[OP - F22] Star-Crossed Gala

[Dazia 0]

After what seemed to be contemplation, Benjamin asked about what Dazia liked to do back in the real world. "Would I be able to share everything...?" She thought. She recalled what she could, and would begin her explanation after a deep breath. "Well...every once in a while, I paint." She began. "It was part of why I wanted to be an artisan in this game, as they could make works of art that were helpful. Having a profession that is both practical and familiar would be ideal, I guess..." She admitted. "I was about seven when I started this hobby, and I had a tendency to...portray what was going on within, without even knowing... I had an art teacher who approached me about it when I was eight, he asked me why I painted such things...they were full of chaos, I was often found using darker colors as I painted...but the thing that still made the artwork likable, in his opinion, was that there was something that was guarded, amidst all the chaos...all the shaded, dark colors...there seemed to be a portrayal of hope, hidden within their scenes and patterns..." She stopped suddenly, thinking she was rambling at this point. "Did I say too much?" She thought.

@Benjamin Bookworm

[Emotional wall takes 3 Damage]

[Emotional Wall Strength: 54%]

[Azhoda 0]

It got a bit clearer to me as Jomei explained to him about the few things of 'valentines day' it was still a bit useless to me as I only saw love as something given by family. "I see I understand but why is a bigger question for real," I said to him as we had a small conversation about the chaos behind us. True sure they could have fun but this seemed to effect a few more people than just being there. I wanted to help the girl but so far it seemed that this other woman was great. It shined some great light on her as the girl seemed in a real panic even if her marker was orange she still went out of her way. I gave her a smile of appreciation if she looked my way just making sure that I was happy someone came up for the girl.
@Mari

speaking of a few things as I ran out of the ideas I wanted to talk about. But Jomei came with a question I didn't suspect in a long time. Why am I so eager to join the front lines. "Ah... Well. To be honest, I think I want to get out of this game to go back to my job as an engineer, but I believe that has become a bit of a cover-up for something I really want," I told him falling a bit quest for sure. I was so keen on getting out before but now at this moment I truly didn't know why I wanted to get out of this game. It was clear I wanted to get out but why was at this moment really just my greatest guess. "I... I don't know why I want to join, Let me get back to that as soon as I know it, alright." I said to Jomei being a bit determinant as a fire sparked in my eyes. Seeing as Jomei excused himself for a second I guessed I would follow as my drink was also already gone. Follow him a bit behind I looked to my side and saw some heated argument jump out with two players, nothing too important yet. As I came behind Jomei he seemed to want to take the punch... WAIT the punch. I made my way to him a bit faster but it seemed a familiar voice was ahead of me and said to Jomei not to drink it. Turning to the voice I saw Cord and gave her a smile, "Yeah you should probably listen to Cordelia. Your friend we spoke about placed his hand in it." I said to him with a smile being a bit disgusted by it.
@Jomei @Cordelia

Then from the side, a sound came and I looked at what it was and of for crying out loud really. Getting the explanation from Jomei helped me understand this day a bit more but knowing at least what love it I was not really okay with this. "I'm sorry Cordelia, Jomei... Got to do something. Also, Cordelia, can you make sure Jomei doesn't take the punch." Saying this I walked over to the two girls who now seemed in a bit of a battle over nothing. with a Sigh. One was clearly smaller AND younger than me, while the other seemed just as tall and old like me. Then there as strong as her words where I made it clear to not get to into this but also no way to out of it as this seemed a bit too dumb of action for sure. I stood behind the smaller girl and placed my hand on her shoulder, A steady and strong grip for sure. "Listen, don't... I would give you advice to not drag this party further into chaos then it already has, Look around you. I am proud to say you got at least everyone's attention at the party. You don't slap people because there is a small hiccup. No, you just talk it out and don't start a fight. And on this day even come on... Its a day of love not only for your boyfriend there but for the people that made sure we are all still here," I said looking a bit to Jomei to see if he agreed on how I said it. Then with a look back to the girl I spoke again, "So let's not fight the once who we need the most. We are all here together in this world, and fighting each other will get us nowhere. I must be honest I don't like some action people take, but I grow up and move around it to make sure we all get out of this world even the once I hate." That was a lie, I had nobody to hate in this world but still. I turned to the other woman who was involved in this as well and spoke her direction a bit to make sure she heard me, "It is very simple, don't fight your allies. They and you need to get out of here together, I would say to either say sorry for acting so hastly before reading the situation. Or throw sand over it and move on as people who fight side by side to get everyone out of this world," I said making it clear to stand between the two even if they were not close to each other any more.
@Krysta @Jevi

