#uosuke

Although they never wore full anything resembling armour or even a matching set of garments, seeing the Hungry Wolf Knights truly civil was always a sight to behold - and something that somehow always felt strangely off. “...and then she threw thousands of pickled plums at her!” The entire desk shook when Kamika hammered her fists down on its surface, accompanying her bellowing laughter. It had already sounded strange after the first few glasses, but now after she had just emptied the eleventh – or was it the twelfth already? Arcadios had lost track in the course of the evening – it sounded almost alarmingly crazy.

The rest of the rather strange independent knight's order was already considerably drunk, too – not that he wasn't himself – and it showed. Kama's usually somewhat composed facade had dwindled with every drop, Neppa had just become louder, while Cosmos and Uosuke were either complete and utter lightweights or simply the kind of person that stumbled head-on into the depths of depression once they had a glass too many. And there definitely had been some glasses too many this evening - it was supposed to have been a normal meeting for strategies and planning of the next missions Arcadios wanted to assign them, but somehow – and he wasn't even sure anymore as to how exactly – it had ended in a drinking bout they'd probably all direly regret once the morning came.

“Yeah, that's how it went...”, Cosmos muttered from across the table and half-heartedly nudged her glass, “I guess...”

A visible shock went through her body when Kamika patted her on the back – or at least it seemed like it was supposed to be a pat, for it looked more like the papermage tried to slap her friend across the room.

“Aww don't be like that, it was fun!” Kamika drew the last word out but even that only managed to wrest a small shrug and a muffled “Mmh” from the other woman. The papermage's lips formed a pout. “Fun isn't exactly the word I would use”, Arcadios chimed in, lazily swirling his glass – he had lost count of his own, too – peering at the two ladies across the table, “...after all you have both been defeated by mages half your age.” A slurred giggle escaped Cosmos' lips followed by a hiccup.

“Yeah, she was a cute li'l one, that Wendy...so young and innocent...” Her words ended in a light series of hiccups, followed by another giggle. She flinched, however, when Kamika banged both of her palms onto the table – the impact made the glasses clatter dangerously - and leaned forward until she was almost lying on her stomach while staring the white knight dead in the eyes. He was sure, were gazes able to kill his life would have left him at this exact moment. “My opponent was this Mirajane”, she said and Arcadios inclined his head in agreement, “And she's, like, what, twenty years old?” “Even older I reckon, after all she was among the mages that disappeared for seven years.” A taunting smile played around his lips while Kamika's face visibly darkened – he was fully aware of what he had said and how it came across and she knew. Kama and Neppa, who had been whispering excitedly were silent all of a sudden, but only for a moment. Then both of them burst out into roaring laughter.

“Bold words for an old man like you, it's a wonder you can even still move”, Kamika grumbled, eyeing Arcadios thoroughly and the knight snorted rather un-knightly, while the glasses on the table visibly shook again – this time however under the impact of Neppa's hammering fists that accompanied his laughter. “Well enough to fulfill all of my duties, I believe”, he shot back but against all expectations a small smile formed on the papermage's lips.

“Let's test that theory then, shall we?”, she said. Nearly instantly the mirth surrounding them subsided – Kama and Neppa leaned closer immediately and even Uosuke, who everyone had been sure was already fast asleep, seemed to listen...at least somewhat.

