#[;starters]

[defendingtheice]

//open. int. espresso martini station - night.

As he had already promised, he would stay late, he would dance with his friends, he would send them safely home, and he would help Emily out whenever she needed a break to go have some fun. Honestly, she's probably know how to have more fun than he did anyways, he was put to better use as helping hands to keep the bride and groom enjoying themselves too. They certainly had proper bartenders doing the drinks, so Ashton simply situated himself to help get them out once they were done. "Espresso Martini? We got a non-alcoholic option too." Ash pushed up his jacket sleeves so they didn't get wet as he greeted the next person coming up to the bar, "I've tried the latter only but know they're equally delicious."

[toprotectandscrve]

It wasn't unusual to find Jasper indoors, cleaning and tidying things technically below his professional station as a way to keep busy when the Hero monarch was away and not desiring his service. When he found himself alone, it wasn't unusual for him to sing as he did so.

"—A butcher boy I loved so well He courted me my life away but now with me, he will not stay. I wish my baby, it were born and on my arm-"

He hummed pleasantly, forgetting some of the words of the old Knotholian tune, as a priceless vase was delicately wiped down by his practiced hands. Quickly finished, he casually moved those hands to his hips to inspect his work, humming, nodding, before turning to exit the room and... well, find something else to do.

"—that the world may know, I died for love— Oh!"

Clearly startled and embarrassed to find himself being observed, the old man clutched his thrumming chest and stumbled backward, nearly bumping right into the beautiful work of art he'd just cleaned. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't realize you were there!" (Obviously. Well, now he understood why people complained about servants sneaking up on them all the time...) "Um, did you need anything or were you just... looking around?"

[ashryder]

//open. int. hell's gate, gluttony floor, samhain ball - late night.

"Sorry we're out of the special pour right now," Ashton sighed apologetically behind the bar, the same line he's had to say for the rest of the night considering how quick some of the liquor has flown off the bar, perhaps it wasn't something they should be saying considering that's what the floor is known for, never ending supply of alcohol that all you could think of, the paradise of food and drinks, yet, even their supply could end if the whole city was here and drinking nonstop over a seasonal liquor that came by only at Hell's Gate.

He rested the palms of his hands down on the bar to address the customer a silent sorry plastered over his smile, one more tired than usual, "how about the absinthe? I can make you a special drink with that. And everything else on the menu is still topped up and I can give you a little extra as an apology." It was honestly not the busiest it has ever been but it was the longevity of the peak of crowds that could certainly wear the team down the later it got. But it was still nice to see the whole city enjoying a party. "Hope it's been a fun night at least?"

[tomas-devisser]

//open. ext. outside hell's gate (at the front door or by an open air balcony), samhain ball - night.

Was this really a good idea? This was probably a terrible idea, if he stayed at home he could be prepping the next day to keep the bakery open, rather than close it for the day. Maybe if he went back early and didn't sleep he'll still be able to make it. Tomas had slipped outside of the party after it was getting a bit too much for him to handle, the overstimulation was getting nauseating at some point that he had to leave Merc inside the party for a quick breather.

Tomas left out a loud exhale flexing his hands to stop them from shaking as the cold biting air sobered him up. He had one drink, or maybe two, or three, but that was where he was capping it, compared to the calming affects of alcohol somehow before Tomas gets to that level, it just heightens his senses instead of dulls them. But the quiet was nice, the rest of the party muffled behind him from closed door, he just needed a minute to calm down before he braces himself back in there, he came with Merc, dressed up in some kind of daredevil lawyer and the punisher, and he didn't want to leave him hanging too long, plus there were other friends here too, it should be fun, and he's trying to have fun.

"Oop-!" He jumped at the sudden sound of someone joining and whipped around pulling off the red glasses that honestly tinted his vision in a strange way to look at the new companion in the open air in non red tinted view, "s-sorry, I'm so sorry you scared me I just.. I just needed some air, it was um- a lot in there." He awkwardly laughed it off, nerves were radiating off of the baker as he tried to take a deep inhale, "how- um, how's your night been? It looks like a lot of fun-- sorry if you need this space I can.. i can leave, I'm about to leave, promise."

[cassieaubrey]

"¿Me puedo sentar aquí? No se si las mesas están numeradas o algo, tal vez sí lo estén, pero aqui no hay nadie y los tacones ya me cansaron, Tal vez debí usar otros o zapatos más bajos, hubiera usado mary janes pero es una fiesta formal y pensé sería más adecuado tacones porque ya sabes, es lo que se usa en este tipo de ocasiones a pesar de que es difícil caminar en el pasto con ellos. Pero sí, em, ¿me puedo sentar entonces? Está bien si dices que no, puedo buscar otro lado, es más, debería buscar otro lugar, perdón por molestar–" A pesar de que lo intenta, no puede dejar de hablar, el nerviosismo de estar alrededor de tanta gente y la costumbre de hablar sola por su línea de trabajo, le hacen no ser capaz de cerrar la boca.

[ambrvose]

"Sin duda hay disfraces bastante creativos este año," comenta a su interlocutor, con un leve gesto de su vaso de whiskey "algunos un poco abstractos para mi inteligencia, he de admitir."

[ashton-ryder]

//open. int. atrium laundry clotheslines - day. 4th may or later.

If he stayed in his apartment any longer, he might just go crazy. While the kindness of friends kept him company, Ash has essentially been isolated in singular locations for almost an entire month. But he didn't have it in him to disobey doctor's orders on his ankle. The worst case scenario if he didn't let it heal right was that he could never walk or run again, and that thought sickened him to a very dark point. If he became rendered useless, redundant, then what's the point? He combated the thoughts through minor work, chores, goals, anything that felt productive, or really, just to feel human again. Showers, cleaning his apartment, and today, doing laundry.

It was hard to dry anything in his own apartment and he'd been somewhat updated on the changes already implemented in the building while he was gone, including a clothesline. And when Ruth brought him a crutch that the scout team actually managed to procure, it seemed like as good a time as any to face the world past his door again. Crutch in one hand, basket of clean damp clothes in the other, Ashton sucked in a breath and headed down. He rather not be seen by others, not this weak and broken, but he was curious of the shifts in the atrium, and desperate to move, so he tried to stay unnoticeable, small, invisible. It takes him slowed, cautious movements to hang what he had, mumbling to himself or anyone else in the vicinity, "so much changed.. Will these even dry here?"