She heard heard the click of heels on the marble floors. She looked up and saw a woman, far taller than her. Her skin was light brown, her figure was curvy, and her hair was a dark brown with magenta streaks, pulled back by a semi-transparent sea green hairpin. She wore a plum A-line dress with ample ruffles, turquoise jewelry in the shape of eyes, and magenta, thigh-high, high-heeled boots. It proudly displayed various psychedelic patterns. Her makeup was very smoky with lots of blues, purples, and magentas. “My name is Halucina. I’ve heard a bit about you.” “That’s great! You can sit down if you like.” Noctave scooted over, and Halucina reluctantly sat down. Noctave was glad to finally have someone to talk to. “What have you heard about me, Halucina? Is it good?” Halucina crossed her legs and lounged on the window seat. “I hear that you’ve got a thing with Dia.” Noctave was suspicious, but remained polite. “Yeah, that’s true. Do you live around here?” “Yeah, I do. Noctaria is cool, but it’s freezing. How’s Dia been treating you?” “She’s been very relaxed and kind. We share the same interests of plants and writing, and Dia never started an argument with me.”
Halucina glared at Noctave, making her uncomfortable. “Oh, I’m sorry Halucina.” Halucina’s expression softened. “Don’t apologize. But don’t you think Dia is a bit, well, boring?” “Boring? Dia is a more reserved sort, but I wouldn’t call her boring.” Halucina scooted closer to Noctave.“But wouldn’t you prefer someone who’ll sweep you off your feet and send you on a world of adventure?” “I’m not really into manic pixie dream girls as romantic partners. Hold on, are you trying to steal me away from Dia?” Halucina smirked. “I might be. And I’m not a manic pixie dream girl, I’m an edgy succubus dream girl.” Noctave’s eyes darted around. “As in sexy sleep paralysis demon succubus?” Halucina chuckled a bit and her green eyes glowed. “Is there any other type? Aren’t you wondering what you’re missing?”
Trumpets announced the arrival of Cumulus, Iris, and Dia, and Noctave was relieved. Iris wore a bright rainbow body suit with ruffled off-shoulder sleeves, her open toe wedge heels had a holographic sheen to them, as did her crown, which was adorned with the most valuable and colorful gemstones. Cumulus was wearing the same ceremonial dress as he did when Noctave met him before. But Dia’s dress really caught her eye (well of course it did, they’re dating). Rather than it just being gold and white, it was the resplendent colors of the sunset and sunrise. The dress was the massive ballroom types Noctave never liked wearing, but it looked fantastic on her. It was studded with gems of the same colors, and she wore a crown of roses with long, spiral horns, akin to a unicorn’s, representing sunbeams. Many of the guests present bowed to them, and they joined in the festivities.
But the minute Dia saw Halucina with Noctave, her blood boiled. She speed-walked at fast as she could over by the window.
“Halucina, would you care to explain what you’re doing with Noctave. She’s already taken, in case you didn’t know.” Halucina smirked. “Oh, I knew. It didn’t stop me though.” Noctave commented “Y’know, I would’ve thought me and you would get along better, but I guess not.” Halucina was taken aback by her comment. “What are talking about, Noctave?” “Well, I’m the goddess of the moon, and you’re the goddess of dreams. Shouldn’t we be friendlier towards each other?” Halucina smirked and put her left arm around Noctave. “That’s right, Nocta. It makes more sense than the sun and moon being together!” “Halucina! That’s not what I meant-!” Dia interrupted her. “Get out right now, Halucina. The door is right there.” Halucina rolled her eyes. “I have just as much right as to be here. But I’ll leave you alone with your girlfriend.” Halucina walked away, heels clicking on the marble floor.
Noctave tugged on Dia’s dress. “What is it, Noctave?” “What happened between you and Halucina? Was it a messy breakup?” Dia sighed, it was a draining experience seeing Halucina again.“The whole relationship was a mess, mostly due to Halucina not respecting my boundaries. I kept thinking we could work something out, but in the end, I was mistaken.” Noctave hugged Dia, knowing that the memories of the relationship were unpleasant. Dia was surprised by this, but she felt a lot better. She changed the subject. “I’m hungry. How about we get some snacks?”
It being Iris’ birthday ball, the food was all of Iris’ favorites. Smoked pork, mozzarella cheese on toasted bread, and a chocolate fondue fountain. The snack bar wasn’t full of people, which made Noctave want to go there even more. Noctave immediately went to the chocolate fondue fountain, and met Tellulah there.
Tellulah was taller than Noctave, but not by much. Her skin was a shade or two lighter than Dia’s, and her ocean blue hair in a box braid ponytail. She had noticeable heterochromia, with one green eye and one blue eye. She wore an empire style dress that showed a meadow full of beautiful flowers, naturalistic makeup, and jewelry in the shape of plants and animals.
She recognized Noctave easily. “My name’s Tellulah. I’m a close friend of Dia. She’s told me a bit about you.” Noctave dipped a strawberry in the fountain. “Then you’ll know I only showed up because Dia came with me.” “I’m comfortable in crowds, but I know where you’re coming from. I like the chocolate covered pineapple rings better than the strawberries. Try it.” Noctave tried it, finding it interesting, but she still liked chocolate dipped strawberries a lot better.
Dia came over. “Hi, Tellulah. Where have you been all night?” “Well, I’ve been dancing with my boyfriend for most of the time. You dress is beautiful, by the way.” “Thank you, so is yours. Hey, Noctave, once you’re done stuffing your face with the chocolate fondue, would you like to dance with me?” Noctave's teal eyes grew wide. She glanced at the crowded dance floor and froze up. Dia put her hand on Noctave's shoulder, startling Noctave. Dia said, "It's OK, Noctave. You don't have to if you want to. I'll stay by you, don't worry." Noctave responded with a quiet "Thank you."
Tellulah left to dance with her boyfriend, the god of time. Dia and Noctave went on the outskirts of the party and spoke with each other. "I know you don't like how cold Noctaria can be, but we should have a picnic later in the month. It'll be much warmer, and the scenery will be beautiful!" Dia wasn't convinced. "What you Noctarians call warmth is anything over freezing point." "But it'll be well above that when we have our picnic!" "That's a relative term, but I have no doubt that the flowers of Noctaria will be beautiful. It will be nice to finally see them in person."
Iris and Cumulus came over to check what their daughter was up to. Iris didn't recognize who Noctave was, at least until Cumulus told her. "I'm sorry about that, Princess Noctave. It's just that you're not a very common sight around here. Dia, why aren't you on the dance floor by now? When you were with Halucina-" Dia cut her off. "Don't say that succubus' name around me. Noctave isn't very comfortable in crowds." Noctave felt a bit shy around Dia's parents, not making eye contact with them. Iris kept pushing, though. "Oh, c'mon, it'll be fun. This night won't last forever (thankfully), so you should at least make some memories while you're here." Dia shook her head. "No. If Noctave not comfortable with it, I won't be doing it." Cumulus said. "Well, you're missing out. Let's go back to the ballroom, Iris." Iris began to have a suspicion that Noctave wasn't just a friend of Dia's.
The party winded down from that point. It was long past midnight, and people were starting to get tired. Noctave knew that she'd have to go soon, so now was as good a time as any to ask. "Hey, Dia?" "Yes, Noctave?" "Do you think we're officially dating now? We've moved past attraction and now we're officially in a relationship?" Dia hid her surprise well. "I believe so. I hope we can see each other more in the future." Noctave hugged Dia, she was that happy.
Comments (0)
See all