The soft hum of music drifted lazily across the academy's party hall, a warm undertone to the scattered chatter and laughter. Lanterns swayed gently from the rafters, their flickering light throwing mottled patterns across polished wooden floors. Glasses clinked occasionally, punctuating the general murmur with a delicate sparkle.
Jae and Elise were in a quiet corner, slightly removed from the central throng, where they could sit without being crowded by the loose swirl of students.
Elise folded her arms over her chest, lips pressed into a thin line, eyes darting between Jae and the crowd. The energy around them was carefree and unthinking, so different from the careful tension she carried in her chest.
She felt a subtle prickling of jealousy, a strange twist of unease, yet she forced herself to keep still, to observe rather than react.
