Festivities! [Aven and Masha]

There's a time in every young man's life that he seeks to strike out on his own, to blaze his own trails! Aven Alveron was no exception, the restlessness growing steadily as he poured through a few ancient texts his noble connections had afforded him access to. They were regarding a strange substance, found in microscopically trace amounts all around the known world. So far, those two volumes were the only record he'd even found of it's existence, and the information they held was as scant as it's universal distribution. With a sigh, he clapped the book shut, heaving it on top of the stack of research materials he'd been cross-referencing. Aviel had explained the bare minimum of the substance, which the angel had coined 'Dark Matter', but had been reluctant to explain everything about it. Apparently, there were aspects that even Aviel was unsure of, as the Seraph hadn't been born in their universe, and only certain aspects of the material were parallel to the 'Dark Matter' he'd once known. It was crucial that Aven discover its secrets; after all, he was entirely composed of the material.

A summer breeze filtered through the open windows, ruffling his soft, white hair. Aven glanced up and out at the dimensional barrier surrounding the Alveron Estate. He'd never noticed as a child, but it truly was claustrophobic there, cut off from the outside world. Even if it had been a precaution to keep Aven safe from capture like his brother, he was no longer a child in need of protecting. He rose from his desk, the chair skidding noisily on the sleek wooden floor. He'd done enough research and development for a lifetime, it seemed: it was time for some rest and relaxation! Besides, his Mother was off on Military Business, and his Father dealing with a recent upheaval in the Noble community. Hands down, it was the perfect time to get away and unwind.

The question was, where would he go? If he went to Magnolia, he'd probably just get sucked into another job with the Guild. He pondered the thought for a short while, because his memory sparked, and he reached into his desk, pulling out a flyer that Lucy had handed him the other day: it was a limited advertisement for Rozette Travels, a tourist company that was holding a giveaway in celebration of its anniversary. He had the flyer, so he supposed it would have been a waste not to use it.

Dressing in a pair of rather elastic blue jeans, a white undershirt, and a blue short sleeve button-down that hung casually off his shoulders, he made his way toward the door. A small regret surfaced; he hadn't been shopping since his rigorous training with Aviel, so his normally fitted undershirts were all a bit tight around the chest, accentuated some of the progress he'd made. It wasn't a big concern, not on a trip like this, but he'd been wary of his choice of clothing ever since his mishap with confusing the cover of "Boys to Wizards" for a fashion magazine. Never to make that mistake again, he slipped on the only pair of non-dress shoes he owned, some navy Sperry's, and headed out into the courtyard. With a short snap of his fingers, a circle appeared, inscribed with a great many Glyphs: the Alveron Family Transport Circle.

Aven stepped into the gate it formed, and when he emerged, he was at the Rose Garden. Only a short walk away, he found the Rozette Travel agency, and proceeded through the motions. They checked his passport- all good, of course- and handed him a small magical Lacrima for translation. Odd, he hadn't considered that they would be speaking other languages outside the country, but it certainly made sense. He'd never left Fiore, besides entering Purgatory once to aid Aviel in a dire fight. Before he could leave, however, the Travel Agent stopped him. "Actually, sir, you're not the only one who's won the giveaway! You'll be traveling alongside our other winner, she arrived just a little bit ago: where did she get off to...?"

Aven cocked an eyebrow. Traveling with someone else? He'd signed up to rest and relax on a small vacation, he wasn't so sure about sharing that with a complete stranger. Still, they'd likely only be traveling on the same transports to get there, it wasn't as if he'd be required to actually get to know them. He turned around, following the wandering gaze of the Travel Agent as the man swept the room, a small curiosity present as to who he'd be traveling alongside.

[Word Count: 772.]
[Word Count Total: 772/16000.]

