August 16th, XXXX, Afternoon
It was after the games, in the afternoon of the day. Outside the arena in the capital, Alvina sat on a bench and summoned Verna to speak with her about the incident.
Alvina> "Verna... Can we talk?"
Verna didn't speak, and didn't really feel like it either. She seemed genuinely upset about what happened. You could see her eyes starting to get watery.
Alvina> "Verna, you're my best friend. I would never think of you as just a slave. When I first summoned you, I was truly looking for a friend. I was lonely, and you really helped me feel happy and special."
Verna still had doubts about it.
Verna> "..."
Alvina> "Verna, I know you doubt me, but please at least talk to me!"
Verna> "Did you ever consider what I wanted? We always did what you wanted, but never what I wanted..."
Alvina> "I mean... You never voiced what you wanted to me. I always just assumed you were fine with just spending time with me and fighting with me."
Verna> "You didn't bother asking though..."
Alvina> "I know, and I'm sorry for that..."
Verna> "Are you though? Do you actually care?"
Alvina> "If I really didn't care, would I be summoning you right now? Of course I care! And if it's not too late, I would like to ask you, what do you want?"
Verna> "Alvina, as you know, I once had a life before I met you..."
Alvina> "Yes, I never really knew what your life was though..."
Verna> "That's because... well...I don't remember it."
Alvina> "Wait, are you like,,, serious???"
Verna> "Yeah, when I was resurrected, I knew I was dead but that's about it. I have no idea of my life before."
Alvina> "And you didn't tell me this?!?!?!"
Verna's face looked a mixture of sad and lost simultaneously. It's difficult for someone to lose the identity that they once knew. Alvina saw the look on Verna's face and felt guilty about this all. This was a secret well kept by Verna, who had been eating her up from the inside. Alvina now was desperate to aid and support Verna, and do anything to rekindle their friendship.
Alvina> "Would you like to find out?"
Verna> "I don't even know if it's possible..."
Alvina> "Verna, do you WANT to know?"
Verna> "Yes..."
Alvina> "Then let's find out together!"
Alvina gave Verna a smile, and she smiled back.
As time passed, guilds were getting ready to attend the party. Dressing up nicely, getting their hair done, and some of the women going as far as to do makeup. Quentin had planned this party in a high-end restaurant/bar so that everyone can have good quality drinks and food to eat while there. He wanted it all to be perfect for every single person who attended. For most this was overly fancy, but considering the standards for the Aldrich guild are much higher than most, people had to adapt to the standards. He planned reservations for the tables in which the guilds would sit at, and made sure that those tables had the finest of cloths on them, and that the cutlery was clean in every nook and cranny, placed precisely like how you would eat at a royal palace, with many forks and spoons for specific meals. He was maybe extreme in this manner, but to keep it somewhat less sophisticated, he made sure there was a bartender, a place to serve drinks with stools there too. Just so for some it had sort of a pub vibe, which most are familiar with. The music that played, Quentin found not proper, since it was those repetitive and hypnotic tunes that dance music had. However, the Aldrich guild insisted he kept that music to encourage people to enjoy themselves rather than having classical music playing, which would make the mood of the place not be as loud and exciting, but elegant and silent. Not that Quentin liked classical music, but he definitely preferred it over rubbish dance music, but it can't be all about him, he needs to keep his guests entertained. Once préparations were complete, guilds, one after another came to the restaurant. The Guild Masters would go to a completely different space of the restaurant, to talk privately about their plan against Abbadon.
Laurent> "Ugh, this music is distasteful. Who kept this?"
Arman> "Yo, lighten up. Besides, at least now I can get wasted and get into the groove."
Laurent> "You're seriously going to get wasted and dance? I won't be responsible for you if something happens."
Arman> "No need, I've probably got some other buds to help me there. Yo Rōzu, want to get a shot of raqi with me?"
Rōzu> "No thanks..."
Arman> "Too bad! You're doing it anyway. How about you, Lorenzo?"
