NationStates Jolt Archive

Maica frowned as he looked upon water fountain. It had been ages since he'd stopped and admired the shimiring water, he'd been too busy, too distracted. His reflection played to and fro, streching and shrinking in the ripples. He looked years old than his age, not good for a half-elf, looking beat and tired. Tired He couldn't even remember when he had last slept.

Something had to be done it was decided, so he took the month off. The vice and CSS would handle things for him. Less his choice and more their urging. An ailing leader is useless.

So now Maica sat, finally with time to relax, and all he could do was stare at the fountain and worry.
Gah. I'm in a rut. What to do?

"Sir, dinner is ready."
Maica glanced over at the petite young maid, illuminated by garden lamps.

"Thank you Jessica, please tell Rho that I will be in shortly"

Maica paused momentarily, splashing at his reflection, and then hurried out of the cool night.
__________________
Rho half-bowed, unable to bow further as his face was already dreadfully close to a hot cooking surface. Maica returned the bow and pulled up a seat, reaching for the Sake stored underneath the table.

"Evening Rho, what are we having tonight?"

Rho smiled, adjusting his hat. "Well sir, we'll start with a nice shrimp appetizer, cooked with many seasonings. Then we will have zuchini followed by cold water lobster served with fried rice."

Maica grinned for the first time in a long time. "Ah, a classic."
He always enjoyed teppan-style cooking, and Rho was a master of the trade.
Now this is fun......I've got it

"Jessica!"
Never too far away, Jessica poked her head around the corner. "Yes sir?"

"Take a note dear."
___________________

Sometime later the following letter was sent out.

Dear friends, esteemed colleagues, and "honorable others",

I appologize for my lack of attendence to functions as of late, I've been quite busy. To make up for this, I propose a night of relaxation and enjoyment.

WHAT: Masquerade party Teppan-style cooking. Private play showing in Integral
WHEN: XXXX date
WHERE: My retreat overlooking the Red Cliffs of Integral.
WEAR: Costume
BRING: One guest, if you like.
Hope to see you there.


OOC:
Who's invited?:
Well, all Trium off course. Anyone else, I'd prefer you ask, and have at least some past interaction with me (friend or foe). Or at least a good excuse to come.

Rules:
Try not to kill anyone, burn the house down, or cause general pain and burnination.

After reading the note that was sent to him, Master Ensor decided to hand write out a response. His first task was to fetch a pen knife to scrape the shellac away from the drawer that held his writing utensils. After scraping this away, he put a new ink cartridge in his 40¢ fountain pen and began to compose a note.

Dear Maica,

I would like to thank you for the invitation and would enjoy attending. It will be just me; no guests.

He wrung his hands as he finished; he thought about the momentous impression he had to make as the newest Triumvirate member and all the people he would be representing. Pondering it for a time, he decided on a traditional Seldane costume to wear to the function.

A short, indefinably ugly man smiles as he reads the missive. He reaches into his drawer, pulls out a fresh sheet of paper and composes his reply.

Maica,

That's exactly what we've needed. Folks really need to let their hair down, and we haven't had a really good opportunity for it since that dreadfully boring winter ball. I have every confidence you'll set a better table than that sad soiree.

See you there.

Devon Treznor
Emperor

So many plans to pull together, so damn many arrangements to be made ... good god, when does it end?

Nathicana slapped down a stack of papers onto her desk, and pushed aside the datapad she'd been perusing as well, scowling darkly. Her short vacation to Titan, playing hookey as it were from duties, had been entirely too pleasant. Now that she was back to the grind, and with so many more pressures piling on of late, she found herself gritting her teeth more often and snapping more easily at those who had the misfortune of annoying her.

It seemed the Dread Lady was back, with a vengeance.

When Else poked her head in a few moments later, Nathi restrained herself from losing her temper entirely. The day had been a series of interruptions.

"The mail," the blonde woman said simply, walking quickly over and depositing the pile on Nathicana's desk with a brief nod. She did however, leave the room slightly faster than she'd entered it.

Still scowling, the raven-haired woman flipped through the short stack, pausing when she came to Maica's letter. Slowly, the scowl faded as she opened it, and read. She reached over to grab her glass of ice water, her eyes still on the letter as she pondered thoughtfully.

But the schedule, and ... oh bloody hell. It's one evening. I wonder if Dev''s attending? Gods, I wonder if Kraah is? That last so-called 'party' - Sweet Jesu, but that was an odd gathering! Guaranteed this will beat it hands down. Now where's my good stationery ...


My dear Maica,

It has been entirely too long since last we met, and I know the road since has not been an easy one for you. I would be delighted to attend, and thank you for the offer of hospitality.

Sincerely,

--Nathicana

"Sweet, a cosplay party!" Firefury skims the note. "Haven't had a good excuse for a new costume since AniCon 1!"

"Uh... well, be that as it may, it does still appear to be intended as a moderately formal function..." Tsume tries to still the growing sense of fear.

"Any costume worth doing is worth OVERDOING!" Firefury crows, hauling the protesting dragon along.

ALTIMIT Emailer
Sent To: Maica
Sent From: Firefury Amahira
Subject: RE: Party

Looking forward to attending! I'll be bringing Tsume along with me... though I imagine we'll both be hard to recognize in costume.

~Queenie
--
ALTIMIT Emailer (http://www.dothack.com/common/launch_page.html)
Bringing The World together!
<End Message>

{Internal Trium Comms, Standard Encryption}
x Gregor (IUoCetaganda)
o Maica (JHoBeserker)

We'll be there, and won't blow anything up if no one else does.

Gregor & Tarvi Vetinari

{Message Ends


"A uniform does not count as a costume, Gregor," Tarvi snaps.

"Well...what do you suggest?" replies the Emperor plaintively. "You're the big party person. Think of something."

Tarvi ponders for a moment, studying Gregor. A chance glance at a nearby mirror leads to a comparison between the two. Gregor is a bit taller, more muscular, has a plainer face, and pitch black hair. Tarvi, on the other hand, is thinner, and has blonde hair that's nearly white. With an evil gleam in his eye, he turns back to his husband. "Do we have any armor?"

"Sixteen hundred years of it. Why?" responds Gregor.

"Anything evilish looking that fits you? And something nice, shiny, and vaguely elvish that would work this me?"

"Yeessss, I would suppose so," says Gregor slowly.

"Excellent. Dispatch a minion to find some fake pointy ears. Meanwhile, we're heading to the armory." Tarvi drags Gregor off.

"Hmmm... masquerade party. This'll be a first for me." said ZX as he read over the message. "Of course, I have no idea what to do for a costume though..."

Asami looked up from reading her copy of the message. "I think I have an idea for something. You'll like it!"

"And that would be what?"

"Its a secret! Trust me, it'll be a fun costume!" she replied, turning back to her computer.

"Uhh.. alrighty then. But you're coming with me then, so you better get a costume ready for yourself!" said ZX, walking back to his office to write up a reply.

-=<Sneaky B Email Network>=-
To: Maica
From: Zero_X
Subject: Masquerade Party
Encryption: Standard

Thank you for the invitation. I'll be bringing along one guest to party. See ya there!

-Zero_X
-=<End of Message>=-