-Kalisse-

Upon arrival, Kalisse was amazed, despite having experienced Nobyl parties before. Yet they were never at the grand scale of what must be what a usual Lord Helion party was like. And it appeared to be running smoothly despite his absence. Kalisse concealed her surprise with a slight, Nobyl-like smile (appearing kind yet guarded and crisp) before turning around and surveying the scene.

There were Nobyls slowly begininng to fill the room as the party started. Conversations began, and soon, the air was filled with the chatter of Nobyls, ranging from any emotion yet sounding similarly polite and courteous. It felt similar to any other party, yet with something in the air, which most Nobyls, if they detected it, merely hinted at it with the slightest tilts or glints in their eyes. 

"Shall we mingle?" Estrelle asked Kalisse. Kalisse nodded---rather automatically, before realizing that Estrelle had already disappeared into the crowd.

Kalisse internalized her sigh and decided to approach a nearby Nobyl for polite conversation.

@Everline@

Everline gazed at the scene of merry Nobyls chatting with one another, seeing nothing seemingly amiss. Once again, she thought about how useless all of this was, and longed to storm out of the party out of sheer boredom. She glanced around briefly, before noticing someone near the refreshments table who had a similarly bored expression as her. 

Well, if she was being forced to be here, might as well make a conversation to pass the time, Everline thought, as she decided to go up to the Nobyl(?) and saying, "Greetings. Are you enjoying your evening so far?" 

~

Anyone can RP with Kalisse if they want to! and @Amethyst, I hope it's okay to have Everline and Starling interact. If not, that's fine as well.

@all: What's the current style for Nobyls' clothing? Elmira's dress is (loosely) inspired by sort of older (1700s-1800s-ish) clothing. Is there a specific era of our-world fashion that Kyngdom takes after, or is it more nebulous? (Just wondering.)

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]Joseph pur Nairen[

Joseph wasn't at all ready for the party. 
Or, that is, his solo.
After about an hour, the guests would begin to dance; he would be heading off the dancing by playing his piece. Unfortunately, he hadn't managed to master the song, which he was angry about. He was also preoccupied with Lord Helion's disappearance--the two of them were close friends, and so Joseph was slightly worried about Lord Helion. Still, despite everything, he put on his best suit and went downstairs into the main ballroom, fiddling with his bow tie. The room was packed with Nobyls in flamboyant clothing, and the atmosphere felt slightly charged, like something unexpected was going to happen.
Perhaps it was because of the worry, or maybe because of the charge, but for whatever reason, he wondered: was it only a party that would happen, or something completely different?

@Moon Wolf, it would be great to have a conversation between them :)

@Seadragon, I don't think it's particularly specified... I think it's probably general fantasy attire (dresses, cloaks, etc.), but not anything in particular.

And Tarava can talk with anyone :)

#Starling#

Someone came up beside Starling, someone whose eyes were barely veiling her boredom. "Greetings," she said. "Are you enjoying your evening so far?"

Starling shrugged. "Parties aren't exactly my thing. But yes, in a way." In a setting like this, politeness seemed to come naturally to her. "I'm Starling -" She stopped there. Her last name would give away her un-Nobyl status, and maybe it would be the best thing to pass as a Nobyl here. Would this mindless Nobyl girl want to be with a soldier? Though there was something about her that didn't seem quite like that of the other people here. She shrugged again, lightly. "Call me Starling. I don't know you?"

=Kalam=

Tarava skimmed off to talk to some Nobyl she knew, and Kalam felt an unaccustomed awkwardness settle over him as he turned to Elmira. What were normal things to say? The light in the ballroom suited her so well, and she didn't seem like the Elmira he'd known in the little informal cafe in Mer, and actually he didn't know her at all, except by sight. And what were normal things to say?? "I hope your journey here was all right?" he asked after a pause. He should have wanted to be anywhere else, but he wouldn't have been anywhere else if he could have been.

@Everline@

The Nobyl shrugged. "Parties aren't exactly my thing. But yes, in a way. I'm Starling---" She cut herself off, before lightly shrugging again. "Call me Starling. I don't know you?" 

Everline realized that she had not mentioned her last name, which seemed like what Nobyls would usually do, to flaunt their family name and status. But who knows, perhaps Everline was simply mistaken with that assumption. Despite Starling perhaps seeming slightly different from typical Nobyls, Everline decided it was still safer to go under her Nobyl name, "You may call me...Reve. Reve pur Derefoni." She glanced around and admitted, "Parties are not really my thing either." In a quieter tone, she added, "In fact, they sometimes appear dull, beneath all that extravagance. But anyways---" Her voice returned to normal. "---Do you happen to know what the situation was that called Lord Helion away?"

Sorry I'm lagging a bit behind--I've been working on this post for a while because I haven't had much time.

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{Elmira pur Nairen}

Kalam checked his pocket watch.
"I think we ought to go into the ballroom," he said. "It's almost time, and you know how fashionable it is to be early."
Tarava nodded; Elmira went along, and they went through hallways and descended stairs. Elmira wondered how they looked together. She had noticed that her dress and Tarava's clashed slightly, probably because Elmira'd worn something different than what Tarava had bought. Perhaps that had been a bad decision, she wondered. People who were going to parties together typically didn't clash. Oh well. It would be what it would be. Kalam looked very nice; he wore a long, cloaklike blue-green coat that was dark enough to look black.  
He was talking to her now--Tarava had darted off somewhere.
"I hope your journey here was all right?" he asked.
How to answer that? Elmira wondered.
"Fine enough," she said. "We were ambushed by the waiter from the cafe that we went to." Now she had to speak in code. "He wishes to join...us." 
"How so?" asked Kalam.
"He is waiting at this party," said Elmira.
"I see," said Kalam.
"Though I don't know where he'd be putting the food down," she continued.
Kalam glanced behind Elmira. "Along that wall, I think," he said. Elmira turned: There was indeed a row of tall, golden tables along the wall opposite to the one she was facing, covered in food. She should've noticed it, shouldn't she, especially so as not to look like a fool in front of Kalam? Something told her that it was fine, she didn't look like a fool.
"So," said Kalam, staring around, his eyes finally landing on a place where a bandstand was being set up. "This isn't too interesting, is it? Once there are musicians, shall we dance?"
Elmira felt a great heat on her face. She had been tutored in dancing, but she wasn't an especially good dancer--she was clumsy, and awkward, and forgot steps. She wondered if her face was red. It probably was red, and also likely blotchy, which was something that wasn't supposed to happen to Nobyl ladies--they were meant to stay cool as cucumbers and calm as sheltered ponds.
She opened her mouth to say something (what, she didn't know-- "I hurt my ankle on the journey here and am tottering in my shoes as we speak, so I can't dance at all"? "I'm a horrible dancer"? "No, I'd rather talk even though this really isn't too interesting"?) but she looked again at Kalam's face, and was suddenly beset by an urge (where from, she didn't know either) to simply say, "Yes." 
So she did.
"Once there is music," Elmira proclaimed, "we shall dance."