& everyone :)

"We're probably both a bit overdressed," Callista said to Niamh with a grin, "but sometimes too much of everything is just enough. Besides, when you have pretty dresses, it's nice to have an excuse to wear them. I always wondered why you stopped wearing hijab when you came to school here, but it seemed rude to ask, and it occurred to me that you might have done it to fit in, given that a lot of the other girls did. I was surprised they didn't have uniforms. I'm sorry your old friends don't write to you, though. I guess they're just busy?"

That had to be the case. Tif had mentioned that the 4A exams were pretty intense.

She waved to Toru. "Toru-chan! What a pretty yukata! Where did you get your blue rose hairpin?"

After the nice afternoon in the pool with her friends, Elizabeth had taken a short nap before getting ready for the ball. She had packed something for the event even though she was sure she wouldn't dance with someone - but special occasions required a certain type of clothing. A lot of make up had never been her thing, so she decided to keep things simple. However, she wasn't quite happy yet. She pulled her hair back a little, and her fringe as well. The effect was stunning. She rarely did her hair like this, but thought it complimented her dress. Could need a tiara though..., she thought and conjured one out of thin hair after setting her hair style. Finally, she put on some jewellery and headed down to the ball room.

She quickly spotted some of her friends and walked over to them carefully. Toru was looking really cute in the traditional japanese dress. And... was that lipstick? It fit them so well and Elizabeth smiled. Callista was wearing a dress with a pattern that reminded Elizabeth of expensive bone china and it was stunning. "Good evening", she said with a grin, her tone more formal than it should have been, but she was just joking. "You all got lovely dresses."

Instead of going parasailing, Lorcan had headed back to a quieter deck with his drawing equipment - which consisted of a pencil and his sketchbook. He had become so engrossed with his drawing that he nearly missed the time for the ball event. Lorcan sighed and wondered if he should go, but his hand was hurting a little, so he headed back to his cabin and changed into something rather simple. Looking at his reflection, he was happy with how he looked. Living on a small island taught you to dress simple - as life was so simple and laid-back there. ...but that also made him a bit shy. Just as he entered the room, he walked over to the table with the refreshments and wondered what he should get.

Millie nodded at Zoe (). "I'm not it's not mandatory either. I probably wouldn't end up dancing very much. I'd be standing at the buffet, sampling the food."

She leaned back and placed her feet on the neck of the unicorn. "I really like this floaty. I'm going to have to find one or two for holidays and when I go visit my gram gramps. They've recently bought a small cottage down on the English Channel."

Just as Millie got comfortable, her left foot flipped, causing her to fall through the hole of the float. She popped back up and mumbled, "bloody hell. Good thing I decided against the ball". She took her hat and tossed it onto the pavement.

Merlin got involved swimming most of the day and eating so he was a bit late to the ballroom, yet he felt no desire to go without River to step on his feet. He went to talk to friends and maybe do a silly dance with them.

After arriving he didn't recognized anyone; they have dressed up nicely. He wondered if any of his friends was there. "Maybe I shouldn't have come...no rainbow."

@/Valiska @/Cheshire @/Mewy @/Anne @/Paddy/ After sunbathing for a bit, Sauvage went back to her room to change. This being a boat party, she expected most everyone to remain fairly casual in their wardrobe choices and was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case when she walked past the hall. Looking down at her own clothes, she ran back to her room to quickly change again. It was a good thing she packed all of her hair potions, too. Once she felt adequately up to dress code, she returned to the banquet, smiling at all the familiar faces (and always on the lookout for one in particular). Sauvage joined the group that was forming and said, "Everyone looks so nice!" She waved at Merlin when she saw him. It had been so long since she had last seen him!

@/Raven Jona on the other hand was not all that interested in the dancing part of the evening, mostly because he'd never been to something like that and just didn't know what to expect. But it seemed like pretty much everyone was leaving to join the dance. He looked over at Zoe and asked, "You going, too?"

(and all)

“The food should be good,” Zoe said with a little smirk to Millie. “It is a cute floatie.” She giggled as Millie fell in the hole. “Are ye okay?”

Blade had been swimming quietly and neither girl had seemed to notice him, though this did not bother him.

When Jona asked Zoe gave a little shrug. “Do ye wanna go?” she asked. She’d make an appearance if her best friend wanted to go. There was a cute girl there that maybe Jona was wanting to ask to dance.

Magnus stumbled into the ball room on accident, and even though he was wearing swim trunks and a top he spotted Merlin and went over to his friend. “Ey. ‘Aving fun?” he asked.

Rosemarie had gotten a drink for herself and one for Paddy. “Here you go.” She’d watched as many entered but she didn’t know most of them.

