Orbit [FIN]

[Vriska]

I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins

Spotlight on me and I'm ready to break

That Vriska would attend this hootenanny was a given. Why the hell she had decided on this outfit was beyond her, though. It hadn't been so bad on the way - she'd worn a heavy cloak to hide all the... everything.

But then she walked into the room and it was huge and there was no way she could hide anywhere and people were looking at her. She could feel their eyes like oil on her skin that she couldn't shake off. Mustering all the self-discipline Vriska could gather, she marched in with practiced grace. And boy had she practiced. Her usual stalk became an almost painfully precise, catlike sashay. She had long ago discovered the perfect method for dealing with the upper crust of society. She simply acted like they weren't there, putting up an expression of content mockery - one that was guaranteed to offend practically everyone who looked in her direction because she'd practiced that too. Then she opened her eyes just a fraction wider than normal, as if only slightly surprised that her care-bucket had mysteriously gone completely empty.

Then she desperately scanned the room for a familiar face because there was no goddamn way she was spending the entire night on her own half-bare in a room full of strangers. It felt odd, walking like this. Calculating each slow, meticulous step slowed her down to a leisurely saunter and the slightest movement was made somehow sleek and elegant. Out of the corner of her eye Vriska could see people actually staring openmouthed. Who's that woman in the spider mask? Stop staring, you fool, it's that hybrid girl. Orin's pet. See the horns?

Vriska wondered why she'd bothered with the mask at all.

[Rwaht]

Party time

As masks went, Rwaht's was rather plain. He despised the notion of wearing a mask in the first place, but this was a royally endorsed function, and it would've been rather poor form not to show up at all, and even worse to show up without the mask, as he had seriously considered doing. He did not need to make any more enemies, not while half the rich men of Castle Town loathed him for the sudden, unwelcome presence of a man who fought for the freaks. So he showed up. It wasn't hard to tell it was him; his stature, his demeanour, his walk were all more than distinct enough for anyone who cared to notice. And while he did not like this, he would not be ruled by it. Rwaht entered the hall calmly, moving with the fluid power that a life of killing had given him. His rivals were likely masked here, in this hall. He would show them a face worth fearing, even if it was hidden behind a mask.

A mask like me. Pure black. Absolute. Unyielding, Rwaht thought, and the thought was oddly comforting.

One man sniggered something to a friend, loud enough for Rwaht to notice. He was of middling height, and was obscured by his mask. Rwaht looked at the man and smiled. He would not dare voice such things while Rwaht knew his face.

A man does like to be feared by his enemies.

After a while, he saw Vriska. She wasn't hard to pick out, given her grey skin, and the horns. He was somewhat surprised to see her there, particularly wearing such an outfit. Vriska seemed to make a habit of surprising him. It was welcome. He moved swiftly, and seemed to appear by her side, in movements like velvet. He took her hand and smiled.

"You look lovely."

She deserves to smile tonight. She deserves to forget the darkness, at least for a night. Rwaht found it was suddenly his mission to see that smile, and to keep it there.

[Vriska]

Vriska very nearly jumped in surprise when Rwaht somehow appeared out of thin air beside her. But that would have blown her cover as a high-born Lady with a capital L. Well, technically she was one already - literally high-born, in this case, but also a bastard.

A lovely-looking bastard, apparently.

Blushing blue and smiling in relief - every fang glinted pearly white in the light - Vriska took Rwaht's hands. "You are such a liar. Hello to you too. You look... stiff." Vriska examined Rwaht's outfit disapprovingly. "I go through hell to convince myself to show up in this," Vriska wiggled her hips to leave no doubt as to what this meant - i.e. nothing at all. "And you show up in... a suit. All of Hyrule is partying tonight and you're wearing a suit. What the f8ck."

[Rwaht]

Vriska smiled. Rwaht didn't, but he came very close, and that was a special thing. He hoped Vriska would understand that. He nodded apologetically when she accused him of being a liar. He didn't bother saying he wasn't. Neither one of them wanted to play that sort of back-and-forth. He grinned apologetically, the slightest upturn of the lips, and said,

"My apologies. I'll be sure to get my tutu from the drycleaner's for the next time. Erk. Bugger this mask," he muttered, for no apparent reason. The actual reason was that things kept slipping out of his peripheral vision quicker than he was used to. He didn't like that. His peripheral vision was the reason that he'd never had to look at his insides, and even here Rwaht was cautious. Some things you couldn't just turn off.

