Red Carpet

The Crimson Hawk Hotel - Kyonuske Ballroom

The event of the year was upon the world yet again; at least when it came to the fighting world. The inaugural ball for the Heaven or Hell 2011 tournament season opens its doors to the celebrities of the arena to mingle while awaiting the unveiling of the newest year's roster. From the plush red carpet rolled out to the curb for the guests of honor to the second-to-none catering providing dishes from every continent and various worlds there was only one thing missing from the ball-- Noah.

"Welcome fighters and fragiles to Heaven or Hell!"

Where the master of the event should have presided there was instead the voice of the tournament: Nikki Summers. With her characteristic microphone hooked over her ear she stood at the head of the room beside an empty chair and welcomed each and every one of the chosen who entered; rolling through a list of one after another of her favorite bloody moments from previous years whenever a star passed near enough to be drawn into the vortex of her charisma and enthusiasm.

The microphone was the only thing characteristic about her though - she was streaked across her face and chest with red paint like smears of blood and from her ears dangled miniature swords made of gold and steel. Her dress, rather than having a leg slit instead was torn a set of four-wide strips like it had been tailored by an ill-tempered Lazenca Miranda. Nikki was not merely dressed for the ball, she was wearing a full-on fighter cosplay.

"Welcome one! Welcome all! Welcome fighters to the ball!" she shouted, arms raising in the air as her face lit up with the arrival of each new combatant. "I'm hoping to see all of you in the ring soon enough! And some of you all over the ring too!"

"Gooooood evening Gaiaaaaaaaaaa!"

For those who weren't able to attend the Ball, the wastefully cheerful Alicia Aicila was there to make up for it, her smiling face beaming across thousands if not millions of televisions, cel-phones, and computers all across Gaia. "Alicia here with the crème de la crème of Heaven or Hell, at least before they get turned into crème in the ring!" The cat-girl motioned her arm out behind her, revealing a small smattering of participants as well as socialites who just liked to go to balls.

The camera focused in on Nikki as she made her opening announcements. "What a lovely dress!" There was just the tiniest pause before the word 'lovely,' and one of Alicia's eyebrows lowered slightly, but she quickly recovered. "Despite the tragedies during and after last year's event, it seems like Heaven or Hell is back, and it's in full swing! We'll keep you posted, live from the floor, with any breaking updates!"

And with that, Alicia drifted over to the massive refreshments table - "OhmiGAHD they have those little crackers in the shape of fish! And big crackers too! This is the best night EVER!

"Wait, are you still recording?"

" Ah! Raven!"

He managed to turn his suprise into a greeting, smiling down at her with a quick snap of his head. She was the only the person who could sneak up on him like that. Well, her and Maximos although he didn't count his friend and employer as a full person. Her arm on his was as much a suprise as her voice but atleast its suprise was a softened on.

" Yes, it appears that we are, infact, the first team to arrive. Again."

First to receive FIGHTERS and their rooms, and now first for this? Things were looking up for team UNBREAKABLE RESOLVE. Damion took it as a premonition for things to come and nodded towards the food spread.

" Perhaps then we should be first at the food aswell?"

Despite stereotypes to the contrary, the pirate captain of team Pirates Arr Better was mingling with the crowd and not stealing their stuff or holding them hostage. There would be no pillaging tonight, it seemed.

In fact, not only was Captain Corvus well behaved, he was well dressed. It seemed that somewhere amidst the array of seafaring clothes, the captain had a suit hidden away. In addition, his typical captain's cap was traded for a fedora that matched the suit, and the boots he normally wore were replaced with a slightly more formal-looking pair.

At the moment, Corvus was hovering around the refreshments table, nursing a drink he had snagged off of a passing tray. This could potentially change, especially if his trusty sidekick first mate showed up, or if a fight broke out.

There was music and laughter, along with many other things.

This was the point in time that the HoH banquet had begun. A time where all the competitors were dressed up and were forced to actually be somewhat civil for the first time before they went head to head and commenced their rumble. But unfortunately, this only seemed to cause many of the competitors to feel uncomfortable and well just odd.

That was definitely the case for Izette Prechtl.

Instead of being her usual center of attention demanding woman, she was quiet and leaned up against the far wall. She was praying to the High Heavens that nobody was looking at her right now. And why? This had been her third year at the tournament, and she had done this multiple times before. The only problem was, she wasn’t wearing something that she had picked out. Ironically enough, this was revenge from her best friend Ryke from their first year. Since the punker woman had lost one of their usual kitchen brawls, she was forced into it.

It wasn’t really a bad choice, it was just so...

Normal.

Izette had been stripped of her usual spikes and ripped jeans, and was now wearing what appeared to be a flowing silver formal dress. Her nose chain from her nostril and her ear had been removed and was replaced with a small silver stud. Even her short sharp locks had been replaced with long flowing extensions for her hair that curled ever so perfectly to frame her face. She looked like a completely different woman, and it made her feel naked. Thankfully Ryke was allowing her to replace her lovely eye patch with a silver mask to make her face complete.

As she stood at the edge of the room the woman began to look about, her eyes were constantly scanning for her to recognize anyone. But the costumes on seemed to cause a sea of faces, none of which she really recognized.

And what was worse...

She had no clue where the liquor was.

Meanwhile, Rage was at the refreshments table with an incredibly out of place chair, eating anything that was meat or a meat-like substance.

At least until security kicked him out.

[Crimson Hawk - Kyonuske Ballroom]

Wild and wavy hair tied back so neatly, this prim and proper dressed man donned in dark gentleman's apparel seemed so natural, unless one knew of his regular appearance. Then all kinds of red flags began to sprout and sirens of warning rung nigh high, but wasn't that what a snake was for, in the end?

Hard to believe this relaxed, calmed fellow walking with an air of refinement into the ballroom entrance had just hours prior been striking a Latent oak tree, gauntlets coating his hands for otherwise they'd been mere bloody stumps, seething in a lust he could not even begin to sate. To his satisfaction, [Serpentine Manipulation Artist] Omi Barsait of Team Kehr's Sign seemed to have reestablished a firm hold on his sanity which he cherished ever so much in the aftermath of his "great adventure" into the beautiful Alinberry Woods. It simply took some over-indulgence, including yet so not limited to gorging on food supreme and working his body to the bone, to reach that point.

Still, hands stuffed in his dress pants' pockets, the solemn looking young man seemed to be sizing up the first arrivals. The first and last dance he attended before now, ended in:

[+]His date speaking all of five words to him due to the chaos that ensued.

[+]No dating benefits as a result of the aforementioned.

[+]Little time to eat.

[+]A total of seven fights, ranging from drunks, to a certain brave Omi knew of too well, leading up to a psychopath with an enjoyment for hurling tables.

[+]Ah yes, being choked during an exhibition fight display-

No, in hindsight, Omi felt not a drop of guilt in the bucket for watching keenly where threats may come from. Not from fear of course; Barsait's pockets betrayed the fact his hands were already condensed into controlled fists. He simply enjoyed having the initiative.

Still, his mind was already wandering: "Tch. No woman. No entertainment. Jinxing myself but, not even a wayward drunken a** to break over mi'knee. No news is good news so they preach, but do the bastards even know what that entails?" Amber brown eyes scanning for the food court this ball no doubt had to have given he was now well acquainted with the restaurant, likely being whispered of as a human void to their food reserves -- Omi's rising boredom was kept in check by the mounting anxiety of what this ball's true purpose was.

"Mm~ Not too bad though. Soon.. our futures shall be decided, these psychopaths and knights, these murderers and saints, these perverts and beasts, these many peoples united under a single banner with the intent to crush one another into the ground. Romantic.." Loudly, his right fist cracked so audibly with a sudden grip that would tear into his own flesh.

"..but I wonder if their ambitions are up to par?"

Who would it be, in such short order.. that he would be tearing into, breaking, shattering -- and being torn, broken, and shattered upon? Who would test his new-found mettle? That name, he needed it or or his fists simply couldn't relax themselves, possessed by a mind of their own that necessitated conquest.

Omi Barsait's characteristic teeth shone in an already triumphant grin, his intrigue more than piqued.

Laughter not vocalized rang into the air.

The Heaven or Hell formal opening ceremony was always a fun affair, and for a one Zandra Ryke, well this would be her third attendance of said event. She wasn't a participant this time, but that sure wasn't going to stop her from amusing herself and enjoying the spectacle that usually was this whole affair.

She had already done her dirty work, with getting Izzy all gussied up and ready for the ball and had implied to the punk that Ryke would neither be there nor even bother dressing up if she so happened to make a brief appearance. Of course, being the good friend she was, just couldn't leave Izzy out to dry like that.

Even if it had been her revenge.

The characteristically tomboy bounty hunter slipped in through the crowd and past the cameras and eager press. She was a two time competitor and a decently well known face, but she couldn't be bothered with plastering her face all over television and felt more comfortable as she eased into the mass of bodies to find her dear old friend Izzy.

Which didn't take long.

"Looks like it'll be a big crowd tonight yeah?"

If Izzy turned around, she might find herself a little surprised. Ryke had taken the plunge and willingly subjected herself to her siblings again, who fortunately went with Ryke's own selections this time in terms of her getup.

Yeah that's right. She was wearing a dress, and a fairly nice one at that. She wasn't without some edgier accessories to at least make her feel more like herself, complete with a wide, stupid grin.

"And don't you say a damn thing. I decided to take mercy on you. Still owe me though..."

Damion stumbled alittle as he was pushed towards the dragon and the muse, catching his footing as quickly as he could. Ask her what she wanted, right! That was the way things were done after all. He nodded once to Ryugi with a small smile before turning his attention back to the whole reason he had come over, Tilly.

" My dear."

A sweep of his own and he took her hand gently in his, lips splitting at the right edge to reveal teeth as he bent and kissed the back of her hand in an oddly gentlemanly fashion. A wealth of information opened up in his head on the proper actions and reactions to things, a self help book that was personalized to his own style.

" If Ryugi doesn't mind, and even if he does, I'd like to take the lady away."

While he didn't look at his co-captain in any way. There was no brief glance and the question wasn't even really directed his way. It was all for Tilly to answer and he wanted both of them to know it. Those green eyes were only for her tonight.

Wasn't there some kind of rule about totally not messing with another dude's date? Ryugi raised an eyebrow at the events transpiring before him. This was...uncharacteristic of the Hydra. He looked almost...embarrassed and charmingly befuddled. Maybe he was like that around women? Wait, he'd been around Hono and hadn't acted like that. Something was fishy here...but Ryugi couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Though, Tilly's gaze didn't have to plead. Ryugi grinned and patted the little muse on the head.

Of course you can, Tilly. Just let me talk to him for a sec.

Ryugi walked over to Damion and put his arm around the Hydra's shoulder, moving a few feet off so Tilly couldn't hear the both of them. Damion would likely be wondering what was going on until Ryugi spoke.

Now listen up, Damion. I love that girl like a sister, and that makes me her big brother. You should totally know what that means. Take good care of her, make sure none of this place's riff-raff gets to her. I'm sure I don't have to tell you what kind of crazy stuff can go down in here.

He squeezed a little tighter and spoke most clearly. His little muse of a sister wasn't gonna get even a little scrape with him around, lest he punch the thing that did it to her through a wall or something. If that meant his good friend, well, that's what it meant.

She's yours for the moment, Mon Capitan. Take good care of her.

Ryugi clapped the Hydra on the back and gave him a thumbs up before looking back to Tilly.

Miss Pace, enjoy your time with Mister Hedley. I think I see someone that's just dying to be challenged to a meat-eating contest.

He bowed.

If you'll excuse me...

Blinking a little as Ryugi led Damion away, Tilly swayed about where she stood, playing with the layers of her dress and the small golden chains. She had never felt this beautiful before. Ryugi really out did himself by letting her choose what she wanted, Tilly was more than please, beyond grateful. As soon as Damion came back, she reached up eagerly and took Damion's hand.

"Oh stop calling me that~ You're flattering me."

Touching her hand to her cheek, she giggled faintly. So far this had been the best night of her life, beside the night they had met, here in Latent. Tilly couldn't help but grin, she was so enamored.

"I'm so happy to see you again Damion, I missed a great deal.."

Data Junkie Wrote:

At the moment, Corvus was hovering around the refreshments table, nursing a drink he had snagged off of a passing tray. This could potentially change, especially if his trusty sidekick first mate showed up, or if a fight broke out.

"Pst! Boss! Why the hell are we dressed up?"

It seemed that Cap'n Corvus' first mate had indeed shown up to cheer on her captain's team. Granted, when she found out that she'd have to wear a dress to this ball, she nearly stayed with the ship. Eventually she'd caved upon fining out there was free food. Not that she disliked the captain's cooking, but eating something other than fish and rum would be nice.

Aliss briefly resisted, embarrassed to be seen in anything that didn't include a pair of trousers, but it didn't take long before she gave in and followed Cap'n Corvus out onto the ballroom floor. After all, had she been wearing proper clothing, and not this ridiculous dress, the roles would most likely have been reversed. Come to think of it, maybe that's why the captain was less stoic than usual. Because he knew that she was far too embarrassed to be her usual outgoing self. Or maybe it was just because he wanted to dance with her and she was over-analyzing it.

Friendly persuasion at it's best had succeeded in properly convincing the hesitant mother to leave her son in good hands and find her way down to the goings on and have a good time. Her teammate had played upon her weakness. Raien loved to get dressed up, and though she had protested when the woman had even offered to buy the dress, she had been not so secretly excited. Formal affairs were something she had always been fond of - or any excuse to slip into a pretty little dress and show off. Needless to say, she was feeling great today, far better than she had yesterday. When it came time to get dressed however, Rai found out very quickly that she hadn't paid close enough attention to their selection, at least not until she had put it on, and realized she had been far too much love with the color and patterning on the bust to notice the cut and style of the garment.

She fussed over the generous amount of leg she would be showing and the open back but with her hair already pinned and shoes properly fitted, there was no changing her mind.

The crowd was thick, with competitors and guests, hotel staff and even the press. Rai didn't mind the cursory glance here and there as she let the wave of attendees practically carry her inside, though it didn't stop her from blushing just a little. Her tan cheeks flushed with a hint of red but she wore a smirking grin. It had been a while since her last formal event, but it felt nice to get all dressed up again.

After finally making her way inside, Rai slipped away from the central crowd and put her efforts towards locating her teammates, or any sign of their appropriate table.

" That's the point, I missed you, I get to spoil you."

Atleast that was the logical squence of things as far as he was concerned. Damion took a step in and set his hand over hers where it rested on her cheek, taking care not to screw up any makeup she might have on. What he wanted to do was wrap himself around her and just stay that way for abit, but the feeling that that wasn't appropriate nagged at his brain and wouldn't leave it alone. His hand on her cheek dropped again to his hip and remained there, elbow stuck out as the hand attached to it gripped his hip.

" But you did not miss much..."

Altogether not true necessarily but it was just the comforting line he thought would be appropriate. The elemental leaned forward and kissed her once, enjoying the feeling and how it washed away the 'to long gone' feeling that soaked his bones. Just being near her made him feel worlds better and Damion stepped to stand beside her, letting go of her hand to slip an arm around her as best he could, the taller male just letting his hand settle on her back where it could. They surely made an odd pairing as Damion walked them towards a corner of the refreshment table, tall and tanned as the sun with short and pale as moonlight was supposed to be. The irony of it was lost on his more simple mind.

A meek hum escaped her as Damion leaned down and kissed her, her fingers gathering as her clutch. She missed something alright, his affection alone was enough to make her pleasantly lightheaded. Gasping quietly as he took himself away, Tilly could feel a wonderful heat on her cheeks. Everyone would had see it. Everyone perhaps Ryugi, who was shoving meat into his gullet. It was just as well, the muse didn't seemed to care if he saw or not. Biting her pink painted lip, Tilly giggled as he guided her to the table, her mind going straight to the sweets for a brief second. However her gaze stayed up on Damion, the feeling of his arm on her back comforting her.

