ꜱ1ᴇ5　　lounge

@✧　An Jianhong ↳ ᴏᴄᴛᴏʙᴇʀ 31, 2051
↳ ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: un village - baekhyun

Gisela had remained in the ballroom for as long as he could manage, but when it had become too much for him, the vampire had slipped away from the crowd. He took a moment to compose himself in a corner of the ballroom, fixed the collar of his turtleneck and settled his white jacket low around his shoulders, then made his way out of the ballroom and into the lounge—it was supposed to be quieter, and he was pleased to see that there were far less people inside.

Most of those he saw were strangers, but there was one familiar face, who was looking around himself with such a forlorn expression that Gisela had to take pity on him. He made his way through the mostly-vacant room, approaching Jianhong with quiet footsteps.

"Jianhong? Did you lose Haolan?" Gisela asked softly, subtle traces of amusement in his tone. Gisela would be merciful by not poking fun at Jianhong. He'd already heard—from Caelius, of course, who had his sources—about Jianhong being described as /eye candy/ by a reporter outside. And if Caelius knew about it, Aurelio was going to know about it, and when Aurelio found out about it, no one was going to be able to protect Jianhong from the teasing that would ensue.

@☬　Gisela Yavetz A few moments to relax. That would do him good. As much as he could slip into the jolly energy of a party, the nymph knew none of these people. It was worth it though. He’d gotten to hold Haolan on the red carpet - though his mind was still reeling from being described as eye-candy by a stray reporter - and it had brought him out of the woods for a change. Parties when he’d been a young hooligan had been very different - they didn’t dress up as different monsters, for one. It was fine. He’d bought some makeup, patched up some of his older, more formal clothing, and it had been enough for him to argue that he was in costume. He’d looked around, failing to find his adoptive little brother, who he found it was a miracle he was still alive and not stabbed by merfolk - and failing to spot many other familiar faces. With nobody to hide with, Jianhong slipped into a quieter room, with less people bustling around. His excuse was that it had been a few thousand years since he’d actively engaged in such a large social gathering. Even in the last party the mayor had held, he’d stuck close to Lio, or Haolan to make sure he wouldn’t be abandoned by either.

He clasped his hands together, glancing around like a lost puppy. No - a lone wolf. He had to be independent! What was a few strangers in a room? He could cope just fine with this. Jianhong gave another cautious look around. He really wished someone he knew would appear.