Her blonde hair had been brushed and cleaned. She was wearing a beautiful pink dress that had been gifted to her by a very special genie friend. The child had been saving the dress for a special occasion like tonight. It was pastel pink and was one of the nicest outfits she owned. On her feet were a pair of white slippers and she was smelling like fresh roses, thanks to a rose bath she had taken earlier. There was a rare excited smile on the child's face. The little girl was sitting in a golden pumpkin carriage that was being drawn by lovely black horses. The carriage was borrowed from a witch that she often helped get ingredients for. This was the old woman's little thank you to her for all of Dala's hard work. It seemed that everything was coming together. She even had somebody driving the carriage for her, since the wizard didn't want her driving a carriage. 

Inside the carriage was two velvet plush seats that she could bounce on. Which she did, as she couldn't handle her excitement. This was the type of thing that she dreamed of ever since she was younger. When her mother was alive, she would tell Dala all sorts of fairy tales and stories. Stories about princess in ballgowns, magical carriage rides, and sparkling unicorns. Though she would never tell anybody, she always dreamed of getting to experience something so magical. Tonight was that night. Tonight was the night where she could let go of her hard exterior and allow herself some fun. She could allow herself to have a night of magic, without worrying about food or poverty or survival. None of that mattered tonight. 

The carriage came to a stop and Dala's hand lingered at the doorknob to the carriage. Did she dare? Every moment she was terrified that this was all some dream and that the second she tried to enjoy it, she would wake up. Suddenly the door opened, the driver had kindly opened it for her. She gave him a quick thanks, slightly embarrassed that she didn't get it open before he did. Then her eyes set upon the event area. The entire castle district was covered in snow, despite the city being one of the warmest places in Canelux. She had just arrived and already, the area was filled with magic. People were chatting, there was music, food was displayed on the banquet table, but most importantly there were people dancing on the dance floor. The driver walked up next to her and smile. 

"Now remember miss Dala, you must return by midnight. Madam whoozy needs her carriage by that time." The driver reminded her. 

"I won't forget!" Dala promised, "Thanks!"

Dala rushed over to the dance floor but slowed down once she saw them closer. There were so many beautiful women and men dancing about. They all seemed elegant, with their fancy dresses and eloquent dances. The child realized that she didn't actually know how to dance. However, this was her night and that didn't matter! Besides, as a child, she could get away with doing stupid things. It was one of the few advantages of youth. She rushed over to the dance floor and started to spin around with her arms outstretched. It didn't take long before Dala was dizzy and had to stop. The child stopped for a few moments then began to twirl around. People didn't seem to mind her and a few even appeared amused by her. But they didn't matter. She was having fun!

For all of Raith’s arrogance, for all his bluster, there was a heart hidden deep within the man… somewhere. The God of Wrath had learnt of love through his fiancée, there were days he wasn’t sure he should thank her for that, but in a way this newfound emotion fueled the rage within him, for now he had something of his own to protect. Before, the man had been driven purely by his anger, by his lack of fear where pain and death were concerned. Now, now he had something to fight for,  which only made his apathy to his own mortality somewhat frightening, it gave him strength. 

Dala had had moved into his Temple to learn from his wife, Alairia referred to the feisty girl as ‘Little Wolf’, given his own genealogy, that had spoken to the man somewhat, more so because Alairia was fond of the child - which meant Dala automatically fell into the unique position of people personally protected by the God of Wrath and Heavens. It was why he had sent Firefly after her. The Celestial hawk had kept her distance, a shimmering figure made of stars that seemed to flicker in and out of existence, keeping herself hidden so that Dala had been unaware of her presence, all the while feeding back the information to her Master. 
The girl had gone to attend the Revalry, not that Raith blamed her, she was young and such events held something of a pan adventure to them, especially at that age. In truth, Raith had looked forward to the event himself - a chance to show off his future Queen, lord it over others and have a moment of nostalgia thinking back to the ball when he and Ria had first met? What more could he ask for?

