[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] [@Tpartywithzombi] Violet, [@Apex Sunburn] Iyen & Sjan-dehk, [@princess] Charlotte, [@JJ Doe] Fritz, [@FunnyGuy] Alexander & Lorenzo, [@ReusableSword] Roman
[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 didn’t immediately answer.

Her eyes had drifted again, this time not out of avoidance, but necessity. One by one, people were leaving. First Violet Damien, storming out with her jaw tight and expression shattered. Then Lorenzo, practically dragging Alexander out like a man on the edge of losing control. Charlotte, a soft blur in silk, slipped through the doors not long after them and not far behind her was another man. Then Mina Blackwood, wild-eyed and high on something Kalliope couldn’t name, now had Roman by the arm, half-pleading, half-commanding as she tried to get him out of his seat.

It was all unraveling.

Every instinct in her spine screamed of something deeper, something wrong. This wasn’t a feast anymore–it was a powder keg, and someone was playing with matches.

And in the middle of it, Iyen was still smiling like this was all some casual exchange over fucking bread.

Kalliope’s hand flexed against her glass, knuckles pale, before letting go and leaning back with a sigh. hen she finally spoke, her voice was low. Calm. Sharp-edged in the way of broken glass laid gently on silk.


Her lips quirked, dry and amused.

[color=#8D3B72][i]“You’re a strange one,”[/i][/color] she said softly, not quite a compliment, but not an insult either. [color=#8D3B72][i]“You come in swinging like a drunk in a bar brawl, and now you’re giving me speeches about ghosts and brotherly loyalty.”[/i][/color]

Her gaze flicked briefly toward Sjan-dehk, her expression flickering–wistful, maybe. Uncertain.

[color=#8D3B72][i]“You're not wrong,”[/i][/color] Her voice was quieter now, stripped of the venom and sharpness. [color=#8D3B72][i]“About talking to him. About him thinking he’s the one who messed up.”[/i][/color] Her voice caught slightly, just enough to betray the tension threading her chest. [color=#8D3B72][i]“I didn’t mean to make him feel that way.”[/i][/color]

She glanced back to Iyen, the faintest frown tugging at her brow. [color=#8D3B72][i]“You say you’ve looked out for him for years. Good.”[/i][/color] She hesitated, then added, [color=#8D3B72][i]“Keep doing that. Just… don’t mistake my instinct to protect him as some kind of rejection. If he’s smart, and I think he is, he’ll understand that eventually.”[/i][/color]

A pause, then a low huff of laughter slipped from her throat.

[color=#8D3B72][i]“And for the record, I’d pay good coin to watch him try and swim back to Jafi. Might even pack him snacks.”[/i][/color]

The humor was faint, but genuine, laced with a hint of fondness she couldn’t quite choke down. Not even now.

She then eyed the offered mug like it might bite. Her brows arched slightly, not in suspicion, but something wry. Tired. She didn’t reach for it–yet–but her expression softened a fraction as she leaned her cheek into her knuckles. [color=#8D3B72][i]“You’re really committed to this redemption arc, huh?”[/i][/color] she murmured with dry amusement. Her gaze flicked to the mug, then back to Iyen’s face. [color=#8D3B72][i]“Keep this up and I might have to stop glaring at you every time you open your mouth.”[/i][/color] She didn’t take the drink, but the weight in her shoulders eased slightly, the edge around her mouth curving into something close to truce. Not friendship. Not yet. But maybe the first step toward something less flammable.

[color=#8D3B72][i]“Thank you,”[/i][/color] she said, and this time, she meant it. [color=#8D3B72][i]“But keep it. I think we both need to stay sharp tonight.”[/i][/color]

Her tone shifted just a little, softening by a degree.

[color=#8D3B72][i]“I don’t know what kind of ghosts you’ve had to fight off, but if they were anything like mine… you might want to keep your blade close, too.”[/i][/color]

Then her eyes found Sjan-dehk, just briefly, and she held his gaze.

Not beckoning with a wave. Not calling him out loud.

Just…looking.

A silent request.

A quiet pull that said, [color=#8D3B72][i]Please come here? Something might be happening. And I want you near if it does.[/i][/color][/color]