Lorenzo> "Uhh... I don't know, I never drank before..."
Arman> "Man, you guys are such buzzkills. Maybe some drinks will help!"
Rōzu> "But-"
Arman> "No ifs, buts or ands! Someone has to start the party!"
Arman dragged Rōzu and Lorenzo against their own still to the bar. He ordered three shots of raqi for them all to do. Then all three of them started the trend of dancing, which encouraged everyone else to join them.
Laurent> "They are all idiots."
Laurent sighed, and ordered a bottle of the finest red wine they had, drinking it alone at his table. Soon enough, others joined in on Lorenzo, Rōzu and Arman dancing, from Irina, was Winter, from Doron, Kenji and Ongaku, from Aldrich, Johnathan and all of Cordelia except Catsi. Catsi was curious about something else, and was searching for a specific person, who she made eye contact with. Matthew and her joined eyes, and Matthew took a deep breath and decided to approach the Cordelia table to greet her.
Matthew> "Rough start for your guild in the games?"
Catsi> "Y-yeah, we didn't perform that well today but it's okay! We always have other days to do better!"
Matthew> "That's a good attitude to have."
Catsi> "Y-your guild is in first right now, right?"
Matthew> "Yeah, but it's only the first day. I don't want my hopes completely up."
Catsi> "Understandable!"
Matthew would stare at the people dancing, and then look back at Catsi, right in her eyes with a soft look, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Matthew> "Dancing is lame, isn't it?"
Catsi> "Actually, I love dancing! Wanna dance?"
Matthew was a bit surprised by what she said, after all he wanted to be the one to ask that, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Catsi doesn't comprehend social cues, it seems like saying this has worked in his favour though.
Matthew> "You're so oblivious."
Matthew let out a small smirk as he took Catsi's hand to dance with her. Matthew was always a good dancer, since as a kid he and Blake were forced into ballroom dancing and other types of dancing growing up. It sort of made him reminisce about those childhood memories, but he did not express his sadness in recalling that his brother was not here with him. He decided instead to not think about it and enjoy the night with Catsi.
Solaris> "Hey, Shashin, have you ever danced before?"
Shashin> "No... Why do you ask?"
Solaris> "I was just curious, you just don't seem like the type that would dance. I guess I was right about that assumption."
Shashin> "Anything remotely active doesn't really seem to be my thing..."
Solaris laughed.
Solaris> "I've noticed."
There was a small amount of silence between the two, Shashin had suspected Solaris wanted to say something. Mehkit and Shōjiki looked at each other awkwardly and just stayed quiet.
Shashin> "You wouldn't just start a conversation like that unless you wanted something. Spill it."
Solaris> "The thing is... I barely know anything about this world, yet I read so many ancient books I only know basic knowledge of the present..."
Shashin> "Is that a bad thing or something?"
Solaris> "No! It's always good to know your history after all. I just wish I knew more. The only books we have in Sahara are in an ancient Egyptian text or are about how the older guilds are created. I know all this, yet I'm oblivious to what's happening presently in the capital, and even the law of today's world."
Shashin> "Is this some formal way of telling me 'can you teach me?'"
Solaris> "I mean if you want to, I could always just go to the capital library now that we are here..."
Shashin> "You're seriously trying to dodge my question... Well that itself is an answer to me. Why don't we go together to the library?"
Shōjiki> "You guys are so lame."
Solaris> "Shut up Shōjiki!"
Shashin> "Says the one not even trying to engage in conversation with anyone."
Shōjiki> "Doesn't change the fact you are both losers."
Shashin> "Whatever, that doesn't bother me."
Shashin saw in the corner of his eye, Blazera walking towards their table. He knew right away that he was needed and got up.
Shashin> "Well, looks like it's time to take my leave."
Solaris> "Alright, I'll see you later..."
Shōjiki> "LAMEEEE."
Solaris> "I swear to god I will punch you!"