Masha was excited for this trip. For once, she was doing something wholly for herself. Well that wasn't exactly a true statement. Rather since her change of heart, rising from the dark side as it were, this was something she was doing for herself. Something that wasn't demanded by her body, something that wasn't a job. This vacation would also take her outside Fiore to the countries beyond. That was another reason to get excited. Festivals in other countries. The only downside was that she wasn't going to be on her own. The other winner of the giveaway would be traveling by her side. Masha couldn't help hoping that it was someone ugly. That way her pheromones would interfere with anything. She was starving after all. Even a moderately attractive traveling partner would tempt her.

The succubus had run to get things when they'd announced she was the winner. One of the winners. Whatever. She'd be the prettiest. That was what mattered. It wasn't that Masha needed to be the prettiest. She simply was, whenever she stepped into a room. The scientists had mutilated her body, making it absolutely pleasing to any eye that laid upon it. As she looked down at the knee socks, shorts that hugged the curves of her ass and the deep neck tee shirt she'd thrown on, Masha wondered if she would have tempted Artemis in this outfit. The thought of his well muscled form shaking with desire made the succubus lick her lips. It also took her mind off of where she was going.

The redhead slammed into someone standing in the entrance of the Traveling Agency. The folder clutched in her arm exploded. Papers fluttered everywhere. "Oh...why must this always happen to me?" Masha pouted as she set her bag down. She tried to snatch up as many of the pages as she could. The last time her fan fictions had been spread everywhere had been a disaster. Looking at the broad back of the man she'd run into, Masha cleared her throat. She needed to apologize for running into them. "Forgive me, I should have been watching where I was going." If he turned around, the succubus paled. She recognized this one.

This was Aven of Fairy Tail. She'd watched him fight with another mage at the Fairy Tail Festival. He cut an impressive figure in his all white suit then. That wasn't the reason the succubus paled however. There were fan fiction pages regarding this mage. Masha had written about her fantasies of this one seducing her and vice versa. Her eyes turned toward the ground, trying to spot any of said pages. One had wedged itself under the man's heel. The sight of that immaculate white suit, torn off in a fit of passion filled her with lust. The fire burning in her lover's eyes, those beautiful blue eyes, softened her normally hard heart. Her fingers ached to tangle in those white curls, to draw him down into her. A hand stretched out to touch the muscles revealed. He shuddered under her touch...

No. nononononon. no. What god or devil hated her so much that this always happened when her fan fictions exploded? Masha hoped he wouldn't grab it. Maybe he'd get really irritated with her clumsiness. He looked like a prince in casual clothing. That wouldn't be out of the ordinary, a prince getting irritated with a clumsy commoner. The succubus realized she was staring at Aven's chest. Scarlet filled her cheeks before she stooped to pick up her pages. The travel agent was also lending a hand. She thanked him for his help as she placed the pages back into her folder. Please. Whatever gods were controlling these stupid pages. Please don't let this gorgeous creature read her fan fiction.

WC: 632
1,404/16000

What?:

Before Aven could even turn fully around, his Radiance Magic activated without warning, a soft golden glow protecting him from some unknown assault. An explosion of paper filled the room, fluttering down around him and another figure he couldn't quite make out. He heard a light, feminine voice ring through the chaos, and he realized what had happened: the young woman must have run into him carrying the stack of papers, and triggered his Radiance Magic's innate self-defense mechanism. Odd, that it would trigger off her running into him, she'd have to be a pretty strong wizard for that to happen.

Aven bent down, as the sea of papyrus cascaded around them, gradually parting and he began to speak. "It's no trouble, I just hope none of your materials are-" In the middle of his sentence, the words on the page he was removing from below his shoe caught his eye, one of the first times in his life that his heightened reading comprehension had come back to bite him: The sight of that immaculate white suit, torn off in a fit of passion filled her with lust. The fire burning in her lover's eyes, those beautiful blue eyes, softened her normally hard heart. Her fingers ached to tangle in those white curls, to draw him down into her. A hand stretched out to touch the muscles revealed. He shuddered under her touch... "...damaged." He stopped reading abruptly, acutely aware after only a few sentences that he was diving into something extremely personal for the young lady. Trying to shake the redness from his face, he gathered up a good portion of the other 'materials', shifting them in his hands expertly to align their edges. He'd had countless hour of practice rifling through his research notes, so much that it'd become second nature to create a neat stack out of loose paper he was holding.

