RTE: The masquerade is here!

As the clock struck noon, Shadow would open his doors to all that wished to show up. The inside of his home was decorated accordingly and he was wearing a Dracula costume. Hopefully some one showed up. If no one didn't, he would have to use the lottery prize on himself.. That's no fun..

Vermillion fluttered in as her usual form of transportation; A cluster of bats. She would form into her thin body as she touched ground and eye the fortress with a bored expression.

"Not very decorative I must say."

She whispered to the air with a sigh. She would enter into the fortress with a small bounce to her step and lock eyes with Shadow momentarily.

"I take it you are the host of this party?"

With a swish of her hand, a bat mask appeared on a stick and she held it over her face.

Elestia approached the fortress by foot and huffed at the journey one needed to undertake to reach the place.

"Damn lousy ninja putting their damn lousy mead halls in the middle of flipping nowhere."

She groaned and kicked a rock before entering the hall. Looks like she was one of the first ones there. Which didn't surprise her seeing as THEY WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF FLIPPING NOWHERE!

"Oi! Bat chick and emo guy! This the place where the parties s'pose to be? Doesn't look like much of a party yet!"

Elestia folded her arms and gave a gruff growl. This already seemed like a place she didn't want to be. Gloomy 1 and Gloomy 2 gave her chills.

Several people would arrive at the exact same time, carrying smile gifts and all dressed in different costumes.

Alma Marta: It looks like we're early. Oh well, I guess I can help straighten up a bit before the other guest arrive. Come Milla.

Alma Marta, the owner of the Wayward hotel was dressed as simple old time maiden. It wasn't much different from what she usually wore in all honesty. Next to her, a brooding Milla Milovonovich, the owner of the Beach House, pouted with her arms crossed. She was dressed as a bar wench at the behest of Alma, who didn't want her dressing in anything too risqué. She knew that Milla couldn't hold her liquor and she wasn't going to let some random guy think he could lucky with the drunk woman.

Milla: Can I please put on my succubus outfit Alma? I promise I won't drink too much either! I'll stick with Lola the entire time!

Lola: No you won't.

Lola Sinclair, the head nurse at the Esperanza Hospital, was dressed as a top heavy witch. Most of the skin on her chest was showing and she wore a pointed hat too. The dress show wore went down to her ankles, but only covered one of her legs. The creamy skin on her left leg was in full display with a dark transparent stocking and black garter. Milla shed tears at Lola's blunt accusation.

Milla: It's not fair! How come she gets to wear something so bold, and I don't?

Alma: Because I'm a mother.

Milla: I CAN'T BEAT THAT LOGIC!

She cried with more tears streaming.

Locking eyes with Vermillion, Shadow couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. She was stunning. The crimson Sharingan looked perfect with his Dracula costume and. He would smile as he put his hands in his pockets.

Indeed. I am the host of this party. I know the decorations aren't much, but the prizes are the real thrill of the party."

Shifting his eyes over to the other guest, he would raise his eyebrow. New faces were good faces he thought. He would pull out a cigar and light it with a flame that light on the tip of his finger. After all, he was an Uchiha. Puffing it slightly, Shadow would smile with it in between his teeth.

"yes. This is indeed the place. Please. Make yourselves comfortable. There is a massive smorgasbord of different types of foods from across all of mylania and there is a lounge towards the west wing."

"Hm, I'm sure."

Vermillion rolled her eyes unenthusiastically. She would excuse herself to the horderves table and partake in some of the meatier finger foods. It piqued her interest. She wouldn't say the chefs were definitely the life of the party at the moment.

The entrance of the other guest did not deter her from placing several small foods onto a plate and then hovering into the air to get a good look at the setup. What more was there to be to such a party? Perhaps they were simply waiting for more to arrive.

Elestia grunted at Vermillion ignoring her and glanced at the food table. She would have went to get some free grub until the same bat chick went ahead of her. For some reason, she didn't want to even be in the same room as that woman. Her mood would switch as Alma, Milla, and Lola entered the room, followed by dozens of other random people from Esperanza city.

"Great, now the party starts to get lively."

She approached the three important guest and gave a nod to Alma.

"Pleasure to see you again Mama Alma."

Elestia smiled warmly at the trio. She had met all three of them on her very first day in Mylania after her crews ship wreck. Whens he woke up in the Hotel, Alma had told her that Milla was the one who found her and brought her all the way from the Harbor to Esperanza. While she was recovering, Lola stopped by every now and then to ensure she was alright. The three women before her were the only people she truly knew within Mylania and Vale.

