[OOC: The dress that Sharifa is wearing can be found HERE for reference!]

She fidgeted as she stood up against the wall off to one side of the party, she had no desire or want to be here. But those claims had fallen on, while not deaf ears, ears that didn't care and wanted her to go all the same. But the worst of it all was the damned dress!

Sharifa sighed, arms folded in front of her in an annoyed fashion, this dress just wasn't anything she would have ever wanted to wear. She would admit that, yes, it was very pretty, but Wasps just didn't wear dressed, at all, in fact they really didn't wear much of anything. It was a long gown down to the floor of an almost blood red fabric with black accents all over, making a stark contrast to Sharifa's natural black and golden hues, being a Wasp and all. Modifications had been done to the dress of course to accommodate her unique features.

Two new arm holes had been cut out and made to like they belonged there to let Sharifa have all four arms out at the same time instead of having to hide the lower two under the dress. Which would have been really uncomfortable she would have guessed to have them stuffed in there all night. The back of the dress had already been low enough for her wings to pass through, but the gap had been widened just a little bit. The chest of the dress was still mid chest but since Sharifa had no breasts that had been altered as well so that the dress wouldn't fall and still didn't need strap over her bare shoulders.

Take all of that into consideration, add in the contrasting colours and her wings being semi-translucent and Sharifa struck an imposing figure, and one that was getting a lot of eyes on her. The war was still very fresh in everyone's minds to be sure, and to have this Wasp among them, and the Wasp that some of them knew before the war when she was scouting for weaknesses and intelligence, that made it a little more awkward.

But Angela had forced her to come here, and almost psychically into the dress as well, so Sharifa stood uncomfortably against a far wall away from the band. She watched the dancers but had never danced a moment in her life, and she did have to admit and admire the shear beauty of this Hall. But that was the only distraction she had at the moment, as she wasn't about to go and interact with anyone and wasn't up for trusting the food just yet either.

So she stayed as a wall flower and just hoped that her resting bitch face, helped by lidless black eyes, helped ward off anyone that thought of talking to her until the end of the night.

But what were the odds of that?

No one suspected a thing. Somewhere in the groups of people, there was another person who was less than willing to come here all dressed up and ready to go. Of all the places to set up the festivities it had to be in this freezing cold mountaintop. Shiloh was in disguise as usual, but she was actually looking for a way to slip out early. Fortunately this year's theme was a masquerade ball so nobody would be none the wiser. While the deity skulked about in various illusion-based forms, her familiar was having the time of his life. A ferret was dashing through the crowds sliding on the floor like an ice rink. He had knitted mittens on all feet and a tube of crocheting as a sweater in bright festive colors–so people wouldn't step on him. Somewhere along the line he had pilfered a string of bells and was making lots of noise as he spread holiday cheer in his own ferret-y way. 

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way~ Oh how fun it is to slide on floors and spin away!" The small animal slid by the wasp dragging the bell string behind him, flat on the floor as if to make a snow angel. As he slowed to a stop he began jumping erratically, rolling and hopping while making chuckling noises. The delicious smell of food made him go stock-still, then he was dashing away again to the buffet. Abandoning the bells he was now climbing up the tablecloth with his eyes on a tasty ball of popcorn. Catching it with his teeth, he pulled it down as he slid back down to the floor. Niall scuttled away with his prize, diving into a hidey-hole at the base of the holiday decorations in a corner of the hall. A train of crumbled popcorn trailed behind like the breadcrumbs a pair of twins used to mark their way. 

Shiloh came by with a dustpan and broom, passing by Sharifa to clean up after Niall's mess. Had she noticed, she might have said something so it was more of a happy coincidence for both to miss meeting each other. Up above her miniature wyvern was flying about with a sprig of mistletoe in its claws. Ferrets had a bad habit of snatching every shiny bauble they saw, so it was replacing the tree ornaments Niall was trying to hoard when he wasn't looking. A growing pile of tinsel and colorful metal spheres indicated the site of a ferret's stash. In a few hours he'd be snoring, all tired out from running around. With everyone preoccupied no one would miss the absence of one deity.