[Minako 0]

"Yes." Minako chuckled in her mind as Jevi walked over to Vigilon. Jevi was strong, commanding, and powerful. Even a brat such as that buffoon would see that much. She manhandled the guy, gave him a stern talking too, and marched back over to the group.

Minako tilted her head in response to the butlers answer. It was a bit confusing as to why she wanted to blend in, let alone blend in as an NPC. But those thoughts went away when she asked if they single. Minako's face flushed with a hint of red. "Yes. But we're taking turns matching us up to cute boys our age as they come in. I'm next in line." She said, again adding on the last bit a bit too fast.

Then another woman approached Vigilon before making her way to the group. She then turned Jevi around surprising both Jevi and Minako, and slapped her across the face before spouting some nonsense and turning around. Did that just happen. Her boyfriends dragon attacks her, Mari, and several other people. Causes a scene at a fancy party. And when called out on his idiocy, she defends that and hits her friend? Oh, hell no. Jevi followed, and retorted but Minako was already red in the face from anger. She took in a deep breath through her nostrils. "Excuse me a moment, will you?" She said to the two women beside her.

She marched her way over to the woman, grabbing a cup of punch from off a table as she stepped by. "Hi excuse me. A moment of your time?" Minako said, forcing herself to be in front of the red haired woman, Jevi and the assaulter. She quickly tossed the cup of strawberry punch at the woman. "Now listen here, [censored]!" Minako screamed out. "I have no idea, who the hell you think you are but let me give you a life lesson, right now." She said, jabbing a small finger into the chest of the woman. "From what I can see, that idiot has two pets. You and that dragon. And from what I can tell, the dragon is far more trained than the dog." Miako spat, ready to throw down in the middle of this party. No one [censored] with her friends.

@Jevi @Krysta @Zajcica @NIGHT @Azhoda

Edited February 20, 2020 by Minako

[Jomei 0]

It all happened in a matter of seconds. 

Jomei turned around, making his retreat from the punch bowl on the refreshments table to return to his seat and continue his conversation with Shion. 
Shion, as the ginger could now see upon turning around, was rushing towards him, a pleading look of worry on her face. 
The satisfied smile that Jomei wore on his face, looking forward to enjoying a refreshing glass of fruit juice, slowly faded. 
Was there an issue? Was Jomei's life in danger by some force that had escaped Jomei's vision?

Before Jomei could question why Shion was quickly moving towards him, a secondary entity intervened. 
A hand, quick as could be swiped in front of the man, colliding with the hand that gently grasped the clear drinking apparatus that held the fruity goodness he wanted to enjoy.
That fruity goodness, however, was no longer in his grasp.
The cup twirled into the air, droplets of crimson splashing in each and every direction.
Olive orbs followed the glass as it tumbled towards the tiled ground, colliding with the floor and shattering into pixels of white data, rather than glass.

Then time seemed to resume.

Jomei looked down at the ground for just a moment before looking up at Cordelia, who had been the one to stop him from drinking, "Uhm.. what was that for?" 
Before she could answer, Shion pushed past the last of the tables and told him what she had seen as well, Macradon feasting on the fruit that was missing from the bowl with his bare hands. 

Jomei's eyes went from Shion, to Cordelia, to the punch, to Mac, and then back. "Oh. That's unfortunate. Thanks for that then, I suppose." Bringing a hand up to rub at the nape of his neck, he took a quick look around him, "Guess I'll find something different to drink then that's not dry wine." 

