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[sub]Interactions: [@Aamaya] • [@Raylah][/sub]

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[color=silver]Her eyes kept drifting over the masses of people in the stunning garden, sipping on her whiskey, feeling the burning the alcoholic beverage left in her throat and then the warmth in her chest as she swallowed it. She wasn't fully aware of who she was looking for in the crowd, but she was searching for something. Eve stopped her gaze from wandering along the guests for a moment, trying to understand what exactly she was even looking for. Her parents perhaps? The next get-together with her mother would not be pleasant, giving her current attire, that was for sure. But no, she wasn't looking out for the inevitable trouble she had gotten herself into. She didn't feel threatened or unsafe, meaning she would not be needing the presence of guards - mostly she hated being guarded. She felt like she was getting babysitted, spied on even, to make sure she does not do anything her mother would disapprove of.

It was Laurel she was looking for in the crowd, Eve then realized. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought about spotting the woman in the crowd, how she would be looking for Eve and how her face would lit up when she would find her. [i]That is silly,[/i] she scolded herself. Laurel was not [i]lighting up[/i] when she saw Eve. There was no reason for that either. They had been friends for years. [i]You're being absolutely unreasonable.[/i] Eve banished Laurel's beautiful face from her inner eye; she could not be so trapped inside her fantasies right now.

Her eyes wandered over the woman next to her again, just as she was licking her upper lip and Eve noticed the slit in her tongue. Her eyes widened for just a tiny moment as she had never seen such a thing before. To be fairly honest, it made her feel a tad bit uncomfortable. It was something new, strange to her, and she would have to get used to it first. She didn't know if she ever would.

[color=bc8dbf][i][b]"Mm, I suppose you could say that."[/b][/i][/color] Her voice cut through the loud environment with ease. [color=bc8dbf][i][b]"Earthica, yes? I am Aamaya, what is your name?"[/b][/i][/color] 

Aamaya... Why did it feel like that name should be giving Eve any sort of information? She tried to recollect her memory about a name such as Aamaya, but she could not entirely grasp what it was about that name that felt off to her. If it was of any importance, she was sure Aamaya would have added that bit of information as well. Eve tossed the feeling aside. [b][color=82ca9d]"It's Eve"[/color][/b], she answered shortly, still quiet overpowered by the view of the split tongue and a little insecure around the confidence of the woman.

Before she could add anything else, Aamaya would examine Evangeline's appearance. Eve felt a little bit uncomfortable being looked up and down like that, unsure of how a lady dressed in a million stars would react to her improper plain attire. To her very surprise the woman let out a soft, short giggle. And even more surprisingly so, it warmed Eve's heart a little, the corners of her mouth would lift slightly. [color=bc8dbf][i][b]"Your attire.. is very interesting. Most would dress to impress, but you dress for comfort. I like that."[/b][/i][/color]

Now it was the red haired woman that let a short giggle be heard. [b][color=82ca9d]"I appreciate that. I have to admit, this is not quiet my scene."[/color][/b] Eve gave Aamaya a soft, sincere smile.

She wanted to add how surprised she was by the approval of a lady in a such light reflecting, shiny gown, but stopped herself from any more words when Aamaya's eyes met directly with hers. It felt intimidating, it feel intimate and yet Eve could not draw her eyes from looking back into hers. Hazel eyes, gorgeously bright with a certain curiosity in them, she could spot the golden and blue bits in them, mesmerized by the beauty of the intertwined colors. The broken iris of her right eye looking like a delicate drop of rain dominated Eve's attention. She felt trapped under the gaze and, what concerned her the most, she didn't even mind.

The stranger's hand rose towards her face, touching a ginger strand of hair and playing with it between fingers shortly. A visible blush appeared on Eve's cheeks. She had never met such behavior before - but once again, she didn't even mind. Something about the way Aamaya's hazel eyes had looked at hers, and were now examining her red mane, was raw, honest and she felt like Aamaya too was making her self vulnerable as she proceeded in those somewhat intimate forms of interaction.