Under normal circumstances his instincts would have screamed at him to immediately cease what he was doing - but now after who knew how many glasses of ale, they slurred like Cosmos and thus did all but discourage him to back out until it was too late. “There's this new flagpole in the courtyard”, Kamika said, “the one with the golden crown on top. You know it?” Arcadios nodded; of course he knew it, it was only a few days old. He had briefly looked over the forms, because the master builder had required his aid for certain affairs – the pole was tall, slim and overall completely new and would likely not survive what Kamika had in mind. He already wanted to protest, but Kamika was faster: “We'll both try to get it down and then we'll see who of us really looks his age.” Now it was her turn to smile tauntingly – Arcadios took an accentedly slow sip from his glass and ignored the bite in her tone. That much was certain – it would take a miracle for the flagpole to survive. For a moment he felt a sting of pity for the master builder, but Kamika's expression made it clear that her mind wouldn't be changed. “And the loser is punished how exactly?”, he finally asked; now his instincts began to stir, right after the words had left his mouth - considerably late for his standards – and began to make his stomach tingle with a fine sense of dread, but too late. “Let's make it a bet”, she started – Arcadios cursed inaudibly and the little sense of dread turned into a truly, truly bad feeling. Inwardly, the knight scoffed. A fine help they had been today, his instincts. “And the loser will...”, her words trailed off and she scratched her chin, obviously in deep thought about every terrible thing she could ask of him now...the fact that she was silent for a few seconds was, indeed, a bit frightening because Kamika's imagination was anything but dull. Arcadios had always known that too much alcohol made him reckless, which was exactly the reason why he avoided it usually and this was just another time where it showed and showed harshly. Kamika was still silent until, all of a sudden, Kama chimed in. "Should you lose, we will decide your costume for the annual Halloween celebration. You'll wear it and you'll like it." The whole room seemed to look at the scythe-wielder and while he saw grins and smiles of various variations form on the Hungry Wolf Knight's faces, Arcadios felt his mouth go dry – the annual Halloween celebration was only a few weeks away and was one of Mercurius' major events during the year; hardly a surprise with a king that was overly fond of pumpkins. Over the years it had evolved into a celebration everyone with a name worth knowing of participated in – choosing a ridiculous costume for an evening like this could without a doubt be compared to the absolute annihilation of one's contacts in high-society for the next few years at worst. Nothing the Hungry Wolf Knights – as an independent and overall need-to-know knight's order - had to fear, but for him it could prove to be something akin to social suicide if the worst came to pass. And being at the mercy of Kamika's imagination definitely was something to be worried about. A bead of sweat trickled down the knight's temple. There was no backing out now, although for one of the first times in his life he wished he could go back on his word for once - but that blasted knight's code successfully prevented such a thing from ever happening. He was about to curse it inwardly but silenced the thought as soon as it materialized in his head - the grin that slowly grew on Kamikas lips was frighteningly delighted and definitely demanded his attention. “Yeah, that's what the loser will have to deal with”, she agreed – Arcadios' face must have given him away somehow for her smile grew even wider, accompanied by a mocking “Why so shocked, Ser?” “Which, in turn, means that I get to decide your costumes as well, should you lose, Kamika.” The words had escaped him before he even fully knew what to say – but hearing them put his racing thoughts at ease for a moment. After all, a bet did not only work one way. He paused for a moment and let his eyes slowly travel over every single member of the Hungry Wolf knights and delightedly saw the colour fade from their faces, “All of your costumes.” A sudden image of the flagpole appeared in his head and he added: “And to make it fair, you won't use your magic during the bet.” Maybe that could prove enough to keep it standing...or at least prevent most of the damage they would most likely cause. Her grin seemed to waver for a moment – despite any comments she had made about his age she knew that Arcadios was anything but untrained; he was – though lacking magical abilities – a man that had spent his life forging himself into a weapon and she, like all soldiers in the city, knew how he trained his men and himself – rigorously. Beating him a in a competition of magic was a feat easily done, obviously – but a test of bodily strength made him one of the most dangerous opponents in all of Crocus...but it did not look as if Kamika were swayed by this fact. On the contrary however to Kama and Neppa on who's faces a slight hint of worry started to materialize. “Oi, Kamika...”, Neppa started but the papermage had already nodded. “Fine”, she said, “Without magic.” His high spirits returned as if they'd never been gone in the first place. With a little more force than necessary Arcadios placed his glass on the table in front of him and before he knew it, his stern features had given way to a malevolent grin. “It's a deal then.” --- During the first years of his training the older recruits had always made it a tradition to show the rookies every secret entrance and hidden hallway in the castle; “A game”, they'd called it, “So you can sneak in and watch the maids.” The thought made him snort involuntarily – back then he'd found it ridiculous but exciting nonetheless although he would have never admitted such a thing and promised himself that he would change this tradition