The Living Room (Masquerade Plot)

The couples traced the floor in swift movements that her foolish brain began to re-interpret.

Dancing had always struck Nyx as a foolish pastime, useless, mundane…however, mother insisted that she learn along with her sisters. They had an instructor at their house every Tuesday to teach them the intricacies of waltz, tango, foxtrot, and other pointless patterns. It felt like torture, and it whittled away at the amount of time she could spend in the training pits. That fact alone was enough to condemn it in her mind.

One day she took the complaints to her father; Ariston lent a new perspective.

"Onyx, think of it as alternative training. You have strength and speed enough in the ring, but what makes a real fighter great? Elegance. The grace that carries them with perfect balance from one stance to the next, building their momentum and power into a controlled flow."

After that, she began to pay attention to each move taught to her, and in her head she analyzed them for their fighting potential. It became so interesting to see how the mere waltz could become form the groundwork for a choreography of destruction, that her teacher was amazed with the progress she made, and applauded himself on his apparent success.

As the party grew tedious, she effortlessly slipped into this practice, amusing herself by imagining that the dancing couples were actually locked in combat. A spin, turned into the perfect opening for a roundhouse kick; Nyx forced her hands to tighten on the glass, preventing her from accidentally applauding. More than likely it would be considered inappropriate to begin cheering or placing bets on dance partners.

Unfortunate.

"Hello. Enjoying the party?"

The words were spoken so suddenly - and so close to her ear - that the man might never realize how very nearly he came to losing a few teeth. It also took her a few seconds to banish her fantasy of combat in order to correctly interpret his question.

Party? Oh…right…they were at a party, not a sparring ring.

She searched around for the appropriate response.

I suppose 'Fuck no' wouldn't be correct.

Following a long few minutes (in which the boy probably had decided she was deaf, mute, or both), she managed a small, glinting smile. Her head turned, angling upward to address her accoster, and she clashed gazes with a boy dressed all in black. Not bad looking, at least, from what could be seen behind the mask. He filled out the suit jacket well, and carried himself with the bodily comfort of a fellow career. Interesting.

Before you open your mouth and ruin this opportunity, Nyx...Who are you going to be this time? So long as he doesn't have any rats on him like the last one.

To be someone else, anyone else...what new and random, consequence-less facade would she adopt? Of course...the one thing she never could be without the mask.

Honest.

"No, not really. I was just thinking how much more interesting it would be if they were all trying to kill each other." She waved a hand towards the couples on the dance floor.

She looked at him, just looking and not replying, for what felt like minutes. Perhaps she was deaf, or maybe he hadn't enunciated properly. No, she had turned to face him when he spoke, and it looked like she had nearly attacked him for startling her. Or at least, he thought he may have startled her. Now it was just her, looking at him with very green eyes. Then she smiled, and he relaxed slightly. He hadn't realized he was apprehensive about getting a response from her, but feeling himself relax just then notified him otherwise. Her eyes shifted over him, taking him in. He kept up his false confidence, even as he felt a prickle at the back of his neck at her scrutiny. It seemed he had passed the test, because she almost seemed to relax a little. Her response wasn't what he expected, and yet it was. "No, not really. I was just thinking how much more interesting it would be if they were all trying to kill each other."

Just as he was about to reply to her there was laughter by his ear. He spun to see the other girl who had been in the room, wobbling on heels that were obviously much too large for her. He raised an eyebrow and went to turn back to the first girl when stiletto girl spoke, seemingly to the other girl because she didn't look at him. "Sorry. I wandered over because I forgot to thank you." What did she have to thank her for? It was none of his business, but she had interrupted him. Twice. He wanted to know why. The stiletto girl was laughing again, whether because she found some unknown thing funny or because she was embarrassed, Rolex didn't know. He watched her as her eyes flicked from dancing couple to dancing couple before she spoke again. "Yeah, dancing always bored me. Even though I do find them lucky that they can be that coordinated for such a long period of time."

Perhaps she didn't get the message. But he guessed that the first girl he originally started talking to had walked away from the other girl because she didn't feel like continuing the conversation. That was his take on it anyways. And now she had to come and interrupt the, albeit not very lively, conversation he had been having. Well, she could wait her turn. He turned to look at the first girl, ignoring stiletto, who was wobbling dangerously, entirely. "I suppose the host wouldn't be too please to get blood on the expensive furniture." His voice was sarcastic and joking, though there was a slightly bitter tone to it. He still resented the host for having so much while he had so little. He winked at the first girl before raising an eyebrow at stiletto. She had stuck a very fake smile to her face, whether because he had ignored her or because she was beginning to regret her choice in shoes he was uncertain.

His gaze flicked back to the first girl, and her green eyes. Why did his attention always get drawn to her eyes? Perhaps because they were green like his own. Or because they were such a nice colour. No matter, it wouldn't matter anyways. He probably wouldn't see her after this party anyways. And he would never know her name. Somehow, the thought of that almost disappointed him. But why? Why should I care, I'm not here to get to know people, it's all about having a little fun and being able to forget it later. One thing he would never forget though, those green eyes.