Penny tries to stick to Dana as much as possible, even though there's only one water gun on board, so Dana's got the only one. However, the crowd of partygoers and the increasingly labyrinthine corridors got the shorter girl separated from the mischievous gunslinger. She finds herself isolated and blocked by a wall of casual partiers, who have unknowingly blocked off Penny's route - though whether it was out of genuine coincidence or because they were all taller than her and thus probably missed her is unknown.
"Dana?" Penny calls out in vain over the din of the party and the loud bass of the music system.
"DANA! Here! I'm over here!"It's no use. By the time she catches a glimpse, Dana Noel is long gone. Penny has to find her own way around.
"Ah crap," she mutters.
"Excuse me, coming through..."And that's when someone finally notices her.
"Excuse me, little girl," a blonde guy with a tan and a silver-white speedo, "aren't you a little young to be here?"
"HEY! I'm NOT a kid!" she snaps back, forgetting her own social awkwardness in a moment of temper.
"Oh, Reykard, behave, she's an Ars Magi," a leggy olive-skinned girl (presumably Reykard's girlfriend).
"Wait, how'd you-" Penny looked down, remembering that the implanted gem - the mark of her status - is now fully visible in a bikini.
"Oh, right. Uh, y-yeah, you got me there. I kinda got invited with a friend of mine, so if you all don't mind-""Oh please, darling, what's the rush?" the olive-skinned girl giggled. "We're
all friends here! My name's Tatyana vi Minerva, a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. What's your name?"
She extends her hand for Penny to shake, to which the Siscian reluctantly does.
"Uhh.. My name's Penny... Penny Grenoble," she says.
"Nice to meet you, too, Ms. Tatyana.""Penny...Hey, you're that short girl with the hammer," chipped in another girl, this time a heavily tanned redhead wearing a bikini and jean shorts.
"I'm not short, it's a late growth spurt," Penny grumbles under her breath.
"You know, the one that faced the new heavy assault model mech alongside the other team," the redhead continues, unfazed by Penny's complaint (or more likely not paying attention). "What was your team's name again? Radiant Star?"
"Team Radiant Storm," Penny corrects her, grumbling in annoyance.
"Sounds like something from a kid's show," Reykard chortles as he downs a drink.
"Well, I think it's pretty swell," the redhead continues. "I'm Olivia Grey, currently studying at the military academy. I'm specializing in General Staff work and Logistics. Great to meet you!"
"Thank you," Penny says, feeling forgiving towards Olivia's unintended slights with the height and the team name.
"I mean, Team Night Sky don't get this much crap for their team name, do they?""Well,
they've earned their respect, Ms. Grenoble," Tatyana replies with a grin. "But I'm sure your team has potential, if they can take down a heavy assault mech, even if in training."
"Th-thanks for the complements," Penny replies,
"but I really gotta get going, ‘cause my friends-""Oh, darling, what's the rush," Tatyana cuts her off, putting her hand on Penny's shoulder and gently pulling her along. "We're
all friends here. And besides, it's good for your future career to socialize."
"Thanks, but I'm already pretty good on grades," Penny boasts.
"Top five percent, even!""Oh, you poor girl, here's a little free hint from me," Tatyana purrs, leaning in to talk into Penny's ear. "It's not
what you know, it's
who you know."
As she says so, her posse closes ranks behind the unsuspecting Penny, taking the unsuspecting Ars Magi with them.
"W-wait wait wait... aawww, crap," Penny groans as she’s dragged along, feeling so
very unprepared for this.
* * *
Penny quickly finds herself on a large couch, surrounded by a small group of partygoers drawn from both the military cadets and the nobility, feeling so far out of her element she feels naked. Especially with only the bikini on. She wishes she still had the towel. It didn’t help that several of the guys - and quite a few of the girls too! - were getting flirty. The other Ars Magi had either intermingled with other groups, and the smart ones formed their own little groups, something Penny wishes she had thought of.
“So, Penny, how’s life at the famed Nova Lux treating you?” Tatyana asks, giving a confident smile. “Making a lot of friends there?”
“Well, it’s certainly an experience,” Penny says, glad to take any out from the constant flirting and offers of drinks.
“Funny thing about my team; we met on the same airship on the way to the academy. Apparently, Ars Magi candidates-”“Are so rare that they have to send special airships to pick them up,” Olivia cut in, taking a break from schmoozing with a couple of the other officers. “You’d think they’d wait to collect a batch, but apparently it’s considered worth the cost to just send an airship to collect batches as they show up.”
”Yeah, so anyways, we sort of bonded on the trip here. It was… well, pretty much the only thing we could have done,” Penny continues.
