Chapter 120: Debut of a Dapper Chap

After the hectic initial reunion everyone took their seats except for Fate who shuffled over to the next table along where her own siblings were watching on, amused. Of course the Umbra Wolf family were very interested in what was happening, and why Fate had been hanging around Rhea, so they immediately peppered her with questions. Fate wracked her brains for the best way to explain things before finally starting her long description. It was going to take a while, though, as a lot had happened...

Back on the Legion table. Enyo was hugging the twins and rubbing their heads. Palioxis, like Fate, had a tsundere streak inside her and bit her lips to stop herself from smiling. Phobos was unrestrained in this matter though and smiled quite happily upon receiving affection. He respected Enyo and Tyr for being so dauntless in the face of Major and he'd been trying to get to know them better for a while. Enyo's attitude at the time had made things difficult, however, and their relationship hadn't been the closest thing ever. Enyo had been disinterested in idle conversations for the most part and was more preoccupied with her shield and magic than anything else.

When Enyo separated from the two, Pele's face was pushed up against hers and Enyo could see the curious sparkle in her eyes. Tyr and Deimos were also staring and expecting answers so she chuckled and nodded, indicating they were free to ask away.

"Where is he!?" Pele quick fired and shot out her question at blazing speed. A whole number of questions could be answered with one good look at the fella so that was the avenue she took.

Enyo shook her head. "Not here yet, he should be arriving soon enough. You'll get along with him well, Pele. He's fun if nothing else."

Pele gave a thumbs up before turning to Bellona and asking the same question... Well, it was somewhat similar, anyway. "And what about yours then? Where's your guy?"

Bellona smiled wryly and debated internally on how to answer this question. Eventually she settled on a silly idea she thought would be humorous and responded as such, "Not here yet, he should be arriving soon enough. You'll get along with him well, Pele. He's fun if nothing else."

Pele blinked a few before narrowing her eyes and inquisitively glancing between her two sisters. "Eh? Am I being messed with? By Bellona, sure. By Enyo?! Say it aint so!" Little did Pele realise, she wasn't being messed with in the slightest...

Phobos was excited at the prospect of new family members so he asked the next question. His excitability gave him the energy to start strong but he gradually grew more timid the more words he had to speak so he kept his question short. "Is this person... Nice?"

For a moment Enyo wasn't sure how to respond to such a loaded question. She shook her head, paused briefly, and then nodded. "Yes and no. He can be annoying at times, and he likes to push his luck with people sometimes, but he's generally nice to family. He won't be mean to you without a reason and, even then, he'll only talk to you and try to solve the problem... Although he did slap his brother once... But he kinda deserved it at the time..." Enyo glanced at Aejaz and shrugged.

Phobos looked at Bellona and she could tell the scamp was asking her the same question... Well, if her response didn't clue them in as to what was happening, then nothing would... "Yes and no. He can be annoying at times and he likes to push his luck with people sometimes, but he's generally nice to family. He won't be mean to you without a reason and, even then, he'll only talk to you and try to solve the problem... Although he did slap his brother once... But he kinda deserved it at the time..." Bellona glanced at Aejaz and shrugged.

Tyr fell off his chair again and Pele let out a series of yelps as she pointed between her two sisters. "AH! AH! AH! AH!" Enyo snickered at her dumbstruck family while Bellona just scratched her head. "For real? For really real? Really for really reals?" Pele's utterances were probably harder to understand than her yelps but she was too overloaded with information right now to speak any more clearly than this.

Bellona and Enyo both nodded and the latter was the first to clarify. "Yes, we are both in love with the same man. It's a bit of a long story but there's a lot to catch up on anyway. I'll tell you my side of the story first and then Bellona can tell you hers. Don't think I don't want to hear what you've all been up to though! When we're done I want you to spit it all out just as we will!" Enyo started off by recounting her side of the story as the rest listened in.

Aejaz and Allie went off to go and get some food before heading over to the outer court team's table. Esme and Li Li were both already here and chatting away about Onno and Dirk. One was complaining and the other was nodding their head in agreement, then the roles would swap and so on so on. Aejaz and Allie took a seat, said hello, and went about having their own conversation about how Allie's alchemy had been progressing as of late and what kind of ingredients she needed.

