---

---

The hotel began to grow busier with the arrival of frustrated spectators having to face the abrupt end of their tournament. Isabella twirled her rose hair around her fingers, mindlessly eyeing the group in hopes of spotting Bullet. There were many faces among the crowd; some she recognised, others she did not. Talk in the lobby quickly seemed to shift from the disappointment of the games to the excitement of tonight's ball.

"Well, I'm not really looking to dazzle much of anyone, but I'm good with whatever preparation you deem is needed. Just...so long as we don't get my hair cut." Jane's statement regarding her hair didn't faze Isabella one bit. She herself was quite fond of her own, trusting few others to care for it like she could. It didn't even cross her mind that there may have been some underlying reason for Jane's protectiveness of her own hair. She placed her hands neatly in her lap and tilted her head to the side. With a soft hum, Isabella took it upon herself to admire Jane.
"But of course!" She proclaimed, standing with a finger dramatically pointed in the air. "You shouldn't fix what isn't broken, and your hair is most definitely not broken. I actually am quite fond of it. She whispered that last part, holding a hand coyly over her mouth.

Isabella made her way over to the other side of the table and extended an arm to Jane.
"We're wasting daylight my dear Jane! I was hoping to wait for Bullet, but it seems as though he has other plans." There was a slight tinge of sadness in Isabella's voice, though it was quickly overshadowed by an loud squeal of delight. "We should go get pampered! Oh, Jane, doesn't a trip to the spa sound relaxing? It's the perfect opportunity for us to continue getting to know each other!" Isabella could barely contain her excitement; a trait Jane was no doubt starting to get used to with her.

---

---

Marlene was just as perplexed as Bullet was regarding the interruption of the Magic Games. The young man was very thankful that his companion was too absorbed in the event to hear the nonsense he had been spouting before. Still, he too was disappointed with the games. Taking a seat next to Marlene, Bullet folded his arms over his chest with a flustered huff.
"Whatever the reason may be, I guess that means the games are over this year." Bullet frowned, nodding his head in agreement with Marlene.
"Damn, that really blows." Bullet said whilst stretching his arms high in the air. Standing up, he began to walk towards the door. "I guess I shouldn't bother you anymore now that the games are over." With only a few steps left, Bullet was frozen in track by Marlene's voice.

"Hey," Shivers went down his spine. She was going to ask about what he'd said earlier. It seemed as though Bullet had really dug himself into a hole. Turning his head around, Bullet watched Marlene stand up to face him.
"Yeah?" He gulped, trying to stop his knees from shaking.
"This is going to sound sudden, but a friend of mine mentioned to me yesterday that there's going to be a Ball celebration tonight. I'll be going with her, but since you're here, do you want to join us?" Bullet's muscles relaxed, only for a second until he realised what Marlene had actually just asked him.

Spinning around in disbelief, Bullet clumsily pointed at his face while stuttering.
"What? I mean, uh, me? You. You want me to hang with you? You and you're pals. At the ball, I mean." Oh no, he felt himself going red again. He'd always been so certain about going with Isabella that the idea of actually being asked by someone wasn't something he'd prepared himself for. He felt his shoulders slump backwards, his hands balled up in his pockets. He could feel the sweat on his palms. Why was he so nervous? It's not like Marlene was asking him on a date or anything. Bullet shuffled his feet, staring at the ground while awkwardly muttering a response.
"Uh, I guess. If you don't mind me hanging around you, that is." There was something strange about making plans without Isabella. He'd done it many times with his guy friends, but never with another girl. Though as he stood there, frozen like a popsicle, he couldn't deny the fact that he had been having a good time with Marlene. Perhaps spending the night with her and her friends would be a breath of fresh air.

---

---

"I'm sorry Captain Idwal. My mistake." A less composed person would have been more frazzled by Sora's mocking tone. Thankfully for Rosalina, she wasn't so childish as to let such a man get to her. Though she had to admit, she could feel her fist clenching while her arms were tucked behind her back. She'd be lying to herself if she said that she wasn't tempted to slap Sora's cocky grin right off of his face. Yet that was not how she dealt with these situations; they required a more delicate touch.
"You'll do well not to make that mistake again." Her voice was firm, yet non-threatening even despite her statement. It was more of a throwaway remark, subtly implying to Sora that his sarcasm was not appreciated.

Sora continued on, showing no indication of changing his tone. Either Rosalina was too subtle or he simply did not care. The Council woman thought it best to assume the latter. Either way, she continued to listen to this obnoxious man with feigned interest.
"However this time it is you that is mistaken. Ethel is not in my employment." Now this statement sparked some interest. Raising an eyebrow, Rosalina watched Sora exchange a look with Ethel before raising her chin to the both of them.
"Is that so?" She shot a look towards Ethel, hoping to catch some sign that this man caused her discomfort. She seemed fairly content for now.

"The opposite in fact. Ethel is my employer. So I'm unsure what kind of delusions you seem to be under, but they're completely false Captain Idwal." That was the final straw for Rosalina. Unable to tolerate his tone anymore, Rosalina took an imposing step towards Sora and met his gaze with her own, cold and furious stare. She reached her hand up and firmly gripped his upper arm; loose enough as to not restrict his movement but tight enough to let him know that he shouldn't try to go anywhere. Picking up Sora's arm, Rosalina clicked her tongue at the sight of the various tatters and cuts along his suit.
"I'm just dying to know what kind of services you'd have to offer to a young girl, Sora." Rosalina wasn't letting up on her accusations, just as Sora continued with his defiant tone towards her. Though he was quick to address that this was a personal matter. Not a very satisfying answer for Rosalina, but she saw no reason to push it further.

