Phew… it smelled horrible after having burned away those bodies. To both their luck, Hyōen was at the very least an experienced wizard, and he had decent knowledge in the utilities of scorches and conjuration of combusting flames. However, the smell of crisped, rotten meat was unbearable, and the Fire Mage had yet to get rid of the scents that had been caught by his nostrils. They kept warning his brain that something disgusting was nearby, and it was just as frustrating as the smell was bad. You would think that a guy who preferred everything raw, with the exception of very few things, would have been used to the natural decay that overcame meat by time, but he hadn’t run into occasions like this one when he was faring around the woods of Worth Woodsea. Whatever he hunted and ate was gone quite quickly, or it was used efficiently enough to not begin smelling like skunks…

Therefore, he hurried back over to the hotel slash hostel slash checkpoint in his and Ana’s journey, quickly heading over to the showers so that the dreadful smell could be washed off. The simple smell of soap reaching his nose appeared to have solved all problems, and he found lots of tranquillity when the image of dead, jet-black bodies were switched out with fields and lilies. After a quick shower, he was found on his bed with the towel over his head, whilst Coda perched on his stomach. His sand-colored pants had gotten soaked a little in the edges due to the rush of coming into the shower and all, but he felt at peace… and the nice scent on his towel calmed things down for him.

Snow of ashes, white and grey as they fell down to the ground to disperse. At first when the body burns, the skin withered like paper on fire, floated in the air by pieces and fall back down in small materials that a human eye couldn't see. It was all good and dandy, but if you breathed in that shit, you'd cough a soul. If you get what I mean. She walked away with Hyoen if not behind as she watched him go towards the hotel. She was thinking about the candy he was given and perhaps the candy will help her succeed in what she was doing with her life.

Sure enough, the being within her didn't need the candy. The poor child. Her right hand rested on her stomach where the being was supposedly located and went up to the room. Hyoen decided to shower, but she decided to get in the bathing spa room. She stripped and sat in there. Her timing would be right as - as soon as he was done showering, she was going to be done with her bath as well. The tattoo on her back slowly started to burn.

'Holy Jeebus... Is it because I'm holding the wings in the tattoo for such a long period of time?' she wondered. Slowly she got out, put on some pj shorts and a tank top to then go in the room. Her eyes studied Hyoen's face and wondered if he was ever going to think of taking her pops. 'Maybe I can persuade him with wings. He likes birds. It is Halloween...' she thought and looked at him. ''Hyoen. Question for you.'' she spoke, sat on the edge of her bed, waiting for his response.

The warm towel was loving, and at last, the Fire Mage had forgotten everything about fires and bodies. Now, Hyōen began thinking of nature, because the soap that had been used by him emitted the scent of sunflowers. He had only seen those in the larger plains that were naked from trees, covered by a large, long coat of grass and contained very few bushes, and even fewer trees in the distance. He sighed in relief by the smell and mumbled: “That would, most likely, be the last time… I hope so.” He didn’t know for sure if anyone else was in the room, or if Ana was around to have heard his mumbles, but Coda surely did as she peeped happily.

Suddenly, the other Lamia mage had addressed him as his head lifted up less than an inch by the arrival of Ana. She directly said that she had a question for him, in which he removed the towel from his head and turned his face over to her. “Eh?” he quickly let out after being able to see the room again, “A question for me… you can ask out, I’m all ears.” His voice was joyful as always, and curious as well as he didn’t know exactly what Ana had in store for him.

Arisa looked forward at Hyoen. Her hands grasped onto the ledges of the wooden bed, her butt was on the cushion of the mattress as she tilted her head, thinking. She wondered if it was a good idea to even ask for his candy. It was possible that he could see it was rude, ill-mannered and such. Her unholy eyes (as the sun was not around) gazed at his darkened eyes. After he responded she spoke, ''I feel like those pops will become of use for me... How about a trade? I'll show you a great Halloween trick suited for your interests in birds and such and you'll give me some of your pops.'' she offered and it wasn't complex, it was simple, even for her to speak in such manners. She smiled sweetly like a mother, her eyes shined solid quartz brown while she waited for his answer. Her feet slowly kicked up and down as she waited, like a child trying to hold their patience and not get in trouble. If he said no, she'd respect it and let him have his candy, but if he said yes, she was going to let him see her wings, something she never has done.

