Joshua spent and hour or two wondering the town with Amaya and Cecilia, looking for things to wear for the ball and just generally hanging out and getting to know her a bit better. When it was getting close to the ball, he returned back to the hotel with her before heading to his room to get ready. He grabbed a quick shower before getting dressed. If he had been honest with Amaya, he had one tuxedo, though he hated wearing it entirely, but he knew he would have to for certain occasions. It was nothing special, but it was fancy and suited the occasion. Once he was ready, he left his room and headed towards Amaya's, knocking on her door, waiting for a response incase she wasn't ready right that minute.



"I think I'll be fine." Amelia said, her tone betraying how nervous she felt. She entered the room wearing the dress that they had picked out for her. It was a simple, sleeveless emerald green dress that helped flatter her developing figure. The back of the dress was open, that way they wouldn't have to cut and possibly ruin a perfectly good piece of clothing so she could spread her wings, though it had taken a bit of convincing to get Amelia to accept this feature, as she felt a little too exposed. For footwear, she was wearing a nice pair of Spartan sandals, though they were mostly covered by her dress. Like her mother, she had a distain for heels and had no interest in wearing them. "Do I... look okay?"



"Are you sure it's..."

"Pyrrha, it's fine. You look stunning. So relax and if Jake end up having a problem with it, tough luck for him. If he really like you, which I suspect he does, he'll love the way you look. I can see his jaw dropping to the ground now."

Pyrrha remained silent at this as she headed down to her guild's hotel lobby to wait for Jake. She was wearing a dark red, off-shoulder dress, with a simple yet elegant design that hugged her curved. Her usual wild hair had been tamed for the evening, falling flat and straight. She was wearing sandals as well, a fact that had resulted in a bit of fighting between her and Krystal, who had insisted that she should, but Pyrrha felt they didn't fit her. Taking a seat nearby, she silently waited, feeling extremely nervous.



"Okay, are we all ready to go?" Lucus asked as he finished tying Elyse's shoes for her. His daughter was wearing a light blue child's dress and ran off the moment he was done with her shoes, laughing as she spun around and looked at her dress in the closest reflective surface. Lucus laughed at the sight and turned towards Rose. Lucus was wearing a dark gray tux for the evening, though he hated how restricting the clothing felt. "Well, she's definitely happy about this, wouldn't you say?"

"I'll do my best, but sometimes these things just tend to happen, especially with powers like mine. It's why I really only have one set of clothes that could be considered wearable and a whole lot of rags. And don't worry about the guild stuff, it . . . worked itself out, one could say. Kinda."

Marlene silently nods at this statement. She had nothing to say at this moment. But before she could get back to her room upstairs, Argus then asks a question.

"Anyway, just came to say that and will be on my way out if that's okay with ya? See you all at the ball-thing, I guess. All the guilds are invited to that, right?"

"Yeah." the crystal maiden responds, then turning her head to him, "And I'm going with someone so don't get any ideas."

And with that, Marlene simply heads back to her room without anymore words. She needs to prepare for the Ball event anyways. But before going in to prepare herself, she heads to the lacrima and sends Bullet a notification about when he'll be ready for the event and to meet her at the lobby. She then heads for the shower to get herself washed up and ready to go.

Several Hours Later

After getting cleaned up and getting dressed, Marlene heads down to the lobby to wait for Bullet. She's wearing a light pink dress, going down half-way down her thigh and near her knees with no sleeves, as well as having a black ribbon crossed on her waist and a rather large black bowtie on her collar, she has black garnet gloves, and leggings. She's now waiting at the hotel lobby for her partner to arrive.

---

Dreadlin was listening to how Grane got rather rattled up, when a Rune Knight requested for the councilman's attention. After relaying the message, Grane closed the door and told the green lizardman the news.

”From what I just heard, the Magic Games was just cancelled by the King and Queen. I already instructed the knight to give me a report of the reason why this occurred."

At first, Dreadlin seemed utterly confused at the situation, blinking several times in disbelief.

"E-Eh?" he stammers initially, "Well bloody me sideways and call me Michaelangelo, I wasn't expectin' that to happen. It be the last day too, so why cancelin' it at de last minute?"

Grane responds.

”It probably has to do with some country in Ishgar who was curious about Fiore’s Magic Games. Tell me Dreadlin. Now that the Magic Games is finished, what do you plan to do next?”

"Well uh..."

The green man rubs his head initially, but then looks to his left, his right, and back towards the door, before looking back at Grane.

"Now this be low-key Grane-ole' pal..." Dreadlin says rather quietly as not to make his voice heard by any passers by outside, "But there' be another reason why I jus' so 'appened to be around here and be headin' to ya... It uh... It relates to the village."

He pauses as he clears his throat.

"Recently it appears that some ov our village folks have gone missin'. I believe we be down uh... four of em', if I recall. You dun happen to have seen any of em have ya?"

---

As time draws closer and closer to the beginning of the Ball's opening, four figures begin approaching the Ball-Room. Sayatachi and her Kamikaze Guard were of no strangers in being earlier than usual. This is mostly to affirm their standing, but also due to having need to talk to Rosalina herself. Saya wasn't too sure on what she wanted to talk about, unless it relates to what just happened today which it most likely is, but regardless she'd rather not be late. Her guard was with her as an additional security measure.

Oh, and the Rainbow Majesty just to happens to look rather fancy for the event as well. Her hair is able to change into any form which she likes, allowing her to change forms for various events at hand and has no need to cut them. Her dress is long and white, with dazzling sparkles all over, forming into a rose-like base at the bottom. White garters are also on her hands and arms down to her elbows as well. The rest of the guard were wearing rather average, but still fancy enough, clothing. Hordiko was wearing a jet black tuxedo, Yuki was wearing a tan and green-highlighted tuxedo (despite being a girl herself), and Kuragari was wearing a pale-white tuxedo. They were all ready for the Ball at hand, despite most of it being diplomatically and not exactly about fun. But the air smelled fresh today, with no fear of anything disrupting the party.

It should be pretty calm and peaceful here.

@joshua tamashii
"Alright Alright hun we will go.."Said rose accepting elyse's hand as she smiled happy to see elyse so excited about this ball as she followed lucus getting in the cab.

Once they wereat the ball she nodded and replied back to Elyse's exciting remmarks about everything. She enjoyed events like this every now and then because hey they were not the normal everyday thing and she wasnt the type to always dress up.. it was good to have a change ever ynow and then. "I do not sense my brother or father near by so I am guessing they are not here yet" she added looking around not seeing many of the guilds here just yet.


@joshua tamashii

[color=skyblue]"Maybe but this is just one night and this night is not about me or anything"said amaya blushing at the compliment beore she nodded taking his hand as she let joshua lead the way and into the cab.

She looked around at their surroundings
[color=skyblue]"truely beautiful"/color]said amaya
"and hey its free food and should be yummy enough since i heard the royal family is suppose to be here which you can exxpect the council to be here as well"she said as cecilia crawled out of her bag floating to the ood table as she wasnt going to wait on eating as she didnt plan on dancing

@Lmpkio

The green man rubs his head initially, but then looks to his left, his right, and back towards the door, before looking back at Grane.