"That is a rumor I heard yesterday. Something about you looking for rogue wizards? If someone such as yourself would allow someone as lowly as me to ask why and receive an answer that would be just swell. Also if you were looking for any wizards in particular I suppose might help. I've ran into about half a bloody dark guild since entering the city. The security here is worse than the corruption of the previous council I must say. Certainly seen far better protected haystacks."
"That is precisely why I am searching for Rogue Wizards." Rosalina didn't even try to defend herself or the Knights against his accusations. She may dislike the man, but she agreed with him on this regard. "When the power shifted to the new council, many of the old, corrupt Rune Knights still remained. I want them gone. I intend to recruit as many promising Mages as I can and weed out all those who do not represent the true ideals of the Knights. Then I will be personally dealing with the infestation of Dark Guilds in my country. Make no mistake, Mister Sora, by the time I'm finished there won't be a Dark Mage alive who would dare show their face in Crocus or any other town for that matter." Rosalina spoke confidently, completely assured of her mission with no reservations. She never intended to be a compliant leader. No, her goals were much bigger. She was going to use her power for something greater than herself or the Council.

---

---

While Bayard had been hoping to intimidate the young man, the reaction he received from Eli was not exactly what he had in mind. Bayard just wanted to show the young thief that he wasn't some pushover, but it seemed he had scared the daylights right out of the poor kid. Bayard sighed as Eli begged him not to hurt him. Did he take the Knight for some kind of monster? Bayard would have been offended if not for the large crater in the stone wall right in front of him.
"I have money? You want money? Please man, don't you have someone else more worth death? I'm just a thief, cut me some slack!" Eli's frightened voice brought Bayard's attention back to him. The Knight felt his fists clench at his words. Placing a firm hand on Eli's shoulder, Bayard held his fist out in front of him confidently.
"You're more than just some thief!" He was weirdly angry about the self deprecating statement. Easing up on his tone as to not keep scaring Eli, Bayard took a deep breath before continuing.

"You have the potential to set things right and make a difference. It starts today with you." Bayard smiled before pushing Eli forward away from the stands. "I know just who to take you to!"
"What are you doing, Bayard?" The Knight looked forward to see Constantine making her way down from the upper levels of the stadium. The two were comrades, even long before becoming a part of Team Veritas.
"Ah, Constantine! Just who I wanted to see! Where can I find Rosalina? I've got our newest recruit right here!" Bayard playfully patted Eli on the back with a heavy hand. Constantine stared at Eli through her visor. If he could see her face, he'd no doubt see how unimpressed she was. Though truthfully, it was more directed at Bayard than anyone else.

"Bayard, you can't just decide that." She sighed, clearly having had this talk with Bayard before. Bayard shook his head and laughed.
"Nonsense! This young man is ready to change his ways and serve Fiore as a Knight! No more will he see himself as just some petty thief!" Bayard was too busy talking to see Constantine slap her visor where her forehead would be.
"Not every criminal wants to change their ways, Bayard."
"But he has a chance to make a difference in the world!"
"It's not your choice!" The two continued to bicker, leaving the young Eli in the dark of what was going on. When Constantine had clearly had enough, indicated by her throwing her hands up in defeat, she walked up to Eli and jabbed him in the chest with her finger.
"You, boy. You don't want to be a Knight right? Please tell this buffoon that so I can get back to more important things than talking about some thief." Constantine didn't even try to hide her insulting tone, which clearly disturbed Bayard. Though he said nothing. There was definitely a difference in philosophy between the two. Bayard looked down at Eli hopefully, confident that he'd side with him. Constantine was more realistic. This kid didn't come to the games to become a Knight. No, he came to make an easy buck at the expense of everyone else. Constantine awaited his answer impatiently.

"Wa-ha!" Expecting death from the large paw that was aimed to land on him, Eli went to cover his head in terror, but as he felt the hand only rest upon his shoulder the blonde peeked out through the opening between his fingers. "Eh? You're not going to kill me?" The thief asked, more to himself than Bayard as he quickly straightened up and out of his cowardly ball with a couple of fake coughs to clear his throat. "Ahem, I mean, of course you weren't going to kill me, I wasn't scared I was just- uhh- I thought I saw a bee, and I'm really allergic so..." He trailed off with another weak laugh, scratching the back of his head, until he heard that Bayard planned to 'take him' to someone.

"Hey now, lets not jump the gun. My crime was minor, I don't need to be tried or something." He said, obviously getting the wrong impression. Who would want a lazy thief like Eli among their ranks? The thought didn't even occur to him.

As the woman walked over, Eli cocked a brow but was startled by almost being knocked out of breath by Bayard's overly hearty pat, shooting him a slightly annoyed glare that faded before it could be seen. He listened to the conversation, eyes shooting back and forth. "Recruit? Knight?" He repeated in absolute disbelief after the words, jaw dropped slightly, but was easily ignored by the more important people discussing matters, even though it was about him.

"Woah, hold on there! Who said anything about me joining the ranks of Fiore?" Eli angrily challenged, huffing with exasperation as he knocked Constantine's finger off his chest with much annoyance. "And, I don't think I'm a petty thief, I am one. Always have been. Sure, I know a few spells, but I don't have the power or the morals to be a knight. Plus, I don't exactly get along well with others..."

Eli glanced to the tall man with a neutral expression, tucking his hands in the back of his jean pockets. "Sorry, guess I'm not going to make any difference in the world. Look, let me just return the stuff and we're good, right? It's not like it's all that expensive a fine, and I'm not going to be executed over this, so why the hell should I have to deal with working with a team." He paused to shudder at the repulsive thought. "I only care about money, anyways. And myself, but mostly money."

