starry_matrix | parties for days

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prelude

parties for days

Holidays are supposed to be fun. Ema is pretty sure that this is true, at least. Her parents certainly seem excited every year. Normally, she doesn't mind it much. She's not that into parties necessarily, but some of it can be fun. The food and drinks are usually good, and the music, and the outfits. She does love watching the outfits. Some are wonderful, some are interesting, and there's always at least a couple that are just hilariously awful. She's still young enough that she's been able to get away with being shy; there's enough of a 'children should be seen and not heard' mentality that this is still considered Acceptable.

Or it was, anyway.

This year, they're going to a different set of parties, and The Twins are here.

Ema has literally never seen her parents this excited. They usually have opinions, of course, she wouldn't want to embarass them by showing up to an event in an inappropriate outfit or something like that. But this time they are so... into it. Ema doesn't get it. They fuss and hover and change their minds about what she should wear and send her to get her hair done and change their minds again and buy her three different pairs of shoes because they can't decide which she should wear, and...

Ema wants to scream at them. She has to try very hard not to be bitter at the twins. It's not their fault her parents think they're the Most Special People in the Universe. But Ema is feeling both overwhelmed by the attention and, somehow, oddly ignored at the same time. Don't her parents think she'll look nice without all this fussing? Or that she'll know how to be friendly and polite without all of their rules and speeches and injunctions about how to treat the twins? She knows this stuff! She's been a good daughter, she learned it all.

For better or worse, this all goes on for a good while before the weeks of parties actually arrive. Worse, because Ema is now thoroughly (if quietly) fed up with her parents. Better, because she's had enough time to process that it's really not the twins' fault, and she thinks she can manage to not feel like she's forcing friendliness if she meets them.

But really, she just wants this all to be over. By the time the Grand Event arrives she's already been going to parties for a week, smiling and making small talk and behaving just as her parents want her to. She arrives at the party, pastes a smile on her face, and starts to 'aimlessly' wander the edge of the party. She's just looking for a good vantage point, really. See-and-be-seen is best done from the sidelines, in her opinion. There must be a reasonable corner somewhere.

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Right then, respite's over.

Adarin is up in half a second, mutters something to himself about getting the proper balance between lift and gravity, and then with a spell - flies to the rescue. Literally. He doesn't feel particularly heroic, mostly just mentally screeching about how stupid a floating platform is for transportation over a portal as he tries to navigate the - slowly spinning platform. This is probably some kind of ploy, is his glum second thought, as he snatches Ema's hand and pulls her into the air, followed by him adjusting the flight spell so she's floating comfortably, too.

"Hi," he says, for lack of a better word. They are now flying. He's done this before, but she probably hasn't.

...okay then, suddenly flying.

It takes a second or two for Ema's brain to catch up with the fact that she's no longer about to plunge to her death in a waterfall, whereupon she gulps and takes a second (or seven) to collect herself. Okay. Not screaming any more.

...flying.

Nope, not thinking about that. Nope, nope, nope.

She clings to Adarin's hand probably a lot harder than she needs to; when he speaks, she jolts, realizes what she was doing, and eases up. "Sorry," she mumbles automatically. Then, "Uh, hi." Then, as her thoughts return, "-Thank you, thank you thank you, it just- it was tipping me, I didn't know what to do, I'm so sorry."

She catches a glimpse of the waterfall, moans in fear, and determinedly looks away again. "Um. Sorry. Again. Thank you. I sound like an idiot, I'm babbling, I'm sorry, but thank you, you were right, it wasn't safe, I shouldn't've-"

She shuts up. If she says anything else, she will burst into tears, and that will not help.

"You're welcome. It's okay," he says, in soothing tones. So, probably not a ploy, or at least not hers. He can be comforting. "You don't sound like an idiot, it's okay to babble after a - magical malfunction as distressing as that." He worded it that delicately to not freak her out.

"Would you like me to take you to the ground, or back up to the party? Or stay here and take a minute before you do either?"

It takes her a little bit to get her thoughts coherent enough to actually interpret his words and turn them into something she has an opinion on. Once she manages- "Um, I should... I should calm. Calm down. I think." She gulps. "Ground is, is fine, you already- I don't want to- I'm so sorry, you went to all that trouble to escape and I'm ruining it and, and..."

Okay, she's crying now. Not sobbing, she's breathing just fine, but tears are running down her face. She turns her head back towards the party, hoping he won't see; this is far and away humiliating enough already.

"...thank you. Again. I just- thank you?" Realizing she's going back into idiot mode, she tries to straighten out her thoughts more. "Um, yeah. Ground, but... not back yet? I should, um. Calm."

