A Quiet Night at the Opera - RPLOG
Participants
Date
12/5/479
Log
The concert hall is filled with beings all decked out in their finest. Mostly nobility, of course, but with a smattering of others. Successful businessmen, high ranking military officers and the occasional Freesword. Miss Yegorova is nowhere in sight, obviously preparing for her performance. The show should be starting soon.
Aisling enters through the main door of the concert hall. The noble fox is wearing a stunning red and black gown that reaches all the way too the floor with its wide bottom half. Her white mane is braided, with a red flower being held by the last braid. A huge contrast to her usually rather practical outfits. Despite that she still seems comfortable and flashes smiles to any noble she recognizes.
Among the occasional freeswords there was a peculiar, tall figure. Ioph, the plant, creator-like humanoid wasn't wearing anything too.. Flashy for the occasion, especially considering the spacer was no noble. Her clothing consisted of a slightly simple tunic, custom fitted for her and embroidered with simple runic patterns on its sleeves. Her segmented, leaf-resembling hair was tied back. Someone didn't want to look conspicuous, for sure. She didn't seem to be carrying her usual large weaponry either. Perhaps a knife and a hidden flintlock pistol. Perhaps.
High Lady Longtail herself has opted to make an appearance as well, her tail swaying behind her as she moves through the front door in what must surely be the singular dress she owns. Made out of fine linnen, with a red, silken underskirt. From her shoulders to her elbows, the dress is white, with red, rose-like patterns embroidered all-over, while her lower arms are covered in sheer silk instead.
Finally, she's trailed by two guards in the standard, respectable-looking LongTech uniform. One heavy-clanned lion, and one graceful-clanned mink, the former carrying a gun, the latter a dagger.
Cassidy is already seated in a quaint little booth, enjoying being out of the sun. She's dressed up in some of the finery that makes up her entire wardrobe, but instead of the suit, today it is a dark blue bustled dress, with a pair of not-quite-shoulder length silk white gloves to go with it. A glass of wine is in one hand, while her rapier is laid across her lap. Her eyes, however, are on the stage, waiting quietly for the show to begin.
All the elegant people (With the occasional ruffian mixed in) mill around in the lobby for a few more minutes before ushers start to shepherd them into the concert hall. It looks like the place has gotten a face lift recently. Everything is freshly painted and reupholstered and it looks like new red curtains have been hung, covering the stage. Conversations lower to a murmur in anticipation of the coming show. At the back of the hall, however, there seems to be some kind of disturbance. A wave of worry seems to be moving through the ushers. Little whispers behind hands and eyes moving faster over the crowd. Looks like something is up.
Aisling had just sat down in a booth on one of the balconies as the noises make her ears twitch. The vulpine being gets up again and stretches over the railing of the balcony to see if she can spot what is happening and why it is trying to ruin the nice afternoon.
Flora, likewise, is already in her seat, her tail twitching behind her as she looks more than a little confused at this development. "Shouldn't the Opera already be starting?" she asks after a short moment of contemplation, scratching the back of her head as she, too, tries to figure out what exactly is going on. It's one thing she's supposed to be at this... Social function, it's another thing that it's not actually starting on schedule entirely. This simply won't do.
Ioph, for an example, was at the Lobby, holding a glass of water as she talked to another freesword. As the conversations lowered in tone, the plant went further into the concert hall, tilting her head as the murmurs from regular conversations became worried whispers. Slowly walking among the crowd and towards where the disturbance was coming from, she expected to try and make sense of what was going on.
Cassidy peeks over the edge of the booth, frowning. "Hm. Another case of a missing actor?" She muses to herself in jest, remembering one of the last times she was here. She settles back down, though, seemingly unconcerned for the time being. If there was a real problem there'd probably be more fuss. Then she could get involved.
Most of the opera goers don't seem to be all that concerned, waiting patiently for the show to start. It is only the ushers who seem concerned. But it does not stop the show from starting.