Blazera stood and waited for Shashin to come to her, and they both walked away into the room the guild masters stayed in. Meanwhile, Arman had stopped dancing and seemed to be sitting at the bar with Newbold's local alcoholic, Sasha. They were basically ordering shots of the strongest drink and seeing who can survive the most amount of shots. Sasha always loved doing bets like this, so she was all in.
Sasha> "What's the consequences for the loser?"
Arman> "How about, they have to get hit by the winner with several raw eggs?"
Sasha> "Bet, let's do it."
It ended almost right before it started. They got some of the hardest booze the waiter had to offer, and both survived about 8 shots. Arman however, was at his limit, and by the time the ninth shot came, he threw up and called it quits. Sasha then ordered eggs and threw them right at his face and laughed. Arman walked away, hella drunk and covered in eggs, trying to find the bathroom. Laurent observed this, and let out a sigh of disappointment as he sipped his wine. From that moment onwards, Sasha had been constantly chugging down bottles of booze. It was hard for her to get a feeling of being wasted thanks to her magic so she didn't know what her limit could be. So far, she was thriving going through bottle after the bottle, until there was almost no booze left for them to serve... Quentin is going to be upset at this large alcohol bill. Sasha felt a sudden dizziness as she got up from where she sat. She felt tipsy, and almost even fell over completely. However, a person who was paying attention to her, Pebbs, used Speedforce to quickly catch her before she fell.
Pebbs> "Is everything okay?"
Sasha> "Y-yeah, thanks for catching me."
Sasha let out a bit of a hiccup, and put her hand to her head, it seems like she still felt dizzy from the side effects of the drinks. Pebbs had noticed this.
Pebbs> "Are you sure?"
Sasha> "Haha, yeah don't worry about me."
Sasha tried to make her way to the table where Newbold sat, but again had almost fallen over, and again Pebbs caught her before she could fall.
Sasha> "Okay... Maybeee this is worse than I thought. Haha, silly me, I overdid it."
Pebbs> "I'm gonna get you something to sober up."
Sasha lets out a chuckle.
Sasha> "You're funny."
Pebbs> "I try my best."
Pebbs speeds over to grab a chair and some water for her and sits down with her.
Pebbs> “Did you come to the party with anybody, you’re way too pretty to be alone."
Sasha blushes at this remark. She takes a sip of the water given and replies...
Sasha> "Nah, I came here solo."
Pebbs> "That's a shame."
Sasha> "Hahaha, yeah it does get lonely sometimes without some company. Usually I just drink and get wasted so I can start dancing, but having someone to dance with is nice too."
Sasha gulped down the rest of the water, and was able to sober up a bit more.
Pebbs> "Wanna dance then?"
Sasha> "I'm down, but first give me a minute to sober up. Oh yeah, I forgot to say but- thank you for helping me out."
Pebbs> "I just happened to notice, it's no big deal."
Sasha> "Nah, if you didn't help out, I'd cause a lot of trouble... Especially with what magic ability I have."
Pebbs> "Which is...?"
Sasha> "You see, the drunker I am, the more powerful I become. If I ever slapped or hit anyone, they would probably feel really bad..."
Pebbs> "DAMN. Well, I'm glad I can help out then."
Sasha> "It's very kind of you, considering we just met now. No ordinary person would have cared. Well then, do we dance now?"
Pebbs> "Let's do it."
They both got off their seats and started dancing, since it was club music their dance was a lot more sporadic with a hint of chaos, but a fun kind of chaos. Sasha danced fairly carelessly though since she wasn't fully sober, but better than before where she could have easily knocked someone out without being careful. Regardless of Sasha's state, they both enjoyed themselves and danced for the rest of their time there. At the very end when the music stopped, Pebbs dipped her. Sasha blushed when he did this. It seems during this, a pair of two people had also sneaked out… (find out who in next chapter kekekkee)
Sasha> "Looks like the party is done for now."
Pebbs> "Seems so."
Sasha> "Maybe we can meet up tomorrow at the games?"
Pebbs> "Sounds good, let's do that."
Pebbs and Sasha smiled at one another and went their own ways until the next day…