The Masquerade Ball Event Closed

Interacting with  @Alan Noble @Santario Martin

Open for Interactions!

This is starting to become a serious habit! Griseldis thought with an annoying frown, "Oooh clumsy me...huh? M-my mask!?", Just when she was about to search for her lion mask, she looked up and to her surprise a boy with a Raven mask and in a dark blue robe was in front of her. The moment he spoke to her, she immediately could identify based on the voice who the person behind the mask was. "A-Alan, h-hi!", She slowly took his hand and with his support, she was able to stand up to her feet. The Ravenclaw boy as thoughtful as always, asking her if she was ok and she simply gave him a reassuring nod with a smile, "I'm fine, thanks for the help." Then she listened to his compliment about her outfit, she blushed a little but that filled her heart with joy and pride, "Aaw, that's really lovely of you to say, Alan. My mom made this dress for me and the mask...", she took the lion mask from Alan's hand and wore it back on her face. "My grandfather made it, he knew how proud I am for being a Gryffindor. Anyway, I'm really glad you're here at the ball too, Alan. So..erhmm...", Griseldis looked around to see what they could do first, should they dance together? But the music sounded so odd. Should they eat some food here? But she noticed there was a fight happening there...not again...

Griseldis sighed, why can't some people just enjoy having fun in a ball? Was it really necessary to create chaos at all? Huh? She noticed a girl with a black fox mask and in a very elegant long dress was standing at a corner looking quite uncomfortable with the situation happening in front of her. She didn't blame her though. That wavy hairstyle kinda reminded her someone she knew, might not be so bad to interact with the girl and ask for her name. She turned around and asked Alan, "Hey Alan, did you see that girl over there?", she pointed the girl who was alone there across them. "I think we should go talk to her." With that being said, she believed that Alan would agree, so she took his right hand and tried to pull him with her to greet the girl. But they would need to walk past the pit fight in the middle to reach the fox masked girl. Griseldis waved her hand at her and shouted to get the girl's attention, "HELLO! WE ARE COMING OVER TO YOU NOW SO PLEASE WAIT FOR A BIT!!"

Griseldis might be very clumsy most of the time, but it never changed the fact that this girl with space buns was a legit Martial Artist. If anything happens while trying to walk through the ongoing chaos. She was ready to defend herself and her friend Alan.

Interaction with: @Hjørdis Jensen @Solomon Lear

Pure-blood dances.

Elena knew pure-blood dances, ones that were hundreds of years old, Romanian ones taught from one generation to another, the dances she had danced on her wedding night with Alexandru. Here however, now, she was Elaine Pendrast, and she remembered enough of childhood holidays spent with the Irish side of the family to be decent at a dozen British ones.

It wasn't a remark Solomon Lear would have made so carelessly. She wasn't exactly sure what was happening: maybe there was nothing at all going on, or a bit of mischief in the making, but whatever it was there was the head of the half-eagle lying on her left breast. If Elaine had learned one thing in all the years since her husband's death then it was that it never hurt to be prepared for the worst.

Politics had never been her expertise. Dancing on the other hand, that she could do.

"Of course," she answered, her dark eyes looking into a pair of bluish-green ones hidden by the horned helmet. She inclined he head lightly and offered the man her arm to take a hold of, extended just a bit away from her body, palm up. "It would be my pleasure."

As Teiki Laurent | @Katrina Walker (Iris) | Open to Interactions

Teiki noticed the other girl shudder. Speaking of which, the girl didn't look comfortable, maybe even in pain?

"Hey, are you okay?" Teiki asked, holding out an arm. And that's when Iris fell. Teiki gasped, crouching down to check on the girl. What had happened? Was it the ballroom? It was quite loud, now that Teiki actually tried to pay attention to all that was going on around her. Teiki remembered the drink in her hand, and tried to give some of it to Iris. Whether Iris actually had some, Teiki wasn't paying attention.

