Academy of the Arts: Corridor: Keeva’s Group

“What are you…?” Before Rose could finish her sentence, the dark, messy haired man in the girlish robes pushed the handsome, delicate featured white haired man in front of her, absconding to chase after his companion and Rose’s own steed, Sebastian. She could only watch and stare at the parting chaos and anarchy, and the resulting titanic crash of fallen musical instruments and bewildered shrieks and shouts with her mouth hung low, no words escaping her. It was only a few seconds later that Rose caught herself, and how unbecoming it was to stand and gawk like that, before she closed her mouth and pursed her lips together, the edges of her mouth curling into an expression of immense displeasure. Who on Ddaear were these people, and who did they think they were to be going around destroying her school?

She glanced at Marcus, and then to Aria and Trixie. Each of them returned an expression just as wincing and silently apologetic as the last, but each were too afraid to actually speak up, such was the fearsomeness of Rose’s delicate features. After seeing the venom with which she treated her own brother, they could all fully understand how apt her name was. Beautiful, but as sharp and dangerous as any real rose.

Her fingers released Angel’s ear, dropping the lazy sculpting student to the ground in a heap, before silently walking past her surrounding colleagues and slowly stalking her way to the sound room. Her final glares towards Keeva and Angel spoke volumes of her impression with how well they were able to handle and restrain unruly guests, which was to say not much at all.

The sudden silence of no one else talking within the sound stage finally clued Lucien and Lute on, in the middle of their retrieval of the fallen and discarded instruments, that something was now horribly wrong. Turning to look over their shoulders, they saw the figure of that familiar, beautiful girl silhouetted within the doorframe, and rubbing their eyes, almost believing to see a dark and demonic aura wafting into the air above her, her eyes glowing with intense heat. It was all a figment of the imagination of course, but what wasn’t was Rose’s seething anger, and demand for order and atonement. She fixed them with a stare that almost paralysed both men.

First Lucien, and his dopey and misplaced attempts at acting cool towards her that only helped interrupt her attempt at discipling her brother. And then Lute, who sent her poor horse Sebastian into an unfortunate frenzy and then creating such a horrible mess of things within this room. Both of them had a lot of explaining to do.

“You two. Here. Now.” Her eyes flicked down to the spot she expected them to hurry to. “Who are you, and what are you doing making such a unruly scene at our Academy?!”



"...ah, I'm sure they'll be alright." Marcus' face lit up with a smile, as he turned back around to Trixie, Aria and Keeva, and bent down to offer a hand to help Angel up. "I'm sure Miss... Rose, is it? Will be able to look after them okay. Is there anywhere else we should go and explore? The theatre or concert hall? Or any other exhibitions?"

---

Academy of the Arts: Courtyard: Dalia’s Group

Estelle’s brow furrowed upon hearing Tobias’ offering of a party, and then to the ready acceptance from Moira, who after snatching Xandra up in her arms and looked towards Amy with sparkling eyes resembling a kid upon Christmas. When Moira got going like this, there was absolutely nothing stopping her. She slapped Dylan on the back, remarking upon his taste in fine friends, before stalking towards Tobias and helping to hatch their plans for whatever party Tobias had planned, including finding the rest of their group to help let them know.

But Estelle couldn’t focus on that. Instead she turned to Dylan, and scanned his face and body, searching to see how he must have felt. The bottom of her left eye twitched, and then she turned to face him properly.

“What do you think, Dylan?” Estelle asked, giving a sideways glance back towards Tobias. She wasn’t sure exactly what kind of man he was, whether or not he was good or bad. But there definitely had to be something of good reason for Dylan to hit him like that, she knew him too well to know he wouldn’t do such a thing to anyone unprovoked. The smiles and charisma Tobias display afterwards only encouraged Estelle to become more on guard, and care more so for her friend’s feelings. “If you want to go, I don’t mind. But if you don’t, then…”



“Aww, come on!” Simon threw his arm around Dylan’s shoulder, and winked at him and the rest. “It’ll be fun! And you’ll get to see all of our old friends again, Dylan! C’mon, it’ll be a blast! And I’ll get to take all the photos!”

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts - Courtyard (Dalia's Group)

Amy turned her head when Tobias extended an invite to his ball. Like Syed, she was outright dubious of his motivations. The last time nobles welcomed them - absolute strangers for all save one this time - into their arms, the results of that were less than enjoyable. She couldn't imagine what the ties between Dylan and Tobias were like, or what on earth explained the motivations behind Tobias' invite or Dylan's out of character slap. Regardless, Amy couldn't stand men like Tobias, much less trust them.

Estelle had already moved to Dylan to talk with him about what's more comfortable to him. Amy trusted both of them to know what they were doing, and she would go along with whatever their decision was - whether it's to avoid causing a scene with upfront suspicion, or to keep an eye over everyone while they were there. In the meantime Moira called the cleric, but it wasn't enough to shake her from her thoughts. Of course the idea of free alcohol enticed the berserker. It enticed the cleric too, to be fair. But...

Hooked under Moira's arm, Xandra reiterated the redhead's suggestion to find the others. Amy nodded at this. "Yes, let's." She kept her leery eyes on Tobias as she passed him by, towards the building Keeva's group had taken off to. Simon was equally despicable, but at least he was direct with his perverse intentions.

---

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts - Corridor

Angel cringed every time Rose called aloud his accented name. It hurt his pride more than she hurt him physically. The way she called it with such anger, the way she pronounced the glottal sound in between syllables... Angel rubbed his head upon dropping to the ground. "Geez Rose, you say it so nastily. Like it's a disease or something." With that still fresh on his mind, he basically ignored Rose's accusations about his gambling habits. Yeah they were true, but seeing as she already moved on, he couldn't give any less shits about that.

While Marcus helped pull the man up, Angel chuckled aloud at Keeva's side remark about losing her groupies. "No worries, darling. I'll just tell her everyone was KIA by Miss Student Council. She'd understand." He winked at the wind mage once he was back on his feet - "Thanks for that, by the way." - and proceeded to dust off his suited attire. Only after he was back on his feet did he look to where his sister marched off to, and responded to Marcus' question. "Uhh... You guys said you were guilders, right? They should be fine. Maybe."

