Welcome to Infinity Hydra's Christmas Gala ~

OOC: We can post now, right? ^^"))

Sorano walked in cautiously, unsure of the area. Though she had traveled many times in the past, the Infinity Hydra guild hall was not a place she was used to. Looking around, she gazed at the decorations put up, and relaxed a but. At least everyone here was with a legal or mostly legal affiliation, and she didn't have to worry about any possible enemies. Or that was what she hoped, a mage could never be too careful.

She hadn't been to a formal event in years, so she had been a bit paranoid about preparing. Standing in front of her mirror, she had tried on dress after dress, finding many too small and at last deciding on a simpler outfit. She wore a simply designed dress that ended a little below her knees from the famous Rose Garden with a simple ribbon tied around her waist. The dress itself was dark blue, with threads of silver and green. She has her hair down, with her usual beaded headband keeping it back as well as her usual sandals. By her side was her trustworthy exceed companion, Hoshi, who was shaking with fright and hiding behind her friend's legs.

"S-sorano-chan, it's scary here!" Hoshi wailed, peeking out at the guild hall.

"I'm sure it won't be too bad, Hoshi-chan, just... Calm down..." Sorano replied nervously, looking around for auras she recognized.

Rowan trudged through the light snow that covered the ground. The young mage was making his way to the Infinity Hydra guild hall, and he was almost there at that. Thankfully, the the walk wasn't too difficult, thanks to the earlier guests creating a small trail with their footsteps that led directly to the door. Rowan did his best to follow exactly in the snowprints left behind, and he quickly found himself strolling through the main doors. A wave of warmth washed over him as he blinked a few times to adjust to the sudden increase in light. Rowan grimaced and raised a hand to pull on his collar, which he despised with a passion. He wasn't used to wearing any type of formal attire, and the simple button up shirt that he wore was driving him insane. The dress pants he wore weren't as annoying as the shirt, but Rowan disliked them nonetheless.

The young mage, now completely inside the guild hall, made a beeline for the bar counter, where he promptly took a seat. It was strange, he had only been a part of Infinity Hydra for a short amount of time, but already he felt at home. Rowan quickly ordered a small glass of warm cider, a perfect drink for the occasion, before scanning the inside of the hall. Already the space was beginning to fill up, and unfortunately, Rowan didn't recognize any of the faces. Scratch that. Across the room, Rowan spotted Ardere, the guildmaster, giving some sort of a welcome announcement, but it was short and the young mage missed most of what was said. Still, this was a good opportunity for the new mage to meet others in and out of the guild. Gratefully accepting the drink that the bartender returned with, Rowan stood up and put on a smile, hoping to mingle with some others.

It would most likely come as no surprise to anybody who knew the half dragon at least moderately well. If you thought about it, put all of her personality traits and what little she would tell about her past together, it was as clear as day. If it came as a surprise or a shock to you it was more an indication of you not knowing Akeya as well as you think you might. That or you just weren't very used to connecting the dots when it came to subjects that quite honestly weren't that important. Not everybody had the kind of brain which had enough raw power and curiosity to just idly think of every single obvious thing which might or might not ever become relevant. Still, once told everybody should be able to realize that it made sense rather quickly.

Akeya preferred the winter significantly over the summer.

Most humans and fellow mammals tended to slow down during the winter. Even beyond mammals reptiles, birds, and most other creatures you could think of tended to become lazier and less energetic during the coldest period of the year. If possible they would imprison themselves in whatever home or warm location they could find, having stocked up on plenty of food so they wouldn't starve while they waited for the sun to once again become powerful. During the winter that humongous sphere of fire, floating high up in the sky, could not even chase away the chill during the noon, instead only barely managing to turn deadly levels of cold into barely manageable. That and to illuminate everything with a cold bright light, much less warm and inviting than the one provided by the scorching rays of summer. The winter was universally seen as a period of rest during the year, just like the night was the period of rest for the cycle of the day.

And just like with the night, the winter was when Akeya would actually become active, getting out of the guild hall to do more jobs, explore, and train actively. Moving silently, both to be undetected and so nobody else would wake up, she would leave her room and walk into the open air, spreading her wings to fly up into the cold night, uncaring about the chill that assaulted her body every single time. The winter would not allow itself to be mocked by this half dragon, attempting to force her back inside with strong gales and snow and hail. The winter was strong, mighty, ancient, without mercy. The idea of somebody who had no connection to the elements of frost and snow being able to become more active in the winter than the summer was an insult, and it would do everything it could to put a stop to it.

However so far the half dragon was winning the battle, even during the worst weather still flying up there, or traveling, doing jobs, practically anything which she deemed a proper way to spend her time. Those blizzards and snowstorms weren't something to sneeze at, but Akeya had several traits which made her capable to so blatantly sweep aside the might of winter.

The first was that as a half dragon she had considerably more fortitude than the average human. Other mages of similar strength could potentially match her, but the human without very harsh training, aptitude or magic abilities would not be able to match Akeya's ability to just keep going under harsh conditions. Of course this wasn't specifically aimed at cold, but even so it was an advantage, and one that she would use without restraint or hesitation. Her body was tough and resilient, even towards the elements, and she saw no reason not to make use of that.

The second was from her heritage. Or to be more exact, her origin. Akeya wasn't one of those people from the plains, where the winters were harsh but otherwise the climate was pleasant. She wasn't from the forests either, where one had an even easier time hiding from the wrath of nature. She was born and raised in a village located high up in the Phoenix Mountains. The Phoenix Mountains, which regardless of its name was a harsh region, a place where weakness was not tolerated by the very environment. Not to mention the people living there. Up there the summers could actually be as harsh and cold as the winters on the plains, and the winters were simply deadly. The village she had grown up in had existed for ages, and wasn't visited often by outsiders. The people of that village had long since adapted to the climate, becoming notably resilient towards the harsh weather, even if that might leave them more vulnerable when exposed to climates which test your mettle on the other extreme. They would not like the scorching deserts, endless flats where the air could twist and turn from the heat. However as long as they were up there in the mountains they were in their element. The cold was not something they could completely ignore, but they were certainly good at enduring it. The snowstorms were cruel and merciless, but they had learned how to survive. And Akeya was one of the children of the people living up there, and had inherited their adaptations to the cold.

