Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Toogee]

As they continued to dance, Alphonse could feel the steps coming back to him. It had certainly been a while since he'd done this, but maybe it was like riding a horse, you never really forgot how. "I've gotta say Jam, it's much better seeing you dance up close than back in a crowd. You're wonderful at it." He told the girl with a soft smile.

"You're only just now realizing this?" Jam replied in a tongue in cheek sort of way. They continued their dance until the music stopped. An announcement was made (by the princess no less) about a dance competition.

"Ooh, that might be fun to watch, though it'd be a bit unfair if I jumped in," she said to Alphonse. Despite being a professional dancer, she had no intention of joining in; she didn't want to overshadow everyone else's efforts.

[Snowy_One]

It took a long time, probably placing Shadrak and Mushy well past the opening of the dance, but finally, Alex finished. With a final stroke, he proudly turned the painting around.

"At last! IT IS FINISHED! Jeez this one felt like it took forever. Thankfully I had the lovely lady and the I'm-sure-is-equally-as-lovely-to-the-ladies-to-look-at man to look at instead of just some crusty old noble. I hope you like it." he said with a smile. The painting had been kept fairly simple, with Mushy and Shadrak together, their pose captured almost perfectly except for the few changes he had made. "I hope you don't mind, but I couldn't get the curve and shading right on the lady, so I reduced her chest JUST a bit. Otherwise, I did my best!"

---

Tia smiled happily as she strode down the hallways of the manor, heading down to the room where everyone else was, several books from the library held under her arm. With calm pose, she stepped past the leaving Robin and entered the room with the rest of the guests.

"Hey! So, I heard you guys know about something called the 'Fire Emblem' and might have more knowledge to share with me? If so, please, tell me all!"

---

As Robin left the room she wasn't sure what to do with herself. She had just utterly blown her chance at making friends due to some stupid girl. "<Bah. No wonder Zach and everyone hates me. I must seem like an utter monster.>" she mumbled to herself as she stepped past Tia. "<Bet even she hates me on some level because I don't know anything about books. This is why I should just stay alone and by myself. I'm an utterly horrible and detestable person.>" she mumbled before finding a small corner to sit down in, out of the way. "<Least if I'm alone I can have fun. I wonder how well floor tile gets turned into an arrow-head... Useless, but at least no one calls me a horrible person for wondering that.>"

[Phoenix]

Strokes and Lines

"I was going to say something about that," Charlie noted. "Of course, telling him to learn to shade better rather than making edits would have distracted him, heheheh. He seemed distracted enough though, if you get my meaning~"

He couldn't paint her chest right, so he made it smaller? I didn't even notice until he mentioned it. Shadrak glanced at Mushirah's chest when he was sure she wasn't looking at him so he could do a quick comparison in his head. Urgh, whatever ... as long as she likes it, that's all that matters, he thought to himself while blushing slightly.

Over by Bartholomeo's table, the man and a few others sat there as a few lines were whittled away. Some of the people were hoping to be participants in the competition, a few wanted to be judges, and most of the others there were musicians offering to play any music they knew that the current bad didn't, which would be a great help for the event.

"Hmhmhm, this should be most entertaining," came the voice of none other than Simmon Higgins as he was approved as a judge. He looked very different from his usual scruffy self. His hair was combed back in a neat style, his beard was now gone and replaced by a stubble, suggesting this makeover was recent, but not too recent, and his clothes looked more expensive. He seemed to fit right in with the nobility, given his personality.

Next to him was Carmen Illia, who had also signed up and been approved as a judge. She was wearing a red dress and sitting at the table beside Bartholomeo's. She looked none too happy despite getting the judge job.

It's A Trap ... Right?

Raquel froze for a moment and then reached out, herself, not to offer her hand but to retrieve Blake's before Desmond could do anything. Clover glared at her for being so aggressive and for disobeying Desmond, but didn't move. "Don't ... if he's the avatar of Wrath then who knows what he could do if we agree to this?" she pleaded. She knew they didn't have much chance for negotiations without doing this, but just like at the fortress, this wasn't the kind of position she was willing to just allow them to waltz right into. Before waiting for Blake's response, she looked to Desmond and said, "There's no way we're agreeing to whatever this is unless you tell us what you're trying to do, here."

At any other time, I'd be insisting he likely only wanted to shake on it ... but only in jest, Hypnos remarked.