Over near the centre of the room, Eagerton had arrived with his mother and brother and were having their own conversation. Eagerton scoured the room briefly before clicking his tongue. "... I'm afraid not, mother. It seems Ares isn't here yet."

Margaret sipped on some coffee as she held a camera in her spare hand. "I do hope he arrives soon. I feel like today is going to be particularly inspiring. There's no greater inspiration for me than that emotion we call joy. Ah but Calla will have to be here too for the full extent of the emotion to be seen... I wonder where that bushy-tailed mongrel is? I hope she's not wasting time searching the streets, how ironic it would be when her best odds of success are to be found here..."

Edgerton sighed. He'd already been forced to take a few pictures and be a part of some too so he'd hoped his job here was done. Regrettably his mother refused to allow him to leave so he was stuck here waiting for the drama to unfold. He and Eagerton had been informed about the matter and, while Eagerton was looking forward to it, Edgerton couldn't have cared less. Positive emotions were not what he picked from when searching for a flash of inspiration. He created more artistic music when delving into negativity as that suited his vision for his lyricism.

A certain haughty elf sauntered over and greeted Eagerton with sass. "Well well well, if it isn't Mr Novice Novelist himself. What brings you up here to this floor, peerless penman?" Mako was an average looking elf, which also meant he was somewhat more attractive than your average human, but his arrogance was ugly as sin. His facial features didn't lean too heavily in either the direction of sharp or soft and were a healthy mix of both in places. His ears were long but, unlike most other elves, his were pointed downwards instead of upwards, making him stand out from his racial brethren. His hair was green and free flowing and his eyes were a striking light blue. Of note were two small square patterns in his eyes, around and boxing in his pupils, that were unique as most people weren't born with aesthetic mutations. The chances of such a mutation went beyond one in billion. Although it was both random and irrelevant, Mako held an unreasonable degree of pride in his eyes and he always made sure to flaunt them to the best of his ability when meeting someone new by getting up close and personal. As for his clothes, despite his brash personality, he wore clothes that were reminiscent of a mechanic when at home. His flame retardant coveralls where the perfect choice for him to wear when experimenting with his magic and creating all manner of gizmos. Out and about he wore clothes that were somewhat similar but a tad more stylish. An unbuttoned, khaki, rustic, coverall jacket was his go to with a plain beige shirt underneath. His trousers were coloured like dark sand and he wore plain black boots. Though he was an overconfident and insufferable person, Mako was a hard-worker at his core and that was reflected in his clothes. It's not even the image he wanted others to see in him, this was unfiltered. It was probably the most accurate and honest thing about him. There was nothing more he enjoyed than sitting around in a cultivation room and tinkering with his magic. He wanted to be number one but he wasn't lazy about it and resting on his laurels was something that Mako didn't even have the patience for. If he was idling he would get annoyed and look for something to do which usually resulted in him training, stopping, getting bored, and training again. He'd gone off the rails a bit recently during his search for the destruction pillar and hadn't trained as much but he still trained way more than the average person. Unfortunately, however, he mostly trained his magic. No matter how much he hated to admit it, Mako sucked ass in close-quarters combat. He'd been trained in it and wasn't helpless... But he really wasn't' as good as he should have been considering the effort that had been put in. He was roughly Esme tier... For a fundamental champion that was atrocious. His magic made up for it, certainly, but this was a truth that irked him whenever it came up in conversation. As that was the case, Eagerton fired back knowing full well he was attacking a sore spot.

"Good evening noodle arms. I take it you've been patting yourself on the back with those limp wrists of yours as per usual?"

Mako ground his teeth before kissing them with a scowl. "At least I have a reason to pat myself on the back. I don't suppose you've gotten over your inferiority complex yet? How's it feel knowing my magic is just better than yours in every way?"

"Hmph." Eagerton took out a cigar and lit it. He puffed out a ring of smoke and pointed his cigar at Mako. "A sparrow with a big beak would be wise not to try pecking an eagle with a small beak. Then again, you don't strike me as wise so keep flapping away. See how far it gets you."

