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Awkward.

It was the word of the night for General Queen Tanzanite, who stepped into the elaborately decorated ballroom with an air of confidence and composure; a wolf in sheep's clothing. Trying to readjust to normal life had proven no easy task. Normal life did not include a heavy pair of sentient wings or the constant whisper of Marthozite's voice in the back of her mind. Her skin itched as though the scales and spines beneath were trying to tear their way out, but her mind was more at ease than it had been in months. It could only last a few hours, but they would be more peaceful than those she spent in her more natural skin. Tanzanite hadn't been back in the bones of Aree Cadence since before her capture. Being human, it seemed, was not quite as easy as riding a bike. It did not come naturally or easily, and the subtle mannerisms required at such social events easily escaped her.

Of course, that was the thing about sociopaths, you just couldn't take them anywhere

Her face was one of quiet contemplation, her eyes searching the room like a hawk seeking its prey. The theme was wildly appropriate, and Aree found a grim humor in the She could pick from among the faces those who would know her on sight. Unlike the senshi, there were few secrets kept between most of the Negaverse. She could summon an agent from anywhere, and even as civilians they stood out in the crowd like beacons. Don't hold eye contact too long, Linarite's voice echoed in her head.

Long forgotten lessons. Warnings. Ghosts of a past she didn't care to remember, but Aree abided and looked away. Back to the woman who stood by her side, infinitely more comfortable in such a posh environment. When Aree had left her house that evening, it had been to find a goodie bag sitting in the passenger seat of Claudia's car. The jewelry and shoes inside cost easily more than what her parents had made in an entire month. Her cheap mall jewelry and Payless heels had been replaced by extravagancies, and Aree had sputtered an awkward thank you for the better part of fifteen minutes.

“Quaint,” she said softly, shifting slightly closer to Claudia as a student passed by. A young man's shoulder brushed her arm, and Aree's face shifted into an expression of mild disgust. It was the face someone made when a wet dog jumped on them.

“This is going to kill me. I know it," she whispered, "I come back to life twice, and prom is going to do me in. I feel like god damn Buffy."

Claudia was excited, no she was more than excited she was thrilled. She was also extremely nervous. For once in her life she had taken initiative and asked the Youma Queen to prom. Of course, they weren't real dates, and she had only really been able to ask because Arm made Tanzanite less intimidating in Claudia's eyes, but still she had asked! And Tanzanite to her surprise had agreed. The bluenette had been so excited that she had immediately went out and did what she always did when she made a friend- spent oodles of money on gifts for them. If she bought them gifts they wouldn't leave her, right? In her mind it made total sense. Plus, by the way Aree had looked at the jewelry and shoes Claudia could tell she liked them a lot and that made the younger girl feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Even agents of the Negaverse could do good deeds, especially for each other.

Stepping into the ballroom it was true that Claudia should be the more comfortable one in the decadent environment, but she was nervous too. It was slightly awkward standing next to your superior officer who also happened to be the prettiest girl in the room (at least in Claudia's opinion). That and she'd never been on a date before, so even coming to prom with someone as a friend made her nervous. What if she did something wrong? She didn't want to ruin the night.

For the first few moments they stepped inside, Claudia was silent violet eyes looking around the room from behind her glasses. She had changed out her glasses chain with amethysts for one that had sapphires to match her dress. (Her dress was perfect, it even swished when she walked!). The room wasn't quite packed yet, but there were quite a few people there, she took a half step closer to Aree wishing that arm didn't have to be hidden. The youma's presence would have been comforting.

Aree's words drew Claudia's eyes to her, and she couldn't help the small smile that was on her lips. The Youma Queen was just as awkward as she was which made her feel better. Reaching out she took Aree's hand for a moment, giving it a small squeeze. She didn't know the social customs governing physical touch, mostly because she didn't have many people to touch, but that was supposed to be reassuring, right? She had to tilt her head to look at her face, standing on tip toe even in heels to whisper back.

