Guns and Rapiers

The capital of Crocus had several sets major label sets used for Hollywood productions. Reserved only for the highest budget grossing films, was the Lacrima Engine Fiore Studios, sixteen leagues away from dead center of Fiore, where all the major film producers hoping to sell the latest blockbusters at cinemas would craft their projects. Where hopeful civilians turned into worldwide icons. The stage was established for the well-to-do and for a life of luxury and decadence, so close to the city where people pass by it everyday. And yet, so few would ever have the chance to touch. Yet for Toppa, it would be his first taste not of wealth, but of international fame. And he did not know what to feel about that.

The next big blockbuster: War of the Roses, was to be a fantasy-lacrimapunk rendition of a historical drama between the real houses of York and Lancaster. A tale of blood and betrayal, gritty drama and scandals... now also included, guns, magic, monsters, and of course, gratuitous violence.

They had already struck a major acting role for the main heroine: Illya Pegasus, an internationally well known icon and idol. The rest of the cast would be an all star ensemble as well, directed udner a major budget and a famed producer, this was slated to be an upcoming film that positioned itself to redefine genres of science fiction and modern fantasy. Personally... Toppa felt the writing to be a bit trite whilst memorising the script, but the books themselves were fascinating.

Toppa had struck gold. Metaphorically and physically. Metaphorically in that he had, even in his mild arrogance, never have thought he would be able to make it upon a world stage like this, let alone play in such a major role. And literally because the jewel count (though less important) was no less as impressive.

He had just exited his trailer after being introduced to the set. Every amenity that he required was provided to him by a personal assistant, his needs and wants were lookedafter well by a full team of members ready to ease his role to do nothing but acting. But.... Toppa prefered a personal touch, he was going to say hi to the cast and crew. Having spoken to most of them with a passing hello to build connections already, he was going to have to introduce himself to the biggest starlet of all now. Saving the largest for last.

Nervousness crept up his throat as he walked towards the security team positioned outside the star's trailer. But nevertheless, Toppa stood outside, smiled towards the security personnel, and asked:

"Hi, I'm Toppa, I'm going to be starring beside Illya in the oncoming days and I just wanted to say hello and meet with her. Could you please relay the message for me?"

The security guard briefly knocked on the door of the starlet as Toppa waited outside. He was dressed as casually as he could given the relative circumstances. As a celebrity he had to uphold some degree of formality, but otherwise nothing too formal. A simple white shirt under a black blazer. A pair of jeans and a pair of brown loafers. He wore no glasses for today, they were mainly for show and in the public eye he needed to look different from his regular, innocuous self.

”Alright, be there in a sec!”

He heard, sweet, bubbly. Like exactly what an idol should sound like, he thought to himself. Though he had never seen her in person, he had seen her shows on lacrima TV at some point before.

The duchess of york was as good looking in real life as she was in televisions. Makeup hardly needed to be applied on her when she naturally had such smooth skin. Toppa was stunned, momentarily, seduced by fame and power and the promises of personal time with such a figure. Her heterochromatic eyes and vivid pink to red hair showed much in the way of her personality. Bubbly, open, flashy, not afraid to have fun and defiant to conventions of subtlety.

The type of girl he generally liked, to dress in skimpy clothes and adorn in gold. Except those girls were pale imitations of fame and wealth and excess. Standing before him was a full blown celebrity with a dedicated fan base. Toppa smiled in response, a trained smile, though nervous, he did not show much of it outside. "Hey Illya." He replied casually,"I hope so too. You look better in person than in the magazines." He commented, as his eyes briefly, unconsciously, scanned down her body. It would be an understatement to say that Illya was stacked. With curves like that it was hard to stay focused on her face.

He cleared his throat. "I... umm, well," He muttered, briefly unable to form the words. "I wanted to get to know you better, seeing as we'll be co-stars for this, I wanted to be a little proactive and maybe grab dinner?" He replied, smiling. "We'll be having a shoot tomorrow, but I'm interested in knowing you outside of work before in."

That is of course, if she had the time. Not even he was that confident that he could be able to just randomly pick up an international icon for a drink.