"Ok birdbrain, enough with the analogies. I didn't come over here for you anyway. Be straight with me and I'll leave you alone. The destruction pillar, where is it and who is it?"

"Above you and beyond you. I have nothing more to add. The destruction pillar is your superior, now and always."

"Mako." Terros interrupted before things go tout of hand. Insulting Mako's physicality was one thing but comparing him to the destruction pillar and asserting that he came up short was a big no-no. If Terros didn't speak up a fight would start here and it would be one that Mako obviously couldn't win. Eagerton was a prodigy in his own right and wouldn't lose to a fundamental pillar with an advantage in cultivation as big as his. He was a core disciple and was competing in a different league to Mako for a reason. Mako was truly like a scrappy dog, willing to bite opponents even three times his size. Whether that was who he was as an individual or who he was because of his faith in his pillar was up in the air. It might even just be both.

Mako clicked his tongue before saying goodbye to everyone other than Eagerton. "I suppose that will be all for now then. Goodbye Margaret. Goodbye Edgerton, the better brother." With a short bow and a middle finger to Eagerton, Mako left to go and closely scrutinise everyone that walked through the double doors. Although he wouldn't be able to tell with 100% certainty on sight, he would be able to make a rough guess! the rough presence of other fundamentals was detectable to an extent so he waited 'patiently'.

Back by Aejaz, Allie was rubbing her mitts together as Leo and Scout returned from their expedition. In order to make Scout stealthier, Allie had stuck to having it record conversations instead of relaying everything live. Scout was harder to detect the less mana it had to use so this was for the best. Leo also had a variety of stealth related pills on his necklace so they were able to sneak around undetected and undeterred! Even if they were caught Leo would be able to transform and fend off his pursuers while retreating so it had been a flawless plan. It seemed that backup plan was for naught though as they came back without alerting the people they were spying on. Allie didn't much care for the conversations everyone else was having, and she was only focused on Trixie who was talking with a person that was presumably Aejaz' little sister, but Scout would have unintentionally picked up on everything in the nearby vicinity. Although Allie didn't really want to know, if Aejaz' family were badmouthing him she was going to hear all of it as background noise... But there were more important matters afoot! Allie picked up Leo and put him on the table next to a plate of fish she'd prepared for him as a reward. Leo chowed down while Allie picked up Scout and put him next to her ear before attempting to start the playback.

boom!

Allie was startled as Scout exploded into a strong of confetti. She was momentarily shocked because she hadn't expected a Trixie bomb to show up disguised as her Mini Pillie. Upon realising what happened, she looked over at Trixie, who just so 'happened' to look back at her, and growled at her while removing the confetti from her hair. Damn this tricky woman! Getting dirt on Trixie and keeping her away from Aejaz was going to be quite the uphill battle... Aejaz didn't quite understand why Allie and Trixie, despite not having spoken even once, seemed to have some sort of rivalry going on but he helped Allie remove the confetti nonetheless. As he plucked away at the last piece, he realised it was actually a piece of paper with a note written on it. The note read 'They're going to come over, brace yourself. I think they're looking for a fight with you. Maybe try and find an elder to help you.' Aejaz read the note and was dreading the encounter. He just wanted to be left alone damnit. Why couldn't these people exit his life for good? Much to his dismay, when he looked up, not just one or two people were headed towards him, but the entire table was coming over. His little sister, Trixie, the burnt face guy, his three brothers, his father, mother, and his uncle... What a miserable experience this was going to be... Worse still, Slick had just left the floor recently to go and check on the others and there weren't really any other elders around either. His family had waited for an opportunity to corner him like a rat. The only thing Aejaz had going for him was that he had the Nyxian Prowler on him. Ares had borrowed it to him earlier in case he needed it during his absence. Ares had foreseen the potential for Aejaz' family to be a nuisance but he hadn't predicted that Aejaz would be harassed by this many of them at the same time... At least the Prowler would help, though. Aejaz clung to it in case he needed to save Allie as his family arrived at the table...

