I've been drinking, I've been drinking [Aven]

Nessa was strolling along next to Aven through the streets of Magnolia. The two of them had just finished a job together, and were in the process of winding down for the day. The streets were quieting down the for the evening, and the road was pathed with the lights emanating from restaurants and taverns. Nessa peeked through the window of a lively bar, "Hey, this place is pretty good, I've been here before with my family." She told him, they had been perusing for a while and it seemed like one of the better choices for the night.
She just hoped it was suited to Aven's tastes, she had seen the food the guy was used to and it was a little... higher standard than this place. But the atmosphere was nice and the service was good.

Nessa headed over to the entrance, pushing it open, they were immediately hit with the noise of a place filled with happy customers and bustling waiters. Chattering away noisily along to the live music playing on the far side. Nessa looked back at Aven with an excited grin before stepping inside. A petite blonde walked over to them, she recognised Nessa as a local customer and offered her a friendly smile, "Table for two?" She asked, earning a nod from Nessa. The waitress led them over two a table in the centre of the room, before offering them each a set of menus. "We've got a offer on tonight, two for one on cocktails if you’re interested." Nessa glanced over at Aven eagerly, "Ooh that's sounds good, I'd could really go for a Daiquiri right now? How about you?" She asked her fellow guildmate and team member.

The waitress smiled, nodding at their ordering before leaving the table, and going to handle other orders. Nessa did a little happy clap, before skimming over the food menu in front of her, she wasn't feeling especially hungry. But if they were going to drink, she would need to at least at least something. She did not want to get as drunk as she did a little while ago, that had been the hangover from hell, not to mention all the other stuff. No, just a quiet drink with Aven over a meal, that would be fine right? Besides they worked hard, if anything they deserved it.

"I don't really fancy anything heavy, might just get a little tapas to pick at." She told Aven casually, "What are you in the mood for?" Nessa asked, looking over the top of her menu at him. After a second glance, Nessa placed her menu down on the table. Proceeding to glance over at the band that were crooning away, a keyboard player, a bass player, a singer with a guitar and a drummer. It was nice, upbeat melody, they were clearly a very talented band. Her attention was drawn back when Aven addressed her, as she listened to his words, her eyes narrowed slightly. She bit the inside of her cheek, This guy... She thought. She knew he was teasing her, she couldn't help herself, she wanted to bite back.

"Excuse me. Mr Alveron, but that's very presumptuous of you." She began, sitting back in her seat, she smirked a little. "I handle my drink just fine actually, so I'll have whatever I feel like. Although, You don't exactly look like a heavy drinker yourself. Couple of champagnes here and there maybe? You probably wouldn't be able to keep up." She retorted challengingly. She couldn't help herself, he just knew how to egg her on, so she wanted to return in kind. It probably wouldn't amount to anything than a little banter so, it was harmless surely.

Nessa saw his smirk, sitting up a little, she could feel that air between them grow a little tenser. Not in a bad way, just in the way that it did when two good friends fell into competition. It certainly felt like it was going that way. She listened to him for a moment, and did a little put on eye roll at his mention about how his family were famous for have strong drinking constitutions. She couldn't help herself, it was always so fun to see Aven get competitive, like they did on jobs together. It was just part of the dynamic between them.

The waitress returning with their Daiquiri's, "Are you ready to order food?" She asked, Nessa ordered one of the tapas sets, before waiting for Aven to place his order. The waitress picked up the menus and made to walk away, but Nessa leaned over quickly to add. "Can we also have three shots of tequila, lemon and salt." She asked, the waitress glanced between the two of them for a moment, before nodding and turning. Nessa brought her eyes back to Aven with a mischievous grin on her face. "I believe that answers your question." She told him.

It may have been a really, really bad idea, but it wasn't like they were in a different town. Have a few drinks, prove Aven wrong, then head home to recover. It wouldn't be so bad, she had snuck back in after a handful of parties before. Besides, she was of drinking age so why did it matter, her father would be fine. This night would be fine. She couldn't imagine it going wrong really, besides she really, really wanted to prove Aven wrong on this one. She could handle herself, she just need to pace it right. Last time she had been reckless, drinking things she hadn't tried before. Sticking with what she knew would help, at least this is what she had managed to convinced herself.

