Fantasy World Creations

7:00 PM


"Come, little friends! Yes! Enter into Pinky's marquee!" A voice called out loud and clear without restraint for all to hear, "Eheheheh! Put your skills to the test! Yes! Show Pinky your powers of seduction! Don't be shy!" He motioned his hand to welcome them into the giant tent, a smile that surely only a slightly crazy man could bear visibly corming across his face. It was probable, however that the man didn't mean harm to anyone who would dare enter his contest. Not physically, anyway. The sign above the doorway clearly read "Flirting Contest", but inside the makeshift building was nobody with whom one could flirt. And it was obvious that the host certainly wouldn't be the one flirted at. The host seemed confident enough, though, so there must have been someone back there to flirt with. No matter how one looked at it, there was no doubt this would be one of the more awkward of the festivities. Surely that meant that the rewards would be higher-quality, right?

...Right?

"Eheh! Hurry while you still can! Yes! The contest is about to begin!"

---

• To participate, simply enter the tent. Pinky will hand you a ticket on your way in.
  
• When enough people have joined, the contest will begin. I am hoping for a minimum of 5 contenders. If enough players are still left that want to join once the contest is over, I will start a second round.
  
• When the contest begins, you will be given a partner to try and flirt with. You may choose to roll a check for either Charisma, Diplomacy, or Intimidate, but you must roleplay accordingly. Please PM me your rolls with the name of the character you're rolling for.
  
• All participants automatically get 1 New Years Festival Competition point, and +200 exp.
  
• Winner will receive 500 exp, 10 New Years Festival Competition points, and a random Greater Minor Wondrous Item.
  
• Second place will receive 400 exp, 8 New Years Festival Competition points, and a random Lesser Minor Wondrous Item.
  
• Third place will receive 300 exp, 6 New Years Festival Competition points, and 500 gold.
  
• Overall best flirt will also receive a special gift.
  
• NPCs may also be participating.

Flirting contest? This was not something Maeve could recall seeing at festivals she had been to in the past, but it definitely caught her interest. Rather than continuing to walk past it, she decided to drag Vlad to it. Now he could watch her win a prize for her persistent flirting and maybe she could see him flirting, too! "Come on Vladimyar! Lets try this one!"

Post the wondrous events of the eating contest, Hawke was strolling through some of the vendors and came across a very peculiar tent. A rather boisterous voice was calling out, urging the passerby's to enter and show their skills. "A flirting contest eh?..." he thought aloud. Hawke couldn't deny the inner curiosity that welled inside. Poking around at the skeletal headband he earned from eating some food, he wondered if going in to such a contest would earn just as fun of a prize.

"Perhaps it's time I show some of that good ol' royal charm." Hawke tugged at his collar and threw on his best smile. "Let's go meet some of the fine people of this city." Confident, he strolled up to the entrance of the tent.

"BUAHAHAHAHAHA!" A large, deep, booming voice resounded out through out the marquee. It was Golas Rorn. He had heard news of this so-called flirting contest, and the large man was more than curious about the event. Flirting with girls? He was never really good at it, and had even tried to get Kryas to help him in those goals of his, but in the end he continued to be awkward around them.

Well, except for Annia. Golas was fine with talking with her, but she didn't count.

"The handsomest and strongest in the guild of Galas'nor shall win this contest!" He roared in his boisterous laughter.

There he went! Into that strange tented building. He had seen many of those during the festival, but he wasn't quite sure what this one would be about. Whatever it was, the large man was laughing as he always did, so Nyuko followed behind eyeing him carefully. The large man stepped in, and his large resounding laugh echoed shortly after.

Shadowing behind was Nyuko, stepping where Golas had stepped, but generally trying his best to be stealthy so that the large man wouldn't notice.

"Nyahahaha!" Nyuko mimicked Golas, keeping his voice lower to not draw his attention. He grinned wide to himself. His laugh was almost perfect!

Just like most other festival events, Callista was all over this one. She was not sure what flirting was, but she would at least try! As she entered the room, she held up her scavenger hunt sheet to the man and pointed at a spot on the page. Finding the location of the flirting contest was apparently on her list, which meant that she had to receive a ticket stating she had been there.

Once that was taken care of, the faerie continued her path. There was a crowd of people, but they were all just standing there. She guessed the guy running the event had fine details he wanted to share with the entire group before he let them begin. Unless flirting mean you had to just stand there. She was not used to just standing in one space. Usually, she was flying, sitting, walking, or running. Standing around was boring to her. Trying her best to stay still, she hoped desperately that this was not the contest.

"A Flirting Contest?" Eric rubbed his hands together excitedly, examining the sign in front of the contest's marquee close enough that his nose was touching it. It was a wonder he was still able to read it with such close proximity, but the gnome appeared to handle it well. "Eheheh, this oughta be a good one. Oh yeah." He smirked mildly, expecting in his mind that the host would be having them flirt with other contestants, seeing as there weren't really an other people inside. At least not from where he was standing.

He nonchalantly stepped up to the Doofenshmirtz-esque contest host and was greeted by the man with naught but a small ticket with a number on it. Once he took the ticket, he only stood there, unable to go on, either shocked or perplexed, and stared at it. Never in his life had he ever been met with such generosity. He didn't know what to say to this man who had graced him with such merchandise so beyond the realms of imagination as this note with a single digit printed on it. A tear appeared up in one of his eyes. His lip quivered. His breathing became unsteady. A lump welled in his throat. His limbs grew weak. Then tears began to appear in his other eye as well. Eventually, he lost control and fell to his knees in pure unprecedented elation.

"Thank you!" he finally called out with great volume to the host who was standing right in front of him. He didn't know what else to say. The number 6 seemed to glow like the way he imagine hot dogs would glow if they were pumped full of radioactive chemicals. The paper appeared whiter than a grain of rice in a glass of milk on a paper plate in the middle of a snowstorm. The texture could only be described as silky, but ever-so-slightly slippery - kind of like the way someone's hair feels after they had just brushed it to get the knots out, but still hadn't showed in three or four days. The smell... at first he couldn't pin it down, but then it hit him: it smelled just like he imagined the skin behind his ears must smell. Absolutely amazing.

Everything about this ticket was everything he had hoped to gain in life. He was complete. The world around him could never understand the fulfillment in his life in that moment. How could they? Their hopes and dreams... They may go their entire lives without getting a ticket with the number 6 on it. But Eric had done it. The very cosmos had aligned and the hand of fate itself had graced him with his innermost wish.

"Thank you!" he repeated, still unsure of what else he could say. The moment was more than he had prepared for. He only expected to be participating in a contest - perhaps getting a chance to speak with her, but instead he got so much more. There was nothing else to do in the moment but throw his hands up in the air and cry. And he did cry. He wailed like a mother giving birth to her first child, but without the screaming and more of the joy.