"Okay, okay. So, I'm going to try to get you out into the hallway. I'm sorry if this hurts." Teiki tried to grab Iris and pick her up, mainly dragging the poor girl.

Reducio

This was allowed (the dragging) via owls and the fact that she's unconscious.
DC: 18
Roll d20+3= 19

Finding some inner strength, Teiki is barely able to half drag/half carry the other girl. A blush came to her cheeks as she realized that people would be watching her just randomly carrying another girl. Not to mention, the other girl was unconscious.

"I'm just trying to help her. I've got this. She'll be okay." Teiki muttered, more to herself than anyone else. Although what she was saying was meant to calm others around her, so she had no idea what she was doing. Figures.

At last! She had managed to drag Iris outside, away from all the noise, and stuffiness. Teiki huffed, propping Iris gently on the wall outside of the Ballroom.

"Okay, so I'm going back in to get you something to drink. Don't panic! I'll be right back with something to hopefully awaken you again. Is that how you say that- nevermind! I'll be back." Teiki raced off, quickly ducking between the crowds to get a cup of water- or whatever that drink was that they were serving. Quickly grabbing 2 cups, she made sure that she didn't spill the drink, while still getting to her destination as quickly as possible. She raced over to where Iris was (assuming she stayed in the same spot or near there) and gave her the drink.

"C'mon. You gotta wake up. If this doesn't work, then I'll get some help, but please, please just wake up now." Teiki muttered this, putting one of the cups next to Iris's mouth, assuming that instintively Iris would drink some. How this worked she didn't know. She also sincerely hoped that she wasn't chocking her friend.

Interactions: @Andrew Vance, Open for more!

Quote from Andrew Vance:

"Sure!" Heather answered, taking his offered hand and leaving her cane in the chair, "Headbanging gives me a headache though, so I don't think I'll do that." As he led them onto the dance floor, Heather looked around, trying to spot any signs of trouble so that they could steer clear of it. She knew her sight would be all but useless here, however, what with movement all around them and the vast array of colors and blurred shapes of people in costume. Those right next to them were the only ones she could see clearly. She focused more on her hearing, trying to pick out any sounds of nearby fighting or yelling. Andrew's comment about people punching each other, and a student actually biting someone made her nervous. If this turned out like one of those barfights from old western movies Grandpa Bob liked to watch... And there was something else, as well... Was she imagining things, or were some shapes in the sea of moving colors taller than the rest? 

Heather shook those thoughts out of her mind, turning her attention to Andrew as they took starting positions for a couples' dance. She was here to have fun! The professors would deal with any problems, right?

She let Andrew lead as they spun through one of the simpler dances, trying to move in time with him to a faster beat. It wasn't easy in heels and a dress when these dances were meant to be slower. She could feel herself off balance more than once. She avoided tripping Andrew by some luck, but in the next move stumbled over her own shoes and fell to the floor--into the crowd around them. Her mask got caught on someone's outfit as she landed, yanking her thick glasses off. They went skidding across the dance floor, quickly out of sight.

"Oh great..." she grumbled, feeling around for both glasses and mask, "Just what I needed..."

Rolled 2d20 to see if Heather trips herself or trips Andrew. DC was 10. Got a 12 and an 8. She doesn't trip Andrew but does trip herself. Rolled 2d20 again to see where she ends up and if her glasses fall off. 10 or lower was bad. Got a 7 and a 3. She falls into the crowd and her glasses fall off. Good thing it wasn't a natural 1! lol

Mentions: @Dan Palmer, @Oswald Vanigton
Interactions: @Heather Ruby, Open for more!

During his dance with Heather, Andrew thought he saw Dan and Ozzy not too far away from him. Dan was his roommate and one of his best friends. Of course he'd recognize Dan's costume and bare feet easily. Spotting Ozzy without shoes on, instead dancing in his socks with Dan, made Andrew both mentally facepalm as well as giggle to himself. They were a perfect match for each other. If Dan and/or Ozzy happened to look his way, Andrew would give a little friendly wave at them, but other than that, he didn't want to distract Dan and Ozzy from their private moment, instead turning his attention back to Heather as they continued their brisk dance.

