EVENT ★ WINTER WONDERLAND, THE RECKONING

[futurologists]

HAPPY (NONDENOMINATIONAL) HOLIDAYS When recruits arrive back at Oska, they'll find the place already full of other ALASTAIR teams visiting Oska, and the castle and grounds entirely decked out in festive cheer. The castle is draped in purple and white finery, with a light dusting of unmelting snow everywhere -- even inside, somehow. Don't worry, the indoor snow has been enchanted to be strangely warm. Dagny has taken it upon herself to add a little plant life in and around the castle: mistletoe, of course. It can be spotted growing in little sprigs out of chinks in castle walls, around from wooden doorframes, or even sprouting out of other, unrelated trees. You're never really safe from mistletoe. And what would the use of mistletoe be without the enchantment? Dagny has made sure that there are enough variant species of the mistletoe to offer something for everyone. Recruits may find themselves stuck under any manner of mistletoe, trapped until they fulfill the mistletoe geas. The Classic: This is the standard magical mistletoe, that traps people in a lightly shimmering sphere until they exchange a kiss. Any kind of kiss will do, just pucker up! The Papilion: This is similar to the classic, but its berries come in brilliant shades of orange and pink. It will only release its catch after a butterfly kiss. Clinging Merriment: This mistletoe is all wrapped up in itself, and climbs whatever surface it's on in twisting spirals. All it wants from its catch is a hug, but make it a good one! The Lively Stepper: This mistletoe seems to shiver in some unfelt breeze, and if you listen closely enough, there's a gentle chime of bells that fades when you lean away from it again. People stuck under this plant will have to dance together, to whatever music they can find or make. Whispering Mary: This mistletoe comes with deep purple leaves and seems to hide within itself. Only after a secret has been shared from each person trapped under it will it flower open and release them. Evening Gown: This mistletoe is a gaudy display, with brilliant green leaves and splendid white blossoms instead of berries. It will only release its catch after they compliment each other -- and the Evening Gown always knows when it hears a genuine compliment, and accepts no substitutions! Catflowers: Dagny didn't put this kind out, and has named them after the suspected perpetrators. She's been trying to take them down when she finds them, but there might be a few she's missed. This thorny sprig of mistletoe will only release its catch after they've punched each other. Sorry about that. THE WINTER BALL Exciting news, passed from recruit to recruit and team to team: the castle will host a ball soon! It's set to be on the second night of team Audentes's arrival in Oska, and it's going to be a truly extravagant affair. Nothing to wear? No fear! The wardrobes in each recruit's room will open upon an enormous display of fancy clothing in a multitude of styles. Once you've settled on one (and somehow, the wardrobe knows the difference between trying on and settling on), the rest of the outfits vanish the next time it's closed. The festivities start as soon as the sun begins to sink. Music filters through the air, growing louder to guide partygoers through the castle and into the dance hall, which was definitely not a room in existence until today. The music flows from no discernable source, sometimes swirling orchestral pieces, sometimes something with a heavier beat, for a different kind of dancing. The selection is as varied as the ALASTAIR teams tend to be. Listen long enough, and you might even hear something from your own home universe. A large glass flower shimmers in the center of the room, under which various recruits have taken to leaving presents for one another. Be sure to stop by and check the brightly wrapped parcels for your name! Team Audentes in particular gets a special gift. The north side of the room is decorated in an unmistakable Christmas theme, complete with an enormous, glittering tree. The care put into these decorations definitely has a personal touch, it might even outshine the rest of the hall's decor. Each member of the team has a lovingly wrapped box complete with a bow under this tree, and upon opening it will find a small, intricately detailed, never-melting ice sculpture of themselves -- very possibly in a ridiculous pose. Those who were acquainted with former teammate Nicholas St. North will find that their sculpture features two figures: themselves, and North himself. And of course, what party would be complete without the food? The kitchen has really outdone itself with its spread of delicious foods, suited to all appetites and