1433/Walpurgis Night Witches Ball

Walpurgis Night Witches Ball
Date of Scene:	30 April 2016
Location:	Mitakihara - Infinity University
Synopsis:	A party is thrown to celebrate the absence of Walpurgisnacht on Walpurgisnacht and witches gather to eat, drink, dance, and make merry. And kiss. A lot.
Cast of Characters:	Madoka Kaname, Homura Akemi, Mikoto Nakajima, Hannah Sharpe, Haruna Kurosawa, Sora Hisakata, Chloe Stingray, Sayaka Miki

---

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    The gym of Infinity University is large and expansive and even more ultramodern than the rest of the school, owing to it's recent rebuild. While it's certainly a world class gymnasium and an amazing place to hold indoors sports competitions the wide open area is also perfect for other school and social functions. Today it has been made up and decorated for a special party and dance, the main entrance having a banner above it that proclaims, 'Happy Walpurgis Night!' only the exclamation mark has been replaced with a broomstick. The walk inside shows that the inside has been transformed through a lot of effort.

    Surprisingly large potted trees line the walkway inside, drawing closer together towards the end, lower shrubs accompanying them so that one almost, but not quite, has to push between them. It's dark, all the overhead lights turned off, larger prop trees forming a wide circle to emulate a hollow in a forest, in the center of which sits a large fake bonfire, streamers blown upwards while being lit by from below, casting the entire area with low, flickering orangey-yellow light.

    The food is off to one side, a fair amount of standard party fare is there in the form of sandwich rolls, chips, bite sized chunks of fruit, and so on, but there's also options with a cultural flare for those feeling adventurous. Sausages of several kinds are being freshly roasted over a gas fire, salty soft pretzel sticks with dipping sauces are available, along with sauerkraut potato balls. A number of cookies and cakes is also available, done up as witch's hats and black cats, along with funnel cake for variety. Fruit punch is served out of a large black cauldron, constantly bubbling and giving off an eerie white fog. Tables and chairs have been set up nearby for those who are hungry enough to get full plates of food or anyone who simply wants a place to sit down or a place to keep their things together.

    Dance music is playing at lower than ear blasting body shaking volumes, the atmosphere as much party as dance, though the half of the party grounds further from the tables and food is rather obviously nearer to the speakers playing it for anyone who wants to move their feet.

    Madoka is just inside the leafy entrance to the round of trees that makes up the party floor itself, greeting guests and trying to get them into the party spirit. She wouldn't be much of a hostess or good example if she didn't dress up herself, and so she can be found in full witchy attire. A large black witches hat sits atop her head slightly askew, floppy enough that the top third has folded over to the side it's tilted towards, an shiny black ribbon with a golden buckle just above it wide brim. Her fluffy pink hair is worn down to accommodate the hat, and though it's hard to see in the dim light three or four black plastic spiders have been worked into it at various spots, partially hidden beneath the pink locks to catch people by surprise.

    The little black dress she wears is more reminiscent of an anime witch than a scary one, a frilly collar encircling her neck and supporting poofy see-through shoulders. Her arms are uncovered but wide lacy black cutoffs cover her forearms and wrists to give the appearance of cuffs. The front of the dress has a large triangular cut out and leads to a low sweetheart 'neckline' at her chest, shiny black leather wrapping about her waist in a mock corset. A short, poofy skirt flares widely from her hips, little more than several layers of ruffled black cloth with a teasing lacy one at the very bottom. Her legs are clad in dark spiderweb stockings that lead down to a pair of short black heeled boots. She also carries a long broomstick with her that's nearly as tall as she is, it's bristles tightly and neatly bunched together.

    It's a very different look for her than usual if only because she hardly ever wears black, let alone near solid black. She speaks with a playful tone as she greets people, her voice changed to better fit her withcy persona for the night. "Welcome to the witches party! We've brewed a lovely concoction and the bonfire is lit and roaring," she makes a sweeping gesture towards the food tables with, of course, her broom. "Try not to be too loose with your hexes while you're here... Ehehehehe!" She's also offering up orange glow sticks made up to look like small torches from a small table to anyone who would like one.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    For Homura Akemi, preparing for this date usually involves a lot less party foods and a lot more military-grade armaments. This time around, she's all too happy to make an exception. With no indication of any attack from Walpurgisnacht, the Witch, Homura is more than happy to celebrate Walpurgisnacht, the day.

    This party was largely Madoka's idea, and she was certainly the one who handled much of the execution, but Homura doesn't want to make her work too hard all by herself, so she was helping Madoka put things in place earlier, searching for details that might have been overlooked, and generally trying to be helpful.

    Homura herself is in her own witch's getup. Floppy pointy black hat, long black dress that is torn around the edges, bright green stockings underneath, and tiny little black mary jane's. She even has a little glow stick of her own, which she's added a little plastic star to, so that it looks like a wand.

    While checking over the food to make sure that everything there is alright, she overhears Madoka's witch voice. She covers her mouth and turns around, listening to her greet people and trying, very hard, to suppress her reaction.

    It's a testament to Homura's mental discipline that she doesn't just squeal outright. Though it's very, very tempting.

    "Ohhhh my gooood," she whispers under her breath. Are those little hearts in her eyes?

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
    Mikoto has decided not to be fashionably late today. After all, she had her outfit ready for the dance several days ago, she just had to make sure it would all fit together properly in time. So she arrives at the door wrapped in a long black hooded cloak, to completely conceal it from anyone who might see her while she's on her way there!

    She makes a deep bow to Madoka at the entryway, her eyes twinkling with amusement at the girl's appearance. "I am most honored to have received your invitation, my Dark Queen," she says, in her most stentoriously serious tone.

    When she straightens, she returns to her normal tone. "Wow. You look great! Everyone's going to be so jealous of Homura tonight."

    Her wide grin is easily visible under the hood. "Promise to save your Majesty's loyal minion a dance?" she asks, as she drops the hood and slides the cloak off to let it hang from one arm until she can find a suitable place to leave it.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah Sharpe needs a nice, fun night. This week has been a touch rough, between a certain ball-kicking chara bearer, and one of her warehouses going up in mahou smoke. Thus, here she is, stepping out of a rented limo. And for once, it's taking her quite some time to do so. She's in a full on ankle-length dress, detached sleeves and a low-cut back. It has a wispy quality, whites and golds forming patterns, long fur-like bits giving it an almost underwater-like quality whenever she walks. A gold-spun bandanna over her eyes, and a long scarf complete the look. Not very witchy at first glance.

But a few others, particularly one of the hosts of this little shindig, would know the outfit far too well. It's made to resemble Hannah's Witch form after a little too much tinkering with Grief Seeds, and it's accurate enough that one might mistake it for a barrier jacket. It's not. She's working on that angle though.

There's a certain pair of someones with her though! In one hand, her natural one, she helps out a certain Haruna Kurosawa! Right into a smooch. "I'm so glad you could make it tonight, Haruna. Thank you. I need this." She adds, sounding tired, but excited.

That second person with her is lower to the ground, and a sight fluffier! Boris guides the pair along on a leash, giving a happy woof. And he's dressed to the nines in a white suit, too with a little doggie mask!

"Alright, alright, we're going Boris! Jeez!"

Giving the driver a wave, it's off to greet the two hosts of the evening. Boris is first to great with a loud woof, practically dragging Hannah over! A fluffy head first bumps against Madoka, then against Homura!

"Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble! Do I spy the sense of a witch entranced by the beauty of a pinkball!? Or is that just the result of the witchy brew?" Comes Hannah, teasing and grinning like an idiot to the pair. She'll give Homura a second, no instant grabs. For a second. First? Then she's wrapping up Madoka with a one-armed squeeze, and reaching for Homura with the other. That arm /does/ feel a little cold around Madoka though. Weird.

"You guys did great! Ah, I can smell the food from here! How's it been? Ages, really! Heh, sorry I've been elusive. Uhh. There were circumstances." Wince.

"But yeah! Glad to see you guys again. When's the wedding?" Hannah is /evil/! Wink!

"Miiiiiiko! You really to bust out and party!?" She then yells out to the poor girl!

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa has arrived with Hannah Sharpe! She is dressed, similarly, in a dress that many will recognize as Scorn's dress, except it's deep seafoam green, and done in various greens instead of the purple and black it was. It's not magical or a precard- it's just a good facsimile that Corvus helped with to make sure it was accurate. Also she doesn't look like a depressive mess.

In fact, she's smiling and arm in arm with Hannah and blushes at the smooch. "I'm glad. We both kind of need this." she says. "And you have both arms now, so we can dance better~"

She tip toes over to Madoka and Homura along with Hannah and beams. "Looks good, Madoka-chan, Akemi-san!" she says softly.

Corvus is still a seagull and is currently shoulder perched. "I had to sew the outfit, Haruna can't sew for the life of her." he whispers. Haruna frowns at this and just smirks a bit.

