Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Snike]

And they were in, just in time to see the princess and her fiance arrive. Athena appeared in an interesting teal dress, that changed to blue once she arrived at the bottom of the staircase. Reuter, on the other hand, was wearing a suit with a purple cloak. That was definitely going to make a lot of friends among the eastern nobles. But Blake was not here to care about that, and so he quickly turned his attention to locating Desmond. At the moment, it seemed he was nowhere to be found, but the crowd was quite thick.

"I would presume it is for the royalty.," Blake said, glancing around the room. "No sign of Desmond yet, either, but the crowd is a bit too thick for me to see everyone."

[scorri]

Erion

Watching the princess walking down the stairs, Erion raised an eyebrow. "Huh, Jam, bet you could do well with a dress like that. The color changing could work with your dancing, add it to the routine. What do you think?"

Lumi

With a shrug, Lumi explained, "Well, I don't even know what I'd do after this, so there's no sense in you committing to leave Raquel's group if it's just going to be Pete and I wandering around the countryside again. Not much pay in that."

[ReformBlade]

"I wouldn't mind a painting. Maybe we can get one together, Shadrak?" she asked, holding his arm and giving a fairly pleading look. She thought it'd be fun and a way to remember the moment by in a hopefully good light. "If you don't want to, then at least i'd like to!" Mushirah added, smiling.

Meanwhile, at the Batcave mansion place thing, Aneda shook her head and laughed. "Look, I've already made up my mind I was gonna cut out and leave, if anything, company, any at all, is already a giant step ahead. Not to mention I don't think your Starhunter would appreciate being away from Hannah for an indefinite amount of time, and Hannah would probably like to see him around too." Hannah would have neighed in response but she wasn't there. Oh well, missed opportunity.

Jericho had an eyebrow raised at the conversation before he guessed they were talking about pets, unless there was an actual person named Starhunter, in which case he'd love to meet this person as obviously they'd either be completely laughable or completely amazing. His stomach pain catching up to him again, Jericho started fiddling with his Harmonica, wondering how frowned upon it'd be to start actually using it here at this time of night. Maybe later, don't want to push my luck.

[Phoenix]

Navigation

"I was going to suggest we head up to the second floor and try to keep an eye out for him from there but right now seems like a really bad time," Raquel quietly replied. "Do you know what he looks like?"

Meanwhile, near the paintings, Alex suggested Shadrak and Mushirah let him paint them, and the latter agreed, even going so far as offering to get just one of herself done if Shadrak was uncomfortable with the whole idea. He was uncomfortable with the whole idea, but decided on a bit of a compromise. "Alright, if there's no charge, I guess ... but I don't really want an interpretive piece, really, just an ordinary portrait."

The snack harvest was still ongoing as well, though Haythem's yield was practically nonexistent compared to Nadya's. He was just trying things one at a time without getting a plate, flinching at the tastes of some, and savoring others. <"It's strange, some of what these people eat, but some of it is also pretty good, too. Once you're done getting your share, should I find us a table somewhere?>

Once the main couple arrived, they were engulfed by the crowd and the staircase was completely cut off from the first floor. A seemingly unending marathon of greetings and comments about gifts sent ensued and Athena put on a facade in order to get through it while she planned in the back of her mind. She was going to make the most of this inconvenience, even if things got a little wild and crazy. Terrel was right at home in this sort of environment and so looked noticeably more comfortable than Athena did, but he too was doing a bit of deep thinking while thoughtlessly replying however appropriate.

[-Cynthia-]

<"Yeah, this stuff ain't half bad. I'm used to eatin' standin' up, but sittin' down works too. I ain't exactly keen on makin' small talk with nobles though,"> Nadya pointed out, continuing to munch.

[Snike]

"Yes, I have met him before," Blake quietly said, still keeping an eye out for the Wrathite. "And while the second floor might be good for observation, I would rather not encounter him up there, if only because it is mostly isolated. We can go up there, however, once the crowd thins in a few minutes, if you want to."

[Snowy_One]

"That's great! Would the mister and the madame like a portrait together, then, or apart? I am certainly capable of both. And you just want an... ordinary, boring, flat, lifeless, painting as well, mister? No life or anything despite being moving and breathing? Alas, I suppose if I must paint an undead man, I will."