Toppa had to momentarily pause as Illya began to speak. "Yeah, I'd imagine most people would want to meet you in person." Toppa chuckled.

It seemed, at face value, that Illya was a girl who simply enjoyed the moment for what it was, and that moment was a stream of consciousness that played out in her mind and translated into words at breakneck speed. AS she mentioned as to where they could eat however, Toppa had to briefly consider, he was familiar with Crocus, but at this time of night most places would be full. Only, he realised today he was eating with an international superstar, and no matter where they went it was most likely that they would be given a table without any reservation.

"My intentions are entirely unpure," He replied, his ruby red eyes glanced down towards her heterochromatic onces as he waggled an eyebrow. "Oh! Right! I probably shouldn't be walking around in costume. Although this jacket's really comfortable, too. Oh well! Just gimme a moment reaaaaal quick, Toppa!" Ah yes, she was most likely doing ap hotoshoot today as well as yesterday. "Of course, take your time dear." Toppa replied, as she went back into her trailer.

As she did, Toppa simply settled himself with making small talk with the security personnel. Once she came back out again, Toppa's eyes scanned her once more. The blazer and the dress definitely made for a more subdued look, but Toppa had to admit she looked fantastic in a ponytail with the matching plaid dress. Her curves were subdued by her jacket, her breasts tucked into the folds of the button up, but she was no less 'prominent', even though the outfit itself helped to somewhat slim her figure.

"Right! I'm ready to get going!" She spoke, "Great, let's g--"

Toppa had to pause momentarily as Illya broke into a massive stream of thought, deciding it would be better for them to begin walking along the way, Toppa was happy to let her talk as they continued to move. Illya seemed carefree and open, unguarded with her feelings and honest with her thoughts, with a great deal of naive innocence piled on top. It was momentarily refreshing, he thought to himself, that he could just trust another person implicitly by how they spoke. "Yeah sure, I'm..." TOppa paused, "I wouldn't say an open book, but I think I'm down to talk to you about most things about myself." He chuckled. "Let's get going first, I have an idea of where we could eat, I'm gonna fully utilize your stardom to get us our seats though, hope you don't mind." He winked.

Gently wrapping his hand against her hip Toppa guided his newfound date out the studio areas and into the bustling streets. The restaurant was nearby, and the glimmer of dusk and the lights of Crocus, the shops and parlors nearby were always a nice mixup for a date. Toppa scooted close to her as he thought about how best to introduce himself. "Well... let's see, I'm an aspiring mage, I'm a business owner, I'm not a actor as well. I guess I wear a lot of hats. I'm twenty two, I'm thinking about going into modelling, I have a cat, I love pretty women and drinking, and I am massively into both Lacbook and music." He chuckled. "Most people think I'm pretty confident as a person, but really... I think I'm more afraid of losing opportunities than anything else." He grinned turning towards Illya.

"What about you? Global superstar, idol, musician, model, mage." He replied, genuinely impressed at her portfolio, "And so young as well. What made you decide to pursue a career in entertainment?"

Toppa had dated many women in the past, mostly out of interest or something physical, sometimes, because there was a void he needed to fill. In this particular instance, it was mainly because he thought they would be able to have fun together. Even having just met Illya for a brief amount of time, she seemed like the kind of girl who knew how to have fun. But no date he had would be able to prepare him for her verbosity.

It was quite frankly, relieving, Toppa could simply listen and not have to lead the full conversation save occasionally to step in and talk to her about her interests. It also made him more comfortable in sharing part of himself, now that he knew she was easy to speak to (for him, at least).

Toppa's eyes transfixed themselves into her right eye, a bright cyan crystal, unnatural in brightness, like the clearest blue sky. It was gorgeous, then he swapped to her other eye, an amethyst blue, which while potently bright, was much more normal than usual. "I see..." He replied, his face looking close into her, he could smell her light perfume from here, her face barely inches from his. If he were to push accidentally...

