There was a small click as Bartz turned the handle, followed by the slightest creak as he tentatively pushed the door open. With cautious movements he poked his head in first, glancing around to make sure the coast was clear. Much to his surprise the somewhat spacious room was, indeed, quite empty. Maybe he wasn’t getting help on this like he had originally believed? Yeah, yeah that must be it! He’d be here, alone, in this room! Safe to do his work while absolutely nobody saw him in a knee-length dress.

There was basically nothing that wasn’t weird about this day. Was it still day? He kind of lost track when he found himself magically at a really big house. Then he was told that he would be working towards a party that he himself wouldn’t participate in, which was a downer all on its own. The dress did it though. This dress was the final straw in everything. He had contemplated complaining to the establishment and maybe trying the Faris thing and lob threats around, but there was no such person to be found. Also for whatever reason he found himself absolutely terrified of whoever might be running this thing, which was probably the only reason why he was actually doing his designated job and not just trying to make a break for it.

Checking behind to make sure nobody could spy him from the back, the mime quickly dived into the study and slammed the portal shut. Satisfied that he had actually made it through the house without being seen, he slumped with his back to the door and breathed a sigh of relief. At first glance it looked like everything he needed was on the table. This was desired. Bartz could just camp out in this room and do his stuff without having to meet another soul. Even his classy cape couldn’t stop him from hiding out from prying eyes. In fact he was starting to harbor the suspicion that the cape was included to quietly make fun of him. It was nothing he could prove, but the more he thought about it the more he realized that there really was no good reason for his dress to have a cape. It was a little aggravating.

Still, this manual labor wasn’t about to do itself. Smoothing his apron - and then kicking himself when he realized what he had done - Bartz casually moved from the doorway to the stocked table waiting at the room’s center.

The first thing the wanderer did was pick up one of the weird sticks set out on the wood surface. His puzzlement was highly visible as he turned the thing over, unable to discern just what it was. There was more than one, so obviously it was a part of the invitation process, but damned if he could figure out how. It was only when he noticed a distinct lack of writing quill that he got an idea. Flipping open the great book, he turned to one of the centermost pages and softly dragged the tip along the parchment. Thankfully the volume did not burst into flames or the like, but instead was marked with a trail of black. It was for writing! And it didn’t need an ink well or anything. This place was magic or something!

Now fully briefed on the pen’s purpose, Bartz set to work. He thumbed back to the tome’s beginning, read off the first name, and then selected a card from one of the many extensive stacks. Now, card writing was never something he had much practice with. Back in Lix celebrations were a very informal thing, and in such a small town word got around much faster than any material invite ever could. And of course he had even less experience when traveling so this was all kind of a first. What was the kind of thing you put in an invitation?

His eyes wandered questioningly, the pen’s blunt tip tapping his lips as he pondered the question. He considered maybe using his own invitation as a base, but that had been somewhat more commanding when he thought about it. Deciding that he wasn’t going to get anywhere just by thinking about it, Bartz resolved to just go for it and let what happens happen! Flicking the card open with one hand, he brought the pen down and began scrawling out what was sure to be the best invitation ever!


Your invited!

So theres this kinda fancy partee and it looks like you cann come. I dont reely now where this place is but if you now a rich guy with a fansy house its probly there.


Yeah.....yeah this could work.

Words - 789
EXP Total - 394

This was ridiculous. She didn't have time to be playing servant. Especially in a place she failed to recognize, where she knew not a soul. There were things in Alexandria that needed tending, and none were fit for that duty other then herself. Needless to say aiding her country and Queen were far more important then these "summons" to assist in setting up a party of some sort. She had no experience in household needs. However she was handed a uniform and given an assignment, told then when arriving in her station she would meet with a small team with the same goal. Then she was given very little time to reflect on what she'd been told before being shoved into a room in order to change her clothes. Someone had dared force her compliance into changing. And what she had changed into.

This was no uniform. Certainly not one suitable to her tastes. She paced the small empty hallway, the skirt that was, in her mind, far too short swishing with her brisk movements. Beatrix saw no reason for her to even be here. She was a knight. A proud warrior of Alexandria. And yet, here she was. In a mansion. In the clothing of some scandalous housemaid. As tempted as she was to leave, she knew doing so might have severe consequences. Not that she was afraid, but in this state, unarmed at she was... A battle might prove difficult. With a resigned sigh the general accepted her task. In order to get out of this mansion and these ridiculously ruffled garments. She turned and walked dow the hallway to the room she was directed to.

Soft footsteps echoed down the silent halls. She stopped and let out a soft sigh. This was humiliating. She'd have to be seen in this by others. But if this was what it took to be able to leave here, so be it. She'd not shame Alexandria by failing in this task assigned to her. her hand flicked her hair over her shoulder before reaching for the brass handle to the door. She opened the door and then stared into the room. With no hesitation she crossed the threshold and entered the vast study. Her coat, similar in style and cut to her own, fluttered at her confident steps. She glanced around the room, her eye landing on a figure across the room. This must be a member of the team she was supposed to be working with. "Very good, you're already here and working I see." Stepping closer, Beatrix was hit by a realization. It was a man. In a dress. How absolutely undignified. He was scribbling away on a notecard of some sort with a strange quill. There was no inkwell present. From where she stood she could see what appeared to be a sloppy scrawl.