The curtains fly open with a clatter and the lights dim as the overture swells from the pit. The scene depicted is a stylized interior of an upper class home. The plot is probably in the liner notes.
Aisling has not fallen down into the lower seats despite all the unladylike stretching and leaning over the railing. She gives a quick look around to make sure nobody saw her, then sits back down and props up her hand fan to hide a light blush as she starts watching the show.
Another tailflick, before Flora leans back, retaking her seat and taking a short glance at her two guards. The mink looking out over the room, the lion simply standing watch by the door.
Soon enough, everything is back to normal, and Flora simply leans back, pulling a small flask of water from her bag and taking a sip.
As the curtains opened, the plant stopped in place, looking around to find an empty seat, if any. She was almost sure that when she looked up for a second someone was almost falling off the upper seats. Shrugging it off, would sit on the closest available seat if any. Of course, she didn't seem to mind standing either.
Cassidy eyes the other lady that appears to be hanging out of the booth for something. She frowns at the sight but doesn't think twice on it as the show starts, the opening scene getting her full attention as she settles back down. After a moment, she whispers something to one of the Solacious staff that had accompanied her today and sends them quietly on their way.
Finding a seat should not be difficult. Well, it would be easy if any of the ushers were doing their jobs. It seems that most of them are distracted, wandering almost aimlessly around the crowd, eyes sweeping around everywhere, even though they are not helping anyone to find seats.
Onstage, a young bluejay comes swinging onstage, singing about his love for some woman he calls his little nightingale. By the look of his patched clothing, the fine house is not his.
Aisling raises her brow at the entrance of the bird, stuff was starting to happen! The fox crosses her legs and keeps fanning herself as she watches the play, the earlier turmoil seemingly forgotten.
While Flora idly watches the proceedings on the stage, taking another sip from her flask, the she-cat contemplates the practical use for these 'social functions'. After all, she's expected to attend them from time to time, but there's not a whole lot of being social going on, right now. Most, if not all the nobles are sitting in their own box, or at least a box shared with only those they're already familiar with, and those serving them, while the commoners are down in the hall below, curiously silent.
Oh well, if this is what she needs to do to remain in a position to help the scholarly arts forwards significantly, so be it.
Not so easily forgotten for the ones below, however. Locating a seat, Ioph decided to gently tap an Usher's shoulder to ask for an explanation, whispering to them, "Excuse me, but if I may ask, is everything alright? It seems like you and the other Ushers are in a hurry to find something."
Cassidy smiles softly, brushing her hair back as she folds her gloved hands in her lap. Ah, a love story! This should prove to be interesting! And a commoner in love with what looked to be a noble? Well, that was a relatable story, certainly.
A swell of applause fills the theater as Zora comes onstage to confront the bluejay! Apparently they used to be lovers but now she is married and her husband will be coming home any moment. He only leaves after dragging a promise from her that he may return and visit her later. Then a rather portly owl comes rampaging into the room, just after the bluejay leaves, singing about how he insulted a guardsman of some sort and must spend the next few days in jail and that it is even worse now, because his inept lawyer has had his three day sentence transmuted to an eight day sentence.
The usher that Ioph stops gives her a worried look, then looks around nervously. "Nothing to worry about, Miss," he says, "Please take a seat." He whispers something to the plant, then hurries on his way.
Aisling rubs the hair at the end of her braid between her fingertips as she watches, then suddenly looks more in the here and now as the applauding happens and she joins in, seems she was not aware this Zora person was this big a deal. She is quick to go back into half watching half thinking about other stuff however, it does not seem to be her kind of play.
Flora raises her brow curiously, her tails twitching behind her agitatedly. While she's not exactly intimately familiar with the legal proceedings in Thera'Dor, but that seems like a rather inept legal councelor.
Still, she's trying to follow the story, which seems... Convoluted at best to her.