Things were going swell until Heather suddenly tripped. Caught off guard, Andrew lost his grip on his dance partner as her weight fell to the floor, into the people around them.

"Heather!" Andrew's yelp of shock was barely heard over the blaring music as he pushed his way through the crowd -- hopefully not shoving anyone rudely aside -- in his haste to reach the fallen girl. "You alright?" He'd ask her, once he was within earshot above the music for Heather to hear him.

One look at her bare face instantly told him that things were not all right. It didn't so much concern him that Heather's mask was gone, but her glasses.. Heather's glasses were missing! Panic arose within him as he tried to help Heather off the floor. Searching for the glasses and mask came second priority. Andrew's first goal was to get Heather to safety and escort her to one of the tables nearby. It was hazardous for anyone - with or without sight - to be on all fours, crawling around in the middle of the dancefloor where tons of people around might step on or trip over them. . .

Interacting with @George Henry and @Hugh Lowe

The laughter from the boy took her by surprise, beginning to jolt her out of a horrific state that had controlled her mind since...it felt like forever. But this first year was some sort of miracle worker, removing any sort of anger that had dominated her being. The laughter, though, was as though the Hufflepuff had thrown water over the fires inside of her to extinguish all emotion.

Mari felt as though a truck had hit her, but she didn't have time to react to the emotions, not when this burlap-sacked boy was staring at her, reacting to her two-stengthed bite. Eyes as wide as the pumpkin face she wore, she opened her mouth lamely in an attempt to respond, still not formulating words by the time the boy continued: "You know - that drink over there is supposed to always be your favorite flavor. Now it's going to taste like me forever!"

That solidified everything. Mari laughed. The sound felt unfamiliar to her; it was a bit horse as she worked her diaphragm, clearing the dust off of muscles she had forgotten existed. Melodious, high-pitched sounds rang out, directly contrasting the horrifying noises from the band up front. If it had been just five minutes earlier, before the kilted boy caught her by surprise, the laughter would have been soft, jaded by irritation that he was not a wolf, complementing the music perfectly. Her reply to his commentary would have been as provocative as she had been to Jake. Now, however, she was different. It was as if she was having a redemption arc.

"I suppose there would be worse things to have the drink taste like," Mari giggled quietly. She felt drained, unable to really raise her voice except to a volume loud enough for the boy to hear. There wasn't much more to say, at this moment; she still was trying to understand what, exactly, had just happened.

It seemed that the boy wasn't bothered too much by the bags under her eyes, the rough exterior of her lips, or her overall poor behavior, so Mari returned the smile that he gave her. She then followed his point as he showed her the giant-boy, who looked absolutely nothing like a child though he was in Mari's year. What was his name again? They had classes, but Mari didn't really have much interest in someone who could easily squish her by accident. 

She searched her brain for the name as she took in the new addition to his appearance. Those mutton chops were interesting, but she admired that he wore them proudly, whereas she hid her differences and shrunk into her already-small stature. She could tell that her companion, who identified his name as George in the hubbub of his excitement, seemed to be interested. Mari normally would have tried to stop any happiness between the duo, but something told her that in friendship, you were supposed to reciprocate kindness for kindness.

"I think his name is Hugh, or something," Mari murmured to George. "I dunno...I haven't really...I've kept to myself most of the past year." She abstained from adding acknowledgement of her lack of friends; if she stated this, George likely wouldn't want to be hers either. But maybe, just maybe, if she worked her (lack of) magic, George would want to be her first true friend. One could only hope.

Without further thought, Mari channeled all the energy she possibly had inside of her and yelped, "Hey! Hugh! Want to dance with my buddy George over here? This music would be great for you two to dance like fools together."