"Might I have the pleasure of a dance?" Rwaht asked, his voice even, though somewhat amused with itself.

[Vriska]

In lieu of a verbal response to Rwaht's jab, Vriska punched him in the arm. It was the regal thing to do. At Rwaht's invitation to dance, Vriska gave him an exaggerated gasp. "I'm disappointed in you, ser! I'm barely in the door and already you're leaving your date for another woman!"

She looked around. "You did invite Aerith, didn't you? As your date? Where is she?"

[Rwaht]

When Vriska ignored his question, Rwaht promptly took hold of one of her hands and dragged her out onto the dance floor, beginning a slow dance that he probably wasn't very good at. It wasn't as though he had much practice.

"Uh ... no. Should I have? I figured it might be ... rude," Rwaht muttered, determinedly looking over Vriska's shoulder. "I mean ... dammit I messed that up, didn't I?" Rwaht asked, sounding for what was probably the first time in years, utterly helpless.

[Vriska]

In any other place Vriska would have laughed uproariously. Seeing as they were in Polite Company she settled for a girly giggle.

Yes, she could actually do those.

She was about as good a dancer as Rwaht, though. Perhaps slightly better, resting languidly in his arms and not stepping on his toes unless she wanted to. Which she did, until he let her have the lead. "I'd say so, yeah. Lucky for you she's too nice to hold much of a grudge."

Step step turn step twist

"Tell me something. In the bleeding clump of rock you're somehow managing to pass off as a heart - in the deepest, most private recesses of what we can theoretically term your fee-hee-heelings, how do you feel about Aerith?"

[Rwaht]

Rwaht smiled, glad that his awful dancing was at least entertaining Vriska. That was probably the best he could hope for on any given night, he reflected. He started to move a little more fluidly, now that he was getting used to it. Rwaht mightn't be a natural dancer, but he was a trained swordsman, and was more than used to being in control of his body.

"I ... I don't know. I'm sure this will be a stunning revelation but I don't really think of that sort of thing too often. I'm usually too busy," Rwaht admitted, sounding more than a little embarrassed, though his face didn't show it. He was so good at masking what he felt that sometimes he did it by accident.

[Vriska]

As the music rose to a low flourish, Vriska let Rwaht twirl her under his arm and she gracefully twisted out of his grasp, still holding to his hand, and then twirled back into the dance, delivering a discreet yet sharp slap to the back of Rwaht's head. "The world's not ending just yet, Rwaht," she told him as she leaned deeper into the dance. "You know as well as I do that we can't change Hyrule in a day, so stop trying. And for f8ck's sake, know a trap when you're walking into one. Aerith is a grown woman - an enemy you obviously have no experience with. Think fast, because she's thinking too."

[Aerith]

Aerith was in awe at the amount of people that were lingering within this massive ballroom. The entirety of Castle Town appeared to have gathered here, and she was lucky to have heard about this gathering from the passing gossip of her customers. The young woman was surprised that neither Rwaht or Vriska had at least asked her to come along, but she reasoned that the two were busy enough. Perhaps she would see the two of them here? For now, Aerith was quite content to busy herself with looking all around the grand room. Many guests were already here, dressed in a myriad of dresses and costumes to go along with the masquerade theme. Truthfully, finding her own dress had been a little difficult, but she was quite happy with her purchase. Her dress was quite a light shade of pink, clinging to her petite frame gently. The fabric had been draped down her form is a loosely pleated design, ending a little past her knees. It flowed quite nicely, and she could not wait to dance in the garment. Well, if she could find a dance partner.

