[F4 - Event] Dance of the Crossed Paths

[Row 0]

Row giggled at the silly question. Since Dom was her friend though, she still answered it. "It wouldn't be a lie if I was 20." She took another sip of her drink after Dom tasted the red liquid. It was no surprise that he enjoyed it. Punch was suppose to be a great party drink and worth the money. It was also really cheap. "Yep, punch is the best. Did you know it comes an a bunch of different colors and flavors? Its like the ultimate drink!" Shortly after she finished her cup, Dom answered her question. She smiled, happy she was able to predict the future. Sure it was obvious but it did not change the fact that she did it. "Well, if you every need help, you know who to call! While familiars are not technically treasure, I think it would still be fun to look for them. "

As reward, Row went to poor herself more punch when she heard a female voice speaking to Dom. She quickly spun around and saw this girl asking about her. What was she trying to do? Row tighten her grip around her cup for some reason but did not drop her smile. Was this jealously? Row had no reason to be jealous. She was not Dom's girlfriend so he had the right to speak to other girls. However, he did ask her to come to this dance and they have not even did one dance. At least Dom could give her that one experience before trying to win over another girl. She started drinking more punch to prevent herself from overreacting while hoping he would not ditch her.

Meanwhile, another creature found its way into the area and dived onto the bear. She nearly coughed out the punch when she noticed it was a dragon. In light of past events, her first instinct was to just sidestep away from the possible anime battle and that is exactly what she did.

@Dominion
@Domarus
@Itzal

Edited February 9, 2017 by Row

[Hakai 0]

Hakai stared at Grave. He hadnt replied to her and she wasn't about to waste her time with him if he was going to ignore her like that. She walked away from him quickly. her white dress flowing against her legs as she wandered back to the hall of might. She would just have to join in a group conversation rather than trying to find someone by themselves. She looked around, her eyes scanning the crowd and falling on @Domarus. Something about him attracted her, and it wasn't just his looks. She couldnt tell what it was, and she knew better than to go down that path. She smirked. She wasnt about to get together with another Beatbox again. She couldnt stand people who thought they could be bad but then chickened out. No one would ever fit her in the capacity that she would want in a partner. Time had proven that to her. She tore her gaze away from the man and leaned against the wall, staring out at the people analytically.

[Dominion 0]

Dominion changed focus when he heard Keres approaching, calling out his name. "Hey Keres..." Dominion got no further before she asked who his date was. "Why..." Dominion was going to have Row introduce herself, but she seemed to be out of the conversation, looking away with a noticeable grasp of the cup. "Well..." Dominion was going to explain something but then a dragon familiar... maybe... just sort of flew in from nowhere. Dominion was amazed by the color and... Dominion realized something. There was no snake... no snake around Keres. "Keres, where is your... snake?" Dominion was sort of hesitant to ask this, as it sounded really bizarre out of context. Dominion was focused on too many things. He needed to focus, but he didn't want to leave Row by herself. He could already tell that something wasn't quite right. "I am sorry, but I have something I have to do..." Dominion didn't realize how rude he sounded, as he was already to flustered. Dominion finished his drink which was still half full, placed it on a table, and moved to stand in front of Row. Dominion realized that she was just startled by the dragon, but he probably wouldn't have a better time to ask. In a really quiet voice, Dominion asked, "Row, would you mind dancing with me?", Dominion offered his arm forward. Dominion looked extremely formal about this, as though he had been to a dance before. Looks as though I will have to learn how to dance on the spot... Then Dominion remembered that the boy was in that room. This might have been a bad time to ask after all.