Raith escorted his beloved into the festivities, lavish blindfold set across his blind eyes, long, flowing black cloak edged in crimson, synchros at the waist, black trousers finishing the ensemble. It was a simple enough look, but it made an impression… bough that could have been just Raith himself, of truth be told, A small smile upon his face, the Blind God ‘looked’ at his beloved. ”Happy my love?”

There was a light shiver that rippled down Alairia’s spine as she was tucked in against Raith’s side for this festival. It was the first outing that they were going to have as an engaged couple. He was a recognized deity among all of those in Revaliir, and that meant he held a higher prestige than ever before. Ria had always noticed that greatness in the man whom had captured her heart. It had been at a celebration such as this one that they had first met. An apple had been her snack of choice that evening while hiding away from the rest of the celebrations. For some unknown reason, still to this day, Raith had made his way over to her. The adopted elf was still grateful for that day.

Her black dress for the evening was simple black chiffon dress layered many times over. It was draped over one shoulder while the other was exposed. Everything about her attire that evening was a simple elegance. That evening she did not wear her silver circlet over her eyes. Instead there was nothing as her eyesight continued improve under her mother’s healing and Raith’s. Alairia wanted to show the world what her amazing family could do.

For the moment, her entire world was wrapped up in the man at her side. She knew that Dala would be someone for her to look for later. The young girl had a big heart, and even larger sense of courage. Alairia greatly admired the Little Wolf for that. When they would get back to the temple, Ria was going to make sure that Dala truly was happy with the arrangement.

Head angled upwards to ‘look’ back at Raith with a brilliant smile upon her lips. She was still excited that she was beginning to be able to see with her own eyes to do her make-up for the occasion. ”I am beyond happy. Memories are coming back of that apple at the other ball when we met,” she said with a soft coo. Alairia tucked in against him further with her arm around his waist. The elf tugged on his shirt slightly while urging him to move towards the refreshments; Ria wanted a drink.

”What about you, my King? Is everything going as you hoped?”

Soon, she had finished dancing. Her head was a bit dizzy so the child walked over to the banquet and sat on one of the chairs presented. The child's eyes turned to the magnificent dancers on a distant stage. The dancers spun and dazzled the crowd. Everything seemed to be magical. Even small things like hanging lights or a single violin playing was emphasized by the atmosphere of the party. Dala stood up, snatched a cookie from the banquet table, then began to wander around. She stopped to watch a juggler then continued onward. The child stopped walking when she spotted two people in the distance. 

Alairia and Raith. Alairia was her teacher who allowed her to move in and learn about medicine. The work was going to be hard but that was just what Dala had been expecting. Nothing in life was easy. To think otherwise was stupid. Although Dala hadn't known Alairia for very long, she deeply respected the woman. It was a surprise to see her without the silver crown that typically hid her eyes. Dala didn't have the context to understand why her eyes were hidden in the first place. But after seeing the scars, she understood why. Dala didn't think that the scars made Alairia any less or more beautiful. It was just a thing. But she did understand why Alairia chose to keep them hidden. People were weird about scars. You show them your scars and suddenly everybody either looked at you with nothing but pity or they wanted to hide it because it made THEM uncomfortable. People were weird. 

Then there was Raith. She knew less of him since most of her work was involved with his wife, not him. She thought he was cool but that was because of his dragon wings and dragon friends. Dragons were neat. In all contexts. As for everything else about him, it was mostly a mystery. Dala knew that she would have to be careful around both Alairia and Raith. All it took was one mistake to ruin everything, or at least that is what the child believed. She wasn't going to behave like a proper child. That would be impossible for her. Becoming an innocent wide-eyed child was never an option for her. However, she couldn't act extremely strange or she might cause Alairia to change her mind. It had happened before…. 

She had to be well-behaved. Dala was about to approach the two, to say hello and show how well behaved she could be. 

"Look. There's the bastard god and his blind whore." A nobleman said as Dala was passing them, "I bet he gets a lot of action at night. Specially since she's barely able to see what he's doing." 