"I bet I missed something exciting! Either that or you lazed about in your home, which I highly doubt."

Going to pick up a cheese cake with both hands, the muse meeped a bit, seeing as she was holding her purse. The thing was so useless, it was just carrying make-up for touch ups. Halting her action, she looked for somewhere to put it before sliding it under her arm. She definitely showed that clutch who was boss. Grabbing up the cakey goodness, she took a fork and hallowed of a chunk, slipping it past her lips with a giggle.

Raien wasn't by any means familiar with anyone at this tournament, or really anyone in Gaia at all, but some faces were recognizable enough in the sense that she had seen them around, either from last year's tournament, or perhaps even around town in her various errands. She found the confidence and reassurance to smile brightly and eagerly, letting the storm of voices co-mingle with the thrum of the music and almost encourage her to move right along to the beat. She didn't, repressing the urge and turned a shy smile away when she caught the wandering eye of a well dressed gentleman. There was something about the evening that made her feel exceptionally happy, but she wasn't without a wee bit of guilt for leaving her little boy upstairs, but she would have to shower him with extra attention after the fact.

Seeing neither Celeste nor husband in tow quite yet, Rai allowed herself to drift towards the grand buffet tables where massive plates of refreshments, hors d'oeuvres and the like where spread out for all those in attendance to partake of.

Small tiered trays of bite sized pastries sat just within arm's length and having as big of a sweet tooth as she did, Rai nicked two and found satisfaction by nibbling on the first, not even noticing the lick of frosting caught on the tip of her nose...

Terran pressed his way into the ball. He was grateful they'd opted to do it this way, unveil the teams after the end of the party, as opposed to teams having to wrestle their way around a million photographers and s**t like that. At least this way, it was a straight shot.

He was dressed uncharacteristically nice, a pressed suit, vest, tie, the whole nine. All in all, he looked quite impressive, aside from looking a bit monstrous. It was fairly obvious, from the look of him, he was a fighter hopeful. As yet, he didn't see anyone he recognized, though he knew Fayble wouldn't be long. Sabrina would likely show up, despite the big blow out. He had no idea if Rogel would show his face in public, but he didn't hold out for it.

Catching sight of Ryugi and Damion, he smirked. He knew he had the right party when UNBREAKABLE RESOLVE was there. Hell, if nothing else, the show would be entertaining. He didn't recognize the girl that Damion seemed to be fussing over, or most people, really, although the few familiar faces did set him at ease.

Heaven or Hell. He was hopeful and expectant. Asgard had every reason to be in.

He was right, she wouldn't be long at all. Soon, he would feel the familiar sensation of Fayble's arm sliding through his. When he'd look down, he would see her looking about uncertainly, nervous about the mass of people slowly arriving.

Her sleek black dress clung to every curve of her body that it touched, her gently curled violet locks resting on her bare shoulders. Fay never liked to dress up, the HoH ball was the only time she did. But it being a special occasion, she wanted to show her effort in aces. She even work high heels. All looked fantastic, she was even okay showing off the scar on her arm. However there was a bit of an oddity, her hands were ungloved.

"Hey." She said calmly with a smile, tiptoeing up for a smooch. "You look great~"

She might've made it seem easy; it was second nature to her, but it still took effort some days to appear as composed as she did. This day was one of those days. Mentally, she went over everything she'd done to make sure that everything was taken care of; including having woken up before Rayner and exchanged his painkillers for a bottle of placebos that the doctor had told her had proven just as effective in studies; turns out that spending a lot of time in your spouse's head gives you a much clearer picture of some of their issues.

But once she and Raien had started dressing, she'd gone off to the other room, and it had been a struggle to get the woman to go down. She'd even wondered if she'd gone all the way done, but at one point when Estee had gone to check on something, Raien had been gone upon her return so she could only hope for the best in that regard and finish getting ready herself.

With both girls now gone, it was just her and Rayner in the team rooms and she found herself a small bundle of nerves. She'd lost weight, and not just pregnancy weight, and now her skin was pulled more tautly over what used to be smooth muscles and she found that she missed the extra pounds. Tugging on the dress, she reached up and pinched her cheeks, smiling as she did so, A lady never applies rouge to her cheeks, Samantha, she could hear her grandmother's voice echoing in her head as she checked every angle; it wasn't often that she felt vain and shallow, but she wanted to be everything that Rayner believed her to be.

"Now or never, girlie", this time it was her grandfather's voice of whom she had mostly fond memories in her head as she reached for the bedroom door to step out into the suite, pausing only for a moment to reach for a dark purple ribbon and let it dangle from her gloved fingers as she opened the door. Strange how even know, their voices gave her comfort. HoH was not just going to be a physical trial for the young woman.

"Miss me, cowboy?" She grinned, posing saucily just for him as she showed off the dress that matched his tux perfectly, even going so far, as to toss back the ringlets of a shade of blond that had been dyed perfectly for this event to go so much more becomingly with the darker shade clothing than her normally reddish blond would have.

Terran spun on his heel to face Fayble, half a reflex to being touched on the back, partly instant recognition of the hands. And as he turned, his eyes caught her in her dress, and his jaw fell slack. He stepped back briefly, to get a good look at her as she looked around. "Fayble..." He whispered, smiling. As she tiptoed forward, his hands found the small of her back, and he took her close for a kiss.

"Me?" He asked, looking at her once again, studying the dress. "Hell, I look plain, compared to you. You look absolutely amazing, darling." It'd be about then that Rogel would do his flashy little light show, appearing in a puff of smoke, and then disappearing once again. Terran let off a quiet chuckle, clapping his dinner plate hands. "Gotta give him this much. He knows how to show off." He turned toward the crowd, toward Fayble, hooking his arm and offering it to her. "Shall we?"

In the back of his mind, he wondered if his benefactor would appear once again. She had promised to do so, and now would be the best time to approach the two of them in public. But he had no honest idea what she'd be up to. He tried not even to think her name, lest some psychic in the crowd approach him about her.

Fayble looked at her new teammate with an eyebrow quirked. God he was flamboyant, she could only hop he wasn't all magical light shows in the ring. As her eyes wandered, ignoring everyone, she looked up to Terran as he spoke.

"Thanks." A plain reply. "It's the dress I picked out that one day we went out remember?"

Pursing her lips into a decent smile, she chuckled. She was pretty uncomfortable out here in the public's eye. It was something she often avoided, not liking people and all. Her mind slipped her for a moment, as she though of when she got her dress. What had happened. A smirk formed on her face. She was taken form her reverie however, as he asked her a question.

"After you my man." She chuckled once more.

" That sounds about right, it's what I'd do if it wasn't you."

Damion was always hungry though so it really wasn't much different from how he'd behave normally. His fingers moved around alittle on her side, splaying out wide to feel the sudden curve, where it went from natural soft flesh to the hardened fabric and stiffened bits of the corset underneath the almost silky fabric outer layer. He couldn't quite see the lace of her stockings but the gold of her shoes caught his eyes and the islander found himself nodding in silent approval. Nothing he had seen so far had told him his earlier impression was wrong, she was beautiful.

" Do you think so?"

He looked down at himself self conciously, still not entirely comfortable in these fancy trappings.

" Raven helped me pick them out for Heaven or Hell, but I wasn't entirely sure it looked right."

Damion fiddled with his tie for amoment before letting his hand drop again, not wanting to appear nervous or out of place in this setting. If what he learned was right anything could be picked up on and used, the social battlefield one of veiled meanings and pitfalls. Instead he focused on Tilly and let his mind stick there, nervous expression washed away in an instant. She was his balm this evening and she was already doing a marvelous job of it.

" Do you dance Tilly?"

That dance floor looked far too empty, even if it was still early evening and not all the teams had arrived.

Terran had forgotten Bren making passes on Fayble at their last meeting, and he hoped it was more of a way to goad Terran into getting riled up. That, or just making pleasantries, but all the same, his arm wrapped around Fayble's hip. He didn't want to come off as possessive, but he was well aware he might.

"Brendyn. Good to see you, sir." He extended his other hand, offering to shake. "Not at all. We'd just arrived, hoping to poke around, say hey to some folks. A nice bit of flash you had there at the door. Hope to see more of that in the coming weeks, eh?" Party is a party, but the fact remained that they hadn't spoken much, and though it was light in tone, there was a look in his eye that read more along the lines of 'are you ready to work?'

"Dance?"

Looking to the dance the empty dance floor, Tilly grinned and looked back to him, her eyes catching the slight tilt of his tie. Reaching up, her petite hands straightened it out easily.

"Of course I dance, silly. All of the muse are formally trained~ I was at the top of my class." Smiling proudly, Tilly settled her clutch on a little tie on her side, tying it into a bow before holding his hand.

More and more bodies filed into the massive room, almost surprising Raien with just how many people could fit in one space, but the Crimson Hawk was not known for it's small time rooms and tiny banquet halls. No, the ballroom was the equivalent to perhaps, well several suites all put together, if not more. She had no idea how many teams were present, and couldn't even begin to pinpoint who was a competitor and who was simply arm candy, but people watching was always an interesting past-time. Sometimes she liked to think she could forge little stories for every passing couple or group of friends, and even started thinking as a gaggle of finely dressed men each with a lady on their arms passed her by.

Amusing as it was, Raien was not, unfortunately, looking where she was walking and started traipsing back step by step by step until she collided with a woman poised against one of the walls.

Making contact, Rai spun around quickly to immediately apologize, complete with absurdly silly grin. Even if she had been, so far, by herself, she was - to say the least - having fun.

"Oh gosh. I'm really sorry! I should pay attention to where I'm going..."

Raien smoothed down her dress, feeling just a little bit more exposed than she might have liked, especially in comparison to the modest elegance of the young woman right in front of her. She didn't even take into consideration her own age, nor that she was the mother of a one year old child...

Oh boy.

She wrinkled her nose momentarily as the passing thought and then allowed herself to smile easily once again. "True. Though, you could have been holding a drink, or even been in the middle of eating something, which would have been pretty terrible." Rai joked, lightheartedly.

I'm Vahnessa, Vahnessa Da'Fluer. Are you here to compete or are you just a spectator?"

There was a hand offered and Raien accepted eagerly, shaking politely, but not necessarily delicately. If anything, there was a little bit of confidence behind that shake, moreso than there had ever been prior to tonight. The lack of FIGHTERs on wrists made it hard to distinguish who was competing and who was just here for the action. Nor could she gander anything from Vanessa's question.

Still.

"Raien DeCuir, and I'm competing actually. I don't exactly look the type, I know. This should ah, be interesting. I just wish I could find the rest of my team..."

" Then when it becomes more lively...would you care to dance?"

He was glad she could, because Damion definately could not. The complicated footwork of certain dance styles had never appealed to him, even the ones that hadn't been all that complicated. The elemental hadn't had to perform the mating rituals of normal society before and the act of strutting about had taken on less appeal as time went on and he learned more about the society around him. Now he almost regretted it.

" I warn you though, I have two left feet."

A smile to show he was joking, before he scanned the crowd of gathering people again, teams joining together aswell as friends and dates. It seemed there were more couples this year than there had been the previous ones, dates joining together as they arrived, and the notion was only slightly troublesome. He didn't approve of the brutal individuals that sometimes came to Heaven or Hell, brutes intent only diluting the purity of the fight itself. But they did have their place as stepping stones and obstacles for the truly great to use and grow from. He wasn't sure if the sudden showing of affection would dampen some fighters spirits, or if they would even try to reach as far.

But such considerations were for later, irony not lost on him, and Damion refocused on Tilly. No, he didn't think his own spirits would dampen. If anything he would fight to do better because of this surge of affection in another.

There was a knife in her hand so fast that she almost didn't have the time to register the fact that the hand on her shoulder was friend and not foe... and when she put a name to the voice she blushed and hastily slipped the knife back into its sheath up her lacy sleeve.

"Excuses, excuses..." With a smile she offered him the plate of fruit and pastries she had been nibbling at. "But at least you made it... I hope you don't make me.. err us wait for you on other, more important occasions."

"Our valiant captain has lost his wits to Ryugi's little muse... while Ryugi himself volunteered to have an eating match with a green haired fellow that I should recognize, but can't quite put a name to... I have eaten what I thought looked tasty... for the moment." She smiled and batted her eyelashes at the blond haired man, admiring the cut of his jacket and how the silver worked so nicely with the black... she couldn't help but to wonder if the boys had coordinated their outfits.. Damion in black, Ryugi in white, and now Stephen in black and white ... They were certainly starting to make her feel like the plain jane of the group

"I wouldn't mind a dance... something slow... so you can't take advantage of me." There was enough mischief to her smile that she hoped the dervish would get the joke the self styled ballerina was making as she set the plate back on the table and offered him her hand.

Raven smiled moving with him, leaning in against his chest as she looked up into his deep blue eyes, her hand on his arm absently tracing the lines of silver in his jacket.

"Now see, if you danced this nicely with me more often I might not feel the need to tease you so much!" She grinned as little sparks of yellow drifted across the orange of her eyes. "Unless you like the teasing that is..."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Decuir." Vahnessa smiled and bowed her ehad ever so slightly. She was such a formal girl that it usually shocked many, as she lacked that straightforward edge that so many seemed to have developed. she was always so tied up in tradition and manners that it almost seemed impractical that she would be competing in a glorified contest of bloodsport.

"And what a coincidence! I'm a participant myself! Well, I believe I'm supposed to participate anyway, like yourself I seem to have a hard time tracking down my team at times. Not to say that I haven't met them, but after some rather....embarrassing circumstances surrounding the captain and his fiance and me approaching them, well, I believe it was only proper that I offer them my services for the time being." she sighed, moving one of her black gloved hands up to push a strand of her hair behind one ear.

"However I must admit that I really wanted to be able to participate myself! It was a stroke of luck, or perhaps a fated occurrence if you're one to believe in such things. Either way, I really must find Captain Rayner and see about getting my wrist attachment. I feel almost naked here without it." she chuckled lightly, not at her own joke but about how she must have looked to be claiming such things without as much as a word of evidence to back her up. It was a good thing she was such an honest girl..

HonoRaven Wrote:

"Yes, it is rather nice not to have to put a kink in my neck to be able to see you clearly... or perhaps I should just make the other boys kneel in my presence from now on!" She managed to wiggle her eyebrows so that her idea turned malicious threat sounded more like another joke, but it was defiantly tempting now that she had thought of it!

"Mmmm, so nice to meet another tease, but I do hope that you like to do more than just tease..." Her eyes looked down as a bit of a blush crept into her cheeks again.

The man smiled, slightly blushing himself. "Yes, well. I can be serious when I want to. But sometimes a good tease is well worth it. We've had some fun encounters in the past, if you recall, all because of some teasing..." He was referring to run ins during previous HoH's but they were few and far between. This was the first time he had spent any significant time with Raven for as long as he knew of her. And now they were dancing. That was something of a surprise.

But it was a comforting feeling all the same, being able to relax and enjoy some time with a teammate and a friend. He loved banquets like this for that very reason: good food, good company, and good entertainment. Who knew? The night might yet get ever more interesting at this rate.

superpsyco77 Wrote:

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Decuir." Vahnessa smiled and bowed her ehad ever so slightly.

Raien returned the smile, polite and maybe a little more eager than she might have intended but god if she wasn't in a wonderful mood at the moment. Vanessa came across as a rather formal, traditional gal and Rai could respect that. It stirred up warm but somewhat somber memories of Rasilyn, and she found herself missing the little blonde angel.

With no room for unpleasant thoughts, Rai tossed them from her head and focused again on the present goings on.

She was, to say the least, rather relieved to find Vanessa was herself a competitor as well. There was some comfort to be had in that fact, with Raien taking Vanessa to be more like herself and having no real inkling to her abilities in the realm of combat. She herself was not built for competitive combat, and was entirely unused to the idea. If it hadn't been for Celeste's honest desire for a trusted companion, well she never would have dreamed of entering the tournament.

