About mid-way through the dance, Fauna had decided she'd better check on the art booth, which from afar looked to be doing better than the SAWS booth. Most people enjoyed getting their pictures taken at these kinds of events, and with the way it had been set up, they had the option to pose formally, dress up in silly costumes, or essentially give the dance a very rude gesture. She was very proud of how Sophie had organized the booth, and she smiled as she walk past the drapes and the clicking of the camera as a group of students made kissy faces at the photographer.

All seemed to be going well. She wanted to congratulate Sophie, but didn't see her here, and thought she might be running around collecting more costumes or enjoying herself at the dance. Fauna hoped she took some time to have fun after all of her hard work.

Fauna caught a glimpse of a tall figure with blond hair, so she made her way over towards the back of the booth, where Dax was hanging paintings. She was about to greet him and ask him where Sophie was, when Fauna caught a glimpse of the artwork.

The paintings were all naturalistic and vibrant, with bright colors, confident outlines, and sweeping landscapes. They contained themes of love, with swans, cupids, white boats floating above the water, and... half-naked ladies.

Round bums, rounder bosoms, and poses that she could only call 'interesting' met her gaze. In every single painting.

Oh, shite.

"Um..." Fauna gaped at the paintings, then looked at the artist. "Dax? Did we, uh... talk about... this?" She gestured at the paintings, face apprehensive, as if the swan in one would take offense and reach out and bite her.

Dax started and then looked over ot Fauna with a hmm?

"Talk about what?" he asked obliviously, hanging the last of the paintings. On the wall of art the figures moved and chattered, most of them looking down towards Fauna and Dax with interest. "Oh! Oh, right. Yeah, I told the clowns and leopards and stuff to stay out of frame for the ball. Not really Valentiney material, but they're alright. They went to stay with the dogs playing poker on the 4th floor hallway."

He got a look at her expression though, and accurately guessed it wasn't the issue. "Uh. What's wrong? You said I should help decorate the booth at the ball - hey, hey now!" He snapped as two of the figures in the moving paintings got too friendly. "Not at the dance! We agreed on this."

For once, Dax was the oblivious one, and she stared at him in dismay when he tried to reassure her by saying he'd left the leopards and clowns out of the paintings for the dance. He asked her what was wrong, and as one of the nude angels started getting a bit too frisky with a sphinx, Fauna did a classic facepalm and shook her head.

The angel gave Dax a pout when he told the figures to quit it, and Fauna let her hand drop, eyes wide.

"Ummm..." Fauna repeated, clearing her throat.

Now, Fauna loved art, and she didn't mind most nudity in art, but seeing these on the wall, and knowing that everyone would associate the paintings with the art club, caused all of her supposed maturity and sophistication to fly out the window.

"They're fantastic paintings. They're really lovely," she began, expression apologetic. "It's just... I don't think... I mean, they're a little, er, naked, aren't they?"

A little naked. That was a great one.

He looked at Fauna, then back to the paintings, then to Fauna again. Then, getting the hint, he pouted.

"It's, uh..." He started, then puffed his chest up and looked serious. "It's artistic nudity, Miss Blake. It is not meant in a sexual manner; it's an expression of the beauty and mystery of nature and a celebration of the female figure." He stuck his lower lip out. "And there is noting offensive about nudity, especially when I, as an artiste, painted it without a single thought of-hahaha." His serious look dissolved. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Ol' O' Morain is likely to blow his top if he sees a nipple or something. Right. Ladies, put your clothes on."

The paintings protested generally, muttering and mumbling as the women took look pieces of sheet in their paintings and turned them into makeshift dresses.

"Does that work, Fauna? Though now they all kind of look like they're wearing curtains."

Fauna looked around for Sophie or someone to pop in and explain, feeling guiltier by the second, when Dax protested that this was his artistic expression! He was an artiste! She clapped her hand over her mouth and tried not to let out a nervous laugh, but luckily, she needn't have worried, because he started laughing first.

