ORIGIN

For a fellow accustomed to having wings, it might come as a surprise that East didn't seem much bothered by the absence of them. But then those taken off guard by a bird who didn't miss flight weren't privy to this one's landbound proclivities. Sure, traveling by air got someone to their destination much sooner than walking, but the ground wasn't likely to give you a shattered wing unless you fell from a great height. Though that injury had happened many cycles ago, the memory remained. Safe to say, crocodiles produced more genuine tears than him at the temporary loss of feathers.

Then there was the additional plus of only needing to stand on tip-toe to meet most others' eyes in a room. To be no longer surrounded by goliaths, nothing but wit bore as arms against them.

And the even better advantage this body had? Dexterity—an ability he put into practice now, leaning against the wall just beside the opened door he'd walked through. What seemed to be a drawing implement, based off the marks left on his cuff when he tested it, twirled between fingers. It danced in his periphery, a constant indication of the gears turning in his head while watching people trickle onto the scene.

Others might be here for fun, the refreshments and entertainment and the oh-so-disarming decor, but for East this was a matter of business and nothing more. He'd been bound to wander down here, the Palace a destination placed within his sights by a Narrator's book of curiosities. The fact someone somewhere had been aware enough of his existence to summon him had merely pushed the visit up on his list of priorities. It was a concern perhaps greater than examining the flowers on the grounds and definitely deserving of investigation.

To use the proper phrasing, though he himself had no idea of his current species, East was a man on a mission.

Relic stumbled forward, catching herself last minute - a limb slapped against the reflective service as she steadied herself - her foreleg? A horrid sense of deja vu overcame her. What had the palace done to her? Was it permanent?

She met her own gaze, strands of her mane falling in front of a upsettingly flat face. She saw her own furrowed brow, watched with horrified fascination and the way the soft skin folded with her displeasure. She brushed a paw-turned-hand along her cheeks, tugging at her eyelids, pulling at her lips. Her teeth, once pointed and fearsome, now smooth and pebble-esque. She felt vulnerable, undefended. Well, not entirely - she admired the way her muscles moved underneath skin and fabric, more pronounced than she had realised. The one benefit of being hairless is you get to see how jacked you are, I guess.

Compared to the rest of the crowd she was still quite short, but not as much anymore - by a couple of inches, a foot or two. She could work with that. Amidst the sensory nightmare that was the celebration, she made out the scent of food. She noted that it was harder now with a fleshy and inferior nose. She made her way towards the array, intent on eating her feelings.

Obieth had nearly reached the suit-wearing, broad-shouldered and authoritative figure who was leaning on a rail before the ball pit when a second slinking, feminine form drew toward her.

Obieth turned at the sound of Elayne's voice. She flicked her eyes over the other woman once, considering her--and her first impressions were perfectly mixed. That rumbling voice, those half-lidded eyes, were every bit as predatory and almost feline as her own, which she could not help but to respect.

But the abrupt, almost clumsy forwardness and obvious greed in that gaze drew her immediate disdain. Her lip very faintly curled, and she found (to her surprise) her shoulders pulling back and up, her attention sliding back to the stranger's hair, down to her feet, and back up once more. It was the most snobby possible eyeing-down-her-nose, and she even tossed her hair a little a moment later. All these little gestures--the reason they surprised her was simply that they came so naturally. Perhaps it had come from watching Aethril-? Or it comes with this body, she thought, a little bit amused.

That amusement did not extend to Elayne. Obieth's attention strayed, drifting briefly over the rest of the gathering. She nodded off at the loud woman in gold. "Perhaps that one is more your caliber," she responded, her commanding tone one of light, biting mockery. But, despite her acid words, she turned and leaned on the wall, making no real move to actually leave.

Obieth paused, eyes drifting up and down Elayne a third time: this time not the initial assessment, nor the ugly disgust, but calculation. Estimation. "Was there something that you needed?" she asked, her curiosity piqued--though not quite enough to erase her displeasure.

This was...AMAZING!! Lime didn't care much for the words, which went one ear and out the other. Why was he here again? Eh, surely that didn't matter. The figure in the mirror was truly fascinating, but his attention was drawn to the smells in the air!

Running out into the ballroom, they were blown away by the amount of color-shapes and beings all around him. He squealed in delight, a sharp high pitch sound as he ran around arms waving. Small feet pitter pattered this way and that, grubby hands grabbed at decoration he maybe shouldn't touch, and their eyes scanned the ballroom for more things. They LOVED things.

