#fairveronastarter

[mateo-rossi]

Mateo was, admittedly, a little jumpy. This was the first event in which he’d taken over as head of security, the first time he’d be judged. That his team would be judged. So if he was quick to snap, could anyone really blame him?

And he was truly ready to snap when he spotted a guest leaving the party area and sneaking through the doors just outside of it. He quickly radioed a member of his team, but opted to respond himself when his security responded they were on a bathroom break. “I swear to fucking God...” Mateo murmured as he pushed through the crowd, following after the errant guest.

“Hey, you really can’t be back here,” Mateo said after he slipped past the doors after them. “C’mon, I’ll escort you back to the party.”

[gardenerwithoutborders]

“I’m serious, if you don’t take some of these cookies off my hands, I’m going to be drowning in them before long. How can you say no to free cookies?” Diana smiled winningly as she held out the box to the person she was talking to.

[celiaromano]

Change in Scenery

Celia wandered down the quiet street, smirking to herself. Verona was a nice change in pace from Ragusa and she made a mental note to congratulate her father on his good taste when she next saw him. For now, she was determined to start learning these streets that made up her new home. Pausing next to a stranger, she spoke up with a clear, confident voice. “Please tell me this city has a good coffee shop or three.” Her dark eyes shone as she made eye contact with the stranger, hoping to make her first connection in this new city.

[freddie-capulet]

“So where in Verona does one go for a decent cup of coffee? I don’t think I can take another cup of mud from the cafeteria.” 

[paolo-capulet]

Paolo watched the other person struggle to reach the highest shelf, somewhat amused. 

“Need some help?”

[lucca-trevisani]

Lucca stood waiting for his coffee, while reading over the newspaper. Mid-way through reading he groaned audibly. “Jesus. One of these days I’ll pick up the paper and it won’t sound like the world is about to end,” he muttered under his breath to himself, not noticing the person next to him until it was too late, a bashful smile crossed his face. “Er, sorry about that... paper... news... you know...”

[ardenromano]

Arden gazed out over the dance floor as he sipped on his whiskey. While the rest of Verona seemed content to dance and drink the night away, he was content hanging on the sidelines to sip his drink. He glanced over when someone moved to stand next to him. “You should be out there, having fun with everyone else,” he advised, taking another sip. “I’m afraid I’m not going to be much company.”

[charmingxcallum]

Callum had never been great with directions so he tended to rely on his phone GPS to get around but he had very optimistically decided to leave it in his pocket so he could try to get used to the city faster. It was so far not going terribly, although not really spectacularly either. For a place that had apparently gone through a lot of turmoil recently, he was pretty impressed by how peaceful everything seemed. “Well, I can tell Mom all her worrying was for nothing.”

[cosimo-medici]

Red, Red Wine (OPEN)

Cosimo sat st the bar, silently relieved it was easy to drink still despite the fake fangs in his mouth. A glass of wine in hand, the Dominant topped the bartender before turning to the figure beside him, gaze roaming their masked form. “Enjoying yourself?” He asked casually.

[martinamontague]

“No, I think I’m only about 85% caffeine at this point.  Plenty of space to improve!”

[sweetxgabi]

Gabi slipped between two groups of people on her way to a spot that seemed less crowded. She should have just given in and found some sort of ugly smart watch that would at least allow her to keep up with her texts better; taking the phone out of her clutch was annoying. Her stomach was in knots, but she and Dulcie had finally had a very serious conversation about why Gabi had been so protective, and discussed ways to alleviate some of it, and she couldn’t argue with a party that was so well-chaperoned, especially when Dulcie looked so excited. But Gabi did not like being here while her daughter was somewhere else. Lost in her thoughts, she missed the person in front of her and walked into them, with a startled exclamation. “Oh my god - I’m so sorry!”

[emery-sutherland]

Emery had been craving something sweet, and having some free time on her hands she found herself getting a chocolate shake. She hadn’t paid much attention, her mind wandering to what she would do next as she paid, and waited for her shake to be handed to her when she saw that she was handed two. “Oh! I didn’t... um, thanks!” She didn’t want to make a fuss.

Taking the two shakes, she sipped on one and paused for a moment on the sidewalk wondering what to do with the extra when she spotted the first person coming her way. “Excuse me, hi! Sorry to bug you. I seem to have accidentally paid for two of these, would you care for the extra shake? It’s chocolate. I don’t want it to go to waste...”

[carlo--romano]

It was time for Carlo to attempt to venture out. He’d been staying at home wallowing for long enough. It was time for him to see something other than the inside of his cottage. Grabbing one of the books that he’d borrowed from the library, he decided to do one of the things that he enjoyed best, and that was heading out to the park to read. Fresh air, some peace, those would be beneficial to his mental state. It would be better than all the alcohol that he’d been pumping into his system.

As he walked through the park, he looked for a good spot to relax, finding a bench that was nearly empty, with only one person sitting there, he paused in front of them. “Do you mind if I sit here as well?” He asked, gesturing to the empty space on the bench.

[oldadelaideblog]

Rafe had just walked away to get a drink? Talk to a family member? He had told her, but she was so overwhelmed by the atmosphere that she hadn’t really processed exactly what he had said. All she knew was that there were so many strangers here, and with the masks she couldn’t even tell if she did recognize anyone. This was her first time meeting the Romanos, and she had not thought it would be like this. Carlo introducing her to his family because they were friends? Sure. Rafe introducing her to his family as an arranged claim? Borderline panic inducing. She stood awkwardly at the side of the room, not sure what she should do. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, when someone came up next to her and spoke she jumped. “I’m sorry?”

[silviusxromano]

“Well that is a spectacular mask. Absolutely suits you. We appreciate you coming.” Silvius assured as he held out a flute of champagne to the recently arrived guest. “For you.”

[megcapulet]

Weak

Megan stood in front of the bottles of wine, her eyes running over the labels with a quiet longing.  The events of the weekend on top of the devastating news from court had left her wishing she could just block everything out for a few hours.  Rooted to the spot she jumped at a noise behind her, turning slowly.