Princess Ball

[Bloom]

Frowning at Tecna’s response, she watched as her friend acknowledged Riven in the same way he had them. She seemed perfectly content to leave their exchange at that and Bloom didn’t like it. It wasn’t the moment exactly, but the fact that this wasn’t just one incident. Ever since her return, she’d noticed a strain on the Winx Club and had heard about the problems at Red Fountain. Now it was obvious the issues stretched between their two groups as well.

She missed the days when they used to be able to just hang out and laugh and have a good time. Even though she was missing months of time, it still felt like forever since they’d done that.

“That’s exactly why we should go talk to him!” Bloom replied. Whether Tecna was coming or not, she was going. Making her way across the room, she caught a flash of annoyance on Riven’s face at her approach but ignored it.

“Hey Riven! I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said, smiling brightly at him.

[Tecna]

Seeing the look of determination on Bloom's face, Tecna mentally groaned; it was obvious that she wasn't going to let Riven be. Deep down, though, Tecna knew that she should have known that that was how Bloom would react, should have predicted that it would be a waste of breath to protest going over to greet Riven properly. Because Bloom just wasn't the type to back down from a challenge - and Riven with his moody personality was just that. Of course Bloom would want to attempt to lighten him up - it was a moot point that she would doubtlessly fail.

Sighing in defeat, Tecna relented as she followed Bloom over to Riven's side.

[Riven]

Was it his stance? Did the crossed arms just not say ‘leave me alone’ loud enough? Had she somehow mistaken his nod as an invitation to come annoy him? He had to remember, though, that this was Bloom. She was forever trying to make nice and get everyone to join in and have fun.

Fat chance.

Rolling his eyes as she approached, Tecna reluctantly in tow, he thought of ignoring her but figured that wouldn’t make her go away as quick as just giving in and talking.

“Looks like I returned to Red Fountain just in time for the party,” he said. Not bothering to look at them, he adopted a bored expression as he stared off into the crowd.

[Bloom]

“Don’t say that too loud... people will get the wrong impression and think you planned it that way,” Bloom said playfully. He looked bored, his voice was flat, and she just wanted him to have a little fun. She knew it would be like pulling teeth, though.

She also wanted to ask him something, but that could wait.

“Maybe you should dance or something to ward off their suspicions.” She was being totally lame, she knew. Sky would have found it funny, but Riven was likely to just tell her off and walk away.

[Riven]

She wasn’t going away. He wasn’t in the mood to be anyone’s charity case or whatever you call it. He didn’t need to be cheered up, or saved from dullness or whatever it was that Bloom had gotten into her head was his problem tonight. He was busy, and wanted to be left alone. Why was that so hard to grasp?

Flicking an annoyed glare in her direction at the suggestion that he knew was only partially kidding, he held her eyes.

“I don’t dance.”

[Tecna]

Partially tuning out Riven and Bloom's exchange, Tecna again surreptitiously surveyed the room. To any onlooker, it would simply seem as though she was taking in the beautiful decorations and the room's ambiance, but in reality, that was the last thing on Tecna's agenda.

Being in this room with so many unfamiliar faces - any one of which, Tecna again reminded herself, could easily be the wizard - put her nerves on edge. If only there was a way to narrow down the potential suspects to a few people, then it would be so simple to get close enough to them to run a quick magic scan with her PDA. With that bit of technology, she would be able to identify who the people were and that way, she could learn if they were indeed a threat. Because, honestly, any imbecile knew that the best form of defense was to know exactly who the enemy was - and for the time being, they weren't even fortunate enough to have that.

[Bloom]

Many people would have withered under the look Riven was currently giving her, but Bloom only stood up taller and smiled brighter.

“Oh, it’s easy!” she exclaimed. “Here, I’ll teach you a few steps!”

Wrapping her hand around his arm, she stumbled a step in her skinny heeled shoes when he roughly shrugged off her arm.