Her hair had been let loose, hanging in loose waves does her back and the shorter tendrils over her shoulders. A small section had been pulled to the side with a pink bow, but rather simply done so Aerith could say she at least did something with her hair. Walking around the room, her icy eyes searched for a familiar face amongst the crowd. No doubt that Vriska and Rwaht would at least be together, since neither were the type to really enjoy gatherings like this at all. Her gaze did stop on a distinct pair dancing, while the distinct factor was the sight of her best female friend Vriska. Who was dancing with Rwaht, and Aerith found the entire scene rather adorable. Never had she witnessed either of the two dance, and she was at least glad they had found some enjoyment. An amused giggle escaped her, but her brow soon rose when Vriska delivered a none-too-gentle slap to the back of Rwaht's head. What had he done this time to irk their temperamental friend? Should she attempt to save him from her wrath? It was too bad that her mask did not hide her amused smile.

"Who's thinking?" Aerith asked, catching the last of their conversation as she ventured closer. Clasping her hands behind her back, she watched as the two of them danced. Hopefully she had not interrupted anything important, but she was curious as to what Vriska had meant. Would it be rude of her to ask to cut in? "Would it be alright I cut in, 'Riska?" she asked, a rather mischievous smile in place. Oh, no, she had Rwaht cornered, and she was certainly going to let him know her own feelings before the night was out.

Dress || Mask

[Rwaht]

"Ow," Rwaht muttered, his voice losing all the normal danger and respect it typically commanded. He sounded something like a scolded child, actually, which was pretty hilarious given who he was. He started to say something several times, but by that point Aerith had actually shown up in the flesh, wearing a very nice dress, and wearing her hair down.

It was probably fifteen seconds later that Rwaht realized he'd stopped dancing and had been staring at her that entire time.

Smooth.

He started to say something again then stopped again, then looked back between Vriska and Aerith a couple times. He had never felt like a more pronounced idiot than he did just now. Rwaht rubbed the back of his head, and, taking the way too damn satisfied grin on Vriska's face as his cue, said,

"You, uh. You look nice, Aerith."

I sound like a coy virgin.

[Vriska]

This couldn't have gone much better even if she'd planned this. Aerith looked gorgeous, Rwaht was literally stunned - she made a mental note to mark this day on her calendar - and there was nothing stopping these two from having a magical goddamn evening.

"My work here is done," she said smugly. "Have a nice evening." Eying Rwaht, she added, "Or else."

Hey, was that a buffet?

[[Exit? I dunno. You two just get posting.]]

[Aerith]

Aerith tilted her head to the side, quite amused that Rwaht had literally stopped dancing the moment he had laid eyes upon her. It was definitely a nice stoke to her feminine pride to have don that, but she had to keep herself from laughing at his dazed expression. Well, she was quite glad to have picked out this dress for herself~! She just sincerely hoped she was not imagining that he would reciprocate her own feelings, even if she still had trouble figuring them out. Tonight would be the perfect opportunity to find out, and it had started out well enough, since he was still staring at her in relative shock. Her cheeks did darken a shade, beginning to wonder if Rwaht would merely stand there until he realized that he had stopped dancing with Vriska. The young woman could not help herself, and so she giggled her amusement at his awestruck expression.

Rwaht glanced between herself and Vriska several time, appearing quite at a loss of what to do with himself. Smiling sweetly, her heart did quicken at his compliment. Even if he was quite embarrassed with his actions, she found them to be rather adorable. "Thank you. You look nice yourself," she replied, her smile teasing this time. No, Rwaht had never been too experienced with women, and Aerith was trying so very hard not to be amused about that. Even she was quite inexperienced with romance, but she was more confident in herself at the moment than Rwaht. Glancing over to Vriska, her smile widened just a fraction. No doubt the Minish would be quite smug about this, as she had been the one pulling her hair out over the two of them. "Don't worry, we'll have a very nice evening," she reassured. Oh, this would be quite the wonderful evening~!

As Vriska meandered over toward a buffet table, Aerith took a step closer toward Rwaht. He was not going to avoid her at all, and so she grasped his hands. She guided one to rest upon her hip, and kept the other firmly grasped within her smaller hand. "You owe me a dance for not inviting me to this," she explained. Her tone was light, and she hardly held any grudge toward him for not telling her about this dance. Her free hand descended upon his shoulder, and so she began to lead the dance slowly enough for Rwaht to keep up. Icy eyes glanced up at her best friend--maybe more?--with a more sweet smile in place. "Have you been avoiding me? I haven't seen you since our little incident," she asked, hardly going to back down from seeing if Rwaht felt the same as she did tonight.

