[ORP] Not-So-Silent Night [Rockets]

[LexThetaSigma]

[Tambrey]

Unaware of what his pokemon was off doing, Rory continued to look around the room as he sipped the drink he had acquired. It was definitely a different atmosphere tonight, though he was sure it would quickly go back to normal once the festivities ended.

As his eyes scanned the room, he spotted a few familiar faces. Xander coming in and heading straight for the slightly familiar agent, Kratos was off not too far from him with Miette on his shoulder, and he was convinced he saw Shadow hanging out in the...well...shadows. The last thing he wanted to do was go over there and try to play nice with his partner. Last time they had both been at a party, Shadow had attempted to force him to do the other grunt's duty. The boy still hadn't apologized for that week. It wasn't Rory's fault that the boy was noisy yet never around.

Instead of focusing on the boy, however, Rory continued to look around and nearly choked on his drink when he spotted an extremely familiar Rocket clad in a long, blue dress. He coughed lightly to clear his throat before setting aside his cup, straightening his tie, and walking over to her.  

[Shawn Darrow]

[Asch, Rory]

Encouraged a little by the...more-or-less amicable response, Shadow nodded slowly. "Private, huh...?" That was something he'd heard of only in stories. So it was true, then? This guy had been some sort of noble? How the mighty fell... From Asch's usual demeanor, the grunt figured it was safe to conclude that it was by no choice of his own. Best not bring up the subject in case it was a bitter topic.

"So...was - is - it something you like doing?" he tried, knowing that a lot of 'privileged' children were often forced to take up things they had no interest in. "I mean, you seem pretty passionate in your playing, but...at the same time..." Grumpy. "...reluctant." A pause. "And melancholy."

Was that the right word? He hoped it was. His vocabulary may not have been up to par with most people his age who had a proper education. Still, he knew enough to associate violins with that word and a feeling of sorrow.

Feeling someone look his way, he peered over to catch see Rory notice him. Whoops. Seemed like he was still angry with him, just like he thought. Best continue to avoid him for the time being - which was just as well, because the blonde young man seemed determined to do the same. Dodging his partner's gaze, the teen sighed and stared at the ceiling before hearing Asch address him again. "Oh, uh...sorry." His mind was blank. "I don't...really know any good songs."

Lindsay, still nestled snugly in Shadow's arms, lifted her head from where she'd tucked it under his elbow to give Asch a critical look. He stroked her head and ears in case she needed more placating.  

[BlackPidgeot]

[Shadow]

Asch frowned, his voice sounding a little more indignant this time. "I wasn't forced into it, if that's what you mean." So in other words, yes, he enjoyed playing. "I just don't like playing in front of people." The melancholy part he didn't comment on. That's really none of this kid's business.

Ignoring the critical eye of Shadow's Pokemon, Asch looked a little annoyed as the kid suddenly became distracted, following his gaze towards another person he barely knew. However, Shadow's confession drew a slightly raised brow.

"You don't know any Christmas songs?" That was a bit hard to believe. Everyone knew at least a few Christmas songs.  

[Kitomyx]

[Asch]

The grunt's brows furrowed. That didn't seem to make much sense. "You...don't like playing in front of people, but you weren't forced into playing at this party...?" Had he not been expecting anyone to show or something? "Do you mean you're more comfortable when you're not playing solo...?" At least he had other musicians to play alongside with, but Shadow knew nothing about music or instruments. Maybe the guy preferred solos.

At the agent's surprised remark, Shadow scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Er...I didn't really ever celebrate holidays, so no, not exactly. But...well, I heard little snippets and things from stores and apartments in Goldenrod." He shrugged with a meek smile. "'Jingle Bells'? That one doesn't sound like something that would work with a violin, though."  

[Gwennythe]

(All, Rory)

Safety.
Tables were, as she remembered, like little bits of shore- harbours- in the seas that were parties; somewhere she could stop, perhaps find food or drink and look out for people she knew.

