Tales of the Exalted

"Let him go, sister. I doubt there ever was a Sanjuro who drank and danced, the Azuma aren't known for it. Music however." he smiled and gave Mayumi a wink as a woman came up and slipped a stringed instrument into the Azuma's hands.
May looked confused and embarrassed all of a sudden. He chuckled playfully.
"Should your words fail you, perhaps your heart won't." he said before taking the seat next to Cion. He hardly heard what they were talking about, something about the Princess.

Callista breathed a sigh of relief once they moved towards the exit of the building but a part of her felt like she was missing out on something. She caught up to Eida and slipped her arm in his, there was a large enough crowd there that she did not want to get separated. Glancing back she noticed that Sanjuro had stopped to talk to Jill which was odd at best but she assumed it might be instructions or something of the sort.


”This place is entirely too much but it seems a shame to turn in so early and such an interesting City. The Plataea temple sent us off with several bottles of fine wine, would you be interested in sharing one in the common room when we return to the inn? I believe I saw a musician playing there when we left.”

Ruby couldn't help but to laugh at her comment, pulling her away from their talk and eyeing the girl. Her lively colors swirling about, a golden pin in her hair drawing your eyes to her shifting mask that had different hues at different angles. "Me, his sister? That's great! What do you think, brother? We had our spa day, want a massage too? She stood up and winked to Silver. "I'll be back love, wait for me. Just...don't wait too long."


"Just don't wait too long ok? Those musicians are all going to be watching for you." Delicate manicured hands reached out and straightened the veil the made her vision blurry. Dove turned to face her man of honor as he tucked a stray wisp of golden hair behind her ear. "You got this, honey. I'll be your eyes in the sky the whole way" He held up a basket of flower petals. "Can't waste these, and no one will expect it to rain flowers. It'll be lovely, promise. I'll see up up on stage." He went around a side entrance and walked up the wall like it was just another step in a staircase. Dove took a deep breath as the grand double doors opened. Squinting into the dazzling light, she could see the broad shoulders of Echoes silhouetted by his great aura. This was it, and she knew she was never alone.

Cion ran his fingers through his hair. ”Alright, a massage but that is it. I have no interest in paying for… other services,” he said but he could have sworn Ruby was focused off in the distance.

Ruby looked over at her Lunar companion, a little bit lost, a little bit confused. "You ok with that Silver? I mean, well...you know what I mean, I guess? I just...well, never mind now." What just happened was weird, even for her time recently. She'd have to corner the cat with some scratches later, talk a bit.

Jill shrugged, at least with Ruby skipping off with Cion for a bit she could corner Tsubaki into answering some things. She didn't think the redheads could get into too much trouble.

"So, is this the real deal or you have some sort of trick up your sleeve?" She said, eyeing the peacock.

The dancer took both of the fiery warriors by the hand, guiding them through a maze of bodies to a private alcove. Ruby looked over her shoulder until the two Lunars were out of sight, sure that something was happening. A velvet curtain was snapped shut, hiding the three of them from the outside events. Their hostess gestured to a large plush couch motioning for them to sit. Ruby was quick to land on the breakfall, looking up at Cion in mock pathetic defeat. "You win tonight. I don't want to stand up for a while." She rested her head in her arms while she lay on her stomach, lounging like the cat her friend was.

Tsubaki frowned as Cion walked off with Ruby. He reminded himself he was lucky to even be near his Solar, as most Lunars never had the chance.
He turned to Silver with a smile.
"Cion is my Solar mate, returned somehow to Creation after the Great Betrayal. That is real. As for tricks up my sleeve? Always. But decieving nascent Lawgivers is not my game today, if that is your concern." he took a drink of wine as he watched their mortal companions begin to dance. Mayumi looked uncomfortable, but athletic enough to follow Pyrrha's steps.

