"'Ello," Magnus said, "Nice claws, I 'ad to practice the ear charm for weeks. Got a few er... bad batches before I managed to actually get me ears pointy. Name's Magnus o ravenclaw." He extended his hand.

(( Haha, no, that's just a battle helm, to cover the fact that her hair is all tied up in her fake beard. ^.^ I have a thing for helms with that sort of decoration, though. ^.^;; This gal is the source of my inspiration for Kat's costume. I saw a post about her cosplay a while back, and I looked it up just for this when mentioned Magnus going as Legolas. ^.^))

Kat smiled back. "You look great," she told him. "And I'm glad you like it." She took the cherry sprig, smelled it, then tucked it in the broad fabric of her belt. She used the action to hide her embarrassment about the other comment, though she couldn't keep from blushing. Maybe the beard would hide it, if she was lucky. "Katli, I think," she said, slipping her arm through his. "And you're Magnolas -- no, Magnolias!" With the portmanteau being so close to the flower, she couldn't resist, giggling over the pun.

Magnolias, indeed. The boy was still laughing at that every time she said his new name.

"You know, there's a theroy that if you say 'I'm the prettiest' after all Legolas' lines, it realy does work out. Wonder if it'd 'old true for little o' Magnolias tonight?"

OOC I do that every once in awhile with my hair...make the mustache look LOL....its a clever way to make a beard. You did well!

Garrett looked coldly at the hand that was extending..he didn't like contact with people in general, because they were warm and alive, and he could feel their blood coursing through them. It was always a challenge not to grab them and drain them dry if he touched them, and so he avoided contact whenever possible.

"I think you did quite well, " Garrett said evenly. "Nice to meet you, I am Garrett...House Slytherin" and he nodded again in greeting. " I almost came as your Father, 'Legolas'," he said, with a small smile. "How would we have explained that one...?"

A slight growl came from his lips, but he quickly dropped his hand. The other boy seemed friendly enough so maybe it wasn't personal. He had to force himself to stay calm.

"Er, time travel?" he said with a laugh, "or maybe the flame of udun will drag me down to do battle and then that's why there's an age difference?"

The pair made their way to the common room, and Magnus immediately started greeting just about everyone. Kat knew only those in her house, or that she had class with, and was close only to a few of them, so she let him leave.

The demon and his winged killer bunny friend were striking in white accented with fake blood, though the idea of having goo on her hands would discourage her from trying anything similar. Katsumi didn't extend her hand, seeing Garrett's reaction to the other boy's offer, instead bowing slightly. "And I'm Katsumi, also Ravenclaw. I have to say, those wings are impressive. Magic or mundane?"

[img align=left]http://i.imgur.com/rMKzkcy.png[/img]

Gaia laughed the whole way to the Great Hall. Her mom had sent her a muggle costume and even though Gaia had something else planned she decided to have some fun first. Waving to everyone as she went in the hall she noticed some of her friends and housemates "Hello Magnus. Looking good!"

Magnus was watching Kat's body language, insuring she was okay. He knew she wasn't paticularly fond of crowds so he promised himself he'd make sure she got space if needed. Still she seemed to be doing okay for the moment.

"'Ey Gaia," Magnus said, "I can see you're in quite a pickle. Need any help?" The boy started laughing. "Love the costume."

Aria bumped into Fable and Garrett ( ) at the refreshment table and smiled politely at the pair. "I love your costumes," she complimented them quietly.

After taking a sip of her bubbling green witch's brew, she looked over the food table trying to decide what treat to try. The almost vanishing ghost marshmallows were so cute, but not quite her favorite treat. She looked around for something with nut butter or pumpkin spice in it and found a dark chocolate pumpkin mini cake that had been decorated to look like a mini tomb stone. She put one of the tomb stones on her plate along with some nut butter filled bon bons before heading over to a small round table to sit and enjoy her plate of treats.

Looking around the Great Hall, Aria noticed that Magnus () walked in with what appeared to be a man. Aria began to worry that Kat () might have changed her mind to go with Magnus, until she recognized the girls' expression under the beard. Aria had been about to take a bite of her tomb stone but the site of Magnus with Kat was so comical and clever that she ended up dropping her piece of cake, due to her extreme fit of silent giggling.

Aria smiled as she watched Magnus, her brother, enter the room. "They make a really cute couple, don't you think?" Aria said to Dax. When she didn't hear a response she looked around for him but couldn't find him. 'DAX where are you?' She mind spoke quite loudly so he would be able to hear her from a greater distance.