Her question was, mildly, surprising. She mentioned the candies, the pumpkin pops, that they had earned back at the carnival during all those games. If he remembered correctly, he won like half of the ten games that he managed to play through, but it was a very fun experience. Either way, those pumpkin pops… when she mentioned them, he remembered the words of the skeletons over there: ’They’ll be important when the time comes…’ She wished a kind of trade, and he could see that something must have caused her to ask for candies. Thinking about it that way, a girl asking for candy, he felt like some kind of old father figure, in which he couldn’t but chuckle a little. He quickly scratched the back of his head and explained: “Eh, hehehe… sorry for the laughter, I just felt like some father for a moment. A girl asking for candy, have I ever…”

He slowly calmed the laughter and looked back at her with a more serious face when she mentioned that she would show him a great Halloween trick suiting his birdy interests. It sure caught his interest by hearing it only, but was he truly ready to let go of a few candies? Would it be okay for the skeletons? He began thinking about it whilst holding fingers to his chin in deep thought, even humming. “Mhm… wwhhat exactly can you show me? I mean, I guess I can let go of a few candies…”

Hyoen looked at her after some laughter. 'What's so funny...?' she thought and looked at him with an unamused facial expression. She waited for him to stop and then he finally spoke up. He started to say he felt like a dad because of the way she was asking him for candy. It made sense, so she guessed. On Halloween when a child gets candy, they usually would give it up to the parents and they later had to ask for it when they wanted a piece. ''Yet I'm older than you. Silly Hyoen.'' she spoke and chuckled darkly. Her eyes squinted attractively as she leaned forward while answering his next question. ''How about...'' she started for a quick second. ''How about I make wings appear on my back? I assure you, they will feel and be real. A glow of white and gold as they can fly me and anyone I pick up to 20 meters.'' she spoke and gandered a deal for this trade she wanted. She wanted the candy rather it be a piece or two, even three. A small warm motherly smile was on her lips as she waited for his answer. Depending on his answer, she would get ready to reveal some wings.

… That was right. She was older than him, but that thought practically flew past his mind like a missed paper plane. Coda had gone up and stretched her wings peacefully, whilst Hyōen rose up to sit on his butt himself instead of laying down, so that he could clearly hear what Ana wanted to trade for. Was it another type of candy that she had? Was it some kind of bird candy that he hadn’t tried out before? Was it rare feathers from an ancient bird species? His mind could guess of a fair share of things connected to the theme birds, but he couldn’t pinpoint one exact thing…

His hair suddenly lit on fire, orange, excited flames emitting like a harmless bonfire. His eyes were filled with both wonder and a slice of disbelief that had yet to disappear, since what she said surprised him that much. “W-Wings?! You’re telling me that y-you have real wings..?!” he questioned excitingly, his eyes beginning to shine brightly, “Golden wings, no way! I-I had you figured for a human, but… this is awesome!” His feet were suddenly raising him up on the bed itself, whilst both his hands were clenched in excitement and eagerness. “So, you can, like, fly around? That’s splendid, I have to use magic in order to fly just a littlee bit..!”

Arisa looked at her guild memberling and friend. She wasn't sure what was going on in that mind of his, but then again, no one knew of her mind neither. For-most, she listened to him talk once again, but he was really excited. He went on and on about how he thought she was a human being like himself and was thinking it was 'awesome' that she was someone with wings. Slowly her right hand went up to itch the side of her head as she waited for him to calm down, to stop talking as she would proceed. ''So yes or no? I'll change my mind and take the offer back.'' she spoke irritated and then got off the bed to walk towards the balcony. ''Last chance. Candy or no candy? Wings or no wings?~ I do not share-n-tell often. You are the first.'' she reported to him as she stood tall on the balcony. He had to hurry up, this place.. Dahlia was not a good place for one with light or even more, an angel. She didn't feel like fighting here and didn't want the news of angels being on earth to be caught around like some common cold. If he dwaddled in his choosing, she was going to just change her mind.

