Snow has been cleared, and large braziers set up in the center of the hedgemaze, making the space warm and clear and just a small fire hazard. One side is set with booze and food and musicians, and the other boasts of a very large number of breakables. Who knows what they're for! But there are piles of them that edge the open space set aside for mingling and dancing.

Servants guide people through the maze with torches, or allow them to brave it on their own if they like, but at the center of the maze, Monique awaits, all smiles and excitement, her red hair a veritable flame in the darkness.

Brogan gets Red Head Whiskey from a large wooden chest decorated with the night sky.

About as subtle as a winter storm, Brogan arrives with Felicia in tow. "If they have games, no cheating. Like you did when you tripped me last night." Brogan rumbles in mock accusation. While he doe snot dance, the lively music does make him sort of bob in place for a moment. He points at the chest. "Yeesssssss! Drinks! They know how to party here tonight!" A tug to Fel's hand and it's onward to booze and the reading of the Contest Rules.

Silvio is not a red head. He normally has black hair. However, it appears the Lycene Minx has managed to dye his hair a deep red for the evening, and bundled it atop his head in curls. He is also wearing a gown to go with his new hairstyle, his waist cinched in. He gladly follows the crowd, talking with anyone nearby. "I should hope there would be drinks. I came to get terribly drunk...and also with the promise I might get to break things." He bats his lashes at Brogan.

Peri's voluminous dark hair is wound round with a blindingly bright red cloth and tucked into a turban. She finds her way to the center of the maze preceed by Soot, a red beribboned ferret. Eina, in a red hat, guards Peri's flank.

There was no adulterating, alterations, or tints needed for Eddard to be allowed admittance to this esteemed event. Because he is a ginger, tended hair swept back from his forehead and trimmed beard of red fire adorn jawline, cheeks and mouth. Whiskey is plucked from the chest that waits for him, his thumb pushing cork free to take a sniff and grin. "Lady Monique?" He asks a passing attendant. Then he is on a hunt for the hostess.

"Cheat?!" the tone of offense in Felicia's voice no doubt carries long before they round the last corner of the maze,"Right, just because you're clumsy and slow. You probably bribed that child to throw a snowball at me." she tosses at him as he goes to grab a bottle, snagging the first one he selects from his hand and makes him grab another,"Lady Monique does indeed know how to throw a party in my experience.. hey, nice dress." she offers Silvio's way,"We should go say hi to the hostess first, though, Brogan."

The hostess awaits, breaking away from a small grouping of redheads (some real, some not) to greet her newest guests. "Welcome to the Rebellion!" she says, approaching Eddard to steal a hug. Stepping back, her perusal of Silvio is long and full of approval. "I'm storing my envy at how spectacular your look," she tells him, "for the temper contest later. Dame Felicia, welcome!" There's a bright grin for Peri and Brogan, and an introduction. "Lady Monique Greenmarch, it's a pleasure to meet you. I do hope you're prepared to break a great many things tonight."

Silvio tries to kiss Monique on the cheek, if allowed, which just seems to be his way, rather than an attempt at perversion. "This is so fantastic already, my dearest Lady." He compliments, easing out of the way for other greeters to see the hostess.

"Getting drunk is a hobby of mine." Brogan looks over towards Silvio. while his eyebrows arch upwards at the batting of lashes his way, his beard splits into a grin as he turns to Felicia. "See that Fel? Be nice to me, because apparently I have options." He jerks a thumb towards Silvio, but at her tone he snorts in amusement. "Ha. I'd have hired a flock of children to do such becau-hey!" Brogan grumbles as the bottle he had plucked up becomes -Felicia's- bottle now. SO he snags another and after a pause, offers it to Silvio, and if it is taken grabs yet another for himself. "Yes. We should." Lady Greenmarch takes care of that detail and he holds up his hairy man-paws. "I am always prepared to break things Lady Monique, I like this game already."

"I think more that being sober is a passing fancy." Felicia accuses Brogan wryly, not addressing the whole 'options' at all,"Lady Monique." the former King's Own offers with a toothy grin,"I'm sure you've met him before, but just in case... Lord Brogan Nightgold... Lady Monique Greenmarch." she offers between the pair.

Eddard knows he'll only get a bit of attention for the moment, and loops his arm around Monique to SQUEEZE love from her like juice from an orange. Then moving along to find a glass to drink from. Only to encounter falsehoods within the party. Peri and her posse. "You look ridiculous. Its wonderful."

Monique gladly accepts a kiss from Silvio and returns it, leaving the poor man with a lip-shaped smear of carmine on his cheek. "My thanks! I hope you'll save a dance for me later?" the Greenmarch stipulates with a grin, turning next to the introduction of Brogan. "I've not but any Nightgold is welcome more than most. Nightgold's Finest is my drug of choice," she tells Brogan with a green-eyed wink. "And I'm close to running out of my stockpile from Nadia. So I know you and I will be best of friends. Thank you, Dame Felicia, for bringing me such a treasure." There's an admiring glance to Peri's animal companions, and the Minx notes, "Now /that/ is dedication!"

