Alpha hadn't pushed her away like Arrika was half afraid he would; instead, he had done the exact opposite, his touch sending a thrill that coursed all the way down to her toes-

"Helllllllllo~, little Sheikah! And how are you today, hm~? Enjoying Alphie's lips quite a bit, aren't we? Hihihihi..."

Suddenly, an impish voice rang in her head, and she nearly jerked away in surprise, but held her ground. So whoever was watching knew Alpha, just as she suspected.

They hadn't run away, though. Were they enjoying the show?

She said nothing, and let her shadow dissipate.

A short distance away from Serul, Arrika was deepening the kiss and running her fingers through Alpha's hair. Her fingers danced on the nape of his neck, against his scalp, tapping in complicated patterns. She was the puppeteer, and all of a sudden, the shadow that Serul had spoken to split and encircled him, lashing about him like whips to try and cage him in.

OOC: Arrika, I laugh when I think of how sly you must be in real life. Honestly, the combined last two posts between you and Alpha have been my favorite to read so far. This is getting good.

edit: Arrika posted while I was posting. This goes before Arrika's most recent post as far as the timeline is concerned.

IC:

He felt the insidious energy only for a moment, but a moment was all he needed. It was enough to retrace the sinister aura back to its owner; much akin to a hound having the prey's scent reintroduced to its olfactory system. He quickly retraced the vicinity for the insipid nature of soul energy, and locked onto it almost immediately. The samurai specialized in these sorts of things, you see. He was the best at what he did, and there was little one could do to hide from him. Javelin however seemed to be equally skilled at hiding himself from experts even such as Dogura himself.

Knowing how to trace an invisible creature however, included the knowledge of how to hide oneself from being traced in turn. This made the samurai one of the most difficult presences to track. It was highly unlikely that anyone knew he was here yet- aside from Darkin, who took a lucky guess, and got a congratulatory confirmation. From his all-seeing position, the vagabond honed in on Javelin, pinpointing his position. The samurai's eyes glowed intensely as he spied the evil creature.

Gotcha. You're not going anywhere without me.

Dogura proceeded to follow Javelin around the castle, watching his every move carefully. He would allow the Zora to do what he pleased, so long as it didn't cross any serious boundaries. It mattered little to him if Javelin pulled little pranks here and there, or if he observed things that were meant to be private- after all, who was to judge him for it? Dogura was doing basically the same thing.

Then- movement.

Oh, no you don't.

He was on the move, and Dogura carefully and silently followed after him, propelling himself through the shadows of the castle walls. Occasionally he would come across a secret room in the castle, and had to be careful not to phase into a room; there were sure to be security alarms. He moved carefully around the walls, keeping a constant eye on the Zora. Occasionally he would lose the creature, but never for longer than a second.

And then... Javelin's destination.

Dogura hovered there in silence as he gazed upon the scene.

Alpha and Arrika...

They're... Dancing.

The moment hung in the air as Dogura watched the scene.

This is... This must be the closest I've ever seen Alpha get to... anyone.

Shock and amazement filled the samurai was he watched the two dance slowly in tandem with one another. Was Alpha happy? Or simply being polite- and then... The unthinkable.



A kiss.



Dogura stared. He saw, but didn't believe. The ranger's brain cells smashed together to attempt to understand the situation. Perhaps there was much he didn't know about Alpha- it was unsettling to the samurai. There was more to know. He watched as Alpha moved his hand along her back. Unbelievable. Truly, what an undertaking in Alpha's mental psyche. It was... It was...

Hilarious.

Dogura brought both his hands up to his mouth to prevent himself from laughing aloud. He hadn't laughed this hard in ages. He shifted his attention to Javelin, wondering if he too was getting a kick out of this. He suddenly wished to alert the Zora of his presence just so that they could discuss this. What a secret! He quickly remembered why he was here however, and straightened himself up long enough to refocus on Javelin. His eyes however, were caught upon something else.

Arrika's shadow had gone missing.

Dogura's eyes widened.

When did I miss it?! How?? The kiss? It was... It was a distraction!

The samurai found himself extremely impressed by the girl's cleverness, and immediately spotted her shadow searching the area for a presence.

She knows they're being watched.

The samurai took his focus off of his target long enough to analyze Alpha's brainwaves. Even through the mage's already erected mental defenses, he could tell the brain patterns were erratic.

A mere kiss doesn't cause that. Alpha knows they're being watched as well. Am I found out?

He watched intently as the two scanned the room, and he did his best to hide his presence further.

Or is it Javelin, who's been discovered?

he hovered there in anticipation. Best not to move. Alpha was sharp. Alongside Arrika? The samurai, even as undetectable as he was, knew he was in serious danger of being caught if attempted to flee. He focused all of his energy into shrouding himself from detection. He took complete focus off of Javelin, closed his eyes, and made himself as still as a stone.

