into the night we go
who: max and ari
where: their house
when: before the gala
Arienne had had quite the rough time choosing an outfit. Normally, she wouldn't have spent so much time, but there was to be the meeting after the gala tonight, and she wanted to wear something Nathaniel may appreciate. She was unsure if he was actually attending the gala itself, not that they would really be able to speak there (unless it was a little play of their public personas), but either way, at some point she would be seeing him. This was probably the only manifestation of normal girly tendencies she had. Normally she didn't do anything of the kind, they simply didn't apply to her. But for tonight, she wanted to look good for her man.
That, and if anything horrible happened, she'd rather her corpse be found in a nice dress than otherwise.
She'd hung the flowers Nathaniel had sent her upside down on her bed post to dry out. She planned to keep them. And, as she chose a white dress, one with tiny black embroidered flowers along it's edges and the thin straps over her shoulders. It was a long, flowing dress that swept the tops of her feet when she put her shoes on--these ones higher than her usual sandals. For the finishing touch, she wrapped the black ribbon that had come with her flowers around her wrist. Her hair she let hang in loose waves down her back and around her shoulders, only putting silver combs in her hair to style it slightly on top, to make her hair frame her face nicely. After adding jet jewelry to her ears and around her neck, she stepped back to admire her appearance. A touch of make up later and she was satisfied, walking downstairs to find her brother. "Maximilieno, are you ready?"
Max was scowling in the foyer, adjusting his tie in the gilt mirror that hung near the coat closet. He grimaced, not liking having something around his neck but at least it wasn’t a bow tie and at least he wasn’t forced into a tuxedo. He was already on edge for what would happen later in the night. He’d checked out the meeting spot ahead of time, had contemplated hiding some kind of more reliable weapon but then realized that he was an improviser and that even this damn tie could be a weapon if he needed it to be.
He still did not approve. At all.
“If I lied and said I was sick, would you believe me?” he asked with a grimace and did a final adjustment to the tie, sliding on the tie pin -- another potential weapon! -- and straightening his jacket.
"Absolutely not." Arienne said affectionately as she stepped up to him, reaching up to re-adjust his tie to her own satisfaction. "You look dashing, however." she informed him. "You should catch a lot of eyes when you're there." Which would probably just bug him, but she was hoping he'd at least play at being nice. She knew he was on edge, however. She gave him a reassuring look. "It'll be fine."
Max made a face much like any other eight year old boy not interested in having ‘lots of eyes’ on them and looked down at his sister, who seemed rather pleased with everything and he sighed. “You look lovely tonight,” he told her with a smile, less forced this time. “It’s an honor to have you on my arm. This’ll be the test run before your party.” Because he was not going to dwell on the thoughts of what Nathaniel Konovich’s innards looked like. Nope. No matter how much he wanted to.
"I'm happy you're not making me go with any of the 'suitors' lined up." Arienne said, smiling back at him. "And we don't need a trial run, it's going to be just fine." she assured him. She put that confidence in him she possessed in her tone, so he'd hear it. It would be fine. She had a theory with Max, and that was the idea that her opinion mattered. And if she told him things were going to be just fine with authority, then he'd be better able to believe it himself, and therefore it would, in fact, be fine.
Which was very true, all things considered. Social settings were still things he was wholly not used to, not like this and he knew he could do it, he’d been playing a part his whole life. So Arienne’s vote of confidence was something he latched on to and he took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “It’ll be fine,” he echoed and looked back at himself in the mirror, Arienne now in the picture it reflected. “And I wouldn’t make you go with any of them, don’t worry. Your mother’s dead. You can’t be thinking of marriage right now. There’s some kind of period or something where that’s supposed to be acceptable.”
She smiled at their reflection. "Yes, I plan to use the excuse of 'mourning' for as long as I'm able." she agreed. "Though I feel some of our aunts are still on the continuous look out for men to marry me off to. I would much rather be on your arm for the evening. Plus, it tends to intimidate anyone with weaker nerves. It'll mean I won't have to speak to most of my classmates." she added, an amused little turn to her lips. "That and any man who does decide he wants to capture my attention may think twice about it if you're near." Which was something she was very much counting on. She wanted attention--she just wanted it to be attention from afar.
Max positively preened at Arienne’s assessment and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a hug, careful not to disturb her hair or dress. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep all the bad men away. You never know about some of them. They could be deeply disturbed individuals. The men, I mean. Or maybe some of your classmates. You really never know, do you?”
She laughed, a sweet sort of sound. "And I'm sure some are! Therefore, I depend on you to keep me safe from all the deranged individuals." Ari really didn't doubt he would, though. Anyone who looked at her sideways, they'd get a look from Max. And most people would back off immediately if not sooner. That's how she wanted it. "And I'm quite certain there are just as many disturbed people in my class. Possibly more, considering."
“Well I’m at your service, dear lady,” he said with a flourish and kissed the back of her hand before letting go of Arienne to grab his house keys. “Let’s get going before I change my mind.” He was going to get drunk. Possibly. Or at least knock back a few.
"Of course." she said, heading for the door. Well, tonight was going to be interesting, one way or another. Hopefully, everyone would live to see dawn.