Mitchell looked up at Lia a little as he ate when she said he could have anyone he wanted. Oh if only she just how wrong she was about that. Her answer in its own way said just the opposite actually. He could have anyone but her. He shrugged his shudders slightly looking back down at his plate. "You'd be surprised how little women found being annoying, poor, and having a funny accent attractive. Not to mention my mother refused to admit I was [I]different[/I] so she told the girls I hadn't figured out how to use magic yet." He laughed a little bit. It was really the truth though, his mother refused to admit he was, as his sister put it, a defective freak. He stopped though and nodded a little. "Though yes, she was a very smart, sweet, proper woman." 

Lia went quiet again though and he couldn't help but frown a little bit about it. He couldn't handle anymore of her being quiet, it was starting to make him feel nervous and like things here weren't safe. Even though it was. So he did the same thing he always did in this situation, rattle off trying to get her to talk, starting out with the ball. Which luckily seemed to work.

Mitch looked at her when she said she hadn't ever even been to a ball. "Well in my experience it is rather fun, I think you would like it." He said with a small smile. Even though he knew what had happened with what she had shown me, still he couldn't help but be a little surprised that she hadn't been to a ball before. Lia didn't seem the type to not do something she really wanted, just because she was told no. Though maybe she hadn't always been like that?

A laugh came from his lips at her comment about dressing up, purely because of all the women he had taken to a ball. Having to dress up, was only once one of the complaints that he had actually heard. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh. Its just that other than Att, I've only ever heard one person complain about dressing up." Mitch added in quickly with a apologetic look. "I'm sure you will be beautiful all dressed up through, and if you get tried of the shoes, I might hold them if you ask nicely." He said with a little bit of a laugh at the last bit about the shoes. Mitchell was at least enough of a gentleman to do something like that, for a little while at least. 

When he brought up Cassandra the subject changed and he nodded taking a drink of his water. Ophelia knew Cassandra a lot better then he did. Before he started guarding Lia, he hadn't even talked to the woman other then a few words in passing every now and then. As well as a little bit when he had been watching Isaack's daughter and she was allowed to come along. However, after he started watching Lia, he found a liking for the South Leader. Even when he and Lia weren't on the best of terms. To put it nicely. Cassandra was still rather nice to him, she quickly became his favorite leader, he even liked her more than Checkov at times. Plus something about her reminded him of his mother oddly. Which brought out the southern gentleman manners that she had drilled into him, much more than usual.

"I don't doubt you are good at dancing, with how gracefully you usually move." He said when she said she was pretty good at dancing. Lia had what his father used to call dancers grace. Mitch couldn't help the slightly cocky smirk that spread on his face when Lia asked if he was a good dancer. If anything, dancing was something that he had always been good at. He looked up at Lia from his plate the smirk turning into a smile as he nodded. "Yeah, I think so I mean. I've been told a couple times that I'm a good dancer. I might be a little rusty myself though. Its been about two hundred years still my last ball."  Mitch answered before taking a bite of his food as he thought back to the last ball he had been to. 

[I]The ball was in full swing, the main hall was lit by white tingle lights as the lights were turned down for one of the slow dances. Soft ballroom music playing over top of the others whom were talking instead of dancing. Mitchell was off to the side talking to Checkov and Isaack. Or more or less being talked about and being talked up to Checkov by Isaack as if he wasn't there. Barely getting a chance to answer Checkov's comments. The two of them seemed to be taking turns. Isaack talking about his engery vampires and Checkov about his witch when he got stuck in the middle.

The sight of the young raven hair vampire in the dark red lose and twirly dress made a smile come to his lips as she came up and joined the three of them. She smiled back at him before curtsying to Checkov. "Your ballroom looks beautiful Checkov, you clearly know had to throw a ball." She said with a smile cutting her father off as he started to rant about something to do with witches. Mitchell had long since lost interest really.

Isaack frowned at his daughter, and after Checkov had answered her, he spoke to his daughter. "Isabella, can't you see that your elders are talking. Go off and play or dance."

Izzy looked at her father and tilted her head slightly her eyes starting to redden, but a polite smile on her face. "Oh, I would father but you seem to have stolen my guard and  partner. I would just hate to dance with someone else. I....I might just slip and find someone new and interesting." She said sweetly to her father, before looking at Checkov. "Aside from our handsome host of course." She added not wanting Checkov to be offended as she had only spoken to him once or twice.

Isaack's eyes reddened as he looked at her still frowning. "Just take your guard and go child." He said hand going to Mitchell's arm and pushing him towards his daughter slightly. 

She smiled taking Mitchell's hand and pulled him towards the dance floor smiling widely. As they stopped Mitchell found himself smiling a little bit as well, and he lifted his arm up and twirled her. Pulling her in and she kissed his lips. "Sorry you got stuck with that Mitchy. Next time I'll go up with you to get the punch."

"I don't even know what the hell they where talking about, I zoned out after the fourth time I was answered for. I wish they would have just shut up and been quiet, I thought I talked to much." Mitch said as he started dancing with her, Izzy laughing at him.[/I]

Mitchell smiled a little bit looking down at his plate, it was a nice but bittersweet memory. Back when he had been happy in the east, but also when he realized the way that Isaack treated the vampires in his coven wasn't the way all leaders treated their coven. He looked up at Lia when she spoke again and nodded a little. "I suppose so, I don't get to dance much. Without getting weird looks anyway. Plus there is always good food at those things. I wouldn't really want to go with anyone other than you." He answered taking a drink of his water, and standing up to take his empty plate to the sink, offering to take her plate as well if it was empty. "Besides its possible that there might be some people who like me there, I can show you that not all of Isaack's coven are horrible people." He said with a laugh.

