This, this was just too weird of a feeling. The work, it was gone, at least for a day, it was gone. His orders had been filled, what few there were, his work sold for too little at the market, just so he could have something to eat, and now he had nothing left, nothing yet, to do. Enric would stare at his hands for a long moment, they were empty. No leather caressed by those heavily calloused palms, no knife carving into hide, and no desire to even dabble in his poetic hobby. Enric decided then, to slip out of his home and, for once, find something to do, hopefully relaxing. It had been so long since he had a chance to just relax and enjoy himself. Enric, the Chiet, would take to wandering the city briefly before he caught wind of the sounds, the Winter Revelry. He had never been there before (though as a child he would often peek inside and watch the masks dance and spin around each other), yet every time he passed by, he knew it was something he wanted to, one day, visit.
But he couldn't. He smelled like piss and rotting flesh, since that's what his home smelled like, because that's what his work smelled like. The Avora that he passed by on the street would often remind him of this and his needs to go to the Tisume Baths, and it was true. Enric, however, always had work to do. That is, except for tonight. Tonight, he had time to visit the baths, and he just sold some wares, he had a little extra coin to by a cheap mask and set of clothing good for one night. And, best of all, behind his visage of mask and clean skin, nobody would know he was a Chiet. No, better than that, any Endal or Avora there wouldn't be known for who they were. This would be like Enric's dream come true, everyone equal and treated fairly, just for the sake of a single night's worth of fun.
Needless to say, Enric hurried himself to the Tisume Baths, to the Market, and then to his final destination of the moment, the Winter Revelry.
It was odd to feel clean, and to actually smell himself and feel pleased with the scent. The
mask he had picked out too felt a little odd, just because he was unfamiliar with it. Still, the Inclement Weather was beckoning him, and now that he was dressed like snow and faced like a wolf, he was about as ready as he thought he'd ever be to face so many people.
And wow! It was so different than how he remembered seeing it as a child. The music was louder, beating into his head like he himself was a drum. The strings and horns migrating in between the pounding rhythm, and despite the sound almost being too much, he was enjoying it. Enric moved inside, unaware of what kind of people resided where, and though he felt like he would end up at the bar sometime in the night, for now he felt like he should be about as far from it, the center. A bad choice, rookie mistake, but it happened. The White Wolf (Enric kind of liked that persona) moved slowly, looking all around at the people. Some were dancing, many were shouting over the music just to converse with each other, and plenty of others were drinking or laughing or fondling or doing who-knows-what. It didn't take long, however, for the lone wolf to get sucked into a group. Mostly their masks consisted of non-animal likenesses, though he noted a snake-like mask that he could have sworn was glaring at him.
"Hi there! You new here? It's kind of obvious! You look lost! Here, stay with us for a bit!" Enric chuckled (which was drowned by the music) from behind his mask and nodded, then his new unnamed acquaintance slipped something in his hand. It felt like a marble, though somewhat elongated. The man lifted his mask (wasn't that a crime during the Winter Revelry?) and placed on in his own mouth, obviously expecting Enric to follow along.
And he did.
Nothing happened.
Enric just assumed it was candy, foolish young man that he was. He lingered around the group for a while, but then talk of sex and... well multi-person sex came up (it was a bit too early for orgies, right?), and somewhere between the group of a dozen or so people reaching into each others' clothing and them moving off into the curtain hidden side-rooms, Enric split away from them.
And again the Wolf was prowling, looking for something to do. He didn't have to prowl very long though, since apparently there was some tradition that was starting. A pairing of sorts. A tall muscular, yet gently grinning man took Enric by the arm and led him to the woman, who was also dressed solely in winter-white and mysterious mask. Enric could only guess that it was the 'pairing'. This was awkward. Now what did he do?
"Hi! I'm E-..." Enric paused for a moment, nearly forgetting he was incognito tonight. How fun!
"You can call me the White Wolf!" Enric, who had to yell to be heard over the music, was grinning like a fool under that mask. Part of him felt like an idiot, but most of him knew that nobody knew who he was, and most likely they'd never remember tonight. Enric extended his hand to shake, though couldn't help but wonder if that was appropriate for this place or not.
by Sira on February 21st, 2012, 8:52 pm 
