2019-10-30 - Masquerade: Opening Ceremony

Roxy, or Echo as patrons of the Platinum Cabaret may know her, is here as part of the agreement with the strip club to help add some atmosphere to the events. She is wearing a gown that is done in the manner of a nude illusion, with red glimmering fabric looking like flames climbing up her body. Her raven-dark hair has been twisted back and held in place with a fake black bun that makes it look like she has much longer hair, which has been contained in a golden netting. Her mask is red with gold detailing and clear rhinestones catching the light, held with a red ribbon tied behind her head. On her feet are gold sandals.

Mask: https://i.imgur.com/O9Zgfv5.jpg
Dress: https://i.imgur.com/JQ5CNVP.jpg

August is one of the business owners involved in the various setup for the masquerade, so despite how he's been a bit exhausted over the last day or so, he's here. His costume is, as he'd warned everyone, Not Mainstream. He's in a suit that would be considered ostentacious in almost any setting except this one: the jacket is a deep, dark, wine red velvet with black, devore botanical patterns, and under that is a matching vest, a black tie with a gold pattern that echoes the jacket and vest, and a crisp, white shirt suit. The pants are simple black. The mask pulls the theme together: a crown of black antlers formed from branches, with dark red, bittersweet berries and dried vines woven among them, and a black-feathered eye mask. To top it all off, his nails are painted gold-flecked black. He drifts about, plain cup of water in hand, taking in everyone's outfits.

Accompanying Isabella, Alexander is cutting a figure that actually goes well with the fog-drenched evening. Gone are his usual oversized and badly worn attire. From somewhere, he's acquired a formal tux, with polished leather shoes, trim slacks, and a white waistcoat with a subtle, silver embroidered pattern. Above the black, twin-tailed coat is a long, dramatic black cape that conceals most of his body when he's still but billows out behind him when he moves. A white lace cravat is tied neatly at his throat, and a silver, featureless mask bisects his face along the horizontal - he's the Phantom of the Opera, and he's even gone through the trouble to add the barest suggestion of hideous scars around the the edges of the mask. His hair is deliberately styled in a mussed, slightly mad fashion. From somewhere, he's even acquired an old cane, tipped with a tarnished silver knob in the shape of a horse's head.

He looks a touch anxious, despite the costume. Or maybe because of it; when you have persistent identity issues, being around a whole bunch of people in masks maybe isn't your idea of the best time ever. But he's here, giving it his best shot.

Erin has come in dressed as Reign from Supergirl. It covers the minor detail of the mask as well, so it suited her and the fog just made her more eerily mysterious. Likely, no one would recognize her the way she looked. https://ewedit.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/skei.jpg For now though she doesn't meander around, just hangs out nearby the refreshment table with punch in her hand as she watches some approach the stage for the speeches.

Dang, everyone looks so fancy. It is a Masquerade, after all. James, however, thought this was, y'know, a costume party, apparently, because he's shown up... in costume. Sorta. The little ginger dude is wandering around in his usual jeans and hoodie, but he's wearing a paper bag over his head with two holes cut out for eyes. Careful observation may reveal a 'Kick Me' sign taped to his back. Yeah, that's his costume, nerds. As one of the waitstaff walks by with a glass of wine, he snags one and half-lifts his 'mask' up, revealing his beard before taking a long sip, and then bringing it back down. Must protect secret identity.

Minerva's family had came to the opening ceremonies, because they wanted to see what all was going on. They'd insisted that she come out since she wasn't doing anything for her birthday. She'd watched Ciprian wander off with Ashira and then she posted herself close to where there was warmed apple cider. Because it was cold! She's not dressed in a costume. She's just got her usual clothes on and her hat perched on her head. That one eye of hers is watching the crowd. Probably for signs of shenanigans.

Tobin isn't costumed for the opening ceremonies though he is dressed formally in a nice suit. He's perhaps saving his costume for the masquerade ball on the water tomorrow night. For now, he's in a white pressed shirt, navy blue suit, and shined shoes as he remains off to one side, just taking in the proceedings and enjoying watching those who are costumed or in finery as they make their way through the area. A warmed cider is in one hand, and he seems to be enjoying himself despite being there alone.

There are many, many, many reasons why a person should be nervous about being in Gray Harbor during Halloween., but with how Addington Park has been transformed into a mysterious Renaissance carnival, it's easy to be drawn into the wonder of it all and forget that the place is how it is. Green-gold eyes roam over the decor and the set-up, open appreciation on her features as her heeled shoes take her closer to the proceedings, drawn almost automatically to the gazebo and its gaggle of masked musicians and clad in something that she normally wouldn't be seen in - Isabella Reede, for only the second time since her return to Gray Harbor, is actually wearing a dress in the traditional flamenco style that could be found anywhere in Seville; long sleeves, a low back, the relatively modest bodice fitted and snug up until it gets to the ruffled layered skirt, structured to billow and make it easy for her to sweep it up within her grasp in the event she does intend to dance. It's been a few years since she's worn it, but it was an easy costume idea. It's dyed in an eye-catching scarlet, her hair for once left loose in tousled waves, wearing a simple red Venetian mask fringed with gold to match the wide hoop earrings on her ears.

Alexander may be the Phantom, but she's definitely not Christine Daae, opting to go as Carmen instead, Bizet's passionate protagonist who ends up getting stabbed to death by a jilted lover after throwing away his ring, sharing the opera theme instead of fully pairing up with him. Not that there's much by way of thought regarding her costume anyway because she keeps getting distracted by how her companion looks in a tuxedo. Occasionally, Alexander would catch her just simply staring at him, speechless.

Alison strolls into the park, a little late, but not so much that she'd have missed any of the actual event. The short redhead's wearing the same costume that she was wearing a few weeks back at the Cabaret, a bright red vinyl underbust corset, paired with matching red vinyl booty shorts, and a lacey red bra. The red stockings she'd worn previously are out, only now substituted for knee-high red leather boots. It's all topped off with a set of cheap looking plastic horns tucked into her messy red hair, and an unusual mask covering her nose and mouth (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61xsgridXJL._SY355_.jpg).

It's not exactly a look fit for being out in public, and certainly not for an event with a name as fancy sounding as The Masquerade, but hey! She's here, and she's in a costume. She seems to have neglected the fact that this is late October in the PNW, however, and left her jacket behind in her car. This leads to the occasional shiver, but with her face mostly covered save for intense blue eyes, her discomfort doesn't really show.

Alison gratefully accepts a glass of wine offered by the passing waitstaff, taking a big sip to hopefully get some of that alcohol in her system and keep her a little warm.

Sutton arrives looking like she's escaped a saloon somewhere (s1 Westworld, anyone?), all in white from long sleeve, pearl button top, leather corset, short skirt, garters with white stockings, and high vintage boots. Her blonde hair is pulled and pinned back. She wears a laser-cut, delicate silver filagree mask. Costume (left): https://tinyurl.com/noswandude & mask: https://tinyurl.com/y6ztp4at. She nabs a drink from the first tray she sees, and subtly makes a pass along one of the food tables, just trying to walk in ridiculously high heels. This was not her idea. Stilettos on grass. Her mask doesn't actually hide her identity, so if she takes a header, everyone's going to know. "Not enough wine in the world," she mutters, reaching down to retrieve what looks like cheese on a fancy cracker. She pops it into her mouth, takes a couple chews, then freezes. And promptly finds a fancy potted plant to surreptitiously spit it out in. More wine. Need more wine.