"Announcing...um...Saber? I guess?"

The guard looked at the guard next to him with a furrowed brow, mouthing the words "I have no idea"

The mercenary heaved a heavy sigh and looked to the ground, bending over to pick up his invitation; the guard had absentmindedly let it drop after making his...announcement? Statement, more like.

He closed his eyes and rolled his shoulder back, feeling a pop. The smile returned to his lips and he raised his eyes. He'd hang around here a few hours. Enjoy the music, get some food...the food here had to be something special, right? It'd be nice to spend an evening watching people and relaxing.

"SABER!!"

The nomad looked up, dumbfounded. Immediately, he realized how stupid he was, not expecting other adventurers to be here. This would make the evening much harder.

Nearby, the guard chuckled with his buddy. "Eh, I guess he's famous among the fish, at least."

Taint was barreling toward the mercenary, and his windpipe immediately clamped shut in protest. Taint was the questioning type. The Zora stopped on a dime right in front of Saber, planting himself like a roadrunner. Saber's smile grew wider and wider.

"Saber! You're not an easy man to contact! Great to see you, how've you been?"

Sabertache swallowed before responding, trying to match Taint's enthusiasm but giving up quickly; who could manage such a thing?

"Haven't been doing much at all, really."

Liar.

"Just traveling. Doing the nomad thing, you know."

Half-truther.

"I'm not sure if we've met. I'm Lilly."

Saber squinted. Lilly? She seemed very close to Taint...memories came up, but they were very brief, and very long ago. Nothing solid to go on.

"I swear I've seen you somewhere before. Have you been--"

"Hey there. It's been quite some time."

Saber cut off mid-sentence the minute he saw Darkin. A smile reached his face again, but this one was genuine. It had been so long since he'd seen the Rito; he couldn't wait to tell him...

Tell him what, exactly? Lies?

His fingers absently traced the pommel of the wolf's head dagger at his side. Too many conflicting feelings were at play; it was time to bury the subject in his mind again. He would decide what to do eventually, just...this wasn't eventually yet.

He beamed, throwing up a hand and waving it at Darkin in a huge arc.

"So why are we standing here? Let's do something!"

__________________________________________________

Out in the garden, another figure stole its way through the night. It came through the halls, out through the door Alpha and Arrika hadn't entirely closed, and moved swiftly along the ground, to the bushes. Once there, it waited, clearly listening to its surroundings with complete apprehension. There were two people here--no, three. Maybe more? Two were very close; were they aggressive? What would they be

ohmygodwasthatahawkintheskyrunrunrun

The small rabbit jolted out of the bushes and ran back into the hall, it's heart pounding twice the rhythm of its legs on the ground.

From deep in the castle, a pained cry was heard;

"Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooops!"

The Rebel Flame held his cane loosely, finger running along the length. He gazed into the crowd, watching the proceedings intently. Though he could not see clearly, the chatter made it apparent that the King was now participating in the festivities.

No, his attention had turned to something else. Some idle fear that crept into the back of his mind. Something was wrong; he could almost feel it. His eyes darted back and forth. Sovelis, Saber, Keychain, but where had Alpha gone off to? Did the wraith slip away when I was tending to my pains?

"It's not Alpha, you know." A voice said, from behind Kasei. It was eerie, reminiscent of a grown man trying to sound like a child, but far more convincing. The Shiekah spun his head around to find a small boy, grayish-green, mid-length messy hair and green eyes. He wore an extravagant green outfit, one that closely resembled Kasei's own. The child smiled; a wide, fake smile that betrayed the devious thoughts that lie behind it.

"If not him, then what?" Kasei asked quietly, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not too sure myself. But it doesn't seem to be an actual threat." The child replied. "...Of course, I've been wrong before."

With this, Kasei stood, his cane at his side, and moved to make his way to the garden. He could not feel presence, no, but his back shivered slightly worse when he looked in it's direction. He did not get far, however, when he felt a tug on his pants. "I said it's not a problem, Kasei, sit down." The boy said, his voice reaching a higher pitch at the last bit.

So this is how it's going to be, then...you want to see how things will play out...despite who could be put into danger here. Kasei glared at the boy, the devilish child, before returning to his seat. Now he was certain that something was going to happen here tonight. He sighed. "Of course it would...with all of these big names...why wouldn't it?"

OOC: Ah, sorry everyone for not replying as often as I'd like. I can only come on once a day and not for long even then. However, I am reading this all and damn do I like it.

