Reception

[fiery_ring]

The reception takes place in the Big Top, which is more than large enough to accommodate the crowd. Outside, a large hog roast is taking place, with food and drinks aplenty.

It's a good time for Carlotta to catch up with her friends from school, most of whom she hasn't seen since the start of the war. A few of them have married in that time and brought husbands, some are in work or still at university. A petite, pretty woman, Alison, has brought a daughter of about two; finally a distraction from an incessant need to worry what her hair looks like. A tall, strapping woman, Mirabel, is sporting a burn scar on her face; rumour has it, she has been serving in combat.

The circus folk mingle among the guests, bringing food and occasionally breaking out into acrobatics. At the front of the tent, Fred the Bouncer sits with Wolf, his large guard dog.

Comments

[52_dropoff]

"I don't see why not." Though he thinks he noticed her with someone else at the ceremony.

[ikissdhimbck]

Tommy will no doubt show up sooner or later, but she doesn't see the harm in asking someone else for a dance. Milliways has made her bold in that respect.

Pleased, she takes another curtsy, and holds out a hand.

"I know so few here, I must call upon any excuse t'enjoy your company. I hope y'don't think me outrageous for askin'."

[52_dropoff]

"Not in my day. In fact, I doubt I would ever get to dance if women didn't ask me." Because Charlie and dancing have never quite gone together.

[ikissdhimbck]

"Really? Don't tell me I've run across my very first shy superhero."

The teasing is good-natured, unconsciously meant to put him at ease. The song playing is moderately paced and relaxed.

[52_dropoff]

"We're all shy. Why do you think we wear masks?" He tries to keep a straight face.

"I just never got in the habit of dancing. And the women I've been with aren't much for it, either." He can't imagine Helena dancing like this. More likely she'd go for a mosh pit.

[ikissdhimbck]

She chuckles softly.

"I never thought 'bout it that way. But I reckon it must be hard t'think of yourselves as brave.

"That's a shame. I love t'dance myself, but there ain't much opportunity for it out in the desert."

[52_dropoff]

"You could dance in the Bar, maybe. I saw you with someone before. Doesn't he dance?" Charlie is never afraid to pry.

Er. To ask questions.

He would never pry.

[ikissdhimbck]

"Oh — "

She turns a little rosy.

"I don't think he's much of a fan either. He's done me a favor by bein' my escort, an' I think he's havin' a good time. But, between you an' me, I think he's a li'l uncomfortable."

[52_dropoff]

"Because he's not from this time and place, either? Or because he doesn't go for fancy parties?" From Charlie's vantage point, Kate's date seems even more out of place than Charlie.

[ikissdhimbck]

"Both, I believe."

She laughs softly, absently searching the crowd for him as they dance.

"He comes from the early twenty-first century. Mostly I see him wearin' denim, or his firefightin' uniform."

[52_dropoff]

"Firefighter...I've met a lot of cops but never a fireman. I wasn't the 'rescue babies from burning buildings' sort of hero."

He seems to be getting the rhythm of the music. Slowly. You would think that between his training and Sallie's occasional efforts to get him to dance, he would do better.

[ikissdhimbck]

If there is a single clumsy step, you wouldn't know it by Kate's expression. She's ever gracious, relaxed, and pleased by her partner.

"What sort of hero were you?"

[52_dropoff]

"I went after the high and mighty who abused their power. At first. Eventually that allowed for stopping street crime. And at the end...let's just say it got weird and I was way outside my element.

"Have you met Renee Montoya in the Bar," he asks seemingly out of the blue.

[ikissdhimbck]

She gives him a funny look when he says it 'got weird', but she doesn't press.

"No, I don't believe I have. Is she someone else from your world?"

Going after the high and mighty who abuse their power is the sort of thing Kate wholly stands behind.

[52_dropoff]

"She's my protege and successor. And she seems like the weird.

"She comes to the Bar every so often. Another lurker in the rafters."