Dax flinched when he heard Aria's mind yell. 'I'm just across the room, no need to yell!' He said with a mental growl. 'I'm a little bit ... busy,' he continued.

Aria heard the scream of a girl followed by laughter from across the room, near a darkened corner. After the girl had walked away, Aria saw Dax resuming a statue-like pose. Now she knew what he was doing, he was pretending to be a statue, randomly scaring people as they tried to get near one of the beverage tables. Aria shook her head, crazy boy, she thought to herself with a silent laugh.

"Oy," Magnus half shouted, "get over 'ere, Aria."

Millie lingered by the door, waiting to tag along with a group of friends once they arrived. She smiled and waved to both Fable () and Garrett (). "You two look great!" She said as they walked past her into the Great Hall. She then saw Magnus () and Katsumi () and laughed out of pleasure. "You guys are awesome. I wish I had thought something like that."

She spotted Aria by the refreshment table (). She walked over and greeted her, "You look great! I take it we're the only ones going stag tonight?" She looked around the room and saw all the couples. "I never think about bringing a date to the balls. I usually end up wishing Emmett was here so we could go together." She poured herself a glass of the witches brew and tasted it and thought it tasted really good.

She took a breath and was about to continue but lost her train of thought when she saw Gaia () enter in her pickle consume. "You're rocking that pickle costume Gaia!"

There were a lot of people, but while Kat knew the crowd would wear on her as the party went on, for the moment they didn't bother her at all. Gaia and her pickle costume elicited a snort of laughter. "Ahaha, that's great," she said, smiling at the other girl. "Looks a bit cu-cumbersome to wear, though." She wasn't going to let Magnus dominate the puns.

"You're costume is very cute," the boy said... then unable to help himself he said, "it has an apeel about it." Magnus LOVED puns.

The boy chuckled. "That's awful Kat." He clearly didn't mean it.

Millie's praise embarrassed her. "You look amazing as well," Kat replied. "I don't think I could bring myself to wear something like that, I'd feel far too naked, but you make it look great." The smile she gave Magnus when her pun hit the mark was entirely unrepentant. "It is, but you know you like it."

"Thanks!" Millie said to Kat (). "I actually didn't know what to wear, so I sent a note to my mum asking her to find a costume for me. This is what she sent me.

Millie laughed out loud over Magnus's () pun. "I love puns too"

Millie remembered the extra leis her mum had sent. "Oh, here I have something for you guys." She reached into her hat and pulled out the leis

Fable held onto 's arm. 'So many people' she thought. She smiled "Thank you."

"Nice to meet you, I like your costume." clearly giving off introvert/awkward vibes.

Fable nods and mouths a "Thank you."

giggles "I love your costume....makes me seriously want pickles now!"

she carefully puts the Lei on that Millie () gave her trying to maneuver around her horns "Thank you." she smiles

Garrett nodded slightly at the brightly costumed girl () as he and Fable entered the Great Hall (OOC thank you so much for the lei :) )

Garrett nodded "thank you, you look...nice...as well " and headed back toward Fable carrying their ciders

()

Garrett was surprised to hear the low growl from and his red eyes narrowed, his face instantly taking on a predatory alertness. His tail flicked in agitation and he felt his wings rise fully up, yet stay semi folded, protecting him.

He forced himself to smile and laugh at the time travel joke, torn between wanting to get far away from the 'elf' and tearing his throat out.

He instead turned his attention to the dwarf, who introduced themself as Katsumi. He nodded, and bowed slightly as well, appreciating the no contact greeting.

"Thank you. They are mundane, although they and my tail move in response to strong emotions. They are from Japan, " he finished, as if that was enough to explain their high quality.

His eyes were still narrowed, but he forced himself to be polite. "I....appreciate...the quality of your costume, it's quite clever. If you will excuse me, " Garrett said, turning away, and walking toward the door of the Great Hall. He never needed his flask more than at this moment.

He hoped Fable would understand, and he planned on returning as soon as he had regained his composure.

He swore he saw a giant pickle out of the corner of his eye, and shook his head slightly. Was he seeing things now..?

Millie smiled at Fable and Garrett ( ). "You're both welcome!"

She noticed some tension between Magnus and Gerrett but didn't say anything. She took a sip from her drink and said, "It looks amazing in here. This witches brew is really good."

() Fable rushed out after Garrett in concern, she knew something was wrong.