Merry-go-round: Feona and friend

[Iris]

And so.. Iris stood there. As people came by, as people left, as the children (and some rather immature adults) climbed on the Merry-Go-Round, and off the Merry-go-round. Up and down the horses went, on played the creepy carnival music. Maybe she'd watched too many horror movies at night, to find carnivals as disturbing and frightening. NEVERTHELESS! The not-so-merry-go-round was such a mood killing game. Small kids ran from on the ride to the back of the line, jumping like there were ants in their pants, or they had to pee.. maybe a bit of both would be accurate. One such child vomited, which was disgusting to say the least, he was quickly ushered home. Mentally, she COMPLAINED. It couldn't be helped. There were so many things Iris would rather be- OH! Eye candy.

She stared at a rather attractive man and woman couple that headed to the line. How cute. Iris was almost jealous. She wasn't sure WHY she felt that tangy emotion creeping on her, but it was there, so it couldn't be avoided. She shoved it down anyways, and simply continued the ride. They looked so .. happy, she supposed was the word. A beautiful woman and a handsome man.. it was like something out of a movie or an old painting. Gah! Her taste for cheesy romance was not one to change. Though, the guy she liked was about as romantic as a brick most of the time. Then again, she wasn't actually with him.. or was she..? She.. didn't really know. AND NOW her brain hurt. She needed to just stop thinking about her relationship with anyone.. or anything. All she needed to know was which lever was go and which was stop.

Around and around it slowly looped, the same song played for another ten minutes, sounding as if it were three different songs. Of course the ride itself barely lasted a couple of minutes. She escorted people out with her fake smile, put on like make up while her mind couldn't really function correctly. People bought it though, so that was good. Iris disliked lying, but if it worked, it worked in this situation. Or they really just didn't care enough and if THAT was the case, she really couldn't blame them. There were other people.. people who should have been here and weren't.. people that should have been addressed and seen.. but.. nothing. Sting. DAMMIT. She HAD to stop thinking. And there they were, that lovely couple. Were her.. real parents like that-? She wondered..

[Rachel Ascot]

"Rachel, I don't want to know how you got a tennis ball in here without me noticing, but as your driver may I kindly request you don't throw it at the window?"

Rachel smacked her head against the headrest behind her in frustration, before flinging the grotty green ball against the wind-shield; it hadn't failed to make Franklin flinch yet, even though he was expecting it.

"I'm bored, Franklin." She said, looking to him without really acknowledging the complaint. "Since the coronation, nothing's really happened. I mean, I was crowned, I make a few waves, and then what?"

"You've stabilised the country that was spiralling downward before you got into power?" Franklin said. Rachel nodded as if this was a bad thing.

"It happened too fast! All it did was pull me away from the club. At least I would've had a reason to be out of the house if the economy sank." She moaned, making Franklin roll his eyes. She was competent, but it sometimes sounded like she had stumbled on her talents; the heaviest responsibility on her shoulders and the clout to hold it up, but all she wanted to do was slack off. Only Rachel would treat stability as a bad thing when it didn't happen on her terms, but Franklin couldn't help but admire the changes she brought and the influence she had; her presence in Creta alone seemed enough to make things run smoothly, get the country running again. She inspired people, made people want to work for a better Creta and, as she had said, a better world in general; it was just that Rachel herself wasn't bothered.

"I get your itchy feet, Your Majesty, but there are roller coasters in Creta. What's special about this festival?" He asked, looking back to Rachel.

"Amestrian cotton candy's a lot better than Creta's." The queen answered. Franklin rolled his eyes and kept driving, Rachel's poker face hiding her real reason. Her bones sang to her; they sang suspicion and an uncharacteristic fear into her blood. But Franklin didn't need to know. Until she got this sorted out, until she knew that the person who sent her the text was who he said he was, nobody needed to know. If she was wrong, no one was disappointed. If she was right, she could control the situation to a degree. Still, for once, she was entering a situation where she was the one out of her comfort zone; not a move she liked, but one she had to make.

"We're here."

"We are." She said, waiting for Franklin to open the door for her. She stepped out of the limo door; she was not much of a queenly figure, only a t-shirt and jeans, but her face was recognisable enough. The people who didn't flock to her and immediately get barged out of the way by Franklin simply stood back, letting her walk to her first destination.

~~~~

"Told you it was better." Franklin could only grin at the queen, who looked more like a tourist, burying her face into a huge mound of cotton candy.

"See, Elastor has fits about your behaviour, and this is why." He chuckled, making Rachel huff indignantly, pink fluff flying all over. Her eyes drifted around.

"I'm the queen, I do whatever I want to. And I want to eat cotton candy." She explained, her gaze focusing on a particular man.

"Hey there, pal. The mechanic who looked over the Fallacy was just here. Just who the hell are you?"

"I'm the guy who checks all the system diagnostics and wiring to make sure the craft is safe. The other guy just check on the mechanical components, and I have to check it before launch and you guys keep holding me up!"[/color] A silver haired man in a boiler suit; quite unassuming. He walked into the yard where the Creig ship was being kept. Franklin looked to Rachel, then back again.

"Hmmm... Creig mechanics are pretty thorough about their work, aren't they?" The bouncer observed. "Having two guys, one just to check the other guy's work, right? Maybe you could do with someone like that when you're having a lazy day." Rachel once again huffed, this time chewing heavily on a large chunk of cotton candy.

"Maybe, if I didn't know the brand of the boiler suit he was wearing." She remarked. "It's a costume he bought off the internet. He forgot to tear off the label on his shoe. He's not a mechanic, he's faking it." Franklin's gaze wheeled to Rachel in amazement.

"A saboteur?" He asked, with Rachel only nodding. Franklin looked back again. "But, then who was he? He can't have been working for Amestris, otherwise the guards would've done it themselves. Rachel, what do we tell Hans and Gavin?" He then looked back to Rachel, and got worried. She was wearing that very dangerous grin she wore when she was plotting, and it never bode good news for any but Rachel.

"Simple, Franklin." She replied. "We don't tell them at all. We tell the man who the saboteur's working for."

~~~~

"Gentlemen, I would love to escort you through our festival and then I encourage you to go about and enjoy the different festivities. Then we can rejoin for the showcase. I suspect your entourages will be following us shortly, if they have not already arrived.”

"And thank you for inviting Carraig here to showcase. I'm sure it will be something to remember."

Ah, the host, Hans, was talking to the entertainer, Gavin. Gavin had brought his box of tricks made to impress everyone and make them ooh and aah at the festivities, but neither of them knew the disaster that was coming, or that the man standing right next to them knew all about it. Rachel was momentarily amused by Gavin's obvious boredom with the formal nature of the meeting. Well, Rachel was nothing if not informal.

"Rachel, I know what you'll say, but are you sure this is a good..."

"Franklin, of course it's a good idea." She explained to her bodyguard. "It's my idea, it's got to be. Besides, he isn't here yet." Franklin groaned the moment he heard this.

"I knew that you weren't just here for the festivities. Who is it? The frustrated bodyguard asked. Rachel replied by grinning from ear to ear.

"I know something yoooooou don't~ She sang musically and tauntingly, before walking through the crowd just walking in as they moved away from the three; the king, the emperor and the chancellor. However, Rachel walked to them with open arms, cotton candy in her left and nothing in her right. "You three took your time! Qin, we never met in person, I'm afraid." She said, immediately wrapping her arms around him, whether he wanted it or not. However, her right hand was obscured from Hans and Gavin, and from the sleeve of her arm she slid a note she had hastily scribbled into Qin's pocket.

I know. Meet me after the fireworks, or I'll tell Hans and Gavin.

Simple, straightforward, to the point. She pulled away almost immediately, before repeating the hug with Hans and Gavin, sans hidden note. Franklin walked over too, cordially shaking their hands while she gnawed greedily at the cotton candy, the pink fluff dangerously close to falling. "Hans, I must say, it's a wonderful carnival you've got going on. Mind if I join you boys, I've not really seen everything yet and us kings and queens need to stick together, right? Besides, I want to say I beat all of you at drinking contests." Rachel rattled off her queries like a machine gun, each point feeding straight into the next as she tagged along, keeping quiet about Qin's involvement of what was to come, or her real business for being in Amestris. However, it was not after five paces when she heard the statement.

"Late as usual, I see," he said.

Rachel didn't freeze dramatically. She didn't turn to face him. She didn't even sound surprised. Franklin turned to the owner of the voice, and his jaw smacked against the floor. This was what Rachel was hiding all this time? And she didn't even look at that bothered.

"I'm the queen, queen's arrive when they are needed. Late is a silly concept, along with early." When she finally turned around, she gave the man a wide, friendly grin, before chewing on some more cotton candy. "So, Dietrich; when Alena kissed you, did you both do tongues?"

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

{AUTHOR'S NOTE - Dietrich's line used with Izzy's permission}

[Guest]