Lime squeezed past several others as he suddenly made his way to where that lovely smell was coming from. Food-stuffs! Hungrily, the unattended child began scarfing down the interestingly round baked good that was at this long table. Cookie, was it? Lime absent mindedly chewed on the cookie, it was absolutely delicious. Two of them, five of them...they couldn't help themselves, crumbs all over their wonderful green hoodie.

She'd gotten herself ready for the ball - well, as ready as she could be with limited tools. She didnt have a hairbrush yet so she detangled her hair with her fingers. She bathed in the stream and soaked with some lavender flowers. She'd cleaned her pants and tunic and sewed up any holes she found. It wasnt much but it was something.

She met Lilith at the entrance to Cepheus and they walked arm and arm up to the palace, marvelling at the beauty and decor, nothing like shed ever seen in the Vaa. Perhaps they had such parties in the empire, although she couldnt imagine such cold hearted people having any sense of fun or eye for beauty.

As they stood before the mirror, she leaned forward to read, barely able to catchthe words before they disappeared, and suddenly she wondered if sge was looking at some magical image. She didn't have a dress in such a beautiful dark color, nor of such a lovely material. And the golden pendant on her chest was too ornate for her to have ever owned. But a raise of her hands to her cheeks, now washed with light powders and colors and realized that some kind of transformation had taken place. Not one as drastic as others, but a change nonetheless. But then her eyes shifted to Lilith and she gasped.

It was her. Not the Lilith she'd found half-asleep and dripping with corruption a cycle earlier, but the one she'd known hundreds of years ago. The one that had sat with her on the hillsides of Let and watched the sun set, the same face that had smiled and cooed to their newborn son the day he'd been born.

It wasn't real, it couldn't be real, but it was. Not permanent, she was sure, perhaps the magic of the ball given them one last night of their peaceful, happy old lives again before reality hit and tore them back. But this, for Eleanora at least, was enough. More then enough.

She smiled, feeling pinpricks of tears on the corner of her eyes as she reached forward to touch her beloved's face. "Oh, Lily," she breathed, but she said no more - what passed through the bond was enough. She would be happy if Lily was happy, sympathetic if she found the image of herself painful, but all in all there was the constant feeling of this is enough. They were here to have a good time. And she hoped Lilith would find some closure in this last day in her old skin.

Once she'd had a moment to process the change, Eleanora clasped her hand again to lead her forward and into the ballroom. She gasped in shock at the elegance and beauty of it all. It was so...grand and magnificent! Something she'd imagined in fairy tales as a child that would have existed only in the early days of the Empire, when they weren't so obsessed with killing witches and destroying the land.

She tried to contain her excitement - oh how she wanted to just prance away and explore the surrounding and try everything at the food table and watch the orchestra from up close. And how much she wanted to dance with Lilith to this music! They hadn't danced together in...too long!

Eleanora turned, face lit up and almost giddy. "Isn't this amazing? I didn't expect to ever see something this grande in my life!" Especially not down here, was the thought that went unsaid, although it was with a touch of humor rather then bitterness.

Lilith's stare at the mirror was piercing, but that changed to softening wonder (contorted with a dozen other emotions) as the fog faded. Hands lifted to deep black skin, and tears threatened to rise in her eyes.

That cluster of emotions, the knot of it, was overwhelming. Joy at the sight, grief knowing it was temporary, hope that it was not, disappointment knowing that it was... But she had to stay strong, for Ellie's sake. This wasn't the time to break down, or to smash the wardrobe and its lying mirror in a rage-

A breath, to steady herself. A stare down, looking at the backs of her arms, then her palms. She plucked at the unfamiliar fabric, and noticed that though her staff and new scarf were gone, the bracelet at her wrist bore beads of the same oranges and pinks. "A strange magic," she breathed, and then remembered Ellie's presence. Ellie, who was now touching her face--and Lilith looked to her, blinked in surprise, and smiled broadly. "You--we--look fancy," she observed, humor pushing back that tangle of emotions.

And with it at bay, she leaned in for a brief, gentle kiss: a promise that she was in control, for now. A promise that she'd try to... have fun, whatever this Ball might be, and however long her real shape would last.

Then they were out: and the ballroom stretched ahead of them. Lilith's eyes roamed the shining floors, the playing band, the tables of food--and the other people. Her eyes widened, and she squeezed Ellie's hand unconsciously. "There's more of us down here-?" she blurted, shocked and hopeful. A whole society in this palace that she'd never been aware of-? Ahh, but she'd made an assumption--what if they were not like them? "Are they all witches, too?"