Soon, his uncontrollable delight subsided. His eyes had dried, having exhausted their entire tear supply for weeks to come. His lip stopped quivering. The lump in his throat had gone. His breathing returned to normal. He had regained the strength in his body enough to stand up straight once more. His moment of glory had finally passed. It was time to do what he had come there for. It was time to flirt like he had never flirted before. It was time to live the number six.

As if he had not just enacted the most dramatic scene of the entire festival, the gnome finally stepped through the doorway of the marquee and walked with a little bounce in his step to where the rest of the contenders were standing. There, he waited with them, comparing his number to that of those who still had their tickets out. All of their numbers paled in comparison. The number 6 was far more substantial and enormous than any of their numbers. If he were the gambling type, he would consider himself to be the luckiest man alive. That was good news for the contest ahead of him. Fate was being good to him this day.

"Hold on just a-" There was no time for Vladimir to refuse as Maeve dragged him toward the tent. A flirting contest? Gods, this is hardly something I'm comfortable with... But the grasp on his arm wasn't about to release its restraint, and it wouldn't be very becoming to tear himself from his date's grasp. "There isn't a chance I could just watch, is there...?" Maeve turned briefly with a quizzical look, but that soon turned to a mischievous smile, before she turned back around without a word and continued onward. ...Didn't think so. Well, I can at least put my courtly training to use. With that, Maeve's pulling became less dragging and more leading. Only by a little, though.

Kryas and Serena were the last to enter the tent one close behind the other. The two were confident about there talents to woo other people and they both figured why not have a little fun with the rest  of the guild. They each grabbed a ticket from the man that they guessed was organizing the whole event.

With that taken care of the pair went to joint the other waiting participants to see where they would end up. The pair were somewhat dreading and looking forward to being paired against each other.

Aion was really starting to get into the festival as he munched on some cotton candy he had gotten from a nearby stall. At this point, he was starting to get this nagging feeling in the back of his head.  "You've only done so good because you used magic. If you tried doing something without it you'd fail worse then anybody."

He knew this line of thought well. He always ended up thinking stuff like this whenever he did good at anything, and he typically ended up trusting that voice more then anything else. He stoically bit into a large wad of cotton candy, chewing it as he walked into the nearest tent to prove himself to himself. He sat down, arriving a bit late and not knowing the rules, but ready to win it all for great justice! Or honor! For some virtue he would... flirt?

"...Oh dear."

"Haha! Yeeesss! The turnout is better than Pinky dreamed!" the host of the contest exclaimed, "This will be so much fun! Yes! Come! Come further in!" the skinny man motioned with his arms to the area of the tent with an assortment of tables scattered throughout. Each table had a number on it, ranging from one to fifteen. It was clear that this "Pinky" didn't expect nearly as many as ten contestants to brave his challenge, but he had certainly hoped for a large number.

Each table was vacant, only set up with two chairs across from each other. Atop the tables were fancy, silky white tablecloths that looked like they were probably very expensive. On top of those were three candles per table, each with different heights, all arranged in perfect equilateral triangles. They were short enough that even a halfling would be able to see another halfling across from them while they were both sitting down. The whole inside of the marquee was very dimly lit, setting the best mood possible for any serious flirting to happen. Pinky had pulled all the stops to make sure everyone would be at their best flirting capacity.

"Find your table!" the event host motioned again to the tables in the tent, smiling deviously with one hand behind his back and the other hand holding a handkerchief. "Yes! They will be here soon!"

Once everyone had found their table, sitting at the one marked with their corresponding ticket number, Pinky grinned enthusiastically, even dancing one of those fancy one-person dances as he made his way for the stage to make his final contest announcement. "Prepare yourselves, everyone! Yes! For tonight will be a night to remember! Flirt to your hearts content, but never forget: you're being graded! Only the best will be met with a reward! Yes! But as for the rest..." He trailed off, his face growing uncharacteristically serious and his voice becoming a little deeper than normal. Within seconds, however, he returned to his usual aloof demeanor and smiled a daffy smile once more. Then, without skipping a beat, he snapped one of his fingers, and out of thin air, across from every contestant, appeared a puff of smoke that revealed each of their flirting "partners".

At table number one, across from the tiger-woman Maeve Gallagher, appeared the first of the flirting subjects. Perhaps not the most conventional of targets of disport, it came as a shock to everyone who saw it. For there, where the seat across from Maeve had once been sitting, was now a mirror, at which she must flirt vehemently if she were to have a chance of winning.

The second table featured a subject no less awkward and perhaps equally surprising, for across from the man known as Hawke Argento, appeared a winged lizard - a dragon to anybody who would rather think of it like that. It was no larger than Hawke himself, having ever-so-slightly more-humanoid features than most dragons around. It put an arm on the table and eyed Hawke like a hawk.

The third contestant, Golas Rorn, was met with either his greatest fear or greatest desire. As the puff of magic smoke subsided, the figure of a human began to take shape, but that was far from it really was. As the figure began to complete its shape and its appearance became more and more visible, Golas could see without a doubt that it was made of nothing but solid golem meat. Freshly cut and cooked to perfection, dripping with succulent flavor, and exuding the most glorious smell of meat one could possibly smell. The only catch? It was actually alive.

At table number four sat yet another catfolk, a younger boy by the name of Nyuko Nyun. His subject would surely be an interesting subject indeed. The figure that appeared before him was unmistakable. And how could he mistake it? He had been following that figure around for most of the festival, hadn't he? But of course, nothing is ever as it seems. It was clearly meant to resemble Golas Rorn himself, but instead of being an ordinary, muscular, red-haired man like the real Golas, this one was an ordinary, muscular, red-haired woman.

Callista Fae, who held ticket number five, was met with quite the surprise as well. Hers was the most difficult to choose a target for, Pinky thought, but he was mighty proud of what he had finally settled upon. He smiled yet even wider as the mist dissipated to reveal the most over-the-top clown imaginable. It was literally as stereotypical as it could get, all the way down to the light-up red nose and the ridiculous laugh that didn't sound like any sort of natural laughter.

And then there was the sixth table, at which sat Eric Whittock, who undoubtedly would flirt at anything if he was given the chance. But as he dug deep into the gnome's history, he learned something that would make this the most unforgettable contest of them all. There, sitting atop a wooden box, was a large cannon. It, too, was quite an odd subject, but it was by no means inanimate. It's eyes were filled with love, and it's mouth - the end of the barrel - was fully operational. It winked at Eric and rested its barrel on the table as it stared at him.