Edited October 16, 2013 by Snowy_One

[Phoenix]

The First Dance

For Truth's sake, it's just a painting, Shadrak thought to himself. I get that this guy thinks highly of his interpretive art and what not, but equating anything else to painting an undead man? That's pretty insulting to other artists. "Painting something a bit prettier or more befitting your 'idea' of me isn't going to make it more alive or like me; it's a painting. That's why I just want a regular one, and with Mushirah. Portraits aren't really my thing, so I figured I would just do one with her as a memento."

Away from Shadrak's increasingly frustrating situation, Raquel and Blake continued to keep an eye out for Desmond. "Now that you mention being isolated, never mind," Raquel quietly replied about going up to the second floor. Suddenly the crowd began to spread out a bit and the musicians ceased their playing. More pertinent was the spreading crowd, however, since it was threatening to carry the two of them along with it in a wave. People were clearing from the dance floor in mass, leaving Athena and Terrel at the center.

"Oh dear ... they really are giving us the first dance of the night. I'd prefer middle or last dance, frankly," Athena muttered quietly to herself.

"Are you nervous?" Terrel asked.

"Hardly; I can dance just fine, better than most, actually ... but I'm not used to being put on the spot like this. I had no idea we were still going to be doing this ..." She stepped out in front of Terrel, getting into position. "After this dance is over, I'm running the show from here."

"Very well, I look forward to seeing what you have planned." His submissive reply prompted a scowl from Athena. He reached out to offer his hand, and under any other circumstances she would have ignored him. This, however, was something she had to do to keep up appearances with everyone else watching, and so she accepted his invitation, and when the conductor saw this, he nodded at the two and turned back to face the musicians.

... time to leave this corporeal form behind for a little while, Athena told herself, trying to space out for the duration of the dance. Her dress had become red by the time Terrel had taken her hand, and once she was guided into position with their hands locked together, the dress had become purple, though a far lighter tone than Terrel's cloak. The musicians began playing on cue, practically fading in as they did. This allowed the couple to begin without anything looking too abrupt. The ballroom began to get more and more silent as well.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm busy planning the rest of this party right now ... just do the waltz or whichever dance this is and I'll follow along."

"You'll follow along ... and you aren't even sure which dance we're doing?" Terrel cocked his head slightly at his partner. Deciding to not delay and raise eyebrows, he began to dance slowly with her. "I'm impressed, you don't seem to be paying me much attention and yet you follow along so well ... so effortlessly ... just like you said you would. I do wish you would focus on the here and now, though."

"Mhm," Athena absentmindedly replied.

Terrel sighed and smiled pitifully. "I suppose I'll see you again after this dance, then."

Once the dance was over, a couple of minutes later, the band ended the song as softly and gracefully as the engaged couple and applause began to overtake the ballroom. Athena and Terrel bowed several times to the audience, hoping to at least get four in to cover north, south, east, and west, and then stepped away from the dance floor and had a seat over by a table with a significantly higher number of guards lurking about.

With that part now done with, the dance floor was open to all, and the band started up again with something a bit more less progressive and more upbeat and continuous so as to allow for dancing without commanding the whole room's attention.

After taking a seat, himself, Terrel leaned closer and asked, "So, how are the plans coming, if you don't mind?"

Athena stared off blankly as if she'd fallen asleep with her eyes open. Then suddenly, she snapped out of her daydream and said, "The dance is over?"

"I take it you missed the thunderous applause," Terrel concluded in amusement.

"I ... guess so. Someone get me something to write on. I have a few notes to make."

<"That was a pretty good dance,"> Haythem noted, slipping into his first language again, though it might have also been on purpose, given what followed. <"Say, Nadya, do you think you could do one of those dances or do you prefer other kinds?">

[-Cynthia-]

<"I ain't familiar with Ursian dances, but I don't see any rules sayin' we have to dance like everybody else. We kinda stand out here anyway, might as well make the most of it,"> she said, taking Haythem by the hands and pulling him towards the dance floor.

[Mercakete]

Gytha felt a bit uncomfortable when she realized she'd unwittingly gathered at the base of the stairs with a bunch of well-wishers and so had tried to back out of the crowd as politely as she could. Once she'd achieved that, the mariner simply stood aside and watched curiously. This was nothing like any wedding she'd ever been to, mostly because it wasn't actually a wedding. The closest thing she'd been to this sort of event, however, was a wedding she'd accidentally attended when she was guarding a vessel in Ursium's southeastern waters. She didn't know that the captain would be marrying a couple at sea until the wedding actually took place and so she half wondered if the same thing would happen here. As far as parties thrown to celebrate upcoming weddings, those she'd only seen back at home and they were far and away more chaotic and involved a lot more alcohol than this. She also didn't typically stick around for long when those happened and not at all when she was younger. Instead, she'd just wait in her room until it was over and had to help clean up after the party-goers.