Penny didn't see the point in arguing. One could have pride, yet what was the point, if ultimately you damanged yourself in the long run? Which, coming from her, was perhaps a bit hypocritcal, yet...she knew change was hard. Instead, Penny said "Pride tends to go before a fall. There is a time when Pride is needed, but there is also a time where Pride is given by admiting you need help. I can admit that I was wrong to offer help in the way I did, but they were wrong to regret it as badly as they did."

She shook her head. She hadn't wanted to argue, and she was heading in that direction. She sighed, and followed trinity to the hotel, knowing that she'd only eat because she had to, not because she wanted to. Beyond the games, Penny had a lot of thinking to do, and she knew she couldn't do it alone. Or at least, not all of it. But, for a little bit, she just wanted time to put her thoughts in order.

---

Jarvis gave Amelia a smile, and said softly, "No, sweetie, you don't have to go if you don't wish to." He crouched so he was eye level with Amelia, "But if you do go, you need not worry about dressing up fancy. The first ball your mother and I went to, so long ago, she wore tattered pants, and a shirt that was miles too big-because it was mine. We'd just finished a job, just opened up the guild. You don't need to worry about fancy, sweetheart.

You don't need to worry about your wings, or what anyone will think. You were apart of the team. You were amazing, and thats all that matters. That's all anyone there will see, just how amazing you are. But if you don't want to go, we can have a night in"
@CirusArvennicus@Joshua Tamashii@Zarkun

@Burthstone@t2wave
NOLAN

"Oh please, like I would actually hit the little bugger. I just get sick of his antics every now and again. Just wait, during the ball I'll probably have to drag him away from booze or else he'll get too handsy with some women." He shrugged and wrapped his arm around Ariel's shoulder, giving her a smile before looking back at Mayt, who was indeed put off by Nolan suddenly asking Ariel out. "We've recently become an item, but we really haven't had a date yet so I figured going to a royal ball would be a high note to start on."

Seeing as Ariel was right about not having a dress, he pondered about where they can get Ariel one quickly. It's not that he would mind helping her find one, it's just if he goes to a dress store then he'll be surrounded by women. Needless to say, he would not be able to handle being around so many women at once. "Um, how about you ask Penny or Trinity to help you find a dress?" Seriously, how did this guy ever get a girlfriend? The odds of winning the lottery were greater than that.

@Caits
FERRIS

Ferris handed the carriage driver his fare and opened the door for Jess "May as well walk at this point." He said as he led himself out and helped Jessie out of the carriage. They had begun to walk around the streets, seeing crowds of disappointed and upset citizens coming from the games. He too was not satisfied with how things turned out either. Ferris shoved his hands in his pockets and asked, "Wanna go grab some drinks before we head back? We have some time before the ball starts."

"Jeez Cec, you sound a little jealous there. What, does my presence threaten your station as Amaya's partner?" Joshua asked jokingly before turning to Carver. The boy's magic sounded standard fair. Hell, it almost sounded exactly like the other magic he mentioned, Take-Over. However Joshua guessed there was some subtle nuance that made it different. Maybe the manner of transformation or the level of power or control. Before he could comment though, the boy asked about talking to the guild master. He ignored the ball comment as well, deciding to get this out of the way first. "I doubt Master Jamie is available at this time. I got the feeling there were things she wanted to get done today. On the other hand though, we could take you to her husband or older daughter, whichever one we come across first. Though, I'll bet their together."



Elyse watched Ryu curiously when she noticed his hand glowing and her curiosity only grew when he held it out to her. When she saw the flower inside of it, she let out a squeal of delight before taking it eagerly.
"Thank you." She said politely while looking at the flower. After a few seconds, an idea seemed to hit her, as she quickly got out of her mother's arms before grabbing onto Ryu's wrist and starting to drag him over to the Phoenix Wing guild. "Come, come!"

Lucus watched his daughter's antics as she dragged Ryu away, laughing at the sight.
"Well, I think they'll get along well." He said before following a short distance behind them.

Back in the stands, Amelia mulled over her father's words concerning the ball. If she didn't have to be fancy, she guess she could deal with it. And as he said, people were probably not going to pay attention to her wings and she wouldn't be alone either since the guild, or at least some of it, would be there as well.
"Well... I guess I can go along. I need to experience new things and I've never been to one before. Maybe it'll be nice." She said before hearing the sounds of Elyse approaching. Figuring the little girl would be looking for Sam, she moved over until she saw the child dragging along a boy about her age. Ignoring the boy for now, she knelt down to Elyse's height. "Are you looking for Sammy, Elyse?"

"Uh huh. Show her pretty flower an' Unca Wyu." The little girl said excitedly.

"I think I saw Sammy that way. Why don't you get here and I'll look after your... Uncle." Amelia proposed. Elyse mulled it over for a couple of seconds before nodding and letting go of Ryu to run after Sam. Once she was gone, Amelia stood up again and gave Ryu a small smile. She had to resist the urge to hide her wings, as the boy undoubtedly had taken notice of them while she had distracted Elyse. "Sorry about that. Is there anything I can help you with?"

If the phrase"it's raining men' were true then it must be for rose.

Rose was watching ryu and Amelia talk whole she noticed out of the corner of her eye some dust falling from the sky along with a nagging voice on the back of her head speaking of her shadow growing. Rose looked up as her eyes widen before a cloud of dust blow up around her from the sudden impact. When the dust settled rose was face down with her left hand twitching as argus was on top

"Oh dear God,she is the one person you don't want to be landing on" Commented Raiden as Rose slowly lifted herself pushing Angus off as a purple aura outline her body "What...the...hell do you think your doing? You have three seconds to run" she growled as she own shadow vegan to lift from the ground forming two gold eyes and a big white grin of sharp teeth. She slowly rolled her sleeves up as her hands became encased by a pitch black energy.

