pyr min solemnly swears he is up to no good (twinclaws) wrote in emillion, |
The only thing keeping Pyr from labelling the whole evening as a complete fiasco had been the prospect of getting to see Ari perform during the second half. The twins had spent most of the evening surreptitiously plotting ways to avoid returning to Ordalia, but none of them seemed plausible, and Sunhwa Min would not be swayed by their arguments. The giant monster that had wrecked half the city only a few days prior did not help their case. He consoled himself by haunting the food tables, piling canapes on a plate and wolfing them down to make room for more. He was embarked on such a quest when he spotted an extremely familiar face nearby, and felt his jaw drop. Juliette Coulombe, wearing a dress—not an ugly cupcake dress like the ones other noble girls were wearing, but a dress that hugged her figure and made her look different than she looked in training or everyday clothes. She looked like a girl. Which he’d always known she was, obviously, he wasn’t dumb—but he wasn’t expecting this visual confirmation. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it, but he forced himself to act normal and not stare. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel awkward—she didn’t need much help with that. “Hi,” he greeted, casually. She seemed to be there with the same aim as he, and so he added, “You should try the crab bites, they’re pretty good.” “Are they?” She had seen his brother (thinking about it, it had to have been his brother under the mistletoe at the ball) dressed nicely, so it was not such a surprise; it was more surprising that she now identified him by his penchant not to be horribly rude with the first words out of his mouth. “I shall have to try one.” She selected one to put onto her plate, feeling oddly self-conscious. Alone in her living room with the Countess and her tailor, this dress had seemed a wonderful idea -- no ruffles, no lace, a skirt that skimmed straight down, no embellishments at the neck or sleeves, just the subtle sheen of deep blue velvet -- but she had gotten more than a few startled looks upon her arrival here, and one or two well-meaning ladies had even commented how very grown up she looked. She wondered if she oughtn’t have stayed with the ruffles, after all. But these were thoughts for another time; fortunately for her, Pyr preferred unlikely older bards, so her dress could hardly matter here. “Are you enjoying yourself?” she said. Then, after a moment, “Is your brother here, as well?” He nodded and jabbed a thumb in the direction of the tables. “Yup. He’s keeping our parents busy, since it’s my turn to raid the food tables.” He popped one of the crab bites into his mouth and almost forgot to finish chewing and swallowing before he spoke. “The show looks like it’ll be pretty awesome. I hate the suit, though.” He hooked a finger under his collar; wearing a shirt buttoned up to his neck and a bowtie made him feel choked. “I see.” She looked in the direction he had indicated, catching sight of the other twin. They really were mirror images. “I encountered him at a ball about a week ago,” she admitted. She wondered if he might be cross with her, even if it hadn’t been her fault. She couldn’t help being vaguely amused at his fidgeting; with a small smile, she told him, “Be thankful it is not an evening gown.” She was fairly certain she would rather wear a suit. Her comment shocked a laugh out of him. He thought it might have been a joke. “Right,” he said. “I’d look stupid in a gown.” The thought didn’t even bear considering, but he felt Juliette’s display of a sense of humor had to be encouraged. “There was that thing with his Guildmaster or something last week, right,” he agreed. As far as he was concerned, he was glad the Riskbreaker didn’t organize stuff like that for all the guild to attend; it sounded like a huge pain, from what Sky had told him. “You went to that?” |