In retrospect, Salem should have read the fine print before signing up. When he offered to serve food and drink to the guests at a party, he didn't think it'd be a masquerade. Ordinarily this wouldn't be an issue for him, except that masquerades were the prime setting for a murder (one which he wrote about in one of his novels), and that on top of that he was surrounded by monsters who also had an additional layer of obfuscation to their identity. He had been in a panic about being eaten by monsters earlier even when there was law enforcement around, but over here that could actually happen and the culprit could probably get away with it.
Initially it wasn't so bad. He was given a fancy mask and tux to set the mood and had been tending to the bar and serving drinks from the corner, where nobody could sneak up behind him. But after an hour or so his boss told him to go into the crowd with a tray of drinks. In retrospect he should have seen this coming. Salem did the best he could to stay calm and collected among the crowd. Luckily he had a lot of experience giving off a professional demeanor when he spoke with publishers, so he was able to keep himself from turning his head back and forth like a security camera on crack. More and more he just kept thinking about the topic of the masquerade as a murder scene for a mystery thriller. Then he remembered he did once write about that very same subject. And it also involved monsters. And the victim was a human. His calm demeanor started to crack as this whole scenario was starting to seem more like a recreation of one of his nightmares he based his books on instead of a spontaneous party.
“Salem, my dear~ I was unaware you were working here tonight~”
He was startled to be referred to by name out of the blue, amidst the cacophony of various voices trying to talk over one another. And to be recognized so easily while wearing a mask, too, albeit not a full-face one. Did he really stick out that much? He spun around - a little too quickly - to be once again greeted by Rune, who as of late almost always seemed to be showing up wherever Salem did.
“... Rune! ahem Madam Rune, so nice to see you, uh… you look stunning tonight.” Salem blurted in surprise at first, reminding himself to add a polite prefix now that he was hired to keep up an air of class in a classy party. Rune had been wearing a very revealing white lace dress that definitely stood out in the crowd in more ways than one, but coupled with the fact that she had no mask at all to speak of on top of that, he was now surprised to see her in just about every way. “Care for a dri-” He offered, though Rune had already taken one from the tray while he was busy eyeing her. “Ah, ahem. Er… anyway, yes, I figured this would be a less… life-threatening way to make some extra money without an actual Gorgon looking over my shoulder.” Or at the very least, if he died here then he'd go out in style. Then again, just about every situation felt life threatening to him. But speaking of shoulders, he was taken off guard when Rune stepped around the tray and began nuzzling up against his.
“Shame though… I'd love to steal you for a dance or two. What time are you off work? Are you here until the event ends?”
“Well, I mean, um…” Salem mumbled, getting a tad flustered. Ordinarily it would be pretty clear to him that she was flirting at this point, but after seeing her act much the same with a few others back during the zombie outbreak (which may or may have not just been an extremely vivid nightmare, Salem honestly couldn't really tell anymore), it was difficult to tell if it was actual flirting or just the way Rune behaved around people in general. But a dance with Rune? Well, that would hardly be the worst thing in the world, wouldn't it? Or even this night, and all in all it was a pretty good night at that, even by Salem's standards. “Y-yes, that sounds lovely, but I don't think-”
“Oh! Or a better idea!” In a quick motion that completely took Salem off guard, Rune reached into her breast pocket(?) before pulling a card out and sliding it into the back pocket of Salem's tux… Before firmly making sure it was there by giving Salem a tight squeeze. “Hmng-!” Salem jolted, not really sure why he was surprised at this point, but he was, nonetheless. Not that he necessarily minded Between that and her seductive grin it was abundantly clear that she was, indeed, flirting with him.
“How about you call me when you get a break and I'll come steal you for a dance or two, alright?”
“I… yes, uh… I'll let you know. You know. When… Break. When that starts.” Salem stammered, desperately hoping to keep up a professional demeanor both on account of that being his current job as well as to maintain a modicum of decorum. He hoped that the mask he was wearing was enough to cover up the blood rushing up to his beet-red face, but as it only covered the eyes there was probably no chance of that.
“Well, you know. I-I guess now is as good a time to start my break as any.” Salem cleared his throat as he set the tray of drinks to a nearby, largely unoccupied table. Actually in retrospect, Salem wasn't sure whether or not he was allowed to take a break at all during the party, but at that moment it completely slipped his mind. And of course he was still wearing the uniform and mask provided by the hosts, so that could have been an inconvenience in itself… again, he failed to think of that, as well. But maybe he could afford to stop acting paranoid about everything, for his own sake if no one else’s. This was supposed to be a party, after all. And so, he extended a hand, inviting Rune to the dance that she, first, offered. “If nothing else, I can probably write this off as ‘entertaining the guests.’” He said with a smirk in an effort to keep an appearance of class and dignity, though that smirk did waver from the sheer force of Rune's charm catching him completely off-guard.
Mon Mar 29, 2021 12:39 am by Game Master
» The Beach near the Harbor ~ Dragons coming.
Fri Mar 29, 2019 9:04 pm by Shogeki Tekina
» Normal Grading Thread
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» Svala Svingrior
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» Fenrir (Fenrir Hróðvitnir)
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» Rune Alba Tyche
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» Shogeki Tekina
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» Gola Jaci "s Character
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» Repeat offender, Shop lifter in the market [Mission Level 1]
Fri Mar 01, 2019 4:21 am by Game Master