A half dragon born and raised in a place where everybody was used to the cold, and knew how to deal with it. This combination was on its own already enough for Akeya to be all right during the winter, whereas she could be considered a bit sluggish and uncomfortable during the summer, when everything would be so warm and exhausting. However there was yet another factor to be added in, one that spoke to Akeya very personally.

She was the half dragon who had also learned the magic of dragons, more commonly known by the humanoids as Dragon Slayer magic. Specifically she was a half dragon whose dragon half was of a dragon closely tied to the spectrum of darkness and shadows, night and twilight. And to add to that the Dragon Slayer magic she had learned was the one focused on shadows and darkness. This meant that she felt a lot better if the world was dark, and when the world was bright and filled with light she was cornered.

And during the winter it was a lot darker than during the summer. The nights lasted longer, the dawn and twilight were dragged out, and even the day itself lost some of its brightness because of the many, many clouds that would arrive to deliver snow and hail. They would block out the sun, an object Akeya certainly did not like, and grant her even more shadows to bathe in. The winter wasn't only better for her because she was used to the cold, but also because it provided her own element in spades, allowing her to fly for hours through the night without having to fear the dawn arriving and ruining her enjoyment with its rays of light.

Right now, however, Akeya was preparing for an event which would, somewhat regrettably, occur indoors. She was much happier using the opportunity of the winter to be outside, no longer having to rely on buildings and caves to provide darkness, but in this case it couldn't be helped. While she tried to spend most of her time at night and outdoors the humans would still all be indoors and sleep during the night, and when it was day they would stay indoors where it was warm and safe. They didn't share Akeya's traits which made her like the winter so much, made her look forward to that time of the year that most people thought of as depressing and unpleasant. They would use this time to be with other people indoors, holding feasts and the like to help themselves get through the harsh winter months, waiting for spring to arrive.

In this case the feast was a gala created and provided by one of the other legal guilds that was present and powerful in Fiore, one of the newer guilds. Infinity Hydra, which according to rumours was a guild which focused on removing anything which was classified as evil. The mages in that guild would have an aptitude and motivation for constantly hunting bandits, defeating and bringing in dark mages, doing everything to try and get rid of what could be described as a taint on the land. Blue Pegasus was a legal guild, but quite honestly Akeya was convinced that they were more legal because they never did anything wrong than that it was a guild of justice and a bastion of righteousness. She herself was a good example: she purposefully avoided doing anything considered too questionable from a moral point of view because as a half dragon she didn't have a lot of freedom in what she could do without people judging her. Dragons were seen as monsters by many, especially the ignorant, and a half dragon who acted too suspicious could quickly expect a mob. Although in Akeya's case if she wasn't forced to act nice to avoid being chased by pitchforks she most likely would have acted more like a dark mage, so that suspicion wasn't exactly unwarranted.

Still, right now Infinity Hydra had apparently decided that instead of continuing that attempt at driving out evil wherever they could find it they would instead try to make all the people who followed the rules and didn't spend their time making life worse for others get along better. So they went through the trouble of organizing this gala for all the non-dark mages to attend. This could certainly help the legal guilds get on better terms with each other, and since even independent mages and guilds who prided themselves on being neither dogs of the government nor criminals and monsters were allowed to attend, maybe some new mages could be added to the list of the legal. Not the greatest hope, but Akeya was pretty sure the people from Infinity Hydra had kept it in mind when they made the gala available to everybody but the dark mages. How they would make sure that no dark mages could slip in was another question, although if one of the strongest guilds in the land couldn't keep itself safe during such an important event Fiora was in a lot worse a state than this half dragon had thought.

Normally she wouldn't go to such a gala either. If this had happened during the summer she would most likely have dismissed the invitation and returned to either training, working or resting, trying her best to avoid being in the sun. However it was winter right now, so she felt in a lot more amiable a mood and a lot more willing to try and tolerate the presence of others. Besides, lots of important things could happen during such a gala, things which were better to observe first hand instead of hearing about it afterwards. It had taken some consideration, but eventually the half dragon had convinced herself that since she was taking full advantage of the winter, she might as well give this gala a chance. Infinity Hydra would be doing their best to make it progress smoothly and without incident, so while she most likely wouldn't be able to stop being at least somewhere wary she could be relatively relaxed there.

Although the first problem had been finding a dress. Akeya wasn't exactly a dress person. She was very focused on practical matters, including clothing that would do its job and provide her plenty of free movement while at the same time keeping the humans from being mad at her because she was showing them things they thought indecent. On her side she also didn't feel like just giving everybody an eyeful, although rather than embarrassed she mostly just felt that as a half dragon she couldn't just allow any average human to get a full view of her. They most likely didn't deserve to see such a magnificent sight, even if she wasn't a full dragon yet. A half dragon was still a lot more impressive a sight than some human, even if it was one of those human females who managed to be quite attractive or even stunning. It was a difference between races.

The half dragon didn't have many dresses. Actually she only had one, which was given to her by Akryn for another gala he had dragged her to when she wasn't in quite as good a mood. She had considered taking that, but eventually decided against it. She had told Akryn that he should come, but instead of going together with him this time she was going alone. If he also came he could just meet up with her. As for his dress, she felt that he would probably appreciate it more if she kept it for occasions were she had to wear it and they were going out together. He seemed to have a liking for taking her out to things, even if a lot of the time Akeya mostly went along because she didn't want to cause tension with her team mate by explaining to him that most of the things he found interesting she didn't exactly like quite as much.

Either way, another dress would be needed here. Akryn had managed to obey her demands that it would at least give her freedom of movement, but still she felt like getting something else this time. Although she could at least get something of a roughly similar appearance, since the last one had suited her quite well. No sleeves, hugging her torso, and while the skirt could be long she would make sure it had slits on both sides so if needed it wouldn't get in the way. Naturally because of her own lack of experience with such matters she had to ask for help from other females from the guild. It hadn't been the most spectacular experience either, but at least she had managed to get something she herself thought was both practical and suited her rather well. Although one of them had said that they found the pattern a bit too blatant. Akeya wasn't sure about that, but if it was true she would just deal with it.

