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If Seth was bored, it was assuredly not Eve's fault. Anyone who knew Seth could reassure Eve of that.

He watched her amused, by her fascination with the decorations, the ball, and Jada's family wealth overall. "I see." He murmured. Eve seemed to be so happy with everything!

When she mentioned all the names, and her assumption that Seth probably knew everybody there, he shook his head. "Only by acquaintances. And I'm afraid I know only a few names." He didn't know any Elke, or Serenade or Audrey. "I've been out of the loop for a while." he remarked, in case Eve needed an explanation. And he had no intention of getting into that loop again, but he kept that silent.

And although he had seen Adira in the crowd, he hadn't expected to talk to her so soon. Adira was an old childhood acquaintance like Jada as well. So, she was still active as well? His appearance here had surprised them both. "I wasn't either." Seth said dryly, both of them knowing Jada's mother, Szelem and her antics. That was only one of the many reasons that Seth had stayed away from the social circles in so long. "You.. must be in college by now?" He took her hand, pressing a light kiss to it as a sign of greeting.

He let go of her hand. And he leaned to the side, introducing Eve, "This is my date, Eve Summers." He hadn't missed her surprise, "You can thank her for me coming." Eve had been.. persistent, to say the very least.

"Um, hello, Emmeline." Esen shook the outstretched hand of the dark-haired girl who joined them, quickly but firmly. "Thank you-"

"Oh, hello, Essie," the green-haired woman in blue spoke as she walked quickly, her periwinkle heels exposed as she held up the skirt, so as not to trip. "You know, I'm sure - that I'm always working after hours and whatnot-"
"I know very well, Rica Eunice Saylor," Esen spoke in return, emphasis given on the name she called her mother as she crossed her arms over where her chest should have sat - her face also went down to its previous position, lowered so her hair was blocking its view. "While that was a bit less embarrassing than speaking about father-" That wasn't so much of an embarrassing fact than it was 'keeping their daughter away from a spotlight' "-you can just call me Esen now, not Essie."
The older Saylor's purple eyes gave a blink at her daughter, and then noticed Emmeline and Melody, putting a sheepish grin on her rose-colored mouth afterward. "Oh, sorry, Esen... my name's Fredrica Saylor, her mother. Informally, I prefer Rica - and Esen tries to pass her middle name off as her first, I think she thinks her first abnormal."
Esen simply nodded - when her head rose, she caught glimpse of a fancy-looking (and likely fancy-priced) clock, and her head froze in place. "It's almost nine. I've heard that's when she is to be on debut, but I'm not certain."

Two young men paused the Chamberlyns on their way to the dais. "Mr. Xanis." Szelem's lime eyes pinned the younger boy. The one who had visited her daughter in the hospital. "So glad you gentlemen could make it." Michael shook both of their hands, his grip firm. "I hope you enjoy your evening." Her eyes drifted to Elzo, glancing him over approvingly before she escorted the group of family to the dais.

Lucas bowed his apologies to Serenade, kissed her hand, and moved to join them on the platform.

The music stopped playing, coming to a graceful halt. The black-haired woman waited for eyes to turn to her family.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Saylor! Esen's talked about you quite a bit when we discuss family matters." A pause to give a proper little curtsy to the elder Saylor. "I'm Melody, I share the dorm with Esen~"

She would have said more but the music had stopped, and with her companion noting the time she fell into a hush. After promising the three around her that there would be more talking afterwords. And the mental thought of maybe Esen's mother and her own should meet.

Jada was carefully wrapped in the arms of a man at least as old as her father, probably almost as wealthy, and Audrey was free. The majority of the court, those giggling little Easter dolls and their vapid escorts, would remain on the dais looking rich and pretty like a poster. Among them all, her hair wasn't the only thing that stood out like a sore thumb and she had absolutely no intention of spending any time with them than necessary. Of course, Szelem didn't argue when the young woman filtered into the ring around the ballroom to her darker table towards the doors leading outside. She'd touched Fallon's arm and whispered quietly while discretely pointing to her lookout table of choice, and was desperately hoping that some company might find her eventually.

Really, she wasn't even thinking of the venomous old woman while making her way on silver heels through the throng. She was thinking more of the delightful painkillers that were in the little bag that had been passed to her just moments before going down the stairs. Beneath the elegant gown her leg was screaming and pain and begging to be elevated and as Audrey got closer, she was clinging more and more to the chairs and with a low sob collapsed into her chair. Wanting nothing more than to put her head down, she simply shook open the little sachet and withdrew a lovely white pill. It took only a moment's debate, and regretfully, it was put back away. That was Jada's medication and it would make her pass out in no time, which was something that nice young ladies just didn't do at society functions.

So it was with a heavy sigh and a lot of regret that Advil was chased with caffeine and honey eyes skimmed the crowd. So many tuxes and puffy ball gowns, only a few were daring enough to wear white and show up the debutante, or have a skirt as short as Fallon's. There was even an interesting blond flitting through the crowd in what looked like a medical coat which brought a small giggle to the bluenette's throat. And there, was that Eve? Ooh and her date! That was interesting and she would be grilled immediately. Maybe Elke would wander over and she could get to know that girl better, she didn't have a date did she? Really, it was a Meadowview student at a Crystal party, and she was out of place. The Xanis brothers had, somehow, missed her roving eyes entirely so far, which was a vast improvement over the previous night. Quite vast, in fact.

