Fleo grinned.
”Sounds like a good plan! Since I'm not doing anything today, I thought I might as well expend all of my magic power at once doing something fun. So you know how the Doma Flau is on the top of a small mountain that sticks out of the middle of the city? I'm gonna make an entire array of dust pillars and jump between them to get to the top! Once there, I'll dissolve all but the last one. Should be a crazy view from up there.” She wolfed down a plum and deposited the core onto her plate, before spotting Damian trundling past and out the door. The dusty woman's dirty-blond eyebrows furrowed.
”Damian looks awfully serious. Has something happened? Did someone from that Frenzy guild come and challenge him?” These questions were addressed to nobody in particular, and since at the moment Fleo was thinking about approximately the same thing, she stood up from the table absently and walked toward the door to look outside.
As such, she was in Penny's way, and was nearly pushed aside as the redhead rushed after Damian. What was that about? It had been heavily rumored as of late that she and Damian were an item, but everything about this situation screamed official business. She turned back toward Nolan and gave him a shrug, as if to say,
I dunno what's going onNext on the Phoenix parade was Amaya. Being something approaching friends with this girl, and thinking that she might have a clue to the current events, Fleo followed her outside the hotel. Just as the Ice Dragon Slayer finished yawning, Fleo came up behind her.
”Good morning!” she almost shouted, deciding that if Amaya still felt sleepy it would be smart to speak loudly.
”What's the deal with Damian and Penny, do you know?”What a dismal morning.Everything was so bright and sunny and cheery. Not enough people knew the value of a nice, damp rain, Nero thought. Sunshine was so boring—it happened so much! Rain was a heap more interesting and a world more pleasant. With the heat, the genie had discarded his purple cloak, leaving it behind in the under-construction apartment in which he'd been squatting. Nothing like the Grand Magic Games to draw away attention from everyday duties, Nero had gleefully observed. Now, he was en route to Dragon Fang to find Eve. Though optimistic about her 'treatment' Nero was still anxious to see if she might have developed any side effects, like that Hyun woman. The psyche, as it turned out, was more like a tower of sticks than a field; rather than simply plucking out whatever he pleased, he had to be careful, lest the tower wobble.
And of course, skipping alongside the dark mage was his favorite ray of hope and innocence: the enigmatic and adorably trepidatious Ayame. The two traded back and forth casual conversation covering numerous topics, led mostly by the young girl and followed along with by the older boy. In good company, the trip -never that long to begin with- turned short indeed, and Nero soon found himself approaching the Dragon Fang residence.
And who should there be outside the door, talking to none other than Eve herself, but Nero's favorite person in the world? Just the sight of the Time Lord caused a slow burning in the genie's mind. He had no proof right now, save of course for his own infallible conclusions, but he suspected the Time Lord of purposefully amping Eve up to turn her into a living, necrotic time bomb. As much as it pained Nero to admit it, he'd never been best of friends with this bizarre individual, but now Nero had decided that this person was a definite adversary. Even if he didn't mean Eve deliberate harm, he was a competitor for the girl's time and attention, and after saving her life Nero thought he deserved more favor than this guy.
He squinted to make out the words Eve was tracing, then broke out into a laugh as he closed the last few yards.
”That would be an easy search indeed! I didn't know we were playing hide-and-go-seek. Ever played, Ayame? It's a grand way to spend time with friends, but on such an important day, we've got better things to do, eh Bizarro?” The genie chuckled at his new nickname for the Time Lord. He rather rudely moved past the other man to stand before Evelyn.
”Sleeping beauty has arisen at last! Perhaps you'd care to join me and Ayame for a nice little breakfast? Afterward, I was thinking of finding something to do in Crocus instead of watching the Games. Too much tension and violence to really be enjoyable to people like us, don't you think?” He hoped Time Lord was paying attention; it wasn't every day that Nero was condescending to someone while simultaneously appealing to someone else, and the dark mage would have liked to know his effort wasn't wasted.