Lucky number seven turned out be one he had sincerely hoped would join the contest. It was a stroke of luck that the tiger lady had dragged him in, whether it was against his will or not. This silver-haired man known as Vladimir Ludvik was sure to meet his partner with shock. And that was exactly what Pinky was going for. He even took special care in making sure this mist would evaporate the slowest of them all, just to make the big reveal that much greater. It took nearly a minute for a shape to finally form, tension building with every second that passed. Finally, after all the build-up, the mist revealed the form of a body pillow printed with Maeve on it. Pinky didn't feel the need to animate it.

Contestant number eight was everybody's favorite mister Kryas Windsel. The target's chair seemed to disappear in the cloud smoke that was to reveal his flirting target. For a moment, it appeared as though the half-elf was going to be sitting alone for this contest. On the contrary, he would have a flirting partner. Another, smaller puff of smoke burst on the other side of the table. Disappearing quickly, though, it revealed an apple, but this was certainly no ordinary apple. Its size was the first indicator, being enough to weigh no less than ten pounds, but also sporting a red so deep that it was impossible to resist. Yes, there was no doubt about it. This was an enchanted apple. It seemed to glow with desire.

Not far behind Kryas entered Serena Lunaris, whom Pinky had to admit he knew nothing about. The quest to choose for her a suitable flirting partner was met with difficulty rivaling even that of Callista. It dawned on him after much deliberation that he had no choice but to improvise. And improvise he did. Only one contestant would be given such an honor, and who better to bestow that honor upon that the one for whom he had no idea how to prepare? Serena would be flirting with Pinky Parks himself. He smiled widely as he fluttered his eyes at her, resting his chin on his arms as he stared deep into her eyes.

And last, but certainly not least, was contestant number ten, Aion Loucelles, a man unlike any Pinky had known to prepare for before. Thankfully, Pinky had just the thing to present him with in a flirting partner! Small electrical discharges flickered inside of the mist, briefly lighting up whatever it was about to reveal, until the mist finally began to fade. Inside, Aion could see a form beginning to shape. Finally, the subject was clearly visible, shocking as it was. It was a woman! But not just any woman, for this woman, as odd as it seemed, had a boot for a head. No eyes. No mouth. No visible facial features. Just a boot. Luckily, it appeared she was still fully conscious and ready to be flirted at.

---

• No new characters may join at this time.
  
• Now that you know your partner, roleplay to the best of your ability the way your character would flirt with them.
  
• PM me your rolls with the name of the character you're rolling for. You may choose to roll a check for either Charisma, Diplomacy, or Intimidate, but you must roleplay accordingly.
  
• Bonus points will be awarded to players who roleplay exceedingly well.

• All participants automatically get 1 New Years Festival Competition point, and +200 exp.
  
• Winner will receive 500 exp, 10 New Years Festival Competition points, and a random Greater Minor Wondrous Item.
  
• Second place will receive 400 exp, 8 New Years Festival Competition points, and a random Lesser Minor Wondrous Item.
  
• Third place will receive 300 exp, 6 New Years Festival Competition points, and 500 gold.
  
• Overall best flirt will also receive a special gift.

• No NPCs will be participating.

Unwillingly releasing her companion, the tigress moved to find the table with her number on it. She hoped that she would get a table near wherever Vladimyar's table was, but at the same time she was not sure she wanted that. On the one hand, she would get to see if his way of flirting was what she had already experience or if she was missing out. On the other hand... it seemed like he would not be flirting with her.

Once the table with the number one was found, Maeve sat and looked around. In addition to spotting Vladimyar nearby, she also spotted the guild's catboy, Nyuko, the tiny faerie, and the ice witch she had met the day she had first visited the guild. Although she wondered why the catboy and faerie would come to an event like this, she had a pretty good idea in her head why Serena was there. Two men also caught her interest. A large muscular man with red hair who she had seen about the guild previously but had not yet had the chance to speak with and a man who had white hair. She would keep those two in mind for the future, perhaps when Vladimyar goes on a mission without her.

She looked once again towards Vladimyar and winked. While still looking at his table, she noticed the empty chair before him suddenly had an occupant. She blinked, not sure she was seeing things correctly. Was that... a picture of herself on a pillow?! How did someone get an image of her on a body pillow? More importantly, how did someone get a picture of her in a bath robe?! Did she have a stalker?! She was not sure how she felt about seeing herself on a body pillow in a contest held by a questionable person. Trying to get over the creepy feeling, she told herself that at least some luck was on her side as Vladimyar now had to flirt with an image of her in a bathrobe.

Remembering that she had a flirting partner of her own, Maeve turned her attention to see who or what it was. "Oh!" She gasped. "Imagine seeing a fine thing like you in a place like this!"  Before her, propped up on the table, sat a large mirror. It had been shined and polished to perfection, allowing her to see herself cleanly. Batting her lashes at her reflection, she admired herself. She definitely had done a great job with her preparations for the evening. Her hair was absolutely grrrogeous. So much so, that she had to compliment herself. "Oh, my, you certainly do take very good care of your hair! It looks so beautiful and healthy! Such long, luscious locks!"

Her make-up was slightly messed up, probably from participating in the arm wrestling contest. She would definitely have to fix that up. "Your make-up is a little smudged, darling. Let me fix it up for you so you can keep looking your best!" Maeve opened up her bag and dug out her emergency make-up kit. Opening it up, she leaned in really close to the mirror and began her work, talking to her reflection the whole time. "You'll look fabulous when I am done with you~"

Once finished, the tigress double-checked her work, put her bag away, and proceeded to stare at herself. Ah~ A job well done. "Do you know martial arts? Cause your body's kickin!" She told her reflection, then replied to herself. "Oh, thank you! I do in fact know some moves! I was trained as a monk, you know."

"A monk? No wonder you have such beautiful muscles!"

"I can show you more later, if you like." She winked at herself.

And so Maeve continued to flatter herself and then reply with more flattery, forgetting that she was in fact in the middle of a flirting contest. That is, until she remembered that Vladimyar was just a table away and supposed to be flirting with a pillow version of herself just after a bath...

Spoiler

Using 1 karma to add 1d6 to Maeve's roll.

[close]

Rather than sitting in the chair, Callista had perched on the edge of the table in her smallest form. Facing away from the empty chair opposite her, she looked around at the other tables. She still was not sure what this 'flirting' was, so she thought it would be best to observe the others first. It seemed she was not the only one observing the other tables. Was this what flirting was? First you stand for a bit, then you sit in a chair or on a table and look at other people? Was it a special way of eating? Perhaps everyone was going to be given a bunch of food and they would have to eat it all! She was not sure if she could do that and the eating contest later on...