Something said that she felt a little impatient with his sudden excitement, in which he quickly felt a little ashamed. Either way, he just had to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and given by her next words, showing her wings didn’t sound like something that she did very often… in fact, she hadn’t done it to anyone else before. Did she trust Hyōen enough to privilege him with such a sight? Now that he thought about it, he did have a good amount of pumpkin pops, and yes, he could let go of a few ones if it was for the reward of seeing golden wings… ah, just the imagination made his head fly a little, but he had to be quick and straight with his response, so that she wouldn’t be left waiting for it.

“Yes… I really want to see your wings,” he spoke, now in a calm and almost shy tone compared to his fierce expressions before. He wanted to make sure that what he had decided was final, and that his words would support that fact. Coda had dragged herself across the floor for a while, but suddenly flew up to Hyōen’s shoulder and rested up there, awaiting the spectacle herself.

She looked at him, gazing downward in a pit of judgement. Her lips curved downward in a frown as she was getting to the small point of the nerve she had left before another would appear before her. Another 'self'-her that was always locked in her soul-like cage within. The wind felt crisp and her violet hair swayed in indirect directions as strands went wherever. Thankfully, it wasn't really a heavy kind of wind so it didn't affect her much. She then heard him finally decide on an answer of 'yes' and 'no'. She nodded simply with a shock of a delightful facial expression like some on and off switch. Slowly backing all the way outside on the balcony she shivered. ''Oh boy winter is getting here faster...'' she spoke softly and calmly. ''Alright then.'' she spoke, coughed and got comfortable. Her eyes closed, a glowing circle of sun raised from the heavens and onto her. The tattoo on her back glowed a golden color as slowly large wings of 8 or so feet per wing, only two wings as one for each side. They glowed golden, but the color was white-like. Her heart was beating fast and her wings closed up against her sides as she walked back into the hotel. ''Feel them.~'' she offered as she slowly opened up her left wing towards Hyoen for him to feel them. She never felt them herself even, so she was curious on how it felt. ''J-just be careful..'' she spoke once more. Waiting. Also waiting for him to throw his candy at her.

The wind was getting heavy now, especially attuned to the atmosphere around the room. Judging by her expressions at last, it appeared as if she was in a slight notice of something else that soon disappeared when she switched to a more happy expression out of nowhere. Despite the cold outside, she had moved out to the balcony, and the Fire Mage couldn’t but follow her even though that same balcony wasn’t that large. Slowly lifting the curtains that separated him and her, she slowly spoke back to him and got ready. That was when a concentration of light from above came down to surround her, only to be shadowed by… her wings. Her enormous, magnificent wings that sprung out from each side of her torso in demand of exalt and praise.

His eyes tried to deceive him didn’t they? Obviously not, but he couldn’t help but think… unlike magic, they looked astonishingly organic and yet divine. His heart suddenly fluttered when she asked him to feel them, as a sort of way to convince himself that they weren’t a product of illusion. “A-Alright..!” he replied back nervously, but his anxiety was only due to the wonder that had struck his eyes and mind. Slowly moving his left hand towards one of her wings other than that which she used to cover herself at the moment, he instantly thought that they felt just like he imagined. The feathers were soft and smooth, almost as if they were like a penguin’s water-blocking plumage, but at the same time, they were fluffy and cozy like Coda’s. On top of that, they emitted a pleasant heat as well that the Fire Mage couldn’t help but get used to when he kept holding his hands on them; his other hand had automatically begun to touch the same wing as he inspected them. “T-They’re so pretty… they look like an eagle’s, but they feel like… ahhh… they’re so warm…” he began expressing as his words softened by time, his face turning all cozy as well, “Yeah… I guess I can throw off a few candies for this, although… haven’t you shown anyone else these? Why not? They look and feel like something made in heaven…”

