Pomp and Circumstance (OPENOPENOPEN)

[georgie]

tag: hector (aka "papa"), penelope, claudius

"Of course I've missed you dear," Meg smiled then he started guiding her through the crowd. "I'd like you to meet a couple of people Meg." "All right, Papa." she said, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt. She wasn't use to being introduced to people. Usually, she just danced on a stage and didn't have to talk to anyone except a little ballerina or two who wants to meet a real one. "One is a good friend, the other I've recently started dating," She nodded and smiled a bit, hoping her "Papa"'s friends would like her.

"Meg, this is Penelope LaFontaine And Claudius Chandler, an old friend and businessman," Miss Giry smiled warmly and gave a shy wave. "Penelope, Claudius, this is Meg Giry. She's a ballet dancer who has recently returned from Paris," She nodded a bit. "I was just visiting my home." she smiled and blushed a bit.

"Enchanté, mademoiselle," "Merci Monsieur Chandler." Meg responded in flawless French, only flawless because she's a native Parisian."Hello Meg, it's nice to meet you." "It is nice to meet you too, Madmoiselle LaFontaine." she smiled warmly. "It must be exciting being a professional dancer" She nodded a bit. "It is." she told her truthfully, "I have been one since I was very young but it is still very exciting." She smiled warmly, feeling more at ease now that the ice between Miss La Fontaine and her had now been broken. "As you can see, Hector and I overcame our differences. We're on an altogether more "friendly" basis now." She was glad her "Papa" and Miss LaFontaine were happy and she guessed Mr. Chandler should be too.

[mephi]

Tag: Dahlia and Jane

Damien scoffed and heaved a heavy sigh. "Calling the cops at an event like this? If the guy is here, then there's nothing we can do. He's probably paid the cops off." He turned to Jane, pulling Dahlia closer in a protective stance. "I may be one to cause a riot myself, but I'm sure you don't want to be involved in any of that..." He also wanted to add that he'd killed plenty of people before as well, but he doubted that Jane wanted to know that, even though Dahlia was well aware of the fact. It was really no big deal to him, though it should have been.

He wanted Dahlia to feel better, recieve some sort of solace at least. "Dahly, Dahly, do you want me to take you home? We'll... We'll figure out what to do with the killer... I'd just rather you didn't throw up all over the place, you know?" He smiled at her lovingly.

[dahlia]

Damien, Jane

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Dahlia felt almost guilty when she just completely gave up, relaxing into Damien with a defeated frown. She felt as though she was responsible for the women he killed after this; she knew what he was, and she felt that she had to tell the police, but... what evidence did she have? Her feelings? Her hunches? That would never be enough.

She looked up sadly at Jane and began to rise to her feet, still leaning on Damien. Slowly, she looked to him and nodded. She couldn't be there anymore, and frankly, she was very touched that he would offer to leave his swanky position to take care of her. A little twinge of concern flooded her for a moment--perhaps she didn't want him to see her house.

Dahlia held out a shaking hand, shuffling out of the stall, her other hand still clasping his.

[JANE EYRE]

Tag: Damien, Dahlia

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Jane felt so helpless at that point. She couldn't do anything to help either of them, it was obvious they were tied up in each other. It was nice to see actually. To have someone who was willing to sacrifice so easily for you...it was rare thing anymore. Jane never had that, even Edward wouldn't do that.

"Dahlia, is there anything you'd like me to do?" Jane figured the answer would be no and that she would just rejoin the party, albeit uneasily. It wasn't like she could stop a killer and she didn't want to leave before paying her respects. Torn between doing what was comfortable for her and following her upbringing, Jane had to wait for Dahlia's response.

Jane realized then that she could always find Claudius Chandler again. While the man may not be the most pleasant of company, it was far better than sitting at her table by herself, awkward and out of place. Even bad company was better than no company at functions such as this in Jane's opinion.

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

Tag: Penny, Meg, Claudius

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Hector glared at Claudius's greeting of Meg. The man had no sense of propriety or self preservation. "She's quite good at what she does. Perhaps, if she performs here in New York, I could get us all tickets to see her. Is your company performing any time soon, Meg?" Hector said pleasantly. With all three there Hector had to play middle of the road. The man he was around Claudius wasn't suitable to be seen by the young and naive Meg Giry. The arguing, flirting relationship he had with Penelope would only serve to fuel Claudius, and the paternal nature he had around Meg was sure to amuse the other two far too much.

"As you can see, Hector and I overcame our differences. We're on an altogether more "friendly" basis now."

