Dresden Academy

Anastas had Bernadine all to himself for a good stretch of the party. They were occasionally interrupted by Cinna bringing over a shot and insisting that they do it together. It didn't take too many of those before Bernadine was struggling to stay upright.

"Need a sobering charm?" he breathed very close to her ear.

"No," Bernadine replied a bit hazily. "Kinda like being all loose and floaty." She slumped her head against him. "You don't have to be stuck with me all night."

He smiled genuinely, a sight which was much more common lately. He'd managed to make a few friends at Dresden besides Bernadine. He liked that Thorn kid, though he had a feeling some of his more destructive tendencies would come out if he didn't limit their playtime; hanging out with him at a party was asking for trouble. "If I want to?"

She giggled, god help her she giggled and steadied herself by slinging her arms over his shoulder. All perfectly acceptable behavior when everyone in the room thought they were dating, though her sister kept throwing covert glances of honestly, B? at her. There wasn't really any place she couldn't escape that scrutiny, unless they went out back. She ran her hands down his arm and tugged at his hand. "Let's go outside for a bit."