Central Amestris... Last time he was here, he was trying to topple the Furher – may she burn in Hell. A lot's changed in that period of time. A few invasions, backroom meetings, plotting and planning about. It seems as though the world has gone reasonably well without his influence, though short-term evaluations are always misleading. Besides, Amestris always has a knack for inviting trouble into their home, a trait that he's both adored and loathed. But, he was here on business. Official business, whether he was invited or not.

~~~ Three nights earlier ~~

Dietrich's eyes flew open, his body flying forward as he grabs out at thin air. Aurel, the filthy scoundrel, had gotten in amongst the confusion, and Alena was... was... ”ITO!” he shouts, his heart racing as wires pull him back into his bed. Squirming, he turns, his eyes diligently scanning his surroundings. This was not the Ballroom, or even any other room in the White House. Sensors were taped to his arms and chest, IV's feeding him various nutrients and medications. And, most shamefully for him, his was nearly naked. Black ink traced all over his body, forming various symbols and circles of supposed power. Taking deep, controlled breaths, he lowered his heartrate. Something had gone terribly wrong for him, and he doubted his luck had improved while he was out cold. And, by god, he felt weak.

He quite honestly didn't know how to feel, given his circumstances. A lack of security in the room means the immediate danger was gone, but the lack of a response to his shout didn't bode well either. There was a vase of flowers with a card on it, but only one. Perhaps he was in a coma? He supposed that was a gray area in etiquette, considering the nature of comas and all that.

Reaching over, he grabs the vase and brings it closer to him. Such a wonderful arrangement of flowers. Picking up the card, he couldn't help put wonder who it was from. Was pretty standard. Dear Dietrich, my condolences, hope you recover soon, all that jazz. Skimming through it, he stopped at the end.

”Oh, Alena, you sure know how to rub it in,” he says, starting to pull the sensors off his chest. One-by-one, the monitors start beeping and buzzing, all while Dietrich kept time in his head. By the time he was pulling IV needles out, a nurse ran into the room, gasping at the sight she saw.

”One minute fourty-three seconds,” he muttered, glaring at the man in blue scrubs.

”P-Prime Minister, sir!” the nurse replied, fidgeting.

”Where's Sullivan?”

”W-who?”

Dietrich sighed, rubbing his eyes. ”How about Cravetz or Thum?” The man shook his head. ”No Ito? No Blingworthy? No Duchamp?” Silence. ”Where's the Royal Guard, then?”

”I suppose w-with the new queen, Pri-”

”QUEEN?” Hefting up the vase, the throws it at the wall next to the nurse, the shards scattering themselves across the floor. ”Computer. Now. And fetch a medical alkahestrist. I need to be up on my feet as soon as possible.”

”But your living will says-”

”Last I checked,” he starts, lowering his voice but instilling it with a calm anger, ”living wills apply when I am not conscious to make them. So, do as you're told and speak of this to no one.”

~~ Back in the present day ~~

He was surprised him coming out of a coma was all still a secret, to be honest. Took paying off the nurse and a few favors called in, but he was long overdue to collect on old debts. That, and a small understanding with Rachael Ascot, a woman with no claim to the throne yet was still crowned, and now she flaunted about like she actually had power. The nerve of some people...

The car slowed to a halt in front of the carnival. ”Have some fun and drive around,” he tells the driver, slipping him a small stack of large bills. ”Don't go too far, though. I've heard this carnival's supposed to be more... exciting than the last, which is probably a bad thing.”

Exiting the vehicle, he leans on his cane. Ah, Hans, Gavin and what appears to be the new Xingese leader were already walking away. A normal person would say he was late, but... Lord Dietrich von Vermont only arrived precisely when he needs to, much like his great-great-granfather, Baron Gandalf “the Gray” Vermont. Fortunately, the line wasn't terribly long, though he took note of the Amestrian general swapping places with a young looking soldier. He couldn't help but smile.

”General Brighton's still around, I see,” he chuckles, flipping through his bills. The young man tilts his head in confusion. ”Sorry, just an attempt at small talk,” he says, slipping the boy a 1000 cenz bill. ”Keep the change,” he adds with a small wave, ignoring the soldier's rambling protests. After all, he had bigger fish to fry.

He was a little too late, though. The False Queen had already arrived, and seemed to be using what passed as “charm” on the Xingese emperor. Raising an eyebrow, he sighs. Quite the naïve woman indeed.

”Late as usual, I see,” he says, approaching the group. Extending his free hand for a handshake, he offers it to Hans first and then Gavin, offering a quick “hello” in their respective tongues. His eyes, meanwhile, scan them and their escorts for their reactions. After all, he had only contacted one unnecessary person after coming out of the coma...

”I'm the queen, queen's arrive when they are needed. Late is a silly concept, along with early.” Dietrich couldn't help but roll his eyes. Even her concept of her role as queen was childish.

Ignoring her, he offers his hand to Qin. “Lord Dietrich von Vermont, Prime Minister of Creta,” he says with a warm smile. ”I'm afraid I've been indisposed for the past few months, but it's good to finally meet you. I'm sure-”

”So, Dietrich; when Alena kissed you, did you both do tongues?"

Without missing a beat, Dietrich continues, and keeps his game face on. ”As I was saying, I'm sure we'll be working together in the future.”

Turning to Rachael, his smile disappears, changing to a scowl. ”Miss Ascot, wonderful to see you again. I'm sure we can discuss our strange situation in private at a later time.” With a deep breath his face returns to a neutral expression as he looks back at the rest of the group. ”My deepest apologies, Chancellor, for showing up here unannounced. If it's not too much to ask, I'd like to stick around and possibly discuss something with you while I'm still in the area.” His smile returns as he straightens himself out, relying on the cane a bit less. ”But don't mind me. After all, I'm but a guest at this fair carnival.”

[Marcelina H. de León]

Ah, adventure. There it was. Just inside those gates. She could practically smell it, sizzling in the air. Most people would see a festival, filled with groups of people, ready for a wonderful time. But it was a different view for the seasoned adventurer-cum-pirate. She was dressed to impress and ready to experience this Central City Festival. Due to the chilly temperature, she decided to forgo her shorts for some long brown breeches. They disappeared at knee height into her brown leather boots. She wore her best white shirt, hidden behind a chocolate-colored vest. A neatly tied cravat sat at her neck, pinned with a dark blue brooch. She wore her signature greatcoat and atop her head, to complete the ensemble, her fine hat. Parley was not at her side, as this was a civilian gathering... but for the sake of safety, her dagger was tucked inside her left boot. All in all, Marcelina was ready to enjoy the festival.

Marcelina walked through the gate, handing off her ticket with ease to the staff member. She noticed that Shula Brighton was handling things around there. She gave Shula a dramatic wave of her hat before continuing into the festival grounds. She wasn't entirely sure how to spend her day (or her money) so she decided to begin by wandering around. She had been in Esparia for the past month visiting her family and arrived in Central for the festival. She expected some of the crew to show, but for the time being she was on her own. She went past several of the rides, shrugging her shoulders. Carnival rides were never really her thing. Some of the games could peak her interest but for the time being, a splash of pink had caught her eye. The merry-go-round had a bright-haired attendant and Marcelina definitely recognized her. Foregoing the line, Marcelina strolled up, a bright smile on her face. “Iris!”

[Qin Shi Xun]

Silence, remaining perfectly still. It was a skill often practiced by Qin. Often, when he found him self among people he did not know he found that playing mute had more then its fair share of advantages. It allowed him to observe those he would soon interact with, to get to know them, if only in a superficial way. And so it was, as he drove with two men that also held some claim to power, he remained passive, silent, gazing out the window yet absorbing all that he could understand which was little considering his grasp of this nations common language was limited at best. Still, he grasped some sort of friendship between the two who sat with him, but yet again that brought with it no understanding. No real detail as to what was going on. But in the end did it really matter? He was here, in an allied nation as something of a guest, yet he would break guest rights in order to farther the goals he had set him self. Had he fallen so far then? the emperor could remember a time when breaking his honor would have been nothing short of unthinkable, yet after he had assumed the throne, he found that he was more then willing to do the unthinkable. It was odd.

A ruler was supposed to be held by tradition, by honor, he should be able to lead a nation by example. He was a role model to be looked up to. But the truth of the matter was far from that fantasy. Often a leader was required to do things that no righteous man would consider, as was the current case. But it was long past the point of no return. He looked from the window back at the two men that sat with him. Both where dressed in such a way that one knew they held power and position. Next to them, Qin felt plain. Unremarkable in his plain if well made coat, shirt and slacks the man was thoroughly out dressed. Oddly that put him some what at ease, people, even those who knew better, often over looked and misjudged the unremarkable... And Xing and by extension him self had always been a nation in the back ground of things. A nation rarely thought of, or worried about. Sadly there where reasons for this, reasons soon to be rectified.

Eventually the ride ended and he found him self fallowing behind the other to men to a festival he would rather not be a part of, but was forced to due to circumstances beyond his control. “It really is an honor to have you here, Emperor. I hope you will enjoy our festival.” He bowed his head in acknowledgment , his oddly blue eyes keeping contact with that of the Chancellor. "With any luck i will Chancellor, thank you." Qins voice remained low as he spoke not wanting it to have any effect on the men and women around him, his hair falling back in front of his bad eye as he raised his head, the impassive look on his face not changing even as he spoke.

"I know something yoooooou don't~ You three took your time! Qin, we never met in person, I'm afraid." A woman, who he knew by sight alone was upon him in an instant, her arms wrapping about him in a hug that was best reserved for close family and friends, but even they would not go so far as to reach into his pockets in a most uncouth manner. His eyes fall on the woman, a slight frown finding its way onto his other wise expressionless face. She repeats the gesture with each of the other men in turn, and as this gos on his frown only deepens... This was the queen of Creta?

”Late as usual, I see,” He turns slightly to see the new arrival, who was yet again dressed better then he. If this kept up he may have found him self feeling under dressed.

”I'm the queen, queen's arrive when they are needed. Late is a silly concept, along with early.”

Qins eye twitched. This was the queen of Creta? A spoiled child with an over inflated sense of self? No, he was not impressed. No impressed in the least.

“Lord Dietrich von Vermont, Prime Minister of Creta, I'm afraid I've been indisposed for the past few months, but it's good to finally meet you. I'm sure-”

”So, Dietrich; when Alena kissed you, did you both do tongues?"

”As I was saying, I'm sure we'll be working together in the future.”

Try as he might, the emperor had a hard time keeping his rising anger masked. this supposed queen was nothing but a girl, yet she had to audacity to flaunt her position. It was... Annoying. Ignoring the words Rachel had spoken he turned his attention to Dietrich. "Prime Minster, if i was to judge you and your nation on the actions of your queen you would be found sadly lacking. I hope this does not turn out to be the case." Even as he says that though he grips the other mans hand before giving a slight bow. " I am Qin Shi Xun Emperor of Xing and head of the Xun clan."

[Kit Estenial]

