The Invitation To The Ball 
Ash 42nd, 120th Year, A.o.S.
That morning would soon become one Rickter wouldn't forget, due to the fact that he'd been hiding something for the past several days now. After already having breakfast at the High Hopes, the wolf had taken to sit within the lobby, with his smoking pipe in hand and the parchment of paper flat on the desk. Plainly he wasn't interested but, after reading it, he couldn't help but wonder why he of all people would be invited. Annually the Festival would be held in terms of a hunt and a feast, and while those traditions were normally well kept, it would seem this year they would be throwing a ball as well.
Rickter didn't like that.
Large public events were things he never outright attended, keeping his presence minimal for ideally small reasons for comfort. But granted his current situation now, after handling the first trial of his test for a position, things had nominally changed in regards to his own personal lifestyle. Comfort was somewhat less of a commodity now, as he needed to be ready to deal with these types of events. And yet... "Well well," Hannah's voice weighed in as she and Telion walked in from the hallway that led to their rooms, "somebody's got something on their mind."
"That's odd, I've never seen you smoke before." Telion remarked as she followed after her companion, a bit surprised to see Rickter so relaxed in his chair, while his mind certainly seemed elsewhere as his eyes wandered.
"It's a minor hobby..." The wolf answered as he looked to the parchment, debating on how to tuck it away for hiding without being so obvious. Too late though. The arrival of the pair allowed Hannah to swipe it up before Rickter even had a moment to react, and in turn, investigate what clearly puzzled the wolf so.
"Oh? What's this?" The brunette's eyes widened. "An invitation to the Harvest Ash Festival Ball? Interesting!..."
"What?!" Telion's eyes widened with astonishment, as she looked at Rickter excitedly. "You got invited to a ball?!!" The wolf couldn't help but merely shrug for a response, his blue eyes lazily pulling away as he took a long puff from his pipe. "Wait, how long have you been hiding this?" The assumption quickly garnered a look of annoyance from Hannah, as she could definitely see Telion's point in asking the question.
"You mean to tell me you've been thinking on this the entirety of a few days?" Damn they were quick. It was the reason why he'd grown a bit quieter lately after all, and more often than not what troubled him a bit more.
"...Yes..." The wolf admitted with a sigh as smoke came billowing out from his lungs, permeating the air with a taste of the tobacco he smoked. The answer alone nearly looked to outrage Hannah, as she quickly looked to her friend and back at the wolf.
"You do realize this means you're going. Right?" Now to that Rickter raised an eyebrow. He was going? This was probably the first time he'd seen Hannah get so involved, so quickly he might even note, that he began to wonder what about the ball was so important to her. Or them. Well... Hannah was the enigma here, but Telion undoubtedly wanted to attend, just for the sake of having fun at the event itself. But why Hannah? Why on Ransera did she want him to go? What was her motive in this?
The wolf's puzzled look became intrigued right then, as he raised the wooden pipe up once more, inquiring only one word before puffing at the mouth of the piece he held. "Why?"
"Dare I explain the entirety of this matter? Or shall I be brief?" Hannah tested which generated a bit more surprise in Telion.
"Gods I don't think I've ever seen you so fired up." She remarked with a light-hearted giggle, looking between the two as she'd certainly shown curiosity with the conversation. Rickter merely responded with a shrug, indicating for Hannah to do whatever she felt pleased with.
"Clearly, Rickter, you fail to see the value in attending such an occasion. The ball itself is ideal but it's not what is important here, you're invitation is proof that others already see potential in you. Failure to attend would be an insult to their investment, which is a personal offense you wouldn't want to commit." Now Rickter was vastly curious, even so much as raising an eyebrow to her, while he breathed out another thick plume of smoke through his nostrils. "When attending these events, it's important you go looking your best, so that you can charm your way into earning some friends. Friends that help those who help them, and in turn look out for your personal interest, so long as it aligns with their own."
"Wow," Telion remarked thoughtfully, "I guess Ricky is starting to cause waves now. " And yet while Telion seemed entirely comfortable with everything Hannah just said, Rickter still wondered where the hell she knew all of this entirely. Who the hell was she before they came here? How was it the brunette knew so much about balls and nobility for someone who barely seemed intent on dressing like them?