"You know, I haven't even picked that up yet. I'm a little scatterbrained I guess, only another reason to find my teammat-wait I'm sorry - did you say Captain Rayner?"][/b] It wasn't until halfway through with her response did she fully process what Vanessa had said - but before Raien could get her answer, another voice interrupted.

Psychofish Wrote:

"And here I'd been worried it'd take all night to introduce you two."

A little startled, Rai turned abruptly to greet the two newest arrivals.

"Oh. She was a tad oblivious from time to time - it took a followup statement from Rayner to drive the idea home.

"Ohh-wait he what? well, I mean, I'm not complaining, I just was unaware. It's nice to see you guys made it though!"

Raien was partly ignorant to the animosity between her captain and their fourth member. She had taken some notice to the newly developing tension but said nothing and played the fool as she eagerly greeted her friends.

Ryugi Kazamaru Wrote:

The gauntlet had been thrown.

Rage was in the middle of eating a cracker shaped like a tentacle monster from a bag of "Goldthulu Crackers." For some reason, his challenge sense was going off, and he didn't particularly like it. He craned his neck to

Cue BOSS MUSIC.

"You sure you're up to this, kid? It looks like mommy dressed you today, and I think she'd be mad if you mussed up those nice white clothes you've got on. I don't want you to hurt yourself, after all!"

Cue derisive laugh.

HonoRaven Wrote:

"True, a good tease can be a heck of a lot of fun.. just like you!" Getting to know Stephen was entertaining at least, and there was still the possibility of party crashers making things even more entertaining!

"You know... I think we should do something totally naughty tonight..." Her voice took on a sensual tone, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at him. "We.. should... order room service!"

Stephen couldn't help but smile, his eyes looking into her's as she made her little joke.

"Room service... sounds like a wonderful idea."

There was nothing more that needed to be said. The night was young and there was plenty of time for things to get much more... interesting.

"Looks like it'll be a big crowd tonight yeah?"

And it was at that moment that the punker woman almost died of a heart attack. It wasn’t cause Ryke had caught her off guard, but rather it was the fact that the woman seemed to be wearing something feminine willingly.

“What the ******** happened to you?” With Izette’s fingers indicated what a womanly figured should have been by making a hourglass figure. She was almost positive that Ryke was going to be getting the men’s attention tonight, and she wasn’t even participating! Either way, it was nice to see the tomboy woman in something different.

"And don't you say a damn thing. I decided to take mercy on you. Still owe me though..."

“Well you look nice either way. Personally I feel like I am wearing a mother ******** tutu of or some other gay clownsuit.”At that moment Izzy grabbed a hold of the edges of her skirt and fluffed it out to cause the black mesh to fall casually underneath the steel silk that wrapped tightly around her body almost making it impossible to breathe. Izette was used to corsets, but this was something else entirely as it felt almost like a cocoon was trying to wrap around her body a suffocate her.

“Man, this is freakin’ boring. Classical music blaring, I can’t find the real booze or food for that matter. None of this wine horseshit. AND WHO THE HELL EATS CAVIER! THAT’S CAT FOOD!” Izette waved her arms violently about as she began to rant, she was not very pleased as she only demanded that there were hotdogs made right at this very moment in a five star hotel. This had probably been the worse dinner party ever...either that or she was grumpy cause she was wearing forced into this torture device.

“And to make matters worse I lost Reggie!” That’s right, Izette’s loveable companion had disappeared. Sad face.

~On The Opposite Side of the Room~

Many women stood in a circle laughing and giggling as they surrounded a large red velvet chair. It seemed whoever was sitting there was quite a player. Many would blush, while others merely tried to compliment everything about this....well...whoever he was.

Finally, the crowd parted and it appeared that Sir Reginald Ducksward had been making his move of the ladies. Quacking slightly within his bowtie and suit the bird happily remained in his seat, while only more of female creatures seemed to be attracted to his manly musk of feathers and Old Thyme the cologne for manly men who turned gold into diamonds into train tickets to that place that you always wanted to go.

At least it seemed SOMEBODY was having fun at the party.

Well it looked like Stephen had already beat him out there, and along with Raven no less! Damion shook his head with a smile and took their cue that there was no time like the present.

" We, my dear, are about to find out hm?"

One long step and he was leading Tilly by the hand to the dance floor, cutting between the few tables in their way before spinning back towards her in a sharp movement on the wooden floor. It was a sharp movement and followed just as swiftly with a hand on her hip to pull her close. So he might have been lying about not knowing how to dance, a self help book and several of those old dance step maps you could lay on the floor having been perused at some time or another, but he would never lay claim to the Lord of the Dance title.

His blonde haired friend had the right idea, or maybe he just couldn't do anything else, because the elemental waited for Tilly to come full rest before starting into an easy waltz. His lips moved in time with their steps as he counted them out and turned her in place slowly, all the while maintaining eye contact and trying not to think too hard about his feet. Instead he focused on her face and lost himself there.

" I don't know how I got to be the lucky one."

Their feet made soft tapping noise as they moved about the floor, somewhat in time with the music but not quite. It was more in time with the swell of voices around them, of people talking to one another as more teams made the scene. Damion was lost in his own little world though and it only consisted of their shifting feet and Tilly's face, all that he needed in the world right then.

"So, tell me something."

The green-haired man had yet to actually take a bite out of his plate, a twelve-ounce steak cooked medium rare. He poked at it with a fork, not looking particularly interested in the food, instead taking another handful of Goldthulus and picking out individual pieces. Another tentacle monster, a catgirl, a swordsman, a vampire, an unspeakable horror that words can not describe as doing so would cause one's brain to implode and explode simultaneously.

"Are you a participant this year? I mean, you look familiar. You ever fought in Heaven or Hell before?" He lifted the entire steak with the fork, taking a bite out of it before chewing on it in semi-deep thought. He didn't seem to be taking the contest terribly seriously, though he was smiling quite widely.

" I can't. I'm good at memorizing things though."

He'd likely forget the intricate step motions by the next day, another skill lost to the void of his mind and memories to be dredged up much much later if ever again. Damion had wanted this night to be special for her and by all accounts he seemed to be doing a damn good job at it. The blush on her cheeks gave that much away atleast, and he thrilled to see it. The elemental led them in a very small circle, letting them live in their own small sector of the dance floor.

" I'm not stepping on your feet am I?"

He wouldn't have known if he was and it seemed a credible worry, eyes flickering down to make sure he wasn't. Damion's movements became smoother with his confidence though and soon it was less like dancing with a robot and more like dancing with a young tree, enough sway in his movements to show how limber he had become. They could go on like this all night as far as he was concerned and they very well would. No real worries aside from foot crushing, no concerns beyond and end to the music, he could get used to this peaceful lifestyle.

Celeste was relatively quiet until Rayner turned on her, accusing her about the FIGHTERS, and one artful eyebrow arched ever so graceful above her green eyes as if to quietly condemn him for doing so. Lips, darkened slightly with color, quirked to one side before she spoke, quite calmly. "I hadn't exactly been told where Miss Defleur was currently staying, love." But as Vahnessa spoke again, her gaze turned ever so slowly towards the lancer, piercing her to the very core with a glance that was unemotional as the wind itself, but just as cutting.

"Husband, Miss Defluer. We were married last spring. But thank you for your compliments." Even Rayner would have a hard time telling exactly how Celeste was feeling. Raien would perhaps understand, but at the moment, was ignoring the obvious tension that came from having a very untrusted third, or rather in this case, fourth party about. "I have all of our Fighters in the team suite that has been assigned to us, I thought it best to let us enjoy our night of anonymity before the official announcement." It was being done differently than before, of course, so the press was even more excited than usual so far.

But once any 'unpleasantness' was taken care of, she turned her attention to her dear friend and smiled. "I'm so glad you took me up on the offer, Rai, you look absolutely gorgeous in that dress."

He nodded briefly, glad to hear of it. But leave it to Fayble to bring the levity back to the event, and Terran immediately went into a grin as she slugged the assassin, even if it was a friendly punch. "Ah, hell, dude. We'll get'em. We're the best, am I right?" His left arm remained hooked with Fayble's right, but his own came around to give one hefty pat on Rogel's shoulder. "Have a good night, man. We can be stern and brooding once it comes down to hitting time. Have a good one, dude."

Turning, he led Fayble into the main room and away from the entrance, snagging a couple of full glasses of champagne off of a passing waiter. His hand reached around, offering one of the glasses to his date. "You want a drink, baby?"

Terran grinned, downing his own. Given his size, the little flute was, unfortunately, more like a shot, and he barely felt the burn. He gave a quiet hum, setting his down on a table as they slid past. His newly freed hand reached down, gently rubbing her unusually naked hand. He wasn't used to it being without it's glove. Hell, even in bed, she had to wear the damned things.

"So, how'd you get away with this one, darling?" He asked, somewhat playfully, although he was honestly confused about it, his eye cocked. She knew full well that he wanted to feel her bare hands more often, to touch his face without leather sitting between them.

A thought buzzed through his head, but he decided tonight might not be the night to discuss that. Still, his hand lingered on her's for some time, and he smiled broadly. "It's a shame... It honestly is nice to get to feel your hands a little more often... Lemme know if I get too obsessed with them, huh?" Gently, he took her hand to his lips. Again, something of an odd feeling that he hand was touching the sleeve of his jacket without it exploding. But he reveled in it. Terran was sort of a simple guy, when you get down to it.

The ballroom was very elegant, and he turned a gaze to Fayble. "So, is it always this... uh..." He pondered the word, rolling in on his tongue a moment. "Extravagant? Never been before, ya know?"

Terran didn't miss the gesture, and as the stroll through the crowd, he watched her with a sturdier look than normal, keeping an eye on her for a moment before turning back to the ballroom. He didn't want to out and out drag the fact that she looked uncomfortable into the open. So, instead, he opted for a different method. "Not too bashful to be seen with me, are ya? You look so pretty and I'm... well. Me."

She spoke as if he knew the words she wanted to say, that he had some deeper insight into the workings of the heart. But this was Damion Hedley, a man who's own heart was an enigma to him, and so he simply looked very confused as she spoke.

" I really like you too Tilly..."

But that wasn't the same thing she wanted to say. Even he could tell when a word hung in the air, waiting to fall from someones lips, and the air was pregnant with it. The movements came second nature now and Damion tilted her back over one leg, twisting so that she rested across his own body in a dip before bringing her back up into a spin, testing the motion out and rather pleased with the results. But still, there was that word.

" I am glad to have been the one to find you."

He knew what he would have done had he not found her, but that wouldn't have been the right thing to say and he knew it. No, he was beyond happy that he had found her, gotten to know her, fallen for her. Had it been anyone else, he just might have been jealous.

Between the roar of the crowd and the flash of the paparazzi, it was amazing to think that anyone could enter inconspicuously; especially a pretty new face like the one that was currently walking away from the bustling doors and into the main ballroom. Yet there she was, slipping her VIP pass into a hand purse and tucking that into some hidden fold of her little black dress. Her long, delicately curled ebony locks flowed behind her, mixing with the exquisite crimson mantle that was wrapped about her arms in order to leave as much of her exotic bronze skin exposed as possible. From the sparkling ruby earrings to the designer heels, she looked every bit like she belonged in such an event. Even the air of confidence she carried echoed pure refinement. There was just... one thing out of place. For bound to her dainty wrists and ankles were rather un-dainty iron shackles with connected chains broken to the last link.

Though her expression was all grace and poise, inside she brooded with a very strange mix of love-hate. She was grateful to her master for the opportunity to get out and be social, and especially for the gorgeous outfit, but this place was perhaps a little too social for her tastes. If there was one thing she disliked more than anything else in such a setting, it was the media. Public displays were really not healthy for those who wanted to keep a low profile, after all. Not that she was ordered to keep a low profile, oh no... but not even her master knew all of her secrets.

Still, she was here to observe, and that could be done from anywhere in the room. In this particular case, that 'anywhere' could be none other than the buffet. No reason to suffer on an empty stomach, right?

As many of the fighters showed up and the crowds gathered he did his best to blend in. Sadly at 6’6” and with solid charcoal colored skin the Abyss Devil Samayou Tamashii was hard to miss. The lumbering, near 350 pounder, brushed past people as he squeezed his way into the main ball room, his attire that of the Lord of Rock Fist. He wore black leather dress shoes with a pair of black silk slacks and a black long sleeve colored shirt. Smooth and expensive for when not in the woods roughing it with nature he enjoyed the expensive tastes of a gentlemen. As he moved thru the crowd he could hear a few people whisper, recognizing him from the Stone Heart Tournament broadcasts, the Dark Tournament as well. He was known in that tournament as a crowd favorite always putting on a show, they had expected as much here. However he was not a ball person and so far did not know his team, team mates.

Nothing had changed of the devil he had a stern face with solid white eyes, long black hair that was groomed back with a charcoal colored skin that had scar after scar on it. The only thing missing was in fact his horns and his tail, which for tournament purposes had been eliminated as a process to weaken himself for the event.

As he lumbered thru the crowd like a black mountain he did his best to avoid the gossip and conversation, more so fishing and hoping his new Team Captain would spot him and take him away from this nonsense.

The islander smiled and bowed alittle himself to match her curtsy, one arm across his stomach and the other held out to his side before he came up and brought it around to take her hand again. Where she was somewhat out of breath he seemed just fine, not hint of strain or even the slightest bit of sweat under those bright lights from above. Damion took to lead them in a similar waltz although he took it slower this time around to accomodate her smaller steps. He held her closer to him as they moved around their empty space, knowing they could have just as easily been alone in the entire building for all that he cared.

" You will be staying with us...right?"

The step motions between them were fluid and easy now, familiarity breeding an ease that was lacking with their first dance. His hip pressed to hers gently as they took steps back and fourth, seperating only when he needed to but otherwise staying close. Other dancers had finally moved out to join the pair and Damion's teammates, ladies in fine dresses and men in suits that made anything the Hydra could have put on seem like rags in comparison. Light caught on jewelery and other finery and sent the dance floor into a whirl of rainbow colors to dazzle the eye. It only made the dreamlike feeling intensify for him and he could only hope it did for Tilly aswell.

One backstep and he spun her in a quick rotation, hand held above her head with one hand loosely held before he stepped back in as she came back to face him. The sound of her dress whirling was pleasing, more so than the music that played in his opinion, and he wished to hear her laugh again. With no sign of an announcement coming they had all the time in the world for him to hear it again though.

Beginning to dance once more, Tilly smiled warmly as she noticed him taking smaller steps, no doubt for her sake. Their bodies clinging closer together made her heart beat just a little faster.

"Of course I'll stay."

Tilly said calmly, cutely as she stepped into the spin. Her mind allowed itself to drift as all the colors of the other guests gowns and suits all blended together. Tilly joined Damion in their own little dream state, the people around them seeming to fade out of sight, the music snuffed to a melodious hum.

"I'll stay as long as I can..."

A pang of sadness hit her heart. It fell upon their dream like a pebble tossed into a pond. The ripples of her realization cleared away the imaginary fog isolating the couple. Still, Tilly smiled lovingly up at Damion, her grip growing tighter.

A sigh escaped her as he kissed her hand and smiled.

"As do you."

With a giggle, she was led off to their table, an extra spot had been added just for her. It really went to show just how much the staff here go through to accommodate the teams. Her little feet clicked on the floor below until they reached her destination. Before sitting down, Tilly undid her clutch on her hip and set it down where she intended to rest.

"I'm afraid I'm not really hungry. That cheese cake filled me up quite a bit." Smiling to Damion she laughed a bit. "Gosh I really don't eat much, do I?"

Taking the seat, the muse opened her purse and pulled out a small mirror to check herself, if everything was in order. Though her lips needed some care. reaching in without looking, she took the lip gloss and smoothed it over her petite lips, rubbing them together before smiling in to the mirror and putting everything away.

"I guess it's a good thing. Easy to travel by.."

"I don't think I will be." She said defiantly. "If I'm going to break the rules, I might as well break all of them right?"