Monique pauses, then adds to Felicia, "Wait... it is still Dame, isn't it? Or is it Lady now? Or another title?"

Silvio gladly takes the wine from Brogan and chuckles as he's called an option. He winks at Felicia then, playful and full of mirth. He absolutely leaves the smooch-mark on his cheek. The best possible beauty-mark addition. When he sees the dressed-up animals, he drinks. "Well, normally I hate people bringing all their pets, but...this is adorable." He claps the fingers of one hand against the heel of the other in a light pattering of applause.

"Lady Peri Seliki," Peri tells Monique. She frames her hairdo. "Thanks for allowing fake redheads," She waves a hand to include Eina and Soot. "We all wore red for you!" She grins at Eddard's wonderfully ridiculous greeting. Soot, for his part, has found his favorite bard and starts following Eddard.

"Still Dame for now, though we're a step closer towards recognition." Felicia confirms for Monique with a small dip of her head,"Though Deathspeaker is also apt, too." her attention flits over the other array of redheads (born or otherwise) with a small grin, tucking the whiskey in the crook of her arm to crack her knuckles,"So we get to throw things, do we? /At/ someone or...?" the twinkle in her eye with a glance Brogan's way probably suggests her target.

"Sober is a boring reality." Brogan rumbles at Felicia. Moniques comment on Nightgold's Finest brings a very bright pleased smiled from the man. "Well, you have great taste. You already remind me I need to lay in a great deal of stock for it to share out." At Moniques pause, his head shakes. "It -should- be Lady, but for now, Dame Harrow." Taking note of the critters Brogan feigns consternation. "Hmm, are any of them tasty?" At the mention of wardrobes. "Ah well. I have my hair already, but I mean. If I need to show off more red?" He gestures towards the shirt on his chest, and the fact it can, traditionally, be removed.

Monique starts to migrate to all those shiny breakable objects, glasses and mirrors, plates and mugs, porcelain statues and even some of the harder stuff, rock sculptures and the like. There's also paper, for those who can't quite manage the rest. "We'll be destroying as much as humanly possible," she announces happily, passing by the large, incredible statue of herself, pausing there. "Not this. This is strictly off limits for destruction," the Minx warns with a protective glance to the massive stroking of her own ego.

"For /me/? How could you even be sure that I would be here?" Of course Eddard would be here. Its Monique, and its redheads and he likes/is both. "You're always accompanied, aren't you? Afraid to be alone, Lady Seliki?"

Silvio wiggles his fingers and then drinks the whiskey down so that he has TWO free hands to break stuff. "I can hardly wait. All day I am surrounded by breakable things that I cannot break...lest I end up put out of the estate." He lets out an excited, popping laugh.

Danvir comes in looking about the beads in his beard tinkeling and flashing in the light

"Don't forget my share." Felicia advises Brogan with a grin, then shrugs her shoulders slightly,"I suspect it will be Baroness in the end, but. Well. And if you take your shirt off in this weather and catch a death of cold I will sit there and laugh at you. A lot." she advises as she trails towards the breakables, collecting a whiskey along her way. The mirrors are skipped, the Harrow angling towards a spot with few of the little reflective pieces there, and superstitiously moving the ones near her selected spot a little further away. Glasses, plates, mugs... rock statues? She's all cool with those, but mirrors are definitely very delicately and carefully moved with the care of one handling poisonous snakes.

Lygeia, a calligrapher and alchemist, Deor, a young swordsman, Bandit, a sprightly war horse arrive, following Rysen.

Deor, a young swordsman have been dismissed.

Bandit, a sprightly war horse have been dismissed.

"It /should/ be Queen," Monique comments to Felicia with a knowing smile. "But I know how you despair of me telling you that, so I'll only mention it once tonight." She's got a bottle of booze in hand and is drinking from it quite happily, a tilt of her head catching Danvir's arrival. "Welcome, m'lord," the Greenmarch greets him merrily. "Glad you could join us, we'll be starting the games soon to see who gets crowned Leader of the Redheaded Rebellion. Have you met the others? /Dame/ Felicia," she emphasizes that title very conspicuously. "Lord Eddard, Lady Peri, and her absolutely charming animals, and then Lord Brogan, supplier of my very livelihood!"

Soot continues staring at Eddard with glistening dark eyes. Peri cocks a grin at Eddards, "Lord Eddard, if I traveled along Soot would have never met you." She leans down to scritch the ferret's head.

