Before the Ball (Closed, Melody)

[Euclase]

Euclase and her company had arrived several cycles before the ball, with matters attended and under control on the Moonbase Euclase and Melody had gotten a very rare opportunity, a break, some time off. Personal Guest Quarters had been set up and established for several of the higher ranking gems who attended Homeworld Earlier then the ball and Euclase was one of these few. Of course as a gem they hardly needed many commodities but the room did offer a nice view of Homeworld, along with featuring a few basic things, a dressing drawer with a mirror, a raised up seating area and even a dedicated Sub room for Melody with similar features.

Euclase stood infront of the dressing draw; initially she was not even sure about changing attire as she looked at herself, but considering the event, the occasion she decided to try something a little bit different. Her form glowed slightly as she shifted over to what amounted to her ball attire; really it was almost identical to her normal look. Replacing the pouch on her waste was instead an asymmetrical Sarong draped skirt, a diagonal cut of fabric that rested against one leg but left the other exposed. Her gloves had shifted into more regal looking full ball gloves that extended up her arms futher, with a tiny Pink Diamond on the edge of them. Her Shawl remained untouched as did her long pants and shoes.

She picked up the crow like object on the table and fastened it to her head, adjusting the small metal wires to fit around her hair and everything. Her normal practical and reinforced Diadem had been replaced with something more elegant and regal, instead of covering her gem it instead framed it, leaving the gemstone exposed to glisten in the light with an ornate design dancing around it. Small patches were filled with pink glass catching the light and causing it to almost sparkle, and finally there was a series of small wires, 2 of each side that wrapped around her hair. If one was to look closely they would realise they were tiny pink chains connected together.

She made sure everything look proper, still unsure what she thought about it. She was a Euclase afterall, a Euclase tasked with commanding a Legion of Quartzs and being second in command to a Diamond and her Pearl. She wondered whether this lavishness undermined her authority or made her look silly. Afterall she hardly thought herself that pretty; she felt she had sacrificed that aspect of her long ago, had it been stress, maybe, but more than anything else it was about looking the part. She has seen the eyes on her, the constant scrutinising gazes when she had first been moved to the Moonbase, the hushed whispers questioning her, how was she meant to command anything, she wasn’t a Agate or any other type of commander gem, she had repeated, argued and had the same conversation so many times, from gems who didn’t realise she was in charge, or did not accept her authority. The Quartzes, the ones she had worked with, the ones she fought alongside always backed her up, but still, she could tell there was that doubt. She had been tired of it, tired of the uphill battle to gain respect, so she changed how she looked, she realised that these gems would always be resistant to a kind,young, spunky and enthusiastic medic, no they needed a Kind and Wise leader, someone on their side but with the intensity and power to make sure no one questioned her, and it started with a reform, It was little changes, but it was enough, a bit of aging, some wrinkles and lines, a bit inspired by her fellow Euclases, a bit of her own thing, just enough, Simple, Visual, telling everyone that looks at her. Im in charge, im older, wiser and likely smatter then you, I’ll be nice but don’t question my authority again, but because of that she felt like she gave up a bit of her natural beauty in the process. I mean she was hardly ugly per say she just, Euclase let out a sigh, perhaps she was just being vain , shallow or nervous about the whole thing.

Eventually she decided to keep the ball attire, she felt it struck a decent balance of lending to her power but making her look at bit more lavish. After all how many of these balls would she really ever attended. Besides she made her ball attire simple anyway, she felt that this was more so Melody’s Time to shine, to show off her attire, to compliment the natural beauty that Pearls also seems to effortlessly have, and Euclase didn’t really want to take that away from her.

Regardless she backed away from the mirror turning around and awaiting Pearl herself to be finished.

Euclase's Ballroom Attire

SPOILER: Click to show

[Melody]

Slim gem still looked with delight at her temporary room. Her own room, with her own chair, her own mirror, her own dressing drawer and it was all in the centre of Homeworld! It was such a generous gift from her Diamond, she had never been before in a room prepared just for herself. At one point in the past she would probably not be as excited, being close to the gem she was made for would be everything she wanted. But now it was different and it felt nice.

She still felt like it is a little bit too much. But she thought that maybe Euclase just wanted more privacy. In that case she would be more than happy to have her own chair she can sit on. She approached it with excitement and sit on it slowly as if radical movement would break it "Comfy." She then looked at the mirror and let out a small sight. "Let's get started."

Her headband magically disappeared into nothingness. This made her hair cover her eyes and made the hairstyle a little bit more shaggy like. She then proceeded by checking every single strand of hair to check if it was free from any unwelcomed guests. Dust, micro elements and so on. It is not as she was about to find an organic creature inside her hair, but she had to make sure she will look decent during the ball. After that was done she pushed her hair to the bag of her head and resummoned her headband. She poofed up her hair a little so it would have a proper form and moved on to the next step, her gem. She grabbed a small tissue and started polishing it. A Gemstone is naturally the most important part of her gem, it had to look shiny and fresh. It only took a while before looking good as new.

Melody stoop up and made few steps back to see her whole image on the mirror. She was technically ready. Neat and tidy. She looked like... herself. She had never worn anything else in her life. She knew that she had an option to change her outfit into something else, like a space suit- some Pearls were supposed to wear it during space trips so their dresses wouldn't hook on to any sort of mechanism. But her form was very practical to begin with and she was never ordered to change it. She was sure Euclase didn't ask her to do something with her form. But she wasn't just representing Euclase on the Ball, she was also representing the whole Moonbase, its crew and her diamond. Surely it was only right to look more fancy.

Pearl was analyzing every detail of her body and tried to figure out a right combination of shapes and colors that would work well together. She liked how euclase's form had a nice contrast on her clothes with more white on one side and more blue on the other. It was very dynamic and futuristic. She decided to go in a similar direction.

First of all, Pearl decided to get rid of her beige sweater. She liked it, but it was too casual and she wanted something more bright and cheerful. The Shawl didn't fit either, but she wanted to keep at least a part of it to don't look too different. She imagined that maybe one part would be longer and with a more positive color like bright orange. She also thought of adding some more white. It would fit the whole Moon theme and match Euclase's design as well. And she wanted her diamond insignia to be on a white circle to represent her workplace. Finally there were her pants, they wouldn't stand out with the bright orange around them, she decided to make them shorter and change their color into a dark brown. Perhaps a small piece of cloth around her neck would make the whole thing more dynamic. She left her shoes and socks the way they were, they seemed to fit nicely to her vision.

Pearl placed her one hand on her gem which in return started to glow. Soon her whole body besides her head turned into pure white for a split second before transforming into the outfit she had in mind. Melody took a look at herself and moved around. She liked it, it was refreshing, she still sort of missed the sweater, but it was for the better. Now she only hoped that Euclase would like it as well. Pearl approached the door to Euclase's room and knocked few times. The knocking to the door was delicate and sounded nearly like a small melody. "I am ready."


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