She needs to get back on the ground, never get on the platform again, go find her parents, tell them-

Oh. Oops. Matchmakers.

"Uh, actually, up here may," sniffle, "be better. They'll just," sniffle, "...talk, if we're," sniffle, "safe but hiding. Slow rescue is," sniffle, "probably less... inta- intet- interprable?"

Calm, calm, calm- she has to go back to the party- calm. How to be calm? Well, she's a little calmer. Crying, but calming.

He is not going to comment on the crying.

"You're not ruining anything," he assures, in the same soothing tones. "Don't worry about me, it's just a party. There will be others no matter what I do. It's all right. Once I accidentally set myself on fire and I spent the next three hours babbling about fire safety to Ana, I'm not going to judge."

Well, that surprises a hiccupy giggle out of her. "So I shouldn't," sniffle, "set the platform on fire in," hiccup, "revenge then?"

"No, that would get me babbling about fire safety, I'd be completely useless for a while and be terrible company. Now, freezing it, that I'm completely fine with, feel free."

"You're, um," sniffle, "kinda important company, at the moment."

She manages to get the tears to stop. She takes an experimental sniffle, then looks towards the party resignedly. (As long as she doesn't look down towards the waterfall, it's- okay. Maybe.)

"Uh, I think- I think I can go down?" She sighs. "I wish I could just- leave. I'm, um, kinda... not really a party mode, now. But, my parents are there, so. I guess I should get them."

"You are," he points out, "perfectly entitled to leave a party after this. If your parents argue, I can be an important person at them."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean-" she pauses, collects her thoughts (insofar as she can) and continues. "I don't... think my parents would make me stay, after, um, that. But- if it would help, if I could, uh, stay on the other side of the room and ignore you? Or something? Stars, I don't even know. But you, you saved me and you're going to get mobbed for it and- I don't want to just leave you to it."

Well. That's - actually rather nice. "Thank you," he says, genuinely. "I think I can get out of being mobbed, though, if I'm clever. Possibly by saying something like, 'My sister's cliff jumping is distressing and I very desperately need time alone I had to fly today I am a delicate flower.'"

That gets another giggle. She's bordering on hysteria at this point, so it probably sounds rather manic, but she's alive who cares. She can be hysterical if she wants to!

"Stars, that's- you're as much a delicate flower as that speech was entertaining and engaging," she says between gasps of laughter.

"What spee- oh." He laughs. "That speech. Yes, I was feeling vindictive, it's the little things in life."

"I made the mistake of listening. I heard that thing about languages, and then, uh..." Manic giggle, "tropical birds and china patterns and, and, farming techniques..."

Oh, look, more laughter. "Yeah. I think many of them could be genuinely interesting in their own contexts, but - all together, as useless, boring facts? No. And that was the point. It's a pity that laughing maniacally during would have ruined the effect."

"That, um, your sister... kinda made up for that." Giggles. Manic, manic giggles.

Ema uses her free hand to try to wipe off her face. Tears and sniffles do not do well as a beauty treatment. She is going to look an absolute wreck when she gets put down. (She doesn't mind much for the sake of her own vanity, but she is not looking forward to her mother's expression.)

Her giggling trails off as she looks resignedly down at the party. "I should... I should go get my parents," she says, willing herself to be sure that yes she really should stop hiding. "I- thank you. Again. You made this way less, less... horribly awful than it could have been."

"She's good for that sort of thing," he agrees. "You're welcome. I'm glad to have helped."

He flies her over to the party, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at some of the startled gasps, and sets Ema on the ground. He lands himself, nearby, and ends the flight spell. He suspects that the platform's malfunction wasn't an accident, magic doesn't typically work like that, it does something, and it keeps doing that thing until it breaks, and then it abruptly stops working entirely. None of the - half done pieces that the platform displayed. That makes him suspicious.

Ema's parents- do not immediately come rushing over. In fact, Ema can't actually see them.

That's... rather disappointing, actually. Didn't they miss her?

She wanders around the edge of the crowd, a task made easier by the pervading surprise running through the group. She sees her parents to one side and hurries toward them, slowing when she sees them arguing with their friend from earlier.

"--said that she wouldn't be in any danger!" Her father is objecting.

"The platform was just supposed to stop, you said, she'd just be stuck."

"Adarin wouldn't have taken it seriously if she was just-" the man starts dismissively, then he sees Ema.

Ema just... stares. She fails completely to process this. It's just all too much. Her mouth is hanging open in shock, but she hasn't noticed.

Her parents did what?