"Now this be low-key Grane-ole' pal..." Dreadlin says rather quietly as not to make his voice heard by any passers by outside, "But there' be another reason why I jus' so 'appened to be around here and be headin' to ya... It uh... It relates to the village."

He pauses as he clears his throat.

"Recently it appears that some ov our village folks have gone missin'. I believe we be down uh... four of em', if I recall. You dun happen to have seen any of em have ya?"

”From reports that I’ve been given and from what I heard or seen, since I last visited the village. No, it’s news to me now. The only thing that I know is that Maiz left the village without anyone knowing. Since then, I haven’t received anything that could relate to his current location or status. ”

There was a bit of a pause as Grane appeared to be thinking about something. As his face showed a sudden realization as he remembered something.

”It might not be much, but I did get reports of a few known rouge wizards and their underlings across Fiore who meant their death against some creature that left bruises and claw marks on the bodies. There has yet to be a witness to describe the creature. Because of that, it could be anything. I can’t confirm that it was Maiz’s work, but from I have seen from these bodies, it couldn’t be some animal. Every major injury that these bodies had were on vital areas. I could have some knights investigate further, but that could be putting them in danger. Last I heard in the village, Maiz detested humans. I tried investigating further with these events, but found nothing of worth.”

As he was about to return back to his desk, Grane turned back to Dreadlin as he tried to ask again. “Seeing as there is nothing else big going on in Crocus. What do you plan to do next?”

As the saying goes, there's a first time for everything, and for a dusty-ridden country gal tonight was no exception. More than a decade had passed since Fleo Plector last danced, or even attended an event at which dancing would be a significant affair, and so it was with great trepidation that she entered the ballroom unescorted. Due to the anxiety inspired in her by such a high-brow occasion, she arrived earlier than she would have liked. Thoughts about socializing, politics, Crocus's elite, and the big names from other guilds all whirled around her, threatening to make her dizzy, but she had managed to dress well enough. Phoenix Wing's dust wizard wore an old-fashioned, long-sleeved, chocolate brown gown that reached all the way to the floor. A red ribbon wrapped around her shoulders and wound around itself at the center of her collarbone into a roselike shape, but other than that it was unadorned. She couldn't exactly afford anything fancier, after all, and nor did she want to. Simple and traditional dress suited her just fine. With any luck, nobody would pay her any attention at all, and save her some embarrassment. The last thing she wanted to do would be to hurt Phoenix Wing's image by coming off as some kind of bumpkin.



Punctual as always, the soldiers of Frenzy Plant arrived en masse. They entered the castle in no formation at all, but nevertheless a very formal air surrounded them. Not at all the least contributing factor to this serious aura was the fact that, with a few exceptions, every member of the war guild was attending the ball in a ceremonial uniform. Dominantly a dark, pastel green, and adorned by various medals according to their owners' merits, this attire exuded a class founded in discipline. Few of the soldiers who wore them knew their touch well, but as an acute observer might have guessed, they'd done some rehearsal beforehand, so hardly anything was awry. The gentlemen wore black undershirts and red ties with their ceremonial dress, complete with corresponding black shoes and gloves, while the ladies' uniforms featured knee-length skirts over black stockings. Furthermore, every soldier wore a red beret.

Hyun stood as an exception. Frenzy Plant's S-rank members had been given the option to choose their own attire, and while Zander did not deviate from the standard uniform save for red trim, both Hyun and Indigo took advantage of the privilege. Tonight, the war guild's champion swordswoman wore a Sevenese kimono of extravagant severity. Predominantly cream-colored with a plethora of violet and lavender imagery, it sported enormous sleeves that touched the ground, and a burgundy sash tied into a huge bow behind Hyun's waist. Even her hair was done up, styled and pinned with a silver comb into a pattern that to a Fiore native could only be described as a croissant-shaped bun atop her head. A Sevenese eye, meanwhile, would recognize it as a modified kushi-maki style.

If her guildmates' apparel denoted reservation and staunchness, Indigo's choice of attire went the other way entirely. Clad in a sapphire-blue, backless (and, to Hyun's cynical eye, rather close to frontless) top with its strap behind her neck and a voluminous, pitch-black gown below, she exhibited grandiose showiness. Her long, blonde hair had been formed into a single, sizable braid that swung behind her with every step, a pendulum punctuated by the steady clack-clack-clack of sparkling azure heels. Among the green dress uniforms that surrounded her, she stood out like a sore thumb; practically anyone would have a hard time looking away. If Hyun had to pick a word to describe her, it would be 'dazzling'.

She could offer much more respect for the chosen garb of Frenzy Plant's master. Like her, Sanders had opted to represent the culture of his homeland. He wore an intricate chiffon robe of ash-gray that went past his knees. Its unique collar supported a necklace that resembled a belt, each one of its many 'buckles' sporting a different medal. He wore a short, cylindrical hat as well, mistakable as a another beret at first glance.

Several wizards from other guilds had arrived. Hyun waited idly, the very picture of dignity, and wondered what the night might bring.



A wooden sign, hastily painted and erected in the grass beside the walkway leading to the castle, read 'Genie Garb!' in big letters, with an addendum beneath: 'Wishing you had something to wear to the ball? Look no farther!' Next to the sign stood Nero the Genie himself, dressed in a cheap purple suit with matching bow tie. In a unique twist, he wore his usual tattered cape, no doubt to maintain the image of a mystical guru. The dark mage's winning salesman's smile told each and every passer by that should he or she require his services, all one needed to do was make a wish.

Of course, the stick-thin sorcerer wasn't alone. An adorable little girl bounced around the sign and its maker, seemingly unbothered by her usual shyness. The excitement of the ball had infected her, lifting her typical somber mood. Opposite Nero stood a remarkably portly young lady with dark hair, warm brown eyes, and a pleasant expression who Nero introduced as his lovely assistant. Whenever someone stopped by the sign post out of curiosity or dubiousness, Nero demonstrated the Law of Raiment by transforming Evelyn's clothes. One moment she wore a simple dress, the next a pantsuit, the next a marvelous ballgown. More than a few ballgoers, enchanted by the Genie's feat of magic, offered a paltry sum of jewel for him to modify their clothing. Several onlookers without the money for special clothes, upon seeing this, came to him as well. In short, business was booming. Nero, out for gladness rather than cash, still managed to rake in a notable profit, and in terms of bringing joy to others he couldn't be more successful. ”Whoo!” he breathed after another satisfied customer went off. ”I oughta thank the king and queen, nyeh heh! 'Cause they cut the Games short and came up with this ball to cover the loss, there's loads of hopefuls pining away for something nice to wear! What a time to be a Genie!” He turned his beaming grin at Evelyn, who returned the favor.

---

---

A young man dressed in a neatly pressed dress suit and apron was tending to the bar tonight, a little disappointed that he had been assigned to work his shift during the ball. He kept his best customer service smile plastered across his face like a mask, eager to serve anyone who walked up to the bar. When they left, his shoulders would slump and he'd let out a sigh ripe with melancholy. He was getting into the rhythm of polishing the crystal glassware when he heard the sound of a bar stool being pulled out from behind him.
"Welcome! How can I help-" The young man turned around with the same smile he'd given everyone all night, though his speech slurred and trailed off when he met eye to eye with the young lady sitting across from him.

