[ to say that cress looked and felt a little out of place was a wild understatement. she already looked ridiculous enough — tiny and petite, with wild blonde hair that had been haphazardly cut, in a dirt and sand streaked dress that fits just a little too small.

and barefoot.

standing there, in the middle of a lavish banquet. though "middle" is an exaggeration, as the moment she'd been let in, cress had gravitated towards one of the walls, the ones with the most shadows. she's having a mild freak out, which one might be able to easily deduce if one were close enough to overhear her rambling to herself: ]

I... I am a Duchess. —no, a Princess. A Princess on the night of her debut. I love parties. [ she presses her back against the wall a little harder, harder than necessary, and has to stifle the urge to hyperventilate as she glances around at all the people. ] I love dancing. [ breathe in, breathe out. she willed her imagination to take her away again, someplace safe. someplace comforting. the more she gave into it, the more she began to sound confident in her words. ] Tonight, I am going to have the time of my life.

[ at the station, one might find cress taking refuge in the web cafe. she'd commandeered the computer at the farthest corner, away from everyone, back and monitor the wall. if she'd intended to look conspicuous, she was succeeding with flying colors, the way she kept glancing over the monitor every now and then, and even over her shoulder, as if she fully expected to be caught and taken away any time soon. ]

Oh come on—

[ she lets out a low, half-frustrated, half-desperate whine before hastily clicking away at her mouse. one small hand comes up to smack the side of the monitor a little, though a part of her hates herself for resorting to such base tactics...

it's ridiculous though.

how in the world is she supposed to hack into any servers with technology this old? there's actual monitors and everything...! ]