April 12th, 1890 — A Wild Evening

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This may be the night that my dreams might let me know
All the stars are closer

The fact that this was a masquerade bode well for Amelia. When she and Eva were told they were to attend a ball for the well to do upper and middle class in the zoo's honor, the day had gotten considerably more glum. Amelia for one did not relish being at a ball where she was to be surrounded by those looking to bestow their charitable donations to her work. Certainly, she felt grateful, for they could not operate on hard work and patron's tickets alone. But attending such an event was like approaching it with her palms open for treasure. Regardless if it was a choice of theirs to attend, it would seem like an insult to the kind heiress to not attend.

And so Amelia found herself in the middle of a grand ball; in disguise, which now seemed like a blessing. Eva had gotten the idea to wear pants as a sign of protest. Amelia, who'd gotten used to wearing such garments because they were easier to work in thought it was an inspired plan, however, in practice, she felt less comfortable at the idea of appearing in such a daring outfit. What if it was seen as insulting?

Therein lay the goal, yet Amelia still found herself uncomfortable with the execution. So she'd settled on a compromise; a comfy pair of voluminous trousers which possessed a large panel that ran down the front to conceal the fact that the skirt was split in two. From the front, it looked like a simple skirt, but once she moved, if one were looking from behind, they might be able to see that the skirt (it even had a small bustle!) was in two halves rather than one full piece. For the rest of her ensemble, she'd chosen a simple matching coat. With a bit of tricky magic that she wasn't sure how long would last, she managed to transfigure the outfit into a pale sage color and topped it off with a white and gold mask. Mercifully the mask allowed her to hide from the rest of the party. Even her hair which was usually in a chignon for work lay in a half updo with curls that fell past her shoulders.

A spritz of her orange blossom perfume and she was ready. The ball, in full swing, was rather interesting though Amelia had no desire to attempt to socialize further than she already had and contented to stay by the refreshment table for a brief respite. As she raised the punch glass to her lips, a rustling caught her attention. Looking down, she saw a familiar pink and blue tail wiggling underneath the tablecloth. Soon it disappeared completely. Giggling, Amelia whispered, "Bastien!" knowing full well it was Eva's diricawl that managed to sneak into the event. Sure enough, the little bird's head popped out to look at her. "It's me!" she said, taking the edge of her mask and lifting it from her face so he could see her face properly.

Nevertheless, the bird squawked and scampered out from under the table and past her. Amelia donned her mask again before taking off after the little bird. "Wait, Bastien, it's me, Amelia!" she called softly, doing her best to follow him. The problem was, he sought to evade her further by poofing in and out of sight. Eventually, he disappeared completely. If the bird did not want to be found, he would not be, at least by the likes of her. She deigned to look under one last table before she gave up. Nothing. Sighing, she stood up to turn away, thinking she might as well go to Eva to let her know Bastien had managed to follow them there. The only problem being someone stepped in her way. "Oh!" she found herself saying to his chest, for the figure wore a suit and stood a great deal taller than her. She looked up to find he was wearing a mask, though upon further inspection there was something about him that felt familiar. "I'm so sorry, please forgive me, I wasn't looking where I was going." Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, wondering if she would have to explain what she was doing peering under tables by herself.

— Elladora Black —

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   Elsie Kirke

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Being the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic had allow him access to many events that Konstantin’s family would never have been invited to before. Urquart had been from old money, the sort of families that had ways of doing things and would bend for no revolutionary storm and even if the man himself had not been a blind follower he had been bred by that world. Konstantin had always noted the difference between them – he had also noted how much the other man wished to do good in the world and respected the dedication – but he was a Jew who had helped elevate a black man to the highest office: neither of them had exactly had the door opened for them.

So to be invited to an event, entirely on his own merit, was quite something. It was fancy dress which put a small dampener on things but he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead he had donned his very finest suit – the one he had worn to the wedding that wasn’t, but no one was likely to recall what the best man had been wearing on such a day – and found himself a venetian mask to match. He was happy to get into the spirit of things but being overly expressive with colours had never exactly been his style. Still, he had found a fancier waistcoat that usual, one intricately stitched with blues and greens, emulating the colours if not the plumage of a peacock.

The scent of orange blossom caught his attention before he saw her. Konstantin smiled at the vision that approached him, a medley of odd clothing and simple beauty and he knew who it was even though the mask concealed the larger part of her pretty face.