When Angel looked back to Marcus to shrug, he immediately caught Aria in his peripherals and let out a low whistle. "Damn. Didn't think so many fine women would be into the guilder thing. That's pretty neat." Angel reached out his gloved hand to her, palm open and friendly. "Dollie probably said this before, but the name's Angel. Hope you guys have been enjoying your stay here." He looked back to Marcus again. "That goes for you too, buddy--hey, where's the pipsqueak going?"



"Uhmmm ma'am?"

Trixie had managed to maneuver her way all the way towards the sound room. She stopped upon reaching Sebastian and wrapped her arms around one of his front legs, half-relying on him as a shield, and half-because she took a liking to him too. Even though her braided hair was uneven again due to all of the slobber on one side of her face. Thankfully she hadn't noticed.

"Hiii. We're Dylan's bestest best friends." She twirled one foot behind the other, hoping her forced cutesiness would appease Rose's anger. "Could you stop yelling like that, please? It's really scary and... and unladylike and... pretty ladies should not be acting all scary like this. Cuz like... they didn't mean it. So... please stop... please?" She smiled nervously.

Academy of the Arts: Dalia’s Group


"Dylan, you have such cool friends," she grinned, patting Dylan hard on his back.

Dylan nearly stumbled forward under her pat, barely keeping his footing. Suddenly realizing just how much of a scene had created, Dylan flushed under all their stares. Some, like Estelle, had come forward forward, clearly asking his opinion on the party, others like Xan had more reasonable suggestions. Simon was clinging to his shoulder, practically begging him to come along.

“Dylan,” Dalia said, suddenly at her brother’s side. “I know that things didn’t end well between you two, but it’s just a party. You know how grand they are, and I’m sure your friends will love it.” She dropped her voice even lower. “And besides, how much trouble could he cause in one night?”

Dylan arched an eyebrow at her, surprised by her naiveté on the subject. Though to be fair, she had never been one of the man’s targets. That said...if he was vigilant, and warned them beforehand, he was sure that he could keep them safe. “Fine,” he sighed. “I suppose it can’t hurt.”

“That’s wonderful!” Tobias grinned at Dylan before turning back to Moira. “Now...they outfits don’t have to be too fancy, but don’t worry, my stylist can turn even the most challenging woman into a radiant beauty. Not that you aren’t gorgeous, my dear, but believe me, when she’s done with you, you’ll feel like a brand new woman.”

“Now,” he gestured, “I don’t see any reason why your friends wouldn’t agree to come. Free food, drinks, and entertainment. But, if I must,” he sigh dramatically, causing Dylan to roll his eyes at the theatrics, “I can find them and invite them myself.”



Academy of the Arts: Keeva’s Group

Keeva stared with wide eyes, for once in her young life struck completely speechless. The white haired man - the one with the magical musical talent - was dashing past them and away from Sebastian. Not only was he running away, he made a beeline directly for the sound room, and from what she heard, apparently decided to completely destroy it.

Still completely silent, she watched as Rose approached the room and spoke to the Guilders inside of it. The man with Angel finally spoke up, turning to face the remains of her group.

"...ah, I'm sure they'll be alright." Marcus' face lit up with a smile. "I'm sure Miss... Rose, is it? Will be able to look after them okay. Is there anywhere else we should go and explore? The theatre or concert hall? Or any other exhibitions?"

“Yes,” she said as she started to shuffle to the side. “Yes, let’s go on and get settled for the Exhibitions, then. Get away from Rose. This sounds like a very good idea.”

"No worries, darling. I'll just tell her everyone was KIA by Miss Student Council. She'd understand,” Angel added. "Uhh... You guys said you were guilders, right? They should be fine. Maybe.

“Oh, it depends,” Keeva responded wryly. “Do you think that they could survive getting their faces chewed off?” Before she could do anything else, the young girl jumped in as well, trying to sweet talk Rose out of her anger. “Oh, good try little girl, but you’re dead too.” 

Swinging around, she raised her voice. “ALRIGHT THEN. We’re moving the tour on. Nothing to see here! FOLLOW ME TO THE PERFORMANCES.” She then practically ran away, scurrying down the hall and away from the inevitable disaster that was coming. Holding the door to the theater hall open, she gestured for them to leave their buddies behind to face Rose’s wrath.

They were unlikely to survive anyway.

Academy of the Arts - Courtyard
While Moira's initial offense quite quickly faded away when Tobias backtracked, Syed couldn't help but narrow his eyes at his choice of words. A snide comment drifted up from the depths of his mind, but he bit his tongue. Things were tense enough already, thank you very much. Instead he simply exchanged looks with the others, thoroughly uncomfortable with how all this was turning out.

"Nah love, you best come with us," Moira grinned, pushing Tobias after the direction Amy had already began to walk off in. She had thankfully released Xan by this point. "Cause we're the wierd lookin' people in the group. You'll probably have a harder time findin' that lot."

If only she knew.

"Hey! What are you saying?!" Syed protested, although his words fell of deaf ears. None of them were wierd looking! Some of them were just... easier to spot in a crowd than others.

"So, what does being a 'patron' even mean anyway? Like, you buy their shit or something?" she asked. Most of this was alien to her. She had never heard of schools having patrons before. Pubs, sure. But then again, she barely went to school anyway. Most of what she knew was from her son.

Syed hung back with the others, watching them somewhat warily. "If we're all there, it'll be fine," he said quietly to Dylan, being careful to try and not allow Tobias to overhear. He smiled reassuringly, before turning to Simon instead. At least Simon seemed to be more open than Tobias. "So Simon? Do you do much event photography?" To be honest, he seemed like the sort of guy who probably took his camera everywhere. Kind of like Dylan and his drawing, really.

They reached the doors to the building they at least hoped the others were in, and Moira promptly threw the doors open.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Theatrical Hall

The resounding crash of fallen instruments followed by the loud shrieks of the people around the disaster site made Aria cringe. She glanced at Rose apologetically, only to shrink back further with a small ‘meep’ at the cold fury that burned in her gaze that turned back onto poor Lucien and Lute, promising a good thorough thrashing for the two guilders.

"...ah, I'm sure they'll be alright."