The plant rose an eyebrow at the Usher as he left, slowly sitting down on the available seat. Thinking for a moment, she decided to look around the hall. Were there any catwalks up above? Areas generally inaccessible to the public? Ioph was left quite curious. So curious that the Opera itself wasn't drawing her attention, it seems.
"How curious!" Cassidy muses quietly to herself. She wasn't concerned about speaking, since, well. There was no one really around her. But it was a curious thing for her! Not the lawyer part, the part about being jailed for insulting a guard! But then, most jail related things were entirely foreign to the fennec who'd only seen the inside of a cell from the -outside- of it.
Now things are getting complicated on stage. A friend of the owl arrives offering to escort him to the prison for his jail time, then tells him about a great party happening and that they ought to go before he checks in with the guard. Meanwhile, the maid has received an invitation to attend the same party, and lies that her aunt is ill so she can attend. All the while, Miss Zora is thinking of her planned meeting with her former lover. It is easy to tell what each of them is thinking, since they are all singing about it at top volume. It's a wonder they all haven't figured each other out.
There are hundreds of places for someone to stay out of sight in this theater. Catwalks, boxes, backstage, the lobby right now. But if the whole staff is out looking for this necklace, then they are bound to be looking in those places. Besides, it's just a necklace, right?
Aisling seems to be getting increasingly bored by the opera. She has pulled a small booklet out of her purse, as well as a small pencil and starts looking between Miss Zora and the paper, as she starts sketching the actress's dress. At least that is something productive. And its a nice dress. And she is Aisling.
Meanwhile, Flora is growing more and more confused by the second, her eyes moving between the various actors on stage, trying to figure out what on earth is going on... One of them is going to jail, one of them is meeting with another one, and there's something about a party...
With all the singing towards eachother, Flora is, by now, completely and utterly lost, taking her time to scoot a little closer to the edge and watching hall below. Maybe she can at least try and make sense of this whole social function deal before the show is over.
There was certainly a lot of places for someone to hide. But what about escapes. When did our little thief ever get his prize? Perhaps the necklace was also a soul gem? Those questions rushed into Ioph's mind and the little -Perhaps little was not the best term for a 7 feet tall humanoid- plant had her gears grinding a little. Perhaps she had seen something of interest before as she wandered around the hall and the lobby? (Photographic Memory) But perhaps, the opera was maaaaybe a little entertaining. What's that about a party, anyway?
Cassidy is not confused, meanwhile. She grew up in this kind of environment, and while she was no actress herself, the functions of an opera were of no mystery to her! She's content to watch and let the scene unfold! That is, after all, what ladies do when they must act prim and proper.
After singing a song together about how sad it was to part from one another (all the while secretly laughing about their secret plans) and leave to their various destinations. Zora, the wife, stays behind to await her former lover, though she plans to simply send him away (Unless he sings at her again). Then moments after he arrives, the police come to collect her husband! She is forced to pretend that her visiting ex-lover is her husband and tearfully kisses him goodbye. Then, as the police leave, she receives a package and letter, telling her to come to this party and that she might be interested in what she will see there. . .
There was absolutely no way that the thief, if there is a thief and the thing was not simply misplaced, could have left the theater without being seen.
Aisling ponders her sketch, then nods. Its done. She puts the booklet and pencil back where they came from and goes back to taking in the play, as boring as it may be.
Flora remains utterly confused. She's pretty sure that's not the husband, and the whole situation is confusing her greatly. Of course, she offers a short glance to the various other boxes, trying to figure out if she's the only one this confused at the whole social affair, or if it's just her, which honestly seems more likely to the feline... Perhaps she'll have to see if she can't find some familiar faces during the break, and ask them to explain... Assuming there's a break, of course.
Ioph for once pays attention to the Opera. And for what she realizes that this play is probably about loving a little back stabbing, as long as it's not theirs. "I could show them a more efficient way to do that." She thought, before looking around again. Yeah, perhaps they've simply misplaced the necklace. What could be so important about it? The opera had finally peeked a bit of her interest anyway.