Speaking of...
There was Frost, looking completely at home in his suit, talking to Faleen- in a dress and on heels that provided a little flutter of jealousy in the grunt; she couldn't imagine pulling 'fancy' off quite as well-, there was 'Bruce' harbouring in his own corner (she smirked at that- hadn't seen him in a while but seemed like he was still the same) and then, talking with the musician, there was Shadow.
A glimpse of blue, though, and a fancy suit as someone else approached.
Tambrey blinked, looked Rory up and down, smile splitting into a soft grin as she moved toward him and aimed a soft poke at his tie.
They matched...
"Hey. Good colour." She sounded pleasantly surprised.  

[BlackPidgeot]

(Shadow/Everyone)

Asch pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand and made a frustrated sound. That wasn't what he meant. He tries to retain some semblance of patience though.

"That's not what I mean. I wasn't force to learn how to play."

Sheesh, did he really have to spell things out for this guy?

"Arcadie asked me to play at the party, and wouldn't shut up until I said yes." And so here he was. True he could have just not shown up, but Asch wasn't -that- shallow. Plus he'd probably have had to deal with torment later if he had done that.

At the "request" though, Asch snorted as if being mocked. "Jingle Bells? Please." That's only one of the easiest songs in the history of Christmas songs. By this time other members of the group had returned and Asch nodded at them, assuming they'd overheard the request, which they had.

Once they were ready, he repositioned his instrument and started to play.  

[Shawn Darrow]

[Asch]

Shadow clutched Lindsay a little tighter in his arms at the show of Asch's exasperation with him. She looked up at her trainer curiously before resting her chin on his elbow, as if to reassure him she was there if he needed her. He didn't seem to notice.

"Oh - oh! Right, got'cha," he answered hurriedly. Well, that's what he got for having as little social interaction as he did with others. Particularly higher ups; he was merely just a hall monitor, after all. It was one of the lowlier duties even among grunts due to its dull nature, but Shadow found it was far less stressful than being expected to use pokemon in battle or given any great responsibility. Besides, he never could get enough sleep anyway.

"Uh...right. The one who sent the e-mail," he murmured, though mostly to himself. Funny how she herself didn't seem to be around just yet. Maybe she still had decorations to take care of. "Heh...you must be...good friends."

Or Arcadie just had a ridiculously insane amount of guts and courage to pester this higher up until he gave in. If Shadow wasn't wrong, she wasn't any higher than his own rank, but maybe she was older than either of them. It was certainly difficult to tell by just her e-mail.

At the agent's reaction to the mention of the one song he knew, the grunt raised a brow. Did that mean he thought he was being stupid again, or...?

Asch didn't keep him waiting for a proper reply for long, however. Shadow's mouth opened slightly in surprise. Seemed like it could be a violin song after all. Sure, it didn't exactly fit the same atmosphere that the ones before it had created, but somehow it was a little more lively. Upbeat.

Shadow smiled a little in spite of himself. It was nice of Asch to play the one song he knew, even if it was extremely easy and frequently-heard. He applauded extra hard when the musicians had finished.  

[BlackPidgeot]

(Shadow/Everyone)

Judging by the frown on Asch's face, it was probably clear that he and Arcadie were in fact, not good friends. He barely knew her, and just wanted her to stop pestering him. The red head wasn't as a**l about ranks as some people were.

When the song was over, Asch was a little surprised at the enthusiasm of Shadow's applause, although he didn't show it. Instead he moved to the next song, which ended up being softer than the last ones. Having a variety is what he was trying to go for.  

[Shawn Darrow]

[Asch]

Grunt Shadow realized the agent was taking his role as a party musician very seriously. Then again it seemed like there wasn't much, if anything, that this guy didn't take seriously. He probably deserved something more to eat or drink than the meager amount he had between playing songs.

Setting Lindsay down gently, the boy whispered to her that he'd be right back and went to go see what he could find. He took a few cookies for his Jolteon, some dinner for himself, and...wow, there were a lot of things here he'd never seen before. A lot of the food looked altogether too fancy for a street urchin to recognize right off the bat.

Taking a little of everything onto a couple of plates, he somehow managed to balance it across the fingertips of one hand. With the other he snagged a pair of glasses, poured some dark grape juice into them out of a bottle, and balanced them between his digits as he headed back toward the wall. He hoped the juice hadn't gone sour; it smelled kind of funny.  