"I admit, this place looks remarkable," Alexander murmurs to Isabella as they walk along. "And the fog is, oddly, the perfect accompaniment. Although one I worry about. We don't usually--" he clicks his teeth shut on the observation, shakes his head. No use borrowing trouble. "Is...that August?" He lifts his cane in greeting to the man, and then to Tobin and Minerva when he picks them out of the crowd, as well. Their lack of costume is almost a relief - he can recognize them easily. "Isabella, we should say hello-," he stops as he glances in her direction and catches one of those speechless looks. He immediately goes all awkward and sheepish, practically stumbling over his own feet. "You're going to make me blush," he mutters to her.

Roxy moves among the guests, offering a greeting here and there, like a proper Venetian courtesan during a masquerade. She drifts in and out of the pathways, offering to escort people to this spot or that, directing others to various food and beverage areas with a crimson-painted smile.

James tends to subscribe to the Pirates of the Caribbean philosophy regarding freely available snacks: take what you can, give nothing back. After downing another glass of wine, he's now taken to raiding the various food and refreshment tables, piling things up on a plate and eating as he goes. "... yarr.", he mutters, around a mouthful of cocktail shrimp.

"August and his team, and his new landscaper, apparently, have been working their fingers to the bone to bring this to life, I heard - and saw, a couple of days ago," Isabella replies softly, her curious stare falling on the garden maze, before it moves away to fix on his half-covered face. Taking in those who he points out, she can't help but smile. "I think that's the non-mainstream mask August was telling me about - what one of his friends was making for him." There's a long-fingered wave towards Tobin and Minerva - and Sutton, too, an admiring glance cast at her high boots. The last comment from her companion inspires a laugh, her fingers reaching out so she could leave her hand tucked into his inner elbow, leaning up to press her lips lightly on his exposed cheek. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time. You look incredible." A single eye winks at him through her mask, before she steers him towards August. Maybe he'll feel more comfortable if he was within the vicinity of one of his bros.

Minerva gives a bit of a wave to Isabella as she's sipping her cider. She doesn't move for the most part. She keeps people watching and quietly admiring the costumes that people are wearing. She gives a nod to those that she knows if they move past.

August sees the cane go up, lifts his cup of water to Alexander in response and drifts towards him and Isabella. On his way there he gives James an amused look, pauses to blink at Alison and Roxy, nods at Minerva. Once he's reached them, he says, "Looking good you two," on a grin. "Going to the boat tour? Kind of looking forward to that, fog or no."

Tobin lifts his cider in Alexander's direction and makes his way over that way, "Fortunately, the fog will only enhance the feeling of dancing on a cloud over the water." He comments this in August's direction as he approaches. He's mostly paying attention to the welcome speech, because it's Byron, after all, but he's likely heard something about it before now, having been working on all the planning and preparation. Now, he's taking a break before his own responsibilities begin.

Erin remains in the bits of fog with it swirling around her. Her hair is put up and the mask and her unusual clothing probably hides her identity, but she listens to the speech, lifts her cup for a silent toast then a drink of the contents.

James's plate of purloined finger food is now starting to reach the point where he's going to have to make some serious decisions about its structural integrity, but he seems to be up for the challenge. Those nearby may just hear the hummed notes of the Tetris theme coming from him as he carefully places a layer of bacon-wrapped dates along the edge of the plate. He does pause when Byron gives his speech, and grins under his paper bag mask. "Roll Charisma, with advantage, you bastard.", he murmurs, giving an amused laugh before turning back towards his culinary depredations.

Alexander turns in that direction as the lion-faced man takes center stage. Despite himself, and the beautifully sinister look of those attendants following along behind Thorne, he can't help but smile a little. "He knows how to put on a show," he murmurs to Isabella. And then there's a brighter smile as August drifts towards them. "That mask is amazing, August. Just remarkable. How are you feeling?" He seems to put a little more emphasis on that than usual, and he glances down at the man's hands. Not that he'd know what 'dryad ichor' infection might look like, if anything. With Tobin's response, he says, "I hadn't considered going on the boat tour. But maybe. It would probably be fun." He plays with the cane as a nervous gesture, his fingers twitching it from hand to hand as he follows the various costumed people around. There's smiles for the people he manages to recognize, but those in fully concealing costumes are watched uncertainly.

Roxy applauds for Byron's welcome speech and she then continues her movements through the crowds, offering assistance to anyone who seems to be looking for help. She hasn't seemed to find the fog odd at all. This is a harbor town after all.

There's the man of the hour. Isabella's attention is drawn, unerringly, to Byron Thorne, who looks even more expensive than he normally does, an appreciative once-over upon the effort and thought he's put in his costume (though no doubt outsourced to the best tailor he can find in the city). Once his speech is finished, she disengages from Alexander's arm, briefly, to clap heartily for him and join in the applause at the Master of Ceremonies' opening remarks. As August's taller, broader shadow falls on them both, there's a grin. "Hey August, you look wonderful," she tells him. "May I...?" Her fingers lift up, to gesture towards his mask and its impressive arrangement, but she won't touch it without permission. "The craftsmanship is staggering."

Tobin's approach has her smiling over at him as well. "Hi Tobin, awesome suit," she tells him - she's never actually ever seen him in anything of the sort before, and he wears it well. "And it does sound fun, but I think I'll be landlocked during the entire masquerade with my dashing companion. But tell me how it is afterwards?" Alexander's anxiety must be something, because a hand reaches out for one of his gloved ones, linking her fingers into his and giving it a squeeze. "Maybe we can meet up later after the tour, whenever you find Miss Lake?"

Sutton straightens up just in time to turn and catch a wave from Isabella. She grins and waves back, including Alexander in the wave. Surely no one saw that plant thing. Another gulp of wine for courage, or to kill the throb already beginning in her feet after donning these lace-up stilettos. She lifts her wine to Byron as he finishes his speechifying (for the moment), and slides behind James, eyeballing his plate.

Alison grins at August as she (briefly) catches his eye, taking in his pretty, if unusual, crown. Her mouth's covered by her mask, so it probably just looks a little on the creepy side.

Following the opening speech by Byron, she makes her way over to James by one of the food tables, picking out something that's closer to something that she might recognize, popping it in her mouth after tugging her mask upwards for a moment, and then lowering it back down. She saunters a bit closer to James, the little devil reaching up to give his paper bag mask a turn so that the holes are on the back of his head, and the solid side covers his face. Alison can't help but laugh at her own doing, though it's somewhat muted and distorted by her own mask.

Tobin doesn't usually wear suits, or much formal at all unless he's hosting some sort of formal event on the bigger of the two tour boats, so it's definitely not his norm to be wearing a suit. He smiles at Isabella and says, "Thanks. I'm getting some practice in for tomorrow. And apparently I have a wedding to attend in the not too distant future, so.. may as well resign myself to more frequent formalwear." He then says to both Isabella and Alexander, "You should both come. You've already got costumes. Come dance."

Once Byron's done with his speech and the clapping's subsided, August says to Tobin, "Hadn't thought of it that way. Now I'm really looking forward to it." He smiles at Alexander, ducks his head so Isabella can have a look at the mask. "Thanks. Erica's pretty creative. Suspect she's going to go into theater and costuming or something like that. Apparently she sells these online, this is when she makes a ton of money." He nods in agreement with Tobin. "Happy to meet up with you after, but like he says--you could just come on the tour."

His attention drifts to the various cloaked figures, moving between them with curiosity. Not that he knows everyone in town, but their total unfamiliarity to him makes him curious. "Wonder if Byron has something planned," he says around a sip of water.

James is in the middle of inserting some load-bearing pretzels into his growing column of canapes, when suddenly, there's a rustle and tug of his mask from Alison and everything goes dark. He freezes in place. "... ah goddamit. This is it, then.", he says, mostly to himself. "Just like the old fortuneteller said it would."

"Oh. Dancing." Alexander's expression of dismay is obvious even with half his face covered. "No. I don't dance." He looks curiously at Tobin. "But who's getting married?"

