[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/lp7lay3.png[/img]
[hr][i][color=LightSteelBlue]Time: Evening[/color] 
[color=LightSteelBlue]Location: Banquet Hall[/color] 
[color=LightSteelBlue]Mentions / Interactions:[/color] [@Tae] Kali, [@princess] Lottie, [@Apex Sunburn] Sjan-dehk[/i][/center]
[hr]

[color=lightgray]

Kalliope’s words hit him with the kind of imagery that tugged instinct out of muscle memory. He leaned in without thinking, letting that wicked little smirk settle fully across his face as his hand drifted lazily to the wall behind her, drawing them just a little closer.

[color=lightsteelblue]“Hard candy,”[/color] he echoed, voice low and warm like the press of skin to velvet. [color=lightsteelblue]“Hard liquor...”[/color]

His gaze dipped briefly, grazing her lips. He leaned in, his voice dropped into something that could barely be called speaking.

[color=lightsteelblue]“As [i]hard[/i] as things were the other night.”[/color] His eyes traveled down her body and then down his own…just about to his belt. 

Then, something in his expression flickered.

Just the tiniest twitch of his brow, the subtlest shift in his gaze. Like a sound only he had heard.

His eyes moved, almost against his will, scanning the room... and stopped.

Charlotte.

She was seated again, her posture a little too stiff, her hand clutched around her wineglass like it was the only solid thing left in the world. He caught the tension in her jaw, the paleness in her cheeks. And beside her, Sjan-dehk.

Cassius froze, just for a second. Something inside him turned. Not jealousy. Not anger. Just... that feeling. The one that felt like waking up underwater. Heavy and cold. All he could think about now was how something was clearly bothering Lottie, and how he couldn’t fight the urge to make sure that she was okay. 

His gaze lingered for a breath too long, then he turned back to Kalliope, the grin on his face dimming enough for perhaps just her to notice.

He cleared his throat softly.

[color=lightsteelblue]“We should probably go find our seats,”[/color] he said, voice still warm, but quieter now, and far less playful. 

He moved without waiting, offering her a hand like a gentleman even as something behind his eyes gave him away. Cassius Vael, wrapped in silk, sharp as ever, perfectly composed... and already gone. 
Pulled across the room like the north pole of a magnet being drawn to its south. [/color]