The illusionist peered at Marcus disbelievingly, one eyebrow raised at the easygoing smile on his face. She could only sigh as Keeva agreed with him. None of the guides seemed to be very willing to sacrifice themselves for the safety of the two men, though it was understandable.

“I’m Aria. Pleasure to meet you- it’s been a wonderful experience so far.” She shook Angel’s proffered hand, giving a friendly smile in turn. Normally she would have been more pleased to be greeted by a cute guy like Angel, but currently she was rather distracted by her friends' impending dooms to focus on him.

As the guides retreated, she couldn’t help but look back to the cowering figures of Lucien and Lute, now joined by Trixie. Perhaps she could try rescuing them- She winced as the intimidating aura around the council president intensified, quickly moving to go join the other in the theatre. She’d buy Lute dinner later to make up for abandoning him- if he survived, that is.

Another crash, this time at the entrance had had her whipping around only to catch sight of Moira and Syed, followed by Dalia and the rest of the guilders, as well as an unfamiliar blue-haired man entering the wobbling doors.

“M-moira! Dylan, Xan, Amy, everyone, over here!” She waved from the doors of the theatre with a sheepish laugh, hoping that Rose would be too distracted to pay attention to the new arrivals. She wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to see Moira and Rose butt heads- something told her it wouldn’t be too pretty.

“You’re all just in time, haha-! The performance is about to start!”

Academy of the Arts: Keeva’s Group

Yep, they were going to die. Rose was going to tear them apart limb from limb, hide them in one of the pianos and maybe even feed their remains to Sebastian. He wondered if he could at least ask for a fancy coffin or a nice burial suit.

He attempted to speak, but one look into those icy eyes made him shut up for good. Lucien froze in place, shivers running up and down his spine. Man, she had a glare that rivaled even the boss'. The summoner fidgeted in place, twiddling his thumbs in an attempt to calm his nerves. She began to question them and it took a little while for him to answer. "Oh, we were just helping out, isn't that right Lute?" He wrapped an arm around Lute's shoulder and pulled the virtuoso close. "Don't worry," Lucien gave her a shaky thumbs up and even mustered a silly looking grin. "Everything's back in place."

"They broke some of the instruments, president." One of the students spoke up before going silent.

At that point, Lucien began looking out the door, hoping that the others would bail them out. However, the opposite happened and soon everyone began to leave. He couldn't believe it, their friends had left them in the hands of this...this ice queen! "So, now that everything's back in place, we can go right?" She continued to glare daggers into their souls and Lucien practically clung to the poor virtuoso. "Well, it was nice knowing you, pal. I guess we'll meet again on the other side, yeah?"

He was just about ready to abandon all hope, but suddenly Trixie appeared.

The prankster attempted to appease Rose's anger and Lucien decided to take this window of opportunity to abandon Lute and make a run for the door. He had never ran so fast in his life. He nearly crashed into Sebastian, but by some miracle, managed to scramble past the horse and into the hallway. "Kid, run! We're no match for the ultimate villain." That probably hadn't been the smartest choice of words.

He gave Lute a quick wave, muttering something about him taking one for the team, then rushed down the hall as fast as he could.



Academy of the Arts: Dallia's Group

It was settled, they were going to look for the others.

Moira began to usher Tobias forward, clearly excited. There was nothing wrong with parties, but when the guy inviting them had been smacked by one of their friends before asking, then it was just a tad suspicious. Obviously, there was some sort of friction between those two but neither Simon nor Dallia were yelling at Tobias so it was most likely something personal.

The group made their way towards a building and Moira swung the doors open.

“M-moira! Dylan, Xan, Amy, everyone, over here!”

Xan turned around and gave Aria a wave. Her friend began talking about performances, but she had to wonder, where were the others? "Aria, we were just looking for everyone. By any chance do you know where the others are?"

A loud voice boomed down the hallway. "Yikes! Run, run, run!"

The girl turned her head to the side only to see Lucien running down the halls and flailing his arms around. What on earth was that idiot doing now? Did he break something...gods forbid. Everything here looked like it had taken so much time to make.

Lucien ran smacked dab into Moira. He was talking about Lute's brave sacrifice and about how the virtuoso was probably dead by now.

Xan gave Aria a quizzical expression, hoping that her friend could shed some light on the summoner's ramblings.

Academy of the Arts: Sound Room

Gods above, that hurt!

"He broke my flute!" A high-pitched and wholly unpleasant voice broke through Lute’s torpor."This was hand made! Do you know how much a handmade instrument can cost?"

“Probably more than what it would take to get you to shut up,” Lute replied as he resurfaced from underneath a brass gong and a cello. Delilah “oooh”-ed and then launched into an embarrassing song that was comprised singly by the word “burn”. The girl seemed incensed and tried to pull him by the collar, but the virtuoso slapped her hand away by reflex. Undeterred, the student continued her litany.

Another student stopped her and Lucien walked inside. The virtuoso was already cleaning up the fallen instruments with one hand while his free one was draped over his forehead as he winced. “Thanks, Lucien, but you really don’t have to,” He muttered as the summoner bent down to retrieve a drum. Lute couldn’t help but glare back at the girl when she looked back. He’d like to see her get in the same mess and have somebody talk to her in such a nasty manner. That would show her! Asides from that flute though, the only things he managed to ‘break’ wasn’t really broken, more like dismantled. Lute could probably fix them back with some help.

The atmosphere suddenly felt wrong and Lute saw that the lady from earlier had arrived; she summoned them and Lucien scurried over, while Lute took longer to respond as he had tambourines stacked up in his arms. Trixie came in and tried to sway the lady too! “Thanks, hero,” The virtuoso mouthed to the girl before facing Rose, but her glare was truly a sight to behold and even Delilah fumbled for a way to appease her anger. Well, something asides from stunning everyone with a banshee scream, that is.

The way Rose looked at Lute would have inspired him to make a run for it like Lucien did, but he created this mess and should be the one taking the fall from it. This urged the virtuoso to take a deep breath and attempt to communicate with the beautiful, if not scary, lady. “I’m Lute Aiseirigh, ma’am. We’re guilders and… We went here with another guilder whose sister belonged in this Academy. We were simply supposed to tour, but I have a thing with horses, so I got scared of your steed-“ And with good reason, Lute privately added, “- and I really caused a big mess. Sorry. If you don’t mind, I’ll go finish my clean up now…?” He finished and glanced over to where Lucien ran to. Oh well, he’d have to catch up by himself.