should he ever end up in a position of power. A promise he would break, however, as soon as he got older and it was his turn to show the younger recruits the secret ins and outs of Mercurius castle – and he had realized what exactly it was supposed to be. Guards were supposed to know their territory by heart including all of its secrets so none of it could be used against them – it was the first tactical lesson they had ever received in their military training and only far later had they realized it. So instead of breaking the tradition as he had originally intended Arcadios had openly encouraged it. And now, using one of the old secret paths that led from his quarters to a room in close proximity to the ballroom, he felt his heart beat strangely fast in dreadful anticipation; was it because of the lack of sound? He - forcibly – had to leave his armour behind for this evening and now the usual clacking of plates and hinges was just...not there and instead left him walking in an uncomfortable almost-silence that was only disturbed by the slight rustle of silk. Additionally the weight of the metal plating had always comforted him and now that it was missing he felt unnaturally light; it felt just plain wrong. Was it this that made him so uneasy? Or was it that he feared – he scoffed inwardly at the use of this word in his own thoughts - the festivity in itself? With a frown he noted that, while he was not sure which one it was exactly, both possibilities had the exact same cause – his attire. “Alright then, name your choice.” Kamika wasn't even able to open her mouth to answer when Kama slightly tugged at her sleeve to get her attention – a gesture that seemed strangely timid for the usually commanding head of the Hungry Wolf Knights and it made Arcadios grin involuntarily – and pulled her down to him. “Listen, I have an idea...”, he started and lowered his voice. Arcadios filled his glass again and tried to blank out their voices – not necessarily to give them the opportunity to witness his honest reaction to their probably wicked choice but more in an attempt to calm his nerves. The longer they whispered the more he-- “We got it!”, Kama interrupted his thoughts harshly. The knight placed his glass on the table again without even drinking – if he thought about it, he probably had had enough anyway, after all it was mostly alcohol that got him into this mess in the first place – that and his damn drunk recklessness. “Name it then”, he said. The grin that grew on each of the Hungry Wolf Knight's faces was unsettling – and he inwardly decided that whatever they'd choose for him he'd make it worse for them. Far worse. “You're going to attend the celebration as a djinn.” The words needed a few moments to fully reach his mind before he felt his jaw drop. Even now he was still fuming. Not only did he have to leave his armour behind, no, he was forced to dress up as a djinn. A djinn of all things, a costume that was far too revealing for his taste, at least under these circumstances. Instead of metal plating he was dressed in somewhat loose and comfortable pants – that was the best part of it, admittedly, the light and pointy shoes were another matter entirely, but the worst of it was this vest that could hardly be called such – it revealed far more than it covered. It hardly reached over his ribs and only hid nearly half of his chest and left parts of it, and his complete stomach, bare. And to make matters even worse he had been forced to wear a turban and trim his beard accordingly – if there was one thing he hated next to being forced to remove his armour it was messing with his hair, regardless if it meant trimming his beard or cutting his hair and especially so if it was not of his own will. Ironically the accessories, golden bangles and a few golden chains and nooses, were the things he was most comfortable with – a little metal at least, next to his usual necklace. At least it was almost fitting the colour of his attire – he had chosen a light seagreen that almost matched his eyes instead of the usual purple. Arcadios sighed. Revealing his body was not exactly something he minded, but having no say in matters that concerned himself, regardless in what way, had always managed to rile him up – and the thought that the Hungry Wolf Knight's costumes were probably even worse for them than his costume was for him only managed to quell his discomfort and anger so much. If only this damned flagpole hadn't-- His thoughts stopped when he reached the end of the passageway – he would emerge from the shadows between two large pillars right next to the ballroom's entrance and would then slip in; hopefully unnoticed. A feat that would probably take little to no effort in garments this light... “Well, at least something”, he muttered to himself, pushed down the lever next to him and slipped out of the passageway and into the shadows. --- “Ser Arcadios?” Arcadios froze instantly, when he recognized that voice. Oh and how he recognized it. Lady Malaide, wife of the man who had taken Jude Heartfilia's place at the top-ranking of most successful concerns after the latter had died; a woman of wit, blessed with a sharp tongue and – he felt his lips twitch for the briefest of moments – a very real fondness for rumours and drama. Forcing his features to remain still he turned and gave a curt bow. “Lady Malaide.” “My, it really is you!” The ladies eyebrows travelled up to meet her hairline and she covered her mouth with one hand in a courteous gesture of surprise. “A rather bold choice you've made for this particular feast, no?” He saw how her eyes scanned his body so intently he was sure her eyes would leave marks on his bare chest and stomach, but forced his features to remain unmoved. Arcadios had always been well aware that he had a well-trained body, but showing it off had never really phased him as entirely necessary, nor had attention ever bothered him – but now, under the scanning gazes of various ladies of court he felt utterly uncomfortable.