Beyond a dress she actually didn't have to do much, since Akeya didn't use make up or the like. Proud as she was she felt that it would be a waste, not managing to improve upon her already impressive appearance. So after she had gotten herself a good dress, made sure it did in fact fit her requirements, and put it on, she had already been able to set off on her journey to the location of the gala. Of course since she wanted to go there fast and didn't want to deal with the weather trying to ruin her appearance beforehand she had streaked through the lands like a shadow. It might not be as fast as actual vehicles, but it was still plenty fast, and one annoying thing about being a Dragon Slayer was that Akeya couldn't really stomach vehicles. And showing up with motion sickness was even worse than having been snowed on.

Upon arrival at the guild hall of Infinity Hydra, where they had most likely been preparing this event for weeks or even months, Akeya turned back into her physical form, revealing herself to any onlookers. As always she was rather tall, with smooth olive skin. In the past her figure had been rather slender, her most notable curves being her hips, but curiously enough her transition from a human into a half dragon had actually caused her other curves to become more accentuated. She actually wasn't sure if there were many human females who could match her chest these days. Although one example almost certainly came to mind, even if further consideration made her remember that she wasn't sure if that woman was fully human either...

Either way, she was tall with a shapely figure, with long legs and arms. Her fingers were also long and slender, even if they were tipped off with nails that could easily be mistaken for claws. Akeya had yet to reach the point where her hands and feet would become the claws and talons of a true dragon. For now she had to settle for the fact that on her outer thighs, and from the knees and elbows down, her skin had been covered with smooth small scales, covering her forearms, her lower legs, her hands, and her feet. They were of a midnight blue colour, and when the light shined upon them they reflected it sharply, showing that they were metallic in nature rather than the dull scales of lower reptiles. Akeya had decided against gloves or shoes, so everybody could quite clearly see that her feet also had those nails which were notably more pronounced than what most humans had. If they bothered to look at feet.

For once her face wasn't hidden behind a mask of cloth and a blindfold, one merely a habit and the other a powerful magical item which enhanced her sight. She didn't like not wearing it, but in situations like these people would object if she tried to hide her eyes. So for once people could see her emerald eyes, with the pupils the same kind of slits as one would find if they were to look at the eyes of a reptile. Her cheeks were adorned by the same midnight blue scales, although quite honestly where her cheeks were concerned they acted more like freckles than anything else. Her rather sharp features, also part of becoming a half dragon, were also visible, the small but sharp nose, the sharp chin. A mouth slightly larger than average, and if she opened her mouth her teeth showed her predatory nature. Especially her canines, which had become long and sharp even for a Dragon Slayer. Like usual her raven black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall of night, and she had even removed the small ponytail she usually wore which merely gathered some strands of hair from her temples. Speaking of temples, her ears, which looked like spiny fins, were also visible, the same midnight blue scales once again visible.

Beyond those features her tail and wings were also on full display. Like always Akeya had to partially sacrifice her choice of clothing to make holes in the shoulder areas where her wings could fit through. With some trickery and shadow form getting them through wasn't that difficult, but after she became solid they still needed to have holes. In the case with dresses the same counted for an area at the lower back. These draconic limbs, once again midnight blue from the scales that adorned them as well as the membrane, were kept closely to herself. The wings were folded, and she made sure her tail wasn't just idly swaying about, where it could accidentally brush against others. Most people tended to get somewhat twitchy or puzzled when that happened. And tonight Akeya was trying to not offend people. Coming to the gala only to make trouble would be rather strange and not earn Blue Pegasus any good marks from the other guilds and people present. How many of the people here would be wealthy merchants and nobles, to complement the mages?

Akeya's appearance was certainly one that combined an athletic build with good curves and a striking face. From her own point of view she was one of the most beautiful and magnificent creatures around, and would expect others to agree. From the outside point of view she most certainly wasn't ugly, although the biggest question would be how many people would be able to admire the draconic traits. Those that didn't like it would just see her as a freak, whereas the ones that actually approved of the half dragon's exotic appearance could actually find themselves agreeing with her. She was a healthy female in her prime, after all, and she had been particularly fortunate with the appearance given to her by whatever rule or being decided those kind of things.

As for Akeya's clothing, she had chosen for a dress which followed the culture from the exotic land of Midi. The half dragon found it a lot better than the more expansive and frilly dresses one tended to see around here. It was just cloth, no tassels or bells or anything, and it provided her plenty of freedom of movement while still being elegant and worthy of being worn during such an important event as a gala. A stroke of luck that she had been able to find one in time. A lot of merchants liked to sell stuff that was either from Midi or copied the fashions and culture of Midi, but still a stroke of luck.

Looking around the half dragon noticed that there were already quite a few people there, including one that she had seen before. Shu, a somewhat petite female mage, who had accompanied her on one of her previous jobs. Somebody who was polite and graceful enough that Akeya didn't mind her presence. At least she didn't have to worry about Shu doing something stupid or rude. The girl was too focused on making sure she didn't make such mistakes for the half dragon to also worry about it. Right now Shu seemed to be acting like somebody who received the guests and looked after them to make sure they were enjoying themselves. That was oddly fitting from what Akeya had seen of the girl during their job together. Although the half dragon didn't feel like approaching her just yet. Maybe later on.

First the half dragon walked over to the giant ice sculpture of a dragon, almost instinctively heading for the giant form of a being that she herself felt very closely tied to. Of course this wasn't a real dragon, but the symbolism still got to her. Somebody else was already standing near the sculpture, somebody who the half dragon didn't actually know. However her magic power was on a similar level to Akeya's own, and from the way that she was standing there Akeya had to assume she was one of the hosts this evening, together with Shu and that man who had welcomed everybody. Akeya nodded towards Tyriel, a respectful nod that functioned as acknowledgement of her presence. The hosts would require respect for preparing all this. Standing in front of the statue Akeya looked up at it before turning back to the entrance, having positioned herself several yards away from Tyriel, in case the woman didn't want her to get too close. She didn't know what this particular person might think about non-humans, or if she wanted to be alone or not.

