Ari ♫ ♪ ♬ (gracenotes) wrote in emillion, |
The evening had been progressing quite well thus far, which did not surprise Ari in the least. The music and food were excellent, watching people giving a wide berth to the mistletoe was amusing, and she was fairly certain that even Foxe, with all of his grudging disdain in accompanying her here, was having a good time. She had lost track of him in the crowd sometime earlier -- perhaps he had spotted Bella once again (and wasn’t that an unexpectedly interesting development?) -- leaving her to flit between groups of partygoers, greeting friends, acquaintances, and colleagues as she made her way across the room. There were a few faces in particular she was hoping to see tonight; when she spotted one of them just across the room, she stopped for a moment to admire the view. True, she was quite fond of Aspel in her sooty smithing gear or her notoriously flimsy armor (or, perhaps most especially, in nothing at all), but it was always a pleasure to see the other woman finely attired for such an event. Ari was a great appreciator of beauty, after all. Though they had seen each other only yesterday, she hardly gave it any consideration as she made her way over, plucking a glass of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray so that she could present it to Aspel upon arrival, smiling as she said, “I would drink a toast to the way you look in that dress, if I could -- sadly, as it stands, you will have to drink it for me.” “Pity.” Aspel couldn’t help but take on a slightly teasing tone in response to the offered glass, and toast of sorts as the glass was relinquished from the other woman’s grasp. A soft smile had settled over her features at the first intonation of the bard’s voice, and would not seem to be leaving anytime soon. “And to think, I was holding within my mind the consideration of taking you home, so that we might have engaged in quite the intoxicating evening, yet alas.” A hand gestured off to one side, seeming to passively dismiss the idea as the smile took on something a bit more mischievous and the glass was raised in the air. “Another eve perhaps, no?” A flash of a devilish smirk would be offered before the glass was raised to her lips, a simple sip being taken with ease. “What I find to be the greater pity is the narrow idea that an intoxicating evening requires alcohol,” Ari teased back just as easily. She had come in with another friend, but she doubted he would spend the entirety of the evening here as she intended to -- nor that he would begrudge her leaving with someone else (if anything, she suspected he might be a bit relieved). “However,” she said thoughtfully, “home is hours away yet. I have no intention of bowing out early. So many waltzes to dance and sprigs of mistletoe yet to visit.” She sighed dramatically and proclaimed, “How very difficult our lives are.” “Ah, but it would seem you have caught me in my twisted web.” Aspel’s eyes sparkled, clearly something ticking away within her mind. The liquid in the glass was absently swished around for a brief second before a curious brow rose as Ari continued on with her speech. “Suggestions on what we may engage our oh so difficult lives in, perhaps?” Certainly, if Ari had none - what a preposterous thought - Aspel could gladly come up with some of her own. “Well, at least your mind -- like your web -- happens to be twisted in primarily good ways,” Ari said. It was, in her mind, the best sort of compliment. “As for suggestions… I can provide several,” she answered after a moment of thought. “Seeing as we are at a ball, there is of course the option to engage in dancing -- the exact variety thereof, however, I can leave to your discretion.” Her sly little smile would imply quite clearly that it was not just a waltz or quickstep on offer. The estate had any number of dark corners, she was certain. “We might play a game, which may or may not involve finding every sprig of mistletoe scattered about this place and possibly scandalizing some of the more upright guests. Or,” she finished, “if you’ve a more amusing notion to offer, I am, of course, interested to hear it.” |