Kit didn't remember the last time he smelled air this fresh. It was invigorating and an incredible change of pace, day in and day out of "murder, eat, repeat" DOES get boring after several months. Seems impossible though; who would ever get tired of it? So, with permission from Aurelius and by a lesser extent Tatyana, Kit purchased a train ticket for Amestris and made his formal, gallantly self present at this gathering known as the Festival. Kit had heard many stories about past Festivals and their gruesome outcomes, so it called to his morbid curiosity. Kit was enjoying his time so far, holding a Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate in his gloved hands. His trench coat was keeping his chimeric parts hidden and his body relatively warm. He slid between the crowds to the back of the grounds. That monolith of twisted metal with the high-velocity carts interested him so and the screams could be heard quite clearly, even though his ears were tucked down.

Lines. Damn them. Damn them all to hell, or worse, wherever his stomach lead to. He sipped his chocolate, eyeing the people ahead of him with great disdain. Loud and obnoxious conversation, absolutely horrible clothing, and the smell. They smelled of...God, horrible, unspeakable things. In front of him, someone smelled. In the back of him, someone smelled. Kit contemplated this an realized he was the tasty center of a nasty ass funk sandwich. But with a bit of fantasizing and patience, Kit made it to the front, ready to ride whatever death-trap this was. That is, until his eyes caught sight of an all too familiar face. A former employer from his "innocent" years. Kit was genuinely surprised and happy to see her. She was always enjoyable. "Well, if it isn't Ms. Furor! A pleasant surprise I'd find you here, but I thought the scent of alcohol was too strong for this time of day. How's life been treating you? Business been slow since I left?" He winked and chuckled at her, walking right along side her and giving a small, swift bow. This may be a good day.

[Csilla Angelis]

Well, so far... so good! Csilla was pleased... or at least as pleased as she could possibly be under the circumstances. The festival was running smoothly, although she knew for a fact half of the staff had alcohol of some form in their bottles and mugs. She wouldn't have minded a little nip for herself, but she knew she needed a clear head today of all days. So she grumbled and muttered, hoping everyone stayed well within their limits. She tried to make a stop at each booth and ride at least once, making sure everything was running without a hitch. Jay hadn't broken the rollercoaster yet, although she had thought once or twice that she saw Jay RIDING it... but she couldn't worry about that. Spade was useless in his teacup booth but at least he was there and working the thing. Shula was around the ticket booths almost every time Csilla ran by, though occasionally her lackey was there instead. Whatever.

All she really wanted to do was sit down and rest. Better yet, take a nice, long nap. But there was always something going on that needed her attention. She stopped once for a few moments when the world leaders had arrived, waving at Hans and offering a short bow (from a distance) in the direction of the King of Carraig and the Emperor of Xing. She was NOT stopping there though. No way on top of everything else was she going to make nice with the special guests. Too much to do! As she headed over to the food booths to make sure everyone was stocked, she wondered wistfully if her red-headed knight would show up and steal her away. She definitely wouldn't mind that.

[Hans L. Reinhardt]

If Hans had known the series of events that were going to follow after he and the other two men had exited the car, there was a good chance he would've stayed in the car and went home. Sadly, however, he could not do this. So he merely smiled at Qin and Gavin, those his eye twitched a little as Gavin's speaker burst out with a guttural Amestrian. It felt awkward to hear Gavin in such a manner because that voice definitely did not fit the young king's body. Instead Hans nodded his head, “Something to remember indeed.” They were shortly joined by Rosaleen, one of Gavin's soldiers and girlfriend, although that was still somewhat underwraps. But considering her friendly demeanor to Gavin after greeting himself and Qin, he suspected it was becoming less underwraps by the moment. “Please join us, Miss Quinn. I was merely going to show these gentlemen around the festival, before letting them off to experience it for themselves.”

They had only gotten a little further into the festival when the sprightly queen of Creta decided to make herself known. "You three took your time! Qin, we never met in person, I'm afraid." Hans watched in surprise as Rachel hugged Qin. He had never been informed that the Queen was putting in an appearance at the festival... there would've been arrangements made! He could only assume she was doing things spur of the moment... as usual. There had been slow, steady, positive change in Creta since Rachel's coronation but she was definitely nothing that the country (or Hans) had expected. Hans responded to her hug with a casual pat on Rachel's back, more of a resigned father to an excitable daughter than Chancellor to Queen.

"Hans, I must say, it's a wonderful carnival you've got going on. Mind if I join you boys, I've not really seen everything yet and us kings and queens need to stick together, right? Besides, I want to say I beat all of you at drinking contests." Hans resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he had had a drinking contest. But it had been some time. Although from per size alone, he could probably outdrink the little queen. He shrugged his left shoulder and made a small gesturing hand. “You're welcome to join us. I'm offering these gentlemen a tour, then we're splitting up to explore on our own before meeting again for the showcase.”

They hadn't got much farther when a voice dripping with all kinds of nobility caught up to their group. Hans knew that voice. Knew it well. They all stopped and Hans turned to see... well, well, well. Dietrich von Vermont. Alive and moving. Hans had heard that Alena had set Dietrich into a coma that he would possibly never awake from. Yet here he was. Rachel didn't appear all that surprised, though her companion looked shocked as all hell. Hans wanted to groan aloud. GREAT. A battle royale for control of Creta, face-off in Central City, Amestris. What else could possibly happen today?

”My deepest apologies, Chancellor, for showing up here unannounced. If it's not too much to ask, I'd like to stick around and possibly discuss something with you while I'm still in the area. But don't mind me. After all, I'm but a guest at this fair carnival.” Hans reached forward to give Dietrich a warm handshake, a polite smile on his lips. “It is a welcome surprise, Prime Minister. I'm glad to see you recovered. You are welcome to join us for our short tour. And I will gladly find the time to speak with you, today or another... whichever you prefer.”

Hans gradually got the group back together and managed to lead them to the center of the festival. He pointed out the rides, games and food booths. He also gestured to the Fallacy in the distance, where the showcase would be later in the afternoon. He then bowed slightly at his following. “Now please, I encourage you to all go explore the festival for yourselves. There is a special section near the showcase sectioned off and I would like for all of you to join me there this afternoon. Have a beautiful day!” Hans smiled as they all wandered off. At last, a short moment to breathe. Brigitte would join up with him soon and he could enjoy the festival a little bit himself.

[Shula Brighton]

Shula sighed, stepping away from the bar with two full travel mugs secure in her hands as she set to weave through the crowds that were starting to grow. At least they were having a good time, and maybe the day would ease up and Spade might.... Scratch that. She knew better. How long did it take her after Gustav died to feel like going out again? And she never could go into the same coffee house without him there. Shaking her head lightly, Shula moved through the crowds, hoping at least that the coffee might help a little. Boozy coffee. God, what [i[would[/i] Gustav thought knowing that the shy, traditional girl he worked so hard just to drag out for something fun was now carrying a cup of boozy coffee for herself? He'd probably laugh and then demand to taste the coffee to prove she wasn't fibbing just to try and sound like she was more relaxed.

Maybe I'll see about making his favourite tonight, she mused, sidestepping between people who hardly seemed to notice her (thankfully). He was pissy as hell this morning, so give him space, but maybe do some extra nice things to help him feel a bit better. Her phone was quiet. Either he'd shut it off, or was ignoring her since Shula rather doubted that the Xingese General was merrily greeting hyper children to load them onto a teacup ride and delightfully spin them until they tossed their Cookie Crisp. Riiiight. She shot a glance to the ticket booth as she snuck past; Tweedle-Dee was still there, thankfully doing what he'd been told to do: her job. He could deal with it, and besides, he could think of it as resume padding.

Teacups. Ugh. She still didn't have fond memories of them from last time when they'd gone out of control and a very dizzy Sal had stumbled off and run off with another boy. Only plus to it was unofficially meeting her little kitten, but that was about it. And now Spade was manning the booth... or, hiding in it, from the looks of it. There was a warning sign plastered to the little window, telling everyone to stay the hell away from him, and if they were smart, they were paying attention to it. And... Alisa... was there. Shula paused in her step, hesitating. She still felt more than a little guilty, and even though she wasn't sure how much of their conversation Alisa could remember, Shula honestly did hold Alisa in rather high esteem. She was fierce, strong, and powerful in so many ways, on top of being beautiful. In so many ways, Alisa was everything Shula had wanted to be when she was young and trapped. A faint smile crossed her mouth. She didn't know Spade and Alisa were still on good terms but... that was good. For them both. Maybe having her here would help Spade feel better, too.

Another person weaved around the dancer as she stepped closer, ignoring the rest of the world for now. Right now, this was more important. "Good Morning, Alisa," Shu said, her voice just loud enough to come over the roar of the ride as she closed in slowly. Two hot travel cups of booze-laden coffee extended from her hands. She was almost shy and a little apprehensive right now, not sure how Spade was doing but knowing how he was when they'd left. "Spade, I brought coffee if you want it." Shu bit her lip, glancing to the second cup. One had whiskey for Spade, and the other had amaretto in it for her. But it'd be rude on so many levels... Slowly, she held out the second mug to Alisa. She could always go get another. "It's black with amaretto, but I've got cream and sugar handy if you like." Boozy breakfast peace offering. Why not. "Spade... you holding up okay?"

[Aaron H]

So..there he was, minding his own business, when OF COURSE! Something had to happen. He wasn't exactly paying mind to where he was going and SMACK! He ran into a woman. In response, he fell, on his ass, looking rather dumbfound. His glasses fell out of his pocket and took a tumble nearby. How glad he was to have his contacts in. It would have been a very terrible shame to have lost his glasses in that sort of mess. Being almost completely blind was a terrible thing. He scooped them with ease and dropped them back into his pocket. Shuffling quickly to his feet, he would naturally extend a hand to her. It was right to have manners... oh god a woman. Aaron was TERRIBLE around women. He needed his friend, the smooth-talker was GREAT with women. Aaron looked like a pre-adolescent moron. He stammered over words and stumbled about like a drunk and shifted, staring at his watch like he was a crack-addict. Though.. that was him all the time. Aaron was just NOT a people person. "Oh gosh.. I'm SO sorry. I wasn't paying a lick of attention. Are you alright?" Oh thank god! CRETAN! He liked speaking in-

"Oh. Uh... Sorry, habit to speak the native tongue first. Are you alright? I'm really super sorry about that." FUCK! REWIND! REWIND! NO! GO BACK!!! He was so dead set on speaking in Cretan he couldn't exactly recall what she had said. He knew Amestrian, but he was in Cretan mindset. DAMN LIFE! "Selina Dresden. Please let me make it up to you somehow." Her hand was offered out to him. He blinked a few times, probably looking rather stupid. It seemed she wanted something! Oh! Handshake! Right! As was natural, he reached out and shook her hand, probably looking incredibly wired.

"We can speak in Cretan. It's easier for me." He admitted with a bit of a tremble in his voice. Yup.. he knew now, why he was always made fun of in school. "Now... uhmm.. Are YOU alright? I'm Aaron, by the way. Nice to meet you, Miss Dresdin." Why did that name sound familiar? He probably should know.. he REALLY should, but at the moment he thought nothing of it. He couldn't recall. The quicker this was over, the quicker he could get away from the awkward moment.

[Toss Ivanova]

Spoiler:

Sometimes, yeah, sometimes things just didn't work out, you know? It was a bit embarrassing, sort of like...well, he didn't know. It just sucked when suddenly "Don't get that beer." WELL FINE. SEE IF HE EVER TRIED TO DO ANYTHING NICE AGAIN. A dark look was instantly turned towards Dunstan Hue, ex-friend. Red eyes narrowed into tiny slits of BETRAYAL. Would he ever forgive him!? Would things ever go back to how they were before...? Toss shook his head mournfully. No helping it. The remainder of the older man's words were a slew of Cretan jumble, of which, Toss could not dare decipher until "Yo. The Fallacy should be fine, though we'll want to get back quick; I left the Princess unsupervised, she might kill someone." Yeah, she wasn't the only one. He cracked his knuckles and looked sideways: anywhere not at him. Hmph. See if he gave a shit. Yo pfftt is that the best he could do!? Being nice never got him anywhere. He should have known better. It was just an all around bad idea to go anywhere near the bar when he was about to MAKE HISTORY. Yeaaahh buddy. "Nah," Was he disagreeing!? Oh wait nvm he couldn't read minds whoops. "The Princess is a motorbike, she can't kill anyone by herself, except for that one time when she did, but that's a story for another day. You excited about the trip?"

"I was" until you ruined it. He shifted uncomfortably and put his wallet away, leaving the money there to pay for whatever the fuck Dun ended up ordering. "I'll see ya'round then." TIME TO SKEDADDLE.

...pending...

ESCAPE FUTILE. "Tossy, Tossy~ Found ya!"

"Ughhhh..."

"I knew ye'd be at the bar!~ Hahaha~" H-how!? How was that possible. Why the HELL would he be at the bar of all places?! He should be with The Fallacy. He had to go. Had to go and be with her. NOW. W-why wasn't he moving...? There--there were arms around him. Those arms were preventing movement. No!

There was hope yet. Drink drink drink drink. He invested hope in that singular thing, waiting patiently while sporting a few fervent sweat drops DESPITE IT BEING JANUARY. Molly, the ever-insistent finally got distracted by her desire for a drink, purchasing one and in turn LETTING HIM GO. Toss was immediately some distance away, listening with hardly a care as she pulled an Artemis, effortlessly butchering Dun's name. In some morbid corner of his mind, he laughed evilly. Serves him right. But before he could make his escape... "Tass!" Ohgodpleasewhy.

"...I told you it's TOSS: Tee-oh-ess-ess not sum girly-sounding..."

"I doubt you should be drinking before flying." He stared at her levelly. She'd put two and two together. That's right! He was just leaving. Toss went to make for the exit. "What are you doing in the bar anyway?" In? In the bar? He blinked, cocking his head and looking her over to make sure she wasn't already dr-- "I miss Fia..." He face-palmed. God help him. This was going to be a long day. "I bet that woman's opening her legs to him...." He coughed, practically choking on his own spit. Double-taking her, he felt overtaken by the suddenness so much so that a rosy blush singed his cheeks. Wh-what was she goin' on about?! "That's my job!!!" She clung to him and the horrified homunculus was entirely at a loss...

[Peyton]

After her short rest, Peyton got up and returned to wandering around. "Blast it, I can't find that rocket.." She muttered under her breath. The smell of the festival food was starting to get to her. No, no she couldn't have any! It'd be bad for the baby! It still smelled soooo good though.. NO! RESIST! SHE HAD TO RESIST! "I can have a sandwich somewhere else later, the food here isn't safe." Oh good her rational mind had kicked in. Yes, she'd just get some HEALTHY food after she left the festival.

Her thoughts returned to the rocket. It was somewhere close, she knew it. All Peyton needed was to watch it blast off, then she'd be satisfied.... she just needed to FIND IT IN TIME! Ugh, why was she cursed to be so short!? With a heavy sigh, Peyton carried on with her waddling around the festival. Peyton was tired, her back hurt, and she was on the brink of giving up on her quest. Every now and then she had to stop walking because she felt the baby's light kicking in her stomach. He/she was sure excitable today.. maybe it was because all of the noise?

As she continued to wander, an awful smell reached her nose. Bleugh. What was making that horrible stench!? Peyton headed towards the direction of the smell to find the source. Most people would just walk away and ignore it, but not Peyton. When she got curious she just HAD to know. It was something in her brain always telling her, "Go find out what the thing is." It would pester her and pester her until she finally broke down and decided to investigate. After following the trail for a bit, she had found herself in front of the festival's bar. Oh. That explains why the smell was so offending to Peyton.

Peyton couldn't stand alcohol, nor it's smell. Not one bit. It would always make her gag. Perhaps that fact was related to her childhood when her father became an alcoholic. But that's not important now. Bars meant people who weren't rushing around. And, in turn, that meant she could stop someone and ask for some damn directions. So Peyton took in a deep breath, tried to ignore the smell, and stepped inside the stinky bar. "Hello?" She called out meekly.

"...I told you it's TOSS: Tee-oh-ess-ess not sum girly-sounding..."

Peyton heard a string of arguments reach her ears. Oh boy, looked like she had just walked in on a drunken fight. As her eyes scanned the bar, one particular person caught her attention. The young man with the bright white hair and striking red eyes. Her heart skipped a beat. Oh god, those eyes. Those terrifying eyes. The eyes she thought she'd never see again. The owner of the eyes' name was ingrained into her brain. Toss Ivanova. The man who had nearly ended her life, did the most weird and mystifying thing in her life, and saved her life.

What was he doing at the festival? Why was he here? What was he going to do? Was he here to hurt people? Was he here to kill her because she knew his terrible secret? Oh god what was going to happen!? Okay, okay she had to keep calm. Being scared and stressed is not good for baby. Baby, think about the baby. Peyton needed to get out of here if she saw potential danger. She was safe for now, but if something came up she was OUT. But still.. she couldn't keep her eyes off of Toss. The incident at the library caused her to question many things she before had deemed to have solid evidence in her life. Now everything was twisted and she wanted answers. But what could she do!?

[Nyx]

"Who was Evelyn Havoc?" She had asked the question, intending to find an answer, not knowing what answer to expect, in fact. Really, with what she'd already learned in what, an hour, there were many more questions running through her mind, all of equal priority, all with the same calmness and patience. She didn't need the answers right away; on the contrary, she didn't want all the answers right away. Ruined the fun, the challenge, the mystery.

"Other than your grandmother?"
Well that much she'd known already. Once he so casually revealed her legitimate name by birth, of course; it was obvious, in fact. She pondered briefly where her mother was, but only briefly; it was unimportant. Sure, she may have felt a twinge of desire to meet her birth-mother, but not particularly much. She had a family already, another wasn't needed- while blood might be thicker than water, love was certainly blood's trump, and Nyx quite preferred Aurel and her RIOTE family over whoever it was who carried her for nine months, and tossed her to an orphanage, to be honest.

"She was..."
Okay, Nyx had to giggle. Aurel and his flair for the dramatic, the theatrical. It amused her, and showed, once more, he really was Aurel. Few could pull off a hesitant pause mid-sentence like that, but Aurel had it down well enough.

"...someone I once knew."
Oh-ho-ho? Someone he once knew? Interesting, interesting... Aurel was in his twenties. Nyx knew that much, at the bare minimum. Or maybe he was older? Could have been born in the twenties, for all she knew.

"I was born in 1913, Nyx. You may know me--even more so than others, but you have now much more to acquire. The me you knew before, I predict, did not sustain my prior memories...just as you must have lost yours at some point?"
1913, 1920s, same difference, apparently. At his second statement, Nyx nodded a small nod, with a smile. Did she know him more than others? She liked to think so. Much more, in fact; she was like his little shadow, always by his side, no matter what. As he spoke on, she discovered he'd had a previous self, one who apparently had amnesia- or both had amnesia, or something, and he'd hinted at the loss of her own memories. Well, as far as that goes, it may have made sense; it was a common effect of chimeric alchemy that the victim would suffer slight amnesia, so that would explain a lot. As far as Aurel's thing went, though, a funny thought hit her brain. His black holes. What would happen if he fell in? Well...

"My black holes have the ability to transcend time."
"Your black holes can use time travel, can't they?"
As if on cue, they spoke at the same time, and Nyx's eyes glistened slightly with curiosity. Certainly a new development, and something kinda cool. It'd definitely be a long story, though... He could tell her more later, though, as the shock from the war began to wear off a bit; more people were coming in, some given Aurel odd looks, as if they recognized him. In the generally convenient way of the Drachman military, Nyx's tiny ear-piece buzzed as a voice spoke into the other end. "Drachman secret service reporting in; we are en route to your location, Silver; is Gold in your vicinity?" Silver and Gold, Nyx and Aurel. Call-signs, they were, and Nyx kinda liked them.

"Gold is right in front of me; who's asking?" Hee-hee. If Aurel was from the past, Nyx had to giggle at the fact he'd probably be all confused about technology; she probably looked like she was talking to herself, but that was the magic of a bluetooth earpiece thingy.

"Black Stallion; exit the restaurant, and walk due East, for the most timely retrieval; we'll be meeting with Hummingbird soon enough." Anonymity was good and all, but honestly, sometimes callsigns annoyed Nyx. Scrunching up her face briefly, before the thoughts hit, she wondered who the two escorts were, until she decided it was a black limo, followed by a helicopter. He could've said so... Not like anyone cared enough the hack into the call. At any rate, Nyx stood, just as the waiter began walking to their table with the food, and beckoned Aurel to follow. "Excuse me, sir, could we have our meal to go? Something suddenly came up." With a nod, the waiter quickly put the food in a box, and handed it to Nyx, who smiled a thank you, and walked onwards out the door, almost in a single smooth motion, grabbing the food without so much as pausing. She walked East and just as she got to the sidewalk, the limo was in front of her, and she entered, assuming Aurel would do the same, obviously. They drove off, as Nyx opened the box and ate some of the food, offering some to Aurel.

With little else to do but soak in the information, she sat, occasionally humming some song or something, until they reached a helipad, where they exited the limo, and entered the limo, as Nyx's eyes shimmered and she grinned a mischievous grin, turning to Aurel; "You haven't ever flown before, have you, Mr. 1913?~"

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

It took a lot of effort; a LOT of effort. But Nyx FINALLY managed to catch Aurel back up on everything important. Well, as far as RIOTE and politics and current events and stuff went. Not technology, nor pop culture, because it'd be far more fun for him to figure THAT out on his own~ But yes. Aurel was caught up! And they were sitting around the RIOTE HQ, Aurel doing whatever it was Aurel DID, while Nyx worked on a portrait of him. She was getting quite good at painting, actually. The TV was across the room from them, but she could hear it, especially when it mentioned the Central City Festival, one of the most exciting festivals EVER. Glancing up, she4 watched the advertisement, and afterwards, glanced at Aurel. "Auuuuurly~" Yes. The standard way to get parents to do what kids want. She casually walked up to him, leaning over his shoulder, eyes widened, and a bright and cheery smile. "Did you know there's gonna be a festival in Central City next week?~ And I was just wondering if maybe you'd want to go? It seems like a lot of fun! And besides, you never ever take a vacation, and you always look all tense and tired." Puffing out a cheek, she wagged a finger at him and went tsk tsk tsk. "Your job is way too stressful, you need a break.

And I need cotton candy!~"

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

And cotton candy was had. At the festival, Nyx and Aurel wandered for a bit, the former staring excitedly at EVERYTHING. An orphan in West City for seven years, a prisoner of a madman for three, she'd only really been doing stuff for four years, and was usually too busy with RIOTE stuff to do a lot of fun things, not that RIOTE wasn't fun. But as it was, she'd never been to any really big festival or carnival, so this was SO AWESOME. First was the cotton candy. VERY FIRST THING SHE GOT! It was delicious. After that, she dragged Aurel around, staring at attractions, visiting a petting zoo, flailing around doing a billion things. She even found a carnival game, where you had to hit a bullseye with an arrow to get a prize. She noticed IMMEDIATELY, a gigantic fluffy teddy bear with mismatched eyes, one blue and one reddish-brown, and grinned as she picked up the bow, letting fly a beautiful shot, winning the giant prize for her own; obviously, she handed it to Aurel, saying it reminded her of him.