palates. From gently steaming roasted bird to strangely colored foreign piles of tiny quivering spheres, there's something for everyone. Including the alcoholics among us: the punch is delicately spiked with that incredibly strong drink of Nalawi, which leaves a pleasantly fruity aftertaste and an immediate alcoholic burn. (Any children partaking will find that their cups have somehow filtered out any alcohol and are strangely juice-only.) ICE MAZE Outside the castle, the courtyard has been transformed. Giant shimmering ice walls have sprung up seemingly overnight, forming endless, winding pathways: an ice maze. Stepping into this beautiful, gleaming maze immediately cuts off all sound from the castle life around, so loud just a moment ago. Inside the maze is only the crunch of light snow underfoot, the sound of one's own breathing, and the echoes that bounce faintly here and there. Throughout the maze one might find bits of warm, inviting clothing. A pair of bright red mittens, a puffy coat that fits perfectly to the wearer, a scarf woven in brightly colored, warm wool. If a maze-goer chooses to ignore and walk past this clothing, they might find that something begins to follow them. It starts as just an unsettling feeling, but put off accepting the clothing for long enough and it may turn into lurking shadows in the corner of an eye, a black shape that's there in one second and vanished in the next. A faint yowl may float down a corridor, vaguely feline if only it weren't so deep. Whatever that came from must have been large. Accepting and wearing just one of the offered clothing chases away this unwanted visitor immediately, and in just five minutes more the ice maze will finally bring you out the other side. Don't take any of its gifts, though, and the maze may just lead you to meet the Yuletide Cat instead. (Which just so happens to be Cherenkov and Crowley sharing a giant cat costume. Don't laugh, they worked hard on it.) THE VILLAGE Far outside the castle, the village has been brought back to warm, glowing life. Or at least, that seems to be the case. Team Hearthstone was recently on a mission to recover an item called the Time Catch, and has used it to temporarily, visually turn time back to a time when the village of Oska was populated and lively. Humanoid villagers, all in various shades of purple and blue, hurry to and fro, talking and laughing in a language that goes untranslated by the magitek jewelry. They don't react to any of the recruits, though, and trying to touch any of them will have your hands passing straight through them. Even the restored village around them is just an illusion. One can walk straight into one of the villager's houses and find the warmth of the fire and aroma of the roasted fowl to be completely believable -- but trying to take a seat at the set table will send you crashing straight to the ground to sit in the illusion-covered rubble. THE SQUIDGE PARK After the festivities wind down, you may want to visit the newest addition to the Oska grounds -- the brand new squidge park. After Audentes's success in its mission on Zeta-12, ALASTAIR has been gifted with a clutch of squidge eggs to look after. Audentes need not worry about the squidges in their absence; there will always be someone in Oska to make sure the jelly-like aliens are being nurtured properly. The squidge park is located off the greenhouses in the courtyard; it's an enclosure containing many artificial habitats so the squidges may interact with different environments to help them grow. Right now, they are just eggs, but with enough love and care, they may "hatch" (read: their amorphous blob selves will grow limbs and enter the larval stage) before Audentes even ships out again. OOC NOTES Blind date assignments for those working to complete the Lonely Hearts Club bounty can be found here. ICly, the match-ups are publicly posted in the ballroom for all to see. The other ALASTAIR teams present consist of everything from humanoids to strange creatures; feel free to handwave them in your threads! The only stipulation is that transferred characters (ex. those who have dropped) are not present. The party lasts for one night, and the following day the rest of the teams will pack up and leave Oska to Audentes. The ghostly village-that-isn't will revert back to ruins at this point, as well. However, all other winter amenities will remain for the holidays! Following the party, characters can expect to be in Oska for several more weeks, with the next mission starting in late January. A more detailed calendar for next month will be up soon! Questions about this log, Oska, or the game in general should be directed to the FAQ. You may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time.

