Contest of Entertainment!

Gaia takes a deep breath as she was reading through one of her books at home. She was enjoying the book normally without the assistance of her Gale Force glasses. She was still waiting for the completion of her bedroom again, but, of course, the tarot mage had to wait. She was sitting in her living room and was dressed in comfy clothing of a soft tank top, and soft short shorts while she was curled on her couch. Off to the side, on her coffee table, her iLac begun to blink a little before it buzzed and went off saying she had a notification. She blinks as she wasn't sure who would be messaging her randomly. Maybe it was a spam notification. She ignored her phone for a moment before her iLac went off again. With a sigh, she reaches over and picks up her phone to see whom it was who was messaging her. It only took her a moment to realize it was Olga who was messaging her. A grin split across the girls face as she quickly opened the messages. If it was Olga, she shouldn't dare not read her messages, or else she'd get pummeled by a short fashion designer. 'Darling! I need you to get yourself to Captial Crocus now. I have something for you to do that will help promote my clothes.' 'Why aren't you answering me? Do I need to find a new model to show off my perfect gowns?' Gaia snickers as she quickly replies back, asking what it was that she wanted her to do. 'I need you to enter a contest so you'll be able to accompany the Prince of Seven...' She had then messaged the location that she'd be going to be at with Leila, the make up artist Gaia had when she was auditioning for Fiore's Next Top Model. A grin was on the tarot mages face as she accepted and said she'd be there soon, as Ace of Spades wasn't too far from Crocus. She quickly flicks Kyran a message, saying that she'd be away for a little bit for a contest again, and would see him again afterwards.

Gaia enters Capital Crocus wearing her typical turtleneck sweater, miniskirt with leggings, and her boots on her feet. Her cloak was over her shoulders while her gloves were on her hands, and she smirked to herself. Olga and Leila would be at a café here, and it wasn't too hard to find either. She saw the short woman sitting upon a couple books at an outdoors café with the purple haired make up artist sitting across from her. "Gaia! Darling! What is this mess?! Are you trying to make a disgrace out of me?!" She cries out, quickly moving to stand up on the books under her. Gaia snickers as she approached the fence surrounding the café area, leaning on it softly as Noya was upon her shoulders, squeaking happily that Olga was there. "You really think I'd make a disgrace out of the beautiful Olga? No. I was thinking you'd enjoy making me look look this, to the most beautiful thing in the world again." She grins to her. Olga pauses for a moment, and looks the tarot mage up and down briefly before a grin was on her face. "That, darling, you are correct about." She chuckles. "Do you have anything in mind to dance to?" She questions her model. Gaia nods and holds out her iLac, with the song she wanted to dance to, playing on it. The two ladies grin as Leila clapped her hands together. "I know exactly how your makeup should be!" She says as the two quickly go to pay for the coffee they had before leaving and dragging Gaia away to Olga's place to get fitted for new clothes.

When they get to the location of the competition, Gaia was wearing a blue themed make up, and had and oversized trench coat on. With the trench coat, one couldn't exactly see what she was wearing, but the boots she wore on her feet didn't cover up the ribbon that was around her seemingly bare legs. There were to be six acts here, Gaia's included, and that made her excited. The Fiore's Next Top Model didn't provide her enough competition for her dance, but she hoped this would for the prince. Maybe she could also see about how well she really was compared to others. The song she had chosen, she didn't need to practice for. She already had an idea of how she wanted to dance for it, and has done it a couple times, but now she could add a bit of flair to it with Olga's and Leila's help. Noya was around her neck, and Gaia smiles softly to the snowy ferret. "You know you'll have to go to Olga agin when this starts... right?" She questions the creature, who simply purred to her. Noya didn't mind Olga, like she didn't mind Kyran, and was rather excited to hang out with the woman once again. "Gaia, darling, you're going to blow the judges socks off with your dancing. And with my outfit, you'll really blow them away." The short woman says with a rather menacing grin. Gaia knew Olga wanted to meet the prince, but only to gain access to his country and get more fabrics and designs. She was already rather well known, and even more after her modeling gig since Gaia mainly dressed in her clothes. Hell, half of her closet were Olga's creations, but they made Gaia feel adorable and like she was an actual princess.