“Another escapee from your menagerie?” He asked, guessing that she was either looking for a creature under the tables or else there was a child he knew nothing about. All things considered the former seemed much more likely as having asked around and discovering rumours of Barney Skeeter being a figure in Miss Evans’ past he doubted the man had been up to the task of fathering an illicit love child.

  

“Mr. Fisk!” His voice gave him away immediately and Amelia blushed furiously, suddenly grateful for the shield of her mask. “Ahh...not - not exactly,” she replied, turning her back to the tables and absently flapping her hand against the table cloth as if that would make the bird scamper away. With her other hand, she pressed it against her cheek, begging her color to go down. All the better for him to not see the effect he had on her. (Never mind that they’d all be made their feelings clear for each other New Years Eve, but given her track record, she wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Fisk had been obliviated) Despite the thin shield of her mask, she couldn’t help but beam as she stepped back to look at him.

She hadn’t expected him here! Of course, she herself hadn’t expected to be here either. He had subtly risen to the fancy dress code, similarly to herself. Amelia couldn’t help but notice how well the blue and green waistcoat complemented Mr. Fisk’s dark features (not to mention his eyes –– focus, Amelia, focus). It wasn’t until she thought the green wasn’t unlike her own outfit's color that she remembered what she was wearing. Amelia bit her lip and shuffled her feet closer together.

While she knew Mr. Fisk erred on the side of progressiveness and potentially might not be as offended by her trousers as others, that still didn’t prevent her from feeling self-conscious. After all, she had been with the infuriatingly more-right leaning Barnabas Skeeter whom Konstantin Fisk mercifully resembled nothing like. Nevertheless, Amelia was silently cursing her best friend wondering why she’d let Eva talk her into making a point - tonight if all nights! "He's my friend's pet," she replied, hoping he wouldn't think her simple for her explanation. "He's her Diricawl and I believe he's found his way into this event all by himself."

Speak of the devil...Amelia could see her best friend across the room. Amelia conveniently turned her shoulder inwards towards Mr. Fisk so she wouldn’t see the inevitable face that the other redhead was probably making in her direction. Merlin help her if Eva decided to be brazen and traipse into the conversation, though that would give Amelia excuse to tell her her Diricawl was on the loose. "I was hoping to find him in time to prevent him from taking advantage of the free food." Merlin help them all if he managed to succeed in that endeavor.

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   Elladora Black

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Her smile dazzled through the mask – though she looked a tad warm – but for a moment Konstantin had worried that his presence was not desirable. This was, after all, more her world and while he had taken the invitation for the compliment it was he had not truly decided to attend until a small inquiry with the hostess had told him that the staff of the zoo would be in attendance too. The chance to surprise Amelia had seemed too good an opportunity to miss and he had not seen her much since New Year’s Eve, though the time they had spent together had been entirely delightful.

“Ah, well I say we surprise guests should stick together,” he grinned, following her gaze towards the table she had been examining. He tried to recall if there was a specific method of tracking where a diricawl had vanished to but his mind was blank. Beasts had never really been his speciality but even so he doubted there was one. On the other hand he doubted one small bird moseying around the ball ought to concern them unduly. Looking at some of the great and good of society here this evening, and how they had voluntarily dressed themselves, he doubted they would even notice a few extra feathers in the room.

“I shall keep my eyes open for him,” he smiled easily, weightless in ways he couldn’t entirely describe. He had expected forming an affection to somebody to be much more of an ordeal yet here he was again, with Miss Evans, feeling as though all was quite alright in the world. “Though I would rather be looking at you and-” He glanced down, cocking an eyebrow as he pretended to notice for the first time what she was wearing. In truth he had seen the cut when he approached Amelia earlier but he had opted to approve of the garment as part of a costume. “And your exceptional trousers!”

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   Amelia Evans

She could feel the heat rise in her cheeks again as he indulged her and directed his attention towards the table where Bastien had last been. Thank Merlin he didn’t think her crazy for talking to to a Diricawl at a society event! However, oddly enough, despite all the anxiety she felt over what he might have thought about her actions - despite the fact that her heart seemed to be fluttering madly in her chest, Amelia (for the first time in her life) didn’t feel...flighty around Mr. Fisk. The way he stood so confidently and the way he spoke to her, it was as if nothing could go wrong when she was with him. How odd, Amelia mused as she regarded him with what could only be described as an affectionate gaze (thank Merlin she had a mask to disguise such a transparent expression), that they should spend as little time with each other as they had, but still feel this way. If she’s been told this a year ago, she’d have thought it impossible.

