But you cannot see where I have spilled

Nola’s face was pale.

“Dakota! Why… why did you bring her in?!” She demanded.

“Serenity?” Dani waved at the soaking wet siren. “Hey, it’s been a long time!”

Serenity, taciturn as usual, regarded Dani with a slight nod. She kept her dark eyes trained on Dakota and Nola all the while though.

“It’s very simple,” Dakota replied calmly, not at all concerned with Nola’s outbursts. “I asked Serenity to become the fifth judge, because I thought that her perspective would be helpful.”

“But why?!” Nola wailed. “Butler girl, I get, she’s a butler after all, but what does that siren know about class!?”

“More than you,” Serenity noted.

Nola winced.

“Nola, Nola, Nola, it’s just the way things are done,” Dakota said, patting the leprechaun on the head. “Don’t consider it as you being replaced! But Serenity was lounging around in that underground cave, not doing much of anything. So I figured she would appreciate the opportunity to come up for a breath of fresh air.”

She looked over at the glowing girl. “And besides, I imagine it’s been quite some time since she’s been out to a party.”

Serenity nodded again.

“Of course, it would be remiss of me to extend the offer without checking it with our party planner,” Dakota said, turning to Gina. “Are you okay with Serenity serving as an additional judge for the events, Gina?”

Gina blinked. It took her a second to realize that Dakota was talking to her, but she nodded quickly. “Oh! Yeah, sure, that’s fine! If she wants to, anyway.” A sheepish blush spread across her cheeks as she realized that she should have extended an offer to Serenity in the first place to join the party, but she didn’t.

“Well? Then it looks like everything will work out just fine!” Dakota purred, clapping her hands together. “Although… could you not find anything more suitable to wear than that?” She looked at Serenity’s bikini-clad figure and scoffed.

Serenity’s eye twitched. She gnashed her teeth at Dakota with a grunt, not sparing any words for the host.

Dakota smirked. “…Fair enough, I guess I did bring you here without giving you a heads up… and while it may be too late to make a purchase, I suppose we could dress you up in something a little more classical, what do you say?”

Before Serenity could respond, Dakota twirled her cane, and the siren’s body began to shimmer. A dark dress sprung into existence, wrapping around the wet girl’s slender figure. In an instant she looked perfectly prepared for the party, with the only exception being her glowing skin.

Serenity winced. She looked down at her lovely dress, which was already starting to wilt. “…Soaked,” she muttered to herself.

“Ah. Yes, I suppose that’s unavoidable,” Dakota admitted with a sheepish laugh. “I tried using water-resistant fabric, but that’s as good as it will get, I suppose.”

Serenity gave her a sharp look but didn’t say anything. She did seem to relax a little, though, so maybe she was grateful for Dakota’s gesture after all.

Vivian cleared her throat. “Excuse me… as nice as this all is… who would you happen to be?” She approached Serenity curiously. “You’re glowing.”

Serenity turned to Vivian, regarding her with suspicion.

“She’s Serenity!” Sylvia volunteered.

“She’s a friend of ours,” Dani answered. “A siren. We ran into her at the Amusement Park, and, well… it’s a bit of a long story…”

Nola frowned. “I still don’t see why Serenity gets to be a judge, and I don’t!” She pouted. For the second time tonight, her fear of being replaced was rearing its ugly head. But at least this time she managed to keep her feelings to herself. She was trying to seem classy and mature, after all, just like the party called for. Making a big deal out of something like this wouldn’t go well at all!

Dakota smirked, amused by Nola’s behavior. “Now then, everyone,” she declared loudly, clearing her throat. “I’m glad you’re all making an effort to include Serenity in our festivities. But we must be getting this party started! Have some time to mingle with one another, while we prepare the first event, if you would please.”

And with that, she was gone.

Immediately, people began gathering around curiously and chatting with one another.

“Gina, what’s the first event?” Dawn asked immediately, seizing the initiative. It didn’t seem fair that Gina had time to prepare for things, but the other girls didn’t.

“Yeah, I wanna know too,” Dani nodded. “I’m probably not gonna do very well, but I hope… They aren’t going to be embarrassing, yeah?”

“I made sure that all the events were fancy and classy!” Gina assured the girls, holding up her hands to make a shield in front of her body. “There’s nothing to worry about, really, I swear!”