The nobleman was talking to his noble friends. This was all it took to get Dala into rage mode. Unfortunately, she didn't have her knives with her, otherwise he would look like a pin cushion right now. However, she did have one weapon that had never failed her before. She sneaked behind the nobleman, grabbed his arm, and chomped down as hard as she could with her teeth. The nobleman let out chicken shriek and began to shake his arm, trying to fling Dala off. But Dala's grip only tightened. Then she climbed upwards to his head and started ripping out chunks of his hair. 

"Somebody stop this rabid child!" The nobleman screamed. 

One of his friends reached up and managed to pull Dala off the noble's back. But she held tightly onto his hair, doing her best to not let go and to rip out the rest of the man's hair as well. It almost looked like a tug-a-war competition, with Dala being the middle piece. The noble had tears in his eyes and was missing patches of hair on his head. She didn't care about that, all she cared about was teaching this noble jerk a lesson that he wouldn't forget. 

He smiled, glad the ball brought back memories of their first meeting for both of them. He had intended to use Alairia, planned to manipulate her in order to get close to his mother, without Kythe realising… at least, that had been his original intention. How swiftly the woman had captured his heart and changed the man. So used to being the one to charm, and ensnare, Raith had been drastically unprepared for how quickly he would fall in love with the half elf. She had caught his ‘eye’, and his heart, and Raith had been enchanted by her in his entirety. 
He had despised stories of love at first sight, and true love, and soul mates. Little had he known that his own had lingered around the corner, ready to change his life forever. For the better of course, now he had something to fight for, something to protect, he still had no fear of death or pain where he was concern, but loving Ria had fueled the fire lurking deep in his heart. 
”I can still smell that apple now, and taste it’s juices on my lips, mingled with your scent,” he growled in a husky tone, leaning over to kiss Alairia on her cheek. 

Raith was blind, not deaf, and the slight against him and his beloved did not go unheard, even above the terrible din of the crowds - when you could not see, you made damn sure that you could listen… it could be the difference between life and death, and had been for Raith on several occasions. Of course it helped that Dala was close by, and Firefly was still keeping a close eye on his fiancée’s apprentice, alerting him to the nobles speaking in such a derogatory tone. His hidden Celestial scout hissed, spreading her star filled wings and appearing, perched upon a chandelier as she screeched angrily at the slight against her Master. 
Through her eyes he witnessed Dala biting the man, and consequently the man trying to shake the girl off, and immediately his rage began to rise, not at the insult, but the potential harm to the girl who lived under his roof. They had not interacted much, but he had found himself oddly fond of the headstrong welp that had come to learn from his wife. 

Wrapping an arm about Alaira’s waist, Raith swiftly moved across the floor, gliding over to the ensuing fight. As they neared he released his beloved, requiring both his hands. The movements were deft and executed with precision. One arm grasped Dala, a wing flicked away the man daring to touch her, and his free hand shot out to grip the offending noble’s wrist like a vice. With Dala held against his side, he bore down upon the man, looming over the pair of nobles that had dared to insult his lover, let alone try to hurt their Little Wolf. ”I suggest you all leave, now, lest my rage grow more than it already has. If you ever speak of my betrothed in such a fashion again, I will take your eyes, as well as that minute thing between your legs, not that any woman would miss it. If I hear you have touched my daughter like that again, or sought to avenge your mauling by her, you will lose your hands and I might just eat your foul hearts. Now leave, your stench is making me nauseous,” he growled.

Once they had scurried away he ‘looked’ at Dala, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. ”Did they harm you Little Wolf?” he asked, his tone soft as he spoke. ”That was very brave of you, next time I’ll teach you how to coat your teeth with poison, so that you can harm others without doing yourself harm.”

