Event Private Finished A Dance to Bond All Souls

Right Paw gave a small smile towards Lily as she nodded back in greeting. The exact same small smile that Left Paw had been exhibiting, in fact. Where Left Paw had set down his plate between him and Lily, Right Paw had set her plate between the two Paws.

Left Paw thanked Lily for the drink and took a sip while she picked what she wanted to eat. The olives had apparently been an excellent choice so they made a mental note to remember that. While Lily turned to Right Paw to address her Left Paw picked up a small baked pastry that was topped with something creamy looking but with light colored bits of meat in it. Toasted on top to a nice golden color of course. One small bite revealed it to be some type of delicious crab dip mixture with cheese.

Right Paw turned her focus to Lily as she was addressed and nodded again. "Yes, we have been enjoying the dancing very much. While Left Paw has been dancing with you we have also been dancing with the friends we brought with us to the Ball." Aside from her more feminine tone of voice she spoke in the same way as Left Paw.

They noticed the faint traces of coloring around the edged of Lily's mask again as she blushed and once more they had the distinct thought that she was very cute when she did that. But they also had noticed how Lily was looking between them in a fairly familiar way. If they had to guess, she was probably struggling with how to have a conversation with them when they had two bodies. A fairly common situation they ran into.

"If you were wondering, you may interact with either of our bodies, with both of them, or even alternate as you desire. We are one person, so we would treat it the same in all of those cases," reassured Right Paw as they pushed an escaped olive around their plate a little bit before finally skewering it. Meanwhile Left Paw looked around the room for a moment and nodded at the Stripes who seemed to be coming over to join them.



Two Stripes had bid Miss Elaine a good night and then took Three Stripes over to grab drinks before joining the others at the table. The young woman's bright green eyes stood out through the mask, as did her bright red hair done up a little. "We'd like to join you at the table if you don't mind," she said with a very warm smile. Three Stripes was quietly watching and seemed very serious for a child

As Lily spoke Right Paw ate the one olive, just a small enough amount of food that she wouldn't be talking with her mouth full when she responded. Now Left Paw didn't need to try the olives to know they tasted good and could potentially leave the others on the plate for Lily if she wanted them.

Right Paw smiled back as they talked about the little trio of girls dancing. "We have definitely been having a good time. We all enjoy dancing enough that we have been regularly going out dancing on some evenings. Though Three Stripes accompanies us a bit less often as she is a child," she admitted with the last part. It was an unfortunate thing, but various nightclubs were not designed for children so going dancing with them tonight was an extra special treat for Three Stripes.

Rather than have Right Paw keep answering the questions, or perhaps to further solidify the concept that they were a single person, Left Paw answered even though Lily had been speaking to Right Paw.

"Yes, we experience what both of our bodies are perceiving and doing at the same time. This is why we hinted at Left and Right Paws being of the same beast earlier," They very patiently began explaining the concept as best they could but they were fully aware that it was difficult to grasp. After a moment though Left Paw paused and clasped their hands together briefly as they thought of an idea. "Actually, going with the left and right paws concept would you mind holding both your hands out towards us and allowing us to touch you? We might be able to do a very mundane, basic demonstration that might help show what we mean."


After Lily said she was ok with the others joining them at the table Right Paw gestured to the open seats as well. "Of course, you are welcome to sit with us. Lily, these are Two Stripes and Three Stripes. Stripes, this is Lily." Two Stripes looked to be around the same age as Lily and the Paws. "Hello Lily, I love what you're wearing by the way," she said as she helped Three Stripes with her chair. Three Stripes said a very simple but polite hello.


Notably, whenever one of the Paws was not the one speaking or interacting they were taking the opportunity to eat or drink. They were effectively alternating in a s polite a manner as they could.

"Yes, exactly like that is fine," Left Paw said as he softly clasped her left hand in his. "This is your left hand- your left paw, if you will. You can feel the contact with our hands through it."

Then Right Paw did the same thing, clasping Lily's right hand in both of hers. "And this is your right hand, or right paw if we continue the reference. You can now feel the contact with our hands here but you are still feeling the contact being made with your other hand at the same time," she explained as each Paw took turns giving Lily a little squeeze. They couldn't really show how it felt to have two entire bodies but the hands metaphor was fairly decent- it was after all why they had picked their names for the Ball.


