Let's Dance the Night Away [Marceline Anicetus & Alex Hata]

A ball was one that Alex wasn't expecting to be invited to, and definitely not one that was in an entire separate country. She wasn't royalty, nobility, or anything of the sort - hell, she wasn't even that prestigious of a mage. However she was invited for some unknown reason, and was forced to change her entire attire. From what was once casual clothes and a jacket that was way too big for a normal person's liking, is now standing on a boat a woman in a night sky-themed dress that shimmered with glitter and was a variety of black, blue, and purple. It was quite the dress, in fact, however Alex had it for quite some time, and it wasn't something she wore often because she never had reason to. Alex never went to massive balls, parties, or anything of the like, so this was a new experience.

Standing on the boat that was now most of the way toward Minstrel, Alex had no idea what to expect. She herself was from Midi, so she was a foreigner but she had never been to Minstrel and didn't know anything about it. All she knew was that she had to show some Minstrel native her pass once she got to the docks, and they'd probably lead her there. No promises, but that was something entirely different to worry about than she was now. What she was worrying about now was the fact that she couldn't find a way to hide that she was asleep. Normally she hid this under her hood, but she didn't have that at the moment. Alex didn't want to seem like she was being rude or anything, finding the party boring or obnoxious with her eyes closed, but then again she didn't want to be awoke either, as that'd be a much bigger scene that she didn't want to engage in. Either way, that was problematic. Unless of course she'd be able to pull the old trick of "hugging the wall" the entire party, but that was also problematic as Alex wanted to legitemately enjoy herself, despite her not knowing why in the seven hells she was given such an invitation.

Reaching the docks, Alex was now led to the ball. Boy was it grand... Probably why it was called the grand ball. Either way, what was once thought to be complicated was actually quite simple. Albeit Alex couldn't understand a word anyone was saying, she did literally just show her pass to someone, and she was led to the ball, where she was met with a translator. Simple, yet effective. This translator allowed her to make simple conversation with those that approached the young starting mage, which was surprisingly way more than Alex originally expected. Then again, she wasn't exactly the "life of the party" either, so that was another thing to take into account. Either way, Alex made small talk with the people of the ball, whom were all dressed in a similar manner to Alex - fancy, yet stylish - until she found her way to the dance floor. Finding a similar-aged gentleman, Alex began to slow dance to the rich-people band that was playing in the background. This was nice, it would have made Alex sleepier than she already was, should that even be possible to a person inheritantly asleep, if it weren't for the fact that she was being in motion. Despite it being a slow dance, it was still active motion that kept the dream mage as awoke and active as she could be without throwing a fit of fear and ruining the ball, or at least being thrown out.

Once the two parted, Alex made her way to the outskirts of the dancing couples, where she just listened to the music being played by the band, while also watching the much more privelaged people do their own party things. An unexpected event occured, in which a much younger, early teens at most, party goer approached Alex and asked why her eyes were closed. Alex at first couldn't understand, until the translator did his job and translated. Alex didn't know how to respond, as she was sure others wouldn't believe her if she said she was literally asleep. Instead, she made up a lie about how she was trying to focus only on the music... Which actually wasn't that much of a lie as it was not telling the whole truth. The music was divine, and it was something she wouldn't be able to ever hear personally again, most likely. The strategist, once the kid had left to go back to his party ways, had stayed towards the outskirts, not attracting much attention and simply repeated the process, talking to those who wanted to talk, while also being somewhat "rushed." Not so much that she sounded uninterested, but not so little that conversations lasted too long. This was a coping mechanism to allow the tactician to manage being in a place she was so out of place in, and therefore the night became as easy as repeating one, two, and three, until she had to leave. This party'd be one to remember, as it'd likely be one of, if not the only party she'd ever attend.
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