As she pondered this, things began appearing in the empty chairs or on some of the tables. She watched as a mirror appeared on one table and a weird dragon man appeared in the chair at another. A meat golem that looked like a freshly cooked version of one she had fought with Gandin, Golas, and a couple others from the guild appeared at the table Golas was sitting at and a female version of him appeared at the next table over. She was not quite sure what the thing was at one of the tables, and it piqued her curiosity. If she was not in the middle of a contest, she would have flown over to investigate it. And then, a giant pillow or faerie bed or something with the image of one of the cat people appeared at the table next to it. A humongous apple appeared at another table, and the man at yet another table found himself sitting in front of a woman with a boot on her head.

Callista found these two to be the most hilarious of things and burst into laughter. If this was supposed to be like some sort of eating contest, only a couple of them had actually gotten something edible without making them cannibals. That along was hilarious to the faerie, but why would anyone ever wear a boot on their head like that woman? You couldn't even tell if she had a neck!

"Hahahahahaha!" She laughed, clutching her stomach as she rocked forward and back and pointed. And then she heard the laughter coming from behind her. Trying to hold back her laughter at the others, she turned her body around and stared. It did not take her long to burst into laughter once again. This time, she was pointing at the clown before her. "Hahahahahahahaha!" She laughed at his face, she laughed at his hair, she laughed at his clothes, she laughed at his nose, and most of all, she laughed at his laugh.

Perhaps 'flirting contest' actually meant 'laughing contest'!

Hawke clasped his hands together as he leaned back in his chair, sweeping one leg over the other, he tried to wrap his mind around the creature that was standing before him. Some form of winged lizard was now there, eyeing him intently.

Hawke was not amused.

What was the chance that someone would randomly guess to throw this in his face. This was one of his closest secrets that he kept guarded from all. No one other than the few from home would know of his condition and how it was affecting him. Studying over the creature a bit more, Hawke could tell he was more of a magical construct than a summoned being. The question now lay before him like a pit of vipers. He was intent to do his best and win this game, but that would mean flirting with the thing he despises the most. He was either going to have to suck it up and flirt with this beast, or throw in the towel and leave the premises immediately. No matter what happened, he was sure to have some strong words with the curator of this unfortunate event.

*new content*

Hawke held his head in a hand as we tried to hide his reddening composure. Was he actually thinking about trying to flirt with this creature. He tried on multiple accounts to say some form of words, but it was like he was working with a frog in his throat. The creature never said a word, only stared, making this ever more uncomfortable. "Why did it have to be this?" he wondered to himself. Giving a sigh, he leaned slightly forward and clasped his hands together on the table in front of him. "Listen, I have no idea what to say in a situation like this. So how about we agree to disagree on this being a good match-up for either of us." The cogs were turning now. Hawke always enjoyed a good puzzle, and this one was proving to be a doozy. He had to find a way to win this one, no matter what. Lining himself up against these odds set loose a spark in his eye that drove him on. He couldn't just say negative things, he had to find a way to add some pizzazz into the mix. "So, I was thinking, let's cut the small chat and work out a deal. I'll pretend to say something nice to you, you smile and nod while having a great time, and then I hand you whatever gold I have on my person and a cut of the reward when I win this thing." This was sure to be the nail in the coffin for this event. There was no way this plan couldn't work.

He waited and watched, stroking his ticket as if it were a pet tarantula, as the puffs of smoke subsided, revealing one-by-one each participant's flirting partner. Each one was more exciting than the previous, and he began to tightly hug his ticket as he watched the targets appear. First, a mirror, followed by a dragon thing, which preceded a delicious-looking and -smelling meat man. Eric actually missed the next few revelations as he began to drool over the meat's wafting aroma. It didn't matter at all that it was alive; he just wished that it had been his partner rather than Golas'. He deserved it!

He was unsure whether he should feel anger, sorrow, or agony as the fact sunk in that he may never get the chance to flirt with (and probably devour) a living, breathing meat creature! This was simply unjust! And he knew, for one, that he would be giving the organizer of this event quite a piece of his mind for not pairing him up with what he desired more than all else at that particular moment. All he could do through all his emotions, however, was glare furiously at Golas for having better luck than him.

Eric glanced back at his ticket, the number six staring back at him with nonexistent eyes. He was lucky enough in life to have this miracle practically drop into his lap. Why couldn't his luck have gone on just a bit further and grace him with a whole living meal? It just wasn't fair, and to him the whole event was already a loss for him.

Glumly, he blinked the budding tears from his eyes and turned back to his own table, solemnly staring at his solitary number six. He reached up and wiped his tears with his sleeves before finally taking a look at his own flirting partner.

But what he saw changed everything.

He jumped in his seat, startled by the sight before him; he dropped his ticket in his alarm. A scream was trapped in his throat, and following his jitter, it was as if his body couldn't decide whether to scream or run away. Was this some kind of sick joke? Who was the man who organized this event? It was nothing else but a cannon, animated with a woman's personality, and it was indeed interested in men like him.

"Eeeah!" the incomprehensible jumble of mouth sounds finally escaped his lips. He was beyond words. In all his time of enjoying the Guild of Galas'nor, this was the moment it had been taken too far. He was still half-frozen in shock and horror, but he was regaining enough control to know that he had to get out of there.

"It's the WWAAAAAARRRRR!!" he cried, now able to form his thoughts into words. Immediately, he grabbed the edge of the table, flipped it up ahead of him, and beelined for the exit to the marquee. Memories poured into his head like a torrential rain the likes of which no one could have prepared him for. His speed was abnormally quick for someone as short and stubby like him, but given the circumstances, he took no surprise in the speed he was moving.

As he reached the doorway, he spotted a stack of wooden crates nearby. Looking back only for an instant, he dived behind them, covering his neck and dropping to the ground, preparing for it to fire at him. Today fate was not good to him, and he had now accrued a powerful enemy upon whom he would make it his destiny to exact revenge. No one would stand in his way, but for today, he merely had to survive.

Kryas blinked somewhat taken aback upon setting eyes upon his partner, "An apple,". He stifled a chuckle well I suppose a game is a game however, I apologize if I lay on my compliments may b a bit too sweet like caramel. We'll see whose flirting can bare fruit as it were he smiled.  He could sense that the apple had some kind of magical nature to it and while the exact details piqued his curiosity he was not that forward of a man this was a flirting contest after all he had a responsibility to his partner. 

"So how are the kids?" he asked after a moment realizing that he might be seen as rude to his partner, "I hope none of them have decided to become bad seeds." he continued to talk to the fruit as if they were old friends who had not seen each other for a long time. complimenting on its choice of glossy coloring and how the apple looked flush with the beginning of the new year. He did the usual asking questions about its family tree who the little seedlings took after the most. He painted himself a picture of a young mother who wore red gloss she had probably joined the contest on a whim he thought looking to test her own luck and see if she could have a lunch date with a handsome young guild member. She''d be a bit tart and cheeky full of the sweetness of life but was committed to her own roots and just wanted a good time to step away for a moment. He could over her a good laugh at least.