[Baltor]

Baltor continued to watch the blond prince, memerizing every last detail. If his plan was to work, then he'd have to know every scrap of detail about him. For, what better way to destroy your enemy, then to do it as the one person that meant the world to them. Now, if only the blond prince would speak - it would make mimicking his voice later easier.

[Riven]

Women never listened to him. It was becoming a painfully obvious fact. Christine always twisted his words, only hearing what she wanted to hear, and now Bloom was mistaking his meaning and thrusting her bubbly self on him.

Shrugging off her hand, Riven uncrossed his arms and leaned forward to speak right in Bloom’s face to reduce confusion.

“I didn’t say that I can’t dance; I said that I don’t,” he clarified. What he failed to mention was that, when it came to him, they were one in the same.

Stealing a quick glance at Tecna, he found she had picked up his watch where he had faltered. Alright, so maybe there was one woman that actually heard him correctly.

[Tecna]

In the packed ballroom, not to mention with everyone in a constant state of motion, it was far too easy to lose track of people. Gritting her teeth when a man she was scoping out as a potential suspect again disappeared out of her sight, Tecna fought the urge to go follow him...and there he was again. Far too close to the king. And he seemed to have shifty eyes.

Shifting her clutch purse to her other hand, Tecna opened it part way just to make sure her PDA was still inside. She had a feeling she would be using it before the night was over and she wanted to make sure that it was in perfect working condition.

Not wanting to keep her gaze so obviously on the man for an extended period of time, Tecna again resumed watching the other attendees. Nothing really seemed out of the norm, which was a possibility considering that there was no definitive proof that the wizard would make an appearance here tonight. Still, Tecna couldn't shake the feeling that something major was about to go down - which was why she had to talk to Riven. She had to find out who he was scoping out, and if he indeed had zoned in on suspicious looking persons, she had to have him act as her look-out when she went to run her scans.

Unfortunately, with Bloom lingering by their side, she couldn't just broach the subject. Although Bloom would have to learn of the wizard's presence eventually, Tecna suspected that now was not the time to do so. As much as she cared about her friend, Tecna knew Bloom's tendency to act before thinking could end in disaster. Already, Tecna could envision her friend attacking a poor, unsuspecting someone and somehow, she didn't think that Radius or Stella would appreciate such a turn of events. No, tonight had to be about being subtle - something Tecna wasn't sure Bloom could quite pull off.

[Bloom]

This wasn’t as easy as she had hoped. Maybe this was a supremely bad idea after all.

I really should listen to Tecna more often.

“Don’t. Right,” Bloom said, her smile fading. She should have expected as much. Riven and her weren’t exactly friends, but she liked to think that they had gotten better. She thought she remembered him starting to open up to them a little more, but she wasn’t sure she could completely trust what she remembered. Maybe she had done something to him while she had been spelled to make her go back to being completely cold.

Or maybe he just really didn’t like to dance.

Whatever it was, she knew when to give up, and this was it. Looking over at Tecna with an embarrassed look that clearly read “you were right”, Bloom found her friend looking distracted. Nobody really seemed completely here tonight.

Sighing, she turned back to Riven.

“So, do you know where, uh... Sky is?” she asked awkwardly, deciding to just step up and ask and get it over with.

[Riven]

He should have been expecting the question, but it managed to catch him off guard. All he could think of when she spoke those words was “not this again!”.

He had listened to Sky whine about Bloom not calling him back after his whole identity crisis. He had listened to Sky whine about not knowing whether to choose Bloom or Chris. He had listened to Sky whine about the angst fest that followed his finally choosing Chris. He liked to see Sky miserable, but he didn’t want to hear about it. If this whole love triangle mess was going to spark up again, he would have to schedule some extra one-one-one combat sessions with the Prince. Getting a clean punch in and giving the pretty boy a black eye was sure to lift his spirits. He could handle hearing Sky whine about that.