Grinning widely, Tilly giggled. It seemed to be that he was rubbing off on her a bit. Rubbing her hand up her arm, her hand bumped into the golden trinket that signified the end of the glove, her fingers played with it a bit.

"Besides, I'd like to take a break from work. It's all I've ever done.." She sighed lightly. "Just.. Take a break from writing. You know?"

Looking to you him she giggled.

Putting her hands in her lap, Tilly shook her head at his question.

"I do not. I assume they are your weapons though?"

Tilting her head curiously, she awaited his answer. And knowing him, a description. Tilly left something upstairs herself, in her room. It was terribly odd without having it in her hand or on her person. Her quill rested on the surface of the dresser, a failt glow repelling any dust that tried to settle.

"Well.. At least I'd hope that they're your weapons." She giggled.

"I'd love to see them! ... ... ... Oh my."

Clasping her hands to her cheeks to hide her rapid embarrassment, his deep chuckle only made it worse. Huffing and puffing for a few moments, she wiggled in her seat as she tried to settle down.

"You're awful!"

With another huff she shoved her hands back into her lap, her face still red, lips curled into an embarrassed frowny smile. And now, she'd attempt to change the subject back to weapons. And not the sort he had in his pants.

"I- I can make a sword with my light.."

The Crimson Hawk Hotel - The Kyonosuke Ball Room

A black limousine pulled up to the front of the Crimson Hawk Hotel in a slow creep. The vehicle stopped in front of the entrance to the path heading towards the red carpet that set the way towards the ornate doors of the ball room. The rear doors did not open after the vehicle stopped, rather the driver would get out and quickly walk to the rear door of the limousine facing the pathway. The driver was an unassuming individual when placed in the star studded situation and rightly so, as it ought to have been a crime to do anything to detract from the attentions towards the beautiful group of people who sat within the vehicle.

The driver opened the front door for the passengers and in that moment there seemed to be a sort of eager anticipation as the crowd all wondered who could have possibly been about to emerge from the black interior of the limousine. A black dragon skinned shoe descended onto the ground just outside of the vehicle. The leg connected to the fine footwear was clothed in black dress pants, yet the leg itself belonged to an obviously large and lanky individual. Dark leather gloves grasped the edges of the car door frame as the man pulled himself out into the limelight.

He was a beautiful man. Perhaps, more beautiful than any warrior who had stepped forth onto the red carpet that day. Though it was not morning, the dread headed man still found it appropriate to wear dark shades with an amber fade. He stood tall after emerging from the vehicle and the gathering crowd would chatter in growing excitement. Tresondros Ecstuffuan, famous warrior and son of Sieg Ecstuffuan had emerged from the Limo, symbolizing that the Team representing the newly popularized city of Sigil had emerged on to the scene.

For those who were new to the Heaven or Hell and the fighting world, Tres was a striking figure to behold. It was not so much how attractive he was, but the way he carried himself. The absolute swagger and confidence that lead from each step of his triumphant stride either made you hate him or love him. He turned to pose subtly at each camera that called for his attentions, smiling with a set of perfect sparkling white teeth that ought not to belong to any fighter.

He had only a single flaw on his perfect cream hued skin, which was a long scar that etched down the left side of his head down to the left side of his lip. Yet he wore the scar more as a badge of honor, often putting the fault in full view of the camera as if to say 'so what? I'm still more beautiful than you'. His outfit was subdued yet meaningful, above his black dress pants he wore a shimmering emerald green button up shirt with the top buttons undone to give a casual view of his muscular chest. Over this shirt he wore a black dress jacket. On his head he wore an emerald green third eye dot that marked him as a member of the Emerald Eye Society.

As Tres made his way to the entrance he seemed like an individual who was made for the life of fame and fortune. He wore his prestige well and when asked by a reporter what was he going to bring to this years tournament, he proudly uttered: "Perfection" and with that he sauntered into the front entrance of the ballroom with his team in toe. After stepping into the ballroom Tres would shout:

"THE CHAMP'S ARE 'ERE!"

Someone was shouting. There was no subsequent shouting, so Damion could only conclude another fighter had arrived, and given the words it was another person full of himself and his own superiority. So he'd ignore it until further signs of excitement would accompany it and instead responded to Tilly.

" I don't know if I ever bothered. My weapons are crude things with no ornamentation."

He pointed out a butter knife sitting on a table not far away,

" That knife there infact has more ornamentation than any weapon I have ever made has had. I believe it has something to do with the way I do things."

Where others coaxed the elements into their bidding or forced them to their will, Damion smashed the earth to his preference. He used his will like a hammer and forced the shapes he needed from the ground just as he would any maleable substance and it had always worked out well. Hell, he even had a special attack based off it. The mental image of Tilly crafting her weapon came to mind and he couldn't shake the feeling that she painted the tool out in her mind as she made it.

" But I never stick to just swords."

He nodded, tapping the tip of the blunt knife hard with a fingertip to send it up and over onto the back of his hand.

" It doesn't matter where the blood flows, as long as it flows."

His voice carried the quality of intonation, as if he'd read that somewhere and was repeating it, or even that he'd heard it. The silver knife spun over his hand in a decidedly Riddick style as he watched it with dead eyes, the words playing over and over again in his head as he went through motions as old as sin to him. With a slamming noise he stopped the blade on the second pass, flat to the table with his hand holding it down like a live creature. Damion smiled hungrily and looked back up at her.

" But then again I do enjoy getting beaten around myself so it's a tough act to balance."

Not really, but still, Masichism was as much a part of his style as Sadism was. Any fighter in the building could claim those traits in equal measure but few were as willing to throw away their lives as he when the promise of victory was in hand. He'd bore the scars of such encounters up until his fight with Maximos and experienced the very real possibility of dying there on the battlefield.

" Irish Carbomb."

He replied without looking up, biting back a reply of 'I dont drink' before it could surface completely. The time where Damion had sunk into the bottle was behind him now and he wouldn't let it ruin his good evening. What he did instead of looking was checking his shirt for a nametape someone could have slapped on him, frowning abit. No, no, nothing there, how had the man known his name? Was he getting some noteriety after 4 years of fighting? Maybe.

" Very delicate love, I approve."

He turned his diverted attention to the manner in which she had gotten the waiter over in the first place, smiling at the out of place behaviour. Damion had never actually seen a waiter hailed like that by someone so small but it was rather funny to see. Her confidence, if that's what it was, was growing and it was truly a pleasant thing. Her meekness may have captured his attention but her growth was far more enrapturing.

Some time later, at the Kyonuske Ballroom

"Yaaare yare..."

Tenkai tilted his head with his hand to crack his neck, trying to loosen himself up some after squeezing his way out of the crowd and back into the Crimson Hawk. Just as expected, it was a lot less crowded for him to simply pass through the guest entrance from the lobby. No red carpet, no crowd. He was just thankful he wasn't as famous as previous competitors, or else he'd never be able to get through. In truth, the only real audience he had last year was that group of road bandits, and it was doubtful they'd show their faces around HoH after that first round.

As with the previous year's opening ceremony, Tenkai was dressed in a luxurious and expensive designer robe the same damn thing he wore every day. The robes of a Buddhist monk were by no means high fashion, but Tenkai was essentially fashion-blind-deaf-and-dumb to begin with. His definition of formal attire was simply making sure his raiment was clean and presentable. Aside from that, Tenkai's clothing made him stick out like a sore thumb amongst all of the rich formal wear. He was already getting a few glances from some of the socialite spectators, who probably wondered how someone like him had the money to stay at the Crimson Hawk in the first place.

But Tenkai paid them no mind. He at least tried to blend in somewhat by not bringing his shakujo with him. Anyone carrying around a staff with jingling rings attached to the end of it was just asking for attention. In truth, attention was probably the last thing Tenkai needed at this point. If his investigation was to go as smoothly as he hoped, he'd need to be as inconspicuous as possible.

It's a good thing that Kael and Raien saw no reason for alarm with me, he thought. They'd definitely be good allies to have if this investigation takes a turn for the worse.

Worse...yes...worse, indeed. Upon remembering Raien, he also remembered the information she had given him. Now the mysterious cloaked man from last year had a name, although his motives were still unknown. If Damnatus had a plan of his own for the tournament, things could get complicated very quickly. It was Tenkai's weakness to stretch himself out thin where his own duties were concerned, but he didn't plan on getting sidetracked this year. Besides, if someone else had their own plans for Noah's tournament, odds were likely that Noah himself would have something to say about it.

That is, if he didn't have some hand in it already.

I can't be careless this year. I need to find information to work off of. As it stands, I'm still pretty much in the dark about everything. All I know is that something is not right about this tournament...

Now all that was missing was Noah himself. He could see his assistant Nikki Summers dressed in what was by far the oddest looking outfit he had ever laid eyes on. Tenkai could never figure that woman out, but she seemed to have a thing for bloodshed. Most people in her line of business did, as it was practically a requirement. He couldn't even imagine someone who hated violence working in an event that promotes it.

I guess Noah's supposed to sit in that empty seat next to her. Should only be a matter of time before he shows up.

In the meantime, Tenkai simply stood there as he looked around, making himself look more like a lost tourist than a shifty-eyed investigator.

Meanwhile...

There was a panda at the buffet table.

"[It taste gud]."

"That's just the thing Terran. I bet you anything nothing will happen. Nothing at all."

Hugging his arms to her, Fayble sighed and shook her head. What was she doing? Letting this guy ruin her night. She never got to go about in a gorgeous dress, or do up her hair, or put on make-up. With one deep breath and a long exhale, she patted Terran's arms briefly.

"****** it. Let's go have a good time and eat some ******' free food."

She broke out from his arms in some kind of fake-fabulous arm flail. Taking his hand, she made a bolt to the food table, mainly the area where some dude was whoofing down the steaks like a ********. She'd have to get some of her own.. But how?

Fayble pointed.

"I ******** want some of these steaks." She tapped on the man devouring the steaks a few times. "Hey--Hey dude I want some of those. Save some for the children why dontcha?"

She had no clue who she was talking to, all she knew was that his hair was silver, he was bigger than her, he was sitting in a chair, and he was in her way. Never get between a woman and her beaf beef.

"Or at least stop touching everything with your hands, that's nasty."

(Note that Time line wise it has only been a few months since you saw teen Joseph. You may wish to edit you post to reflect this.)

“The story beings with this world. Until recently you have been talking to and dealing with this timelines Continuum’s version of me. Since I have come here, I have overwritten his existence so to speak. So by me calling you an old friend, I speak of knowing you for a long time, but clearly you may have known me for a few months. I know you yet I don’t know you.”

Joseph paused; he wasn’t sure of what had happened over the last few months either.

“The Samayou I knew was a drill instructor for β5 division. He had joined us after Rock Fist’s pristine landscape had been warped by the arcane. That was after the 2013 HoH, that was 7 years ago. In fact most of Gaia proper had been taken over by the GPD and Streea by 2016. Sigil was the last bastion of those of us who had fled and those of us who could still fight.

“I’ve lost more than a few friends in my time and to see some of them well in this continuum is a bit much. You where one such friend. My goal now is to insure that this continuum doesn’t become like the one I came from, and this HoH will mark the public appearance of β5.”

Halsey then chimed in, “You where the only person from his past who I could get to join Noble, the rest where either unresponsive or already on a team. That’s why you’re here, to help him with that dream.”

Damion had no idea what those two items were, but he nodded and smiled like he did before breaking out into brief laughter again. Despite her showing of mock anger the elemental reached across to take up one of her hands as if warding it against further slamming.

" I'm not alcohols biggest fan but I prefer to go heavy when I do drink. Not my goal tonight mind."

The number of times he had been completely smashed could be counted on both hands and feet but they were enough to give him a healthy respect for the burning liquid, moderation in this meant excess elsewhere after all. Like the food table that had suddenly become so popular, that was a place he could be excessive at, feasting to his hearts content without much care.

" I'll be right back love, I'm just going to get some food."

Damion slipped out around his chair and past the table with a pause only to lean down to Tilly, tilting her head back gently with fingertips to her chin, and plant a kiss on her lips before continuing on his way. Now that his mind had been decided the smells of cooked food and raw vegetative matter were pulling on his nose and making his stomach growl in serious hunger. He skated the assembled masses, clapping Ryugi on the shoulder here, doing the same to Terran on his way past without ever actually seeing the man. A plate appeared from nowhere and soon enough disappeared just as fast, buried under mounds of food it had no business holding as he skated around the tables.

2 passes around the gorging spot seemed appropriate and like a bird in flight he veered off after his second go around to head back to the table with his prize.

As Alan's hand extended towards the limo, a dainty gloved hand appeared to take his. A leather-clad leg stepped out of the limo, its stiletto heel touching the carpet. With a shift, the second leg joined it before the woman rose from the vehicle.

Gloria may have been new to the Heaven or Hell environment, but she wasn't so unversed with the red carpet; the two together, however, had caused her some personal distress when she had tried to decide on an outfit to wear. But with no idea what to expect, she went with her 'safest' outfit. Black leather ankle boots with a 3" stiletto heel, with leather pants to match. A corset covered her torso, keeping her curves in all the right places. Black sleeves, attached to the corset by their matching red trim, fell long and loose over her arms, but a flick of the wrist would pull them back enough to allow her to take Alan's arm.

"Not even questions from your own teammates?" she asked with a muted voice, not trying to get anyone else's attention or to detract from the spectacle their Captain had made as he all but rushed the door.

"But I'm surprised I didn't get invited to a party this nice in the past. Kinda hard to imagine most of us will be beaten bloody in due time."

"Speak for yourself. I plan to be the one doing the damage rather than receiving it."

The emerald clad warrior said to his team mates who stood at his back. After entering the ballroom he noticed a few familiar faces including Tamashii the leader of the rock fist dojo a direct competitor to the now long gone Lu-Bu. Other than that he saw people who he recognized but who he had no real reason to speak too.

Trying to intimidate Heaven or Hell warriors through s**t talking wasn't going to work and yet despite knowing this Tres could still barely contain himself. Everything in him told him to do something stupid and get up into somebodies face but he figured he ought to get a bite to eat first so that if a brawl did erupt he had a chance to enjoy it.

Tres started towards his teams designated table to set down his jacket and see who there was to see. "Gloria, I suggest you go and meet some of your fellow competitors, you will never see more interesting individuals.", he said honestly. Some of these people were very interesting and he knew from experience that you tend to run into these people outside of the tournament often.

Tres walked towards the buffet after setting down his dress coat on his seat. He caught the eye of Terran as he headed towards the buffet. He was standing near a section of drow dishes, a culture and people that Tres had a strong interest in. In his study of the dark elves Tres had learned to appreciate some of there cuisine, especially the drow spider wine.

"Okay~"

She said brightly, her fingers tangling with one another as they rested on the table top. As Damion lifted her chin, Tilly fluttered her eyes closed, their lips catching each others briefly before he went to the food table. The muse looked back down to the table, a few strands of her curls falling in front of a warm smile and a little blush. She never wanted to get used to that, them kissing, or how he held her. She wanted it to be a surprise every time, a refreshing feeling.

Soon, their drinks arrived without Damion being there, Tilly excitedly accepted hers. The little muse didn't think to pluck the cherry off of the top right away, mistakenly, she stirred the grenadine to make it all pink. Just how she liked it! However, this also made the maraschino sink to the bottom.

"Aww! No fair no fair!"

Sticking her tongue out a little bit, Tilly set about the task of trying to retrieve it with the straw. And failing quite miserably.

"Oh uh." Fayble blinked once, wincing a bit as her fingers touched the plate. "Thanks.."

Turning in her heels proved to be difficult for a moment as she moved towards the other selections. Grilled portabella mushrooms, artichokes and a baked potato with all the toppings. She was set for sure. or at least for right now. Making her way back to Terran, she clanked her plate down and hopped into a seat unceremoniously.

"I love free food. It's one of those better things in life."

Grinning, she went to grab a fork, again, wincing at the new sensation. The metal was decently cold, the decoration, ornate. It took her a moment to pick that up and her knife before digging in, the mushroom was going down first.

