Malleus was rather eager for this trip. It was rare for him to receive an invitation, especially abroad. It was why he cherished the...movie nights...Hotaru had started at her dorm. Being able to socialize with his peers without them being afraid of him was a novelty he never grew tired of.

He had noticed an odd trend. Sometimes, when they ran out of seating, Idia would sit on the floor in front of Hotaru. She would then spend most of the movie braiding his hair absently. It looked oddly natural for them to be in that position.

Kalim had invited all the members of the Pop Music club for the festival, with a plus one.

Hotaru, after confirming that Grim was automatically counted as an extension of her, had decided to invite a somewhat reluctant Idia. Ortho was all for it, since it meant that he would be socializing. She would have invited Ortho, but he had some major maintenance that had to be run on his programs and would be unable to fully enjoy it. He would be napping through the majority of the festival.

Cater had invited Trey as his plus one. He was particularly eager for this trip, as he loved the local food of the Scalding Sounds. Lilia had bowed out, but had extended his plus one invite to Malleus.

Which was why Malleus was currently waiting at the mirror chamber, eager to travel to a new land.

"Hey Spike. Eager to visit the festival?" asked Hotaru smiling at him.

Malleus smiled at her warmly.

"Nyahaha! Let's get going to this shindig!" said Grim happily.

"Why did you drag me into this?" said Idia, shaking his head.

"You have Ortho's update on an autorun sequence, and he'll be sleeping until it's done. Besides, are you saying you don't want to see the program they have running the fireworks show?"

Idia had to admit, he was curious what programs they used for the show.

"Besides, you lost the bet during our last game night."

Idia scowled.

"I still say your ability to avoid blue shells is unnatural," he scowled.

"Blue shells?" said Cater, coming up with Trey.

"This bratty Crow somehow avoids all the blue shells every time we play Mario Kart! Her ability is too OP!" complained Idia.

Cater started to laugh, before he realized Idia was serious.

"Wait, for real? How?" he asked, staring at her.

Hotaru grinned wickedly.

"Every time someone is about to reach a blue shell, I slow down or hit some sort of obstacle to avoid being hit," said Hotaru. "Most of the time it takes out Ortho or on some occasions, Gloomy."

"So are you excited for the trip, Crow-chan?" asked Cater.

Hotaru grinned at him.

"This is the first time I've taken a proper trip anywhere. Especially with friends."

"Not even school trips?" said Cater.

Hotaru shook her head.

"I could never get my mother to sign the papers, or fund them," she said tiredly. Her mood improved immediately from Cater's hug.

"Aw...I'll be sure to show you all the coolest places, Crow!" said Kalim with a smile.

"Kalim...this year's festival is supposed to be hosted by your family, correct?" said Hotaru. "Then perhaps it would be better for Jamil to show us around. After all, it's expected for the heir to show the important dignitaries around."

Jamil shot Hotaru a grateful look. He had been slowly pulling back from Kalim and was no longer coddling him as much. Hotaru had been correct...he had protected Kalim a little too much and it would only harm him in the future.

Having someone else point out the obvious meant he now had a valid reason to back off and let Kalim learn how to handle himself without Jamil to back him up.

Besides, he strongly suspected Malleus planned something towards Hotaru during this trip. He wasn't the only one who had noticed the way Malleus looked at the odd girl.

A short while later...

Malleus had been bemused when they had requested he change into the strange clothing, and had even done his hair up. But it was entirely worth it when he saw Hotaru come out looking incredibly shy. She was hiding behind an equally out of place Idia Shroud.

"Remind me why I agreed to this?" said Idia. His hair had been done up in an elaborate braid, and the silk suited his features well.

"If I have to suffer through that, you have to suffer," grumbled Hotaru.

"You look totes adorbs!" said Cater, grinning. He was already taking pictures.

"It's showing way too much skin!" said Hotaru. Worse was that most of her face was exposed, thanks to the headwrap keeping the bangs out of her eyes.

Hotaru's outfit was vastly different from what she usually wore. Most of the time, she had concealing clothing and her hair went down to near her waist, with her bangs concealing most of her facial features. With how thin she was, most of the clothing Cater had given her (via his sisters) practically swamped her.

What she had on now was very form fitting. It was clear she had put on a more healthy weight (not that any boy would dare mention such a thing...not after what she did to Ace), and her hair was a bit cleaner than it used to be. The silk hugged her form, and showed off that she wasn't just an introverted gamer.

Her outfit could have passed for a belly dancer's, save for the very modest top. Her hair had been done up in an elaborate braid and had little bells and ribbons throughout. She even had new shoes on, though they were a more feminine version of the ones Kalim wore daily. The head scarf had been carefully tied to exposed most of her eyes, though they were still partially covered.

Cater eyed Malleus, as it was pretty damn obvious the dragon loved the new outfit. Honestly, there was an unofficial betting pool by this point in most of the dorms she interacted with over when they would get together already. Malleus had rarely interacted with anyone before she showed up...now he was almost passing for sociable!

Jamil eyed the way Malleus was looking at Hotaru.

It was fairly obvious that Malleus planned to make his intentions to court Hotaru clear during this trip. Jamil was not above creating an opening...and possibly earning good favor with the royal that he could use to get a better job later. Besides, he found Hotaru tolerable to be around.