She nodded, stifling a sigh of relief. "Not curtains," Fauna nudged his arm. "Greek goddesses." A few of the figures in the paintings appeared to believe her, while others, like the mermaids, took one look at the seashells plastered to their chests and dove defiantly into the water, leaving the landscape bare.

Still, this had gone much easier than she'd thought it would. He'd listened and understood without her needing to bring up the stuffy professors!

"They really do look good," she told him honestly, one artiste to another. "I don't know how to draw the figure that well, yet. Faces are easier for me. But you have all the proportions, and lines, and curves looking right..." Fauna trailed off in embarrassment as the figures started preening.

Dax rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks," he said, grinning lopsidedly. "It's cause I pay really close attention to the real life figure," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "Every curve and play of light - in a totally non-creepy way, I assume you." He smirked again and punched her lightly on the shoulder.

"Aw well, they're all PC now and safe from O'Morain's horror. Anythin' you need my help with?"

Fauna shook her head and grinned when he claimed that he paid really close attention to the human figure, in a non-creepy way. "Suuuure."

She tilted her head and studied his face, trying to decide what he could help with, since he'd already put so much effort into the art booth (and the paintings). Fauna had already embarrassed herself quite a few times this evening in her attempt to sell SAWS flowers, and she started to remember a conversation between the art club members about how Dax, just by being himself, could help them raise more money. Fauna hadn't taken it seriously at the time. Now, however, it started to sound like a good idea in comparison to flinging flowers at people.

She'd fling Dax at people instead!

"I think so..." she said vaguely, a mischievous smile spreading across her face. Ignoring the sudden tittering from the paintings, Fauna rummaged around in the art booth supplies until she found an envelope and string, and with a wave of her wand, fashioned a simple sign that read: Dance with me for a good cause!

She turned around to face Dax, holding the sign so he wouldn't be able to see what it said (she hoped). After a glare at the talkative paintings, and a bashful look at her fellow Hufflepuff, she put the sign around his neck and stood back.

"There!"

Dax looked down at the sigh dubiously and turned it over, cocking his head to the side as he read it upside down.

Then he pouted incredibly fakely at Fauna, and the twitching of his lips gave away his need to laugh. "You're making me your whore, Fauna? C'mon, babe, you know ya don't gotta pay!" He put his hands on his hips and stuck his chin out. "The Daxly's services are always free unless you've got like.. acne or something." He looked at the sign again.

"Though it is for a good cause. And given how dumb the guys in this school are I'm sure there's some cute girls who don't got themselves a date." He grinned. "I dunno about the sign, though. Seems desperate. Are we charging? Do I get a cut?"

Dax standing there with the sign around his neck, his hands on his hips, and a fake pout was just too much. Fauna started laughing, shaking her head at him and managing a feeble, "It wasn't my idea!"

She attempted to look as innocent as she could, but with the color rising in her cheeks it didn't work so well. The sign did look pretty dorky. However, Fauna was going to have enough of a challenge being social and peppy on the dance floor, let alone pimping out Dax. So the sign helped. She could blame the sign for anything that went wrong.

"You don't have to do it," she reassured him. "It's a silly idea. Or you can just take it off-"

Another round of giggles from the paintings.

"The sign!" Fauna clarified, looking mortified.

Dax sniggered along with the paintings as Fauna blushed. "I dunno, I bet if I ran around here in a banana hammock we'd raise plenty of money. 'For one galleon, I'll put my clothes back on. For 10, I'll take it off.' We could buy a SAWs party house."

He looked at the sign again and smiled much more nicely. "I'll do it, I'll do it," he assured her. "It'll be fun! But you're coming with me. Where would a ho be without his pimp? And If I don't give you the money you can smack me around til I do."

So much for appropriate behavior at the Valentine's dance.

