Shauna's chest fluttered, whether from the meat that she had eaten earlier or the feeling of all these people around her. Parties like this always made her nervous, no matter how outgoing she could be. There were just so many people, and the worst part was that she couldn't recognize anyone.
The masks were shaped like various Pokemon, some covering only eyes while others hid the entire face. The clothes the people wore was everything from a costume to formal wear - Shauna herself being somewhere in the middle, dressed in a knee length red dress and Fennekin mask.
The mask itself had been a last minute buy, something far less fancy than what some of the other party goers had, and the eye holes were a bit too small for her. She stood to the side of a wall, her plastic cup of punch in one hand, and her eyes on the dancers before her. The dancers seemed mystical, like something out of a dream. And just like in her dreams, Shauna could only watch and wonder what it would be like to be in their places.
The longer she stood and watched, the more people that she could make out. There was Professor Sycamore in his all of his pompous glory, wearing a Xernias costume that seemed to fit him perfectly. Dancing at his side was...
Shauna struggled to think for a moment.
Lysandre! It had been a wonderful disguise, that truly made him seem like a Yveltal. That was rather good, as the rest of the world was supposed to know that he was dead.
Shauna sighed. They looked at each other with such love in their eyes, at least from what Shauna could see through their small eye holes, and they danced so gracefully. It was a silly notion, but she wished that someone would do the same for her.
There was a sudden tap on her shoulder that made her jump.
"Hmmm?" Shauna turned.
The figure before her, a tall, dark skinned person (judging by the color of their arms, as their face was completely blocked by a Froakie mask) waved to them.
"Serena!"
Serena merely held her finger up to where her lips should be. It was a masquerade ball after all. Then, she held her arm out. Shauna took it without hesitation, leaving her nearly empty cup of punch on a nearby table, and letting the other girl lead her onto the swaying dance floor.