Partytime in Santo-Luce! (OPEN)

[chika]

Something in Chika's chest did a flip. Her smile was more genuine now as she answered Alex with, "Ah, you understand where I am coming from, Sir Alex."

But alas, she looked down at her now empty glass, wondering if this would be the time she took to part with the young man or if she would order another drink and continue chatting. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another person entering the room from the opposite entrance that most of the guests were coming in - a person dressed entirely in white yet she would have recognized that hooded face from anywhere as the person stalked off into the corner, no doubt trying their best to find some shadows to hide in.

Shadows that just didn't exist in Santo-Luce, that is.

"Princel," she muttered, not at all surprised, yet not at all expecting the presence of a Nerezza captain.

[Alex of Santo-Luce]

"Who?" Alex asked, hearing the whispered nameyet not clearly distinguishing what it was.

[chika]

Chika smirked as she leaned in close to Alex and whispered, "I don't mean to alarm you, but Santo-Luce appears to be having a visit from Captain Princel of Nerezza over yonder..."

She flicked her head in the direction that Lana went and gave a wink as she rose from her chair and quickly stalked off - hoping to eventually meet with King Alexander himself at some point in the evening.

[Seigmand Dezmar]

Seigmand enjoyed chatting with Alexander. At first the boy's devil-may-care attitude had annoyed him somewhat, thinking that he had earned his place through the mere power of divine right. Yet their times in the Donnertburg castle catacombs had shown the boy was capable. Truth be told he had started to tire of the arrogant and "less than chipper" crew that made up the Sumata 13. Granted he shared some comrade re with Onyx, but in Alex he sensed an authentic want to befriend Seigmand. It almost made him feel bad that he hoped to sway the boy into his influence. Almost.

With a courteous bow he broke away from his talk with Alex and moved towards the crowd, hoping to mingle with any worth talking to. There were some fresh faces, and out of habit Seigmand reached back to clasp the empty air that would normally have been the location of his compendium.

[Alex of Santo-Luce]

"Nerezza."

The mumbled word was a curse falling from Alex's lips.

Nerezza. The enemy.

The one problem Alex had with the Sumata XIII was that they expected his King and he himself to work with those sneaking, sniveling darkness-worshipers. Cowards, too afraid to do their duty in the light of day, their country was always steeped in the darkness they loved so much. The knowledge that one of them was present was a bad taste in his mouth and so he finished hsi drink to wash it out and stood up, sneaking after Chika.

[chika]

Chika hadn't realized that Alex had followed her. She looked around quickly, noting that Seigmand was just finishing his chat with the Santo-Luce king, and she wondered if she should hurry over to him and grab her own conversation with him before he became distracted.

...which he seemed to be, easily.

Princel was just sitting in the corner, though, and curiosity was making her wonder why anyone from Nerezza would have shown up at the party to begin with.
She decided then that Frexton could wait another minute or so as she changed her direction towards Lana and made her way through the people across the room. Coming up to the hooded figure she placed her hands on her hips and smirked.

"It's easy to find you when there's no shadows for you to hug, isn't it? What are you doing here?" she asked her.

[Alex of Santo-Luce]

Alex hung back, watching Chika converse with the Nerezzan captain. If she could convince her to leave, he wouldn't have to force her out.

[lana]

Lana had gone and sat in a chair in the corner of the room, resting her legs up on the table by it casually. She sat quietly, with a grin on her face as she watched for her clucking feathered friends...they really should be here any minute now, she would have thought.

Through the crowd of people came a familiar face, and an oh-too-familiar voice to match the one of Captain Chika Herrlock of Guasto. Lana rolled her eyes as she was addressed.

"You can't hug a shadow, bone-jumper," she retorted to Chika's comment. In truth, Lana really did feel uncomfortable without a dark spot to hide in, and the only darkness she had at the moment was whatever was hidden in the hood she was wearing - the light hurt her eyes too much.

[chika]

Chika's eyebrows raised and she snorted.

"Of course you'd respond with something as uncouth as that," she smiled as she stepped closer to Lana's chair, "but I suppose you weren't raised to be a lady, so I can't judge you now, can I?"

She paused a moment to see if she received a rise out of the younger woman. Something about poking the temperamental beast with a stick always sounded like fun.

"Why are you even here, Captain Princel? Santo-Luce is not your friend, nor is it your queen, Lady Elexa's. You realize the Santo-Luce captain knows you're here...don't you?"

[lana]

Lana glared at Chika and her 'lady' comment as she responded with, "Take your definition of 'lady-ness' and shove it, you're no prize pig yourself."

She then sat back even more comfortably than she did before and shrugged her shoulders.

"Let him know I'm here, I don't care. I'm not doing anything, I'm just wanting to check out the new king because I hear he's a 'grade-A genius'."


A malicious grin then came to her lips as she suddenly slipped her legs under the table, leaning over the table to make sure she got nice and close to Chika and she whispered, "Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't you do what you do best and take that captain to your room and play with him for a bit while I humiliate King Frexton?"

And now it was Lana's turn to wait and see if she got a rise out of Chika.

[chika]

Chika kept her hands on her hips but her smile fell into a very unamused frown.

"Just what do you take me for, you little b***?!," she snapped, however quietly so she hoped no one would have heard it, "well, I suppose I should leave you to make an ass of yourself. You are a very...busy woman, I can see." She never skimped on the sarcasm.

Chika then rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, now re-directing her course again for Alexander. She took about one step away before she looked over her shoulder with her usual, taunting grin and said back to the mouthy woman, "By the way, Lana, say hi to Captain Gamblington for me, will you?"

And then she walked off again.

[lana]

"Well, I wouldn't take you at all," Lana muttered but then smiled as she saw that Chika was angry enough to leave her alone. She never liked Herrlock, and it was because she always saw her trying to be all...'cute' and 'sweet-like' with some guy. Too girly, too.

That and she was one of Zelos' pack mules. Always trying to leave some kind of good impression, always trying to look so professional as she did her job...what a joke, Lana thought.

As Chika walked away Lana called after her, "Gamblington plays with cards, not toys!"

And with that, she slumped back in her chair.

[Alex of Santo-Luce]

Alex watched Chika walk away... and frowned. The other captain hadn't succeeded in escorting the Nerezzan to the door, but the Nerezzan didn't seem to care that he was onto her. Alex walked up to where she was sitting and sat down.

"Captain Princel of Nerezza, I presume?"

Something about the way he spoke was slightly threatening, slightly demeaning - as though in his eyes, being a Nerezzan was like being a common thief or worse, and he intended to do something about it.

[lana]

Lana was, overall, unperturbed at the appearance of Alex, and she never budged even as he decided to take a seat by her.

"I suppose I am," Lana responded to him with a grin, "why, do I owe you money?"

[Alex of Santo-Luce]

"You owe me the pleasure of seeing you leave the way you came," he spat. "This is no place for your kind."