Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[ReformBlade]

Talking through his crackers, Jericho spoke up, "Hey now" swallowing it before continuing, "No need to get all defensive over that, she's allowed to express her dissatisfaction over the subject. And I dunno about you but I didn't hear anything along the lines of 'girls liking girls is something to hate and detest' or any sort of crap like that. Another thing, you probably shouldn't get so petulant when someone reacts negatively, then backpedal and say you're just playing around, even if it's true." Sitting up in his seat and shrugging again as he threw another one in the hatch.

[scorri]

Lumi shook her head. "You don't get it. You didn't see the look on her face. And I don't care if she rejects me because she doesn't like me or doesn't like women in that way. But if someone reacts like the mere thought of a girl liking another girl is sickening... How can I not take that as an insult? But go ahead. Ask her. Notice she didn't try to deny it when I accused her of it. Maybe try asking yourself why that might have been."

[Snowy_One]

"Lumi. The last person who said something I considered truly offensive and repulsive I ended up in a fistfight with. In case you have not noticed I am not a subtle person." said Robin before giving a sigh and trying to figure out what to say. At the least this was going to be a minefield. "I... do not find the idea of being with another woman particularly appealing, not in that way at least. If you want to hit on women go ahead and do so. Just... please do not hit on me. If you think I can look pretty, that is nice. If you want to make me look pretty, I am fine with that, but I do not want a girlfriend. I just want friends who are girls. And boys of course too."

[Toogee]

Erion

Erion grimaced slightly and then quickly changed it to a slightly pained smile. "I thought that might be how you chose. Look, I'm going to make this easy on you. I'm just going to go back to the mansion. You stay here, enjoy your night with Al, whatever. i'm sure he'll treat you like a princess. After all, it's only people he doesn't like that he threatens." With a bow, Erion started to turn to go.

Jam did not like the idea of choosing between friends. That seemed to be what Erion was making her do. If she didn't agree with him about Alphonse, he would leave. That was the ultimatum. So Jam let him.

"Fine," Jam replied in a rather bitter tone. She turned and rushed off the dance floor, determined to leave before Erion did as some sort of defiance. Once away from the dancing,Jam turned to the nearest waiter and grabbed several appetizers off of his serving plate. She proceeded to toss each one in her mouth. She wasn't even sure what she was eating. Some kind of cheese, maybe? Drowning her frustrations with a handful of possible "cheesiness", Jam simply stood by Alphonse and watched the others dance.

"Think I got dumped," Jam said, still chewing her food as she talked. Manners were the second casualty of the night, the first being the night itself.

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

Eli had re-entered the dining area with a big tray of sandwiches, likely made of some sort of poultry. Though the maids wanted to help, the rider insisted on doing things himself. He wasn't necessarily against maids, but if the task was simple, he felt he should do it himself. He entered to find that Lumi and co were fraternizing with Amon and co. How did he miss an entire group of people here? And what in the world were they talking about? Clearly, he had entered at an awkward moment, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Uh...what did I miss?" he asked as he set the tray down.

[scorri]

Erion

Erion closed his eyes and sighed. So much for not hurting her. Well, if Al wanted to kill him after this, let him try. The thief barely cared anymore. Turning, he watched Jam head straight for Al and he smiled sadly. Well, at least maybe she'd be happy now. There hadn't been much of a chance of that before with both of them being around her. Maybe this was for the best. With a slight shrug of his shoulders, he headed through the doors and down the steps of the mansion. With a slight sigh, he shoved his hands into his pockets and started the long walk back to Weyland's.

Eric

At the food table with Miri, Eric couldn't help but grin as his date tried her best to explain to him how best to go about eating. "Well, I recognize some of this stuff from back at Weyland's, so I have a decent idea of what I prefer." Loading up his plate like she had, he offered her his arm again and led her over to an unoccupied table. Sitting down, he grinned at her before starting to taste some of the food he had selected.

[Snike]

And so they went, into the hallway, and potentially their doom. Blake looked to Raquel and forced himself to smile, so as to try to help ease her worries, but he himself wasn't sure what lied in wait for them in Desmond's room.

***

"Why yes, I am," Ethan said to Terrel, his smile slowly fading. "If I may, is there any issue with that, milord?"

***

Aaand of course the jilted girl wound up sitting beside him. Axel turned to look at her for a moment- she was busy looking at nothing - before making a decision.

"Hey," he said, as he looked away from his new table mate. "Are you going to be all right?"

