00110011 00110010

/Rank D has been successfully reached/

I reached up and touched my new mask. It's cold hard surface had no give and shined with it's own radiance. My eyes saw more as dust particles floated past my face. My ears twitched as I heard the floor creak slightly beneath my feet.

I turned to look at the others. I could actually see strands of color trailing behind each of them lazily drifting about like drifting snow. I breathed in and tasted different things. It was like licking iron with a lemon coating.

Fruity and Dirty. It wasn't a pleasant smell. The color of brown soil. This was Lilies smell.

I suddenly caught the scent of something rotten, cold, and dusty. The color of rusting metal. This was Henry.

A cleaner smell entered my nose. Watery, fresh, yet musty like a mossy rock. This was Hoy's. It was purple in color

And finally Beth. Her color was the smell of salty tears, overturned earth, and incense. It was a sad smell. One of loss and mourning. The color of blood.

I closed my eyes and oddly enough I could still see them. Like an X-Ray with human silhouettes made of the colored strands. I knew instinctively who they belonged to.

Having taken into account everything so far I flexed my fingers and paws stretching my muscles and feeling the strength that filled them. I understood what it meant to be a different rank now. It was power.

I heard a cough and opened my eyes to see Lily. "We've all been there. Now we have plans to make." She said.

I nodded as my form shrank down. My civilian form had changed slightly now that I had ranked up. My previously dark face now had a gold mask coating it. Much like a masquerade one. It covered only the front leaving the back uncovered. Eye holes were filled with ruby irises and surrounded by Egyptian style make-up with two ivory canines hanging down around where my mouth was.

My scarf now had small amounts of gold threads weaved through it glinting in the light.

I felt the change even then. Hoy seemingly nodded his approval. "Gold always has gone well with black. I'm glad someone besides me can look a little fashionable."

I snorted as Beth slugged his upper arm. "I am fashionable! Fashionably me!" She said loudly.

Henry rolled his eyes as he opened a newspaper and reclined on the couch. The newspaper said The Daily Titan. The front page showed us floating in front of the sun and had the caption "Exclusive Coming to you soon!" across it.

"Are we actually going to do that exclusive Lily?" I said as I turned away from Henry.

Lily shrugged a little. "I still haven't authorized it and am not certain as to what I should do about it."

"Getting too famous draws alot of unwanted attention and winning two dome battles in a row is a feat very few have managed. So I was actually thinking of something else."

"We will not attend this weeks dome battle so that things can cool down a little."

I saw Beth and the others freeze a bit before letting out a little sigh.

Beth flopped onto the couch on top of Henry's legs before letting out an even bigger sigh.

"We win two times and we still end up losing in the end." She whined as she grabbed a nearby pillow and screamed into it.

I let out a sigh of my own as I rubbed the back of my neck in frustration. I couldnt help but agree with Lily on this one. "I guess we really can lose when we win. Drawing too much attention can make us a big target. And being as small a faction as we are makes us an even easier target to pick on." I mumbled.

"So... what are we going to do? Fight? Plan? Spar?" I asked trying to be a little more optimistic about the situation.

Henry let out a groan as he sat up. "I'm going to drink my woes away at the vineyard if anyone wants to join me." He said as he got up off he couch tossing the paper aside.

Practically everybodies ears perked up at the sound of drinking at the vineyard.

"Well... we do have points to spend and I need more to get any parts. So..." Beth said as she tiptoed to the door and shot out after Henry.

I raised a masked eyebrow in response while Lily chuckled.

"Why not? We could all use a break. The dome will always have a winner somewhere." She said as she patted her plant and gestured to the door.

And so we went to the vineyard.

The place was bustling and noisy as ever considering. But the atmosphere was comfortable. Screens displayed some of the best moments in the dome combined spammed every now and then with ads for local sales and shops. It reminded me a little of some of the small food stalls back on Mars with their small TVs for special usage.

My favorite stall had been Mr Cho's Noodle Stall. It was famous for it's original flavour and ethnic origins. I suddenly smelled something delicious and shook my head as I came back to the present.

Beth was waving at us from a table close to the middle of the dining area. "Come on! We already ordered!" She shouted.

I couldnt help but grin. It had been a month since I arrived here. But it felt more like an eternity. As I strode towards them I felt it. The feeling of Family. Not one of blood. But I think you all understand.