@Row, @Domarus

[Domarus 0]

Keres watched the purple haired girl give her a look.  Was it, jealousy?  Well, she was ordered not to stir up trouble on purpose, but it seems the girl caused it all on her own accord.  It was...  Torture not to make her more uncomfortable.  However orders were orders.  She turned to Dominion who started to speak when a dragon interrupted.  Keres looked at the familiar for a second before returning her attention to Dominion.  He had changed the subject.  S**t.  She giggled a little.  
     "Come on, I couldn't have a flaming snake with me to a dance.  That might make others nervous, or make me look bad.  Especially if he gets comfortable."  Then he managed to get out of the situation by asking...  Row.  The girl's name was Row.  Excellent, she had a name.  Keres nodded with a smile.  
     "Of course Dominion.  Don't ignore your date now!"  She gave him a wink and turned to approach those watching the duel.  Meanwhile Domarus noticed another player approach and turned to look at them.  It was a blonde woman...  She looked different but when he thought about it he was certain it was that woman he had met quite a while ago.  What was her name?  Ah yes.  Hakai.  What was a woman like her doing at a dance?  Was it possible she had schemes of her own?  Or was she just that bored?  Either way he knew that if she were to walk away from everything to get a break, it would be by herself.  The fact that she moved over to where Domarus was told him something quite different.
     "Hakai wasn't it?  Fancy seeing you at such an occasion."  He gave her a polite smile but he already knew she had a hint to his real personality.  Just a hint however.  That is, if she could remember their first encounter.

Spoiler

@Hakai@Row@Dominion@Hakai

 

Edited February 9, 2017 by Domarus

[Mack 0]

At the scent of the smoked salmon and round, wet, and black nose popped out from around one of Row's legs, sniffing the air curiously. That smelled like fish. Fish that someone had done something to. But, it was still fish. Slowly the nose became a snout, the snout turned into a pair of chocolate eyes, and, at last, an entire fuzzy head with rounded ears appeared from behind @Row. How had the betrayer, the not food giver, known he was hiding behind Row? Magical powers? Base treachery? And why was this person now holding a plate with a fair amount of fish and shrimp on it, some of which was being offered. Why would the not food giver, @Shield, offer food.

The answer was obvious, the not food giver had seen the error of his ways.

Well, now, that was more like it.

Rumbling a greeting, Chewie scooted out from behind Row and plopped down in the middle of the small knot of players. What did he care if he was in the way? If he was highly visible, then there would be a greater likelihood of more food offerings being forthcoming. Settling back on his haunches, Chewie greedily turned his face up towards @Shield, opened his mouth to display a great many sharp teeth that, seconds ago, had been buried in Shield's ankle, and then he pointed one clawed toe down his throat.

But, before Shield could complete the action of giving Chewie the food the bear's attention was drawn by the thud of a landing something next to him. Chewie cocked his head to one side and considered the interloper for a moment. It was a winged flying lizard chicken that belonged to @Itzal. A purple one at that. Where did purple winged flying lizard chickens come from? More importantly, did they taste like chicken? Chewie wasn't sure what lizard chickens tasted like, he'd never been able to catch the one that Takao kept around in order to find out. The cub gave the dragon a pensive look for a moment, then he pointed a clawed toe at @Shield, and turned his attention back to man to get all of the food that was on the plate that was being held, most uncharitably, out of reach.

There would be time to try and take a bite of the purple winged flying lizard chicken, to figure out if it was food or not, later. Right now there was fish. Fish was greater than chicken. Everyone knew that.

[Itzal 0]

Velnia watched the teddy bear give her a rather deep and thoughtful look before pointing to the food in Shield's hands.  Velnia made the connection almost immediately.  So this teddy bear liked food as much as she did huh?  Velnia was about to snatch some food from @Shield's plate, in fact it was clear what her intentions were.  However she noticed the guards and looked back to Itzal.  If she caused trouble that wouldn't be good for him.  So instead she flew off to the buffet table, and thought about how she'd do this.  She pulled off a napkin and let it flop to the floor, opening up.  She then found a tray of fish and pulled it towards the edge.  When it was off the table she used her wings to soften it's fall enough to avoid a loud clang but there was still a bit of noise.  She grinned nervously at any who watched.  After that she grabbed the napkin with her hind legs and dragged the food across the room over to the teddy bear and sat on the other end of it.  She took one in her mouth and ate it pretty fast, grinning at the teddy bear, hoping this would make becoming friends easier.  After all, friends needed something in common.  And they found one pretty swiftly.  Her tail twitched excitedly as it usually did among other familiars.  Hopefully this thing would want to play after food.  Of course, this would only serve as an appetizer for Velnia but who really cared?  The servants appeared to be replacing the missing tray already, though they looked confused as to how it had been eaten so swiftly.  It appeared that servant had only recently entered from the kitchens.