This was the first time May was in a place like the Drunken Monkey in a capacity other than spy or assassin. In that capacity she was comfortable, she could blend in, stalk her targets and complete her mission.
This situation was entirely different. There was no mission to end, no targets to stalk. Just her... she supposed they were her friends. That was strange too. That Ruby and Pyrrha had wanted her to come along was... May didn't really have friends, even as a girl. She had always been trying to be like Sanjuro, there hadn't been time for friends or fun.
Tsubaki was right, for the most part. There was once a softer side to her brother, but it was hidden behind the mask he wore long before the Khal came.
She stood on the periphery of the group as Jill and Tsubaki spoke. Her eyes fell on Pyrrha as the woman ordered a drink, and May nearly attacked the woman who handed her the instrument before realizing Tsubaki had waved her down and was speaking to May.
"What do you want me to play?" she asked him. He gave her a smile that was nearly impossible to look away from and her nervousness melted away for a moment.
"That's up to you, little one." he said, turning back to his drink and Jill.
May frowned a moment and thought. She decided to play a song she'd learned as a child. It was a happy song, and she hummed the words softly to herself as she played.
Then she noticed people around her were dancing and seemed to be cheering. She nearly stopped before noticing Pyrrha was one of them.
Finally the song came to an end and a man came to her with a smile and asked if he could play one. May was happy to pass off the instrument.
"That was beautiful." Pyrrha smiled, passing May a cup filled with ale. She looked at it unsure. "That brew comes from my home, I think you'll like it. Besides, I'm pretty sure you're going to need some ale if you're going to keep up with the others." she said with a soft laugh. May looked athe cup and then took a sip.
She had had alcohol before, often, but never for the purpose of getting drunk. She wasn't sure but trusted Pyrrha enough to finish the cup. It made her head feel tingly and she could feel her reactions slow. But there was also a warmth that helped her feel more relaxed. She considered ordering another.
But before she could Pyrrha took her arms and began dancing.

Cion let the women lead him back to the alcove, laughing as Ruby lounged on the couch. He joined her trying to be somewhat controlled in his decent but only managing to plop down next to her as the world swayed around him. ”Ah ha! I win! What is my prize?”

He wasn't sure if he felt bad about leaving the Lunars or relieved. It was hard to tell at the moment but at the very least the alcohol was drowning out any of the strange feelings his vision of the past had stirred.

Ruby let out a small gasp as practiced hands began kneading her back. She spent so much time sitting in front of her projects or dealing with schematics, she didn't realize how knotted up she had become. The water from the night before had only softened her muscles, not eased them.

She took advantage of his unsteady posture and drug Cion down to her level by the front of his shirt, landing a kiss on his lips before he had a chance to say something else stupid to change her mind again. She whispered to him, "You win a chance to be free for a night, before the world around you starts to make sense." Her eyes smoldered with a loneliness that she had pent up for years, and a new confusion she wasn't sure she was ready to figure out just yet.

One moment they were laughing and the next Cion found himself off balance, being pulled down into an unexpected kiss. Confusion mixed with several other feelings that were hard to discern, all muddled in his already impaired mind. He wasn’t sure where her offer came from, not that it was off-putting in any way but had he been sober he certainly would have been curious. Compared to the others, Ruby was the most down to earth of the party and well-adjusted. She didn’t hide behind her duty like Callista, Eida or Donovan and she wasn’t skittish like Silver or the princess’s hand maidens. Well maybe Ruby and Mercy were the least complicated, but the latter hadn’t given him much more than the time of day and she have Donovan, whatever their relationship was.

So he could only assume she was in her right mind, and the offer was a simply friendly one fueled by the excitement of the night. Something about that thought bothered him, but in his present state it was impossible to figure out what nor did he have the time when she was looking at him how she was. Then again, perhaps he was just rationalizing what he wanted to do. He should turn her down. He figured that was the right thing to do but his head was spinning, his heart was pounding and he didn’t want to listen to the voice of reason just yet.

”Maybe I like the world how it is,” he laughed a little drunkenly, pulling her out of the masseuse's hands as he sat back up. Cion slid a hand behind her neck as he studied her for a moment, looking for hesitation or uncertainty before he brought his lips back to her’s in a much deeper kiss.

"You really remember that much of your past life? It doesn't seem all that much important, we are who we are now." She said as her tail flicked back and forth.