"Ho yeah yeah yeah~"

Pursing her lips, Tilly huffed out at his statement cutely. The cherry was the best part of the entire drink, and she wasn't about to give up on her little hope. As he began eating, Tilly finally managed to corner the sweetened fruit, slowly bringing it up to the side until she could n** the stem with her fingers.

"Hah! I go--"

She dropped the cherry right back in to the beverage as she watch Damion eat. The corners of her lips twitched a bit up into a smile before she bit down. Her nose made a little snorting sound until

"PAHAHHAHAH!! You're so cute!!!"

Popping another shrimp in his mouth, he grumbled. "I missed the mushrooms!", grinning at his own goofiness. His smile turned quietly sincere was he watched her cut into her food, and he chuckled. "I love you. I'm glad you talked me into coming." At this point, he reached for his silverware, which was entirely too small for his hands. It was like fitting a Semi with a donut. It looked simply ridiculous.

While he tried (and failed) to eat his salmon with some level of civility, he kept looking around. He caught Tres' lingering look a moment before, and he watched as Damion and his young lady in white dance around. It was odd, he thought, but incredibly sweet. A crazy beast man that was Damion, taking a moment to be romantic. He couldn't help but smile at it. But the woman made him start observing the other ladies, and just taking note. So many women he knew to be very serious and dedicated fighters were in all manner of dress and gown. Why, even Izzy, famous from years earlier in Heaven or Hell as a berserker of the highest order, looked lovely.

He smiled at it all. There was something absolutely marvelous about it all.

Her laughter died down to her characteristic giggle, her hand covered in her lips again, in fear she was rude.

"Yes, you are." She mused happily, her fingers finding her straw. "You're entirely too cute, and you don't even know it." A grin. "And entirely too handsome to boot~"

More giggled escaped her before she brought her straw to her lips, siphoning out some of the fizzy drink. Wiggling her nose, she sniffled a bit, the bubbles always got to her. And then, without pause, she was at her cherry again, this time she would get it a little faster. Hopefully.

--

Biting in to the fungus, Fayble chewed happily as the warm, earthly flavor filled her mouth and sliding down her throat as she swallowed. Heavens it was good, though it was pretty hard to ******** up a portabella.

"Aye luv yew tu." She managed as she shoved another chunk of mushroom into her mouth. She needn't worry about running out either. She grabbed four. Swallowing once more, she sighed happily.

"It's pretty cool isn't it? Seein' all the broads dress up and whatnot? I bet you more than not, half of us want to rip the god damned things off."

He chuckled at the notion, and with what was probably a quarter beat between them, Terran merely mused : "In your case, I think I'd like to be the doing the ripping." Not exactly as debonair as he liked to be, but then he'd begun to learn the value of forwardness. A devilish grin as he extended a claw, slicing the crab legs open. "But in all fairness, you're almost certainly right." He gestured at Izzy this time. He didn't know if Fayble was familiar, but he was.

"Her, for instance. When I was rewatching old Heaven or Hells to catch myself up, I saw her. She was a member of Raptus Regaliter, and more to the point, I saw her on the news a couple weeks ago, having beaten someone into the hospital with a potato peeler. Not stabbed. I'm almost positive the news said beat."

"And what of the men. Somehow I doubt the leader of UNBREAKABLE RESOLVE is much of a tux kind of guy. And lord knows Ryugi would rather be in his armor and duds. Am I RIGHT, sir?" he shouted over his shoulder to Ryugi, who was probably just getting back into his steaks.

Tilly examined him as she looked around, her eyebrows furrowing as she noticed his discomfort. It was only confirmed when he asked if they could leave.

"Oh, of course." Leaning forward, she managed to stab the cherry, bringing it out and past her lips before plucking out the stem. It was quick work as she pushed back the drink and rose to her feet.

"D-do you think we can come back? I don't want Mr. Kazamaru angry at me, I am technically his date, after all." Smoothing out her gown, she reached for her purse on the table. "Plus I went through all this trouble getting dolled up.."

"She sounds like my kinda person." Fayble said with a chuckle. "Though, I would have went for the spoon myself."

When Ryugi made a thumbs up, the femme smiled and went back to her own meal. This time she delved into her steak, cutting it up to find it was nice and rare.

"Sweet!" Pooping the food in her mouth she chewed happily.

Now that was the truth, as much as she was probably moved into their team suite by now. Not that it was every required of anyone, and well.. he supposed if he knew anyone in a position to turn down free stay in luxury suites, two of the three ladies on his team would have been high among them.

Technically, he supposed, he was the rich one now more than Cel. But he had a life long training of "free things are good, just find out what the catch is first" behind him.

Cel was hiding something, being extremely formal and polite. Business woman mode. Rayner might not have been able to read anything about what was going on in her head, but the fact that she was going ice queen spoke volumes. He'd work it out of her eventually, though it could take some work and leave him ending the night with a few more scars than he'd started it with. He'd just have to take it slow. Gradual work and subtlety.

Yay. Exciting concept.

"Think she's right. No need to worry about the tournament itself tonight-" he was going to be a hypocrite on that, but he just had too much on his mind to do otherwise without some kind of machine to disassemble. Solid drinking and sex did it for him too, but each option was less likely than the last in the middle of the ball. "-tomorrow anyone who wants to know who's in it will be able to find us and our names, et cetera. 'means tonights the perfect night to kick back and enjoy the last anonymity in public we're likely to get for a while."

Perfect time to call for drinks for them.

...as soon as he remembered how one was supposed to signal a waiter to bring the spirits over discretely in one of these fancy-pants time events.

" Yes, I hate getting in the middle of people. It hurts."

Damion took in a long, slow breath of the cleaner air of Latent, letting it wash away the stink of the building in one woop. The cold air burned through his throat and lungs and with his outbreath the taste of copper tainted his tongue. His skin rippled with goosebumps and he was sure she could feel it too, could even see her shiver with the cold night air. He stepped in close and wrapped his arms around her gently with care not to muss anything up too badly.

" You looked cold."

That was his explanation, although he had also just wanted to hold her too. People walked past them to get into the building, paying them no mind at all as they swished past in their finery, manequins for the fashions of society as far as he was concerned. The sounds of the interior festivities drifted out every time the door opened and greeted each guest with a wall of almost deafening noise. Cars sped past in the street or pulled to a stop to release more people inside, some of them already partying as they turned their vehicles over to Valets in red vests.

Damion lowered his head towards Tilly, breathing in her scent to blast away the smell of car exhaust, engine oil, the flowery scents of the women and the sharp musk of their well dressed men. He found himself wondering if he'd ever get used to people again.

Sutiiven Wrote:

Stephen couldn't help but smile, his eyes looking into her's as she made her little joke.

"Room service... sounds like a wonderful idea."

There was nothing more that needed to be said. The night was young and there was plenty of time for things to get much more... interesting.

The song ended and the little redhead smiled and blushed again as she glanced away.

Keeping Stephen's hand in hers she would turn and lead him back off the dance floor towards the table they had left, noting Damion and Tilly slipping away, and Ryugi still hadn't manage to kill himself yet... but dragon's had big stomachs as far as she could recall.

Her smile faded a bit at the mention of her fate. No matter how hard she tried to not think of it, it turned around and reared it's ugly head. It had been a week now since she decided to take it upon herself, but still she found herself crying before setting off to sleep. However, with Damion here, Tilly didn't feel as such, in fact, she felt strong. Courage swelled in her chest as she gripped at his arms.

"Don't worry..." She whispered, trying to sound reassuring, even though she wasn't so sure herself. "I'll.. I'll try my best to.. But, Damion. If I don't--if I can't.."

Her lips pursed, suppressing a quiver. Letting go of his arms, she turned around and hugged Damion around the middle. With a shaky sigh she nuzzled his chest. There Tilly stayed quiet, not wanted to think about it anymore. But she couldn't stop. Snaking her hands from his back and up his chest, she rested them on either side of Damion's face. Tip toeing up, Tilly led him down to her lips, locking them together.

Tilly blushed at her mistake.

"But no-- I was.. I was Thinking that I wasn't going to follow him anymore. I was going to ask you sooner or later if I was allowed to stay with you.." She smiled sheepishly. "I guess it's sooner, rather than later. I want to stay with you. Period."

His joy brought a wide grin to her face along with a genuine laugh. It did her good to see him so happy. She loved it. She loved him.

"No, I haven't. Not yet. I only made up my mind a few days ago, when I was with him. I was wanting to wait a while, towards the end of HoH, so it wouldn't hamper his spirits." She giggled. "The Chief of Moral needs to be happy too.."

Leaning up, she placed a few gentle kisses along his jaw and chin before snuggled herself into him.

"I'm pretty sure I'm rooming with Ryugi.. Maybe I can sneak in to see you from time to time..?"

She simply continued looking up at him and his antics. She had never seen him so happy before, it was absolutely adorable. But Tilly wouldn't tell him that, he might get all embarrassed again. Which was also cute. Shaking her head and shrugging, Tilly giggled at his question.

"Sure!"

sliding her hands to his sides, Tilly gently pushed back from him before grabbing a hold of his hand. The little muse couldn't stop smiling in the least. Finally something was going right..

"Lead the way my love." She chimed sweetly, her arms wrapping around his right arm neatly.

She squeezed his hand back, giving him even more reason to stay relaxed.

"It is a little strange isn't it? I'd think they'd get all sweaty and smelly from all that contact unneeded." She tilted her head a bit as she observed the rest of the evening crowd before looking up to him. "Not to mention I'd probably get trampled."

Laughing a little she quelled herself before attempting to see through the mass of people, seeing as she wouldn't have a snow ball's chance in hell seeing over them. However, as always she managed and pointed to their table.

"Oh look~ Mr. Lasanti and Ms. Hono are over there. Should we go sit with them?"

For the moment, Tilly merely smiled shyly as Damion spoke, only then when he was done did she raise her hand and waved.

"Good evening Ms. Hono, Mr. Lasanti.."

Her eyes met either of theirs as she greeted the rest of the team. Though, they ended back looking at the table meekly. Tilly would always be shy around other people besides Ryugi and Damion.

”I don’t care if we’re way past “fashionably late”, I ain’t givin’ anyone the pleasure of seein’ me run.”

Robyn Isedan strode along the sidewalk, heels clicking with every step against the concrete as she walked arm in arm with her white-haired, red-eyed, sword-carrying boyfriend Celas. A limo just hadn’t been to her taste, although, she reflected, at least they wouldn’t have been among the last ones showing up if she had gotten one. Finally, though, she could see the Crimson Hawk, and she smiled, flashing her fangs.

It took them a little bit longer to actually make it to the entrance, but they eventually got there, Robyn blinking at the crowd massed around the front of the building. Her ears twitched and her tail lashed, but her smile did nothing more than twitch at one corner. Crowds. That was one thing she hated about the tournament scene, there was always so many people involved. Well, at least, this year, she wasn’t just some spectator walking around, she had every right to be there. Captain of her own team. Can’t get any more rights than that. Well, unless you were one of the ones “running” the whole thing. The vixen briefly contemplated just illusioning themselves so they could walk right by all the hovering people, but shook her head after a moment. No, even if she hated crowds, that wouldn’t be befitting of a team, let alone the captain. Tugging on Celas’ arm slightly, she started walking up, a few cameras flashing and snapping photos, joined by more as those who closely followed all the tournaments recognized her from a few months back. After all, how many people sported purple hair, fox ears and a tail? Maybe on the whole of Gaia there were a few, but in a smaller range? Not many.

Then they caught the FIGHTER’s on both of their wrists, and even more started snapping photos, calling out her name with questions that the fox girl just waved away. Even though she was captain, there was no way she was gonna start answering random and inane questions. Eventually, they made it all the way down the carpet, and through the front doors. Now, Robyn grinned, seeing the ballroom ahead, already filled with people, contestants, staff, and spectators alike. Her ears twitched in excitement as she dragged Celas along more, although she made sure to still look dignified.

This was it. They’d made it. Now all they had left to do was win.

For all the rich air this ball had to offer, it was still a celebration before the world's most famous fighting tournament; and if any place echoed this effect more, it was the buffet. Monstrous looking men in suites, ladies gorging themselves as if they were men, brazen young men gorging themselves as if they were... well... maybe that wasn't so out of place.

Selini herself had just daintily finished a cajun-stuffed bell pepper and was turning towards the open bar whilst savoring the searing spices, when suddenly, right before her...

Tenkai Matsumoto Wrote:

Oh hai gaiz Imapanda,

She glanced around, probably looking for anyone else that might be mirroring her reaction, but no one seemed to be paying the massive ball of fluff any mind. Was it... a guest? The catering did serve the bamboo upon which the bi-colored bear currently dined. This begged the biggest question yet... was it intelligent? Was it actually a participant in the tournament? As embarrassing as the thought of talking to a Panda was, she simply had to find out.

"E-excuse me, um... Goodness, you're big. Are you..." she found herself at a loss for words, but eventually decided to go with something that made a little more sense to her... "..are you lost?"

Sutiiven Wrote:

Who knew? The night might yet get ever more interesting at this rate.

HonoRaven Wrote:

"We.. should... order room service!"

It was as if Stephens own thoughts were the embers that lit the fuse. A team of wait-staff approached the dancing duo, struggling to maintain some semblance of coordination as they delivered their sugary payload.

"Uhh… Sorry to interrupt, ma’am," the waitress in charge apologized as she approached Raven. The rest of her team abruptly collapsed from sheer exhaustion. This particular order was not the most transport friendly. Whoever dispatched them on the endeavor did not have the common courtesy to put the thing on a rolling cart! No, they carried it in like Persian slaves! Under normal circumstances, the wait-staff would have given the guy GPS caliber directions to Hell along with a detailed diagram about what he could do with his delivery. However, when you’re dealing with Gaians, the circumstances are seldom “normal.” Long story short: they all received very good tips.

The delivery in question was a pastry behemoth! 250 lbs of flour, yeast, sugar, chocolate, and tears combined together to create a dessert that would cause even Betty Crocker to fall to her knees and weep with happiness. If cakes had deities,

THIS. WOULD. BE. THEIR. GOD!

"I was told to deliver this to you. Enjoy." A small envelope specifically addressed to her was handed in Raven’s direction.

Wow.

Ryugi looked up from his plate of meaty goodness.

Now THAT'S a CAKE!

Forget meat. He was totally getting in on some of that.

HonoRaven Wrote:

She sat down and looked at the envelope for a moment before opening it to see what was inside.. hopefully it would tell her who to send a thanks and leftovers to

As she opened the envelope, Raven would discover a plain, white card. Written inside that card was but a simple question:

The Mysterious Letter Wrote:

What’chu gonna do?

Once the card was opened, it sent forth a silent cue. Suddenly, there was music. The tune was hardly subtle, easily gaining the attention of those in the immediate area. What was most perplexing about the tune was not the fact that it was horribly misplaced given the setting, but its point of origin. The music…

was coming from the cake!

Showtime!

The cue was given and it was time to get this party started! Erupting from the center of the GOD-CAKE was Officer Bhudasan, Captain of the Unstoppable Bureau of Bad-a**. He stood to his feet, his policeman’s uniform covered in bits of cake and frosting. His Aviators on the other hand were immaculate! In spite the man’s appearance, he was on duty, but not the type of duty one assumed.

He sprung from the cake and danced his way over to whom many would consider the world’s luckiest woman. Once he got there he’d say hello the best way he knew how:

With the shedding of clothing and provocative gyrations of the pelvic region.

“Good evenin’ ma’am!” The officer smirked, yanking off his neck tie in one smooth motion and tossing it around the back of Raven’s neck. He then tried to use it to pull the woman to her feet and close against him.

“You have the right to remain sexy!”

Times were rough on Gaia, and the officer needed to supplement his income by being a part-time freelance stripper. Sorry though, he doesn't do hair.

Correction. He would NOT be getting in on some of that. Instead, he'd just inch his way over to the cake, grab a large piece, and chomp away, shaking his head.