Gaia sits delicately on a chair back stage, waiting on someone to say when it was time. Apparently Mayor Joshua Henry, the mayor of Corcus, was here. His secretary, Cassidy Marigold, was mainly in charge of the place. Seven had sent one of their advisors, who also serves the prince, as well. Gaia heard the advisors name in passing by one of the stage hands, Dustin Evergreen or something like that. She wasn't too sure if she heard it right or not.

1024/3500 (total 7000)

other peps and extra:

Cetus stared at the note in his hand. It was a job request of a rather large scale. Gain a prince's admiration then infuriate him to the point he started a war. Cetus wasn't sure he wanted to take it. This was something rather similar to what the Law of Order did. They wanted a war to wipe clean Earthland and restore order. Cetus had no problem starting a war. What was a couple thousand or million lives snuffed out? Everyone died eventually anyways. The thing that made Cetus uneasy was the implications that this could be for the cult. He liberally tried to avoid them as much as possible. Still, he needed the money. His wood stock was running low and his tools needed replacing. Not to mention the lacrima thread he was working on need more materials. Crumpling the note in his fist, the shark man headed out the door. He'd do this thing one way or another.

Cetus spent a few hours hunting down a couple gang bangers in the capital. The hunt filled him with a sense of disappointment. They were hardly worth his time. As he stalked the last of his victims, the man - more of a boy really - pointed a gun at him. Cetus smiled slowly behind his mask. He unhooked the bottom of the mask to reveal his teeth. The gun shook violently. "Shoot boy. Shoot or run." Cetus challenged him. "What the fuck are you, man?" The youth asked as the gun fell to his side. Cetus sighed in disappointment. Not worth his time at all. He'd have to buy a set of weapons at some point. These hunts were boring. "I'm your worst nightmare." He snarled, shooting forward. The gun came back up but Cetus slammed it to the side. It barely had time to hit the pavement before Cetus sank his teeth into the boy's neck. He made sure to crunch the voice box. Couldn't have him screaming. Then Cetus merely waited. The boy ceased struggling after a little while. Cetus searched his body before scorching it. Nothing to lead back to him.

His hunt had yielded a fair crop of varying knives, three lacrima guns and surprisingly, a lacrima grenade. Perfect for what he planned to do. The shark man retreated to a nearby safe house. It was time to get ready for his act. Cetus chose a pure black, body hugging outfit. It was augmented by a scarf or two to make it look more festive. Then he placed a mask over his face that was pure white. The only decoration on it was a curving smile near the chin. His identity was completely concealed. The shark man chose a couple belts to hold the grenade as well as the pistols. The knives went into a bandoleer around his chest. There. Now he appeared to be a harmless knife throwing entertainer. If he could coerce someone into aiding his act, all the better. Cetus headed out towards the location of the competition.

Upon arrival, Cetus saw there were many performers. A small grin curved behind the mask. A challenge it would be then. All he needed do was outperform them or perhaps even sabotage them. The assassin was alright with either option truly. This was a job. As long as his life wasn't put at too much risk, he would complete it by any means necessary. For now, Cetus settled back into a chair backstage. Things weren't set to begin yet. The first act, a trio of acrobats, needed a bit of set up. They wouldn't start until everything was complete. Cetus could sabotage the act quite easily. All he need do was set up one of their equipment to fail. With his White Court magic, sneaking around to do so would be child's play. However, he needed to know the other acts. That would allow him to narrow the competition. It might be best to stay away from any mages. Couldn't have them detecting him. Cetus steepled his fingers together. This would be an interesting job at least. For now, he waited.

WC: 688

Cetus kept things casual as he used the shadows to eavesdrop on the other performers. Acrobatics was obviously the first act. The second was a pair singing a duet. The shark man frowned a bit in confusion at that. Why would you risk failure with another person? Acrobatics were more impressive together yes, but they were essentially individuals doing their own acts that occasionally overlapped. Cetus couldn't understand trusting someone else enough to risk success on them. Unless of course the person was rather talented in which case, there was a much better chance of success. The assassin had found out that the third act was a dancing couple. Again something he could kind of understand. Though he couldn't really sabotage that act all that well. Act four was dancing once again but it was a solo act. From the assassin's understanding, it was a mage probably from a legal guild. He'd stay as far from her as possible. No sense in potentially getting himself caught. Then it was his turn and finally, animal tricks to end the show. Cetus decided not to mess with that last one either. Animals could be nice distractions and were easily riled up but they were also prone to getting those that messed with them caught. Especially if they were highly trained for a specific purpose.