"Now Rose you need to calm down..."said raiden already knowing what was going to happen as he was readu to get in between if needed.

"Shut up dad, I'm about to put this parasite in the ground literally"she growled "One...." She said as she began to count down

Listening to Cecilia, Amaya and Joshua talk among each other. Carver was rather amused with the exchange of words between Cecilia and Joshua. Carver rather more fascinated with the exceed though the flying cat caught his interest. He wonder if he could make an exceed pact and what he could do as one. He heard that their master wasn't available, then Amaya mentioned a Lacerima. Carver didn't really want to bother the Phoenix wing master if she is busy.

Carver then thought of the ball Amaya mentioned before and figured that would be a great place to run into their master. Then again he wasn't really invited to the ball so that is a complication. Then again that didn't concern him very much he knew he could figure a way in if he had to.

Joshua had mentioned two others before Amaya talked about the Lacerima Carver then says, "I'll talk to anyone if it gets me closer to getting into a guild. You guys can take me to whoever that maybe."

"If that was concern then. . . why have the games in the first place, or let it get this far?" Ezekiel said as he turned to the blond haired man, brow furrowed in concentration as he thought about what he'd been told. "I'm don't really understand army matters, but I know that if you don't want people to know about stuff, then you probably shouldn't make a showcase of it, then try to hide it at the very last second. Seems a bit dumb, and I'd like to think that the royal family isn't dumb, sir. I'm sure there's some other reason behind the cancelation."

Nodding his head with his eyes closed, Ezekiel seemed content with his conclusion, and was getting ready to walk off with the kind man who had been a real help, when said main suddenly said something rather shocking while also attacking his state of dress.

"W-w-wait, I'm invited!" He asked as he began to panic slightly, not expecting to be thrust into such a situation so soon after joining a guild. He didn't know anything about something as high class as a ball, he barely even went to the local parties and get-togethers back home. While unable to tell exactly what his clothes looked like, Ezekiel knew that nothing he owned was proper for such a high-society event, hell, he wasn't proper for such an event. "B-b-but I just joined, and I didn't have anything to do with the the games either? What if I do something utterly embarrassing and infront of the royal family too."

As Ezekiel began to nervously pace back and forth, one would notice that as his stress levels rose, so to the number of cats that suddenly appeared upon his person. First it was just the three from earlier, then it was six, some clinging to his pants legs, others following him in his ongoing panicking with a little jog, and before long he was surrounded by over 18 felines, though he barely seemed to pay attention to it all, still worried about this whole ball scenario.
@hatakekuro

Argus Leandros

As Rose watched her daughter head off with Ryu, she'd feel a sprinkling of dust fall upon her shoulder. If, after this, she was too look up, she'd see the figure of one Argus Leandros in the process of falling directly in top of her. How did this happen? you might be asking yourself. Well you see, Argus hasn't quite gotten used to controlling and focusing his magic, something he only had to do very rarely before, so as he was pole-vaulting from roof to roof, he was un aware that the ends of his staff was still leaking the destructive energies of his magic, thus weakening the stone which he was using to propel himself. Now, at first, it didn't matter much given how low the concentration was, but as he focused more and more energy into the staff, the left-over traces would begin to collect upon the edges of the weapon, resulting in stronger and stronger run-off.

As such, it eventually came to a point where, upon trying to lift himself off of one roof and onto the next, the bottom of the staff quickly weakened the stone to the point where it broke down into dust, causing him to soon plummet to the earth below, but not before rather harshly smacking his head against the roof as he went. Barely conscious at this moment, he was unable to notice who he was about to be landing on, or figuirng anyway to stop or redierct his descent. All he could do was brace himself for impact, upping his body's denseity/durability with his magic, and hope for the best.
@Roseletta
@Joshua Tamashii

If there was one perk to being an experienced Wind Mage, it was being able to sense things and react to them quicker then most. As such, he was able to sense Argus falling though the ceiling and react quickly enough to summon a gust of wind to blast the man aside and into the closest wall, his lack of time not giving him the chance to exert some control, so sadly, there would be no way to cushion the man's impact unless Rose did.



Amelia's cheeks grew bright red when Ryu offered the rose to her, the change in color obvious due to her fair skin. She accepted the rose in silence but her expression grew suspicious and her cheeks returned to their normal color.
"What, do you have some sort of clairvoyance magic? Cause I'm not going to fall for flattery if that's all it is." She said, her tone wary. She didn't know the boy but if he somehow knew her, she had reason to be on edge. Then again, she figured a lot of people knew her now, due to her part in the Games.



Joshua wrapped an arm around Cecelia to keep her in place while listening to Amaya and Carver, addressing the former first.
"While the Lacrima could work, I think it might be easier to take him to Amelia and/or Jarvis. If Jamie is busy, it's probably a bad idea to interrupt her. And those two aren't that far, they're probably still in the stands with most of the guild. It would be easier and less likely to bother our Master." He said before turning to Carver. "Though, if we do take you to them, whatever you do, do not stare at Miss Averyonna. She's... sensitive about her appearance."

