“Perfection is so quick to bore.”
-‘I Hear A Symphony’, Cody Fry
The dance-off was epic.
Somewhere else in Blood Falls, another duo was preparing for their own bit of fun. Kurosanti Silver and Sri (with her sisters watching close by) were on their way to meet one of their mutual associates; an informant who goes by the name ‘Slink’. Silver had hired him to keep tabs on several points of interests relevant to her goal, while Sri and her sisters had simply come about to the closest information broker and made him sell out an agent at random.
The two silver spoon-fed heiresses took their place at a tea shop across the street from where they were supposed to meet Slink. Sure, it would complicate things for the poor agent, but as far as the two employers were concerned, they can have their cake and eat it too. Fifteen minutes after the supposed meet time, a man-sized rat in a suit and tie nervously walked over to Silver and Sri’s table, tipping his top hat at them before grabbing hold of a chair from a nearby table and seating himself. A waiter swooped in right then and deftly left a menu on Slink’ paws, which he quickly grabbed and held over his nose as though it could conceal his entire face.
“This wasn’t the plan.” Slink whispered as the waiter to his right waited for an order. “Oh, uhm, can I get the … ‘Jade Palace’? Yeah, and green tea as well.” The waiter finished writing down Slink’s order and left, which the two other people on the table took as cue for them to start speaking.
“Can you even afford all that, Slink? You look like hell. I think I actually preferred you when you looked like a homeless drug addict.” Silver said without a hint of restraint.
“We’re inside of a literal giant skull. There’s still grey matter here and there. Look, one just fell off.” Slink pointed to a small, rust-colored piece of the cafe’s ceiling which did exactly as Slink described, landing on someone’ soup and splashing the hot contents all over the customer. The subsequent squawking and cursing that followed occupied the rest of the cafe, which suited the agent just fine.
“I don’t expect two spoiled princesses to understand the dirty and complicated work of information gathering, but I didn’t get to be one of the best by sipping tea and eating cakes on the daily. Now, let’s get to business before my day is further ruined by you two.” The suited rat pulled off an impressive sleight-of-hand and produced a card, which turned out to be a letter, which turned out to be an invitation. A ball, of all things, being hosted by the Darah Daging, with the catering done by the Forty-Fourth. Trium Illustricate provided the hardware and the elites of Blood Falls made for a hefty guest list.
There was no way in hell it’s not a trap. Everyone present thought in their own way.
“There’s one for you, and for you and your sisters.” Slink pulled the invitation into two pieces and gave the newly-made copies to their respective holders. A small ward in each invitation whirred to life as it recognized each individual’s unique signatures, and the invitations’ other features came into play.
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“Welcome! Welcome! We invite you to the greatest event in Blood Falls history! Come and see the magnificent union of the one and only Fire’s Heir with one of the lovely ladies Blood Falls have to offer. There will be drinks and food aplenty, and entertainment of course! So come now with your plus one and make this marriage the biggest party ever!” Each of the invitations morphed into a pair of matching bracelets. Silver and Sri looked at each other and an idea began to form until-“Oh, and please don’t bring other guests as your plus one. We want to make sure everybody gets in on this action!” The invitations spoke in a sing-sang voice before finally becoming silent.
"Do we have to go?” Sri asked, to which Slink scoffed and rolled his eyes at the notion of such a thing in the face of his hard work. Coincidentally, his order also arrived at this moment, which he regarded with equal parts fascination and trepidation, for the dessert in question wobbled and jiggled with the slightest touch and it was was almost as wide as the man-rat’s snout was long. He tested its firmness with a tentative prod from his spoon, and to his relief the dessert held its shape, at which point he began to devour it with gusto.
“If you want to take the long way around, wait for the stars to align perfectly once more, then that’s your choice. I’m not that patient. This cesspool of a city will not be my grave.” Silver’s eyes burned with naked ambition. “It’s best if we decide now who will be our respective plus ones. I know who I’m going with. What about you?” Sri looked at her sisters and they at her as they considered the complicated affairs that came with being the sole daughter of a powerful man. Sri had friends, at first, while she was growing up and her mother was still alive, but that went away when the assassination happened and Trisakti became distant from his daughters. What was once an amenable relationship became animosity, and in Lula and Niki’s case, outright hostility. The final blow came as Sri’s skill assessment was completed and Trisakti made the decision to spare his daughters the burden of running the Trium Illustricate, effectively disowning them of their birthright.
Prodigal daughters they may be, Sri and her sisters were still considered to be part of the Trium Illustricate. Even now, they were being monitored by local agents of the group, blending in with the masses perfectly. It made making friends near impossible, with every prospective candidate ruthlessly vetted out and those that managed to slip through being too scared to keep in touch with the lonely girl.
There was … one though, wasn’t it? Someone that became my friend. I wonder where he is now? A smile crept into Sri’s face as she viewed the cherished memory once more.
“Well, this has been lovely, but an agent’s got to work.” Slink interrupted any further reminiscing, wiping his snout with a napkin and waving over a waiter to come. “And before any of you ask, no, I will not be anyone’s plus one to an incredibly suspicious ball held by mass-murderers and monsters. Good day.” Silver and Sri rolled their eyes at Slink’s assumption and watched the bipedal rat scampering off into Blood Falls underbelly.
“About time.” Silver huffed as she waved over a waiter to bring over the menu once more. “Well, do you have someone or do I need to start looking?”
“I do, I just … didn’t really keep in touch with-“ Sri stopped talking as a large shadow loomed over her. Lula and Niki immediately became wary and prepared to strike, but something about the figure made the two stop, which was confirmed as Sri’s eyes widened and a smile began to bloom on her face.
“Sharkie!”