@Azhoda @Cordelia

[Jevi 0]

As Jevi gave Minako a look, hoping she would not go after the blonde, it seemed Minako interpreted the exact opposite of the message. "Oh no..." Jevi said into her glass as Minako stormed off to give chase. The brunette watched in horror as her friend made a b-line for the refreshment table, grabbing a glass of bright red fruit punch. Jevi already knew what he had planned, and quickly passed off her drink to Yuki, "Hold this for me please, sorry" and then she was off to quickly follow after the little firecracker. It was too late, however, as the contents of the glass were making their way through the air and into the blonde's face. Jevi could not help but wince a bit, feeling bad that this had escalated.. even though she was the one to initiate this entire altercation. Minako was able to share a few loud, angry words with the blonde before Jevi stepped up behind Minako and swung an arm around her abdomen. After pulling the girl back a few feet, still flailing her arms, Jevi turned her body and hoisted Minako up, carrying her under her arm. "Come on, enough of that." Jevi said through a strained voice as she quickly made her way towards the opening in the tent. 

Once outside, out of earshot of the party, Jevi sat Minako down on the grass. The taller woman lowered herself to a squat beside her and placed her hands on her shoulders. Jevi looked into her eyes, no look of anger or disappointment, just a straight face with a single cocked eyebrow. After a moment of silent starting, she cracked a small smirk. "I thought I had a bad temper." she said with a small chuckle. Then her expression turned a bit more stern, "Thank you, Minako. I appreciate you sticking up for me. I was pretty angry too but, we are at a public event. I wanted to let her know my piece, but I really didn't want to cause a scene..." she looked back over her shoulder at the tent, "Though... it looks like you took care of that just fine. Yes, she was kind of a bitch, and yeah.. she kind of deserved it for hitting me but..." 

"I knew I shouldn't have come here..." she said to herself under her breath. 

As she turned back to face Minako, she let out a heavy sigh, "Guess we probably aren't going to have much luck with finding dates here, huh." 

@Minako @Zajcica @NIGHT @Krysta 

((Permission was granted OOC by Minako to forcefully move her))

Edited February 20, 2020 by Jevi

[Azhoda 0]

And then Chaos, I gave out a sigh and lowered my head is a high disappointment not only in the people being involved but in the total idea of this party. If according to Jomei's story this day should be about love, even If I didn't really have love I could see this turned into a big mess far far away from Love. I looked at what happened and sighed taking a deep breath and letting my own thought fight against each other. On one side I wanted to take out my spear and just duel the chaos but on the other side, it was just wanted to leave this alone and let it die out. I turned a stern look at the younger girl to make clear I was not going to sit by if she made her move now. And then as I did so I turned to the location where the other woman took the girl off to and sighed before leaving.

I walked up to Cordelia and Jomei who seemed to be stunned by the discovery of the punch and I smiled acting like a woman of proper standard and dusted off my dress. "Let's move on," I said taking both Cordelia and Jomei to some more privet place away from this chaos to have some normal talk. "So... Hello there Cordelia, Fine to meet you again. Sorry, I got a bit pushy just now just need a normal conversation," I sounded honest and careful placing my words carefully "So have you two met each other, Because, on the way how you warned him, it looked like you two do." I said to them with a smile. I turned to Jomei and gave a small sigh, "Coming back on what you asked, I think I know why I want to get to the front lines... I want to help people get out of here, together." Saying this a great power of determination was good to see in my eyes as well as the fiery passion. "But well what can we talk about now," I said asking them both as I was not really the best at making conversation with people. Still, I tried.

@Jomei @Cordelia

[Benjamin Bookworm 0]

"An artist?" Ben asked eagerly, taking in Dazia's explanation of her skills in the art of painting.  "That's so cool!  I bet you'd even be able to help decorate houses and shops with those skills.  Light and darkness in one painting sounds like it would be an interesting style- a Dazia original." his smile blossomed as he saw Dazia open up a bit, seeming to forget about the troubles that always seemed to be weighing on her for a few seconds. 

"I guess I've never gotten around to seeing your shop before- I bet you kept some of your best just to show off-" he teased, trying to push a bit more out of her.  "My hobby is just reading, so a lot less useful around here.  Especially since all the books I can find are just game lore or recipes... what I wouldn't give for a new novel to just take in..." he lamented with far more emotion than he meant to as he dropped his head down- he really had read through just about everything he could find on the lower levels.  "I'll bet half of the series I was on have finished up while we are in here, and I'm missing out."