OC: I'm posting this just to say Merry Christmas to everyone. I know that there are probably people who may celebrate other holidays, like Hanuka, but since that's over with, I can't say Happy Hanuka!

And Arrika, I just have to agree with ZV.

IC: Keychain stared around the ballroom. Everyone was bunched up in pairs. From the bubbly wine settling in her stomach and a light feeling in her head, Keychain decided to stop being such a wall flower and go dance.

But who needed a man to dance?

Keychain took one step, two steps, and then fell to the floor. Her head was spinning already from the wine.

"I guess I should get home," she mumbled.

Arrika lifted a hand and brought it up to his head, hiding in his hair as her fingers began an intricate series of taps and motions. The movements were indecipherable to all but her, though Alpha assumed it related to some sort of magic -- no doubt his companion was in the midst of trying to locate and learn about their strange observer. He kept his own mental gaze turned in that direction as well, sensing part of Arrika's magic even as it surrounded the...empty space he had found. Even now, he could scarcely comprehend it...

To block his senses, one would require a great deal of magical power, as well as be familiar with himself enough to target him and him alone with its effects -- assuming, of course, that it was only affecting him, but Arrika's ability to sense him seemed to support that somewhat. And it wasn't like he had time to get a larger group together to experiment with. For now, he made that assumption and got to work figuring out where it led...

'Where it led' turned out to be something he did not like. At all.

But Arrika's sudden shadow attack only strengthened the idea -- he sensed it rising up to strike whoever existed in the empty space, only for what seemed like a hand to reach out and snag it mid-whip. The attack was trapped; that meant whoever was within it was someone powerful.

It's one of you guys, isn't it?

Alpha didn't have much practice with telepathic communication, and to be quite frank had almost never tried to establish a telepathic link before. As such, he could only strengthen his thoughts with magic before shooting them out across the arena; anyone with enough magical talent, Arrika included, ought to have been able to hear him--

Kihihahaha! Caught me already, eh Alphie? That's just like you.

He broke off the kiss -- feeling a twinge of disappointment for it -- and spun around, already calling forth his magic. There he was indeed: Serul Tarduck, standing in the doorway, hands in his pockets and an obnoxious smirk on his face. "Say, while you two are taking a break," the Zora chirped, "think you can get little Arky to stop with her shadows?" He reached out and snagged another one in midflight, then paused and took a second look at it. "Pffft! Oh, dear me, I'm so sorry! This is one of yours, isn't it Alphie? Kihihi, how careless of me to get confused!"

A few of the other residents of the garden were starting to turn their attention towards the disturbance; it didn't take a genius to realize that confronting Serul here was a bad idea. The Sheikah mage released his magic and motioned for Arrika to stay put, then strolled up to the Zora until they were but a foot apart from one another. Neither one let their locked eyes move from the other's. "Javelin."

"Al~phie."

"I assume you're here for me, then?"

The Zora blinked, then his lips curled upwards in the way that only a restrained laugh can cause. "Y-you? Hah! Oh, come now, if I wanted to get you, do you really think we'd be talking?" He lowered his head and rested his forehead to his hand, a dramatic pose that accomplished nothing thanks to his shaking form -- shaking from still more restrained cackles. "Our mission has nothing to do with you! But I couldn't help but notice you and Arky there leaving the party..." He glanced over Alpha's shoulder to where Arrika stood. "Little Hauntry's going to be pretty upset when she finds out about this! Kiiiiii....hiii.....HAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

Alpha slapped him.

The blow seemed to catch the Zora off guard, as he fumbled to the side for a few seconds, but Alpha knew better -- Serul was never off guard. "Focus, imbecile," he snapped under his breath, annoyance rising to replace the fear that had gripped him. Facing Shadowclaw was a terrifying thought, but even so... Alpha at least thought he could match the man's power and skills. With someone like Serul, there was little point in a contest of strength... He had to be outwitted, and it helped when you actually understood the mind of your opponent, which he wasn't sure he did.

Thankfully, it didn't seem like things would come to that. "You're here on a mission. So then..."

"Yes, yes, all four of us are here. Ready and waiting to get down to business." Serul smiled wide. "Just have to figure out who the target is! Hihiha!"

Alpha stood there in silence for several long seconds, letting the Zora get his laughter out...and then he continued to stand. Serul brought himself back up to full height once more and joined him. Once more their eyes were locked, a joyful mirth filling those cold black spheres while Alpha's own crimson gaze scorched like a wildfire. It may have been an entire minute before Serul stepped back, expression still smug. "Have we your permission, then, oh fearless Adventurer~?"

He spun away, and did not look back. "Hurry up and figure it out. I don't want to see any of you for the rest of the night."

