the formal (icon of hell optional)

[molotovmartinis]

WHO: [OPEN]
WHERE: the Brandt Banquet Hall
WHEN: Sunday March 29
WARNINGS: B|
SUMMARY: the superhero formal. Will things explode?
FORMAT: whatever you feel like

Comments

[willofjustice]

Amelia, meanwhile, took longer to catch sight of Lust. The woman was, after all, virtually unknown to her -- a collection of words and the occasional video post. A name and a personality linked only through connection with the alchemists, and therefore much harder to remember.

She caught sight of them at nearly the same time that Lust saw Ed -- a dark-haired woman her eyes had skipped over before due to the glasses and the relatively unknown face. That gaze was, for a moment, intent, searching . . .

She followed it with her own eyes to Ed.

Alphonse-san . . . The thought was immediate, anxious, but she did not dare to look in that direction as though afraid her eyes would draw Lust's like a magnet, pulling her gaze away from Lust and back to the main crowd.

She could hope that perhaps he'd seen too -- and if he hadn't moved in a moment more, she might use the comm. Meanwhile, her smile faltered, her stomach clenching faintly like a balled fist. Confrontation was, in some ways, much easier than this secrecy. One, two, and it was over -- none of this waiting.

[alphonse]

If Al had somehow been privy to Amelia's thoughts, he definitely would have agreed with those last statements. Getting the fighting over with would suit him fine too, if just so he could finally drop all the charades meaningless pretenses. Unfortunately, neither side could risk letting their battle take place in such a public area, so the act would have to continue for a little longer.

Al wasn't observing closely enough to be as sure as Amelia about what Lust was up to, but he knew better than to stand around make himself an easy target. Whatever resemblance he bore to Ed would be difficult to discern from afar, but if Ed or Ling looked his way a few times too many, it could draw unwanted suspicion. It was safer for everyone if he drifted out of their sights too, though his brother would probably be even more annoyed with Al for this later.

Finishing off his drink--and making a valiant effort not to gag at the taste--he casually slipped into the crowd, maneuvering with a well-faked confidence. He'd be next to impossible to recognize amid so many people, and maybe some extra company would stave off his boredom a bit too. He envied Ed a little for having at least a fake date to talk to.

[willofjustice]

He was gone when she dared to look in that direction, and her eyes, skimming through the crowd, couldn't catch his unfamiliar dark head. Just as well -- if she couldn't spot him, more than likely Lust couldn't either. The fist in her gut unclenched slightly, uncurling its fingers.

But only a little. Just give it time, just a few minutes . . .

Then typed to Al in private over the comm, Where are you?

[alphonse]

Al grumbled irritably at the familiar sound of his comm receiving a message--it had better not be Ed yelling at him already. Al wasn't exactly endangering himself by moving to the other side of the room, and worrying that much would just be silly.

To shield his conversation from the prying eyes of strangers, Al ducked even further out of sight, taking temporary shelter in one of the alcoves. His expression softened considerably once he'd had the chance to flip open the communicator and actually read the new message--Ed wasn't nagging him, after all. It was just Amelia expressing some concern. She must have spotted Lust too, to have been bothered enough to contact Al this way.

Quickly, he typed up a reply. The other side of the dance floor. I thought we'd do better by splitting up. Is everything okay?

[willofjustice]

Even as she typed, she felt the uncertainty of it. What did she have to go on, after all? A look?

She paused a moment, considering, even as she made her way towards a quieter part of the room. She's here -- did you see? I think maybe she saw them, too; her eyes were that way. Though I can't be sure exactly -- or if she recognized them.

In the end, even to her it sounded like she might be worrying over nothing and potentially worrying him in the process. But with the process begun, there wasn't a good way to stop it.

[alphonse]

Al tightened his grip on the communicator, glaring down at the screen. Even if Amelia wasn't entirely sure about what she'd witnessed, this was a good indication of the worst.

I saw her. I'll warn the others. He hesitated before clicking send, finding the succinct message came off a little cold. ...And we're keeping an eye on things, so you don't need to worry. You should go enjoy the party.

Amelia was supposed to be relaxing tonight, not getting involved in their problems. Message sent, Al set about forwarding her warning to his brother.

[willofjustice]

That's a cruel thing to say, you know, she typed back, making a small face at the screen. You don't just forget and have a good time when other people are worried. :P

[alphonse]

Reading over Amelia's words, Al's glare faded to an amused sort of fondness. Heh, she'd even used one of those emoticon things. She was definitely serious if she was making a face at him. He knew he'd never be able to dissuade her from caring entirely, but he could at least attempt to be comforting.

We aren't worried, he lied easily. We have everything under control, but we'll contact you right away if we need any help.

As he waited to see if she'd reply, Al went back to keeping watch. The problem with making himself so scarce, of course, was that while it kept him off the radar, it also provided the same cover to his targets. With so many people moving on and off the dance floor, he could barely tell if Lust was even still at her table.

No matter. She wasn't the only person he wanted to keep out of trouble tonight, and once he got things settled with Amelia, Al would go back to canvassing the room properly.

As the crowd drifted in the way of his vision, Al had been about to turn to his comm again, but an all too familiar pair caught his eye by stepping out onto the dance floor. No way. They couldn't possibly... They weren't really--!

...

They were. Ed and Ling were actually out there dancing like some sort of couple! Al balked; and it was very fortunate indeed that he'd moved so far away, because something akin to shock and revulsion was clearly present on his face.

Shaking it off, he supposed he could understand their reasoning. They probably just wanted to move in closer for spying purposes, but considering what Amelia had said earlier, there was a dangerously high chance of getting caught. Had Ed even been able to check his comm yet?

[willofjustice]

If you weren't worried, you wouldn't have come here in the first place, she noted back to him, smiling faintly as she typed. It's okay; I'm all right.

There was silence for a minute. Are they *dancing*?

[alphonse]

Can you believe it? Al typed back, slightly disturbed by how easily he could divide his attention between his mission and gossiping via text. Maybe he wasn't so bad at this modern teenager thing, after all. I really hope they know what they're doing.

[willofjustice]

It took her a moment to reply; in all honesty she found herself staring before she could catch herself.

. . . I think I should have shown Ed-san how to dance before we left.

Still, just as Alphonse had a few minutes before, Amelia couldn't help a small pang of envy. She was in her element, yes, but dancing was one thing she hadn't been able to do yet. Dancing involved, after all, someone to do it with, and in spite of the number of people at the party thus far, there were very few that she recognized.

Dancing at least once at some point, though, seemed requisite, providing they weren't all escaping from a a collapsing ceiling and explosions before the end of the night.

[alphonse]

I didn't think they'd take the act this far. The disapproving sigh that accompanied those words was probably apparent, even over the communicator.

Al knew absolutely nothing about dancing, but Amelia's sentiments rang true regardless--Ed didn't look particularly graceful out there. The whole thing was so absurd it would have been humorous, were it not for the very deadly homunuculus Ed and Ling were moving increasingly closer to.

The threat she posed was never far from Al's mind, meaning he couldn't turn away, no matter how desperately he wanted to. At least he could take some consolation from the fact that watching his brother's mistakes might help teach Al what not to do during his eventual dance with Amelia.