Isabella reeled back a little at his response, feeling a little self conscious. Despite being no stranger to dressing up, the young lady was feeling rather nostalgic in her outfit of choice. The strapless gown was a light rose in color, with white trimmings and ribbon that held the outfit together with a trio of elegantly tied bows that descended down her back from small to large. The dress clung nicely to Isabella's bust and waistline, showing off her petite figure before elegantly draping around her hips and thighs in thick layers. The dress fell down to her ankles, with white lining clearly visible near the hemline. On her feet were a pair of white canvas ballet shoes, decorated with pearls and more ribbons. From her feet all the way up to her collarbone, a see through white leotard clung to her skin with a floral pattern expertly embroidered down along the right arm all the way to her wrist where a silver corsage of white roses sat. A white rose also sat neatly in her hair, tucked just behind her left ear. Her long, pink hair had been pulled up into a tight bun with a french braid woven around the circumference. Her fringe had been left in tact, lightly curled and parted to better frame the sides of her face. A pair of pearl earrings dangled down by the sides of her face. The look was topped off with just a touch of make up, highlighting Isabella's cheekbones and defining her lashes with mascara.

The bartender caught himself staring, pulling his jaw back up from the ground before regaining his composure.
"Uh, I mean. How may I help you, Ma'am?" Isabella noticed that he was trying to avoid eye contact, keeping his gaze down. Perhaps she had overdone the outfit a little. Though if she was being honest, she chose to dress this way because it reminded her of her childhood. The extravagant outfits during a performance, all eyes on her while she danced and that feeling of being so mesmerizing and untouchable to the audience. Isabella leaned over the counter, getting a good look at that selection on the back wall.
"A glass of Pinot Gris, please." Satisfied with her choice, Isabella put down the jewels on the counter whilst the bartender removed a glass from down below and went to fetch the wine. As he began pouring, he awkwardly made small talk which Isabella half heatedly responded to. In truth, she was hoping to have a drink now to take the edge off the evening. The nerves of actually attending the ball with a date, especially someone like Jane, was starting to get to her.

Taking small sips from her glass, Isabella closed her eyes in appreciation of the sweet, fruity richness of her beverage. She scanned the lobby, awaiting Jane to appear with mixed feelings of both anticipation and anxiousness.

---

---

The hours of the day had slowly trickled away from Bullet up until now. The young man sat on the bed in his trousers, a towel draped around his shoulders. His hair looked like a right mess, all tangled and wild as a result of hastily drying it off. The young man stared down at the blinking communication lacrima that rested on his bedside table. No doubt it was a message from Marlene that he had forgotten to check. He clenched his fists in frustration, angry at himself for being so afraid. Marlene was nice, and he had enjoyed spending time with her today. What was holding him back?

He looked up at the mirror hanging from the wall opposite him, where he was forced to meet his own gaze. Those unnatural, striking red eyes and the strange markings that covered his skin. He'd never felt self conscious about these oddities before. Perhaps he had grown too complacent with Isabella; sticking by her because he was too afraid of being rejected by anyone else. Though now he was met with the possibility that Isabella had moved on from him. His thoughts wandered to images of her and Jane dancing, having a grand time at the ball. Standing up, Bullet swallowed his fear and grabbed his dress shirt off the bed. He wasn't going to sit around and mope. Not tonight. Not when there was someone waiting for him.



"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Bullet scrambled in front of Marlene, smirking awkwardly. With everyone dressed so nicely, it was hard to tell who was who. Bullet himself had cleaned up quite nicely. His hair was combed through of any knots, but it was still painfully obvious that he'd tried to style it to look messy. A definite improvement though. He wore his long sleeved, red shirt with the top buttons undone. It was tucked away messily into his black trousers, fastened to his waist by a brown leather belt. Bullet was sporting a pair of newly polished, black dress shoes. They were a little bit uncomfortable at first but he'd quickly gotten used to wearing them. Over his shirt he wore a matching black vest with golden trimmings.

Bullet stared down at the floor, blushing a little at Marlene's own outfit.
"I, um, I mean you. You look..." Cutting himself off, Bullet shoved out his hands in which a silver box with white ribbons sat. "I got this for you. To say thanks, for asking me to come with you." Bullet lifted the top off of the box to reveal a corsage of pink roses and lavender held together with white ribbon and a silver chain. Bullet continued to awkwardly fumble about, babbling on about how he was worried it wouldn't match. He was completely oblivious to whatever reaction Marlene might have to his gesture.

---

---

If Rosalina was being honest, she'd completely forgotten about tonight's ball. The event seemed like a moot point considering how abruptly the games had ended. It was supposed to be a celebration of the winners and a sign of no hard feelings between guilds. No doubt there were a lot of participants that were attending for the sole purpose of an explanation on behalf of the Royal Family. Rosalina saw Carrie, bustling about as always. Though she took note that her fellow Council Woman seemed to be quite on edge. Approaching her from behind, Rosalina stood besides her with her hands behind her back.
"You dressed quite nicely for the occasion. Perhaps I should have attempted to prepare a last minute outfit." Rosalina gestured to her own, usual attire. As much as she hated dressing up, she stood out like a sore thumb right now. A server walked past, offering the two ladies a glass of champagne which Rosalina happily allowed herself to indulge in. She took a small sip, savouring the sweet, fizzy taste.

"Try to enjoy yourself tonight, Carrie. My Knights have the area completely secured." Rosalina watched the various Knights scattered across the ballroom, her own team even present in adding extra security. Though she also happened to catch a glimpse of Sayatachi and her own guard entering the ballroom.
"Those of us on the Council rarely get days to ourselves. Make the most of it. Now, if you'll excuse me." Rosalina departed from Carrie, leaving behind her reassuring words that tonight would be fine. Though if she was being honest, both women knew that the events that would unfold tonight were uncertain to them. Still, Rosalina knew that if they acted tense the guild wizards would pick up on that.

Rosalina approached Sayatachi, extending her hand out to the other Council Woman with a smile.
"Good evening, Lady Nijiko. I wanted to thank you for signing those papers for me, as well as apologise for any rudeness on behalf of Constantine earlier." Rosalina beckoned over a server to bring a couple refreshments over to Sayatachi and her entourage. She took another sip of her own champagne, staring up to one of the higher balconies where she knew Constantine to be watching.
"She doesn't trust easily, but she's fearlessly loyal. Unfortunately she has a tendency to be quite harsh to anyone she doesn't yet trust. I hope you didn't take too much offense." Rosalina took a step closer to Sayatachi, walking with her as they strolled through the ballroom.

"I came across a few very intriguing individuals today. A man named Sora and a young girl named Ethel. They're interested in joining the Knights. I haven't confirmed anything with them just yet, but I did say I'd consider it." She neglected to inform Sayatachi of the rather strange presence of the young girl, nor the arrogance of Sora. These details would need to be addressed later. For now though, Rosalina hoped to get any discussion with her fellow Council Members out of the way. She intended to spend the evening congratulating the Guilds for their efforts. Despite not really caring for the games, she thought it'd best to start building rapport with the mages especially since she wasn't present for the New Council introductions.