A shooting pain in her leg when the dance ended and Audrey tried to stand was perhaps the kiss of death - she'd already moved about too much unaided, and was going to have to either lean on someone, stay seated, or worst of all - beg for her crutches to be brought down. That would be the worst humiliation for the teen, and so she sat and waited. And prayed. Maybe someone would take pity on her?

Seth's attention was diverted toward Jada's entrance, saving him from answering or explaining Eve's remark for the moment. His eyes had passed over the vapid girls who seemed to resemble barbie girls, both of her empty insides and outsides, with the exception of two latter ones, the red-brown hair girl and blue hair girl in the front dressed in the saree. Hm. And now, Jada dressed in a long gown of white. The annoying girl that he once knew had turned into a woman, looking prettier than he had ever seen her. But his face was still :| which could perpetually be the older male's face.

He could have agreed with Eve. A very, very low curtsy that Seth wondered if she would've fallen over. But she did not. That must have taken a great deal of effort.

They observed the debut for a little longer, until Jada began her dance with the older Mr. Vickerson. Their conversation resumed, "He's old." Seth didn't hesitate to make the comment, whether or not Adira was present. The male was at least refreshingly honest, even if it was inappropriate to say. But he wasn't too surprised, families normally worked this way. The debutante would be lucky if she could sneak a few dances with a partner of her choice if she wasn't taken up by all of her older friends, or family friends. He had begun to lean against a nearby wall, observing with a careless glance.

"May I have the honor of the first dance?" He extended a hand to Eve once more.

Audrey blinked several times and sipped at the drink proffered to her by the other captain while she regained her thoughts from where they'd scattered in surprise. Of all her Negaverse acquaintances, Serandite had been the last one she'd thought she would see - and then the girl remembered. Serandite went to Crystal, which mean that obviously her family had money and was immediately made the grade for the Chamberlyn guest list. Eyes went left, right and then her saree was pulled back to reveal the bottom of the plastic leg brace and the scrapes over her arms. "Had a little tumble during a disagreement." Hopefully the girl was quick enough to take the verbal hints at a senshi battle. She'd seemed smart enough during the meeting with Ursula, but some people just didn't work well with vague references.

"Unfortunately it renders dancing impossible unless my partner can hold me up, and it seems that I am minus one of those at the moment." And more than likely for the rest of the night, though that didn't bother Audrey as long as she had company. Immediately, a smile bloomed that was a trifle predatory and a chair was nudged in the chipper girl's direction. "Care to sit and entertain me a bit? Take pity on a poor comrade? I'm making sure none of those creepy guys take advantage of the poor girl." A light nod in the direction of Jada, who'd already been tucked into the arms of another man who was probably three times her age. "Unless you've got a date somewhere who would hate me forever for stealing you. Even then, I'm still fairly certain you should sit." As Linarite she hadn't done much with this girl, but it was never too soon to make friends with your co-workers!

The procession was lovely, as Fallon expected it to be. She'd watch Jada practice the Texas Dip enough times the night before, sometimes serious, sometimes joking, that it nearly brought an inappropriate giggle rattling out of her. Thankfully, she held her composure, lest she incur the wrath of Szelem. It was no surprise when Jada was quickly whisked away. Fallon only hoped her entire night wouldn't be monopolized by dancing. Oh well, at least the girls had her the night before.

They'd even come up with a secret signal. If Jada was miserable with one of her dance partners, then she was to meet eyes with Fallon and tug on her earring. Then either Fallon or Audrey (though probably Fallon, for her ballroom dance experience, general politeness, and working legs) would step in and take over the dance with whoever the gentleman in question was. It was an escape clause in the evening that Szelem had designed, and Fallon was happy to help. She'd even offered to drug Mrs. Chamberlyn, but Jada balked at the idea, reasoning her mother had probably built up a tolerance of some sort to any medication they might be able to procure. The offer was still on the table. Jada knew that too.

Magenta eyes peeled across the crowd, evaluating. Her eyes lingered briefly on Serenade, always, and then darted to and fro. They stopped on a beautiful dark-haired girl wearing a lovely dress that Fallon herself would have loved to own. Fallon had never met Adira, but she stared at her for several moments, evaluating the slope of her features and making a mental note to go introduce herself later in the evening.

For now, she needed to check on Audrey. Sweeping up beside the table, Fallon caught the tail end of what Audrey had said. "You're in luck, Audrey. You're petite. They'll all be able to pick you up. Except maybe Lucas." The part about comrades was drowned out by the swelling music. Fallon moved her smile to Serah, a girl she'd never met. She extended a hand and greeted, "Hi, I'm Fallon. Mind if I camp out over here too?" She wanted to stay within Jada's line of sight, just in case. This might be a party, but to Fallon, it was an assignment: protect Jada.

And so she would.