The curtains close for a moment and a pair of incredibly overweight felines stride across the apron of the stage, singing about how everyone who is anyone will be attending the party of a foreign prince known for his wild parties and his love of unusual entertainments. Then the curtains open on a new scene. People in fine clothing mill around in a palacial ballroom and the fat cats take their place amid the guests and everyone sings a song apparently about champaigne.
Aisling shudders for a moment, for reasons only she knows, but is quick to lean back into her seat and eye the party the characters are having. They should be serving her some champaigene as well. To set the mood.
And, of course, Flora is blinking, repeatedly, too. Her confusion is only building as she watches the beings move about the hall, singing and dancing and completely and utterly confusing her... This is why she doesn't go to Operas and social functions. It confuses her to no end.
Unexpectedly, Ioph is minding her own business this time instead of slamming doors down in search for answers, for the Opera seems to have finally caught her attention. Perhaps during the act's break she can focus on the details of the necklace situation, but for now, she would even whisper to the one closest to her, "Did you know that an Opera singer's fat amplifies his voice?"
Cassidy leans forward in her seat. This was really getting interesting now! Not the necklace situation of which she had no notice of, but the opera! Her ears perked high, her wine glass refilled and subsequently sipped from, and the fennec was in a content mood! Hard not to catch onto the energy of a party, even if it was just a 'party' on a stage.
Ioph's neighbor raises an eyebrow at her, then goes back to watching the show.
The revelers onstage finish their song, and the husband and his friend come in, talking about the great trick they are perpetrating and how the husbands alibi is airtight should his wife ask later. Then, the chief of police arrives right behind them and sings about how he plans to enjoy the evening now that his work is done. Then the prince strides onstage. There is a groan from the nobles and a cheer from the commoners as Sven Snowmark himself swaggers into the middle of the party and sings a rather rousing song about how he likes parties and that he will throw out anyone who is not having fun!
Aisling blinks. Then groans. Then just facepalms. Sven Snowmark tends to have that effect on the Ladies. In fact, most Snowmarks do. The vulpine sinks back into her seat and tries to focus on the scene before her, even though things are probably going to be silly from now on. Then again that might be for the best.
Flora similarly sighs and shakes her head, before leaning back and just closing her eyes. Deep breaths follow soon after as she tries to relax, before taking a sip of her drink and leaning back again. Yep, she'd have much, much rather stayed at the manor, by now. She might've actually gotten some work done.
Cassidy is among those groaning nobles at the sight of Sven, leaning forward to slump her face into her hand. "How am I not surprised," she mumbles. Of course it'd be Sven. A fancy play about Thera'doran parties and it would've attracted Sven like a beacon at sea.
Honestly, Sven is actually pretty good, he has a strong baritone and a good stage presence. Not to mention the fact that he is rather better dressed than usual. He learns from the husband's friend that this is all part of an elaborate revenge for a joke that the Owl had played on him a year before. This really is getting silly. Then along comes the serving girl, masquerading as a young actress and ultimately, Zora herself in an elaborate ballgown and tiny, bat-shaped mask. There is no way that anyone could fail to recognize her. And yet, her husband, not three feet away on stage does not recognize her, taking the word of his friend that she is a foreign princess. Opera.
Aisling perks up as Zora's entrance and grabs pencil and paper once more, sketching the ballgown. Sure the play was sorta amusing in how silly it was, but the feeling that it probably is not intentionally silly looms over the experience. Aisling is not really sure if she is supposed to take the plot serious or not at this point.
Well, sure... But still. It's -Sven-... How serious could he possibly stay? The she-cat lets out a soft sigh as takes another sip from her drink, looking out over the hall and flicking her tails behind her, still, perhaps futily, trying to follow the story, yet by now, she's lost all semblance of understanding. Social situations are confusing, even when looking at them objectively.