Some people just had no class. He got points for creativity, however...

That was a terrible dynamic entry!

Rou was sitting in the backseat of her limousine, a driver and bodyguard in the front seat as the car traveled through the streets of the city of Latent. The light was low, as it was too dark to see almost anything in the car without the help of passing streetlights.

The buxom bandit was on her way to pick up her "date" for the ball and opening ceremonies.

Two days ago... Wrote:

Rou was standing amongst her men in her storeroom in the underbelly of Durem, watching carefully as her subservients packed expensive gems and materials into locked safes for transport.

One guard was standing next to her, holding a few sheets of paper in his hand. He seemed to be shuffling through them quite hastily.

"Miss Ji, there's no Reiko anywhere yet on the tournament check-in logs that you've requested," he reported.

"None? No Juans, either?" Rou asked, looking a bit troubled.

"No, ma'am," he answered.

Rou bit the end of her thumb, and glanced pensively to the side. No Reiko? Perhaps he hadn't thought to come back this year...

"I'll have to make due with another competitor. It's just one night, anyhow. Who else has checked in?" she inquired, and began to pace.

"Not many, yet. Matsumoto, Kazamaru, Jaeger, and Miles. All the rest are definitely female fighters."

Rou shook her head to the first three, all of whom she knew. She also didn't want to take a member of her own team, so as not to cause drama between allies if something had gone amiss. The buxom bandit had a habit of upsetting dates.

But the last sounded perfect! A new face! She took the paper from her attendant, and began to inscribe a letter on the back.

Miles,

It is my personal request that I offer you an invitation to accompany me to the opening ceremonies tomorrow night. I will pick you up by limousine.

I'm not taking no for an answer.

-Ji

"Have the hotel concierge deliver it to Miles' room," she instructed, giving it to her attendant. It may have been a bit forward, but such was the way of the buxom bandit. "Now, about my fitting..."

"Is this the correct address?" Rou asked, as the limousine pulled up in front of a small apartment building. She looked out the window, to see a small woman in a dark gown, waiting beside the wall.

Rou's eyes widened as the woman standing there began to walk towards the car.

"You IDIOTS!" the buxom bandit yelled, luckily muffled by closed doors. "You said Miles! Not Sabrina Miles!" In all the blunder and frustration that Rou had felt, she had been expecting a man.

However, she could only make the best of it. Hopefully taking another woman to the ball wouldn't make for a bad time.

The shouting stopped only as her driver ran around the car to open the rear door for it's passenger, allowing Sabrina to enter the car.

Rou had composed herself in that time, who greeted her 'date'. "Miss Miles..." she said, trying her best not to stammer or show that she had somehow been mistaken, "Welcome. I hope tonight will be a most eventful evening. I thank you for joining me."

The car pulled away from the apartment, to head back to the Crimson Hawk for the opening ceremonies that would take place in the ballroom.

It wasn't hard to say that this would be a tense ride back to the hotel.

Rae grinned and looked at the other occupants of the ballroom who must be staring by this point... the poor boy appeared to be looking for a monetary contribution to replace his too small clothing.

"Sorry buddy, but I never pay for anything that I didn't order, and that I don't think you have earned!" She grinned flashing dainty little fangs as she placed her hands on her hips. "So unless you've got something worth paying for..."

That was not at all pleasant. That was as far from pleasant you could get without falling into outright painful, which even then was somewhat pleasant in the right use. And now Tilly was screaming and that was even more unpleasant than the gyrating mostly naked man infront of him. But it was like a bad car accident and he just couldn't look away for long moments before he looked at his friend Stephen,

" Why did you order this? What possessed you to buy this?!"

A flip of his hands to indicate the gyrating cake man, just something he couldn't look at anymore, it was disturbing beyond measure. Cake would just never be the same! And he didn't want to touch him to make the man stop, which was desperately needed now, so instead he simply picked up Tilly and her chair in one go. There was a way atleast to stop her screaming and freaking out, so why not focus on that first, carrying the entirety of the of it all and her away from the scene of pastry hell.

" By the gods....who would order that?!"

Damion seemed to be talking to himself as he bumbled their way through the people, knocking other ballgoers sprawling without a care.

KytanaTheThief Wrote:

”I don’t care if we’re way past “fashionably late”, I ain’t givin’ anyone the pleasure of seein’ me run.”

Robyn Isedan strode along the sidewalk, heels clicking with every step against the concrete as she walked arm in arm with her white-haired, red-eyed, sword-carrying boyfriend Celas. A limo just hadn’t been to her taste, although, she reflected, at least they wouldn’t have been among the last ones showing up if she had gotten one. Finally, though, she could see the Crimson Hawk, and she smiled, flashing her fangs.

It took them a little bit longer to actually make it to the entrance, but they eventually got there, Robyn blinking at the crowd massed around the front of the building. Her ears twitched and her tail lashed, but her smile did nothing more than twitch at one corner. Crowds. That was one thing she hated about the tournament scene, there was always so many people involved. Well, at least, this year, she wasn’t just some spectator walking around, she had every right to be there. Captain of her own team. Can’t get any more rights than that. Well, unless you were one of the ones “running” the whole thing. The vixen briefly contemplated just illusioning themselves so they could walk right by all the hovering people, but shook her head after a moment. No, even if she hated crowds, that wouldn’t be befitting of a team, let alone the captain. Tugging on Celas’ arm slightly, she started walking up, a few cameras flashing and snapping photos, joined by more as those who closely followed all the tournaments recognized her from a few months back. After all, how many people sported purple hair, fox ears and a tail? Maybe on the whole of Gaia there were a few, but in a smaller range? Not many.

Then they caught the FIGHTER’s on both of their wrists, and even more started snapping photos, calling out her name with questions that the fox girl just waved away. Even though she was captain, there was no way she was gonna start answering random and inane questions. Eventually, they made it all the way down the carpet, and through the front doors. Now, Robyn grinned, seeing the ballroom ahead, already filled with people, contestants, staff, and spectators alike. Her ears twitched in excitement as she dragged Celas along more, although she made sure to still look dignified.

This was it. They’d made it. Now all they had left to do was win.

“I’m well aware of that,” Celas replied, one arm crooked in a gentlemanly fashion for Robyn to hold while his other hand held his nodachi, the blade bound tightly to its sheath with a number of clasps and prayer beads. “What confuses me is why you brought up the notion of being past ‘fashionably late’ in the first place.”

A quick glance was enough for most people to consider Celas an elf, though he was not especially tall for one. His features certainly were fair and his feathery-white hair was not commonly found among humans, but there was a quality about him that did not quite fit with the classic understanding of ‘elf.’ While he normally dressed in dark clothing accompanied by a leather trenchcoat, tonight he had sprung for clothing that was a little more fitting for ball – dress slacks, a white button-up shirt and a red vest. It wasn’t much – Celas was not one for fashion – but Robyn had seemed pleased enough, and that was all he really cared about.

The reception in the front of the hotel was a bit overwhelming. He shied away from the cameras and microphones shoved in his face and looked visibly uncomfortable at the amount of attention they were receiving. He let out a breath he hadn’t known he had been holding once they made their way inside. There was likely a security check regarding his weapon, but extenuating circumstances allowed him to utilize it as a kind of walking stick for the evening.

Once cleared, he would be dragged to the ballroom by his over-eager companion. Strange… he could not recall ever attending an affair like this before, but it all seemed… familiar, somehow.

She didn't seem to notice that she was floating in the air whilst still sitting in her chair. Tilly's head was still in her hands, shaking from right to left.

"Oh god oh god oh god oh god!"

Her petite hands moved up to her hair, scrunching it in a panic.

"That poor cake! That poor poor cake! HE RUINED THE CAKE" She hushed herself for a moment, a broad frown appearing on her lips. "I-I wanted to eat it..."

Tale Feather Wrote:

After witnessing the fiasco with the cake, Alan would turn back to the bar and ask for a simple red wine to suffice for the evening. Fermented grapes. Grapes wasn't a fruit seen in his home-world, but it was something seen in the Trinirealm's other two worlds, quite a wonderful and exotic flavor to be had, for sure. Alan however preferred the Dragon Brewed variey.

Quietly, the Avion prince would adjust his shirt, straightening the seams on the back end of his shirt, which were made specifically to allow him to open his wings, but it was somewhat uncomfortable to him. Alan liked having that part of his back exposed, rather than covered. Something about how the cloth brushed up against the edge of the leather skin pads in his back.

In either case, he put it out of his mind as his eyes continued to gaze for the person he was seeking. Was she late?

"You seem anxious," Lovi's voice could be heard from a few feet along the length of the bar. After their vivacious and charismatic companions had abandoned them to their own devices, Lovi had found herself a little lost in the crowds. A discomfort made worse by the deplorable behavior of the people about.

Lovi really wasn't as much of a spoil-sport as she seemed, but the space and the people around her were entirely new. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she preferred to be in a position of power in social situations. Given better circumstances, she might have been as talkative and flirtatious as Glory, though likely not half as loud about it. Not to say she thought the girl obnoxious (though the thought may have crossed her mind on occasion).

Lovi had eventually spotted Alan's bright outfit from across the room, and was quite thrilled to discover that he had located exactly what she was looking for from the moment they had arrived at the hotel. He seemed lost in his thoughts, so she had taken the time to order a simple gin tonic before stirring him from his thoughts. She would find somebody new to talk to after her nerves were settled.

"You look like you've been stood up or something," not her most eloquent choice of words, but an accurate description of his general posture and expression.

" Good, because I have no interest in going back there and scraping it off where he's been laying."

A shudder rippled up him at the very thought, the mental image more disturbing than he'd like to admit, and Damion offered her a weak smile. Atleast she wasn't screaming anymore or exceedingly distraught after that last little frenzy. He didn't know what to do in those situations and likely never would.

" Unless you want that in which case you may go get it yourself."

The smile strengthened in time with his joke, splitting wide the right side of his mouth to reveal white teeth and for his throat to give voice to a dry chuckle. Oh yes, these events always had something going on, although really the elemental could have done without that. He hoped the other man wasn't a fighter in the tournament, not having taken the time to look for a FIGHTER on his wrist, or his brain was trying to save him that horror. But now they had left the food and his teammates behind and Damion had no intention of taking Tilly back over there to save them, no intention at all of going back over there himself.

Deathgra Wrote:

(Note that Time line wise it has only been a few months since you saw teen Joseph. You may wish to edit you post to reflect this.)

“The story beings with this world. Until recently you have been talking to and dealing with this timelines Continuum’s version of me. Since I have come here, I have overwritten his existence so to speak. So by me calling you an old friend, I speak of knowing you for a long time, but clearly you may have known me for a few months. I know you yet I don’t know you.”

Joseph paused; he wasn’t sure of what had happened over the last few months either.

“The Samayou I knew was a drill instructor for β5 division. He had joined us after Rock Fist’s pristine landscape had been warped by the arcane. That was after the 2013 HoH, that was 7 years ago. In fact most of Gaia proper had been taken over by the GPD and Streea by 2016. Sigil was the last bastion of those of us who had fled and those of us who could still fight.

“I’ve lost more than a few friends in my time and to see some of them well in this continuum is a bit much. You where one such friend. My goal now is to insure that this continuum doesn’t become like the one I came from, and this HoH will mark the public appearance of β5.”

Halsey then chimed in, “You where the only person from his past who I could get to join Noble, the rest where either unresponsive or already on a team. That’s why you’re here, to help him with that dream.”

{{Ah well we can just assume said information then. PS, I am a huge Halo fan and have read all the books, Halsey was a nice choice. She is a lil’ more straight forward and egomaniac though.}}

"Dabbling into other realities is a dangerous fiasco, I am surprised your still alive."

The evil listened and heard the truth of this other world, but it was not his world and thus none of his concern. He would not dirty his hands with wars that did not belong too him but he was more then willing to help a friend.

“I assume myself in this other reality helped you, thus why would I be any different here. I don’t know nor need to know the full spectrum of what your plan is or how you intend to accomplish your tasks but you must know this. Fate is fate, the worlds will play out as they are meant too and it is not my hand that will paint the ending, that right is reserved for the will of the universe. If your dream is to try and save this realm from a similar fate then so be it, I shall aid, but that is all I can’t save a dead world already.”

He was of course referring going back to this other world and helping, their fate was in their hands and future. They had to carve out their existence and he did so here as well, other then that he was happy to see the man again.

Tilly was struck with a lightning bolt of horror as the cake man made his way back over to them. As if it wasn't obvious enough that Tilly had been in a state of distress, it would be even more apparent with her slightly shaking.

Now ladies and gents, Tilly is what we call a prude--uncomfortable with almost anything lewd. In fact, she had just received her first kiss none too long ago, about a little more than a week. But that's besides the point. Inside her little head there was a snapping sound as her eyes grew wide, her right eye twitching. The poor girl had had it.

Reaching out without thinking with both hands, Tilly grabbed at the offenders underoo's her little fingers easily gripping the material. Quickly, she hopped up onto her chair and in one mighty movement, she jerked up his underwear. She had just preformed---

THE ATOMIC WEDGIE.

"You creep!" She barked, tugging still. "You are absolutely ruining my night!" Gritting her teeth she hissed. "And I suggest you stop!!!"

(She is Halsey in name only, but she is similar in a few ways.)

“It’s good to know, that some people don’t change.”

Joseph poured himself a small screwdriver from the available liquor and juices on the table.

“Crossing into this continuum was by no choice, without me there…”

He paused

“She would have done the necessary and activated the WHITEGLOVE protocol. All β5 equipment and personnel would be neutralized. It’s a painless death… from what the tests suggested.”

He quickly wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his sports coat.

“I’m sure these balls aren’t your type of thing, but tradition calls. Let’s enjoy ourselves and not dwell on the past.”

Bhudasan was quite thankful that he had on his back-up thong. Also, he had danced up enough cash to buy himself a drink. If that wasn't tell tale signs of a good night, then he didn't know what was. Alas, the music ended and so had his show. No doubt people would yell at him. Some may have been upset for one reason or another, or perhaps they were complimenting him and demanding an encore? Regardless the reason, his response was the same to all who approached him: A Business card that read:

"Officer Dimitrius Bhudasan: Professional Entertainer. 555-253-3000 "Everything you see can and WILL be used against you. Sorry, I don't do hair."

He kept them in his utility belt, which was also still on his person. Now the dancing officer had no intention to carry on the night in his current state of dress (Or lack thereof). He always kept a backup change of clothing inside of his current means of transportation, which so happened to be the GOD-CAKE.

Supreme Jerk Commander Wrote:

Bhudasan was quite thankful that he had on his back-up thong. Also, he had danced up enough cash to buy himself a drink. If that wasn't tell tale signs of a good night, then he didn't know what was. Alas, the music ended and so had his show. No doubt people would yell at him. Some may have been upset for one reason or another, or perhaps they were complimenting him and demanding an encore? Regardless the reason, his response was the same to all who approached him: A Business card that read:

"Officer Dimitrius Bhudasan: Professional Entertainer. 555-253-3000 "Everything you see can and WILL be used against you. Sorry, I don't do hair."

He kept them in his utility belt, which was also still on his person. Now the dancing officer had no intention to carry on the night in his current state of dress (Or lack thereof). He always kept a backup change of clothing inside of his current means of transportation, which so happened to be the GOD-CAKE.

Just who the hell do you think we are?! - Gattai Nante Kusokurae!!

Through the dancing, one terrified little female had had enough, and one really protective son of a b***h had just about reached his limit for retarded pelvic thrusts. This guy was stomping on everything awesome! He was flinging cake off his genitalia onto the very spirit and morale of UNBREAKABLE RESOLVE, and as Chief Morale Officer and Co-Captain, there was no way in the nine hells that this was gonna continue on any longer! Plus, the dude was humping in the general direction of his beloved little sister of a muse. And one just didn't allow that to happen. After all, as was stated before...