Arisa waited for him to touch her wing, being curious on what it was like for someone to touch them. Her heart was pounding faster at each moment that passed. 'Hurry up and just...' she thought all nervous and the such. As soon as he started talking, touched her wing she started to shiver as if a shock went up her spine. What was this sensation? She couldn't tell if it was good or bad, but it gave her a weird feeling. Slowly her wing closed like the other and formed back into the tattoo on her back. The clothes on her back were somewhat torn, but not much as it was still in tact. Yawning softly she went towards the candy stash of his and took the 'some' of what she could take. Turning away she slowly added the candy to hers and sat down back on her head, yawning once more. ''So Hyoen... Tell me... What's your goal in life?'' she questioned, tilted her head as her eyes gazed upon his dark orbs. While waiting for an answer, her right hand rubbed her stomach with her soft thumb to put small pressure against it. Her mind was now on pops though, what did the pops do exactly? What prizes if so?

The member 'Arisa' has done the following action : Spin

---

'Dice 100' : 71

Having felt the wings for the first time had seriously given Ana quite the reaction, one that Hyōen hadn’t predicted coming. He could see on her face that it was truly the first time, given its shyness and anxiety. He tried his best to not be too rough with the feathers as he took a look, but her reaction was sudden and a shivering vibration could be felt on his fingertips as the wings slowly retreated. “… Aww,” he let out in disappointment, having wanted to take a closer look; for the sake of his curious mind to be quenched, for the love of god, for everything that he knew.

She sounded rather tired, too, so he guessed that he couldn’t trade another one for yet another second’s inspection. Having sat down, his eyes slowly followed hers as she had another question ready for him; what was his goal in life? It sounded a bit off topic, but there was curiosity in her voice. His goal in life… thinking about it, he had a few thoughts back in the day. There was a time when he wished from the inner of his heart to meet a real-life Phoenix, the bird with wings of pure fire. However, if he ever succeeded in that, then he would most likely have a long life yet to live out. “My goal in life… hmh, how should I explain…” he mumbled whilst leaning his fist on his knee, “I guess my goal in life… is to make sure that I’d happily live it over again. You know, to be able to smile even in hardship…

…

either that or I want to hunt down something big, like, the biggest, most fierce prey ever! Like an aurochs from Hell, or an even larger serpent than back then… something that a decent hunter will remember.”

She listened to his goal in life and at that moment she thought about her own goal(s). She at first wanted a place to belong to, Maarschalk being that one who gave her a place to belong. How was he anyways? She wondered such thoughts even after he walked out on her during that romantic date. She missed him so. This pain was like no other pain, this one lingered and it was worse than any death torture settlement could bring to her. Her brown dark eyes gazed downward to look at the floor as her full lips curved downward into a frown. Even if he never loves her in the end, she will always feel strong for him. Is this because she was an angel? Arisa studied that in myths, angels could fall in love with a mere human, but once they do, they won't love anyone else. Some thought it was like a curse since humans feel the need to like multiple people or at most... fool around. She acknowledged that she was an angel, one who died, became something greater and now walks alongside earth again. Her mind went back on Hyoen as she nodded. ''So either to see positivism in everything, or for big game? Sounds rather interesting. As an angel I suppose my past life's goals are left in the past even if the heart is still here... feeling... '' she stopped at that and gazed deeply into his eyes from afar. She just noticed that she said the fact of her being an angel. ''Oh ummm... can you not tell anyone about me being an angel? Not quite ready to be put out in public...'' she spoke softly and lowered her gaze once more.

… Something felt obviously odd now. Apparently, having talked about his goals in life made him realize Ana’s expressions as her facial movements quite clearly revealed so, but he couldn’t read her thoughts. Either way, it did worry him to a degree, because she could have had many reasons to look like that. Coda flapped her wings a little and began levitating, until she made a short flight towards Ana’s shoulder as the raptor hadn’t paid any attention to the wings from earlier. “Positivism or big game? I never thought about it that way…” he said, feeling that perhaps his hard way of explaining them could be reduced to those two terms. She too had a goals, or so it sounded given by… wait…

Past life? Did Hyōen hear right? It… it made more sense now. The way that she could manifest those beautiful wings earlier would be explained by the statement of hers, the one that told that she was an angel. However, despite all the clues and signs of that, the Fire Mage was still picking on his ear a little due to the disbelief on what he heard, until she began humming awkwardly. “… An angel…” he spoke with a tranced voice as if he was lost for a moment, but she quickly asked him to not tell anyone. It appeared that she had at least a few issues with the angel thing, and he was still trying to fathom it in his mind, but he just as quickly replied: “Oh, roger that! My mouth is shut.”