The outsider found herself... Quite confused now. Listening to whispers downstairs regarding Sven and the other figures, more questions have arisen. Were those important figures? And why so many people made... Weird gestures at the sight of Sven, for an example? Odd. The confused plant decided to become part of the decoration for now, being rather idle. If anything, she could make good use of a drink now.
Cassidy shakes her head slowly. She didn't even know Sven could act, but who was she to interrupt an opera with such thoughts? Not that she wanted to anyway. She sinks back in her seat, arms folded as best as she can without spilling her wine.
Now, with everything well and truly confused, the great red curtain zooms closed and the lights come up from their dimmed state, though the ushers and staff are still looking rather worried. Looks like it is time for an intermission.
The hall buzzes with conversation as the audience stands and stretches, waiting for the second act to begin. The ushers uneasily resume their duty, moving around the audience, distributing, you guessed it, champaigne.
Flora seems... Somewhat restless, though pleased she's made it through the first half of things, at least. Still, she opts to leave her box for a bit, stretching her limbs out in the hallway as she keeps an eye on the other boxes, and her guards keep an eye on her.
Cassidy stands and stretches out, herself, though she's fine to not leave her own box. At least the drink is brought to her! Of which she happily partakes. The craving had struck her since the play's scene about it. She passes the time in intermission by striking up a conversation, about the play, with another noble lady from her house.
And so, the mildly entertained Ioph had decided that considering the first act was over, it was time to satisfy her previous curiosity... But first, it was time for a good drink. Standing up, she stretched her legs a little bit and headed towards the lobby, where she supposed they would be serving something, perhaps even a little snack. She did glance around searching for the Ushers though, wondering if they were still frantically looking for the lost, stolen or misplaced necklace.
Aisling does not really have other people from here house here in the boot or even the city to talk to, she makes up for this instructing the server to bring her something stronger and more plentiful than the champagne she was offered.
"I confess, my dear," the woman beside Cassidy says, "I don't understand any of this. But they are very nice to listen to, aren't they?"
The halls and lobby are certainly not so busy as they were earlier, before the show started, but plenty of beings wander about, chattering about the play and enjoying drinks and small treats delivered by uniformed servants. It does not take much to get a server to bring something rather stronger than champaigne, of course.
Meanwhile, it is evident that a number of ushers and backstage workers are still quite agitated as they roam the halls and the venue, still obviously seeking something.
For the most part, Flora is simply taking a breather, and it doesn't seem like many of the other nobles are leaving their boxes, and certainly no-one Flora is familiar enough with to ask what this is all about... She'll maybe have to ask Angus about this whole thing later.
For now, though, she simply takes a sip from her flask of water, observing the few servers and nobles millign around the hall.
"Thera'dor is weird," Cassidy agrees, shrugging. "Their plays reflect that I suppose. It is nice to listen to, though! I wonder what the ushers were whispering about earlier. I saw them scuttling around but I didn't feel like leaving the booth to go see."
Ioph certainly didn't take too long to get some of the champaigne. Bringing the glass up to her mouth, the plant even sniffed the champaigne a little before drinking, but perhaps she was a bit too paranoic. Either way, she reached out to one of the groups chatting about the play and quietly waited until there was a bit of silence among them before leaving them with the following words, "Did you know that apparently someone stole Miss Yargerov's necklace? I was just recently told by one of the ushers."
Aisling is handed a glass of vodka by the server and nods in thanks and leans back. She takes small sips from the strong liquor while she ponders the sketches she made earlier, and compares them to some of the others she made during her stay here in the south.
The lights flicker up and down, signaling that it is time for the audience to return to their seats.
Ioph's revelation does not seem to have the desired effect. Or any effect. The well dressed socialites blink in confusion at the odd plant woman. "That. . . That's nice, dear," a well dressed, jewel spangled skunk among the group before looking to her companions, "Oh! Look! It is starting again." The group hurries away to take their seats.