Tsubaki nodded thoughtfully at his moonsister's words.
"I am who I need to be, when I need to be them." he shrugged. "As far as remembering so much... I knew the moment I saw him. A feeling in my soul... I can't explain it. But before that, I'd spent decades searching for pieces of my past, anything I could use to bring down the Realm. As had the previous owners of this shard. I remember so much because I have triggered so many of those memories, I have read words written by long dead Solars and Lunars and pieced things together." he sighed, not every Lunar felt this way and Silver certainly didn't seem to.
"I don't expect Cion to be someone else. I just hope I can be of use to whomever he decides to be now. This region has always had the potential to change history. Can you imagine what a Circle of Solars could do with the Khal's armies keeping the Wyld Hunt away?" he could imagine. It was all he could do to keep these thoughts to himself.

He was so gentle for a man so full of bravado. Ruby curled herself up into his lap as they kissed. It was warm and compassionate, a feeling of welcome, even if he was a little compromised. She broke the kiss off and put a finger to his lips so he wouldn't spoil the moment, waving over their companion, who looked not quite put off, but, disappointed maybe? "Let me be you for a time. Go out, enjoy this place like a patron for a time. Come back later. He will want for nothing while I take care of him." Ruby took of her mask and passed it over, motioning that the girl should do the same.

Once she was gone, Ruby donned the entertainer's opalescent mask and turned her attention back to her fiery companion. "You can't tell me you didn't think about cheating in our little bet, did you? I know I did." Ruby couldn't help but giggle, having outsmarted him on something so simple. "Now, about that massage I promised you..." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up, her breath warm against his neck as she trailed soft kisses up to his jawline.

Jill sighed, the problem was that she did know, but before her past lives had been nothing more than an amusement. She’d focused so much on the Bat that she hadn’t looked deeper in her past, and of course at one point there would have had to be a Solar. There were so many questions, was she just lucky, did the shard find her, was she drawn to where the shard was destined to go. It was all so confusing and she was afraid any of those answers would mean that her friendship wasn’t really genuine at all but a matter of fate.

”Well, you’re lucky because Cion is barely part of this little group aside from his attempts to woo the princess. I wonder if Solars feel the same way about their old circle mates, because it seems as if something is going on here that is more than chance.”

Cion arched an eyebrow at Ruby’s assumption of the servant’s masked persona but understood that she was buying them some privacy. ”Cheating? Me, never! Although if I had known this was the reward, I may have played things to my favor more,” he laughed as she switched to the other mask. Cion couldn’t help his hands gliding along her back as he supported her on his lap, surprised at how small she felt without her armor or typical traveling pants. How could the other’s have missed how feminine she could be? The giggle was downright cute, and made him grin until he groaned, caught off guard again by her warm mouth working its way across his jaw.

”You promised a dance too,” his voice growled playfully as he used his strength to lift her and all her silks so that she would have to straddle his lap. Cion wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her supple chest against the broad surface of his own, while catching her wandering lips again.

He was not going to tell Callista she was not allowed to do what she did, but her arm certainly caught Eida unawares. Catching back up to his own thoughts, e smiled to the Princess. "It would be my pleasure to keep you company this evening. Is there anywhere you would like to stop first? Maybe seek out some local delicacies that may pair well with the gifts? I would not have the Princess miss out on the city just because one place does not suit her." He secretly hoped that noone else was following, but Eida knew better. It was likely Donovan and Sanjuro would leave momentarily, and a side trip before going back to their lodging would be nice.

Callista was feeling bolder away from home and masked, very much as Cion had described but she did know her place. The crowd was enough that her holding onto him was warranted a few times as patrons bumped into her. Back at home, people who knew her would have given her plenty of walkway but here it was like she was anyone else strolling down the street.

”That is a wonderful idea, Eida. I think I saw some artisan shops on the way over here, perhaps a bit of aged cheese would go well or some of those sausages places had strung up.”.

"I'd wondered how one of his kind had entered the Khal's service. He must have been drawn to them after he Exalted." he speculated.
"He's interested in the Princess? He didn't seem so. Perhaps I could arrange that for him. I hear since her Exaltation her betrothal has been giving the Khal a headache." he sipped on his wine as thoughts raced through his mind.
"Something is indeed going on here. And we owe it to the Silver Pact to help make sure they become as successful as possible."