Serena looked at this Pinky with his Cheshire grin and smiled back brushing her hair to the side as she said, "I'm flattered the organizer himself is my opponent, but don't think that means I'm going to go easy on you now. Oh it seems like your enterance has gotten your hair out of place she said brushing a hand across his check to place a hair behind his ear. She was leaning in close to him then only a few inches apart took a moment to linger let the tension build then suddenly sit back with a wink and a small giggle.

"You'll find I've had practice dealing with incorrigible flirts before and have picked up a trick or two," Serena let herself relax a bit still chuckling at herself for allowing her half elven companion into this whole affair. "So Pinky why if I may ask did you decide to do a flirting contest for this year's festival of all thing? To be fair you have gotten my curiosity peaked." She sat forward to show interest but crossed her legs to create a physical distance between them.

You must be joking... Vladimir thought to himself as he stared at the pillow across from him. He looked around the room, noting the other contestants' partners were just as strange. They seemed to be jokes aimed at the participants' personal lives. That thought was confirmed when the gnome nearby screamed and jumped away in terror, flipping the table while he was at it. It's a joke alright...and very few here were laughing. Well, Maeve is an exception, it seems. Is...is that a mirror?

Now that the shock was wearing off, Vladimir stared at the pillow across from him. Is it Maeve because we've been around the festival together? I otherwise have no real attachments to her. Why Maeve? If their goal was to upset me, there are so many others from my past they could have chosen....Ah. No one would know of those individuals here. Seems their investigation into our pasts wasn't exceptionally deep. Good.

Vladimir sighed while he continued to stare at the pillow, still having not spoken a word. So what do I do? I can try to leave and forfeit, but I imagine that'd go over poorly. But I can't talk to a pillow. I was expecting an actual partner to speak with... It was then that Vladimir noticed that plenty of "objects" there seemed to be sentient. Maybe the pillow is the same?

What have I got to lose? Oh, right, a bit of dignity. Well, may as well TRY to enjoy myself.

Vladimir steeled himself, then finally smiled. "Good evening, milady. I must say, this lighting gives your skin and hair such a soft look. I admit, it's quite stunning, and gives you such a warm and comfortable air. So why has such a silken lady as yourself come here?"

That luscious red hair. Those strong bulging biceps. That familiar grin. Nyuko couldn't help but stare at the person in front of him. It looked very much like Golas, but it was a woman. The cat-boy blushed furiously, yet he couldn't heep his eyes off of her. Her eyes had the same intesity as the original, and Nyuko found them to be captivating. He gulped, momentarily forgetting that he had to flirt with the female Golas. Beneath the form-fitting leather armor and red cloak she wore, were lean muscles. Nyuko didn't have enough sense with him to look for the real Golas, so captivated was he with the person in front of him. The resemblance was uncanny, and Nyuko began to wonder if this was actually the same person or not.

The cat-boy stared at the Golas-woman's chest, more than a little suspicious. His blush reducing, he stared at the two large jugs triumphantly.

"Those aren't real-nya!"

The large man kept watch as the wisps of smoke dissipated revealing their targets they they had to flirt with. He quickly glanced at the rest of the 'companions' that were summoned for the contestants. Almost all of them were inanimate things, but he did notice one particularly beautiful red-haired woman sitting across that cat-boy. He half a mind to switch seats, but it didn't take Golas long to understand the gist of it all. A moment later he began to laugh his deep and boisterous laugh.

"BUAHAHAHAHAHA!" He roared as he stared at the meat golem in front of him. He vividly remembered a previous meat golem he had encountered before in the city, so he had at first instantly recoiled upon seeing this creature in front of him. But the moment that deep and succulent aroma assaulted his nose, he paused. Immediately the large man stopped laughing, and almost unconsciously, licked his lips.

He didn't know whether to actually try to win in this ridiculous contest and flirt with it, or simply eat it.

"You have soft hands... milady." Golas began, picking up and holding the creatures hand - it was a succulent brown, not to mention it looked so very soft. Golas had to agree it was cooked to perfection.

All of a sudden he bit into it.

Flirting with it, or eating it?

Golas had no regrets.

He chose the latter.

'Yeeeesss, Pinky is very pleased!' The event host himself was growing enraptured with the way the night was progressing. The participants almost immediately began displaying their charm to their partners, each in their own way, despite the awkwardness of some of their targets. Granted, the gnome did end up completely bailing the competition screaming about some war that he must have been a part of, but even that was more or less part of Pinky's plan. Now he could be sure the gnome's unpredictability wouldn't cause problems later on.

Without a moment's hesitation, Pinky turned his attention to the lady he had paired himself up with. Serena, her name was. He had to admit she was attractive. If this wasn't merely a contest he may have considered for a fleeting moment he would have a chance with her. But only for a moment, before crushing the thought between his fingers and putting all his efforts into matters far more pressing at the moment. Here and now was perhaps nothing more than a way for him to divert his attention and relieve some stress by watching people try and gain the appreciation of objects and creatures that couldn't possibly return the sentiment. Then again, even this "distraction" may aid him in its own way.

It occurred to him Serena had begun speaking. He thought he would be able to focus easily, but before he realized she had already flirted at him, she was already reaching at him with her hand. He fought the urge to flinch, knowing she most likely meant him no harm, and relaxed a bit when he realized she was only fixing a hair that had gotten out of place as he teleported to the table. How clumsy of him! She probably thought he was some kind of disgusting slob! Oh, this couldn't be happening! He had to do something! Could he escape? No, he had already promised a prize to whoever won. Going back on his word would only seal his fate as the most deadbeat man in Ternadan. A bead of sweat ran down his brow as his eyes darted around the room. He began to observe the reactions of the other flirting partners in the hopes of finding the proper response to having to have someone else fix his hair.

What he saw was not helpful...

Eric (perhaps the least prepared for his partner) didn't even try to see the situation from her point of view. The cannon, in all it's pain, let a tear run down its barrel. It appeared glum; miserable even. As if its entire world had suddenly come crashing down. It was all it could not to just curl up on the floor and die, but what it ended up actually doing was probably worse. It visibly held in its grief for as long as it possibly could before losing all control. Fountains of gunpowder tears poured from its eye sockets, creating an unsightly mess all over the floor. It howled in agony as its very meaning for living soared out the door like a criminal from the authorities. It's sorrow quickly grew, engulfing the cannon until it finally exploded in a brilliant flash of fire and smoke, disintegrating instantly.

The clown he had paired with Callista didn't appear to be faring well, either. Pinky prided himself in creating accurate depictions of real-life people and creatures, but this clown's confusion and implicit offense was certainly not the demeanor he had aimed for. It seemed unhappy that it was being laughed at, though it was clear in Pinky's mind that a clown should relish the sound of another being who has taken joy in their presence. Clearly there was a miscommunication. The clown was visibly opening himself up to the fairy, but all he got in return was ridicule. Uninterested in going on trying to woo the creature he was created for, he pulled a string attached to his hip, after which he rapidly inflated until he popped like a balloon.

