The Black Rose Festival (Open)

[Seigmand Dezmar]

Sensing his question had been left as mere rhetoric Seigmand left the flowers with a sigh and moved past the few familiar faces he'd seen so far. Yet as he searched around each bend it was not for the comfort of a friend he sought but rather the intrigue of someone, or something new to entice him. He wondered to himself if he would perhaps see Serena at this festival. His first encounter had left him curious to get to know her better.

As the once unique sounds of the festival became mere white noise to him, a high pitched cry from a familiar voice brought his focus just beyond a small crowd. Jasmine...He worried as he pushed through, only to see his fears were unfounded but that he'd indeed found exactly what he was looking for in the form of three anthropomorphic creatures.

Composing himself quickly he strolled calmly up to Kaku, if for no other reason than he seemed the one least preoccupied. "Hello there. I am King Seigmand Dezmar of Roccia." He spoke as he dipped slightly in a polite bow. "Forgive me for my intrusion, but I could not help but by captivated by my curiosity seeing you and your companions as I made my way through here. Are you native to Guasto?"

[A.B.A.]

A.B.A.'s teeth clenched and she could feel the tension of them grinding as she ceased her act. Keeping to the form of Velestia she hissed. "I was right to doubt you Aya. What happened, did you lose interest in me and decide any of us would do? Tell me, were your honeyed words of friendship a ploy to gain me as some sort of trophy, or was it just the only way you knew how to get a girlfriend?"

Her gaze then cast down on Nia. The bloodlust she tried to contain on this, a day of nonaggression and joy, seeped into her words. "And you... I never liked you one bit, but if anything I respected your sense of loyalty. What drove you to abandon them Nia?" A.B.A. trembled as she remembered the bloodstained walls of the Tower of Salvation. "I had hoped to have found you safe, but now, I would have rather found you laying beneath a grave marker." She hid her face from them as she could feel a pain striking her chest. "Anything would have been better than this."

A.B.A. turned her back to the three of them. "Were it not for this festival I would deal with you two right here, but I'll take you up on your invitation another day Aya." Beginning to storm off in anger she stopped for only a moment to stare at Van. Knowing he was the only one who knew who she was under her shape, she looked into his eyes, hoping to gleam his feelings from them. Unable to gauge them she whispered with a deep sorrow in her tone, "Don't make me choose Van. Please." before she left, sifting through the clumps of people towards the place where the black roses used to be kept so long ago.

[Lady Elexa B'Shera]

"Alexis, of course!" she told Zee, smiling happily. "And yourself? Isn't this the most wonderful festival?"

[Vash, the Angel's Moon]

Vash shrugged, looking around the festival, then waded off into the fray, searching for games where he could win more... conventional prizes. The stone cross he carried was, today, wrapped in cloth for some reason, and he clung to its strap as he wandered, looking for a familiar - or unfamiliar - face. Noticing a strange girl walk away in sadness, he walked up to ABA.

"Hey there, lil' lady. Why such a long face?"

[Aya Dauzi Invargas]

Ayalan was taken aback and turned around with a sudden disdain, "Listen here! I don't know you at all! I don't know what you're talking about!" He thought back to the people he had befriended, and Ms. Normire had not been one of those people as he looked to Nia suddenly. Apparently this woman knew her too.

Ayalan just put a hand on his hip, shaking his head with a small bit of understanding..maybe. But he couldn't be sure, when he realized that he never told this girl his name. Ever. And noted the term, "Any of US!" Does that mean all of women? Or...all of a group that he had met previously?

Who was she? He suddenly started to rack down the people on his list, and realized it could be one of four or so people, then how many of them knew Nia? He growled lightly to himself.

He could only start thinking to himself, "..She's got quite some nerve coming up to me like that. If anything, I gave her a chance during our fights, constantly, and instead she only pressed on with voracity...I even complimented her with not even a look back..as far as I'm concerned, you were playing Me..for him." He looked at Van, and smirked. "I'm with Nia because we had mutual feelings...Can't you understand that, oh ye incapable of positive feelings?

He only called out, "I look forward to our next meeting then!" And thus looked down to Nia, with an almost shrugging off of the problem. This was a festival day, but he indeed felt a pang in his heart; this was not a pleasant time for him despite his beaming smile.

[Mark Angelus Fri]

Mark: If you want to fight just say it because I'm ready. I'm always ready! *Mark spat clenching his fist so much that his claw like fingers dug into his own skin.*

[Trucido Damnedblood]

Trucido just looked at Mark, then he thrust something at Mark's mouth. It was a stick of Ice cream. "Mark, you need to calm down. Look, I am not going to see you again today, and that is swell for us. You will eat that Ice cream, and then try to win a rose, so you can talk to that wife of yours. So calm down. If you ruin this festival for Zelos, you are never going to see that wife of yours. Okay? Okay, Bye bye." he said as he then walked away from Mark. "And don't follow me."

[A.B.A.]

A.B.A. blocked out Aya's words, furious with him and not doubting for a moment that he would have guessed who she was after her outburst. As she came out through the midway she saw the familiar place where the flowers had been placed so delicately for safe keeping. Moving towards them Vash suddenly approached her and tried to strike up a conversation. She didn't know why, whether it was his warm smile, her feeling of total aloneness or the bizarre sensation that she'd found a kindred spirit that made her want to talk to him.