Then she looks around conspiratorly.

Someone may want to put a stop to the envitable before it happens.

OR MAYBE IT ALREADY DID.

Sora Hisakata has posed:
And then, darkness. Thick shadows cover all sources of light illuminating the party. It's not complete darkness, but the light is obscured enough to make seeing difficult. The shadow itself, should anyone turn on a light, works more like a thick black fog than anything else.

It's through this darkness that a childish, high-pitched, and somewhat unnerving giggle sounds. Unlike the person who told her about this party, the source of this voice doesn't care about any of the participants; and makes no specific quips or otherwise poking fun at others. Instead, she simply says a simple sentence.

"How sweet of you to host a birthday party in my honour~" The lilting voice has an unstable tone, going from soprano levels to contralto and back without rhyme or reason. "I am deeply honoured~"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka's eyes sparkle with amusement as Mikoto bows to her and seems to anoint her as some kind of queen of the witches, holding back a giggle. "Thank you, dearie. I'm glad you could make it to our evening of festivities!" She smiles brightly when she's complimented, though doesn't quite break character. "You look lovely yourself; I think I could spare you a dance later on, should my darling permit it!" The word 'darling' comes out especially silly with the voice she's still using.

    Borris nudges his way in and rubs against her, earning the good doggy lots of pets, "Ah! I see you've brought your familiar today, Hannah!" The fact he actually is a familiar makes the joke funny enough she almost laughs. It takes her perhaps half a second to recognize the type of Witch Hannah has dressed up as, and her smile radiant when she does. "Ah, I must warn you though, fields of flowers are beautiful, but not the scenery we're looking for tonight. I'd ask you keep that little spell under your hat, for tonight."

    The fact that the arm is cold isn't quite so shocking as the fact it's actually there, but Madoka does her best not to draw it any attention, happily returning the hug. When she's teased about Homura, or is it Homura being teased, she laughs again, "Ehehehe! No, not the witches brew in the cauldron, but rather a spell I cast upon her ages ago." Hannah does finally manage to fluster her when she inquires about weddings, drawing a bright blush and a sputter of embarrassment.

    "Thank you, Miss Haruna, you look rather... bewitching yourself!" Saved from too much embarrassment by the pun you know had to be used at least once tonight. To Corvus she mocks a dismissive gesture and flippantly notes, "Why would a witch spend her time sewing when she could enchant a bird to do it for her, hmm?"

    When magical fog begins to fill the area Madoka gets a little tense, despite the murmurings of the few Infinity students who know nothing of magic mingling about declaring the effects the best thing ever. Despite the ominous nature of the arrival and the bizarre sound of the voice and it's unnerving giggles she does her best to keep her cool. "Ahh, and who might you be?" she asks, again in the same witches voice from before. "All witches are of course welcome to our meeting and party." Except ones that curse people with Witche's kisses and drop Grief Seeds, of course, she notes to herself. Those kind would be dealt with swiftly! She turns towards the direction the voice is coming from, if she can, and offers a sweeping(hee!) bow.

Chloe Stingray has posed:
    Arriving a little late in a slinky black dress, Chloe seems to be more looking around the university than socializing with the students, at least at first. She looks about to see if anyone she recognizes are here.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura's quiet attempts to avoid squealing are interrupted by the very image of Hannah's Witch form. She doesn't know what to think at first. At first she notices that she has twice as many arms as she did when she last saw her. Then she notices that she's happy, and that's overall a good thing. The third thing she notices is Boris coming up to her, to which she responds by giving him a soft and friendly pat on the head. "Hey, Boris-kun. Long time no see."

    The fourth thing isn't something she notices, but rather something she remembers. .o(Oh yeah, the warehouse. Uhhh... Oh geeze, and I hadn't even told Madoka about that!)

    Right in the middle of her sudden awkwardness is right when Hannah comes up to give her a hug. She smiles at her former boss, saying, "Enchanted? Hehe, that'd be me." She sheepishly raises a hand. "Permit...?" Was there a part of the conversation she missed? "Um... sure, whatever, but I hope you'll dance with me sooner or later, darling."

    Then suddenly the world 'wedding' is mentioned and Homura is standing there stunned. "I-I well... I mean. Um."

    She glances to Madoka, cheeks red, and then quickly looks away from everyone. She clears her throat, turns back around, and smiles brightly-- does Homura ever smile?-- at Haruna when she shows up. "Thank you, Gull-san! I hope you enjoy it!"

    Then something dark and mysterious happens, and Homura's shooting her eyes towards the magical appearance of one Shadow Witch. She doesn't know Shiniko, but someone using magic to show up isn't exactly uncalled for, considering the current attendance. "Not even pretending," she mutters.

    She waves at Shiniko, saying, "Happy Birthday."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
    Mikoto turns, levelling her warm smile at Homura, the charms woven into her hair tinkling softly with the movement, now that her cloak no longer conceals them. And, indeed, it seems Boris is not the only Familiar to be present tonight! A sleek silver form perks up from where it had hidden beneath the hood, now climbing up to perch on Mikoto's shoulder, the little feline licking her lips as she looks about the place.

"My congratulations, Homura-kun, and my thanks for your consideration," she says, as she bows to the Dark Pink Queen's partner. "I do hope you won't forget to invite us all, when the time comes. I've been saving up something special for the two of you." Whatever it might be, it's sure to be both useful and humorous... probably.

The hostess and her partner properly greeted, she sweeps inside, heels clicking on the floor as she walks. A turn brings Hannah and Haruna to her gaze, and she waves cheerily at the couple, pausing to admire their own work. "It's only too bad I don't have my own evil phase to look back on. I had to dig one up from the ancient past, instead." She reaches up to tap one of the silver skull-charms in her hair, drawing another tinkle as it brushes its neighbors.

"Hey," she calls over to Chloe as the girl comes in, a half-twist dance-move easily bringing her to her friend's side. "My usual date's - not available, tonight. You look like you could use a partner for a dance or two..."

Shadows and mist are an interesting touch. At first she thinks Madoka must have had a dry ice machine set up... but then she senses the magic in it, and Shiniko makes her entrance. "Happy Birthday!" she calls to the witch, her smile widening. "And welcome to the party!"

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
"We are going to dance up a storm! Lets break some hearts!" Encourages Hannah to Haruna! She lets out a long sigh of relief. Yes. This is what she needed.

What horrible darkness has descended upon the gym!? What evil has encroached upon the party!?

Oh, it's Witch-chan! "Shiniko-chan! Yo! Glad you could make it, kiddo!" Grin! Blink. "Birthday? You should've told me! Yeeesh, I would've gotten you something!" Chides Hannah lightly.

A pause. Haruna is being sneaky. Hannah notices, but says nothing. She /does/ give a thumbs up. A bad influence, this Hanners!

Boris is /more/ than happy to soak in those pets! "Ah, what a pity! It would've been beautiful. Hm. I'll have to do some research, see if I can't come up with an appropriate holiday." Three years, and she's /still/ not used to Japan's holidays.

"It'll be our little hat-trick for next time!" Grin!

"Surely you are the greatest Witch, to bewitch the elusive Grand Black Witch Homura! I tremble in fear and adoration at your powers over the arcane!" Pause whisper!

"Or perhaps just the heartstrings~!"

Woof! Boris returns that pet by licking Homura's hand! After the two Puella are let go from encoaching Hannah-hugs, she laughs. They're /both/ blushing!

"Deep breaths you two. Wedding bells can wait. You better invite me when it happens though! Enjoy the time together. You've damn well earned it." One ruffle to the head of both.

"Now don't forget to kill it on the dance floor Homura, you've got competition tonight!" It's about then that she reaches for the errant Gull, and does a long salsa-spin with her!

Then, leaving the blushing pair, it's /to food/! Hannah's getting a plate!

Miko gets a head-tilt. "Were your ancestors necromancers or something? You've got the skull thing going?" How /does/ Hannah know that anyway?

Sora Hisakata has posed:
Shiniko drops the shadows, letting it vanish back where it came from, and the girl has taken a seat. The whole gig was to prevent the mundane students from noticing one little weird bit: that she's walking on her hair. The shadows can be far more easily rationalized.

"Of course it's my birthday, miss White~" Shiniko answers the woman she occassionally works freelance for, "It's in your paperwork!" She giggles, again, and then bows from her chair towards Madoka, large hat kept in place solely through magic. "I am the great, powerful and mysterious Shadow Witch Shiniko, and I excise all evil from this world~" Her red eyes gleam, and somehow it feels like that isn't just grandeur, that she genuinely believes she can do it.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa grins at Madoka and Homura. "I think Hannah finally found the blush button." she insists. She grins. "I wouldn't miss this, of course. Of course, we've had our own problems recently." she frowns.

"But a chance like this helps unwind~" she says. She grins and leans over and smooooooch a Hanners. "I'll be right back." she says.

She turns around and blinks, smoke? Shadow? Oh. It's Shiniko.