"No Nightgold for you, my opponant." This is quipped at Felicia from brogan. "Ha! I sleep in the snow, how could I possibly get cold? Just because your skin and blood are as thin as parchment shavings." Brogan sighs wearily, with a sad shake of his head. Also his shirt stays on. For now. Monique's comment however does draw a faint look of alarm from the man. "Erm. No. For two reasons. one. Such could get her dead. Two. Her ego." He mimes a giant head oo big for a neck to support and makes like a large bobblehead a moment. Since this leaves him a little off balance, he takes this time to nod to each of the others in turn.

Danvir goes over and gets a bottle of whiskey from the chest un-corks it and takes a long drink from the bottle before smiling and bowing to Monique and says "thanks for your welcome I think I have seen a few of you around here and there though never formaly met I think." he then takes another drink from the bottle

"Oh. I could've lived with that. He pooped in my tricorner hat and I loved that hat." Soot gets a mock glowering glare from Eddard, who even bends down further to do so. "You maniacal misanthropic fur sausage."

"No Nightgold for me, hmm? I'll remember that." Felicia advises Brogan,"And just because you are part bear doesn't mean the rest of us aren't perfectly capable." there's a delicate sniff his way, mouth opening at Monique's statement but Brogan's already got it covered... even if the accusation against her ego gets a snort. A salute is offered Danvir's way jauntily before she resumes her careful evacuation of mirrors from her staked out portion of the breakables table,"Long live Alaric, and the entire Grayson line. I wouldn't wish a Harrow ruler on my worst enemies."

Rysen arrives with Lygeia at his side. He is dressed warmly in a black wool mantle, with white fox fur wrapped around his shoulders. In honor of the Minx and her Redheaded Rebellion, he has woven a number of cardinal feathers into his hair. He grins when he hears the music and grabs a glass of whiskey on his way to Monique. When he reaches her side, he bows. "Evening, Lady Monique. Hope you don't mind me stopping by for some drinks and revelry."

"Just because the past was bad, doesn't mean the future wouldn't be incredible," Monique informs both Brogan and Felicia, and then adds to Brogan, "I might have to challenge her for the title to the latter. Ah! Lord Rysen! I'm so glad you could make it, and just in time, for I think we're about to start breaking things." Is that a tease? It's definitely a tease. "And I know you've some frustration to loose. Now, there are weapons to use," she waves a hand to a number of swords of all sizes, "and rocks and, really," she tells everyone, "your creativity is your only limit. Are you all ready to throw a temper tantrum!?"

Peri checked stamina + athletics at difficulty 20, rolling 8 higher.

Silvio touches his red locks that are curled on his head, gently, and keeps away from getting too close to anything that might get them wet. "Oh yes...absolutely ready for this..." He will grab one of the small weapons. Oddly enough, he seems to hold it with some familiarity. Even a fashionable man has sometimes got to stab someone, after all.

Rysen checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 27 higher.

Silvio checked dexterity + small wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 36 higher.

Weapons? Weapons. There's no hiding the delight that idea brings to Felicia. Removing further mirrors from her vicinity is stopped in favor of going to find the biggest, heaviest sword-like object she can lay her hands on to trot back to the table with like an overgrown child with a new toy. The grin should definitely /definitely/ be concerning given the way she takes her time to take her grip, all teeth and happiness at the idea of laying about with it.

Felicia checked strength + huge wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 65 higher.

Brogan checked strength + huge wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 43 higher.

Eddard checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 9 lower.

Danvir checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 25 higher.

The poor Greenmarch servants look on in visible dismay. It's going to be a terrible morning. It's a good thing Marius is back in Greenhaven right now.

"Gods and spirits," says Rysen to Monique with a grin. "Giving me a hard time from the moment I catch your eye," he says. He takes a drink of whiskey before handing his glass to Lygeia and picking up a sword and testing the weight. He rests it on his shoulder and glances back at Monique, "But you're right: this might be just what I needed," he laughs, before raising his weapon and starts smashing anything nearby that looks like it even might have been laid out for that purpose.

Peri eyes the breakables and sees some decorative shells. She throws them in her stomping area. She jumps on them over and over again! They're shells! She's a Seliki. She should be an expert. While she does not get winded, she is no where near as impressive as though real redheads.

Danvir picks up a sword and stretches out his neck then starts smashing bottles with the sword while clenching his teeth and stretching his neck causing his face to bloom blood red and his eye to bulge out and spittle to fly from his opened mouth.

Finally Brogan starts to drink from his bottle. "Well now that is not bad, either. But I'm about to start draining bottles so my tastebuds may get a bit, uh, blurred." Brogan of course grabs a rather large sword. At his particular destruction destination he of course has to try the barbarian approach of a two handed overheaded chop which smashes a variety of items, this is rapidly followed up by him swinging the sword in an arc horizontally while sdvancing like some crazed breakables reaper. A proverbial rampant bear in a fine ceramics shop.