He slowly laid back on the bed and looked straight up to the roof. “… It’s a bit difficult to think that you’re an angel, I mean… you look pretty human to me. Then again, you said that you’ve been one before, so…” Whilst confused and yet convinced in his mind, his eyes slowly moved over to Ana, “… I… I guess that you’ll have to show me them again to fully convince me~”

She was thinking quite a bit. Her arms slowly hugged herself as she oddly felt cold. Was something nearby to where she could feel some cold aura? It was possible or it was just that she was catching an odd feeling about something that was said to her. Something her mentality knew more than what her brain was telling her. She slowly got up and looked at Hyoen. ''That's good. Would you like to go to the doct-...'' she started, spaced out and fell back softly against the mattress.


Her eyes opened to see light and there was something standing in the darkness. 'Who is that?' she wondered. She was guided to a cloud-like chair as a man spoke. She couldn't see the man, but alas she knew it was one. She listened as they have some news of what she wanted to know as if he was her guide through what she's going through. Within moments she found out that she was to have one, but the one so called 'god' took it away as angels, her, at this moment couldn't have any children.

''Wait, so he made me fat instead? That's harsh... I guess it's easy to lose though.'' she questioned, spoke and then shrugged. She was then told some other things, including that she can someday have that child, but for now, it wasn't her time. Suddenly she woke up and saw Hyoen and took a deep sigh that escaped her full lips. ''Hey you.~ Wanna go to some club or something?'' she wondered curiously. ''Maybe learn more about this place.'' she offered to her guild friend.

Not having felt any difference, the Fire Mage had put the same pillow from earlier atop his head in order to hide his fanboy-like face. Those wings broke the barrier between him and mystery, because given by his inspections, they weren’t like magic. Real, actual, golden wings… even in a world like this one, he was capable of feeling wonder when experiencing such a thing. “Hmpf… it was worth asking,” he mumbled with a voice that revealed letdown in him. Ana had begun replying to him after a short moment, but something caused her to break her sentence and go silent. Hyōen didn’t catch all that she said, in which he removed the pillow and looked at her, about to open his mouth but was taken by surprise at how she had just fainted.

“A-Ana…” he spoke slowly, noticing her spaced out face, “… Eh, Ana..?!” He quickly rose up from his cross-legged position that he had taken, crawling over to the mattress where she had just decided to knock herself out on. Looking at her, he couldn’t but make a rather displeased and down face, confused and speculating at how this was possible. “...” A finger was poking her cheek a little, trying to gently wake her up, “… Don’t tell me-“ He suddenly turned his face back to the balcony and begun sweating, thinking: Did she… no, after she showed her wings… did she use up all her power and faint? IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE?!

Thank the heavens, she woke up rather quickly. Whilst he was scratching his head in worries, his eyes turned curiously towards hers as she sighed. “Y-You’re awake..!” he let out in relief, throwing himself on his back and accidently hitting his head on the floor, “Please, that was a scary stunt… I know it’s Halloween and all, but-“ His words stopped as he rose up on his butt again, while Ana had seemingly come up with something already. Maybe she was tired, because her suggestion didn’t sound like something recommended when you just blacked out. Then again, did it apply to her? He wasn’t even sure anymore, but… yeah, a club sounded nice. Even though that he had his thoughts in the back of his head that this town was far from social, why not? “S-Sure… yeah, I still know jack about this town. Why don’t we take a look?”

Huh… the town looked rather suspicious the moment that he went out. As he had opened the entrance door to the hotel and went out, the first thing that he saw was the collection of a few individuals walking together, something that he hadn’t seen here before. Coda began nibbling his hair while he wondered over the view of them, but they appeared to approach shadows and escape his sight. “… So, uh, let’s ask them if there’s one nearby,” he suggested. The elder lady hadn’t been around either, so he couldn’t have asked her.