"Hi Shiniko-chan!~" she calls out- but before she can get too far, she's spun!~ eeek~ blush~ "Ah~ There we go~" she sings out practically.

Then she steadies herself.

She gives Mikoto a big Haruna wave before she's escaping over to the table.

"Haruna don't do it." says Corvus.

Hannah gives her a thumbs up.

"Haruna!" begs Corvus.

Haruna whinesssss. "B-but punch! and spiking it!" she insists. "Who's going to do it if I won't!?" she pleads with the seagull.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka covers a playful giggle by trying to make it sound more like a laugh, "Hmhmhm! I wouldn't want you to go hexing the guests because you suddenly caught me dancing with another, my love~!" Much to her surprise Homura is just as embarrassed by the teasing comments about weddings as she is, and seeing that blush only makes Madoka blush harder herself. Now it's her turn to be the one trying to hold back a squeal!

    Hannah and Mikoto both make at saying they should be invited to a wedding that hasn't even been discussed other than as a matter of fantasy, and the witchy hostess laughs embarrassedly, "Now, now! Let us all focus on the festivities of today rather than ones that may be held down the road."

    Chloe's arrival warrants another round of introductions, "Welcome to the Witches party! Please enjoy yourself and try not to worry about the black cats- they're only here to observe." Madoka is just making fun and there are no black cats, but there does actually seem to be a silver one. She's glad when the unknown to her newcomer is met up by a friend so as not to be left alone and flashes Mikoto a smile of appreciation.

    The fog lifting helps to lighten Madoka back up, as does Hannah calling out to that more ominous newcomer. When Shiniko replies and bows to her from her chair almost all of her worries vanish, "Very pleased to meet you, Shadow Witch Shiniko. Your spells must be fearsome if you can purify to such an extent!" Considering the girl was actually using magic of a shadowy nature she's certainly intrigued, especially with such a noble stated goal. "Welcome to our party, or is it your party, and a most happy birthday and Walpurgis Night!" She makes a wide hand gesture, bouncing a bit while lifting her arm into the air, extending that final well wishing to the entire party.

    As Haruna sneaks over to the table she'll find that the punch is still unsullied by alcohol, though there is a bit of dry ice helping with the fog effect. Madoka notices and overhears but doesn't go over to stop her. Really, these things happening are pretty much a given at parties and dances from what she's seen.

Chloe Stingray has posed:
    Chloe giggles at Madoka. "I have a couple of cats at home. I can handle the black ones. In fact, one of my cats is named Lacey. All black cat with just three white hairs on her chest." She then smiles. "I just feel a little out of place though."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
"I like that idea pinkball! FOOD TIME!" Then, the trio is off! Haruna more sneakily, but after that little spin between the pair and smooch? Yup, Hannah is joining in the blush factory here!

"Go sew chaos, Haruna-chan~!"

As if she needs reasons to make Corvus even more upset at her! Meanwhile, she's got her plate, and is filling it up admirably. She also gets some punch too. Siiiiip. She feeds some finger foods to Boris, who catches it in the air as she just takes in the atmosphere.

A stuck out tongue to Shiniko. "Meh, details! Have fun tonight, huh?" She encourages.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
    Mikoto chuckles, light and soft, a sound much alike to the tinkling of the charms in her hair. "My ancestors had all sorts among them, Hannah-chan, do you really think we'd neglect the Darkest of Dark Arts?" Well, the Nakajima probably would, but you never know what a ninja clan in service to them might get up to! If such things as ninja existed, that is.

    She offers Chloe her arm as she turns to walk over to the buffet table. "Exactly three, hmm? Significant, it must be! Perhaps this too should be explored!"

    As she approaches the food, the kitten's head perks up, sniffing at the air, her eyes widening. "Is that fresh tuna on the sushi?" a small voice asks, and the kitten leaps down from Mikoto's shoulder to grow into a silver-haired teen who immediately starts filling a plate from the sushi tray.

    "Leave some for the rest of us, 'kari-chan," Mikoto chides her, teasingly, as she picks up a plate to put together her own snack.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura is still a bit unbalanced by the mention of the wedding. Especially since Mikoto is so casual and serious about it. Surely she's joking, right? Not that Homura would mi-- Hat trick?! Mikoto and Hannah are both teasing them! Well, with Hannah it's no surprise at least.

    Then Madoka responds, and while she's not talking about it she's not exactly sounding like she hates the idea... though that's also not much of a surprise, but still... Eehehe. Homura can't help but laugh a little awkwardly.

    It's a bit mischievous, but Homura is already planning how she'll tease Madoka about this later. Or maybe she'll tease her about it right now.

    "Oh I'll be sure you get an invite, Hannah-chan," she says, making sure that Madoka can hear it.

    She clears her throat, before waving something off with her hand. "Oh dear. I wouldn't do that if they were dancing with you. Mistreating you, maybe."

    The fact that Shiniko doesn't seem to be here to cause trouble does reassure Homura, as does the fact that Hannah seems to know her. She nods to the Shadow Witch, glad that someone else can get some kind of special enjoyment out of the date, for whatever the personal meaning is.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna and Corvus argue a few more times as Haruna finally hurmphs and crosses her arms. "Fine. I'll just... drink it later!" she says. Corvus sighhhhhs and wingfaults to his face---

And when he does this Haruna kind of dumps the contents of a plastic bottle into the punch. Corvus looks up. "Okay what was that."

"Nothing!" says Haruna.

She spoons out punch into a cup and begins filling a plate.

She looks over to Chloe and--- a soft frown. She does her best to smile.

"Hello Chloe. Are you okay from the other night?" she finally asks softly.

She looks over Shiniko and sighs as she walks back over across the room and stops in front of Madoka and Homura.

"Right." she says. "I should update you later on some things. Like how I'm no longer a Virtue contact. But later. Party n' all." she smiles some.

She shoves what may be a slice of chopped sausage on a toothpick into her mouth as she nods. "Excellent." she says softly.

"So..." she says softly at Homura. "I bet this beats what you're 'usually' doing around this time, right?" she asks. "That thing is super dead." she says. She grins and leans forward.

"Hannah got her arm replaced finally, as you can see, whatcha think?" she asks. "Can't really tell the difference just looking, can you?" she asks softly.

"I'm really happy for that. I felt horrible for weeks after that." she admits.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
"I'd expect nothing less, Miko! Try the sausages, they're great!" Nomf!

She does pause though, as a particular sound is heard! Boris perks up, and suddenly, there's a Hanners coming up behind Miko. Slowly. That dress is slightly hard to move around in.

"Miko! Is that a kitten?" Thankfully, talking kittens aren't too surprising, given her own familiar. Boris woofs!

"Is tiny kitten!" He whispers in confirmation.

"...Can I pet her?" Hannah, in fact, loves animals.

Homura and Madoka might indeed note how that arm is very human-like! Only that touch would give away the trick. Weirdly articulate, and not at all like a prosthetic.

Hannah raises a glass of now spiked punch.

"Ladies and gentlemen and dogs and cats in attendance, I would like to propose a toast! To life, to love, and to doing everything we can to enjoy every single moment that we have with those that we care for! Oh, and to certain overblown windbags never coming back! Here here!" Raise! She'll clink with Haruna if she can manage it!

Chloe Stingray has posed:
Chloe Stingray lifts a glass....after she gets one. She waves to Haruna, but the poor girl seems a little overwhelmed.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Haruna leans in to talk to Homura, and the dark-haired puella blinks at some of the things she says. "No longer a Virtue contact? I see. Well, I can hardly blame you for wanting to choose WPS over Virtue." Homura glances towards Hannah, whom she assumes is at least part of the reason for the choice. "... but sure, later. If you want."

    She smirks as Haruna apparently enjoys the food, and then she thinks back to what she's 'usually' doing about this time of year. "Hopefully, we won't see another Walpurgisnacht in our lifetimes, but there's no real telling how often those things occur. Still, I'll freely admit: I'd much rather be spending my time like this than... well... worrying about thing."

    Homura tilts her head at the mention of the arm, and then she nods. "Honestly, she looks like she did before she lost it. I'm glad " Her smile falters a bit as Gull says she felt bad about it, and she shakes her head emphatically. "No, listen. As someone who very much knows what it means to be in love, I'm sure she hadn't regretted the choice even once. It was her sacrifice to make. Besides..."

    She glances sideways at Hannah. "... I doubt that woman would be slowed down long even if she lost all of her limbs. She's tough. Has been for as long as I've known her."

    Homura hears Hannah's toast, and she scoops out a cup just to raise it with her. "To life!" she says, then drinks deeply. And quickly. This turns out to be a mistake.

    A slightly less sober Homura slowly walks to Madoka, only almost stumbling once, leaning over to whisper into her ear.