Golas had apparently misunderstood the meaning of the contest. Despite the eating contest having taken place an hour earlier, this man had opted to sink his teeth into the delectable, savory meat he was presented with. This, Pinky supposed he should have seen coming, given who he had prepared the golem for. He had to admit this was not the outcome he intended. Nevertheless, the meat golem took the misinterpretation much better than anyone else would in its position. It actually blushed at first. It continued to look into the man's eyes, growing more and more unsure of what it should do in this scenario. After a fleeting moment, panic began to grow in its pungent juices, mounting with every bite until it had no choice but to yank back what was left of its arm, squeezing the bitten-off end with its intact hand. If its lungs weren't cooked to perfection, it would be able to scream. Moments passed, the golem grew still, and then it began to bulge outward. It continued to do so, in fact, until it swelled beyond its own capacity and simply burst, launching slabs of meat in all directions, but not so far that it could reach another table.

Nyuko perhaps wasn't old enough to be able to flirt effectively, which Pinky thought amusing at first considering he and Serena herself were the only ones lucky enough to be able to flirt with living, breathing, human partners. It seemed to go well at first. Nyuko appeared to be able to catch the intentional resemblance to the man he had been following for most of the day. He seemed enthralled by the sight of a female version of him, blushing like a child and perhaps excited to have what Pinky believed to be the catfolk's first love interest. But it quickly went downhill when the catboy noticed one of the more obvious details of the woman's body. Her face grew red as her own hair and she was visibly fighting the urge to slap the boy for his comment. Instead, she raised her hand in dismissal.
"That's it, I'm leaving," she said hurriedly, and she promptly burst into flames and disappeared into the smoke from whence she came.

Hawke had opted for a different approach to the contest, albeit just as straightforward, if not more so. It was easy to see the lizard creature's interest in the human before her. She had perhaps the most stately and dignified approach to her partner, although the unblinking stare was slightly off-putting. She politely awaited a response, containing her elation for being given the chance to have a candlelit dinner date with the man of her dreams, despite said man's visible awkwardness given the situation. But what she heard next was like a shard of glass through her heart. She knew she didn't have much time left, but still the man before her had opted for bribery rather than even attempting to create a relationship with her. Tears welled up in her eyes. Money and a cut of the prize was no gain to her. All she desired and all that she lived for was none other than Hawke Argento, but she had been plainly rejected. One of tears in her eyes broke free and slithered its way down her face. She put her head in her hands and began to cry.
"Where did I go so wrong?" she cried. She couldn't bear the pain. It had to end before more of it welled within her. There was nothing left to do here. She took one last look through her fingers at the man she could never have, let the image linger for a moment, and then disappeared amongst a brilliant fireball.

'My, my...' Pinky thought, 'So much rejection. Yeeess.' All of this he had seen at about the same time. None of the partners lasted for longer than a minutes or two before they expired. Thankfully, the others seemed to fare fairly fair in their endeavors.

Maeve had been the next contestant to catch his eye. At her table, she flirted so fluidly at her own reflection that Parks had no doubts she was well-practiced. Talking to herself, though she technically was, she answered each witty remark with another, mounting in sheer cleverness with each exchange. The tiger lady even managed to build the relationship further after pulling her make-up kit out and doing some touch-ups. Pinky hadn't seen a flirt like this since before the war. Maybe she was the best for the job? It would certainly be a major feat to top what she had just done.
A moment passed and the mirror let out a heart emoticon in a thought bubble above its head to express its affection. But the bond was perhaps too great, for the mirror began to grow red. Heat, perhaps? Parks was unsure his of his creation's capacity for love, but now he was beginning to fear it had reached its limit. It shook uncontrollably, looking as though it were caught in its own personally earthquake. A hairline crack stretched across its surface, spreading quickly throughout the rest of the reflective material. Then, in such a short time, the mirror shattered completely, frame and all. Shards of glass and splinters of eloquently-decorated wood dropped to the ground and lay there in a pile, lifeless; mere fragments of its once-beautiful existence.

Then there was Vladimir. The only one lucky enough to be given a truly inanimate object to try and woo. He was even smoother than Maeve, taking his abundance of flattery beyond her fantastic performance. Puns for humor, compliments for adulation, questions to build a relationship, and genuine cultivation that came straight from the heart. Vladimir was a natural - perhaps even more so than Meave. Parks was pleased to see such a marvelous performance. It almost made him wish he had indeed put a little animation into the pillow, if only to make the printed image of Meave in a bathrobe blow him a kiss of approval. That was perhaps an idea that Parks would have to save for a later uniting moment between the two.
A seemingly extended awkward beat followed Vladimir's remarks. He was perhaps waiting for a response from the body pillow, but alas, he would receive none. The tension grew like the population of rabbits without predators. Parks could swear he even saw a bead of sweat on Valdimir's cheek. And then... The pillow burst into flames.

And - finally - Kryas, whose unparalleled powers of charm left even Pinky in awe. The only other two contenders with flair - Maeve and Vladimir - may as well have pointed out the pimples on their partner's faces compared to this guy. He had taken it to places Pinky didn't even think possible. The apple itself seemed somehow shocked as Kryas went on as if his unmitigated charismatic excellence just flowed from every pore on his body. It grew more and more red with every word, every alluring glance, every captivating gesture the man made. He had the apple practically swooning into his arms before he had even finished his first sentence. The apple blushed, clearly struggling to contain itself in the face of such a bewitching coquette. It shed a leaf from its stem and began to glow brighter and brighter. So bright, in fact, that the red light it exuded actually became audible. And then it happened. The apple exploded, launching huge chunks of itself all over the marquee. Once they landed where they were going to land, every piece ignited, though somehow without damaging the material that made up the tent.

"Aaahaaha..." Pinky chuckled quite nervously, turning his gaze back to his own flirting partner just in time for a giant chunk of apple to land right on the side of his head. By this point, Serena had finished what she had to say. Parks managed to detect that she had asked a question somewhere in there, but with most of his attention focused on gathering methods to react to her flirting, he had no idea what question had been asked.

"Uuheheh, yes?" he finally replied, looking at her questioningly. He knew he had failed his own test. Granted, he wasn't going to get a prize anyway, but he still graded himself on the same level he graded each of the entrants. He would have had to put himself somewhere in the bottom half of the group at this rate.

But there was good news! He had to put himself in such an awkward situation no longer! He had gathered the data he needed! And now he could move on to phase two of his big plan! He looked Serena in the eye, put both his hands over one of hers, and fought the urge to scream as the ignited apple chunk burned the side of his head.