Nessa grinned as he amended her drinks order, obviously catching onto her odd number of drinks. She had planned on snagging the third one for herself just to show him up, but good ol' Aven was too quick for that. She sat back in her seat, "I hope you know what your getting into." She told him with a grin, she wasn't going to back down, not from this. After a few moments the waitress returned with their drinks, placing them in front of the pair. Nessa eyed the three shots in front of her, placed neatly in a row. Next to a bowl of lemons slices and a little salt shaker.

Picking up her Daiquiri, she took a sip. Enjoying the fruity cool flavour, a Daiquiri was one of those alcoholic beverages you could forget was alcohol. Based on the fruity flavour and the slushy texture. Tequila on the other hand... was not. She glanced over at Aven as he spoke, she grinned at him, "I'm working on it..." She told him with a wink, it was a joke of course. She doubted she would ever been strong enough to be a wizard saint, not like Sorano. To have that much power...it just seemed like something out of her reach. That was fine though, she was happy as long as her magic was useful and helpful. That was the point after all, of her being a mage.

Nessa placed her Daiquiri down on the table, reaching forward she grabbed the salt and sprinkled it over the back of her left hand. Then handing the salt shaker to Aven, she took her lemon slice in one hand and shot in the other. Clinking the shot against Aven's glass, "Cheers," She said, before bringing the shot up to her lips and knocking it back. She shut her eyes, wincing a little and shaking her head as it's itself flavour coated her tongue and burned her throat. She gasped, brought quickly licking the salt off her hand and popping the lemon slice into her mouth. She quickly put the shot glass on the table and covered her mouth, letting out a muffled chuckle as she watched Aven to see how he did.

Nessa watched the way he drank, drinking his daiquiri before taking the shot, she shook her head with a grin. Spotting the slightly watery eyes of his, yeaaah, he felt it, She thought in amusement, although he had handled it well for the most part. It just went to show how interesting this little challenge of theirs was going to be. Chuckling, she took the lemon out of her mouth and placed it on a napkin. Reaching out for her other drink, she took another sip of her Daiquiri, allowing it to wash away some of the residue from the tequila. Then sat back again, repeating her manoeuvre with the salt on her hand, and preparing a fresh slice of lemon.

"Round two," She repeated after him with a grin, before repeating her previous actions of knocking back the shot, licking the salt off her wrist and sucking the lemon. The tequila burned just as much the second time round as it had the first, she popped the lemon out of her mouth. Coughing a little, she laughed looking up at Aven, before collecting herself. "Easy," She lied, it had been easy, not really. But she wasn't going to admit that, this was a game of will after all. One she had no intention of losing.

She grinned at his determined motion of taking his second short, confident and smoothly. Then between hem remained the last she watched as he picked it up. Suggesting that they do it together she nodded. Picking up hers, she began to count with him. ”One, two, three!” She brought the shot to her mouth once again, no salt or lemon this time just the shot. It’s beutal flavour seared her tongue, making her want to gag. She swallowed it quickly, fanning herself and doing a little shuffle with her feet. She gasped, taking a beeath, she could smell the tequila lingering. Feeling a small warmth over her, they were startinng to have a small affect on her body. That was only after a few minutes, she wondered how she would be in ten. She also wondered how Aven would be, she couldnt help but grin as she tried to imagine what drunk Aven was lile. A little part of her really wanted to see it.

She took a hearty gulp of her Daiquiri in order to recover fully, licking her lips, she looked at the drink, realising she had already consimed over two thirds of her cocktail. That was most likely due to the washing back of the shots. She looked at Aven, a cheeky grin on her lips, ”How you feeing fella?” She asked, her violet eyes watching for his reaction.