Comments

giorno giovanna | ota

[digiorno]

A ☆ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ɢᴏᴛ ᴍʏ ᴍɪɴᴅ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴜᴘ

[To the casual observer, it seems like Giorno falls into the mistletoe trap like everyone else does. Honestly, there's hardly a gap between when the mistletoe goes up and when he finds himself underneath it. So it has to be an accident, just like it is for everyone else. Probably.]

[Except no. Because he pays very careful and close attention to plant life in general and plant life in Oska specifically--because this is a new place, because he was only here for a moment before Perdition's Rest, because he's so on edge and angry and worried in general. So when he sees it (and he does see it), he holds back for long enough to watch someone walk into the trap. He observes, and . . .]

[And then he steps into it himself. A lot of times. A lot of times. Most of the time when he does something reckless, it's because he's bored, but that isn't it this time, or at least not all of it. This time, he's lonely--he's homesick--and he's bored. He needs a distraction. Which means he makes a thorough sweep of every single type of mistletoe, with the notable exception of catflower. Every time he gets "caught", he puts on a show of innocence for at least as long as it takes for the other person to figure out exactly where they are, but admittedly--]

Fancy meeting you here.

[It's not that convincing.]

B ☆ & ɪ ᴡᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟᴇᴛ ɢᴏ

[Parties, at least, are something he's very good at. In general, he can bullshit his way through any kind of social gathering, but the past six months of his life have taught him the fine art of diplomacy while moving and consuming precisely the socially correct amount of alcohol. As usual, he goes into his outfit planning with the expectation of making himself look just unusual enough to be a little confusing--but the closet clearly has other ideas, and while he's aggravated at first at the minor loss of control, he can't deny it's . . . what he actually wanted to wear.]

[And he looks amazing, and feels amazing, and looks like he feels amazing when he makes his way into the ballroom. It's probably the first time the vast majority of these people have really seen him smile, and it's something of an experience: bright and wide and awestruck at every beautiful thing in the room, person or object or song or sound . . .]

[Because the truth of the matter is there is so much that's still new to him. Danger is custom now, but fun is a novelty. He isn't under any kind of delusion that this is anything but a distraction, some manner of tactic to keep them all from thinking about what's happened, but--he'll take it, he will.]

[And it doesn't take much prompting for him to come up to people and demand their attention: by touching them on the arm and pointing with delight at one of the many curiosities of the room, especially the glass flower in the middle, or by stepping in the middle of their path and smiling up winningly with the request-slash-instruction:] Dance with me?

[At one point, a song he knows comes on out of nowhere. It surprises him enough that he actually laughs, which. Well. Somebody take a picture because it probably won't happen again until the next eclipse.]

C ☆ ɪ'ᴍ ᴋɪʟʟɪɴɢ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ ☆ kaz

[If he was being honest, which he tries not to be, the other reason he wasn't too terribly upset about the dress was because there's someone specific he needs to throw off his game tonight. The goal was to have a nice date and make some money, but if he can only accomplish one of those things tonight, so be it. He can get his own nice date another time. And if he's going to go on a date with Kaz Brekker, it's going to be on his own terms, and he's going to win it.]

[So: about halfway through the evening, he finds Kaz in the crowd and plants himself in his path, chin tipped up, beautiful, resplendent, determined, and smiling.]

All right. Now or never. Did you know there's an ice maze outside? I hear you know all about ice.

[Let's go make that ca$h money, you intriguing shitwad--]

D ☆ 'ᴛɪʟ ɪᴛ sᴀᴠᴇs ᴍʏ sᴏᴜʟ

[He does a fair number of exploring during their downtime. To the park, because he's heard so many stories of the squidges by now, but to the village, too, because he hasn't heard nearly as much about that.]

[And it's--upsetting, actually. Worse like this than it would have been as a ghost town, he thinks, because of how false it is. He can't keep himself from running his hands through the facsimiles of people over and over and over again; he can't help imagining what they might think of being reconstructed like this.]

[Should he run into anyone else in his explorations, he'll give a soft, troubled smile for a moment, then look back to whatever falsehood was currently occupying his attention and ask,] . . . Do you think this is actually accomplishing anything? Honestly.]

E ☆ ᴡɪʟᴅᴄᴀʀᴅ

( want to find giorno anywhere else? hit me up! or contact me at passiones! )

a;

[endeudado]

[ Jesper's never seen mistletoe in his life and the solstice and winter seasons didn't bring much commerce to Ketterdam, so it's hard to believe they'd have anything quite this... extravagant back home. But the winter cheer is contagious in Oska and it's hard to ignore the way everybody seems to be stuck kissing and punching each other for some reason.

Needless to say, when he spots Giorno standing under the very same weird plant thing, he walks up to him, not really knowing what to expect. But Giorno's his friend, he'll make it fun. ]

I could say the very same thing.

[digiorno]

[Okay, so: maybe this one he planned with some precision. He'd use himself as mistletoe bait a few times for Jesper, maybe, if he's being honest, so it's nice when the careful research pays off so quickly.]

[And maybe his grin is a little sharper at Jesper, specifically, than it has been at other people thus far. But so what.]

[He points . . . up. At the mistletoe.]

Do you know what these do yet? I do.

[endeudado]

[ Oh, sweet, smart Giorno, won't you educate poor Jesper about the wonders of mistletoe?

Hahahahahahaha right. Anyway. Jesper would still be here even if he knew what mistletoe is actually for. In fact he'd probably have run over if he was fully aware.