Leaning down to speak into Penelope's ear, heedless of how rude that was, excluding others from a conversation, Hector couldn't help but reply to her comment. "Friendly, Penelope? Is that what you call it? I do hope that you aren't this 'friendly' with the other gentlemen in your life," Hector's hand rested on Penelope's hip, pulling her into his side a little. "We're a fair bit more than just friendly,"

[CLAUDIUS CHANDLER]

Tag: Penelope, Hector, Meg

"As you can see, Hector and I overcame our differences. We're on an altogether more "friendly" basis now."

Penelope's tone and the look she gave Hector pretty much confirmed to Claudius what he had already guessed. However, as much as this amused and intrigued him in equal measure, he knew that now was not to best time to start pestering Hector about it.

Particularly since Hector was glaring at him again. Claudius vaguely wondered what he'd done wrong this time, but really wasn't all that concerned. It wasn't as though he was under Hector's command or anything like that.

As Hector pointedly excused himself from the conversation at hand by whispering to Penelope, Claudius turned his attention back to Meg.

"I'm afraid that's as good as my French gets," he said, somewhat sheepishly.

[JACK THE RIPPER]

tag: Anyone who wants to pull Vic in

Victor had had to push himself to quickly recover and rejoin the party, making extra certain that he didn't look like the wreck he felt. He was not there to have frightened mental breakdowns, he was there to be the charming life-of-the-party type, but he feared that he had ruined his chances by completely rejecting one of those invited. It wasn't as though he had had a choice, however; that woman was profoundly frightening. He didn't want to face her again.

She'd been like a crow or something. Victor had always hated crows--noisy, black masses with black eyes that bored into you. That was exactly what she was, with her delicate and dark appearance, but she certainly wasn't noisy. He wasn't sure how he'd picked up on it, but somehow he had. Perhaps it was because, by all rights, she should have been screaming--he'd seen the pain in her face--and yet she hadn't. A silent, looming crow she was. Lord forbid she pluck his eyes out.

When he finally came back out, he scanned the room for her and realized that she was gone. Good. It gave him solace to know that he had scared her as much as she had scared him. With a deep breath, he straightened his tie again and headed toward the thick of the group, where the most people were chatting. Perhaps if he weaseled his way into a conversation, everything would go back to normal. Or, better yet, if he was pulled into a conversation.

[mephi]

Tag: Dahlia and Jane

Damien held onto his love's hand, letting her lean against him for support. He glanced at Jane for a moment as he led her out of the stall, pausing to speak to her. "You should go back to the party... I've got her, don't worry..." He raised eyebrow, steeling his gazed against her. "Why are you worried about her anyway? Do you two know each other?"

He'd met Jane once before, in the park where she'd made him spill his sandwich. It was an annoyance he was willing to forgive, however, at that particular moment. Dahlia was all that mattered to him. It was entirely uncharacteristic of him, but he felt immediatly responsible for the woman next to him. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but he would always be so scared about how she'd react. He'd been rejected far too many times before by people he'd actually care about, that he stopped caring.

He gave Dahlia's hand a light squeeze for comfort. For both her... and him.

[PENELOPE LAFONTAINE]

Hector, Claudius, Meg

Penelope bit her lip as Hector's lips brushed her ear and he whispered rather naughty things to her.

She smiled mischieviously and whispered right back:

"I can show you just how friendly I can get, Hector. I'm a very sociable girl you know." She leaned against him and let her body brush up against his ever so slightly. It wouldn't do to have everyone see them like that, so she kept it as subtle as possible. The scandal would be disasterous they were found out. And she was having a hard enough time figuring out what this was between them. She really didn't need outside harasment at the moment. But it was so deliciously fun to play with Hector. They seemed to to know exactly the right way to egg each other on, and by God it was enjoyable.

Penelop moved her attention back to Claudis in the hopes of keeping everyone's atention away from her and Hector. "So," she said, "How's the business going Claudius?"

[CLAUDIUS CHANDLER]

Tag: Penelope, Hector, Meg

Before Claudius had time to hear Meg's reply, he was distracted by the mention of his name. He turned to see Penelope was addressing him once more, her private conversation (if whispers could be deemed a proper conversation) done with for the time being.

"So...How's the business going Claudius?"

Claudius took a sip of his wine before making a reply. He wasn't exactly in the mood to talk business, but figured he should do so to keep Penelope happy. Doubtless his usual insistence that this was a party and meant for having fun (or, in his case, drinking) would not be appreciated by Hector due to the formality of the event. Business it was.

"Hamlet Enterprises is doing particularly well lately, many thanks to Mr. Mayor here, getting rid of those crazy taxes and all."