Nessa tilted her head, listening to his response, that was no surprise that has pretty much come straight from a job. It would’ve been a while since he’d eaten. Nessa wasn’t especially hungry but she could it. Although after having tthrwe straights of tequila her gut was feeling slightly offset. She would just need a moment for her body to re-adjust and she would be fine. ”Glad to hear it,” She said, trying to look for any tale-tell signa that the alcohol was working. She for the most part could feel the warmth slowly spread through her body, making her feel as though she was tingling slightly.

After a moment the waitress reappeared with their meal, placign a juicy steak in front of Aven and three small plates of various tapas dishes in front lf Nessa. Nessa thanked the waitress before pickingn up a fork, and scooping a bite of Potatas Bravas into her mouth. It was hot, but still so good, the way it crunched in her mouth, the soft potato inside mixing with the lightly spiced sauce. Maybe it was cause she’d had a drink but, it tasted especially good tonight. She chewed as Aven addressed her joke, raising her brows, she swallowed ber bite.

”Oh i mean, I don’t know. I could definitely see you doing that, I suppose if one day I became strong enough maybe, but I feel like that’s so far out of reach right now. I still have a lot to work on, for example did a job with this guy from the West Fiore Trading Company. I think you’ve met actually, his name is Johann. His magic was so impressive, like I haven’t seen magic like that before. It was something else, worlds above anything I could do.” She told him earnestly, ”It really put into perspective how much better I wanna be you know, although I don’t know about you but I definitely feel like I’ve got better since joing Fairy Tail. Especially with the whole Valkyrie Summoning thing under my belt now.”

Aven’s sudden reaction to her Valkyrie Summoning remark made Nessa jump in her seat slightly. She has a piece of beef empanada on her fork that she had almost bit into when he had nearly choked on his steak. Nessa lowered her fork, the surprise on her face followed by a slow look of realisation, when it occured to her that she had forgotten to tell Aven about the incident at the waterfall. Her cheeks flushed slightly and she brought her free hand up to her silver hair, twiddling a loose strand as she began to awkwardly explain herself.

”Umm, like two and a half weeks ago I suppose. I’m sorry, I wanted to tell you sooner, I’ve just been so busy I forgot. You see, I was out for a walk with Arielle and suddenly this Valkyrie fell from the sky and landed in this pond in front of me. So I kinda jumped in and saved her, Arielle used his healing magic on her, as a thanks she took us to Valhalla where I got to meet her sisters.” The more she spoke the less awkward she felt and the more animated she became; it had been a pretty exciting experience after all. She was glad she was able to tell him about it, admittedly whenever something good happened to her, Aven was one of the first people she wanted to tell.

”Honestly Aven, it really is incredible there, and these Valkyries; they’re just so beautiful and mystical, like something out of a story book you know. Anyway, I guess they took a liking to me or something cause they decided to make a contract with me, so now I can summon then and in exchange I help them with a certain matter. Boy was that a painful experience, the contract I mean. It took me an entire week to recover from the changes to my body but I’ve pretty much got the swing of it by now.” She told him happily, before bringing the beef empanada to her lips and taking a bite.

Nessa was pleased that Aven was upset with her for not telling him about it, living the life of a mage sure was lively. Things tended to fly by so speedily that it was easy to loose track of yourself, Nessa had barely had any downtime since joining Fairy Tail. But she didn't mind it so much, she loved living a fast life, like an ongoing adventure that never ended. Nor was she phased by his enthusiasm about visiting Valhalla, She didn't blame him for wanting to see it. What other opportunities did you get to see an completely different plane of existence.

"Sure, we can go whenever you like. I'm sure the Valykries would like to meet you." She told him, she reached over and dug her fork into a seasoned prawn before proceeding to take a bite. Looking at him while chewing for a moment, a small rise on thr corner of her lips. She reached over and took a sip of her drink, swallowing it down before addressing him. "You know though, I have to warn you, the Valkyries can be a little bit...wild. I wouldn't want to overwhelm you." She said, still partially teasing, "That reminds me, Shall we get two more cocktails or do you want just cool it for now?" She asked with a grin, even distracting her with Valkyrie talk hadn't allowed her to forget the 'challenge' they were involved in, at least not yet. Also now that she was feeling a little on the merry side, her inhibitions and concerns were quickly floating away.

