║⤠ 𝚌𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚍𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜 ⤟ ║

|+| banquet |+|

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"ah, speak of the devil~"

"hi, miss Maribelle!" Bayu greeted, waving as he ran over. "miss Xena, miss Alta, do I look okay? I tried doing my tie by myself but I'm not sure if it's right.."

Altalune bent down, straightening out his slightly-crooked tie, before lightly patting his shoulders with a pleasant smile. "there."

"you look wonderful," Xena chimed, earning a huge smile from the young deer.

..

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"XEEENAAAA~!!"

"eh - ?"

Xena let out a short yelp as she was promptly tackled by two large figures. the long-haired one picked her up, squeezing her half to death.

"aaa~ we're so sorry we didn't reply to your invite~" she cried, "we were so excited to see you that we forgot...~"

"we're here now, at least~!" chirped the short-haired one, waving his hand. "it's been so long since I've visited the Ether, it looks just as pretty as I remember~ hey, did the archangels do anything different today??" he immediately walked off to go look at the intricate walls and decor surrounding the Gates, followed by Maribelle, who immediately struck up a conversation with him.

"ah - Alta, Bayu, these are my siblings!" Xena chirped, voice slightly muffled. she let out another yelp when the tall woman abruptly set her back down.

"Duvessa Lawless, at your service~" she hummed, bowing at the waist. "the spiky-haired dork over there is Daedalus. pleasure to finally meet you, miss Altalune~ Xena never shuts up about you when we talk!"

Altalune chuckled, shaking the shapeshifter's hand. "I've heard plenty of good things about you, Lady Duvessa - the pleasure is all mine~"

Duvessa hummed happily, before directing her attention to Bayu, who stood with his hands clasped nervously, almost hiding behind Altalune.

"oooh, is this Bayu? what a cutie!" Duvessa chirped, bending down to eye level with the boy. "I haven't seen many New Age Mystics around, it's so cool to see one in person~! nice to finally meet you!"

"ah - uh - n- nice to meet you too!" Bayu stammered, fidgeting with his gloves. Duvessa hummed a little, then straightened, smoothing out the skirt of her dress.

"are Kozbi and your kids coming? I haven't seen them in forever," the shapeshifter chuckled, looking down at her sister.

"I think they are," Xena replied, tapping a nail to her chin. "I did send them invites. maybe they're just running late...?" she began to mutter to herself, looking away from the others.

"mooooomm~! sorry if we're late~!"

"hi, aunt Duvessa...!"

Xena startled out of her thoughts, immediately lighting up, before running forward to greet the approaching duo. "aaa perfect timing~!" she chirped happily, catching her eldest son and daughter in a bear hug, "we were just talking about you!"