-- 

Kathleen smiled a little bit when Cassandra spoke about her coven, warm colors sounded like a big improvement over the dark and creepy castle they were in now. Even she laughed a little at the statement. Before Diana said something about her and Ophelia going to visit her in the South, and Kathleen looked at Cassandra. Though she couldn't help the small look of disappointment when Cassandra shot the idea of it down, it would be so nice to get to go South. Or even leave the North for a little while. Though Cassandra was right Checkov likely wouldn't let them go, plus Atticus really did have a hatred for wolves, he might become overbearing with his over protectiveness, again. 

"That's a shame, maybe sometime when the wolves calm down?" Kathleen said  her tone a little hopeful. She really wasn't liking the idea of having to be dependent of what Checkov said to be able to do things, she was raised to be a independent woman. Even though it likely wouldn't happen, still there was the thought that it could. Kathleen took a sip of her wine before speaking again.

Kathleen's smile softened slightly and her face reddened ever so slightly when Cassandra said that being a witch made her one of the most interesting people she knew. Was that true? But she had to have met thousands of people older than her, with more interesting lifes and stories. The comment about Starforge made Kathleen smile a little more a feeling of pride in where she came from. When Cassandra stopped with Kathleen doing wonderful, she spoke again. "Thank you, Cassandra. You're very sweet to think so. And really I think the reason I'm doing so well right now is because I'm having a better time then I thought I would.'" She answered with a bright smile, tonight was going much better than she had expected when they left the cottage.

At least it was until the Isaack guy started to talk down about witches, and then of all things said she didn't know what dark witches and warlock were like. As a primarily dark witch , she knew more then people her age about the need for control over of dark magic and how it could miss with your mind if you let it.

Isaack actually looked up when Checkov said his name, before a frown formed on his face as he looked at Checkov. His eyes reddening slightly as Checkov finished talking, they had diffidently had this conversation before, it hadn't really been one which he enjoyed either. Especially since Checkov always seemed to get him to be the one that stopped talking and give up. Isaack didn't argue with Checkov though instead he sighed looking at Kathleen his eyes still red. "My apologizes, as I said I meant no offence." He said before his eyes went to Cassandra seeing her "trying not  to laugh" face and gave her a dirty look, but still raised his glass to her toast.

Kathleen was very happy that Checkov took her side, instead of telling her to mind her tongue or worse say something in defence of the other leader. Though she had seen Cassandra's eyes redden at Isaack's words before she had looked at him. Kathleen was glad to know she wasn't the only one that was offended by that. When Isaack apologized she gave a small nod still frowning, it didn't matter whether he didn't mean to offend or if he had actually apologized in a way that seemed that he meant it. At the moment that the words came from his mouth, she knew for sure that she disliked this man rather strongly. And her good mood had been ruined a little but she would try to hold on until she left.

Still she couldn't help but smile slightly as she raised her glass to Cassandra's toast, taking another sip of it, someone coming and refilling her glass as Kathleen looked down at her food. As she was cutting into it Checkov spoke and Kathleen smiled nodding her head before looking up him. "I would stay I'm both nervous and excited honeslty. I've only been to one ball before and it was in a borrowed dress and no one wanted to dance with me." She answered.

"That's sad." One of the elders said and Kathleen nodded a bit.

"But I will have someone to dance with this time and I'll have my own dress. So I'm excited about that." She finished with a rather bright smile towards Checkov. As she listened to Checkov and Atticus talking back and forth she smiled and started to eat her dinner like the others around her. Thinking of the last time she was at a ball.

[I]The ball in Starforge was one of the bigger ones in the far north the closest coven Crowrigde even joined ball as it was the  most common marriage rate between the two covens. The elder witches would get there weeks before the ball to decorate using their magics. This year the weather was so beautiful that the master of illusion magic found a way to make it look as if there was no roof. So it looked as if the stars shined down from above on the party goers.

The young newly eighteen year old Kat looked into the mirror at her face which had been prettied up with lipstick and eye-shadow that matched the long shiny gray dress she wore. It was a little lose and she didn't quite have the chest to fill it out completely, but other then that it....didn't look too bad. She had tried to get her mother to have the seamstress to make her a dress to fit her, but her mother had simply waved her off, telling Kat she was to busy to worry about a stupid dress. She didn't even bother going to her step father knowing he would just laugh at her. So instead she had to borrow a dress from her friend.

As she got to the ballroom she smiled up at the blonde woman with dreadlocks who was much taller than her at the time, though you couldn't tell with the highheels Kat had to wear not to step on the dress. She sighed softly rolling her eyes. "Alright, you insisted on me coming. Let's see if we can find someone to dance with before I fall over." [/I]

Once she came back to what was going on around her, Isaack was talking to Checkov about the amount of people who would be forced to stay in the east with the hunters acting more restless. And part of her wondered if the subject had been brought up or if he simply wanted to hear himself speak. She smiled letting out a soft hum to herself loud enough to tone Isaack out before she took a sip of her wine and looked at Cassandra. "Cassandra, I haven't traveled much so can I ask a question?" Kat asked softly so only she could hear. "I've never been East before, and I was wondering." Kat looked at Isaack before back at her. "Do all from the east like to hear themselves talk? Because Mitchell talks a lot when its quiet and I'm pretty sure Isaack hasn't taken a breathe in a while." She asked with a serious face as it was something she always wondered.

Once she answered Kathleen smiled and nodded before changing the subject. "I really hope that you're to be at the ball too. I really like you." She said.