[ReformBlade]

Pointing at robin, Jericho nodded, "That seems pretty reasonable to me. She doesn't want to be hit on by women, not the act itself." Nothing much else for him to add as the women seemed to be at an incredible impasse and, well, Jericho didn't want to start flinging insults. Not yet any way!

[-Cynthia-]

<"All right, I think I got the basics down at least. This seems more like a group dance though- don't think we'll easily be able to convince these folks to join though,"> Nadya noted.

[Phoenix]

Ball Goers Ballin' In the Ballroom

Shadrak decided to take Charlie's advice since Mushirah was alright with it and carefully held her while trying to somehow force a genuine smile. Once he was able to clear his head of how much Alex annoyed him, he figured he would be able to do a real one, though given how long they might have to pose, he wondered if he didn't have to actually smile until the man got around to working on his face.

"Not at all. In fact, I thank you for coming, with a date or alone," Terrel replied with a small grin. This engagement needed all the public support it could get, apparently. He glanced at Gytha for a second, wondering why on earth she would want the music changed to something else. That was when he realized that she was no ordinary guest. Her disguise was just barely passable at a distance, but up close he could tell that she was definitely out of her element, even at a glance. Bold, and a little amusing.

The princess was coming face to face with some good ol unknowns. "W-what's a shantyman? Do you mean the conductor over there?" she asked, pointing toward the man Gytha had been speaking to moments before. She took a moment to look back at Nadya and Haythem to make sure they weren't doing anything new and then her attention returned to Gytha.

Those two meanwhile, were now conversing. <"Feel free to mix things up or add some motions of your own. It's a pretty flexible dance and ... honestly, mixing things up is the only way this won't look like a coordinated thing in a crowd like this, because ... I really doubt we'll get anyone else to go along with this ... especially the men,"> Haythem replied. Sancturans were perfectly fine using their cores to the fullest to impress an audience, both men and women ... Ursians, not so much.

Room Reservations

Desmond led them to the room which fortunately--or unfortunately depending on how you viewed the situation--was on the second floor. They came into a lavish study and Clover quietly closed the door once everyone was inside. She then made her way over to Desmond and stood by him, even after he sat down.

Raquel was reluctant to take one of the two seats facing Desmond but eventually did anyway, settling on the right one, even though it was slightly further from the exit than the one on the left. To be fair, she doubted if this was a half decent trap, they could reach the door unhindered anyway, and a few inches wouldn't make much difference. The fact of the matter was, they were just in a bad spot right now, and they needed this meeting to go some semblance of well.

"Tell me, Raquel Valcyn, what happened to the Fire Emblem fragment you used to carry? Was it actually stolen, or did you simply leave it somewhere?" Desmond began the meeting without delay.

Does he know something about what happened at the fortress? Raquel wondered.

Discovery, be VERY careful. The God of Wrath himself is all but in this room with us, now. If you could only sense the power flowing out of that vessel ....

Great ... I'm not sure I wanted to know that ... "Yes, it was taken from me ... so you've got no reason to come after us anymore."

"On the contrary ... you can help us."

WHY in the hell would I EVER help you people after what you put us through?! "... what? Help you? Are you kidding?" Desmond glared at her for that. Right, he wasn't joking, apparently.

Good News, Tanks ... Bad News, Westerners

"So, there you have it," Sapphire finished her explanation to those present. That included Cecelia, another captain, Cain, three other lieutenants, Nadine and a fellow warrant officer of hers, and the only grunt in the room, Amber. Amber also seemed the least moved by the explanation. Langley's entire battalion was going to be transferred to Bernard Langley until further notice, added to his own forces, supplemented with siege equipment and engineers, and marched out west during the confusion of the war in order to oppose the western nobles with brute force when the time came. Langley had even pointed out that the unit would be receiving not just one but two Recusants to act as mobile artillery and her cousin, Lyra Langley would be transferred into the battalion as well. They were looking to gain more specialized equipment and personnel than they ever had as the original Eastern Task Force.

"We'll be making preparations starting tomorrow, which is why I'm telling you all this now despite the locale. Do not speak of it openly or to anyone; this is an order of the utmost importance. That's all, then. I should return to the party, now."

"Colonel?" Cain spoke up nervously. "Do you have someone waiting for you back at the party?"

"No, I decided to attend the ball alone. I'm not really in the mood to celebrate, as selfish as that is. I still plan to put on a happy face for the princess, however. That's my duty, too," she explained.