"you ruinined my slight enjoyment"Said raiden with a light laugh. He followed Rose and Lucus to the lad's landing as he listened "well I am raiden Yashia, Her father, that is Lucus Griffborane, he is a members of rider's blade and this is my eldest daughter Rose Yashia and a higher ranked Member of Phoenix Wing."Said raiden "Actually, Lucus saved you from Rose beating you out of existence if you had landed on her."He added

"Anyways we are here from our guilds. me and lucus are part of different guilds and my father is going to join my guild and we participated in the games so that is the reason we are here."Said Rose with her hands on her hips




Amaya lead the way at first until Joshua decided to once he returned Cecilia to her arms. She smilled skipping as she followed keeping to his side but making sure carver still followed them. Once they returned to the stadium and found Amelia and Jarvis "Yep Jarvis is her adopted father and believe me her wings are beautiful but she is uncomfortable when people stare at them."Said Amaya to Carver as she let Joshua explain the rest. Once they had carver set she turned to Joshua when he asked her something "I was hoping you would ask cause it was Cecilia's Idea to go to the ball regardless....She wanted to try all the food and stuff there but cant go without me."Said Amaya "Also, I believe you were first to ask me so if i remember right my response is to be a yes I would be honored to go with you. Lets go dress shopping...which i have no clue what i should wear."Said Amaya

"I will help you I have the imagine of the perfect dress."Said Cecilia as amaya blushed some in embrassement as she never really did this dress up stuff before




"G-Great! Maybe when me and dad b-become offical phoenix wing members. We already spoke with jamie and she said we will get our marks back at the guild. Uh anyways...I also heard of this ball thing and I was wondering if you weere going to go? I am sure my sister and father are going to drag me along either way, so I hope if you were that it wouldnt be so akward."Said Ryu as his face was beat red. he was trying hard to keep his compossure but right now his legs wanted to run far away before they become jelly

"Alright no staring, wouldn't have done so anyhow. It's not polite to stare anyhow." Carver commented to Joshua after his comment of not to stare at Miss Averyonna. Carver was unsure why he would stare but he will try his best not to at her when he meets her. As Amaya beckons Carver says "Alright lead to the stadium then. Lead the way Amaya!" Carver already beginning to follow Amaya's lead.

Carver would go anywhere he had to. It was interesting meeting these three, Amaya, Cecilia and Joshua. They were friendly Carver's mind was nearly already set with joining Phoenix Wing he just wanted to talk to a few more people before fully asking. If these three he just met are the best way to judge the guild he feels like he would fit in with Phoenix Wing.

Jessie nodded happily, not really caring what the activity was, just glad to be able to spenda few suprisingly free hours with Ferris, not commentating, just having...fun. "Sure, sounds absolutely perfect" Although their last drinks together had led to that drunken night...one day she'd have to tell him that nothing had happened. But that day wasn't today, and she was going to have fun. "theres a little place just nearby...or we could go back to the hotel" She smiled cheekily.

---

---

Jarvis gave Amelia a smile, "Well, you will do wonderful if you do go. You've done so well during the games themselves" he watched as Elyse went after Sam, the energetic, mischivious young girl happily watching the departing crowd, weaving in and out, but when she spied Elyse, she gave a cry and ran towards the girl happily, smiling brightly. It did Jarvis's heart wonders to see that.

Argus Leandros

Argus' descent was fortunately altered so that he wouldn't land on the poor women below him, so she was able to escape any possible injury of discomfort. Unfortunately, he was not so luckily. Lucus' little trick with the wind did slow him down a bit, but the Slayer still slammed rather soundly into the wall behind Rose, so much so that his body stuck there for a moment, twitching ever so slightly before he eventually fell to the ground. As Rose came to investigate the poor fool, a slight whistling sound could be heard as the three sections of his three section staff finally caught up with their master, each weighty piece of dragon bone striking him squarely in his head as he tried to get up.

". . . . Fuck this damn seal, Fuck that damned roof, and fuck whoever sent me into that building." Argus grumbled as he slowly got to his knees, rubbing at the back of his head as he could feel the bump already beginning to swell. The fact that his hand was stained red afterwards did little to help matters. However, he didn't pay it too much heed, the wound already being healed to a point where he wasn't likely to bleed over everything, though he'd need someone to take a look at it later, and the pain was pretty mild compared to what he usually put himself through, though everything still seemed a bit out of focus and hazy at the moment. Turning his attention first to the woman before him(Damn, she's pretty. . . and reek of some pretty powerful negative energy. Not going to mess with that., then to the other two guys that he guessed were likely with her. The fact that the one man questioned the other was all the indication that Argus needed on who to turn a rather heated glare towards as he got himself up, dusting off his pants a bit before turning to Rose.

"Sorry for the trouble, ma'am. Magic started acting up while I was hopping from roof to roof, and I ended up hitting my head on the edge so I wasn't able to stop myself. Thanks to your wind friend, though, I avoided falling on top of you . . . though I wish he could've done something besides sending me into a stone wall. Lucas end up on the receiving end of another glare from Argus, the Slayer mage snapping his fingers in order to re-quip the staff back into his hand, the pieces once more interlocked and whole. "Name's Argus Leandros, and again, sorry for troubling you all. . . but since I'm here, and I'm bored, do you mind if I ask what you all doing in Crocus? You all born here or what?" This question was directed more towards Raiden and Lucas then Rose, as Argus could tell from her aura that she had been through some stuff. Certainly not the type to have grown up in this sort of place.
@Joshua Tamashii
@Roseletta

"I stopped him because he was going to hit Rose. And I'm sure Rose would've been able to block him if she noticed, but I'm a bit protective so I acted the moment I realized what was going on." Lucus said to Raiden before turning to the stranger as Rose approached them, keeping a careful eye on the newcomer. He knew Rose could handle herself but he was going to watch her back regardless, just incase they pulled off some sort of funny business. Luckily, the man seemed friendly enough, though Lucus still didn't drop his guard just because of that. When the man asked his question, Lucus shrugged. "We're here for the same reason almost everyone is here. The recently ended Grand Magic Games. Though some of us were participating. Now, we're just relaxing with our guilds or our friends and acquaintances in other guilds. What about you our friend? Why are you here exactly?"



