Lt. Cmdr. Alora DeVeau - "Night of Fantasy" (ALL)
Amanda Nordstrom
OOC: Each room of the haunted castle is in a theme of a ghost/horror story native to various worlds. If you’d like, pick your favourite species, create (or use one already created) a horror story and feel free to describe and embellish a room to correspond! Have fun with this! :)
IC:
((Starbase 118 Ops - Ballroom))
Alora took up position smack dab in the center of the Ball room. Above her, chandeliers were spaced at even intervals, each glittering with a thousand crystals, and strewn with cascading flowers of various shades of purple with sprinkling of white. Pinpoints of light reflected from those crystals, splaying and dancing over the ceiling, as if they were stars, skipping among a darkening sky. Some bowed to their partners, darted forward, then back in a gleeful frolic They delighted in their own party above the one that was about to begin below.
Alcoves along the walls boasted displays of flower arrangements, purple the dominating hue, but accented with yellow and white. Ivy adorned with fairy lights draped over and arched around each of them, benches covered in white fabric settled beneath, allowing those who wished to rest and converse to do so in comfort. They waited silently, their cherry arms extended in gracious invitation for any who might accept their embrace. To the south, a raised dias housed an orchestra, strings and brash, percussion and wind instruments coming together to allow the chimes of music to circulate and draw the foot into motion.
Outside on the south east entrance extended a separate room, food spread over lavender covered tables, a veritable feast for those who attended. Rich browns and reds were dotted with greens and oranges and blues and all sorts of colours in a rainbow of delectables to cater to any palate. Savoury and sweet splayed across numerous tables, stretched from end to end, with attendants ready and waiting to replace anything depleted, so no one would go without anything they might desire. Smaller tables draped in white were surrounded by iron wrought chairs, perfect for enjoying their food together in ease.
In direct contrast with the glorious beauty, an entrance in the South West corner darkened that corner. Ripples of dark purple and black writhed together. Two trees flanked the door, the trunks spiraling up from the floor, their branches arching over the head. The door itself spewed black and green over its panels, an ominous warning in letters the dripped like blood over the writhing colours: BEWARE.
On the other side of that door, visitors would enter a ghastly darkness, cut only by tendrils of pale, sickly, yellow light that emanated from darkly crusted chandeliers, those lights flickering, threatening to thrust any visitors into darkness. The great hallway that they dimly illuminated revealed a staircase that led upward, dark wood of similar hue but of no close relation to the cheerful wood of the outer benches stood silent and brooding, frowning at those who dare enter the inner vestibule, daring them to wander further. Should anyone brave enough continue one, they would food doors, six doors on the bottom floor, six more on the top, each leading to a nightmare beyond, stories from a variety of worlds, speaking of ghosts, and screeching with scenes and demons and ghosts from these words. Ghastly voices, twisted faces looming and cackling, shrieking and lunging toward all who pass their thresholds. These rooms have other doors, each leading to another, each one revealing a new horror, a new grim, grisly, and ghoulish legend come to life within the bowels of the castle that crouches outside the ballroom’s doors. They lie in wait, eager to drink in the screams of any who dare to intrude.
Outside, however, in the ballroom proper, that darkness was overcome by the warmth and glow of the fantasy that Masha and Alora had arranged. She sighed happily, grateful for the opportunity to put on the masquerade - for a masquerade it was. Each invitation had been sent out, encouraging every attendee to put on their grandest display of imagination, costumes to hide their identities. She herself had chosen one with two parts, though only the first was currently visible. A coat of many colours draped over her form, but those colours were of muted, fall hues, browns, oranges, subdued yellows, and muted whites all in the fashion of ‘furs’, though not from real animals. They hid her body, her arms barely visible through slits that allowed her to withdraw her appendages inside at will. Even a hood in the shape of a wolf's head darkened her face, her dark hair, pulled back so that the paleness of her skin was the only thing revealed beneath its shadow. And thus, the time came. Attendants took up their places at the doors. There would be no formal announcement, but they would simply smile and invite those inside to dance to the tunes the small orchestra played, to partake of the fare that waited beyond one door, or dare to explore what waited for them beyond the other. Alora took up position in one of the corners not inhabited by another entrance, watching as guests arrived, noting the glorious costumes, her green eyes sparkling in the shade of her hood.
Any: ?
As the first friendly and familiar face approached her, she tilted her head upward a little, revealing just a bit more of her face. A smile accompanied it, a light in the depths of the umbra over her face.
DeVeau: Well hello there.
Any: ?
DeVeau: Why thank you, but Masha was a co-conspirator. I couldn’t take all the credit.
Any: ?
DeVeau: Do you have an idea of what you’d like to do first?
Any: ?
-- Lt. Cmdr. Alora DeVeau Science Officer Starbase 118 Ops M239008AD0