"I am sure that it is nothing, Dear," the vulpine woman responds to Cassidy, "You know these theater people. Always overreacting to something."
Soon enough, Flora is back in her box as well, waiting for the show to continue. Even though she's completly lost all semblance of understanding, that doesn't mean she can just up and leave, after all. It simply won't do.
Another sip of her drink as she leans back, tail twitching behind her.
Cassidy hums softly, but before she can reply the show is starting up again! She retakes her seat to sip on her drink as she settles in, ears perked as her attention turns back to the stage. She wanted to see how this would all pan out!
"Hmm." Shrugging the lack of reaction from the other peers off, Ioph returned to her seat, perhaps even picking up some more talk about that Sven character on the way. Perhaps the next act won't confuse her just as much as the first one did.
The curtains fly open on the scene of the party once more as the cast sings once more about parties and Champaigne and briefly sums up the first act. Just in case you weren't watching, perhaps. Then the Husband, the large owl, who has had several drinks, stumbles across the chief of police. His friend introduces the pair to one another as the Duke Reynard and the Chancelor Chagrin, foreign dignitaries. The pair then proceed to have a garbled conversation in what they must imagine is a foreign tongue, each convinced that they are fooling the other. As if that was not ridiculous enough, the husband suddenly notices his house maid. . .
Flora raises her brow, scratching behind her head. For the most part, beings speak the same language, after all. Sure, there are all sorts of dialects, but the basic language is still the same, after all. Not even two minutes in, and she's already back to complete confusion...
Cassidy leans back in her seat, raising her brow. "Is that supposed to mime some kind of creator speak?" Cassidy says, frowning. "How curious." She shakes her head and goes back to watching. It might be odd, but entertainment was entertainment!
Ioph seems to understand what's going on. Not clearly, but she does follow the trail of bread. What was that weird dialect, however? That part surely got her attention as she slightly tilted her head once again.
"What?" The plant whispered as the husband noticed the house maid.
Aisling is not too bothered by not understanding what is being said. She has given up on following the plot and is instead just listening to the nice singing and watching the nice outfits of the actors as the move about the stage.
The show continues as the maid affirms that she could not possibly be a maid! Then, somehow she proves this by singing a song about how utterly ridiculous the idea is. Everyone is convinced.
Then Zora glides her way across the stage where Sven, the Prince introduces her to her own husband as the Duke Reynard and herself as a foreign princess. Then there is something about a pocketwatch. It doesn't make much sense, but somehow the owl plans to use it to seduce this princess. Who is his wife. Barely disguised by her mask. Only she sings a song about being a princess and that proves that she must be a princess. Creators, opera is weird.
Cassidy rubs her chin as she tries to maintain a hold of the plot, even if it was a little weird and 'Out There.' The singing wasn't difficult to follow, she understood that was part of the opera. But the plot -itself- was kind of strange.
Ioph chuckled a little bit. It seemed as if the plant had the right idea about how things were going. In fact, she.. Kind of forgot about the necklace again. It almost felt like a spell or something. To tell the truth, the last sort of entertainment she had ended as a disaster. So, this was a little nice, after all.
Aisling sips from her drink, enjoying the whole opera much more now that she is no longer bothering with details like the plot. The vodka is helping too, probably. Not that she is getting drunk or anything.
Now the owl is trying to seduce the princess with the watch. Must be a Thera'Doran thing. But it does not seem to work, as Zora manages to steal the watch. Undoubtably for blackmail later. Now that this major plot point has been made, it looks like the party is winding down. Besides, Prince Sven is starting to look bored, which might be part of the reason that the last chorus of the champaigne song goes a little faster than the past ones and the husband's friend rushes the husband off stage without a song about leaving for the prison. . .
By now, Flora's decided that Thera'Dor simply doesn't make one lick of sense. This, of course, amplified by what she already knew of the country from the trip there, almost a year ago. Fighting in court, even encouraging such behavior...