"Autonomy comes with a price. I wanted to be able to keep an eye on the both of you. That's all," Desmond explained. "Though, I suppose such a link would allow me even greater power over you both as well. I don't care if you disapprove."

Inquiries of Interest

<"She's just now learning about that? Isn't she one of Raquel's?"> Malik quietly asked. Fizza shrugged at him. <"Well she's not with us so I'm not saying anything. Amon, you shouldn't, either. Did you hear the way she said that?"> Malik asked Amon, nudging his head in Tia's direction. <"I wager she wants one, too.">

Amon closed his eyes and sighed. Then, after a bit of thought, he quietly replied, <"Even so ..."> and eventually left it at that. "There isn't much to tell, really," he began answering Tia. "Raquel had one until her enemies stole it from her." He thought she would have been there for that battle but figured maybe she joined them afterward or something since she apparently didn't already know about it.

[Snike]

"I am fine with the link on myself," the Ursian responded, keeping his arm out. "But the link on Miss Valcyn is exactly what I was warning against with this suggestion. There is no way that that could not be detected by our foes, some way or another, which will lead to hampered plans. And since you will have power over me, it should not be necessary to have to keep an eye on her."

If they wanted negotiations to go further, one or both of them would have to be linked. It was better for Raquel's sake if he and he alone did. But he couldn't outright say that, for obvious reasons.

[Phoenix]

Wrathroom

"I assure you mortal men cannot detect it on their own, but again, I don't care if you disapprove," Desmond replied, standing up from the chair while Raquel tried to pull Blake's hand back. "In the event something happens to you, then this is for nothing."

"Ursium is my home. I don't have anywhere else to go," Raquel said, seeming to imply that she wasn't going to disappear indefinitely.

"Hmph, a possessor of such power has no true home in this world. You'd do well to remember that, Valcyn. Now give me your hands, both of them. If you refuse, you will fall the very moment our Lord returns to this world ... sooner if we find you again."

[Snike]

"Like I said, I highly doubt that Valcyn is dealing with just mortal men, And if His power and this link will not be able to protect me, then it will afford her less protection from those same sources," Blake responded, standing up and brushing Raquel's hands off of his. "On the other hand, if you give her the link and she somehow finds a way to turn it around on you, you just armed one of your enemies with a powerful weapon. And besides, she is willing to cooperate, so far, considering she has not objected to my presence. Think about this strategically, Head Wrathite."

[Eail]

"A contest?" Zach muttered. Tina certainly seemed interested in the idea, so that pretty much chose Zach's answer for him on the subject.

"I learned a touch of everything, even.... some that my master probably wouldn't have approved of thanks to being dragged around by other apprentices." He trailed off with a chuckle. "I'm sure I can follow your lead and pick up whatever style it is you have if you'd like to enter Tina. Sounds like it could be fun."

________

"Might be fair to let the others have their fair shot at winning eh Jam?" Alphonse replied with a smirk. "You're a pro and I didn't step all over your feet or throw off the rhythm, wouldn't even be a contest if we joined in." The swordsman joked with his friend.

"Plus I'd rather just spend the night with you having fun, this seems like it might wind up too high strung for my taste."

[Ether]

"Well it can't hurt to try, right?" Faatina replied, as the pair began making their way over to the signup area, her eyes catching the other Rexians from their group along the way.

"Hey... those guys said they were from Sanctuary too, didn't they? This could get interesting." She noted, giving Haythem's group a passing glance as they walked, before reaching the signup.

"Is this where we sign-up for that dance you announced earlier?" She asked.

[Phoenix]

Ballroom

"That's correct," answered the man handling the judge signups. "Were you entering the competition as a dancer, musician, or judge?" He pointed first to the parchments toward the middle of the table, which were for those signing up to be contestants, then toward those farthest from his own, which were for extra musicians, and then toward his own, which were for judges, indicating which were for what role.

Wrathroom

"Don't presume to understand this power," Desmond warned, with anger coming into his voice. Then he swiftly grabbed Blake by the wrist, causing Raquel and Clover to both flinch. Neither were expecting aggression like that. Desmond still held some anger in his voice, but he seemed otherwise calm, despite his tight grip. "I'll humor you for now. However, I can already see where our two forces are headed ..."