"I wanted to make an effort, seeing as I'd never been in a ballroom this fancy before," Niamh replied to Callista, "oddly enough, nobody seemed to notice, or want to ask why I stopped wearing it. But it's so much better without it and not having to wash the sand from my hair each night. I guess once you leave a school, they gradually forget about you. But in a way that doesn't matter, as I've got more friends here anyhow." Still glancing round the room, Niamh spotted Toru "that's a super outfit," she called over to them, trying to sound enthusiastic, but feeling let down that Blade hadn't shown up.

--

"I hadn't realised Professor Norman had such a neat sense of fashion," Paddy replied, taking a sip of the drink Rosemarie had passed her, "thanks, ooo this is quite tasty." She looked over at Niamh and realised the prefect was looking more and more dejected. "I've got to just go and look for someone," Paddy said to Rosemarie, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Heading out of the ballroom, she worked her way through every deck, before checking the Beach Club area. Looking up at the glass bottom pool, she spotted Blade swimming, and ran up the stairs. "Blade," she called out as she reached the top of the stairs, "didn't you realise almost everyone was in the ballroom?" She wondered if that would be enough for him to get the hint that Niamh was waiting for him.

Toru wasn't used to all the compliments and they were beginning to become flustered. "T-Thank you." They glanced at Rosemarie and smiled. "H-Have we b-been introduced?" They offered her their hand to shake, "I-I'm Toru Mizushima, from H-Hufflepuff." They admired all of the other outfits. "E-Everyone looks amazing." Toru admitted, and was beginning to feel a bit under dressed.

Callie had asked them about their hairpin. "O-Oh it's part of Ruriko made i-it for me." Every so often a petal would fall off, but the rose never seemed to get any smaller. It smelled fresh and alive despite it being a satin flower.

They had spotted Lorcan entering, and gave him a small wave. Toru didn't have any plans to dance, but always enjoyed talking to the older Ravenclaw. He had a nice aura that Toru enjoyed being around. Perhaps they would catch up soon?

(and all)

“Me neither. I did expect some who looked like Saint Nikolas to be so…trendy,” Rosemarie admitted. “It is a great drink.” She nodded to Paddy and watched her exit the ballroom.

Blade gave Paddy a curious look. “Yes, I did… er, so what?” he asked not getting the prompt.

Rosemarie smiled at Toru. “Lovely name,” she said giving a small curtsy. “Rosemarie Müller. I start soon. They let me come meet people.” Her German accident seemed to get a bit thicker as she felt nervous.

Paddy sighed, this wasn't going to be quite as easy as she thought. "Well you know the thing about dances, like the girls dress up in fancy outfits, and dance with the boys? Niamh's looking fantastic, but I don't think she's enjoying herself... I think she was hoping you might be there. You know, to dance with?"

Blade looked at Paddy like she grew ten heads and was speak martian. She what?! He'd never been to a dance, never danced before. He thought of his best friends all miserable and sighed. "I guess I have to go..." Maybe he could escape quickly...

"It's not all that bad, I mean there's food and stuff.... and I can't imagine Niamh would expect you to dance all evening or anything." Paddy said the last bit more out of hope for Blade's sanity rather than a real expectation of what Niamh might be hoping for. "And there's quite a few of us just standing around chatting too," she added, hoping it might sell the idea to Blade.

Rosemarie seemed very nice though her accent was a little tough to process. "D-Do you know w-what house you'll be i-in?" They asked softly. With their stutter they were also probably a little hard for the girl to understand as well.

"Oh yes," Blade said, "this is supposed to make me want to go." He wasn't known for being social. Why would he want to stand there lurking like a prat? He hefted himself out of the pool, making his arms and ab muscles more pronounced. "I'll be there in a minute."

"No," Rosemarie said, "I must be sorted." She had indeed had a difficult time understanding Toru, but go there in the end.

A short span later, Blade entered the ballroom. He didn't look overly pleased to be there.

(all)

Merlin saw Sauvage waving at him and he did the same; he thought she looked pretty in the dress.

When Magnus suddenly pop by his side, Merlin smiled. "No, I'm bored and River is not here so I don't came for dances just hoping maybe I can laugh with friends. What are you up to? Maybe I can join you." He got up and said. "Maybe we can do a dance with everyone, you know like the one Jovy and the others did on the play - wouldn't that be epic? I practiced." Merlin started doing the dance best he could which was pretty bad. "I'm doing it wrong, right?" he laughed.

& everyone :)

Callista smiled at Niamh and Elizabeth. "Good evening, Elizabeth. You look fantastic. And Niamh, you made more than an effort, you made a success! Boo on them for not having realised you were a great friend! And boo on me for not making more time to talk to you, even though you sorted Gryffindor." She giggled.