And now... This. Whatever this is supposed to be.
Cassidy folds her arms, ears twitching. This certainly was becoming a tale of intrigue at this rate! Deception, theft, and now a potential for blackmail? How unusual! And all very dramatic!
Perhaps some of the ushers who were still looking (if there were still any) would start getting slightly desperate? Perhaps one of them or something else would draw Ioph's attention from the weird Opera again. The plant, however, rose a brow at the sudden rushed chorus. Was this the end of this act? She asked herself. Odd.
There are definitely a number of harried looking ushers. They don't seem to be able to do much more than worry from here, though. If someone has stolen the necklace, they are not showing it off.
Onstage, the maid is singing a lovely song about what a wonderful night it was and doing a little ad-lib about being offered a patronage by the Chamberlain of Chagrin, filling in some bits that had apparently been glossed over in an attempt to get Sven off the stage before he decided to spice things up.
Then the curtains open again on a scene within the prison where a bored prison guard is being driven slowly mad by the bluejay locked up in a cell.
Yes. Completely and utterly bonkers. That's the only way to properly describe the country of Thera'Dor, Flora has decided. Still, she might as well watch the show to completion, her eyes set on the stage.
Cassidy looks on with interest! Though this time she's curious to see how they choose to represent a Thera'dor prison environment. She hoped this was the closest she'd ever see one, but this should be good for a chuckle or two, she was sure.
Maybe they were looking in the wrong direction. Or so Ioph Thought, when she noticed the Ushers, as perhaps the culprit of this situation could be one of the very actors. Who -else- would've had better access to the same places Zora was wandering about or preparing for the stage? A good actor could certainly disguise his act and look baffled at the commotion, perhaps even comforting the the miss. That kind of thought certainly got her thinking, smashing Ioph's attention to the Opera like a hammer, as the plant brought a hand to the back of her neck, gently scratching it.
Apparently, the Bluejay will not stop singing. The jailkeeper finally gets a respite as the chief of police arrives, well and truly drunk and followed by the husband. Then some confusion ensues as the Duke and the Chamberlain try to sort out what the other is doing coming to the city prison. The guard explains to the husband that he cannot be who he claims to be, because he brought that man in personally earlier in the evening! He had even been identified by his lovely wife with whom he had been sharing an intimate moment.
Still, Flora remains ever-confused. The husband is a duke and the bluejay is the husband without actually being the husband. The wife is a princess, and the chief is a chamberlain. It simply doesn't add up. None of it adds up. By now, Flora's tried to sketch out the situation with some sort of diagram... Well, several times, rather. Each time, she's crossed out whatever she'd drawn.
Cassidy folds one leg over the other, adjusting her gloves as she watches the proceedings. Could the deception be revealed here? Would the husband be taking the place of the bluejay in the jail cell? She would have to find out!
Aisling rubs her chin. There is still stuff happening. Should she try to follow the plot again? Probably better not to try, seeing how she would be missing a big chunk of what was already a confusing story to begin with.
A diagram would probably be helpful here. Especially when there is a pounding on the door and the Husband is forced to hide as his wife bursts in claiming to need help and confessing that the man in the cell is not her husband. The real husband, seeing his chance to catch his wife in her duplicity disguises himself as something called a lawyer and agrees to help Zora and the Bluejay. As they explain the situation, he grows increasingly angry until he tears aside his (feeble) disguise to reveal that it was the Owl the whole time. Which the audience already knew. He angrily accuses his wife of infidelity.
Sure, Flora's diagram would be a great help, were it not for the fact that she-cat is taking everything at face-value, and never quite realizing the opera is all about deception. Well, until this reveal, of course. Her diagram is quickly changed, and while the husband and the wife suddenly make some sense, most of the other characters are still in limbo...
Cassidy leaaans. The owl played his hand! But what about the watch? Would the wife now play hers? Or would she wait til later? Wasn't he also trying to seduce someone else? She catches herself and leans back, producing a small folded object with which to fan herself with as she watched on.