[LexThetaSigma]

At the sight of her, everyone else seemed to disappear and he couldn't get rid of the smile that found its way to his face. He coughed slightly to clear his throat and took a drink from his class. He found his eyes glancing at her from head to toe and taking in the dress now that he was closer to her.

He grinned slightly, looking down when she poked at his tie. Somehow the tie the pokemon had picked out for him matched the color of the dress she had chosen.

"Hi," He greeted, "You look good."  

[Gwennythe]

(Rory)

Jingle bells- that was nice played like that.
Tambrey resisted the urge to curtsy, almost, as she watched Rory look her up and down- there was a slight dip before she caught herself.
There was also a bit of a blush and an nervy, slightly skeptical, smile for the compliment.
"Well... 'S the same kind 'f dress I wore once before. I'm not sure it counts as 'fancy' enough really but I do like it." She admitted, prompted by what he'd said.
"Thank you, though... Uh. For saying, y'know, that. I really do like your suit... and that tie." Very much, but she wasn't going to say quite that out loud "So, um. Hi. You look good too." She offered with a change to the smile; the skepticism faltered, though the nervousness remained.
That hadn't been quite as terribly bad as she'd feared- cringe-worthy, maybe, but only a little, she thought.
Of course, the next, rather pretty, slower song would have started while they were talking like this. It was a pretty song, and Tambrey was sure she'd heard it from a film or something before, a long time ago, but couldn't place it.  

[BlackPidgeot]

[Shadow]

Asch didn't really pay much mind as the grunt wandered off, and just continued to play the song. And yes, he did take it very seriously... and did take just about everything seriously. It's... just how he was. Although really, he didn't mind playing up front as much as he was making it out to be. But he couldn't let anyone know that he actually enjoyed it. That would just... not be cool. It was better than standing around awkwardly and having to socialize.

He also didn't pay much mind when the guy returned with a couple plates of food. He simply finished the song and went about looking for what to play next.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Arriving fashionably late, one tall Rocket who's been rather scarce around base, actually shows up for this shin-dig. He did receive the email, and thus he figured it was time he showed his face back at HQ. You know... just to show people that he was still alive or something.

Entering into the hall that was adequately decorated, Seth stood in the doorway for a moment and looked around with a typical frown. Though it wasn't too severe, just thoughtful. Stepping on in, he was accompanied by a shiny Luxray at his side. The Pokémon who usually wore a spiked collar, now wore one with silver bells on it. Thus the Pokémon jingled with every step. That wasn't his idea by the way, but Raion seemed amused by it, so he allowed it to stay for the season.

With his height, he knows he sticks out in the crowd, but doesn't seem to care much as he meanders about. Seeing familiar faces and not so familiar ones.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

[Seth]

Claire had been at the party the entire time - wearing the purple dress she'd worn on one or two occasions before, with her hair styled to match the occasion - but since Arcadie had mostly handled the decorations, Claire had taken it upon herself to ensure the party ran as smoothly as possible. That meant ensuring the food and refreshments were resupplied often (especially the bar), providing the musicians with enough water when they didn't have time to get anything for themselves, and just in general making sure nothing went wrong. It was actually a lot like working on any other day, except today she was working at a fancy party. Why did she ever think this was a good idea? But people seemed to be enjoying themselves, so that's all that really mattered, she supposed.

"Welcome back sir," she said to Seth as she suddenly appeared by his side, carrying a tray of several different kinds of hors d'oeurves, which she offered to him. "I didn't know you'd be coming." While her tone was genuinely (although mildly) surprised, it also sounded as if she wasn't nervous or upset about the fact.  

[BlackPidgeot]

[Claire]

Hearing a "sir", Seth looked over, assuming he was being spoken to. And in fact he was as Claire offered him the tray. A little surprised at the greeting, yet his expression not wavering, he reached out and took one of the hors d'oeurves.

"I didn't exactly announce it," Seth told her plainly. He paused as he tried to place her face. It had been so long since he actually lived on base, and he wasn't sure he'd actually met this one before.

"What was your name?"

Oddly enough, the man was feeling more civil and sociable than he had in times past. Of course it probably could partly be due to the fact that he was somewhat required to be in social events. Even if this one didn't really count.