So, having won Aurel an Aurel-sized Aurel-bear, Nyx was content to finish her cotton candy and drag Aurel around some more, in hopes of finding ice cream, when she spotted FOR ONE, a gargantuan suited man, OMGSLENDERMANWATISTHISAHHTHATGAMEWASSCARY, and walking with the well-dressed almost-Slender, a familiar kitty-cat cuddle-muffin. Yes. Kitty-cat cuddle-muffin. Just yes.

Quickly dashing up behind him, she tackled him to the ground, with a SQUEEEEEEEE, into a tackle-glomp-hug, much to the tall man's bewilderment, and likely Aurel's as well. "SAL!~" Standing, and helping the likely ALSO bewildered lad up, she turned to Aurel, and saw on his face UNAPPROVAL. So she quickly made up an excuse, still cheerfully smiling. "Oh, Aurly, this is Sal, he's my boyfriend, but you don't know that, because your memory and all, and you and him got along well before the whole thingy!~ Right, Sal?~" Discreetly nudging him, she hoped it would pass, at least for a day.

"So, Sal~ Wanna hang out with me and my daddy today?~[/color]" Leaning slightly over his shoulder, she whispered, "I'll explain stuff later, but roll with it, kay?~" And with a giggle, she did as she was best at, and gave nobody time or chance to object, as she set off, looking for something else to do. FESTIVAAAAAAAAAL!~

[Spade Aeries]

Spoiler:

There was a familiar clamber outside the door: so soon, so unexpected. His lungs filled sharply with air purged of nicotine, holding it as if he was thrust under a winter wave, sea foam tickling his lips shut into a pale line. Breathe out. Two fly eyes shot in the direction of the door, knowing it was locked and he would have to get up to open it. What if he just ignored it? No, if he did, Shu would immediately know something was up. He couldn't--just couldn't let that on. Rising through the sheen of secondhand smoke, he was at the door before he even had a chance to mentally prepare himself for "Oi, oi. Someone needs a drink."

"Nah," he blurted out, a disheveled mess of the cologned man last seen at the Lumiere cafe. But how much longer could he resist the drunk he once was? It beckoned, oh, it beckoned. He shuffled the rest of the door open with his foot, assessing Alisa from an odd stance, listing to the side. He was half-looking around her in the direction of the ferris wheel, but he could still tell that she was fairly happy with herself despite not being very thrilled with the festival in general. They were supposed to be fun. So why? It was like pretending a ghost was still alive. Repeated, repeated, repeated. Oh hey man. He let a cold laugh shudder out of him as he turned around, pacing back over to the controls to switch off that round of teacups and standby for the next. Repeat, repeat, repeat. His quick fingers stilled and began to quiver like ripples over a frozen pond. Glassy teeth showed in a grimace that was supposed to be a smile, but his back was turned. "Just gimme a moment." She could see him in the reflection. He lit up another cigarette withdrawn from the lint in his trench coat pocket, listening to the singe of fire and paper. He took a long breath and slowly let it go, pressing more buttons on the dash, briefly glancing up to make sure there weren't any panicked parents in the crowds. He turned back around appearing slightly more human. "I'm on duty, here, Ali. Was gunna call ya on break and see if you wanted to hit up the kebab stand. Smells good from here." Among other things, Spade was prided on his acting skills: to be a detective, in many instances he had to not be a detective. Learning not to be oneself was one of Spade's many talents. Right now, he couldn't be him. Right now, he had to be him: the him everyone was used to.

"Good Morning, Alisa." Words. Ravaged. Stopped. Spade was just barely able to register Shula standing there, rather, he only saw her holding a drink in either hand. Two. Silence overtook the space between them briefly, his gaze flickering to Alisa who would surely acknowledge the Ishvallan's presence in due time. But he was beyond it all; he wasn't involved in this. This was an exchange that didn't need to happen; he just happened to be in the middle. "Spade, I brought coffee if you want it." It wasn't just coffee. One glance he knew. Her text helped give it away, but it was obvious. The apprehension in her voice--the uncertainty glimmering in those fire eyes like beacons blinding him, sending him back into dark. He took another sweet drag on his cancer stick, loving it--loving that just another breath was another breath gone towards his own demise. Escape. He knew it and reveled in it, also knowing that this wasn't who he had become, but who he had regressed back into tonight. Was it just tonight? Was this his true self permanently now? Right now, he didn't care. He was a selfish bastard. He blew the smoke away from the two ladies, letting fall his sunglasses to reveal a set of vicious jade eyes. He didn't give a fuck. But he wouldn't drink. Not yet would he fall into such degrees of self desecration. Not...just yet. Hold on. Tenaciously. Just barely. "Spade... you holding up okay?"

"It's cool you can give her mine. Sure she can handle it. I'm just hangin' here. Won't be able to escape for a while." He turned back around and fiddled with the speed gauge a bit, fumbling with a few switches. "Dunno why this has to be so complicated; they just spin, right? You'd think they'd get a professional to handle this. They should know I'm better at pullin' triggers." And ending lives. Kicking people off ferris wheels. Oh, and the art of regret. He stubbed out the remainder of his cigarette, and flicked it into the trashcan if only to support his blurry facade: the butts hiding in scattered corners. That right there was a pack and a third. Already. He was a bit light on his feet, couldn't really breathe right or stay balanced, but it was whatever. Wasn't like he needed to go anywhere or do anything fuck if he ca-- Buzz. Wasn't Shu. She was right there staring at him. The fuck. He yanked out his beat up phone and squinted into the bright LCD. Unknown number. Foreign. Unrecognized. Untraceable. Without reading it, he already knew what he dreaded had just come to fruition.

Spade, It's important you need to see this. Meet me by the launch pad. SK

Spade burst into laughter. What news paper clippings told him. What reports strangled into him. What glorious calamity. The worst was in favor. Key words: important, see, meet, launch pad... There was no where else but here. Shinku Kamogaya wouldn't meet him anywhere. A Moriarty to his Sherlock. There always had to be one. Bars had a time limit. Spade winged around, clutching his phone like a vice. Immediately, his eyes delved into Alisa's. "Now. It's now. Go look for a Cretan man with blue eyes and white hair, six feet, approx. 200 pounds. Arrest him." Desperation entered his voice suddenly. "He might have seen you with me." Spade threw her his badge without looking, having had turned to Shu. "The launch is rigged." Danger. When Alisa had gone, Spade's carefully selected attire fell away into a shell bursting with the Dragon's Pulse. Grave danger. It bled off him in a deluge, flooding away in barely controlled torrents. Multiple possibilities assailed his perception, masking reality in ribbons of future. No, Kamogaya wouldn't kill Spade; he break him first.

[NOTE: ONLY SHU HEARS THAT THE SHIP IS RIGGED. We need people not to be able to stop the launch remember... XD]

[Aurelius Schwartz]

Spoiler:

It was the first time he had ever been in a helicopter. That's what it was called. They could fly. Fly: an astounding thought that was not necessarily surprising. He was already prepared for the impossible to be possible. In his short time with Hild, he had encountered such things, thrown effortlessly into chaos, essentially. What irony thought when it clashed unceremoniously with him, he wondered. Couldn't be anything good. Nyx toyed with him, giggling in rather bewildering joy. Hadn't a war just concluded? People died. How? He found there were many facets he had yet to understand about not just the times, but about people--people he was supposed to know.

Like a moth to a streetlamp, he was horribly attracted to television, poised as if on a lily pad for countless hours, catching information instead of flies. Slews of the compacted mindsets were slowly integrated into his genius: slammed desk drawers, later use. Nyx was his channel, her hand sketching him as she saw it. How, though, did he see himself? Through her, he was slowly learning. This was the him everyone knew: on that canvas, splashed now with color only the trained could interpret. His true self...was lost in the acrylic, drowning en masse. Yet he smiled, something oddly foreign since that time long ago. To save the world or to save himself, he no longer knew anymore when he looked into her eyes. Was this someone he had also saved, or someone he had ruined in pursuit of a perfect solution? Aurel was tired. He listed to the side, lost entirely in the blinking lights and loud audio he hardly registered anymore. So fast could things change. The clothes were different. Everything was different. A fugitive in his own country now one of the ignorant. Seeing his name plastered all over wanted posters was disheartening. But now they all believed he was dead. It was better that way; he could start over. Not from scratch, of course.

"Auuuuurly~" He was getting used to it, but he still cringed. So much like Evelyn.

"Hm?"

"Did you know there's gonna be a festival in Central City next week?~"

"Oh?"

"And I was just wondering if maybe you'd want to go? It seems like a lot of fun! And besides, you never ever take a vacation, and you always look all tense and tired." It was true.

"What gives you that impression?" Ever the stoic. It was a decent facade. While it lasted.

"Your job is way too stressful, you need a break." The last part he didn't hear, ousted in their game of logic. She had a point. Entirely. Was it a job though? Hardly but a measure of his choosing was it not? Why then should he listen to this child who somehow knew him better than he did himself? Squeezing the bridge of his nose, he gave in without much objection. Eve's pout and Nyx's drawl they were mirrored into his soul, piercing the darkness and drawing something out he desired never to reveal. A neon target bursting from night--a cacophonous clacking of high heels and cobblestone--faint laughter now so prominent. Not all from the past was lost, no. It was here, right here with him.

* * *

He...was carrying a teddy bear. Its one eye was sun-bleached into a reddish hue. Shipping error. Nyx had uttered that it looked like him and immediately set off to winning it with a single shot. She had reported her forté was archery, but this was his first time witnessing it in person. After his showing at the coronation, Aurel was hardly gung-ho about interactions with civilization, but he allowed it...and now he had to carry it around. A sweat drop formed on his expression, accentuating his dank demeanor. Even so, it was hard to say that he wasn't enjoying himself. This was his city, his birthplace however horrid his origination had been. Laughable. His mismatched eyes darted behind a pair of aviators at a new set of stands rising up against the midday glare. Cheer was fervently wearing on him, Nyx's twirling laughter searing into whatever resistance he had. There was no longer any reason to protect the gravity of his disposition. It was well-known here, in this time; he didn't have to try. A breath of a smile, winded in a pony tail of raven hair stolen by an unseen zephyr. Let it come.

"SAL!~" Aurel's steps faltered, his hand unconsciously reaching up to ensure his black fedora was still in place. Something undesirable was about to transpire. He prepared himself silently. That wasn't what he meant by letting it come. Really, go away. He glared at the situation unfolding, hovering some distance behind Nyx in case it was necessary to fool with the space and time continuum. He grit his teeth, but there was no aggression in her--was she hugging him? He took a step backwards in horror. How much more could he not know?! "Oh, Aurly, this is Sal, he's my boyfriend." He could have fainted. Not only did she dare use a buthering of his name that was discernable by the intelligent public, but she--what? "He's my boyfriend, but you don't know that, because your memory and all, and you and him got along well before the whole thingy!~ Right, Sal?~"" He blinked. Was that true? He glanced at the chimera with a visible frown. "So, Sal~ Wanna hang out with me and my daddy today?~" He cringed. He was way too young for this, yet he had somehow acquired two children. Was this a third now? NO. They were far too young. Ugh, he couldn't take this. He turned away massaging his temples and taking a deep breath.

When he was ready, he turned back around and tried not to look as distressed as he felt. "Forgive me for my disposition; much has happened to offset whom you had once been familiar with..." What else could he say? He was talking to a little boy. Nyx's...boyfriend no less. His eyes narrowed behind the sunglasses. Something tasted sour here--something was ringing false. Suspicion set in, but he could not act without evidence. Intuition was not always right, but if he was able to understand Nyx's persona, certainly this was a bluff. Why? Why not truth, he wondered. "Who is that?" He motioned to the tall guy who was fairly intimidating...if he wasn't Aurelius Carston Schwarz that is.