Was he imagining the slight whisperings around him? No, the murmurs of the two young women accompanying the lady in front of him definitely weren't imagination – one of them even seemed to blush and only barely hid it behind her adorned fan; he forced a small smile on his lips and was instantly rewarded with a few giggles, before he brought his attention back to the lady in front of him. “Indeed, I was trying to attempt something new”, he said with the most sincere smile he could manage. Malaide laughed the typical courteous fake-laugh he had heard so many times already today, but the little approving smile on her lips was anything but false. It made him feel a strange mixture of uncomfortable and even an inappropriate bit light-headed.

“Well, I am certainly not complaining”, she said and turned her head to her companions, “Or are you, girls?” The young ladies broke into another fit of giggles and obviously tried to avoid his gaze which, however, only led to them staring at his chest – Arcadios wasn't exactly sure what of the two was worse – and shook their heads with a chimed “No milady!”. With an elegant flick of her wrist Malaide unfolded her fan and, with another look at his body, began theatrically fanning herself some air – he doubted however that it was really entirely staged, for little beads of sweat carved tiny trails into the colourful perfection of her make-up. “If you'll excuse us then, Ser”, she said and Arcadios bowed again and desperately tried to ignore the giggling women when they strode past him.

“But I am complaining...”, he muttered under his breath when they were out of reach and allowed himself a small sigh before letting his eyes travel across the various attendees of the celebration. There were more than enough men and women of high status and reputation he needed to – and in some rare cases wanted to – talk to...but normal conversations would eventually always drift to his choice of costume of that he was certain, if normal conversations were possible at all and if he was honest with himself he severely doubted the latter. He knew that by the end of the evening he'd be yearning for his armour – by the stars he already wished for it right now and the celebration hadn't even properly started yet. --- It turned out Arcadios wished for several things this evening; but for now the loudest wish materializing in his head was the one where his choice of costume wasn't the topic of every talk he tried to initiate. Unconsciously he had steered towards the wall with all the conversations he had – voluntarily or not – slipped into and when he finally reached it he felt more worn out than after going three days without sleep. His heart was thundering like a blacksmith's hammer and only now he realized that his breath came in short, ragged gasps; he leaned his back against the wall and sighed, the sound being drowned out by the festivity's chatter and music. I never disliked celebrations but after this one I just might start, he thought sourly – and the Hungry Wolf Knights were nowhere to be seen. Involuntarily he felt sparks of rage flicker in his stomach – should they decide to skip this event, by the stars, he'd make them pay and pay dearly, after all they had all agreed to--

“Arcadios?” The knight-turned-djinn felt his features deaden. Of all people he had to converse with tonight it just had to happen to be her, the one person he honestly did not want to see him like this. He turned towards her and bowed. “Prin...cess?”, his voice trailed off when his gaze fell on her costume. The princess gave a laugh – it instinctively warmed his heart how real it sounded – and smiled broadly at him. “Whatever is the matter? You seem surprised, don't you approve my choice?”, she said.

Can I be blamed for that?, it shot through his head, while his mouth remained silent – not because he wanted to, but thanks to a severe loss of words. Princess Hisui had donned a silken dress as dark as the night that was slit on her right all the way up to her thigh and revealed an only barely concealed adorned knife strapped to her leg – a nearly invisible pattern snaked it's way across the fabric that nearly seamlessly passed into an intricate design that was painted on her bare shoulders and joined together in between her collarbones; it made the necklace she wore look like it was a part of her skin. The dress and drawn patterns were masterful in themselves and almost magically encapsulated everyone who looked at them, but ironically the thing that captured his attention the most was her hair – the radiant dark green colour had given way to a shining black and it seemed like it, too, seemed to pass into her dress when one didn't look close enough. The smile on Hisui's face reminded him that he had still not answered and he overacted the silence through clearing his throat. “Perish the thought. Yours must be the best costume I've seen all night”, he finally answered and it was nothing but the truth, “I hardly recognized you, Princess.”