“How should I know? I’m not his keeper,” Riven snapped. Stealing another glance at Tecna, he saw her reach in her purse, her eyes fixed somewhere across the room. Had she spotted the wizard?

Looking back at Bloom who was looking quite irritated if not a little hurt, he took a deep breath.

“I’m not sure. He’s around here somewhere,” he amended. Still not helpful, but his tone was much less biting. Maybe even slightly apologetic. Whatever it took to get her to leave.

[Sky]

Standing along the wall, Sky grimaced when he took a sip of his drink. Clearly, some of Solaria's cuisine was an acquired taste - this, for example, was far too sweet for his liking. For a second, he wondered where he could dump it (perhaps into a plant's pot?) before he shook his head ruefully. Doubtlessly, he would be caught red-handed and if there was one surefire way to insult an entire realm, it was to insult their food.

Reluctantly taking another sip - after all, the sooner he finished it, the sooner he could get its taste out of his mouth - Sky surveyed the room. It truly was a sight to see; Stella's father had certainly gone all out. And had things in his life been less complicated, had this party occurred back in the days when he and Bloom were still together, and he and Stella were still friends, Sky was certain that he would have enjoyed himself.

But this wasn't those times. And Sky wasn't enjoying himself. It just felt too awkward, too forced. Sky wasn't stupid; he knew that Stella detested him these days and that the only reason he had even been invited was because he was the Prince of Eraklyon. At the moment, though, he wished he wasn't if that meant he could be anywhere else but here. At least that way he wouldn't be stuck being a wallflower because there was no one to talk to - no one who would talk to him. All Bloom's friends had long ago given him the cold shoulder and so, the only person he could envision himself talking to now was Brandon - and he was no where to be seen at the moment. He was probably off trying to sneak in a private moment with Stella or something.

Shaking his head, Sky sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. Just a few more hours and then this torture would be over.

[Bloom]

Did he always have to be so quick to jump down everyone’s throats? She asked a simple question and he just about bit her head off. Narrowing her eyes just slightly as she glared at Riven, Bloom completely forgot why she had bothered in the first place. Even as he reiterated in a less harsh tone, it did little to make her feel any better. Riven was pissy, Tecna was uncomfortable and distracted, and nobody knew where Sky was. It wasn’t time for Stella’s debut yet, and everyone else she had seen around were complete strangers.

So far, this party was a complete bust. She seemed to be the only one in the group of people she called friends that were present so far that was looking to have any fun. It was depressing.

“Thanks,” she replied dully. Just like that her previous excitement had ebbed away completely. She couldn’t help but feel that if this party had happened a year ago that things would be totally different. Everyone would be happy and enjoying themselves. But it hadn’t, and they weren’t enjoying themselves.

“Excuse me, guys. I think I’m going to step out for some air,” she said, forcing a smile as she looked from Riven to Tecna. Without waiting, she left them to squeeze her way through the crowds and toward the balcony.

[Sky]

Craning his neck to get a better look around the room, determined to try at least one more time to find Brandon in the midst of the enormous crowd, Sky expelled his breath. Nope, not a trace of him. Of course, it wasn't as though he could blame his friend for pulling a disappearing act on him. With everything that had happened to Brandon in the last few weeks, the least the guy deserved was to be able to spend a few moments with his girlfriend - even if that meant that he was stuck out here with nothing to do besides looking like a fool.

On that note, Sky's gaze slid toward the balcony doors. Of course, if he was doomed to look like said fool, perhaps he could better endure it away from everyone. No doubt, everyone else was so looking forward to Stella's debut that they wouldn't dream of stepping a foot outside the ballroom. Which meant that the balcony would be all his. Perfect.

Quickly making his escape, Sky slipped out into the privacy offered by the balcony, shutting the double-doors behind him. So relieved was he by the prospect of getting away from the crowd, Sky didn't even notice that he wasn't alone after all.