Upon arriving, the place looked opulent and full of cheerful people. The bushes were adorned with fabrics and there were even sparkling pebbles scattered throughout the pathway to the main hall where the visitors were going to be escorted to. Eden just kept looking around at all the thought and detail that was put into this event. "Elise really outdid herself. She should have called this a ball rather than a mixer. Then again she is very gainsome herself," thought Eden. She was waiting by the drop off zone for Expat to arrive. His carriage was right behind her, so it shouldn't take long. The servants that were passing by with refreshments kept stealing looks at Sylvie who had a resting bitch face, but she was still very stunning. Eden noticed some of the male guards get flustered and regain their composure to appear nonchalant.
Then Expat stepped out of his carriage and offered his arm to Eden which she took. She looked at his outfit and blushed a little at how well built he was and how the outfit looked good on him. Then again, it could be just the skin of the avatar he chose, but still it made her feel attracted to him. Expat smiled when he noticed that Eden was checking him out and looking away after she got caught. They walked in together. Eden wondered if others noticed and she felt embarrassed. Then she told herself, "I'm an adult, I can look and it's none of their fucken business anyway." Expat saw her change in attitude and said, "that face you're making looks like you're going into battle rather than a mixer." Eden's eyes widened and she awkwardly looked at Expat, then said "Oh no, I was just pumping myself up. By the way, who did you bring as your plus one?" Expat looked back and said, "I gave my plus one to Isabella, she wanted to come and I told her I was going to be your date." Eden gave a forced smile and tried not to scrunch her nose when she said, "that's very thoughtful of you," but in reality she wanted to say, "are you fucken blind? The bitch wants to screw you so badly she's willing to put herself out there as a mistress."
Isabella got out of her carriage wearing a red sleeveless cocktail dress with a low heart shape cut. She had her dress altered to have a high slit in the middle to show off her legs. Her hair was worn down with lush curls framing her face. She swayed her hips as she stepped out and walked towards Eden and Expat, but Eden tugged Expat to start walking. Sylvie saw that as a clear sign, we don't like this lady and she proactively got in the way of Isabella. Expat realized a little late and picked up the pace of his walking to create distance from Isabella.
They walked in and saw a few people they recognized from the coalition. Jericho, Dboots, Athena, Bones, and Sentinel were all there representing the FTG alliance. Eden let go of Expats arm when Isabella practically sprinted towards him to run into his arms to greet him. To avoid more talk among the others, Eden decided to take off on her own with Sylvie to talk to the host and the guests.
As they approached Elise, she was looking in the direction of Isabella with an amused look on her face. "Well, she is very eager isn't she?" she asked Eden and she took a sip of her wine. Eden looked back at the direction she just came from and saw how Expat removed Isabella's hands from him and started to walk away, but she kept insisting he stay because she only knew him. Eden looked back at Elise and replied, " If that is what he wants, then there's nothing I want to do about it." Elise smirked and said, "I think he's made his choice already," as they both watched Expat say no one last time and he walked away to move towards Eden. When he arrived he placed a hand on Eden's back and greeted Elise. He then thanked her for the invitation and apologized for not being around to greet her with Eden together.
Elsie smiled and said, " no need for apologies. I just hope your friend doesn't feel unattended." Expat replied, "She's fine, our mutual friend Dadas is in his way and he won't mind the extra company."
Earlier that evening the gargoyle got a massage from the long white hair elder to notify him information on the Lycans by the end of the night. The elder was done waiting. He wanted the gargoyle to start manipulating his human faster. The gargoyle had relayed the message to Callan whose mood soured because he was now getting pressured if he didn't want his perks to be gone.
Callan arrived at the mixer accompanied by Flora who was one of the newly promoted leaders in his alliance. He had offered to show her around and introduce her to his contacts. Callan has been busy generating social wealth and wanted to impress Flora. She was a charming woman and showed intelligence in learning how the system worked. Callan wanted to keep her by his side to have on his team. He noticed Eden and Expat, then walked over with Flora to greet. His gargoyle began to salivate as they got closer. Flora noticed the saliva dripping from the gargoyle and asked Callan, "is your guide okay?" Callan looked back at the gargoyle annoyed and told him, "to control his urges or he will have to send him out of the castle. What Callan didn't know was that because his guide's release was premature, the guide's body didn't develop a tolerance to control its urges when it came to prey or something it instinctively wanted to fight. It was because the Elder decided to unlock its consciousness that it even spoke. The same went with the humans, they had to develop a strong binding contract to control their guide and fuse with them or the human runs the risk of being devoured.
The gargoyle replied to Callan low enough so only he could hear. "I smell the blood of a sibling from the one I fed on. I didn't complete the devouring to satisfy my hunger, my body craves it," said the gargoyle. Callan's ears perked up. That means that the beast in the cave had many there and one had infiltrated the castle. He would get his first reward and also an opportunity to fight the beast. But he didn't bring his army because Elise insisted no army marches.
As they got closer the gargoyles' stomach began to make noises. Callan told it to stop walking once they got close enough to the target. Sylvie who had super hearing heard it all and was standing next to Eden already trying to keep her anger in check. She knew that must be the gargoyle that killed Troy and now it was trying to find her. She was wondering how to proceed when Eden asked her, "are you okay?" Sylvie didn't look at Eden and said, "yes, there is a gargoyle approaching. It can trace my scent because it tasted my siblings blood before." Eden turned to look to see Callan was on his way over to them. She immediately devised a plan to call Erza if needed, but for now to be open about Sylvie's nature. Dropping truth to set up anyone who was planning on harming her people.
Eden looked at Elise and said a little louder than necessary, "did you know that you can hire magical creatures that are shifters?" The people around them stopped talking. They turned to look at Eden to hear her out. Eden then grabbed Sylvie's arm lightly and pulled her forward to introduce her. Then she announced, "My mage is a Lycan." The crowd gasped and whispered in response to the information. Callan stopped in his tracks. Eden continued, "I left the hiring to my subordinate and was surprised to find out that my mage was a Lycan. It's a hidden secret I came across recently and by luck I got her." The onlookers walked to get a little closer. They were admiring Sylvie's beauty.
The gargoyle whispered to Callan, "That's my meal." Callan then spoke up loudly, "aren't Lycans beasts to kill for rewards? No hire for work? How did you get one and where?" Eden knew they were but no one has yet to report the Lycans being the new beast. She then asked, "Are they? Does anyone in this room have a report that shows Lycan as one of the beasts?" She paused to see if anyone did have one. When no one produced a report, she then kept talking, "the only reward in killing my mage is death and a very angry woman." The crowd was silent. Then Eden smiled and tilted her head to the side, "So no touchy," she said playfully. The rest began to chuckle, taking her threat lightly but also understanding it's not without reason.