Urgh! It's ... it's now or never, dammit! Cain stiffened up as he straightened his back and raised his chin like a soldier at attention. "Ma'am, you shouldn't be doing this alone! I ... respectfully ask to be our partner for this evening! I'll find something to change into right away and leave my equipment outside ..." The tension left him immediately after that and he almost crumbled to dust at her feet.

"... I- ... hmm." She was surprised anyone was offering, and she could tell how embarrassing that must have been for him; he wouldn't have gotten the chance to ask her in private. "If you insist, Lieutenant, but I hope I don't bore you ..."

"Never, Ma'am," Cain reflexively and adamantly stated, stiffening up once again.

Tension In the Air

While Fizza gathered a modest amount of chocolate and caramel from Aneda, Amon and Malik tried their best not to draw any attention to themselves. The proceedings were extremely uncomfortable for the both of them.

"Fire Emblem" Definition For Children

"Well, their own research--and by them, I mean Master Weyland's assistants ... their research was quite conclusive," Dafne noted. "There wasn't any good reason to doubt that Ms. Valcyn held a piece of the Fire Emblem at the time. I suppose what isn't covered in your findings is that the emblem's energy can't be sensed directly. That's unique in all of magic as far as I know."

Edited October 22, 2013 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Now it was Gytha's turn to be a bit confused. Frowning in said confusion, she asked, "What's a conductor? I'm talking about the man directing the musicians. Or at least I think that's what he's doing."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cecelia was rather stunned at the news and at first could only blink at Colonel Langley. They were going to attack their own countrymen? If it hadn't been Colonel Langley who'd said it, she never would have agreed to it. Even now she was rather confused. As much as she trusted her superior's judgement, this was the exact opposite of her job description. She was supposed to be protecting Ursians, not attacking them! Unless they were traitors, of course...but did this constitute as traitorous? Infighting was exactly the break the Neviskotians needed, too. Things weren't looking good for Ursium on the battlefront as it was and now they were turning against the west and turning their backs to the Neviskotians?

Cecelia was a bit frustrated that she missed her chance to talk about it while they were on the topic since Fletcher found his courage and asked the colonel to the ball. Good for him, but the opportunity to remain on the topic had passed. The colonel had to return to her duties as a noblewoman, too, and, thinking it over, this was the sort of thing to express behind closed doors anyway. She didn't want to undermine Colonel Langley's authority by bringing up her uncertainties around her subordinates. No, now was the time to show support for her commanding officer. So, she regained her icy composure and asked the Colonel, "Have you told the Lieutenant Colonel yet?"

[Eail]

Alphonse was confused when Jamilla seemed to storm away from Erion, just what the hell had the man said to set her off like this? At this point it was less about killing or horribly maiming the thief, and more about seeing what was wrong with his friend. He was just about to ask what was wrong as she stood beside him, when the girl spoke up about the situation.

Letting out a sigh, Al placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm sorry that the night got messed up Jam..... I got out of the way because.... I just wanted you to have a good time. Could I make it up to you by asking the most beautiful girl in the room to dance with me?"

"I mean, the princess is pretty cute and all~" He said with a wink. "May I have the next dance my lady?"

[Phoenix]

Ballroom

"Yes, that man's a conductor," Athena explained, cocking her head curiously. Who was this woman and where was she from? There wasn't really time to wonder about that right now with the issue at hand still up in the air.

Meeting Room

"Not yet," Sapphire answered. "I needed at least one officer to manage our half of security while we held this meeting, but I plan to explain the situation to him later on in private. I can only hope he isn't too upset about being singled out like this."

"He'll just take it as a sign of your trust in him. Besides, he'll be bouncing and forget all about this once you mention the tanks," Nadine mused aloud. "I'm guessing we'll need them, though ...."

"I-I'll hurry up and get ready and meet you in the main hall, Colonel," Cain spoke up while hurrying to leave the room. He got a nod in return and then left with all haste.

[Snike]

"... You will have to elaborate," Blake said, crossing his arms. This was... unexpected, given the Wrathites' last attempt to 'negotiate' with them. Not to mention that they almost certainly had more 'trustworthy' allies, in their eyes, to assist them. Why would they try to work with this group?

***

"I see," Ethan said, "Well, thank you, milord, but it truly is an honour just to be here."

[-Cynthia-]

<"Men are usually the shy ones,"> Nadya agreed, spinning in place before kicking up into the air. She then began swaying her body from side to side while steadily drawing closer to the ground. This is sure different from what everyone else is doin'- but what we're doin' is more fun.