Danvir when he finishes he steps back and grins and then takes a swig of whiskey from the bottle that he has been holding in his other hand the whole time.

2 Pravus Honor Guard arrives, following Sebastian.

Eddard reaches over to pluck up a sword and IMMEDIATELY cuts himself and drops it. His hand is flung up and down at the ouchie before his finger goes into his mouth. "Fuckingfuck." Spoken around digits.

Ehehehe. The moment that Monique gives them the signal to begin Felicia starts a rampage. The curdling little noise she makes somewhere between a cackle and a war cry accompanying her lifting the sword straight over her head and bringing it down on the table with the strength that once termed her the King's Own Wrecking Ball. It's a catastrophic cacophony. The Harrow definitely leaves a respectful distance from the other participants but beyond that she lays waste to any breakables unfortunate enough to come within the arc of her borrowed weapon with an incandescent joy.

Felicia checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 40 higher.

Brogan checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 28 higher.

Rysen checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 18 higher.

After some time spent jumping Peri is reminded of how strong mother of pearl is and how soft teh ground is in comparison. Maybe she should have tried another approach to this whole destrunction thing.

Peri checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 10 higher.

Danvir checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 11 higher.

It's cold enough that Sebastian's wearing his winter greatcoat over his usual silks, today. The music draws him into the maze, selecting a glass of drink from one of the servants, though he doesn't sip it. Instead, the game-in-progress gets his attention, regarding some of the participants even as he seeks out the hostess. "Lady Monique," he murmurs, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "I'd heard you were putting on a little do."

Silvio checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 3 higher.

Monique is watching everyone destroy all the breakables with a smile of unholy glee. It grows wider still at Sebastian's arrival. "I'm so glad you came!" she choruses to the Pravus Lord, returning his kiss and leaving a carmine lip print upon his cheek in return. "You simply must get in there and show me your temper!" She waves to the selection of weaponry and rocks still available to break things with.

Faustus, the feisty, fluffy, three legged kitten arrives, following Olivia.

Sebastian checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 8 higher.

Silvio is so happy to destroy this thing that he is entirely focused upon its destruction at the end of a knife. The breakable vase is attacked vertically, then he grabs part of it and smashes that on the ground, then stabs another part of it over and over. He is a bundle of attacky-joy that he narrowly avoids getting some shrapnel from other competators and there ARE some broken shards in his hair. Those nearest to him could catch some smack talking. "You thought you were a good enough vase, hmmm, but you /pale/ in compare...and this is what I will do to any vase that challenges me..."

Never let it be said the Pravus Lord is against breaking things, no. Sebastian, uttering a low laugh, presses his still full glass into Monqiue's hands, before he turns to select a short sword. As with everything he does, he does it with abandon: he has skill with the weapon but mostly seems to leaning into the game, breaking this or that. Not so focused on the dodging, though: a few sharp slivers of something slice his cheek, unnoticed. "Lord Silvio!" he pauses, mid-swing, to greet the other man with a cheerful smile. "Such vengeance you are wreaking against that poor vase."

Olivia slips in trying to cover her very, not red hair, under the hood on her cloak. She spots an uncle and makes a bee line for Brogan.

The musicians pick up their tune in the background, providing a crescendo to the noise going on in the hedgemaze clearing as people completely annihilate the breakables set there for their pleasure. Monique is there, looking on, judging, scoring, truly enjoying it. "Gods, Dame Felicia, one would think you hadn't been truly pleasured in /far/ too long!" She glances over to Brogan, an eyebrow arching.

Olivia checked strength + small wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 5 lower.

"Eh, look at you. Smashing things like you don't do that every night you come home with a little too much whiskey in you!" Brogan is laughing as he taunts Felicia. He is having a grand old time smashing things, and dodging shrapnel and debris from the others. At least his shirt is still on. He does pause at Silvio giving the vase a... stern talking to. His head shakes with a snort of laughter, for him to turn eyes onto Monique. "I. Am not above smacking your backside with the flat of this!" Grinning he grandly gestures to the sword in hand.

Olivia:doesn't know what's going on, but she see's Brogan smashing things. So she pulls out a hair pin and hits it as hard as she can, against anything that looks at her cross. But she sucks. "Am I helping uncle? What are we doing?"

Eddard has abandoned this destruction event, easing away many steps to ensure he has out of the way of shrapnel and uncontained sword swings. "Goodness."

Danvir smiles and leans against a table drinking from the bottle he is holding watching all the destruction going on around them and chuckles

Rysen swings his sword breaking things to bits and enjoying it a great deal. When he is surrounded by shards of stuff, he pauses to take another drink of whiskey, raising his glass in salute to Danvir, before handing his drink back to Lygeia and resuming the carnage.

