Lithe fingers curled into the tulle of her dress, something she had never in her wildest dreams imagined she would ever don for such an event. The Masquerade was being held outside but it was still so crowded - something had begun to ballon inside of her chest, she found it a touch harder to breathe and for a moment, out of the corner of her eye, she could’ve sworn on her lifeblood that she had seen one of the white coats. It had been a white coat, what one might entitle a blazer, and when she had spun around on the balls of her black, socked feet in effort to confront that restricting terror she found that the coat was not like those she remembered.
Jayati had helped her choose a dress , something suitable for the occasion that was tactile and easy to maneuver in should she turn into a rabbit and decide to literally bolt from the area. The back was giving enough to accommodate those large, obsidian crow wings which twitched uneasily. In the park her nerves began to calm, her fingers twisted less in the fabric of the skirt of her dress and through the holes in her mask she could see that there was no threat present.
The breeze was comforting. Her skin had felt too hot, she had felt overwhelmed. The crowd gathered was larger than she had anticipated. Beginning at the mask table, O had crept past the smiling, warm faces, pushing her way through the decorated throng of masked civilians. The food had been attractive but she bypassed it in favor of not having to mingle because of it. Her feet carried her lightly across the side of the dance floor and the stage, her vision swam with the obscene colors of clothes, masks, jewelry, her ears resonated with laughter, glee, singing.
Dancing was not a thing she was used to. For a moment O had paused to survey the twisting from the bodies lined along the square floor, their motions almost hypnotic as they swayed in time with each other. Revolted and afraid, she darted away like a mouse for something easier to process. That was when she had spied the coat and her heart nearly burst out of her chest at the sight of it. Without managing to knock anyone over with either wing she escaped to the park.
She knew she was going to have to get used to the people at some point - Jayati was so kind and patient but the lesson was firmly wedged in between tactful words and O understood. She was part of this community now, and either she would learn to adapt or she would leave. She didn’t want to leave. Even in this city full of strange things she felt alone, lonely, the way she had felt for what she could recall of her life.
Silently she found a large, illuminated tree and she stood beneath it with the intent of catching her breath and debating on whether or not to once more attempt to brave the soirée of merry guests.