Academy of the Arts: Sound Room

Rose’s stare betwixt both gentleman within the mess strewn sound room. Both Lute and Lucien gulped upon receiving her icy glare, a bead of sweat forming at the nape of their neck as she confronted them. Lucien seemed ready to meet his maker, before suddenly Trixie appeared! Holding onto one of Sebastian’s legs, reinforcing her powers of adorableness (which from the looks of Sebastian’s face had worked wonders on the horse already), Trixie pleaded for Rose to become ‘calm’, even despite her having all the right that was invested to her as the Academy’s Student Council President to deal with troublemakers such as this. As Rose turned, to face Trixie and begin to reply to the diminutive prankster, Lucien took the opportunity to flee, again, and begin screaming down the halls as he did so, leaving Lute and Trixie behind all on their own.

She was about to take one foot forward to give chase, but then stopped again. Turning, she fixed Lute another glare that forced the man to take more effort in standing up straight, before glancing back to the vanishing summoner and narrowing her eyes. As she considered her options, she spotted the pleading look within Trixie’s eyes, and walked forwards towards her, to pat and nuzzle her hair with the most delicate and beautiful smile imaginable.

“That’s okay, little girl. I’m sorry to make you worry, but it’s my job to deal with troublemakers, otherwise they do nothing but cause such a mess, and we can’t allow that.” She fixed another glare over her shoulder at Lute, before turning to smile back towards Trixie again. “My name is Rose. Are you lost, little girl? Did you lose your mummy and daddy? Such oafs as these can’t possibly be your guardians, can they?”

“I’m Lute Aiseirigh, ma’am.” The blonde haired man piped up. “We’re guilders and… We went here with another guilder whose sister belonged in this Academy. We were simply supposed to tour, but I have a thing with horses, so I got scared of your steed… and I really caused a big mess. Sorry. If you don’t mind, I’ll go finish my clean up now…?”

Rose turned to look back towards Lute again, and then she was up and away from Trixie, stalking towards Lute in no time at all. He couldn’t but yelp before he suddenly found his entire vision filled with the beautiful smooth face of Rose de Cervantes, who stilled fixed him with a glare that could burn a hole through his head. And then, that expression suddenly shifted, into another pleasant and disarming smile. The very same that she gave Trixie.

“Hello Lute, my name is Rose.” She extended out her hand for a formal shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, and a pleasure to hear your apology. Mistakes happen, I’m just trying to do my best to prevent as many as I can, and to see that whatever mistakes do happen, are mopped up correctly. We must always endeavour to do our best, and teach one another the proper means of being professional, should we not?”

She cocked her head to the side, and her heart-warming smile grew even sweeter. “I must say, it’s refreshing to see a man take responsibility for his actions and learn something from it, as opposed to running away like your little friend there just did. Not to worry, he won’t be able to escape his punishment, just as my brother won’t either.” She turned, and with a shrill whistle drew the attention of Sebastian who still waited patiently at the doorway to the sound room. He suddenly turned, whilst being mindful and respectful of Trixie around his feet, to allow the prankster to part without being trampled, and then stood to attention for his Mistress’s commands. “Sebastian, you know what to do.”

With a triumphant neigh, Sebastian reared up on his hind legs and pedalled his front feet in the air, before then turning and dashing in the direction Lucien had ran in. There would be no escape.

“Now,” Rose turned back to Lute and Trixie with her award winning smile. “Let’s be quick in storing these instruments away, and then we can properly discipline him.”

---

Academy of the Arts: Dalia’s Group

After Dylan’s acceptance, Estelle, with a dash of caution, began to follow the rest of her friends towards the Academy’s Main Building, and the exhibitions held within as they began their search for the rest of their colleagues. If both Dylan and Dalia said it was okay, then it was okay for her too, and the rest of her friends all seemed enthused to some degree by the prospect of a fancy party before them. Estelle wasn’t too sure about, but she would try to have fun. Could she ‘do’ fancy, though? She had never experienced anything like it before in her life, other then her short experience in the Hawthorne Family’s ballroom during their Vandrell nightmare.



"So Simon? Do you do much event photography?" Syed asked, turning to make conversation with the overenthusiastic and grinning student. Simon’s eyes lit up almost immediately after Syed’s question started, and began to explain with wild and dramatic gestures.

“Oh, you bet! I do all the photography for the school’s events and their newspaper too! I’m the best photographer on campus, and that’s no boast or lie too! Here, inside here you’ll be able to… see… my… work?”

Both Simon’s conversation and Estelle’s thoughts were shattered upon reuniting with some of her friends – Aria and Marcus first conversing with Keeva, mentioning something about a performance that Estelle was able to hear, before all hell broke out. Lucien running at a frantic pace and almost leaping into Moira’s arms, speaking what sounded to be incoherent nonsense…

…before she and everyone else heard a triumphantly loud neigh, and then the appearance of a white, regal horse with a moustache skidding around the corner, directly at them. It broke through the Pride and students’ ranks, to reach Lucien…!

And then suddenly snatched him up by his britches, lifting him into the air and giving the summoner the worst wedgie imaginable.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts - Courtyard (Dalia's Group)

"Now, I don't see any reason why your friends wouldn't agree to come. Free food, drinks, and entertainment. ..."

After what happened in Vandrell last time a rich stranger invited them over? Of course he wouldn't - but Amy kept her mouth shut. Maybe it's a favor for Dylan, to make up for whatever the hell had gone down between the two. Regardless of his motives, the way he carried himself with how eager and sporadic the invite was... Amy could not bring herself to trust him, and she would proceed to the party later with utmost caution.

Amy gave Moira the eye when she said 'they' were the weird-looking ones of the group. Though she assumed with the way Moira was gesturing that she was referring to herself and Syed, so the cleric made no comment on that. Once the berserker threw the building doors open, Amy walked right on in - only to have her hair and dress shoo to the side as a blur dashed straight passed her. Lucien crashed into Moira on the other side of the cleric. Well, that was fine and dandy, but then a horse started charging right at them as well! And... gave a wedgie to Lucien??