[Mercakete]

"Ah, I see," Gytha responded with a nod and a grin, "A shantyman is the one on a ship who leads the shanties: music o' th' sailors." Noticing her accent was slipping in again, she went back to speaking more carefully. "Anyway, I asked the conductor if he could play a jig but he doesn't seem to think it's a good idea. I think it is, though. If this is a celebration, people should be having fun with it, don't you think? Not to be rude, but this music is a bit...slow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hmm... Perhaps I should go relieve him of his duty... Ma'am?" Cecelia at first mused, then actually asked, seeking direction on what her next task was to be.

[Snowy_One]

Alex smiled as the couple took their places. "Good. Now, just hold that post steady for the next half-hour, and we'll be good!" he said as he started to get to work, wondering if he should simply do as said, or take some 'artistic liberties' like making Mushy's chest slightly bigger and the like. It wouldn't matter for a bit though as there were plenty of details that needed to be painted first, so he had some time to think on it.

---

Robin gulped as she heard Jericho's words. She did find the act disgusting as well, but she was also well aware that she'd have to work with Lumi either way. Sides, she had been wrong before, right? Maybe she was wrong here. Either way, she needed friends. "So... Lumi. You think knowing how to clean a deer is 'cool'? I do not think you will enjoy it, but if you want, I can try to teach you a few of the outdoorsman tips that you might enjoy. You are perfectly welcome to join as well Jericho. Or, if that does not suit you maybe... Ummm... Pretending you were going to take me to the ball? Have our own private 'we could not go to the ball' ball here?"

---

Tia's face suddenly went very grave and dark. "An item of immense power, even if only in legends, and Raquel has a piece of it? I was kind of hoping I was wrong, but it explains too much for her to not have it. Worse, if she does have it, she needs as much magical support to ensure things don't go wonky on her. Dafne, we need to split up and search for clues as to just what might happen if something goes wrong!"

Edited October 23, 2013 by Snowy_One

[Phoenix]

Room Full of People

"Well then, be sure to enjoy every minute of it. We won't be seeing another celebration like this until the war ends, I'm certain," Terrel suggested. Right now, he knew he had to be doing either one of two things, staying put and acting as a social hub with Athena, or putting on a show with her, so one on ones with interesting people would have to wait, and true alone time was out of the question.

Next to him, talk about the music continued, and went in a surprising direction. Is she a sailor, too? That's interesting. I've always wondered what sailing out on the ocean and singing songs with the workers would feel like. "Oh it's true, this music is for nobles whose corsets are fastened a little bit too tight and can't afford to cut loose~ Still, I've got my people's overall comfort to consider ..." She began to think intensely for a moment, staring downward through the table. Then suddenly, her expression relaxed and a smile appeared. "I have an idea."

Terrel glanced over. "Hmm?" Since he'd been dividing his attention enough to overhear Gytha's request, he realized that Athena had probably found her own sort of solution.

"We'll hold a dancing competition. In this way, we'll get around to lots of different dances without forcing anyone out of their comfort zone. Oh, and of course I'll have them fetch a few more instruments so we can cover more types of music as well~"

"A ... dance competition. Are you sure?" Will he approve of that ...?

"Of course! Just look at those two over there. I wager they'd love a chance to put on a proper show," she insisted, pointing toward Nadya and Haythem. "Besides, I want to see that routine in full, anyway ... oh and I can force Morgana to play along as well, heeheeee-"

"Oh dear ..."

<"You know, I don't much mind them giving us weird looks now that we're actually out here, heheh."> Haythem said as he danced with Nadya. <Heh ... yeah, that's right! Look and be amazed, nobles, for a man is dancing with his date and not holding anything back. This is how we do things where I come from and this is how it should be ... now if ... they'd only ... change the ... blasted MUSIC ...>

"Half an hour?!" Shadrak repeated. "The entire half hour? Uuuuurgh ..."

"Shading's a bitch, I know, but we want to get this juuust right ... I think," Charlie pointed out as he got ready to start doing his own work in this as well. He was ever so slightly inebriated from the wine he'd started drinking during his absence, but until that became apparent, he doubted he would be in any sort of trouble.

Room Full of Wrath

"You've achieved things with the emblem that we have not, Valcyn. You will be extremely useful in helping us hunt down the remaining fragments, you and your followers," Desmond explained. The tone in his voice made Raquel feel like she didn't even have a choice, like she'd already signed some divine contract without realizing it. As a result, she began to wince during his explanation and slowly lean away.