Right that was two acts to mess up and hope the others went poorly enough to guarantee Cetus moved forward in this competition. He only needed second or third place. There was a brewing station nearby. The shark man knew a basic mix that would raw the throat. It also had the potential to give someone a heart attack but that was neither here nor there. It was untraceable, making it easy to hand to one of the singers, if not both. The ingredients were rather basic as well. Soon the assassin had a steaming cup of tea for the singers. He sidled up to them, smiling behind his mask. "Hiya, y'all. I heard yous was puttin' on a singin' act and I was hopin' well that you'd accept this from me. It's an old recipe my mama taught me ta help the throat." He held the cup out to them. The man seemed a little suspicious but the woman accepted it gratefully enough. She gushed about his kindness.

Cetus stayed where he was to make small talk with her as she wished. It ate into the time he'd have to sabotage the acrobats yet it helped the man lessen his dislike. When Cetus was finally able to extract himself, both of them had sipped from the cup. Now their act was ruined. They wouldn't feel any effects until they started singing. Perhaps Cetus could give the brew to the dancers too. It might induce a heart attack in them. The assassin decided against it. Too many acts sabotaged with him having acted face to face with many of them wouldn't end well. Seeing the couple together had given him a rather more efficient way to sabotage the acrobats. With faulty equipment, they might fail. Adding an 'ailing' companion on top of that would seal the deal on their failure.

Cetus went about his sabotage quickly, using the shadows to his advantage. It wouldn't kill the acrobats. That would probably get the whole thing cancelled. Rather the adjustments were meant to slow their act down, to have them make mistakes even an audience would see. With that finished, he loitered around the equipment until the woman acrobat spotted him. "Hey! What are you doing back here?" She exclaimed angrily. Cetus put his hands up in innocence. "I was just awfully interested in yer equipment, miss. I've always wanted ta be an acrobat ya see but on account of mama no' havin' enough money I was neva able ta learn." He very carefully lifted the mask from his face to give the woman a smile. Her breath caught in her throat just as the assassin had been hoping it would. For some reason, his face scared some and attracted others. It was a phenomena he'd never been able to understand.

"Well that's no problem, just don't go messing with anything back here." Cetus tipped his head to her. "No, ma'am. Just looking. Though I just found somethin' much prettier ta look at." He let his eyes travel up and down her body. The pulse in her neck quickened with the perusal. Cetus could smell both fear and desire pouring off of her. The mix could be heady in the wrong situations. Like now. The assassin prowled across the floor toward the acrobat. Her hand came up to rest upon his chest. Her eyes looked up at him through her lashes. "This migh' be a bit forward of me but you is the prettiest thing I've ever seen. Seein' a woman like you... why it makes my cold heart beat something fierce." That was all it took. The woman pulled his head down and things continued the way Cetus had wanted them too.

Cetus lay in the tangle of limbs trying to figure out how he'd gotten in this mess. The acrobat had been a good lay as far as he could tell. He felt pleasure, sure but not the emotions that probably heightened that pleasure. It was difficult to tell who was good or bad when that was the case. Cause it was all about personal pleasure rather than all that emotional gunk. That wasn't the mess Cetus was talking about. There was a second acrobat, a man, laying on the ground of the storage closet not far away. That hadn't been a good lay. The man had whimpered and cried the entire time. Cetus might be cold hearted but he wasn't a sadist. Pain didn't give him any pleasure. Getting up, the assassin cleaned himself off. Wishing the acrobats luck, he strode from the room.

Having completed his missions, Cetus took the moment to sit by himself. He wanted to mull over what had happened in the storage room. The man's addition hadn't been unwelcome but his insistence on it hurting was the strangest thing ever. Who wanted to be hurt during sex? Unfortunately, Cetus wasn't able to think over the situation. A blue haired girl with a stylish coat had approached him. Perhaps it was to protect herself? Or to hide whatever might be hidden underneath? Impossible to tell unless she removed it. Hearing the singing in the background, the assassin frowned behind his mask. What? Had that much time already passed since he left the storage room? It must have if the singing couple was up already. Their scratchy voices were a clear indication that his tea had worked. Victory.