Once the tent was all set up Billie had gone back to the castle. While normally when it came to her clothing she wore whatever she wanted (within the school dress code of course) Billie had decided to change her outfit ever so slightly to appeal to Dion whom had thought her cupid costume was inappropriate. So while still keeping in her cupid theme (wings and all) Billie had traded in her tutu and bow and arrow for a long large sweeping ball gown skirt. She still wore her pink halter body suit since the bodice of the dress would never have properly fit her modest figure. Up in the common room she had been lucky enough to run into one of the seventh years that was still working on her dress. Knowing Billie's love for the combination of light pink and bright blue she had charmed Billie's skirt to subtly alternate between the two colours. Nothing eye catching or too distracting. Every so often the satin skirt with a sweeping chiffon overlay would change from pink to blue and back again.

Billie waltzed through the tent smiling at everyone and stopping to chat with friends here and there completely unaware of the fact that she didn't have a date like most girls her age. She stopped off at the numerous booths, got her picture taken right as her skirt was changing from blue to pink and ended up at the art booth. Billie cocked her head to the side looking at the women wrapped in sheets. The paintings were beautiful and she smiled and waved at the girls as they waved back flitting through their frames hoping to get a little friendlier with their companions while Dax wasn't looking.

Speaking of which, a smile broke across her cherry lips as she realized that both Fauna and Dax were standing close by. If she hadn't heard him talk she wouldn't have been able to tell which Fayette brother he was, "Hey Dax, you think your brother will approve of the change?" She gave a twirl, the large flowing skirt flaring out from the motion and slowly changing from pink to blue, "He didn't really like my cupid outfit."

Fauna had no words for the banana hammock comment and merely stared at him, eyebrows inching into her hair, looking both amused and embarrassed. He agreed to dance for a good cause, but said she had to head out there with him, and after a moment's hesitation, Fauna grinned and nodded. That was fair. Knowing Dax, he'd get most of the attention anyway (she hoped).

She lightly punched him on the arm, testing out his theory. It was like hitting a rock. "I'm going to have to work on that," she joked, shaking out her fingers.

"Billie!" Fauna waved when the girl twirled over to greet them. "You'll dance with Dax, won't you?"

"Yeah I think I'd keep the money with a slap like that. Now, if you'd gone lower or higher..." Dax said jokingly, cutting off as Billie arrived.

"I don't think Dion approves of much right now, Billie, he's being a whiny twat tonight," Dax said, though his tone wasn't upset. "Nice dress though - if he bitches tell him I liked it. He'll shut his yap right away."

He adjusted the sign and straightened his clothes out. "Yeah, Billie, y'wanna? S'only...um." He flipped the sign over to read it. "2 sickles, yeah. And it's for a good cause." Which cause he wasn't sure - probably SAWs. But then again. Dax didn't really care; it just sounded like fun,and either way...

[url-http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=27263851][Outfit][/url]

Potter's knickers, this place was crowded. Roxanne stood around for the longest time searching the crowd for a familiar face before she finally remembered she didn't have any actual friends. The horse-faced 3rd year could already see the drama bubbling up. Couples arguing, jealous rivalries between boys, cat fights. Lovely. She would rather ignore all of that and so the Hufflepuff went out in search of a much calmer atmosphere: taking a look at booths was harmless, wasn't it? The first one she arrived at was the art booth. All the pretty pictures were...half-naked?

She tucked a strand of her long, light golden blond hair behind her ear to reveal a radish earring. She'd found them at a muggle novelty store over the summer and bought them, but only tonight seemed like the right time to wear them. Carefully, she leaned over the booth to watch some of the portraits, ignoring the other girl that was dressed in pink and blue.

"You're selling these, right?"

Roxanne let her eyes slide over the portraits to try and find one that "clicked". All of them were well done, of course, she'd never seen anything like this from a student, but if she was going to purchase one, it had to be the right one. Again and again, the 3rd year searched over the paintings until at last she saw it.

"There! Right there, I want that one! How much?"

From within the pocket of her denim skirt, Roxanne withdrew a bag of money. The girl always had money on her at Hogwarts for Hogsmeade, but the trips had been a little dull lately and since she had no friends to go out with, she rarely bothered. She had spare money on her and purchasing a portrait for her bedroom wouldn't be a bad thing at all.