"You're better than Buffy she didn't have..." She trailed off, squeezing her hand again to indicate she was talking about Arm. "And you're the prettiest girl in here," She blushed a little as she said that, she wasn't used to giving compliments. Looking around to try and find something to distract from her failings she spotted the photographer's set up. She pointed to it with a perfectly manicured finger. "Did you want to get our picture taken?" It wouldn't be the full prom experience if they didn't take photos.

Everyone always said that Prom was one of those things that you just don't forget and he'd always brushed it off as old people remembering the past. They'd been right though. He doubted he'd -ever- forget this Prom. From Addie's almost-demand that he go with her, to the night a few days later, and now the actual Prom. Whoever had been in charge of decorating had outdone themselves.

As he headed inside, arm hooked around one of Addie's, he smirked and took in the sights. Destiny City teens sure knew how to throw a party. Probably because last year everything had gotten canceled (though he'd been home with a horrible flu and would have missed it anyway) so they had to make up for having to wait an entire year for it to happen again.

"Perfect night, gorgeous decorations ... and we look absolutely stunning." He smirked as he looked over at Addie. She did look really good in that dress. He was glad she'd gotten it after he'd told her to. The flowers matched nicely too and the ones around her wrist had managed to survive the limo ride over which he'd been skeptical of. Not that it really mattered if they survived. The important part was that she'd gotten them right?

"Where should we start? Table or dance floor?"

Everyone and their dog went in a limo to Prom. Rose liked to be different, so a limo just wouldn’t do. It had taken several tea-drinking sessions with her grandmother, but she had convinced the Sullivan matriarch to let old Chevy out of the garage. Of course, that didn’t mean Rose would be allowed to drive it – Rose’s father would do that – but that didn’t make Rose any less excited.

Rose wasn’t embarrassed that her father was driving them, but nevertheless, she eagerly nudged Sydney out of the care when they arrived. Food, music, and an excuse to dress up! This was going to be great! At least, that’s what she thought until she heard the music.

“ Bieber?!” She gagged. “ Blegh!”

If it was up to her, Fallon would not be in this dress with this makeup on at this dance. It wasn't that she didn't like getting all dolled up -- quite the contrary. But it was the ambiance of this entire night. A few short days ago, Ares had killed a civilian on accident. The scenario plagued her brain, stacking on top of the trauma of the last meeting of the Blood Moon and the destruction of the former parallel court. As much as she might like to forget of all that, the girl found it impossible. If it wasn't for Eilian, she would not even be here at all.

The limo that had brought Devi, Fallon, and Eilian to prom pulled away. Devi had gone on ahead, leaving the two girls out in the foyer. Fallon turned to smile once at Eilian and then led the way inside. Officially, she had come with friends, but the bracelet on Eilian's wrist had been a gift earlier in the night -- it said all the words that Fallon herself was incapable of speaking.

Once inside, Fallon was happy to see that the decorum was not too terrible. She posed for two photos: one alone and the other with Eilian. Was this what life was supposed to be like? She looked around the room at a sea of faces. These people... they probably thought prom was the most significant thing to grace their year. For Fallon, she was just happy be alive. She was happy to have killed most of the Negas captured in Operation Rota. The idea of crinolin and shitty punch being anything other than boring was entirely foreign to her.

"Not bad," she murmured quietly to Eilian. "I expected something trashy, honestly. A Jersey Shore theme, perhaps." One eyebrow quirked upward. Nominations for Prom King and Queen were off to one side, the dance floor lay ahead. Fallon turned to Eilian and waited for the dark-haired girl to take the lead. This was not a battlefield after all; Fallon was out of her element.

Prom. Last year the word had been full of promise and delight, the dress that had been chosen custom-made to cling to her form and play enticingly over her curves. Somehow, though, a whole year had already passed and the delight behind the word Prom had drifted into tiredness. Still, the event was a coming of age ceremony. Surely, she had believed, she could get her father to relent, to help her pay to make her night special. Unfortunately, his resolve was that until she saw things her mother's way- and his way- she was to be alone. Ten days in Destiny City without her parents influence touching her life had already hit home how privileged she truly was.