The Opal found itself transfixed by the decorations lining its path. It had dreamed of Cepheus ; The luxury, the architecture. The fact a space could be manicured, whipped into elegant form was incredible to a creature previously confined mostly to a dark cavern - one more comparable to a leaking orifice than anything carved from stone. Her gaze only flicked briefly to the Jaspers, the response distracted. "Well, if the amount of food we had to prepare is any indication..." The stew alone seemed big enough to feed an army; But he didn't really care about the attendance. Just being here was enough.

The siblings were shepherded away to separate rooms - the Opal was too perplexed by the foggy mirror too notice the door disappearing behind it. The words were skimmed over as it reached to wipe away whatever moisture obstructed the reflection... Strange, it felt easier to use his hands for such a task.

In fact, were her hands always this shade? Maybe it was the light - the mirror cleared, and she realised that it couldn't have been a mirror afterall. The creature within it resembled him certainly, but the anatomy was all wrong, all soft skin and none of that natural armour. It squinted at the beast. It squinted back. Hey, wait a second-

His hands began to pat backwards, on cheeks first, then moving to the fuzz at his forehead- He had hair!? As he moved backwards, he noticed even more. She was lighter, unburdened by the two extra chests normally at her front. Her arms were the right way forward! "What the FUCK!?" It squealed with delight uncharacteristic of the phrase, stepping from foot to foot in excitement - before slipping forward, catching itself on the mirror. "Holy shit." Good thing it could express these feelings appropriately; Thanks Mossie!

She took a second to compose herself - well, to make sure she wouldn't fall on her face walking through the door. But the second he felt prepared, he charged through to find the Jaspers again. The momentum puttered out quick with the wave of smells and sounds that greeted it. There was just so much - it couldn't even recognise the creatures within.

It twisted to the sound of its name, rushing toward the source. It took some effort to discern who the creature was, or had been when they first walked through the door, but after a moment of reflection it managed to figure it out. "Look at you! Look at me!" He did little twirl. Despite the dramatic change in structure, she'd gotten quite adept at two-legged life already. "Look at everybody! What is even happening!?"

The little creature rubbed her brand new flesh-cheeks with great affection - the fluff from her former body would be missed, but there was a unique joy to the texture of skin. She took time to admire the well placed accessories, mimicking the tissue she now lacked. The dress was soft, airy, and the headband fit snugly, the feathers attached were plush, though now unfeeling. The door beckoned, and she new there were more things to find behind it. (A miracle!)

So many, talking, mingling - music in the distance. Music! What a thing to hear, for the first time no less. It was as if it was proof, that the rhythm of living was not something only she knew. It was something shared and celebrated by this harmonious collective of noise and the creatures behind it - her magic reached out again, hoping to hear the heartbeats amidst the noise - no luck.

But that wouldn't stop her, never. She rushed with frantic steps, dress fluttering around her as she ran, focus shifting constantly to another new, sparkly thing; The feast, the orchestra, the lights, the people - the ball pit.

She was aware of the crowd of larger beasts around it, but they didn't bother her. Everything seemed to pale in comparison to this structure. A PIT. Filled with BALLS. ""WHATISTHAT." She asked breathlessly, to no one in particular.

Well, this isn't what she was expecting. She'd walked in the dressing room, expecting to be greeted by maybe some jewelry or other accessories. But Tourmaline was very much face down, on the ground, with limbs that didn't quite work.

Pushing herself back up, using the shelf under the mirror to hold herself steady, that's when she the reflection. "Wait... what? Excuse me?" she asks no one, since no one is listening.

Carefully, she takes a hand - hand, not paw, and pokes at her face. Her scarf. Her... most of her.

Well, guess it's time to make the most of it. She spends a few minutes hobbling around the dressing room to get re-used to her legs, before taking a deep breath and opening the opposite door.

The lights catch her eye, and the sound of the crowd echoes around her... perhaps this won't be so bad at all. As long as Tourmaline doesn't faceplant again.

In all her time in the Caves, Mossie had never seen anything quite as wondrous.

To be fair, though, she'd spent a whole lot of time in the caves deeply asleep. She'd missed...a lot. She kept hearing about mysterious and wonderful things and not really Getting them, Cepheus's whole Deal chief among them. She'd seen nothing like it in all the caves, and it had food (!) and hellish swan things (!!) and Building (!!!) Like, what the hell? When she heard of the spring ball, she simply had to come.
Another one of Cepheus's mysteries...it apparently turned you into one of those weird flat-faced things she'd kicked Hive ass with way back when.
"Funky fresh," she said approvingly as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Hopefully this was temporary, because she did like her fluff, but even if it wasn't it'd be a bit easier to experiment with hands (!!!!!) And an accessory? She glances behind herself to find a pair of dust-moth shaped earrings inscribed with mycelial patterns, and instantly falls in love.