    "Fair warning. I think someone added a bit of magic potion to the brew, if you know what I mean."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "Ehehehe, then you will do quite well here with us, dearie. I don't think you have anything to worry about at all, mm?" Madoka is clearly enjoying herself by taking on an altered persona, her bright smiling face not quite fitting the rest. She just can't help it though! A gesture from Chloe to Mikoto, "Besides, it seems you already have a friend among us."

    Madoka is about to agree with Mikoto about the significance of exactly three hairs, only to see the cat jump down from her shoulder and change forms. She stares for a moment, only to looks around at the nonmagical Infinity students who came. She's suddenly very glad people don't tend to recognize magic for what it is, but has to wonder what kind of reputation her parties are going to get if people keep using magic in public.

    Homura's comment to Hannah doesn't fail to pub a bright blush on her face, flustering her sufficiently that her attempts at a witty and witchy retort to the comment that comes after directed towards her ends up as nothing but a series of embarrassed squeaks. Is Homura serious about them getting married?! Is she just teasing?! Madoka knows her well enough she might normally be able to tell, but not when she's already flustered.

    She's still doing her best to calm down and recover when Haruna comes back over, blinking a little at the note about Virtue. "O-oh, okay, Haruna-chan." she says, dropping the playful voice for the first time tonight. Then the comment is made to Homura, and Madoka holds a hand out towards the seafoam wearing girl in an embarrassed manner, "H-haruna-chan..." Then Hannah's arm is mentioned and her own arm drops. "Ehe heh..." It's nervous this time, rather than high pitched. "Not really, no."

    She looks over to Homura and is about to walk over to her but sees that she may have been overreacting a bit herself. Rather than drinking anything she lifts her broom in response to the toast, suddenly feeling a bit out of place herself.

    Homura's whispering cheers her up a bit more, and she giggles before wrapping her arms around one of Homura's, carefully keeping her long broomstick from interphereing. "Does this mean you're going to want me to lead again tonight?"

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
    Hikari looks up and over to Hannah. "Madam, I am a cat." She even has silver furry cat-ears to prove it! And a ribbon in her hair so they look like she's wearing a cosplay set, rather than just them being her actual ears. Her dress is a match for Mikoto's, except in white where Miko's is black.

    Mikoto smiles at the toast and obtains a glass of punch just in time to raise it in salute to Hannah's toast. "To life, and to love, and to freedom!" she calls, and takes a drink.

    There are a couple of clicks, as if of a camera, but none is in sight. And no flashbulb sounds, either.

    Mikoto seems to be intent on trying a little of everything, of the snacks provided. Hikari just loads her plate down with sushi, sprinkles on a little soy sauce, and starts munching.

    "So," Mikoto calls over to Chloe. "You up for some dancing tonight?"

Chloe Stingray has posed:
    CHloe looks about as she hears a familiar voice....only to find Mikoto calling out to her. "Oh uhm....." And she turns bright red at the thought. "......I've.....nevereallydancedbefore." The last part is said in a very small voice.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah can't help but laugh at the now-human Familiar's indignation!

"Cat it is then! Who's a good kitty!?" Without any sense of restraint, she's trying to pet and scratch Hikari's ears! Boris meanwhile facepaws. /Hard/.

"Great job Miko. She yours? Treat her right, or I'll make you pay for it." She whisper-threatens Mikoto. Seems Familiars are very important to Hannah! Boris backs it up with a woof!

Oh yes, Hannah's looking loose and happy now, between the two Puella talking about her, being with Haruna, seeing so many friends and some punch to top it all off. As the toast ends, she downs the rest of it in one go, ahhh'ing.

She /does/ hear a certain Chloe. "Mikoto is a girl of many talents! She'll guide you through I'll bet! C'mon, have fun, kiddo!" Encourages Hannah 'helpfully'.

"This punch is great! Haruna, have some!"

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura is most certainly teasing, but seeing the expression on Madoka's face she decides not to go too far with it. She doesn't mind teasing her girlfriend, as long as Madoka knows that it's teasing and that it's good-spirited.

    Homura giggles as Madoka mentions leading again tonight, while also wrapping an arm around hers. "Well I'm not that bad off... I think..." She looks down at her feet, notices that one of her shoes isn't quite as perfectly situated as she might like, and then starts trying to adjust it by pressing her heel into it and moving her foot around. "You know, for all that I don't mind if others do it, I guess I'm not all that good at holding my alcohol." So that's probably a 'yes' on the whole leading thing, especially since Homura is leaning on Madoka just a little bit.

    "Well your leading is wonderful anyways, my dear." Homura giggles, setting her punch aside. She's... not going to drink the rest of it, yeah. Maybe if she gives herself time to recover.

    Ah geeze. Like Homura doesn't have a hard enough time keeping her hands off of her girlfriend already. She squeals softly, holding her arms to her sides and spreading out her fingers. In a quiet, high pitched tone,"That was the cutest voice you were using!"

    Homura starts looking at the other people in the crowd. A cat person, okay. That's new, though not terribly shocking. She knows Boris, after all. A few other new faces. Huh. Well, it's a party so why not, right?

    Turning back to Madoka, she smiles, squeezing the arm ever so slightly, and speaking in a witchy voice of her own. "I've got you, my pretty."

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa clink, toast with Hannah-chan! She's close enough, she looks back to Homura, she looks back at Madoka and grins. "Well if she lost all her limbs, she still has her mouth and teeth and if she lost her teeth, her gums would sprout muscles I'm sure." she smirks a bit.

She looks down though. "Yeah. I know I shouldn't /feel bad/ but..." she shakes her head. "No worries, it's better now!" she says with a smile.

She grins between the two. "I'm going to go get some more punch~" she says, and off she goes!~

Corvus? Corvus is off schmoozing now with Boris somewhere, probably. Haruna grins as she slides up to Hannah.

"Enjoying yourself, dear?" she asks to Hannah. "It's nice to see you happy instead of upset and you know, possessed." she smirks a bit. Then she throws back the punch like a shot. Yup. She knows!

"It should be good." she whispers. "I spikkked it."

"I HEARD THAT!" yells Corvus.

"He heard that!" she mutters to Hannah she smirks. "Don't worry, he knows I'm just trying to relax too~"

She turns back to Homura as she taps her bottom lip. She looks to Madoka, taps the bottom of her lip.

"If you start rhyming I'm outta here." says Corvus. "Ugh you're no fun." she says.

She leans over and gives Hannah another smooch and then slips an arm under that new one.

"That doesn't bar you from kickboxing right?" she asks about the arm. "I'll throw up a rukus if it does!" she insists.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
    Mikoto flashes another of her warm smiles. "Come on, Chloe, it'll be fine. All you have to do is follow my lead." She looks around for a moment, finding a place to set down her half-finished plate of food - Hikari takes a seat nearby to watch over it - and reaches out a hand for Chloe's.

    "Everyone has a first time on the dance floor." She grins and walks out there, hopefully leading Chloe along, both hands reached out to catch hers, now. "You've got to learn to have fun at these parties."

    (~Speaking of having fun,~) Hikari asks her, (~What should I do if someone asks me to dance?~)

     (~Well,~) Mikoto answers, (~If they're someone you like, then go ahead! Just be careful of the punch. It's probably been spiked by now.~)

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka can't help but giggle when Homura finds one of her shoes is a bit askew, probably from having successfully kept from tripping earlier. Considering who her mom is she finds this more endearing and amusing than anything. "Hehehe, that's okay, Homura-chan. You don't have to hold your alcohol as long as you can still hold me," she whispers in a teasing, flirty tone. She perhaps doesn't know what fire she's playing with with Homura's inhibitions being lowered. ...or perhaps she does, and is intentionally fanning the flames of Homura?

    It's probably a good thing that Homura isn't going to finish that drink, either way.

    Hearing Homura squeal draws another giggle from her, and she asks in that same tone from before, "What voice is that, my love? We're here to make merry and dance about the bonfire while welcoming the arrival of spring! It's only natural to speak like this at a gathering of witches, ehehehe!"

    When the squeeze is given to her arm she gasps, "Oh, no! The spell I've put her under is interacting unpredictably with our witches brew and she's got me in her clutches. I'll have no choice but to," grin, "sweep her off her feet!" With a wild giggle she reaches past Homura's arm, hugging onto her directly and spinning around. It's probably disorienting, but Madoka is making sure to hold tight enough she could keep Homura standing even if she was to completely lose her balance.

    Her broom is leaned up between a pair of the large fake trees. "Come, it's time we really do dance about the bonfire!" Another peal of giggles as she spins around, drawing Homura towards the center of the room and the large imitation fire. Once there she takes one of her girlfriends hands and rests the other on her hip, hoping to lead her in quick, happy dancing, moving clockwise about the fire for a several steps, only to reverse direction for a couple before spinning about each other, clockwise in a circle. She's pretty much making it up as she goes! Hopefully her skills at leading weren't overstated.

    If Homura has a hard time keeping her hands off Madoka, it seems Madoka's solution is to ensure an activity where it's distinctly allowed!