"Understood~! Later, Alphie!" Alpha heard the sound of footsteps walking away. He stepped back over to Arrika, worry breaking through his normally calm mask as he walked. If Ganon's Assassins were here, then the castle had been breached... For how long, who could say? Not good. Not good at all...

Oh, by the way, Arky, he's got a real weakness for chocolate!

...I hate you.


OOC: Quick announcement, everyone. Come Christmas Day I will be making an RG post that will start the transition into a more plot-oriented direction.

...hopefully it'll be a good plot...I'm still working on it... ^^;

Zach eventually wandered away from the ballroom. Not nice to ditch his partner, but half an evening was wasted on shopping.He wandered the halls, passing by some guards. He peered into some of the other rooms, noticing mundane objects. Zach sighed, and passed by some more rooms when his left arm shot out in pain. He clenched it immediately, and looked at it. It was glowing in the manner when his wounds healed after battle, or he was being saved from a death blow. But this was a ball. There was no way such a thing... he thought. He looked around, and noticed another sitting room. He peered in to see a young man sitting there, reading a book, and smoking a pipe. He pondered what to do before pulling out a pair of white dress gloves to cover the glow on the back of his hand. He pulled his left coat sleeve back, checking to see if the other glove he had was still secure. Nodding, he rolled the sleeve down, put the gloves on, and walked into the room. "Pardon me," he said as he approached the man. "but I seem to have grown tired of the festivities. Mind if I keep you company?" Suddenly, he thought of face palming himself. That's no way to start questioning! This will just be a simple yes, and we don't get anywhere. he thought. Barely the opening chess move, and the king was already in check. He simply smiled to prevent any stupid actions from showing themselves.

Luu, on the other hand, miraculously was drunk, both from excitement, and the wine the servants served. Clearly she was enjoying herself too much. "Haaa! I knew such an event was too good to be true!" she said. She was on and off dancing with some of the noblemen, ignoring the sense of some ill omen approaching. She then stopped to look for Zach. "Ohh where did he run off to noww?" She went off to a side, and started looking for him.

OOC: Alright, we're going to do something I've been thinking about trying for a little while. In our plans for HA3, one of the ideas we had was to better format the mod posts of an Events; while this isn't necessarily an Event, I figured it might be a good time to try it out and see how well it works. Feel free to PM Alpha with comments.

Without further ado...the [beginnings of a] plot.


IC:
The clock struck 8:00.

It may have seemed like the time should have been much later already -- after all, there had been a great many antics thus far at the party, multiple dances, and some of the guests had already started spreading out into other portions of the castle. But those who thought such would soon remember that the Ball had begun at sunset, which at this time of the year was close 5 or 6 o'clock. For a party which could, and occasionally did, last until sunrise, two or three hours was only the beginning, but there was still plenty that could happen in that time. The events thus far were testament to that.

Now, however, guards were sent scurrying throughout the castle, running from room to room in search of any attendees who had already wandered from the Golden Ballroom of Nayru. To each person they found, including several of the Adventurers, they delivered the same message:

"His Majesty, King Harkinian Daphnes Hyrule II, requests you return to Nayru's Ballroom at once. It is his wish to address all guests and hold the night's toast at a quarter past the hour. Please, come at once."

Then the guards continued on to the next room, trusting that each guest would see themselves back to the Ballroom as requested. It was not a farfetched assumption -- to raise a glass of wine in toast alongside the king was an honor that even his most trusted generals and highest advisers rarely received. Additionally, it always marked the appearance of Princess Zelda in joining the festivities, and few wanted to miss that. With several dozen guards spread out to deliver the message, it was soon heard by all, and the sound of guests making their way back to the center of festivities was soon heard throughout the castle.


In the ballroom itself, the announcement of the approaching toast was made at 8 o'clock as well, and the dancing and music ceased for a time while everyone readied themselves. Attendants hurried throughout the room with glasses of wine for everyone (sometimes having to double back when the less-than-sober went ahead and consumed the contents), tables and chairs were moved to the side so that standing room would be maximized...and each Adventurer, be they already in the ballroom or returning from another part of the castle, soon found themselves met by an additional guard. "You are one of the Adventurers, correct?" they asked, proceeding without awaiting a response -- they probably already knew the answer anyway. "Please, follow me. His Highness has provided you a place of honor for the toast."

Each Adventurer was led up to the very front of the room, right at the base of the stage where the king would be making his toast. The area was cleared of all other guests, and guards ensured that only Adventurers escorted by their comrades could enter the space.

A place of honor, indeed.