There was very little chance that Hugh would listen to someone he had never talked to before, but she could only hope that Hugh would give her a chance for a friendship with George. She smiled expectantly at the boy who towered over her, in hopes that her (lack of) charm would convince him.

Interacting with @Nico Shymane  Open to interactions

Jay turned back in surprise, did she not want to be alone? Why are people so confusing?? They thought, though deep inside they were filled with relief. Jay never understood why some people were never clear, at least they spoke the truth and got over with it. Meanwhile other people go in circles and circles like as if it was a guessing game, if you didn’t like the person then just say so, if you wanted to be alone then just say so. But this girl seemed to actually want company since she suddenly grabbed onto their wrist as they were going to walk away.

Jay then helped her up with their right hand, they really wanted to know who she was. They didn’t really like not knowing things, which is why they always thought about a lot of things, like a big mind game, and if they couldn’t figure it out the,self then they would go to the library or do something else. And in this masquerade it was a massive game of figuring out who was who, especially this girl. 

They know her, they have both talked to each other before. This pretty creature has talked to them before and it was making them almost mad for not knowing who she was. 

Jay was suddenly snapped out of their deep thinking, “Oh um... probably  trifles and any sort of biscuits, in the Great Hall I rarely eat full meals because of the annoying people at the table so I normally just take a few biscuits and take them to the common room... And you?” They asked back.

interactions @Adlai Rod @Serena Towers @Reid Kovacs
mentions @Eris Fawley @Eri Windstone

It was amazing that a band like this had been allowed to play at such an important ball. They were great, and Adam was having one hell of a time -- but he wouldn't have thought that this was the first impression Professor Lear would want to establish for Hogwarts. Maybe this was how the Americans liked it: loud, angry, and unrelenting. He wasn't stupid, he knew that Americans were just like everyone else, but he still had to wonder about it. Was this what blasted through the radio in every house over there? That would certainly explain a lot.

For the record, Adam didn't hate whatever it was that he was listening to. Kind of the opposite, actually. He was glad to see that he wasn't the only one of his friends that had an interest as Reid jumped into the crowd beside him. Adam laughed at the Hufflepuff's party cheer before grinning brightly at him in greeting. It was a little too loud to try talking right now; he could properly say hi to Reid between songs and catch up a little more. For now, the smile would have to be enough to send a message. He nodded towards the band and bobbed his head in time with the screeching vocals. He'd have to see if he and Reid could decode the lyrics later on.

It wasn't long until the pair was joined by another familiar face: Serena Towers, who Adam hadn't seen in what felt like ages. Her mask was black like her dress, although a lot more sparkly. It looked very nice -- he personally preferred the simpler masks, though his own might have toed the line. When you added too many details, it just started to look gaudy. There was a risk in not enough details, too, he supposed, as evidenced by the boy wearing a piece of paper. Anyway, the point was, it was awesome to see the other Hufflepuff again. She shouted a greeting out to them that Reid returned, and Adam moved in closer to hear a little better. Reid clearly had the same idea; after a moment, he stepped slightly away from the crowd to talk to Serena's friend and catch his breath.

Oops. Adam had almost glanced right over the other girl that had tailed after Serena. He couldn't exactly tell under the mask, but he didn't think she was someone he had ever met before. If Reid didn't know her name, there was a good chance that he didn't either. He waved at her happily, not wanting to distract her from the question. When she answered, he introduced himself as well. "Hi, Adlai! I'm Adam! Nice to meet you!" Pausing a moment, he added, "I like your mask." It was white like snow, and formed into an impressive feathery design. He thought it was maybe supposed to be a...swan? Whether or not he was right, it was still an awesome look.