~*~*~*~

Idia was still slightly uncomfortable being in such a busy city, however it didn't escape his notice how Malleus and Hotaru disappeared for a brief moment.

"Uh...where is Malleus-shi and Crow?"

"They're about three stalls that way," said Jamil immediately.

"How do you know that?" asked Cater. He didn't see either of them.

"The bells you're wearing have tracking devices in them," was Jamil's immediate response.

"...Why does that not surprise me," sighed Idia.

"What are they even doing over there?" said Trey.

"My guess? Malleus-shi is finally asking her out," said Idia, shaking his head.

"Dear Seven, you noticed it too?" said Cater with relief. "The sexual tension between them was getting ridiculous."

"I know, right?" said Idia, grinning at him. "It was fairly obvious she's been maxing out his affection stats with her with those movie nights and late night talks."

"And where does that leave you?" joked Cater. "You've been friends with her for years after all."

"Nah, our affection meter got stuck firmly on the 'sibling' stage," said Idia, shaking his head. "I'd rather have her as a little sister than as a girlfriend."

"I should hope so," said a voice. It was Hotaru. "I have way more fun bickering with you as an older brother figure than I would have as a girlfriend."

Malleus looked very pleased with himself, and Hotaru was blushing slightly.

"So are you two official finally?" said Cater grinning at them both. Hotaru's blush got worse. "It's about time!"

"Wait...you knew?"

"The sexual tension between you two was getting out of hand," said Idia grinning at her. "Besides, it was only a matter of time considering you already maxed out his affection gauge."

"Keep it up Gloomy and I'll lock you and Azul in a damn closet when we get back. I'm not the only one who's crush was beyond obvious," she snarked back.

Idia made sure to sidle up to Malleus once Jamil distracted Hotaru.

"Just so you know, if you ever break her heart you'll have to deal with me and Ortho," said Idia.

"I would expected nothing less. Her affection towards you as an older sibling is to be commended," said Malleus with a smirk.

"So are you two finally official?" asked Idia seriously.

"I have made my intentions to court her clear. However I will require time to show the full scope of my affections for her," said Malleus. "Such tokens take time to create, especially for royals."

"Tokens? Are you planning to hand make a ring or something?" said Idia.

"A ring would not suffice, and would only get in the way of her hobbies," said Malleus. "Besides, the material is far too difficult to mold for something as simple as a ring. A bracelet, however, is much easier to pull off."

Idia stared him down for several moments, before he replied.

"If you're going to use gems, then stick with emeralds and fire opals."

"Why those two?" asked Malleus, honestly curious.
"Fire opals come the closest to the color of her soul fire primary, and emeralds to represent you," he replied. "If you're doing a bracelet, that would allow you to represent a possible union."

Malleus looked genuinely pleased at the advice, and made a note to procure the gems while he was out and about.

~*~*~*~

Dancing with Malleus was like a dream come true, though she blushed horribly when he commented about "procuring the outfit" she had been wearing all day. Kalim had laughed it off, since he knew all too well that Hotaru didn't have many clothes that fit her properly.

And the less said about her shoes, the better.

She let out a squeak of surprise when Malleus picked her up and began to carry her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, embarrassed.

"Did you really think we wouldn't notice the slight limp you had since lunch?" said Cater.

Hotaru blushed at the way Malleus was holding her in a princess carry. She had trouble looking anyone in the eye as Kalim made sure to get her feet treated properly, so she could walk. A long soak in some epsom salt and hot water was enough to deal with the worst of it.

To be fair, it had been a long time since she had gotten shoes that fit her properly. Or done nearly that much walking.

Malleus almost seemed to be purring with her in his lap.

Back in Night Raven...

"So they're finally together? It's about time!" said Lilia exasperated.

"I know, right?" said Cater.

"I'm right here you know," said Hotaru amused.

"Oh hush baby Crow," said Cater, ruffling her hair. "Don't act like you hate being spoiled every once in a while."

Hotaru blushed at that.

"Kalim, Cater-nii is bullying me again," she mock complained.

Kalim merely laughed.

"I think it's a good thing! You rarely ask for anything, so it was nice to be able to properly spoil you for once," said Kalim grinning.

Hotaru said nothing. It was a miracle if her mother even remembered her birthday properly, and the less said about how nonexistent her father was in her life, the better.

The idea of being spoiled was almost foreign to her.

Cater eyed the way Hotaru was reacting to the light teasing, and made a note to talk to the others outside her hearing. Especially Lilia, who could pass on a message to Malleus.

When Hotaru went to use the restroom, he spoke up.

"I think we need to spoil the baby Crow a bit more often. She really didn't know how to react to getting new things. And she's always weirdly grateful for the stuff my sisters send her way."

"You noticed it as well?" said Lilia. "I had thought it odd most of her things were so worn, but I didn't think it was my place to pry."

"I think she's become so used to being the adult that she's forgotten what it means to be a kid," said Cater sadly. "It's worse than Riddle was when he first took over the dorm as housewarden."

"I agree," said Kalim, oddly serious. "She was caught almost flatfooted at the idea of being given a gift without having to repay anything back."

Besides, he already spoiled his younger siblings. Why not add one more to the list? Especially since it was pretty obvious that she was likely to become Malleus' queen.