Quote:** Wrote:

His little muse of a sister wasn't gonna get even a little scrape with him around, lest he punch the thing that did it to her through a wall or something. If that meant his good friend, well, that's what it meant.

In this case it meant air-humping officers of the law.

HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO MY LITTLE MUSE--

-PUNCH!!

By the time the words had left Ryugi's mouth, it would be too late for the jiving cake man. Ryugi had accelerated like a bullet and flown through the air out of virtually nowhere to slam into him with a full-force flaming sock to the middle of the man's bare back. It contained enough pure power to literally send someone through a wall. Of course, luckily, there was no wall in range, so, if anything, the Officer of the Lawl would find himself face-planting full force into whatever was on the complete opposite end of the Ballroom, sans clothing.

Meanwhile, Ryugi would land dramatically atop the table, arm pointing towards the direction of wherever the man wound up landing after surprise assault, the white trench coat-like apparel flaring out behind him as he stood, and one of those mysterious anime breezes came out of nowhere, rustling his hair.

It's one thing to flirt around with my teammates when they get a kick out of it,

but no one messes with my little muse!

I don't care who you are, where you're from, or even what flavor frosting that is staining that one-size-too-tight banana hammock of yours! If you mess with one honorary member of TEAM UNBREAKABLE RESOLVE, you mess with ALL of us!

Just who the HELL do you think you are?!

And THAT was how one PROPERLY did a Dynamic Entry.

Catching herself mid huff, Tilly whipped around at the unmistakable voice she had heard for so very long. She turned so quickly she even got to see cake man get pummeled. Letting go of her gown, a smile began to crack through her stern expression. Shoulders relaxing, she shook her head, chuckling to herself.

"Oy vey."

It sounded terrible, but as much as she loved the captain, Aliss was more interested in the developing fight. She just wasn't comfortable in public unless there was brawling, whoring, and/or general carousing going on around her. She didn't have to be involved in these activities (though she rather enjoyed two out of the three), just being around general rowdiness was like having a soothing background noise for her. Still, at least the Corvus was taking interest in the fight as well, so she wasn't totally ignoring him.

"Looks like it, Cap'n. I think the fella dressed-ish like a cop was makin' a move on the other guy's girl, or somethin' like that."

Sabrina sighed softly, rocking back and forth on her heels while she waited for her ride to arrive. “Is this really a good idea?” she wondered, pausing to look herself over again and smooth out her gown for the umpteenth time. She had pretty much no idea who this guy was. In fact, she wasn't sure why she'd answered and accepted the invitation in the first place . . .

Two days ago . . . Wrote:

Sabrina crumpled the note with an exasperated sigh, and tossed it impatiently at the wastebasket. Was she expected to respond positively to a letter like that? That wasn't a request, it was demand! Did some guys really think that women liked being ordered around? Sabrina sure as ******** didn't. He didn't even have the courtesy to refer to her by her first name, or even properly sign his own; there was only a Chinese character she didn't understand marked at the bottom. And even getting past all that, he was still barking up the wrong tree, so to speak - not that there was a way for a stranger to know that.

"Ha, yeah, 'cause that's working out so well for me," she thought bitterly, and reclined on her mattress. Her thoughts returned to the events that had put her in such a sour mood, while she stared irritably at her hotel room ceiling: Fayble and Griff. Though she was nowhere near as emotional as she'd been when she first found out (by walking in on them, no less), it still upset her just thinking about it. How much longer would she feel this way, with the jealousy and heartbreak roiling inside of her, every time she thought of Fayble? It was bad enough that she wasn't even staying at the Hawk. She still fully intended to fight and give everything she had, to help them, to bait those responsible for Griff's death into coming out of hiding, but the thought of being in the same hotel room as them, while they might be doing . . .

It made her want to throw up, and no pun intended, but she was sick of being this way. She just wanted to stop pining over someone she could never have, who had rejected her feelings that she had tried so hard to make peace with. She thought she had, until her heart was broken, bringing back the dark thoughts that she had managed to silence; the ones that told her it wasn't right for her to be like this, to think that way about other girls. What she had been told and taught said otherwise, but it was so hard to agree when nobody wanted to be in love with you.

"I just want to be normal."

She couldn't help glancing at the note that now sat alone and discarded next to the wastebasket it had missed. It wasn't right, to disregard someone's feelings so casually, however badly they were expressed. And, perhaps, there was a chance to move on past Fayble, to leave her feelings for women entirely behind?

". . . Psh. I'm not desperate enough to consider a jerk like that." She jerked her eyes away, lips mashed together sternly, and flipped the TV on to distract herself.

It only took a night to sleep on it and another day of feeling miserable for her to change her mind.

Ah, right. That was why.

Then, slinking along the street like a black cat, there was the limo, pulling up right in front of her. That was her ride, she supposed. A wave of anxiety swept over her, when she thought about the fact that she'd only had one correspondence with this person. One. For all she knew, it could be a depraved serial killer sitting in that limo, waiting to drug her and cut her up like fresh sushi. But she allowed the wave to pass, by musing pleasantly about the terrible, terrible things she would do to him if he tried to get funny with her. She didn't have a knife hidden under her skirt for nothing.

She slipped into the limo when the door opened, praying that her makeup application skills had still been up to snuff after all the neglect, and tried to make out the shadowy silhouette sitting across from her. It was dark inside the vehicle but, funny, this guy looked almost like a wom-

Shackled Servant Wrote:

"Miss Miles..." she said, trying her best not to stammer or show that she had somehow been mistaken, "Welcome. I hope tonight will be a most eventful evening. I thank you for joining me."

. . . Oh.

It was difficult to feel both relieved and disappointed at the same time, but somehow, Sabrina managed it. She was thankful that it was hard to see in here, with the way her cheeks flushed. She felt foolish for her assumptions, and could practically hear Fate snickering at her. Well, if she ever told this story to her friends, she'd just have to leave that part out, or at least --

She realized abruptly in the midst of her mental excursion that a response to her date's initial greeting was probably expected.

"Um, hi," she managed, lamely. "It's nice to meet you . . . um . . ."

Gods, she didn't even know her date's name! The evening was off to a swell start.

"Hey." Terran turned on his heal when he heard Stephen's voice, his hands in his pockets. His left would extend, offering his notably larger hand to Lasanti for a shake. "Listen, I meant to talk to you the day our teams matched up, but while Sabrina and you were sparring, I got called away."

There was a notable dryness in his voice. Despite the levity of the party, Terran seemed like whatever he had called Stephen out for, it was important. Shake or not, his right hand extended to a set of chairs off from the main door, presumably for guests to wait while their car arrives. "Please, have a seat for just a second."

Terran nodded, glancing at the chair next to him. Some ornate wrought iron chair built for some skinny person. And while Terran was perfectly fit, he was a brick house. He moved his attention back to Stephen, leaning against the wall next to him on the opposite side. "I wish I could say this in a way that wasn't quite so... ugh... Crushing?" He paused briefly, crossing his arms. A stall for time, trying to formulate exactly the best way to do this.

"...Hell. Okay." A hand wiped his mouth, and he just gave a brief sigh. "A few months ago, I tried to contact you, but the old contact information Griff had wasn't right, and the day of, you were busy fighting before I got a chance to talk to you... Griff... Griff was killed, about six months ago."

He went quiet. he didn't know Stephen at all, and had no idea how he was going to react to the news. He didn't know if he knew, and because Griff wasn't a major celebrity, news reports on the matter were brief. He had no idea if this would be coming on like a freight train.

Terran turned. "Jack Beaumont. Apparently the guy is heading up some kind of an army called the Scarlet Sun. They have something out against Metahumans. Not sure what that deal is all about. Regardless, killing Griff was a personal vendetta, from what I can gather." Looking at the back of Stephen's head, he could just tell there were gears turning. Reaching into his jacket, he drew out Griff's dog tags.

"Listen, I know Griff is important to you. Hell, he's important to the girls, and to me, and to damn near everyone I've spoken with on the matter. But I can't ask you to help us." He closed his fist around the tags, watching Stephen. "I know full well you're a father... But at the same time, I'm not going to discourage you, if you want to throw in your hat. I just want to caution you. Fayble, Sabrina, James, me... well, no one depends on us..."

It was an odd line of thought. But Terran figured a fellow fighter would get it. It's a bad situation. And Terran would be immensely guilty if the man's daughter was orphaned because of him, but at the same time, four or five people were going to be taking on an army. And this isn't a video game. That s**t just doesn't fly. "...I just felt like you needed to know. He spoke highly of his team in his journal. He was proud as hell of you guys. And I felt like you absolutely needed to know."

"Before you go." Terran didn't follow him, or anything, just spoke up. "Before you go, I have a request I'd like to make." He studied the dog tags one more time. "I don't even know if Asgard has been approved. But should we meet up in the tournament, and we're both able, I'd like to face off with you. I know it seems petty, given everything I've told you. But Griff spoke very highly of you. And I'd like to face you personally." It was a simple request, but the tone made it obvious, should Stephen not be interested, Terran wouldn't be offended.

"I would expect no less."

And Terran was alone. There wasn't really any noise outside. Most of the staff had gone out of their way to stay inside, to get a glimpse at the party, or to work it. Either way, he took a moment to enjoy the silence. Stashing the dog tags, he shoved his hands back into his pockets and headed back inside. Lord knows what sort of damage the people had done while he was gone. He had a few more people he had to search out in the evening.

Master Nemesis Wrote:

"Um, hi," she managed, lamely. "It's nice to meet you . . . um . . ."

Gods, she didn't even know her date's name! The evening was off to a swell start.

Rou hadn't even thought to leave a subtitle next to her signature, catching on to her own blunder. In her haste and frustration two days prior, it must have slipped her mind.

"Ji," she answered, "Rou Ji."

Rou was used to being so forward and demanding with men-- because usually, it worked. The buxom bandit was both mildly surprised and pleased with herself that a woman would accept her invitation, even if by mistake. She grinned in the dark, almost beaming.

A short trip later, they'd pulled up to the Crimson Hawk, which had an elaborate red carpet trailing out from the ballroom as a line of cars pulled up to it's foot.

Rou hadn't leaned against the back of her seat for the entire ride, and felt quite relieved as her driver opened the rear door on her side, allowing the buxom bandit to exit.

As she stepped out of the car, a number of faces turned toward her, their expressions unsure of what to make of her attire... or lack of it.

As the light hit her, the reflection glittered, nearly all of her exposed skin covered in a soft bronze paint. The only cloth on her was tied around her waist, a scarlet tassle hung in front of her lady-bits, and over her arse by a brown, beaded belt.

Rou was covered neck-to-toe in paint. Artistically-placed black stripes and designs covered her collar, strong arms, and shapely legs. A cascading scale pattern decorated her supple chest, stomach, and hips. Every curve was visible, leaving little to the imagination underneath the bronze and black paint.

Her lips were painted a bright red, and her eyes glittered gold and bronze, nearly identical to her eyes themselves. Rou's raven-black ponytail swung high behind her, so as not to smudge the paint into her long locks. Golden pumps were silent as they stepped on the plush red carpet, the gilded bandit looking quite like a treasure.

Booty, indeed. She wasn't on the pirate team for nothing.

She looked back at the car, golden eyes alight as she looked back to her 'date'. Her attendant was opening the door on the opposite side for Sabrina.

"Are you coming?" Rou asked, trying not to sound impatient. The buxom bandit calmly waited for Sabrina, before holding out a hand so she may take her arm. Just because she'd invited a woman didn't mean she couldn't be escorted in.

Ryugi Kazamaru Wrote:

By the time the words had left Ryugi's mouth, it would be too late for the jiving cake man. Ryugi had accelerated like a bullet and flown through the air out of virtually nowhere to slam into him with a full-force flaming sock to the middle of the man's bare back.

Meanwhile, Ryugi would land dramatically atop the table, arm pointing towards the direction of wherever the man wound up landing after surprise assault, the white trench coat-like apparel flaring out behind him as he stood, and one of those mysterious anime breezes came out of nowhere, rustling his hair.

It's one thing to flirt around with my teammates when they get a kick out of it,

but no one messes with my little muse!

I don't care who you are, where you're from, or even what flavor frosting that is staining that one-size-too-tight banana hammock of yours! If you mess with one honorary member of TEAM UNBREAKABLE RESOLVE, you mess with ALL of us!

Just who the HELL do you think you are?!

And THAT was how one PROPERLY did a Dynamic Entry.

Unfortunately for Ryugi, Bhudasan was a very clumsy individual. And, as fate would have it, the man would indeed face plant. Remember those 1.5 pants legs that he lost? Well, he had found them, or rather, they found him. He tripped and fell forward right as Ryugi was coming to deliver his EPIC DRAGON PUNCH OF INFERNAL CHAOS!

One couldn't have choreographed something so hilarious. Given Ryugi's bullet-like speed, he'd more than likely end up tripping over the man and flying into said table himself, or maybe he'd just jump over the officer. Who knew?

"Sonuva-" Dimitrius was just about to unleash a pretty impressive string of profanities when he noticed something on the ground. "Oh Sweet."

It was a coin. It must have fallen out of his belt while he was dancing. Yeah, to the outside observer, the officer appeared completely oblivious to his surroundings. Was this truly an act of dumb luck, or did Bhudasan actually know Ryugi was charging at him in a not so clandestine manner? Again, who knew?

Glory Sieg Wrote:

Yeah, he would probably need that quarter for a continue.

She would likely have an idea of what he was going to say as he approached behind her before he even said it. Tres approached behind Gloria having found no one else who was available to talk too. His apprentice turned team mate was a psion of a high order and Tres hoped that perhaps this tournament would further unlock that monstrous potential inside of her but he couldn't help but think that she was disappointed by the sea of clowns surrounding them.

"I would usually say don't let there playful exterior fool you but...well s**t...I don't even know what to think about these guys.", Tres stated confidently as he stepped around to stand at her side, still troubling himself to look around for someone interesting. Not long after though he managed to find someone who piqued his interest, however it was for a very different reason other than combative prestige. Rou clad in more paint than clothes reminded Tres of Gloria and her nudist nature. Tres turned to fully get a gander with a smirk on his hansom face while saying, "I think I may have found a match for you Gloria." He then took a sip from his wine glass.

Alan was actually turned off by the painted woman. Not so much by her form, though a well formed beautiful body was nothing abnormal to him, nor to most denizens of Gaia.

But it was an obvious vie for attention, and to Alan's raised culture it was simply unnecessary. Not that Avion women never showed skin, but this sort of display was overkill. Mating, or even lovemaking, as the two were quite distinct from each other, weren't all that complicated. It was important to have children in the harsh enviroments of his world, so it was never really a question of having to beg or barter for such interactions. Men conversed casually with the women, made love or mated, if both desired it, and moved on. Children were raised by the community. Lasting relationships... 'families' happened when a female chose a male to keep, and he accepted. Aspects for 'love and romance' were treated fairly well normally, but sex as a whole was simply a more casually accepted element.

Gaia's, and well, the infernal as well, view on sexuality was... perverse. It viewed something natural as scandalous, and either shunned or exaggerated it, depending on what side of the overly polarized argument one decided to side upon.

Unfortunately for Rou, she was representing one of those extreme aspects that turned Alan off to the strange habits and cultures these people had. It made the Avion decidedly disinterested. Oddly enough, he had a greater respect for Lovi, who treated sex as a profession, than those who exploited it merely for amusement.

Waving down Terran, Fayble seemed to be laughing from a distance. As he approached her, he'd see that her steak had been properly disposed of and all that was left was the half eaten baked potato.

"Didja see what Sabrina brought?" Her scared arm lifted, fingers pointing at the door. "She has the exact same body paint as that one evil chick from that one movie. Uhh.." Fayble snapped her fingers a few times, trying to remember until a flash of brilliance came over her. "The Mummy!"

Terran made his way back to the table, grabbing one of his shrimp off his plate. He'd go for another round of food shortly. He was quite pleased it was free. Feeding his body was quite expensive. But scooting into his seat, he nodded. "Anck-Su-Namun? Yeah, I saw'er. She's with Sabrina?" He paused, thinking on it a moment. "...I thought she was a pirate? The ******** is with the Egyptian motif? That'd be like... uh... Oh, hell, now all I can think of is Brendyn dressed up like Ezio Auditore."