Chloe Stingray has posed:
    Chloe goes out along with Mikoto and chuckles. "Didn't have many parties when I was in america. This is, really, my first party." She says as she attempts to dance with Mikoto. She's surprisingly coordinates....for her first dance.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Boris has already brought out the playing cards, and he's lick-sipping punch over at a table. His tail wags, and he noses his hand out. A royal flush. Cheating dog-familiars!

"I'm having a blast! It's been too long since a good party. Yeah, that's how you do it! Tilt back! That's my Haruna!"

That smooch ends with Hannah pulling Haruna tight and close.

"Chill, Pidgeon-kun! I'll take care of her, don't you worry." That might just make Corvus more worried.

"Nope! I can, ah, 'dial it up' when the weird comes around. Normal strength when I'm competing. Going for a trial match in a week, once I get back up to snuff in training." Flex that arm!

And then, as the dancing starts, Hannah pulls Haruna over to that bonfire! She times the music, and then manages a dance! She's slow and easy this time, making sweeping ballroom spins, but the initial burst ends with her handing over the 'lead' to Haruna. She conveniently leaves plenty of space for the others, particularly Homura and Madoka. A happy smile seems double though. She can practically feel the love in the room.

Haruna is pulled close, and she slows down, both arms around Haruna's. "You are a diamond, Haruna. I love you. More than anything. You chose me over...so many things. Heh. Maybe one day I'll believe I'm worth all that. But for now? Thank you. You lead tonight. I want to bask in your warmth, your spirit, and that energy that's blossomed from you." Her head leans in, nuzzling into Haruna's neck, and she simply /basks/ in the knowledge that she's in the arms of someone so very, very important to her, safe and sound. For a few minutes, Hannah's world is warm and happy.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Drunk Homura is apparently at least 50% more likely to be silly, as she's in her own witchy way. "Eeehehehee." She leans closer to Madoka. "Oh I can still hold you alright, Ma. Do. Ka. Chan." Homura's inhibitions are lower, but it's not like she isn't incredibly comfortable around Madoka anyways. There aren't really a lot of surprises for her. Everyone else is probably going to see just how silly she can be, whether she admits to it later or not.

    Though if anyone can make Homura 'flare up passionately', it's the girl she's drunkenly clinging to.

    Homura squirms where she stands as Madoka starts talking in that voice again. "Eeeeee!" She hugs that arm tight, leaning against Madoka and letting her soft hair fall over her darling's shoulder. "You're always finding new ways to be adorable. You're like... the cutting edge of cute technology." That line sounds a lot better to Homura than it probably should.

    She goes from clinging and laughter to wide eyed excitement as Madoka mentions sweeping her off her feet. "Well, my pretty, you'd best get to sweeping then!" She's laughing almost endlessly as Madoka spins her around and brings her closer to the bonfire.

    Drunken Homura would probably be terrible at leading, but at following she seems able to mostly step in... roughly the places she should. She has a few advantages here, since she can lean on Madoka a tiny bit for support, and since Madoka is essentially guiding where Homura moves. She's putting a lot of faith in Madoka to guide her, but she's also confident that her faith isn't in any way misplaced.

    Looking over Madoka's shoulder, she sees Hannah and Haruna moving towards the dance floor and joining in on the festivities. She smiles brightly at them, and then at Madoka. She's smiling widely at Madoka for kindof a long time for reasons she might have already forgotten.

    On the other hand, she's in Madoka's arms, and that's reason enough to smile.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Things Corvus is worried about, that. Everything. Ugh. Aki Kurosawa will throw a fit if Corvus tells her what happened tonight. Luckily, Corvus isn't that kind of tattle tale. She grins over at Madoka and Homura.

"I think those two worked very hard for one another.." she says softly. "Based what I know of Homura anyways... with the whole timey wimey stuff." she says to Hannah.

And then---whoop! Whipped out to the dance floor, it's all she can do to drop her food and drink before she's brought away! She lets herself be led, before she picks it up.

Haruna's style is upbeat, but not as quick and she's making sure to leave plently of space and Hannah says lovely things to her and she blushes and practically melts, but she's happy to make Hannah happy right now.

"Hannah-chan..." she mutters placing her hand on the back of her head softly. "There was never any questions about that." she smiles. "I Love you too-- never forget that." she says softly. "You are a diamond, too-- and maybe someday you'll realize that." she says. "For now..." she says softly. "Just relax, and let's dance~" she says softly.

She grins over to Homura and Madoka again, a bright smile given. Homura's always seemed so dour and now she seems less that, at least right now.

Maybe Haruna can only imagine how that might feel, or maybe she's feeling it right now-- oh yes, She's very much enjoying herself-- this pretty much makes all the going ons the past few weeks worth it all~ Sword Possession, Dying and Ressurecting, and Virtue being jerks about things they have no reason to be jerks about! Hrmph!

"Let's just let it all melt away for now~"

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
    Mikoto grins and leads Chloe out, then gathers her in to lead her through the dance. She's just as good as she promised, and coaches her partner through the first few steps, until Chloe is ready to take it on her own. "See? It's easy."

    Not far away, Hikari is chatting with one of the younger students who has gathered up the courage to approach her. "So, are you in the drama club?" he asks her. "'Cause those ears look incredibly realistic."

    Mikoto seems content to enjoy the dance with Chloe, though she looks around occasionally, as if expecting a certain Black Cat to turn up.

    "No," Hikari answers the boy. "I haven't been doing the club thing this year. Oneesama said I don't have to."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "Then hold on tight, my love," Madoka replies, her own smile widening into a grin as her name is spoken one syllable at a time. Happy laughter is impossible to hold back as Homura squeals and compliments her in silly but flattering fashion. She'd be nuzzling against that hair spilling over her shoulder now if not for the wide brim of her hat preventing it too.

    Homura being so happy and excited is extra motivation to have fun around the 'fire', and Madoka leads her into more extravagant and quicker motions as they dance, just careful enough to back off if Homura has any actual trouble. Besides, the other dancers are giving them space, why not make use of it? She'll also keep close pressed to Homura as they dance without any moves necessitating releasing her, which means really there's quite a bit more spinning about as they dance around the glowing approximation of a bonfire.

    This night can't be anything other than a success in Madoka's mind if Homura is having so much fun, since that's exactly what she'd set out to accomplish. Maybe she should be thankful to Haruna for spiking that punch?

    Laughing as she dances she smiles brightly to Homura, looking like the just about the happiest little black witch you ever did see. As her motions bring her nearer to Hannah and Haruna she sends them a bright, encouraging smile as well, though doesn't dare interrupt as such sweet words are passed back and forth. D'aww!

    "What do you think, my bewitched and darling Homura-chan?" she asks in that same playful witch-voice. "Are we having fun yet? This is the kind of Walpurgisnacht I want you to have from now on.

    Her arm slips away from Homura, reaching up to her own pointy hat and grabbing it by the brim. With a grin to her girlfriend she swings her arm wide and flings it away like a frisbee, sending it whirling off to parts unknown. The reason for this becomes clear as she moves even closer to Homura, hand at her hip wrapping around behind her and drawing her close. "I think the witches brew was missing one last important ingredient," she says in a quiet, still witchy voice, only to lean in and kiss Homura. Deeply.

    It might be Shiniko's birthday... but it's Madoka's party, and she can make out if she wants to.

Chloe Stingray has posed:
    Chloe is smiling brightly as she dances with Mikoto. She stays somewhat close to Mikoto as she dances, which is more of a sway. "Do you treat all friends like this or are you just naturally this nice?" Chloe seems to be enjoying herself right now.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
"You have no idea, Haruna-chan. Madoka's lucky to have someone like Homura. And vice versa. Those two? The universe has it out for them, I swear. I'm glad they have this night together."

As Madoka and Homura sweep past? Hannah offers a subtle wink. There's nothing but warmth in that gaze. Oh, and an unsaid 'you can do it!' with that smirk that shows up.

Hannah unashamedly blushes, content, happy to feel that touch on her head, and how it feels to be so warm and /right/!

"Yeah. Let's." Pause. Grin. "We can't let those two lovebirds show us up!"

And melt away she does. Punch has nothing on being love-drunk, and the slow, easy dancing is a showy mix of intimate closeness, wild spins, and trading dance and kisses.

"I'll melt away in your arms, our hearts as one tonight." She leans, dips Haruna, and pulls her into a deep kiss. It lasts until Hannah needs to breath.

Only after Hannah's utterly exhausted of dancing, kissing, and /moving/, does she finally retire to a seat with food and drink. Tonight, she'll fall asleep in Haruna's arms.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura Akemi does hold on tight. She wraps one arm around Madoka as much as she can, while the other is still holding Madoka's hand. She doesn't have to be asked twice! Never mind the fact that holding Madoka is just something that she likes doing anyways.