Meanwhile, the Legion clan had just finished listening to Enyo and Bellona's whacky adventures. The more they heard about this guy the less they felt like they understood him, especially when Enyo ended it all by saying 'he may look like an idiot, and talk like an idiot, but don't let that fool you. He really is an idiot'. The one thing that was abundantly clear to them, however, was that he was a revenant... And that he was Calla's child on top of that... Which could only mean one thing... They looked at the next table over, the one where Fate had also just finished explaining a thing or two to her own siblings, and had an impromptu stare down with their mortal enemies... No... Now, they were family!? The maddening mutts they'd brawled with just yesterday were going to be relatives.... Oh the horror! They could see it on the wolves' faces, they were salivating at the chance to mess with them further... This was an absolute disaster! And it couldn't be stopped! Calla's existence had already sealed the deal... If her son, long lost or otherwise, wanted to marry someone then any outside interference may as well be non-existent. Enyo wanted this, Ares wanted this, Bellona wanted this. That was all Calla would need to know before bludgeoning anyone who disagreed... Tyr's plans were all flushed down the drain as was all the colour in his face. He'd turned pale upon realising his sisters were being wed to a revenant! Any living creature would have been bad regardless, but a damnable, detestable, despicable, degenerate revenant!?!?!? This was truly a fate worse than death for Tyr.

Deimos was also perturbed too... That stupid rooftop king was going to be his brother in law! He'd seen it! That look in Ares' eyes that screamed 'I want to ride your bike!' Deimos wasn't hallucinating! Did this fool seriously think that just because he hadn't stolen it when he had the chance Demos would let him ride it after? Over his dead body!

There was a third person who wasn't ecstatic at the prospect of closing the distance with the revenants either, and that was Phobos. Every time he came across Venus she would chase him to the ends of the earth just to try and hug him... She was a scary lady that was up to no good. Palioxis had called her an 'immoral skank' numerous times and warned Phobos to keep clear of her because she 'liked eating little boys'. Phobos wasn't sure what his sister meant by that exactly but the crazed look in Venus' eyes was more than enough proof. If they became relatives the amount of excuses she would have to be near him would increase considerably. Even now she had her eyes glued to him and was panting at the discovery that they would be a lot closer from now on...

It wasn't all bad though. There was one person who was over the moon, and that was Pele, your friendly neighbourhood social butterfly. Pele liked the revenant family and had a bit of a crush on Skyzo in particular. Ever since she lost a spar to him a few years back she'd been thinking about him often and always looked forward to seeing him again. She was good at bringing him out of his shell. Skyzo aside, though, more family was always a good thing in Pele's world view. She liked company and had been the first of her own siblings to form a connection with the wolves. She would chat with them whenever she came across them and even avoided fighting revenants as a whole if she could. She actually felt sorry for the wolves upon learning one of their siblings had gone missing and that they were unaware completely. Family being separated like that was borderline a sob story for someone as compassionate as Pele and her heart went out to Calla. Calla had always been very nice to Pele and treated her like one of her own, offering her hot chocolate every time she visited. Of course Calla extended that same courtesy to all of Rhea's children but only a few accepted it so openly. Pele could tell Calla was a good person and that she didn't deserve to lose a child in such a cruel way. There were few people Pele didn't like, and even fewer she hated, but the more she learnt about her father the more he fell into that small category. Pele believed in unity and co-operation and Major stood for the exact opposite in every way. Although everyone here was glad to be away from Major, no one was more happy about it than Pele. She was enjoying being a family again and learning that it had grown substantially was good news in her mind!