"I guess you could say I've lost a lot of friends recently, and a lot of faith in others. I've spent days now looking for those I thought lost to me, and now that I'd found one I wish I never had. It's easier to accept that fate has removed them from your life than knowing they made that choice themselves." She watched the roses in a daze as she spoke, half speaking to Vash and half sorting herself out now that the pain had subsided a little.

"I'm sorry, I'm just troubling you with problems that aren't yours. I'm A... I mean a cleric. My name is Velestia Normire. Nice to meet you." A.B.A. mentally scolded herself for nearly revealing her identity.

[Vash, the Angel's Moon]

"Nice to meetcha, Velestia. Call me Vash." He shook his head. "Don't bother about troublin' me, Velestia. It's hard when you lose people you care about, especially when they leave of their own free will." His voice was far away and sad. "But... you have to keep faith, y'know? You can't give up on love and friendship just because you get hurt once. YOu have to keep on going! Searching for Love, Peace, and Harmony! Right?" He smiled at her, one black-gloved hand on his hip, the other outstetched in a peace sign. Returning both hands to behind his head, he looked over the flowers. "Just like those flowers. Every year, they bring a little closure, a little comfort, to the lives of another group of people. Friends who have been lost can be found again. Is that why you're here?"

[Mark Angelus Fri]

Mark: What the...? *Mark asked pulling the ice cream out of his mouth, shaking his head he dropped it on the ground and stomped on it. Despite his now sticky shoes he walked away from Trucido. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down and also wrapping one of the dinner napkins over his now bleeding palm.* I would deify everything you said... but I want to see if these flowers really work...

*And off he went to try and get one of those flowers.*

[A.B.A.]

A.B.A. sighed heavily, but a small smile showed itself to Vash. "You really are a optimist aren't you?" Love, peace and harmony hmm... Another goal for another time perhaps. "It sounds nice in theory, but their choice cost me dearly. I have a mission left unachieved and punishment that must be dealt out."

"Still, I guess you could say the flowers are a part of why I'm here. I had wondered if they still existed, and now that I know they do I must acquire one. Nothing so lofty as closure though, merely advice and maybe some answers." She thought of her father and Kain, unsure of who she would rather speak to. "What about you Vash, do you seek a flower as well?"

[Julie Clementae]

"Come on Vaan! Hurry up! I want to try out some of these games!"
Faeylinn felt a bit out of place in the crowded festival, but, still, her competitive streak wouldn't let her back down where there was a fun challenge, and all these games looked equally so. She kept hearing something about black roses as prizes, which sounded pretty cool though people seemed more obsessed witht he flowers than she would deem sane. Shr shrugged to herself and bounced on the balls of her bare feet, waiting for Vaan and Shiluya to catch up and pulling the hood of her black sweater over her head. She could've sworn she'd seen Trucido Damnedblood in the crowd earlier, and she didn't want to take the chances of another run-in with him after that time at the inn- she remembered with annoyance that he'd refused to share his ice cream. not only a jerk, but an EVIL jerk she recalled many bloody horror stories of things he'd done. She shuddered lightly, then put it out of her mind as she looked around. This was a fesitval after all- maybe she'd make some new friends! There seemed to be as many friendly faces in the crowd as unfriendly. A game that looked suspiciously like basketball caught her eye and she headed toward it to watch. I bet I could win that...

[Vash, the Angel's Moon]

He smiled back at her - her smile wasn't lost on him. "Not really. I'm just here for the party, y'know? As for optimists... I suppose I could be called one. A lot better than wandering around preaching doom all the time. Life's kinda lonely that way, and life's too long a thing to live alone. Advice and answers... that's all people really look to the dead for anymore. You wonder if they ever geet lonely on the Other Side." He looked at one of the roses with interest, although he didn't pick it up. A coin fell out of his pocket. It was an old coin, a kind that hadn't been in use for over a hundred years. He bent over to pick it up and dust it off. "I used to keep it around for good luck. Now... it's just an old coin." He shoved it back in his pocket.

"Anyway, I'll catch ya later. Maybe see y'around the festival sometime? Hope to meetcha again on the road, Velestia."

After he left the tent, the spot where the coin had fallen produced a single black rose.

[Ludro "Ace" Gamblington]

Ludro walked around the festival, with a smile. He didn't have a care in the world today, and he was going to party until he would have to return to Nerezza. He was also hoping to run into his sister, Lana. So he was checking their favorite bars, and so far no luck.

[Kaku Rokkakyu]

Caramel grinned. "Pleasure to meet you Anabelle." She said. "Is that a good or bad thing?" She asked. "I know how you feel. MY COUSIN IS THE SAME." She said, staring directly at Kaku who didn't seem to notice. "Don't worry. She's a sweet girl anyway! ;D" Caramel said, waving a hand in dismissal.

Gouji noticed Jasmine eyeing them. "I have a bit of a bad feeling..." He said. It seemed Caramel had met someone just as mischievous as her. This could only mean trouble.


Kaku turned to look at Seigmand, and bowed slightly in return at his introduction. He had a noticeable accent as he spoke. "A pleasure, your highness. The name is Kaku if you please. Kaku Rokkakyu." He then straightened his posture, and adjusted his glasses smiling. "It's fine really... I've experienced that reaction quite a bit during my stay here." He chuckled slightly. "I'm afraid I'm not at all native to this land. I come from another Realm entirely." He explained.