@Dazia

[Krysta 0]

The woman claimed that she wasn't in the wrong, but it would seem that both she and Krysta did not intend to make the matter more personal than it already was. A ginger-haired woman would then approach, trying to make sure the escalation ceased. "We have both stated our thoughts and opinions on the matter, there was no need for us to continue." Would be her reply.

@Azhoda

 

If only this was truly how the moment ended... She turned around as she heard the sound of advancing footsteps, thinking someone wanted some peaceful conversation, or possibly another calm suggestion to not invoke others' anguish. Instead, a girl splashed a drink onto her, screaming out foul words, jabbing her finger into her chest, and spat out demeaning words...this did nothing good for Krysta's temper. She glared at the girl severely, her eyes completely ablaze. "If this was not a formal event, and I was not a sensible woman, I would beat you senseless this very moment." She stated with a slight growl in her tone. The woman Krysta had spoken with earlier came to drag the girl away. "Heed my words, foul-mouthed one. I vow on all that is right, you will pay dearly for your actions..." She warned.

 

She would then take a deep breath, taking a minute or two to calm down. Afterwards, she would walk over to Vigilon. "Are you alright, Alex?" She asked him, hoping he was fine, despite what had just transpired, even the fact that the punch kind of ruined her dress...at least she had a spare in her inventory, for accidents do happen on occasion. Hopefully it would stop going downhill from here...

[DANGER: Krysta has gained an enemy!]

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon was ready to get back up, when someone offered to help him up...except it was a flat-out silent lie. The woman grabbed him by the lapels of his suit, automatically bringing back unpleasant memories, and claimed that she heard that Veriost had attacked a few people, including her friend. "W-what? She only tried to get the one that manhandled her, I don't remember anyone else getting hit!! I- I-I...." The woman would release Vigilon, and warn him to keep his eye on his familiar. Vigilon simply stood there, with a shocked expression as he would have flashbacks of times when a bully would pick him up by the shirt while hurling insults and threats...

When he shook off the painful memories, He was able to witness Krysta and another girl about to get into a fight, as the girl initiated hostility by splashing her with punch and hurling angered words at her. The words that were used would have definitely angered Vigilon...in fact, they did. "Ok, now that's actually crazy." He muttered. But before he could join in to help out his girlfriend, the woman who spoke to him earlier tried to prevent the fight by dragging the girl away. Vigilon took a breather. This was no time for conflict, definitely not at a time or place like this. Krysta asked Vigilon if he was alright. "Yes, Jewel, I am. Do you need a cloth or something? Water, maybe? You know, to help you get cleaned up?"

@Krysta

[Dazia 0]

Benjamin's response was...better than expected. "Thanks, Benjamin...that's very kind of you to say." She admitted as she blushed a bit, despite trying to hide it. Benjamin claimed that Dazia probably had her best works in her shop. "To be honest, I don't have a shop open up yet. I'm getting close towards finding a location, though. Besides, if anyone was to show off stuff but never sell it, it would be my eldest brother, Aurelius who would do that. Akemi? Possibly, but that depends on her confidence that no one would try to take it or buy it." She explained.

Benjamin would say that he was fond of reading books. "Glad to know I'm not the only one who liked to enjoy reading a good book." Dazia commented. "I'm sure we'd be pretty busy when we finally get out of this hellhole, in that case." It was nice to know they had this in common, and that Benjamin appreciated Dazia's artistic hobby.

@Benjamin Bookworm

[Emotional wall takes 21 Damage]

[Emotional Wall Strength: 33%]

[Raidou 1]

Scouting the scene despite intentions to avoid such trivial affairs, Raidou wasn't to keen on partaking in such an event in a metal cage wrapped around his skull like a vice. However, there was something to be said about moral, keeping his teams' spirits up and breaking the tensions of the pressures they had been under could be beneficial. Clad in his red robe having received a notification from an NPC named Pembrooke having drawn him to the event in the snow here, Raidou fought through his own inhibition toward the outer perimeter of the exterior of the event. Stopped on the cusp of entry an NPC clad in a black suit and tie made him aware of the lack of conformity in his attire.

"Sir, this affair is of black-tie formal. To participate we need you to change into something more appropriate to the occasion." 

It spoke with a raised hand to stop the entrance. A simple response from the swordsman in his vibrant red "Your name?"

