Oh, the universal conundrum. As a proper lady, she was obviously one of the most popular people in a party like this. At least she was convinced of that. However, she also couldn’t just up and go grab someone random, either. No, no. Vio was the kind of person who was asked, who never had to ask herself.

Yet, so far, nobody had. It was annoying her to no end as she leaned against the counter casually. Maybe the blue dress she’d gotten was looking a bit too much like money? It had cost her a pretty good sum, after all. Well, not her, but rather the guy she’d strung along. But still. Others could probably see that it was made of the finest materials, even if the cut was just a tad bit old-fashioned in a way. Certainly not as revealing as what some other women here were having. Loosely cut with a slight slit for the legs, sleeveless, but not backless, and with ornate flowers in a deeper shade of blue embroidered on it. Just something she really liked to wear.

And judging from some of the looks she’d gotten, it was also liked by others. Yet no one had come onto her yet. Some mysterious benefactor had the barkeep bring her a drink, sure, but that was fifteen minutes ago and no one had claimed responsibility yet. Which was pretty lame in and of itself. Truth be told, she wanted to dance, but doing so on her lonesome was for losers, like the person she’d been long ago. Yet Vio was a winner. A slightly bored winner sipping on the remnants of her drink idly while waiting for something to happen, but a winner nonetheless.

Finally. Someone showed some guts around here after all. No one else had claimed that seat for a reason, yet this lady just took it for herself. Assertive, quick on the draw. Violet liked that. A slight smile easily crept upon her face as she craned her neck slightly, half turning towards the newcomer and taking a closer look. Blonde, wavy hair. That meant she took at least some care of it, probably held at least a little pride for it. But it was not overstyled, either, implying a less narcissistic person beneath the locks. The tan looked like it was natural, from time spent outside in the sun, rather than some kind of booth. Probably a girl working a job that included copious amounts of outdoor activities. Probably not that well-off, but certainly not poor either.

Not bad.
Violet gladly took the drink offered to her. The girl definitely didn’t look like one to spike it. “My, thank you.” Honest gratitude, albeit more for what the drink represented, rather than the beverage itself. Briefly smirking, the faux Fairbanks gives a court little nod before taking a sip. “Though I do hope that I am not yet at a point where I need drinks. I will admit to wanting them, however, hah.” Giving a brief laugh, she decided some slightly self-depreciating joke might be appropriate. She would offer her hand for a shake though, in a manner that was both a little awkward, but not hesitant. Like that was a gesture she knew was appropriate, but not one she used often. “I am Violet, though most just call me Vio or Vi. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?”

Definitely someone doing physical labour. The hands told as much. They were a lot like those in her own family. Vio’s, too, had at least some callouses, though they were a lot less pronounced these days. She’d always been the most delicate one in the family – much to father’s dismay – but she had helped out quite a bit in the past, which still showed to an extent. However, it was still quite evident that she was not, currently, too much the physical type herself.

Fortunately though, their senses of humour seemed to align at least to an extent. Her previous line was quickly picked up and extended by the diverette. That probably was not the correct term by far, but she found it nice regardless. “Far from unbearable, if you ask me. Quite pleasant from what I can tell so far. A lot better than most of the people in this establishment, at the very, very least.” Which, admittedly, was a very low bar to clear right there. Most of the others assembled there were little more than white noise at that moment, not really caring for them, so they wouldn’t care either.

“A professional diver? That is quite impressive. I personally like swimming, but I have actually never gone under to any extent. In fact, you could say that most of my efforts have been focused on keeping my head above water.” Another little joke, hopefully not too offensive. However, she did reckon that it took a peculiar kind of person to just up and dive beneath the waves voluntarily. Though the profession did already explain a lot about this woman.

Violet smiled again, though a bit of reddish hue crept onto her face regardless. Skyler was certainly a direct one indeed. “Hmm, a combination of things, I reckon. No sorrows to drown, really. But I am looking for fun. You offering? After all, I am not just looking for ‘some’ company. A woman such as myself does deserve quality entertainment, wouldn’t you agree?”

Heh, she hit a nerve there. In a good way. Professionals were always quite passionate about their work, after all. And usually, the more passionate someone was, the better at their job they were too. Well, most of the time at least. Still, hearing her talk about the suboceanic world like that was quite entertaining in its own right. “Hmm, maybe I should try one day. I guess I just never got around to it, or had it cross my mind proper so far.” Well, that was one roundabout way to getting a trip to the bottom of the ocean, but Vio brought that up very deliberately. This girl obviously had at least some interest in her – otherwise they would not be talking right now – and she quite casually gave her a hook for a potential second date right then and there. And if that ended up getting her a free diving lesson? All the better!