The fact that she had to say that out loud really brought things into question. Not to mention Sylvia’s hand in planning out the events.

“You’re gonna have a lot of fun!” Sylvia said fervently.

“Well… that does sound interesting,” Rose mused, stroking her chin. The wheels in her head were already turning.

Sensing there was little more she could get out of Gina, Rose turned and strolled over to Nick instead, to chat him up.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t the first one to have that idea.

“So what do you think?” Kim struck a pose, showing off her side profile. “You like me better this way? Or how I was the other night?”

“Come on, Kim,” Nick said, his cheeks reddening as he remembered the other girl’s large chest. “I like you just fine the way you are, I already told you that.”

“Oh? Isn’t that sweet?” Rose tittered, joining in on the conversation. “I must say, Kim, you really pull of red very well.”

“Eh? You think so?” Kim’s eyes widened in amazement. Not only did Rose seldom talk to her, but she wasn’t used to receiving compliments from the actress either. “Well gee, thank you, Rose, that means a lot to me.”

“Of course!” Rose assured the other girl with a shake of her head, sending her wispy locks bouncing. “I have a dress like that… locked back in my closet, I think. It’s not my style.”

She turned to Nick and struck a pose of her own, raising her shoulder towards him as she wrapped her feather boa tightly around herself. She fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously at him. “But I think that blue really suits me better, don’t you?”

“As usual, Rose, you look amazing,” Nick complimented her as well.

“She should, she’s wearing a dress from our boutique,” Kim pointed out. “I was a little skeptical of the flapper look at first, Rose, but you pull it off well.”

“Why thank you!” Rose was genuinely surprised- and pleased- by such an open compliment from Kim. Neither girl was used to such positive interactions with the other.

From Nick’s perspective, he was just clad to see them hitting it off like this. It really meant a lot to him, to see the girls getting along so well.

“It’s quite refreshing to see you working so hard at your job,” Rose noted. “How much BP have you managed to accumulate today? Something like 4000 BP, wasn’t it?”

“About that much, yes,” Kim nodded. Her eyes twinkled jovially. “And it wasn’t easy, either! I had to work quite hard to get that much saved up. Pushing for a lot of sales.”

“Yes, you were hustling quite a lot this morning,” Rose agreed. “Dawn and Sylvia must have worked very hard cleaning those rooms as well, to get that much BP.”

“But Rose, you’ve been working hard too!” Mary came over and noted. “You managed to get all the way to 10000 BP! That must have taken a lot of doing.”

Rose regarded Mary with skepticism first. She eyed the redhead questioningly, wondering if she was being honest with her praise.

“…Yes,” she said finally. “It was, wasn’t it? And meanwhile, Kim’s trying to take every last bit of it, isn’t she? Working hard to make sales even now!” It was just some ribbing in good fun, which was a relief to Nick. The last thing he wanted was drama at Gina’s party.

“What can I say, you make me jealous,” Kim snickered. “Gotta work hard to get that BP! Luckily, I had Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin to help me.”

She nodded to the dark-haired woman, who was unfortunately standing alone. Nobody was interested in chatting with someone who couldn’t hold up her end of the conversation.

“She looks so lonely,” Mary said glumly.

Nick blinked. Lonely?

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was pleasantly munching down on some hors d’oeuvres without a care in the world.

“Let’s go invite her to join us,” Kim suggested. She skipped around Nick and pushed his back, practically shoving him over to the assassin. “She won’t say no if you ask!”

“She won’t say no at all,” Rose noted.

Nick took the “hint” and approached Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin warily. He **** a smile to his face as he approached, and when she saw him, her eyes lit up and she straightened her back, pushing out her breasts slightly.

“Hey, uh… you enjoying the party?” He asked lamely.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin nodded cheerfully. That was a relief, at least.

Nick smiled. “Well, good. I’m glad. I was a little worried actually, I thought you wouldn’t be used to a fancy shindig like this.”

Who calls a party like this a “shindig” you moron? Are you nuts? Nick pushed past his internal cringing and just kept smiling. A smile that Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin mirrored, only hers was more natural.

“I, uh… I was also impressed with your entrance,” he added. “It seemed like you were really used to being at places like this. Is that the case?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin nodded again, and that came as a surprise to Nick even though he’d suspected it beforehand.

