Young Writers Society

Avi scowled in the direction of the growing group nearby, not that they’d see it. They were beginning to encroach on the small bubble of space he’d carved out for himself, and he didn’t like it. A quick glance at his assistants on the other side of him showed that half had disappeared to go dancing and the rest now had drinks. Only Jacek stood loyally by his side. Avi sighed.

“Jacek,” he said and the other Baqiran turned towards him with an enquiring expression. “Please fetch me a drink and perhaps a snack. Something that I can actually eat or drink right now, if you can.”

Jacek stared at him from behind the mask, frowning. He touched Avi’s hand briefly, passing a are you sure feeling between them. Avi nodded and then tucked his hands back into his sleeves. Jacek backed up a step, gave him a bow and then turned to stalk off through the crowd towards the refreshments. Avi watched him go, sensing his anger even from halfway across the room.

He sighed again and glanced towards the group. One of them was watching him now, eyes dragging all the way down to the floor and back up. He blinked at them. Great. What next? An assassination attempt? Again? He could’ve done without some political drama for one night, but apparently not. Apparently, he was stuck playing Royal Consort because he husband couldn’t make it. His dead husband. Avi snorted and narrowed his gaze at his apparent admirer. Hopefully, they’d get the message to leave him alone.


Jacek approached the table with a scowl and glided to a stop beside a couple who appeared to be raiding the refreshments for anything that they could drink. He spared them a glance before he started scanning the table for something even mildly non-alcoholic that he could find for Avi. It wouldn’t do for him to ruin Avi’s period of mourning with strong alcohol. They seemed pretty engrossed in each for the moment, so he ignored them.

There were several varieties of Baqiran alcohol on the table, but nothing sufficiently non-alcoholic or with a low enough content suitable for Avi. And he couldn’t even begin to tell you what the rest were. Jacek didn’t recognise any of them. He growled and thumped a fist down on the table. Trust Avi to give him an almost impossible order to carry out.

“Stupid old man,” he muttered in Baqiran and began to double-check the table. How was he supposed to do this without disappointing Avi? “This is impossible!”

"Oh, um..." Charlie faltered, not expecting the gratitude for the offhand compliment. The only people who ever thanked her for them were Codix and Nadira, and occasionally Signia when she felt like it - most people just gave her a funny look and kept walking. "You're welcome..."


That was a flirt. Télos knew it was a flirt, but he had no idea what it meant. He had plenty of excuses for why - getting possessed by an evil god, coming from a different culture, his one childhood crush not even getting half of the jokes he cracked - but it wasn’t like those excuses could help him now.

"Tangoing would be nice," he slowly replied, only to cringe when he realized he didn't even know how to do that dance to begin with.

...If only Lex hadn't had plans. Then he could have played translator, and Télos wouldn't be digging a chasm for himself.


His translator picked up on what the newcomer to the refreshment table was trying to say, but he had no idea what the context was. His first thought was to get as far away from him as possible - he didn’t seem like he was in a good mood - but then Nadira grabbed onto his hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

"Do you need help with something?" Nadira asked, pulling her hand away and approaching the stranger. "We've never been to something like this before, but maybe my husband and I can help you."

Lark leaned towards him and sighed. "This is boring," she said, turning to press into him more. Arden tried to ignore her, but she was proving very difficult to ignore. But that was Lark, and he wouldn't want her to change for anyone. "When is there gonna be some action? Some drama? I'm dying of boredom here."

Arden scowled and kept his gaze firmly on the crowd they were passing through. He was well aware that the people were parting for them, and he could entirely blame it on Lark's stupidly obnoxious, outlandish dress. Honestly, a galaxy? Who gave her those ideas?

"It's a masquerade ball," he told her, and her grip on his arm tightened. He glanced down at where he black nails dug into his wrist and sighed. "I'm sure there'll be some drama eventually. Balls like this... People'll get drunk and then they're start arguing or making out or something, and you'll get your damned drama."