To August, he laughs, softly. "It's Thorne. You can count on it." He notices Sutton's wave, and blinks at her. Then gives her a tentative wave back. He recognizes her. Probably. Maybe? And then there's a freaking throne being moved up for the man in red, and Alexander turns and stares with amusement brimming in his eyes. "Goodness." A mock whisper to Isabella. "This might be bad for his ego, you know." But as the chanting starts, he frowns a little. Just a little.

Captain de la Vega turns up (un)fashionably late, pretty much as per usual, and elaborately costumed to the point of being nigh unrecognizable. The Mexican is playing what appears to be a gunslinger tonight: pinstriped waistcoat over a dark linen shirt, fitted trousers and glossy boots with a heel. Leather gloves conceal his remaining ink, and a stetson pulled low over his eyes doesn't manage to hide his thrice-broken nose or trimmed, silvering beard. He wears a long leather duster over all, and a S&W number 3 American holstered in the belt at his hip.

He seems to be looking for someone in particular, in between taking in the festival setup and the speaker currently on 'stage'.

Roxy makes her way over to where Sutton is carefully balancing on her heels, one of the few people she recognizes, thanks to her mask being filigree and not covering her features. "I did not expect them to go to such lengths," she notes, watching the pageantry with the throne and such. "Is this something historical? I am not familiar with it."

Maddie and Duncan apparently missed the 'masquerade' part of the Halloween event at Addington park. That's why she's in a skeleton bodysuit, though it's actually just adult-sized footie pajamas with glow-in-the-dark skeleton bones printed on. It even has a hood! She pulls Duncan along by his hand excitedly, though she stops short when she sees the red cloaks and masks and the dude on the throne. "Oh, shit, Dun-Dun. I think we've accidentally walked into another cult meeting," she says a little too loudly.

"Rafael's sister," Tobin says, reassuring Alexander that it's not anyone that they know that's getting surprised hitched, at any rate. "He asked me to go with him." The figures get a curious look as he watches them approaching the stage and set down the throne. The chanting draws his attention away from the conversation for a moment.

Alison gives James the gentlest of kicks to his butt as possible (per the sign on his back), almost losing her balance in the process. She laughs again, perhaps more of a cackle from the little red devil, then turns to run away to possibly cause more mischief, but then her eyes set on the newcomers in cloaks. And the ostritch. What? "Is that an ostritch?"

She explores the elaborate and beautiful, twisted crown by feel, ever the tactile creature all too willing to be enslaved by her every physical sense; Isabella's smile only broadens when the berries and bark tickle her fingers. "It's absolutely stunning," she murmurs. "And paired with the suit, you really look like you're not from around here." He technically isn't, but that's the joke. She grins impishly at August after that.

To Tobin, she laughs. "I'll see what I can do," she says. "To get to where you guys are when the time comes, though - oh, a wedding?" Mischief brightens her eyes. "Are you-- "
And he answers her companion before she could tease him! Alexander's small whisper has her nudging her shoulder against his. "Be nice," she says with a laugh. "Besides, if you think Byron Thorne would abide by getting dethroned by some faceless fop, you don't know him very..." And the chanting increases in volume. "...well..." Brows furrow, before she lowers her voice to the rest of her companions. "...is this an audience participation thing?"

Duncan is some number of steps behind Maddie, because he lost a couple of feathers out of the tail of his vulture costume. Yes, vulture costume. It has brown tights, fake bird-feet, a black tunic-thing with wings for arms, and a red head with a stuffed brown beak. It is very convincing; he definitely looks exactly like a (man dressed up as a) vulture. The feathers were part of the cuff of white around his neck, and he's trying to lick-and-stick them back in place. "No, I'm a Veilture, ostriches are taller," he tells Alison in passing, totally misreading that conversation, and then scurries to catch up to his skeleton. "Great! Let's go ask if they're taking new members. Cults always have the best snacks."

Erin is wearing a costume as well, but it includes a mask so it makes her pretty much unrecognizable. https://ewedit.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/skei.jpg -Keeping near the refreshment table, she checks the time. An appearance had been made at least how much longer before she she could leave without looking as if she is avoiding everyone?

Sutton hasn't knocked over a waiter yet, which bodes well, though it does make her a little bit harder to find. She is still within reaching distance of the refreshment table with the most chocolate on it. She's busy sorting out if the brownies are safe to eat, misses the ostrich, most other things. The chanting even has to get pretty loud for her to notice it. She wanders away from the table, all in white. "Don't eat the crackers with the squishy stuff on top," she mutters to Duncan and Maddie as she teeters past them on heels too high to be walking around on the grass.

Maddie nibbles on her nails as the chanting starts to get louder, turning to Duncan with a quick shake of her head. "I don't know, D. The cults that chant always wind up drinking the kool-aid or sacrificing babies and I didn't bring any babies," she frets, unmasked eyes widening at the Ostrich that comes up behind Duncan. "Ooohhh man!! That's so COOL!" she points, and nudges Duncan hard in the side. Look, dammit! As for crackers with the squishy stuff? Maddie says in passing to Sutton: "I don't like brain."

Tobin chuckles as Isabella starts to tease but gets thwarted by his answer before she can get it out. Though as the chanting begins to grow in volume, enough so as to interrupt conversation, his attention is more fully captured by what is going on up on the stage. He tries to spot Byron in the crowd, not having heard about this particular portion of the programming, but can't seem to see him. "Ostrich?" He hears the word but can't see that, either, suddenly looking around to see if it's a real ostrich or someone in a particularly good costume.

The kick to James' butt may have been gentle, but that plate of food was already in a precarious state, and blinded and surprised as he is, poor James can't help but stumble, and lo, the Monolith of Munchies begins to tip! "Oh shitnsacks!", he exclaims, and spreads his fingers wide, wrists twisting and body bending to try and keep the plate from falling, all without being able to see. It's close, for several long moments it seems as if disaster will strike- but with a 'hup!', he manages to stabilize the plate, panting- not a single snack left behind. He reaches up to turn the paper back on his head back around, so he can see out the eyeholes once more, and looks around, trying to spot who kicked him. But of course Alison's long gone, so he may never know. He sighs. "Well, that could have gone worse. At least the party isn't being taken over by ominous chanting cultists or anyth-", he starts to say to himself, just as he notices the ominous chanting cultists. "Aw, hell."

"Oh no." Alexander has spotted Duncan and Maddie. He lifts his cane to wave 'hello' to them despite the quiet exclamation. And then the chanting raises in volume, higher and higher. He turns, pivoting a little as he studies the festival goers, as if trying to pinpoint those voices. His grip on the cane changes, subtly, from holding it loosely, to something more ready to crack a skull. It actually kinda goes well with the look of the costume. As he sweeps, though, he notices Ruiz in the gunslinger costume, and it momentarily distracts him from the creeping sense of doom. "I recognize him. Javier!"

"See?" Duncan hooks a thumb/wing back at the ostrich towering behind him. "Taller. Hello, fellow bird. I, too, have come as fowl tonight." And he sticks out his wing at the ostrich, so they can shake and be friends, ear-to-ear beam carried over when he looks up at Sutton. "I do. I do like brain, do they have brains on crackers? That's gonna be delicious with some kool-aid. We better get in line before the babies eat it all. Friend ostrich, which way is the line for the brains and kool-aid, please?" The chanting will probably land eventually, but it hasn't penetrated his excited haze just yet.

Ruiz spots Alexander pretty easily when the man calls out to him, and angles in his direction. The masked figures stepping out of the fog are a little foreboding, to say the least, and he keeps half an eye on them as he wanders over. "Why do I have a feeling something's about to go horribly wrong?" he grumbles.

