Haochen summons them both a few hours before they're meant to head out to inspect how they dressed themselves and honestly, Nicholas just can't muster up the seriousness to be wary of the high mage when the man is acting like Nicholas' dad.
Nicholas' dress robes (and so Luca's borrowed clothes as well) are made of deep, dark earthy browns of healthy soil, lined in dusty clay reds. The main feature, however, is the outer robe made of wraith worm silk - aged so the invisibility has worn off so the silver colour comes through but the shimmer is still layered on top like heat waves off a road.
Nicholas holds out his arms and does a spin. When the outer robe moves it ripples smoothly like water and catches the light. "Am I presentable or shall I shame you?"
Luca elbows Nicholas.
"You're passable," Haochen allows. "Don't eat anything there – fey have been invited and they drug everything."
"Can I do the canapé transmutation thing?" Nicholas asks. "I forgot the name."
"You're going to have to be more specific."
Nicholas thinks hard for a moment. "Like it was invented for when people give you truth potion for an interrogation and you change it to water instead so you don’t spill secrets about your Family Magic?"
"That depends on how good your transmutation is," Haochen says sceptically and makes Nicholas demonstrate because he is a high mage and he will not be embarrassed by these two children.
In the quick hour they have left, while Haochen is off telling his cranes to behave or something, Nicholas also teaches Luca how to do the trick.
"So basically I only use it when I want to try a weird little fancy treat, and if it tastes like garbage you can transmute it into chocolate instead of being impolite and spitting it out," Nicholas explains. "Very important part of etiquette; fake enjoying things you hate."
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"Behave and stay out of my way unless I call you over," Haochen orders as they stand by the Transverse gateway. He tries half-heartedly to style Nicholas' hair with his fingers and frowns at a thin scar along one side of Luca’s neck -wondering if he should cover it up because scars on children aren't cute- before he just gives up and ushers the children through.
The second they step through the white sparks, the haze reaches them, a glittery cloud shifting up against the ceiling. Haochen strides through easily but Nicholas inhales and a light blue glow emerges from his temples.
Thick, spiralling horns form from mist, pouring off Nicholas' head where they curve up, back and then down, coming to rest at his jaw line. Jewels are embedded in the ethereal and transparent horns, diamonds and pearls and white opals cut through with rivers of rainbow sheen. Tiny crystals are strung together, draped over the crown of bone and dangling down like delicate dew drops on spider webs, some glinting amongst his wild black hair. The soft light of his crown reflects off his silver outer robes and makes his whole body dimly glow.
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Nicholas reaches up to his new accessory with a laugh but his hand passes right through. He turns and the crystals clink lightly together, musically, but his excited smiles drops off in shock when he sees Luca.
Luca's eyes are glowing, or perhaps devouring the light instead, an eerie black so strong that it washes out his own colours and makes him seem pale and ghostly. Deep shadows are etched around his form, swirling at his feet, trailing a little behind when he moves. The ends flicker, less like a powder and more like fire.
A bright, blood red mark glows under the clothes over his chest, muffled slightly but over and over like waves on a beach, pulsing like its mimicking a heartbeat.
Luca doesn't even notice his appearance change, he's too busy staring at Nicholas dazedly. "Y-your horns are beautiful."
Nicholas laughs and bats a hand through the shadows near Luca's shoulder and almost seems to feel it stick to him - there's resistance. "I like what you've got going on, what a dramatic cape."
Luca smiles brightly and finally looks down at himself. "...Huh."
Several other people at the party have animal or plant characteristics, like one man with peacock tail, or a girl with vines in her hair but others are more like Luca with streaks of light in their skin or dancing sparks following them.
Haochen is the only one with no change at all, the crowd pulling away as he approaches but unable to stop themselves from pushing towards him as he drifts past.
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Nicholas and Luca end up at a table with little canapés, picking at some things while pointing out people's cool changes.
"I wonder how they made your horns, what a coincidence," Luca muses because he's been staring at Nicholas the entire time and can't quite make himself look away.
"It's your own magic that makes it," answers the girl with butterfly wings a few steps away, also looking over the table. "The potion brings out your magic, loosens the tethers - both so you can't attack anyone here in neutral grounds and to show off how strong your magic is."
She looks Luca up and down. "Yours is basically solid, that's impressive."
"Thanks," Luca says and peers at her flattened butterfly wings, a brilliant blue and black with trailing tips. "Yours are solid too."
"Not at all," she scoffs and turns on a heel, wings passing straight through the table.
"What happens if you don't get anything?" Nicholas asks, sliding a glance towards the corner of the room where Haochen is talking to some old people.
"Then you have such tight control over your magic that the potion can't loosen it." She shrugs and the wings move with the motion.
Another boy walks over then, coming to a stop beside the butterfly girl but far enough away that they're just acquaintances instead of friends. His skin is split by rivers of deep purple light and he holds a glass of red wine in hand.
Nicholas cuts him off before he manages to say anything. "Wine? Are you seriously drinking that, at our age?"
The boy frowns, eyes narrowing. "And who might you be?"
"The best smuggler of shitty, cheap vodka on the floating island," Nicholas replies smugly. "Oh, actually, that reminds me of a great story when Stavros found a new room to store the stock in."
The boy raises an eyebrow at butterfly girl and she just shrugs.