Amy's face contorted into one of utter disgust. But she wouldn't dare try to help her teammate. Because that's not at all what clerics do.



Angel wouldn't bother to help either. Instead he remained standing there by Marcus, watching Rose talk to Trixie with an almost motherly tone. He shook his head with a pleased smug on his face. "Didn't think that'd work out the way it had. Hey, how long are you guys planning on staying here? There's a ball being held by Mister Patron over here tonight - he's always trying to bring in as many people as he can. You know, bragging reasons. You should totally come though. Really interested in learning more about the whole guilder thing. And I'd love to stay and chat right now, but..." his eyes loomed back over to his sister, who had returned her attention to Lute. "I've got some unfinished business to take care of. Before my sis ruins it again."

A die rolled out from Angel's sleeve, which he then chucked into the air and caught it. With his sister still distracted, he lazily made his way back to the door. He gave Sebastian a pat on the head, rubbed his hair, bid the rest of the guilders a goodbye in some language unknown to them, and waltzed right out the door. "Keeeeva~ enjoy your tours for me. I'm done for the day," he called, hands behind his head.

On his way out, Angel noticed two soldiers seated nearby, munching away at their meals. Angel saluted to them with two fingers (his way of waving to people) before continuing down and out of sight into some other building.



Trixie released a loud sigh as Rose's tone of voice dropped to one much more hospitable. She rushed to help out the virtuoso - literally rush, as she did her best to sprint to and from picking up and replacing things that had gone out of place. Except she realized halfway through that the (not broken) instruments she worked with putting back into their boxes... had broken from the forcefulness of her trying to shove everything into the box. That tuba was going to break apart at any second. With a nervous laugh, she backed away from the box and looked to Lute. "Um, um, yeah, you can, um, take care of the rest from here. And I'm going to, um - oh! - make sure Lucy doesn't die. Yeah? Okay. Good plan, great plan."

She rushed straight passed Rose towards where the horse had ran to. Luckily for her most of the other students who had been walking about before their arrival had gotten far out of the way by this point, so there was no one for her to crash into. Once she reached Sebastian, she leapt onto his back (and landed on her stomach, versus in an upright seated position). Trixie then fumbled her hands around his neck.

"Mister Horsie, please drop him! You're gonna make his face all red and his head hurt and stuff if you keep holding him like this!" she wailed.

Amy shook her head and facepalmed from the side. "Trixie, what on Ddaear are you..."

"Shhh! Amy, shhh! I have a charisma skill of +10. I got dis. Ahem - please Mister Horsie, please!"

Academy of the Arts: Theatrical Hall

Things had gone from bad to worse. Dalia followed the group silently, feeling helpless as whole tour fell apart, taken over by Tobias and his charming ways. Dylan sulked at her side, and she dared not look straight at her brother, the darkness ebbing from his aura would surely overtake her as well.

There was no way that she could look at such an aura and not be dragged down as well.

Then, though, things really went wrong. That damned horse! And worse of all it was holding the poor man by his pants! “What is going on here?”She drew herself up, eyes flashing. That’s it! She was a damned Priestess and it was time to start acting like it!



“Aha, Miss Dalia!” Keeva cried, the poor girl looking completely flustered and lost. “Funny that you came along. The tours were going well, very well, but then the horse appeared and one of the boys got spooked and might have destroyed the sound room and now is about to be killed by Rose.”

“What....” She stared at Keeva, trying to piece together what had happened. “Your friends,” she said to her brother, “are quite a handful. Keep an eye on them Dyl, I’ll handle Rose. Keeva, you’re dismissed.”

The musician breathed a sigh of relief, bowing low then scurrying out of the way. Dalia didn’t even wait for her to leave, hurrying towards the sound room, passing Trixie en route.“What’s happened here?” she demanded, peering around Rose to see the alleged destruction. “Oh no...you,” she pointed at Lute, “catch up to your friends. Rose, why don’t you tell me what happened here?” 





Back at the main theatrical hall, Dylan turned to the Pride, his normal smile still missing. “So then...why don’t we -”

He was interrupted by Tobias, who stepped forward with a charming smile plastered on his face. “So, hello, I’m Tobias. As Angel said just a moment ago, I will be having a gala tonight. Think of it as...a celebration in honor of the Academy’s graduating class. I’ll have artists from all of Ddear there, and, as my darling Dylan can tell you, I throw the best parties in Aliquam!”

Dylan smacked his hand over his face - Tobias just couldn’t control himself, could he? “Yes, yes, we’ll be there! But the exhibitions are about to start, aren’t they? So why don’t we get in our seats and for once in your life you can just fucking shut up!”

Academy of the Arts: Theatrical Hall
No sooner had they stepped into the building, when suddenly Moira was collided with by a mass of limbs and robes and babbling nonsense. Which naturally meant Moira remained standing, staring down at the summoner with a 'what the hell' expression, while Lucien was sent crashing to the ground.

And then he was picked up by a gods damned horse!

Syed brought his hands to his head in what could only be described as complete and utter confusion and dismay. There was a horse in the building! A horse! In the building! And a big one too, it was taller than him and he was a very tall man himself. Wasn't this supposed to be a school? A really fancy one at that? Sure, that was a really fancy horse. But what if it pooped! It didn't matter how fancy it was, everything needs to poop. What would health and safety have to say about that?!

"Lucien?! Why?!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands out. "Why is there a horse?!" Except then Trixie jumped on the thing, causing him to panic even more. This horse clearly had violent tendancies, what with Lucien still hanging suspended by his pants. "Trix, don't-!" he rushed over to her.

"Shhh! Amy, shhh! I have a charisma skill of +10. I got dis. Ahem - please Mister Horsie, please!"

He suddenly froze. Pfft. Pffffft. And then he lost it. "Hahahahahahahahaha!" he couldn't help it anymore. That was hilarious. Trixie was hilarious. Okay, okay. Trixie was pretty good with this sort of thing. He was unwilling to leave her side in case, but he decided to leave her to her thing.

Moira meanwhile raised her eyebrow as Dylan continued to snap at Tobias. Well damn, he really didn't like this guy, huh. He was being so unsubtle about it that even she clicked that maybe, just maybe, this was something a drink couldn't fix. Actually, was going to this thing a good idea? Nobody else seemed even half as enthused about it as she was. And as much as she loved a good fight, she wasn't really happy seeing a friend in as much discomfort as this.