[color=bc8dbf][i][b]"I have always been so intrigued by Levonian hair, it is as if someone lit ice ablaze. Contrasting beautifully against your people's pale complexions. Your skin is so youthful, do you bathe in blood?"[/b][/i][/color] Firstly feeling flattered by her words, Eve soon showed a moment of shock on her expression as the traditional blood-bathing was mentioned. She had completely forgotten about the odd, barbaric ritual while engaging so inappropriately with Aamaya, who after all was still a stranger to her. Evangeline felt slightly angered, mostly disgusted, that the woman would suggest such a thing about her.

Just then Aamaya repositioned herself. Withdrawing her gaze from Evangeline, she cleared her throat, blinked a couple of times and lifted her chin up high as though being above Eve. The Earthica princess frowned at the sudden change of behavior; it left a strangely heavy feeling in her heart she knew too well from her father. It was disappointment. What had she done this time to bring someone so quickly to change their attitude towards her? The bubble she now realized she had been in had burst. 

Evangeline observed the woman's facial expression closely, trying to get behind the thoughts and struggles of her. As the heavy feeling in her chest disappeared, only lasting for a mere second, she was able to see that Aamaya was indeed struggling with something, she believed her behavior to be an act, and her previous interactions with Eve to having been sincere and upright. The intriguing curiosity was no more.

[color=bc8dbf][i][b]"My most sincere apologies, I've just realized you're the Princess of Earthica yes? My mind is cloudy, I am unfamiliar with such diversity, it must have slipped my mind completely... I hate to abandon this conversation so early, but I have somewhere I must be."[/b][/i][/color] - [color=82ca9d][b]"Wait, -"[/b][/color] But she had already slipped away gracefully. Eve wanted to tell her that it was just fine, she could be herself, she wanted to reassure her that she was not offended by her intrusive actions. Rather, it was a welcoming breakout of the strict environment they found themselves in currently. But she had been left standing at the bar, looking into the crowd that the strange woman had disappeared into.

Evangeline leaned her whole weight against the counter of the bar. Recollecting her thoughts, trying to process what had just happened. Much time for that she did not have. [color=fff200]“You have to excuse my cousin, she has worked very hard to make sure that every tiny aspect of the festival is perfect, and she is a bit exhausted. You must be princess Evangeline Townsend. Welcome to Exodus.”[/color]

Evangeline's eyes gazed over the woman, like they had gazed over Aamaya minutes ago. If she did not know anything about this woman, she knew she was gorgeously beautiful. The women of Exodus seemed to have a standard of looking appealing to one's eye. The stranger, someone from so far away, who she surely had never met before, knowing her name felt odd and almost intruding to her. She realized that the guests and possibly the servants of the festival had done their required research about the other royal families, even though she hadn't.

There were two other things she made a mental note of. First, Aamaya had worked on the festival, which must mean she was working for the royal family. And second, she had a cousin, who seemed to also be working for the royal family.

[color=fff200]“My name is Thyrri. I hope you are enjoying the festival.”[/color] 

Eve took a long sip of her whiskey, which was coming dangerously close to being empty, before she answered. [color=82ca9d][b]"Thyrri, that's a beautiful name. I have not yet come to enjoy much of it, to be entirely honest with you. It has not been so long since my arrival and I have so far only had time to indulge in a short-lived conversation with your cousin Aamaya. And please, call me Eve."[/b][/color] Evangeline searched for similar oddities in Thyrri's appearance as she had spotted in Aamaya's, but she could not find a broken iris nor did she see a slit in the tongue. She was glad about the latter. The bronze-skinned Freyja woman also did not give away such a pompous appearance as her cousin had done, with a way more casual look than Aamaya, but still much more graceful and appropriate than Evangeline, she found the right balance between elegant and functional to impress Eve. The Earthica princess was somewhat intrigued.

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