“If you know, I see no reason for us to remain in the dark,” Gavrael commented.
“Are you going to tell me about anyone’s costumes?”
“The only ones we know are ours, so no,” Gedeon responded.
“You give me no incentive to comply with your request,” Eduard said with a grin that pleased neither D’Vaire Skeleton Lord.
“These Darays are horrible,” Gedeon told his mate.
“As Aleksander would say, that is a problem with families,” Gavrael responded. “We are forced to contend with their horribleness as well as their attributes. It is not a direct quote, but that is the gist.”
“As far as the playlist goes, I think the changes we made last night are great,” Eduard remarked. “I believe it is long enough as well, and we can always shuffle the mix should we need to. I can’t imagine anyone will reject the idea of hearing these songs more than once.”
“Of course not, we did a fabulous job,” Gedeon responded. “Are you happy with the versions we have, or did you want to do more searching?”
“I’m content, are both of you?”
Gavrael bobbed his head. “I believe everyone will enjoy it, and though I do not understand the desire to flail around to the beat, there will be plenty of people dancing.”
“Victor contends that because we’re a type of magickind we should have rhythm, though I disagree. Sentinels were created to kill, not to do the limbo,” Eduard responded.
“You two need to loosen up,” Gedeon said. “I think we should dance. Who cares if we suck at it? The point is, we’re going to have fun.”
“I do not wish to put on a public display of my failure to learn,” Gavrael stated.
“Especially not around Albie, who has been taking lessons for years,” Eduard asserted.
“Well, you guys can be wallflowers, then. I have every intention of dancing,” Gedeon replied.
“I believe we will enjoy ourselves more if we are not embarrassed or humiliated.”
“Listen to your mate, Gedeon, he speaks eloquently on the subject,” Eduard said. “Thank you both for your help, it was invaluable.”
“Anytime, Eduard. We had fun, and I think your party is going to be fantastic,” Gedeon enthused. Eduard agreed with his fellow Skeleton Lord. All week they’d been making lists, re-reading notes, and preparing for the big event. While they sweated over small details, for the most part, the Darays were enjoying the process of getting their home ready for the entire family. Eduard predicted it would be the first of many All Hallow’s Eve celebrations at their condo.
∞∞∞
There was a small bottleneck of people trying to get into the Sorcery D’Vaire boardroom for their usual Saturday meeting, so High Arcanist Idris the Indigo took the opportunity to wrap himself around his mate, who snuggled him in return.
“You give the best damn hugs, sweetheart,” Dark Indigo Duke Macardle D’Vairedraconis murmured, which made Idris smile. Despite the years that had passed since he’d first met Mac, his other half still insisted on praising him for his cuddling.
“So do you.”
There was a grumble from Roger, who was perched on Mac’s shoulder, but when Idris pulled away to see what was wrong with his familiar, he found him dead asleep.
“I think he’s having a nightmare or something,” Mac decided.
A hand was laid on Idris’s back and when he turned, he found it belonged to the Arch Lich. “Let everyone go ahead of us, I need to talk to you for a second.”
“Sure, Chand.”
“Are you going to tell us your costume?” Mac asked with a grin as Idris reluctantly left his embrace.
“Fat chance.”
“I’m curious about the sentinels,” Idris remarked. “Usually when we get together, they don’t bother wearing one.”
“Yeah, they bitched about having to do it this year, but how can we host a costume party and not wear them?”