The one thing that was a constant throughout everyone's head across both tables was a single question that kept repeating itself without pause. Who the hell is Ares? All the descriptions in the world weren't going to do such a person justice because he was simply a bizarre existence. A sibling somehow no one knew about, a fundamental pillar wielder, had Dominus inside him, a revenant marrying into the Legion clan. This guy was a problem a minute! Their minds were distracted from this conundrum when someone new strolled into the venue from the double doors. As per usual, everyone stole a glance at the newcomer but, as was the case with Enyo, everyone gawked in their seats; none more so than the people that were familiar with this individual. The fact that this person had somehow shown-up Enyo looking the way she was, was unthinkable. He was unruly, annoying, and usually only slightly above average looks-wise, and yet he'd really outdone himself today. The fact that this man, Ares, looked more handsome than his brother Aejaz today was a feat that not even some Gods would be able to replicate. The golden gadfly who was a burden to society had come dressed in spectacular fashion and was easily the individual with the greatest wardrobe here. Now of course he had Hans to thank for that but it was impressive regardless and he wore it like a champ too. All of the sect elders, sect disciples, and family / friends who had seen Ares before couldn't believe their eyes right now because he might as well have been a different person. Lazy, annoying, cocky... Yeah right. This Ares was professional, clean, confident, and the very definition of eye candy.

As for how Ares had pulled of this stunt, a good bespoke suit really did wonders. Hans had crafted him an outfit suitable for a white tie event and Ares donned it in style. Where to even start when looking at him was difficult because he looked sculpted to perfection regardless of where your eyes drifted but, if one aspect of his clothes had to be pinpointed first, the winner was his black tailcoat. You would think there would be little room for theatrics here, and that it would just be a standard affair, but Hans was an incredible tailor so he did something clever here. Something that really allowed Ares to make this getup his own. The tailcoat, at the back, ended abruptly at Ares waist. Why? Well, that was so that Ares could finish it himself! In order to 'complete' the tail coat at the back, and have it come down to around about the back of his knees in length, Ares utilised his Stygian Zephyr. The tail coat's bottom segment was actually the Zephyr reformed which gave it a feathery, suave look. To prevent it from looking messy Ares had dedicated at least an hour to delicately trimming the feathers' lengths so that they would line up perfectly alongside each other in a 'V' shape; albeit one that was slightly more curved than straight at the bottom. It was definitely 'Ares'-esque and was the only modification to the look as a whole, but it was the only one that was needed to remind everyone of just who was wearing it in the first place. Underneath all the classy extras, Ares was still that wild child that ruffled feathers but he was just as capable of trimming them into an extravagant plumage when needed to man up and act like a distinguished gentleman. The rest was standard affair. A white, wing tipped and studded dress shirt, a full white waist coat, black pleated pants, a white bow tie, and patent leather dress shoes. A few extras brought the look together: namely some pearl cufflinks, a gold pocket watch, white leather gloves, a real boutonniere, and a white, fine cashmere scarf hanging loosely over each of his shoulders and ready to be offered to Enyo later on when the opportunity arose. Everything was snug on his body and could have easily been mistaken as his own skin, that was how perfectly it fit. It especially did wonders for his chest and broad shoulders that were defined to a tee and showcased in full as Ares stood tall and proud with dignity and distinction. There were two changes above the neck, one of which was a diamond stud earring in his left ear and the other was his medium length slicked back hair. Every single lock had been swept back which made the earring that much more visible as it sparkled beneath the chandelier Ares was walking under.

Ares had nailed it. What had become apparent to Enyo and Bellona was that this man cared. He had no business looking this good at all. He was not versed in white tie etiquette but he had clearly learned specifically for today and spent God only knows how much time prepping himself in advance. He must have repeatedly put this wardrobe on and taken it off to make sure he could get it on immaculately just for today. Neither Enyo nor Bellona could be mad at him for taking away all their glory because he had well and truly earned it. For today, Ares could be the star of the show. For all of the effort he put in to make today special he deserved to be the unambiguous number one and it didn't seem like anyone else in the room disagreed. For the first time since Enyo and Bellona had met Ares, they were feeling jealous. Ares had garnered a few small looks here and there in the past but nothing to the same scale as today. Ares was actually being looked at like a piece of fine meat by the predatory women in the crowd and now the Legion sisters finally understood how Ares truly felt before when the shoe had been on the other foot. If it were up to them, they would have gone around and scratched out all of the other women's eyeballs because Ares belonged to them. Ares was their man and, more specifically, for today, he was Enyo's man. He belonged to her and that made her feel proud and excited. Such a fine man was hers, now and forever.