Two Stripes Started to reply but Three Stripes cut her off. "We really like dancing and I like having someone who can dance as good as me. You did pretty well too- I was watching some." The little girl relayed her thoughts but there was a certain hint of happiness under her stern expression when she spoke about dancing. Like a strict ballet instructor that keeps a straight face but secretly is overjoyed at dancing in all it's forms. Two Stripes chuckled at the girl and looked back at Lily. "A little out of the ordinary just makes it more fun. An open mind is a great thing to have," said the woman as she glanced over with a smile at both Paws effectively holding hands with Lily while they honestly tried to explain about themself. The whole thing was pretty cute from her perspective.

"I know your hands are busy but do you mind if I take a couple small pieces of food for Three and myself to try? They look delicious," Two Stripes asked Right Paw. They were mostly focused on Lily at the moment but they looked back over and nodded. "Sure, you two can have any of the food we selected if you like. Enjoy," Right Paw replied.

As the rest of the conversation was going, the Paws both began gently moving Lily's hands so they were further apart. "Also like your hands, we are connected and can only be so far apart without... significant injury," finished Left Paw. They avoided going into the less pleasant details of what would happen of course, because that would have been a little extreme for the current setting and it might have bothered Lily. Instead they held Lily's hands for a little longer than was probably necessary for the demonstration and then they let her have her hands back.

Three Stripes nodded at Lily. "A good partner does a lot. Not everyone can keep up with me and they do a pretty good job with that." Though her face didn't show it at the time, being out dancing at the Ball with the Paws had meant a lot to her. They didn't treat her like a baby like some people would and they made a pretty decent effort to include her in their fun activities even if she couldn't always go because of being a child.

Left Paw smiled back at Lily as she complimented them for being a great dance partner. "We are glad to dance with you any time Lily. You make an excellent dance partner, whether you believe you are skilled at it or not," they replied in kind as she was letting go of his hand.

As they had held Lily's hands they had realized something. It felt really nice to hold her hands. It was silly and maybe even a little reckless, considering they had only just met her that night, but they were finding Lily to be very comfortable to be around. It wasn't something that could have been quantified, nor even properly described other than to just say being around her felt good.

Right Paw glanced over at the small cake and then reached over to grab it so they could give it to Two Stripes. Except they had a better idea. She broke it roughly in half and offered them to both the Stripes to try.

Two Stripes smiled and accepted the cake, taking a small bite and nodding. "Oh, yes i see what you mean about these.... I miiiight just have to go grab a few more of them at some point," she chuckled as she gave Lily a thumbs up. Right next to her, despite the normally serious face, Three Stripes's eyes lit up after trying the cake. Sweets were a pretty good way to make a child's night better and the food there at the Ball was excellent. She very politely and with ladylike grace.... practically inhaled her half of the little pastry.

Right Paw very quietly passed an extra napkin over to Three Stripes. "I think that's definitely a confirmation that the pastries are delicious," stated Right Paw as she smiled and passed an extra napkin over to Three Stripes before returning their attention to Lily.

Left Paw watched with curiosity as Lily excused herself and then stepped away to talk to some of the people keeping the refreshments table stocked. Sure enough, the caterers seemed to be fine with the request and she returned with the three boxes.

Three Stripes had a certain sparkle in her blue eyes, but she managed to keep herself composed. "Thank you, Miss Lily. For the pastries and the compliment," she said in a very sincere, child acting as properly as she could kind of way. It looked like she was trying to decide whether to open the box and eat more of them right then or save them for later.

Fortunately Two Stripes spoke up to make the decision easier. "Thank you Lily, these will be great snacks later," she said as she set her own box aside. Turning to Three Stripes and Right Paw she also asked, "Would you like me to put these in storage for now so you don't have to worry about them getting lost or dropped?" As she said that she picked up her own box and shifted it to the side- into what looked like a tear in the air in front of her. The box was nowhere to be seen as she stored it in her pocket dimension. After tonight she was planning to give a similar ability to the Paws.

Three Stripes started to nod and then was stopped by a yawn that she quickly covered. "No, that's ok. I'm kind of tired anyways so i'm gonna go home now. Goodnight everyone." She stood up and gave a little curtsy before picking her box of treats up.

Right Paw handed over their box to Two Stripes, who slipped it into the pocket as well. She then nodded at Three Stripes' curtsy. "Okay, you have a good night Three Stripes. We will see you again tomorrow or Friday," she said to the girl before turning to Two Stripes. "Two, would you mind seeing that she gets where she needs to go? We should be ok here with Lily while you're gone." As she said that last part Left Paw smiled at Lily.

Three Stripes probably didn't need the escort to be safe but the Paws didn't want her to be sent off alone. Two Stripes nodded. "Sure, Right Paw. I can make sure she gets there safely. If you'll excuse us Lily, i'll be back in a few minutes but don't let us leaving stop you all from enjoying the night."