"My name is Alfred, Monsieur~" 

"Well then Alfred, if you would escort me to something more suited."

"Right this way ser.~" Alfred leads him off, moments turn to minutes and returning is Raidou latched in a garb of black, typical for an occasion but was donned with a black fabric adorning the shoulders, not unlike the robe he'd been clad in previously.

"Thank you, Alfred, I assume then an entry is permitted?" Raidou asked in earnest feeling like one of the figures in the books he read, not sure if he was comfortable or not or where his hands were supposed to go.

"Yes, enjoy your time at the event." Alfred remarked with a bow before taking his leave to go and attend to other matters.

Raidou was uncomfortable but it didn't show as he tempered this fear with anger in a balancing act to create a semblance of a normal person.

A small whisper from his lips as he moved closer to the center of the event. "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. Through inaction, I breed inaction and for nothing will come nothing."

Catching himself again keying in a mockingbird the words of old that he'd idolized he broke away from them to speak english, but the small digress helped him find some nerve. Expecting some formality to the occasion given the regal appearance of the attire, the event was littered with people acting as Raidou would see Gaius do. Fighting back the anger that welled within him as the mockery of something he drew parallels to in the books he read, Raidou couldn't tell if he was the one out of place anymore.

Edited February 21, 2020 by Raidou

[Mari 1]

Mari was....glad that she had stepped away from things when she did, sure - at the begining of the event she had taken a bunch of strawberries. Heck, she still had a plate of them in her hand now. Mari was able to go to a fancy, ritzy gala - you could be damn well sure she was going to consume as much of the food as possible, before going back to 'ok where the heck am I going to get my next meal from?'  But this?

Cat-fights, more dragons. 'Seriously who keeps bringing all these familiars to events?" Mari thought to herself as she picked up another strawberry and plopped it into her mouth. She warily watched the dragons as they chattered among themselves up in the higher sections of the tent. Well, as long as they were up there, and out the way - Mari saw no problem with them. If they both were up there in the first place, there wouldn't have been a problem.

Speaking of... Mari shifted her gaze over to Quinn, keeping an eye on the girl from Afar. Quinn still seemed nervous; but overall she looked like she was doing ok. Astralin seemed like a nice enough girl. They were probably closer in age too - and would hopefully get along. It wasn't really Mari's place to mother Quinn, the girl needed to learn to do things on her own. Heck, Mari barely even knew her.

As Mari's eyes shifted back across the tent she swore she saw another ginger haired girl smiling at her. Mari blinked and looked around, there was no one behind her. Is she...smiling at me? Mari gave the other one a small wave back. @Azhoda  That would do, right?

It looked like her other friend wouldn't be coming. It may be for the best though; things had gotten a little..hectic. But things always seemed to work out that way at events like this. Put a bunch of highly strung people into a communal space, things were bound to happen. Granted, not to this extent. But at least everything was finally pittering out now. 

Mari paused at the entrance to the tent; she gave a tentative glance to Lady Pembroke then peeked out to see if anyone was coming down the path. Nope. No one. 

Mari sighed as she plopped another strawberry into her mouth and continued on her path around the tent. It was nice to just people watch sometimes.

[Zajcica 0]

The scene unfolded so quickly that Yuki didn't even have a moment to react. Her empty had was quickly occupied with a secondary drink and before soon, her group had disbanded and now she was only able to talk with the PC butler. She watched the scene unfold, somewhat confused about the situation but still feeling a bit awkward to it nonetheless. Her eyes wandered over to NIGHT after it was all said and done. Jevi had forced Minako out of the tent as quickly as she possibly could, which was probably for the best.

"Well, that was... Quite the unfortunate turn of events." Yuki mentioned, trying to put on a smile, but only coming off a bit awkward. [color#EC21A8]"I had initially arrived at this event to meet new people and players. My luck seemed to be good there for a moment, but it looks like it crashed rather fast. Perhaps there are others around who could use some company, though. I'm going to be heading outside, you are welcome to join me if you want, ma'am."[/color]

The pink-haired knight gave the waiter a nod and started walking towards the entrance of the tent. She stepped outside and took a deep breath of the fresh air on floor 22. Jevi and Minako seemed to be having a conversation between themselves, but it was probably best to leave them alone at this point. No need to fan any more flames, even if it might be by accident. Besides them, there was a ginger-haired girl in an extravagant dress pacing around the tent outside alone. Would it be okay for Yuki to approach her? She was unnervingly getting gitty about meeting higher level players. Sooner or later, she swallowed her bad thoughts and approached her.