What was not second nature to Aven, on the other hand, was being face to face with a crimson haired beauty. The air had cleared, and he could clearly see more than he thought decent for him to be able to view in public. The woman appeared his age, perhaps a few years older, but that was hardly what mattered at the time. She was dressed to kill, and not in the way that would have the Rune Knights after her; unless, of course, those Rune Knights happened to attracted to large breasts and shorts that left little to the imagination, in which case, they'd be chasing her for a different reason altogether. The blush he'd shaken off before returned with a vengeance, and he was more than a bit flustered, almost dropping the stack of papers outright.

Aven quickly placed the papers down in front of her, averting his eyes and standing up. Even from his peripherals, he could still see exposed flesh, and it was taking all his social might not to let it distract him from being proper. "That was quite a tumble; are you alright, Miss? You startled me for a moment!" There was still that telltale tinge of red on his cheeks, but Aven's signature smile came through in spades, with the gentle teal glow of his eyes sparkling behind it. He'd matured as of late, and though the young man certainly wasn't used to this level of temptation, he was far more in control of his faculties than before.

Come to think of it, wasn't this a bit too perfect of timing? The Travel Agent had mentioned that the person he'd be traveling with was nearby, and would be back any moment... No, there were cruel gods of the world, but none cruel enough to stick him next to a woman so outrageously attractive, she'd put Succubi to shame, for his entire vacation? Worse yet, his thing for long, white hair was rivaled only by his thing for long, red hair! No, she couldn't be the one he'd be travelling with; it must have simply been a coincidence!

The Travel Agent regarded the two of them with a winning customer service smile, one that told no lies. "Ah, good! You're both here!"

Son of a bitch.

[Word Count: 698.]
[Word Count Total: 2102/16000.]

Masha was caught between blushing and giggling at Aven. He'd clearly read enough of her story when he picked the page up. Perhaps the gods or devils weren't so cruel. At least this man didn't draw attention to what her 'materials' were all about. Then he got them into a neat pile before handing them to her. The succubus shyly swept her hair behind her ear before accepting them. Shyly? When had that become a thing? She was only shy on purpose. Right? The succubus wasn't sure about this new development. "Oh uh, thank you Aven." She said with a bright smile. That was more her pace. Confident. A confident yet cool beauty. Yeah.

The weirdest part was the new dark side of her mind, the one obsessed with Artemis, wasn't rising. Perhaps the hunger her body was experiencing silenced it. The longer she stood here though, the more dangerous the situation got. Males, females, everyone was slowing down as they passed her. Not of their own free will clearly. Her pheromones made most non-magical or weakly magical people burn with desire. All her training to control it hadn't done squat. Every passing second had a danger of creating a mob. A mob intent on ravishing a certain succubus. Masha shifted nervously next to Aven. She hated when that happened before her incident. Now... now it might drive her over the deep end. People would die in her attempts to get away.

Giving her head a little shake, the succubus focused back in on the travel agent. The words coming from his mouth didn't compute for a moment. "Whaaaa?!" Masha accidentally let slip. No. No way! No. He'd read her fanfiction. About him no less. This could either be hell or a blissful vacation wonderful beyond all means. Maybe she and Aven could get... closer. It was always fun showing white knights their naughty side. Getting them to really blossom into what it meant to be bad.

