The song is On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons.

I've been waiting to smile,

Been holding it in for a while, 'ey

The busy hall was alive with conversation and laugher of rambunctous vampires. Only two sat silently, sipping their drinks and worrying. That was Larten Crepsley and Arra Sails. Well, Arra wasn't worrying, actually. Just wondering. Both were deep in thought about, consequentially, each other. Larten was worrying about the wrong he'd done her and whether she would accept his offer of friendship. Arra was wondering how to break the ice.

Darren sat next to his mentor, stirring his bat broth and talking incessently. Then Kurda came over and offered to take him on a tour of the mountain.

"Can I can I?" Darren asked, eyes wide with excitement.

"Sure, yes, fine..." his mentor mumbled absentmindedly. Darren and Kurda took off, both chattering like little birds. Now Larten sat alone, staring and the bottom of his mug. Worrying. He didn't even notice Arra as she slid into the seat next to him; not until she tapped his shoulder. He looked up at her. She met his gaze, and said, dead serious, "I know how you got that scar."

Larten jumped up, eyes wider than Darren's had been. "Wh- what?! You do? Please, please do not tell anyone else! Please?!"

Arra's serious face slipped and she broke down laughing. "I was fibbing!" she howled, "But I guess it was a great icebreaker..."

Larten sat back down, scowling. "That wasn't funny," he grumbled, stroking the scar in question.

"Hey," she elbowed him, "don't feel bad about it. Whatever it is. How did you get that?"

"None of your business," he growled, looking away so she wouldn't see him turning red. There was silence between them filled by the noise of the others crowded in the hall around them.

"Fine then," Arra made to get up, but he grabbed her arm.

"Sorry," he muttered, "let's just talk about something else, okay?"

"Like what?" She sat down, her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand, leaning forward.

"Um... what have you been up to?"

Nothing much," she responded, with a little sigh, "Same old. How about you?"

"Well..." he cleared his throat, willing himself to stop blushing, "I got an assistant."

"That much is obvious," Arra laughed. Then she turned a little thoughtful. "You two are a lot alike, actually."

"No, not much," Larten sighed, "He kind of wanted to kill me for a while back then."

"Back when?"

"Just a few years ago. He does not like to listen to me sometimes."

"I noticed that. It's funny. You wanted to be like Seba, I wanted to be like Mika, but Darren..."

Yes," Larten agreed, "He's different."

"Certainly."

"But seriously, how have you been?"

"There's really nothing to tell. We parted ways, I came back here, and I've just been... here."

"Keeping up your title as Queen of the Bars."

"Exactly." Arra looked over at him with one eyebrow raised. "You wouldn't be up to a match, would you?"

"Not today," he said, and she groaned. "But Festival is coming up. Nobody can refuse a challange."

Arra grinned at him in a way that surprised him. Innocently and carefree. And he smiled back at her in a way that had ben extremely hard to come by for years. And they both knew, without speaking, that they'd started over. As friends.