Their group continued to grow as Adam saw Reid approached by Eri Windstone, a girl from his house. Wanting to let the two of them talk, he turned to Serena and adjusted his mask with a smile. "Guess we learned all that ballroom dancing for nothing, huh?" Back in their first year, they'd been dancing partners when the professors had taught them for the Blossom Ball. "What do you think about the music?" He didn't know Serena quite well enough to guess her tastes, but she hadn't been afraid to dive into the crowd and talk to them. Maybe she was a fan too.

Though Adam had no lack of people to talk to, he couldn't help but notice that Eris still hadn't reappeared. He felt a little guilty about that, with him being her date and all. He was proud of her for doing her best to help, and he knew that she could handle Kaegen, but she deserved to enjoy the dance as much as the rest of them. Hopefully, she'd be able to hand the situation over to the profs and rejoin him soon. She'd love to see Serena and Reid again, he knew that much. But the ball had just started, he reminded himself. There was plenty of time for fun on the horizon.

And maybe a dance with Eris too.

*This is a double post for Thora Larkston and dNPC Karilyna Kawahara

Interacting as dNPC Karilyna Kawahara || Text color=#BF9000
Interactions: @Bridget Collins(Phyllis), @Teiki Laurent(Astrid and Teiki), and @Katrina Walker(Iris Fields)
Mentions: @Elena Jones, Kaegan situation aftermath

Karilyna looked after the blue-haired girl as she left, thankfully, taking the weird dhampir boy with her. Maybe the ball would be okay after all. Turning around, the girl realized that neither of her friends had followed her through the thick smoke. Hmm. Karilyna was about to charge back through the smoke when she heard a small voice a few feet off to her left. "Astrid? Karilyna? Are you guys there?" the disembodied voice said. Was that Phyllis? Detecting the trace of hesitation, a trait rarely found in her friend, Karilyna drew her wand. Was Phyllis okay? "Yeah, I'm right here," she replied.

Frowning hard at the tip of her cherry wand, Karilyna moved her wand hand in a loop, trying to cast the light charm. The young girl breathed a sigh of relief as a small ball of light appeared at the end of her wand. Then, taking a deep breath, Karilyna charged into the quickly-spreading smoke. Feeling her way forward blindly, she groped, her confidence slowly melting as she felt nothing at all. Stumbling forward another step, Karilyna's hand landed on something warm. An arm? It was Phyllis. "Hey, Phyllis. I'm right here," Karilyna said, at the same time Astrid mentioned something about leaving the smoke. Fine with her.

Grabbing her friend's arm, Karilyna half-dragged Phyllis out of the smoke and into the clean, open air. Wrinkling her nose slightly at the tang of blood in the air, the Thunderbird scanned her surroundings until she found Astrid. "Hey, Astrid," Karilyna said, "About what you said earlier, normal would be nice. But I guess this is what I expected for a magic school… What do you guys want to do now?"

Karilyna's ever-watching eyes flickered over the ballroom. All of the teachers--well, taller figures carrying some type of authority--seemed to be leaving, following the dhampir boy she had been trying to figure out just now. Maybe things like this were actually more serious than they seemed on the surface. A thud alerted the girl to another happening. Not another problem, thought Karilyna. Honestly, this ball was already eventful enough without someone collapsing on the floor. "Um, do you guys want to check out what just happened over there?" she gestured to the fallen figure on the floor.

A few steps closer revealed that the crumpled figure on the floor was Iris, a third year Thunderbird Karilyna had come across maybe a couple times in the past month. Squinting her eyes so she could see across the entire ballroom, as Iris was on the other side of the room, Karilyna paused in her steps. "What do you guys think happened?" she asked a little apprehensively as she saw a smaller girl drag the motionless third year off the floor and outside the ballroom.

Breaking into a run, Karilyna raced towards Iris and her savior. Hoping that her friends would follow, the girl kept a tight grip on her wand. You never knew what might happen here. Slipping out of the ballroom's huge doors, she made a right, finding the unconscious girl in an awkward sitting position on the wall. Next to her was… Teiki? The Hufflepuff was trying to get her third year companion to drink something--probably the punch available inside.