Objective: Return to the Ballroom and/or make your way to the area of honor.
[size=0]((OOC: This is that format stuff I mentioned ;P))[/size]

Zach was led away from the room, and back into Nayru's Ballroom. He head a shout of glee as Luu hugged his arm. "Ahh tonight's drink is especially great now that you're here!" she said. Zach sighed. "Please act sober if you can. This is pretty big. As I see, we're part of the attention tonight. and I'd LOVE it if my head stays on my shoulder again. I don't want out 100th decapitation be on such a festive night." Zach whispered to Luu. She simply sighed. "Aww right. I'll be a good girl, but only cause you're my master." she said. Luu clung to Zach's arms as the two walked to the front of the ballroom.

Unfortunately, Luu was asking for some more drink, even at the head of the room. Zach held his glass away from Luu in an attempt to prevent her from getting...well MORE drunk. Remind me to keep some water on my person next time... Zach thought to himself. I heard that, and sadly, it's not gonna work on a spirit like me. Luu responded.

Zach secretly prayed that the night would end soon, if not, have some dumb monster attack so Luu would act more serious...If only one of the two happened.

Luu secretly wished the night would never end, and that the party continued for a week. And that poor Zach would loosen up on such an occasion. If not, she had some other tricks in mind...

OoC: Merry Christmas, everyone!

ZV and Keychain, you flatter me so~

IC:

Arrika's shadows were throttled a split second after they attempted to strike, and she realized instantly that whoever she had just attacked was far more powerful than she had anticipated.

It became very clear that Alpha and the Zora knew each other, but their relationship did not hold very fond memories. Apprehensively, she stayed where she was as Alpha had commanded.

And then he was gone, and Alpha only seemed worried, which perhaps was a reason to be distressed all on its own.

"...chocolate?" Arrika managed. Her shadow zoomed back to her, planting itself firmly at her feet and regaining her natural silhouette. Serul had not touched her, but his snatching of her shadows gave her the second-hand sensation of fingers closing around her neck. She shuddered.

"His Majesty, King Harkinian Daphnes Hyrule II, requests you return to Nayru's Ballroom at once. It is his wish to address all guests and hold the night's toast at a quarter past the hour. Please, come at once."

As much as Arrika was intrigued by the appearance of the Princess, she felt her heart sink.

"We should go," she said, not bothering to mask her disappointment.

But was she allowed to be disappointed? Where in the world did they stand now?

The Sheikah took an uncertain step towards the door. She did not want to leave the gardens, and she wondered if Alpha was now mortified at what had happened, or was brushing it off as just another thief's sly ploy. How could she look him in the eye after this? But a moment later, her shoulders straightened into resolution- there were far more things in the world worth fearing than rejection. She turned to Alpha, lacing her fingers through his loosely, and kissed him again; not deeply as before, but enough to prove it meant more than a fluttering gesture of appreciation. There were no excuses here, no Zoras or any other peeping toms to provide a convenient disguise.

"Come on," she said, taking a step back. No matter what, it had felt liberating. "I've never seen the Princess before. I heard she's beautiful."

"Haven't been doing much at all, really, just traveling. Doing the nomad thing, you know."

Taint nodded, his smile growing. "Then this proposition of mine may be an even easier decision for you than I thought. You were a fine addition to our crew during the Gossip Isle adventure. I wanted to cordially invite you to join The Overwatch. We haven't many members yet, but we're growing. The Overwatch consists of a group of seafaring explorers who sail the seas looking for lost treasure, uncharted islands, and lost ruins of times long gone by. So far, it's only Myself, my wife, Darkin, Katsuro, William, a Goron by the codename Tank, and a Deku by the codename of Cedar. Tank and Cedar will tell you their names if they want, but you know everyone else. Also, Morgoth comes and goes as needed- that is to say, we have his contact information, which is more than anyone else has.

"And then there's what perhaps got us invited to this grand occasion. We fight injustice wherever we find it. Defending the innocent, and funding the poor villages we come across. The Gossip Isle discovery made me rich beyond my means to spend, and so I pass it on to the poor people!" Lilly made a face at that statement, and added, "We call them, 'those less fortunate', hon. Not 'poor people'."

Taint shrugged his shoulders, and Darkin stepped forward.

"What the captain is trying to say is, you're welcome to the crew."
Darkin reached out, and handed the man a envelope. "If you accept, give that note to Fledge Writewing. He's a friend of mine who works in the New Peaktop chamber of commerce. He'll give you directions from there. In the meantime, may Farore's winds blow favorable upon you, friend." He smiled genuinely, and before Taint could interject with anything more, the room's noise level dropped noticeably. Before they could question it, a couple of guards moved by, instructing the adventurers to the front of the room.

The trio followed suit, moving to the front of the room. "Don't forget!" Taint called back to Saber, "Fudge Writing, at the chamber pot of commerce!!" Before the two disappeared into the crowd, Darkin and Lilly could be seen smacking the captain upside the head.