[Rwaht]

Most of the time, Rwaht sort of ignored beautiful women, as though they were a sort of nuisance. That was a little hard when said beautiful woman was your friend, and much harder when you'd seen said woman in a state of considerable undress. When Vriska vanished there was a sort of hilarious, hopeless look on Rwaht's face that was clearly screaming HELP ME! But, of course, no help would come. Rwaht awkwardly walked towards Aerith and rubbed the back of his head, reminding himself that he'd already told her she looked nice. That was literally the only thing he could think of to say, which was ridiculous.

Rwaht Orin, slayer of the underworld, undone by a woman in a dress, he thought wryly, oddly restoring some of his confidence. If humour was an escape-hatch from anxiety, he'd drop down it post-haste.

"Erm, yeah, a very nice evening ... treacherous Oocca bastard," Rwaht muttered beneath his breath, half to amuse himself. Then he found that Aerith had grabbed his hands and had more or less keel-hauled him into a dance. When she said he owed her a dance, he laughed self-consciously and said, "I didn't think it'd be your thing. Well, truth be told I was just sort of dreading this in general. This may come as a devastating shock to you, but I'm not the best dancer Hyrule's ever produced." He smiled and tried to keep up with the dance, not doing a terribly good job of it, but not a terribly bad one, either. When she asked her question, he laughed again, but shook his head.

"Not intentionally. You know how it is with work. Particularly when your Lieutenants are half-mad and lazy," he said, though he sounded amused. Vriska was a great friend of his, and Hulio was ... well, Hulio.

Of course that was at best a half-truth. He'd buried himself in work, yes, but that was partially because he had no idea how to talk with Aerith without compromising his Big Stupid Nobility Complex.

"Well, here's our chance to catch up, then," Rwaht said calmly, continuing to dance, again getting a little better as time went on. He was, if nothing else, a fast learner.

[Aerith]

Aerith quirked her brow at his rather helpless expression, clearly unsure what to do with himself. The young woman was unsure of whether to feel off put with Rwaht's awkwardness toward her, and she merely hoped she was not going to place a rift between them tonight. She certainly could not back out from what she had promised to do, or Vriska would hunt her down. Even she was worried about what could possibly happen, but as long as he remained her best friend, then she could live happy with that. Rejection certainly hurt, yet it was something she could move on from. Her lips curled into a reassuring smile, hoping to ease away any insecurities he held. This sort of thing was certainly not what Rwaht did, but she wanted her dance. Perhaps he would reciprocate her own feelings, but she certainly did not want to push him into a situation that left him uncomfortable. Then again, he was someone that could handle many things quite well. She was over thinking this again, was she not?

Aerith giggled at his muttering of Vriska, because she knew he was unsure of being alone in her presence. It was certainly a good sign that he was stricken by her appearance, and another stroke to her feminine pride. Hmm, not quite. I guess it's good luck that you're dancing with me, since I think I'm a wonderful dancer," she replied. It was traditional for the male to take the lead, but Aerith was more than content to direct her impromptu date while he learned his footing. He had yet to step on her feet, which was always a wonderful sign. His footwork was not too bad, and all it took was some practice! Feeling the beat of the music, and then swaying the body in rhythm. The melody was not too slow, and Aerith was quite looking forward to a more romantic melody to get her own point across. Actions did speak louder than words after all!

"That's what makes it all the more fun~! I still think you're not being completely honest, though," she teased. Aerith had known Rwaht for five years, and she hoped that she knew him better than most. It was okay with her, since she knew it had been quite the awkward situation for them both. Vriska had managed to sway her from her doubts, and so now she would do the same for him. As the moments passed, Aerith could tell that dancing was becoming more comfortable for him. Always quite the fast learner, and she she decided to place him on the spot a little more. Any positive reaction she could get would reinforce her hopes about his feelings toward her. Slipping her hand from his shoulder, she spun herself outward, the fabric of her dress fanning outward at the sudden movement. Icy eyes were bright as she soon twirled herself back toward him, stopping much closer than she had been before.

"We have a lot to catch up on," she replied, her tone breathless and a little excited.

[/blockquote][/size]

[Rwaht]

As a rule, Rwaht did not blush.

