A deep resounding laugh came from deep in Leon’s chest at the report that Kyyre had given, rather proud of himself. If he looked as though he had been running laps, that meant he had been having fun. In their closeness, Leon could see the pearlescent nature of Kyyre’s eyes, the slight difference from pink catching in the light and taking dominance when it hit at just the right angle.

That was when it struck him. Was his entire line like this? Pale and reserved to the point of nervousness. He hoped not, then again. If they were as..skittish as Kyyre, that did make the job of getting him on the throne a whole lot easier. Andromeda could make quick work of weak minds, if that didn’t work Leon could always slip into through an open window and deliver a more permanent fix.

“Not terrible.” He repeated, leaning to the side, Leon flashed a more devious version of his smile before he gripped Kyyre’s arms tightly. His voice lowered into a rumble of a sound. Letting his claws dip into his flesh just enough to poke, using the grip to spin them. He sent them twirling rather happily, outpacing the pairs beside them by a mile.

When they came to a halt, Leon’s hold softened and he was leaning down, head close to Kyyre’s with his smile still in place. “Perhaps you should try this side then?” He all but whispered, hushed as their proximity would allow it, Leon’s torso creating a shadow over the pair of them before he leaned back.

With a flex arm, Leon gave Kyyre a long lashed wink, the red tattoo under his eye crinkling at the moment. Then, in a quick movement he span Kyyre towards the next person in line with a brash chuckle of amusement. In their spinning, he had halted them in switched positions. It was worth a shot seeing if Kyyre was actually try to enjoy this, or if he came back to Leon looking like a deer in headlights. If the latter ended up happening, Leon wasn’t a cruel man, he would take him away from the overwhelming environment. No point in damaging the man more than he appeared to be already in the confidence department.

A short puff that resembled a sigh was her only reply for a long moment, only jerked out of her thoughts by Astrid’s comment on Leon. She was watching as her companion took Kyyre and sent them circling, outpacing those around them. A quick smile landed on her lips and she cocked her head back around towards Astrid, eyes glittering with a slightly sick looking joy.

“My pet?” Followed by an abrupt bleat of laughter. “If he heard you say that, he would have his hands around your neck quicker than you could say woof.” Towards the end of her statement, there was a darker shadow to her eyes before Astrid made the quick pivot towards his convincing. Leon was not a stupid man. Not at all. He was just a creature leashed to his own impulsivity. Nibrook was a strong and overwhelming force of the continent, their numbers alone were enough of a threat to other kingdoms that everyone was always trying to pander to them. Though Nibrook never made alliances, for that very reason. They didn’t know who was going to stab them in the back, Leon and Andromeda were going to change that.

The issue was, at this point in time, there was only pretty words. Other than promises of protection and cooperation, what else could she offer him? There was no chance Andromeda would give up land or her own throne to this man.

“There’s no point dancing around the subject. What is it you want from me as this proof? What I’m offering is only words until the tournament begins, then after it is over we can begin our fun.” With that, Andromeda finished off her whiskey and slid the now empty crystal glass down the counter where the suited bartender scooped it up. Her lips parted in a satisfied sigh, flicking her gaze up to Astrid and allowing a smirk to contort her features.

“That, or when the tournament begins you’ll see that you’ll be protected. Or that you won’t be, been as you think this is some elaborate ploy to kill you.” A sarcastic chuckle tainted her words.

“If I wanted to kill you, it would have been before tonight. It would have been in your chambers, alone. Not out in the open, I’m not one to make a spectacle of myself. At least not one that involves sullying myself with your blood.” Andromeda leaned into the more teasing side of the conversation, perhaps that was the way to go with this. He seemed less inclined to bite her head off now, if she could keep this conversation going maybe he would become a little bit more pliant.

A flash of delight erupted in his chest at the face that was peering up at him, flushed with effort from his bout of dancing around the group. His polite smile that had been directed at the other partners he had flung on by widened, his pupils blowing wide at the elated feeling of cracking someone. Of bringing them into his feverish activities, the chaos he so loved was always better enjoyed with company.

Conveniently, the music was arching up to the final moments, not something Leon had betted on happening but it was a pleasant surprise. He was never one to end something without a good, or rather memorable, impression. His arm snaked its way around Kyyre, pulling him close enough so that he wouldn’t be completely untethered from his centre of gravity. Only when he was sure his hold was secure, the music lifted, Leon dove them back into hasty whirl. Whilst the space around them smeared into obscurity, he kept his eyes trained on Kyyre’s.

When the moment came for the final strike of chords, Leon tightened his hold around Kyyre’s waist, claws pricking at the fabric of his suit. He freed Kyyre with his other hand, but he dipped his other arm, almost feigning dropping him to the ground as he leaned Kyyre backwards. Leon kept close, curled over him, still brimming with glee, evident by his panting grin and burning eyes.

The chord struck and faded into silence, it lasted a heartbeat and Leon remained where he was, only pulled backwards and taking Kyyre up with him when the next, more delicate tune began to fill the courtyard.

