're looking for." before bursting out laughing and goes in search of some more snacks.

[Ozymandias]

Kelly turned to inspect the effervescent entrance of the rather oddly black-clad fellow, squinting for all she was worth.

 

"Stupid mask making me carry my glasses", she muttered. "Jimmy? Is that you?", she called out.

[Mynx]

The party was in full swing after it had been running for barely half an hour. Corban and Mia had been chatting with one of the older board members when there was a sudden scream of terror from above. Everybody looked up to see a young woman in a Playboy Playmate costume falling from the upper railing, only to land on one of the snack tables with a sickening crack. Enough people saw a figure run into the shadows to know it hadn't been accident.

Silence descended over the party, before it was shattered by another shriek within the crowd.

Then chaos descended.

As one, everyone ran for the doors, piling up against them as the first to arrive realised they were locked.

"Mia!" Corban barked. "What's going on?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Sir," Mia had her cellphone out, trying to call someone - anyone - before she swore softly. "There's no reception in this room, Sir. And I remember hearing something about this area being soundproofed..."

The crowd had gone quiet to hear Mia's voice, soft but strong in the room.

"The hotel is practically deserted except for us, the doors are locked, and there's a cellphone blocker in here."

"How bloody convenient," Corban muttered under his breath.

"So it would seem, Sir," Mia agreed as the crowd began to mutter amidst themselves.

Convenient or not, it was also likely that the killer was in the room with them, dressed up in disguise and all.

 

Trick or Treat...

 

OOC: Welcome to your first day phase. You have roughly 48 hours to sling the blame. Roles are being PM'd as we speak

[Akallabeth]

Janitor Banks heard the scream and watched the incident occur. As a crowd of coworkers darted towards the doors, he stayed in his seat at a table, remembering the countless stories that he'd heard of people being trampled or crushed to death in similar events.

 

He thought that the woman's death looked intentional, and was not too suprised to hear that they were locked in the hotel with no escape or way to communicate with the outside world. Hopefully they could catch whoever was responsible for her death. Too bad that there was little information to work with at the moment. He'd just have to think and listen for a while.

 

Elliot stood up calmly, and added to the muttering. "If Scruffy's going to die, then he's going to die like he lived."

 

After walking over to the bar (fortunately the barman had thought to return, and was running a brisk business at the moment), he asked for a bottle of Budweiser, declined a cup, and trudged back to his seat.

 

Several swallows later, he hadn't come up with any further ideas. This was probably the most difficult thing that he had ever tried to figure out since they installed those auto-flushing toilets. Few people realized just how hard it was to clean those things without setting off the flush at least eight times. After hard work, he had found a method that only triggered them twice, but it had taken months to perfect. Hopefully this would take less time.

 

(OOC: No accusation yet)

[Ozymandias]

The Scarlet Pimpernel wobbles over to a seat, white as a sheet. Pulling her glasses from the purse she wore deftly disguised as a period money pouch, she hurriedly dons them over her mask almost as though forgetting the accessory is there.

 

Kelly rubs circles on her temples methodically, almost frantically. "Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god...", she repeats softly over and over. Her eyes wildly stare at the floor.

 

 

 

(OOC: Vote for Zane/Gryphon)

[GLJordan]

Standing off to the side, thinking of what he knew about the building and who might be the killer. his training restricted by the fact that everbody was in costume, he tried to think who had the most distrubing costume. his mind decided that it was the man dressed as little red riding hood.

 

 

Mithrandin - Dan Gray

[Mardrax]

She jumped up from the table she was sitting on with a shriek.

Hadn't done that for well over a decade. Last time she'd been just passed 18. Mike she'd met just a couple of months later. He was the best friend she could have wished for. Rachel had been living large when she was 20. No cause for shrieking when you have a 200 well-armed pounds of muscle watching over you.

The poor playmate had landed just a few yards to her left.

 

Rachel was still in doubt though. Did she back off that much out of fear for her table being the next to go, or for getting her insanely high (and insanely expensive) white pumps red? The first she'd found that she was actually able to walk in comfortably. No use for an extra 8 inches when you were swaggering all over the place.

 

She brushed against several dressed up men while taking that overly trained strut over to another snack-filled table, -Seemingly completely accidental, of course- and regained her mental composure. No overhang overhead. No liquids spoiling her sparkling white.

She sat down on a barstool and flung one leg over the other in a single move. While gently swinging the leg back and forth, she surveyed the room. Who was this man so intently looking at everyone in the room? He definitely didn't want to hide it. His eyes darted back to the poor playmate one last time before coming to rest on the hairy legs that peeked out from under Dan Gray's skirt.

He had to be involved in this somehow, she would have bet last night's pay on it.

 

(OOC: Vote for Tommy/Giles Jordan)

Edited October 17, 2007 by Mardrax

[Blby]

Blby stumped in. "Sorry I'm late for this disaster! I was in the bathroom and had a spot of trouble getting my costume on."

 

To anyone who knew the small black guineapig in real life, this was not surprising at all. He was six feet tall and wearing a large suit that only his nose and eyes poked out of.

 

He swivelled his eyes and tried to look dangerous, or as he would have put it, carnivorous. Blby put his mouth up to the speaking tube and his voice boomed darkly.

 

"Greetings, all."

Edited October 17, 2007 by Blby

[Alisha Readman]

Miho was dressed in her usual ninja attire, but she made it look nicer by strapping two sais to her belt and wearing a bracelet of prayer beads. Ran was wearing black hakama and sandals, with two katanas on her back and a white mask that covered her upper face.