“What, you mean like on a job or something?”

Nick jumped in surprise because Carly had just inserted herself into the conversation.

“You can’t just ask that,” Marley groaned from behind her sister, cradling her face in her hands.

“What? It’s a classic trope,” Carly pointed out. “Going to a fancy party to scout out your target, and then what, you lure him up to the bedroom, and… kghghgkkkktt?” She scraped her thumb across her neck, miming a dagger.

Marley groaned again. “Not exactly classy, sis,” she pointed out. “You’re going to get docked points that way. And prying into another guest’s private life? Again, not very classy.”

And yet, the assassin nodded.

“Oh, so… you have, then?” Nick wasn’t sure what to say to that. But then, he didn’t really know how he should regard Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s job in the first place.

“Well… just don’t kill anybody here, okay?” He said lamely.

Carly snickered. “Now who’s not being classy, Marley? Hmm?” She teased her sister, and Marley rolled her eyes.

“Still you, laughing at someone else’s faux pas.”

“Oooh fancy, ‘faux pas’, I guess someone’s been spending time with Rose recently~”

Nick was glad that the sisters were lightheartedly teasing each other. Almost as glad as he was at the fact that Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was giggling at his lame joke.

Carly scoffed. “Fine, you guys want classy? I can do classy.” She walked over to the refreshments, and came back with two glasses of champagne. “Something to drink, perchance?” She asked with an exaggerated flourish, holding a glass out to each of them.

“Oh, uh… no, no, that’s fine,” Nick said quickly, shaking his head. “I’m a judge, remember? I should probably be keeping a clear head.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin snatched it up before he could say anything though. He stopped her just as she was tipping the glass towards her lips.

“Hey, uh… should… should you really be doing that?” He stammered.

She looked at him, brow furrowed with confusion.

“Well, I just mean… are you sure you’re old enough?” He asked. Back when he’d bought her ice cream all those years ago when they first met, she’d looked like a little girl. She must be significantly younger than him. Dakota wouldn’t confirm her age, but was she even old enough to drink?

“Come on, Nick, it’s a party!” Carly tilted back the drink that she’d gotten for him, and drained it dry. “Nothing wrong with having a bit of fun! Just look at Dani over there, living it up with Serenity! Lucky gal…”

There was more than a hint of jealousy in Carly’s voice as she turned her empty glass towards Dani and the siren, who were sharing a conversation over by the appetizers. Vivian was chatting with them as well, and Octavia was waiting on her as usual. They looked like they were having a pretty good time together.

“You know, we could go over and join them,” Marley pointed out.

“Nah, they’re having fun! We shouldn’t,” Carly said quickly, shaking her head. Nick didn’t miss the blush on her cheeks, and neither did her sister.

Nick and Marley shared quick look, and a nod.

“Well, I’m gonna go,” Marley said, turning and walking towards the blue-haired girls. “You coming? I’d hate to ruin this dress your girlfriend paid for…”

“Eh! Ah, uh, oh, yeah, okay, fine,” Carly stammered, quickly following after her sister to make sure she didn’t turn into a puddle of slime.

Nick laughed, relieved to see the two of them enjoying themselves. He turned back to Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, who was still two seconds away from draining her glass. Her eyes hadn’t left him for a moment.

“…Fine. Carly’s right, it’s a party,” he relented. “Go ahead and enjoy yourself.”

Smiling cheerfully, she gladly took a drink and drained the glass in a flash.

“Anyway, uh, we were over there, talking,” Nick said, indicating to Kim, Rose, and Mary, who were all watching the little exchange intently. “Would you like to come join us?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin peered around him, and touched her chin contemplatively. Then she leapt forward and wrapped her arm around his, practically pulling him shoulder to shoulder with her.

“Eh? Ah!” Nick stammered in surprise as the assassin led him in the other direction.

Back with the girls, the trio were surprised by the sudden move on the assassin’s part.

“Where’s she going?” Kim asked worriedly.

“She… she’s not drunk, is she?” Mary bit her lip in concern. “This could be very bad…”

“Nah, probably not anything that troublesome,” Rose tittered. “She’s got all those modifications, remember? I bet she’s probably got some major **** tolerance, so she can drink as much as she likes. Unlike you two.”