@Mack

[Shield 0]

One scrap at a time, Shield paid the necessary tribute to mend fences with the bear cub. After he had gone through a good half of the plate in his hand, he rolled his shoulder to stretch the strained joint, deciding that his own familiar needed to come down off of his back if Shield was going to continue to kneel to pay off his food debts. He unslung the makeshift backpack which held Norbert. The large alligator snapper, whose  ridged, two foot carapace was tightly bound by leather straps and buckles, attempted to make a break into the crowd to get away from the noises and constant motion around him, which was a tall order considering the effort it took to move his substantial bulk on land. Shield, sensing the turtle's urge to escape, stepped on the nearest strap so that at most, the fleeing reptile would be able to make very slow circles around him. He proceeded to do precisely that.

"Chewie, I believe it was?" Shield said, addressing the bear cub as he might address one of his daughters' childhood friends. "This is Norbert. Watch your nose. He's the only familiar I've met who's more bitey than you are."

Almost as if on cue, the prehistoric looking reptile stopped in its slow, ambling arc just shy of @Mack's grizzly, looking up into the face of the fellow predator. Just as grumpy as ever, he opened his mouth wide, revealing the true measure of his sharp, beak-like jaws, easily big enough to fit the entirely of the fuzzy muzzle should it ventured too close for the turtle's liking. As the other, more mysterious creature arrived, it swiveled its head back and forth between it and the bear cub, unsure which was the bigger threat.

Shield, on the other hand was a little more concerned with how many familiars were left to run rampant through the crowd with little to no sign of their owners. He pushed his hair back off of his forehead and groaned to himself as he looked at the freshly plopped pile of fish, and his shelled companion who seemed to be trying to decide which of the strange new creatures it wanted to bite first.

How did I get designated as zoo-keeper?

He sighed and addressed his own ill-tempered critter.

"Well, if you didn't want to say hi you shouldn't have gone over there in the first place," Shield scolded, dangling a piece of shrimp in front of his familiar's black, beady eyes.

The gaping maw swiveled away from Chewie and Velnia to follow the morsel that Shield offered. He dropped the small bit of fishy goodness into the turtle's mouth, which immediately clamped shut around the bit of food, tossing it back further into its gullet.

Edited February 9, 2017 by Shield

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina's temporary Vanity Item

Spoiler

I shivered involuntarily, looking at the dress in the mirror... and looking at a face that was barely even recognizable. I had set my hair to be it's original color: half pink, half white, and I had set my eyes to sky blue and ruby red in color... I was finishing up my appearance in a small mirror, and, with a nervous shudder, I looked up again. my loose hair bouncing in anticipation, and, for some reason, it seemed to match my Kimono perfectly. "I can do this! a party like this should be easy for me to enjoy... but I feel so nervous... and.. excited?" I stood up straight, and I dashed outside, a look of excitement on my face. The one problem I had with going to a party, was the fact that I wasn't allowed to wear anything below formal wear, which sucked. I hated dresses, so I was wearing my compromise with the guards. I walked into the kitchen, and I picked up a goblet of greenish-blue liqueur, and tried it. It tasted similar to a wine I had on my 18th birthday, courtesy of Marianne and Akane of course. I continued to sip on the drink, while walking towards the ballroom, I noticed my familiar perk up at a familiar sight. "Huh?" I looked around for whoever it was I needed to see that the little dragon recognized, I immediately spotted Itzal among a group of his friends... I merely hid behind a table, a faint blush on my face. 'Maybe I need to gather the courage to go over there right away... but those familiars are a little scary..." I looked at Akame, and with both of us nodding at each other, I sent her over to Itzal with a small note.

Spoiler

The note:

Hello Itzal, it's been a while! I was hoping to run into you eventually, though I didn't expect to see you at the party...