While the dragon ice sculpture was most certainly the centrepiece Akeya was also looking around at the other decorations. They were certainly trying their best to make the place welcoming and inviting, while at the same time giving it that spirit that most humans felt that these days close to the end of the year possessed. The half dragon had to admit that she liked the decorations, even going so far as spending her first couple of minutes in this gala to admire the work put into preparing the guild hall for it. The people from Infinity Hydra most certainly went all out on this, and while Akeya was a practical person she also had an eye for the aesthetic. She was greedy as a dragon but instead of gold and treasures she preferred art and beauty. She didn't like frills or expansive dresses, and in general her aesthetic trait didn't carry over so well into the clothing department, but this place had been made beautiful enough that the half dragon could approve and respect the ones who decorated it.

So far she didn't regret coming here. Unless something bad happened she might actually end up enjoying herself enough that she would be less reluctant to attend the next time a gala was held. Even if it was summer, although in that case Akryn would probably have to find some way to motivate her.

Akryn had not much cared for going to the ball in the first place, let alone separate from Akeya. However, the half dragon had insisted and Akryn had found it harder and harder to say no to her these days. So the half djinn had agreed to come to the ball, and had even sewn together an outfit specifically for the event.

Akryn strode into the Infinity Hydra guild hall looking positively sharp. Hard soled, shined, black boots adorned his feet, with black, silk, pants tucked into the top. Over that came a loose, multi creased cloth wrapped around his waist decoratively, with thin strips of silver cloth meshed in. Around his waist was a red, silk sash, lined with golden thread along the edges, with a curved sword tucked into the waist. A long sleeved, black shirt adorned his chest, with a high collared, black vest over it, buttoned up to the top with silver trim along the vests edges.

Akryn had not put nearly as much effort into this outfit as he had for the last one, but he still looked very good. It was easy for him to spot Akeya however from across the room, and with a smile he made his way towards her, the cloth from his waist splitting at the front and trailing behind him as he walked, stepping in behind her to gently brush her arm. "You look lovely tonight. Should we perhaps consider starting the dancing?"

"Damn tie..." was barely audible as two of Fairy Tail's finest approached the Guild Hall. A cold chill blew through the region, cutting right through even the heaviest of coats. The sound of teeth chattering grew louder as the duo approached the home of Infinity Hydra. Their owner? Lucky the Exceed! Who was currently freezing his tail off. "A-aren't you c-cold, B-b-blue?" he asked to his nonchalant companion, who was still busy fidgeting with his choice of neckwear. "Eh? No." he began before furrowing his brow at his bow-tie. "Had to get used to the cold to learn the Magic Glacieyth taught me. It stopped botherin' me a long time ago." Well...that was odd. His adoptive father was subject the two didn't usually speak about. And for Blue to bring it up himself was even stranger... "H-huh...w-well when we f-find him maybe he can teach me t-too?" The Exceed asked, doing his best to smile even though his teeth were opening and closing a couple hundred times a minute. His Ice Mage partner only gave a scoff in return. "Tch, yeah buddy. Right after I deck him in the face." And with that? The duo made their grand entrance into the Ball...

...by simply walking through the front doors. Those Fairy Tail types sure did have a flair for the dramatic! No but in all honesty, Blue was in one of his grumpy moods. Even moreso than his default attitude. Something about dressing up like a stooge and attending formal events rubbed him the wrong way. Perhaps because it was in stark contrast of his usual life at the Guild. Fairy Tail was all eating and drinking and fighting and having a good time! These sorts of events were usually stuffy...and if it went anything like the last Ball he was at, full of people who enjoyed pointing out his height (or lack thereof). And everybody knew he just loved that. "Hm..." came a grumble from the young Mage as he allowed his eyes to drift around the Guild Hall. It was grand alright. "This place might even be bigger than Saber's..." That was Blue for ya, thinking out loud like usual. Oh and Lucky? He was busy...running away...frantically. "I'm gonna g-go look for a heater, Blue!" came a yell as the black-furred Exceed made his way through the crowd. A smirk crossed his lips as he watched his friend go. Hopefully he'd come back soon enough so that the two of them could hurry up and raid the food table before someone else got to it. The free food was the only thing he actually enjoyed about these kinds of parties.

While he waited for his Exceed companion to find somewhere to warm his tail, Blue found himself drifting through the crowd. Some of the guests were just as you'd expect. The ones that put on airs and had meaningless conversations about nothing. The weather. How good the food was. How fancy this whole Ball was. Maybe it was the cynic in him, but even being near these kinds of people irked him. Eventually Blue had come to stand before a rather large sculpture. He found himself with his mouth agape slightly as he stared. The fact that it was constructed out of ice made it all the more fitting. "Speak of the bastard and he shall appear..." the lad muttered, a solemn look taking hold on his face. Sure the actual saying was a bit different...but he got the general spirit of it down. The Maker inside of him caused him to start analyzing the sculpture's craftsmanship (which was decent, although he immediately saw a few areas he could improve upon), but all it really served to do was bring back old memories. "You're just gonna keep haunting me, aren't you?" Blue mused to himself as he placed both hands in his pockets and continued to stare at the dragon. It was almost like he was in a trance...but maybe someone'd come along and snap him out of his daze?

