The Strange New Girl at the Ball

Adrastea knew that no one recognized her here.
She hadn't even attended a class yet, but her paperwork had just gone through, and Lord Death had told her to go to the formal anyways. She exhaled a sigh. This didn't bring her any closer to being able to hunt witches, and neither did the long pale pink and green gown that she was currently dressed in. She looked like a masterful painting; perfect hair and skin, adorned in a beautiful gown with all eyes on her, but it made her uncomfortable. Each click of her heels against the floor made her cringe with the eyes that it drew. Most lingered.

Aesop straightened his tie in the reflection of the punchbowl. He wasn't sure if he should feel proud or embarrassed that his regular clothes were already formal enough for him to go to, well, a formal. Though he decided to add a dress jacket to his usual ensemble in order for it too look a little different than it did before.

He gazed around the ballroom. Both the walls and people were decorated beautifully. This certainly was a classy event. But what else could you expect from one of the most prestigious schools in the world.

His eyes caught on the girl adorned with a gorgeous dress and an uncomfortable expression. Aesop found himself frowning with her. Damsel in distress, is what came through his mind when he saw her. Perhaps she wasn't in any real danger, but she was clearly distressed. He strolled over to her.

"Hello ma'am," Aesop held out his hand, "I'm Aesop Fable. Is everything alright?"

Orion walked into the ballroom. He wouldn't normally be seen in a place like this. He was wearing a white tux jacket, black tux pants, white shirt, and black bow tie. His dog tags were still on him and he walked around the room. He walked up to to Adrastea and Aesop "Uhh... hello there. I'm Orion Miller."

Shizu was waiting just outside the doors leading into the ballroom. She typically wasn't the type to go to such a high class social event such as this, but it was the first one of the year... so she had convinced herself to go.

She had dressed formally, as it was the dress code for this type of event, in a sky-blue dress that flowed elegantly to just above her knees. It was different compared to her normal attire, but a good different.

It didn't take the meister long to realize that whoever had decorated for the ball had exquisite tastd in decor! "Wow..." was all she could manage to say. Her eyes gazed endlessly around as more and more curiosity got the better of her. She even managed to bump into a few people from not paying attention, though she apologized each time. Shizu then let her feet take her to the dancefloor, where she watched in silence as the people danced.

Lynne wasn't much for large social gatherings, but usually, if not always, parties were another word for free food. Creeping her way into the ballroom the meister was seen fashionably dressed in her witch garb; the costume itself didn't look much like what your typical sorceress would be wearing which is exactly why she'd chosen it. The evening gown was a flowing combination of peach-orange, almost white silk, as well as black fabric towards the chest and waist areas. The whole thing seemed to give off an orange glow, and the individual ruffles moved gracefully as Lynne made her way for the buffet table. The young witch got a few glances from other ball-goers, but she just didn't have the kind of body that really drew in a crowd. She figured that it was her long, vibrant, orange hair that got her some glances more than anything.

((There's a reference pic of the dress on my char. page if anyone's interested. c:))

Orion wasn't much for dancing. He preferred the food and drinks available. He made his way past Shizu and Lynne. The weapon felt like a teenage James Bond in his tux. When he got over to the refreshments table, he picked up a soda and walked back by Lynne. This time he flashed a half smile at her and went to lean against a nearby column.

After the events following his arrival at the school's cafeteria, Martyn could only hope something ridiculous wouldn't come up at this social gathering. He adorned a pale red shirt covered by a black dress jacket and bowtie with black slacks. He wasn't accustomed to this odd attire, he just recently bought the clothes and everything itched to the high heavens. He noticed Shizu, and immediatlly approached her. "Hello miss, your looking stunning. May we dance?" He was sweating on the inside.

Orion slowly drank from his soda, he was focused on the students out on the dance floor. He saw Martyn and waved hello when he thought Martyn was looking at him. Then he turned his attention back to the dance floor to keep watching the dancers on the floor.

As soon as Martyn had approached, Shizu turned her full attention to him. With a somewhat hesitant smile, she nodded. "I would love to, but be warned, I'm not the best dancer in the world." she replied with a soft chuckle. She hadn't thought that she might be asked to dance, so she was taken a bit by suprise...

Lynne waved her hand hurriedly at Orion since she was "busy" tasting each and every dish the ball had to offer. Needless to say, she looked awkward returning the gesture. Lynne had hoped to see some familiar faces at the event, but so far she couldn't find anyone she knew. Although, the meister didn't know many of the students that were enrolled in the DWMA in the first place.

"Don't fret. I'll lead." He managed with a comforting smile. The only real dance he knew was how to waltz, he had learned so many years ago, he could only hope he wasn't rusty. He took her hands carefully. And through the first few numbers everything was going decent. "To be honest, it wouldn't be my first time." He forced himself to relax. You're doing great! He found himself gazing into her eyes, and he couldn't seem to look away.

Adrastea blinked at the two boys who had introduced themselves. The perfect porcelain skin on her face seemed to glow slightly in the light. She brought no other word to mind than simply radiant, "Hello... Aesop, and Orion." she offered a half-smile uncertain of herself in her entirety. She couldn't help the intrusion of the thought, If they knew what I was, would they talk to me still? No. Probably not. Regardless the chance to meet her classmates was always welcome, "I'm Adrastea. If that's too long for you, I've gone by Addy before, too."