 

[Soredell 0]

Just as he was starting to think he had a nice little group forming, looks like @Hydra was going to challenge someone. Usually Soredell wouldn't be interested in the duels. But considering the fact that he'd never seen an orange player fight before, especially in an environment where there are rules and sanctions in place to ensure that there weren't any... incidents, it would certainly be an interesting bout. "Well, if you guys are going to watch the duel, I'll go and watch as well." He says to the group and promptly heading off to the duel, not bothering wait for the others. Upon arriving, he sees that there are some people here watching and two preparing for the fight. He recognizes Hydra, but he doesn't recognize the other one. Obviously he didn't have any kind of identifying clothing on him, so he wouldn't know if he were part of a guild or something like that. Regardless, this was sure to be an interesting fight.

Spoiler

@Kooh @Domarus @Khrysaor @Mack @Damien

 

Edited February 9, 2017 by Soredell

[Beat 0]

"I see..."

Beat was disappointed to hear that Shield's preliminary investigation had yielded some undesirable results, but they were inconclusive so far, so Beat would be content with assuming nothing for now. As @Ariel - The Crowned Lion came into view, he smiled, his nerves about the uncertainty surrounding her reputation only striking his nerves for a moment. He managed to maintain his composure as he blushed only slightly at the mention of peaking up her skirt. Ariel seemed like a very forward sort of person, but he had known to be rather frank himself at times. He looked to @Zandra as the blonde introduced her, offering handshake. 

"Nice to meet you, my name is Beat. Sounds like you two are a lot like Turtle-head and I."

It made sense to pair a dps with a tank/healer. With their lives on the line, soloing as a dps was simply untenable. He decided casual conversation was harmless enough and a reprieve from serious matters was a welcome respite. 

"Enjoying the festivities so far? I'm surprised Kayaba put something like this in. Maybe he's not totally heartless. Haha!"

[Zandra 0]

I took a small step closer to @Ariel - The Crowned Lion and leaned on her shoulder. ‘’But when if or when you peek under her skirt. I cant guarantee your safety.’’ I added with a wink. I gave the two men a nod and answered one of them, his name was @Beat, a handshake. ‘’Nice to meet you you too. Guess I don’t need any introduction since Ariel seems to take care of that.’’ When I said that had Ariel already started to introduce me. As, the ‘Beautiful dark lolita’. My cheeks blushed when she also added my top frontliner healer and my abilities to tank. ‘’Well, my tanking abilities cames mainly from having a high health-pool.’’ I said, thou I know her words was right. I did had jumped in as a tank once. When another tank haven’t showed up.

When I herd Beat mention ‘Turtle-head’, my eyebrows went up.’’Wait, what did you say? Turtle-head? Is that him, your friend?’’( @Shield) I pointed at the other man infront of us. ‘’And yes, Im enjoying it very much. Introduced it with a dance with my handsome partner. Cant be much better.’’ I said with a lip on my lips glanced at Ariel.

[Shield 0]

Back towards the other end of the snack table and away from the gathering of familiars where he currently kneeled, Shield remembered that there were introductions being made around the time that he had been pulled away by the little bear cub. He looked back and forth between the small group of people who he had abandoned and the small group of familiars that he felt apprehensive about leaving unsupervised. With an exasperated sigh, he set down the plate of seafood in front of Norbert who began happily tearing into the contents of the plate, sliding the dish around on the floor and chasing lazily after it with his stumpy legs.

"Play nice," he instructed before heading back over to @Beat and the others.

"Sorry about that," he said to his sole party member. "I had a bit of a debt of honor to pay, so to speak."

He gestured over to where his turtle was now snapping lazily at @Mack and @Itzal's familiars. With great force of will, he convinced himself to simply trust that the odd trio would know better than to actually try to eat one another.

"@Ariel - The Crowned Lion I've met, and I believe I caught the name @Zandra?" Shield said, extending an upturned hand to the newcomer in greeting.

If there was one thing he prided himself on in social gatherings, it was his ability to remain impassive if he so wished, and he made sure to do so now, keeping his tone civil and benignly genial in the face of introductions at the hand of someone he found so difficult to trust.

