Christmas Ball

-takes a few more minutes to survey the decorations-
-decides that they look as he imagined them-
-sends the staff away, goes upstairs to change into formalwear-
-lol the christmas ball can now begin-

-saunters through Venetian streets, clad in a completely new suit he bought for the occasion, smiling to himself charmingly at the thought of seeing the others again-
-checks his appearance in the reflection of a window he passes and quickly straightens his tie-
-eventually approaches the front door of Armand and Marius' house and stops, folding his arms for a moment while he pauses to see if he really needs to ring the doorbell for his presence to be noticed-

-flies to the door of Armand and Marius' house and lands in front of it-
-transforms back into himself and grins at Lestat-
Long time no see, Sir.

-turns to Alex on seeing him arrive and raises an eyebrow, slightly surprised-
A long time for a mortal, maybe.
-smirks, letting Alex know he's kidding-
How have you been?

-laughs slightly-
I've been...fine. Much too busy.
And yourself?
-put out one hand to Lestat-

-nods, giving out his hand to shake Alex's, as a father might a son-
I have... been. That is all I can say. -elaborating a little- I travelled as I did in my youth. Little anchored me in any one place after I left the Coven.

-shakes Lestat's hand and smiles-
I understand. I've been in a...similar sort of situation.
-doesn't really know how to put it-
I've been so busy with my art galleries I've had little time for anything else.
-has a hint of sadness in his voice as he thinks of how he's been treating Pandora recently-

-finds a hint of pity touch his face on looking at the younger vampire-
It is good to be busy, though... when there is eternity to fill.
-looks at the front door and frowns-
I didn't think it would come to this, but... -raps the door a few times, feeling a slight joy at the human act-
No doubt Armand is still rushing around, fixing the decor. -smirks-

-notices the slight discomfort of the conversation-
Oh yes. I suppose. I'll just sort my priorities a little more.
-laughs at Lestat-
He probably still is. I haven't seen him in so long though. In fact, I haven't seen anyone.

-eyes the servant up and down and grins-
Why thank you.
-gestures for Lestat to go ahead first-

-smiles at Alex-
-steps in through the door, taking off his hat, depositing it into the servant's hand-
-fumbles for the buttons of his overcoat as he walks in a little further-
-to Alex-
My, my, Armand has tried hard...
-smirks to himself-

-takes off his coat and hands it to the servant-
-bites his bottom lip slightly and raises an eyebrow at her-
-turns back to Lestat-
Oh but did you expect any less?
-laughs-

No... -smiles, then begins to walk on in-
Well, shall we? I'm rather parched.
-pretends this is the reason he's anxious to go to the ballroom-

-nods in agreement-
We shall.
This is the first night I haven't been working in some time.
-lets Lestat lead the way-

-finds his way to the ballroom quite easily, remembering from the last ball-
And what work do you do?
-is curious as he finds it odd that a vampire should take part in work-
-stops before the doors of the ballroom-
-slowly pushes one open-

-admiring the house and looking around as he walks-
I'm an artist and art dealer. I have a few galleries around the world. Constantly travelling.
-notices that Lestat seems slightly puzzled-
It's more for enjoyment than the actual money aspect of it. Plus my father did the same.
-waits for the doors to open-

-is pleasantly surprised-
Ah. An artist? That sounds like a cause worth devotion.
-steps inside the ballroom, holding the door open for Alex-
-looks around-

-is discussing final details with a servant-
-smiles as Lestat and Alex enter the ballroom-
-goes over to greet them- Welcome, friends.

-smiles at Lestat's reaction-
-walks into the ballroom, looking around before noticing Armand-
Good evening.

Armand. -looks at him with genuine joy- It's been too long.

-smiles at Alex- Good evening, Alex. Thank you for coming.
-looks over at Lestat, smiling back at him- It truly has.
I'm glad you could make it. We've been looking forward to seeing everyone again.

-smile widens-
It's my pleasure.