Coppelia was singing with the musicians on the faux snow globe styled stage they had brought from Antikythera, myrmidons were dressed as nutcrackers while still standing guard, Galatea was making her rounds, and the twin dolls Kalinka and Malinka were entertaining the children. They were still all on alert from the war and the kidnapping incidents by krampus last year, so security was tighter than before. If a krampus was spotted they had orders to shoot first and interrogate later. The festive mood had a way of mellowing tensions, but not enough for Shiloh to fully relax. The rest of her staff could enjoy themselves if they wanted to, but it was time for her to make a quick retreat. Ducking behind a blind corner, she opened a portal and left the premises. 

When Papa came home after a day of trading his wares, he had heard of a grand party. While he is a jack of all trades, as he likes to say, his primary way of providing for them was by hunting. What pelts he did not use for blankets, and what meat was not stored away in their own stores, he sold to the nearby towns. Melissa grilled every detail out of him about the ball that he had. Tonight, she would dare travel farther than she ever had before.

It was a celebration, he said, full of people in gorgeous fabrics, a giant feast, music, and dancing. Melissa opened her eyes, she was greeted with a myriad of color. Her dark amber gaze was in awe as she took in the sight of many dresses, and many men. The way the fabric moved as they danced was mesmerizing. When she looked to herself, Melissa was pleased at the dress she had worn. The top portion was white, but hidden under a sea of silver stones, making it shimmer. It was sleeveless, reaching up to clasp behind her neck, leaving her back exposed. A silver belt about two inches in height ran across her waist, with white skirts of tulle flowing to her ankles, sparkling with glitter.

She remained barefoot, so as to not detract from what she could experience. Her hair had a white ribbon holding it out of her face. This helped reveal her tiger stripes, a rosy set of stripes that flowed from her spine and reached across her back. Several tips could be seen on each side of her neck, as well as two on each cheek. There were stripes also going around both of her arms, and a couple could be seen right at her exposed ankles. As a half breed, she was quite self-aware, and self-conscious. There was no way of knowing how people here in Parvpora would react to her.

With her excitement now dwarfed by her fear, Melissa found herself at the edge of the room, staring out at the crowd, waiting for someone to show her the kind of reception to expect. Blood red and black filled her peripheral vision, causing the young 11 year old to glance up with a startled gasp. Almost towering above her stood a four armed woman with semi-translucent wings. She had heard many tales of the insect races, and the recent war that was raged against the unknown lands. While that war was over, tensions were still high. Was this a sign of good faith? "Um… Hello… You don't look like you want to be here…" Melissa asked hesitantly. This was, after all, a creature, a warrior of types from her own lands.

The tinkling of bells was all over the place, however, as the Wasp stood against the wall she heard one set getting closer and looked down in time to see the ferret go skidding past her with a string of bells. Watching the little critter in its antics Sharifa kept an eye on it while it dropped the bells and went to snag the popcorn ball from the table after climbing up. Seemed that no one minded an animal like that in their food, but it was dressed up so it was obviously a pet of someone's here. It passed by her a moment later with its prize and Shar was half tempted to reach down and take the treat from it, but decided not to, it would serve no purpose and besides, it was kind of endearing.

A figured passed by her cleaning up after the ferret but Sharifa didn't pay much attention to her, probably the critter's owner. A small gasp caught Shar's attention and she turned to see the young girl looking up at her with a surprised expression. Sharifa cocked her head to one side in question as she looked over the girl in turn as she made an easy observation of Sharifa. ”No, little tiger, I don't want to be here, but I have no choice.” Sharifa replied, showing that she knew what the little one was on sight, since she was from Onnen like Sharifa was. She knew of the tiger kin, this little cub though, seemed different somehow.

”What about you, little tiger, why are you so far away from home? Where are your parents?” Sharifa asked, had she come here alone? She was a brave one to come up to a Wasp alone like she had. Shar fidgeted in her gown, clearly uncomfortable in it as she waited for the answer to her question.

Melissa's eyes widened with surprise. Most people don't call her tiger, or even recognize her in any fashion. However, and perhaps the most important, the wasp held no contempt for her lack of purity. She stated she had no desire to be at the party, yet had no choice. What wasp would have no choice? She was a warrior, or at least a creature many feared. Why couldn't she leave as she pleased? ”Why not? Do wasps not party? Or dance?”