No spontaneous wedding occurred at the stairs, however. Instead, the crowd shifted again and this time the main couple began dancing in the center of the dance floor to a slow, calm tune. So, this really was their idea of music to dance to? Odd and disappointing as that was, the dance was curious. Actually, it looked kind of silly to Gytha, but that was probably because it reminded her of a peculiar crewman she sailed with once. He'd sometimes dance similarly to this, but it was a lot less graceful. He'd also attempt to sing a song similar to the one presently being played while he did so. She'd always gotten a kick out of that. Now Gytha wondered if he really was trying to emulate this sort of dancing or if he was mocking it. The latter seemed the more likely, but she couldn't say for sure now that she saw this.

Once it was over, everyone began applauding. Was their dancing really that good? She'd never tried it before so she couldn't really say if it was difficult or not, but if it was that impressive, maybe it was. It sure didn't look like it, but then again, if something difficult is done expertly, it doesn't look difficult. The couple then went to sit at a table, the music changed and people began heading for the dance floor in pairs. Again, Gytha couldn't help but be a bit disappointed. It looked like this sort of dancing was meant for two people to dance in unison and there wasn't any form of it for people without a partner. At least the music sounded a bit more like music now.

Still, Gytha had been hoping for a dance and so she began studying the movements the couples made and began trying to mimic them as she watched from off to the side. Maybe she'd have a word with the musicians somewhat soon and request a livelier song so that people could dance without partners if they wanted to or all as a group. That was such a good idea in the mariner's mind that she couldn't help but grin to herself about it. For now, though, she was determined to figure out this strange dance.

[Snike]

"Right, let us move to a corner, and look from there," Blake said, as he led Raquel away from the retreating crowd. Soon, the floor was clear, and the first dance of the night was given to the Princess and Terrel. The Ursian ignored it, for the most part, while he searched the crowds, eventually clapping once the dance was complete. Still no sign of the Head Wrathite, though.

[Phoenix]

The Ballroom

<"N-Nadya, are you sure this is okay?"> Haythem worriedly asked as Nadya led him toward the dance floor. <"Even Sancturan parties have 'unwritten rules' people have to watch out for ..."> <More importantly, even if we do get away with just doing our own thing, how on earth am I going to dance to this sort of music? No one in that band is even using an oud. Oh goddess ...>

Since there was no sign of Desmond at the moment, Raquel looked at the princess, trying to figure out just how her dress changed color. She knew right away that the dress wasn't actually changing in any way, and she had a feeling there was light magic involved, but in what way, she wasn't sure. Nadine did something similar with her fire magic, changing its color from orange to emerald, but she never shared her methods with anyone, so even Raquel didn't know how she did it, and now, likewise, she had no idea how this more advanced light manipulation worked. She considered asking, but figured approaching the princess right now wasn't a good idea, and there was a much more important matter to deal with at the moment ... Desmond.

Meanwhile, Gabbie and Steinn approached one of the occupied tables. Steinn seemed to be leading Gabbie, but he was actually following the directions she was broadcasting. When they reached the table, the woman seated alone there, Morgana, turned around, glanced at Gabbie for a split second, and then focused on Steinn. "Good evening," she greeted with a forced smile; she really didn't feel like dealing with this sort of thing right now. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Morgana Wyght." She extended her hand and shook Steinn's as he mirrored the gesture.

"Steinn Devlinos. This is Gabriella."

Gabbie chuckled at being introduced. "Heheheh, oh, we've met~" This caused Morgana to scowl quite noticeably for a second. "Do they still call you the 'Unlimited Professor'?"

"... it seems you remember some things. Well, I'm happy for you, Gabriella ... really," she replied in a severely agitated tone. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I really should be going, now."

"Of course. It was a pleasure," Steinn excused her.

"Is there some reason you're dressed like a man, Morgana? You're completely covered from neck to toe and even wearing gloves and a cravat," Gabbie spoke up, smirking slightly. It's been a long time ... I want to see if she's still as easy as I suspect she is.

Morgana stopped in her tracks, having already made some progress in exiting the uncomfortable situation and looked back over her shoulder to say, "You know damn well why I do this." She couldn't hide how furious she was becoming at this point, not the shaking fists or the intense glare on her face.

