Lincoln Gallner (Soon to be King)

“Yeah, I’ve got an after hours programme with BBC Radio 2. Mostly because the chats and stuff aren’t kid friendly, but also I’m a complete night owl, so it works perfectly for me.” Switching to her radio voice, Kam recited, “You’re listening to Kamaria After Hours. On tonight’s programme, we’re going to have the songs that should have been played at the Valentine’s Day Masquerade Ball…” Kam trailed off with a shrug of her shoulders, falling back into her normal voice. “It doesn’t pay as well as I’d like, but I love it. It’s not a job ta me, so the fact that I get paid is still a bonus.” Giving the man’s outfit a proper once over, Kam asked, “You dress semi-formal on a casual basis? Damn.”

“Ahh, sorry, I don’t listen to the radio much. Murphy may though in the lounge of the hospital given his odd work hours,” Link was never really a music or talk radio person. He was still stuck in liking the older songs of the world. He did have to grin though when her tone shifted. “Money isn’t everything as they say.” This coming from the male that had a job that paid good on top of having a rather comfortable living growing up. “I feel the same about my job, though most find what I do boring. My everyday work attire is a dress shirt, vest and a tie with dress pants, so this was very easy for me to pick something to wear to.”

Letting out a light laugh, Kam replied, “Here’s hopin’ I don’t end up bein’ one of those people. That won’t be good for my show at all.” Unable to hold back a smile that the man had understood her reference, as hardly anyone she was friends with knew of the film, she put her full attention on him by blocking out the background noise, the blush on her face due to his compliment luckily hidden by her own mask. “The Wendigo from Hannibal… Oh, that thing with the massive antlers? I mean, it kind of gives that impression. I think it’s more a matter of perspective in the end though, innit? As long as ya like what you’re wearin’, that’s all that matters.”

“Show?” Link questioned, glancing at her again. He was often out of the loop of what’s hip and in, too busy with his nose buried in a book or spending what time he could with his fiance. “That would be it, I found it to be the only tolerable thing about that show. So far the total of me threatening someone that these antlers could actually stab them seems to have kept the annoying people at bay,” he gave a small smirk. “I’m quite pleased with the entire outfit, it’s not out of the norm from what I wear to begin with anyway unlike some of these poor people that look like fish out of water.”

“Hopefully enough ta give me some good stories for my listeners later,” Kam replied. It was then that she did a double take, the mask the tall man was wearing giving her a sense of deja vu. Luckily, she had a sharp mind and quickly recalled what it reminded her of. “Oh, is your mask a reference to MirrorMask? I love that film. Wish I’d thought ta do something from it. No, I had ta go with a peacock theme. I feel like a literal goddess though, so I guess I did alrigh’.”

Link was only here because he wanted to help support the cause. That and hi fiance deserved a night out. “Oh I’m sure there will be plenty, people with masks tend to be braver than they actually are and then there’s hell to pay after.” Hearing the name MirrorMask, Link smile. “Somewhat. I consider it a mix between that and the Wendigo from Hannibal. The aesthetic was too pleasing to pass up when I saw it.” Glancing over, he took in the dress with a nod. “It does have a Roman-esque feel to it. You look good in it.”

The anonymity made Jules feel so powerful his head was spinning. No one would, at first glance, be able to tell it was him. It was honestly exhilarating. He could be someone else, even if just for a little bit. He looked over at the familiar voice, raising his eyebrows behind his mask. Fuck, he knew that voice. And he’d never in a million years forget that mouth. “Uh, probably… probably a lot. Since people are stupid and dumb and stuff.” He fumbled, running a hand through his hair. “Hi, Link. You look really…” He smiled awkwardly, cutting himself off and nodding, as though that finished his sentence.

No, Link wouldn’t have noticed that it was Jules that saddled up to his side, the mask were nice, but also a pain in the ass. Not to mention the mask was a little itchy. Hearing the voice though, it made Link smirk. “Mr. Darcy, pleasure seeing you here. No date? Did you already muck things up with what was her name? Tabatha?”

“I didn’t want you to get worried and for it to ruin your holiday.” That part was the truth, at least. “He was pretty pissed the whole time, my fault, really… Can’t shut my mouth to save my life, y’know?” He forced a little bit of a laugh, honestly grateful for the subject change to Tabs. “Her ah, her name’s Tabatha. She works at this studio thing as their receptionist…” He bit at his lip. “A porn studio.” He added, after a moment. “But she doesn’t do any of that stuff, she’s too, I dunno, too good for that? I don’t know, Link, I like her a lot but I’m rubbish at proving it.”

“You wouldn’t have. All we did was sit around and Verity and Murphy both wouldn’t stop feeding me, you’d be less scrawny if you spent it with us.” He managed a laugh before he listened to Jules talk about Tabatha. “Tabatha, the porn studio receptionist.” Link let that sink in, trying to digest Jules seeing someone that worked in that industry, even if it was only a receptionist. “I see, well it’s good she doesn’t, you don’t have to worry about catching anything? Sorry, that was inappropriate.” Taking a moment, Link continued. “I don’t really know how relationships like this work. Murphy and I met in the rain and almost had sex on a bus,” rubbing the back of his neck, Link smiled. “Take her somewhere nice for dinner. Or invite her over for a bite at your place, light some candles, put on some nice music. Be soft with her when you’re undressing her, girls like men that pay attention to things. You two have gotten to that point haven’t you? Jules. Please say yes or I’m going to say there’s no hope for you. If you haven’t been in bed with her then you probably should get in there. That’s a good way of proving you like her.”

“Oh, really? I could look into that. As long as I don’t have to dedicate as much time as I do with the kids, maybe every couple weeks. I still need time to study, but that should be fine. I actually loved to play checkers when I was younger. Oh, old men can be really lovely, I wouldn’t mind spending time with them at all.”

“Yeah, I don’t do it that often, but every little hour counts when it comes down to it.” Link ran a hand through his hair, finishing off his coffee rather quickly before looking over to Bast again. “Well then I definitely think that they’d love you.”