Xerin's POV

Somehow, I was completely unsurprised to find Briar and Nico completely healed by the time we dragged them to their rooms. I had the sneaking suspicion that the Headmasters had ulterior motives, but I brushed them aside... at least, until I saw the gilt-edged invitation hovering in the air. I use the term ‘invitation’ loosely, as it was really detailing exactly what would happen to anyone who dared not attend (evisceration, flaying, and public humiliation, to name a few). The incongruous addition of ‘semiformal dress required’ at the end nearly made me laugh, since I was fairly sure it was only added to be annoying. I was also pretty certain I was the only one who wouldn’t find semiformal dress an annoyance. Slightly cheered, I skipped off to find something to wear. My closet, however, appeared to have magically morphed to hold only disturbingly revealing ‘clothing’ (again, I use the term loosely). Mentally cursing Azami and Milaek and whatever demonic creature that caused me to apply to this ‘school’, I carefully selected the least offensive garment, which was very short, very tight, and bright red. Ugh.
To add to the indignity, the entire shoe selection promptly disappeared, leaving only a single pair of what I was completely positive qualified as stripper shoes. In bright red, of course, because the idea of shoes that didn’t match was apparently terrifying. Really, if everyone else was experiencing anything like this horror, Azami and Milaek were going to die. And they would be very, very dead when we were through with them. Occupied with these happy thoughts, and what I am pretty sure was a Lisse-like expression on my face, I wandered vaguely over to the vanity, only to recoil in disgust at the array of neon colors and heavy glitter. Hmm... maybe something was telling me to skip the makeup. I walked gracefully (thank god pointe prepared me for walking in these humiliating things, because I really did not need a painful fall on top of everything else) out the door, only to walk into Lisse. A very angry Lisse, if her face was anything to judge by, followed by a smirking Nico. She brushed past me and slammed the door. I heard the click of the lock behind me. Nico started laughing, and I raised an eyebrow quizzically, curious because I hadn’t really seen Lisse angry before. A murderous, psychotic maniac expression was more typical of the insane creature (since I doubt she qualified as human. No human should be allowed to be that messed up).
“Care to explain?” He grinned mischievously.
“She really doesn’t like the nickname Lissie,” Nico explained. I found it hard to believe that anyone could get a rise out of her with just a nickname, but perhaps he was exceptionally irritating. I shrugged. Most likely, the reason Lisse hadn’t killed him was because she believed the Headmasters might force her to do something strange. Imagining what they could possibly have had in store for the others, I wandered around the corridors aimlessly, wishing I could magically vanish all the while, until I realized that the ‘invitation’ had not mentioned where we would meet. It had, however, commented in great detail on the punishment for being late. One had to admire their cleverness- being forced to consume large amounts of alcohol at the beginning of what promised to be a very long party was a very successful deterrent. The halls were all but deserted, however.
I had the vague idea that the second and third years had been sent on some sort of project, and the fourth years were out on field assignments. I was surprised, understandably, to find a fourth year leaning against an imposing door. Even more surprising was that it was this particular fourth year. Her name was Stella, I think, and she had a bit of a... ah, reputation. Which most probably meant that this was where the ‘party’ was. Confirming my suspicions, she smiled sweetly (yeah right) and waved me through the door.
I was surprised to find Amber already sulking in a corner, dressed in a brilliantly embroidered yellow, slightly modified hanbok. I had to prevent myself from squealing, simply because the girly clothing combined with her pout made her look a bit like a small and unusual animal. Tyron was also there, looking extremely uncomfortable in a suit. With a bright pink tie. For his sake, I prevented myself from laughing (but it was extremely difficult). When I could speak without having to suppress the snickers, I asked if they had seen anyone else. They had eyed me in turn (and I’m fairly certain they also struggled with the urge to laugh, or at least stare in trepidation), and shook their heads at the question. I glanced around the room, somehow still surprised by the interior. It looked like an extremely sketchy bar. Oh goody (note the heavy sarcasm). I gingerly sat on a stool (good grief, it was authentic- right down to the plentiful dirt) and examined the unassuming bottles lined up on the counter. Of course, they were all filled with alcoholic drinks. Lisse entered the room shortly afterwards, dressed in black as usual. But this... she was wearing a short, frilly, lacy dress with, of all things, scruffy sneakers. I suppose it wasn’t her choice, but really, it was a waste of an extremely cute dress! Nico followed shortly, wearing a black wife beater with matching black pants, and a bright indigo tie, which he pulled at awkwardly, obviously not used to having something around his neck. Lisse, after the requisite cold scowl, retreated to the opposite side of the room. Zenery and Larimar raced in afterwards, followed by Caleb, Briar and Gareth. Zenery was in a surprisingly short purple dress and a pair of black heels that rivaled my own in their need to be in a strip club . Larimar however seemed to have gotten off relatively easy with a light blue native-American looking dress . It was floor length, so I couldn’t see what shoes she had been forced to wear. Set came after the rest of them in a pure black dress shirt, pants, and tie with a floor length trench coat to top it off. Illia burst in last wearing a modest length green shiny dress and gold crossed heels. And then, of course, the Headmasters materialized.