Seraph had seen Ishtar's face as Narissa matched his own skills, and at it he couldn't help a smile spreading across his face. Of course since his eyes never left Narissa's face she, and Ishtar if she saw it, would assume it was for Narissa. As I said, the problem was the teacher, not the student. Your a lot better than some of the other boys I had to teach in preparation for this. A blatant lie of course, but one that slotted nicely into his guise as a Student Captain of the male college.

All too soon, at least to Narissa, the dance came to an end and Seraph started to lead her back towards Ishtar. As he walked closer he saw another disguised monster, this one 'dressed' as a dragonkin. Seraph's eyes narrowed when he heard the harsh hissing as the dragonkin lewdly tried to convince Ishtar to dance with him. Seraph could see that he was standing a little to close for Ishtar's liking, and he felt a surge of anger that some lesser monster was stealing one of his partners.

Striding forward the dragonkin turned and started to hiss at his approach, but when it saw who was coming, and the look on Seraph's face, its hiss died in its throat and fear suddenly flashed through its eyes. it tried to slink away but as Seraph focused he froze as chains of light formed around his legs binding him to the ground.Krais I distinctly remember going over proper behaviour at least three times, one of them being just before you got on the bus here. Now I know you were present for all of three of those talks, so I assume you have an explanation as to why you seem to have forgotten them. He had given no such talks, and Krais only knew him from rumour and gossip. Even amongst the monsters some monsters were known as beings you did not cross, and Seraph was on that list. Seraph let Krais stammer and splutter for a few seconds before the chains faded. Consider this a warning, if I see you acting that way again I will have to do something more serious, are we clear? Krais nodded as he backed away, not trusting his voice.

With that dealt with Seraph turned back to Ishtar. I must apologise for his behaviour. I pray he didn't distress you to much.

Ishtar smiled, My knight in shining armor! The blue mage unconsciously moved a bit closer to Seratil. He wasn't too much of a problem. Had he been more forceful I would have just hit him with my staff. He would learn real quick.

Ishtar giggled, not realizing how much trouble she would have found herself in. Still the fact that the Seratil meant he was still interested in her, and Narissa had won his hand. Still she had to be polite and give credit where credit was due. That was incredible, Narissa. You are such a natural dancer. I was really impressed.

It was to Narissa's dismay that the dance had began to slowly whittle down as the song they danced to began to fade in the background of the room. By that time, her small red fedora had tilted to the side, the white feather poking higher behind her as she thanked him. In truth . . . time seemed to have began again all too soon, her not even realizing how must she enjoyed it before it sped up again.

Walking back to Ishtar, it seemed another male was attempting to court the blue mage as the near. Narissa could almost feel the air becoming denser with mana as Seratil glared at the costumed male. It was with astounding skill that white chains tethered the reptilian male from coming any closer, skill that could only be their knight right there.

"Thank you, Ishtar. But it was only due to his quick lessons on the floor I was able to even keep off his toes," she gave, smiling at the woman.

'So . . .he's a student at Seratil's school as well . . .' Something was beginning to become very queer to her as she summed it up . . . It was all too much of a coincidence . . . and with her experience here on Shokushu, it only seemed to make sense. By the time the Repitlian costume goer had been released, Narissa had taken a step away from Seratil with widened eyes.

"You're school is filled with rich people out the bum, isn't it!" Narissa stated, pointing back to the retreating male. "Not just you, but so far every male I've seen here has had a state of the art costume! It's insane! Even the gutteral hiss of the last male had sounds so well . . . Narissa felt nauseous at the imagineray prices she could think of to make such fine suits. Even Seratil's armor could pass for real from the MidEuropean times.

Sure, Shoku was state of the art itself, but not all the students were, she knew that for a fact.

Seraph looked at Narissa for a moment before responding to her claim that his 'school' had a large portion of wealthy students. While a number of the students have access to family fortunes they do not make up the majority. Most of the students are their because it offered them a free scholarship, much like Shokushu in fact. We do however have a very elaborate special effects department, and the school spared no expense in finding everyone costumes that they were comfortable with. With a few notable exceptions the costumes belong to the school and will be returned to storage after we head back. Perhaps they might be pulled out again if another event like this is planned in the future.

Seraph looked around until he spotted the refreshment table. How about we go get something to eat and drink? I've been on my feet all day and a chance to get something to eat would be brilliant. Without waiting for a response Seraph hooks his right arm around Ishtar's left arm and his left arm around Narissa's right before heading towards the refreshment table.

Ishtar walked with the two over to the refreshment table. It wasn't like she had much of a choice, but then again she really didn't mind. Sure, after that performance you deserve a drink. Despite having to share her knight in shining armor, things seemed to be going well for the blue haired mage. She had found a handsome knight to be at the prom with as well as discovering one of her fellow students was a magic user as well. Things could have been going better...

"Um . . .alright!" Narissa smiled, keeping her nervousness down. No, it wasn't based off having her arm looped with the Seratil's or concerned about being caught staring at him . . . It was the anticipation of having her first alcoholic drink. Sure, in hindsight she probably should have brought a bottle of water to hold in her costume. But she was sort of counting on some refreshments to be non-alcoholic, just let how some bars had either beef or other meets or vegetables made for different lifestyles . . .

'Hmm . . .even that though . . . that doesn't mean I can't control how much I drink.' She nodded to herself, white feather in her hat bobbing being her. So with that worry gone, she used her time to enjoy both Ishtar's and Seratil's presence.

Seraph smiled at the two students both indicated their consent to getting a drink. With his arms wrapped around theirs they didn't really have a choice, but he could also see that neither of them minded being pulled around, at least as long as he was the one doing to pulling. That was something that would prove very entertaining later. But for now...