"Serena! Eheh... The time has come! Yes! We must go on without each other!" Without missing a beat, he stood up from his chair, saluted nothing in particular, and then disappeared into a cloud of smoke, along with the remains of all the flirting partners he had provided in today's competition.

Then the event fell silent.

---

"You have all pleased Pinky! Yeeesss!" a voice finally called from somewhere else within the tent. "But only one can take the prize! Only one has shown they carry it! Yes, the POWER! Ehehahahahaha!"

Fireworks suddenly exploded from everywhere around the stage. Flashing and spinning and bursting in colorful choreographed patterns, interacting quite nicely with each other, but also leaving the stage full of smoke as they dissipated. The figure of a man began to materialize behind the smoke, growing more and more clear as he stepped forward, until finally he stepped in front of the smoke, his arms held up and out like he was a popular person just entering the building. His whole uniform had changed, this time so something much more professional.

"Laddies and gentlefolks! Eheheh! Pinky gives to you..." he paused for nearly a minute while another wave of fireworks went off in the background. "The third place winner of Pinky's competition. It is Maeve Gallagher! For this performance Pinky rewards to you 500 gold pieces! Yes! But don't you leave just yet! Pinky has more to come!" He revealed a big bag of coins from his jacket and tossed them perfectly to the table Maeve was sitting at. It opened just right to show Maeve the treasures held within.

"And in second place for Pinky's Flirting Contest..." Yet another wave of fireworks lit themselves off in the background, this time all leaving trails of smoke in their own color. Rainbow smoke filled the stage. "Pinky reveals Vladimir Ludwik! Eheh! For you, Pinky parts with his very own Pyxes of Redirected Focus! Yes! Pinky trusts you use it wisely, yes? Pinky has placed it in the chair in front of you."

"And now for the moment Pinky has been waiting for! Pinky's first place winner!" A gigantic wave of fireworks lit up in the marquee, leaving sparkling trails of fluorescent smoke in every direction. They grew in size and majesty until one final one filled the establishment with glowing fiery butterflies that flew around ever so gracefully. Pinky had spent nearly half his life savings on that one. He was glad to see it worked the way the wizard had told him it would. "Pinky is most pleased to give you Kryas Windsel! Yeeesss! Pinky is very happy for you! Pinky had no idea you loved apples so much! Eheh! For you, Pinky is more than happy to grace you with his prized possession! Yes! His very own autographed Cautionary Creance! Treat it with respect and it will carry you beyond your wildest dreams!"

"But wait, there is one last gift Pinky must give! The most important of all, Pinky thinks. Yes!" He reached a hand into his inside coat pocket and held it there for a moment. "Pinky has searched long for one worthy of carrying this honor. Here, Pinky sees two! And they work so nicely together. Yes! Hand-in-hand, Pinky might say!" He pulled forth his hand and held it high above his head, in it was the shard of a mysterious crystal, about fives inches long. A small glow emanated from the shard's center. It seemed to have a longing of its own.

"Pinky bestows this gift of greatness upon the two who call themselves Maeve and Valdimir! But the only way to truly win it over is to prove yourself, yes. 'But how?' Pinky hears you think. Pinky cannot help you. Maeve and Vladimir will know when the time comes! A single gemstone could bring you all together!" The event host, tossed the crystal into the crowd. It spun through the air, arcing along its expected path all the way up until it reached the point directly between Vladimir's and Maeve's eyes. There, it floated mid-air and would wait until one of both of them picked it up.

"With this final gift, Pinky says farewell! May the paths of you and Pinky cross in the future! Yes!" He snapped his fingers with an outstretched arm and the whole marquee began to glow. "Pinky is counting on it..." he said lowly to himself.

Then the entire event location disappeared, tent, tables, fireworks, and all. The contestants were left standing and sitting on the ground where it used to be.

Callista had continued laughing as she and the clown sat there, failing to notice his discomfort. When suddenly reached down and pulled a string, her laughter died and her eyes got big with wonder. What was this? Was it going to be some sort of trick? A funny act to make her laugh more? She was not sure she could take much more; her sides were starting to hurt from laughing so hard. Very quickly, he inflated, as though he were a balloon and someone was blowing him up with a speed like no other. Once again, she could not contain her laughter. How amusing! An illusion that he was a balloon!

"Hahahahahaha!" She clutched her sides and fell over from her overwhelming need to laugh. She was so caught up in her moment of laughter that even when he popped, the faerie thought it was still part of the act.

She must have still been in her own little world of laughter and joy all during the announcements, for she did not stop again until she found herself falling to the ground and the entire tent and its non-human contents gone. A stranger might think that she was a child who had too long of a day and needed to be sent to bed. Rather than throwing a tantrum like some children, her tiredness may have gone to her head and made her silly. Even those who knew her a little bit might think she had gone a little nuts from attending as many events as she had that day; probably thinking that she had overexerted herself. The few who saw her the most often would know that she was always this full of laughter once something triggered it. The problem was, turning the switch off. Everything would be funny to her from here on out until someone or something found a way to put a stop to it.

Even now, after taking a  brief moment to acknowledge the situation, the faerie in child form flopped back to the ground to laugh at her newest circumstances. She was sure there was somewhere else for her to go, but it was good to let out a good long laugh now and then, and Mother Nature knew it had been a while since she had had a laugh like this one.

QuoteSurvey here, fill out when able: http://kwiksurveys.com/s/zEM0rV2p

Nothing... Vladimir thinks, staring at the now-certainly inanimate pillow depicting Maeve in a bathrobe. This confirmed he was the only one to receive an actual non-sentient object. And between the flying meat and apple bits, coupled with the screams and laughter, he determined that this event had to be the most chaotic of the festival.

And then, the pillow burst into flames.

Vladimir shielded himself, then blinked a couple times, looking around in confusion. Was that good? Bad? Then, finally, the gnomish coordinator spoke.

Maeve got third for flirting with herself in a mirror, as he had expected. But the second place winner was a complete surprise to himself. "Me...?" Vladimir pointed to himself, then looked in the chair across from him to see his reward. "A Pyxes of Redirected Focus." He turned the container over in his hand momentarily, then sighed. A cleric's item. Useless for me. Why do the gods insist I deal with everything holy in nature? I'm already a victim of necrotic magic, and yet I get no respite. Well, enough complaining, it's worth something, and I won.

As expected, his silver-tongued roommate took home the prize. Kryas Windsel had this in the bag from the beginning. But Vladimir was surprised once more, his mouth parting slightly in surprise. Having just used a string of puns himself, his mind was able to pick up on a few hints Did he just suggest Maeve and I as a pair? And offered a gemstone? Gods, do you truly wish trouble on me to this extent? Maeve detested undead, and was quick to violence. The moment she uncovered Vladimir's condition, he would be on the run the rest of his life in one way or another.