---

---

The members of Team Veritas were scattered throughout the Ballroom. Constantine was up above and in full uniform; something that she didn't wear all too often. Her sniper rifle was hidden behind a table. She would have preferred to be wielding it, but Rosalina informed her that carrying around her weapon like that would only make people wary. Zen was on the ground floor, right near the tables where the food was being placed. It was a shame he wasn't allowed to have any; it all smelled so good. Finally, Bayard was outside at the door; making sure there were no uninvited guests showing up. His large, imposing appearance made him quite a good bouncer.

Bayard's thoughts drifted back to the young boy from earlier. There was an odd sense of joy when he thought of him, as if he was already anticipating their next meeting. Next time, Bayard would convince him to join their cause for sure. For now though, he simply waited for the guests to start showing up.

"Well, at least one of you has faith in me." Joshua said with an amused smile before scratching the back of his head, blushing a bit at her compliment. "Arigato. You look very lovely as well. Stunning I might say. I'm sure the other girls are going to be a bit jealous of you."

After giving her time to respond (and possibly recover), Joshua held out his hand
"Shall we get going, Hime-chan?" He asked. Once they were ready, he lead her to the castle, grabbing and paying for a ride so that they wouldn't be to tired by the time they arrived. He lead the way into the ballroom, whistling at the sight of all the food and servants around them. "Well, looks like a nice spread. I doubt we'll be hungry tonight, though most of this food looks a little too fancy for me. Still, it's free, so might as well enjoy it. What do you think?"



Elyse soon ran back to her mother, smiling and jumping on the balls of her feet, her excitement barely contained.
"Wanna go, wanna go now!" She said loudly, her small amount of patients running dry very quickly.

"Alright, alright. Hold onto Mommy and we'll get going." Lucus said. Once Rose and Elyse were finished getting ready, Lucus led the way outside and grabbed a cab for them, arriving to the ball within a few minutes. He let Rose lead the way from there, since she would likely know were her father and half-brother were.

Elyse was looking at their new surroundings in fascination, pointing at all the things that caught her interest the most and telling Rose about them as they passed.

@joshua tamashii
"Alright Alright hun we will go.."Said rose accepting elyse's hand as she smiled happy to see elyse so excited about this ball as she followed lucus getting in the cab.

Once they wereat the ball she nodded and replied back to Elyse's exciting remmarks about everything. She enjoyed events like this every now and then because hey they were not the normal everyday thing and she wasnt the type to always dress up.. it was good to have a change ever ynow and then. "I do not sense my brother or father near by so I am guessing they are not here yet" she added looking around not seeing many of the guilds here just yet.


@joshua tamashii

[color=skyblue]"Maybe but this is just one night and this night is not about me or anything"said amaya blushing at the compliment beore she nodded taking his hand as she let joshua lead the way and into the cab.

She looked around at their surroundings
[color=skyblue]"truely beautiful"/color]said amaya
"and hey its free food and should be yummy enough since i heard the royal family is suppose to be here which you can exxpect the council to be here as well"she said as cecilia crawled out of her bag floating to the ood table as she wasnt going to wait on eating as she didnt plan on dancing

Heaven Nine

Earlier
The room was long and narrow, lit as dimly as it could be. There was a throne at the end of the room, and seated in it was the commanding figure of Budo, the guild master. He stroked his beard, waiting impatiently. The air quivered as Shade emerged from the shadows. He made his way down the room, and brought himself to a kneel. "Master." He bowed his head. Budo perked up, eagerly awaiting some good news. "The Queen... she... cancelled the final event of the games. Lazarus and Shujin never faced each other on the field. They could still be a problem for our plan." He almost cowered in fear of what his Master might do to him for bringing the news, even though it was Wither's plan. Budo sat in silence, his brow furrowed. The pressure of magic in the room rose significantly. Pieces of stone began to rise from the floor, and the ground started to shake. Budo was indeed pissed. The master pondered to himself. "You're telling me the light god slayer and the iron hand could still stand in our way?!" He threw his hand out to the side, using his crash magic to destroy a statue. Shade interrupted the master's rage. "B-but master. Wither is already on her way to deal with the problem. She plans to gain entry to the Queen's ball and give us the upper hand, discretely." Budo halted his fury for a moment, before destroying another statue. He asked Shade, "Is she aware of what she must do if she is to be captured?" Shade nodded, almost feeling sorry for Wither, praying that she could succeed. They had all agreed long ago to take their own life before giving any information about the Heaven Nine to the authorities. Budo calmed himself. "Well... good luck to her. You kids mean the world to me, it would be a shame if her story was to end here..." He sighed, sitting back in his chair.

Lazarus @Caits

The Phoenix Wing Hotel
His heart felt a sudden pain, as if something terrible had just happened. He couldn't quite put his finger on it though, and as the feeling had disappeared, he thought nothing of it. The problem regarding his clone's plan was still being kept private, as there was nothing much that could done about it before the ball had ended anyway. If anything, the feeling of disappointment for the last event not being carried out outweighed his thoughts. He was suited and booted, more than he had been in a long time. He returned to the hallway, before making his way down the stairs. "How do I look?" He asked Sasha as she returned to the Hotel.

Shujin

The Dragon Fang Hotel
His burn wounds had now healed well from his battle with Sasha. He still kept the bandages on his body, but removed the ones from his hands, revealing the scared and rough skin beneath. He dressed in one of his royal uniforms. It didn't have anything official attached to it, so it would be fine.
Shujin leant over the sink, processing the information that he had taken in over the last couple of days. He had found Wither again... well more like she had found him. She was different. She wasn't the cute girl he had left at the church any more. He had left because he wanted to walk the path of magic his own way, not Budo's. Not taking Wither with him was one of the biggest mistakes he had ever made. He sighed, looking at himself in the mirror, his long thick black waves covering one eye. He shook his head. It was a special occasion, so why not? He formed a small dagger and scissors with his magic, before he began cutting. After about 20 minutes had had a much shorter, attractive look. He smiled, as reminded himself of what he looked like a few years ago.
He deformed the metal, before making his way outside to get some air. There was a small oak tree in the middle of the courtyard in front of their hotel, and that was where he stood beneath. He took big gulps of the fresh outdoors before going to make his way back to the hotel to leave with the others. He felt a slither across his shoulder which sent a shiver down his spine. "Where are you going Oni-San?" He needn't turn around to look. It was Wither.
"Look at me Oni-San." Shujin turned his head slightly to see Wither. She sure had grown up. She was wearing wearing a very tight, long black dress and it sat well on her bust and hips. She had clearly taken the time to do her make up. "Don't I look pretty?" Wither giggled. Shujin already knew he had lost whatever it was she had come for. Already knowing her abilities, he no choice other than to close his eyes and look down so she couldn't get inside his immune system. Wither seemed displeased by this. "Awww come on, you're no fun." She crept up next to him, gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek, before whispering "Look at me... Oni-San." Shujin's mind was lit up by flashbacks of her as a kid. He reluctantly looked her in the eyes, before speaking almost roughly "What do you want Wither. I couldn't do what you asked, the Queen cancelled the last event." He clenched his fists. Wither pressed her finger to his lips. "Shhh-shhh-shhh, dear brother... I know... I know. I'm not here for that." Shujin was very sceptical. She sighed. "I want you..." She put her finger on his chest, "...to get me into the ball as your guest." She grinned deviously, before continuing. "After all, I did go through all this effort." She ran her hands down her dress. Shujin refused. "No. I will not allow you to harm Lazarus or Sasha, especially not now she might be pregn-" He stopped himself. Fuck.
He had overheard Lazarus talking to her about it. Why did he just blab to the worst person possible? Wither's jaw dropped. "Ohoho that's veryyyyy interesting." She grinned deviously again, before composing herself. "I don't care about any of that. I just want to spend some time with you Oni-San. Just because I'm with the Heaven Nine still doesn't mean I can't do ordinary people things." Shujin didn't buy it for one second. "Cut the crap, this isn't just a friendly date. What are you trying to achieve at the ball?" He probably had no choice, but he couldn't believe she just wanted to spend time with him. Wither brought her hands together. "You... just... can... see right through me cant you?" She giggled. "I do have a reason to be there, but it wouldn't be any fun if I just told you... now would it?" She paused. "Now... if you don't take me as your guest... you know what'll happen to you." Shujin grit his teeth, knowing he had no choice. "Fine. Just please, don't harm anyone." She squealed with excitement, taking his arm. "Walk me to the ball then, Oni-san!" She gripped him tightly, giving him no chance of escape as they made their way to the ball, on foot. He sighed.