Alison smirks at Duncan, the 'veil' part of vulture not understood by her Glimmer neophyte self, but gets his general meaning. Sort of. Maybe he just said vulture. And he's certainly done up like a bird of some sort! It's about then when the chanting catches her attention. To nobody in particular, she says, "Is it just me, or is it getting a little Silent Hill out here? If someone shows up in a Triangle Head costume, I'm outta here." Not quite getting the reference right.

Oh no and a wave? Isabella furrows her brows at Alexander's small moment of mixed messages. "Who are they?" she asks, green and gold eyes finding Duncan and Maddie with interest. And then Tobin is saying something about an ostrich? She attempts to stand on the balls of her feet in a futile attempt to look over heads in an effort to glimpse more of the strange and mysterious tableau the gathering is becoming. The headless extra catches her attention almost immediately. "Wow, that's some makeup work."

She hopes it's make-up work anyway.

Alexander's exclamation has her giving up on her attempt, for now, to smile brightly at Ruiz when he starts heading over.

Minerva stiffens when the chanting grows louder and she can just sense that it's bad, "STOP THEM FROM CHANTING GOD DAMN IT!" the one eyed woman states as she starts to move towards the sound of where they are. Oh yes, that's Minerva yelling. "Don't let them continue!" she shouts. Was she panicky? MAYBE.

Oh no? OH YES, Alexander! Maddie spies him from across the way before he even lifts up his cane, while Duncan's making friends with the creepy Ostrich and asking for brains. "Alexander! HI!" she waves a skeletal arm, hops up and down and waves both skeleton arms, and beams the biggest, brightest grin she can find in the moment. It's almost like Maddie and Alexander are the best of friends. "Look, Donuts, it's Alexander! HELLOOOOO Alexander!"

Erin notices Sutton somewhere near her at the refreshment table and she moves over to stand closer to her when she sees the headless looking figure. The chanting just gives her the chills and she voices to Sutton, "Are you okay?" Giving away her identity at least to her by her voice. "You look really nice." She follows where she goes just to keep an eye on her for the most part. In case it gets dangerous. Not that she doesn't think Sutton can't take care of herself, but she's a little protective of her for some reason.

Roxy plucks up some glasses of wine for a couple of older ladies attending the festivities, and she passes them out with a warm smile. "Enjoy the Masquerade!" she declares to them, before she moves on to the next attendee in need of directions or help. She moves like dancing flames through the gathered, her bright blue eyes flitting to the masked actors she assumes Thorne hired for more atmosphere than just a couple strippers in Venetian garb.

August coughs a laugh at Isabella. "Well hopefully I won't get mistaken by anyone who thinks so," he says, tone dry. The chanting starts to make him shift uncomfortably. He eyes Ruiz in his gunslinger costume, snorts a laugh at the comment. He keeps eyeing the cloaked and masked figures. "Whatever makes you say that?"

Duncan's handshake ends with him reeling backward in a sudden spray of white neck-feathers while he flails his arms gracelessly. One of them whacks into Maddie while she's waving all cheerily, so he just grabs that and pulls her over, clinging to her. It'd be cute and romantic and stuff except it looks more like the way Shaggy was always hanging on Scooby: this is not about love, it's about having a human shield. "MADDIE, IT LOOKED AT ME!"

The cape makes people dramatic. It is known. So Alexander musters something like a bow and a cape sweep as Ruiz comes closer. "As always, Captain, I suspect your intuition is frighteningly accurate." To Isabella, he sighs, and adds, quietly, "You remember the people who tried to capture me, peel off my face, and feed me to Veil monsters?" A gesture in their direction.

And oh, here comes Maddie. Despite that rather harrowing introduction, Alexander's smile to Maddie is genuine, and he raises his voice to say, "Hello, Madeline. And Duncan. It's nice to see you. Happy Halloween."

Annnnd now, it's all starting to go to hell, so his smile switches off as he turns towards the stage. "What. The. Hell."

With a sideways glance at Ruiz, August mutters, "You just had to say it."

"Ow!" Maddie gets whacked by a flailing Duncan arm and then is grabbed, her dagger eyes turning upward to Mister Ostrich. "Don't you DARE look at him again, or I'll cut out your eyes and eat them for breakfast," she sneers, and pulls Duncan over to Alexander while squinting disappointedly in the Ostrich's direction. "It's okay, D. Look, it's Alexander. Alexander! Hello!" she glares once more at the Ostrich before the switch flips and she's beaming over to Alexander. "I should've known I'd find you here, you look like a person who hangs out with cultists," it's said so simply, like she's talking about the weather. "Keene always did like the cults," her eyes narrow just a bit, then the smile returns. "But for different reasons. Oh!" The screaming is happening. She turns to look up to the stage. "It looks like the human sacrifices are beginning," she sounds only just a little bit excited. Duncan gets a squeeze.

"Hey, Erin. Nice mask. Leather is the —" Her attention is taken by Minerva's yelling about chanting. She's somewhat distracted from Erin, though she hangs near the woman in black, clearly having recognized her easily once spoken to. "... Yeah, unconscious ladies and chanting aren't ok." Sutton takes off in the direction of the cloaked figures dragging a woman. She's at a run, which is a dangerous proposition in heels.

Man, that chanting's getting extra creepy. And now all the extras coming in, and- is that someone yelling to stop the chanting? This is all starting to freak James out. He takes a step back, closer to one of the tables, and swallows dryly. Is it time to NOPE right the hell out of here? He hesitates, then sets his jaw. No, it's not time to run, yet. James knows what he has to do. He puts down the overloaded food plate, apologizing to it and promising to come back, and then reaches into his hoodie pocket, pulling out his weed vape pen. The fog covers him a bit as he takes a long, deep inhale (cue Popeye music). He lets it out in a long stream, and then coughs a couple of times. "Right. Where the fuck's Thorne?", he mutters, and starts wandering around, trying to find Byron. Just to ask if this is all part of the show, because, y'know, it looks a hell of a lot like a human sacrifice is going to happen, and, hey, that's fine, I mean, if it's that kind of party, who's he to judge, right? But that's the kind of thing you normally, y'know, put on the party invites. Like, 'black tie, BYOB, human sacrifice, parking will be validated', that sort of thing.

Minerva's hat goes flying off as she breaks into a run. Someone steps on it a few seconds later. That's going to be a hard thing to tell her about later. If they aren't all eaten by whatever Elder God these people are about to call up. "Hate." she pushes someone out of the way. "This." another is elbowed. "Fucking Town!" she snaps as she almost gets to the stage. Thanks! I hate it!

Roxy startles a bit at the scream, and she begins to head into the direction of the stage to investigate. She lifts up her dress a bit so the hem doesn't drag in the grass, her gold sandals stepping lightly as she goes. She begins looking for anyone officially on event staff to ask if she's supposed to be helping with this crazy dramatic production. She stops near the assistant with the walkie. "I do not remember being told about this performance; did I miss something?" she asks him.

So in Duncan's mind, Maddie just chased that ostrich away, which is why he hugs her fiercely and says, "YEAH! And stay gone, too!" He shakes a fist at the retreating creature (which really just looks like he's flapping stupidly), and tunes back in to everything else happening with his eyes wide, confused, and failing to make heads-or-tails of a damn thing. "But I didn't get any brain-crackers and punch," he tacks on re: human sacrifices. "Happy Halloween, uhhh, Mister... er... guy." No, he still hasn't figured out what to call Alexander. "Did you get any brain-crackers and punch yet? 'Cause I really feel like they shouldn't do the sacrifices till we all get our snacks!"

"....right, the people who tried to kill you who are your friends now," Isabella summarizes, dryly, and in a very skeptical fashion, so it makes it all the more nonsensical when she turns to Duncan and Maddie and flashes them both a smile. "I'm Isabella," she introduces, extending a hand for a handshake to Maddie, first, and her skeletal companion. "Alexander mentioned you're both actors?"