Hisui dropped a curtsy and he felt her inspecting his costume in turn – it made him feel less uncomfortable than he had anticipated; the thought calmed him, strangely. “Likewise, Ser”, she responded and quirked an eyebrow with an amused smile, “Although this choice doesn't seem like you at all.” Arcadios smirked although a bit sourly. As always she was fast on the uptake – only one of the many qualities he admired about her. “It wasn't exactly my choice to make, Princess”, he said. “Oh dear.” He felt her gaze on his face and only with meticulous effort kept himself from grimacing when a look of surprise washed over her face – she had probably noticed his slightly different beard, noticing his change of hair wasn't exactly hard to spot – and tilted her head questioningly. “How did it come to this?” He told her of the foolish bet him and the Hungry Wolf Knights had agreed upon and noticed without surprise that this was actually the first conversation of the evening he was comfortable with. How they had agreed on their different costumes – though he didn't mention his choices yet – and how they, in a state of rather strong intoxication, went out to settle it.

A frown had appeared on Hisui's face.

“You lost in a competition of fitness?”, she asked incredulously – and all the world's effort to keep his face blank couldn't keep the scowl from his features at that. “Not quite, Milady”, he hummed, “In fact, none of us won. It had rained only recently so the pole was too wet to actually be climbed, although we still managed, but...” A sigh worked its way out of his throat – the feel of humiliation from that evening still stung although he was sure Kamika probably hadn't felt any better. That, at least, was a small consolation. “...the crown on the pole's top was already proofed. So none of us was able to get it down without damaging it, making none of us the winner and all of us the loser.”

“And you agreed to hold up your ends of the bet nonetheless?”, Hisui asked in bewilderment. The smile on her face however clearly betrayed her amusement and now, strangely, Arcadios couldn't help but feel the same. It really was ridiculous. “Did honour get in the way of common sense again?”, she continued with a wink so short he hardly saw it and thus brought back memories from the years X791 and from their 'talk' in front of the Eclipse gate; though it had been necessary for him at that time he still regretted what he had put her through in that moment, especially in hindsight of the events that had followed only soon after. Despite his rather foul mood he felt his lips curve into a wry smile. “I suppose so. It really can be troublesome sometimes”, he answered and earned an accretive chuckle from the princess. A movement of the crowd next to the doors caught his attention and he turned his head – a smirk found his way on his face again when he saw the cause of the small commotion. “Ah, you haven't yet told me the choices you made for the Hungry Wolf Knights”, Hisui asked and Arcadios grinned at her. Fast on the uptake and always right on time, she was. “Come and see for yourself.” --- A djinn. Of all things they could have chosen – a djinn?! Only with great effort he kept himself from protesting, he knew it would be to no avail anyway – and according to the grins with which the knight's order in front of him met him, his faced clearly betrayed his level of consent with their choice. “You'll wear it and you'll like it”, Kama repeated, making the rest of his order break out in snorts or giggles. “Agreed”, Arcadios retorted although the word felt like stones in his mouth – the next one he had in mind, however, felt a lot better, even now only in his head, “And now to you.” Gleefully he saw the grins on their faces fade a bit and he set his eyes on Kamika first. “Since this all started with a mention of Fairy Tail, why won't you turn into a little fairy for the evening?”