    Homura's drunkenness does start to catch up to her as the two of them spin around faster and faster, yet no matter how clumsy her steps get she never falls or steps on Madoka's feet. The result is a mass of silly Homu-ness that Madoka is clinging to. Homura must have some awareness of how she looks, because she can't stop laughing at her own inability right now. The fact that Madoka doesn't release her helps a lot to keep her on her feet.

    Her laughter mixes with Madoka's, the sounds becoming almost like one noise. If getting Homura to enjoy herself was the goal, then Madoka's certainly achieved that. She doesn't notice that Madoka is looking at Haruna and Hannah, but when she spins to face them she does give them a short glance. Hannah catches her eye, and Homura doesn't say anything, but she does give her a thumbs up without actually releasing Madoka.

    "I'm having loads of fun, Madoka-chan. This is the best Walpurgisnacht I've ever had." She means it, too. "By a landslide, even!"

    She frowns in concern at Madoka, not quite sober enough to get the joke. At least, not until the witch's hat is tossed aside and Madoka is leaning in for a kiss. Homura's smile is a wide, toothy thing that lasts until the moment their lips make contact. Homura adjusts her embrace, holding Madoka just a bit closer as the two of them dance together.

    Once they pull away, Homura continues her tipsy silliness. "Hehehe, kissy kissy. Kissy kissy." She leans in to give Madoka another kiss, but her technique is... a little sloppy. Her lips don't quite land on Madoka's so much as they land near them.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa beams and smiles, letting herself just bask in warmth and happiness and overall the feelings. Indeed, actually being drunk has little on being love-drunk. She smiles at Hannah and just closes her eyes softly.

"Yeah well the universe sucks but you gotta do your best~" she beams a bit at Hannah with a wink.

She sits down, finally with Hannah and she passes out. Well that was expected. Hannah dacned herself silly and has been running around doing paperwork the past few days. Luckily, tommrow will be a rest day.

She hopes. She looks over to Homura and Madoka- again and blinks and giggles insanely.

"Oh gods I feel so bad for spiking that punch now." she laughs. "I hope Madoka doesn't need help wiping her face off after that." she giggles. She can only imagine how a sloppy kiss feels like.

Wait.

...did she ever try to kiss Hannah when she's been that drunk?

Uh oh. That's worry on her face.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah pauses, tilts her head, and sudenly gives a massive grin. She can /sense/ the reason for that sudden laugh.

"...Then how about we make poor Homura and Madoka not the only two sloppy lovebirds in the crowd!"

Boris arrives with a drink. Hannah knocks it back, and then?

Puuuullll! Haruna would find herself on the opposite end of a horrible kiss of the ages, sloppy, and /way/ too forward given the setting. Hannah Sharpe has absolutely zero shame. And she shows it.

Hannah's eyes are shining with happiness and pure /cheek/ the entire time. Boris is just sobbing at this point with Corvus, knocking back husky sized punch-shots!

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
    "Come on and dance, then." The boy tugs at Hikari's hand, and she lets herself be pulled up and onto the dance floor. She's just as good a dancer as Mikoto is, and with a cat's natural grace to go with it. The boy is a bit awkward at first, but seems to have a decent sense of rhythm and picks it up at last.

    "What, you think I say that only to cute girls?" Mikoto chuckles lightly, pulling Chloe close to guide her into a little spin. "I never did learn to flirt very well."

    She catches sight of Hikari and her new friend, and her smile widens. "Looks like I was right about her having to beat them off with a stick...."

Chloe Stingray has posed:
Chloe Stingray laughs a lot at Mikoto. "I don't think I see myself as that cute. But I thought you were dating Ikuto?" She then sees some of the reactions from the people who have drank punch....and is suddenly glad she didn't drink it. "I guess the punch really was spiked, hmm?"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Heh, trust Madoka to throw such a weirdly themed party! But hey, at least Sayaka can relax and mingle with guests! To be honest, things have been pretty quiet for her lately, save for a certain visit to WPS that resulted in a coupld of people from Virtue deciding to blow a gasket. But it's not surprising, given everything that happened before.

    The party is a welcome change of pace, even though things have been otherwise quiet for Sayaka. Maybe a bit too quiet. When she arrives - quite fashionably late at that - she is dressed in her own style of witch, deliberately designed to give her a cutesy anime witch style which is almost laughable: She wears a bright blue puffy knee-length dress, clasped at the waist with a black corset, with a black spikey yoke and lace edgings, along with black gloves and tall black boots. Finally a black pointy hat covers her head and a black cloak wrapped around her shoulders.

    "Heh, Guess better late than never.." she steps in, peering around, drawn to the food table first as she looks around for a familiar face or two..

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Luckily for Homura Madoka isn't going to be dancing so wildly she'll look like a flopping fish out of water even if she does manage to stay up. She doesn't want to embarrass her so badly she'll regret it tomorrow, after all. So she'll try to keep things brisk enough to be happy and exciting without keeping Homura from stumbling about too much.

    "Perfect! Then tonight will go down as the best Walpurgisnacht in history- I'll have to try extra hard to top it next year. Ehehehehe!" She throws her head back playfully as she laughs, having a lot of fun being so over the top silly. Normally she's a bit more reserved, but this is a costume party, and she's playing the part of her costume!

    If one might wonder why Madoka is worried about embarrassing her girlfriend with dancing but completely not worried about kissing her so publicly it's because she already knows very well Homura doesn't give a whit what other people think about their romantic interactions, public or otherwise. She has to hold back a giggle as Homura gives her that frown of concern. She'd feel a little bad for worrying Homura if she didn't think the resulting kisses would make up for it

    Madoka's face is flushed when they pull away, and not in the slightest from the punch; she hadn't drank any since before it got spiked. No, instead it's from happy flustering of kissing her beautiful witch hatted girlfriend. She beams a bright smile and repeats in her witchy voice, "Kissy, kissy!" The sloppy kissing near her lips draws a loud squeal from her followed by a lot of laughter, and she swings Homura around as they hold each other close and dance.

    "Good idea!" she proclaims, dropping the silly voice for a moment before lavishing dozens of small kisses all over Homura's face, covering her cheeks and forehead with them, and even her eyelids if she closes her eyes. Little kisses follow along her jaw line to her chin, only to lift up and find her soft lips once more, lingering for several long moments in which Madoka squeezes Homura tight in order to dip her low.

    Once she lifts her back up she giggles quietly into Homura's ear and kisses in front of it once, only to whisper, "Kissy kissy kissy kissy!" over and over in her playful witches voice, dancing close around the flickering 'bonfire'.

    She doesn't see Sayaka enter but she's no doubt putting on a bit of a ridiculous show for her childhood friend.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa is paying for her trouble with /sloppy kissing/ and she's actually loving every moment of it. Oh yes, she is. She's doing her best to help and beat out Homura and Madoka and probably horribly losing! Luckily, the measure of love isn't if you can do it better than someone else.

Eventually, however, the fun needs to end and Hannah wants to either sit down and eat, schmooze someplace else, or maybe even take a nap. Either way, Haruna has decided to go off on her own and is lightly wiping her face politely with a napkin. Oh!

Blue hair!

Saya-chan! She skips on over.

"Sayaka-chan!~" she says. "Hi! Welcome! Glad you could make it." she says softly with a smile.

She grins and places an arm around Sayaka's shoulder. "How are you, Saya?" she looks around. Nope, no red around. She purses her lips a bit.

"I spiked the punch so be careful with that~" she winks.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    The world, and the Homura of the future, are mercifully spared the sight of the floppy Homu-fish. Never let it be said that Madoka is not a gracious goddess. Well, more angel than goddess in this timeline, but still.

    "Hehehehe, yes! Best Walpurgisnacht ever!" Despite being drunk she actually doesn't mangle the word at all. After using a word for like half of your living experience you tend to actually learn it and how to say it. "You're the sweetest little silly witch, Madoka-chan." She leans forward to brush her nose against Madoka's, because as far as Homura's concerned they may as well be alone right now anyways.

    Homura can't help but laugh harder as her girlfriend repeats her silly phrase. She repeats it between peals of laughter, in increasingly silly and witchy tones."Kissy kissy!" When Madoka moves in to cover her in kisses, Homura closes her eyes and her giggling continues. She moves in with her own kisses, again sloppy because she's drunk, kissing her on the nose, the chin, on the cheek just underneath the eye, on the upper lip and the forehead. She doesn't quite have the confidence to kiss Madoka's eyes as she is now, but she manages to kiss nearly everywhere else on her face, with the majority of them being accidentally placed.

    She doesn't stop until Madoka dips her, and as Homura's silky black hair hands from behind her head she smiles widely up at her girlfriend. Her eyes wander mid-dip and she looks up to see the upside-down (from her perspective) image of Sayaka. "Sayaka Miki~! Hi~!"