The screaming starts, and somehow she hears Minerva through the crowd. "What-- Minerva?!" She tries to get a bead on the rushing occultist. "Min, wait!"

Alison walks back over to James as he's wandering and places a hand on his shoulder. Through her mask, she says, "Sorry about that. Couldn't help myself. Uh, any chance you know what's going on? This is getting weird." She doesn't really know anybody here, other than brief passing encounters while working at the Grizzly Den Diner, so any port in a storm will do. And things are surely getting stormy in a hurry.

And then, Tobin just isn't there. He was standing there, and perhaps he'd turned, to talk to someone, or answer something. He's not masked so it's easy for him to be recognized. But it seems as though he'd just .. wandered off, perhaps?

Yeah Erin doesn't try and let Sutton go alone, she runs with her, but her footwear is a little better for it. She manages to keep up, just because the medic is wearing heels like those. "It's not part of any show is it?"

"Well, then, we know Thorne isn't in charge of this part of the festivities; he'd never get started with the human sacrifices before refreshments. Duncan's right; it's just not done." Alexander sounds very solemn about that. The tall figure emerges out of the fog, and what little humor he had about the situation is gone. He curses under his breath. "Isabella, can you fight in that?" he asks, already starting to move towards the Slenderman figure - it looks like the stage is covered, after all.

"Oh, Alexander's too kind," Maddie says to Isabella. "I'm the actress. Duncan's my stage manager, but he does write all of my music," she beams a smile over to Duncan, she's so proud of him! She's seemingly unnerved of the screaming and the potential human sacrifice that's going on, stage-whispering to Alexander, "As long as you don't piss them off, they usually don't try to sacrifice you, too. Killing a virgin every so often is good for society," she shrugs.

Duncan should stop looking at things. They just freak him out. "Maddie, that is definitely the Slenderman, and you PROMISED me that we wouldn't play that game anymore, it really scares me too bad." He pulls the beak-hood down over his eyes and hides from the world. Like an ostrich. From beneath the mask, he replies a polite if muffled, "Hi, Isabella. Very nice to meet you. I manage things."

August curses at the scream, at the woman being stood up...at the huge, tall, thing in the fog. He grimaces at Maddie and Duncan, turns a 'who the hell are these people?' look on Alexander. Then he's moving after Erin and Sutton to make sure nothing actually sacrificial is about to happen, or, only metaphorically.

James jumps as he's Touched by a Demon (coming to NBC this Fall), and spins around to look at Alison, blue (and a little red, because weed) eyes are wide behind the holes in his paper bag mask. "Whu..?", he replies, "Sorry, I mean.. what? Wait. That was you?" He grins under the mask. "Nice one!" This is a man who appreciates a good prank. "Uhm. Anyway. I have no idea. This shit's weird. I was looking for Byron. You know Byron? Y'know. Tall, handsome, has money, will never live down that time he played a bard in our D&D game?" And then the chanting stops. "Oh. Huh. Just a sec." He turns, and spots that assistant, rushing up towards them, while motioning for Alison to follow. The answer the assistant gives is... not reassuring. "Well, that's a Texas-sized fuck no from me, good buddy. Shit." He spins around, and if Alison's still there, he tells her, "OK, now we really need to find Byron, this is not looking ok." If she's not there, well, he says this to one of the passing waitstaff, and steals another glass of wine before trying to find their erstwhile host.

Roxy stares at Thorne's assistant in confusion. "You fell asleep? With all the noise around here? That really isn't possible is it?" She grimaces. Neither were the bite and claw marks she woke up with after a Dream. Is this....something like that? "We need to get people out of here," she murmurs to the assistant. "Announce that it's time for the parade and for people to go to downtown. Get them to leave like that!" She then rushes off to begin escorting some of the elderly attendees further from the stage.

Sutton is fully prepared to go up on stage. She turns back to look over at Erin, running still, "I don't think so! Not until that woman says so right to my face." Sutton may be a little high strung after some adventures recently, but the screaming and creepery can prove to be part of the show and she won't even be embarrassed about it. She's a few yards behind Minerva, but it won't be long till she reaches the stage, probably with Erin right behind her!

"Tell me more about that soon," she says in an oddly conversational fashion to Maddie. "I desperately need to know if you're contemporary, Shakespearean, or all of the above." Because she's just that big of a nerd.

As for whether or not she can fight in her dress? "Not yet," Isabella says, before reaching over to snatch a wooden chair, throwing it on the ground. Lifting up her skirt and uncaring if she flashes God and everyone with how the skirt is designed, she bends a knee and stomps on one of the sturdier back legs with the thick heel of her flamenco shoe, breaking it. She reaches out to snatches it off the ground and hefts it like a bat.

"Now I am." Oh no, the deposit! "Let's go. August, Sutton, be careful!" she calls out, before she starts moving to back Alexander up.

Alexander has much the same idea as Roxy, although his methodology is a little different. He keeps an eye on the Slenderman-ish thing, but his concentration is elsewhere. He reaches out to touch Isabella as she approaches, but his eyes are far away, his mind reaching out to all of the non-shiny people he can touch in the nearby crowd, and whispering softly into their brains the desire to leave. Not fear, but just the pressing need to be elsewhere. Don't look, don't worry, just go.

Minerva gets right to the edge of the stage and she grabs the back of a shirt and tugs the person back, "Get out of here!" she screams at them. She probably looked NUTS. But, that tall gangly thing was crazier. The womand braces her hands on the stage and she tries really really hard to electrocute the group and the monster. There's even sparks that come up, illuminating her face. It's looks like she's really focusing.

Erin is most definitely right behind her, and she knows what Sutton means. "Yeah better safe than sorry!" Her height, her longer legs carry her well across the way and her boots manage to not dig into the ground, her steps light. Only glancing back once when she hears Sutton's name. Isabella? She had Alexander there for the moment, so she keeps after Sutton, as backup.

"I mean I said I wouldn't dress up like the slenderman and chase you around the room anymore, I didn't say other people couldn't dress up like the sle..." Maddie remarks to Duncan, but her comments quickly taper off when she sees the slenderman there in the crowd. And then Isabella's punching off the legs of chairs and this was getting a little too crazy, even for her. "Come on, D. Let's try to find the brain crackers and get a better spot so we can see the entire sacrifice. I imagine it's going to be one hell of a fight."

"Madeline. Duncan." Alexander calls to them without looking around. "Maybe you could help? There's always another human sacrifice to watch later. Get some of these people out of here. Please."

"SPIDERS!" Duncan no-rolls this one, he's definitely going to lose his shit. He rips the hood back from his head and starts peering at himself all over, turning in a circle in an effort to see parts of his body that are impossible to see without a mirror. "GET IT OFF!" Eventually, he will be able to deliver dialogue without it being in all-caps again, but that's definitely not happening while he KNOWS there are SPIDERS on him. Sorry, Keene Alexander, but he has his own problems right now.

Alison responds to James, "Yeah, that was me. No idea who Byron is though, I'm new in town." She follows James over to Byron's assistant, looking around the party for this 'Byron' person. Not that she's sure what a Byron looks like, aside from James's not entirely helpful description, but given the circumstances, she's willing to help find one amongst the crowd, following James around.

"Find Thorne!" Roxy shouts to the assistant, then she sends that thought to Sutton as well, spying her on the stage. <<Thorne is missing, his assistants were unconscious. The people on stage with him were not his people.>> She heads in the direction Byron and his entourage had departed.

Minerva gives a look up and her face falls when she sees them all disappear into billowing smoke trails. Then her gaze goes to the woman that they've left and she climbs up onto the stage with the dim hope that the woman is alive. But she had that tight feeling in her stomach.