Edited February 9, 2017 by Shield

[Anemone 0]

The party had got quite lovely with the result of many familiars going about in different directions. Anemone felt the bead of sweat hang off her head as she looked around herself and Seul in the party. This was supposed to be some kind of romantic evening for Valentine's Day but it seemed more like a weird circus act of creatures and majestic music. She rested her thumb against her lips and bit down on it mildly addressing these thoughts as she looked around the room with her 'date' for the evening. Seul had been rather quiet the last few moment, perhaps getting lost in this odd event as much as she was. But then again, she didn't really peg him as a talker but neither was she. Which made things pretty quiet between the two. She wanted this evening to go better, but it seemed her shyness was dragging them both down for the night. Even when she wanted to speak to him, he seemed oblivious to her words. 

She lightly dropped her head, she wore this fantastic dress or at least she felt it was pretty fantastic. Got dressed up all nice and proper like a real princess because for one evening, she just wanted to feel...Special and welcomed. But she was more likely to be ignored with Seul just standing there like a rock, casual to the max about it. The look of disappoint was heavy on her face, but this was what she got from it. If this was a sign of things to come, perhaps...She would find that romantic dream with someone else. Though, gnawing on her bottom lip now, she might be a little late to find a true Prince. All these good looking individuals must already have dates or their own Princess. "Maybe Sir Sey......." she thought to herself looking about the Ballroom for the Protector. 

[Aereth 1]

As the music then stopped to play after a couple of minutes, Aereth guided @Yui back off from the dance floor. "I'm sorry if that felt terrible. Do you and your sister want something to drink?" After she answered him he would make his way over to the drinks where @Domarus was standing. 

Aereth chuckled at the greeting of the red headed player. "Well... Let's say old habits die hard but it looks strange if I start drinking alone... And you're my only friend that also enjoys having a good drink. " He told the man, since they have been out together drinking a couple of times. It seems like he was already used to Aereth's new cursor. "But it's nice to see you again. And Keres is roaming around having some 'fun', I guess?" he said and also ordered a glass of whiskey, as well as the drinks for the ladies.

[Hidden 1]

She smiled as they slowly began to sway, side to side. Everyone around them was doing something like waltzing, but that took quite a bit of practice. She was just happy to be standing here, enjoying the moment with Sey. It was slow and comfortable, suitable. "Thank you for inviting me, Casper" She swayed gently. He was surely getting better. His motions were starting to match her rhythm, seeming a bit more in harmony. A dragon flew over her head, a napkin in its back legs. She was curious, but remained rather quiet. She found his gaze and smiled to him. She had to admit, he looked rather hot in a suit. "Are you enjoying yourself? I would hate for you to not be" She grinned. Their gaze broke and she turned her head, her violet eyes looking all around. There was many other people dancing. A black haired man, and a light haired woman waltzed by. She evn caught sight of a woman in a suit. Strange. She returned her attention to Sey with a smile playing on her lips. 

@Sey

Edited February 9, 2017 by Hidden

[Vargas 0]

Vargas looked at the crowd of people. He could've sworn he'd heard his name called. Yet, he couldn't see anyone look at him or even moving towards him. So he just threw it to the back of his mind. He picked up what looked like a pig in a blanket from his plate and ate it. It tasted really good and tasted exactly the same to him. 

As he ate he thought he saw a flash of brown zip through people's legs. Having not gotten a good look his interested was peaked but not enough to leave his current spot. He knew he probably looked out of place next to the players that were congregating, talking and dancing, but he had too few people here that he knew and they already appeared to be in discussions or dancing. 

He continued to stand around near the wall, even when his small plate was empty. Eventually, though, he decided he'd see about talking to someone. Too many people in groups and it would be rude to jump in on a conversation that didn't involve him. Perhaps he could try cutting in to dance? That might seem weird but more plausible as it was a ball. He walked onto the dance floor and weaved his way through people as he looked around. 

The first thing he saw was a woman who was dressed beautifully with her haired falling in curls. Yet, even with that she didn't appear too happy. Walking up to her he put out his hand palm up, "I'm sorry to see you seem so unhappy. Would you do me the pleasure of being my dance partner this evening?" He smiled at her softly cause he wasn't sure how this would be received. Hopefully well, otherwise he would've just failed and have to try again.