Silvio looks up and is pleasantly surprised to see Sebastian, "Why...you are a delicious sight, my Lord. So good to see you! Oh...you are bleeding a bit. Just here." He points to his own cheek. "Be careful...marring your face is tragic."

"I was just leading you into the next temper challenge," Monique laughs to Brogan's reply, "that of the yelling and cursing and verbal abuse! Well done, all of you! Well, most of you," she adds with a bright-eyed smile. "I've never seen such destruction, nor enjoyed it so much. But now, it's time to give voice to your anger! Let me hear it!" she invites, encourages, throwing her hands out in exhortation.

"Aye, but I don't have to replace them tomorrow!" Felicia advises gleefully, abandoning the table for one of the larger statues (not that of the Minx, of course). Hack, parry, it's at least substantial enough to require more than just the broad strokes of the sword to whitter it away. There's a laugh for Monique's words,"Oh no... just... very few opportunities to /really/ get violent." have at thee! The clang of that sword against the neck of her chosen statue reverbrates like a gong even as the head departs its stony body. By the time it's over she's panting heavily and littered with small cuts, color high in her cheeks... but satisfied with the path of destruction left in her wake.

Peri checked command + performance at difficulty 20, rolling 8 higher.

Eddard checked intellect + manipulation at difficulty 20, rolling 16 higher.

Rysen checked willpower + performance at difficulty 20, rolling 12 higher.

There's an easy warmth in Sebastian's gaze when he regards Silvio, letting his sword fall to his side. Brows flicker upwards in surprise at the gesture, pausing to dig around in his pockets, pulling out a silk kerchief marked with a white and silver dragon to dab at his cheek, smearing away some of the blood. "Better?" he asks the other Lord.

Danvir checked command + performance at difficulty 20, rolling 26 higher.

Olivia checked intellect + linguistics at difficulty 20, rolling 11 higher.

Sebastian checked intellect + manipulation at difficulty 20, rolling 36 higher.

Brogan checked stamina + linguistics at difficulty 20, rolling 12 higher.

Felicia checked stamina + performance at difficulty 20, rolling 48 higher.

Silvio checked willpower + manipulation at difficulty 20, rolling 20 higher.

Rysen takes Monique up on the yelling challenge. Returning his borrowed weapon, he sucks in a deep breath and unleashes a primal roar, sending a reverberating racket through the area that strains his vocal cords to their utmost. When he is out of breath, he takes a long drink of whiskey, and looks pretty satisfied.

Peri crouches down to comb through the broken shells and finds one that proved impervious to Peri's stomping. She holds it aloft. "Oh Whelk! Wavetraveled, beachcomded! Only to end your days flecked with some silver num and worn on a chain. God's damn those oyster fucking rejects who bore you from Mangata's foamy braests! Those shuckers couldn't even find Mangata's pearl if a seagull shat a dotted line to it! There, there." She pats the poor whelk and puts it away in a pocket.

Olivia looks around at all the yelling. She offers a pretty meager rawr, in response.

Peri is overheard praising Monique: This party is more fun than a 100 ferrets in a oyster boat.

There's a slight turn of Sebastian's body as he takes in Monique's instructions with a low-throated laugh. A temper challenge? Well, he /is/ an artist -- they know about the extremes of emotion, if anyone does. The kerchief is held to his cheek as others start yelling, though he waits for them to finish before there's a hitch in his breath: suddenly full of melodramatic, anguished woe: "A cut to forever mar my face: the world will weep, surely, for the loss of my handsome features. Curse you -- sliver of glass, for marking me in response to the temerity of destroying your form."

Silvio nods to Sebastian, pleasnatly, warmly, but its the last pleasant bit from him as Monique asks for their best-worst side! He's used to much more side-angled insults, like...calling someone's outfit 'nice', or saying that someone 'doesn't look as ill today'. But, he can manage the direct route! "How do you like it now, vessel? I think you do like it...like being crushed under my heel like the weak thing you are. I would piss on you, but you would just like that too...and I'm wearing a dress. Awwww...widdle vase is now a million pieces...no one can put this mess back together again." As Silvio does his insults, now and then it flows into something vaguely sexual, and he lifts his skirts a little to slowly grind one of the porcelain pieces into dust under the toe of his pretty shoe.

Danvir stretches his neck and looks around goes into full captain on the deck mode his voice easily rising over the din of bar as he starts "All right you deck swabing land lubing sons of bitches I am sick and tired of all of thie gods be damned bull shit and want this deck scrubbed spotless. Any of lily livered sack of dung beetles better get to and if catch any of you loafing or laying about I will tear you in two peices and feed you to god forsaken sharks then spit on your bunk afterwards."

