[color=#DEC5D6][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/m6hY3dZ.png[/img][/center]
[color=#8D3B72]Time:[/color] Evening
[color=#8D3B72]Location:[/color] Banquet Hall
[color=#8D3B72]Interactions/Mentions:[/color] [@Oso] Cassius, [@princess] Charlotte, Calvert, Alibeth, Edin, [@Apex Sunburn] Sjan-dehk, [@Helo] Callum, & [@Tpartywithzombi]
[color=#8D3B72]Aesthetic:[/color] [url=https://i.imgur.com/58FOu03.jpeg]Outfit[/url]


[center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1064772112633569330/1100627858638000148/Banner.png[/img][/center]
Kalliope's laugh came low, breathy against his skin. Her eyes flicked to his lips, and for a heartbeat, she leaned in close, voice warm with velvet promise.

[color=#8D3B72]“Hard candy… hard liquor… hard nights,”[/color] she murmured. [color=#8D3B72]“I’ve got a craving for all three, but one of them hits a little deeper than the others.”[/color] She let her gaze trail down his chest with open appreciation, a spark in her eye that said she meant every word.

But just as quickly as the warmth rose in her throat, it choked.

Her eyes had shifted for just a second.

And that was all it took.

She saw Charlotte’s hands move and a close Sjan-dehk's. Saw his hand move gently to her neck. A moment of softness, of closeness. A touch she recognized all too well because she had dreamed of it. It hit like a slap. Not for what it was, but for what it [i]could[/i] be. What it looked like.

She went still.

It didn’t matter that her heart knew how kind he was, how easily he offered comfort. The part of her that still bled believed what her eyes saw. And it was enough to leave something sour in her throat.

So when Cassius offered his hand, she took it.

Not with mischief this time, but with quiet resolve.

She let him guide her through the room, but her smile had dulled. Her spine remained straight, but something in her eyes had shuttered just a bit. The storm hadn’t broken. But the winds had changed.

As they neared their table, she heard Calbert’s voice. Cool and sharp. Then Violet’s, righteous and aching beneath the venom. But it was Callum’s voice that really drew her attention.

Her brows drew together, head tilting slightly as she stared at him—Callum—with growing unease. The words spilling from his mouth were smooth, polished… cruel in a way she’d never heard before. Not from him. Callum was sharp, yes. Sarcastic. Honest to a fault. But never venomous. Never calculated like this. He spoke too freely to play court games. Hated the very idea of them.

She knew the way he clenched his jaw when nobles flattered his father. Knew the quiet way he always watched the exits in a room, never fully at ease. She’d seen that thread of kindness in him too many times to forget it. That subtle pacifism, that awkward softness beneath the sharp tongue. And yet…

“Did I not just see your bastard assault one of my father’s esteemed guests?”

Her body stilled. Her gaze flicked sharply to Cassius.

[i]Bastard.[/i]

No. Callum never would have said that. Not about Cassius. Not about anyone.

So who the fuck was sitting in his place?

The air felt colder somehow, the unease slithering down her spine like something ancient and wrong. She turned toward Cassius, but her eyes flicked toward the table where Violet sat tight-jawed and Calbert’s fury simmered like a coiled storm.

Kalliope exhaled slowly. Then leaned in, speaking low enough that only Cassius could hear.

[color=#8D3B72]“You should go stand beside her.”[/color] Her gaze flicked to Violet, then to Calbert. [color=#8D3B72]“She might not ask, but she needs you. And you…”[/color] Her fingers tightened gently around his. [color=#8D3B72]“You need to be with your family. At least for this.”[/color]

A pause.

[color=#8D3B72]“I don’t like Calbert,”[/color] she added, the words dry as sand. [color=#8D3B72]“But I can’t deny he loves his children. And tonight… I think Violet needs her brother more than she needs vengeance.”[/color]

She pulled her hand away, brushing her fingers across his wrist like a soft goodbye. [color=#8D3B72]“Go. I’ll take my seat and pretend not to be heartbroken and starving.”[/color]

There was a faint lilt to her voice—playful on the surface. But it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She then looked to Edin, then Alibeth as she gave the queen a silent look that she knew she would understand as “I'm ready in case anything breaks out and I'm listening as always.” Her eyes fell on Callum once more as she stared at him for a heartbeat, eyes narrowing slightly before leaving him.

She turned from Cassius and made her way toward her seat, shoulders straight, chin lifted, but her steps dragged just a little more than usual. She told herself it was the heels. The weight of the evening. The sting of Callum’s words still echoing in her mind.

And then she passed him.

Sjan-dehk.

She might have kept walking, might have even managed to ignore him, if she hadn’t glanced up.

Their eyes met.

It wasn’t anger that flickered in hers. No, it was something softer, sadder. A flicker of confusion. Of disappointment. Of doubt. She hadn’t given her heart to him, not fully, not yet… but the bruised thing in her chest still flinched at the sight.

And the worst part?

She didn’t even know if she had the right.

Her gaze dropped, lashes lowering as she passed by, offering no smile, no word. Only silence—and the faint rustle of fabric as she took her seat at the table, hands folded a little too tightly in her lap.[/color]