Meanwhile, the she-plant-..thing was wondering when this act would end, although her eyes were drawn back to the stage as the husband accused his wife, only to sliiightly confuse the plant again. She knew that every plot needs a twist, perhaps this was finally it? She seems to have forgotten about the watch, however.
Aisling rolls her eyes a bit and sighs a bit as she props up her fan once more to fight the heat in the packed building. She squints at the stage and plays with her hair with her free hand, muttering silently to herself that this opera has way too many characters and is way too complicated.
Now that one cat is out of the proverbial bag, the rest of them aren't going to stay in. The maid comes stumbling into the prison, looking for the Chamberlain who promised her patronage, only to find that it is actually the guard captain. She also accidentally reveals herself to her current employers! The owl is furious, declaiming the duplicity of all of the people around him! The Bluejay who had pretended to be him, the guard pretending to be a foreign noble, his maid pretending to be an actress and his own wife seeing another man behind his back! Here, at the height of his tirade, his wife casually produces his stolen watch and dangles it in front of him.
After a while, Flora's diagram is all sensible, with every bit of deception clearly outlined. Still, the she-cat shakes her head dismissively. Far too complicated. A play shouldn't require a diagram to figure out, after all...
Cassidy, meanwhile, needs no diagram. It made sense enough to the veteran theatre-goer. She taps a knuckle against her cheek in idle thought, pondering to herself how it'd all resolve, trying to figure it out before it actually got there.
"What." Once again, the plant was confused, especially considering all the people in the stage. Ioph decided to look around to see if anyone else was standing up, going to the 'bathroom' or whatever. If others were moving around the corridors of the hall, she would certainly stand up and go for another drink somewhere.
It seems that most of the audience is quite entranced by the ongoing scene and no one seems eager to leave to wander the halls. The owl husband is suddenly dumbstruck. He stands there, jaw agape as Zora sings about his own infidelity and how she cannot accept any apology that he might give after all he has done and said to her. And anyone in the audience can see that she has him by the. . . well, that she is in the right.
Then, suddenly the husband's friend swoops in laughing, with all the partygoers and the prince following him into the prison all laughing and singing about how the friend's revenge is complete and what a funny joke all of this is! The friend confesses that he arranged the whole thing as a practical joke on his friend.
Cassidy didn't see that coming! Of all the outcomes she'd come up with, this wasn't one of them. She hides any indication of surprise, though, settling back in her seat and relaxing again. It was quite creative!
Ioph shrugs as no one seems to be wandering the halls.
The plant then, paying attention to the rather confusing scenario, slowly getting the hang of it again. She very much doubted that it was all a joke as the 'friend' confessed though, crossing her arms and raising a brow at him.
It is pretty obvious that not all of this was arranged byt the friend. But everyone jumps right on the wagon, agreeing that yes, this is all part of the joke. Then the whole cast sings a rousing song about how they plan to blame all of this on champaigne and the curtains close to the audience's applause!
Aisling raises her eyebrows as this just got her confused even more than she already was, she should not have tried to follow the plot again. The vulpine idly wonders who wrote this and then it is already suddenly over, she blinks and applauds.
Completely unrealistic to the end, Flora concludes as she tucks away her notebook again, her tails twitching behind her. This farce is finally over, by the looks of things, and she's pretty sure this counts as her public showing for the month. Right?
Cassidy pushes herself up and stretches out before adding her applause. Well! That was certainly an exciting afternoon! But her day wasn't over yet, and she had things she needed to do before meeting back up with Natska. She waits for the applause to die down, then starts her way out of the booth.
As confusing as it was, Ioph clapped, even though rather silently and lightly shaking her head. As the curtains closed and the applause ended, she decided to go for a walk and stretch her legs, perhaps even try and find the previous usher to convey her thoughts about the other matter to him. Who knows, she might just have been on the right train of thought.