Joshua lead the way into the stadium after handing Cecilia back to Amaya. He navigated through the halls in a memorized route, passing Lucus, Rose, Raiden, and Argus along the way. He lead the way through the crowd and over to where he figured Jarvis would be, only to stop short as he spotted Amelia and Ryu. He let out a chuckle point turning to Carver.
"The young girl over there is Amelia Averyonna. She's the adopted daughter of our guild master, Jamie. As I said, do not stare at her because of her... added feature and whatever you do, do not piss her off. She can and will kick your ass with her magic, which is very, very powerful." He said before letting Carver go ahead. Once the other boy was gone, he turned to Amaya and gave her a small smile. "So, since there is a ball later today, would you like to go with me. I would be honored if you said yes but no pressure. I know you dislike crowds and greatly enjoy your privacy.."

Amelia meanwhile, was blushing furiously as Ryu rained to compliments down on her, mostly out of embarrassment. It felt weird to actually be complimented by someone her age and it left her unsure of how to respond. Him asking if he could draw her wings only made her face go redder. She had to take a minute to collect herself enough to even speak, though she found she couldn't quite look Ryu in the face.
"W-well... I suppose it... wouldn't hurt. But don't try... anything funny, okay?" She said, having to take her time and think about her words. After that was done, she pointed in Jarvis' direction. "As for joining the guild, you'll have to talk to Papa or Mama about that. Mama's out but Papa's right over there."



"Sammy, Sammy!" Elyse shouted happily upon spotting her friend, running over to the girl as well. Once she was standing in front of Sam, she held out her hands and showed her the flower Ryu had given her. "Looky, looky. Unca made this. Does Sammy want flower too?"



Rider's Blade was out of the arena and at the closest bar, celebrating the end of the games. While they hadn't done the best, they certainly hadn't been the worse of the team either and took pride in holding their own somewhat well against the more famous or powerful guilds in the country. They all sat a small distance from the bar, Siegard and Delsin enjoying a few drinks while Krystal and Pyrrha enjoyed watching Delsin slowly getting drunk and making a fool of himself. Siegard seemed to be barely effected by the alcohol.

After sharing a quiet word with Ammy to let Master Jack know where he was going, the Axman of Dragon Fang slipped off down a side street, letting Hunter do all the talking about the tower event. Slipping into the throng of people heading out of the stadium and for the various bars had been easy, but finding his target for the night, was not so easy. Eventually he found someone who pointed Jake to the right bar and with a hurried thanks, he ran to it.

Upon arrival, he slowed down and stopped, taking a moment to prepare himself mentally. Asking someone to a dance was something he'd never done, so this should be interesting. After taking a series of deep breaths, he heads inside and quickly spots Pyrrha at a table with Krystal. He approaches and taps the red head's shoulder, smiling when she turns around. "Got a free moment? I have a question for ya."




Jane smiled at Isabella's enthusiasm, missing her quietly said admiration. "I think I would like that. Shall we?"




Watching Penny and Trinity go, Damian sighs before sending a message to Penny in the form of many small knife blades. It would read:

See you at the ball tonight.

It would then disappear after she read it and if she turned around, Damian would already be gone, heading out to get sized for a tuxedo and buy something to make the night more memorable for all.

"you ruinined my slight enjoyment"Said raiden with a light laugh. He followed Rose and Lucus to the lad's landing as he listened "well I am raiden Yashia, Her father, that is Lucus Griffborane, he is a members of rider's blade and this is my eldest daughter Rose Yashia and a higher ranked Member of Phoenix Wing."Said raiden "Actually, Lucus saved you from Rose beating you out of existence if you had landed on her."He added

"Anyways we are here from our guilds. me and lucus are part of different guilds and my father is going to join my guild and we participated in the games so that is the reason we are here."Said Rose with her hands on her hips




Amaya lead the way at first until Joshua decided to once he returned Cecilia to her arms. She smilled skipping as she followed keeping to his side but making sure carver still followed them. Once they returned to the stadium and found Amelia and Jarvis "Yep Jarvis is her adopted father and believe me her wings are beautiful but she is uncomfortable when people stare at them."Said Amaya to Carver as she let Joshua explain the rest. Once they had carver set she turned to Joshua when he asked her something "I was hoping you would ask cause it was Cecilia's Idea to go to the ball regardless....She wanted to try all the food and stuff there but cant go without me."Said Amaya "Also, I believe you were first to ask me so if i remember right my response is to be a yes I would be honored to go with you. Lets go dress shopping...which i have no clue what i should wear."Said Amaya

"I will help you I have the imagine of the perfect dress."Said Cecilia as amaya blushed some in embrassement as she never really did this dress up stuff before




"G-Great! Maybe when me and dad b-become offical phoenix wing members. We already spoke with jamie and she said we will get our marks back at the guild. Uh anyways...I also heard of this ball thing and I was wondering if you weere going to go? I am sure my sister and father are going to drag me along either way, so I hope if you were that it wouldnt be so akward."Said Ryu as his face was beat red. he was trying hard to keep his compossure but right now his legs wanted to run far away before they become jelly

Argus Leandros

"I don't doubt that, and while I wish he could've found a better way of doing it, I'm glad he kept me from dealing with a second angry Phoenix Wing member. I'd rather not almost lose my arm again." Argus turned his attention back to Rose after addressing her father, taking the moment to raise his hand in greeting before lowering it for a shake. "Anywho, pleasure meeting you all. My business here was to join a guild . . . and while I did, not quite sure how I feel about it yet. So yeah, I guess my full title-thing would be Private Argus Leandros of Frenzy Plant, if I were to follow the whole military thing."