August stops dead in his tracks when the cloaks and masks collapse. He watches the smoke flee, eyes tracking it as it dissipates. He starts forward to join the others at the stage, moving more cautiously now.

"Wait, he's on stage?", James says as he catches that last bit from the assistant, and he motions to Alison. "Byron's the guy in charge of this thing. I think. Was dressed like a lion for the speech?", he tells her, then turns towards the stage- just in time to catch the crumpling and the smoke and all of them but the victim just.. turning to nothing but crumpled cloaks. He opens his mouth. Closes it. Opens it again. Raises a finger. Lowers it. Clears his throat. And fishes out his weed vape again, taking a quick hit. He then offers it wordlessly to Alison, because even in the middle of all this madness, Puff Puff Pass is the law of the land.

Maddie looks to Alexander with hitched brows and a confused expression on her face, like he just said something alien to her. Help? "This is why plays end whenever the good guys win. Being a hero is boring," she sighs dramatically. There was no way she was going to be moved to help some strange unconscious lady not be sacrificed. But there is one person she would risk it all to save - and that person just screamed 'Spiders!' "Dun?!" she twirls about, and starts whacking him with her hands all over, "I'll get them! HOLD STILL! Where are they?!" Whack whack whack.

Sutton takes the steps up onto the stage as fast as possible, probably faster than is safe with her + heels. She's a second behind Minerva, hitting her knees beside the woman to do a vitals check. Once the costumes on stage smoke empty, they're off of her radar.

Alexander heaves a sigh. "A work in progress," he mutters to himself. As he notices the figures on the stage collapsing as soon as they're reached, he strides up to the tall and gangly figure, and gives it a sharp whack with the cane. Maybe this will make it turn to smoke! Maybe this will make it eat him! Tonight is a night of discovery.

Erin follows Sutton to the stage, but she has her back to the blonde while she keeps watch for anyone to be coming back and causing problems. She looks all like a villain in her costume, but it's just Erin. "How is she?" The words are called back. "Does she need help?"

"Nice to meet you too, Duncan! Sorry about this, be right back!"

The touch has her glancing briefly at Alexander, catching the far away look in his eyes and knowing what it means. "Okay. Okay," Isabella murmurs - Erin, too, is glimpsed though she isn't sure who that is at first, but at least Sutton isn't alone when she and August head for the stage. Her red-clad self moves forward in the mid-point between the gangly creature and Alexander. She doesn't seem to be daunted by the fact that it's so tall and spindly. But her heart is in her throat and her heels dig stubbornly into the dirt to prevent herself from running.

There's no bold Gandalf-esque declaration of nobody passing. Instead, it's a groan and she charges forward. "Please let it be stilts, please let it be stilts, please let it be stilts..." as she recklessly launches herself at the Slenderman, the chair leg swinging in an arc in an attempt to get it behind the knee from one of its tall legs in tandem with Alexander.

"I don't know, get them please, get them!" Duncan scratches all in his hair, down his neck as far as his awesome jumpsuit will allow, and stomps his bird-feet. Spiders don't seem to be falling out from all over him, so probably he's fine, but it's going to take a while to realize that. In the midst of all this, with costumes suddenly collapsing, he looks up and - frozen mid-itch - laughs out, "All those guys just evaporated. And I thought I was scared of spiders, hah!" Still though, get them! He resumes rummaging in his costume for the bugs he KNOWS ARE IN THERE. Also, with a wave, "Okay, bye Isabella, good chat."

Alison blinks. Oh! "Oh, the lion guy. Okay. Uhhh.." She looks around some more, her eyes landing on the stage to catch the pseudo-kerfuffle. "Is this a thing? It seems like it might actually be a thing going on." And then spiders are mentioned, or shrieked about. "Okay, definitely a thing. Nobody told me there would be spiders." Alison's eyes dart around, looking for the aranchnids in question. She just kinda presses back against James's hand at the offer of the weed vape. Now's not the time!

August resumes approaching the stage and the Black Swan on it. "She's fine," he says, sounding confused. "She's not...injured." He frowns, calls to Alexander. "Can you--sense an illusion? Disrupt one?"

"You're a hero!" Maddie praises Duncan because he totally scared off those meanie cultists. She perks up, smooches him on the lips, and then gets back to smacking him. "But not a boring hero! Like the kind of hero that doesn't shut down the whole story after he's won with his boring boringness," WHACK! Whack-whack-whack! "I'm not finding any spiders, turn around!" she's totally going to smack him on the ass. To get the spiders off of him.

Sutton glances up, "Roxy, what do you mean Byron's unconscious and —" the blonde looks up, fully expecting the dancer to be very nearby. She heard her voice. "Uh." She's distracted from that mystery by the woman dressed as black swan. "Are you high, love?" She seems to have a good grip. "Ma'am, you're bleeding." Captain obvious over here. "What hurts?" We're maintaining professionalism, okay. "Listen, crazy cakes," Well, we were maintaining professionalism. "Are you hurt?"

"I will light up your life if you try to hurt her." Minerva levels that one eyed gaze on Amelia. And she was deadly serious. "Who are you and why did you have to go and fuck up Halloween?" she frowns at her.

Maybe it's not stilts, but Alexander hasn't been eaten by Slenderman tentacles, and that's really all he asks. When August calls out, he turns towards the stage. His eyes go to not to his friend, but the victim of the sacrifice. "Fuck." He raises his hands. "Keep that woman there, August. Do not let her go!" He looks to Isabella. "Have you seen Byron anywhere?"

"Oh, it's a thing.", James mutters, as he takes his hand back, not seeming too offended at having his offer of THC numbness rejected. He is a man well-versed in rejection, alas. "I think it's over now, tho-", he begins to saw, just as the parade starts, and he glances over at it, relaxing for a moment. This feels more normal, this is fine, this is- James suddenly freezes in place again, his eyes behind the mask going real wide. "... m-mom? Dad? Crazy hoarder Uncle Dan?", he whispers, slack-jawed, as he spots a few figures in the parade. Maybe it's not too late to NOPE the holy living actual fuck out of here after all. Just as soon as his legs start working again. "Hey. Uhm. Devil lady?" He doesn't know Alison's name after all. "You, uh, mind pulling that prank again? Please?"

August nods at Alexander, moves to join Erin, Sutton, and the Black Swan. This isn't over, that much is clear. "Careful." he says to Sutton, voice low. He pauses, eyes her a second, nods at the Swan. "The Gift's not showing her as injured."

"Who is that?" Isabella asks, her eyes gravitating to the stage at Alexander's curse. To the man's question, she shakes her head. "I haven't seen him since he was escorted off the stage. It-- " And when everything else catches up to her, her face grows ashen. She drops the chair leg and looks around. She reaches under her skirt and pulls out the phone wedged against her thigh by a black garter to fire off a text to Lilith Winslow. And then she tries to call him. He never goes anywhere without his phone.

"I really am, though," Duncan says very seriously, nodding his most grave nod while he accepts this praise graciously. "But I still can't go on all night with my costume FULL OF SPIDERS!" He starts wiggling and squirming and trying to peel off his costume right here in the middle of the park. He's not wearing anything underneath it, so we're all going to have to thank Maddie for making sure to drag him off somewhere less right in the middle of everything to change.

"Fuck fuck fuck," Alexander chants it steadily under his breath, and beckons Isabella to follow him as he heads for the stage. "Her name is Amelia, and she probably knows where Byron is." His expression goes grim, eyes locked on the woman. "He's being taken to the goddamned house, isn't he," he demands when he gets within reach of the stage to be able to speak without shouting.