She took a seat beside the man, who clearly wasn't the best person to be working with for this assignment and set to work. She herself had never written a formal invitation, but she had received a great many, not only for herself, but for the family she served as well. She glanced back at the rooms other occupant. He was using one of the strange looking instruments to write. It must be a quill of sorts. With that thought she selected a pen and she glanced around. Only one list of guests seemed to exist. Teamwork really would be necessary to complete this task. She looked to the open page of the heavy tome and selected a name. placing a small mark beside the name to signal it had been done, she began to write, smooth lines flowing across the blank card.

We welcome you to join us for an evening of splendor.
Only the finest of venues can possibly host such an occasion, we trust you to know these locations.
We await your arrival as one of our honored guests.

That should serve it's purpose. As she was not given any further instructions this was all she could do. Beatrix looked to her temporary companion. "I suggest we develop a system of sorts to simplify the assignment. " It wasn't a mere suggestion. It would be the wisest way to divide the workload for the two.

~
Words: 716
EXP:358

It seems that Naoto Shirogane has been dismissed from service. The master wishes that those remaining continue their work in preparation for the party.

Naoto Shirogane remains in service.

The mime sat back, folding his arms as he regarded his work with pride. There were a good number of names to go through, but already he was halfway done with his first invite. If the rest went by this fast he’d be done with this in no time! Still, it was a lot of writing. This was probably something better suited to Lenna or Krile. Or Ghido, if he could even hold the pens. Still, it wasn’t anything that required any special knowledge or skill, so he was a bit grateful for that. Sliding his handiwork aside, he leaned over to see the book again while reaching for a new sheet of parchment. Bartz had been completely oblivious to the door opening at his back, and so jumped a bit when someone behind him spoke.

Looking over one shoulder hurriedly, he saw an older woman woman with an eyepatch approaching from the doorway. And then he saw what she was wearing, which reminded him of what he was wearing. It was hard to see her thoughts through her stoic demeanor - and really the missing eye did wonders for her poker face - but all the same self-consciousness crept back into Bartz. His arms, once crossed in casual cockiness, now seemed to shrink inward as if attempting to hide what he was wearing. If she judged him then she did so in silence, but he couldn’t help but feel a little of him die inside. When the newcomer took her seat his eyes slid to the ground, hands gripped haggardly at his shoulders and a thin red tint forming across his face.

I should probably hurry....

The voluminous, uh, volume was now temporarily occupied by his coworker, and so he waited a moment as she presumably selected a name and began writing. When she did get to work Bartz realized that she had struck a name out. This seemed like a pretty good idea, since he would probably lose track after about ten or so, and he took the time to cross out the name he had written for. He then placed his pen back to the writing surface before unconsciously glancing at his partner’s invite. His eyes widened in shock when they fell upon her somewhat elegant handwriting. Was that what letters were supposed to look like!? By comparison he might as well have drawn some scribbles! Looked at his own invite, then back to the work in progress next to him, his horror growing by the second. I.....I write like an idiot!

It didn’t have to be like this though! No, there was a solution here. His racing heart began to calm itself, and his former expression of sheer panic became sly. He brought his brown orbs eyes to the woman subtly, and proceeded to Set her actions. He then returned focus to his own work. After double-checking the name his pen went back to business, and suddenly his chicken scratches were gone! He was successfully mimicking the woman’s handwriting! Man, being a mime was the best. Let’s see some black mage do that!

Bartz was startled out of his celebratory reverie when the newcomer spoke to him. He turned to partially face her just a little too fast. “A system?” That made some sense. There was still a lot to write, and as simple as this was they might not cover their work in time, even between the two of them. And it was definitely better than just passing the book back and forth at random. He leaned back, resting an elbow against the head of his chair. “What did you have in mind?”

Mimicking - Beatrix’s handwriting


Words - 638

EXP Total - 713

This was...

"U-u-unacceptable!"

Naoto Shirogane could not remember ever wearing a dress, just as she could not remember ever wearing a swimsuit. Ever. She had run away from even Chie to avoid that one, and she was definitely not ever, ever, ever wearing a maid outfit.

Until today apparently.

She did not know how it happened, nor why, but for all of her skills of deduction and crime solving, she could only assumed she had been thrown into a television and into a strange new 'channel' of some sort that was certainly not her doing.

She stood in front of the mirror in her outfit. She could not believe her eyes as she stared at herself, hands on her red face. Normally, she would be able to say that it was pretty formal, with little to no frilly things attached and a tie to go with it. As she stared longer at it, she realized it was almost like a butler's uniform, and well, at least they gave her a black version of her hat. Shaky hands reached for said hat, perhaps that would make her feel better.

Or so she thought, until she leaned to pick it up and felt the fabric of the skirt part of it shift, and then the realization she was not wearing pants hit her again and she shrunk up, pulling the hat over her face and giving a silent shriek into it.