Rose looked pointedly at Mary’s exposed belly. The redhead quickly covered herself, and blushed. “O-obviously I’m not going to drink,” she huffed. “I would never risk harming my baby.”

Kim sighed. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, not 21 yet, rub it in why don’t you?” She muttered in exasperation. “Don’t worry, I’m not interested in that sort of thing.”

Rose smirked. “More for me, then,” she hummed, picking up a glass from the table and taking a sip. She made sure to extend her pinky as she drank from the flute. Just for added class points.

Meanwhile, Nick and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin were very much making a scene of themselves in the middle of the ballroom. The assassin hummed silently to herself, completely uncaring about all the eyes aimed her way.

It was only when Amelia interceded that she actually stopped. She looked wide-eyed at the taller blonde, and tilted her head to the side.

“Are you comporting yourself with decorum, young lady?” Amelia asked sternly, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin stared blankly at the other woman and blinked. Whatever those words meant, she very obviously was clueless.

“Nicholas, are you quite alright?” Amelia turned to Nick, sensing she wouldn’t get much out of the mute assassin.

“Uh… yeah,” Nick said, scratching his cheek. He was a little confused and flustered, but not bothered. “Don’t worry, Amelia, I think she just wants to spend time with me, that’s all.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin nodded her head rapidly and hugged his arm a little tighter, squeezing her breasts against him. He blushed.

“…I see,” Amelia murmured, sensing the other woman’s intent. “Well. Do take care to behave with dignity then, if you would.”

She looked past Nick, and over to Gina, who was still talking with Sylvia, Morgana, and Dawn. The four of them seemed to have a lot to discuss. Not that he could hear them, but they were talking about the rooms that they’d been assigned to, and what those rooms were capable of. Before the night was over, Dawn planned to inform everyone here about what they had learned.

“…This party means a lot to her,” Amelia pointed out.

“Yeah,” Nick said. “I know.”

That’s why it would be a real shame if there was someone here who wasn’t enjoying themselves.

And he could already tell that was the case.

Even though Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin had him firmly in her grasp, Nick’s attention was on someone else at the moment. His eyes met Ella’s from across the room, and his heart went out to her. She was all by herself, a wallflower in the truest sense. Even Morgana had found her “crowd” in comparison.

Ella was all alone.

Nick felt Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s nails dig into his arm, gently enough not to sting but insistent enough to make it clear she wasn’t letting him get away. Seeing no other option, he turned to his stepmother and hoped that she would be able to help out.

“Amelia… could I ask a favor?”

Amelia raised her eyebrow. “Is that how you should ask?” She chastised him.

He blushed. Considering the party scene at the moment, she wasn’t wrong there.

“Y-you’re right,” he admitted, and cleared his throat. “Amelia,” he tried again, “I was hoping that you could do me the honor of granting a favor? I-if you please.”

It didn’t sound much better than when he’d asked the first time. But it seemed to be up to her standards, because she nodded.

“By all means.”

Relieved, Nick looked over at Ella again. “Ella’s all alone over there… do you think you could… I don’t know… go have a talk with her or something? Just to draw her out of her shell, I mean.”

Amelia glanced over at the girl in the blue dress. Her face was unreadable as she studied the shy wallflower.

“…I do not believe such an action will be necessary at this time,” she replied, shaking her head slightly.

Nick was about to ask what she meant by that, when he saw something that made his blood run cold.

Holly walked over to Ella and started chatting her up. The dark-skinned girl reacted with surprise and alarm, and then just surprise as she calmed down. She stared warily at Holly as the other girl spoke words Nick couldn’t hear, but judging by her expression and the speed of her gestures, she must have been talking rather fast.

He could think of few things that frightened him more, than Holly getting her hooks into the pure, chaste girl.

Luckily, or maybe not, they only had time to converse for a short while. Because Dakota chose right then to reappear, just as the lights dimmed.

Everyone turned to the spotlight aimed upon the stage, focused right on Dakota in the center.

“Good evening, everyone, I hope you’re having a wonderful time getting to know each other tonight?” She declared, scanning the crowd with her piercing golden eyes. “Please, continue to avail yourselves of food and drink. But first- shall we move on to the first event?”

Nick’s heart started to race. He clenched his clammy hands together and loosened his fists again. Here it was, the first “event” Dakota had planned.

For Gina’s sake, he hoped it would go well.