The conversation turned to her, and the biggest question people seemed to enjoy was where her parents were. As usual, her face fell, hanging low as she tried to look anywhere else but at the wasp. ”Dead. Years ago. Never met her, for her last breath was my first.” It was a series of questions she could never find the answers to. Who was her mother? What was she like before? Would she love her half breed child? Did she want to keep her? ”And I'm not away from home.”

Melissa still could not look up at the wasp, still struggling with her lack of identity. She had little control over the words coming from her mouth. ”I'm at home with Papa, the one who found me after I was left for dead. But this is the farthest I've journeyed in spirit.” In an effort to divert attention off of herself, Melissa finally looked up at the wasp with a return question of her own. ”What about you? Why did you leave Onnen? To come all this way and not participate in their activities? Doesn't sound like a good reason.”

The ball had attracted an array of intriguing folk; used to a myriad of races Kythe was not surprised by any of those she had seen in attendance so far… but even she could not help but find her gaze drawn by the human sized wasp in the dress… that was something new even to her! It was clear even from the distance she was at that the Wasp was uncomfortable in the dress she was wearing and the Minadrias had to admit that this didn't really surprise her - Kythe had been much the same way once; but she was As she headed that way she overheard the young girl's words to the Wasp and she gave a small smile. "Well when was the last time you saw a Wasp in a dress?" She asked, bowing to them both. "I feel your pain; when I first started attending events like this one I absolutely despised being forced into a dress let alone forced to look happy about it." Again she bowed to them. "Kythe Sitari, at your service." 

Listening to the child Kythe's heart ached for her and as ever Kythe's first reaction was to pull the child into her arms and hug her tightly. "I'm sure your mother would be glad to see what a beautiful young woman you are becoming sweet one." She smiled softly… something about the words the girl spoke confused the Minadrian woman and she scowled slightly… furthest she had come in spirit? Was the child not in fact here in person then? Raising an eyebrow she cursed her own weaknesses; once she would have been able to detect whether or not the girl was here in person or in spirit form. How much had those damnable Gods of her's taken from her?!

An elf woman with black wavy hair and wearing an elegant suit stepped into the hall. Unsurprised by the lavish decorations that dotted the walls and ceiling, she began to step further into the hall when she was stopped by a servant. 

"May I take your coat, Madam?" He asked politely.

"…Sure." Was her response. 

Truly, Jadira was the master of speech. She escaped her black coat and handed it over to the servant. It had been a while since she attended one of these events. However, now she was attending as a regular girl. Ever since her detachment from her noble family, she's been able to help more. Ironic since she used to curse at those who would give up powerful positions because they wanted to be normal. But this was a bit different. She hadn't given up her status just because she wanted her own life. In fact for many years she was desperate to do anything political within her family.

Being kept from it, she had nothing left to do. Nothing left to be. Jadira couldn't even be a proper pawn in a political system since her mother had an issue with political marriages. A second child was useless without political marriages. Without that, a second child had no access to politics except to be used as the spare. Jadira would still be called back if her eldest sibling died. But that was unlikely. She didn't want to stay caught up in the castle doing nothing forever. Leaving to make a name for herself was the best decision. 

All of these thoughts passed through her mind as she walked over to the banquet. She noticed that she was the only woman to choose a suit. Jadira couldn't judge them. If they preferred a flowing dress, that was fine. She had more practical reasons to have a suit. It would be easier to move around in and if something happened, she wouldn't have to hack off a dress to be able to fight. Her ebony black hair was in a low bun held up by beautiful emerald green pins. Wisps of curly hair fell upon her face. Doing the hair in such a fancy bun was difficult at first but she was eventually able to get it right. 

Her eyes scanned the hall looking for any familiar faces. There were none. She stood up and began to walk around the room. Walking in long confident strides, she went about the room giving herself some exercise. Some interesting people caught her attention. A wasp lady in a dress. A woman and a child. She walked over to the group. Perhaps they were all a family. Or maybe the mother was friends with the wasp. It would be odd if they were all strangers. 

"Would any of you like to dance?" She asked. 

Jadira wanted to see if her training in agility had helped her dancing skills. 