Let it Snow! Everything was going smooth as of late, there were no fights, no arguments, no obstructions on the fun. Her mood began to improve a bunch as Ardere addressed her, praising her for her work as always. The secretary nodded and smile brightly before following him over to the bar where she ordered something out of the ordinary, just a water. She didn't feel like drinking at this time. Especially as it would not have the same outcome. Malva eventually appeared, looking beautiful and cute in her dress, though she frowned at the fact she still had her sword. Father like Daughter however. Tyriel look away and scanned over the crowd, many people dancing to the music the played in the background. Her grin fell and as did her gaze as her heart felt a little pained. This would have been a moment Baal would have loved to take her too. But since his disappearance, Tyriel had not been the same. She blamed herself mostly, but it could not be helped. The woman's attention was caught once more as Jackal approached. She smiled and waved slightly, even though he had Ardere's attention she still let him know she was here as well. Guildmates and all she just waved and smiled at those she knew. Trying to catch Shu's attention so they could have a conversation, Tyriel waved. She hoped there would be a few other appearances to the Gala. @IH|| Christmas Ball || 400 Words MADE BY @Tyriel

Rekka was both scared and excited she had been invited to join the party, she was still scared she would not be very accepted among legal mages due to her violent and bloody past she had. She was in her room sighing she could hear the party going on as she took in a deep breath rubbing her eye before placing the eye patch over her missing eye she had now, she kept her sword at her side as she moved toward the party location she saw a lot of people she had never met before and a few people she knew for sure, she had a bad feeling about one certain male as she moved to try to stay out of his sight. Her large black wings would fold out and back in as she saw a sculpture of a dragon and ran over to it smiling, she simply loved dragons ever since a young age she had loved them and even after all the crazy stuff that happened in clover she still deeply loved the dragon race. She saw another woman standing there looking at the dragon sculpture as she would try this social thing only hoping people did not want to instantly wish for her death.

"It is quite pretty isn't it, I noticed you seem to have wings and scales as well do you happen to be part dragon. Oh, where are my manners the name is Rekka Lawless and I am half demon so I can understand the interesting notions of being half something."

She would offer her hand to the woman to shake it as she had a look of happiness on her face, if she really was half dragon she felt she could be her friend her large wings flapping out and back behind her back a few times. She still had to get used to having those blasted things as her fangs were also visible still she figured this woman would not be scared of her and maybe just maybe she would accept her and just another person. She saw several people glare toward her when she said her name out loud making her sort of try to keep herself out of the spotlight as she laughed a bit and waited.

@Talking to Akeya

Laughing Coffin had been given an invitation to attend Infinity Hydra's Christmas Gala, something that was nothing less than astounding. Laughing Coffin was one of the least known guilds, often being overlooked by even the wisest of the Legal Mages. So being invited to an event hosted by a guild as well known as Infinity Hydra was something Brennan had not expected, not in the slightest. But still, he had come, he was not going to turn down an invite to such a prestigious event.

Brennan adjusted his crimson suit jacket and slipped on a tie of the same color, delicately adjusting it, making sure it was absolutely straight. He stared at himself in the mirror, admiring the crimson suit and tie, along with the black button-up shirt, it made an absolutely divine combo. Brennan grabbed a black bowler hat and slipped it on, sliding over his left eye in a deliberately unkempt manner. He slipped one bracelet onto each wrist and put on his black crystal necklace, tucking it into his shirt, to keep it hidden from sight, after all, something as valuable as that necklace had a high probability of being stolen. Brennan stared at his hammer, deliberating whether or not to take it, and ended up deciding to leave it lying on his bed, after all, what were the chances that someone would attack him at a Christmas Gala of all places?

Brennan opened the door to him room in the Laughing Coffin guild hall and grabbed his fluffy green pillow before walking out of the room, navigating his way out of the guildhall and into the courtyard. And then it dawned on Brennan, he had absolutely no idea where the hell Infinity Hydra was...


After a generous amount of time, Brennan finally found his way to the Infinity Hydra guildhall, and after staring at it in awe for a few seconds, he wandered into the building, greeted with the chatter of voices and some of the most amazing decorations he had ever seen. His recently shined black shoes clacked against the wood and marble floor as Brennan stared at the decorations, absolutely awestruck. White drapes were majestically hung from the banisters, shining strands of tinsel were absolutely everywhere, somehow managing not the clutter the room, and beautiful backdrops blocked off certain doorways, ones that Brennan assumed where not for the guests. But the most amazing part of the Gala by far was an ice sculpture of a dragon, it was delicately carved and completely frozen, not at all dripping; this was most likely the work of magic. Brennan realized he should probably interact with people, but was too awestruck to do anything other than stare like a newborn child hypnotized by a colorful new rattling toy.

Being able to travel did have its perks. Something about being able to see the world because you could fly either on the team ship, or because he now had a wonderful companion that had the ability to fly. Both were pretty useful to him, since he wasn’t really too sure if he really liked being in one place… especially Magnolia town. He hated Magnolia town.

However one thing did make it difficult was trying to meet people, and having a way to receive mail from others. But he always managed to find the time to visit his friends, and with one important person to his life it became very apparent that they wanted him at this event. Just like at the last one, this friend of his would invite him, but something seemed a little different. They seemed to have become a little shyer around him, avoiding his eyes a little bit as she handed him a piece of paper and disappeared away. The letter, of great value and of the highest craftsmanship, would invite him to attend the gala as a guest to them… maybe it was a… no, it couldn’t be such a thing. He would put this kind of thought to rest for now, and just work on getting to the gala on the day of the event.

Flight theme

Spoiler:

Nao would ride on top of Charlie, as the griffin would run before launching into the air, flying away with the novice mage on top of him. He would soar beyond the clouds and into the sky, trying not to get to the point where Nao would actually begin to suffocate or feel lightheaded and fall of his creature’s back. He would glide over all the world, as if it was nothing, and eventually they would begin to find themselves in a very familiar place that they had been to before. Last time he was there, he got spooped by a giant creature, and got levitated up to the ceiling by a friend of his.

Nao's event theme

Spoiler:

He arrived at the mountain village, his griffin carrying him down to the entrance of the guild, before transforming into his child form and causing Nao to dismount quicker than he expected. Charlie would run around Nao’s feet, feeling excited since he had never been to this place before. Nao had only been once, despite saying he would try and visit more. But this time he would make sure that he was here prompt, and would try to fit in more and talk to the guild members of different guilds here. Being guildless meant he was all over the place when it came to making friends with people, but it also meant he could be fluid with who he met, legal or otherwise.