“It was a long trip, obviously, and I was picked up at Siscia.”“So, got a girlfriend yet?” asks one of the girls giggling by Tatyana’s side, a bronze-skinned beauty with jet-black hair tied in a french braid. “Or a boyfriend for that matter?”
“Yeah, there’s been this officer’s ball a few months back,” a guy adds. “It was a big event. You must have met someone, right?”
“Well, I…” Penny pauses, feeling a little sweaty as the questions started getting a little personal. She wonders if she’s being poked as an amusement, or if it’s to signal she’s free game for hungry wolves. Somehow, she’s beginning to wonder if it isn’t too much to wish for Void right now. Those, at least, you know where you stood with them, and you were always allowed to fight back.
“Yeah, come on, tell us,” Olivia teases. “You can’t seriously expect us to believe you haven’t met or even talked to anyone interesting…?”
“W-well, there’s this officer from the Academy…” Penny begins hesitantly,figuring the concept of a boyfriend could at least deter some of the flirting.
”He’s Dima, a nice guy from Pola. He studies in the Infantry section.”“Is it serious?” Olivia asks, her tone clearly teasing again.
“I… I don’t know…?” Penny replies, taken aback.
“I mean we haven’t advanced it that much, we’ve sorta been busy with tests and school life. We do see each other on occasion, though…”“It doesn’t
sound serious,” Olivia says, with a mischievous grin on her face.
“Hey, it’s none a’ yer business!” Penny replies in annoyance.
“Well, if it’s not serious, perhaps you seeing other people,” says one of the other girls. “I mean, you’re young, you’re an Ars Magi… the world is your pearl.”
“Th-that’s a pretty cynical way of seeing things,” Penny says, uncertainly.
“I-I mean, that would be wrong, right…? Right…?”“Oh please,” Tatyana chuckles. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
“I… I think I need to visit the ladies’ room.” Penny says, getting up and edging towards the door.
”I really gotta go…”“Oh, I’m going with you,” Olivia says as she gets up. “I gotta freshen up myself…”
Penny couldn’t object, and finds herself begrudgingly escorting Olivia to the restrooms. Penny counts herself lucky she found an empty stall, and gets in quickly, completing her business and preparing to leave, only to find Olivia waiting for her at the wash basins, freshening up a bit.
“Did Tatyana put you up to this?” Penny grumbles.
“Oh no, it was my choice,” Olivia replies sincerely. “Admittedly, making sure you didn’t just run away was part of it, but I really did want to freshen up a bit. That, and talk a bit before we drag you back to the shark pool.”
She takes a few cans she had lined up on the wash basins and offers a couple to Penny.
“Thanks,” Penny says, grabbing the ice mocha.
“Mmmh, that’s the stuff.”“Ice mocha? Really?”
“Hey, I really like coffee,” Penny replies.
“And root beer.”“Jeez, no wonder you’re so short. Coffee stunts your growth.”
“Bah, old wives’ tale,” Penny grunts in response.
“So what else did ya want to talk about?”“Well, how to put this simply,” Olivia says, picking out a sparkling cider. “You need to get your head out of your ass.”
This earns a spit take/geyser as Penny spewed iced coffee all over one of the washroom mirrors before going into a sputtering fit.
“Excuse me, but what the fuck?!” Penny snaps back in between coughs.
“Look, I know you watch the propaganda and hear all the talk from everyone starting from kindergarten to when they start testing you for potential, on and on about how the Ars Magi are our saviors and how they’re all our dear sweet angels and how they’re all gonna save us all. Problem is, you’re trying to act like that’s all it is. Just doing your civic duty.”
“And it is.” Penny says, looking at Olivia suspiciously.
“Seriously, you get that line from an episode of Gunslinger Alexis?”
“My mom’s an SDF sergeant,” Penny replies icily.
“I got it from her. And I prefer Altea anyways.”“Huh, that explains some things,” Olivia says in amusement as she sips her drink. “Look, okay, I may have overstepped things…”
“Ya think?!” Penny snaps back.
“Look, sorry,” Olivia sighs. “Didn’t want to step on any nerves. I
may have overstepped here. Thing is, it’s…
frustrating. Looking at you, that is. They train you to fight off scary beasties that can tear people apart in seconds, yet you can’t manage a simple social gathering?”
“In my defense, I can’t smash my way out of a bunch of hanger-ons,” Penny replies.
“Also, I’m pretty sure even an Ars Magi will get in trouble for flattening a Duodecim or two and their friends.”“Well, you shouldn’t act like a scared rabbit surrounded by hungry wolves,” Olivia counters. “You act like this is a huge inconvenience being here. Like being an Ars Magi is a duty. You know how many girls would kill to have your spot? Being in the spotlight, surrounded by nobility and the elite? It’s like being a rock star. And let’s not get to those who actually
were rock stars and then got selected to become Ars Magi.”