Edited November 1, 2013 by Phoenix

[ReformBlade]

"So... either you're just on your way through here or there's something here for ya." Aneda surmised aloud. It really wasn't as profound or as deep as she wished it would sound like but still. Tia had come in asking a somewhat similar question, prompting the rexians to start speaking in tongues their native language. Kind of annoying to Aneda, but she figured it'd be equally annoying to call them out on it.

It was at this point she really started pondering an option. Maybe I could go with them? But that's exactly what I was doing here and I got fed up with Raquel over a few things. I don't think it was exactly all that emblem business so much as how heartless and frigid people were acting... I'm as impressed as anyone else that we've had as few casualties in all the crap we've been doing but still, that kid was brutalized and it was just thrown under the rug, and then... A nasty lump in her throat formed, forcing a cough. "Um..." she started weakly before starting again, "Uh, well, I hope you find what you need. If you need some extra muscle, I'm here for a little bit."

"Wait wait." Jericho's Rexian wasn't so good but he was still getting a bit confused with everyone talking and then suddenly talk of an Emblem came up, prompting some massive eyebrow cocking from the guy. "Emblem? Like, the emblem?" I thought that thing was just sort of a legend. Well, I guess it would be still if it existed, but yeah. Hell, maybe my stupid fucking brother is involved in some legendary pursuit of it. It was unintended but Jericho's face flashed with anger for but a moment before he calmed himself. "I think I'm late to the party, the hell is up in here?" this prompted a sigh from Aneda which Jericho promptly ignored.

Mushirah, meanwhile was blushing a bit but still quite happy with the results. "it looks just fine, I think anyway!" She wasn't too keen on her chest getting attention but she didn't want to bring any more to it than necessary and just let it slide. She did genuinely like the portrait though, no masking there. "If I was as good a teacher as my mom, I'd try to compare notes and maybe help you out a bit, but I'm bad at explaining things I do, sadly, heh." Turning to her date for the night, she asked, "Do you like it how it turned out?"

[Snowy_One]

"Oh my my my. A painter as well? I would very much love to learn from you. If you won't be here and plan on traveling, I'm sure I could travel along with you. I have a healing staff to use, which is always useful to any group of adventurers, and something tells me neither of you are the posh type who has never left a city except under carriage escort. Besides, I care less for if you are a good teacher and more that you are willing to try and help another so readily. It is such a noble and rare trait." said Alex with a smile.

---

"I'm trying to figure that out as well. I just spent over an hour pouring though tons of books all talking about the emblem. There is a lot of false lore, conflicting stories, and the like, but I managed to figure out it's appearance and it's that... thing... Raquel had! Supposedly it can get a LOT of power, like, destroy entire armies type stuff. So if Raquel had it, not only is it an object of immense importance for magical study, but letting it fall into the wrong hands could be disastrous! I was hoping someone could tell me more so I can figure out what is real about it and what isn't as well."

Edited October 31, 2013 by Snowy_One

[Snike]

"Very well, do it," Blake said, forcing himself not to flinch as Desmond grabbed his wrist. Hopefully it wouldn't be torn off by the end of this.

And hopefully, this would dissolve the conflict, at least, for now.

[Phoenix]

Ballroom

"Uh-yeah," Shadrak answered a bit clumsily. He might have said it with a little more confidence had he not been off somewhere else in his own mind. "Especially if you like it. You're an artist too so your eyes are better than mine." Once Alex suggested traveling with them, Shadrak became somewhat listless. How is this even remotely a good idea? Is he going to be healing during battles or telling people to hold poses so he can 'capture the moment' in perfect detail ... meanwhile everyone's getting stabbed or set ablaze. Well at least it can't possibly get that bad, but I still don't like this. I guess as long as he does his job and just that it should be fine. Raquel's call, though. "You'll have to talk with our leader about that. It's not really up to us." She can be the one to warn him about how incredibly dangerous it is, too, I suppose.

Wrathroom

As soon as Blake was ready and told Desmond to get on with it, the Head Wrathite smirked slightly and released Blake's hand. "It is done." That had Raquel more than a little worried, especially after what Desmond said next. "I warned you ... mortal men cannot detect it on their own. I expect neither of you will do anything ... foolish, and force my hand, later."