Stepping forward, Karilyna took the initiative. After all, they were all first years, and she was probably the only one out of the trio that knew Teiki. "Hi Teiki," she started, "Um, do you need any help here?" If the other two girls had followed her, she could do introductions later. Even though she barely knew Iris and wasn't sure if she would even appreciate the help, Karilyna had a protective streak in her. It was only right if she helped.

Reducio

OC: Any godmodding of Phyllis or Astrid was approved over owl.

Interacting as Thora Larkston || Text color=#674ea7
Interactions: @Bridget Collins
Mentions: Kaegan situation; Professors

Thora tried not to down the entire beverage in one gulp. As Bridget hesitated slightly before gathering her own drink, Thora realized her mistake. She hadn't even bothered to take careful sips of the clear liquid. As she knew Hogwarts, being a magical school, wouldn't simply serve water, shouldn't she have been a little more wary of the concoction? Mentally berating herself, Thora made a mental reminder to always check the drinks before trying. After all, at the last ball, the punch had turned out to be spiked.

Brushing her worries to the dark corners of her mind, Thora was alerted to Bridget talking. "Mm, hot cocoa? Sounds good. I rarely have it, myself, but it seems pretty good."Truthfully, the girl had never had it due to being raised on a farm--they typically had their own farm-fresh produce rather than what she imagined delicacies like hot cocoa. "And yeah, the Muggle world really was boring," Thora replied to her almost-friend's next comment. Before being suddenly immersed into the world of magic last year, Thora had thought that the Larkston farm was everything--the only thing short of paradise. But then, she met magic, and her world was transformed forever.

The idea of having a drink of different flavors based on the person delighted Thora--it was just like one of those things she would've never imagined possible without magic. It was one of those special things. Glancing back towards the other side of the room, where the two girls had come from, it looked like the situation was clearing up faster than the smoke. Although the gray smoke was still pretty thick, masking the area, it was clear that Kaegan and his situation had broken up. Good. One less thing to worry about. You would think that after the Blossomball, people would want a slightly safer environment. But from what it looked like, people wanted it even worse, even more dangerous than it had been the first time. This wasn't good.

Training her observant eyes around the room, Thora leaned onto the table of drinks. Hold on. Why were all the tall people leaving? One of the taller professors with the cat mask--no, a few professors, exited the room. Hopefully, it was just because they wanted to check on Kaegan. Wrenching her eyes away from the doors, Thora fought down her paranoia. Although her gut feeling was typically right, she might have just been imagining. "Bridget? Are all the professors leaving? Or is it just me? I don't really know anymore."Her companion seemed to be much more observant than herself, as Bridget tended to notice little details that she missed. Besides that, her sketches were much better than Thora's, even when they were sketching the same subject.

Waiting for her friend to answer, Thora inched towards her right. A bunch of students stood there, talking--she had no idea who these people were, but some were as short as her. Hopefully these people wouldn't mind the pair trying to blend in. After all, if her suspicions were right, it would be better not to be alone, as after the Blossomball, Thora dared not venture around the ballroom alone.

Edit: wand motion for Lumos

interactions | @Adam Harringtom & @Serena Towers
mentions| Reid, Adlai, Nora, & Maya

Once Nora had vanished to presumably talk to Kaegen, Eris was left to find Adam. Looking at all the professors slowly congregating nearer to her, Eris edged unceremoniously away from where Maya now stood. Nose wrinkling, she nodded her head once to the Muggle Studies Professor and turned heel and fled. It wasn’t like she wanted to stay and discuss muggles. Eris had things to do. Things that were far more important than being cornered by asshole professors. She needed to find Adam!

Looking where she had last left him, Eris frowned when she noticed nobody was there anymore. Huffing and crossing her arms, Eris tried to seem like a typical bored teenager. That would have worked, if not for the fact she was jumping up and down to try and find Adam. Turning her gaze around the room, ignoring the first year she had yelled at running out of the room, Eris began her search, still hopping like a demented bunny rabbit.