“It’s still a dangerous job,” Penny replies sombrely, sipping her drink as she thinks of the time she nearly got killed on the
Laurus.
“And how long do you think you’ll last? Think you’ll reach retirement with the kind of work you’re expected to do?” Olivia reasons. “Many Ars Magi live fast, die young, and some don’t even get to leave a corpse.”
“I’m aware,” Penny replies.
“They try to emphasize caution and training above all else. What’s your point? What’s your angle here?”“Oh, that’s simple,” Olivia says. “The way you’re going, you’re here to do your job, fight the Void, then retire. Small dreams. What do you want to do once you retire?
If you retire?”
“Go back home, work on electronics, maybe even research some noxtech…”“Wow, you really
do have small dreams,” Olivia chortles softly.
“Hey, nothing wrong with small dreams,” Penny answers defensively.
“Well, ya gotta dream bigger than that,” the redhead says. “You’re an
Ars Magi. People like you get medals, and get monuments dedicated to them. You don’t
get to dream small. Yes, it’s a
really dangerous job,
deadly even. But you gotta make this job work
for you as well. It’s exhausting work, all take and no give. Even if you really
do mean to serve and protect, it doesn’t hurt to get a few perks out of the job. ‘Sides, as they say, it’s never
what you know, it’s
who you know. Networking works.
“Ultimately, it’s your choice,” Olivia concludes. “You can choose to go back to your own little world and live like you want to, no skin off my nose or anyone else’s. Or you can learn to relax a bit and just
unclench, you know? Try and get ahead in the world. Get what I’m saying?”
“I… I think so,” Penny says, stirring her iced coffee contemplatively.
“So I think I’ve annoyed you enough with the cynicism, and I think my friends are getting a little concerned about my absence,” Olivia speaks up. “If you want, I’ll just tell them your friends scooped you up and took you elsewhere. I don’t think they’d mind, really.”
“Nah, I guess I’ll come along,” Penny mutters.
“Guess there’s no real harm in opening up one’s horizons a bit.”She finishes off her drink can and tosses it in the trash can on the way out.
“So your mom, what’s she like?” Olivia asks as they head back.
“Well, she’s a pretty cool person, but dad’s the one who mostly takes care of the siblings given she spends quite a lot of time on duty.”“Oh? How many siblings you got?”
“Six,” Penny replies.
“Two older sisters - twins - and I’m the third oldest.”“Wait, seriously?!” Olivia replies, laughing. “Have your parents ever heard of a condom…?!”
But at least there's some higher profile partiers to take some of the attention off of Penny and those like her. Specifically, Nicole's and her reign as queen of the dance pad. Try as they might, no one can challenge the redheaded girl and come away victorious.
"This one goes out--" she whooped between another GONG "--to Dana Noel! Queen of the gunslingers!" She spun on her heels and began dancing backwards, the lights of the dance machine glinting off the gemstone in her navel as she pointed two finger guns in the direction of the girls on the railing - just to show there were no hard feelings in refusing to engage in some of the more risque activities.
"One of you pick the next beat! These rich people want to see me loooose!" she shrieked. "They don't know I caaaaan't!"
“Hey, guys, look at that redhead up there on stage,” says one of Tatyana’s friends as the rest of the group were gabbing away. “Seriously, she’s just on fire…”
“Hey, that’s Nichole, she’s my teammate!” Penny pipes up, moving forwards to get a better look.
“Go Nichole! Kick their asses! Whoo!”She gives loud, cheering whistles as the Hastan girl decimates her opposition.
“Seriously, where’d she learn those moves?” Tatyana asks, laughing.
“Hey, she’s Nichole,” Penny replies confidently.
“She’s just that good!”Giving a nod, Noah and another cadet promptly jumped into the water, and lifted Dana and Priya onto their shoulders. There followed a series of hard-fought and incredibly entertaining (at least, if the wildly cheering crowd was anything to go by) battles, with Dana gaining the slightest of leads over the spirited Priya, thanks to a few small, but well-timed Light Elementum distractions. It was only once the informal competition was over that Dana realized she had forgotten all about Penny. The thought of having abandoned her socially awkward roommate to what the bespectacled girl could very well view as a living nightmare caused Dana’s jubilant spirits to rapidly dampen. Immediately setting out to search for her, the concerned Norban soon found her roommate amongst the crowd gathered around the dance pad upon which Nicole looked to be giving the performance of a lifetime. Weaving her way through the cheering mass of cadets and fellow Ars Magi, Dana had just reached Penny’s side when Nicole gave her a boisterous shout out. “Whoo! Show ‘em what ya got, Nicole!” the sunny sharpshooter called back with a wink, while giving the red-head two finger pistols of her own.
