Moon Knight Festival [Open | No Fights | Faction Irrelevant ]

"Hmm...", Serene muttered to herself as she concentrated on the task at hand. The soft thumps of a orange-pawed cat jumping up and down was all Serene heard as she focused on her target. "C'mon Rene! You got this! Hit those bottles!", the orange Exceed called out as he eyed the deep fried fish kabob that each winner would receive if they could knock down all five of the stacked bottles. He held Serene's last ball and proceeded to enter a pitcher's stance as Serene aimed. Something was off here.
Serene had thrown two other balls already, hit the bottles square on, yet the bottles hadn't budged. People to the left and right of her had been making it over and over again... Her bottles had to be rigged. Or she was weak....

No, that surely wasn't it!

She was going to prove it! Serene took a deep breath and wound the ball up, spinning her arm around. She slung the ball forward, a grunt of effort escaping her lips. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Garfield was doing just as she was, except the ball wasn't leaving his tiny paws. Serene's eyes turned back just in time to see the ball hit the ground, the bottles unabated. Serene gave the gamekeeper a dirty look. Garfield, oblivious as to what was happening, sank down against one of the posts on the booth, his ears slouched. "You tried your hardest, Rene... Guess I won't be getting a kabob today...", he said sadly. Serene slipped her hand into his paws and lifted the last ball up. She gave him a reassuring yet mischievous look. "Don't count me out yet, Garf!", she said as she rolled up her leathered sleeve. The cat's ears perked up as he watched her.

Serene cocked her arm back and spun the ball in her hand before ripping her arm forward. The ball rocketed forward from her hand and bounded towards the seemingly immovable bottles. Serene eyed the ball as it shot through the air. She smirked as the ball was shrouded in an invisible force-field. With the added power of the force-field, the ball ripped right through the bottles, shattering them all on impact. A cry of dismay and triumph roared on either side of the woman. The dismay from the gamekeeper and the triumph from Garfield. Serene stood proud as she mock flexed her rolled up sleeve. She smirked as Garfield began to fly around her, singing happily. "You did it! Yooou did it!", he yelped with a big feline smile before he flew over to the gamekeeper, taking the biggest kabob he could grab.

The two walked away from the stand, Garfield sitting on top of Serene's head as he gobbled on the fishy treats. Serene smiled as she walked along, her eyes falling on a little gift shop in the middle of all the games. She made her way towards the tiny shop and looked around with awe at the cute little accessories that were hung neatly all around. Serene realized why no one else was at this shop because it seemed to be a accessory or clothes shop for...plushies?

Serene looked over to Garfield and then back to the clothes...then back to Garfield. The little cat was sitting on the edge of the counter, kicking his orange legs back and forth as he cutely chewed his foot. A smile appeared on Serene's face as she began to ruffle around the shop. She quickly realized that Garfield fit the clothes in the shop pretty well as she scanned the miniature racks of play costumes and little play weapons. The Fairy Tail mage picked out a light blue jacket with white accents at the cuffs, chest, and shoulders. She then spied a white hat with blue accents that matched the shirt perfectly. The shopkeeper smiled at Serene and told her that everything was free because of the festival when Serene tried to pay.

After thanking the shopkeeper, Serene returned to Garfield and quickly snatched the kabob from him. It seemed like...a trance broke over him as he had an astonished look on his face before opening his mouth to protest. Serene wasted no time as she slipped the shirt over his head and then stuck the kabob back in his mouth. The taste of fried fish must have washed over him once more as he was tranquil once more. After placing the hat right in between Garfield's ears, Serene stepped back and cooed. He looked absolutely adorable! She was about to ask the little kitty how he felt of his outfit, but something...or someone interrupted her.

"Well, well." Serene blinked in surprise, whirling around as she immediately recognized the voice. With a smile, she greeted Heero with a little wave. He looked... He looked... Well, she was just glad that Heero didn't have telepathy. She smiled bashfully as a light blush filled her cheeks as he said she looked perfect. She certainly didn't think so, but hearing it from him made her happy. Garfield quickly chimed in, in anger, at how Heero looked quite studly in his tuxedo. Inwardly she sighed. He must not have liked his outfit then... She just chuckled gently at the two as they bickered back and forth for a minute. A hand reached through her hair, pushing it out of her eyes just before Heero's arm slyly wrapped around her waist. Her arms rested on his chest, a blush already forming as she saw him placing a sparkling object in her hand.