 Kamika gawked as if he had just promised her the end of the world; but to be fair, in some ways he probably had.     “A what?!”, she shrieked and next to her Kama snorted briefly, before bursting into laughter. Arcadios set his eyes on him next.     “And you can help her doing some good for the people”, he said and was fully aware of the malevolent grin he was sporting, “...nurse Kama.”     Kama's laughter died instantly and for a moment it seemed like his eyes wanted to pop right out.     “You want to turn an executioner into a nurse?”, his usually controlled voice had jumped an octave higher and Arcadios inclined his head in confirmation.     Now it was Neppas turn to laugh, while Cosmos tried to stifle her laughter with a worried gaze to Arcadios in fear it would give him reason to chose something terrible for her, too.     He turned his gaze to Neppa first.     “Frankenstein's monster”, he said plainly. Neppa looked surprised for a moment but then shrugged and nodded. “Works for me”, he muttered but covered his mouth with his hands as soon as the words had left it, obviously fearing like Cosmos that his choice of costume would take a turn for the worse if he showed any level of satisfaction with it – but the knight overlooked it.     Finally he turned to look at Cosmos who was definitely awake now and had visibly paled. He regarded her for a few moments and searched for a not-so-vicious choice for her – the only ones he truly tried to get back at were Kamika and Kama – and that he had already done.

“A mummy”, he said to her and Cosmos sighed in relief – but only for a moment, then she muttered something that sounded strangely like “...not beautiful...” but kept any loud complains to herself. Not so, however, Kama and Kamika. “What about him?”, the scythe-wielder grumbled and pointed an accusing finger at Uosuke who still lay flat on the table. “Yeah, what's his costume?”, Kamika agreed sourly, “Can't really be worse then ours right?” “Give him somethin' like the headless horseman or a dead fisherman”, Neppa threw in – he sported a grin, on the contrary to his companions. Arcadios had already opened his mouth to answer – the truth was that he didn't quite make up his mind yet – but before he could say a word, Uosuke had raised his head and sleepily blinked at the two complaining. “It's just a costume ball, don't go all bananas over it”, he slurred – the whole table went silent and it was evident all of them thought the same. The grin on Arcadios' face grew so much it almost began to hurt when he made up his mind. This costume would be the best one yet. “Your costume will be...” --- Finding the Hungry Wolf Knights in the crowd took little effort and Arcadios felt a smile grow on his face the closer they got – and when he heard Hisui next to him snort when they finally reached them, it had evolved into a full-fledged grin. “How nice of you to join us and in such thoughtful attires”, Arcadios greeted them and was satisfied to see Kama and Kamika glare darkly at him – while Neppa and Cosmos seemed to be at least somewhat in high spirits

“Yeah, it's alright”, Neppa said with an honest grin – the green make-up on his face made his teeth seem unnaturally white and Cosmos next to him nodded in agreement – it was hard to recognize her at all beneath the layers and layers of bandages she wore, but it looked like she was grinning...on the contrary to Kama and Kamika.

"This is utterly ridiculous", the newly appointed nurse muttered. Arcadios flashed him a wry grin. "You'll wear it and you'll like it", he quoted gleefully – if he was fully honest with himself, this choice must have been the best he had made that evening – right after Uosuke. After all, how many times did it happen that Kama wore a skin-tight nurse's dress accompanied by a syringe as big as Neppa's arms? Kama eyed him sullenly. "You seemingly have come to terms with your costume." The knight suppressed a sour smile and shrugged. A gesture, he noted, that was nearly impossible while wearing armour - not to mention unnecessarily straining and overall invisible for his vis-a-vis. Just another advantage – maybe Kama was right, he had come to terms with it; at least in the presence of Princess Hisui, if not in the presence of everyone else but those were never the most comfortable of places for him to be anyway. "I can adapt", he retorted and Kama snorted. "We chose the wrong costume for you, then", he huffed. “Maybe.” The grin on the knight-turned-djinn's features grew considerably in size and malevolence. "I am fully content with my choices, however."