Ash hadn't wanted to come at first. She didn't care if it was compulsory or not, not that she knew anyway cause she never asked if it was. But fancy dress-ups weren't really her thing, nor was conforming to a dress code. She wore her usual attire because it was comfortable so why the heck would she want to change it? Just one look at her could tell you she wore if often due to the wear, tear and singe marks on it.
Of course the lure of free food was too great for the pyromancer so she reluctantly decided to come. Thus here she was, dressed in the Frenzy Plant ceremonial attire, which she had just recently acquired, leaning against a wall with a plate full of food. Her usually unkempt hair had been straightened out and just left to fall around her shoulders, ending at about waist length. She grabbed a small handful of it and gave it a whiff, scrunching up at the smell of the conditioner she has used to wash it with.
She had decided that since she was coming she didn't want to look too out of place so had washed and brushed her hair....that had taken an hour or two just to get rid of the knots. It wasn't something she did very often, but her hair was shiny at the least.



@Raijinslayer
Jasmine froze as she felt the knife be pressed against her neck further, wincing in pain slightly as a small nick came about due to the wielders shaking hands. Jacqueline's words were starting to scare Jasmine here...
Then Jacqueline's magical presence beared down on them and Jasmine could only stand there frozen in fear at the sheer quantity of malice and despair within it, also the sheer quantity of magical power but mostly the malice and despair. She stumbled slightly in surprise when the thief pushed her into Jacqueline, snapping her out of her 'frozen' state in the process as she tried her best not to knock over the fragile looking 'girl'.
Exciting? What the heck was Jacqueline going on about? That was terrifying! Though she wouldn't lie...it was a tad exciting. At Jacqueline's question about whether or not Jasmine had magic she nodded slightly. Even if she wasn't meant to answer, she felt obliged to regardless.
"Umm no I don't my....I didn't know anyone with magic to teach me." Jasmine looked away as she seemed to change halfway through what she was going to say. She was about to mention her parents...but couldn't think about them just yet.
As Jacqueline wrapped her arm around Jasmine's shoulder in a firm grip Jasmine walked with her eagerly out of the alleyway. She hadn't wanted to go down there in the first place so she was more than happy to get out.
And Jacqueline would help her get a magic? Even if it was only an item or weapon? Well while she did appreciate the offer....Jasmine was going to decline but it would seem that Jacqueline didn't want to take no for an answer.
Oh well...despite what happened earlier, Jasmine still trusted that Jacqueline wouldn't hurt her. She had said so herself, so despite the little voice in her head telling her not to go she went to go shopping with the undead mage.

Jake had spent his afternoon attempting to find a suit that fit his style, though it had proven far more difficult that he'd thought it would in a city like Crocus. With all the different stores, he had figured he'd walk into each one until something caught his eye. That plan had ended after his tenth walk in. He then visited another twenty stores doing some looking around before deciding on what he wore as he approached the hotel that Ryder's Blade was staying in.

It was a simple set up, with a crimson colored dress shirt, buttoned all the way to the top, with a black tie and vest to go with, the vest bearing silver colored embroidery work in the shape of flames. The pants were also black with the same silver embroidery and the outfit was finished off with a pair of polished black dress shoes. His hair was combed to the side and gelled in place, something that had taken Hunter fifteen minutes to convince him to do to get his hair to keep it's combed appearance. Upon reaching the hotel, he took a moment to compose himself before walking in and, spotting Pyrrha, he could only stop and stare for a moment, the girl he had asked to the ball stealing his breath away with her beauty. Realizing he was staring, he composed himself and approached her, holding out a hand to help her up. "You look stunning, Pyrrha."




Several minutes after Isabella took her seat at the bar, the click-clack of heels coming down the stairs could be heard. When the performer turned, she would find her partner for the ball coming down the stairs, wearing a sapphire blue dress that left all the way down to her mid-back exposed, and a fair amount of her bust, while hanging loosely over her form. Her hair was up in a well styled bun and from her ears hung a pair of sapphire studded earrings. Her feet were adorned with a pair of matching four inch heels and completed with a purse covered in sequins. Overall, it would seem that Jane Addeson was no stranger to dressing extravagantly and even seemed to enjoy it.

After taking a moment to find Isabella, she approached her and took a seat next to her, ordering a glass of champagne. "The last time I got to dress like this...it was almost a year ago for a local dance a lord was putting on. Guess I never forgot the stuff mom taught me."

Mayt grumbled to himself as he finally pulled his brand new nice overcoat over the cast on his arm. This was the final thing he needed to put on before he could head to the ball. He glanced over at the floor at the base of the bed he had been given where the scabbard of his sword lay. The blade itself had been nowhere to be found after the explosion, which had left Mayt somewhat distraught. It had been given to him by his parents, not to mention he felt like some part of him was missing when he didn't have it with him. He decided that sometime either during or after the ball he would mention its disappearance to Jamie in hopes that she would have the resources and time to help him find it.

He straightened his tie again in the little mirror he had before finally going to the door of the room, opening it, and stepping out into the hall. Finding it empty, he started towards the stairs at a melancholy pace. One of his legs had been injured too, but he felt bad at asking someone to move out of their room just to accommodate him, and so he limped down the stairs slowly. Before too long he was back down in the lobby, and headed towards the door. He hesitated for a long moment when he noticed Marlene and Bullet, his eyes mostly remaining on the more female of the two. He breathed out slowly before finally yanking his eyes away and starting towards the door, trying to minimize his limp. He doubted staring at someone else's date for too long would end well, even if basically everyone at the ball was going to be staring at her later anyway.