Scratching at his head a little, Argus thought about asking these guys about where that girl with glasses could be. On one hand, they could be nice, lead him there, and he could apologize without further incident. On the other hand, given the circumstances, they could just as likely thing he was up to know good, tell him to fuck off and/or try to beat his face in for picking a fight with their guild mate. Weighing pros and cons against each other, Argus decided to throw caution to the wind and hope for the best. This whole incident was weigh down on him like a bag of bricks, and if he didn't get it off his chest, it would just keep gnawing at him forever.

"Hey, going back to the first angry Phoenix Wing member I've dealt with, I was wondering if you guys happen to know a girl with glasses, brown hair, crystal magic, and a really bad temper, would ya? Pranked when I first came here, she came at me soon after, tried to apologize for it later, but that turned into a cluster-fuck of epic proportions. Now I'm trying to find her again, to apologize properly before the games end." Argus snapped his fingers, causing a bag of tricks to pop into his hand once more. He'd hold out the bag to drop into Rose's hands since she was the closest to him. "That's my standard apology bag, filled with Rock Candies, Firework lacrima, and maybe one or two pastries, I'm not sure. Anyway, if you guys would help me find her so I could, A)give her one of these and B) apologize personally for my first fucked up apology, then that'd be awesome. Oh, don't shake the bag too much, those firework lacrima are a bit volatile and you really don't want to be nearby when they go off, though it's totally worth it when you see one of these things go off."

Wings? That is what he wasn't suppose to stare at? Carver was rather surprised that having wings was something to be worried about. Exceeds have wings and he wasn't staring Cecilia's wings very much. He comments to both Joshua and Amaya about not staring, "Don't worry, I won't stare. Although sort of makes me wish I had wings but other than that I won't stare."

Carver hearing another talking over to Amelia about joining the guild. Listening to go talk to her father Jarvis would be the way to go about doing so. Carver was about to walk over then stops has something he wanted to say to Joshua, and Amaya before walking off, "Thank you both for your help. You both also helped me decide which guild I want to join and I thank you so much for that." When Carver was done thanking the two Carver beings to walk towards Jarvis.

Thinking about how he should do this Carver came up with going with the more direct approach to asking to join the guild. He stops before Jarvis then extends his hand as he introduces himself, "Hello sir, I am Carver Fewkes. I want to join Phoenix Wing, to of the other guild members I talked to said I should speak with you about it. So here I am." Carver being polite as he can, he was taught to show respect to others especially when asking for something.

@Roseletta@Joshua Tamashii@Zarkun
Cody had been lingering at the stadium mostly because he wasn't too sure what to do. His plans for the day were to simply watch the last event and then possibly celebrate the guild winning. Though he wasn't one for celebrations, he would at least turn up to whatever they would've held. It was as he had decided to head back to the hotel that he noticed Joshua and Amaya, along with some other fellow he didn't know so possibly another member of the guild(?), and has started to head over when he overheard them say something about a ball.
What was this about a ball? He hadn't remembered such a thing, then again he honestly didn't care for such events so might've just ignored it knowing him. Or maybe he had been off in his own world as he so often does.
Either way he didn't really plan on going. Or at least till he heard Joshua asking Amaya to accompany him. Cody wasn't too sure what this tight feeling in his chest was, but he didn't like. Nor did he particularly enjoy some of the thoughts going through his head.
Little did he know that this feeling was in fact, jealously. A feeling he had felt before, just not in this particular scenario before.
And now he wasn't too sure what to think now. He felt strangely betrayed, despite the fact that no one had done such a thing to him and he knew it. However still being a teenager and with all those wild mood swings which go with the hormonal changes, he was filled with conflicting emotions which he now had to go express.
Somewhere no-one would see them hopefully. So he quickly exited the arena and just walked into the city. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he didn't seem to care.



