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Mycah stood behind Winter. Their hands were clenched into fists as they looked around. They recognized a few of the people there and hoped that they wouldn't look over at them. After a few sweeps of the area, their stomach clenched into a ball, and Mycah elected to stare at the ground for the rest of the time.
Winter looked over at Mycah, thinking for a moment, then grabbed Mycah's arm. Not meanly, but more of in a gentle way. "I'm going to tell them you're my significant other. I would say sibling or cousin, but we look nothing alike, and we're too close in age for parents or uncle or something." he said in a quiet voice.
Mycah looked up, startled by the sudden contact. "Okay. That works," They murmured, nodding slightly. Winter's choice made sense. It was the cover they'd thought to be the most appropriate. Like Winter had pointed out, anything else didn't make much sense.
Winter nodded slightly, his eyes already darting ahead again to scan over the guards that were scanning people's IDs. He reached into his pocket and brought out his ID, holding it in his free hand to be ready.
It was stupid, but Mycah was feeling a bit nervous. Sure, there was a lot to be nervous about, but that didn't make them like it any more. The line moved forward, and they were suddenly in front of a bored-looking guard.
"ID?" She asked, holding out her hand.
Winter held out his ID, and gently took Mycah's hand for the cover story. He just hoped the ID would hold. He knew his hair had grown out a bit since the image was taken, but he still looked like the picture.
The guard scanned the card and handed it back to Winter, not even looking at it. "This your plus one?" She asked, nodding towards Mycah. Mycah peeked at her from behind a partial curtain of hair, hoping she wouldn't ask too many questions. They should have talked about this more beforehand. "What's your relation?"
Winter nodded, putting his ID away. "Mhm. They're my significant other." He replied. He hesitated for just a moment, then gently draped an arm around Mycah's shoulders, giving the woman a quick smile.
"Alright. Enjoy the party." The guard waved them towards the building and turned to the next people in line. Mycah let out a soft breath and started walking towards the huge doors leading into the party.
"I probably don't have to tell you, but don't call me by my name," Mycah whispered to Winter. They couldn't believe they'd waited until right then to tell him, but it had slipped their mind. "Call me Em or something."
Winter nodded, and moved his arm away. "Right. As for me…Winter works fine." He said. "You know my real one, but…I'd prefer not that one." His gaze roamed around the room, never settling for more than a second.
"Of course." Mycah nodded, taking glances around the room. They were searching for Crin, though they didn't think she would appear there just yet. There were so many people they knew in that room… hopefully they didn't know them like Mycah knew them.
Winter kept looking around the room, eyes flickering slightly. He didn't know what to do now, other than try and blend in.
"You have any plans?" Mycah asked, eyes still roaming the crowd. Most of the people around them were talking or drinking some sort of fancy alcohol. And there was still no Crin. "Anything you want to do before I just shoot her?"
Winter chuckled softly. "I just want some alcohol, but other than that, not really." he replied with a slight shrug, giving a faint, wry smile.
(gtg soon sorry)
(Ok, me too. Good night!)
"Well, then, let's get some alcohol." Mycah looked around for the place everyone were getting the drinks. "Over there." They nodded towards a bar, then started towards it.
Winter nodded, and walked with Mycah to the bar. "Not too much, though. Can't afford to drink too much." he added quietly, glancing down at the other, then back at the bar in front of them.
"Of course." Mycah nodded. The bar didn't have anyone behind it, just a bunch of pre-filled glasses sitting on it. Mycah grabbed one, not really caring what it was. With luck, it wouldn't be poisoned, either.
Winter picked one up, looking down at it before taking a sip. "Well. Let's hope this isn't poisoned, yeah? That would be quite a way to start this party." he let out a faint chuckle, shaking his head.
"Yeah." Mycah took a sip of the drink as they turned their back to the bar. "I wonder if she's going to make a speech or anything? That would be great." They mused, taking another sip. If Crin made a speech, it would be a great opportunity to get her. Hit her, and try to escape. But Mycah wasn't anticipating an escape actually working, not with all the military people in the building. With luck, someone would just shoot them.
Winter shrugged. "Maybe so…what's your plan, by the way?" he asked, realizing he should have asked before this. "For…this whole thing." he gestured vaguely, taking another sip of his drink.
"Kill Crin and hope they kill me quickly," Mycah replied, draining the rest of their drink and putting down the glass on the bar behind them. "I don't think escape would be possible with all of this," they said, waving at the crowd of high-ranking military personnel, "and I don't have anything else to do, so…" Mycah shrugged.
Winter blinked slowly. "Why?" he asked. 'Not…not the Crin thing. Why do you want to die?" he asked, frowning slightly and looking at Mycah in confusion.
"Death is the only place where I can see Allx and Pan again," Mycah said softly, staring into the crowd in front of them. "I'm not actively seeking death, but I would be fine with it. It seems like the only realistic ending to this story, anyways." They looked over at Winter. "The way you said that makes me think you want to die. Why?"
"Oh. Well. I killed my fiance. So." Winter looked away. "But I don't…I don't want to die. Not anymore. I just…I want the demon gone, and I know that the only way to achieve that might be my own death. So I don't know." he shrugged his shoulders, taking a sip from his drink.
"Hmm." Mycah nodded slightly. "That makes sense." From what Mycah had seen, heard and read, the demon Winter had was terrible. They couldn't imagine living with it. A shift in the mood of the room caught and drew their attention towards the crowd. The conversations around them were softer or gone altogether. Someone important had entered the room, it seemed.