MASQUERADE PARTY, 33 Apocalypse Ave, Friday Evening

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

Party night. The best of nights. An ornate sign on 33 Apocalypse’s door invited all to knock and make themselves known.

The space inside was bigger than it looked from the outside, stretched and displaced by magic. The wallpaper was green and textured, hinting at the English countryside. On one side of the room sat a significant bar offering food and drinks, while the other gave ample space to sit. A large Jenga tower held prominence in a corner.

It was easy to miss it, though, in favor of the little streams of water that ran across furniture and floor. Tiny glass gondolas, animated by magic, made their way back and forth across each stream. The gondolas were real, though the water itself was an illusion. It called attention to the ceiling, doubly enchanted: both to draw all cigarette smoke to itself so it wouldn’t blow in anyone’s face, but also to mimic the starry sky above Venice.

You could watch the stars twinkle, or see the occasional cloud go by. Magical fireflies added to the illusion, dancing through the air like tiny lights. If you listened closely, you could hear the sea rolling in across an invisible beach. Even the air smelled faintly of it: the sea, warm food and good wine.

Welcome to Eliot and Margo’s pad, people. They’d make damn sure you had a good time.

[ocd up, come party!]

Comments

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[crimson_sister]

"Thank you." Lucille smiled.

"The classics are quite underrated on the island, I find."

She assumed she understood what he meant by the term.

"I don't believe we have met. Lucille Sharpe."

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[existencemisspent]

"Eliot Waugh," Eliot said, nodding. "A pleasure. Welcome to our home."

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[crimson_sister]

"Eliot. A pleasure to meet you, and thank you for the invitation."

That had included everyone, but still. "So, are you on the island by choice?"

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[existencemisspent]

"There's an ice breaker," Eliot said with a faint laugh. ". . . Sort of. One of the local gods booted my best friend here shortly before we murdered him, and I brokered a deal with the local fairy queen to chase after her. So arriving . . . yes. Staying. . . ?" He bobbed his head, then shook it.

"And yourself?"

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[crimson_sister]

"I went to school here, and then I chose to return after my brother died," Lucille said. "There was no reason for me to stay where I am from."

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[existencemisspent]

"Ah." Eliot was actually not sure how to respond to that. This was a rare experience for him. "I'm so sorry for your loss. But . . . I suppose it is Fandom's gain?"

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[crimson_sister]

"And my gain, after my loss," Lucille said. "I am happy to call this place my home. I have dear friends, a flower shop and a piano, instead of a crumbling mansion on top of a clay pit. But where are you from?"

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[existencemisspent]

"A land called Fillory. And before that, upstate New York."

And before that. . . . was a secret he didn't tell many people. As far as the multiverse at large was concerned, Eliot Waugh was born at the age of 19 in New York City.

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[crimson_sister]

Unaware of being one of a few select people, Lucille said:

"I have never heard of Fillory. And I know very little of upstate New York. It is in the countryside, is it not?"

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[existencemisspent]

Eliot couldn't help but cough faintly at that.

"It's . . . pastoral," he said. "But I spent most of my time on a darling little university campus, not amongst the . . . pastures."

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[crimson_sister]

"I am sure that a university would suit you better than fields," Lucille said. "Although I admit I don't know you well enough to truly judge that."

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[existencemisspent]

"I should hope I project enough of an air for you to be certain of that assumption," Eliot said. "Though . . . Fillory is rather depressingly agrarian."

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[crimson_sister]

"And what is your opinion of Fandom?" Lucille asked.

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[existencemisspent]

"It's . . . quaint," Eliot said. "Certainly not the worst place to pass the time, if I can't be on my throne or with my friends. I could have done without the whole 'spending a weekend as a ghost' thing, though."

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[crimson_sister]

"On your throne?" Lucille asked, raising an eyebrow. "Being a ghost must have been unpleasant. If you wish to remain yourself I recommend not dressing up as something or someone on Halloween. At least that should be avoidable."

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[existencemisspent]

“I’ll keep that in mind, thank you,” Eliot said. “And my apologies, my full title is High King Eliot the Spectacular, back in Fillory. Around here, though, I am but a simple shop boy and magician.”

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[crimson_sister]

"Titles are rarely important here," Lucille said. "Spectacular?"

The unspoken question being 'did you pick that yourself or did someone pick it for you?'

Re: Arrive and Say Hi

[existencemisspent]

Please. Choosing your own appellation was terribly gauche. He'd let his friend do it for him.

"So I'm told, yes. Quite the name to live up to, but I do my best."