Nao and Charlie would walk into the guild hall, being welcomed by guild members. Nao wasn’t really wearing anything special to the event, just a usual red robe-like outfit, and some smart casual shoes underneath (for comfort and style). He would notice that there was a giant statue in the middle that looked like a…dragon? Kind of weird that a guild based off of a hydra would have a dragon as its centrepiece… Though he noticed that it had some slight deformities, probably from that fact it was made of ice and would eventually melt in approximately 3 hours or so, if not kept constant cold.
He would leave his griffin to marvel at the statue, as his pet would walk around it with curiosity. He would look around and see Shu at the bar talking to someone, so he decided to leave her be for a little while as he spent the time exploring the guild hall once more. Last time he was here it was all up with decorations for Halloween, and now it was all icicles, and tinsel. It was actually sort of cool.

He would just stand there, and take some time to take in the scenery, waiting for Tyriel, or another one of the guild hosts to start whatever event they were planning on doing. Whether the novice mage knew anyone or not didn’t bother him too much, but maybe doing some winter events would really… break the ice *insert groans here*.

As Akeya's gaze travelled over the people inside the large room she fell into her usual habit of gauging everybody for how dangerous an opponent they might be if she had to fight them, and checking to see that nobody was acting unusual, suspicious, or anything else that would give away that they were planning something nasty. It was a useless gesture in this place, where Infinity Hydra had gone through such pains to make sure that the only people present would be those who wanted to further the unity between all the legal and independent mages, or just those who wanted to enjoy a party as the year began to reach its end. Infinity Hydra was a legal guild which was aimed at exterminating all that would disturb the peace and cause nothing but trouble, so it was safe to assume that when they organized an event like this they would make sure that anybody who had a mind to try anything would either stay far, far away, not manage to get in, or if they managed to get in and tried to pull off whatever they were planning regret that. Like, regret it to such extends that they would regret ever thinking it might have been a good idea in the first place.

However for Akeya to inspect her surroundings and look at whether somebody was dangerous or not was something which she did without really thinking about it. Even if this place was safe she would still have that urge to make sure herself, singling out the ones most likely to become a threat if things went wrong, the ones who were acting most suspiciously, and those who the half dragon would have to handle with the most care. So her eyes travelled across the room, using her position in front of the giant ice dragon sculpture to get a good view of everybody. Especially since the sculpture was treated as the centrepiece of the event, so by standing in front of it Akeya was basically facing everybody. Not a lot of people would go stand behind the sculpture, since most of its magnificence was seen from the front.

The female mage known as Shu was immediately dismissed as safe to trust and deal with. She might be planning something when one looked beyond this event, but in the here and now she managed to convince Akeya that she was just trying her best to make this gala a success by making sure everybody was having fun and feeling comfortable. When Shu waved at her Akeya nodded back before continuing her inspection.

There was a somewhat small male mage who she recognized from the gala organized by Sabertooth in the past. She didn't think he was here to cause trouble, although if she remembered correctly he had been somewhat noisy back then. From what she had heard he tended to become aggressive whenever somebody pointed out that he was slightly below average in height for human males around these parts. A curious trait which could lead to trouble, but if he threw a tantrum that wasn't bad enough that Akeya would have to bother with it.

Then her gaze fell on what appeared to be a little boy. Some mages were very young, as Akeya was very well aware of, so that wasn't too strange. What was strange was that this one had dressed himself for the occasion yet at the same time had decided to take a large green pillow with him, which honestly made him look a bit childish in Akeya's eyes. Children could be rather strange creatures, but for now the half dragon just glanced at him occasionally to see what he was doing. For now he was just looking at the sculpture, and he couldn't really be called childish for that. Adults would also be amazed by that work of art.

Beyond that most of the mages were from Infinity Hydra, which made them very unlikely to be a threat. Unless this whole event was a trap designed to capture and subdue as large an amount of legal and good-natured independent mages as they could, which was very unlikely give Infinity Hydra's nature. Still, maybe a good idea to keep an eye out. Shu was either an amazing actor or completely innocent, and the one who looked like the hostess also looked like she was primarily relieved that the gala was going well so far. There was one mage who gave Akeya pause for a moment. Somebody she would at least have to make sure of that she knew where he was at all times. Beyond that there was Ardere, who had become rather famous recently, and what looked like his daughter. Not a threat.

As she was looking around like this Akeya was suddenly approached by two people. One of them was somebody who she knew better than anybody else here. Apparently she had managed to get Akryn to come out here even though he had originally been hesitant. Rather surprising, since he was somebody who could match or possibly even surpass her when it came to being headstrong and refusing to go along with another's whims. Like herself he had chosen a different outfit than the one he had been wearing at Sabertooth's gala. There probably was some unspoken agreement that one should try their best to be impressive in a different way each time such an event came around. Which wasn't that often, which made it a bit easier. Akeya nodded at Akryn as he approached, when he brushed her arm only rolling her eyes slightly before looking at him. She had kind of forgotten that she wasn't wearing her blindfold, so people could actually see what she was doing with her eyes. Although since that was her only reaction maybe Akryn wouldn't mind. He did know that she wasn't very big on all those more romantic ideas. Although she didn't exactly mind the idea of dancing for now.

Unfortunately for Akryn before she could give him an affirmative answer she caught note of somebody else arriving. Somebody who immediately made Akeya turn her head as the half dragon searched for the origin of that magic. It didn't take long before her intense gaze fell on somebody...with wings. Large black feathered wings, like a raven or a crow. However Akeya's nose told her something otherwise. It was a strange mix. Her magic felt like it had a touch of holiness to it. It felt similar to Akeya's own in some ways, but that sacred touch combined with a lack of...something...at the same time made it distinctly different. And at the same time her nose smelled something else. It smelled a demon. An acrid smell which told her to be wary. Even for dragons demons were dangerous creatures. Powerful, persistent, and very clever when necessary. The smell wasn't too strong, so it probably wasn't a full demon, but the descendant of a demon could also be a dangerous person.

However for now the half dragon kept her calm as the half demon approached the ice sculpture, showing off her black feathered wings by flapping them slightly, as if merely exercising them and stretching them before folding them back. And then she turned to Akeya and began to speak to her, talking to her about the sculpture, and more importantly about both Akeya and herself. Akeya's half dragon nature wasn't too difficult to guess at, with her wings and tail out in the open, not to mention the scales on her arms and legs and her fierce draconic eyes. But the fact that this Rekka would so eagerly introduce herself and admit to being a half demon was intriguing.