"Yeah, I could do with a sit down," she nodded, still eyeing Dylan somewhat warily. Cor, the guy sure looked moody. Were they doing the right thing here?

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Theatrical Hall

Aria heaved a sigh of relief, exceedingly glad that the student council president had calmed down considerably. Deeming it safe to approach now, she moved over to where Lute was crouching besides the box of fallen instruments just as Trixie went off to rescue poor Lucien whose escape had failed miserably, and was now dangling in a rather unconventional and painful manner from the moustachioed horse’s mouth.

“We’re uh, very sorry for the mess,” She bowed with a wry smile to Rose, joining Lute in attempting to salvage the fallen instruments though judging by the look of that dent on the tuba and the slightly bent flutes, they would be needing a professional to repair the damages. Perhaps Xan would be able to help?

Before she could voice her idea, they were joined by Dalia.

“Oh no...you, catch up to your friends. Rose, why don’t you tell me what happened here?”

“Perhaps we should go, there’s not much we can do to fix these…” She gave a particularly remorseful look at a broken violin bow, helping Lute up from where he was crouched on the ground.

She gave the two a bow again. “I’m not sure if this would be any help, but my friend’s a metallurgist. Perhaps we could ask her to help with the dents? Though for the strings…”

After Lute finished his apologies, the two made their way back to the rest of the group. Lucien had been mercifully released, and the illusionist managed to catch some mention of a party.

“Did someone say party? I’m up for it,” she grinned, before catching the unusually sullen, even angry looking Dylan. Was he alright? It wasn’t like the matter artist to be so moody.

The group had made their way into the theatre that had mostly filled up in the time that they had spent exploring the prop room. Luckily, there was still a large section in the back large enough to seat them all and they slowly filed in as the orchestra started to tune.

"We have to run--" His words were cut short by the sound of galloping hooves.

Lucien's eyes went wide and he began to flail around, but before he could get around everyone Sebastian chomped down on his pants and lifted him into the air. His face contorted into an expression of both horror and embarrassment and the young man turned as red as a tomato. Gods, just kill him now. This was a horrible, horrible impression to make and it was very uncomfortable. "H-Help," he croaked as he flailed his arms about.

Syed began questioning him and Lucien gave his friend a distraught expression. "I didn't summon it." He was just about to plead when he heard Trixie?

Xan gaped at the scene, at first she thought Lucien had caused the trouble, but when the horse snatched him up into the air she realized it was a real live horse that someone had brought into the campus. Trixie leaped onto it and like Syed she took a step forward, her eyebrows furrowing in concern. The horse didn't look all to friendly and it was a massive thing. One kick from that horse would definitely do some damage.

"Be careful Trixie," just as she had said the words, Trixie began talking to the horse and it actually listened.

Lucien fell to the floor with a thud, whining. He wanted to curl up into a ball and die. "All my coolness," he remained flat on the ground. "Gone in a second."

Xan chuckled at that. "You didn't really have any to begin with."

"Oh wow Xan, hit a friend while he's down, that's just grand." The summoner staggered to his feet before focusing his eyes on Trixie. "Thanks for the save, hero."

Not long after Aria and Lute returned and Dylan, he suddenly snapped at another blue-haired guy. Lucien blinked, what had happened while they were touring around the school? It didn't seem like Dylan at all to be so aggressive. Then Aria mentioned a party and Lucien looked at the others around. "Party? What party?" He was still sore and the thought of some delicious food and soda made him feel a bit better.

They were ushered into the theater and he had to admit, it was just grand. "I'm just going to sit down now." He mumbled as he crashed into the nearest empty seat. Sebastian had hurt his back. Why, he'd summon a bear and scare the heck out of that stupid horse later. The summoner rubbed both his hands together, the same way a comical villain would, a Cheshire cat grin appearing on his face as he did so.

Academy of the Arts: Sound Room

You know, Lute seriously thought Rose was going to melt him into a puddle. However, the contrary happened and the virtuoso shook her hand nervously, his heart hammering away in his chest, and then watched as the horse galloped off to parts unknown. Rose then instructed him to continue on with the clean up. Trixie helped him with picking up the instruments and he was thankful for her intervention, but the girl sped to and fro so much. Maybe she was scared of Rose? “Uh, leave that to me,” Lute held out his hand to stop Trixie from cramming a tuba in with the drums and she let out a tense giggle before leaving to check up on Lucien.

“Bye, miss Trixie! Thank you!” Lute called out after the girl’s retreating figure. Aria’s voice rang out and he realized that the illusionist came over to help, which dampened his mood. First Lucien, then Trixie, now Aria? He was being a great big bother now, wasn’t he? “I could do this by myself,” The virtuoso grumbled almost childishly but Aria wasn’t having any of that, so the two of them continued piling up the instruments until the large container was full and the floor was back to its spotless state. That done and out of the way, Lute turned around to ask Rose what was next when the lady from earlier, Dalia, appeared.

It seemed like Rose was going to be in trouble for what he did…? “It’s my fault, miss Dalia! I ran in without even bothering to look around and I caused a huge mess- and some instruments are broken- but I’d be more than happy to pay them off! Maybe not all at once, just small downpayments every now and then, but still! Please don’t blame miss Rose- Ack!” Lute was in the middle of giving Dalia yet another bow when Aria finally pulled him away, bowing and apologizing too. “Why are you apologizing? Did you kick her horse? Is that why he snapped at me?” The virtuoso hissed as the illusionist hefted him away from the scene.

He sulkily followed after the others and seated himself down. It just wasn't right that Aria dragged him away like that with her nails digging down on his arm. "Hey Lucien, you okay? Thanks for the help, by the way," Lute tapped the summoner on the shoulder and whispered. Oh yeah, and another thing. "Hey Syed," Lute leaned over to catch the tall man's attention. "Who was that man that was with you guys earlier? And why does Dylan look pissed?"