She laughed and reached up to pat him on the cheek with her other hand. "You know just what to say to cheer a girl up, Mr. Halvar." She grinned and he rolled his eyes at her. How predictable. "How about we go find some drinks?"

"Sure," he muttered and turned to lead her off towards the refreshments. Except she stopped short at the sight of the pretty man in white, silver and pale blue. Uh oh.

"Ooooh, who's that?" Lark whispered, leaning in closer. "I've never seen anyone like that before!"

And with that, she released him to glide across the ball towards the white-haired man. Arden sighed again and resigned himself to following after her. Trust Lark to immediately spot something she wanted to dig her claws into. Literally. Apparently, Arden would be attempting to curb her hunger all evening.

* * *

Jacek turned to face the couple, and their very understated dress. He blinked once and subtly straightened up. He considered the offer for help, and the fact that they were clearly trying not to stand out, and sighed. Jacek had been trained to take note of everything, so he didn't miss the slight awkwardness to their interactions.

"Ah, yes," he said, crossing his arms over his chest and turning to lean a hip against the refreshments table. He studied them again for a moment and then gestured vaguely to the table. "Perhaps you could point out anything non-alcoholic or with a very low alcoholic content for me?"

* * *

One of Avi's attendants suddenly appeared between him and the group. She smiled up at him and then bowed. Avi waited patiently, glancing past her every now and then to find some of the group nearby still watching him. It was starting to irritate him.

"Yes, Celosia?"

"If it is alright with you, my lord," she said, still bowed. "Neelam and I would like to dance."

Avi blinked and glanced back towards the blue-haired Baqiran waiting patiently behind him. And only him. Where had the third attendant gone? If they did that, then they would be leaving him alone until Jacek returned. He hesitated, glanced between the two of them and then relented with a sigh. It might leave him alone without a guard, but it wasn't like he didn't have a weapon. There was a small blade strapped to his thigh, and he would use it if he needed to. Somehow, he doubted it, so he sighed and moved to touch her fabric-covered shoulder gently.

"You may," he said and she rose gracefully out of her bow. When she met his gaze, she was frowning. He glanced about again and say the attendant dressed in green speaking lowly to a pretty young woman in a sleek black dress and red mask. Not anyone he knew, but at least they hadn't gone far. "Try not to take too long. And if you see Jacek or the others send one of them back."

"Yes, my lord," she said, and then glided past him to Neelam. Together they headed off towards the rest of the dancing couples, leaving Avi practically alone. The third attendant was too busy chatting up some alien woman. Avi left him to it.

Codix and Nadira both turned towards the table, eyes searching for something that fit the criteria. Even though Nadira could easily analyze what had alcohol and what didn’t, they had to approach this like a regular couple from Earth.

His eyes landed on a familiar looking bottle.

Not wine - it was a soda bottle. Relief flooded Codix; he could get some of that instead of the horrible wine later.

He grabbed the bottle of coke.

"This doesn't have alcohol in it," he said, presenting it to the other guest. "It just has caffeine."

Flynn kept close to Charlie, backing off from any flirts when realizing just how young they were. He couldn't tell and that was good reasoning to stop.

"Are you alright? I know that this is all a bit much if you aren't used to the excitement."

Looking down to Charlie, they were obviously uncomfortable and the readings flashed off all the way across the emotions Flynn could see. He kept a hand on Charlie's shoulder, muttering a few peaceful charms and stood by to make sure they didn't pass out.



Télos answered Carter with a clear confusion and Carter was reminded of how rusty some of his skills were. Obviously a line like that shouldn't have been used on an alien god but he couldn't resist using it whenever the chance came.

And formal masquerade balls didn't happen that often in his circle of life.

"Sorry to set you off like that, just a bit of a flirt. The tango itself is a very sensual dance, but the horizontal tango is a roundabout way of referring to more mature activities."

