Beneath the Mask

[Yuki Matsumoto]

I'm a shapeshifter
What else should I be?
Please don't take off my mask
Revealing dark
Rooftop Party

Ryouta Yamada may not have been as notable as Kyou or Yuki, but clearly he had made enough of an impression to garner at least a few invites for the evening. Pleased with herself, Yuki tugged at the sleeves of one of Kyou's old suits, hoping it wasn't obvious that she'd been in somewhat of a rush to change before flooing to Cadogan Square. Kimonos were easier to manage alone than the opulent gowns and corsets the English favored, but they still required some maneuvering to get in and out of. But now, as she made her way up to the roof, Yuki was settling into Ryouta's skin once more, and a confident smirk tugged at her lips. Who would have thought she could have pulled this off so well, without even being a metamorphmagus?

For a time, she was content to watch the crowd, trying to pick out anyone she might recognize, whether it was from her time as Ryouta or as herself. Though she'd gotten quite good at the voice-changing charm and the face-changing spells, she still didn't like to mix her social connections if she could help it. It would be too easy for things to go wrong. Her father wasn't here to punish her, true, but if she were discovered then neither she nor Ryouta would belong anywhere, and that thought was too painful to bear.

So she wandered over to the cocktail bar; a good choice, for there was both alcohol and a very pretty woman there!

"Why do you suppose they call them 'cocktails', miss?" Ryouta said as he moved up beside the girl, eying the setup with genuine curiosity. "Seems a strange name for a drink, don't you think?"

@'Elsie Beauregard' @'Nathalie Jennings'

  

[Nathalie Jennings]

Nathalie realized now, as she hit her second and possibly last ball of the evening, that she was seriously out of practice with social events. Once upon a lifetime, she'd been pretty good at keeping up with society's demands on a young debutante! Of course she'd been young and in love at the time and hadn't thought anything of it! One would think that since she worked nights that she'd be used to this! Clearly not!

Exhausted after finally escaping the last ball in which she'd danced with no less than ten people, all thanks to different colored flowers, Nathalie had gladly moved on, Stephen in tow. Her eldest brother was looking a little worse for wear himself after working today and she could tell she wouldn't get much argument from him come time to leave! Annabeth and Robert were also around somewhere and frankly Nat was thrilled to have her sister around so couldn't begrudge Anna's obvious excitement over the Reconciliation festivities! It was a little contagious if she thought about it!

Still exhausted from her last ball and wondering how on earth Annabeth was still going, Nat had lost Stephen to a colleague and Robert had dissolved into the background as per usual. It was too bad they hadn't been able to convince James to come along. Moving toward the bar, Nathalie rather thought that one of those cocktails sounded refreshing at the moment and so ordered one that sounded fruity. The first few sips went down too easy, quickly followed by the rest of the drink. Wow that was tasty and Nat was so parched she quickly ordered another.

About to enjoy another delicious sip, her thoughts of finding a second wind were interrupted by an unfamiliar voice. "You know, I haven't the foggiest!" She admitted with a girlish giggle. Perhaps that first drink had gone to her head, just a little bit. "Do you know why?" She asked as she took a sip of her drink, obviously intrigued.