[Elastor Ito]

Spoiler:

Csilla had ruefully vanished after ensuring he made it to the festival intact. Ela understood. Very well; however, that didn't remedy the fact that he was abruptly very alone. After spending countless days with only her, he was suddenly at a loss, a voidful gap expanding down the stifling pathway of booths. He had phoned Queen Ascot to no avail. Countless times. Voicemail, voicemail, voicemail; he was sick of hearing it. His phone was nearly dead from the effort and glaring fervently at Franklin's contact. HE WOULDN'T. No matter what, he would NOT resort to calling that failure of an aid. Instead, he would wander aimlessly about the premises until he encountered commotion. Where there was commotion, she would be. Somehow, he felt he already had a feeble grasp on her rather flawed persona. Regrettably. Looking about the flumes of people, the Royal Guard was gagging on carbon dioxide and various inadequate hygienes. It took some getting used to, but eventually he was shouldering past the foolishly laughing individuals in search of his Queen.

At some point, he lost his drive and wondered how Csi did it. She was probably in worse shape than himself, which was another reason why it was smarter to split up to complete their respective duties at least until the fireworks. Rolling his eyes skyward, he often wondered why he tried so hard. If Rachel Ascot wanted to be assassinated, why should he care? It wasn't his responsibility to-- actually it was. He groaned and massaged the hilt of his sword, as if to calm the murderous intent wafting off him and scaring small children. Hey, at least it made him a path through the chaotic mess of joy. Laughter, hah! Overrated comforts. He glared off into the distance almost longingly. It would be great once this day ended. He couldn't wait.

He meandered to the entrance, hoping to check with the staff if she had in fact entered and-- he froze, eyes wide and angry at the same time. She was here. the. entire. time. He grit his teeth together, trying to maintain a fairly normal disposition without taking it out on one of the rafters importantly holding up the ticketing tent. It was fine. Just leave it there. Leave it. Just walk away. He strut stiffly towards the confluence of world leaders who undoubtedly came for the festival, but instead were conversing like old men and politics. Elastor without hesitation burst forward only to encounter something entirely unexpected: "I'm sure we can discuss our strange situation in private at a later time.” Dietrich. Lord Dietrich. Blue eyes beheld him in near wonderment, hope avast in his expression. There was prospect yet; the country hadn't entirely gone to shit and fallen to naive rule. But when--how? Without a word, the redhead came to stand at Dietrich's side next to Rachel, clutching his sword like a lifeline, wavy hair sticking to his cheeks in cold. When all was said and done, Ela felt himself smiling.

[Guest]

Jocelyn had, after several minutes, become bored with watching countless customers line up, climb a ways, then fall. But, they were continuing to get in line and pay more and more and more. Jocelyn was currently swinging her feet off the top of the wall, munching on an energy bar she scavenged from her lunch. The temperature had risen slightly, so Jocelyn felt free to unzip her jacket a tad, yelling "encouragement" down at those try-hards as they struggled for every foot and hand hold and ultimately fell with a yelp or scream to the padded mat below. Her observations were only interrupted by Ms. Angelis, scurrying around in a panic still. Poor woman...but at least it wasn't her. If she had that job, she'd scream and many would be hurt. Perhaps bent in half. She stared down at them all and saw the same eight or ten faces she'd seen the past...however long she'd been here. Note to self: Buy new watch parts. She then took the multi-colored cord in her hands and began to repel down the wall. She went to her little stand, where the masses dropped the life-blood of society, AKA money, and put up a small, metal sign.

Back whenever, go find someplace else...

With that little gesture, Jocelyn stuck her hands into jacket pockets, flipped her bang out of her eye with a flick of the neck, and walked off into the masses. The smell of of food almost clenched her nose and carried her to the stall, but an even greater need was pulling at her. The need to check up on a few people, the need to stretch her legs, the need for a drink. But first to check. No matter what Jocelyn was doing, she had tried to keep an eye on Shula this particular day. Back at HQ, it was easy. Here, though, it made her uneasy. Like back when she was a kid, getting lost in the crowds of automail enthusiasts, separated from her father.

No. Now was not the time. Jocelyn tried to make her steps light as she approached the teacups, her chest tightening as she got closer. She ducked around to a stall wall, putting her back to it and maneuvering to the edge. Her cyan eyes were intensified, watching the situation play out in front of her. Just like Shula, buying drinks for people. That man there was...Spade, yes, Spade. She'd heard little but what she heard was relatively good. The second woman she did not know. He seemed jovial enough, mentioning something about kebabs. Shula looked okay, so Jocelyn was able to take a breath. Then a burst of laughter. Yet...no one said anything funny. She observed closer, then her face flipped the serious switch once she heard Spade again. He sounded desperate, giving out a description for an arrest.

Every one of her senses shut off then. She went into self-preservation, scanning slowly. She saw Spade's lips move, but not a word after that arrest command did she hear; now was a time for action. Jocelyn stepped away hard from the wall, grinding gravel as she walked to Shula without a word. She was in the process of pulling on her second glove when she stopped. She eyed Shu, then Spade, then back again. She felt guilty at first, listening in on a conversation; now, she was glad she did. She took a step to Spade's side, talking to him but at Shula, "Lieutenant Colonel Jocelyn Veska, sir, nice to meet you. Ms. Brighton, I'm going with her to make the arrest. She looks like she could use some help." She pivoted on a heel and walked behind Alisa, scanning the crowds. She didn't bother to ask why he was to be arrested, she just was going to do her job. When someone asks why, they just waste time. Ms. Brighton, the rest of the guests, and the civilians were to be kept safe. As a Head of Defense, Jocelyn wasn't having any incidents happen today.

[Axel Belial]

He had been quiet. Bar selling some people a few drinks including an entire bottle his day was relatively dull. Well until a short albino woman walked in requesting coffee.
"You've got the bar... You're going to be a very popular man today. I need happy juice for myself and General Aeries."

"General Aeries? What a stupidly posh title for the old man yo?" He laughed back before firing up his beautifully temperamental coffee machine.
"Spade needs black coffee with a shot and a half of whiskey, and some sugar. I want the same but with Disaronno, cream and sugar, please." He laughed once more.
"Interesting mix yo..." Did the mixes with fast flicks of the fingers that made it rather flashy and showy. Soon both mixes was placed in front of her. "On the house yo." He added before watching her leave.

Soon he too chose to leave. Bored as hell he left his assistant in charge with his Emr clipped to his hip he walked out. Allowing himself to enjoy the fresh breather his feet took him to somewhere he was sure he didn't quite want to be. Heading towards the control room of the tea cups he glanced in. Spade with that albino woman and a brunette. Red brow raised up as he slowly opened the door. Only to quickl have to move when the brunette came out running. He blinked as a soft Oro escaped his lips.

Soft swearing under his breath he slowly stepped in. "So it's true I was told it wouldn't be boring when I was forced into the role of your second in charge, yo...." He said giving his braid a sassy flick his blueish green eye's meeting with Spades. "Information....you know my specialty is spying, yo! What have you got and i most likely an double it!" He clicked his tongue brows furrowed. Now was the time to show Spade he was partner material....Now was to prove he was a equal not a student.

[Roarke Moray]

Roarke was so happy. And so full. It was bliss. Kenny had delivered a small cart fulled of the hamburger goodness and Roarke had easily devoured them all. It was bloody fantastic. He was stretching now, staring at the empty cart and the few wrappers that were strewn around it. It was sad to see the food go, but it was the way of the world. He had even shared a few hamburgers with some of the surrounding security. They were all warming up to him, slowly. Once they realized he wasn't going to eat their face, they were willing to pepper him with questions about Carraig or about his beastly manner. He was almost a celebrity, in a small part of the world. It was a nice change. Not exactly friends, but they weren't scared of him. A good start.

He paced around The Fallacy and as he reached one side, he noticed a man with white hair departing the launch site. He frowned and stalked over to watch the man disappear into the crowd. “Who was that?” He looked down at the two men at the launch site entrance, and one of the shivered a little as he stated it was a mechanic. “That's not one of our mechanics...” Roarke murmured to himself in Creig. A feeling of dread wound around his mind and shivered down his spine. Someone was fucking up the Fallacy. But with what intention? Obviously it wasn't to make it look extra nice. So foul play. Roarke growled low in his throat and snapped at the two security guards “No one else gets in here without seeing me first, understood?” He didn't wait for a reply but easily circled the launch site to where he'd left Kenny and the cart. “Kenny, I need you to do something for me. It's an emergency.” Kenny looked kind of alarmed, but stood up, brushing off his pants. “Find a Creig. Preferably Toss or Dunstan.” Kenny's blank stare made Roarke growl with annoyance. “The pilot. Bright white hair. Or the mechanic. Short, ginger hair and scarred face. Worse comes to worse, find the king. Tell them it's the Fallacy. We need a new inspection.” Kenny nodded repeatedly, trying to take in the fast slew of words Roarke was throwing at him. “GO!” Roarke practically roared in his face and Kenny took off without a second thought.

Roarke growled low in his throat again and dug his foot claws into the ground. Something was going wrong and he was powerless to stop it. He had no cellphone and he couldn't risk starting a riot by bursting through the fair. People wouldn't really understand a beast crashing through the fair as a sign of foul play. More likely that would get him shot. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Truly, a moment to damn his twisted form. As he opened his eyes, he stalked back to the entrance of the launch site to take a guard right there. No one was getting past through the entrance, and security around the rest of the launch site would remain closed. He could only hope Kenny would find someone in time and warn them. Worse to worse, Roarke could stop Toss from boarding.

[Guest]

Having seen that he too, fell on his bum, Selina felt a little bit worse for having bumped into him. Stumbling backwards was one thing, but for both of them to fall over? Either they didn't have good balance (and she usually did), or she bumped into him that hard. So much for being undercover hm? Looking up at him though, she found that he wasn't an ugly man, and he was even offering to help her get up! Well then, he was also a bit of a gentleman wasn't he? She smiled to him and took his hand, pulling right back up onto her feet before she began to brush off her clothes. Lord these clothes were so very different from what she was used too.... Ah well, such was life. At least she didn't look a COMPLETE hot mess after the debacle of bumping into the poor man. And... was it just her, or did he seem particularly nervous? It was true he hadn't really done anything aside from help her up, but she just couldn't shake this SCREAMING sensation that he was not comfortable around her. Or maybe it was the crowds. Meh.