@Leslie Hall
Sora couldn't help himself. It was a miracle that he could stand there and listen to what Rosalina said with a straight face. He simply cracked it as soon as she was done. The overwhelming laughter made him hold his sides before falling backwards onto his posterior. This rune knight captain sure was something! Her sheer stupidity and naivety was reflected in her words. She was such a dreamer if she believed she could make this come about.
Eventually his fit of laughter abided, but not before earning a sharp glare from Ethel and most likely that of Rosalina. Standing up once more, he wiped some tears from his eyes and still bore a mocking smile.
"Oh I haven't laughed that hard in so long. That was a good one....oh you were serious?" Sora blinked a couple of times before shaking his head in disbelief.
"I never expected a woman of your reputation to have such a grand plan as naive as that Captain Idwal. If you truly think it is that easy to scare dark guilds than you're a far bigger idiotic dreamer than I think you are right now. Most of them are just groups of thugs so it might work against them. But against a group of insane power hungry maniacs? Or a group of crazy, power wizards who simply want to kill every living thing? A fear tactic like that won't stop them. There's only one way to stop a dark guild." Sora's tone became serious, the smile quickly fading from his face.
"And that's to wipe them and their pitiful existence off the face of the earth with extreme prejudice. Leave none of the scum left alive and show no mercy to them. You won't receive any in response and they won't change their ways, the only way is to stop them from spreading their parasitic values and poisonous words by wiping their entire existence from the history books. That's how you go about crushing-" Sora was cut off now by Ethel suddenly grabbing a fistful of Sora's collar, despite the collar being above her head. For the briefest moment before that however Rosalina might've felt an ominous, extremely large presence of magical energy but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared.
"Sora. Shut. Up." Ethel tone's was quite different to before. The softness and mumbling were gone, instead replaced by a cold, hard tone which was the polar opposite to how she had spoken earlier. However despite her angry tone, there was a slight tremble to her clenched fist.
The realization of what he just said to upset was evident on his face even if Rosalina didn't know what had upset the young girl. Placing his hand on her head he simply sighed.
"Look here kiddo. She is an exception. But now isn't the time for that ok?" Sora indicated slightly to Rosalina. He figured speaking about her dark wizard older sister mightn't be the greatest idea in front of a captain of the rune knights, as well as a member of the magic council.
"So in short Captain, you're recruiting?" Sora asked without removing his hand from Ethel's head, his all business tone returning as well as the slightest hint of a smug grin.
"What a coincidence then. While Mai is a little on the less capable side, Jess along with Ethel here are quite capable young mages. Myself however? More capable than anyone on the continent." Sora stated quite confidently.
His internal thinking machine, aka his brain, was in overdrive. While he certainly wasn't a huge fan of the knights, and they usually weren't a huge fan of him, if they were hiring then he wouldn't say no. Especially since the knights would have access to information which most people couldn't even dream of getting their hands on legally, cheapily or easily. More likely a combination of the three actually.
Also where better to hide Ethel from people who might try to use her magic for nefarious purposes than amongst the knights themselves? It was also a step in the right direction for Ethel's future. He had thought this through quite thoroughly in mere moments, as expected of something such as he! Of course the main problem at hand would be convincing the captain here. And with the looks she had been giving him since they had met....this might be a challenge.
"Now, now don't give me such a look. I might be a little 'rough around the edges' but I get the job done with minimal or no casualties besides my enemies, that's gotta be worth something right? And Ethel here? She would be a real asset in the future. A young, innocent mind just waiting to be moulded with the right ideals. Her magical potential? As much as it pains me to say this, and trust me this hurts quite a bit, but she certainly can easily surpass me. Takes to it like a duck to water." Sora paused momentarily to enjoy a small chuckle. It was an inside joke, so Rosalina wouldn't understand why he was chuckling but that mattered little to Sora and he wasn't going to waste time explaining it. Inside jokes were never funny when explained.
"She has social skills that leave much to be desired of course...but she'll pick those up with time. Jess is in a very similar boat to Ethel. Though a little better on the social front and perhaps slightly less suited due to a...handicap of hers. And Mai is....well Mai. So what do ya say?"



@Lugubrious
Ash was feeling anxious. A feeling previously unknown to her, not that her outward appearance betrayed any hint of her discomfort. She still wore the same confident look she had for as long as she could remember, the air of self belief which she exerted still plain for all to see. The reason for her nervousness?
Well she was going to see Sanders. She had still yet to give him a proper answer despite her having already made up her mind even before the question had been asked, it was simply a matter of her own distrust that she hadn't answered immediately. However she had discarded such thoughts and had decided to be upfront about herself to the man she would soon call 'Commander'. The only way forward was to acknowledge the past and learn from it, not to sweep it under the rug and ignore it. As that Monsoon man had told her earlier, the sooner she told them the better it would be for her.
Especially since she had witnessed the tight bonds they all had first hand. There were no secrets between comrades.
However her main problem now wasn't the butterflies she felt, it was actually finding the bloody old man! Just where the heck had he gone? She had searched the campsite and hadn't been able to find him. She figured he wouldn't be at the arena, what with the games suddenly being postponed indefinitely and whatnot much to Ash's own disappointment, so that at least narrowed it down slightly more.
Maybe she should ask around? Yeah that seemed like a far better idea than wandering aimlessly. Why hadn't she thought of it earlier?
Spotting Indigo, Ash decided to ask her. Surely one of the higher ranking wizards such as herself would know where he was. And Ash believed she and the older lady got along swimmingly! Which they don't, Ash is delusional
"Hey Indi-I mean General, ya know where the old-I mean the Commander is?" Ash asked with a wide toothy grin. She had to correct herself along the way, but Ash believed she was respectful enough. Right? Disrespectful brat



@Raijinslayer
Jasmine had finally left the room. She needed some fresh air and a stroll around the city would be a good start. So she had hauled her ass out of bed and now found herself sitting down at a park bench about twenty minutes away from the hotel. So the walking hadn't lasted long.
So instead she simply sat there with a somber facial expression as she watched some children run around in the park. They seemed to be playing tag or something.

Jarvis watched Amelia and Ryu for a moment, a little curious but not interupting, He glanced to Carver, and gave hima welcoming smile, giving a nod. "Well, we are always welcoming new members. Normally, we would bring you into the guild, but at the moment we are using the hotel we were given for the games, if you'd like to come back with me, we can get you sorted for a guild mark.

We also offer housing, at ten percent a month of your earnings, and we expect our renovatios to be complete when we get back, so there will be rooms free if you wish to live at the guild" jarvis said

---

Sam smiled at Elyse, studying the flower happily, she reached out to touch it, "Its pretty, I'd love one" She carefully touched the flower, not wanting to do any damage to it, and smiling brightly, and looking about, wondering who Elyse was talkign about.

---

Penny smiled at the message, and did glance back, but wasn't surprised when she saw Damian was gone. Thoughtful for a moment, she headed up to her room, on the pretense of going to rest, she used a teleportation lacrima-effectively disobeying Jamie, without disobey her, it wasn't Penny's magic after all-to head back to the guild hall.

All going well, she'd be back before the ball started. Although she had no idea what she was doing.

@BladeSS4@Roseletta@Zarkun@Joshua Tamashii