Serene...marvelled for about what seemed to be forever. She'd never seen something so beautiful... other than her mother when she smiled. Now that was a sight! Serene leaned forward and kissed his cheek gently before she stepped back and slipped the crystal rose into her hair.

Before long, the trio were walking along the festival. Serene didn't really know where they were going, but she didn't really mind. With his hand in her's, Serene was ready to go just about anywhere. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze as she waved to a man with a camera. Ah, the paparazzi. Serene felt as if she'd never grow used to them. Someone following and documenting your every move was a little...much to her. However, she would suck it up for Heero's sake. He was worth a few photos.

She was about deliver a amazing punchline to a joke that Garfield had started when someone rather familiar walked right into Heero. He didn't even budge. Sometimes Serene couldn't help but marvel at his strength... Serene looked down at the felled person and gasped. Rebecca! She slipped her fingers from Heero's and kneeled down to help her guildmate. It seemed that water spilled all over her book, which Serene knew could ruin a book quickly. Serene grabbed the book with a gentle smile. A magic circle appeared in her hand as she erected a flat forcefield in the air. Serene carefully passed the book through the field on each end. This forcefield was special, being permeable enough to allow the book to pass through, but not for the water. The liquid fell harmlessly to the ground. Serene gave Rebecca a closed-eyed smile as she held the dried book out to her. "Here you go! Don't worry about it! I'm sure Heero doesn't mind!", she said as she smiled to Rebecca.

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Serene gave Heero a surprised look when he snapped at Rebecca. That was uncalled for! The girl looked at him for just one second longer, analyzing him like any girl would. After Rebecca took the book back, Serene smiled to her and was about to say something when Heero grabbed her hand, wrenching her away. As they moved away, Serene gave a quick wave to their fellow guildmate. "B-Bye Rebecca! Enjoy the festival!!", she called out before Rebecca was lost in the crowd. Serene thought of saying something to Heero for the way he was acting back there, but she decided against it. They were here to have a good time. Yelling would ruin that.

The girl pushed some hair from her eyes when they finally stopped. After she made sure the crystal was still in her hair, the girl noticed that there were couples sitting at tables, looking quite romantic at their candlelit dinners. Heero wanted them to come here...? Serene's cheeks turned red just a tad as she smiled a little. The way he had been holding her hand, the way he was acting... He was nervous. Serene smiled a little more, her hand squeezing his gently.

As they made their way into the "restaurant" and the host suddenly scrambled to make a table for him, the girl smiled graciously when Heero pulled out her chair for her. "Thank you, Heero...", she said as she took a seat in the chair and let her feet fall when he pushed her in. Garfield landed on her head after his remark, and Serene usually wouldn't move him but she knew how important this was to Heero, so she grabbed him and set him down in her lap. She quickly took a buttered roll and plopped it into his mouth to keep him from talking. She looked down at the cat and gave him a look that subtlety said: "Behave".

Looking back up at Heero, she smiled gently while she unwrapped one of her arms from around Garfield and let her hand fall onto his. She lightly ran her soft nails over his skin as she looked at him. "Just relax, lightning bug. You don't have to get all worked up over me!", she said with a sweet smile as she tilted her head to the side and gave him a closed-eyed smile.

When the host came back, he quickly laid out a menu for the two mages. She felt Garfield about to protest as to why he didn't get a menu as well, but she expertly shoved another roll into the cat's mouth. Serene would have to remember that Garfield really liked buttered things. Serene looked over to bottle of wine and champagne and looked a bit awkward. "C-Could you give me some water please?", she asked with a little smile.

The host nodded curtly at her request but then asked her what kind of water she wanted. To this, Serene's mind went blank. There was more than one type of water, other than seawater?? The girl blinked in surprise at this question and looked at Heero for a moment. Fumbling, as a blush grew on her face, she answered. "R-Regular water?". The host gave her an odd look and moved off to get her drink. As soon as he was gone after getting Heero's drink order as well, she hung her head in shame, her face still read.

"I-I'm sorry I embarrassed you... I'm not...c-cultured about this sort of stuff...", her blue eyes looking shyly down at the table.

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