* * *

The samurai opened his eyes when the confrontation was over. He'd seen not a thing, but heard and retained everything. Things were certainly about to get interesting.

He's here for someone? But who...

Then the guards dropped the news that the King was about to speak. Dogura's eyes remained still as he thought everything through.

No... Javelin wouldn't be so foolish as to...

His thought stopped there. Javelin very well may be foolish enough to attempt an assassination on the King of Hyrule. Dogura closed his eyes as he thought over his options. They were literally endless right now. If this were Ganon's idea, then Dogura had been left out of the loop. If the samurai were to save the King from assassination, it wouldn't be disobedience, or insubordination. The samurai moved through the shadows back to the ballroom. Upon arrival, he surveyed the scene. The King's guard was pitiful. The Knights looked as if they were just a collection of people in armor, rather than elite guards of the throne.

Tch. I could kill him from here.

He thought bitterly as he thought carefully about what he should do.

What a pain... and here I was hoping to stay out of this affair. But if anything happened to the King... or more specifically, Princess Zelda... I can't let that happen.

The samurai was on the move. He glided through the walls, along the ceiling, and through the King's balcony. He surveyed the Knights, and spied one knight adjusting his armor in the barracks. He was alone...

The knight was sitting down on the bench tightening his bootstrap, and making faces at himself in the mirror. First a tough face, then a tougher one. He looked like he was trying to nail the perfect, 'I mean business' face. Dogura, for the first time of the evening, emerged from the shadows, and landed silently in the barracks.

The knight looked down at his boots, and ran a rag over them, polishing them neatly. He looked at his reflection in his steel cuff boots, and blew himself a kiss before looking back up at the mirror.

His blood ran cold.

In the mirror behind him stood a man that was very recognizable to any of the knights in North Castle. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Dogura stood there staring at the man for several seconds. The moment the knight moved even an inch, the samurai had his hand on the back of the guard's head, and the man immediately hit the ground. It was a special type of move that he hadn't had the opportunity to practice yet. It send a small magical impulse to the brain, causing the senses to be flooded with different reactions, ultimately knocking out the target.

"I'm sorry."

He whispered.

* * *

A knight emerged from the barracks, casually strolling down the hall to the balcony. Behind the helmet, Dogura's eyes watched several other knights walking through the halls, and immediately implemented their walking patterns. Underneath his armor, his own sword was well hidden, the hilt sticking out underneath his armpit. Should he need his sword, he could retrieve it at a moment's notice... And he very well might need to, should have to protect the king. His reflexes were top notch, and with Ganon's eyes, they were enhanced even further.

I don't know what you're planning, Javelin... But if it involves the King, or princess Zelda, you can forget about it.

He took his place near the King, and immediately began searching the room for the foul aura.

Where are you, you bastard?

The fleeting fear, that moment, of terror, was wiped from Kasei's mind as the clock struck 8. He turned to his side, to find the small boy had disappeared as easily as he had made his presence known. The Rebel flame hung his head low, and began thinking; for a century and a half he had traveled the land, encountered many of it's dangers, what could have caused the discomfort he had felt?

There were several possibilities; Jormund was dead, certainly; Kasei had buried the devil himself, but there were others just as terrible as the Evil General if not worse. Kasei ran all he could think of through his head. Zaboorak, Alpha, Dogura, Sovelis, Mezaro, and the Hakiems tribe. No, none of them could be a threat. None of them would dare risk loosing their lives in a suicidal attack; not with such a force assembled in the castle. Kasei breathed slow and steady, certain that he could, just this once, trust the boy.

He raised his head a moment later, when he noticed one of the Royal Guards approaching. The man did not waste any time in delivering his message:

"His Majesty, King Harkinian Daphnes Hyrule II, requests you return to Nayru's Ballroom at once. It is his wish to address all guests and hold the night's toast at a quarter past the hour. Please, come at once."

Kasei smiled gently "Well, I suppose I wouldn't want to upset his highness by not respecting his summons. He stood up for what seemed the thousandth time, gripped his cane, and followed the young guard to a clearing at the front of the hall. The Rebel Flame smiled, happy for a brief moment; several eyes were on him, men and women turned and whispered his name. How much did they know? How much did they care? It mattered not, for now was a time of celebration.

Yes...nothing should go wrong, not here.

OOC: long story short, forgot my password, had to scour my computer to find it, gave up, guessed, and now i'm writing up yet another disappointing post

feels like home, doesn't it?

IC: He had been scared.

To be fair, fear was common in the young man's life, a powerful emotion that had filled every part of his life, but not making him stronger or smarter for it all. Anyone who had ever met Worru would agree he wasn't smart or strong. All that anyone could agree on about the boy was that he was naive, untrained, and one of the weakest adventurers the land had ever seen.