He was not, of course, blushing, since any offending blood rushing to his head was quickly staunched off by the icy-cold will of a man who literally thought that lunch breaks were for lazy people. He tried to keep up with Aerith's dancing, noting with mixed amusement and agitation that the moment he seemed to have mastered a certain step or speed or procession, she would speed up or do some new twirly thing or otherwise completely throw him off his slowly developing game. He snorted when she spoke

"I've always appreciated your humility, you know," he said dryly, though a grin did crack onto his face. It seemed surprisingly natural, and deep down Rwaht had to admit he was having a good time, despite the absurd awkwardness of it all. Since ... the other day, Rwaht couldn't help but feel like he didn't know how to proceed. He didn't want to offend Aerith, after all, even if she had been barrelling into his subconscious with the force of a battering ram. He laughed, a low chuckle, but even that was surprising, from him.

"Maybe not entirely," he admitted, moving through the dance steps with increasing confidence. She suddenly flung herself out, taking him by surprise, then twirled back towards him, ending up far closer to him than she had been. The gesture was not lost on Rwaht.

"We have a lot to catch up on," she said, and for a second Rwaht found himself staring at those icelike, blue eyes.

"At such close range?" Rwaht asked wryly, before mentally kicking himself. That was stupid. He'd been going for "devastatingly clever". Swing and a miss. "Then again," he said, sensing a dashing resurgence was forming, "The view is pretty good."

[Aerith]

Aerith smiled up at Rwaht slyly, quite unlike her usual sweet self. There was a certain mischief to her tonight, and an air of a woman who was about to attain what she wanted. Well, she certainly hoped she would be getting what she wanted, and all the signs appeared to be there. Oh, what if she was deluding herself into thinking she was seeing things that were not there? Was she thinking too much? She certainly thought so, and she blamed Rwaht for this mess of things. He had kept popping up within her thoughts at the most odd of times, and many of the thoughts were not all that appropriate. She felt that odd urge she had when Rwaht had first come across her completely without anything on. Disappear into the floor and forget about the whole thing. Her icy eyes flickered upward at the sound of his brief laugh, and she smiled brightly.

Aerith quite enjoyed being this close to Rwaht, and she was quite happy that she had thrown him off guard. Her arms slid around his neck, and she was quite close to pressing her slim form against his. Her mind was pleasantly buzzed at the mere thought, and she giggled lightly. Okay, perhaps a little dizzy for being more bold than she ever had been with Rwaht, and she was quite keen to see if she could break this noble streak he had. Perhaps she had been hanging out with Vriska far too often as of late, because she was being much more forward than she normally would be. She did quite enjoy the fact that he seemed unable to look away from her eyes, and she felt more daring by the moment.

Her brow quirked at his statement, almost seeing him mentally smack himself for the remark. Aerith smiled sweetly at him, quite ready to throw him off guard once more. "Really? With or without my dress on?" she asked, hardly batting an eyelash at the quite blunt remark. With an air of innocence, she pressed herself closer to Rwaht, and lead him into a much slower dance. Perhaps she could make him blush yet~!

[Rwaht]

Rwaht recalled that Aerith usually presented the image of an innocent, naive, carefree flower girl.

She was a liar, and that was bullshit. Rwaht felt distinctly like a shark was stalking him. A very pretty shark. He continued dancing, completely unable to ignore the extremely close proximity between them, the heat coming off of her body. When she slid her arms against his neck, he actually did blush, but only to such a degree that you've noticed if you were staring a hole in his face; which, coincidentally, Aerith was. He was not, he decided, very good at this sort of thing. When Aerith spoke--keeping up with that 'tra la la I'm so innocent' routine damn her feminine wiles--he blinked and sort of coughed a moment, before saying,

"Um, well. Uh. Yes, not that. Oh, dammit. I'm terrible at handling things that I can't just stick a sword into," Rwaht muttered, still dancing, and actually managing to hold his own. Now that he'd figured the steps out, it wasn't nearly so bad, which was good, because his brain was reeling like he was either drunk, beat to death, or both. He looked at Aerith for a long time before he spun her around and dipped her, staring down into her face. The look in his eyes was positively accusatory.