"Who the fuck is The Gift?" Is that the sound of Sutton thinking August is a little crazy? Might just be. The paramedic does pull her arm free when the woman's grip keeps tightening. "What worked?" Her frustration is rising, but she does the best to keep her hands to herself. She goes back to trying to take vitals, glancing over at Alexander. "Do you know where Byron is, Amelia? It's quite important we find him. The next landlord might try to raise my rent." If you save Byron from Veil-y fate, does he lower your rent. Hmmm.

Alison blinks at James. "Uh, really? Okay." And she kicks him in the ass again with her boot. Because that's definitely what he meant by that prank, or at least she thinks so. The redheaded outsider doesn't have a whole lot of connections here yet, so she doesn't recognize anyone in the parade, but something about James's tone of voice sure doesn't sound right. "Is.. there something wrong with your family being in the parade?"

She follows, flamenco shoes and their thick heels moving up the stage, shadowing Alexander - the word that Amelia might know where Byron is has Isabella's eyes narrowing, taking a step forward. Sutton has her, maybe she can convince the woman to hold her down while Miss Blackwood is shaken for answers. "What house?" she asks the investigator, her glare slowly growing white-hot and incandescent as she looks down at the giggling woman.

So everyone in the immediate vicinity of Erin seemed somewhat safe even if incredibly weird and crazy. She does keep watch but she doesn't interfere because she's confused as all hell with whatever is happening. She'd gone along to protect Sutton if possible, but there was August, much more capable. She steps back into the shadows for now, letting them sort out all the madness she isn't even close to understanding.

James blinks as he gets kicked. "No, no, the other part... argh.", he says, but doesn't take his eyes off of the parade and the figures within it. Alison's question pulls a panicked little giggle from beneath the paper bag mask. "Oh, no, nothing wrong at all. I mean, they're looking really spry. Y'know. For, ah, having been dead for fifteen years.", he tells Alison, which is probably just the thing a girl likes to hear from the bearded rando she's standing next to.

Roxy has been searching for Byron backstage in vain. He is nowhere to be found. Everyone she talks to hasn't seen him since his speech.

When Amelia points to Alexander, Minerva's eyes follow that direction and there's a frown, "My surprised face is NOWHERE to be found." she breathes out. Then she moves to hop off the stage and see if she can locate her family, "Ciprian?!" she calls out.

"His childhood home. It's on Oak Street," Alexander says, grimly. "It's...infected. Haunted. Of a sort. With memories. If someone's taken him there, we need to get him back." He lifts himself up on the stage when he reaches it, and stretches out a hand towards Amelia. He's not willing to take her evasive answers, so, with a blank face, he reaches into her mind to try and read her. "Is that where Byron Thorne is?" he demands, again, this time trying to wrap his mind around hers like a vice and squeeze until he can feel the truth or deception.

Sutton kneels there on the stage, all in white, her silvery mask catching the light when she turns her head. "Sure you don't want to give us a little hint, love? Alexander's got a lot of information in his brain." Alexander seems to be the one Amelia is pointing at, so Sutton goes with that. "There, is he in his childhood home?" Sutton's voice is quite a bit more gentle than some others.

Her temper snaps. Amelia might not be going anywhere, but it's just as well. Because with her taunting them with Byron's disappearance and Alexander, as well, Isabella suddenly lunges at the woman, lips peeled back to bare her teeth. A hand snaps out in an effort to snag the front of the woman's clothes, her other hand drawing back into a fist. She has no idea that her companion is already taking the steps necessary to crack the woman's head open like an egg in other ways, but there's nowhere else for her anger to go and she went there.

Alison blinks again at James. "...oh. Uh. Hmmm. Yeah, that's a thing." A pause. "You sure about them being dead? Seems like it didn't quite stick." Her head swivels around again, looking for the lion from earlier that James was after. No sign of him around, but plenty of other weird shit. "This is getting really fucking weird."

"Pretty sure, yeah.", James tells Alison, his blue eyes tracking his dear departed family's progress along the parade, but his body otherwise immobile, frozen in fear or something else. "I, uh, found the burnt remains of their bodies. There's a... smell, y'know? Burning flesh? You don't forget it, that smell.", he murmurs, and gives another half-deranged giggle at her last words. "Y-yeah. This is fucked right the hell up, it is." He finally moves, taking a step back. "You, uh, wanna get out of here maybe?" Another step back, even if his eyes are still glued on the two main reasons he's got a legit claim to being Batman.

"Ugh," Alexander mutters. He doesn't try to stop Isabella, but he does say, "She's influenced by the house. There's no point in beating her. She's probably a victim as much as anyone." He rubs at his face. "It's gotta be the house on Oak. That's the only place I can think of that they would take him." He looks around at the group, grimaces. "I...hate to ask, because I have no idea what the fuck we'd be walking into, except deeply unpleasant things. But...would anyone be willing to help?" And in his mind, the absolute certainty that Byron is going to hate this. Well. He'll burn that bridge when he comes to it, so long as the guy is alive and relatively sane enough to do the hating.

"Oh. Well." Alison swallowed hard at James's affirmation of his family's death. James seems pretty certain, then, so, again, weird stuff going down here. "This town is so fucking weird. Yeah, let's get out of here. You want a ride? I parked down the street." She gestures in a direction, things obscured by deep fog, though. "..I think." The shadowy figures in the distance do not exactly encourage her to head towards her car, but here doesn't seem terribly safe either.

Erin just stands nearby, mostly at the edge of the shadows and watches Sutton and the others. She looks so completely.. detached from it all, but makes no moves to get closer. In fact, she shrinks back a step, closer to the shadows.

Roxy emerges from behind the stage, looking worried. "No one has seen Mister Thorne since his speech," she tells those gathered on the stage, unaware of the information they've gleaned here.

"Seems like," Sutton says, leaning back a little when Isabella comes in for the shaking of Amelia, "that the house is a good place to start." She doesn't try to stop Bella. Her gaze flicks to Alexander. She watches him for a couple of beats, then says, "I rarely refuse refuse when someone asks for help, Alexander." She lifts one shoulder in a shrug. "Maybe it'll get me a break on goblin-infested rent." Maybe she doesn't realize how messed up this town is. Her gaze flicks to Roxy. She doesn't say anything, but she's definitely thinking.

Who the hell knows where de la Vega went, but he'd disappeared for a little while there, and now he wanders back into view. Fiddling away on his cell phone, of course. Spotting the gathering of (mostly) familiar faces, he adjusts course to head on over.

The old Thorne house. Not Bayside apartments, but where he grew up in. Byron was always invited to the Reedes, but he had never had the twins over and it is one of the many reasons why Isabella heard nothing but vague rumors about his childhood. But she knows where it is and when Alexander identifies the familiar street, her fingers clench all the more tightly into Amelia's collar. Nothing of what Alexander is saying is helping and despite the fact that it isn't the poor woman's fault, she doesn't care.

Finally, she lets go of her with a frustrated grunt, rising to her feet. "Let's go get him," she says through clenched teeth. A grateful look is cast to Sutton when she says she's coming also.

James says, "Y-yeah, I shouldn't be driving. On account of the booze. And the weed. And the abiding, soul-deep horror.", James mumbles back at Alison, and continues stepping back, letting her take the lead into the fog, while not taking his eyes off of his long ago perished progenitors. "Also, yeah. This town is so fucking weird.""

Alexander gives Sutton a relieved look. "Thank you," he says, then blinks as Roxy emerges. "You're the dancer from the club. With the very clever costume. Hello. We're going to go rescue a friend. Can you fight? And not run away from terrible things?" Because sure, grabbing a random costumed dancer and tossing her at a house full of evil makes PERFECT sense.

August returns from helping people who were panicking about the parade, just in time to hear Alexander say...that. "Is this a house that's going to bite back?" he asks, eyebrows going up. He must have put his mask in his car so it wouldn't get destroyed.