    Homura's feet seem to be regaining a bit of their usual grace, but she's still being very playful, repeating, "Kissy kissy!" to her little angel and sometimes following through on that. She apparently doesn't care how ridiculous she looks right now.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
    "You're right, this is more fun with a partner." Hikari seems to be enjoying the opportunity to make a new friend, letting the boy twirl her around the dance floor. He actually seems to be being something of a gentleman so far, his hands have only wandered a little. And he took the hint when she twitched, too.

    Mikoto takes in a deep breath at the mention of Ikuto, letting it our slowly. "I ... am, yes," she says. He's not gone. She'll get him back. Somehow. "It's... complicated. We'll talk about it later, okay?" When they have some privacy, and aren't likely to be overheard by random other students.

Then the cries of 'Sayaka-chan~' go up, and she turns to see if the bluenette has arrived. "Hey, Chloe, have you met Sayaka yet? She's pretty cool." She gives Chloe a gentle tug, as if to guide her over towards the new person to say hi.

Chloe Stingray has posed:
    "I'll remind you later then." Chloe says as she gently tugged towards Sayaka. "I don't think I have, but....I could stand to meet her...or meet her again."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka goes straight for the punch, hearing the warning a bit too late. "Mmm, this punch is really good! Tastes like it's got a real kick in it!" Well. She hasn't noticed it's spiked yet. Give her a few minutes here..

    A quick glance around tells her that Kyouko didn't come, and she seems a bit disappointed at that. Oh well, so much for a nice romantic, slow dance with the red head. She's probably working extra hours at the conbenie. Or maybe hunting a witch or something. Saya's not terribly worried, she knows Kyou-chan can take care of herself. Still, it kinda sucks that she has no dance partner for the night. Oh well..

    She fills her plate with a few choice munchies before spotting Madoka and Homura dancing together, and getting all smoochy-woochie..Woah, is Homura drunk or something? She's acting a little too chipper for Homu. But a lot's happened since she's last saw her, no doubt.

    "Ehehe..Homu-san, Mado-chan!" she grins and waves sheepishy, quickly passing on, not wanting to interrupt their 'alone time'. She spots Haruna next and smirks, "Heh, Haruna-chan! How goes? Good to see you again! Did I just miss Miss White? That's too bad, I wanted to talk to her, y'know, about officially joining WPS and all, and..."

    Wait, what?! She spiked the punch!? Sayaka sweatdrops, "Oh...Ehehehe! Whoops!?" Oh well, it tasted good, anyways..

    Finally, she spots Mikoto and smiles, moving towards her, "Oh, hello Mikoto-san. Who's your friend?" she glances curiously towards Chloe and arches a brow. Wait, wasn't she assisting that soccer punting lunatic in attacking WPS?!

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa grins and winks. "I tired out Miss White with all the kissing and the dancing. No bussiness discussion today's anyways. Come by sometime later, Sayaka, I'll see if we can't get some of the starter paperwork started at least. Enjoy the punch! Just go easy on it. Or you'll end up like Homura over there giving sloppy kisses to someone." another winnnnnk~

She grins over at Mikoto and Chloe.

"Hey Miko, Chloe~" she says.

"You two are dancing fine." she says with a smile. She looks toward's Sayaka-chan. "Something wrong?" she asks at her.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka giggles yet more still at the compliment. "That's because I have someone like you to be sweet to, my dear! Even if I'm a silly witch I wouldn't want to be sour or bitter~." She wiggles her head back and forth as their noses brush together, breaking out into more laughter as Homura does, keeping the dancing going despite the silly and romantic behavior. By now the two have made a complete circuit around the bonfire, swaying and spinning and moving together in rhythm to the dance music.

    After giving Homura so many of her own kisses to the face how could Madoka possibly refuse the ones given to her? She honestly can't tell which ones are misplaced and which aren't considering most of hers were in random order. It does feel very nice to be showered in tiny kisses however, and she lets out a happy sigh as Homura shows her so much sweet affection.

    Homura calls out to Sayaka and Madoka's head turns this way and that. "Sayaka-chaaaan~!" She calls out in the altered, witchy sounding voice she's been using, "Welcome to the meeting of the witches! Did you come to dance the night away and revel around the fire with us? I'm glad you could make it. Ehehehehe!"

    After a bit more dancing she notices Homura's footwork getting better, easing up on her grip around her while still keeping close, staring into her pretty purple eyes and starting to move in more normal, less exaggerated but still quickly timed dance steps. That doesn't mean she isn't going to be happily giving and receiving kisses or playing around, though. "Have we discovered my magical talent? Am I the Kissy-kissy Witchy?"

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
    "I trust you will," Mikoto assures Chloe as they dance their way closer to Sayaka.

    "Hey, Sayaka-san. Good to see you again." She turns so that both she and Chloe can face Sayaka, and makes a flourishing gesture with her free hand.

    "This is my friend, Chloe. She's in the know, as it were, so don't worry about any masquerade secrets." And yes, she was the one helping Kukai a few days ago.

Chloe Stingray has posed:
    "'Was' being the key word. After the first one, I picked my shots. Then when 'that' decided to attack, I got out of the way and decided to find the evidence myself....and it wasn't there. I already know where they went anyways." Chloe says before she looks to Haruna. "Hey Haruna." She says with a smile. "Don't get any ideas, we're friendly here.....and I'd like to have a long talk with you after this." She says with a deep breath.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    "oh, not really..I guess I was just hoping to see Kyou-chan here tonight is all.." Idly, she wonders if Kyouko heard about her hanging out more with WPS and wanting to join them officially. Which would probably annoy her. Well, she'll deal with that later..

    "Hm, no worries, I can have fun all by myself! Maybe I'll grab another glass of spiked punch, heh!" she smirks at Madoka and Homura, "Nice dancing you two! I've never seen Homura drunk like that before, heh!" She grins and winks at them, not wanting to interrupt their romantic time.

    Looking back at Mikoto and Chloe, she nods and smiles, "Nice to meet you, Chloe-san. I'm Sayaka. So, are you two..Together? Or.." well, she doesn't wnat ot make assumptions, but..

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Sayaka is correct. Homura drank a bit too much punch a bit too fast before knowing that it was spiked. She also doesn't hold her alcohol very well.

    "Sour or bitter, you? Naaaah." Yup, there's something just a bit too casual and carefree about the way that Homura is talking, compared to her classically dour attitude. Some of that might also be because Madoka makes her happy in general, mind.

    "You've always been sweet and... and... cuddly. You're a cuddler, Madoka-chan." She seems to be sobering up at least a little bit, or at least her constant laughing is dying down and her steps are a bit more sure. To be fair, she didn't drink that much. She's still saying silly things to Madoka as they dance, however.

    "Kissy Kissy Witchy," repeats Homura, giggling again. "My most favorite Kissy Kissy Witchy. The very best. I love you so much, Madoka-chan." She leans in closer to her girlfriend, lowering her voice but still managing to always have it at the wrong volume. "I love you sooooo much, hehehe."

    She closes her eyes, and leans her forehead against Madoka's. She opens them up again to look into Madoka's eyes. She blinks a few times more than average, and the occasional snort-giggle still manages to escape her. Even wihen she's not laughing, she's wearing the most enormous smile on her face.

    After a while of silence, Homura speaks in a voice that's a bit more clear. "Thank you, Madoka-chan. For everything."

    She waves lazily at Sayaka again. If she doesn't want to interrupt, then Homura isn't going to drag her into it.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka smiles. She really does like it when Homura calls her sweet, even more than when she calls her cute. Homura was first and foremost attracted to her because of her personality and that alone is one of the highest compliments Madoka could ever imagine. The beautiful girl dancing with her loves her because of the kind of person she is- it's almost too wonderful to put into words. It's no wonder she fell for Homura so quickly once they started dating.

    She giggles at the next compliment and snuggles up against Homura as they continue to dance, "Hehehe, how could you tell?" A warm squeeze and she adds, "You're very cuddly yourself, Homura-chan. I think you're a cuddler too, at least when you're with me." She reaches around Homura to rub her back while looking into her eyes, thinking of all the cozy times they've spent together. She can't remember a time when the dark haired girl shied away from her.

    "I love you too, Homura-chan." Madoka says that in her own voice, meaning every syllable. She giggles at the repeat of the words, abruptly spinning around with Homura in her arms, "I love you so much I could squeal! Eeeeee!" She laughs playfully, calming down a little as their foreheads press together, looking into Homura's eyes as they dance together. It really is nice to have a night where they can let loose and have fun. Fancy balls and dates are very nice, but this kind of party has it's own kind of excitement.

    "I'm glad you're having fun, Homura-chan. You're welcome." She closes her eyes and presses a soft, relatively quick kiss to Homura's lips. "For everything."

Chloe Stingray has posed:
    "Felt I had to clear the air, but we can talk later." Chloe says to Sayaka, and wasn't talking that loudly about it.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
    Hikari and her dance partner separate, for a moment, each dancing with someone else for a bit.

