OO1. Aionie

 Right. Left. Right. Left.

 Her thoughts were empty, her gaze straight forward, her arms swinging gracefully and yet uselessly at either side as her feet moved on their own and acted out what had long ago become a natural instinct.

 Loud music, blinding lights, and the flash of cameras surrounded her as, with each ongoing step, her vision blurred and her balance staggered. Her steps grew heavier, a thin layer of sweat began forming at the edges of her hairline, and her already strained breath became even more ragged.

 She felt faint—no—beyond faint, almost to the point of complete and total exhaustion, but she held on for as long as possible and kept up her skilled facade. She had to keep on walking, keep on posing, keep on taking these pained breaths and making these painful movements.

 ‘Hold on,’ she thought to herself as she stepped backstage.

 She wanted to collapse the second those spotlights were off of her, but that would’ve been unprofessional. She willed her body to continue working and was rushed into another flurry of makeup, hair products, and fabrics.

 ‘Just hold on, at least until the end of the show.’

 Of course, not one person in the audience watching her could have guessed what was going on in her mind. Her image now was just the same as it had always been to them. Even now, under all of the internal and external pressures she was facing, she dominated the runway just as she had for the last 6 years of her life.

 That is to say, she presented herself with a sense of grace, poise, and elegance that long surpassed her years. Her signature strut lit up the catwalk, a combination flirty smile and wink or sophisticated stare and nod garnered the attention of her spectators, every angle of her head and flip of her hair seemed as though it had been rehearsed a hundred times before, and with every shift of her pose she managed to take their breaths away.

 Finally it was the moment she had been looking forward to – her last walk.

 As she reviewed the procedure over and over again in her head, a soft smile befell her face.

 ‘All I have to do is walk down the ramp, pose, and clap. Then it’s over.’

 Or, at least that was the original plan.

 She stood up for the final time as the makeup artist and hair stylist finished their work and bowed toward them in polite appreciation, just as she had always done before. From there she smiled at her peers, allies and adversaries alike, before walking onto the stage for the last time to showcase the star attraction of the evening.

 It was both the best and worst piece of the evening: best in design and worst in nuisance.

 It was stunning in every positive aspect of the word and even simulated the illusion of graceful floatation for the wearer. However, it was also hot, stuffy, itchy, and fragile. Most problematic – it barely allowed any lung movement, making it the most difficult piece to wear. Trading comfort for beauty, it was truly a master piece fit for the eye of the beholder.

 Her rivals had recommended that she be the one to wear it, not out of acknowledgement for her superior skills, she soon realized. They had given her the challenge they were unable to bear and had hoped for some sort of entertainment in exchange. Whether it be her physical harm or a catwalk catastrophe, either would suffice for them. Seeing the ‘Angelic Aionie’ fail was reward enough in itself and that thought sent chills of anxiety throughout her entire being.

 On the outside she was calm and serene while on the inside she panicked. There was barely enough room for her to breathe and with her already deteriorating  energy and eyesight she felt as though she might collapse at any given moment. To keep herself awake and alert, she kept the view of the runway in her sight and counted down the number of footstep pairs until she reached the end and made her grand finale.

 20 . . . . . 18 . . . . . 16 . . . . . 14 . . . . .

 Suddenly the edges of the runway became blurry. She paused and slowly waved an arm toward the crowd before holding her breath, performing a graceful spin, and continuing her walk. It seemed as though the small display was to show off the quality of the majestic overhanging sleeves, but in actuality it was her way of buying time as she closed her eyes tightly and forced her vision to clear.

 She was a natural and everything she did was calculated and planned out.

 No movement was made without reason.

 10 . . . . . 8 . . . . . 6 . . . . . 4 . . . . .

 Just as she neared the end of the catwalk, all of her surroundings began slowing down and zoning out.

 Her hearing was the first to go.

 After the sounds of cameras flashing, the audience’s applause and cheers, and the background music began melting together into a single mass hysteria before dying down into a muted silence, she stopped and struck an elegant pose before bowing ever-so-slightly and clapping her hands demurely. All of the models that followed closely behind her in pairs also imitated her demure clapping style, a sign that the show was over.

 However, just as the model pairs separated onto opposite sides of the runway and the showcase designer stepped onto the runway and began making his way towards his creations, something unexpected happened.

 Next both her vision and her balance began failing her quickly and effortlessly.

 She swayed from side-to-side uncontrollably, completely unable to correct herself in the inflexible piece, before spreading her arms and angling her fingers in such a way to achieve a look of gracefulness. Although the lack of balance was completely accidental, she had managed to make it look as though it had been 100% intended as she appeared to flutter about like a dove about to take flight. Just as her legs gave way beneath her, she twisted herself slightly and fell.

 Her consciousness was the last to begin slipping out of her grasp.

 She expected the floor to be the one to greet her, but instead found herself being carried by the designer himself as her eyes forced themselves shut.

 “I am Jay’ed and, although Jamosa could not be here, I would still like to invite you all on both of our behalves to Fly Away.”

 Those were the last words she heard through the loud gasps, applause, and cheers, before she felt herself being spun around and carried off stage a few minutes later.

 By then her energy was gone and her mind was totally and utterly billboard blank.

. . . . . . .

 Hello Everyone!

Sorry it took so long to bring you this. Though I'd like to blame it all on school, my own laziness and lack of time were pretty big factors. I'm sorry you all had to wait for such a short update, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. In all honesty, it seems more like an introduction than an actual chapter to me (this ends up happening for most of my fics, actually), so I hope I can hurry and finish Chapter 2 for you all to get a better look at things from my lead's prespective. Either way, please be sure to leave a comment telling me what you think, like, dislike, etc., and let me know what you're expecting to see in the future.

Thanks, and stay safe!

[-] DoMeSi

p.s. Consider this an exceptionally late Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Years present. (^_^)