There are people flitting around Adarin, asking him if he's okay, saying that he was apparently brave (For what? Flying and helping someone? Yeah, no, if she were being attacked by a rabid bear, then maybe he'd be brave, but really, he wasn't in any danger personally.) and asking if he wanted to talk about it or - something, he stops paying attention. Because, he is busy. He holds up an index finger in a 'wait' gesture, and he does some scrying on members of the party to see if anyone is doing anything - suspicious.

... Aren't those Ema's parents? Why are they arguing with that man who - he just said Adarin's name. Adarin's not getting any of the sound, and he's not a fantastic lip reader, but he definitely just saw that person say his name in the scry. While arguing with Ema's parents. That - could be nothing, he has zero proof, only guesstimates and conjecture. But he is suspicious. He is going to investigate.

"Excuse me," he says politely, "I need to go make sure the person who was in danger is all right." This does a good job of shooing the people flitting over him, and he walks (relatively) unimpeded to a nice place to 'accidentally' eavesdrop.

Ema's parents turn and see her, and go white. "Ema-"

"What did you do," she whispers.

"They said it was just going to stop, they didn't tell us it was going to tip, we would never-"

Oh dear. Well. It's not like there's only so many dramatic entrances he can make in one day, let's just get this one started.

"Never frighten your daughter? Never manipulate people for your own gain? Never potentially strand every single person at this party? Nearly kill someone you are supposed to love?" says Adarin, almost pleasantly. "Well, I am quite afraid it is far too late for 'you would never.' Because you already have."

"That is completely uncalled for," Ema's father says indignantly. "It was supposed to be as simple as, as, being in a room with the door stuck! We would never, ever hurt her. Nearly kill her, she's our daughter, we would never! How dare you."

"You seriously thought some insane plot to have him fetch me off a broken platform was going to do anything?!" Ema demands. She... she... this is all getting to be rather too much. "What is wrong with you?!"

"It was supposed to be safe," her mother says again weakly. "Just a way for you to meet. They- they wanted to do more, to try magic or, or, drugs, something- I said no, you weren't supposed to be r-r-risked, he lied." Her mother's crying now. Ema is torn between fury at the whole situation and kind of wanting to hug her.

"Technically," points out Adarin, "you did nearly kill her. But, if that wasn't your intention, I understand. You were just manipulating her and using her as a pawn instead. Perfectly understandable."

That is definitely sarcasm.

"She's only a child! Parents make decisions for their children, that's how it works. We know what's best for them."

"Clearly," Ema snaps at him, "this time you missed."

Her mother cries harder at that, and Ema sighs. Even as angry as she is, she still doesn't want to be having this fight in the middle of a party. People are very, very obviously staring. She is not up for being in the middle of a fight right now, much less one with this many spectators. Really, what she most wants is to go home and hide under her blankets and not come out for at least a few days. But she's certainly not doing that right now. She's not going back to the house with them. At least until they apologize properly.

"I'm going to Allila's," she tells them. "Don't follow me. Unless you can prove you're not going to drop me into a waterfall again."

Her father's face is turning so red she's afraid he'll explode on the spot, but her mother whispers to him and tugs at his arm. "Just- remember that we love you, sweetheart," her mother says. She looks like she wants to say something else, but she sees her husband's face, and drags him away.

Ema glares at the surrounding crowd until they part enough for her to get through, and then hurries towards the outside of the party. Once she makes it outside, she finds somewhere reasonably out of the way, waits for everyone to leave her alone- luckily, they're mostly too busy gossiping about her to actually try to talk to her- and slumps against a column. There, she curls up and cries.

... Adarin might have lost his temper, there. Actually, no, he definitely lost his temper. He - needs to not be here. Right now. Everyone is staring at him, and he really should have thought this through better. He has the calm suspicion that he just - incited something terrible. Good job, Adarin, looks like you don't even need your sister to get into trouble anymore. You're all grown up. Mom would be proud.

(He is quite sure that there will be a punishment waiting for him when he gets 'home.' That'll be fun. He wonders, inanely, if it'll involve mana deprivation again. Different people were responsible for that one, but honestly, all of his caretakers have just blended together.)

He says something polite about how the stress of the day's taken a toll on his temper, and that he's very worried about his sister's disappearance. Also, he was being chivalrous or something and defending a lady. Or. Something. He doesn't remember exactly what he says, but it's pretty good. Some of the surrounding people make an 'Awwww' sound.

And then, he excuses himself, retrieves his escort, and they proceed to flee as fast as politely possible. He needs to - curl up in a quiet room and not talk to anyone for a while. So he goes and does that.

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