Nothing could persuade him that he had been anything less than an embarrassment, either. He had never really been much help, and in the end, all he had done was just run away from any responsibility he had.

At least, until a month ago.

He had received the invitation almost on accident, after a small rock-climbing incident had found him lying around in the rocky valley near Ruto Town. He hadn't been at his home in Castle Town in the longest time, and had just simply avoided settlements altogether, if only to wander through the woods or the deserts only to think. He had never been one to train on his own.

The guard had found him in Ruto, while he had been staying to make sure there wasn't any worrying injury. An invitation to a upper-class get together, an event hosted by the King and Princess themselves. He had thanked the guard, slowly, as he read the invite with a dumbfounded look on his face.

He wasn't sure if it was right for him to go. The others? They had proven themselves. Each one was a force of nature in their own right, some more literally than others, but this young man? He wouldn't be surprised if the country had forgotten about him at large. Still, it was an invite from the kingdom itself.

Even if he doubted himself, he wouldn't think himself so important that he could just refuse an invitation.

As a result, there he had been, walking slowly through the crowds in the main courtyard, ducking into alleyways occasionally to try and keep himself going. He had bought an embroidered raiment to wear for the event, slightly baggy on the boy but still presentable, and had taken care of his normally messy hair, slicking it back to make him look the part of someone who would be going to such an exclusive event.

In his heart though, it still wouldn't feel right. He could only hope that none of the people he knew would notice him. The others were brave and strong and intelligent. What reason would they have to hide for the years he had been gone? Obviously, he would think to himself, they wouldn't dare hide. A coward like him would have something to answer for.

Worru had believed himself to have gone under the guards' attention on his way inside, just in time for the announcement of the toast. He could still hide in time, right? Still just be a wallflower, and be safely ignored by the rightful adventurers of the land.

Until a guard had spotted him, telling him that there was a special place for those labelled 'adventurer' by the kingdom.

It was then that Worru, for the first time since he had worked up the courage to merely enter Castle Town, froze on the spot, eyes wide with apprehension as the guard merely stared, confused at the boy's reaction.

OOC: Hey Worru! Good to see you again!

IC:
Alpha returned to Arrika's side without a word, sensing the strange void of energy heading back in the direction of the ballroom with a nonchalant slowness. Serul, whatever he was up to, was obviously in no rush -- no surprise, if the Assassins still didn't know who their target was -- but at least he was leaving. And, to his great fortune, it seemed Arrika was willing to not press the matter, perhaps because she was scared of the Zora or surprised by his last telepathic message.

They didn't get much time to reflect over that sudden meeting anyway...

"His Majesty, King Harkinian Daphnes Hyrule II, requests you return to Nayru's Ballroom at once. It is his wish to address all guests and hold the night's toast at a quarter past the hour. Please, come at once."

Arrika wrote:"We should go."

Alpha nodded in agreement, still a bit too worried about Serul and the Assassins' presence to notice Arrika's dejected tone or hesitant movements. In the extra moment it took him to shove those concerns aside, he suddenly found Arrika gripping his hand with her own and giving him another kiss. His mind immediately shot out, fearful that she had sensed Serul's return without him noticing it...but he found nothing, and the kiss ended a just a few seconds after it had begun.

"Come on. I've never seen the Princess before. I heard she's beautiful."

Alpha blinked, at last realizing that the kiss had not been a distraction at all...rather, the thief had meant it as something more...intimate? Was that the right word? He'd rarely even considered such things in the past and, with a life-and-death battle looming on the horizon, probably couldn't afford such things... Nevertheless, it did feel somewhat nice...

He exhaled, driving his thoughts away, and brought the knight's summons back to the forefront of his mind. "Right. Back to the ballroom, then." He strode back to the door and down the halls, his mind's mental map showing him the way back to the center of the party. It was somewhat surprising to find that the noise level had noticeably dropped, though it was hardly gone -- people were still chatting the time away as they waited for the King's toast. They had scarcely returned to the room before another knight ran up.

"You are one of the Adventurers, correct? Please, follow me. His Highness has provided you a place of honor for the toast."

Well, that was something of a surprise... Alpha had no desire to be the center of attention, but neither did he want to turn down a personal request from the King himself. In the end, he simply shrugged and followed the knight through the crowd, passing through the swarms of people until he was at last entering the area of honor.

* * *

Per the instructions of a passing knight, Serul returned to the ballrooms with a jovial gait -- fast enough for him to get there long before Wraith did, but not so fast as to ruin the experience of traversing the corridors of the castle. How many millennia had he been alive, and yet never visited the home of Lord Ganon's eternal enemies? Truly a waste, and he wasn't about to let that waste continue past tonight if he could help it.