"So in other words..." The wolf reluctantly started with a sigh. "I'll need to get a suit."
"Oh, not just any suit!" Hannah looked enthusiastically challenged all of a sudden, amused by the opportunity she found sitting before her. "You'll need something fashionable, sleek, and complimentary to someone of your stature." The brunette leaned about with her hand on the table, inspecting Rickter a little closer as she eyed parts of his upper body. The neck, the shoulders, and the biceps mainly. Then her attention shifted to his torso, with a couple of fingers briefly brought up to adjust his head some, as she pointed his face in a direction to the left and then to the right a moment later. "Yes. A good trim and tame of that hair on your head, and you could certainly look the part of an upcoming noble."
"But I don't want to." Rickter pointed out grimly with his eyes fixed on Hannah, earning a short bout of mirth from the lady, before she crossed her arms and gave him a smirk.
"Wanting to isn't part of the package Rickter. You've dedicated yourself to a lofty cause, a noble one to be sure, but one that demands a lot more out of you than you've yet realized. I can help you though," the brunette offered casually with a wink, "favors for favors. No?" Undoubtedly she was hinting at their past excursions together, to which Rickter slightly tensed since he didn't want Telion to know of them. With that in mind, however, this wasn't just her turning a situation around into a profit. Hannah knew things here, things that were well beyond Rickter's own understanding. If she could help him out with this ball, then perhaps he'd have a better chance with his future, once he finally did go as she'd brazenly pointed out. Declining the invitation was a tempting thought sure, but it was also like the brunette said, an insult to the personal investment anyone might've had in him.
Imagining how quickly Queen Sahfri became disappointed was enough, as Rickter wouldn't dream of squandering the investment she'd given him prior. "Fine." He came to regretfully agree with the woman, as she and Telion both comparably lit up with excitement.
"Yes!"
"We're going to a ball!" The bard stated almost aloud, garnering the attention of a few lookers from the tables nearby.
"After we do a bit of shopping first," Hannah noted to her friend with sharp thoughtful eyes on Rickter, "you're going to be my biggest pet project by far wolf boy. Don't let me down." To which the wolf gulped a little firmly.
Rickter didn't like that.
Large public events were things he never outright attended, keeping his presence minimal for ideally small reasons for comfort. But granted his current situation now, after handling the first trial of his test for a position, things had nominally changed in regards to his own personal lifestyle. Comfort was somewhat less of a commodity now, as he needed to be ready to deal with these types of events. And yet... "Well well," Hannah's voice weighed in as she and Telion walked in from the hallway that led to their rooms, "somebody's got something on their mind."
"That's odd, I've never seen you smoke before." Telion remarked as she followed after her companion, a bit surprised to see Rickter so relaxed in his chair, while his mind certainly seemed elsewhere as his eyes wandered.
"It's a minor hobby..." The wolf answered as he looked to the parchment, debating on how to tuck it away for hiding without being so obvious. Too late though. The arrival of the pair allowed Hannah to swipe it up before Rickter even had a moment to react, and in turn, investigate what clearly puzzled the wolf so.
"Oh? What's this?" The brunette's eyes widened. "An invitation to the Harvest Ash Festival Ball? Interesting!..."
"What?!" Telion's eyes widened with astonishment, as she looked at Rickter excitedly. "You got invited to a ball?!!" The wolf couldn't help but merely shrug for a response, his blue eyes lazily pulling away as he took a long puff from his pipe. "Wait, how long have you been hiding this?" The assumption quickly garnered a look of annoyance from Hannah, as she could definitely see Telion's point in asking the question.
"You mean to tell me you've been thinking on this the entirety of a few days?" Damn they were quick. It was the reason why he'd grown a bit quieter lately after all, and more often than not what troubled him a bit more.
"...Yes..." The wolf admitted with a sigh as smoke came billowing out from his lungs, permeating the air with a taste of the tobacco he smoked. The answer alone nearly looked to outrage Hannah, as she quickly looked to her friend and back at the wolf.