The assassin assessed the woman that had approached him. He leaned back in his chair. She carried herself with confidence. Her sure graceful steps were both the footsteps of a dancer and a warrior. Cetus had a pretty good idea of who was standing before him even without seeing the tattoo. This was the woman from the legal mages. He'd have to be careful around her. "I am indeed, ma'am. Couldn' help myself when I heard we might get to see the prince. I wanna make my mama proud." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "What'll be yer act in the show, miss?"

WC: 1231
Total: 1,919

Cetus smiled behind his mask at the dancer. This one was serious about her craft. Probably worthy of winning unlike many of the others. He did wonder how she'd feel if she found the contest was rigged. That one person had coldly eliminated the competitors. It would make for an interesting study. "I'd 'ope so. She nevah approved a me playin' whiff knives. Don' know how she'd feel 'bout me dancin' whiff dem, even if it is fer da prince." A finger ran down all the knives on his bandoliers. They clinked together at the motion. Then the shark-man took her hand, shaking it firmly. "I wish ya luck as well. Doesn' look like ya much need it though. I'm sure yall do amazin'."

The assassin nodded, his mask hiding his neutral expression. He watched the woman walk away. She appeared to be interested in the dancers. Cetus chuckled softly before pushing himself up. The dancers weren't much of a threat. The dossier on them pointed to more yelling or lovemaking than practice. If they managed to pull off a good performance, it would be due to magic. Likely illegal magic in the light of the contest's rules. Not that they could be blamed for cheating. This was a contest to meet the prince after all. Who wouldn't do absolutely everything in their power to meet him? Cetus smirked walking away from the corner. He needed to prepare.

Each of his knives needed to be calibrated. The minute movements required for his act had to be precise. If even one of the knives was off, Cetus would end up seriously injured. It'd be a pain. Not because it would hurt. Rather a single mistake would ruin any chance to meet the prince. That outcome wasn't acceptable. Cetus had handcrafted all of his knives. They were a pastime he enjoyed to indulge in. There were other projects in the works but these were the most useful. Knives created to be controlled by a mere strand of mana. One person could control several hundred knives if their control was good enough. It would root them on the spot to do so but it was possible. In a way, Cetus' act was not only death-defying but a show of how precise his mana control was.

On his way back, Cetus passed the acrobats. All three were limping heavily. The 'damage' he'd done to two of their members must have ruined their act. Excellent. That was two obviously terrible acts. A start that would reflect brilliantly upon the final acts. He had the bad manners to chuckle softly in success. The third acrobat, the one he hadn't slept with, heard Cetus. The man limped rapidly over to the assassin. "You! You ruined our act! Gizele could barely move and Vanter was in pain every time his body twisted the wrong way!" The man poked his finger into Cetus' chest. "What do you have to say? You gonna pay us for this disaster?! Actually, you're going to pay us!" The acrobat gripped Cetus' bandolier. The other two looked on sullenly, not saying a word.

Cetus couldn't understand the man's anger. It wasn't his fault the other two had wanted to fool around. Both of them had propositioned him! It would have been easy to escape the acrobat. The man was injured already. Exploiting that weakness and using his training, Cetus could send him flying away. However, that would bring unwanted attention. The Rune Knights or legal mages would be on the scene. They probably were already here. Protection for judges was taken seriously. Not to mention if an act was dangerous, they needed to be ready to step in. He opted for a simple approach.

The shark-man smiled behind his mask. His fingers wrapped around the man's hands. "Yer issue ain't whiff me, mah friend. It's whiff yer teammates. Day asked me for a romp. I didn't do nothin' but give 'em honeyed words." The entire time he spoke, his grip tightened on the man's hands. The acrobat went down to his knees from the pressure. A small whimper excaped his lips. "Per'aps next time, yall will think befer ya accuse som un of wrongdoin'. Much less demand day pay ya." Cetus released the man. He fell to the ground cradling his hands. Without another look, the assassin continued on his way. That altercation had cost him precious time. The couple's dance was nearly over and the professional woman would be up. Her act couldn't last more than a few minutes. Cetus grits his teeth in irritation. Emotions were the bane of existence.