She turned to Toru and Rosemarie, who she didn't know. "Well, I'm more and more impressed with Ruriko all the time. Liane has been following her, though she's back at Durmstrang now...and I've been taking a look when I can. You look great, Toru, and your facemake really suits you, too."

She smiled at Rosemarie. "I'm Callista Zabini, Slytherin. I wouldn't have thought Professor Norman so stylish either. I'll have to find out what designers he likes. Good luck with the Sorting Hat. Slytherin is the best house, but I'm sure that Toru would say Hufflepuff, and Niamh would say Gryffindor, and Zoe would say Ravenclaw if she were here..."

She noticed Sauvage, then. "That's an amazing fabric your dress is made of, it sparkles like liquid metal. ...is it liquid metal? Perhaps I'll need to learn alchemy for the wizarding side of my fashion house..."

Then she noticed Merlin dancing.

"Oh, my god," she said, laughing, but in a friendly way--she wasn't trying to make fun of him, it was just so hilarious. "Merlin! I can't tell you if you're doing it wrong when I can't even tell what you're doing! You're supposed to dance with another person!"

Fade poked his head into the ballroom and glanced around. It looked like a fun party, but he hadn’t thought to pack anything formal. Figuring they probably wouldn’t be deducting any house points on this optional cruise, he slipped into the room and made his way toward the dance floor wearing the same thing he had worn earlier in the day. After the water sports, he had explored the floors and spent a bit of time in the Library. On the way back to his room, the music had drawn him toward the ballroom. Lucky it had or he would have missed seeing everyone so dressed up.

Fade waved at Magnus happy to not be the only under dressed party, and Merlin who was in the midst of cutting a fierce rug, before spotting Sauvage. His chest felt a little constricted, but he swallowed the lump and crossed over somewhat sheepishly. “Hey, you look really nice.” He was blushing slightly, but it was hard to tell in the light, at least he hoped... (( @/MerlinPendragon @/Raven @/sauvage & all ))

Millie let out a small laugh once she got back on the float. "I'm fine. Just everyday life with Amelia Tudor" she told Zoe. (). "I'm sometimes a walking disaster" she admitted.

She heard music playing from the ball room. "I'm enjoying myself but I'm also kind of tempted to check the dance out, even if I don't dance with anyone. She sat for a few more minutes, plus, it's been a while since I had anything to eat... Perhaps I'll go get changed and check it out. Maybe I'll meet you and Jona () up there?"

A little later

Millie finished getting ready in her room. She attached the hair clips and was finally ready. She walked back down to the ballroom. She walked in and looked around to see if she could find her friends. She saw Fade () and Sauvage chatting and she smiled to Magnus and Merlin () who she hadn't seen all term. She slowly made her way over. "Hey guys."

(and all)

“I was wandering the ship,” Magnus explained. “Will probly go swimming in a bit.” Magnus snickered. “Yeah ya are, but no one will know… unless they think your ‘aving a seizure.” He had fun teasing his friend and tried to dance too but it was also pretty terrible.

“Rosemarie,” the girls said to Callista. “Pleasure to mee you.” She was nervous but also thought the girl was very pretty. “I’m not sure where I would sort into…”

“We can dance by ourselves,” Magnus replied. “Or as a group. Don’t they do conga lines or something?” He waved to Fade with a smile.

Zoe giggled. “It’s quite entertaining,” she said about being a disaster. “Maybe?” she wasn’t sure Jona wanted to dance but if he didn’t she was happy to say at the pool.

Blade sorta stood in the entrance frozen. Why the hell was he here?

Jona nodded his head to Millie as she left for the dance. "I dunno," he said to Zoe. "I've never been to a dance...but it doesn't exactly sound all that fun either." He dunked his head under water for a few minutes, then came back bursting and gasping for air. "Wait! Weren't you gonna ask someone to dance, though? I, er, I think I remember the other girls saying something about it?"

Sauvage smiled, glad she had changed when all the other girls were making a point to dress up. "Thank you, Callista. I do not sink it is actual liquid metal, but it is charmed so zat ze fabric takes on ze effect." And just as she was feeling thankful for dressing up, she immediately wished she had dressed down as Fade came over to her. "Oh, um, sank you." She looked down at her attire feeling like a child caught playing dress up. "You look good, too." She laughed when she said it, unable to bypass the obvious difference in attire. "Oh! I know!" Sauvage pulled out her wand and transfigured the floor length gown into a shorter cocktail dress. She still fit in looking nice, but now she would not stand out so much next to Fade. "I sink zis is better." She looked around at most everyone who seemed to be mingling and chatting then shrugged her shoulders. "Would you like to dance?" She asked Fade, holding one hand out to him.