Dining Room

When Aneda offered to help them out, Amon was surprised. It was a pleasant surprise, though. He wasn't expecting anyone but Gytha to ever offer to help them specifically, at least not while Raquel was anywhere nearby. Remembering that Nadya had done just that on the same day no less, made him wonder if he wasn't being a little too negative on the matter. He also felt a little guilty once he remembered that for the moment, they couldn't exactly pay anyone for their help. If they could, they might have had Nadya's help already. He had no idea how to address that problem yet, either.

Next, Jericho spoke up asking if it was the emblem he was thinking of. Fizza nodded and ate another piece of candy. People keep finding out about this ... Amon worriedly thought to himself. "It would take awhile to explain," he told Jericho, hoping the matter would be shelved until someone with more knowledge, like Raquel was back and could explain. Though there was also Tia, whom had brought the matter up to begin with and was still looking for answers.

Malik answered Tia before Amon could, however. "Weren't you listening? It's already in the wrong hands. It was stolen from her.

Amon still got a word in, though, and said, "It's real, Tia ... trust me on this. Every group we run into has been sure of it, and we've received a lot of harassment over it." Not to mention Lady Aisha and the vasili and how sure they all are. "We probably wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't the real thing, Malik, Fizza, and myself, I mean."

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

<"I think Gytha wants to do her own thing. How about we sign up before all the spots fill up?"> she suggested to Haythem.

Erica

"That would be excellent. Wrath watch over you sister," she said with a small bow before returning to her post.

[Mercakete]

Giving a nod in farewell as Erica left, Cecelia turned and resumed her journey over to Miguel. By the time she reached him she had fully regained her typical, icy formality. "Sir, I am relieving you of your task here."

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

Gytha took her place in line, but it didn't take very long before she was at the registration proper. "Ahoy!" she cheerily greeted, "I'd like to sign up for the dancing competition."

[Phoenix]

Ballroom

<"There are a limited number of spots?"> Haythem asked, somewhat rhetorically. Common sense told him that there were even as he asked her. <"Rrright, I suppose there would be. Let's get going, then, heheh."> That was when he began trying to imagine how registration would work and what the signups would look like. He wasn't adept at writing or even reading common, so he figured he'd relay things to Nadya or the people organizing this thing.

"You a sailor's daughter by chance?" one of the nobleman sitting at the registration table asked as he tapped his finger on a rather clean parchment which had various bits of information written down. He then began placing his finger over each area as he told her what she was to write there. "Name ... the dance you'll be performing ... instruments ... instructions for the band." The instruction areas tended to bloated and take up quite a bit of space. This also wasn't the first page in use. There were five others already full on both sides, granted, a given page only had room for a few contestants, each.

Main Entrance

"Relieving, huh? Great to hear," Miguel replied with a smile so innocent looking, it was downright suspicious. He immediately stood to mirror Cecelia for a moment, took the viper off of his neck and shoulders, and carefully placed it onto Cecelia's. "Enjoy, Captain."

Nadine and Amber arrived in time to see the snake transfer; the former raised an eyebrow, and the latter gawked. "What's with the scaly necklace?" Nadine asked.

"That is an amazing gift, Lieutenant Colonel! I had no idea you and the Captain were so close," Amber spoke up next.

"Actually, Weyland's woman tried to bring this thing into the party for some wrathdamn insane reason. We didn't want to make a scene of it, so we had her leave it here with us. It's been well behaved ... for a snake ... buuut I sent for some antidotes and a box just in case. By the way, Nadine, Raquel's here at the party too. Make sure you're around so you can say hi to her. I'm sure you two have a lot of catching up to do."

"... not really, but sure. I can't exactly go anywhere right now, so if she leaves the same way she came in, I'll say hi."

[Snowy_One]

"Your leader? Tell me, then, who would the leader of such a happy-looking couple be? A fine and stalwert noble? A lovely young lady like the madame here? What do they look like and what is there name so that I may ask them to come along?"

---

"Yes. I gathered that already. But if it really is the emblem, this is... Wow..." Tia pulled the nearest chair over and promptly sat down in it, not caring if it was empty or occupied. "All my life I thought the most I'd do is just weave some new spell or create some form of magic cannon or some important discovery. I never... I only came along because Raquel promised to fix my books and Connor... is interesting with his alchemy. Saving the world? From an artifact I didn't even think existed until less than a few hours ago? This is a lot to take in."

