[center][h3][color=007fff]Indigo Afina – Ballroom Center[/color][/h3]
[@Oblivion666][/center]

So the ambitious, elegant beast-tamer had some sort of relationship with Salem Monroe, master of Pirate Lord?  [i]Or rather[/i], Indigo corrected herself, [i]division leader of Frenzy Plant.  Interesting.[/i]  Only a little serious, she regretted not knowing him better, so that she might be able to judge their compatibility as a couple.  Few people in Fiore, and none within its number-one war guild, sported such an obsession with matchmaking as Indigo Afina.  She ran a fingernail along her jawline, ruminating like a wise man deep in thought even as a mischievous smile flitted across her features.  [color=007fff]”Noticed, did you?”[/color]  The sorceress tittered.  [color=007fff]”It's all harmless fun, I assure you.”[/color]  For a moment Indigo's gaze fell away from Malice to dance across the room, trying to spot people of note.  She noticed several council members, and noted the positions of all present guild leaders.  In particular, she committed the sight of General Sanders standing opposite Jack Goran of Dragon Fang.  Then her attention returned, a touch of dry wit behind her eyes.  [color=007fff]”So, when do you suppose something is going to happen?  Socializing is nice and all, but it stands to reason after today's disappointment that a certain few royals might be making an appearance, don't you think?”[/color]  She clasped her hands and interlaced her fingers in front of her medallion, curious.

[center][h3][color=8F9779]Cormorant Sanders – Ballroom Buffet[/color][/h3]
[@Zarkun][@Joshua Tamashii][/center]

Resplendent in his Wizard Saint's snow-white cloak, Jack returned the salutations of Frenzy Plant's General and Champion.  Sanders nodded his response to the fellow guild master's question.  [color=8F9779]”Yes, everything's grand and showy.  Just the ticket after the Games' festivities.”[/color]  A cloud of wariness entered his eyes as Amelia approached.  Her bearing did not speak of an abundance of self-assuredness, but the fact that she interposed herself in what surely resembled a meeting between two very important people told Sanders enough about how to treat her.  His muscles tensed as he witnessed a flare of magic next to the girl followed by a noise he couldn't even begin to understand, but the next moment the apparition vanished.  The General's gut reaction echoed his general feeling of unease; he knew very well how much potential magic filled this splendid hall, and he did not like to be so close to someone he felt he couldn't trust.  Then again, he did not trust very many.  Even Goran escaped that selective list.  

For her part, Hyun remained as perfectly composed as ever, moving only to acknowledge Amelia with a tilt of her head.  She left all the talking, as well as the emoting, to her superior.

Amelia ended up taking took the gracious opportunity Hyun provided to steal the show for herself, opening up to Jack about her feelings while Sanders waited patiently.

When the chance came, the old man seized it.  color=8F9779]”Mr. Goran, if I may...the Games have brought to light, and perhaps worsened, some poignant conflicts between guilds.  Yet, not all bonds are falling apart.  I would be pleased to give you a better idea of what Frenzy Plant is and who the stellar individuals who constitute it are, and I would be just as happy to get to know Dragon Fang a little better.  Perhaps we could begin by you telling me just what you have heard and think of my guild?  Once I get an idea of our popular reputation, I can begin to cut away the inaccuracies and show our true faces.

[center][h3][color=c2b280]Fleo Plector – Ballroom Outskirts[/color][/h3]
[@Roseletta][@hatakekuro][@joshua tamashii][/center]

As the group's focus shifted to Cecilia, Fleo took her first good look at the cat.  For a while now she'd known about Exceeds, particularly the purple, pompadour-wearing Dalton, but somehow Amaya's own companion escaped her notice.  She wondered if Cecilia and Dalton would get along.  The information concerning the new cat's appearance surprised her.  For a while, actually, she'd forgotten all about poor Bert in the desert, driven to delirium and finally destroyed by the ashen blade of Nolan Waltz.  While the two Exceeds said hello, Fleo waved to get Amaya's attention.  [color=c2b280]”Hey!  By the way, I've been meaning to tell you something.  I'm not mad or anything, but you've kinda been saying my name wrong for a long time.  It's not 'Floe', it's 'Fleo'.  Missed the 'ee'.  I know, a weird name, right?  It's from some old language.”[/color]  She shrugged.

[center][h3][color=CCCCFF]Joakim Fortinbras – Ballroom Edge[/color][/h3]
[@The Wild West][/center]

At the end of it all, Joakim gave a low whistle.  No affinity for storytelling made his own life any more of an interesting affair, so in a way he envied Flint, but when it came to the amount of torment the gunslinger went through, he was lukewarm at best.  As a part of Frenzy Plant, Joakim had experienced some unforgettable things, and afterward he seldom failed to fill a few pages of his old leather-bound notebook with a summary of the whole event.  Then, sooner or later, he'd find an audience with which to share those yarns.  Remembering the past through tales, chronicled in paper but passed down by tongue, brought them to life, and to the dead and forgotten they paid homage.  In listening to Flint's story, Joakim felt he tantalizing urge turn his comrade's experiences into a thrilling folktale.  The northerner wrung much fulfillment from committing deeds to legend, for in he greater scheme of things, could there be any greater gift than being remembered?

[color=CCCCFF]”Thank you for sharing, my friend,”[/color] he murmured after taking a long sip from his liquor.  [color=CCCCFF]”With your permission, I'd like to write down your story, and retell it to others.”[/color]  Another pause filled the air, though the hubbub of a crowded ballroom made any thoughtful silence a foregone conclusion.  [color=CCCCFF]”Hm...if you don't mind me asking, where's this Prisilla girl now?”[/color]