Akeya used one hand to motion for Akryn to wait for now as she turned towards Rekka, her own wings stretching and flapping once or twice before settling down again, as if in response to Rekka's. The half dragon stared at the other female's hand for a moment, as if considering it, before reaching out and shaking it with her own scaled hand, giving Rekka a nod as she noted that the half demon looked rather happy. Happy to meet a non-human? It wouldn't surprise the half dragon, who certainly knew that for a non-human being surrounded by humans could be very testing. Humans had a tendency to act as if humanity was the inherent good and being different could be considered all right, but they would always give that impression that for them to see non-humans as equals it took effort, and should be treated as a charity to the non-humans. Rather annoying, so Akeya smiled back, although her smile was a slight one. She wasn't a very expressive person.

"It is quite the impressive sculpture. I wonder how much magic it took to craft it like this and keep it from melting. My name is Akeya Kuusai, and as you have already guessed I am a half dragon. I have to admit that this is my first time meeting a half demon, but it is a pleasure to meet you Rekka Lawless."

Rekka, Rekka...Now that Akeya had said the name herself she got the feeling it wasn't the first time she had heard of it. She couldn't recall just now, but there was a pang of familiarity to it. Maybe she would remember during this conversation. Other people in the hall most certainly were recognizing the half demon.

"I have to say Rekka, you look quite amazing. I congratulate you on being able to make your outfit suit your less humanoid traits instead of trying to work around them. Your wings are too beautiful to try and hide them."

No reason to deny that the half demon was quite attractive.

Sorano gazed around the extravagant guild hall as more mages trickled in, feeling a little intimidated by some of the magical auras that were much, much stronger than hers. Some mages looked like normal human beings, like Sorano herself, but many looked to be of mixed blood, ranging from people with auras that flickered into a dragon's shape every now and then, as well as a woman she noticed with large wings stretching out of her back. She could see marks of many guild's, though most were of Infinity Hydra which made sense, as this was their guild hall. She could see other legal mages, independent mages, neutral mages, but no dark mages as expected.

"You should get to know some new mages, Sorano-chan," Hoshi commented, looking around. But even as she said this, the exceed was glancing around nervously, her tabby fur standing on end. The little exceed was the very definition of scaredy-cat, and hated talking with others. No doubt she thought everyone in the room was scary, even those with weaker magic than hers.

Sorano nodded slightly. "Good point, Hoshi-chan, I guess, for your sake I'll find someone who looks a little less scary, huh?" she asked, looking around. Her gaze then fell on a boy who looked to be about nine years old, though his aura suggested he was older. Hoshi shouldn't be too scared of him. However, his magical aura was stronger than hers, and hiscguild mark showed he was of neutral affiliation, something to be wary of. He clutched a large green pillow and was staring in awe at the centerpiece of the table. Sorano slowly approached him, saying, "Um, Hi... I'm Sorano Granon from the guild Fairy Tail, and I guess I'm just looking to talk with people from different guilds..." she trailed off, looking calm and collected but freaking out inside. She did horrible socially, after all.

@Brennan

Brennan stared at the intricate sculpture of a dragon for quite a while, not expecting anyone to approach someone who looked as useless as him, but suddenly a voice behind him started to talk, and it was clearly directed towards him. Brennan turned around as the girl introduced herself as Sorano Granon from the Fairy Tail guild. She said she just wanted to talk to people from different guilds, something that Brennan probably should have expected. Brennan was terrified, he was not very good in social situations, and he did not want to give Sorano the impression that his guild was a threat to hers. "I, uh... My name is Brennan Skyllon, from the Laughing Coffin guild..." He held out his hand and began to float in the air inadvertently, he still didn't really have this whole telekinesis thing down... Brennan forced himself back down to the ground and smiled awkwardly, "I'm still not really used to telekinesis yet, my sincerest apologies." He had messed up, he had to get the situation back under control. "So, Sorano, how is the Fairy Tail guild? Is it fun?" He could tell she was younger, somewhere around thirteen, and she seemed shy, so he wasn't quite sure how to talk to her, the only thing he could think of was to spout random facts, and that never really helped his situation, so Brennan held his tongue, just sort of smiling in an awkward manner, which was when he had the most bizarre (and perhaps worst) idea he had ever had. "I have an idea..." He said with a grin, grasping Sorano's hand and dragging her towards a man who seemed to have a pet Griffin.

"Hi!" He said to the man, "I'm, uh, Brennan Skyllon and this is, uh, Sorano Granon, and, uh, we just wanted to talk to, uh, some new people... It's, uh, nice to, uh, meet you..." It was official. Brennan was the most socially awkward person on the face of the earth.

---

@Sorano
@Nao

While Blue was busy getting lost in his thoughts, someone approached him from behind and touched his shoulder in an attempt to get his attention. The young Mage snapped out of his stupor and slowly turned around, his eyes narrowing upon the girl who stood before him. Bright red hair was the first feature that caught his eye. A part of him lit up because he thought she was Ebony, and neither he nor Lucky had seen her for quite some time. But it only took another second for him to realize this was someone else. She certainly looked younger than him, but not by much. Blue was just about to give one of his charming, "What?"s or maybe even get the conversation going with a suave, "Who the hell're you?" when his face went blank. Maybe...it was something she said?

“Heyo short stuff...”
“Short stuff...”
“SHORT.”