As Dana continued to watch, Nicole did just that, defeating every other guest who foolishly dared to challenge her dominance of the dance pad, and when the heady Hastan asked one of the audience members to pick the next song, the grinning gunslinger’s smile grew even wider. “I’ve got just the thing!” she told her team leader as she grabbed a music player from her bag and plugged it into the sound system. “This one’s a personal favorite!”
“Oh look who shows up again!” Penny says when Dana finds her again.
“Seriously, you run off and left me behind!
“Still, it’s fine. Had fun? What happened with you?”
“Oh, right, let me introduce you…” Penny says, introducing Dana to the group as a close friend and teammate.
“Told ya she has a real bunch of gems on her team,” Olivia says to Tatyana vi Minerva.
The sun continues to sink down the line of the horizon as the hours tick by, casting a long red line across the shimmering water. Aiya encourages the rest of the Ars Magi to take their turn on the dance floor in due time; Priya (who has an pop and lock) and Cara are an easy sell, but she tries to cajole Dana and Penny too if they can be lured away from their various activities.
Penny excuses herself and her friend from the group, and thank them for the great time. It was a bit exhausting dealing with the attention and the high society talk, but like Olivia says, best to open one’s horizons, or at least get to know people.
Away from the group, Penny gives a long-held-back sigh of relief.
"Oh thank God that's over," she says.
"I mean, it was fun, but... it's just a bit overwhelming, you know? And some of them can be so grabby..."“Well this sure is cozy,” Dana noted with a grin as she made herself comfortable next to Noah on one of the cushioned couches. “So, is this like one of those ‘after parties’?” she inquired of their host. “Cause, y’know, with how awesome everythin’ else has been, I was kinda hopin’ ya might have arranged a fireworks show for us, too!”
“Eh, ya never know, probably firing a bunch outside right now,” Penny replies.
“We’d probably never hear it on account of the loud music and all the other partygoers.”Eventually the mood becomes slightly more sedated as cadets break into smaller clusters to watch the sunset. Aiya and her inner circle retreat to the more intimate crew quarters below deck, taking Nicole, Dana, and Penny along with them. The space below deck has just enough room for a small couch and a few cramped seats to lounge on, a comfortable enough space to relax and dry off from the days earlier activities. There's even a well-stocked drink cabinet, probably meant for the important associates of the De Mars family--which doesn't stop Aiya from breaking it open.
"They're going to start sending you out on assignments soon, dolcezza." Aiya laments as she sips from a drink. "You and all your friends. I'm not going to get to keep you all around to play anymore." A dramatic sigh parts from the dark-haired girl's lips. Nicole is already aware of Aiya's attempt to lay claim to her for the De Mars family–but there's still a long time before Ars Magi's official graduation and assignments.
"You two." She raises a finger to gesture between Penny and Dana. "Have to make sure nothing happens to her." There's a thread of humor to her words, her usual good cheer doubled and then some by the afternoon of drinking. "I need her."
“Seriously?” Penny chortles.
“She’s our teammate and our friend. Nothing happens to her on our watch.”“You can count on us!” Dana reassured their host with a playful salute, when she and Penny were instructed to keep Nicole safe. “Your girlfriend’s got the best team in Nova Lux watchin’ her back!” she added with a confident smile. “Right, Penny?!” she asked her by-this-point-probably-quite-overwhelmed roommate.
“Damn straight,” Penny replies, giving Dana a high-five.
She pauses, a silvery laugh escaping from the heiress after a few seconds of consideration. "Isn't it strange?" She asks, clarifying, "We get to be in charge of you. You're the most powerful girls alive, and you have to do what we tell you to do." The girl shakes her head. "How funny." She raises her glass in a toast. "Here's to Nova Lux and our brave heroines."
The other officers raise their turn, a proud salute to their saviors and subordinates.
Penny pauses a bit, but then returns the salute.
"Fuck." Says Aiya, turning her bottle over to lament its emptiness. It's unclear if her unhappiness comes from the system issues of the post-apocalyptic world or if she's just upset she'll have to get a new drink. Either way with a loud thud the dark haired Duodecim plants the container down firmly on the center of the varnished wood table.
"Who wants to play spin the bottle?"
Earlier, Penny would have excused herself, but she instead downs a drink in one chug.
“Eh, the hell with it, guess I’m game…” she says, crushing the can in one hand and tossing it away.
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