Valentina
“You spend two weeks with a giant bear making nothing but gingerbread men, cookies and cakes and you tell me if you have any kind of a sweet tooth left. Besides, this stuff ain't so bad in comparison I think. Just sweet enough for my liking.”
Moving onto the macaron chicks, she smiled at his humor and he did have a point. She imagined attending Queen Delirium's parties everyday and getting stuffed on pure sugar confections and desserts. Sweets were only so appealing once in a while, but eating them on a day to day basis would probably result in cravings of edible matter from an alternate food group. Inadi continued to load his plate then they began to naturally wander away from the buffet table whilst conversing.
“I don't know, it's different at least. Definitely not the same old tired black suit and tie I'd normally wear to things like this.”
Glancing around at the other guests, she bit her lip in agreement and raised a brow. Maybe that's why she was having such a hard time looking for any familiar faces. Her eyes were literally drowning in blacks and whites, with hints of color here and there. At least his yellow suit made it easier for her to spot him and if she ever got lost again, she would be able to find him without much strain. Jasper had grabbed a few slices of cantaloupe as well, realizing that she hadn't gotten any proper nutrition in a while.
"You're right. It's definitely a change... and you can pull it off." She noticed that the hue of his irises were a darker goldish-brown color that sort of went well with the apparel.
“Of course though I have to say you wear your dress very well Jasper. You look very...”
Pausing in her steps and nibbling, she blinked at him while he stopped his sentence short of one word. Receiving compliments, especially in correlation with physical appearance, were rare for her and made her feel insecure and timid. For some odd reason her face felt hot as she anticipated his next words. She didn't know why she was feeling so anxious, but she felt that the word that followed was going to be important. Inadi twisted his facial features as he thought and it made her mind spin with panic. 'Why did he make that face? What's taking him so long? Is it difficult to describe how I look?' Remembering her weak figure in the mirror, she hoped that he wouldn't say anything revolving around that. The sides of her forehead were beginning to moisten and she strayed her eyes away from him.
“Exotic. You look very exotic in your dress tonight.”
Exotic he blurted, followed by an unsure grin. 'No one's ever used that word to describe me before.' Her skin was pallid and bland, the image that came to her head when she thought of exotic was a tanned woman from a tropical island or something along those lines. Eyes wide, the two of them stood there, almost frozen for a few seconds while they both contemplated the adjective. Suddenly, the man burst into a laugh while his head hung down, turning from side to side. Jasper was stunned at his unpredictable outburst and she took a few steps back in surprise. But while his chuckling had yet to cease, she found her self giggling along with him for no other reason than because of his laughter. She didn't know what to think of it. Was it a good thing or a bad thing? Jasper had no clue. As he straightened out and folded his arms, she tilted her head a bit with a smile, awaiting what he would say or do next.
“I don't think that was a good word to use for that. I'm sorry Jasper. I'm just not that good at the whole complimenting girls thing. A lot of times back home I would say something to a girl and they'd just walk away after. I don't blame them, sometimes I out think the situation and make a fool of myself. I hope you can forgive me.”
Brows furrowing a little as she listened, she wondered why any girl would walk away from praise. When he apologized and asked for forgiveness, she shook her with a light chortle, waving her hands as she did so; empathizing with him. "No, no. Really, I'm flattered," She offered as their laughter died down. Though a little puzzling at first, the compliment made her feel good inside and boosted her confidence.
Picking up a brownie next, Inadi continued the convo saying, “So on a scale from one to ten, how good of an act do you give this whole celebration. Hardly feels like a good way to remember everyone who is gone now. Quite frankly I would have much rather gone out and practiced a bit more with my spear since we don't have our amulets anymore."
Munching off half the petite brownie, she chewed the chunk thoroughly before responding, "I don't think they care much for our losses," She swallowed, "The Queen didn't even bother acknowledging the deaths in her speech." Jasper tried to focus on her desserts to block flashbacks of the people and guides who had passed. Thinking about her amulet, she realized how much she had come to rely on its power and how much it helped her and the others get through their last quest. "You're lucky they let you keep your spear. My staff was absolutely ruined after the zombie fight." Her nose scrunched up at the thought of the undead.
“But in the end I guess it is as the old stories say. 'War is young men dying and old men talking.' And we're the ones going out to war.”
All she could do was nod and continue to clear her plate, a somber atmosphere settling over them.
~~~~~~~
"And now, ladies, gentlemen, cheesecakes and apple biscuits. It's time for couples to hit the dance floor! Party goers, you better find that special man or lady! In a few moments, we'll be starting our dance competition, and the lucky couple that knocks our socks off will win 5,000 stars and five barrels of Mr. Cuddle's strawberry tarts!"
Jasper perked up at the announcement, gaze trailing from jellyfish to jellyfish as each one faded into a deep scarlet to set the mood. Once the pianist began to play, she tensed, but kept nibbling her cupcake to keep herself from thinking too much. Observing as couples came together, she noticed Ran, one of the new humans, dancing with a Nobody. Cello exchanged words with the pair for a bit, then looked straight at her and Inadi with a gleeful smile.
"Oiiii, lovebirds.
The cat-like guide was by their side immediately, a hand landing on her shoulder. Jasper still needed to adjust to being touched involuntarily so her arm went a tad rigid, but she managed to relax it. 'What did he call us? Low nerds?' She couldn't quite hear him and she felt concerned as to why she would call them that, but since she wasn't sure of what Cello said, she decided to put it off.
"Oh, I see what's going on. Sorry to interrupt your date humans. Were you guys going to slow dance, cuz, y'know, I won't interrupt. But yeah, I really, really need your help. I'll ask your other friends to pitch in too...er, like her!"
She watched him run off towards Leila and Jasper's eyes twitched in annoyance with Cello's voice. It reminded her of a small yappy dog almost, which was ironic because he was a neko. Turning to look at Inadi with a questioning expression, she ate the last bite of her cupcake. "We should go see what we can do," She finalized as she stood up from her seat and tossed her empty dish into the wash bin. When Cello returned he had his arms full with food and he passed them onto her and the frame-faced man.
"You'll find Martini's room at the end of the west hall. Make sure she eats okay? She's lost her color and that really isn't good. Hey if you hurry," he leaned with and laughed. "You two might still be able to join the dance competition."
Face flushing almost as red a hue as the jellyfishes that hung overhead, she walked quickly to join up with Leila, Song, and Brandy. The way Cello was addressing them made her feel uncomfortable and she didn't want Inadi to feel pressured so she decided that leaving the hot-spot would relieve the burden.
Once the group had gathered, all of them balancing a plate or two in each hand, the lot of them made their way to the west hall.
~~~~~~~
Stepping into the ocean themed chamber, she stayed behind the guides, knowing that Martini would feel more at ease with their presence. She was glad that they were a larger bunch to avoid awkward tension from building up since most of the humans had yet to make relations with her, or any of the guides for that matter.
Setting her plates down, she held her breath when her eyes finally landed on Martini. The poor mermaid appeared very ill and her complexion lacked the beautiful blues and purples that were usually there. Jasper could barely bring herself to keep looking, her eyes wilting down to the ground as she struggled to keep them on the sickly guide. How could the Queen put up with this? Her own friend, suffering for humans that didn't even belong in their realm nor wanted to be there. The whole goal was to escape, but why were Nobodies getting involved, especially ones who were in association with Queen Delirium?
Fiddling with the hem of her dress, she twisted her foot in guilt and shame; both feelings that crashed down on her, from where? She did not know.