After her little silent outburst, Naoto pulled her hat on her head and looked into the mirror again. It was not...Too horrible? That was a lie she would have to force herself to believe. As long as she got to work before either of her teammates, perhaps she could get it all done and then leave before anybody saw her in this? Maybe? It probably wasn't going to happen, but it was something to be hopeful for.

She poked her head outside of the room, looking up and down the hall to make sure the coast was clear before stepping out and closing the door silently behind her. She spotted the door to the room she had been told to go to as soon as she was changed and darted for it, opening the door as quickly and quietly as possible and getting behind it as fast as she could to avoid any future hallway traffic. As she closed it behind her and leaned against it, sighing in relief, she realized she was not alone.

Her plan had failed, her deductions wrong, and worst of all she seemed to be late on top of it all.

"I...You..." She stood up straight and nodded, walking towards the table the other two were sitting at. If she acted as though none of this bothered her, maybe they wouldn't realize how uncomfortable she was. She noticed the two were in what seemed to be a conversation, and the....man- wait that was a man in a...in a dress?! She blinked a few times and finally got a look at her teammates. She had seem some strange things in the TV World, but never this older woman with an eye patch and a..male maid in a..Was that a cape?

She was too ashamed of her, uh, predicament to make full eye contact, and pulled a card and a pen towards her. If she was forced to wear this while writing out invitations, she may as well get it done and get herself out of here. She looked at what seemed to be a book filled with names, with a few scribbled out already.

Perhaps they were making a system..Oh, this is useless! I can't think while..While like...Like this!

She was painfully- so painfully it was causing her physical distress- aware that she was not alone, and in a dress, and there was a man in a dress and a tall good-looking woman in an eye patch for some reason and she was supposed to write invitations for a party. Her face was such a deep shade of red that it could probably be seen from a mile away, and the heat radiating from the blood that was now concentrated there could keep a family of ten warm all winter.

Despite all of this, she had a job to do, and detectives saw every job through.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to a grandiose night of rich food and drink aplenty.
An occasion of this elegance and grace could only be held at one location, where we hope to see you, our revered guest, here for a magnificent night of jovial laughter and music.

Something like that? Her handwriting was neat from years of note-taking, but by no means elegant.

-------------

Words - 786
EXP total - 393

She'd hoped her new companion would have some sort of idea what to do, but it seemed he was looking to her for guidance. This really was a predicament. The two of them would have to work together, perhaps they could simply sit with the book between them and continue on as they were, each of them writing an invitation and marking the name so as to avoid confusion. Really, with one list between them, their options were rather limited here.

A quick glance at the newest invitation the caped maid had written had Beatrix's head tilting in curiosity. Gone was the messy almost childish script that had graced the previous card. In it's placed was..her own handwriting? It was puzzling to see her own handwriting when she'd not done the actual writing herself. However, the objective remained the same. They'd need a system in order to properly distribute the work in order to complete the assignment. The sooner it was finished the sooner she could be back to her normal duties in Alexandria. And the sooner she'd be wearing appropriate clothing again.

"As it stands now I think---" Beatrix's words were cut off as the door opened and a young person stepped in. Though it appeared to be a young woman based simply off the manner of dress, Beatrix reminded herself that there was in fact a man in this room. In a dress. With a pink and red cape and frilled apron. manner of dress was no longer an appropriate way to judge a persons gender.

The newcomer entered and sat down so quickly, Beatrix had no chance to identify them. Their voice was ambiguously that of either of young boy, or a young lady. It was hard to figue it out, although based from their movements, it seemed as though they were as uncomfortable in their dress as the man beside her. Though the new comers gender hardly mattered. Though they'd been late, their arrival meant that as of that moment there were three of them, and one rather large tome of names. Short of going back to the room where she'd changed, getting her blade and hacking the book into three pieces, Beatrix was hard pressed to think of a strategy to divide the work between three people. She'd been the one to suggest a plan, and here she was, drawing a metaphorical blank.

She vaguely remembered being told that the person behind all this was looking for entertainment. How writing invitations could be entertaining in the slightest way, she did not know. In the end, Beatrix really wasn't one to do things in a 'fun' way. Duties as the head General of Alexandria were to be taken seriously, not as a joke. Glancing at her two new comrades, she decided to be frank and honest with them. Looking down to the net card, Beatrix spoke calmly as she copied her last invitation, changing only the name written. "As I had said before, we need a system to complete our task... However, as it stands right now, I cannot think of anything short of using brute strength to divide that book into three pieces for our separate usage."

She looked backup, her eye scanning her teammates. "Perhaps we should introduce ourselves, and try to think of an idea together? Any idea would do really." She placed the pen down and brushed her hair back over her shoulder before giving the two strangers a small smile. "I am Beatrix, General of Alexandria, it should, hopefully, be a pleasure to work with the two of you to complete this task."

Pointedly, Beatrix stared at the man with the cape. She was quite certain he didn't dress in such a way regularly. "And what of you sir?"

~
Words: 628
Exp Total: 314+358=672