Huh...that was strange. Normally when someone uses the "S" word around Blue he goes absolutely craz- "WHO IN THE HELL'RE YOU CALLIN' SHORT?!" ...wait...there it goes. The brash young Mage's head seemed to grow several times its normal size as he flailed around angrily. His outburst caused many of the partygoers to stop what they were doing and stare on in awe. Say what you want about Fairy Tail, but their Mages always know how to make a scene! Eventually he calmed down...just enough to see that Malva was even shorter than he was. "Wha-...YOU'RE SMALLER THAN I AM, DAMNIT!" And just like that, he was back at it again. A vein in his forehead was bulging like crazy.You'd think he get tired of going through this same situation after all these years...but if left to his own devices, Blue had no problem raging about this all night. So it was a good thing Lucky was here! "Blue...you just admitted you were small." ...does anyone else hear crickets chirping? "Whose side are you on, anyway?!" he demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Lucky. It was true though. He had infact implicated himself. His responses to being called "short" were basically instinct at this point. Hard to think of a good comeback past all the anger, y'know? The sharply dressed Exceed shook his head before strolling over to Malva and looked up at her, his usual smile wide on his face. "Hi! I'm Lucky." the cat introduced himself. An exasperated expression danced across his face as he shot a glance at his partner and motioned to him with his paw. "That's Blue...sorry about him. He's touchy about his height." It was true. Though "touchy" didn't even begin to describe it. It was more like "hypersensitive to the extreme". Lucky's face was stretched out as two hands pinched his cheeks and lifted him off the ground. "Touchy, huh?" Blue grumbled, scowling at his Exceed companion all the while. Lucky however seemed...relatively unfazed. He'd gotten used to his friend's tantrums a long time ago. Growing up together didn't really leave him any other choice. "Shho arr youh een Innfinidy Hydraah?" came a distorted question from the Exceed. The guests from earlier were still looking at them, probably trying to figure out just what the hell was going on...

...and for good reason!

Sorano breathed an inward sigh of relief as the boy didn't respond hostilely. As he introduced herself, she noticed his feet floating off the ground. Choosing to ignore it, she reached out a hand to shake with a friendly "nice to meet you" on the tip of her tongue before the mage, no, Brennan quickly apologized. This resulted in them at equal height, shaking hands, with Sorano awkwardly trying to shake off his apology while looking indifferent at the same time. Hoshi could barely restrain a burst of laughter looking at the awkward sight. This was what happened when two socially awkward people tried to introduce themselves.

Glancing at his aura, Sorano was relieved to see that Brennan was just as nervous and awkward-feeling as she felt. Another inward sigh of relief. Asking her whether Fairy Tail was a fun guild or not, Sorano hesitated, before saying, "Well, it's never boring, at least." In her mind, scenes of drunken mages brawling in the guild hall flashed through her mind and you could practically see a sweat drop hanging above Sorano's head. Her statement had been a little understated. "How is Laughing Coffin?" she asked in return, after they had this awkward moment of biting their tongues and wondering what to say or do next, but then the neutral mage seemed to have an idea.

The next thing Sorano knew was that she was being pulled around by someone who looked to be nine years old to some man with a pet gryphon. Okay. This was too cool. The letter mage had only ever read about such creatures in books. She kind of zonked out for Brennan's awkward introduction, and was instead inspecting and analyzing the creature's aura, her eyes narrowed to get a better look.

@Brennan
@Nao

[/color]

Blink, blink. Blue's attention had been ripped away from Lucky and centered on the girl before them. She actually...apologized...for calling him short?! "Well...that never happens..." the thought danced through his brain. Usually once people realize how angry it gets him they turn the insults up to eleven. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all? Anyway, the dapper Exceed held out his paw in the shape of a peace sign after the red-haired girl called him cute. She then mentioned someone named "Spirit". ""Shpirit? Ish hee a cat tooo?" Lucky asked, still trying to hold a normal conversation despite his face being stretched out like rubber. He hoped that he was! Lucky had only ever seen one cat like him, and that was Heero's partner Garfield. And he was always interested in making new friends!

The girl introduced herself to Lucky, to which he replied, "Nishe too meeht youu tooo, Mawba!" Afterwards she turned to the brash young Ice Mage, offering a nice greeting and another apology for what she'd said. Blue did his best to continue frowning...but it didn't last long as he let go of Lucky, halfheartedly shook her hand, and averted his eyes. "Yeah, yeah...don't worry about it." he mumbled, his way of accepting her saying sorry. Blue might be a little uh..."abrasive" at times, but at heart he's really a big softie. He could see she didn't mean anything by it so he wasn't gonna hold it against her. Malva answered his Exceed partner's question from earlier, saying that not only was she in fact a member of Infinity Hydra, but the Guild Master's daughter! "Wow. So you must be pretty important, huh?" Lucky asked, still smiling his usual smile as she pointed out her father in the crowd. The guy looked familiar...like maybe he was at the same Sabertooth Ball they were at? But for some reason the forgetful cat just couldn't put his finger on it.

Malva then asked what Guild the two were from. And almost like they were mentally linked, they both responded with, "Fairy Tail!"--"Fairy Tail." at the same time. They weren't actually connected or anything...just on the same wavelength. She then proceeded to correctly deduce Blue's age, which admittedly caused him to smirk a bit. "You're pretty sharp." he complimented her before answering with, "Fifteen." The boy raised an eyebrow as Malva reached out with her hand and activated some kind of Heat Magic. Her flesh turned a fiery orange as the temperature in the vicinity began to rise. A few sweat droplets rand down Blue's face as he instinctively took a step back. It was cool and all...but being an Ice Mage, he wasn't too big on hot things. It wasn't too long before a loud rumbling sound caught his ear...and soon after that, the boy narrowed his eyes on his feline friend. "Lucky...are you purring?" The Exceed kept rubbing his paws together and holding them up towards Malva's hand like it was a fire. "Waaaarm~" Blue just smiled and shook his head, and would've continued to do so if drop liquid didn't fall and hit him in the forehead. "Am I still sweat- ...oh." His thoughts trailed off as he turned and looked at the ice dragon sculpture, which was currently sweating and deforming slightly from Malva's display of Magic. "I think your heat's too hot..." Blue commented, crossing his arms as he eyed the sculpture critically. It wasn't all that great to begin with (by his "unique" standards, at least), but now it just looked silly. The boy tossed a glance over his shoulder at Malva. "Why does 'Infinity Hydra' have a dragon sculpture anyway?" came his question. Though...if Fairy Tail ever held one of these shindigs, he wasn't exactly sure how to describe the tail of a fairy to a sculptor...