And yet, that gemstone, shining brilliantly, flew and hovered between the two of them. Vladimir met Maeve's gaze in mutual surprise before walking over and reaching out to the stone, taking it in his hand. Nine hells, I've been in worse situations. Let's see where this choice leads.

QuotePoll results (200 exp for each winner)

Best Post:	Maeve and Golas
Best Overall Roleplay:	Maeve and Vladimir
Most writing improvement:	Hawke
Most Character Development:	Maeve and Nyuko

Waiting for Throndir to update sheets.

The cannon roared a mighty roar of power as Eric made his escape. The gnome knew that it was doing it merely as a show of dominance. He was still in range, which meant he would still be a target. Even the crates he dived behind probably wouldn't provide much cover, but he had hoped it had somehow lost sight of him before he hid.

He lay there for a good minute, quivering in fear and guarding the back of his neck with his hands. He heard an explosion. The enemy was more bold than he remembered, having already infiltrated the town and now systematically destroying his friends. Had they no sympathy for the innocent? What could Ternadan possibly have done to them to warrant such an occupation? Something had to be done!

But Eric could do anything. Another explosion rang out, followed by several more. There was screaming and crying hear from within the tent. Was he the only one that was able to escape? And was he such a coward that he couldn't go back in to help his friends? Maybe he was. He wanted to go back and start laying down the law, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

A moment passed and the tent fell silent again. It was then that his worst fears had been confirmed: they were all dead. He felt a tear roll down his cheek, but still he could not move. All he could do was lay there, face to the ground, preparing for explosive fire, while he wondered what had really happened inside that tent.

But then he heard something different. Explosions, yes, but not the same explosions as last time. No, these were fireworks! And he could hear the faint voice of the event host! Had they won the battle? He lept to his feet and peered over the crates he had taken cover behind. Through the entrance to the marquee he could see parts of the contest. There wasn't a single scratch of damage to be seen! No signs of explosives. No deaths. Not even an overturned chair!

He couldn't understand. Eric knew something had happened in there. There had to be some kind of invasion! He dared step out from his cover to take a closer look, now standing in the entrance to the event. Another wave of fireworks went off. They had to be celebrating some kind of victory. They must have just won a battle, right?

One more wave of fireworks, this time much more spectacular and showy than the last, lit up the tent. With butterflies. Eric was confused, but the fireworks had actually served to calm him down considerably. Enough so, in fact, that he had a much more peaceful reaction when the event location began to glow brightly.

A moment passed. He merely took a few steps back so he wouldn't be caught inside the tent when whatever was going to happen happened. And then it all disappeared. Tables, smoke, tent, event host, and everything else that wasn't the people he went in there with. Somehow that had calmed him down as well. He knew that the battle was over.

They had done it! They defeated the enemy with hardly a struggle! The thought was very satisfying. He sauntered up to the victorious bunch, puffed out his chest, adjusted his pants, and looked up at the nearest individual next to him, who happened to be Hawke.

"I'd say that went pretty well, don't you think?"

It seemed Vladimyar had finished by the time Maeve had remembered that she wanted to see how he handled the body pillow with the image of her painted on it. When she turned to look at him, he seemed to be watching his 'partner' expectantly, as though waiting for some sort of reply. 'Silly man.' She thought and turned back to her own 'partner'. 'Expecting a pillow to reply.'

She continued flirting with the mirror when the little heart suddenly appeared on it. The tigress was unsure of what to think when she realized it was now also cracking. 'What?! Why? How?' Things were going so well and yet it was breaking? Did this mean bad luck? Was she going to suffer from seven years of bad luck? Unsure of what was going on and what to do, Maeve looked around. She felt somewhat relieved to see that other 'partners' seemed to be suffering the same fate as her beloved mirror.

Then, Pinky started announcing the winners. How he knew how well they did was beyond her. It was unfathomable how she could only make a mere third place with all of her talent and practice over the years. Still, five hundred gold pieces was not a bad prize compared to the other prizes. To hear that Vladimyar got second, it made Maeve REALLY want to know what he did.

The final prize the contest host had to present confused Maeve. How could the two of them win the same prize? Now, Maeve enjoyed her time with Vladimyar, but who was to say if she would still be here when 'the time comes'? She was a traveler, and unless something happened to cause her to stay here, she was bound to wander off eventually. Of course, they could always decide who would get to keep the crystal later. That way, there would not be any problems later when it was time for them to bid farewell.

The tigress felt uncomfortable when everything suddenly disappeared in a poof. It took her a moment to recover and she found herself staring at Vladimyar without realizing. He seemed to take their eyes meeting as an okay to take the crystal from where it floated. That was okay with her.

She rose from the ground on which she had landed and moved to where Vladimyar stood. "Well... I have to say, I have never been in a flirting contest before, but this one was definitely not what I expected one to be like." Looking at him slyly, she added "I'm afraid I missed what you said to your 'partner'. Perhaps you can try it on me later." She winked.

Vladimir rolls the gem around in his hand before looking back up at Maeve. "Neither have I, but I'm almost certain it wasn't normal. That Parks...he's a strange one." From her next statement it took a bit to not be flustered, if anything he was becoming jaded to the constant, blunt flirting. "I was flirting with a pillow, Maeve. They're hardly worthy of reuse. Especially not on one like yourself." Vladimir winks back at the tigress, then after a moment and a smile, looks back to the gem.

"So what do you suppose this is?"

Maeve opened her mouth to push more, but thought better of it. Of course, whatever he said must have been worthy enough to get second place, above her own score. That meant he either was embarrassed by what he had said and was glad she had not heard or he did not like to reuse lines very often. Either of which, she was flattered, considering it was not just a pillow, but a pillow with her image on it. She smiled back at him.

Looking down at the shard, the red-head shrugged. "A crystal shard? We can go see that old guy we went to earlier and see if he can figure out more about it?" She really was at a loss about the shard. Such things were not what she usually dabbled in or paid much mind to during her travels.

Vladimir had flashbacks of the interactions with old man Cayne only hours before, this time actually getting flustered as he remembered his 'play' with the man. Vladimir made a light, embarrassed chuckle, "Seeing him so soon after our last visit...I hope he doesn't plan to keep up the act. But, you're right. We should head that way to find out what exactly this gem is." Vladimir pocketed the jewel, then motioned ahead of himself, toward Cayne's stall while looking back at Maeve. "Shall we?"

He really wasn't sure why they were both awarded a single prize, but considering the setting in which it was granted, Vladimir felt a little unsettled. As though, like his personal prize, he wasn't going to like the outcome.

QuoteMoving this to Cayne's shop so the mission can be closed out.

Link (http://forums.fantasyworldcreations.com/index.php?topic=591.msg10076#msg10076)