"Oi! Konbanwa! I apologize for the intrusion but I am new to the higher-level floors and was looking to meet a few new friends at this event. My name is Yuki! I'm aware that most people prefer not to use their real names and resort to their usernames, but that just seems rude to me. Uh, anyway, yoroshiku onigaishimasu!" Her thin hand reached out to the other woman and a sincere smile ran over her face.

@Mari @NIGHT

[Mari 1]

Mari was careful with her steps, slow and steady - as heeled feet clicked against the paved floors. The night had gotten later, and a soft wind picked up with the slightest of chill to the air - not enough to warrant a coat or shawl, but enough to cause tiny goosebumps to rise on the exposed skin of Mari's back. She wasn't used to wearing such silken things with all the various draping of a old ladys lounge room. A small hand reached up to fiddle with the choker that had been adorned around her neck. A tiny orange pendant in the shape of a flame. "When is that auction going to start..." Mari said to herself. Whilst it was nice to be on the outlier of things, it did feel a little ...disassociating. It felt surreal - like she was watching some sort of tv drama.

"Oi! Konbanwa! -"

Konban....Mari raised an eyebrow. Ah. This new person was Japanese right? Mari tilted her head. A woman had approached her with a small frame, and a deep hue of purple to her eyes. Her long hair, which was braided down one side was a soft pastel pink, Mari inwardly winced. It reminded her of her past self -and it was the very same hair colour she used to don - but Mari used a potion to change it to her natural ginger locks, since no doubt the soft pink would have long since grown out in the real world. Mari lifted the hand that was playing with her necklace and gave the stranger a wave.

"Erm, Konbanwa - Ogenki desu ka?"  Her Japanese....was not the greatest, Mari could hold small conversations, but her dialect was slurred. Mari lowered her head, bowing in response. "I'm...Mari." Mari straightened herself. This one was chatty. Wasn't she?

' Man that singer needs to take a note from my book, because I don't even have milkshakes and all these ladies are comin' to my yard.

Mari thought to herself. She had no idea why people kept approaching her at the event, she wasn't entirely opposed to it, but....orange crystal??? Normally people avoided that sort of thing. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, I guess but uh..." Mari's head shifted to and fro, as she glanced around. "Why do you wanna be my friend? I'm not exactly good company."

@Zajcica

[Krysta 0]

Vigilon would ask Krysta if she needed anything to help her get cleaned up. That's right, she still had that matter to deal with. "That's very sweet of you, Alex, I'll accept water if you have some." After receiving it, she would walk over to the tent's opening. She would find an NPC over there, and she would decide to ask for directions. "Pardon me, do you know of a place where I could change? Something kind of...happened. While I had made a spare dress in case of accidents, I do not know where I would go should it happen." The NPC would not hesitate to respond. "Of course, madam, right this way. There is a place where guests without the proper attire could borrow some from us, but surely you may use it to change in the event of an accident." He would lead Krysta over to the changing area, and she would go in to clean the punch off of herself, and swap her dress with the spare, using the equip system. Once she was finished, she left the changing room, thanked the NPC, and returned to the tent.

She would walk back over to Vigilon. "Right...shall we try this again, and have a good rest of the evening?"

@Vigilon

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki watched the girl, who's Japanese was slightly poor compared to her native accent, bow to her as she introduced herself. Yuki, in turn, bowed to Mari out of respect. She shinned another smile at her, glossing over the comment of her being bad company for the knight. She assumed that it was meant to be about the orange crystal that hovered above her head. Yes, it meant the player had done something bad, but Yuki had done awful things in her life.

"Trust me, if those little crystals existed in real life, everyone the world would be walking around with orange and red crystals floating over their heads. It's completely unfair to look at you your cover - that orange crystal - would be terribly flat of me. I'm willing to give anyone a chance if they give me one." Yuki explained.  "If you don't prefer my company, I can leave. You seemed rather lonely, or well, like you could use someone to talk to, that's why I approached you. No other reason, really. As I said, I'm here to meet new people and make friends."