[Mercakete]

When Miguel took the snake off of his neck, Cecelia cocked an eyebrow. That was...strange and unexpected. Even more so was when he, for whatever reason, put it over her own shoulders. Then, of course, Nadine and Amber began to comment on it, the latter of whom seemed to suspect it as a sign of a relationship. Classic Amber. Then she got her explanation from the Lieutenant Colonel himself. Apparently Weyland's date for the night had tried to sneak a viper into the ball. That was all sorts of interesting, first the mention of the professor after recent events and second that his date would even think to bring this thing into the ball. At least it sounded like they were prepared. A friend of Nadine's was here, too, it sounded like.

"Sir, where is this box you mentioned? If this thing is venomous I don't see why we're taking the chance of handling it at all; it's an unnecessary risk," Cecelia asked Miguel.

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

"Yes," Gytha cheerily answered in response to the question about her parentage, "How could you tell?"

She was legitimately impressed since she'd been hiding her accent. As she listened for his answer, she began filling out the form. Name: Gytha, Dance: Jig, instruments: fiddle, tambourine, pipes, doesn't matter, instructions: Keep it lively with a clear rhythm. The rhythm can change throughout, but be sure to keep it lively and fun.

Edited October 31, 2013 by Mercakete

[Snike]

"Understood. Is there anything else?" Blake asked, as he pulled his hand back. He was tempted to ask Desmond to define what he considered 'foolish', but decided against it, given that the head Wrathite had direct power over him now. And it probably wasn't a good idea to anger the people who hold power over you.

[Phoenix]

Ballroom

I don't know if Raquel is a noble, but I seriously doubt it. Sure there's the connection to Weyland and Rodrigo, but you'd think it would have come up by now ... AND you'd think she would have gotten an invitation to this ball by someone other than the wrathites, Shadrak mused. Hate to throw random people her way, but as the group's leader, it is her responsibility to deal with stuff like this. "She was wearing a black dress if I remember right, has long pink hair and green eyes. The guy she's here with has blue hair cut short, if it helps."

Meanwhile at the table ... "Ah, I see. Well I couldn't help but wonder with that kind of greeting," the nobleman answered. "Only my ship's crew ever use words like 'ahoy!' instead of 'hello', hmhm."

Wrathroom

"That's all," Desmond replied. He then sat down and closed his eyes as if he was about to take a brief rest in his seat. Raquel took the opportunity to stand up from her seat. It was unlikely a trap was going to be sprung on them at this point, but she still wanted to get back into the ballroom with the hundred or so eye witnesses as soon as possible. "Enjoy the ball," Desmond eventually added.

'Enjoy the ball'? Really ...?

Well, it would be a waste if you spent the rest of the night sulking at a table, Hypnos noted.

Main Entrance

"On the way, I hope," Miguel answered. He apparently hadn't sent for it very long ago.

"I'll hold it for you if you're afraid of snakes, Captain," Amber offered. That caused Miguel to chuckle briefly.

Dining Hall

"No one said anything about saving the world," Fizza noted. "As far as I know, Aisha just wants one for her jewelry collection."

<"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL THAT'S NOT-Urgh ..."> Malik cut himself off, realizing that as much as he wanted to correct her, and as incredibly insulting as that remark was, this wasn't the time or place. <"Look, just cut the crap already, Fizza.">

<"You should learn to relax a little,"> she countered, eating the last of the candy she'd received from Aneda.

"It sounds like you're planning on helping Raquel in some way. Don't take this lightly; Raquel's getting more enemies as time goes on and some of her people have been killed already," Amon said to Tia. He only remembered those from earlier, like Sammy, but he'd heard all about John and Sophia, and he'd seen the latter's coffin with his own eyes, as well as an extra coffin and the extensive damage to the Dauntless. Danger and adventure were always attractive at first, but things were inevitably going to turn bitter.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Phoenix

[Ether]

"Dancer, please." Faatina replied, looking over the paperwork.

"So Zach, did you want to join me, or sit out on this one? Heh... it might have been better to work that out beforehand..."

[ReformBlade]

A name was thrown out followed by an angry retort in rexian, one Jericho didn't care to translate further beyond an energetic 'you are wrong'. Don't know who this Aisha person is but don't poke at her character in front of that guy, noted. Hopefully he'll be gone before that's even a matter. Jericho shook his head and decided to respond to an earlier statement. "It'd probably take a lifetime to simply explain. The same case with any sort of bold claim, seeing is believing." he said with a rather flat tone in his voice. He was skeptical to a point. On one hand, they all seemed dead serious about its authenticity and he wasn't really a lie detector. But on the other hand, lots of people have done stupid things for lesser means. I ain't interested in that stupid thing, plus a bunch of stories conflict information and power so no matter how much explanation I get, it'd really come down to me just accepting it or not... But I don't particularly care about it all the same unless it helps me out in some other way.