"Are you fine leaving the Hospital unattended Lola?"

She asked the nurse with a bit of worry. She knew the hands at the hospital weren't the best, especially when they didn't have Lola to keep them in check.

*Walking into the Fortress, Ken would smile as he approached Shadow with a happy look on his face. Looking around at the guests, he would grin.*

-Damn, Shadow! You really know how to get the ladies together! I like what I'm seeing!-

Elestia's approach brightened Milla's mood. She would run and jump on Elestia with a hug. She snuggled into the younger women, almost purring as she did so.

Milla: "Elestia! I'm sooo happy to see you! Quick, let's go to the restroom and powder our noses!"

In reality, every snuggle Milla did was Morse code in which Elestia was able to pick up. The message was: "Quick, let's get to the bathroom so I can change into an actual costume!"

(RTE: In return, Elestia nuzzled twice, returning her own message which was: "I'm telling Alma.")

Milla paled and sunk to her knees with tears in her eyes again. Lola smirked a bit at seeing Elestia show some emotion. It was completely different from when she first showed up in Mylania. All she cared about was avenging her fallen crew. Now here she was at a party, messing around with Milla as if they were always best friends.

Lola: "It's fine. I hired some help recently with the mission boards. I have a few genin and chunin medics taking care of the hospital for me. Now what about yourself, Ele-chan? Have you been getting enough rest? You look dreadfully tired."

Quote :

Meanwhile...

Just after Ken's arrival, a large man wearing a giant cloak would enter the hall. He had a black and white mask on that covered half of his face. He would take in the guest and then approach Shadow and Ken.

Relius: "Good evening gentlemen. I presume that you are the Maitre'D of tonight's events?"

Relius Marvello, the Arch-Duke of Esperanza City and Leader of the Esperanza Guard, nodded to Shadow and Ken. He spoke to Shadow, his deep baritone voice actually being as smooth as one would expect from such a well spoken man.

Shadow would smile and bow respectively to the deep voiced man. He looked elegant with cloak on. His full focus was on this mean as of now.

"Hello, my good man. How are you on this fine Halloween afternoon? I am Shadow Uchiha the owner and host of this party. This is my right hand man, Ken Aburame."

Vermillion finished her third plate of food and sighed. She didn't know anyone at the party nor did anyone really interest her enough either. Well, the woman known as Alma Marta interested her, but for some reason she was quite afraid to approach her. The woman radiated an aura that she wasn't sure how to deal with and decided to keep her distance. Floating down to the floor once more, she would simply observe the others as they had their conversations. It was starting to get lively. She wondered if any others from her own village would show up so she'd have someone to at least stand next to.

"Am I feeling lonely? Preposterous. Why would I need the console of any inferior beings?"

'But then again, why did I come here in the first place?'

Elestia sighed. Lola and Alma could always see right through her. She waved off Lola's question and chuckled.

"Don't worry, I've been doing fine. I've honestly been relaxing more than I should. I haven't gone looking for a crew or anything just yet. I think it'd be better to get a ship first and foremost. If I look tired right now it's because I can't stand being on land for too long."

Elestia looked around and found herself enjoying the party now. Though she technically wasn't in costume, a pirates outfit should count. Lucky for her she didn't need to change clothes. She spotted the bat chick standing alone with a somewhat sad look on her face. For a moment, she debated whether or not she should approach her for a normal conversation, but the biggest part of Elestia was telling her to let her reap what she sows.

"Anyway, what made you three come all the way out here anyway? Was the thrill of a party that much to resist? Which reminds me..."

Elestia turned towards Shadow who was on the other side of the room.

"OI! HOST GUY! WHERE'S THE BOOZE AT? THIS ISN'T A DRY PARTY IS IT?"

She shouted, most likely making Alma give her a disappointed scowl, Lola shake her head and sigh, and Milla get excited about the thought of drinking.

His stomach would be heard before he could make his presence known. The loud stomach noises could only be coming from the bottomless pit known as Matsuo.

That's kind of embarrassing, but hey. How's the party going?

Entering the estate he would be seen wearing frills, and puffy sleeves similar to that of majestic English blood of the 17th century. Fitting a monocle to his eye he would walk in tying not to be so anxious as he saw the buffet.