Maureen
Athena making it to hear the kings anouncement of a duel of some kind thought to herself "Shit, that would be a good time to strike if i were i group of people lookin to attack a king, gotta find. White september? I think thats what Dioscuri said or my friends quick, which also means ima partake in the event." Running through the crowd towards the rooftop where they planned to meet up. She climbs up the ladder to see William there. "Hey, serious talk. Forget the koi, have you seen anyone out of place here." As she stands next to him overlooking the festival grounds
Bonnie
Watching over the ledge at the crowds below, he hears the sound of the ladder creaking. Drawing his revolver he aims it at the person coming up the ladder but upon seeing the beret of Athena he lowers his pistol and holsters, before even getting a word out to greet Athena, she cuts him off and stands next to him, "No I haven't seen anyone out of place, all I've seen from up here is someone who might be ex-military and two people eating a kebab thing. Why, what's going on?" Turning his attention to Athena and listening to what she has to say
Geraldine
Well, she was about half right. It was practically impossible for Ha to react to how fast Kuouo was when he almost struck— even with a marginal increase in focus— and as such, she was certainly more startled by the sound of his voice as opposed to nearly slicing her into pieces with Infernium, having a slight jump and small gasp at his verbalized apology. That said, she did feel Salhaeja use her hand to lightly unsheathe itself in the event that he intent to land a hit, and then quickly return once the mistake was realized. He was not pleased, and began to question his own judgments regarding the farm animal. In fairness, defending ones ally from another, albeit reckless and haphazardly, was not innately unadmirable, and he had good reflxes. He was still mad, though, mainly because he said 'girlfriend' again. 

``"—Oh! It's okay, I should've. . . Said something, been more clear. I assume Daniel is also here? You are both. . . Ok?"`` Ha leaned against her planted sheath and inquired, assuming that Sal reported correctly on their whereabouts. She recalled that they were technically on the run after a mildly intense confrontation, hence asking about their condition. She also liked that saying— two devils, was it? Kuouo's speech remained unique to her. Of course, such train of thoughts was interrupted by the boisterous, magically enhanced and thus enticing announcement of the Medei King that she now had incentive to care about. Something about a thousand or so year old story, mountains and skys, this 'Margo Aeternitatis', culminating into a universal invitation into combat to all those at the festival gathering. That's about what she gathered audibly, and Sal confirmed this, though he still uncharacteristically spared no opinion on the king as an individual. That may change things, actually, given it was within her best interest according to her weapon to conceal her strength and abilities, not plaster it in front of others. Ha was not especially enthralled nor dis

Gusted at the idea of dueling others, but it did, in slights, attempt to piece together a time where she. . . Well, better not to dwell on that. It doesn't serve anyone well, and she had enough nightmares about it. 

``". . .That sounds, well, interesting. . . Are you gonna join that? With the uh. . . Sea, fish?"`` She turned back to Kuouo, as there was still some winces and inflections of pain in her tone that she struggled to hide. Ha was uncertain, but Sal commented that Kuouo seemed a likely participant. A thief wants more as he takes, and this holds undoubtedly true for one that has some obvious arrogance to his core character, not sparing some negative bias from Salhaeja. Daniel, he wasn't so sure, but they were good friends. What that meant for her and their undefined objective would be subject to change momentarily. She did wonder if this. . . Dueling, was perhaps an outlet to finding out why they were here. It seemed more like an investigation at this point. Maybe Sal should reconsider— she wouldn't say that, though.
Kimberly
For awhile, Lily was just an observer, watching as the many events, the most prominent being the Spirit Koi hunt, were announced. She was still getting a bit used to this strange new world, the bustling and dreary cities and the weary towns, but so far nothing was too out of the ordinary. She merely stumbled upon the Festival by coincidence and decided to watch and observe, not like she had much else to do.

That was, until now, when a thundering figure came forth, led by this "King of the Medei", and she watched as others around her grew silent. Clearly, this was a figure to be respected... Or perhaps feared? He certainly held himself as great and powerful from her vantage point.

She watched in part awe and part terror as he spoke, his staff becoming a blood-red spear, as he spoke of a war long past.

Ah, so there was past turmoil upon these lands, interesting.

She had thought perhaps he was on the cusp of some sort of war speech or attack and so she subtely readied herself, gripping her staff, but what he said next was... Unexpected.

A contest? Of strength but nonetheless. 

The voice in her head purred.

```
"You should partake, Lily. It might be a good way to ascertain the battle tactics of some whom this world has to offer. "



```

**"Or a good way to get killed."** , Lily replied back, mentally of course. Floriama was her trusted friend, and even a sort of motherly figure, but not all of her swathe and want for bloodshed had evaporated.

Still, she was bored, and this could be a neat distraction from her current predicament.

Cautiously, she took a step forward through the crowds, staff in her hand.

 "I accept the challenge, Oh Respected One." , she said firmly, taking her place alongside those who would too join. She could hear Floriama smirking.
Jane
*Normally, in a moment of surprise, Dan would have immediately quick-drawn on the sound that came from behind them- That is, if he hadn't recognized the clanging of a certain weapon, with it's wielder accompanying it. He turned around, making a "Tch" Noise at Kuouo's comment, though still glad to see Ha alive and okay, at least by her own standards. Dan made his way over, cigarette between his fingers as always, nodding at her assumption of his presence and confirming he was alive and well. The announcement by the booming voice of the* ***MEDEI KING*** *Had caught his attention, but not entirely in a good way. Not only making your ego known to everyone, but inviting people to a bloodbath? Ugh. Maybe he wasn't all that bad, but that alone wouldn't be enough to bypass Daniel's passive hatred for high-ranking authority, be it King, President, Tzar, or whatever other dumb title one gave to themself. More like Egomaniac.*

```
"I s'pose I'd be willin' to join it. Seems like a good chance t' get at least one more good fight t' my name. Trigger finger's been itchin' ever since the boat..."
```

*He trailed off as he finished his sentence, his eyes wandering around as he became lost in thought. Good chance to fight, or good chance of getting sacked... Just seemed like a manual way to implement natural selection to him. But, that wasn't a fair way to look at it, especially since he hadn't been given any reason to do so in that way. Even so, what did the Spirit Koi have to do with it? Would it have anything to do with it at all? There was a prize promised, but... Hm. Best not to think about it for now. Dan was sure it would come up eventually. For now, he was willing to give the benefit of the doubt.*