@Leslie Hall@Lmpkio

As Marlene was humming away in the lobby, she suddenly sees Bullet come scrambling into the room and up to her. He seemed as if he was rushed while getting here.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" he states rather flusteredly as he approaches her.

The Crystal Maiden replies with a warming smile.

"Ah Bullet-san!" Marlene responds with open arms, "You're just in time! The Ball is about to start soon I believe."

She takes a look at her friend's clothing and style. He looked pretty damn good as a matter of fact. His hair had been straightened out, but does look somehow messy on purpose, along with a long sleeved red shirt with the top buttons undone, tucked into his pants supported by a nice brown belt. His shoes also looked pretty stylish as well, being a nice jet black, oh, and the golden trimmings on his vest really went well with him. But poor Bullet was already beginning to stammer somewhat out of embarrassment.

"You're lookin' stylish too!" Marlene replies with a friendly arm nudge.

"I, um, I mean you. You look..."

He then cuts himself off in which he shoved out his hands in which a silver box with white ribbons sat.

"I got this for you. To say thanks, for asking me to come with you."

Marlene's eyebrows perked up in complete surprise and with stunning curiosity. She totally wasn't expecting to be given a gift at a place like this. She sighs as she gives out a vibrant sigh.

"Awwwwhawwww," she replies with an embarrassed look, "That's soooo sweat! You didn't have to get me a gift though, dear Bullet, but thank you so much for thinking about it!"

Bullet then lifted the top off of the box to reveal what was inside... a corsage of pink roses and lavender held together with white ribbon and a silver chain. Marlene's eyes seemed to glow as she gasped while covering her mouth. She gingerly picks the chain up and takes a nice gander at it. She then puts it over her right hand, stunned at what beauty. With a little squeal that couldn't be contained, she gives Bullet a nice big hug, having a balanced combination of rough but also gentleness in it.

"It's perfect!" she responds with joy during her embrace.

But as she embraced him, she catches a glimpse of some guy looking at her. She quickly realizes that it's Mayt, a fellow guild member. But before she could say anything, the man yanked his eyes away and began walking away, with a noticeable limp. Marlene wondered how he got that injury, but alas she didn't want to ruin the experience for her friend, so she pretends to ignore it altogether

---

”From reports that I’ve been given and from what I heard or seen, since I last visited the village. No, it’s news to me now. The only thing that I know is that Maiz left the village without anyone knowing. Since then, I haven’t received anything that could relate to his current location or status.”

Ah Maiz. Dreadlin didn't like him too much. He was a unique lizardman to say the least, but always remained in solitude, alone doing whatever he does. It wasn't until some time ago where the village found out that he was gone indefinitely. The green man had many questions onto why he left, but then again, he shouldn't be surprised. It was then when Grane began to say something else regarding the subject.

”It might not be much, but I did get reports of a few known rouge wizards and their underlings across Fiore who meant their death against some creature that left bruises and claw marks on the bodies. There has yet to be a witness to describe the creature. Because of that, it could be anything. I can’t confirm that it was Maiz’s work, but from I have seen from these bodies, it couldn’t be some animal. Every major injury that these bodies had were on vital areas. I could have some knights investigate further, but that could be putting them in danger. Last I heard in the village, Maiz detested humans. I tried investigating further with these events, but found nothing of worth.”

Dreadlin simply shook his head, followed by three tsks in disappointment, not at Grane, but at the situation at hand.

"Bloody hell..." the green man responds shamefully, "Yea' somethin' really sticks to me that he and de others might've been cookin' somethin' up. I mean, I don't mind the 'umans. I actually kinda' like some of em. But I dun' support the violence agains' em by me own kind. At least... uh, de peaceful ones."

He paused for a second, with a rather worried face, until responding quickly.

"I hate to be dat kinda guy, Grane-ole'-mate," Dreadlin states rather softly, "But do ya wanna help me investigate da cause of dis ruckus? At least confirm it be them? I mean, if yer busy, I be respectin' that. I'm just uh... leavin' it out there if yer available, for I feel it be better if we lizardpeople investigate it ourselves? Waddya say?"

---

As soon as Lady Nijiko entered the ballroom, her Kamikaze Guard was still guarding her as they entered in, only giving enough space as to avoid being claustrophobic. She was perfectly fine to be left alone, after all, she didn't want to have wary eyes be driven on her like a politician protecting herself from some assassination threat. And even if one did try and happen, she is more than capable to fend for herself. The guards were rather silent, only talking to one another and occasionally mentioning Lady Nijiko's name here and there. She didn't mind that they did either.

As they began conversing randomly at a table, the main dish of the party finally came into view.

"Good evening, Lady Nijiko." greets Rosalina with a smile, extending her hand out to the council woman, bring a couple refreshments over to her and her entourage.

Saya issues a smile as she extends her own hand as well.

"Ah, salutations Rosalina. she responds as she takes the drinks and hands them to the Guard.

She then signals them to depart from her presence and to spread out. She wanted a one on one talk with her privately. The guards silently nod in acknowledgement as they began to walk in different directions, disappearing into the crowd. Taking a sip of the exquisite champagne, Saya takes a sip of her own drink as well, and notices that Rosa was looking up at the balcony where Constantine was watching the two like a hawk perched in a tree.

"She doesn't trust easily, but she's fearlessly loyal. Unfortunately she has a tendency to be quite harsh to anyone she doesn't yet trust. I hope you didn't take too much offense."

Sayatachi simply chuckles in response as she follows in step with the other council woman.

"No worries, my dear Rosa." Lady Nijiko responds as she takes a quick sip, "She was rather nice overall in the quarters. I even provided her a drink of her choosing. *Sigh* If only she can take life a little more relaxed you know?"

There was a slight pause in between the two until Rosa began to change subjects henceforth.

"I came across a few very intriguing individuals today. A man named Sora and a young girl named Ethel. They're interested in joining the Knights. I haven't confirmed anything with them just yet, but I did say I'd consider it."

Saya was rather intrigued by this statement.

"Interesting..." she responds, while twisting her wrist lightly, "Do you happen to know what powers they possess? Or what they look like? The man would be most likely eligible to join, but a young girl? I wouldn't guess she has such interest."

---

Meanwhile, the rest of the Kamikaze Guard were separated from one another and doing their own thing. Hordiko was simply lounging around by a sofa and taking a drink or two, trying to seduce a few ladies with a slick tongue of his. Yuki was listening to some music in a corner, via her own lacrima earbuds. And Kuragari, the oddball that he is, was standing out in a balcony, looking up at the beautiful stars and the shiny moon above...

(Free for interaction)

Jamie

"You look absolutely perfect, sweetheart" Jamie said, taking in Amelia's appearance and smiling, knowing that Amelia was nervous about the ball. She approached her and said "Its going to be a good night, sweetie. Yet if you feel like you want to go, we can. Just let yourself enjoy the night" She said, risin as Jarvis came out with Sam, dressed thankfully. She smiled, and turned to them all.

"Well then, shall we go?" She said, starting towards the door to head out.