...You know, while we're doing anachronistic referential humor.

"Brendyn as Ezio?"

Fayble paused to think. Her head tiling back and up, golden eyes searching the ceiling. Slowly, a sly grin formed.

"Yeah, I can see that."

KytanaTheThief Wrote:

Once she and Celas were inside the ballroom, Robyn began walking more normally, instead of dragging her boyfriend along. She had a bad habit of doing that, but Celas never spoke up about it, so....

The fox girl looked around at all the fighters, spectators, and whatnot, clearly excited. It was getting so close now, and it was getting harder and harder to keep Selene quiet. Luckily, years of practice had given her great self-control, and for now, she was happy and in a good mood, bright green eyes flashing excitedly. She recognized a few people from last year, and a few from the GTB, but overall, there seemed to be a lot of people she wasn’t familiar with. Her fangs glinted as her mouth curled up in a happy smirk. Lots of new people to challenge, it would seem.

Suddenly, commotion from the other side of the ballroom. The vixen gained a “wtf?” expression, eyes wide, and one eyebrow raised as someone was punched clear across the room....from a cake? Glancing at Celas, she snorted, amused. ”I have a millennia-old demon tied to my soul, and even I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the weird stuff that happens here.”

She considered watching the aftermath of that punch, but then, the food tables caught her eye. ”You hungry, Cel?” Whatever his answer, the fox girl would start walking over towards the food, chuckling. ”Well, I am.”

Robyn also glanced around the room, searching among the faces for some “really” familiar ones. With how late she was, her teammates better have arrived before her, otherwise she was gonna have some talkin’-to with them. Especially since she knew Rylen kept trying to dodge it, but the fox girl had told him she’d have none of that. Idly, she wondered what Rosalyn would be wearing. Something far too informal, probably.

Celas blinked at the flying individual. “It certainly seems… lively… in here,” he murmured, just before Robyn saw the food and yanked him along with a smother ‘urk!’

“No need to rush,” he pointed out as he caught his stride. “The food will be here all evening. Though I might suggest avoiding the cakes. They seem particularly… violent.” He caught her scanning the crowd and gently tugged at her arm. “Relax. If they’re not here, then I’m sure they’ll be her shortly.”

Alan would be quick to grab a nearby napkin and offer it to her, while signiling to the barkeep to clean up the mess she had made on the floor.

"Well, I take it you know of her." Alan would observe, bemused. "Perhaps she propositioned you as well? At first I had thought it was one of your ladies looking to make light of me, or that I had struck an impression. She was... quite adamant."

The Avion would quietly leave other comments on how he had accidently insulted the woman at first by asking her what her aims were in taking him to bed. He figured it would be inappropriate to talk about such details here if Lovi were to be uninterested.

Heads were turning to further gander at the paint-clad bandit, seeming not the least bit ashamed for exploiting her body to the press and crowd. However, her choice of dress for the night was not able to be covered on Gaia Channel 7 News. Not exactly appropriate for underage viewers, you know-- Rou was never known for being family-friendly.

Her daring fashion stunt appeared to be paying off, even if not all of them were particularly nice. Whether she was remembered for being a good fighter or a connoisseur of the most extreme and over-the-top apparel, she would be renown, nonetheless.

Rou wrapped her hand gently around Sabrina's, giving it an assuring squeeze. With that, the buxom bandit led her date into the grand Kyonosuke ballroom, where she was met with even more stares and glares.

A princely-looking bird-man had snobbishly snuffed her with a look mixed heartily with disgust and disinterest, as if he didn't care, yet cared too much to let it go without his firm disapproval. Rou could only crack a sly, yet sultry smirk, feeling quite pleased with herself.

A hulky gent with dreads appeared to be whispering to his lovely, pink-haired comrade while looking in her general direction. Taking advantage of what appeared to be piqued interest, Rou grinned before blowing a kiss towards the two of them. In her own way, it was a challenge, as if to say 'Just try and top me'.

As Rou overheard Fayble and Terran dissecting the origination of her choice of dress, the bandit made a mental note to herself to take it up with the artist to come up with a more personal design, should there be a next time. However, despite not being the first of it's kind, Rou beamed at the thought of it getting so much attention.

Infamous already.

Nearly-nude Rou ventured into the ballroom holding Sabrina by the hand, admiring the elegance of it all... until she got to a certain destroyed cake. It seemed a certain Police Officer had attempted to recreate her appearance already, but made a poor decision of substituting frosting for paint.

"You know, Sabrina," Rou said while remaining out of earshot, looking back and forth between her date and Bhudasan, "They say imitation is the highest form of flattery... but somehow, I don't think that's what he had in mind."

While the buxom bandit was mildly amused by her own humor, she could feel the tenseness of Sabrina's hand in her grasp. Perhaps the timing of it all was a little too much for her. "Do you think it comes in chocolate, too? I hope you're not allergic to nuts!" Rou laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

Alan smiled "I made it a condition that I would not fall to harm while obliging her." Alan said, as if feeling suddenly accomplished for having secured that feat. "She was... unique, but she obviously held no value in a person so much as their unique characteristics. For me, it was the wings..." Alan would suddently get a bit bitter and scoff. "It's, always, the wings." It woulden't at that point occur to Alan just how similar he was acting to a woman who dispised the attention they got for having endowed breasts. Perhaps that was more of the personal reason why he did not like the blatant display the painted woman was making. She flanted her attractive features when Alan found such attentions to be bothersome.

Alan preferred quiet, private encounters.

Alan brought his glass up to his lips, finishing his wine before setting it on the bar for a refill. Turning to look at Lovi a moment. "You look nervous." He commented.

“Agreed, enjoy your food I am going to go mingle.”

The Devil would nod towards both of them as he stood addressing the doctor with a bow.

“Doctor.”

With himself excused the 6’6” behemoth turned to face the crowd of unique individuals and began to mingle. There was a gathering of staff, reporters, fighters, special fans, all kinds of people! Every now and then a reporter asked a question but he quickly put them aside Moving thru the crowd towards the liquor counter. Upon reaching it he asked for a bottle of Vodka and once he had acquired it be ripped off the cap and took a swig. The burning taste cleansed his pallet, flowing down his stomach as he grinned.

"Ahh.....I hate these kinds of things."

Vanessa raised her glass lightly, not quite so high as to draw attention but not quite with enough distaste to make her look upset. Truth be told she had never been a drinker, social or otherwise except maybe the occasional glass of wine at the dinner table or perhaps a single drink at a party. Still she raised her glass to her lips and took a small drink, the bitter(at least to her, all alcohol was bitter) liquid ran down her throat. At least now she had a drink to carry around to make her look like she was involved in the festivities.

"Ah, yes. We'll give it our all! They won't even know what hit them!" it seemed she had moved completely beyond the tension and was immediately jumping into the competitive aspect of the meeting tonight. They seemed like an odd team, three seemingly different women and one poor guy who had to deal with them all while trying to lead them to victory. Vanessa actually felt a little bad for Rayner, though she knew he would be able to handle it. He struck her as a down to business type of fellow much like her own father. Odd drawing of comparisons aside Vanessa set her glass down on a nearby table so that she could open her handbag, removing an embroidered handkerchief that matched her own gown. She wiped her lips lightly before folding the item into a small square and replacing it back within her bag, though that bitter taste remained. She looked up to Celeste as she spoke.

"Oh, don't let us hold you up ma'am. Please enjoy your night however you see fit, We'll all be in contact soon, right?" they would have to be, the competition was geared to begin soon and they would all need to form some sort of coherent team structure. That and two of them still needed their fighters.

"I still don't know how I feel about all of this." Allex appeared, seemingly out of nowhere as she approached the red carpet with her company towering over the majority of the people who had shown up to either enter the ball, or spectate the happenings going on outside.

After forming a new team with the red headed man, fanged women and charming punker plus duck, Allex had run into Black on her way out of the bar at the Hotel. Happy to see a familiar face, the goat welcomed the wulf man into her hotel room paid for by her team captain without much of his own knowledge to talk for a little where he then made it known he would be staying there with her for better or worse as a temporary roommate.

Unable to put up much of a fight, the stuttering goat agreed just before receiving a notice of a ball being held for all fighters and their company alike. Weary the goat looked to the wulf man and set her foot down firmly.

"If you're going to be staying with me, you can at least accompany me to this here thing. You have to get dressed up apparently, and I'm not taking no for an answer." ready to flinch at any moment our goat's jaw nearly dropped when Black agreed to her demand almost instantly.

Her valuables were safe for one night at least.

As the two stepped onto the red carpet light bulbs popped sending flashes of light with every second throwing shadows this way and that while pictures had been taken. Having been her first time, the fainting goat froze immediately, her knees almost giving to the weight of her body before the flashes of lights attention had been turned to a more deserving guest dressed in almost nothing.

Out of the spotlight, Allex was quick to run the rest of the length between herself and the doors before bursting through as if someone had been chasing her in a bloody action flick.

In the time it took for Allex to enter the event and Black to catch up, Allex had been stunned for the second time in only a matter of minutes.

The ball was huge!

People of all shapes and sizes had come, the majority of them taking in the women who had come before herself and Black with snide comments and thoughts or sexual desire, either way, the goat had been far too busy taking in the sights to be bothered by a piece of clothing, although...she did have to agree....the cloth the woman wore did look good enough to eat.

Allex had come in her own steam punk designed evening gown paid for by her team's captain once again. The fainting goat had no problem moving about in the short blue and burnt umber colored dress while her tail had stayed tucked away in fear of it being grabbed by curious strangers and jerks alike. Her horns had been decorated with cogs and a giant brown bow so as not to make the horns stand out too much. The entire dress had been designed to take away from her abnormalities and focus attention on it's pattern and color. Hopefully it had done the trick.

In her home away from home, Allex stood waiting Black's arrival patiently.

Blacks quiet arrival behind Allex had caused her to jump a few inches away when he spoke. She wasn't sure how exactly one picked a table without getting beat up for choosing the wrong one. Taking in the look on Black's face, the goat quietly pointed to an empty table taking space toward the back of the ball room and started walking toward it.

the goat had become nervous, which was made apparent by her shaking knees and fretful fidgeting before she had taken her seat. Unaware of Black's dislike of the cameras, Allex finally spoke up in question about them.

"They seemed to be surprised when they seen you out there, you must be a famous fighter, hm?" idle chit chat was better than silence she hoped as she leaned forward, her attention on the other fighters as they passed by the odd couple.

Tei Kae Wrote:

"If you'll excuse us, Rayner promised to fatten me up a little tonight, and I'm finding that I'm actually hungry."

Sins of an Angel Wrote:

"I'm sure we'll have some more time to sit down and get to know each other better before the first round. At the moment, I'm going to grab myself a little something as well. Or at least, once Noah shows and makes his speech."

Tenkai Matsumoto Wrote:

"Hello again. I figured I'd run into you here sooner or later."

“Excuse me…”

Despite the bustling conversation afoot, the sudden but warm interjection seemed to cut right through it all – at least, for a certain individual. The tall owner seemed to have bled out of the party going masses, his arrival being unnoticed to even possessing the most acute of senses. The man, as all others in the ceremony, wore regal attire that suited the nature of the event; however, it wasn’t so pomp and extravagant as many a person had deigned appropriate, but belonged to a subdued, almost formal-arcane archetype. A dark, slate blue vest was worn over a simple but crisp white dress shirt, with a black tie nestled between the folds of each. Worn over the underclothing was an impressive great coat, made of a rich wool that was a similar color to the vest. Gold trimmings embellished the coat’s lapels and edges, as well as hints of esoteric designs that hinted at a sorcerous nature. To top it off, black leather gloves, black slacks and black tuxedo shoes accompanied the outfit. The most important aspect of his outfit, though, was a hint of a patch woven into the right breast of the coat, hidden partially by its lapel – a patch that seemed to hold the design of a Tournament Official.

It was an impressive look, but it could not match the expression the owner held in regard to the woman standing before him.

His features were strong, handsome, with a slight hint of youth – high cheek bones, a neutral pigmentation of the skin, a solid chin and more. The man’s semi-short hair was a silvery-white, and though it seemed to suit him, it was nothing out of the ordinary for the denizens of this world. The eyes, though, were a dark grey – unremarkable, except for the focus they held.

That, and the inviting smile upon his lips

“I’m sorry to have interrupted you all, but I must ask that I take Miss DeCuir to the side for a few moments – I have some important matters I wish to discuss with her.”

His right arm rose, hand opening in invitation.

The perfect picture of a former, important acquaintance – too perfect, one might muse.

"So you're a famous double." she nodded wisely, assuming that was the only answer to his distaste in the media outside.

When he gave her permission to mingle with the other fighters she simply shook her head, sliding his glass away from him before setting a slice of lemon on the side of it she had picked up from a tray. " I can't mingle without my date." She paused, smirking softly as she played with a few loose strands of hair. "It would be ungentlemanly of you to let me wander about by myself and not know anything about anything." another pause "You should be nice, and give me a tour, or at least a run down of the people you know about so I know who I'm up against."

With that she would slid the glass back toward him, knocking the lemon into his drink. "But if not, we could always sit 'ere and talk about our living arrangements you so happily changed." Brow cocked, the fainting goat challenged the wulf amongst a crowd of people hoping he was not the type to make a scene with so many people possibly watching.

"Or you could tell me what you think of this years contenders?" She was giving him options and time to speak, trying to push the turtle from it's comfort zone without going over the edge.

All the goat hoped for was to still have a head at the end of the night.

"Just because you are not a famous fighter does not mean you are not a fighter at all." She smiled, listening to his tale of past teams who had won previous years. Knowing none of this the goat only nodded quickly after shaking it no as her arms flailed like a mad man.

" No no no no, I have no issue with our living arrangements, I was just curious about a few things. Like where you would sleep, I don't have an issue sharing a bed, but if I wake up one morning with your maw about to close on my head, I'll scream so loud your ears bleed." That was her only threat, and the best she could come up with at the moment before she would continue on. "The only thing that must go is your changing habits. I've never seen a man naked, and I don't intend on seeing it further. Either change when I'm not around, or change in the bathroom. I almost choked the first time, lets not let it happen again. I need to stay in good health for this tournament." With a fist pump the goat stood and walked behind the wulf man attempting to push his chair out.

"Now c'mon and mingle with me."

Shackled Servant Wrote:

A hulky gent with dreads appeared to be whispering to his lovely, pink-haired comrade while looking in her general direction. Taking advantage of what appeared to be piqued interest, Rou grinned before blowing a kiss towards the two of them. In her own way, it was a challenge, as if to say 'Just try and top me'.

Gloria wasn't oblivious to the look at all. She simply offered the woman a 'friendly' grin before holding a two fingers, as if catching the kiss. Gloria wasn't intimidated by her as much as intrigued. Although her date seemed preciously off balanced in the spotlight the outfit put her in.

'Now if only I hadn't made a promise to behave myself,' she mused to herself, moving her gaze to scan the room. A flicker caught her attention and almost immediately she was moving away from Tres.

~I foresee a heavy guacamole rain in your future, Captain,~ she warned Tres as she subtly moved to avoid the currently airborne food. She snagged a glass of champagne before stopping by a rather hot female.

Literally, the woman had sparks flying off of her.

"My dear, I fear you're a bit too hot for the current party," she said as eloquently as she could. "What's got you all ablaze?" Also, the budding psion was fighting her inner b***h and the urge to let her psionic powers take over what the dragon started.

She didn't know the woman, but it made for a decent conversation starter amidst the calm before the chaos.

******** it, the food was already in the air.

Shove With a wave of a hand, it began.

A tray of little finger sandwiches was propelled into a bowl of punch. The collision caused both to spin wildly, showering their contents downwards on the ball. The rest of it would follow shortly.

Across the way, Ryugi sneezed.