Yep, still easy. That was when Morgana turned around and raised her arm at Gabbie, forming her hand into a gun and aiming it right between Gabbie's eyes. She only did this for a couple of seconds, but by the time she'd pulled her hand down, she'd already triggered Gabbie's memory of her own death and she froze in absolute terror. No! Not again! DAMMIT!!! Steinn helped her sit down in the chair Morgana had been using and stayed by her for the duration of the episode.

"Gabriella, focus on my voice," Steinn sternly instructed, seeing bits and pieces of her waking nightmare for himself.

It seems she's not cured yet. She shouldn't have pestered me with such a glaring weakness. Morgana turned away and left after that. She wasn't sure where she planned to go, but she wanted to get away from Gabbie before anything else happened and so kept on walking, moving around obstacles and people as necessary. She and Gabbie weren't enemies, but they certainly weren't friends, either ... not with how lightly they took each other's problems.

Meanwhile, Bernard sat at a table with his wife on the second floor, overlooking the first. He tried to keep an eye out for Cruz's targets as well, since the job was simply that important. He only saw Timothy so far, though. Before he could spot anyone else, a hand touched his shoulder. Looking to the source of the hand, he saw Desmond, looking as detached from the world as ever. "Fashionably late? You aren't even wearing a suit, Desmond."

Desmond's date for the evening, Clover, was wearing a dress, however. "I wanted to prepare a room for my meeting with Valcyn. I won't be doing anything warranting a suit, and so I did not bother with that, Uncle."

"Just being at this party warrants a suit, boy," Bernard replied assuredly. "Do you want to embarrass Bradford's daughter?"

Clover shook her head adamantly at this and chimed in. "I'm far more concerned with embarrassing him, Lord Langley. Desmond is the avatar of Lord Wrath ... I can't begin to tell you how important it is to me to not do anything ... unbecoming of a wrathite, or a woman, while in his presence."

"I see ..."

[scorri]

Seeing the others start to dance, Erion grinned at Jam and offered his arm. "Shall we head out onto the dance floor?" He led her out into the middle of the dance floor. Placing his other hand gently on her waist, he started to lead her through the dance moves. As they danced, he tilted his head slightly, and stared at her for a few seconds before asking, "So... why are you so attached to Al? I mean... if I had been intending for this to be a date of some sort, I would have been pretty offended that you asked him to join us, you know?" He paused for a moment, attempting to find the correct words, before continuing, "I guess I just don't get what you see in the guy, you know? He seems really over protective and if you're not a girl... well, he's not the... most polite?" He shrugged as best he could while still dance. "I guess I've just only ever seen a different side of him than what you've seen, and what I've seen hasn't been very pretty."

[Snike]

And there he was, not even in a formal suit. Desmond never was one for social events such as this, but all the same, it was... unexpected that he was wearing wrathite robes. Attire aside, the man was up on the second floor speaking with his uncle, Lord Bernard. Beside him was a purple-haired woman who Blake sincerely hoped he did not know, but no sign of Sapphire, which was odd. Regardless, her absence was none of the Ursian's concern, given the upcoming discussion.

"Ah, there he is," Blake said, as he began to head towards the second floor. "Follow me, if you will, milady."

[Toogee]

Jamilla watched as the princess and her fiancée appeared coming down the stairs. Her dress was changing colors as she descended, even more so as the couple opened with the first dance. It was quite entrancing to the girl, a magical event she wouldn’t soon forget.

Jam simply nodded to Erion in response to wanting a similar dress. While she was at it, Jam wouldn’t have minded the crown too. The dancer often wondered what being part of royalty was like. It probably involved a lot less dancing however, but it might have been cool for a day or two.

As their dance ended, the floor opened to all the other couples. Erion quickly guided Jam onto the floor and began the waltz. He stared at her, and the dancer stared right back. A smile emerged from her face as they spun around with the other couples. He seemed pretty good with his feet; she wondered where he learned his dancing. Before Jam could ask, Erion was already on the subject of Alphonse…again.

“But this isn’t a date, Erion,” Jam replied with a sigh. “You both wanted to be like brothers, and I like that. So why can’t two brothers treat their little sister to a night out without butting heads the whole time?”

Jam paused to dance with Erion in silence in order to maintain composure. There was no need to make a scene here. After calming a bit, she continued.

“When I ‘left’ the abbey, I planned on traveling the world by myself. Looking back, it was a stupid idea; I doubt I would have gotten very far. But then Alphy and Greta saw me and took me in. Yeah, I’ve had a few bumps in the road with Alphy, so what? He doesn’t interfere with my dances, so I don’t mind having someone watch my back. But we’re not here to talk about Alphy. We’re here to have some fun. So let’s do that.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Lumi announced that she wouldn’t follow Raquel, Eli was not the least bit surprised. He was thinking the same thing.