Roxy blinks at Alexander. Her? Fight? "I...not really. The fight part." She doesn't really have very good control of her abilities yet. She's really good at getting beaten up though, apparently. "I can help injured people a though. I am a lifeguard, I have training for that." And she can taser things sometimes, or shield someone, or accelerate someone's healing, but she doesn't know how to explain that. And none of it comes with any consistency for her. She unties the ribbon for her mask and takes it off, clutching it in both hands.

"Oh yes," Alexander says. "I have no doubt of that, August." He looks grim. And possibly a little sick to his stomach. Seeing Ruiz approach, he says, "Captain, would you accompany us? And maybe handcuffs for Amelia?" As if the captain just HAPPENS to carry around handcuffs everywhere he goes. A glance back at Roxy. "That's useful. Come along, if you're okay with the risk."

"Since Amelia here isn't medically compromised, not it." Sutton rises from her kneeling position on the stage. She rises, dusting off her stockinged knees, and totters around until the feeling comes back to her left leg. She stands at the edge of the stage, turning around to face the oncoming police in a gunslinger uniform. She raises her hands like where have you been? "I'm gonna need a glass of wine for the drive." Does giving her wine seem wise?

Erin isn't so recognizable, except when she had been speaking to Sutton. Her soft voice was certainly easily recognized. As for now she's hanging by the shadows, trying to just avoid.. what? She doesn't know what, but that's her mood.

"Well in that case." At least August can fix his own suit if it gets ruined. Fringe benefits. "I can take three people in my car, if we need to drive to it." At least, he assumes the house in question is nowhere around here.

Alison grabs James by the hand, the woman starting to lose her crap a little bit, maybe. And they head off into the fog in the general direction of where she thinks her car is, directly into the fog and shadows, for better or for worse. Hopefully no more ostritches out there. And there DEFINITELY better not be any bears.

She's not just crazed, she's also furious! Isabella glowers at Amelia while she waits for the party to group, staring down at her pretty face, and dark hair and large blue eyes. Realization, or at least a suspicion of a kind, starts to crawl over her features the longer she stares at Miss Blackwood.

When August speaks up about travel arrangements, that's when she slowly tears her gaze away from Amelia. "I have my Jeep, I can take three more, too, on top of Alexander."

Handcuffs? Ruiz squints at Alexander. "What the fuck is going on here?" A beat. "I have some in the car." Sutton and her demands for wine are studied with a critical eye for a moment. "No," is his assessment of that one. Followed by trying to figure out who the hell Amelia is, and why she might need handcuffs.

Ruiz also spots Roxy, scowls, and goes to pull her aside with a few quiet words.

Erin hears about Byron being missing and realizes the search party was on. So, she does what she's been doing most of the night and chases after Sutton, "I'll tag along and help, if that's alright."

Sutton's turning to Roxy to say, "Love, shouldn't you be in bed resting up?" She holds up a finger to Ruiz and his no. She'll deal with that in a minute. "Hey, Erin, thanks for the backup. I thought I was gonna have to tackle some date rapist types." Sutton makes her way over to the steps to come down off the stage, since standing on it in a short skirt talking to people on the ground isn't the best idea she ever had. Unless she wants everyone to know what kind of lingerie she has on tonight.

Alexander rubs at his face. "This -- look. It's hard to explain. Byron's being taken against his will to the place he used to live as a kid. Bad things are likely to happen. Anyone going, let's go. And she," a wave at Amelia, "is probably sort of possessed, so we should secure her." A look around. "So, let's go." And now he's walking off. Towards Isabella's jeep.

Roxy gets pulled aside and blinks owlishly at Ruiz while he whispers something at her. She frowns, but she nods and does as he says. "If anyone gets hurt, but not hospital serious, bring them to my room, and I can maybe help patch them up." That latter is said to Sutton. With that, the former ballerina heads out.

James jumps a little as his hand is taken, the shock of human contact enough to finally break his stare on Mummy and Dead-y. He gives her hand a squeeze, and she might feel for a moment a pulse of emotion washing through her, a sort of chill relaxed 'everything's gonna be cool, daddy-o' vibe- but it is incredibly weak, and passes so quickly she might wonder if she imagined it. It's definitely not the emotion he's feeling, maybe the emotion he was hoping she might feel, but the weirdo beardo just doesn't have the juice right now to actually do anything. He squints into the fog as the two of them wander off. "Y'know, I'm starting to wonder why I came back to town.", he mutters to her, as they're soon swallowed by the fog.

"I'm going," Erin says firmer this time, even if she has to take her own car. A smile is given to Sutton though, "Hey girl, I got your back anytime." While Ruiz is busy is when she speaks to Sutton. "You have the medical and I've got the other, as well as August, so with all us there, if anything has happened to Byron, then we'll all be there and things will be fine."

Sutton links her arm with Erin's. "Do you know where this house is, and, more importantly, do you have any spare shoes in your car? Anything without a heel on it?" She nods to Roxy, "You got it, pet." The blonde paramedic's attention returns to Erin. "I've seen what you can do. I think we can handle a few injuries."

Erin smiles, "I could probably run in the heels I'm so used to wearing them. These boots feel clunky to me," sort of the type the paramedic may wear in uniform. "We could probably change shoes and be just fine." Erin lives in heels, most of her life. "What do you think? I think the boots will look hot with your dress."

Ruiz eyes Alexander for a little while after that highly condensed explanation of what's going on. Amelia is studied in turn then, a little up-down of his eyes like he's trying to figure out what her problem might be. Then a nod finally as he adjusts his hat. "All right. I've got cuffs and zip ties in the car. Do you need a ride?" Sutton, and probably Erin, he assumes will come along as well.

She will leave the handcuffing of Amelia Blackwood to those who can do it. Isabella's eyes remain on her face, however, but when the group starts to mobilize, she, too reanimates. She drops down the steps and she moves after Alexander's taller shadow for her own vehicle. "See you guys there," she tells the rest. When she gets to her Jeep, though, she opens the back end, hunts around, and pulls out an actual baseball bat. This, she tosses to Alexander, before she gets in the driver's seat.

Sadly this is the twenty-first century, so there are no torches or pitchforks in the back of her wagon.

"I'm in, let's swap on the ride. Thanks, girl. I used to wear heels, but since my last injury my feet forgot what it's like to be strangled of circulation by stilettos." This is to Erin, of course. Sutton nods to Ruiz, "Yeah, we do. PS: nice costume. I like the hat." Need a ride. She jerks a thumb over her shoulder toward Amelia. "That one probably needs some observation."

"It's more than alright," August asides to Erin. "These old houses can get nasty, especially if a lot of bad shit's happened in them." He nods at Isabella in agreement, asks Alexander, "Do we know what we're dealing with in there? At all?"

Alexander stops at August's question, although he doesn't turn around to look at anyone. His shoulders are hunched. "Memories. Probably. And there's another woman. Olivia Marchand. She had a stroke recently, and was physically weak when I saw her, or portraying herself as it." And then he walks on.

Sutton snags a glass of wine on the way to the cars. "Allons-y." Bad life decisions.

Ruiz dimples a smile Sutton's way when she compliments his costume, dark eyes crinkling at the corners and getting more than a little distracted with her own getup. He touches her shoulder, leans in to say something quietly. Then goes to squeeze Erin's hand before ambling off to his truck parked nearby, to fetch those handcuffs.

Erin waits until she's in the car and she unlaces boots and swaps them over for the sexy heels Sutton had been wearing. August gets a thumbs up before they all eventually may get moving. For now though, she admires the shoes then offers to sit in back with Amelia. "I can sit here with her, or she can sit between the two of us?" She remembers the childhood home of Byron and his mother and his father before the police officer had been killed. Giving out the address, she waits to see what all is happening next.