I sat down as everyone started chatting. Things about better maneuvers to what they should invest parts into next. And it wasn't long till a Bacchus showed up at our table. The smell of Alcohol wafting from him overbearing as usual.

"Hahaha! I take it it's the usual eh!" He boomed in his thick italian accent. He hit the table with his urn. Ten bottles shot out of the top already filled with crimson colored liquid. He laughed even more so when I extended a hand to give him payment.

"No! No! On the house my friends! Business has boomed recently! And I wouldn't have a couple of my favorites footing a tab after such a spectacular win eh! Hahahaha!" He boomed as he strode away.

I placed my hand back on the table in slight shock. Beth chuckled a little as Lily blushed. Henry laughed as Hoy just shrugged and started drinking.

I took a sip of my bottle. The carbonation burned my throat as it went down but the flavors were strong. Cheesy, acidic. The flavor of tomatoes and cheese. The basic earthy flavors of noodles with their slight bitterness. And finally the strong flavor of basil.

It was refreshing. Like one was sitting in the streets of Italy watching a sunset. I slowly sipped away at my bottle until a thud was heard at the end of our table.

I turned and found a very scarred looking guy staring at me. His body seemed chiseled and his body was plated like a norse gods. The pauldrons and wrist bracers adorned his shins and wrists. A hammer necklace swung about his neck.

It didnt take much to figure this one out.

"Thor." I said as I took another sip. "What can I help you with?" I said as the others grew quiet. Lily was waiting quietly. Watching to see what would happen and possibly be ready to step in.

I then heard it. A huffing angry voice.

"I want a duel. Just me and you newby. Nobody else." He growled and a couple tables around us got quiet as a couple turned around to look at ours.

"And why would I do that?" I asked as I swirled my drink completely ignoring him.

He slammed his fist down on the table making a big thud that drew Bacchus's attention. He looked at me and I gently shook my head. He nodded and pointed our table out to the other staff seemingly knowing what he needed to do.

"Because you made me a laughing stock in front of everyone in my faction. Not only did I spend a week in the hold I missed the dome. Now how else will I get compensation!" He shouted.

I smirked. "Maybe if you hadn't been such an ass you wouldn't have gotten your ass handed to you like you did. But I cant judge a shitty attitude if it already is self existent." I said as Beth and the others chuckled.

Thor suddenly threw a glance at Beth and growled. "Keep laughing and you'll keep dying like in the dome."

Beth just brushed back her white hair and let out a sigh. "Only bullies go after girls and only the stupid ones threaten one that's higher ranked than them." She said as her lips sneared at him. He suddenly grabbed his necklace like he was going to being out his hammer.

But quicker than he could react I reached up grabbing his shirt and slammed his face into the table pinning him.

This guy was acting like a teenager and figuring that I finally came to a conclusion.

"Kid. You gotta know when to pull your punches. Sometimes being the quiet slow knife is the thing that keeps you living. Being fast to the trigger and easily provoked gets you killed. No amount of glory, popularity, or honor can bring you back from that." I said as I leaned into his ear area. I let go and he stood up brushing himself off. He let out a huff before quickly leaving.

Bacchus quickly came over as I finished my first drink. "Is everything alright? I can ban him for a month or two if he upset any of you." He said with a concerned look on his face.

Lily looked at Beth and I. Beth pointed at me. "I'll go with his judgement." She said as she took a swig from her second bottle.

I shook my head and let out a sigh. "Just leave it be for now please. He's just a kid that needs something he hasn't found yet. Maybe he'll learn. But I know one thing. He'll learn soon." I said as I dug into my second bottle.

I tasted the creaminess of icecream with the mellowness of vanilla flavor. A bubbling texture crossed my tongue that came with the brusque tough flavor of rootbeer. With a hint of cherry mixed in. (A rootbeer float for my desert is a nice touch.) I thought as I sipped away on it. I hadn't ever had one but I knew it by the descriptions older people used to tell me.

Bacchus nodded to me as he clasped his hands in front of him. "Well. I will accept your judgement for now. But if he pulls this stunt again I'll ban him from this establishment for a bit. But I will let you enjoy your meal. Godere." He said as he backed away with a flourish.

I nodded a bit thinking about what I was going to do about things. But in the end I just shook my head a little. "I'll just deal with him when the time comes." I whispered as I continued to enjoy my desert.