Cetus' knives were made of a variety of materials: Black Mithral, Darkiron, Bloom's gold, Lacristeel, and Astral Silver. All relatively rare metals that were highly receptive to magic. Only Black Mithral was exceedingly difficult to alter which was why only three of his many knives were made of it. Tiny lacrima fragments lay within each knife. Cetus had carefully created a rune script on each of them. Those allowed him control of the knife. They connected into the lacrima placed within the hilt of the knife. That was were Cetus' mana would flow into the knife. If even one of the fragments was out of place, Cetus' control diminished. That, in turn, made the knife wobble. From there, it was only a matter of time before Cetus bled across the floor. Several knives needed adjustments. The loss of time prevented the assassin from being as meticulous as he wanted.

Thunderous applause informed the assassin that the dancer was done. He stepped from the little room he'd found to work in. One knife would be dubious in control. He'd have to watch it closely. Passing the dancer revealed what she'd been hiding beneath her coat. An excellent choice. The dress alone was fabulous. The dancer herself was ravishing. The combined effect would have drawn many the eye. It would have made the dancer a target. Cetus gave her a little salute. Stepping out onto the stage, he spoke clearly. "I am Dubhar Eberous. Today, I'll be showin' yall somethin' differen'."

His knives rose into the air with his words. Each one hovered behind him, creating an illusion of wings. "I wish ta be clear. I'm no' usin' magic. This be mana control only. Each knife increases da strain upon ma ability ta control dem. I'm currently controllin' one hundred and fifty knives." His knives began to weave through the air behind him. They flashed in the light. Different colors alighted upon the crowd. Figure eights, weaving in and out between each other. Slowly at first getting faster and faster. He heard a couple of people making noises of appreciation. Now that he had them hooked, it was time to bring it to the next level.

"All o' dis is relatively simple while standin' still." He explained gesturing to the knives. A slow smile emerged behind his mask. This was the fun part. "So I'll show ya somethin' bloody difficult." The assassin turned and ran at the meat blender. Stepping on one of the knives, he flung himself into the display. It began simply. Knives flew near his body. He twisted in mid-air, threw in some fancy acrobatics. The knives passed inches from his body. After a minute, he increased the complexity. Acrobatics became the centerpiece. His body the focal point. Knives were both his platform and his danger. Cetus purposefully caused some of the knives to falter at certain points. A few cut him while he was in the air. Again all on purpose. This was well within his limits. While he wanted to stand out, the assassin didn't want the spotlight. Let someone else win while he still secured a meeting with the prince.

The third stage of his act involved the lights. They began strobing. The flashing lights made it difficult to see. To the audience, it looked like Cetus might be struck by his knives. More than one person cried out during this part of his performance. The assassin merely smiled, glad the audience couldn't see behind the mask. They might have noticed he was having... well not fun, but at least a semblance of it. His emotions weren't triggered even by this. A disappointment to be sure. However, the finale of his act was coming up. The lights started flashing in a predetermined pattern. On cue, Cetus started climbing a long line of knives into the air. The rest of his knives created a virtual blender at the top. Anyone stepping into that space would be skewered for sure.

So it appeared. As Cetus reached the top, his body contorted into shock. The pulsing lights showed the crowd a scene of terror. He looked as if he was being hit by his own knives. The lights stopped flashing to follow his body's fall. Near the stage, the lights went out entirely. When they come back up, Cetus knelt upon the stage. He stood up quickly, his arms open wide. All of his knives were back in their sheathes. Having finished his act, Cetus bowed for the crowd. That was that finished. Now there was one more act before they chose the winner.

The shark-man strode from the stage. He saluted the dancer on his way off. She was more deserving of the winning title. His act wasn't for everyone and that would cause him to lose points. The singers had done terribly, the acrobats had failed and the couple hadn't done well in their dance. All that remained was the final act. Regardless, this would land him in the top three. A guaranteed meeting with the prince. Therefore, mission accomplished.

WC: 1612
Total: 3,531