Jesper looks up (not quite as far as Giorno does, mind you,) and observes. It sure looks like some weird weed. He shrugs. ]

Not particularly. Do they have some kind of magic or what?

[digiorno]

Mm. It's Viscum album. [He thinks, anyway. Who knows with Oska--but anyway:] Mistletoe. Generally it's not magical except metaphorically.

[#ROMANCE IS #MAGIC]

It grows in Europe, which is where I'm from. For a long time it was associated with winter--because it grows in winter--and with fertility, for the same reason. But now mistletoe means kissing. And this mistletoe . . .

[He glances from the mistletoe down to Jesper again. Still up, but less up.]

Apparently, this mistletoe really wants people to kiss.

[steler]

[ hearing about himself from other people really never gets old. and while he's generally mad at jesper for mouthing off about the ice court prior to the job, the fact that he's gone around telling stories now is rather advantageous. it leads to moments like these, and he's all about them. ]

You'd be surprised how slogging through snowfields makes you never want to see it again.

[ never mind everyone with their "let's all huddle for warmth!!" disgusting. we all know what you and matthias did in that tent, nina.

anyway composure and quick response aside, kaz really is impressed by the way giorno cleaned up. it's not like they'd had any room for caring about appearances back in perdition's rest. most of them had been dirty, running around with metal horses, and doing dirty deeds for quick cash.

but speaking of bounties, kaz managed to dress up too. in a way, it's no different than dressing up for some scheme. he might be more comfortable dressed as mister crimson, but this is fine too. it's better than the uniform he'd been wearing for the last few weeks, so he gladly takes the chance. ]

I'm not opposed, though.

[ it's easier than dancing. ]

[digiorno]

That's unsurprising. Snow is garbage.

[This is a scientific fact originating from: him, personally, and his personal (but scientific) opinion. That said, the prospect of exploring an interesting new things with a clever person and possibly tripping said clever person into a snowbank slightly outweighs the discomfort of the cold. Anyway, there are vague memories in the back of his mind of winters in Tokyo--]

[But never mind all that. He's not stupid enough to expect an actual date out of Kaz, but they'll both get something out of it this way, maybe. Besides the money.]

Come on, then. If you can't keep up with me in a dress I take your share, by the way.

[#romance. He turns in his skirts, making a beeline for the door. People tend to get out of his way, and he's a hell of a lot faster than he looks when he wants to be.]

[steler]

You've still got me at a disadvantage.

[ asshole -- but he doesn't really mean it. he's been walking with his leg long enough he doesn't have a problem catching up to giorno. he's dealt with the discomfort cold puts on his leg, before. and he's dealt with it in much more strenuous circumstances. he'll keep up with giorno in a dress.

but he's still going to take the shot to make him feel guilty for the challenge. pity can go both ways and he doesn't mind playing it every now and again. i mean, he knows he's kaz brekker, the boy who can do anything.

(and, the truth is, he appreciates that giorno challenges him rather than acts like he can't, but good luck ever hearing kaz talk about his stuff out loud.) ]

You're not getting my share, unless it turns out to be more of these "Nondenominational" gifts.

[digiorno]

[There's a moment when it actually works--because of course, kindness is always its own disadvantage. Giorno looks over his shoulder at Kaz with a flash of alarm that lasts exactly a second and a half, and then it melts into irritation (at himself) that works its way out into the world as a bark of laughter.]

Don't imply anyone has you at a disadvantage, Kaz, you wouldn't allow it.

[And it's true: Kaz wouldn't have come if there was actually an inherent danger. Giorno knows that better than anyone.]

If it's a nondenominational gift, I shall riot. Or sell them. I want money. We could probably do a riot with two people if we worked very hard.

a; hey lil mary lemme whisper in ur ear

[pummelling]

[Someone has very casually strolled underneath the doorway that he is hustling past, leaving the two of them effectively trapped until he takes some sort of action.

That someone is smaller than Kung Jin-- and very beautiful. Jin catches the blonde hair, pinned up ornately; the fine, floral embroidery of the dress; the fact that the person is smaller, more lithe than he. He's a moment from attempting to awkwardly extricate himself from the situation when he realizes his mistake, and breathes a sigh of relief. This is not a pretty girl from another ALASTAIR team. It's a person he knows.

It's Giorno.

...........................wait wait wait it's Giorno???????