“After that whole thing with the dragon, along with rumors of what they intend to do next, I’d think you’d be insane to go along with them,” Eli replied. “I myself already have a job here, so I really have no reason to depart on some grand adventure. Maybe you could take local jobs here until you figure something out?”

[scorri]

Erion

Erion let out a short bark of laughter at the suggestion that Al wanted to be a brother to Jam. As she continued explaining, he sighed and shook his head slightly. "Look... I'm going to say one more thing, and then we can dance to your heart's content. Well... two things. First off, none of this is intended to ruin your night, I just, well, I needed to talk to you about this away from him, for perhaps obvious reasons. Second..."

He paused, glancing at her with a sad look on his face, before looking to see if he could find Al in the crowd. Shaking his head slightly, he looked back at her and continued, "You say that he's acting like a brother to you and is watching your back, and maybe that second one is true but... Well, there's a side to both of us that you don't see. For instance, I'm a thief and I've lived most of my life learning how to manipulate people into doing the things I want so that I can survive. I'd say I'm not proud of the things I've done, and that's true in some cases, but honestly? I'm damn good at what I do. The only reason I'm even a part of this group is because Nim and Rhoul tried to rob me of what I'd rightfully stolen back at the start of this whole thing."

He paused, searching for words, "I tell you this so that you can see that I'm not lying. That I'm being completely honest with you. Because I don't think you're going to like what I'm about to say. Jam... Al threatened me. When he found out that I was taking you to this ball, he threatened to hurt me if I did anything to you. And I know, you're going to say that he was just looking out for you, whatever. But let me just say this. If he's so willing to threaten to hurt, heck, maybe even kill me over some small imagined chance that I might hurt you somehow here, what does that say about the violence of his nature? I just want you to be safe. And I don't want you to be hurt by him."

As the dance came to a close, he bowed to her. "If you want to walk away and spend the rest of the night with him, I understand and will let you go without a fight. I'm sorry."

Lumi

"Heh, true. I think Star would just refuse to fly unless it were with Hannah these days." At Eli's suggestion, she frowned. "Well, I could, but that's boring! It's much for fun to travel around, see the sights. As long as we're not going home, I'm wanting to travel."

Edited October 17, 2013 by scorri

[-Cynthia-]

<"What are they gonna do, throw us out for dancin' wrong? We'll probably get funny looks, but that woulda happened anyway,"> Nadya answered, shrugging.

[Eail]

Once it seemed like the dancing was starting, Alphonse had given Jamilla a small wave as she went away with Erion. Letting out a sigh once they were gone. It felt weird to be here alone.

[Snowy_One]

"Very well then. If that is all you wish, than you shall have it. Please, take a stand in front of my easel with the lovely lady and take whatever pose you wish. When you are ready, we can begin."

---

Robin's eyes cracked open as she finally rolled out of bed. She had been having wonderful dreams, largely involving doing things to Siv or other such things, but now, she needed to wake up. She was rested from her nap anyways. Cracking her door open she started to head down the hall and stair into the dining room of the manor, hoping to maybe get something small to eat for now.

[ReformBlade]

Mushirah was feeling a bit down at how much Shadrak was opposed to the whole idea, and that in turn made her start second guessing it. she was almost about to tell him she didn't want to do it if he was opposed to it, but when he mentioned he'd get a portrait done for her, she smiled. "How do you want to do this? If we're just going to get one, we should try to make it more special... right?"

"Hehehe." Aneda laughed at the two before quickly steering the conversation towards what they came back for originally. "How about we discuss all this over some dinner, hm? Hey, you too if you wanna join us." she said, waving Jericho over, to which the man shrugged and responded, "I'm not all that hungry, maybe something that'll go easy on my stomach?"

[Phoenix]

Ballroom

Haythem could only shrug at Nadya's reply at first, he supposed the only consequence for whatever dancing they did would be embarrassment ... and he was already embarrassed. <"Alright then, but with this kind of music, it'll be hard to find a good rhythm. My people are much more upbeat with their dancing, even the romantic stuff."> <It's a shame Amon and Malik aren't here. We could have done some group dancing to show off for the nobles or something like that.>

Raquel began quietly following Blake and hoping that it would all be over soon ... over with no loss of life or anything else particularly bad happening. Steeling herself for the encounter was proving extremely difficult in a place like this. People were smiling and drinking, while having no idea that someone among them was walking to her possible doom if this went exceedingly bad, which it very well could. After all, Raquel didn't have an emblem piece, but she did have plenty of emblem energy in her body and on top of that, a relatively emblem savvy vasilus. Why wouldn't the wrathites try to at least take her captive if they knew about either of them?