The good news about her hopping was that it wasn’t for nought. Adam wasn’t all that hard to find. Spotting a mane of blonde hair in the crowd of people dancing, Eris shoved through the crowd. The action of shoving past people was a lot easier when five feet tall. To Eris’s surprise, many of the younger kids were actually really short. Freakishly short, to be honest. They seemed like skeletons to her. Far too short and far too skinny. Eris wasn’t one to talk, but at least she ate three meals a day. And was slowly growing a bit taller! Shoving through bodies, while bad music played, Eris grumbled and spent most of her time stomping on the shoes of other students, muttering vague apologies to some. Most of the time, Eris cursed and grumbled as she tripped over shoes and feet. Still hunting the crop of blonde hair, she wedged herself through a group of particularly rowdy dancers. They seemed to really like the music, which made Eris raise an eyebrow and elbow one of them decently hard, as she squished through their ranks.

Seeing Adam, Eris grinned. Serena and Reid were near him too. Awesomeness! Or, more awesome than the music. Prolonged screaming wasn’t exactly fun. But, then again, it wouldn’t be a Hogwarts ball without someone or something screaming. Apparently. As Eris made her way towards the small group, they moved away from her. Stuck in the midst of the crowd again, Eris was suddenly reminded that shorter people still could clump together. Engulfed by a maze of dancing bodies and repulsive body odour, Eris groaned loudly. The sound couldn’t be heard over the music, but it was still nice to make some noise of compliant. Then, she went back to the task at hand. Wordlessly, Eris threw herself into once again elbowing and shoving people out of the way. Being scrawny and extremely weak, it took her dazed minutes to ram through the crowd and towards the small corner her friends had scoped out.

Spotting an unfamiliar face, Eris’s face warred between a distrustful glare and a welcoming smile. Finally, Eris settled on looking at the new face with a confused mask of neutrality. Reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, a nervous gesture that usually worked, Eris realized her hair was much shorter now. She stopped, hand held up to her ear. Silently moving her hand back down to her side, Eris squinted at the person next to Reid. Was that Eri Windstone? Eris glared intently at Eri, frowning. Not bothering to greet Serena or her friend, Eris butted into the conversation with the question that was really bothering her.

“Why is Eri hanging out with Reid?” Eris burst out, squinting over at Eri Windstone. As a person who didn’t think things through usually, Eris was dimly aware of the fact that she had greetings to attend to and apologies to make. “I hope he’s not friends with her. That would be… awkward.” Eris lamented, before looking around. Once her pressing question had escaped, Eris seemed to realize that she was around her friends!

Eri Windstone was hardly worth Eris’s time, anyways. Glaring once last time, Eris then turned back to her friends. Grinning at Adam, Eris’s cheeks flushed crimson. It was strange how prone to blushing she was around him. But, Eris didn’t feel self-conscious. Not at the moment. With Kaegen in safe hands, it was the prime time for an enjoyable night. Not even Eri could ruin that. “I’ve returned! The school is safe because of me. I singlehandedly stopped the threat of mass destruction.” Eris declared, even if that was far from the truth. She would get into the real story later when there wasn’t a stranger in the midst of her friends. There was no reason to trust whoever the new girl was, even if her mask was quite lovely.

“As a newfound hero, it’s my pleasure to say… hey Serena! You look so freaking pretty. It’s kinda unfair. Remind me to borrow one of your dresses next time we have a ball.” Eris greeted, giggling at herself. Even if she was mildly jealous of how pretty Serena looked, she played it off, merrily beaming at her friend. In the presence of people she enjoyed so much, the bad music became secondary. It was easy to ignore, and maybe easier to dance with. Regardless of how the music sounded, Eris was going to dance with Adam. That was a guarantee.