Her expression faltered slightly at his acknowledgment of her trousers and she subconsciously shuffled her feet again. “Ah!” she exclaimed, her cheeks rosy as she glanced down at her outfit and then back up at him. The fact that he’d expressly told her he’d rather be looking at her flew straight over her head while she fretted that he’d disapprove now that he’d seen what she was wearing. “Yes, well...” She stammered. “It’s just, my best friend Eavan MacKay - she’s my colleague you see....” How in Merlin’s name was she going to explain to him they’d worn trousers as a form of protest? Would he be insulted? Surely he wouldn’t think she’d expected to see him here and sought to offend him with her outfit. Her stomach slowly constricted as a knot of anxiety formed.

“We’d not been expecting an invitation and -“ In her struggle to find the words to explain her outfit to him, she’d completely forgotten about the animal she’d been looking for. Of course, Bastien hadn’t forgotten about his play pal and was quite indignant as he poked his head out from underneath the table to find Amelia faced away from him and talking to a man! With another squawk, he flapped his wings and barreled toward the witch, head butting her at the back of the knees.

Amelia let out a yelp of surprise as her legs gave out and she was knocked into Konstantin. She was left with no other choice but to cling to him as the blasted Diricawl hopped out from underneath the table, warbling in delight.

  

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Instinctively Konstantin caught his companion and he was assaulted, quite ruthlessly and joyously, by the scent of her hair and whatever perfume she was wearing. It was earthy, pretty, not too insistent and he thought it might as well have been made just for Amelia.

“Are you alright, Miss Evans?” Over her shoulder he spotted the Diricrawl, looking rather pleased with itself as he hopped along the floor singing his strange song. The creature at least seemed none the worse for wear and Kons briefly marvelled that such a small thing had managed to send a fully grown woman flying. But then she was quite small.

“I don’t think he likes me,” he said with a grin, having conveniently neglected to untangle his arms from around her shoulders. For a moment he let himself enjoy the sensation but eventually took a steadying step back, smiling sheepishly. “What has Miss MacKay been telling him about me I wonder?”

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As flushed and embarrassed as she was, Amelia found herself rather comfortable in his arms and was rather disappointed when he let go. "I - I'm alright," she managed to get out, smoothing out her skirt. Really, Bastien shouldn't have been able to knock her over so easily, though that probably had something to do with the man in front of her.

She opened her mouth to reply, but honestly had little idea of what to say because frankly, he made her a bit speechless. Ultimately, she did have to respond, and so she settled for a light laugh and a step away; the urge to step back into him was threatening to overtake her. "Nothing but good things, I can imagine!" she replied, before meeting his eyes. "I can assure you that is all I've passed onto her, at least."

  

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It was maddening how quickly he had found himself becoming attached to this young woman. He had considered courting one or two ladies in the past – those whose practiced arts would have been perfectly suited to his brother-in-law’s formal events – but none of them had come close to charming him as much as Miss Evans did. What was it, he wondered? She was beautiful of course, though didn’t seem to notice it in herself, but beyond that commonplace thing there was a vividness to Miss Evans that he had seen in precious few others.

It was as though the women of the world had existed in the sepia tones of a photographs and Miss Evans was sudden, vital colour. Of course such thoughts were ones he kept to himself – he was, after all, not a poet.

“I’m glad to hear it,” he replied earnestly, offering her his arm and his most charming smile. “Shall we take a turn around the room? Hopefully the other wild animals in here won’t be quite so violent. And perhaps we could risk a dance?”

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How was it possible that at the same time her knees turned to jelly underneath his smile, that it seemed most of her anxieties washed away? Amelia could feel her cheeks flush again as he offered his arm, and she took it willingly. "I should like that very much, Mr. Fisk." she responded with a smile of her own.

As they started, Amelia turned to look back at the diricawl who had scampered back underneath the table cloth. She could see his head poke out from beneath the table and stare at her with what she could swear was a smug look. Perhaps she would overlook his transgressions just this once...

  

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