How many things had happened in the last few set of months? Alairia’s mind would never, and could never comprehend all that had occurred. Meeting Raith, falling in love, being tortured by an insane enemy, going blind, grandfather had been murdered then resurrected, and love of her life ascending to godhood. Internally Ria took a breath as the many milestones ticked by in her mind. Everything felt intense, and yet she would not trade any of it for anything in the world. What made her thrilled beyond all in the world had been the man beside her.

A flush heated her cheeks as Raith growled his response. Again a shiver rippled down her spine just at the heat from his lips against her skin. It was unfortunate that they were in public. It was also unfortunate the events that were about to transpire for several people involved.

Alairia held her breath as the insults were spewed as well as heard. Instantly, the half elf knew that the night would not go as she had hoped it would. The flush of color in her cheeks due to the heat of the moment changed to a flush of embarrassment. Harsh words spoken and heard were just the ones she knew and felt about herself. Of course, Ria knew that Raith would never cheat on her….but having the scrutiny of the masses had always worried the woman.

What moved her attention was Dala. Little Wolf went on an immediate attack that swelled Ria’s chest with pride. It took a bit of control to not chuckle at the fact that her apprentice, adopted like daughter was beating the crap out of a mouthy nobleman; she fit in perfectly. She held on to Raith as he moved her through the crowd to where Dala was accosting the male.

Instinct took over as she moved out of the way to allow Raith to do as necessary. She could only hope that for that one evening there would be no bloodshed. There wasn’t a lot of opportunities to clean out blood at a festival. Thankfully her prayers were answered when the god of wrath and heavens decided to not unleash his wrath on them all.

When Dala was brought closer to the two adults, he fawned over her like she were his biological daughter. A light smile lit on her lips as the tenderness was noted. This was the most sweet she had seen Raith behave when it had nothing to do with her. ”Coat her teeth in poison? I think not,” she scolded her fiancé with a laugh. Ria lightly brushed Dala’s hair in a soothing fashion that the girl most likely didn’t want; the half elf couldn’t help it. A maternal side was ignited in Alairia whenever around Dala.

”Are you hurt anywhere?” Alairia wanted to take the attention away from the retreating men to make sure no additional retribution was to be taken. They needed to recuperate.

Dala was determined to damage the stupid noble as much as possible. Nobody got to insult Ria or Raith! Her grip was tight and she was determined to hold on as long as possible. Suddenly, an arm grabbed the little girl but it was not the man who was trying to tear her off. It was Raith. Dala's eyes widened with surprise as she watched the furious god begin to threaten the noble she had been attacking. Instead of feeling regret or any sympathy for the man, she was just looking at his head to see how bald his head was. The noble had only half of the hair he once had. Dala listened to Raith as he mentioned that no woman would miss the noble's minute thing between his legs. She couldn't help but snicker at that remark and decided to write it down later, as that was one of the best insults she heard.

But then Raith mentioned his daughter. Her face grew a little pink as she realized he was talking about herself. It was a word that she hadn't heard in a very long time. It was almost embarrassing but it was strange… Dala didn't mind the word, in fact it was nice. Yet there was the strangeness about it. She'd only heard that word from one person. A long long time ago, far away from the festival. The child pushed those thoughts out of her mind and her face returned to normal. Meanwhile the terrified nobles all but fled from the scene. They were far too cowardly to challenge Lord Raith on his threats. Dala looked up to Raith as he questioned whether or not she was alright.

"I'm fine!" Dala insisted, "He was an awful fighter. Didn't even try to punch back! Besides I'm way too fast for him anyway."

There was a big smile on her face, showing that she wasn't feeling guilty at all. The child was unharmed but her dress had been torn up a bit due to the fight. She hadn't noticed it yet. Dala cautiously looked up to Ria, expecting a disappointed expression or something. Instead, Ria seemed to have a light smile and didn't at all look mad. This was strange, as any adult that had met her and saw her reckless ways had showed anger or yelled at her for doing her own thing. It was nice to not have to worry about constant anger. Dala looked up to her with a smile. Raith then mentioned how he would show her how to coat her teeth in poison, which got Dala extremely excited. Then Ria denied the idea but Dala came up with a new one. 