Nessa nodded, "Umm, I guess so yeah." She answered, not really sure if it worked that way seeing as they weren't members of Fairy Tail. But they were like a part of her now, so maybe he was right. She grinned smugly, wondering if the drink was getting to much for him so soon, not that she wasn't feeling it. But still, she felt like she could go on if she wanted to. At least at this point she felt like that, a few more shots and she would definitely struggle to maintain any of her composure. She nodded at his comment, picked up her fork, she began to pick at the remainder of her meal. Finishing off at least three quarters of it, although she didn't feel like eating it all. Especially not after three shots of tequila, her stumble with feeling a little unsettled. She looked up at him, "Ready?" She asked with a smile after wiping her mouth with a napkin. "We should probably head outside for a moment, It might be a bit odd to do it in here." She told him, placing down her share of the jewels for the meal plus tip.

Standing, she made her way out of the bar, leading him outside, as she stepped through the front door again, she felt the cool air hit her face. She wobbled a little as she felt the force of the alcohol she had consumed, before giggling and turning to Aven. She held out her right arms, there was a paused before the Norse symbol on the back of her neck began to glow with light. The air in front of her open palm began to ripple and distorted, slowly growing until it was bigger than Nessa. She glanced back at Aven with a grin, leaning over and taking his hand in hers. "Let's go!" She said eagerly before stepping inside the portal.

Nessa stepped through the portal, taking a deep breath as she stepped into the astral place, taking in it's rich clean air. She looked over to the skies, glowing with the beautiful vision of a picturesque sunset. Admiring it for a moment before glancing back over at Aven with a smile, it was a similar sight to the sunset they watched at his house. "Beautiful isn't it?" She said softly, leading him along the cloudy path, giving him the time to take it all it, the sight of wind  path of endless clouds, stepping along a mossy path, a trial of pretty flowers sprouting along the path, blooming with a parade of colours the further they walked . Nessa frowned, that's new... She thought, wondering why she hadn't noticed that before. Was there a reason for this mystical display?  

As she got closer to the grand white castle that was Odin's hall, she wondered if the Valkyrie's knew they were coming, she bit her lip nervously. Suddenly aware she was still holding Aven's hand, she quickly let go as they reached the wooden white door. She sighed nervously, before knocking three times. She swayed slightly on the spot, there was brief moment of silence. Before the door slowly creaked open, Nessa felt her stomach drop as she was met with the gaze of a certain blue haired Valkyrie. The last person she had hoped would open the door was Scythen, Nessa instantly felt the sensation of dread seep into her. A side effect of being too close to the Valkyrie of Death. "Well if it isn't the lovely Nessa Lux," She said, her eerie glowing pupil-less eyes gliding over to Aven, her face splitting into a delighted grin. Although Scythen was undoubtedly a beautiful being, the sight of her smile was enough to send a chill down Nessa's spine. The Valkyrie's hungry eyes trialled up and down Aven, taking in the sight of him. "And you must be Aven… I was hoping Nessa Lux would be bringing you by,"

Nessa followed Aven's gaze over her shoulders, eyes widening as a familiar being materialized. It was him, the beautiful angelic being they had met when she and Aven had been teleported into that other world. Her jaw dropped in surprise, she hadn't expected him to make an appearance, speaking of which, where had he even come from? Her slightly inebriated mind was feeling very boggled right now. As he greeted Scythen, she become even more shocked, They know eachother? She thought in wonder, if she had been more sober she may have been able to work out that magical beings such as themselves would of course have crossed paths. But she was tipsy, so of course it didn't.