Carter let his gaze drift from Télos to a stranger across the way dressed in a billowy silver and blue garb. They were protected by a dwindling amount of guards, causing Carter to excuse himself and step closer to the stranger. Their energy reading intrigued him, the amount of years contained within the form showed the signs of stress, but no outward appearance.

Getting as close as he could while still being polite and dodging the guard, Carter turned on his own charm and said, "When I saw the contact I was making from across the room was with such pretty blue eyes, I just had to introduce myself."

Avi blinked at the young man who approached him and then blinked again. The man was wearing a tuxedo--Avi had read about those in the brochure he'd been provided with--and was... apparently flirting with him. He frowned beneath the mask and tucked his hands firmly into his sleeves.

"What," he deadpanned, confused. Why was this man flirting with him? He didn't understand. Avi hesitated, unsure how to respond that. He took a moment to carefully chose what to say next. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

* * *

Jacek just stood there for a moment, gaze flickering between the bottle and the man holding it. He wasn't quite sure what to think of the strange not-couple, but at least they were somewhat friendly. Jacek blew out a breath and slowly reached out to take the bottle from the man.

"And this is... beverage has no alcohol in it?" he asked, just to confirm it, as he turned the bottle around to study it. It wasn't actually that big and it was cold to handle. Whoever had handled the refreshments apparently knew what they were doing. He glanced up at the man. "And caffeine? What is that?"

* * *

Arden grabbed Lark before she could reach the white-haired man. He was apparently already speaking to someone and--Arden tilted his head to try and catch some of their conversation--apparently flirting. He frowned.

"Lark," he warned, but she was still staring at the white-haired man. "Lark, c'mon. He's already got company and you don't even know if he's into women!"

She turned to give him an almost feral grin. "Oh, Arden, darling. It can't hurt to try."

"But we're here for diplomatic reasons!"

Lark broke free of him and stalked straight towards the man and his new companion. Arden gave a resigned sigh and followed after her. Yep, he was definitely going to have to do some damage control later. And curb Lark's hunger. She was insatiable. At least one of them had that aspect of themselves under control.

"Oh, my apologies for not introducing myself properly," Carter paused to look the man over in their state of dress and the presence of guards around the room, concluding a royal position. And so he continued, "your majesty."

The person's eyes flashed from behind their mask, shifting a bit with the usage of "majesty". Carter didn't press the discomfort any further, simply bowing and saying, "Carter Lincoln, of the Covington County Sheriff's Department and the Coalition of Earthen Witchcraft."

While waiting on a response from the person in front, Carter's eyes slipped back around the room. There was a couple quickly approaching his position but he was trying to find Télos. It was admittedly rude to leave the man alone like that just as they were starting to engage, but there were so many distracting energy signatures in the room.

After a moment more he found the eyes he was looking for, locking contact and lifting his mask just enough to give a playful wink. There was plenty of opportunity on the dance floor tonight.

Well, that was certainly awkward. At least Télos took the flirt surprisingly well. Still, even though Carter and Télos kept on glancing at each other from across the room (since Carter had taken off to flirt with an admittedly well-dressed person), a question popped into Thytes's mind.

"Would you like to dance?" Thytes said, looking over to the god. "I am not quite sure that I have the stamina to compare to a god, but I imagine it would at least be entertaining."

In the meantime, Tannis tapped Mal and Enide on the shoulder. "Would you like something to drink?" he whispered, gesturing to the table where a young couple was handing over a bottle to another man.

"Nothing especially strong," Enide said, looking back at him. "I imagine I may need to keep my wits tonight."

"I don't drink," Mal said.

Nodding, Tannis lumbered over to the table.

"Caffeine is…” Codix faltered, unsure of how to describe it without breaking out of the role. He trailed off for a moment, glancing over at Nadira for a burst of confidence. He found it when their eyes met. Turning back to the man, he just went for it. “It’s almost like the reverse of alcohol. It stimulates instead of impairs. On Earth, we tend to get it when we’re tired in a drink called coffee. But soda - like this bottle of Coca Cola - also has it.”