"Well, you're certainly giving it a try." Brogan gestures to the signage. "We're raging, and shouting and carousing, Olivia!" His smashing things was good enough, his cursing is simply marred by too much laughing at everyone elses attempts at smashery and swearing alike. He does give Felicia a wary sidelong glance and shakes his head. "i'd bet money she's using me denying her alcohol as her inspiration for rage."

Felicia is tired, and huffing, and maybe put a little too much effort into the destruction, it takes a little while for her to rally her stamina, picking that poor chipped statue as her target and pacing about while she tries to do the opposite of what she normally does. She sucks in breaths as she eyes the statue, prowling about it like a caged lion and finally seethes at it in full parade rattle,"Look at you, you chip-kneed armless sack of stone! You fucking disgraceful example of stonemasonry! Who designed that arse, a blind man? And Tehoms tits would hold more appeal than yours! Losing your head is an /improvement/, at least now you don't look like some half-drunk blow-by of a ferret and a toad! Bug-eyed, slack-jawed, with a slope to your forehead that could be used as an overhang! Your proportions would make a demon cringe at their ill-kempt hackneyed facsimile of a human form and your creator should be ashamed of having brought such a gods awful affront to Jayus into being!"

Monique listens, and is visibly impressed by the tempers shown. She does edge just a little closer to her statue protectively, as Felicia picks on the poor, chipped statue. And she watches each contestant to see just how seriously they're taking their diatribes and vented rage.

Peri checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 14 lower.

Felicia checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 5 lower.

Sebastian checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 6 lower.

Rysen checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 10 lower.

Eddard checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 4 higher.

Danvir checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 4 lower.

Silvio checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 2 higher.

Brogan checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 19 lower.

Brogan checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 17 lower.

Olivia checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 18 lower.

Peri cannot contain her mirth and that is why it is hard to give her swears the solemnity they deserve. What's worse, she can't even lose her shit as much as the average red head loses theirs. "Soot, I am not sure we deserve this red."

Of course, a celebration of redheads is going to be loud and crazy. Eddard is around to keep up with it. To shout insults and generally bemoan the existence of the sun. Cursed enemy and creator of freckles.

Felicia finally gives in and attempts to push over the statue in a fit of pique. Only... the statue proves annoyingly resiliant against her attempt. The huffing and heaving to and fro don't get her very far with it, no matter how angry she is at it. Finally she gives up in disgust and kicks the damn thing, only to yelp and hobble away.

Silvio puts on a good show, a really good show, tooooo good of a show and its clear that he's just having /fun/ rather than actually being angry in any way.

Danvir sips from his bottle of whiskey still leaning on a table and watching the antics he holds up the bottle in salute to Felicia when she is clearly the red headest of the red heads

Sebastian's meteoric woe-fest is swiftly derailed by the tempest that is Silvio: particularly that threat to piss on the remnants of said vase. "Good gods, Lord Silvio. Remind me never to get on your bad side," he says, and yet he manages to make it sound like a praise.

"Soot?" He is not where Peri expected. Peri finds him nosing around Eddard's feet. "You are not a very angry man, Lord Eddar." She unwraps her hair and offers him her violently red head covering.

Peri drops a very red turban.

The laughter in Monique's eyes is brilliant as she listens, watches, enjoys the furor and the Greenmarch echoes Sebastian's comment. "I don't want to get on any of your bad sides," she says, giving a mock shudder. "It's truly awe-inspiring and no small amount of frightening. But the scores have been tabulated and the I would like to announce with the greatest of pleasure," she produces a tiara from... who knows where... a great sparkling thing of stygian branches and, diamonds and sapphires, and a massive duskstone adornment, "that our Leader of the Redheaded Rebellion is...." she crosses to Felicia, sinking into a seep curtsey, "for tonight only, Queen Felicia Harrow, Leader of the Redheaded Rebellion!" Oh, poor, POOR Felicia. Monique rises, attempting to crown the Queen.

Rysen chuckles when he hears Silvio's insults. He makes his over to Monique's side. "It's nice to let loose," he says, as his breath rises in clouds of steam. "There's really nothing like wanton destruction and insults fueled by booze." He smiles as he watches Felicia make her way from the statue, and shouts his approval loudly when she's crowned Leader.

Silvio glances over to Sebastian and grins slyly. "That is some of the soundest advice in all of Arx, Lord Sebastian." Then he smiles sweeeetly and offers the Lord a curtsey. Its at that time though that he sees the stunning tiara and an honest look of envy passes his features. He purses his lips and then props his hands on his cinched waist.

Peri takes a very red turban.

Olivia pats Brogan down for some whiskey.