After she introduced herself and offered her hand, he did take it much to her relief. And even better, he spoke Cretan! Excellent. She really did hate speaking in Amestrian. Such an ugly language, not at all like Xingese or Cerisian. Now those were gorgeous languages to both speak and listen to. They shook for a moment, then she let go of his hand. "We can speak in Cretan. It's easier for me." Oh thank GOD. "And myself as well." Though the trembling did nothing to dissuade her thoughts that he was nervous. He just definitely was now in her mind. Nothing wrong with that of course, she was rather used to people getting nervous around her. Although....She really hoped it wasn't because he recognized her as one of the pillars in the Criminal Underworld... That would be a bit of a downer on todays events. She hadn't even DONE anything (yet)! No business deals, no shaking down anyone, no--"Now... uhmm.. Are YOU alright? I'm Aaron, by the way. Nice to meet you, Miss Dresdin." Oh. Right. Regular conversation. Flashing him a brilliant smile, she chuckled and waved her hand as if to dismiss the thought. "Oh no, I'm completely fine. Isn't the first time I've taken a tumble, and certainly won't be the last! A pleasure to meet you Aaron." She seemed to grow a little bit more serious at the exchange of pleasantries, but it wasn't an intense sort of serious, just a less laughing-bubbly sort of serious. She was NOT going to lose her friendly face today! At least not in front of civilians.

"Though Selina is fine." She added as her smile softened a little, readjusting her hat ever so slightly. Waaaaaaaaaait a minute. Wait just one moment. She had a feeling that she knew his face from somewhere.... Give it a moment--AH-HA! Shit. He was Head of Intelligence. That was not good. Not good for him to know her face. Although, now she had a thought. Perhaps this could work out well, and he wouldn't be the wiser for who she was? Perhaps. Selina clasped her hands in front of herself, tilting her head as her crimson eyes rested on him, "Now, Aaron, is there anything I can do for bumping into you so? I do feel rather dredful for causing you to also fall down."

[Alisa Donnikova]

What a fucking joke today was, seriously. Celebrating innovation? The peace between two countries? Peace never lasted for that long, and especially not when all the pretty toys were kept to themselves. Ugh.... She knew she was being overly hard on Carraig and Amestris today, it was because she was about as thrilled to be here as Spade was (though for her own reasons). The door opened just as she spoke, and Spade hardly seemed to expect to see her. Actually, he just looked like fucking hell. Talk about someone who really didn't want to fucking be there. She wished that she had her flask on her otherwise she'd offer him the whole thing. Even if it was filled with any one of her favorite alcoholic beverages. "Nah," Bullshit. Somehow it wasn't until he spoke, but it was at that moment that Alisa's nostriles were bombarded with the scent of his cologne, making one eye twitch as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Jesus fuck Spade, did you suddenly lose your sense of smell?! The thought rolled past in her mind as she quickly took another drag on her cig to try and make up for the overwhelming scent that had attacked her.

She remained there, leaning against the doorway as he seemed to give her a one over, raising an eyebrow when she noticed that he was looking past her at something. So she followed his gaze, the ferris wheel immediately snagging her attention since it was... well... a fucking huge piece of shit. Seriously, it was the worst ride out of the lot. It was slow, it was high, you could easily get trapped, and it was fucking BORING AS ALL BLOODY HELL. Although, while she wasn't a fan of ferris wheels either, as she turned to look at Spade again, there was something in his gaze that told her there was something more to his distaste for it. What exactly, she wasn't sure, but she sure as hell didn't like how gloomy he seemed because of it. It made her.... argh, what the fuck was the word?! Nervous... frustrated (a given).... AH-HA! ANTSY! It made her antsy! She hated being antsy. FUCK. The only reason was because she was worried about him, and she very poorly tried to hide it with the smirk that she offered him. Yeah.... She wasn't so great at pulling up any sort of mask around him, it was just fake and superficial, and she hated it. Huh, she was on a real hating things streak today wasn't she? And she hated that weird laugh sound thing he just made! What was that?! What was the cause of that?!

He was a glass man at the moment, all gleaming and smooth, but the cracks were beginning to show as the sun shone its light upon him. There was black smoke on the inside that obstructed the center from view, but she didn't need to be able to see through it. She knew what sort of state he was in right now. It was the state she got into everytime she had to go to a fucking hospital. "Just gimme a moment." She shrugged lightly and took another puff, tapping the ash outside of the booth before she fully slipped inside. Even though she seemed rather laid back about it, her eyes had locked onto his reflection in the glass, and she knew that he could see her as well. Yeah she was watching him carefully, but she seemed almost normal. Ish. Hell, she was just proud of herself for keeping her goddamn head around him now. "I'm on duty, here, Ali. Was gunna call ya on break and see if you wanted to hit up the kebab stand. Smells good from here."

He was acting. But she went along with it because if thats what he wanted/needed right now then fine. She scoffed a little as she took a drag as well, leaning against the wall as her leg crossed over the other, her other arm folding beneath her elbow as a sort of prop up. "That so? Heh, guess I just have good timing. Does smell good." She murmured as she smirked at him, those chocolate depths glinting because she knew. He was a mess today, here, right now. Since she was no damnable psychologist, she didn't know what the best course of action to help him was, but she figured being herself would be just fine. Ok, maybe a little less cursing, but same damn difference. "Good Morning, Alisa,"

....Fuck.

Alisa practically started up and turned immediately towards Shula, any sort of calm immediately lost as she looked at Spade's fiance.... FUCK THIS ISN'T THE SITUATION SHE WANTED. What did she do? What did she do? What the fuck did she do?!?!?! [color=mediumblue]"Yo Shula."[/colo] She managed to get out as she nodded at the Ishvallan woman, managing a sort half-smile thing that was actually genuine. She was just really fucking awkward right now. "Spade, I brought coffee if you want it." Oh God let her die right now. Let her die, right now, here in this tiny fucking booth with a cigarette in hand.... They were going to be couple-y. She was going to see how she failed as a person in a relationship, what she lacked (again), and DEAR GOD LET HER DIE. She wanted to escape. She wanted to escape RIGHT NOW and get the FUCK away from here--

Shula offered her a cup of coffee. The cup that was so very clearly hers. "It's black with amaretto, but I've got cream and sugar handy if you like." It was coffee with booze. What was this. No, fuck that, she retracted the previous statement. Why was this. Shula was a good person, a good woman, the complete opposite of her. She was demure, sweet, powerful, and and and just everything she wasn't!! Stop being nice to her! There was NO REASON for Shula to be nice to her! A weak, and nervous, smile rose to her lips as she scratched the back of her head with her free hand, holding up the other with the cig between her fingers. "I-I'm good. I couldn't...Er, I'll be out--" "Spade... you holding up okay?"

"It's cool you can give her mine. Sure she can handle it. I'm just hangin' here. Won't be able to escape for a while." No no no no no no no no Spade STOP IT. Alisa took a step backwards towards the door, the weak smile plain and obvious as she glanced between the two of them. Clearing her throat, she inwardly slapped herself and shook her head, her good ol' smirk back as she turned to Spade, "Nah, come on Spade. Enjoy a sip of booze." She teased him, glancing down to her cig to see where it was before taking another hit, the smoke curling away from Shula and Spade. She was fine. She had fixed things between her and Shula. She had fixed things between her and Spade. EVERYTHING WAS GOING TO BE FUCKING FINE.

"Dunno why this has to be so complicated; they just spin, right? You'd think they'd get a professional to handle this. They should know I'm better at pullin' triggers." Jesus fuck he was a fucking sour puss today. She had to hold her tongue even as her frustration wanted to flare up and snap at him. What the fuck was he doing right now? Smoking about two packs of death sticks (yes she had estimated by the amount of butts scattered about), turning down booze, and the definite look in those delicious green eyes of his. Argh, she could just shake him!! "Lighten up. Yeah the festivals a waste of fucking time, but at least you got Shula here hm?" Fuck, she still ended up saying something. Her and her big fucking mouth.

Didn't really matter anyways because he was checking his phone now, that poor beat up piece of shit. She remembered it from when she pulled him out of his apartment when it collapsed... just before he wiped her memory. Yeah.... ANYWHO. The sudden laughter made her raise an eyebrow, a frown forming given the fact that his previous mood coupled with the sudden laughter at a text could mean a variety of things. None of those things she particularly liked, however. She was ready for when their eyes locked together, "Now. It's now. Go look for a Cretan man with blue eyes and white hair, six feet, approx. 200 pounds. Arrest him." Fuck. She wasn't good at arresting, she was more of the "catch them dead" type. She didn't move except for a slight deepening of her grimace at the tone that his voice began to take. "He might have seen you with me." And with that she didn't wait, turning as she took one last quick draw on her cigarette and cast the butt away, saying, "On it."

Just as she was going to exit the booth, however, a woman appeared in front of her which made her growl in frustration. She didn't have fucking time for-"Lieutenant Colonel Jocelyn Veska, sir, nice to meet you. Ms. Brighton, I'm going with her to make the arrest. She looks like she could use some help." Alisa was already pushing past her and out the door, chocolate brown eyes scanning the crowd in the area. "Great, peachy, get the fuck out of my way." She muttered as her eyes scanned the immediate area. Six foot, silver hair, blue eyes.... The only fucking distinctive thing out of that was the fact he had silver hair! How the fuck was she to.....

And that was when she noticed someone whom screamed wrong to her, though her eyes didn't linger on him. A man with bandages wrapped around his face and body, appearing as if he was lame. There was a strength to his shoulders, and the stillness with which he stood that made him suspect immediately. Or maybe it was some other instinct within her that came from her years of working as a bounty hunter/mercenary that made him just seem wrong. "Name's Alisa, don't stop, keep moving, man in the bandages." She spoke to Jocelyn as she continued to glance around the crowd, her fingers beginning to itch for her Cutlass that was hidden beneath her coat. Spade should not have asked her specifically to do this because she was probably going to cause a scene. As soon as she drew closer to him, her eyes focused and she raised an arm to catch his attention. "Oi! Sir! You seem to be a bit disabled. Need any assistance?" She called now that she was within ten feet of him. He was probably going to bolt. She was prepared for that. Her other hand had found itself in the front pocket of her black pants, feeling for the block of aluminum that was there. She wasn't going to fuck around, not that she ever really did.

[Dunstan Hue]

Dunstan gleefully took his concoction in hand and began to drink it all down in one gulp. It was considered the maximum amount of alcohol that men should drink, according to Carraig doctors, and Dunstan was gulping it down in a single chug. It was also his third today. And then, he noticed that the bartender had left. Dunstan made sure he was gone, poking the bar door open. No one in an authority figure was about to stop him, when he leapt upon his chance; balancing on the counter, wrapping his lips around the beer tap and slamming down on the handle, he began to gorge himself on all the stout he could fit into his throat.

"Hi!~ Umm... Danny...? No, no, I got it, uuuummm... Davey! No, no, no, not it, uuuh... Ay Dios mio, I'm as bad as Artemis... OH! I got it!~ Hubert? Right...?"

Dunstan's eye rolled down to look at the girl who addressed him, his lips still on the tap's spout, before she leapt onto him, almost dislodging him from his resting place. He balanced himself, and pulled himself upwards to answer.

"It's Dunstan, actually." He said, before licking his lips. Most of his face was covered in beer. Luckily, none of the scarred parts, but he still wiped his face with his sleeve... before biting on it and sucking as much beer out of it as he could; beer was beer, he wasn't letting it go to waste. "Mmm... Molly McCafferty, right?" He asked, though with the sleeve in his mouth it sounded more like "Murmur Muffarur, ruh?". He finally slurped the last he could out of the sleeve, before looking properly to the young woman. Whenever he saw a woman, he tended to immediately judge them on how much he'd want to bang them. Molly, for him, was about a 6.8, 7.9 if she had a good enough personality; a bit boyish for his tastes, but she would do if the chance came up. "You're the musician, right? That one who plays stuff." He asked, a vague memory of her band in his head; he wasn't an expert on music that wasn't jazz, but he liked to keep on the pulse of the music scene, and could recognise and make small talk with this girl. Maybe, if he was particularly suave, which he always was in his own opinion, maybe get her to pull her panties down for him. He could even try for a record time between meeting a girl and...