“I told you it’s fun.” Leon huffed out, mostly recovered from his own spiraling journey around the dance, but the dregs of effort he used in his turbulent dancing remained in the form of blushed skin.

–

“I wouldn’t sully myself, no. I have Leon for that sort of dirty work.” She confirmed, straightening herself up from the bar, one arm still draped over the counter as she watched Astrid’s ministrations. Trailing down his arm, reaching his hand where a finger twirled around on the wood.

She couldn’t fault him for wanting a drop of proof, words were simply words. One might promise they never lie, but they all do. Especially in their line of work, it was all mist and mirrors, illusions of promises and alliances. No one was ever truly loyal for the sake of being loyal, there are always alternative motives.

Andromeda’s eyes flashed as she looked back up to catch Astrid’s as they evaluated her, she almost hadn’t realised she wasn’t focusing on his face until he spoke her full name. For a second, she felt like a rabbit caught in a trap, allowing herself to become even minutely distracted from their conversation was a blunder. There was a second of surprise in her gaze before she retracted it for the feline predatory one that she favoured.

“Understood.” She turned her head to look back out across the hall, to spot Leon and Kyyre. She considered her words for perhaps a millisecond before speaking them. “What about scratches he asks for?” Andromeda teased, swiping her eyes back to look at Astrid’s dark figure from the corner of her eye. Raising one eyebrow in suggestion, she couldn’t help it if Leon was enigmatic and it drew in those around him. He was rather intoxicating, the thrill of his impulsivity was almost enough to seduce herself sometimes.

“I jest.” She dismissed a moment later, turning to face the bar once again. Her mind couldn’t help but wander towards what these matters were he needed to attend, what on earth could need seeing to here? Most responsibilities were left behind once an heir was sent to the tournament. The urge to worm her way into his head was tempting, but she was not naive enough to suspect Astrid would be rather adept at not only noticing her doing so, but in preventing her access. If he was able to sense her activity, then this alliance would be dead in the water. No point in prying.

With a languid sigh, she stretched her arms on the counter, arching her back and feeling the taut muscles flex and almost protest at the contortion before righting herself. She had to test the waters some more, would he toy with her back, that is what she wanted to know. Or was Astrid so high strung he couldn’t have a smidge of fun.

“If you wanted an invitation to my quarters tonight, you only needed to ask. No need to threaten me.” She purred, letting her words drip from her lips as she peeked over her fur lined shoulder at Astrid. Tipping her head forwards ever so slightly as she let a smile play on her lips.

Leon was drawn out from his frenzied state by the movement of scales around Kyyre’s neck, his hands loosened their grip and he leaned his neck back. Lips parting in surprise, he had forgotten about the poor thing entangled around Kyyre. He just hoped that the silvery body wasn’t about to whip around and strike him for the audacity of twirling her companion around. Then came Kyyre as he reacted to the fact that he had also seemed to forgot her existence, slowly moving down to the floor.

Well, this wasn’t an angle he was really used to seeing from people. At least, in these circumstances. Ignoring the bodies around them, Leon dipped down into a squat to meet them, just as the snake moved back around his arm.

“Ah, sorry. I forgot about you, lovely little thing.” He gave a guilty smile, tilting his head to look down at the snake as others began to pair off around them or leave the dance floor to enjoy the drinks. Taking in a few calming breaths, Leon offered his hand out to Kyyre, keeping his palm facing upwards.

“I think you need a refreshment?” He attempted, giving his most charming smile, praying he hadn’t caused so much distress that the evident enjoyment of the dance had been sullied by this bit.

They looked…okay enough. Okay wasn’t really what Leon had been aiming for, he had been aiming for elation and abandonment of inhibitions, it seemed that part might take some more time. Perhaps without a snake involved, she could watch from the sidelines next time.

–

So he would play this game, there was no immediate denial, no shutting down of the conversation. Maybe this heir wasn’t as cold as his kingdom. Good. Her arms remained leaning on the counter, neck twisted to the side in order to look over as Astrid as he spoke. The lazy smile still pulled onto her lips, only encouraged by the drop in tone, drawing nearer to her.

“Tempting invitations? I didn’t think you’d be open to sleeping with the enemy, Astrid.” As she spoke, Andromeda leaned her head back, letting her eyes scan over the night sky above them, considering her options. While it was indeed tempting, unexpectedly so, it would be detrimental to the alliance. Probably anyway. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t play.

“I only offer invitations to people I find interesting, you should be honoured.” Her eyes slid to the side, looking over at him from their corners, her posture straightened back up and her arms drew black close to her torso. “One night with you would only mean teasing remarks the entirety of this proposed truce, I don’t quite think that’s worth the trade-off.” Finally, Andromeda withdrew her arms from the bar and turned to face Astrid once more.

It certainly wasn’t how she had expected this night to go, not at all. Not that she was complaining, she had many adventures that had begun like this. However, it had never involved another heir. It had almost always involved seeking out eager minds, but Astrid had a far more intriguing mind. All heirs did, they thought differently. At the very least, most of them did, Kyyre seemed to be an exception.