"I've been known to be very astute at times, Lord Silvio," Sebastian replies with an easy, low-throated laugh. His attention returns towards Monique as she announces the winner, and his gaze goes towards Felicia. He doesn't seem to recognize her but he applauds -- after setting his sword down -- watching her being crowned. "Any excuse to wear a tiara," he says, wryly.

Being his typical self, Brogan doesn't go for subtle at all. He simply hauls back and punches the statue that dared defy Felicia's kick. There is a grunt and a rapid shaking of hand, but at least the thing fell over apathetically. He nurses himself back to health the only way he knows how. By draining a bottle of booze, and reaching another. Alcohol abuse is committed once Monique announces the winner... and gives Felicia that particular title causing him to splutter and choke on the booze. Effectively wasting it.

Felicia is still hopping and hobbling. Stone versus leather boot, and the stone won. So it takes a second before Monique's words filter in and she goes,"...huh?" in the most deer-in-the-torchlight fashion. Her green eyes flit to Monique, then the tiara, then Monique and finally Brogan with something akin to horror. She opens her mouth, then realizes that well, people, and closes it again with a clearing of her throat and cheeks crimson. Finally she does dip her head to accept the tiara with all the dignity she can muster right at that moment. Mostly succeeding in looking chargrined and possibly constipated even as she endeavors to put on an airy nonchalance in the flutter of a hand and a,"Uh... let there be drinking?" by way of 'commandment'.

Danvir tips back the bottle he is holding and says "congratulations lady." he sets the empty bottle on the table and then turns to head out as he says "Lovely evening thank you kindly for hosting but I must be off"

Monique looks like the cat that got the canary, and she turns to the party. "You heard her! LET THERE BE DRINKING!" And the band, taking their cue, starts a rousing tune while the servants circulate with endless booze. "You all deserve it! It was incredible, every last one of you. You've made me proud to be a redhead!" She elbows Rysen with a grin. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now, drinks?" And she waves to Danvir as he departs.

Danvir bows his head to Monique

"She's the queen..." Silvio admits as he takes another drink off a servant. "We /have/ to listen." He shakes his head a little to get some of the shards out of his hair.

Peri clucks at Soot to call him back to her side and away from any party goers. She leans down and removes his ribbons. With a pat on the head she hands it to him. "Go on little one! Deliver this sad sad news of our loss.":w

Soot, a frenetic ferret have been dismissed.

Where did that tiara come from anyways? This is clearly the expression upon the spluttering recovering Brogan. He peers at Monique for a multitide of reasons, her announcement and, trying to figure out where in that outfit... Absentmindedly he does pass off his bottle to Olivia. Then he shakes his head to become more aware of everything and looks to the tiara upon Queen Felicia's head. He cannot help himself. He tries to bite off his amusement but audibly snerks at the sight. He snags a new bottle and downs it in salute of Felicia, though he clearly is keeping a VERY TIGHT not sharing kind of grip upon this one.

"This is a leader I can get behind," says Rysen as he finishes off his whiskey. He returns Monique's grin. "Drinks," he echos and calls on a nearby servant for more whiskey. Once he has his drink in hand, he waves Peri over. "Lady Peri! I have seen you drink some whiskey with tea on occasion. But will you not take some shots with me? 'Tis the Queen's command," he says with a wink.

The Pravus artist does seem to approve of the newly crowned redhead queen's first command, to judge by the enthusiastic way Sebastian applauds. He does collect another glass from a passing servant when Silvio does, though doesn't immediately drink. "I've had worse orders in my day," he allows.

Monique wastes very little time in snagging a bottle of booze, murmuring something quietly to Felicia as she does before taking a moment to look around at the results of the all the carnage, satisfaction stealing across her lovely face. "Who will be the first to claim the Queen for a dance, I wonder?" And she wonders it aloud, perhaps to torment Felicia even more.

Olivia takes a nice heafty drink from Brogan's bottle. But she doesn't give it back.

Felicia can't help the groan she gives or the cast of her eyes towards the sky, trying not to wince at the word 'Queen' been uttered by others. A look is cast Monique's way in close proximity, narrow-eyed. A finger raised as if to admonish before she purses her lips. Prowling over to the refreshments table she snags herself a fresh drink with only a snort for Brogan and his bottle. The twitch of fingers in the direction of her head aborted a couple of times as if willing herself to leave it be, at least for now. The drinking though? That's definitely started in earnest.

Peri joins Rysen in celebration of the crowning of the redheaded queen. "Certainly, Lord Rysen. Let me find an unbroken glass."

"It seems as if our queen prefers drinking over dancing. Mm. Excuse me a moment, Lord Silvio," Sebastian murmurs to his companion, as he winds his way through the remnants of the carnage. Somewhere along the way he deposits his glass, using now freed hand to reach for Monique's -- the one not holding the bottle anyway. "Dance, my lady?" It seems he's going to usurp the queen's prerogative! That, or he's confident enough to set a trend for everyone else.