"You need to stop hanging out with Vriska so much," he said, before smirking and getting them both back onto their feet. "All right. So maybe I'm not as absolutely obsessed with work as I pretend," he admitted, talking without thinking. Bad habit. "I suppose I didn't want to offend you or anything. Though somehow I'm beginning to think that you don't really have that problem," he said dryly, still very close to her.

Pink hair. He still found it hard to believe that it was natural.

[Aerith]

Aerith was quite tempted to be smug about finally making Rwaht blush, since that was quite a feat in itself. She was acting entirely too bold than was normal for her, because she was in fact more demure than this in regards to men. Icy eyes were glittering in her victory, and she giggled lightly. Perhaps she was going to cause her best friend to implode with her constant forward remarks? He did appear to hardly know what to think, and Aerith could imagine the gears in his mind turning to find an appropriate remark to make. His noble tendencies were something she had always admired, but she just wished he would shut up and kiss her. Oh, there went her inner Vriska again, which was becoming more and more a part of her mental voice as of late. Should she be worried? Perhaps it would be best to not think on that particular thought for too long. Rwaht was appearing to get rather flustered with the close proximity, and Aerith quite enjoyed being in control of this situation~!

Biting her bottom lip to keep from laughing and grinning at his muttered remark, letting him lead the dance as he tried to realign his thought process. It amazed her how easily she could throw him off, and Aerith was quite happy she was one of the few that could do so~! Her heart skipped a beat as he continued to stare at her with an accusatory look should not be making her want to melt into a puddle at his feet. Her eyes widened as he spun her out, and quickly dipped her. Her cheeks darkened a light pink, finding the tables turned on her this time. Now all she wanted was to lean down a little further, because she was unsure if she could really keep up this nonchalant and teasing act. Was he going to do anything, or perhaps give her a taste of her own medicine? Aerith managed to smile innocently at him, conveying the image of what she was not a lot of the time. Innocent was certainly not what she was at this moment, and she was perfectly okay with that.

"Hmm, you think?" she asked, taking a deep breath as he pulled them both back into a standing position. Well, at least he was still in quite close proximity to her, and that was more then enough to have her a little light headed. Rwaht was rambling again, and she found the fact beginning to irritate her just a little. Okay, so here was the application of where actions spoke louder than words, since he was still being far too noble for her own good. Aerith smiled sweetly, sliding her hands upward to tangle in his hair. "You're offending me by talking far too much," she murmured, and so forced his head down to crash her lips against his. Okay, it was not quite how she pictured this night going, but she was past her usual limitless patience. Rwaht was too noble, and she really had wanted to kiss him since that day. Vriska would be proud~

[Rwaht]

Aaaaaaaaaah stop talking why am I so bad at this.

He grimaced. Talking too much was frequently a weakness of his. This whole evening was quickly turning into the single-most awkward event of his life, not barring the time he'd been re-hired after a very near hanging. It didn't help that it was a fairly public place, though everyone present was wearing masks and didn't really give much of a crap about anyone other than themselves, anyway. That was probably good, because any notions anyone had of Rwaht Orin as a dangerous badass were probably rapidly fading as he found himself outmatched by a flower girl, his wittiest retort reduced to "Dur hur you're real pretty."

And then she sort of made him kiss her, which brought up a bevy of reactions, most prominent among them being kiss her you idiot. So he made the best of a bad situation and did exactly that, responding to her sudden, violent--and potentially tooth-chipping--motion by moving his lips towards her for a long, triumphant motion, during which he had to admit his thoughts were remarkably straightforward. He pressed one hand against the small of her back, moving close to her, then, after a long moment, pulled back just a bit and looked at her, a strange grin on his face.

"You know, Aerith, you really ought to stop being so shy, or you'll never get what you want. Have to stop beating around the bush and all that," he said dryly, though he sounded very amused, and plenty else besides. He continued dancing as the song dictated, staring at her clever, icy eyes with his own intense brown ones, before he finally laughed, as though out of sheer incredulity with himself. He had been being sort of kind of okay definitely a major idiot about the whole thing. "This is nice and all, but I was thinking," Rwaht said, before spinning her around again, "Perhaps you might like to have dinner sometime? Somewhere a little more private?" The smile on his face was more than a little roguish, but it was also genuine. And that was a rare thing.