"Let's just agree not to do this again" Kama paused, intonating the next word carefully, "Ever." "We've never agreed on something faster, then." Next to Kama, Cosmos slightly slapped Kamikas hand with one of her loose bandages because the latter – obviously not for the first time – attempted to fumble on the colourful wings she war wearing. “Some of us are content, too”, she mumbled through her bandages – Arcadios heard Hisui politely stifle a snicker when the sounds reached her - and was rewarded with a grumbled “Yeah, some...” from the papermage-turned-fairy right next to her. A movement next to him brought his attention back to Hisui. “Aren't you missing a member?”, she said and Kama looked back over his shoulder for a moment. “Uosuke's a bit slow today”, he said and made a gesture to the door, “There he is, you see?” He took a step to the side to enable her to look past him – but even without this gesture she would have spotted the last executioner that was still missing. This time Hisui wasn't able to suppress her laughter and even Arcadios didn't manage to stifle a chuckle; Uosuke waddled into the room with slow steps, dressed completely in a full-body suit with a little black stem on the top, that was so brightly yellow it almost seemed to shine – but even more so did the huge grin he sported. “A banana?”, Hisui managed to wheeze out in between short gasps for air and Arcadios just shrugged with a seemingly apologetic look – but the smile on his face completely betrayed it. “He's definitely comfortable with it, I can tell you that”, Neppa said with a booming laugh and Arcadios nodded. “I still think it's ridiculous”, a sullen voice next to him said and when he looked down he saw Kamika stare up at him with clear fury in his eyes. “We brought this on ourselves, remember?”, the knight answered and returned her look unphased – oh and how he brought this on himself had somewhat haunted him ever since. He looked the mage in front of him over and chuckled. “Well, at least your costume makes you look young”, he said and a frown appeared on her face, but before she could say a word he had continued, “And perhaps I should have desisted from my comment that evening.” For a moment the mage-turned-fairy – and odd choice of words he remarked silently for he had come to always associate mages with fairies since the days of that certain event – seemed at a loss for words and simply gaped at him. “Is that supposed to be an apology?”, she asked with a clear look of disbelief on her face. Arcadios raised an eyebrow in a mild look of mock-aggravation. “Yes”, he retorted and couldn't help but smirk when Kamika looked utterly incredulous, “Maybe it was something I should have kept to myself.” The grin was quick to return on her features. “Maybe”, she retorted and tapped on his bare chest with a finger – he could barely keep himself from flinching; wearing armour usually successfully prevented him from being touched and having lost that advantage without his consent was still something he clearly disliked...but he managed to keep his composure. “But it takes more than that to offend me.” Kamika winked. Before Arcadios could state his disagreement with this assertion his attention was forced elsewhere by a sound – or rather the lack thereof. A quick glance in the direction of the musicians told him that they had stopped playing and were flipping through their sheets, obviously looking for another song to play. When he turned his attention back to Kamika, the fairy had already turned around and waved at Uosuke. “They're about to play another song!”, she said, walked over to him and grabbed one of his arms that barely stuck out of his costume, “Come on, the rest has to see you too, banana-guy.” With a laugh she dragged him past Arcadios and the princess who just looked on – amusedly in her case, incredulously in his; never in a hundred years had he assumed that Uosuke would actually enjoy his choice of attire – but he had always been a little strange and when he thought about it now, maybe he should have anticipated it...because now his choices hardly seemed as malevolent as he had initially planned, but to his own surprise that fact hardly phased him now. His own attire, too, could have been far worse – especially when it was a choice made by Kamika – so it was only fair that his were met with at least some kind of consent too. ...though Kama the nurse's appearance still made him snort. “Arcadios?” A slight tap on his arm disrupted his thoughts and reminded him that he was still in the presence of royalty. When he looked at her she beamed up at him – with a slight hint of mischief in her delicate features that made him worry for the briefest of moments. “According to the stories a djinn grants wishes, am I not right?”, the princess asked with a wink – involuntarily he felt himself smirk. In her presence it somehow was far easier to deal with his attire, so he decided to play along and nodded. “Three in number”, Arcadios replied, and before he could stop himself he added: “Although maybe for you I could bend the rules.” The princess gave a brief curtsy – a gesture that, with her attire and the smile she wore, had suddenly lost all its innocence.

“How gracious of you”, she said, “But I require only one.”

With a smile he put a hand to his chest. “Whatever you desire, then.” With a quick gesture she pointed in the direction Kamika and Uosuke had disappeared in the crowd – well, at least Kamika, Uosuke was still easily spotted thanks to that enormous black stem on his head. “Dance with me.”

He had been in other countries often enough to know the legends around djinns and how one was supposed to act and for the first time this evening he felt like making use of that knowledge. With a curt movement he put his hands up to his shoulders, crossing his arms before his chest and bowed with his eyes never leaving hers, before extending one of his hands to her in invitation.