"So your gorgeous voice is part of your magic," He chuckled. Toppa wondered if her speech patterns were also a direct result of such an implantation. Regardless, "That's an old... and very powerful magic you have." He replied, smiling towards her, "The fact that you possess it at all probably means you have the voice to rival a deity, lucky me I guess. If you'd sing for me sometime." He chuckled. He wondered how many other men were currently chasing after her. Dozens? Hundreds? If he could estimate based on her fame, most likely thousands. That will be me too, at some point. He thought to himself. Like it or not, he needed the attention.

As they continued to walk down the main square, Toppa briefly guided her down a lane to where the restaurant they would be eating at would be. Just in time for him to hear the second half of her speech. He laughed briefly at the thought of Illya being a simple waitress, "I don't imagine that I'd ever put you in the service lines unless you really wanted to-- actually..." Toppa paused, looking towards Illya, "If you're interested, I'd be happy to do a short duratin where you help me out with serving coffee at one of the cafes I own, you'd get to meet all my regulars as well." He chuckled, not that he had too many of them, but having a star there would definitely help out.

What truly surprised Toppa however was when she said that she had once been part of Fairy Tail. "Oh, wow, I had no clue!" He replied, a genuine smile forming on his face, "Do you know Nessa then? Or Mura? Or... well--" The guy with the ridiculous amounts of gold, "Louie?" He had to put that on hold for now however, as she continued to talk. Maybe he oculd ask again at a time more appropriate. "I agree, being a normal person is nice, honestly were itn ot for the fact that I need to protect myself, I wouldn't have bothered with combat magic at all." He replied,gently his fingers squeezed against her hip.

It was around this point however that Toppa began to lose track of the conversation. He didn't know who Yemaya was or if she still lived in Magnolia, but he supposed he should just go with the flow and attempt to comprehend as much of it as possible. "So you're telling me a magical creature raised you as it's own child? And that you possess a lacrima from one of the most power, if not the most powerful set of magic?" Toppa replied, a curious eyebrow raised with a quizzical smile, "I feel like those things aren't completely unrelated." He stuck out his tongue, he'd not pry on her past if it was personal, but he'd like to get to know that part of the story as well. "Absolutely hun, I have a place to stay in Magnolia if that's what you mean. I also have one here. And Lady goes wherever I go generally, but she can take care of herself when I'm not around." Toppa smiled. "I'm more than happy to visit anyways Illya, I don't think many guys wouldn't jump at the chance to be able to check out your place."

Just around the nick of time of their conversation having stopped, Toppa and Illya arrived at their intended destination: The Bearded Baker. A restaurant run by a prior friend of Toppa's, but the shop had since become an incredibly busy location. Opening the wood and glass door, the interior was rustic and chic. The floor had no carpets, but a flat slate ground polished to a sheen, the furniture was a collection of antique tables and chairs, asymmetrical in shapes and sizes. The restaurant used antique wax candles rather than lacrima, and the smell of fresh bread and bacon ran across the entirety of the restaurant. The moment they stepped in, a waiter quickly moved to the forefront, her look briefly dismissive, "Do you reserv--" She started in a bored tone, before her eyes snapped to Illya, "Ohmygosh..." She spoke, putting her hands to her mouth, "Ohmygosh its Illya Pegasus, please stay right there--" He spoke, before dashing into the kitchens.

"Mm..." Toppa chuckled, "Quite the effect fame has on people."

He needed some of that clout too.

Moments later, a middle aged manager in a well dressed tuxedo came forth to greet the both of them. "Hi, Ms. Pegasus, Mr..." He paused, briefly extending a hand to the both of them. "Toppa, Toppa's fine." He replied, genial smile on his face. "We'll get you a table set up immediately, please, this way."

The manager took the both of them to a much more private booth, a room with much comfier seats than the outside, with a rounded table of mahogany as he began to set it up specifically for the both of them. "Please." Hespoke, cordially, as he shifted Illya's seat for her, then moved to shift Toppa's. As Toppa seated down, he slowly turned to savour his date's newfound appointment powers. "Here, let's look at the menu." He spoke, placing a menubook in her hands. "So, mind if I ask you a personal question?" He began, his eyes briefly laying on Illya. "What do you generally like in your partners?"