“I’m, uh, not good with big groups of people,” Charlie admitted. Her eyes wandered briefly over to the drinks table, where a handful of guests was steadily gathering. “But I’m doing okay. I’ve...I’ve been waiting for this. I…”

She hesitated, not sure how to continue without revealing too much about her best friends. As long as she kept things vague, they would be alright…

...Right?

“I have some unusual friends,” she finally decided. “My best friends are an alien and a robot, and we’re sort of friends with two other aliens from another race. And I really do love learning about other cultures and about aliens in general, so this masquerade is like a dream come true.”

Her smile - already small - became a little smaller.

“I...I just wish my friends could have come,” she said. “I know you can only have one extra guest, but I was going to see if they could make an exception for the two of them. But both of them were busy…”


Télos hadn’t meant to make awkward eye contact with Carter, but that plan had failed spectacularly - they were holding each other’s gazes for what felt like an eternity. He knew it was only a handful of seconds, but still. It was a handful of seconds too long.

And then Thytes asked him to dance, and he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to feel excited or nervous. He knew that the man was pretending to be Enide’s husband, but he didn’t have the slightest clue why. The dance provided an opportunity to learn about what was going on, but it almost meant he was going to have to dance with a good-looking guy.

Why did everyone here have to look so nice?

“Yes,” Télos managed to get out, then faltered when he realized how abrupt the reply was. “I mean, thank you. I’d, er, love to dance.”

...Maybe it was a good thing that none of his chosen were here.

Hmm. Standing behind the man holding the bottle, Tannis lifted up bottles of alcohol while glancing over at the other three. He decided he'd avoid this 'soda,' mostly because he wasn't sure if Enide or Mal would react worse to a stimulant. Those always made Mal more bitter and Enide more bloodthirsty, neither of which he necessarily wanted to see at a masquerade ball.

Ugh, but he couldn't even read the labels on most of these - they were in scripts he couldn't identify. And it wasn't like he could ask for any help without putting his act in danger. So, frowning, he popped some bottles open, sniffing the contents to see if he could pick up any hints of alcohol.



"What dance would you prefer?" Thytes said. "Something slower, something faster? Something intimate, or something less so?"

He looked over to Charlie. "If you would be okay with that, given that I appear to be the only person that you recognize here."

This was nice. It had been a very long time since Brian had tried on traditional formal dress- and he'd forgotten just how satisfying the swish of the tunic was. He found himself turning around more than necessary just for that reason.

And in outer space, there was no reason to hide his wings or his green-ness, or the amazing knowledge of his field. He had just ranted about the ins and outs of pocket dimensions and his peoples' associated religion for thirty straight minutes, and the spidery, dolphinish fellow on the receiving end seemed actually interested. His spouse wasn't. But you couldn't win them all.

That was how he found himself alone at the refreshments table, trying to resist the temptation to turn around.

Until, he found it. A bottle of Harpaxian Afterlife. No alcohol, just pure, undiluted Harpaxian coffee. The most potent brew in the galaxy, so potent, it was illlegal in some sectors.

Brian looked to the left. He looked to the right. He poured a glass, and stared cautiously at the dense, inky liquid. It was comparable to the thickness of blood.
He gulped it down in one shot.

Except it turned out more like gulping down a mouthful or two, feeling his innards burn, and hacking his guts out in a string of almighty coughs that didn't seem feasible coming from a fellow as small as he was. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. He clutched at his side with one hand, and carefully held his glass level with the other. He coughed one more time.

He straightened his back, and took a moment to regain his breath. Then, slowly, he took another sip.

Perfection.

An feline axolotl looking guy, who had also partaken of the Harpaxian brew, was carried away on a stretcher. Attendants came to the table to confiscate the remaining bottles.

Brian sipped his coffee faster.