    "Together?" Mikoto asks. "Not like that, no." She nods over at the rather affectionate Homura and Madoka. "You know I'm going to get Ikuto back... somehow. If either of you are up for helping with that, you're welcome to."

    She squeezes Chloe's hand, briefly, reassuringly. "I'm sure we can work things out, about that. Hannah's an understanding sort."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    "Hah, I guess no one's quite as affectionate as those two!" Sayaka grins and nods towards the lovebirds. "No worries, I was only teasing! Sooo...who is Ikuto then? Your boyfriend? What happened to him?" apparently Sayaka's been out of the loop on that one.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Well if Homura wanted to fall in love with Madoka's looks, she could do that, too! ... but there are a lot of pretty girls in Mitakihara, and what Homura loves is something that's very unique to Madoka herself.

    'How could you tell?'

    "I have a special sense for this kind of thing. It takes one to know one, after all. I'm also a cuddler!" She says this proudly, or at least joking proudly. When Madoka squeezes her, Homura squeezes back, wanting that warmth to linger just a bit longer. They joke, but they know they're cuddlers from experience. Lots and lots of happy experience. Homura hasn't shied away, once she fully realized that this is what she wanted.

    Homura's little heart goes doki doki when Madoka says she returns her love, and her heart beats even faster as Madoka starts to squeal in the cutest way. As she squeals, Homura holds her tighter. "You really do mean so much to me."

    Madoka kisses her, and when she pulls away she might notice that Homura's cheeks are a bit more red. "I am having a lot of fun, but more than that I am truly happy. I know that things will still happen, and we'll still have to fight, but now I feel like I have something to look always forward to: spending more time with you. You gave me that, Madoka-chan. I truly am grateful."

    Homura reaches up to run her finger behind Madoka's ear, gently scratching behind it. "The past three months-- no-- all the time I've known you has been wonderful, even with all of the bad parts, and I never really had the chance to let you know really that before recently."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
    "Ikuto... well, we've been dating for a few months now." Mikoto gets one of those silly little grins of her own, but it fades quickly.

    "He's been... well, some rather unpleasant folk have been making him work for them, and I've been trying to help him." She grits her teeth, trying to suppress a rant on the subject. "A couple of weeks ago, they... he just disappeared. I haven't seen him since."

    She has to close her eyes for a moment. Those aren't tears. There's a leak in the roof, letting the rain in. Really.

Chloe Stingray has posed:
Chloe Stingray sighs a bit and places her hand on Mikoto's shoulder. "We'll find him, Miko-chan." She says softly...in a reassuring tone.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "I think being a cuddler is one place where opposites don't attract," Madoka half jokes. Because really, the fact that they both like cozying up to one another is a big part of their relationship. So far neither of them have been the type to really need time away from each other either; the longer and more often they're together the happier they are. If that wasn't the case for one of them it would necessarily have an impact.

    Dancing this closely means Madoka can feel the doki doki of Homura's precious little heart, and her own picks up in response. Just knowing Homura is excited is enough to excite her. "I know you do. I know I mean a lot to you and that means so much to me." She blushes, a little embarrassed, "I love being the center of your attention. The way you look at me and the way you treat me. It really is amazing having someone care about me so much, being able to wake up every day knowing you love me, and are in love with me." Homura gets to see her looking meek and shy for a few moments as she admits those things.

    'I am having a lot of fun, but more than that I am truly happy.'

    Madoka has heard words similar to that from Homura a few times now, and hearing them again today on this day carries extra significance. She closes her eyes and smiles happily, genuinely. Homura knows her well enough to read her expression, and even in this low light can probably see the tears in the corners of her eyes. "I'm so glad to hear that..!" Her arms shake just a little, but the hug she gives is ferocious.

    She knows what it means for Homura to be truly happy. Because she knows very well exactly how deep the depths of her despair was. She saw it herself, she experienced it herself. Moreover she took it all upon herself- that grief, that suffering. Homura was terrifically unhappy and only barely holding on for so long. Knowing that, simply knowing how badly she was hurting hurt Madoka in turn. So to see her this happy, to hear her say she really, truly is happy... it means the world to her.

    The tears are ones of happiness, of emotions overwhelmed. Madoka opens her eyes back up and they shine with her love and affection, sparkling in the low, flickering light. She tilts her head into the fingers behind her ear, her fluffy hair brushing against Homura's hand and fingers. "You're the sunshine in my life too, Homura-chan. I love you so much I can hardly stand it, except that I have to because it means I can be with you more. I can't tell you how glad I am I make you so happy. If I knew any better ways to tell you how lucky I feel to love you and be loved by you I'd say it every day."

    Somewhere along the way she forgot to keep dancing, instead holding close to her most beloved.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura nods emphatically. "I agree. It'd be disappointing if only one of us liked to cuddle." Homura probably wouldn't push it on Madoka if she didn't want to, but neither one of them really pushed for it as she remembers. They started off just talking, then hugging became more and more comfortable, and that led to them figuring out that neither one of them seemed to mind being held by the other. The fact that Homura practically worships Madoka in some ways doesn't hurt when it comes to wanting to be held. "Though... I'm not sure I'd want to cuddle with just anyone. I just really enjoy it with you."

    The center of Homura's attention. Yeah, that describes Madoka to a tee. "For the longest time you were the only one I cared about. Even though I have started caring about others more, you're still the one who means the most to me. That will never change. If the way I treat you makes you happy, then I'm glad. All I want to do is protect you, and not just your physical health, but your happiness too."

    Madoka starts to tear up, and for a moment Homura is worried that she may have said something wrong... but no, that's not what this expression means, and the hug confirms it. The words confirm it more. Homura smiles softly, wrapping her arms around Madoka and holding her close. "I know... I knew it would mean a lot to you, since you wanted so much to fix me. I didn't think that was possible, and I don't know that my life will ever be perfect, but overall my life is happy, and I wanted you to know that it was because of you."

    'You're the sunshine in my life too, Homura-chan.'

    Homura can't help but be happy from that. To know that the one she loves most loves her too. She holds Madoka close, wanting her near more than anything. It doesn't matter to her that they've stopped dancing. The dancing was fun, but this is an important moment, too. She moves her head over Madoka's shoulder, rubbing her cheek against her girlfriends.

    "You've always been my little angel. In so many ways, Madoka-chan. I don't know of any better way to say how we feel, but we express it all the time, in every kiss and embrace, in our deeds as much as our words. I guess that what makes it so real to me."

    She gently rubs Madoka's back, then patting her on the shoulder before holding her tighter. Knowing the two of them, they could stay like this all night and be happy.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
    With Sayaka making her good-byes, perhaps called away by something - Mikoto has no idea what drew the bluenette away. She keeps dancing with Chloe, eventually guiding her back to the buffet table. "Getting hungry," she explains, and adds, "Thank you."

    She probably has a long night ahead of her.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka pushed early on, but only a little and only after she was reasonably sure Homura didn't mind, mostly as a way of being more convincing that she didn't mind herself. They both have some skittishness about other people; back when she first moved to Tokyo from America Madoka was practically afraid of crowds of the type that are so common here after having so much wide open space, never mind being emotionally isolated from her peers. To say that Homura also felt emotionally isolated would probably be an understatement. "Hehe... I know what you mean. I like hugging my other friends, but you're the one I really wanted to snuggle up with."

    "I'm glad you care about people other than me too. It's good for you. But I'd also be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the way you focus on me so much. It makes me feel good about myself to have someone care so much about me. Maybe that's shallow... but I don't think so, because I care very much about you too." Madoka smiles sweetly to Homura. She knows exactly what she means by protecting her happiness, too, and can appreciate it. They both care a lot about each other's happiness, and with the both of them looking after one another's it makes it easier to stay happy.

    "I never thought it was fair or right for someone to be so unhappy, especially when it was so obvious to me you were a good person. Once I got to know you even a little bit I knew you were protective because you cared, then when I knew you even more I started to understand why." Because she isn't truly crying there aren't many more tears to follow those first ones up, which rest in the corner of her eyes and catch the flickering light. "I'm so glad you're happy," she says before giving a small shake of her head, "and it's okay if things aren't perfect, or even if they can't be. I don't think things have to be perfect, I just want them to be good. If they are because of me?" Madoka's eyes focus on Homura's full of kindness and compassion, "Then I know I've done something I can truly be proud of in my life."

    She lets her eyes close when Homura moves her head over her shoulder, rocking a little from side to side as they hug onto each other and eagerly rubbing her cheek back against Homura's. Another upwelling of joy rises inside of her at her girlfriends next words, but rather than more tears she smiles brightly and makes a small laugh, "You're right... we do. We show each other how we feel all the time, don't we?" She lets out a deep, content sigh as her back is rubbed, squeezing Homura closely and then returning the soothing gesture.

    She really is a cuddler. Standing there in such a warm embrace is everything she could possibly want right now, and maybe even a little more.