Utterly dumbfounded (and yet nothing like offended, not in the least), he blinks, giving his younger teammate a once-over. That's definitely a super gorgeous dress this teenage boy is in.]

...You look nice.

[digiorno]

Buon giorno, Jin.

[. . . he says, probably sparkling.]

[No, but he is quite cheerful, actually. He might be perpetually irritated with Jin, but he still likes him. In his obviously very practiced and measured opinion, physical affection solves a lot of problems, as long as he's in charge of it.]

[And okay, maybe he wanted to see Jin making this dumb face he's making.]

Thank you. So do you. [butnotasnice I MEAN WHAT]

[pummelling]

[why]

Buon giorno. ...Giorno. [where are your two dads, sparkling young man, do they know where you are]

[Jin's definitely still making a dumb face, as he wracks his brain for not horrible ways to voice the express trainwreck of 'oh, that makes sense' currently rattling through the railway station inside his head. give him a minute.]

I didn't particularly want to stay at the party that long, but I figured that my closet would stop spitting ties at me if I just put something on. You look like you went all out, though.

[an uncertain glimpse up at the mistletoe. let him leave. please.]

a; how does lively stepper sound

[heavyhitter]

[ Ramir doesn't even notice the mistletoe at first. She's distracted by, well, basically everything. There's so much to look at at this ball, what the hell. At this very second everything means Giorno's outfit, which is surprising for a split second and then immediately delightful. ]

Holy shit, look at you!

[ That goes with hands landing on his shoulders — or that's what she was aiming for, she's forgotten she's holding a glass of (very spiked) punch. It sloshes madly for a second before she decides to make this a one-handed shoulder clap instead. See, she can still make good decisions! ]

You look fucking amazing! That's from your room wardrobe thing?

it sounds perfect and also RAMIR IS SO CUTE

[digiorno]

[Wow. He knows he looks fantastic enough to warrant a large holler, but he wasn't really expecting anybody else to actually holler. But of course if anyone's going to, it's Ramir, who is perfect and beautiful and the best. He's already smiling when he sees her at first, but it grows to grinning and then beaming the more excited she gets.]

Mmm, mmhm! It's pretty, right?

[He holds his arms out and twists a little, looking down at himself. Yep, still a baller.]

We both look amazing. We look the best of anyone at this party. Buon natale, Ramir.

wasted* fixed that for you

[heavyhitter]

Fucking right we do. Damn, putting this whole party to shame.

[ She drops an arm around his shoulders (the non-drink arm, of course) and starts to guide them forward — but oh, hey. A barrier. A mistletoe barrier. She blinks, shoots a glance overhead, and ah, there's the culprit. Way overhead, a little sprig of green. She squints at it. ]

Oh shit, which one is that? Is it the make out one? [ Her squint falls to land on him. ] How old are you, again?

[ also i forgot to link this in the first one PUTS HER OUTFIT HERE INSTEAD, W/E ]

A

[daimeinashi]

[Sai is slowly developing a bit of a grudge toward these plants, inasmuch as someone like Sai is capable of grudges. Which is to say, he's vaguely irritable that he keeps getting stuck under them. At first he'd seen no reason to suspect the foliage, because of everything being decorated, but after the first time, he's been attempting to avoid them.

Attempting and failing, because there are so god damn many different kinds. Sai's half-tempted to just leave this party outright, except for the fact that this is the sort of thing Luffy had talked about--Luffy, who reminded him so much of Naruto from the very beginning--and he still has so many questions about the nature of bonds. If this is the sort of thing that people do with their friends, he ought to experience it as thoroughly as possible to see what he can learn.

So the next time he gets stuck under one of those plants, he taps his foot impatiently, hand on his hip.]

Ah, it's you.

[The man from Perdition's Rest, who had been torturing a Taraxa with that neurotoxin of his. Well, best not to be too irritable about this.]

Are you familiar with what is required of this plant? It doesn't resemble the others I have seen thus far.

[digiorno]

What a warm greeting.

[Giorno isn't actually grouchy. The nature of the way he met Sai in the first place makes him feel, in retrospect, fond; there's something about this boy that isn't quite right, but not in a way that feels aggressive, so he's mostly just intrigued and curious. Pleased at the insightful questions he asked, too, back in Perdition's Rest.]

[So, yeah, he's pretty chill about this. He points up at the mistletoe, tipping his head to the side.]

It's the kissing one. You haven't done the kissing one yet?