Ran took a swig of sake and thought about who might be responsible. Come to think of it, where's Wyvern? Not that he'd be able to hide in any sort of a costume very well. . .

 

(if Wyvern's here, I think hedunit. If not, Blby)

[Ran Yoko]

Sora was dressed in black pants, a long yellow coat that was torn and tattered at the bottom, and a white sleeveless shirt. She had dyed her hair black, pulled it into a ponytail, and had spiked the front of it so that it stuck up in the air. (fans of Jing: King of Bandits will recognize my costume, hopefully) She sat at the bar, sucking down a bottle of root beer while she thought.

 

(Zane?)

[Tanuchan]

Danelle did have some pride on the fact that she could control herself rather well, and probably no one in the company had seen her in less than perfect control in any business situation.

 

But that definitely didn't include having a dead Playmate drop from the railing. Danelle heard her own scream and blushed, just half-aware that she had instinctively sought refuge in Dan's arms, who was right now wrapping his arms around her protectively after having dragged her back from the ruined table and remains of the unfortunate girl.

 

She took her time trying to control her racing heart, closing eyes and mentally going through the quick meditation steps that usually allowed her to calm herself in most situations. A corner of her mind gibbered about the sight of a wolf being hugged by Little Red Riding Hood, but she discarded it without any qualms. As her orderly mind acknowledged what Mia and Mr. Corban were saying, she already knew the danger they were in -- unless the murderer had somehow gotten out of the Hotel before it was sealed, he or she was still lurking there.

 

She noticed Dan's eyes surveying the room, and pinpointing where his daughters were. She knew he cared deeply about both in spite of his dismantling marriage, and drew comfort from the way he still kept her safe in her arms while trying to get near the brats.

 

"Dan, your daughters... not good for them to see me here...."

 

"You're just an employee in a wolf costume. Don't you think I'll leave you here with someone playing a wolf for real in this fold."

 

 

~~~

OOC: No vote yet

[Gryphon]

Zane grabbed the arm of the person next to him oblivious of the smears of dip that he was trailing across the arm of their costume.

 

With a true lack of social grace he started talking loudly to those all around him, somehow strangely bringing to mind the annoying yapping of the Jack Russell terrier that earned him his nickname.

"Oh my god, dude, did you see that? She totally fell... such a waste too... I so wanted to get with her after this party too... Man, did you see someone else up there? Who would push a looker like her off a balcony? It'd have to be someone jealous of her looks or something. Man, what a waste of a hot chick."

 

~~~

OOC:Accusing Danelle Cortéz/ Tanuchan because anyone who can make a big bad wolf costume look hot must be a jealous female rival... to the playboy bunny... yeah.

[Patrick]

OOC: cowritten with Vene, who makes a great like-minded twin!

 

The twins were right next to the spot where the woman hit the table. After a shriek at the initial surprise, one of them started,

"So much candy ..."

"... and all of it wasted," the other one finished sadly.

 

As the limp hand of the body slid down the side of the table one of the twins gave it an unfriendly tug. "You ruined..."

"...our candy," the other twin finished. No reply came from the dead woman. The two twins thought about moving over to an untarnished table, but a crowd congregating around them looked to make passage difficult, and along with the body they were thrust to the center of attention.

 

Being surrounded by the crowd, the suddenly tense mood of the adults started to take hold of the twins as well. Both of them suddenly felt uncomfortable at being shut in by so many serious adults. It took a few moments, but one of them managed to find a way through and with a quick "This way" to the other one, slipped more towards the back of the group.

 

When they were nearly there, one of them whispered to the other, "What're they all doing suddenly? They candy is lost, but ... "

"... they wouldn't have had any if they'd let us continue, either."

"Besides, she was being dramatic."

A nod, followed by a reply, "She could've just asked, too ..."

 

Safely out of the ring of grown-ups and without a care in the world, the two twins rushed to the nearest table. It wasn't filled with sweets as the previous one had been, but they quickly found enough tasty hors d'oeuvres, delicious potato crisps and sauces to please them for quite a few minutes.

[cryptomancer]

Jimmy sat down beside Kelly. "Hey, you ok?"

 

He lifted his pink eyepatch and looked around the room. "Bit of a mess really isnt it?"

Taking his eyepatch off compleetely he wrapped it around his wrist making a silly looking bracelet.

"I wish I coulda seen things a bit better, mask and eyepatch obscured things rather a lot. Who was it that fell?"

 

(ooc: Zane/Gryphon)

 

[Gryphon]

Zane grabs a beer from the bar and drifts towards the edges of the crowd. Rough crowd tonight. No-one seemed to be interested in chatting and socialising following the unfortunate accident that happened to the playboy bunny... and it must have been an accident. Why would anyone want to kill people at a party?

 

A strange movement caught his eye and moments later Zane spotted someone who didn't seem intent on escape or oblivion... Someone in a catwoman costume... Hot.

 

Ignoring the rest of the crowd for the moment Zane started in catwoman's direction only to notice that she seemed to be making notes on her PDA.

 

"Hey catwoman, looking good! Don't tell me they've got you working tonight at the party. Come on, let me get you a drink."

[Mithrandin]

With a quick look around, Dan spotted his daughters

 

"Besides" Dan pointed at one of the other sweets table

 

"They are just fine."

 

Danelle replied with a nod, when she noticed them attacking the second dish of hors d'oeuvres.

 

Keeping his arms around Danelle, Dan headed for a couch, getting away from the crowd to get a little of fresh air.

 

 

ooc: Giles Jordan/Tommy = The Green Dragon Ranger