When Monique mentions a dance, Rysen glances at Felicia, but hearing Peri, he turns to her and laughs. "That may not be easy, but we can always swig from the bottle in a pinch. I've taken to drinking from the bottle in the pub," he says with a smile. "I think I've been spending too much time with Lady - no - Countess Mikani, but it feels fitting for a rebellious night like this one."

Monique's eyes shine up at Sebastian and she places her hand in his. "Of course, my lord! Tis the night for it, isn't it?" She looks up at the stars, only few seen peeking out from the snowy white clouds in the dark sky. "Drinking, dancing, rebellion. Have you enjoyed yourself?" she asks, setting aside her own bottle in favor of dance.

Peri's eyes light up at the mention of Mika's new station. Peri takes a bottle of the whiskey and uncorks it. "To Countess Mika," She tells Rysen, and then swigs a drink directly from the bottle. "To all the red heads!" She takes another generous swig. Her smile is warm and fumed whiskey. "This is a wonderful party," she says, "but I need to be going soon."

Peri is overheard praising Felicia: the best red head

Olivia hands the bottle back to Brogan and gives him a hug. "Thank you for the drink uncle, I should go though." She waves at Monique, "Lovely rebellion my Lady. I look forward to the next. Perhaps for us blondes next time?"

With a smile, Sebastian's hand closes over Monique's as he draws her nearer to the band, away from the cracked and destroyed objects. "I have, despite the failing of not being a red-head; I'm glad you allowed me to attend all the same," he says, looking amused. His other hand settles at her back as he guides her into a twirl around the dance floor, pausing to let Monique farewell those departing.

Rysen laughs happily to see Peri in such good spirits. He throws back his own drink and says, "it is a wonderful party. I suppose I should be on my way too." As Monique and Sebastian begin to dance, Rysen calls out, "Thank you for hosting us, Lady Monique!" He hands his glass to a passing servant, and with a nod to Lygeia, turns to make his way to the east.

And farewells does Monique make, waving to Peri, to Rysen and Olivia as they depart. To Olivia, she offers, "Now there's a good idea! This would be a lovely series. Thank you for coming, Lady Olivia! You were wonderful in your efforts." And to Sebastian, she plucks at the red decorating his hair. "I would never deny your presence, my friend. You were magnificent in your ire." And she twirls, oh how she twirls! With inherent and studied grace both, does the Minx match the handsome Pravus lord.

Moments after the departures, Sebastian leans close to murmur to Monique, a soft laughter escaping him before he dips her in the midst of the dance. He looks wholly at ease even without the usual glass of alcohol to hand.

Sebastian gets Red Head Whiskey from a large wooden chest decorated with the night sky.

Eddard steps from where he was drinking and laughing with guests. Music is playing and his drink gets set aside. He'll stride manfully and meaningful through the few dancers. "Lady Monique, I may be leaving shortly...my lord. Would you mind if I get my dances in before you?"

Monique looks up from her dip with a bright and slightly drunken smile to Eddard. "Why, Lord Eddard! Bard of my heart! Lord Pravus, you ought to hear Lord Eddard's song, my favorite song! Won't you sing it, Lord Eddard? I promise you a dance, if you will but honor me." Because the Queen has already snuck off.

Straightening from his murmur to Monique, Sebastian's smile is brilliant as he regards Eddard, unfamiliar with the man. "But of course," he says, pleasantly enough. "I didn't catch you name, my lord...? Lord Sebastian Pravus," he introduces himself, his hand still lingering around Monique's waist as she makes her request for a song, brow lifting to regard Eddard curiously.

"Lord Eddard Clement, bard of Monique's heart, clearly and other..." A glance towards Monique now, that she is insisting upon him singing. "Soon, my lady. Soon." But that look has him offering his hand out to her and giving the pair of them JUST the first verse.

The Minx of the Marches, the danger to your purse,
Green fire in her eyes and guards in pursuit,
she danced the halls and wrecked the balls,
Mirth and mischief her delight, wanted posters her fame

Eddard checked charm + performance at difficulty 15, rolling 43 higher.

Monique nods along with absolute joy. 'That's me!' she mouths to Sebastian, when the song speak of her wanter posters, of the danger to your purse. It's very clear that the vain Minx couldn't possibly get much more vain, that's how much she enjoys the song. "Oh, please sing the rest!" she begs Eddard. "Please? Lord Pravus will be distraught if he doesn't hear it. Won't you, Sebastian?" She nods her crimson head at Sebastian, as if coaching him to the right response. One hand on Sebastian, and now one given to Eddard, the Minx looks quite happy. And drunk.