"You do realize this means you're going. Right?" Now to that Rickter raised an eyebrow. He was going? This was probably the first time he'd seen Hannah get so involved, so quickly he might even note, that he began to wonder what about the ball was so important to her. Or them. Well... Hannah was the enigma here, but Telion undoubtedly wanted to attend, just for the sake of having fun at the event itself. But why Hannah? Why on Ransera did she want him to go? What was her motive in this?
The wolf's puzzled look became intrigued right then, as he raised the wooden pipe up once more, inquiring only one word before puffing at the mouth of the piece he held. "Why?"
"Dare I explain the entirety of this matter? Or shall I be brief?" Hannah tested which generated a bit more surprise in Telion.
"Gods I don't think I've ever seen you so fired up." She remarked with a light-hearted giggle, looking between the two as she'd certainly shown curiosity with the conversation. Rickter merely responded with a shrug, indicating for Hannah to do whatever she felt pleased with.
"Clearly, Rickter, you fail to see the value in attending such an occasion. The ball itself is ideal but it's not what is important here, you're invitation is proof that others already see potential in you. Failure to attend would be an insult to their investment, which is a personal offense you wouldn't want to commit." Now Rickter was vastly curious, even so much as raising an eyebrow to her, while he breathed out another thick plume of smoke through his nostrils. "When attending these events, it's important you go looking your best, so that you can charm your way into earning some friends. Friends that help those who help them, and in turn look out for your personal interest, so long as it aligns with their own."
"Wow," Telion remarked thoughtfully, "I guess Ricky is starting to cause waves now. " And yet while Telion seemed entirely comfortable with everything Hannah just said, Rickter still wondered where the hell she knew all of this entirely. Who the hell was she before they came here? How was it the brunette knew so much about balls and nobility for someone who barely seemed intent on dressing like them?
"So in other words..." The wolf reluctantly started with a sigh. "I'll need to get a suit."
"Oh, not just any suit!" Hannah looked enthusiastically challenged all of a sudden, amused by the opportunity she found sitting before her. "You'll need something fashionable, sleek, and complimentary to someone of your stature." The brunette leaned about with her hand on the table, inspecting Rickter a little closer as she eyed parts of his upper body. The neck, the shoulders, and the biceps mainly. Then her attention shifted to his torso, with a couple of fingers briefly brought up to adjust his head some, as she pointed his face in a direction to the left and then to the right a moment later. "Yes. A good trim and tame of that hair on your head, and you could certainly look the part of an upcoming noble."
"But I don't want to." Rickter pointed out grimly with his eyes fixed on Hannah, earning a short bout of mirth from the lady, before she crossed her arms and gave him a smirk.
"Wanting to isn't part of the package Rickter. You've dedicated yourself to a lofty cause, a noble one to be sure, but one that demands a lot more out of you than you've yet realized. I can help you though," the brunette offered casually with a wink, "favors for favors. No?" Undoubtedly she was hinting at their past excursions together, to which Rickter slightly tensed since he didn't want Telion to know of them. With that in mind, however, this wasn't just her turning a situation around into a profit. Hannah knew things here, things that were well beyond Rickter's own understanding. If she could help him out with this ball, then perhaps he'd have a better chance with his future, once he finally did go as she'd brazenly pointed out. Declining the invitation was a tempting thought sure, but it was also like the brunette said, an insult to the personal investment anyone might've had in him.
Imagining how quickly Queen Sahfri became disappointed was enough, as Rickter wouldn't dream of squandering the investment she'd given him prior. "Fine." He came to regretfully agree with the woman, as she and Telion both comparably lit up with excitement.
"Yes!"
"We're going to a ball!" The bard stated almost aloud, garnering the attention of a few lookers from the tables nearby.
"After we do a bit of shopping first," Hannah noted to her friend with sharp thoughtful eyes on Rickter, "you're going to be my biggest pet project by far wolf boy. Don't let me down." To which the wolf gulped a little firmly.
"Every side attacks you when you don't pick sides."