"Well, we can let him meet her when she shows up, I don't know where she went, and honestly I'm getting pretty famished here..." Mushirah admitted, hand on her belly and looking over at towards the feasting zone, but jerking it back to Alex, wide eyed for a single moment as she forgot something. "Um... Alex, was it? I forget if you already said it but I'm just making sure, are we picking up the painting after we leave or something?"

Edited November 1, 2013 by ReformBlade

[Snike]

"Very well, " Blake said, as he pushed in his chair and offered his hand to Raquel. "Good evening, Head Wrathite and Disciple Bradford."

That went suspiciously well, though now he would have to explain a few things to Raquel about his past, but that was probably going to be inevitable given that he was at this event.

[Mercakete]

If Gytha was cheery before, she was borderline ecstatic now. "Yer a captain?" she asked, now too excited to bother with hiding her accent, "Heheharr, wasn't expectin' t' meet ana seafarers 'ere! Me name's Gytha! What's yers n' th' name o' yer ship?"

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

Cecelia responded almost comically, narrowing her eyes at Amber and lifting her chin in an indignant huff. "I do not fear snakes...nor any other form of serpent." That, of course, lit the cold fire in her eyes: the tell-tale sign she'd got to thinking about dragons again...or that she was presently in combat, but the former was not only far more likely, it was correct.

[Phoenix]

Ballroom

The man speaking to Gytha slid over one of the extra pages, where it stopped right between Tina and the man she was speaking with. The man in charge of the judge signups then said, "Well there you go: your name, routine, instruments, and special instructions."

"Not I, Miss, the ship belongs to my family and the captain and crew work for us. I unfortunately lack both the stamina and the luxury of time required for sailing," the nobleman explained to Gytha. Then, to be a little humorous, he added, "Think of me more as a governor, an old man who let's the younger men do the sailing and bring home the fruits of trade."

Note to self: Mushirah's hungry. I guess once we figure out where to pick up the painting we should go over there and get something from the food tables. Ah crap, I almost forgot ... the signups. I need to hurry, but I can't just run off to do that. I'm pretty sure that's taboo when at a ball. If the line isn't too long, maybe she wouldn't mind letting me sign up first? Shadrak thought to himself.

Wrathroom/Hallway

Raquel led the way this time, almost dragging Blake out of the room after turning to leave. Even once they were out in the hallway, she didn't say anything right away, but she had a disturbed and anxious expression on her face and it stayed there as she tried to get to relative safety and find her bearings.

There were a few people roaming the hallway they were in, and so having a conversation about what just happened seemed a bit premature, but at the same time, total privacy was going to be difficult to find as well, so she decided to just be quieter than usual, hoping the ambient noise would keep anyone from overhearing. "Blake, what's going on? You offered to be the one to keep an eye on the group, and Desmond accepted, but that means you're ..." For some reason, she couldn't even bring herself to finish that sentence. Her experience with the wrathites had been so bad on the whole that this news about Blake was just plain disturbing. However, this also suggested that the problem with the wrathite order wasn't the individuals but perhaps just Desmond to a point.

Main Entrance

"Looks like the Captain's got it handled, Private," Miguel said in amusement. "Anyway, the antidotes and the box should be here any minute now. If there's nothing else, I should get a drink while I still can."

"There is one more thing, Lieutenant Colonel," Amber spoke up again. "The Lieutenant did it~"

"... did what?"

"He asked the Colonel to the ball and she said yes! Tonight is his chance to woo her! Isn't that wonderful?"

"... sorry, Grace, all I heard was 'Fletcher has the night off'," Miguel replied with a scowl forming. Noticing his response, Nadine rolled her eyes. She didn't know for sure if Miguel also had the rest of the night off or just a short break, but Sapphire's vagueness lent itself to the former. So even if he didn't know, he was still complaining about a boon they both shared in. She didn't feel like saying anything, though.

Dining Hall

"It didn't take long to explain to me," Fizza half seriously noted. "Though, I suppose all of the stuff involving that thing has been whittled down to just the relevant parts."