For the first few moments, Shizu had been beyond nervous. She hadn't ever waltzed before... but she has seen people do it before. She counted in her head to help her concentrate a bit better. "Well Im glad to know that one of us has experience. " she replied with a smile, forcing her nerves to settle.

In order to make contact with his eyes, despite having some heel to her shoes, she had to look up. This wouldn't be the first time her shortness got in the en way, but for some reason this time... it didn't bother her as much as it usually would.

"My name is Shizu, by the way... Shizu Resu." She finally stated. Her thoughts and words felt a bit mixed up as she danced with the unknown meister. Her eyes kept shifting from their feet to his gaze every now and again, just to make sure she was still dancing correctly.

"Martyn De-" he caught himself mid-sentence. He didn't know how much longer he could go living a lie. "-Deville, Sorry." They getting close to the greater maneuvers "I hope your ready," He couldn't help but smirk. He lead her into the overhand spin and brought her back about to do the dip.

Aesop bowed, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Addy." He gently took her hand and kissed it. That's what gentlemen did in settings like this, right? That's what they did in all the books he read at least. He glided back into a straighter position, letting her hand go.

This girl's makeup was applied very well, he noted to himself. She seemed to have a grasp on what colors to use and where. It took him a moment to realize that his gaze was lingering a bit too long.

"Ah, sorry for staring. But I have to ask, did you do your own makeup?" Aesop inquired.

The meister couldn't help but be caught a bit off guard. Before she could process a single word, Shizu found herself smiling as the room as started to spin. The sound of the classicalmusic had reached its climax as Martyn dipped Shizu. "Wow, you really are good." She complimented him with a rather impressed expression. Her hair was still perfect, despite the spin and dip, as was her dress. This was a bit relieving, but she didn't care too much at this moment. Right now, it seemed to be just the two of them. Then she noticed that she had a fairly strong grip of her dance-partner and eased up a little.

She paused, thinking to herself what an odd question it was, and pondering the gesture. "I'm... Not wearing any makeup." she stated more out of uncertainty than anything. Did she look like she was wearing makeup? She did have long dark lashes, and very evenly toned skin... Perhaps it made more sense than she realized.

"Really?" Aesop's eyebrows raised, "It appears your genetics were quite kind to you, Miss Addy." He was smiling but on the inside he was slapping himself. Genetics? What kind of weird compliment is that?

"What I'm say is that I-" He cut himself off before he could finish his sentence. What I'm saying is that I would kill to have such a face as naturally beautiful as yours.

"What I'm saying is that I think my sister would kill to have a face as naturally beautiful as yours, Miss Addy." Well that wasn't technically a lie.

He carefully brought her back to her feet. "Oh... thanks." He couldn't help blushing a little bit "You know, you aren't too bad yourself." Being held so tightly made him feel warm on the inside, and as soon a she loosened her grip, it slipped away. He almost felt like reaching for it, hoping it'd come back but he'd look extremely stupid. He got so caught up in his thoughts he stopped dancing, and kinda awkwardly let go of her staring into her eyes still. He was almost bewitched by this moment.

Despite his tripping over his words and obvious stammering, she couldn't help but smile and blush timidly, fidgeting with her hands and looking down at her feet, even though they were hidden beneath her dress, "Th-thank you... That's very kind of you to say."

Lynne decided that she had enough hors d'oeuvres from the banquet table. Well, it was more that she was beginning to feel a bit self conscious from the looks that some of the party guests were giving her; let's just say they were less than approving. The girl only wanted no more than to eat and sleep. She couldn't dance for her life, especially in a dress, but she made the effort to walk around the ballroom. On one side of the room she spotted a gorgeous girl with flawless, alabaster skin and blonde hair. Naturally Lynne was intimidated, so instead she made her way towards a girl with a rather disappointing body much like herself and much shorter. She appeared younger than the witch, although their chests were almost identical. Lynne sighed, glancing down at her bust as she strolled towards the brown-haired girl who seemed to be staring into the eyes of a short, blonde-haired boy.

"You're quite welcome, Miss Addy," Aesop nodded politely. His face was calm but mentally he was squeeing with delight at the girl's adorably fidgety behavior. Speaking of adorable, what was his meister up to?

He quickly spotted his Shizu locked in dance with a boy he didn't know. She seemed to be enjoying herself, he noted with a smile. He flashed her a thumbs up before turning back to Addy. This was a ball, perhaps he should follow in his meister's footsteps.

"Would you care to dance, Miss Addy?" He held out his hand to the girl.

She looked up, meeting his eyes, searching for something that would tell her that he would still be behaving this way if he knew what she was. But the fluttering shyness in her chest that made her feel close to flying overpowered her normal desire to focus on the task at hand and she simply nodded a shy yes, cheeks flushing a bright pink.

Aesop nearly yanked the poor girl onto the dance floor when she said yes. Thankfully he came to his senses and led her in a more graceful manner.

He went into the position his Father had taught him not long ago. With his one hand holding hers and another on her shoulder, the position felt a little off to him. With embarrassment he realized that he had put himself in the women's position. Giving a nervous laugh he removed his hand from her shoulder and placed it on her side.

"Shall we begin?" He inquired his dance partner.

Adrastea nodded sheepishly, smiling slightly beneath her attempt to force remaining calm. She had never danced before, but how hard could it be? After all, she would let him lead, and simply follow along. This could be a learning experience! A lock of her blonde hair fell across her eyes, the curl tickling the end of her nose. She tossed her head up to throw off the curl, but she suddenly looked so much more confident and refined with her head up and shoulders back, ready for him to lead.