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts - Theatrical Hall

"Hey! Hey, don't laugh at me!" Trixie quipped back at Syed. "I just saved Luke's life and I--whoa!" Sebastian reared back for a moment before letting go of Lucien's underwear. The summoner plopped to the floor, though he was too ashamed to stand himself up right away. When he did, he thanked her and called her a hero - just as Lute did moments before! Trixie had gotten off Sebastian's after Lucien had fallen, and with his gratitude she struck a pose - puffing out her chest and dusting off a shoulder. "It's nothing, really. A hero's gotta do what a hero's gotta do!"

She watched as Rose spoke with Dalia, though they were too far from any of them to understand anything they were saying to one another. Thankfully the chaos and calamity had died down by this point, as even Sebastian had resigned himself to silent glaring. At some point, Rose strutted away from Dalia towards the double doors where the rest of the guilders stood by. With her horse in tow, she excused herself - something about needing to search for and punish her dumb brother - and left the building with her horse. Trixie waved as she ran off. "Byeeee Pretty Lady!"

And then some guy with blue hair said he was throwing a party later! Yay! Trixie was super excited to go, but then Dylan's sudden snap at him killed her mood instantly. "Geez Doc," Trixie mumbled beside him. Though her face was turned away, her eyes lingered on his form. "I've never seen ya so scary before." Fortunately Amy pulled her away by the ear (similarly to how Rose pulled Angel's) before she could say much more. She didn't even have time to question who on Ddaear that freaky glasses kid was.

It wasn't long before the group was ushered into the theater. Trixie chose a seat between Amy and Lucien, and watched as the summoner plotted his revenge on Sebastian. He looked awfully evil. "Hey. Hey. No supervillainy stuff during the show." She bonked him with one hand, and tutted him with her other. "I got my eyes on you, Mister Dark Knight."

Academy of the Arts: Theatrical Hall

Slowly, they all gathered in their seats, settling down to see the much hyped exhibitions. Not long after they gathered, the lights in the hall dimmed, the great curtain across the stage drawing back to reveal the first of many performances. Dalia snuck in just as the performance began, starting of simple and slowly but building into a grand musical number that drew on the talents of the orchestra and theater students.

Everything was gorgeous. The costumes were fabulous, intricate and beautiful. The seamstresses here had really outdone themselves this time. The make-up was stunning, the choreography sharp and tight, the props and timing perfect. It was a bombastic opening number, raising the energy in the room as the Academy’s Graduation class wowed the audience with their skill and professionalism.

From there the performances ranged on, containing everything from straight plays and musical numbers to simple songs. Some of them reminded him of Selan - moving arias which were designed to showcase the singers voices, while others were more focused on the musicians, like Keeva’s violin solo. There were musical numbers and scenes from plays old and new, and each student was given a chance to shine.

For a while Dylan was able to relax as he swept away by the stories and songs, each presented with great skill and sometimes even a magical flair. There truly was no place that Dylan would rather have been at that moment.

TWO HOURS LATER

Aliquam: The Tailor’s

“Well, here we are,” Dalia said. “The best tailor’s in Aliquam. Now,” she smiled evilly, “Tobias told us that he would cover the cost of your attire, so I think we should take advantage of that!

Dylan’s aura perked up immediately at the idea, and she threw the door open and strode in. It was a large store, filled with dresses and suits in all styles and colors. There were slim and sexy evening dresses, stunning ballgowns with skirts that would swirls around the ankles, suits with snazzy matching ties. And that wasn’t even getting into the accessories.

“Hello, Lily! Tobias sent you some customers!”

Lily - the tailor - looked up from her perch behind the desk, adjusting glasses on her face as she studied them with a critical eye. “The full treatment?”

“The full treatment...and on his tab.”

Lily nodded, apparently this was a common enough occurrence that she didn’t need even question it. Dalia wasn’t surprised; Tobias had kept Dylan closed in the finest attire for nearly a year and only let the best dressed into his parties.

Stepping forward, Lily held a measuring tape in her hands. “Hello Dylan, good to see you again. I have some suits that would be perfect for you,” she commented offhand, before turning to her real work. She took in the Pride’s attire one by one, tsking as she travelled from person to person.“So what are we thinking?”

Lucien gave Dylan and his sister a bright grin. "So, you're telling me we can buy anything we want no matter how expensive?"

The siblings didn't seem to have a problem with that so Lucien snickered and gave them two thumbs up. "If you insist, then so be it." The man would have dashed off towards a rack filled with fancy looking suits, but the woman called Lily approached them with measuring tape and the works. He eyed her equipment before his eyes flitted to the suits. They weren't as flashy as a Christmas tree costume, and they reminded him about the boring balls he had to attend as a kid, but he had to admit they looked fancy. With the right clothes and the right words, the ladies at the party would find him irresistible. If only Don and Kapi were here, their help would have been reassuring.

Lily traveled from person to person, and she didn't exactly look happy.

Lucien raised his hands in an I-surrender-pose, if she was anything like Rose then he didn't want to get on her bad side. "Just something that'll woo the ladies, don't kill me." She arched an eyebrow at him then began taking his measurements. Lucien was as stiff as a board, when it was all over, she directed him towards a rack of suits that were more his size than the ones he had been eyeing.

The summoner began pulling things off the rack at random. "Hey, hey, Syed. What do you think of this suit? Pretty dashing, huh?" He held up a bunch of clothes, waited for an opinion and disappeared into one of the changing rooms. There, Lucien threw off his robe and changed into a pair of dress pants and a long sleeved white button up shirt. He added a clip on tie then pulled off one of the vests he had taken by accident. He stared at the mirror and beamed it actually looked pretty good.

"Good evening, could I please ask for directions? I think I got lost in your eyes." Lucien gave himself two thumbs up then strolled out of the dressing room looking pretty content. "So, how do I look?" He popped up beside Lute looking like an excited child in a toy store.

However, as soon as he had appeared he was gone. Lucien made his way towards the hat section. It was perfect. The color even matched his suit. Without any hesitation, he pulled it off and plopped it onto his own head.

Aliquam: The Tailor’s

The multitude of colors and fabrics took Aria’s breath away as she stepped into the shop. Although she felt a little guilty about the bill being footed for them, it was hard to repress the excitement of being able to pick out anything they wanted without needing to worry about the price.

