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Vika tried her hardest not to stare at Amelia as she led Rhys away and up the steps of the castle. What? She had a thing for dresses. And the girls who wore those dresses. And the girls--okay, Vika, you can shut up now.

She carefully led Rhys to an isolated corridor. She glanced around. The coast was clear. "Okay." She smiled. "You know about those tragic events that circulated months ago, right, where that poor girl was kidnapped and the ballroom was trashed? Well, I was thinking we'd have a fundraiser to raise money to repair the ballroom and all the damage caused. It's the perfect idea! We could donate fifty percent of the proceeds to the Eyris City Council."

"But..." Vika paused for a moment and pondered. "We need to make this interesting...some sort of rivalry so we'll bring in lots of money."

Rhys had a vague feeling that Vika was staring at something behind him... ah, well. Right now, he didn't feel the need to worry.

And she began. Yeah, I remember hearing something about that... something about her going all the way to Sentria, Rhys thought, having no idea whatsoever that the woman talking to him had in fact played a major role in that incident. Something about a sorceress, and a giant evil tower? He supposed it should concern him, but since she hadn't been seen anywhere recently suggested there was nothing to be concerned about.

He paused. The ballroom hadn't been hit THAT hard, had it? They were able to use the same ballroom, and nobody had complained of damages...

"Since the City Council already paid for doing that and now we'd just be replacing what they lost, right?" Rhys said, taking it in. "Yeah... yeah, that would be nice. We'd be giving to the community," he added, Bishop Senses tingling, "in a way that suits both our clubs' strengths, so how could I refuse?"

And as for the "But" part... she could be on to something. Two heads are better than one, as the saying goes. Or in this case, two clubs competing bring in more customers than one.

"Hmmmm... well, both our clubs are into looking classy and throwing the best parties we can. Maybe the winner..." He didn't have it down yet, but the wheels in Rhys' head were clearly turning with no red lights in sight. "...The winner gets to have the other club join them for a party or something, and--and... ahh, the losers should dress differently, but I'm not sure how... wait!" He shouted, as some strange inspiration struck him with a two-by-four. "The losers could wear..." he posed.

"TIIIIINY MINISKIRTS!!"

He paused for a second.

"Or at least, skimpy-ish sort of clothing. I feel like that could be something either side can work with," he added.

Hmm, was there something going on in the castle tonight? The bishop hadn't been informed of this. Then again, he hadn't been informed of very much lately, because not everyone knew that he'd returned. But, if there was a party going on - and the music seemed to point to this being the case - he'd go ahead and stop on in, say hi to a few people, mingle. That sort of thing. He started up the stairs... then paused, swishing out of the way to allow a figure to roll down the stairs past him. What a strange person. Wouldn't it be safer to simply walk down? But, the Saint shrugged, continuing on his way. Who was he to question the transport methods of others?

And here was the party, bright, loud.... and quite inviting, surprisingly. Renault didn't expect that he would want to go to something of this sort, but he rather liked the idea. He knew nearly everyone here, by now; assorted laguz, the pyro prince, Lady Melethia, his daughter - husband not in evidence, oddly - and a few he didn't know, such as the blonde in the corner, or the slightly damaged redhead near the bar. His face brightened, though, upon seeing Isadora near one edge of the room, watching over the proceedings. She looked.... honestly, rather stunning, in a dress instead of her usual armor for once. The man glanced down at himself and frowned; he supposed his robes were formal enough, but they didn't exactly fit in, did they?

However, he made his way around the crowd, slipping up behind Isadora quietly. One arm gently wrapped around her middle, pulling her back with a light motion, just so he could see her. The man gave her a light smile, and a gentle embrace. "Good evening, Isadora. I'm late, aren't I? I wasn't aware that there was going to be a celebration."

"I am Sorry my good boy Derrin. My name is Levail an honour and pleasure it is to meet you." he flinched as he heard as he heard the screech. "I've seen no such person. But you look like you know your place around here. Do you know where the guard station is at so that I might join?" he asked studying the short boy from head to toe.

Roy broke away from his conversation with his Uncles and the rest of the people at the bar to go fetch Joshua's hat. In all honesty, he really wished he had some sort of light on him to just burn the thing away. Too bad he didn't bring anything to do such a thing.

He tossed the hat back to the beat up redhead before taking his seat again to continue talking to the others.

((Short post is short again))

"I've met many friends here, my wife included. It hasn't been easy around here--Eyris gets a fair share of troubles--but we've persevered and survived, and here we are!"
Lethe’s feline ears tweaked as she heard this. “It’s nice to hear you’ve met good company,” she replied half-heartedly. “So I’ve experienced. This city had a bit of disorder in the past few months.”

Moments after her short conversation with Rhys ended, the hawk king began to strip just a few feet behind Lethe. The Gallian captain turned on her bare heels when she heard his deep tone. “King Tibarn!” She tried to not sound shocked to see him. Even after all the gossiping the two cats had done, Lethe was still a bit surprised to see the avian royal in Eyris. Lyre acted so casual around him. The older sister was less reluctant to be at ease.

"Where's my darling Vah? She was looking forward to a dance with her daddy tonight, or so she told me that last time I saw her."
Vah? Was that the name of Tibarn’s branded child? Lethe remained silent. Her instincts were making this situation uncomfortable for her.

Just when she thought things couldn’t get more awkward, a blonde male beorc approached the three laguz like he was familiar with two of them and completely unaware of the third. Lethe could feel herself shrink from the conversation. “I’m going to get something to eat,” she said softly to her sister before walking away with her shoes still in hand.

The bishop listened to Isadora for a moment, smile not leaving his face. It was rather nice to see one of his dear friends again, especially as it had been a while. And the last meeting.... really had not been all that pleasant. Ugh, he wished that time had never happened, to be honest. But, of course it had, he couldn't change that. What he could change was himself; it would never happen again. And he would make it up to the people he'd hurt, as best he could.

After a few moments, the bishop blinked, growing a bit confused. Isadora hadn't moved yet.... He hadn't expected her to stay so close this long. There was a slight stammer in her words, and her face.... a bit of a blush? Really? He found this both cute - the pink on her cheeks gave color to her face - and at the same time quite embarrassing. Though he hadn't directly said anything yet, his feelings towards her had been conveyed during that time.... He looked up and away for a moment, his own cheeks turning a slight pink.

"... New Year, and Christmas? That sounds like a good enough reason to celebrate in my eyes," he responded, trying to bring his mind onto something else. "Then, I will stay, it seems like this would be fun." He paused for a moment, debating; then shrugged to himself, deciding to go ahead. What could it hurt?

He stepped back from Isadora, just a step, then reached out and took her hand in his, kissing the back in a proper gesture. "Well, the music is going, and I'm standing with a beautiful woman. May I have this dance, Lady?" The smile on his face and soft twinkle in his eye showed that he likely wouldn't take no for an answer.