"I'm sure you look just fine, Purpura. Come out, already."

"I feel ridiculous."

"You have to come out sometime."

"I could just not go."

"Nonsense. I need a date."

"Take someone else."

"It's too late for that, Purpura. Come out, or I'll come in after you."

That seemed to work. The Niteshan reluctantly came out, and Deborah smiled.

"See?" he complained. "I look ridiculous."

"You do not, you look handsome," she countered. "You need to dress up more often."

"Yeah, right," he snorted, then looked down at himself in disgusted bewilderment. "Why did it have to be a costume ball?"

He really did look handsome, in a roguish, dark sort of way, all dressed up in a tuxedo so faded that it looked an indeterminate shade of gray and so shabby that Deborah could see individual threads poking out here and there. It was patched on one knee and both elbows with feigned inexpertness, in various fabrics completely unlike the original, and several tears had been just as inexpertly sewn up. A squashed-looking top hat, complete with more stitching holding it together and even safety pins keeping the sash on it, topped the image. His normally dark green hair had been dyed darker-- forcing him to keep his human form at least until after the masquerade, so he didn't simply shift it out on accident-- and was actually loose and long rather than bound up tightly. The only mask he had was his own hair, brushed half into his face to obscure one eye, and the top hat, which looked positively devilish when pulled low over his face. With his brown skin and darkened hair, he had a kind of eerie, shabby elegance to him.

Neither of them were entirely sure what he was, though Purpura leaned towards a down-on-his-luck salesman and Deborah, much more imaginative and certainly more romantic, thought he looked like some poor witch doctor or voodoo shaman. Since it was her desire to go to this masquerade, the voodoo shaman it wound up being. She'd even found him some skull- and bone-shaped silver rings, cufflinks, earrings, and even a necklace that settled perfectly over the grimy-looking white, ruffled shirt he wore under the tuxedo jacket and a skull-topped cane, to complete the image. 

"Because they're fun," Deborah answered him with a smile. "Now go on. I'll meet you there." At his dubious expression, she grinned impishly. "I want you to find me, guess who I am. And no cheating; I'll be blocking the bond."

"I'll just follow the trail of lusting boys," Purpura retorted snidely, but he went, pocketing his own invitation as he swept out the doors.

With the coast clear, Deborah set about getting her own costume together. Keeping it hidden for the past few days had been a chore and a half, and finally the wait was over. She was rather pleased with her idea; it went well with Purpura's without being intuitively matching him. If he was a voodoo shaman, she was a dark priestess, with two layers of long, fitted robes, one black and open-sleeved and the other dark violet with sleeves that mimicked those of a Japanese kimono, patterned in silver with feathers, and both with bare shoulders. Predictably, since it was Deborah, and Deborah loved a good showing of skin, there was a very tantalizing slit up one leg. Dark priestesses could be sexy, right? Of course they could!

Copper, busy on the floor playing with the Lantessaman flitter who had come with the invitations and then stayed, quite as if she intended to make the apartment her home, paused to watch her set out the long hat that doubled as her own mask. The flitter did, too. She surprised her by speaking up, albeit in a near-whisper.

"Can I come, too?"

Deborah paused to look down at her. The flitter, a pretty little Air flit with butterfly wings and a mask all her own, chirped curiously from the ojee's belly. "You want to come?"

"It could be fun...."

"You won't give me away to Purpura...."

"Oh, no, of course not. I'll find him and stay with him, instead of you."

Deborah paused to think a moment, then shrugged. "I don't see why not. We'll have to come up with some kind of costume for you...."

"That won't be all that hard," Copper promised, and rolled onto her belly, the flitter climbing swiftly to her back instead.

"You have an idea?" Deborah asked, bemused, as her little ojee scampered off to a different part of the apartment. Copper came back with a few silk handkerchiefs and two of Deborah's chain necklaces, and while Deborah got into her own costume, the ojee and the flitter worked together to make something out of them, for her.

Settling the hat over her head-- it looked rather like an elongated bird's head, if the bird had teeth and trailing, black and violet feathers-- and adjusting the veil of feathers over her bound-back hair, Deborah surveyed herself in the mirror. The bird-hat didn't entirely obscure her face, but if she pulled it down a little more, it shadowed it and blocked it from view by particularly tall people. Like Purpura, which was who mattered. She smiled at herself, picking up her own collection of rings to slip them on.

"Well, then, ready?" she said, turning to Copper, and she giggled at the sight. The ojee had managed to drape one handkerchief over her muzzle, anchoring it in place between her ears and under her jaw with one of the chain necklaces-- that was rather clever, attaching the silk to links in the chains; she wasn't entirely sure how she'd done it. There was another draped over her back, a larger one, that looked almost like a little cape, held in place by the other chain across her chest. The Air flitter was perched on the back of her head, looking well pleased with herself for helping.

At the giggle, though, Copper's ears dropped, and Deborah hurried to assure her, "You look fine! Very cute. I'm impressed."

"Really?"

"Really," Deborah nodded. She looked around, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything important. She had her small pocket-purse, the invitation was sitting on the table by the door, Yulee was spending the night with a friend so they didn't need a sitter, Purpura was already there.... No, she had everything. She smiled at Copper. "Come on, let's get going, or we'll be more than fashionably late."

Copper perked considerably and trotted after her as she slipped out the door, taking her invitation as she went. A masked ball at Lantessama... it would certainly be different, and hopefully exciting!