Lily moved quickly, taking down each member's measurements and directing them to the appropriately sized section of the store. Aria was directed to a section near the middle, where she quickly became immersed in the multitude of choices available. The variety of selection really was astounding, with everything from fluffy ball gowns to frilled summer dresses. What kind of attire would they be wanting for the party? Would it be a formal affair or a more casual one?

Stepping back to see what the other were picking out, her eyes landed on Lucien who unexpectedly had managed to put together quite the suave outfit already- looks like the outfits should be on the formal side- before topping it all off by plopping down a fluffy panda shaped hat on his head.

“Pft.” As silly as it looked, to an extent it suited him though she wasn’t sure how happy the tailor would be with his choice of accessories. Shaking her head in amusement, she went back to attempting to find the right dress for the night's party. No doubt it would be fancy, and yet a full on ballgown might be a bit of an overkill... Perhaps it would be similar to the higher class parties in Los Paraisos?

After diving through several racks of dresses, Aria finally emerged victoriously with a dress in hand. She couldn’t help but glance at the price tag, eyes widening as she took in ridiculously large number and resisting the urge to put the dress back where she found it.

“I’m not so sure how comfortable I am with making someone I don’t know pay for this,” she mumbled, before peeking over a few rows over at where Dylan was.
“Are you sure this is alright? The whole ‘pick whichever one’ deal… Everything in here’s a lot more expensive than I thought it would be.”

Aliquam: The Tailor’s

Syed had kindly explained their situation before the performance started, so Lute was able to understand certain stuff. The wonderful performances eased his mind and he found himself calm enough to wonder about why they were invited to a party, with Delilah reminding him of his deep-rooted hate of such events, but when they arrived at the tailor’s… That was where the virtuoso’s panic all came flooding back.

There was so much … richness in the place that it hurt his very soul. Sure, the suspicious Tobias dude would pay their bill, but even if Lute hated the man money was money! He couldn’t just waste somebody else’s moolah on a suit that he would only wear for one night! Well, maybe he can but… Still…!

The seamstress finished with the others and it was Lute’s turn before he could even make up his mind to jilt the affair. She briskly motioned for him to move his arms then looped the measuring tape around his waist; Lily asked him what look he was aiming for and the white-haired boy gulped nervously before whispering out a timid, “Something simple. Not too frilly or expensive…” She turned him around again and stared right into his eyes, her irises gleaming behind her glasses as she pulled her measuring tape around his chest. “If you’re looking for ‘cheap’, this isn’t the right place for you. I only make the best, and that kind of quality has a very high price,” The seamstress informed him before directing him off to a certain part of the store. But Lute didn’t know anything about fashion! He could wear a sack and enjoy it!

That enough was apparent when he was about to enter the dressing room with his outfit of choice, only for Lily to seize his tuxedo and then hold it close to his body, and then gasp in repulsion. The seamstress then tugged him around and then rifled in the nearby racks, only to emerge with a suit that was obviously a better fit for Lute. “T-thanks,” He squeaked as she left. Lucien briefly appeared beside him but then ran off again. That kid's going to trip and crash someday, he just knew it. "Be careful!" He called out after the summoner who was now wearing a ... panda hat? The virtuoso sighed and disappeared behind the partition to change into his new outfit.

The concept of dressing up in expensive silks and gemstones overwhelmed him and Lute felt a little nauseous as he walked out from the changing area. “Hey Marcus,” He approached the wind mage, “Do you think there’s a chance I can back out now? I kinda feel a little sick.” The virtuoso didn’t mention that he was nervous to be out of place in a party that was obviously going to be attended by aristocrats, but maybe that was apparent enough on his pale face.

Aliquam: The Tailor’s

Her eyes looked over the entirety of the shop, absorbing the richness and refinery that was everywhere to look at. The crisp, perfect suits and sparkling, gorgeous dresses were all a bit too much for a simple girl like Estelle to really feel comfortable with, but the time in which she had spent wearing some dresses like this, like in Vandrell… felt nice. But even then, the attire she had worn that fateful night had been a lot more subdued then anything that was on offer here. With the type of party that was being held; a party amongst aristocratic students, potentially in the hundreds, its clothing demands were in a separate league to that of the more humble and restricted party of the Hawthorne’s. This gala would demand nothing less then absolute perfection… and it frightened Estelle. How could she possibly fit into a place like that?

She still wanted to do her best, if only for Marcus’ sake, but… she suddenly really wished that Selan and Lisette were here, Selan in particular. She’d know exactly what to do and what dress, make up and accessories would suit her. Lily might have had a keen eye for appearance, but Selan would have gotten the perfect dress for Estelle on a more intimate level that reflected her personality and character. She sighed. She hoped her friends were doing alright.

“Um, Amy?” Estelle walked up to and softly nudged the blonde cleric’s arm, bashfully looking up into her emerald eyes as she turned around. Even though Selan wasn’t there, she still had Amy, who managed to always look beautiful and serene and near perfect (when she wasn’t scowling, overindulging in drink or slapping off men’s faces). Maybe she had an eye for fashion, and maybe she didn’t, but after all the times in which she looked stunning, if there was someone who could help Estelle, it was her. “Could you help me pick a dress, please?”



“Hey Marcus,” Lute approached the wind mage, his exasperated face sighing heavily. “Do you think there’s a chance I can back out now? I kinda feel a little sick.”

Marcus turned back, after buckling up the last of his shirt’s cuffs and straightening out his crisp waistcoat, laughing back towards Lute as he smoothened his ensemble out and threw his suit's jacket on.

“I know how you feel, Lute,” Marcus began, with a smile he hoped would seem sympathetic to his friend. “I don’t particularly feel comfortable around these types of events at all. They’re not my scene at all, and somewhere I don’t belong.”

Lute just looked back with an expression of disbelief as he saw Marcus continue to fine-tune his outfit and hair in such a way that suggested years worth of experience. He hadn’t even needed to request Lily or anyone else’s help, and had picked out a suit that was not only the perfect fit, but perfect appearance for him, and did so within no time at all. There was modesty, and then there was…

“But this is for Dylan and his sister,” Marcus reaffirmed with a nod. “And who knows, it might even be fun. Maybe you’ll get to dance with a pretty woman, Lute.” He laughed, before inspecting and even rubbing down parts of Lute's suit to smoothen it out. "You look good, by the way. White suits you. Don would certainly be impressed."