#afm.start

she'd thrown a god damn star when she found out. ripped it from the heavens, threw it down until a small crater formed in the gardens. no matter, that was hardly a problem that the earth users in her court couldn't fix for her. a problem she couldn't seem to fix, however, was the missing noble. she knew of them, had heavily considered them for one of her competitors. yet no matter how high and low her guards searched, they seemed to have vanish as if the star goddess herself had snatched them from earth. "i don't care what you need to do, find them! " she snaps at a guard before scoffing, hands clenching her hips as she fumes.

there  was  a  tense  feeling  amongst  the  halls  of  the  court  that  she  had  always  called  home .  the  merriment  of  the  night  and  anticipation  of  the  upcoming  games  should  be  the  only  feelings  they  felt  and  yet ...  fear ,  tension ,  and  apprehension  of  what  was  truly  going  on  was  instead  mixed  amongst  the  nobility .  as  many  last  night  had  been  forced  to  retire  to  their  beds  early ,  yukiona  had  set  her  spies  and  herself  to  the  task ...  to  figure  out  what  was  going  on  and  why .  a  minor  noble  of  the  aurelion  court  had  approached  her  one  too  many  times  already  this  morning  and  it  was  grating  on  her  nerves  to  say  the  least ,  " no  i  do  not  have  any  new  information  lord  martin  and  when  i  do  i  will  report  it  to  the  queen  first ,  certainly  not  you . "  still  the  man  continues  to  harass  her  and  she  looks  to  another  approaching ,  a  look  in  her  eyes  of  annoyance  and  a  call  for  help .

draeven  wasn't  prepared  for  the  letter  at  his  door  to  be  warning  him  not  only  of  being  a  continued  target,  but  also  additions  to  the  gated  city  they  were  still  being  asked  to  remain  inside.  not  normally  one  to  enjoy  confinement,  the  competitor  was  attempting  to  keep  himself  busy,  and  not  paranoid.  it  didn't  help  that  each  corner  he  turned  he  expected  to  see  a  creature  of  the  night  either  after  his  blood,  or  after  those  seeking  his  blood.  fear  was  a  weird  emotion  he  wasn't  sure  he  was  feeling,  but  perhaps  a  whisper  of  it  had  settled  in  the  lord's  chest.  all  the  same,  each  day  at  first  light  the  warrior  made  his  way  to  the  training  grounds  to  work  alongside  others  who  were  hopeful  to  keep  their  skills  honed,  and  perhaps  work  to  tune  up  if  they  had  been  slacking  as  of  late.  as  drae  approaches  the  grounds  he  slows  to  a  stop,  eyeballing  where  he  wishes  to  go,  who  he  wishes  to  spar  with  first,  or  if  he  wishes  to  just  observe  for  a  short  bit.  when  someone  comes  to  his  side  the  warrior  doesn't  move  at  first,  slightly  somber  given  recent  events  as  well  as  the  hour  of  the  day.  "  is  it  just  me,  or  do  these  fields  seem  more  packed  each  morning  ?  "  he  didn't  think  it  was  a  bad  thing.

✧˚ · . ─── Esai had tried to use this time, with each court and royal stuck within the palace, to his advantage. The games were often a prosperous place for him to work his magic - never as a competitor - but one who worked the crowd for the advantage of Aurelion's crown. Esai never garnered much interest for the genuine sport of it all but as more disappeared it only further provoked the wonderance of why rather than the who when it came to blame and responsibility. He cared little for who embodied the opinion and reasoning of their pursuits, but it seemed they did not intend to stop until each court was pulled apart to the point of collapse and undoing. This was something he should have seen coming - and it annoyed Esai greatly that it had snowballed to such catastrophe already. He nodded as another approached, feigning concern as he danced around the topic many had already exhausted, " Good evening - are we to talk in circles with trivial small talk of empty woes or are you to tell me how you really feel ? " Esai smiled then, the action meant to be somewhat ingratiating in comparison to the charged candor of his words.

“Ugh, I need this to be perfect by next week or I will have my head handed to me. This is the worst.”

"So I accidentally locked myself in my dorm for a solid like nine hours working on one dress - granted in that nine hours i restarted it four times. I was never happy with how the skirt was turning out.” Marinette rubbed the back of her neck “And now i need to go buy more fabric cause I ran out. This is really what it feels like to be in a artistic block isn’t it?”

hosting a ball comes as second nature to adelina after all these years. the balls of light that float above them all , the candles around the room , bouquets of blue and gold carnations she'd had placed all around the room. all of it is her handiwork , her mark on the palace. pride runs through her at the sight of it all coming together now , soft smile on her features and a glass of wine held in her grasp. " isn't it all just glorious ? " she praises her own work , a soft hum leaving her lips a moment later. " a perfect evening for me to choose my champion for the games . "

in  all  honesty  with  their  newly  arrived  guests ,  the  castle  had  begun  to  fell  a  bit  cramped  for  the  monarch .  she  needed  to  get  out ,  the  gardens  were  not  enough  anymore .  and  so  the  queen  had  decided  to  venture  out  into  the  city  a  bit ,  finding  herself  within  the  markets.  of  course  her  royal  guard  were  in  tow  ensuring  her  safety  above  all  things .  there  is  no  rush  in  her  step ,  gliding  through  the  various  stalls  and  with  the  energy  of  her  guards ,  most  leave  space  around  her  to  allow  her  to  pass  through .  the  commonfolk  may  not  know  her  name ,  but  they  recognize  she  is  someone  of  importance .  saranya  stops  at  a  stall  selling  trinkets ,  baubles ,  jewelry  as  it  catches  her  eye .  she  picks  up  a  necklace,  eyeing  the  ruby  pendant  upon  it ,  " i  usually  can  discern  if  something  is  real  or  fake ,  but  i  must  admit  i  am  a  bit  puzzled  on  this  one . "  she  says  lazily  to  the  one  already  at  the  stall ,  " may  i  ask  your  opinion ? "