Masha's cheeks tinged pink. She put her hand out toward the Fairy Tail mage. "Um, nice to finally meet you then, Aven. I'm Masha. I watched you fight during the fairy tail festival. It was... inspiring" Well if he didn't know who the fanfic was about before, he sure would now. Unless he was one of those naive types. Masha wasn't sure she'd enjoy that. Men that were too dense to get 'I want the D' plain as day signals weren't worth the time. "I hope our travels together will be fun. I'm really looking forward to it." Another award winning smile flashed at Aven. Masha wasn't trying to turn on the charm. Maybe. She was attempting to be a little more discerning regarding her bed partners. Key word being attempting. The succubus had gone cold turkey for weeks at this point. She needed to get laid.

The travel agent turned to lead the way to their transport. "If you would both follow me, you can begin your journey about Earthland!" Masha did her best not to jump in excitement. With how full the folder in her arms would, such a movement would send the papers all over the place once again. Instead the movement was opted for a wide smile and an eager step as she followed the travel agent. This was also a prime opportunity to tease Aven.

Looking over her shoulder at the Fairy Tail mage, Masha offered him a small smile. "Don't stare at my butt too much, Aven." She paused, glancing back at the travel agent. The man was blissfully ignoring the two of them as he showed the way. "I know they're bewitching assets but there is plenty more to stare at." The succubus paused again, this time for effect. "I mean the scenery we're about to witness of course. Any time you wanna stare at me though, just ask, kay?" She tossed him a saucy wink before focusing on the travel agent's back. Yeah she still had it. It was good to know the old her wasn't entirely gone. It was just hidden behind a few quirky traits.

WC: 683
2,785/16000

Masha frowned at a glimmer that was appearing in front of her. It didn't seem natural. Then there was a dark feeling of dread deep in her stomach. Nothing Aven or the guide had done explained the feeling away. It bothered her that amid her happiness, there was a spot of darkness. Her magic swirled around her briefly trying to detect the source of the feeling. The reflection still hovered before her. Could it be her imagination? The succubus turned around to ask Aven if he saw it. A brief crack registered to her enhanced hearing. To anyone looking at the redhead, a third red-colored eye blossomed in her forehead. Masha got only a glimpse of Aven before everything went black.

Magic erupted from Masha's body as it fell. Her summons appeared all around her. Caius crouched over the corpse. A feral expression ruined his otherwise prim appearance. Aodhfin hovered over them both. His fiery white wings ruffled the hair of the crowd. Dewi, the shadow dragon, Shevarra, the vampire ex-queen, Morthos, the devil werewolf, and Ami, the battle witch didn't stay any more than a moment. Each plunged into the crowd, calling out to each other occasionally. It was clear they were hunting the culprit. Mercedes, the baby dragon, lay curled upon Masha's chest. Fat tears rolled down her green snout as she sobbed pitifully. Acantha, the drider princess, was the only summons that didn't crowd around Masha's body or search for the killer. She stood off to the side, giggling happily. Caius and Aodhfin shot her dirty looks several times.

The civilians panicked as they began noticing the creatures and the blood sprayed upon the pavement. Screams began to sound. A few people began to run. The situation quickly deteriorated as the runners caused others to panic. The entire crowd devolved into anarchy. Spells fired off, people were trampled, chaos ruled. It was a large area of effect spell. A subtle one which enhanced people's predilection to fear. Whether it was cast by the shooter or not was impossible to tell.

"Can you save her?" Caius asked Aodhfin without looking at him. The vampire couldn't care less about the panicking people. They were of little consequence next to his mistress. The phoenix looked silently down upon the body. He could feel a strand of life still swirling through it. Some part of Masha was clinging desperately to life. Even if she hadn't been, Aodhfin was young. He didn't yet have the expertise to heal such a wound. There was nothing he could do. Well, maybe there was one thing.

The phoenix flew over to Aven. "She yet clings to life, Mr. Aven. Please, save Masha. There is nothing I can do for her and none of the others have healing abilities. I do not know if you possess magical healing, but I hope you have some way to help her. Please, Mr. Aven. You're her only hope."

WC: 489
3,274/16000