It did sound interesting, after all. She just never had really considered doing it, mostly because she definitely did not want to do it on her own. Speaking of: “Though I guess I should consider myself fortunate that instead of enjoying the world below alone, you decided to enjoy the surface world with company today.” It at least sounded smooth in her mind and she took another sip from her glass. She, too, would probably get a refill if she emptied it, but Vio was a measured drinker. It was always helpful to be the most sober person in a conversation, even if it wasn’t by all that much. Plus, she just preferred it that way anyhow.

The faint blush intensifies a little, but she decidedly does not even try to move back when the other leaned in like that. “I’m sure you will do just fine. As for me? I like dancing, though I probably am not that good at it. At least this kind of dance. At home, we had other styles, really.” She paused briefly, before looking up. “But I can follow your lead just fine, I am certain.”

Briefly, Vio clasps her hands in a bit of excitement that wasn’t exactly feigned either. “You have your own ship? That does sound amazing indeed. I will certainly take you up on that offer.” And that was that. As far as she was concerned, they now had a contract of sorts. One that she wouldn’t just let the other weasel out of easily either, if it came to that. The faux Fairbanks had hit jackpot with this girl in more than one regard, and she was not going to let go of that anytime soon. Especially since they seemed to hit it off rather well.

Speaking of: she was already being compared to a treasure, feeding into her already inflated ego nicely. “I guess it does take someone with an eye for treasure to recognize some of them, when others do not,” she noted, referring to her own situation. It was not exactly subtle, but they had moved past that by now. Hence, she rather just complimented the both of them in one fell swoop.
Violet measuredly finishes her own drink, feeling fairly certain that she would leave it behind soon enough anyway.

Then she softly separates from the counter she’d leaned against, only to swiftly spin and turn towards the other – fluidly transitioning into a proper courtesy of all things. Then, she took the hand offered to her. “You may. In fact, there is no one else I would like to share this dance with more in this very moment.” Again, a low bar to clear. But she liked to lay it on thick, regardless. As was often the case, she did only take the hand. Vio would allow the other to lead from there on out. “Let’s see if you can navigate the dance floor as well as you these reefs, captain~.”

“I am not great at it, but I can swim well enough, I think.” Her father hadn’t thought so. But then again, to that man, swimming didn’t just mean being able to traverse bodies of waters without drowning, but being able to carry at least one full grown man or pokemon to safety with you. And that was something she’d always been bad at, much unlike the prodigal son of his. However, such annoying memories were very easy brushed aside when someone – and almost complete stranger – continued to liken her to a treasure. Sure, that was probably one third the drinks talking and one third the non-committal nature of a place like this. But Vio liked to think that it was also at least one third completely honest, that the other factors only emboldened the woman to try and do these things.

Things like pulling her to the dancefloor as brazenly like this. The slight blush on her face intensified of course, but it did not debilitate Vi at all. She clasped her hand tightly around the other’s mirroring the movement for the time being. There were a lot of people around them, barely giving them enough space to move once they did find a partition for themselves. But at least no one was bumping into them or anything like that. While none were specifically making room for the two, no one was bothering them, either.

“This is a lot like diving then, in that sense. I know how to dance in general, but not to this beat. So I guess you will have to teach me a little today as well. Though I do wonder if you aren’t wrong about one particular thing….” Naturally, she left a pause there. It was difficult to converse like this, so she had to lean in a bit to begin with in order to talk at all, almost whispering into the other’s ears. Only, of course, she had to use more than a whisper to begin with. After that brief pause, however, she would not make the other wait too long there. “Maybe you were the treasure of the sea the whole time~.”

It was a tad bit of a lie, really. Violet already knew how to let herself go a bit in a place like this. Though when she had been in such establishments before, she had always just winged it, imitating those around her without much understanding, blindly following the lead of others. No one had yet bothered to give her a lesson that she’d danced with. Probably because most of those people had had preferred her to be ‘stupid’ or something along those lines.
Hence, this was certainly different. For once, words said to her were not just white noise but rather something she wanted to internalize altogether. With this woman, she was secure enough to allow herself to give in to the music, at least a bit, her free hand now creeping onto the other’s back idly.

Using that for leverage, she briefly but gently pulls the other swaying body in a little closer, while adjusting to it until they are properly in sync. That way, she didn’t have to whisper quite as intrusively, but did so anyway. “Hmm…did you ever consider the possibility that maybe these two things are not mutually exclusive, Sky?” She had already decided on that nickname for the other. It was the most obvious one, maybe. But it was also quite fitting. Despite all her insistence on being a hunter, the girl oozed freedom, rather than implied captivity.
“You can be a hunter and still be treasured by your prey. If you ask me, anyone caught in your net can probably consider themselves lucky.” Maybe she did, too. The grin she displayed afterwards seemed to imply as much, after all. But she didn’t even remotely say it to make this all more fun. After all, a young woman with secrets was always more enticing than one without.