It took a few more seconds, but Jun finally brushed off her foggy memories of these three newcomers. Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. These were her friends she was waiting for earlier. It was all so obvious that Jun felt embarrassed she had ever forgotten. She felt her cheeks heat up.
"That's really good doll makeup," Nadia said. "Did you get that done here?"
Jun blinked. It took almost a full second with her heavy eyelashes. Her eyes opened wide again, nervously. "Gomen?"
Nadia smiled a little more. "Your makeup... white face with rosy cheeks. It even makes your eyes look big."
"Err... it...," Jun smiled and tried to come up with an answer as her face heated up more. She didn't have rosy cheeks. The last time she looked in the mirror, it was just pale like a goth. "I... I just look like this," she squeaked.
Tru nodded, his face aglow in fascination. "Oh yeah, I hear your accent now. It's just hard to hear because your voice is so soft--ack!" He jolted when Nadia hit him firmly in the side with her spotted elbow.
Nadia forced a kind smile "Sorry... uh, about that."
"Yeah, I'm sorry," Tru said. "Hey, look, if we're interrupting you from something..."
"It's okay," Kelan said. Jun felt a little relieved as everyone turned their attention to him. "Jun and I were looking for some costume parts. Actually, I still have to find a costume to start with. Jun has been picking out some great accessories."
"Oh, maybe we could help each other," Cliff said. "We've been wandering around for a while and haven't found anything we want to try yet."
Jun turned away from the group to collect herself. She wanted to stick with her friends, but she had also just tried to get away from Kelan. How could she stay with the group without making him suspicious?
Just then, she noticed a mirror nearby. She glided over to it and checked out her reflection, wondering what Nadia had seen. It was immediately obvious. The Japanese face in the mirror had changed since the last time she had seen herself. Her cheeks had hazy circles of bright rosy red. Her skin had otherwise lost what little color it had before, and was almost pure white. Her eyes were still quite narrow, but now, not only were they lined with massive black sheets of lashes, they also looked unnaturally large overall.
There were also marks on the left side of her neck. Turning her chin, she saw that just below her cameo choker was a small dark blue tattoo of a butterfly. She remembered the feeling she got when Kelan mentioned tattoos. She wondered how many others she had.
"Um, hey, Jun?" came Nadia's voice over her shoulder.
Her shoulders tensed up involuntarily and she turned around. Nadia blinked and then smiled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she apologized. "Or are you practicing how to move like a doll?"
Jun figured the most polite way to respond was to go with it. She giggled. It sounded a little louder and higher-pitched than she expected, but she tried to keep a pleasant expression on her face. "Sorry. I am not used to this."
"You'll get the hang of it. I'm sure," Nadia chuckled back. "I was wondering... the guys are going to look for costumes together. Would you like to come with me to pick out some accessories, and maybe some makeup? You have amazing taste and I would really appreciate it. I could even help you pick some more things out for yourself. What do you think?"