Contrary to what she'd obviously been hoping for, his elation only increased when he reached the ballroom at last, and found Kyune waiting for him by the door. "Where the Dark World did you run off to?" she snapped in a low voice, even as she grabbed him by the hand and dragged him back into the ballroom. My, she was quite strong -- it took all his effort to remain walking upright against her pull. 'And she said she was going to get rid of that extra muscle for tonight's mission... Liar! Kihihahaha!'

"I was merely saying hello to little Alphie, that's all~."

She stopped in her tracks, spun to face him, and probably would have slapped him if not for all the attention that would have earned them. "He's quite the understanding fellow," he continued with a smile, "as long as you know how to talk to him. Gave us his approval and everything."

He weathered her glare for a few seconds before finally giving up the ruse. "Well...he isn't planning on stopping us, at any rate."

Kyune finally released him and reached up to caress the temples of her forehead. "I hate you. So, so much."

"Well of course you do~," Serul muttered as he leapt over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders -- her angry grimace was all the reward he needed for the maneuver. "You're too serious, much like Doggie-boy." He smirked. "You and that samurai could both use to lighten up a bit. Then he wouldn't have been spying on me and Alphie's chat, or run off for some reason, or decided to impersonate a Hylian Knight and guard King Harkinian..."

A sideways glance showed her anger had vanished, replaced at once by a mixture of fear and curiosity. "H-he's what?" Serul just motioned over towards the stage where the King was waiting, to one of the guards. He waited until the man was looking in their direction, then raised his hand up to face level and gave Dogura a flurry of waves.

"...He's insane," Kyune muttered, shocked into submission by that little reveal. She turned back to the Zora. "That almost as bad as something you'd do."

The Zora only grinned.

Through the helm of the mask, Dogura watched the crowd below for any signs of suspicion. He had to keep remembering that it might not be Javelin to make the move. It was likely that Hauntress was here with him, but he wasn't nearly as familiar with her aura. It'd be too difficult to search it out at this point.

Through halfwit eyes, he caressed the crowd visually, combing through them for anything at all; that's when he spotted him.

Javelin.

He stared for a few moments, before his blood ran cold.

Is he... Is he waving at me?

The samurai's mind raced furiously as he watched the being.

Impossible. He couldn't possibly know it's me, here. He'd have to be omniscient entirely. I've hidden myself perfectly.

He shook the thought, and casually turned his head as if he were looking elsewhere in the crowd, however he kept his eyes trained on Javelin. The Zora's madness was contagious, it would appear, as the dilemma was driving Dogura to madness.

This is dangerous. If he truly knows that I'm here observing him... If he somehow spotted me...

He suddenly began to realize the gravity of the situation that was unfolding around him. If Javelin felt like it, he could reveal the samurai completely. That would set his plans to return back immensely. The root of his plan however, required the King and or Princess' safety.

This situation couldn't get much worse.

That's when he spotted the doorman admitting another person through the door. A single boy, with a sword and shield on his back. The samurai's eyes widened.

No.

Katsuro Shadowclaw looked around in awe and wonder as he entered the castle. The boy swept his hair out of his face, and smiled widely. A guard suddenly appeared in front of him, took him by the bicep, and began escorting him to the front of the room. He was clearing a path through the crowd of people with his scabbard as he led the boy to the front. Upon placing him in the front row, he nodded, and said a few parting words to the boy before disappearing back into the crowd.

No... No, Katsuro, go home!

Dogura had few ties to this earth; his son was the greatest tie among them. He closed his eyes tightly, knowing that if he tried to send a mental message to his son, several gathered here, Javelin included would pick it up.

Javelin...

He thought back to his first meeting with the Zora.

The Zora immediately closed the space between the pair, until their noses were but a hairsbreadth apart. Suddenly those black eyes held more than mirth and frivolity in them -- an unspeakable confidence emerged in that sly glare, equaled only by the smirk on his lips. "Kihihi, but unfortunately, my dear fellow, it all hinges on one very powerful and very incorrect assumption. Perhaps I should let you see for yourself -- one Katsuro on a stick, coming right-

Dogura opened his eyes, and stopped the memory there. He had to shake this madness from his head. Katsuro being here complicated things greatly. Then something happened that put the samurai a bit at ease. Katsuro had found Taint, Lilly, and Darkin. The three were patting him on the back, shoulders, and ruffling his hair. Dogura smiled warmly for the first time in ages.

Son... You've made good friends.

He looked over Darkin, and then Taint. His confidence in their skills put his Katsuro worries at ease, at least for now. The impostor knight glanced at the King.

He was about to speak.