Scythen licked her lips, "Trouble, as you know is an appetizer for myself. Speaking of food, Aviel, you are ...as delectable as ever I see." She purred, "However, as a protector of these lands it is my duty to ask, are you here of your own accord or an accompaniment of Nessa Lux here. Because you know very well, to enter Valhalla without permission is great act of blasphemy. The breaking of this law is punishable by death." Her eyes glowed slightly brighter, her demeanour more menacing, a dark energy beginning to radiate from her body. Nessa raised her hands quickly in a peaceful gesture,

"He's with me," She said in a rushed squeak, hoping to distil any animosity. Obviously she hadn't brought Aviel, but he must have come with Aven and she had brought him so she wasn't really lying. Scythen's gaze lingered on Aviel, before slowly lowering to Nessa. Nessa almost sensed the Valykries slight disappointment to have lost her excuse to fight their surprise company, but that was quickly hidden by the sickly sweet smile she offered. "Very well, do come in." She said, stepping back and opening the door wider. Nessa quickly hurried inside, wanting to introduce Aven to someone a little less scary than Scythen. Stepping into the great hall,  they had walked straight into a long rectangular room, large wooden pillars standing at over a hundred metres in height. In the centre of the great hall, was a round table at least ten metres wide all the way around, completely covered in food and drink. Seated around it, an array of different thrones. All designed with their own magnificence and detailing.

At the table was three other Valykries, Nessa smiled as she recognised them as Ellamora, Tiphanae and Elgorea. Ellamora sat in her usual golden throne, Nessa was surprised for a moment, seeing that the Starlight Valkyries wasn't wearing her armour but a long flowing navy blue gown. The fabric seemed to shimmer in the reflection of the light, it's edges sown with golden lace trimming. It was beautiful. Her face did not bare her armoured masked but instead a golden masqueraded mask, she shot Nessa a brilliant smile  from beneath it. To her right was Tiphanae, not seated but standing by the throne. The wind Valkyrie quickly approached them, offering Aven a bow before straightening up. "Welcome Aven Alveron, We have been told many great things about you." She said in a polite manner, Nessa smiled, of course she could always rely on Tiphanae to be polite and respectful.

Elgorea gasped loudly from where she was sat covering her mouth as she laid her eyes on Aviel, she stood large bat-like wings sprouting from her back, she flew across the room. Reaching out she grabbed the front of his clothes with her demon claw, and shook him. Nessa looked on in shock, Elgorea who was always very sweet and shy, never behaved so forward before.  "You....you …" She began, "Where...have you been?" She croaked out tearfully. Nessa looked on speechless, for a moment she thought Elgorea was going to attack Aviel, but to have her cry. Nessa could feel herself welling up, and glanced away, unable to stand the sight of someone crying.

Scythen's titled her head, unfazed by Aviel's deep-cutting retort, rather she let out a deep chuckle of amusement, as though relishing fond memories. "Ahh yes, such a splendid opponent, had it not been for Ellamora, I'm sure she could have killed me. Yet here I am..." She turned leaving the remainder of her sentence suspended in the air. She sauntered off out of the way, Nessa felt relief she moved away back to her own black ominous throne.

Elgorea's reaction to Aviel had brought a sad tension into the removed, heightened his words to her. She hugged his back, sobbing further. Tiphanae reached over reached out and pulled Nessa's gently by her wrist. ""Come let's all sit down... there is much to discuss." She said softly, Nessa allowed Tiphanae's to pulled her over, sitting Nessa  down on her own stony grey throne. Tiphanae turned to look at Aven, "You may sit in Lucinda's chair for now Aven Alveron," She said pointing to a separate throne, seemingly made of iron. Tiphanae did not sit but remained stood next to Nessa, looking over at Elgorea who was just about letting go of Aviel.

Ellamora who was wearing an unreadable expression, spoke suddenly, not looking at him but directly down the table. "I suppose it's only fitting that you sit in Hakon's chair, seeing as it's so rarely used these days. Except for the occasions that Nessa Lux visits," Her voice rang out firmly, her dark blue eyes glided over to him. As though daring him to challenge her on the matter, Nessa kind of understood why. The first time she had come to Valhalla, Elgorea had protested to Nessa sitting there herself as it belonged to Hakon. "Soooo...er…you guys all have history then." She said awkwardly, glancing at Aven, and here she thought this was going to be a simple visit.