"You've also come into contact with a group of individuals who have a fragment of their own," Clover added during Desmond's pause.

"That's right," Desmond agreed. "Your fighting with them benefits us, as well. You can serve as bait to lure that scum out of hiding for us. Then we will crush them, take their fragment, and move on." Once that was said, Desmond leaned back in his chair and relaxed for a moment. "It won't make up for the things you people have done, but it's certainly a start."

Is there anything he doesn't already know ...? Hmm ... Hypnos commented, though only Raquel could hear it at that point ... maybe. Even Hypnos was worried that Desmond was already aware of his presence.

"Y-you want to use us as bait to get the emblem piece my enemies have? Are you insane?! My father's being manipulated by them and I have to save him! I don't have time for your crazy ... 'emblem hunt'!" And that was Raquel's rebuttal, not as carefully worded as it would have been, normally, but she and her companions were being treated like tools and nothing more.

Desmond had closed his eyes by the time Raquel began snapping at him and kept them that way as he cautioned her. "Think about this carefully, Valcyn. Gathering the emblem fragments is a divine mandate handed down through me by your own god. This isn't about fighting human beings. If you oppose me now, you oppose the God of Wrath, himself. I assure you, no one can protect you from our Lord, and your destruction is assured. If you hold any claim to sanity and reason, submit to authority, and do as you are told."

Room Full of Officers

That would improve his night somewhat, and he isn't much of a guardsman or a supervisor off the battlefield. "Very well, Captain, but inform him that I don't want to see him running around all over the place, especially the ballroom, without a good reason."

"I'll help you out, Captain," Amber offered, sounding excited at the same prospect some people agonized over.

"Like you had a choice; we're all on guard duty ... well, except for Fletcher and Taylor all of a sudden," Nadine noted.

Room Full of Books

"There are no clues left to find, at least not in this library. As I said, they found out everything they could about the Fire Emblem. Have you tried speaking with her about this directly? She must have learned something from holding it for so long," Dafne mused aloud.

Edited October 23, 2013 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

"Heharr! That's a great idea!" Gytha exclaimed excitedly, throwing her hands up and bringing them back down in fists, "That'll be so much fun! Think I can join in on th' oth'r dances? I want t' try out as mana as I can! Heharr!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yes, Ma'am," Cecelia replied to Sapphire with a salute. With that, she turned and ordered, "Those of you with me, to your posts! You know where to go."

[ReformBlade]

Half an hour would definitely cut into their nosing around the party, but Mushirah still thought it'd be worth it. "It's just a half hour, and after that I won't bother you for anything else, okay?" It was obvious to anyone with ears that Shadrak wasn't exactly fond of the idea of standing around for half an hour, so she figured she'd try to do something about that. "We could go grab dinner afterwards, I'm sure there'll be plenty left and it'll still be good and fresh~."

[Toogee]

Alphonse was confused when Jamilla seemed to storm away from Erion, just what the hell had the man said to set her off like this? At this point it was less about killing or horribly maiming the thief, and more about seeing what was wrong with his friend. He was just about to ask what was wrong as she stood beside him, when the girl spoke up about the situation.

Letting out a sigh, Al placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm sorry that the night got messed up Jam..... I got out of the way because.... I just wanted you to have a good time. Could I make it up to you by asking the most beautiful girl in the room to dance with me?"

"I mean, the princess is pretty cute and all~" He said with a wink. "May I have the next dance my lady?"

Jam had put down the appetizers and offered her hand to Alphonse, silently accepting his request to dance. After being called milady all night, Jam wondered how the princess dealt with it. Having her closest friends treat her like a distant royal far above them didn't feel right to the dancer. She kept silent on the matter for now and let Alphy lead her back on the dance floor.

[Snike]

"Well, this shall prove to be... interesting," Ethan said, upon hearing about the 'dance competition'. That was certainly not something he had expected to see at a royal function. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how one looked at it, he was alone, so the healer wouldn't be able to participate.

***

"No offense, Head Wrathite, but I don't see the church having the resources to 'crush' Miss Valcyn's foes," Blake said, keeping a straight face despite Desmond's aggression. "And if you do, why aren't they in the employ of the army right now? We should be having this conversation while Neviskotia is not knocking on our front door. Then there is the whole 'bait' portion of your plan which does not make sense. Remember, they have the emblem fragments, while she does not. They would not have much of an inclination to be drawn out by her. I fail to see the reason in your plan, to be blunt."