---

Gabriel stood a litle awkwardly to the side of the ball room, not knowing what to do, and tugging at the uniform, feeling stuffy and confind. His hair was neat, rather then its usual fluffy mess, and he looked bashfully handsome. Leo, beside him having refused to be left behind and making Gabriel nervous that he would get him in trouble, was trying to tug Gabriel into the crowd, but Gabriel was having none of it. He scanned the crowd for any sign of Michael, even as he knew that he should mingle with others, if not the guild. Yet he couldn't make himself do it, a little afraid that he might do something to hurt the guild. It didn't help that he was still new to the guild, and that while he wore the uniform, that was it.

He sighed to himsel, and wishin Leo would just leave him alone, he tried to move away ffrom the spirit, and lose him in the crowd, scanning it and wondering just what he was going to do here, at the ball. He couldn't dance worth a damn, and he'd already alienated one person in the guild because they thought he was goofing around because of it. Yet maybe if he just hung around the others, he wouldn't look so out of place. Maybe their offical appearances would make him look better.

---

Sasha had taken a few moments to change, before headin back down to the foyer, her thought troubled as she waited. She was wearing a dress of black and purple, and had tied her hair back in a complicated braid. She leaned against a pillar, hands held contentedly in front of her, thinking back on what she had just learned, looking up at the sounds of footsteps and managing a smile. "You look great" She said brightly, pushing off from the pillar. Within her dress, glints of ice crystals floated, giving her a slightly sparkly look as she went over to Lazarus. She leaned up to kiss him, the few strands of hair that wasn't contained in her braid falling over her eyes.

She seemed to hesitate a moment, but she could never keep anything from Lazarus. "Time Lord approached me again. There's a lot that we should discuss-given that Master Jamie crashed us, she already knows.

I have to talk with the guild masters. We're going to find Tenuru Island, and I'd like to head off quite soon. Means we have to take Shujin, and Master Jamie seems to think that there's someone in Frenzy Plant that has fairy tail blood too. Two from each guild, if their masters will aloow it"

She glanced about, seeing some of the guild already making their way, "But we can discuss that later"

---

Penny made her way towards the ball, making sure she kept her guard up, just in case there were some idiots out there thinking of taking a guild mage unawares while they sought to celebrate. She was quite aware that she was making a stricking figure, and she rolled her eyes, ignoring them, and finally reaching the ball, she glanced about, suddenly unsure.

@Zarkun@YipeeXD@Joshua Tamashii

@CirusArvennicus



Edarn had simply nodded in response before allowing Trinity to say whatever she wished. She perhaps should feel bad how Trinity was growing a little worried that Karn hadn't taken control for awhile now. But she didn't. She didn't feel anything. For a moment, she was going to give Trinity a warning of Edarn's decision, but decided to let it slide to now in order to let the minstrel celebrate and enjoy the time at the ball. When Trinity left, Edarn's finger tapped against the glass, even if Karn didn't want the bath, Edarn could easily force it now. So she gave a slight sigh, heading upstairs to their room in order to wash up. Ignoring her Earthland's words of complete protest as they inevitably made their way to Karn's worst enemy.

Water.

---

Much to Edarn's distaste, she compensated wearing whatever Karn wanted to the ball for having to take a thorough bath. That was a mistake cause now this body was wearing quite the frilly dress at the ball. She didn't particularly understand the fascination over wearing such immobile clothes, but whatever, it seemed to make her counterpart happy.

"Karn. Phoenix Wing it seems, despite differences shares one aspect. Optimism. Still, sometimes hard choices have to be made, as some of the members here have made. I made mine. You know what happens if they are not successful, correct?" Edarn asked within her thoughts softly, taking a sip of wine as she stood beside the dining table, munching on some more food. Blast this black hole of a stomach.

"Yeah... but that's okay. I don't mind.... but first, party time! And Food!" Karn chirped within her mind.

Lazarus @caits

He smiled, as Sasha came out in her dress. She looked beautiful. He brushed the stray pieces of hair from her eyes and accepted the kiss. As for what she said about the time lord, he responded. "Let's just try to put everything to the back of our minds... just for one night?" He smiled, taking her hand. "Shall we go?" He gestured towards to foyer door.

Shujin

The street was quiet, as they made their way to the ball. Just for a moment, it was as if Wither wasn't forcing him to do this, and it was a casual evening walk. He spoke up after about 5 minutes. "I don't suppose I could convince you to stop this... could I?" They stopped walking, and she let go of his arm. "Leave them. Stay with us." She was taken aback by his offer, as it caught her off guard slightly. "I'll speak with the master. He'll help. We can put an end to this. Together." She hesitated, as her emotions began to tangle with her logical thoughts. After a brief moment, Wither slapped Shujin. She spoke with a slight croak in her voice. "Let's... let's just keep walking. Don't ever say something stupid like that again." She retook his arm. He had tried his best for now. They continued towards the palace.

Joshua smiled as Cecilia flew away and Amaya commented on the ball and who would be there. He had no doubt at least some of the council would be here and since they were in the castle, it made sense for royalty to be at the party. The question was how peaceful the ball would be. Hopefully there wouldn't be any fighting.
"So, shall we enjoy some food, or shall we find some people to talk to?" He asked her, a small smile on his face.



"Alright. Let's go." Amelia said, still sounding nervous. She would follow her family to the castle, sticking close to either Jamie or Jarvis, whichever one wasn't too busy occupying Sam. She also tried to ignore all the stares she was getting, as she hated them above all else and was more then happy to finally make it to the castle and outside of the view of the general public.

Once they arrived at the ballroom, she let out a gasp of amazement. The room was lovely and all the food looked so good. She wanted to find the sweets and begin digging in, but restrained herself so as not to embarrass her family.



"Well, I'm sure they'll show up in due time. Until then, we might as well enjoy ourselves, wouldn't you say?" Lucus asked as Elyse began wondering around. She didn't run, since she knew better, but it was really hard to hold herself back from doing so, as she wanted to explore the entire castle and see everything inside of it.



When Jake finally arrived, Pyrrha gave him a smile. His compliment brought a tinge of red to her face as she looked at the ground briefly.
"Thank you. You look nice as well." She said, accepting his hand and standing up. The rest of her guild was kindly letting them be for now, which she was thankful for since she didn't want to hear about this just yet. With nothing to keep them from leaving, she asked the obvious question. "Shall we get going?"

@Caits

Zephyr Hardt- Ballroom

As the time would creep up on Zephyr so would the arrival of the ball, something that wouldn't have been as fun as fighting the others but it was in the past and no amount of people complaining would change that. Yet doing some training helped pass his time, as so with about an hour to spare he would rush back to the guild's hotel using his engine takeover and would take a shower to get all the dirt and sweat off him. He had a feeling if he didn't and arrived smelling worse than a dump, than the master might end up punching his head inside his body. So he rather not risk seeing his internal organs inside his own body and just took the shower. When he was pleased that he wouldn't walk past flowers and watch them shrivel up and die, he would proceed to get dressed.