"That's alright!" Dala said, "You can show me how to poison my daggers. I normally use them but my dress didn't have a belt or any pockets." 

Dala looked down at her dress and realized that it was ripped up due to the fight. It was a nice dress, one that had been a gift. Her hand reached down and looked at the ripped edges. But she dropped it quickly, trying not to seem like she cared about it. A small sigh escaped her lips as she looked up to the two. 

"So did I fight good?" She asked, "I'm more used to the sneaky stuff. You know, like waiting until the enemy falls asleep or somethin. Direct fighting normally doesn't go well since I'm short and a kid." 

Firefly settled next to Silence on the rafters above their Master’s head - one who had been with him before his Ascension and the other that had been waiting. Both knew their Master’s fury, but neither feared it - those in the inner circle were safe from his Wrath, physically at least, though sometimes his tongue could be just as sharp. Their heads moved in unison as he and his fiancée moved gracefully through the crowds despite their lack of sight; he could have used either beast but why bother when he could rely upon his own talents? 

With Dala now in his embrace and being checked over by Alairia, Raith began to relax once more - he was the God of Wrath, it always lingered in the back of his mind and deep in his heart, but even he had moments of calm such as this with the two women who held his heart. ”Spoil sport,” Raith retorted, squeezing Dala’s leg with his hand to indicate he would teach her in private, it would be their secret. ”Men like that speak loudly to hide the fact that they have no actual testicles to act on their words in any fashion, you will encounter it regularly Dala, be mindful of it - the most boisterous vocally are often the most cowardly when it comes to actual action. Not always, but I will teach you to read the difference.”

Her suggestion of her daggers being coated only served to make the God laugh, trust his bride to be to pick an apprentice so like her future husband, Ria had her hands full with him and Dala plotting as one. He felt the girl’s attention shift, and felt her body move and Silence offered his eyes for his Master to see, that bloody cretin had ruined her dress - she might have been their Little Wolf but she was rightfully upset at the damage. ”Direct fighting gives you an advantage Little Wolf, because[/] you are small in stature and still but a child you are underestimated, should a fight occur again use that against your enemy, stab them quick and in a place that debilitated, i shall teach you that as well when you’re next home. You fight well mind you, I need only hone the skills you already exhibit. And we will fix that dress, have no fear.”

A release of tension in Alairia’s features were notable by anyone paying attention as Dala stated she was fine. To hear her speak of such defiance and fighting spirit made Ria inwardly proud. Her Little Wolf did not know fear it appeared. There was little need for fear when it came to that particular noble; the elf knew that her fearlessness transferred to many instances. In ways, it brought worry in Ria’s heart for Dala out in the world. Though all they could do was help get her as prepared for the challenges that would face such a fire heart.

”I’m a spoil sport because I have some sense than to teach someone to coat poison of teeth? Give me a break,” she laughed again while stroking Dala’s hair. Her attention was back upon the child as she mentioned a compromise. ”I will consent to that, at least.” Another half laugh was given to the pair that had captured every part of her heart. She leaned down to kiss the top of the girl’s head before touching the side of her torn dress. ”We will get this mended…and some new ones to your liking. Any other supplies that you need as well, we can tend to.” She kept her tone as gentle as possible. It was clear that Dala had not the experiences with adults that she deserved. This made Ria want to gather the Little Wolf in her arms to shelter her just for a moment.

”Why don’t the three of us get some refreshments for the moment? All the excitement made me thirsty. Hmm?” Ria nodded her head towards her King towards the food table. She wanted to sit down and allow the pair to get some rest before they went on another adventure during the festival. Keeping a hand on Dala’s shoulder, she reached out for Raith with her other hand. The little self-made family made their way over to the table where Ria relied on the other two to help find some sweet wine.

The drink was greatly appreciated as the liquid quenched her thirst. Ria sat at one of the available tables to enjoy the wine and small bits of food she had snagged as well. She wanted to do whatever Raith and Dala wanted….but after a small drink.