As the three reached the refreshment table Seraph unwrapped his arms from theirs and picked two glasses of punch before offering them to Ishtar and Narissa. Only when hey had both accepted the drink did he pick a glass for himself. Taking a sip his face betrayed none of the bliss he felt at actually tasting something as he looked over the portion of the refreshment tables that were filled with food. Do either of you have any suggestions of a food I should try? His words were underlined with another subtle spell, one that would inflame the competition between the two of them. Both of them would feel the strong desire to pick something that tasted better than the other. Seraph had found he quite enjoyed the subtle workings of a number of girls vying for his attention and favour.

Narissa frowned at the loss of contact with Seratil as they reached the tables. She had found herself quiet enjoying the touch. She accepted the drink from him as she looked hesitantly. 'Wow . .. my first drink.' It undoubtedly smelled of a hint of alcohol, yet diluted by the juice it was mixed with. She sipped at it and gasped as the liquid singed down her throat, quickly being eased by the juice. 'Well . . .that certainly wasn't too bad.' She allowed herself time in between sips as she heard the knight's question.

Obsidian eyes scanned over the buffet table as Narissa looked for what would be suitable.

"Well, those appetizers over there could be something to whet our appetite." Right next to the little wieners were little sandwich wedges, the crust absent on the white bread as a toothpick was impaled through it , holding meat, cheese, and a leaf of lettuce. Enough to feed, yet not stuff oneself on while not being messy on their costumes. "Those should do."

Ishtar waited for a second until Narissa took a drink, and took a drink herself. She could smell the alcohol in it, a punch with some added punch. Still she could use the liquid courage as any boosted courage would help win the knight. The ebony and red mage was definately a great rival and is was going to take alot of work to beat her.

Even, not as the Seratil asked for opinions on food, Narissa had already been hard at work putting together a sampling of appetizers. Ishtar decided she needed to keep up and began to look for some food herself. SHe picked out a Parmesan garlic her bread as well as some devilled eggs. These werer pretty tasty and rather unique looking, surely that would get his attention. After all the fastest way to a man's heart was through his stomach.

Seraph offered a warm smile to Narissa and Ishtar as they suggested food for him to try. He considered their choices silently for a moment before moving towards the food Narissa had selected. Picking up a sandwich wedge he took a bite, and his face changed to that of someone in bliss. As soon as he finished chewing he smiled at Narissa. This is amazing, we don't have anything like this at campus.

Seraph quickly finished the sandwich, and when he did he moved to try Ishtar's choice. Taking a bite his reaction was, if anything, even stronger than before. This was one thing Seraph did not have to act, to someone who had never tasted something before this was almost as much pleasure as he got from sex. He smiled at Ishtar as he praised her choice. Thank you Ishtar, this is ... He paused to consider his next word. Magical. Of course Seraph did not openly show any sign that he favoured one food over the other, he wanted to see what conclusions they came to based on his reactions. To appear as if he was just acting normally, and did not realise that the two of them both wanted him to pay attention to them exclusivly.

Ishtar smiled watched Seratil enjoy her choice of appetizer. It was music to her ears to hear him call it was magical. Thank you, Seratil, I am glad you enjoy the food we have here to offer. Ishtar was pretty sure she had won this round, as he had used the word magical to describe her choices.

However, Seratil was also impressed with Narissa's choices. So what advantage Ishtar had picked up it was a small one. This was still a close battle for the knight's attention. Her fellow mage has proven to be a great rival.

Narissa found herself smiling despite herself. To see such an expression on his face made butterflies flutter in her stomach. The reaction barely went heeded though as he munched on Ishtar's choice. That weightless feeling, that happy pride . . diminished on his choice of words.

'Well . .they weren't ALL that good.' she inwardly pouted. "I suppose." She herself made a grab for one . . .in good spirit, sure . . .and nibbled on the delectable.

'Like I thought, nothing big . . .' Why was it bugging her so much on what he said on Ishtar's choice. 'No . . . I;m not jealous,' she tried to convice herself . . .several times in her mind.

"I guess it's good." she said, after chewing on more while looking away, hiding that bit of frown until she could look back with a smile again.

Seraph saw the jealousy flare in Narissa's soul, saw her attempts to deny it. He couldn't help but smile. Of course he made sure that the smile was directed at both of them, to hide the true reason behind it. Seraph grabbed another of the appetisers Ishtar had pointed out and started to eat it, in between sips of his glass of punch.

Seraph raised the glass once more to his lips, only to find it empty. He scowled for a moment at the glass and turned to refill it. Of course as he turned it was easy to implant a mental suggestion in both the student's minds to offer to refill it for him. After all, doing something like that for him would increase his opinion of them.

Ishtar noticed that the knight's glass was empty, which gave her an opportunity, Oh please, let me take care of that. It is the least I could do for someone who saved me from that werewolf from earlier. It was a simple, obvious ploy, but one she hoped would work. It would give her a further edge on Narissa. She wasn't quite sure why she was fighting so hard, but she knew she had to in order to win.

"Here, I barely touched it." The words shot out of her before she could really register herself doing it, the cup in her hand sloshing within its container from how quickly she passed it to him. The offer was nonchalant in all its meaning.

Despite that . . . she couldn't help but feel those butterflies raging in her stomach as her mind hoped he would take the offer. 'Is that really the alcohol? No .. . I feel fine . . I don't feel the least bit tipsy.' Those thought went through her mind as she tested her footing on her heels, both thick heels were stable on the flooring as she shifted her weight on both.