Over Astrid’s shoulder, Andromeda caught the bright gaze of Fawn, the Misebury heir. An overly noble and strong headed woman, merely eighteen but with the mind of a fifty year old. They had never gotten along, the sun always burnt out mist. It was obvious that the blatant disgust in her expression was directed towards Andromeda, the pompous woman clearly thought she was sleeping her way into alliances. Well, maybe she would play into that. If other heirs thought their alliance to be so weak as being built upon carnal desires, it would benefit them in the long term. That and perhaps she could wriggle herself further under Astrid’s skin in the process.

She kept Fawn’s eyes fixed to her own as she took steps closer to Astrid, only ripping her pale icey gaze away once she was almost on top of Astrid.

“I might be swayed to make an exception.”

The moment that Kyyre’s hand had settled back into his own, he closed the grip and pushed himself back up, feeling the smallest of twinges in his left leg as he did so. Leon always ignored that twinge, he had never seeked out any investigation into its cause, so far it was only a needle prick of pain, it would probably go away on its own.

He made no small change in his expression to suggest his leg was causing him issues, instead he peered down at Kyyre, letting his attention trail over towards the snake on his other hand. For a drawn out moment, Leon stared at her with little emotion in his eyes before he turned them both around, prepared to lead them away from the crowds. Half leading, half dragging Kyyre with him, he tried to scan the sea of heads around him to find Andromeda. She wasn’t a helpless child, but he couldn’t help the beginnings of concern that was rising in his chest when he couldn’t spot her immediately. Had Astrid dragged her into an alcove and driven an icy spike through her chest? Or worse, had he whisked her off to use as a bargaining chip.

Leon’s mind only stopped fighting itself when he spotted the familiar, fur boa, now draped over her lower arms as she leant in towards Astrid. The sight made him almost stumble in his step, tail pausing in its movements, wide-eyed he stared at them whilst his pace slowed down to barely a snail's crawl. Unknown to him, Leon’s hand tightened its grip on Kyyre, the pale hand being squashed beneath the pressure. Only when he clocked the presence beside him did Leon immediately let go, drawing his hand away from Kyrre with a flash of panic across his face.

“I’m sorry!” He chirped out, flexing his hand a few times, gripping that wrist with his other one. “I thought I saw something, I hope I didn’t hurt you.” His eyes swept from side to side, looking for anywhere else to obtain a drink that wasn’t directly beside the other two, who seemed to be getting along strangely well now. With a defeated drop of his shoulders, Leon crinkled his nose, there was no table laden with drinks anymore. The nobles had swiped them all up, the bar was beginning to become the popular place to be.

“Let’s get you that drink.” Leon looked back down at Kyyre, a sheepish smile on his lips before he began to wriggle his way through the crowd, aiming for the bar. Once they were there, Leon didn’t try to interrupt whatever was going on with Andromeda. She always knew what she was doing.

–

At first, Andromeda couldn’t tell if Astrid would become aware of why she was approaching. The true intention, not that she was some succubus out for her next meal, but that it was a move. A move that might let them trip up the high and mighty, something that made her chest tighten with anticipation.

The laughter wasn’t promising, he was bemused by her proposal, only when the smallest turn of his head interrupted his amusement did Andromeda know he was in on her game.

She remained silent as he tipped his head, keeping her lips drawn into an alluring smile. The total lack of change in expression was difficult to work out, Astrid was either going to ridicule her or dive in head first.

Andromeda didn’t have to look back over his shoulder to know that Fawn was still glowering down at them, her unkempt temper was like a flashing beam of light behind him. Fawn had been newly indoctrinated into the academy whilst Andromeda had been the graduating cohort, the blonde woman had never really liked her. Thought that Marmoor was built upon the backs of hypnotized civilians, that their abilities were bestowed by the devil himself, a cruel twist of willpower that no person should hold. Well, Andromeda thought that Fawn was unequivocally a moron. She had always boasted about winning her debut tournament, that she needed no great gift to defeat the other heirs.

Misebury’s royal lineage was a fork off of Nibrook, a far weaker one at that. They had only the dregs of increased stamina and had to rely upon imbued weaponry in their battles. Andromeda had little respect for people like that, who were clearly disadvantaged but boasted as though they were the gift from god.

Then came the extended hand and Andromeda knew he was taking the unspoken offer, in fact he looked rather unfazed by the future implications they were about to elicit from Fawn. That made things so much more interesting. Raising her own hand, she placed it in his and her smile sharpened into something more kniving for a heartbeat before remembering the prying eyes. Lightening her expression to one of innocent flirting, tilting her head to give their surroundings a once over. She caught the approach of Leon but spoke no word of it, looking back up to Astrid.

“Absolutely.” Her confirmation came in the form of a gentle hum, keeping her neck tipped back to look at Astrid. The image of an excited girl, prepared to venture off to some dark corner of the courtyard, naive to the prying eyes of others. Ever the showman.