Sharifa shook her head to the little one's questions. ”No, we do not, the only 'dancing' we do is sword play.” She replied before asking of the girl's own parents and their wereabouts. Another female approached them poking fun at Shar in her dress which made the Wasp's wings buzz for an instant as the woman bowed. But as she spoke Sharifa reeled back her annoyance. ”Sharifa.” The Wasp replied with a slight nod to Kythe.

But the little one answered Sharifa's question of her parents then, and even the hardhearted Wasp would admit to feeling a twang of heartache for the small tiger. But, like Kythe, something in the way the girl spoke and her words rang odd to Sharifa, but she was no Mantis mage so she wasn't about to try and speculate on what was meant by the spirit talk. Shar watched as Kythe hugged the little tiger and Shar couldn't help a small smile. ”I agree with Kythe, little tiger, you are going to grow up to be strong and beautiful. What is your name? I don't want to keep calling you little tiger, unless you want me to.”

To the questions posed to her about being here Shar huffed slightly wings again flicking in annoyance at her situation. ”Because I had no choice but to leave, my Queen sent me here to be a, an ambassador of sorts, as of now I am under the patronage of the Goddess Angela. It is she who has forced me to come here to socialize, so that I might get acquainted with more people from these lands. As you may guess my kind aren't exactly welcomed here at the moment, it's only because of Angela's protection that I am allowed to move around as easily as I do.” She explained her story full of half truths.

She turned to Kythe. ”What of you, Kythe? How long did it take to get used to wearing such ridiculous clothing?”

Just then an elf woman came over and asked if any of them would like to dance. ”No.” Sharifa said flatly but then looked over the elf a little more, she knew her! ”Wait, I know you. We sparred in Sularia a while back. I trust you have been training still?” She didn't mean the latter as an insult, just a question, since Sharifa had beaten Jadira in that sparring match, but the elf had held her own, the Waso would give her that much credit.

Sharifa's wings buzzed with annoyance at the words of a newcomer. The tiger stepped back in uncertainty. Annoyed wasps were dangerous. But the moment passed quickly enough, allowing Melissa to relax. A deep blush rosied her cheeks at their words. It was the first time a stranger had given her a compliment. ”Thank you. I think you're both pretty in your dresses.” But Kythe, as she introduced herself, gave a scowl. Were the woman's kinds words false? Or was she contemplating something?

”Oh I'm sorry. My name is Melissa Jade. But… Papa calls me Mel… And I don't have friends. In fact…” The young one turned away with slight embarrassment. ”You two are the first, nicest, strangers I have ever met.” Sharifa was agitated about her circumstances. Melissa would have to remember that people may not enjoy personal questions.

A second new person approached, and Melissa nearly bounced with her answer. ”Yes!” The wasp may not desire any inclusion, perhaps wanting to leave entirely, but Melissa was here to enjoy new experiences. It was something she wanted to describe to Papa in great detail for her next story to him. ”I've never danced before. Is it difficult?” Her eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement. To have so many races together, with no fights, no arguments, not racist actions seemed like a dream.

Kythe snorted; Sharifa and her kin were much like Kythe and her own in that respect then… though she had still be taught to dance regardless - it had honed her swordplay, or so her father had claimed… and sadly she could not really argue with his point, on more than one occasion she had caught herself using a dance step in order to dodge an attack from an enemy.
“I was not here for the war with your kin but I heard about it; know that I at least hold no ill will towards you nor your own Sharifa and offer friendship if you’ll take it.” She said softly, keeping her voice low though she was quite certain that the majority of the dancers were aware of what had transpired even if she had not been a part of it.
“Centuries; I’ll be honest I’m still not a hundred percent convinced of the bloody things now. I’m a warrior at heart; give me a pair of trousers any day. She looked at the woman and smiled. “I would but sadly I tried a little earlier and it jarred my bad shoulder too much.” She said in a remorseful tone.

She almost looked at the girl in horror but managed to pull it into a soft smile. “Well you can certainly count me as a friend from now on and I’m sure Sharifa would say the same of herself?” She grinned at the girl’s enthusiastic agreement and stepped over to Sharifa’s side. “Enjoy it; I may not like dresses but I have always enjoyed a dance.”