Stepping into the ballroom of the finest Destiny City hotel, she was surprised to find that she wasn't at all embarrassed to be walking in the doors alone. In fact, it was quite the opposite. A year ago, she could never have brought herself to show up alone. In fact, her mother had been about to buy her 'incompetent' daughter a date. (That would not have ended up well.) Her gown was not what she had envisioned, not what she had planned, but would suit. The back was nice and open and her hair pulled up to show off her skin, and the front covered up the wounds she'd recently taken. The scars of her injury the year before still lingered faintly, delicate tracery that would be barely noticeable in this ambiance.

The original dress she was going to wear to this year's prom still lay within a storage unit, waiting to be shipped to her mother's château in France. They wouldn't even let her have access to it right now- but that would change soon enough, she would make certain. This dress had been cheap, and Jada had called in a favor with one of her friends from Crystal to get a rush fitting, so that the gown fit her like it had been made for her instead of purchased off the shelf. Her mirrored heels peeked out from under the ruby hem, french-tipped toenails mimicking the french-tipped manicure that she had just gotten freshly filled this morning. And the borrowed diamond and ruby necklace and earrings provided just enough glitter to make a statement.

Clothes, Jada decided, surveying the others in the room, made a statement about people. It was why even when she was mostly broke, half of the money in her bank account had gone unrepentantly towards prom. (The shoes were a gift, however, which had surprised her. He'd given them to her with a silent smirk. A pair of Jimmy Choos was not a cheap gift, and he hadn't given a reason for it. Flummoxed, she'd put them on anyway.) Every detail of the armor that these women were wearing for a night that- for most people- was a life-changing event? Every nuance of their outfit spoke of something about them. After all, a dress was an intensely personal choice for most women. Even one bought on sale. She stepped into the photo station and struck a pose just as asked.

Her stomach cramped up again, and the heiress silently willed her medicine to take effect as she moved across the room to lay silent claim to a table. She could see her friends- and her allies- littered around the room. Over there was Ashley, and there was Fallon and Eilian. She faintly recognized one of Fallon's friends- Debi? Deborah? Devi? And was that Audrey's friend, Aree? They had been close, hadn't they? A knot gripped her stomach. She'd only recently heard the rumors about her friend. Had Fallon? Since her return to Destiny City, she'd spoken to Ares only once, maybe twice, and not at all since the fiasco at the last Court meeting. Should she go talk to her?

It was nice to get out. It would be nicer if they were playing real music, and not Justin Bieber.

The sound of a voice calling her name made her spin, though she didn't jump. It took her a second to catch her bearings, and she was looking down on a familiar girl. "Kirin!" she leaned in on habit to brush a kiss at the air near the other woman's ear. Speaking of personal choices, Kirin could have picked something so much cuter! Oh, why was Jada cursed with people who liked fluffy things? "You look... precious." Her tone was tinted with apology. If she'd been on her game, she might have been able to come up with a better compliment than precious. Kirin's gorgeous hair was in a side-swept ponytail, and her shoulders were bare. But all in all, she looked cute in last season's prom dress. It worked though.

"No date." she said, and gave a wry little shrug. "Didn't have time to go through the wait list." Jada grinned at her friend and glanced back at the people. The number of people lining up to date her was closer to zero than a wait list. Well, at least the ones who actually approached her about it. She wasn't oblivious to the fact she had a few admirers, but she wasn't going to play eenie meenie minie mo to pick a date for the night. "As for the music, I think we could take the Deejay. We're short. We go for the ankles, and he will fall. Then we just stuff him in a closet and take over the party."

Hopefully she wasn't- errr, was- the only person of this opinion.

Being shoved in a closet never hurt anyone. Look at Harry Potter.