"Right," Shadrak agreed, though he didn't know where to start. Just standing next to each other would, to him at least, be a lousy attempt and a poor memento. While trying to come up with ideas, he remembered something. "Wait, how long is this going to take?" He didn't want to be standing around posing for the duration of the ball. That would have been ... problematic.

Dining Hall

The rexians were still occupying the dining room for the moment, though only Malik still had food to finish. When Robin entered, Fizza glanced and waved, and Amon said, "Oh, evening."

"Couldn't find a date for the big bash, huh? Or was it the accent that got you stuck behind?" Fizza asked, causing Amon to wince slightly. She wasn't very delicate, at least not when she didn't feel like it.

[Mercakete]

After the first song ended and faded into the next, Gytha had decided to stop trying this new dance. It was more work than fun especially since she didn't exactly have anyone to help her with it. She was glad to have at least tried it out, though. Now, however, was the time to change things up a bit. So, Gytha walked right over to the musicians and as politely as she could, interrupted them. "Excuse me! I was wondering if you could play something a bit livelier. Do you know any jigs?"

[Snike]

Through the ballroom, and up the staircase did the Ursians go, silent as could be. Blake looked back at the top of the stairs to make sure Raquel was following him, before he continued on towards the Langleys. Much to his dismay, the purple-haired woman was indeed Clover Bradford, which meant this was probably going to get awkward. Fast.

"Good evening, Lord Langley, Head Wrathite, and Disciple Bradford," Blake said, masking his unease with a slight smile. That should be enough to spark the conversation.

[-Cynthia-]

<"Yeah this ain't exactly my kinda tune either. Could ya try showin' me some steps anyway? I wanna learn how to dance like a Rexian,"> Nadya said to Haythem.

--

Private Jacobs let out a long sigh. "Oh, the illustrious life of guard duty. I could be sweeping young noblewomen off their feet, but alas my task for the evening is to stand here and look fearsome. Am I doing adequately?" he asked the armored woman next to him.

"You would be more intimidating if you were less whiny," Captain Erica retorted. "Our job here tonight is important- we're supposed to be watching the Head Wrathite himself to make sure nothing happens to him," she reminded her subordinate.

"Isn't he supposedly the avatar of Wrath now or something anyway? Seems to me that he should be the one defending us."

Erica frowned. "I didn't think you knew about that, regardless the Major General gave her orders. There is a small possibility that Raquel Valcyn and her companions could try something- Alastor's report details them as quite dangerous."

"How many of those people did she bring along anyway?" Jacobs asked, scanning the crowd. "Maybe you can see that guy you grew up with again- whathisname...Neil?" he guessed.

"Norbert and I certainly hope not. He could barely manage proper table manners as a boy, rubbing shoulders with the Ursian nobility could end in utter disaster. He's a good kid though," Erica said with small smile.

Jacobs waited for a few moments before speaking again. "I hope whatever this emblem business Head Wrathite Langley has with Raquel gets resolved peacefully tonight."

"I hope so too," the captain responded quietly before the two Wrathites continued their silent vigil.

[Phoenix]

First Floor

<"Some steps? Uh--mm, sure, heheh."> <Why do things like this keep happening to me? The only way this will look decent is if we get more people doing it ... but this music, urgh.>

Oddly enough, Haythem wasn't the only one disappointed with the music, though Gytha was being a little more assertive about the whole thing and took her request straight to the band. The band kept playing while the conductor turned around and raised an eyebrow at her. "'Jigs'? I do hope you know what sort of party this is, Young Miss."

Second Floor

Blake?! What in Sardius is he doing with Miss Valcyn? "And a good evening to you as well," Clover replied, though she was noticeably uneasy all of a sudden. She immediately glanced at Raquel who didn't look like she would say anything before she absolutely had to. She wouldn't have brought the emblem piece with her if she didn't have to, so I doubt this will go smoothly for us.

"I trust you're ready for our meeting," Desmond said, his gaze falling on Raquel.

Raquel, while blatantly avoiding eye contact, and even looking in Desmond's general direction, replied, "Yes." This is no meeting ... practically a sentencing.