[georgie]

tag: "papa" (aka hector), penelope and claudius

"She's quite good at what she does." Meg's cheeks became crimson with blush. She couldn't help it. She wasn't used to being complimented still. "Merci, Papa." she said softly, smiling a bit. "Perhaps, if she performs here in New York, I could get us all tickets to see her." "I would love to have you all come." she said, her voice remaining soft as always. "Is your company performing any time soon, Meg?" "We have performances all year." she told him, "I am a principle ballerina at the New York City Ballet...our next performance is coming up in a week. We are doing Romeo and Juliet." She added shyly, "I am dancing the role of Juliet."

She didn't like telling people usually what role she danced but she knew it was important to be dancing the role of Juliet. The ballet even had a photo call with her and her Romeo to get some good shots for the signs out in front of the ballet. She was in everyone, larger than life in some. If you went to Lincoln Center, you couldn't miss her.

While Miss LaFontaine and her "Papa" whispered, Meg felt her cheeks grow hot and she knew she was blushing. When people were being romantic, the little French girl who had never been in love usually just blushed. "I'm afraid that's as good as my French gets," Her attention turned then to Claudius. "That is all right, Monsieur Chandler." she told him, "It is more than some people know." It was the truth. As attention was turned back to Miss LaFontaine and her "Papa", Meg stood silent, letting them talk mainly because she was unsure of what to say.

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

Tag; Penelope, Claudius, Meg

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"Hamlet Enterprises is doing particularly well lately, many thanks to Mr. Mayor here, getting rid of those crazy taxes and all."

Hector turned his focus from Penelope to Claudius, smiling generously. Yes, he had helped out hadn't he? The Plantagenet taxes were insanely and overblown, Hector had made sure that they were one of the first things to go. Those sort of taxes were damaging, not helping or envigorating for the city. As a businessman in more than one sense, Hector was all too aware of the effect of high taxes.

Motioning to the front table, Hector enigmatically invited everyone to have a seat. "You can sit with us Meg, or you can sit elsewhere, it's entirely up to you but know that you are most certainly invited," Dinner would be served soon and Hector knew that other guests were watching him for their cue. When he sat down, the mingling would be over and the dinner would begin. It was almost like eating with his 'family'. Everyone followed him obediantly, never questioning. Hector found the same level of control as mayor. Even though, as far as political positions went, mayor was relatively small-time, the mayor of New York was an icon, someone to look up to and idolize. Thanks to 9/11, the position of mayor in the Big Apple has transformed into a sort of military leadership position. He wasn't just a mayor, he was a general and every New Yorker his foot soldier.

[CLAUDIUS CHANDLER]

Tag: Hector, Penelope, Claudius

Claudius smiled right back as Hector did, pleased his old friend wasn't sending him death glares any more (death glares which, might he add, he had done nothing to deserve).

As Hector moved back to the head table, Claudius followed in his wake, and took his seat as instructed. He barely heard what Hector said to Meg as his attention was refocussed on his almost empty wine glass. Figuring it was impossible to have too much of a good thing, Claudius polished the last of the wine off before ordering himself another glass.

[georgie]

tag: "papa" (aka hector), penelope, claudius

"Hamlet Enterprises is doing particularly well lately, many thanks to Mr. Mayor here, getting rid of those crazy taxes and all." Meg knew nothing of business. The managers of the Paris Opera House never mentioned anything about business to her, the daughter of the ballet mistress. She didn't know much about taxes or anything of the sort so she didn't know what to say when Mr. Chandler started talking about Hamlet Enterprises, which She was sure she'd heard about. "Mr. Chandler, what does Hamlet Enterprises do?" she asked softly, "What is it's speciality?" She knew she had heard of it before, maybe there was a good reason but she wasn't sure.

"You can sit with us Meg, or you can sit elsewhere, it's entirely up to you but know that you are most certainly invited," Little Miss Giry smiled shyly. "I would like that, Papa." she said. She knew no one else in the room besides her "Papa", Miss LaFontaine and Mr. Chandler. Meg followed the group she had been talking to to the main table. This event reminded her of the New Years Masquerade's the Paris Opera use to have but she never was allowed to sit at the head table like this. She wouldn't have even been invited if her mother wasn't the ballet mistress. At those parties, she sat at one of the last tables...well when she sat, those masquerades had more dancing than anything and she was always up. She was honored to be sitting at the head table with some people she knew were very important, including her "Papa".

[PENELOPE LAFONTAINE]

Tag: Hector

Penelope watched as Meg doted over Hector like a little girl would her father. She felt a little...distressed that this girl was much younger than herself, yet she was the one caring on a relationship with him, like some jail bait gold digger

She sat up confidently and reminded herself that she made the choice and she was going to have to live with it. No point in second guessing.

"So, Hector," She said joining the light conversation at the table, "Do mayoral duties suit you? I imgagine it's not very different from running a business. Maybe I could give you hand sometime." She cast him a knowing a glance and silently slipped her hand under the table and wrapped her fingers lightly around his calloused palm.