Wasn't anything fancy normal black dress pants, a dark purple dress shirt with a black vest and tie to match. There of course was the one thing that didn't match in the sense of fancy clothes, and that would be his headphones which he kept on no matter what. Yet all ready to go and with enough time to get there, he would head on out to the ball. Which upon arrival looked much more fancy than he had anticipated. The guards there also seemed to be an indicator that no one was to mess around, or a bad time would await them. Only one guild really stood out, which might have been due to the fact most of them wore the same clothing. Yet that sure must save time when you don't have to pick anything out, Frenzy Plant sure was one intriguing guild.

As he roamed around though, he would spot a familiar person in the distance. One that he remembered very well from her yelling at him so much, which caused him to chuckle a bit as he made his way over to her as she was inspecting the guards. He nodded along with her and eventually spoke up. "Think you can relax a little and let them handle any problems that arise. I still stand with what I said earlier Carrie. Now is the perfect time to relax, even for a little. If any problems did surface, you have literally an entire room full of people that will stop it..... Just remember before you yell at me, we are in public."

@Lunarlors34

Indigo Ishida- Somewhere

"Hahahaha!!" Indigo would laugh loudly as he ran down the street hiding in an alley to avoid any potential guards suspecting him. With him was his partner in pranks, Angela. "Oh my... I can't breath.. hahaha! Did you see his face? It looked like he saw an angry wife coming towards him with a knife! That was too beautiful. You are without a doubt getting that tray of cookie. Yet the best part wasn't the guard on fire, it was all the guards wanting to help, but not wanting to pat his ass out. Oh I haven't laughed that hard in a weeks. So you want to find another guard or do something else? Everyone worth pulling a prank on will be at the ball now, and I rather not risk failing there. I might be strong but I'm not seventy wizards plus strong."

Ike Riven- Ballroom

Having finished his training and getting cleaned up just in time for the ball to get going, the others and himself. Anyone that wasn't a general got to wear this uniform, which he put on with no complaints. He didn't really care how he was to dress for this occasion, if anything he didn't even have any dress attire for the event. So in a way this saved him money, yet not sure what they expected him to do there really. In fact he was positive he would be doing nothing he brought a book along, about his magic to read during the entirety of the ball. So once the others and him were there, he would sit down in a chair and open his book up and resume reading it. He saw a few others in the guild walking around or getting ready for the party, he was mostly curious as to how Hyun was capable of walking when her sleeves touched the ground. Yet other than her and Indigo dressing in their own choice of clothing, not much was going on right now. Not if you counted those two new fire wizards stuffing their face.

@Lugubrious

Malice

This just wasn't Malice's week at all, Pirate Lord got trashed upon the entire event. She would be known as the quickest fight in the games history. She would also be humiliated by her brother in another event. Then the final event to redeem herself got cancelled, yet to make matters worse. After she had finished getting her dress ready, their lovely guild leader went and told them they would be merging with Frenzy Plant. Did this man not realize the embarrassment that the Indigo woman caused her? Yet here he is signing them to merge with the same guild, yep she was done with this week. She was done with this city, she was officially done with the games. So she just wanted to get this night over with, and showed up to the ball anyway, in which Frenzy Plant would already beset her eyes with the uniform members were wearing. It almost pained her to think she would have worn that should Salem had merged earlier. If it was one thing she enjoyed it was dresses hence why she came in her fancy new one. A black dress with purple that spiraled around her legs, and when she was sure she would be the fanciest dressed woman here. She would spot that woman... Indigo.

Malice literally couldn't take her eyes off the woman her outstanding dress, it was like perfection. It had a beautiful color, a lovely design and even risque to get the people's attention. This woman had once again bested her. Yet at the moment that was far from Malice's mind, now she was in her dress mode, so she would casually walk over to Indigo with a smile on her face. "I have to know so I can pick one myself, where did you get that stunning dress?"

Carrie
@Oblivion666

Carrie glanced over at Zephyr, unsuprised to see him. She shifted and sighed wearily. While Zephyr was annoying, he was nevertheless genuine, and that went far. "And what happens if a fight breaks out between guilds? Its not so much outside forces I'm worried about, but grudges developed in the games coming back to bite me in the ass. I never wanted the games to go ahead to begin with" Glancing at the guards once more, she sighed again.

"The other council members are too young, too inexperinced, I'm all that's left to make sure the Council has the upstandingit should have, and I won't let a scandal at the ball be my undoing"

there had already been too much, and Carrie had been dealing with quite a bit of backlash, mainly about damage to the streets and buildings, when it had been assured there wouldn't be any. That had certainly been fun to try and explain. And then there was a few other things. "What would you have me do, Zephyr? Let the guilds kill themselves and walk away? I can't. I have to do what I can to bring the council back to where it was, before Kali put her black paws over it"

---

Sasha
@YipeeXD

Sasha frowned, but nodded, curling her fingers around Lazarus's, and leadding the way to the ball. She had something else she wanted to talk about, but figured that could wait now. Maybe it would be nice to just...enjoy things, but...she couldn't help the worry she still felt at Lazarus's body-double being out there, waiting to kill him. As they walked to the ball, she kept her senses open, just in case. Reaching the ball, it was quite a relief to see the guards, and know that the rest of the guild was there. Nothing could happen, right?

She let out a slow breath, looking over the gathering mages, it did unnerve her to see so many potential threats, but hopefully everyone would just be enjoying the chance to relax and have fun, after the hard week the games had been. She herself was still healing from the battles she'd be in, but most of her injuries were covered, the bruises hidden, and rather then the weariness she wwas sure covered her features, she had spent the time to quickly put on make-up. Which she detested, but what had to be had to be.

---

Jamie

Jamie was well aware that Amelia was still nervous, and if she could have, Jamie would have matched her appearance somewhat to Amelia's, but unable to do that as she still recovered from the loss of her stored shapes, Jamie would do ll she could to make sure Amelia had a good night.

As they arrived, Jamie went to grab Sam's hand, but the young girl had, it seemed, anticipted this, and jumped out the way, and with a child like laugh, darted to the sweets. "Sam"

Mayt had noticed that Marlene had looked at him just as he was turning away, but he didn't do anything to suggest he noticed it as he exited the hotel lobby. He considered maybe saying hello to her if he happened across her at the ball. He pushed his good hand in his pocket as he limped down the street towards the ball. He noticed almost every look that went his way, and not all of them were about the fact he was overdressed for the street. He nodded to a couple of them while he made a mental note to never take a train to Crocus ever again, every time he did the train never actually succeeded in making it there.

Before too long Mayt finally arrived at the ballroom. He was stopped at the door however. It wasn't until the man who was standing by the door asked him to show his guild mark, since his name wasn't on the list he had been given, that Mayt realized that may be a problem. The Phoenix Wing emblem on his hand was covered by plaster at the moment, which the man conveniently didn't believe, and told him to keep out unless he got someone to vouch for his membership.

Mayt looked rather displeased as he leaned against the outside of the building, a little bit away from the door, watching for any Phoenix Wing members he recognized, or even better one of the guild masters. The first person he saw that he knew would recognize him he waved down and quickly approached, speaking up. "Hey, uh, my guild mark is kinda hidden under this cast so I can't get in, could you vouch for me?"

[@Anyone going to the ball]