Charlie glanced over at Flynn before giving Thytes a smile. "I'm okay with that," she said. Even if Thytes was the only person she knew right now, something told her that she and Flynn would quickly become friends.


His heart was saying fast and intimate, but his brain miraculously stopped him before he could get the words out. Télos did want to dance with Thytes, and a fast, intimate dance was the type that he loved the most. But if he was going to get any information out of the dance, he would need to avoid Thytes from running out of breath.

"An intimate and slow one would be nice," Télos said, grinning as his heart skipped a beat at the thought of the quickly approaching dance.

Thytes nodded. It appeared that Charlie had already befriended Flynn, so that made Thytes feel a little bit better about grabbing Télos's hand and moving towards the dance floor. "Just let me know if you are in any way uncomfortable," Thytes said, looking back to Télos. "I do not want to be needlessly inconsiderate."



Between the man who was clearly high on whatever he was drinking and the cat that had just been wheeled away, Tannis decided it'd be better to ask for advice than risk anyone's health.

"Hey," he mumbled to the couple, peeking over the other man's shoulder. "Do you know what these drinks are? The labels don't make any sense." He made sure to keep his voice as gruff and blunt as possible - he'd decided to go for the vaguely polite bodyguard role instead of the silent one.

Jacek was briefly distracted by movement behind him and glanced over to find a strange looking alien being carried away on a stretcher while a bunch of staff pulled a handful of bottles off the table. In the middle of all the chaos was a strange, green-skinned alien with what appears to be wings. He acknowledged all the chaos and then turned his attention back to the couple.

"Is there a potential for allergies or reactions of a negative nature?"

* * *

He shifted uncomfortably. Was it that easy to tell he was royalty? Or, at the least, previously married to one. Then again, all his attendants had been addressing him as 'my lord', so he really shouldn't have been as surprised as he was. He opened his mouth, then closed it, frowning when Carter turned his attention on the man dressed in gold.

Avi inclined his head, not caring if Carter saw or not. "Avi'dusa," he said, and that was it. He wasn't inclined to give his full name. "But you may call me Avi if that's easier."

Before Carter could reply, there was suddenly a dark-skinned woman with eerie amethyst eyes between them. Avi backed up a step because she was far too close for comfort--and properity. He glanced past her at Carter, but the man was still distracted by the gold-clad man. The woman stopped closer, almost close enough for skin-to-skin contact. Even with that, Avi could feel her hunger. He flinched.

"Hello," she purred, and tried to throw her arms around his neck only to be pulled back by the remaining green-clad attendant and another man, this one taller than him and dressed in black, red and grey. "Arden!"

"I'm terribly sorry for this," the taller man said, pulling her further away. He seemed rather...frustated with her behaviour. Avi watched as he turned towards her and grabbed her chin in one hand, forcing her to look him in the face. "Lark. That was impolite."

Avi glanced between them, lost and confused, even as his attendant drifted a step closer to him and put himself between Avi and the couple. He backed up another step, wincing with the lingering remnant of the woman's ridiculously deep hunger. Goddess, but she was intense to be around. He glanced towards the attendant and found the man grimacing with it. For all the perks of our race, there are some downsides. This, he thought, is one of them.

Codix sent a questioning look at Nadira. He had no idea, but she would know - she knew everything. When their eyes met, she took a step forward towards the man and shook her head.

"If you're anything like us," she warmly said, "then it shouldn’t."

Codix turned when he heard the newcomer speak. He knew some of them now that he was actively studying them; it had been part of his studies. But the human he was supposed to be should have been clueless, so all he could do was give an unhelpful shake of the head. "This is my first time off of Earth," he lied. "I'm just as confused as you are when it comes to most of the drinks here."


"Will do," Télos promised. He let Thytes lead him out onto the dance floor. He wouldn't lead - at least, not now. He would Thytes be in control of the dance so he could figure out how to get the explanation he needed.