She could tell that she spooked Hyoen while she was in her 'other world' that was in her mind. He thought something have happened or maybe she was playing a trick on her, which was mean. She wasn't doing either though as it just happens unintentionally. She had a motherly fake smile as she could fool anyone with such that she was all okay. He agreed to go outside and into town to find something to do, a club preferably. After getting a jacket on she came across some people who walked in pairs. Were they going somewhere or leaving from somewhere that was fun for two people. Slowly she walked towards them, after hearing Hyoen and questioned. ''We're new here. Are there fun places for friends to go to? A club or something?'' she wondered. They looked at each other and nodded. ''We're going to one. Come join us.'' a woman spoke. She had a Mohawk of colorful dye, goth makeup on and black leather outfit set on. Pants, boots, belt, v-shape cut-out shirt with no sleeves and a choker. Her friends had similar outfits and looks. She nodded, ''Sounds delightful.'' she smirked. She nodded towards Hyoen in which she assumed he'd follow.

Those people that were approaching the same place… for some reason, their choice of clothing confused Hyōen a lot. Their hair styles were pretty wild and dynamic with bangs bristling in every direction, whilst other hair styles resembled shears or mountain tops. While he remained silent, he saw that Ana begun asking them instead, in which he turned his gaze back at them. Their faces were rather dull, but they came back with a response that invited them to follow if they wanted to see a club. Her voice was low, and that only added to the Fire Mage’s worry, but… given by Ana’s expression, it might have not been such a bad deal.

He walked along the couple and the others that were going for the club, moving his eyes everywhere. The direction that they took lead them towards the inner edges of a few houses that laid up close to each other, a door emitting a faint but apparent light that indicated that it was there that the club was being hosted. His eyes began blurring a little when they entered, people chatting and having fun everywhere. The smell was strong and dense as if smoke was surrounding them all. “T-This place… what exactly is a club, anyway?” he mumbled to Ana. A few other people by the bartender had moved their eyes over at the astonishingly outstanding pair of mages that had entered, giving them rather darting eyes from their corner.

She looked forward and studied these guys. They looked pale, more than a regular human's skin color. Not only that, Arisa saw dark aura's on these beings. 'Are they from the Races of Darkness?' she wondered curiously. There were many and honestly she couldn't tell by just looking on their backs of which race they were. Her eyes cornered swiftly towards Hyoen, wondering on what he was thinking. Soon enough they went in the club, in a black mirage-like door that normal people might just pass by. Slowly she walked in and the music blasted. The music sounded like techno and mental made a baby and created what was now playing. People danced, some with glow in the dark sticks and some without. Arisa wasn't sure on this culture, but she would deal with it, have fun or at least try to. The people who guided her and Hyoen here disappeared into the group of people. ''Well.. we should at least enjoy this place while we can...'' she spoke quietly, looking around. The small time escaped and out of no where there was blood sprinkling from the ceiling. Her body shivered and right at that moment she grabbed Hyoens hand and escaped the building and to their hotel to enjoy the rest of their night.

-exit-

This club… it just screamed black. Everything around him was black; the people, the walls, even the waves of sound from the music that was played was seen as strong, black lines. It was almost to lose your mind for, but during his own struggles to focus, Ana had wanted to at least enjoy a bit. Yeah… well, cultures aside, this was pretty extraordinary, even for a mage like him who had zero experience with clubs.  Maybe Worth Woodsea damaged him too much to be able to return to whatever life he had earlier… if that was even the case. He did spend the most time in the woods as far as he remembered.

He went over to the bartender from before to ask for a drink, but something eerie suddenly stunned his body. Upon looking up, he felt a very, very sinister atmosphere that caught his attention both by the smell of something strong and most likely rotten and by the cold sting. However, from his point of view, he didn’t notice what Ana had seen, but he was quite surprised to see the same lady who invited him to this club pull his hand and leave the building with him. “A-Ahh, thank the heavens for you! I was about to snap for real, that place… damn, makes me want to stroll the empty streets again,” he mumbled with a low tone. It was a unique experience, but nonetheless creepy. Those people and their traditions… it would take a while for him to get used to anything like that.

-exit-