@Anemone

[Khrysaor 0]

Khrysaor had watched as everyone in the group had agreed to watch the duel, and even Soredell left quickly not waiting to see if everyone else followed. He looked towards @Damien and @Kooh, while saying, "I think it is about time for me to take my leave, see ya at the dueling arena." With that, he turned and quickly followed after @Soredell. It took him a bit of time to get there, since there was too big a crowd and he had to keep weaving himself in and out of the throng of other players. Once he got there, he noticed the big group of people waiting in anticipation of what should be one the most interesting duels that had occurred for some time.

After looking around for a few seconds, he saw Soredell and slowly walked up to him. While, they waited for the duel to begin, Khrysaor said, "This should quite an exciting duel wouldn't you say. I can tell you about the player who has agreed to duel Hydra is, while we wait for them to start. The big guy, who is called Mack by the way, is supposed to be one of the strongest front liner players, and one of the better blacksmiths you will find around here. He's also one of the leaders in the Knights of the Blood Oaths guild. I do wonder how @Hydra's strength stacks up to Mack. It should be a fun duel to watch in my opinion." Khrysaor stopped talking after that, waiting in exciting anticipation for the battle to start.

[Soredell 0]

Soredell continues to stay at the dueling area, keeping sure to stay towards the front so he could get a view of the action. It was getting harder and harder to do so due to the rapidly growing crowd around him, gathering around to watch the upcoming duel between these two players. Seems as though duels bring a big crowd and a lot of attention. Soon, he sees @Khrysaor approach him. "Huh, I see you're also interested in watching the duel." he says offhandedly. Although, its his mention of him knowing who both the fighters are is what pulls Soredells attention. "Well, you got my attention now, so what do you know about these two?" he asks, and he explains. "So @Hydra is about to go up against one of the best players in the game, a front-lines player, who is also a high ranking member of the Knights of the Blood Oath guild? This seems a bit one sided don't you think?" he says, mouth open in shock from the info he's been given.

[Kasier 0]

Kasier shivered a bit as the two walked into the main ball room. Here was where the dancing would commence and several people appeared to be already dancing. Kasier didn't like the attention for she was basically portraying her other side to the real world. Although the dress made her very uncomfortable in public, she did not want to worry Itzal or ruin the day for him so she kept her mouth shut as the two walked in side by side. Instead of focusing on the many people that surround them, Kasier decided that the best first impression of the room was the statues. They were grand and very excellent, almost as if they were living things. Perhaps they would turn into mobs later on? Kasier shrugged, directing her attention to the design of the room in general. Grand... Very grand indeed. She thought, keeping her eyes glued to the walls of the room. The patterns on the wall seemed to be in perfect unison with the calming music that was playing throughout the room... And it did help her nerves calm down just a bit. She sighed and took a deep breath before nodding her head towards Itzal, informing him that she was ready for the dance. She had chosen a spot that wasn't necessarily in the corner of the room for she was proud of their relationship... However, she had chosen a place that was away from the limelight because their relationship shouldn't be something that everyone glimpse upon. Besides, she was too embarrassed to step up anyway.

"Alright, I guess you should take the lead?" Kasier asked, placing her left hand around the man's back, remembering some tips that she had received regarding dancing with a partner.

@Itzal

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru looked at the young Yua, who explained that her sister was dancing with a young man, and he looked to see Aereth, but with an orange cursor amongst the green that surrounded it. He was very, very confused for a moment. He had always been a good player, never harm a soul, but yet now he had an orange cursor? Something wasn't right. He looked down at Yua and pulled back his cloak, revealing his full face, a worried look on his face

"What happened? Tell me, I need to know." He said, worried about the young man. He kept thinking about the different possibilities, until he heard the word Baka, and he looked at the young girl in confusion, and registered everything else she had said beforehand. And he raised an eyebrow "You think I came looking for a date? You apparently don't know me well enough." He said, and took another glancing look at the young Aereth. "I came here to watch out for my Guild, make sure no creatures came out from nowhere and attacked the unsuspecting players that are here. I know that I could hit the creature and gain it's attention, and give some time for the players to grab their armor and get ready." He said, knowing full well that she probably didn't care, but needed to reassure himself in what he was doing here.

@Yua