Argenti's Palace

[beautifulknight]

The stage is set they say;
They don their masks and shields,
Shadows creep and cover their minds;
Now, what beautiful role shall they play?

𝓜𝓮𝓵𝓾𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓷 𝓒𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓵𝓮


♫

Comments

[cirquedesang]

Oh, terribly devious.

[Sure, he'll lean in to the accusation. It's not the most inaccurate, anyway, even if he does know his fair share of head-empty vampires.]

Why, if you're not careful, I'll get you to agree to another dance at the masquerade later this week.

[It was one thing to do something like this - mildly unpleasant, reinforcing the sort of masks they keep up, playing in to the expectations of the shadow-nobles of the palace - for the sake of the mission at hand. It was another thing entirely to not only attend a masquerade ball, but to do it again.

But he did catch that McGillis seemed to be having some fun with him, if only a bit. And that counted for something.]

Unless you're too proud, that is.

[And there's the trap - claim he is a proud creature and deny him, or agree and admit that it wasn't such a low blow after all.]

[vogelfrei]

[ Oh, it's an evil trap indeed - but it overestimates McGillis' reluctance to attend the masquerade. He'd have been there either way, both because it seems like an event where the God of Conflict might try to interfere again and because... he likes masks, actually. Becoming Montag for a night, even when his true identity is obvious to all thanks to his height...? Well, it sounds appealing. It's a good time to not be McGillis Fareed for a minute. ]

Too proud to show off again? Now that seems like a paradox to me.

[ They're going to cut a great figure when actually dressed for the occasion. ]

I'm going to forego carefulness and promise you that dance outright.

[cirquedesang]

[What an odd thing to be trapped by - the affinity for literal masks, instead of figurative ones, of all things. Not that he minds having his trap foiled, of course. It deprives him of the scrunch of consternation on McGillis' face, sure, but it reveals something else about him that he didn't know. A fair trade.

And besides, they are going to cut a great figure.]

Then I will graciously accept that promise and intend to hold you to it. [A beat-] And to me.

[A little bit of flirting is allowed, surely.]