"I miss Fia... I bet that woman's opening her legs to him... That's my job!!!"

Dunstan's gaze swung to that voice. He recognised that voice. That girl! The one with boobs that accounted for a fifth of her bodyweight (and he would never tell her how he knew)! Named after the Greek hunter goddess herself! Artemis! He usually avoided her; she was a ten, definitely; loved motorbikes, loved blowing stuff up, huge boobs, a girl after his heart, but she was also going out with that giant who even Dunstan knew not to go toe-to-toe with...

... the keyword there being was.

She wrapped her arms around Toss, and Dunstan almost went white. A woman needed comforting, and Dunstan knew that Toss was not the man to be given such a chance; he was blind to women, for the epitome of greed, and he never seemed to like Artemis that much. Or, at least in the way Dunstan did, which could be summarised as "BOING!" He looked back to Molly, giving her a small grin.

"Could you just... wait there for a second, got some business to attend to." He explained, before he disappeared in a dust cloud. Despite being clear on the other side of the room, he almost by magic took Toss' place in Artemis' grasp, barging him out of the way and defying several laws of physics at once to get there.

"Honey, don't get so down about it." He comforted the bodyguard, before pulling her into a hug of his own. "It must have been hard for you, but know that I'll be there with whatever you need, ok?" He sounded sweet, or tried to at least, but in his mind he was only strategising at least ten ways he could get both Artemis AND Molly to ride a very different kind of rocket than the one they'd be all launching today.

[Sal]

"SAL!~"

Left with no time to react, Sal found himself being pushed to the ground by the force of the... hug? Soon after, a hand had been brought down to pull him up. Still disoriented, his ears fluttered about and his tail twitched as he tried to get a grasp on the situation. Normally he would have sensed impending danger, but this didn't seem as though it had been an attempt to harm him, especially given the jovial tone of the girl's voice. Wait...girl? He thought he caught a whiff of her scent, but it was faint and mixed in with some of the less pleasant aromas floating around the festival grounds. It seemed that Nyx had found him and his First Mate, Sec, whose current posture indicated that he had been ready to strike should there be any sort of hostility directed at his much smaller captain. A quick wave of his hand signaled for the man to relax, as it wouldn't be in their best interests to attract attention.

Before he could open his mouth to speak, however, the girl spoke up rather rapidly, seemingly giving some sort of excuse or reasoning to the man nearby that had looked at the two of them rather unhappily. Though his face was shielded behind some rather classy accessory choices (he would be sure to pester Sec later to get some of his own), Sal's animal instincts told him that this man wasn't quite comfortable with what was happening here. That, and he had spun around, hands to his head. Sal decided he'd let the man speak up before responding to either of them...verbally, at least. Nyx had whispered something rather interesting in his ear... Play along? He could do that. As far as he was concerned, this was the man that Nyx had said was her father... What was his name again? Mister... Schwarz? Regardless of what his name was, it was who he was that was important. It didn't seem as though anybody recognized him at this point, though, so he guessed that whatever the man did, people didn't know his face well enough, or it wasn't anything too widely known.

It was with amusement, however, that Sal listened to the man's words. He'd never met the guy before in his life. Nyx told him to roll with it, though, so he had a few seconds to come up with a reply before it would make things seem awkward and forced. It would be easier to deal with the situation if he pretended to have met the man, but to avoid making things even worse, he'd avoid exaggerating the story too much.

"No, no, it's alright, sir. A lot of things can happen in a small amount of time, and it's not like we really knew each other that well yet. I've only met you a few times. Maybe like twice. I thought you liked me enough since you didn't try to kill me when you found about me and Nyx, so I guess she's right about us getting along." There. That would do. It made Nyx's excuse plausible and Sal didn't really have a reason to lie to the guy. Then it dawned on him that Sal never really told Sec that much about Nyx, either, and it would make for some awkward questions later. He did kinda sorta tell him that he might have maybe met a lady, but he didn't say anything more. With that in mind, it was a bit awkward when Mister Schwarz motioned toward the towering man. Deciding to speak up sooner rather than later, even though Sec was more than capable of introducing himself, he motioned to the giant with a fanged smile.

"This, good sir, is my right-hand man and First Mate, Secundinasci Invidia." Putting his hands on his hips, it was clear that the boy was proud of himself and his partner in crime. Then it dawned on him. "Oh, that's right, if you don't remember who I am, I guess I'll re-introduce myself to you. I'm Captain Salazar Masu, sir," He said with a bow. He wasn't wearing his usual coat to prevent it from getting dirty, but he still wore attire sporting those all-too-familiar colors and patterns. Coupled with his rather unique haircut and his cat ears and tail, it was no surprise that Nyx spotted him so easily in the crowd. Not to mention she seemed to have inexplicably acute eyesight.

Not giving Aurelius time to react, Sal spun on his heel and followed closely behind Nyx. Grazing the rather inconspicuous pouch on his right leg, he checked to make sure everything was in its proper place. Being a pirate, he'd gotten into situations where random thugs had recognized and attacked him. Some had been more skilled in combat than others, but he made it a point to keep at least a few of his weapons on him. It was a miracle that he'd been able to get them into the festival undetected, but he'd gotten used to keeping his weapons concealed. All but his lovingly named "french fries" were on his person, and not only concealed, but wrapped in padded material that prevented them from making any noises during movement or harming him if they shifted awkwardly. Thinking back on the moment not too long ago, he was glad he'd had that extra safety measure, as Nyx hadn't really witnessed him in combat, nor was she aware that he always carried weapons on him.

"Where to first, Nyx?" Sal asked gently, his senses absorbing all of the sights, sounds, and smells of the festival. There were many kinds of foods, games, and rides, and though he didn't think they'd manage to get to all of them, as long as they avoided the teacup ride, there would be no issue. He had a horrible encounter with the contraption at the previous year's festival, and even though it had likely been a simple malfunction, he didn't want to risk getting into that situation again. On the flip side, that had been a fun day - the pirates had caused some porta-potties to explode, their contents being spread in a wide radius by the fireworks. This time they weren't sabotaging anything; They were simply there to enjoy the festivities, just like the rest of the general populace.

[Guest]

This woman had such a chipper disposition, Jocelyn thought (sarcastically of course). Being cursed at, Jocelyn had to restrain her normal "punch" instinct for the time being. She had a commanding presence, though, a very imposing woman. Well, except her clothes, she though. They enhanced her figure all too much. She noticed this because by some strange possession, she caught herself staring as she walked out. Then she shook her head furiously. No, none of that. She went from behind Alisa to beside her in a moment, observing her. Oh, the questions. What connection did she have to Spade; why did she look so mad;...what was that delicious piece inside her jacket? It looked like a Beretta, no doubt, but it wasn't anything she'd seen mass produced. She turned her attention then back to the crowd, scanning like a highway patrol officer.

Jocelyn spotted him almost instantaneously alongside Alisa. She felt the synchronization of adrenaline between them; an unmistakable feeling between soldiers in combat. Echoes of bullets and screaming accompanied the feel; she hoped there wouldn't be too much of that today. "Name's Alisa, don't stop, keep moving, man in-" "Bandages, yes, I see 'im. Nice to meet you too." As they advanced, Jocelyn placed her hands behind her back, clapping ever so gently. If this guy was gonna run, he had walls to climb. Metaphorically and physically. Jocelyn's eyes darted back to Alisa and she noticed her itching hands start moving for ammunition and her weapon. "I wouldn't recommend that, with all the civilians present, but hey, this is your rodeo. Use whatever lasso you want."

Jocelyn could hardly imagine what was in store for this female duo as they approached. A twisted chimera who hid his crocodilic parts under bandages? A dangerous pyro like Firefly who had the festival rigged to inflame? A flasher? She didn't know, but it wasn't anything good. No guy who looked like that was up to any good. And as Alisa called to him, Jocelyn detached from her to set up a flank. She patted Alisa's shoulder and gestured to a nearby stall, then went in said direction. Directly behind the bandaged gentleman. Her body was pounding with nervousness. She'd just have to use it to her advantage.

[Jay Furor]

Hmm... Jay was tempted to pass off the ride's delicate training-required controls to some poor schmuck so she could ride... Again. It was just like driving a car! But more dangerous, and it wasn't too illegal to drink and operate a festival ride! Speaking of which, she tipped up her bourbon again, and wondered why the bottle wasn't empty yet. As she did so, she peered through the glass of the bottle, through the emptier upper half, and saw a sight for sore eyes. Actually, she pondered why people said that. C'mon, yeah, it's cool seeing old friends again, but really? If your eyes are sore, you probably can't see your friends anyways, and your eyes certainly won't get better from you straining them to stare at people, or other sights. At any rate, Kit was definitely a sight, no matter what, just because LOOK AT HIM. He had white fluffy hair and cat eats! Plus, those gloves looked absolutely fabulous on him, and Jay never forgot a fabulous pair of gloves! As he got through the line a little, he soon noticed her own ultra-fabulousness, and jumped straight to the front of the line, ahead of some smelly fatties who'd probably just break the roller coaster anyways.

"Kit!~ Good to see you here, buddy!~" Climbing out of the booth, through the small space at the front, the line started grumbling that nobody was operating the roller coaster, and they paid good money to get tickets, and bladdy-blah- so Jay snatched Betty up from her unimportant job of performing safety-maintenance and repairs to the more dangerous rides, and shoved her into the operating booth. "Betty, you're such a good assistant!~ Always doing exactly what I force you to do!"

"I hate you, ma'am. With every fiber of my being."

"She's such a kidder, that one, hahaha!~" Jay grinned as Kit charmingly spoke, asking her how things were and such. But as she listened, she also watched his mouth, having glimpsed a brief flash of color. As she focused, she saw it a few more times, on his tongue, as he talked. "Little old me?~ Well, life's been lively, for sure. When isn't it, haha~ As for business, it's been running like a well oiled swim-suit model's fanclub, when she goes for a jog. Though some of the regulars want you back. And your back, to dig their nails in during super-fun-happy-time~" Laughing briefly, she then, with a devilish grin, leaned forward and with her automail hand, slipped her fingers deftly into Kit's mouth, pulling lightly on his tongue, until she could see it more clearly, before releasing it. Because yes, one can always shove their hand into someone's mouth and expect them not to care... Well, whether Kit did or did not approve of such violation of his body, Jay ignored, as she chuckled, sticking her own tongue out at him. "Ohoho, Kitty-kat~ Why is it none of my little boys tell me when they become homonculi? Gosh, and here I thought Pridey-widey was the only forgetful one. So, lemme guess! You replaced Una? Aww, poor girl... Well, unless you're not Gluttony. But if you ARE Gluttony, then I'd assume you can remember Gluttony memories? Like, from past Gluttonies? Like Layus!~" Ah, Layus... Great times... His utter fear of her, it warmed her heart. Struck fear in his. Jay then offered Kit a contemplative finger on her chin as she pondered, mostly to herself, aloud. "Though you COULD'VE just gotten a really funky tattoo on your tongue... Iunno. Either way, though, we should toats ride this death-coaster together!"

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