use what was meant to be a toy as some sort of legitimate disguise.
At present though, she was far more concerned over blowing their cover than being caught with an illegal tonic. And she’d almost done so more than a few times that evening.
Tora was the one who’d setup their cover stories and got them in. She wasn’t even fully sure how he did it but he’d somehow gotten her an invitation as a “human” scientist! Thankfully the backstory he’d concocted for her wasn’t too far from the truth so it wasn’t hard to stay on script. The real issue was Tora’s story…
He’d changed it about six times before they’d even entered the party, even editing little flourishes here and there right up until they reached the entranceway. In one version he was a fallen noble from a distant land, in another he was a fellow scientist with a tragic past… She wasn’t even sure what name he’d finally settled on—it was hard to keep up with it all. Every time someone came to ask her about him, and way too many people did, she simply found herself nodding and agreeing with whatever they said while trying not to contradict whatever story Tora had given them.
They’d separated from each other pretty early in the party since Ariscille was more interested in the food and Tora was more interested in… doing whatever he was doing. She tried to clarify his backstory details the first time they regrouped at the buffet to no avail.
“Eh, just tell em whatever. Ya think they care?” Tora snickered as he popped a few bite-sized pastries in his mouth.
“Oh golly, Tora—” She started before he slapped his hand over her mouth.
“Don’t tell em that one though, eh?” He smiled. His hand smelled like ocean air and flowers (he sure smelled… cleaner lately).
This was ten minutes into the party.
She tried again when he visited later to offer her wine he’d stolen from the kitchen. Then again when he went to introduce her to some people he met. And finally once more when he got her to dance with him on the tables.
“There’s been quite a lot of interest in you, you know?! I’m just having a bit of trouble—Oh sorry! Sorry!” She’d stepped on someone’s foot again. There was a lot of people dancing on these tables and she still hadn’t figured out how to walk in this body, never mind dance!
“You and me both!” Tora laughed as he spun her around. She could still smell the ocean off him, but her sharp asuran nose picked up several other smells: a mix of perfumes, as if he’d gotten a little too close with a little too many nobles. She suspected he’d done exactly that. As she spun, her foot knocked over something made
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