1/2

[daimeinashi]

[He could be aggressive, but the thing about Sai is that being aggressively brainwashed into seeing yourself as a weapon and nothing more means that while he's lacking on the compassion front, he doesn't particularly find any thrill in violence, either. It's merely a means to an end for him, and if there's anything Sai's all about, it's efficiency--committing harm when it's unnecessary is a waste, that's all.]

Ah.

[His lips upturn in a (fake) smile. The natural ones still don't come that easily, tho he doesn't affect the false one so readily any longer, either. It's merely in social situations like these, when he assumes it expected, based on his books.]

Hello. My name is Sai.

--Is that better?

[daimeinashi]

[Kissing, though. Has he heard that term before? Skimmed past it, in a book somewhere? The false smile slips as he thinks about it, brow furrowing as he tries to place it and comes up empty.]

No.

...What is "kissing"?

d

[strictdiscipline]

[Honestly?]

It's hard to say.

[Giorno isn't the only one out that day, with a hankering to revisit the village now that it's reanchored in the present once again, devoid of its ghostly occupants of only a few days prior. It looks as it always does: rundown and well-worn, a shell of its once-great glory. The knowledge doesn't do anything to ease the solemnity on her face, and neither does his question.]

They give us briefings after each mission, of what our efforts have brought to the world we've just left. Some of them are positive. Others...

[Her voice trails off as she lets silence speak for her. Once again, her mind flicks back to Anwick and the dragons and the cryptic message that their success had brought around the world's natural end.]

[digiorno]

[Immediately, he appreciates the answer. It's honest. He's found a strange mix of people here: those willing to entirely sugarcoat the truth and those happy to rip lies away, regardless of the pain revealed. He hopes that this woman is one of the latter. Especially in a place like this, with all these ghosts. He isn't sure he can handle lies here.]

Others feel like this place feels.

[It's not a terribly analytic response. It's not even philosophical; it's pure instinct and emotion, but he doesn't see any particular disconnect there. This place is wrong. It feels like fact, to him. It's something he has to fix, if he can.]

And this last mission. Where does it rate to you? If you don't mind the question.

gah sorry, vacation destroyed me

[strictdiscipline]

[His is a more emotional response than any of hers would have been, though no less true. But there's no time to commend him for the depth of his words; she's always been pragmatic and not one to linger. He'd asked a question, and he deserves an honest reply.

She steps over an upturned stone, bringing her one foot closer to one of the abandoned homes.]

In comparison to the other missions I've experienced here... [Her voice trails off as she thinks but resumes shortly after.] Better than the rest. We didn't completely destroy a civilization's entire way of life, nor did we contribute to the "natural end" of a world.

[Despite the lack of fingerquotes, there's a decided stiffness to the words 'natural end'.]

b

[assent]

[ She's taken a lot of effort into choosing her own dress and outfit, taking far too long on her makeup and even asking for help with her hair which is swept to the side. She's actually on her way across the room when she sees him, recognises him from a short while back.

Thankfully her hands are free at this point that when he reaches to touch her arm she doesn't drop anything out of surprise, though she does look it. ]

Ah, good evening. It has been a while. Um. [ He might notice that she casts a nervous glance around the room before she holds out her hand expectedly. ] I suppose one would not hurt. Are you an avid dancer?

[digiorno]

[Oh. She looks . . . so nervous. A different person than she was on the battlefield, more poised and confident, and yet not all that different underneath it all, maybe. It makes him smile, crooked and fond, and duck his head a little, taking her hand in his.]

Buona sera, signorina. You look perfect.

Just one dance. Don't worry, I won't take up too much of your time if you don't want me to. Mm, and yes--I am, but--

[He laughs a little, sort of self-deprecating.]

I'm self-taught. So I won't step on your feet, but I might not be up to your standards, either. I'll do my best, though! What dances do you like best?

[assent]

[ Well it isn't exactly for that reason either, she's actually more comfortable here at a gathering like this than on the battlefield--even with all her training with weaponry. (Firearms, explosives, tanks etc... sadly not knives hence the problems back then) Either way, she's glad to see they both made it back alright. ]

Buona sera anche a te, e grazie. [ She dips her head slightly out of politeness. ] But I am not worried about that, do not worry.

[ She seems to relax a lot more now anyway. ] I am familiar with all styles of ballroom dancing, if you have a favourite? I am sure whatever you have learned will be fine.