[Eail]

As Alphonse lead his friend on to the dance floor, something was feeling off. It was the fact that he and Jamilla were friends, at the very least, he considered them to be close. "So, how about no more of this formal stuff for a while. Can I try to make the night up to my best friend by dancing her worries away? I'm a little rusty though, so you might have to bear with me for a few steps." He chuckled.

[Phoenix]

Ballroom

"I hope that 'interesting' is the only thing it turns out to be," Terrel quietly chimed in, worrying that letting the princess do whatever she wanted would leave not only a bad impression of her, but of everyone involved.

Athena meanwhile, smiled more and answered Gytha saying, "Sure, just be sure not to trip them up. It's still a 'competition', after all." She didn't seem to be trying to hide the fact that the competition was just a smokescreen, and also figured it wouldn't even be a fair contest to begin with. If she participated, she was going to win, be it the nobility's bias or her own skill.

Shadrak smiled sadly at Mushirah. It's not you that's bothering me, honestly ... "I don't mind you wanting to ask to do something else after this, honestly. My comfort zone's just somewhere over the horizon right now and I'm still getting used to all this."

"My family's a bunch of farmers. How do you think I feel, guy?" Charlie chimed in after leaning away from the easel. He kept his hands in position, despite this and went right back to what he was doing afterward.

Shadrak grimaced at that, not really knowing how to respond. Then, he just decided not to say anything, to Charlie at least. "By the way, dinner's probably a good idea. I was already getting a little peckish so I'm sure I'll have a good appetite worked up after this."

"Make sure you stop talking or kissing or whatever once he starts on your faces ... that won't come out right."

Jerk Room

"What we're doing right now is far more important than the war, Blake," Clover chimed in with some concern in her voice. She knew that wasn't much of an explanation, but she wanted to at least try to shoot that part of his response down before Desmond said anything else, allowing him to focus solely on Raquel and the Organization.

Desmond opened his eyes, but his irises had changed drastically since they were last open. Instead of their normal tamed blue, they were now a fierce yellow-orange. As Raquel's head sank slightly between her shoulders and she leaned away even more, he said, "Bait ... decoys ... nemeses ... they're all the same in your situation. Frankly, your pursuit of these scum is enough to serve our purposes. You are not something they can simply ignore, now are you? The woman trying to save her father, even if she has to slay them by the dozens. Of course you aren't. They will come for you, or you will track them down, first. Either is fine with me, so long as we acquire any and all emblem fragments they possess."

Raquel gasped. "But I need- ... uh- ...erm ..." She sorely regretted blurting out even half of that statement, since they were already in a vulnerable position. Still, letting the Wrathites do whatever they wanted, to her, seemed like a recipe for disaster, the loss of any and all emblem pieces, and possibly even the death of her own father in the chaos.

Borrowed Room

"Come on, Nadine, come on," Amber enthusiastically pointed out. She had already taken hold of her arm and was now trying to lead her out of the room. She didn't get any real resistance, just a listless scowl. "We've got a job to do," Amber added with a genuine smile that made Nadine want to look away.

"For the love of ... please let this night be over ..." ... and with that, the warrant officer was escorted from the scene.

[Mercakete]

"Yes, Ma'am!" Gytha happily replied before turning around and heading back into the sea of people. That was when she saw Haythem and Nadya dancing in a way she hadn't quite seen before. They must have been the ones the princess had been talking about when she mentioned "those two." Grinning widely, the mariner hurried over. "Hoy! Mind if I try?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As those under her command moved out, Cecelia herself likewise joined in the flow of people. Her destination was, specifically, the main entrance.

[Snike]

So the rumours he heard were true. The Head Wrathite was indeed directly communicating with Wrath. At least, if the change in eye color was any sign. Best to tread carefully.

"Priority or not, if you push back the invasion, you will free up more resources for your emblem gathering. Along with more sympathetic ears among the eastern nobles," Blake said, as he avoided eye contact with Desmond. Or whoever he was channeling. "From what I understand, Miss Valcyn has a condition that needs to be resolved through use of an emblem fragment or two. After that, however, I do not see handing over the organization's fragments as a problem for her and her companions."

And it wouldn't, given what little he knew about the emblem. Hopefully Raquel would pick up on that.

***

"I suppose we'll have to see, milord," Ethan said, as he turned to observe the dancefloor. "Who knows, it might end up being quite the show."

Edited October 26, 2013 by Snike