Yuki offered the extra drink she had gained from Jevi to her. She gave Mari a friendly smile as she reached the glass out to her.

@Mari

Edited February 21, 2020 by Zajcica

[Jevi 0]

After allowing Minako to cool down in the brisk, February air, Jevi pushed off of her knees and returned to her feet. She looked to a clearing in the shrubbery that the path away from the tent cut through, she could just leave. Her eyes then continued on back to the tent, where things inside seemed to have cooled down as well. The woman thought to herself for a moment; run away back to her hut and just sit in isolation again.. or go inside to remove the tension and try to have a good time. She looked back to Minako one more time, "You alright? Don't do any more stupid [censored] on account of me." she said with a smile before walking back into the tent.
@Minako

She looked to the couple whom most of this argument circled around, but took the wide path around the tent to the refreshment table. Grabbing three glasses, she filled each with a bit of the fruit juice sitting idly in a bowl. Borrowing a small platter to carry them easily, Jevi then turned and made her way towards where the two players stood. She carefully maneuvered past tables, chairs, and other players to find where they stood. The looks on their faces looked like they were calming down, but still trying to figure out what the hell just happened. "Hey." she said to the male, her voice calmer, but with enough volume so he could hear. 

Once she got the attention of the two, her shoulders slouched, and she looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to come off threatening, if that's how it seemed. I'm just.. very protective of my friends, so when Minako told me that your dragon attacked her, I acted a bit rashly." Her shoulders slowly shrugged, breaking eye contact for a moment, releasing a sigh as she spoke. "I know I have a temper problem, I've been working on it. So.. well.. here's me working on it." Jevi then moved her arms forward so the platter was between the three of them, offering a glass of the punch to each of them.

Her eyes then moved to the blonde, not saying any words for a moment. Finally, her stoic figure cracked and her lips pulled into a small smirk. "You know, you've got a fiery personality behind that cute, innocent look. That's respectable. Hell of a hit too." Her smile went a little bit wider, a bit unnerving, "Just don't do it again, okay?" Though she did not make it clear in her voice at all... in her mind, that was a threat. Placing the platter on the table beside her, Jevi took her own glass of punch, "I'll say it again, and this time, I'll mean it. Enjoy the party you two." her smile was sincere as she said this, raising the glass to her lips to take a small sip. With her apology to the male player out of the way, Jevi made her retreat to find a table to sit at alone for a bit. 

@Krysta @Vigilon

[Mari 1]

The girl, ah. Yuki - right. Didn't that mean snowfall? Or Valuable? Mari supposed it depended on the Kanji that made up her name, but Mari hated Kanji. It was hard enough teaching in a school in another country as you tried to learn the language, let alone learning some 2,000 Kanji characters that had different meanings at different times. Mari shook her head, it was best not to let her mind wander.

Yuki - the girl of snow, or value - (Maybe valuable snow? Was that a thing? Someone should tell Supreme)  or whatever - bowed to Mari.  Her doe-eye gaze shifted over Yuki's dress. It was...a little smaller than Mari's, Mari partly wanted to quickly stand behind Yuki - lest her modesty be tested. Frills of puffy black silk and lace sat well above her knees, and the woman wore a garter on her thigh. Puffy red bows accentuated the hip of the dress and her torso was remniscent of a chiffon black bolero almost - it reminded Mari more of a cosplay than an evening gown - but who was she to talk? She picked the dress she wore because it looked like a bloody Koi Fish.

"I guess it's nice to think like that- and we're relatively safe here. But do mind just approaching people with orange cursors around Aincrad. Yanno most of the time it means they've taken a life."  Mari didn't mean to be a downer - she was just genuinely concerned at the amount of people who didn't give it a second glance. Was it nice? Yes. It felt invigorating almost, to be treated like a human being and not like a criminal or monster. But if this was how all the Pkers were treated...then someone would be bound to walk into a trap or get hurt.

Mari gave Yuki a wry grin as she accepted the glass from Yuki's gloved hand. In turn, Mari offered Yuki a strawberry from the plate she was carrying. "I dunno, would being a sarcastic b**ch net you an orange crystal? Cause If so I'd definitely have one out there."

