[img]https://i.imgur.com/fl5E36F.png[/img] [@rawkhawk64] [hr] Bak worked diligently, her needle and thread punching in and out in the smooth robotic rhythm of an expert tailor. Every time it slid through the tarp in her hands crinkled as it was pulled taut to the tablecloth she had found. It was mindless work, a pure and beautiful thing that didn't require her to think at all especially about how nervous she was to be attending this party or whether the friends she'd had no luck getting in contact with even now were even still all right. It was okay. Everything was okay. Focus on the needle. There was no way you could mess up with the needle. In and out. In and out. In. Out. In. Out. InOutInOutInOutinoutinoutinoutinoutKNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! Bak's head jerked up toward her door, the trance she'd been in for the past hour interrupted. She stood at the far side of the room, in her sewing corner, and started to lay the costume she had been working on atop the actual sewing machine when Yuuto's voice came though the door. She started stomping toward the door to let him in, halting at the threshold momentarily to suffer two thirds of a heart attack between the words "go together" and "as friends." She sighed and got her breath back, at least that all was still right with the world, and cautiously opened the door. "Yuuto! I did not know you would be well enough to be going." She said, surprised. The only reason she wasn't outright dismissing this as some kind of joke was that Yuuto always seemed so stoic about everything. "D-da, if you would like too." She was still pretty uncertain as to why, but maybe he was onto something. If this turned out to be some kind of St. Laural's trap it was better to buddy up anyway. Rational that jelled with her worldview sufficiently established she nodded twice more with more obvious enthusiasm. "Da, Da, is very good idea I think. Could be very fun." [hr] "Ahhhhheeeeeeeeee, looklooklook!" Bak squealed to Yuuto, pointing up as best she possibly could at the explosions going off high above the Rhean Center. The look of childlike wonder in her eyes as she stared directly at the fireworks. You would have to have seen it in her eyes, because you couldn't see anything else. Bak was covered from head to ankle in what looked like a large white sheet, the only parts of her body visible through the eyes holes she had cut into the face and the clawed metallic feet that peaked out beneath the six layers of ruffles she had sewn into he bottom because this was a fancy costume party. Of course under under facade of this sheet the was the steady, reassuring weight of the tarp to keep the costume from being pulled off or blown away so easily. They were attached to one another by expert stitching that ran along the outer edge of he costume, hidden beneath the folds of the ruffles. Above the cascading ruffles a series of merry little ghosts were embroidered, dancing with one another under a series of moons that waxed and wained as they circled her. Two of the little ghosts had wandered up to Bak's face, reaching out with fingerless hands so it appeared as though they were grasping the stiching round her eyes and holding the holes open like you would the curtain on a stage. The last addition were the two "chains" that crisscrossed on her chest and back, the links made from leftover cloth and sewn into the costume itself. Underneath in all, in the safe and private world of the costume, Bak dressed the same as she always did save for two things. The first was actual chains that swayed back and forth as the hung from her arms and neck, the favorite accessory of tortured souls bound to this earth through unfinished business. They gave off a fun ghostly "Klink-klink" sound whenever she moved that served to overpower the far less ghostly "crinkle-crackle" of the tarp. The other was also the accessory of a tortured soul: Vittorio's ring was wrapped around her finger. The spell the fireworks cast on her came to an end as the last of them winked out of the sky, and as the door began to actually open a case of jittery nerves gripped her. As people began filing in to the hall she felt acutely aware of how many of them there were. So many. Not like at a tournament, where they were far away faces in a crowd. Not like at school, where they generally tried to stay out of range when they could. She reached out and grabbed Yuuto's arm, feeling more confident with contact so long as she was covered in her costume and worried a little that he might disappear in this throng of people. "Is, I think, your job to lead me in?" That seemed like a fancy party sort of thing to do, right? [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/NuqXk9g.png[/img][/center] [@Hammerman][@KillamriX88] [hr] In the time leading up to the ball, Katherine had her own struggle to go through. Harder than picking up a costume. Harder even than recovering from the wound in her chest. It was late. Christine was already in bed but here she was, leaning against the wall in the hallway. Mirthlessly she turned her head and looked at the phone. She expended a hand out to it, felt the coolness of the receiver with her palm, groaned, and dropped her hand to her side like it was made of lead. Premiere at the ball. It was a simple plan, just make your grand reintroduction at the ball. Stick to the plan, make a laugh out of it. Hey everybody, Kath's back. Everybody laugh, jump in the air, freeze frame, roll credits. Status quo successfully restored. No need to get all weird about it. She looked back up at the phone. Yeah, in her dreams maybe. There were people she owed better than just showing up out of the blue. "Damn it!" she said, ripped the phone off the hook like you would a band-aide, and dialed his number. It rang once. Twice. She bit her lip. Three times. Then went to voice mail, which caused her to sigh in relief. "Heyyyyyy firebuddy." She started awkwardly. That was about as far as she'd decided on what she was going to say. What could she say to Cassius? "I got your messages. Thanks." Good start, don't mess it up. "Just calling to let you know that I'm fine. I'm okay. I know I've been out of contact for a while but," Should she lie? Why would she lie? Probably for the same reason she'd been hoping to get his voicemail. "I've had a friend helping me recover, hiding me in case of...assassins. Gods, that's still so weird to think about." Off topic, off topic. "Um, anyway were you planning on going to Lise's big ball? We are, me and Chrissy. She thought it would be fun, a way to get back to normal. Can we meet up there? I know it's a masque, but I'll be the girl..." The girl with the big sword scar in her chest from where you watched a dude try to kill the shit out of me before I became a demon and flew off like a bat out of hell. "I'll be dressed as a snowflake princess." She said. "It'll be real obvious." She held on that for a few seconds, wracking her brain for anything else she could say but didn't find anything that didn't deserve something face to face. "See you there. Good night." She hung up, her feet feeling heavy as she made her way to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a hell of a day... [hr] "Alrighty then!" she said as the door began to open, pointing her childish baton at the doors as though she were forcing them open magically. She had to hand it to the princess, this place looked pretty swanky. She grinned at Christine as they started filing their way into the lavish ball room, but her eyes kept scanning the crowed for anyone she recognized. "Let's blow the roof off this place like we're rockstars that just out out of rehab!"