Mari wasn't going to tell the other girl to go away. Despite her outbursts earlier, she was generally pretty amicable. Her eyes shifted to the entrance of the tent, and lingered before they snapped back to Yuki.  "D-Did I look lonely?" She asked, a little shocked. Granted, Mari did feel a tad melancholy, but she thought she hid things rather well - besides that was sorta the natural state for the ginger woman.  Mari took a sip from the drink then froze.

"W...wait...where did this come from? It didn't come from say, that punch bowl on that wet table over there - did it?"

@Zajcica
 

[Vigilon 0]

Krysta would accept the water that was in Vigilon's inventory. He'd remembered being given a water bucket by Kanari, a real world friend of his, who intended him to use it for something she'd planned on, but never did. Well, it was about time that this water came to some good use.

When Krysta returned, hoping things would stop going downhill...they actually stopped going downhill. The woman who pulled Vigilon up called out to him and Krysta, clearly in a calmer tone. She apologized to Vigilon for acting rashly, explaining that she was stirred up when her friend claimed she was attacked by Veriost. Vigilon looked over to Veriost with a raised eyebrow, to which the small white frost dragon would shrug using her wings, signaling that she had no clue if she had attacked the player in question. He looked back to the woman. "It's fine, you were just doing what you thought was right. I forgive you." He respected the fact that she felt as though she was defending her friend, which made it that much easier to let go of. "I'm pretty sure both Veriost and I learned something from this. I doubt there will be any further trouble regarding her." He noted as he took the glass of punch from the platter the woman offered.

 

When the woman left, Vigilon quickly turned to Krysta and remarked, "You do know we won't be drinking this stuff, right? I mean, I kind of witnessed someone shoving their hands into it to pull strawberries out of it earlier."

@Krysta

[Raidou 1]

Looking on it appeared the event had started to equalize, most of the ruckus boiling down into smaller conversations as tensions broke. A few of the players Raidou recognized, most he had not. Mari who shattered his glasses in an earned collision of his face, ignorant of the human method but now made painfully aware of his failures through explanation and reflection. Night which he knew not a name, just that she could make a damn good pair of glasses.

Then there was Macradon & Bahr, the firsts to grace the entrance of his shop in ages seeming to both be locked in their own situations with a female they had surely come to the gala with. It was an impressive display, to say the least. The males had taken dance and with an elegant pivot started to reflect the environment they were within with regal eminence. Opening his HUD Raidou invited the rest of Firm Anima to the event.

((OOC: They are here in concept, but I will not be bringing them in to avoid flooding the event. Simply @ Gaius/Griswold/Kasumi/Setsuna/Shiina/Simmone if you wish to have them reply))

Dressed in their own formal wears Simmone made a note of telling Raidou "I made sure they all looked the part." The group cleaned up well more than likely due to Simmones elevated background. "I hate this..." Setsuna was visibly agitated at the garb she was clad in, pulling at it despite how it fit her frame adorably. "Wheres the food?" Gaius made a brash remark not too interested in the dancing or graceful aspects of the affair. Raidou gives a quick glance to Griswold who drops hefty hands on the unruly boys' shoulders "Yeah, I'll do just that. You act up boy and I'll bust your a**" Raidou smiles as they bicker but Gaius understands that his troublemaking wasn't to be placed here.

Raidou took to the table, adjusting his glasses after wiping them on his cloak. This punch bowl, something was off as if there were particles of some sort within it. Raidou snapped his fingers and waved one of the NPC butlers closer. A few soft words to their ears they nodded and replied: "Thank you for making us aware, we'll replace it right away with something cleaner."

The punch was rectified after an alchemist who deals with liquids picked up the filth in it. Raidou pulled a few "failed" potions out of his inventory, finding them in these suit pockets before cluttering the table with a collection of herb ales and for the youngling's some comprised candies he'd made on accident trying to make real items and they'd as well prove some use. 

Finding himself to a round table of four seating, the tables draped with white fabric that must of have been silk or who knows what being reflective to the eye. Withdrawing a book from his pocket reclining in one of these chairs with an adjust of the frames on his nose, Raidou began to scrawl away his future to set the numbers to stone.