Bryce was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, staring at the crowds of people entering the reception hall. He'd entered a little while ago himself and was flabbergasted by the room. They had gone all out for this birthday, which had surprised him. From what he knew, they'd never publicly celebrated the goddess' birthday. His family had gotten their hands on an invitation and thus sent him and the rest of his brothers. The baroness was ill and hadn't the stomach to go. But he knew that she'd probably just sent them all there to mingle with the other guests and make connections. It was work that needed to be done but he knew his brothers wouldn't be doing anything like that. They would be off getting drunk and flirting with the girls or something.

Right now he was waiting for somebody to arrive. Bryce had sent out a letter to Raziel, hoping that she would join him. It would make the entire evening a lot better. He was never a people person, much preferring the management part of running land instead. However, if he had someone like Raziel around, it would make the evening significantly better. He just would have to keep her away from his brothers. He was wearing a deep blue suit and his golden signature ring. Perhaps his letter had gotten lost? Or perhaps he didn't word that letter correctly? It read,

-Dearest Raziel,

It would be a great honor if you would accompany me at The Festival of Delights.

From,
Bryce-

He really wished he put a location on that letter so she'd know where to go. Even if the entire world was talking about this party, it didn't mean that Raziel knew where it was. Bryce pondered this while fiddling with his ring. To anybody else, it looked like he was glaring holes into the crowds of people. He was actually just looking for a familiar face of a girl he'd met before. What if she'd already gone upstairs? No he arrived early just so that wouldn't happen. Perhaps all of this was a terrible idea. After all, there was no guarantee that she'd actually want to come.

Raziel was beginning to regret having Sanyi read the letter for her. The wyvern was making a big deal of someone actively asking the angel on a date. While she tried to play it down, Sanyi refused to be swayed. In fact, she nearly dragged Raziel to Amen-Ra's clan to pull his wife into the scheme. Lirin, the vampiress elf, gushed over the thought of dressing her small frame up. "Oh, and her hair! I know a perfect style. It was Celsy's favorite!" she clapped with glee.

Despite Raziel's efforts, they strong-armed her into a dress specifically tailored for the angel on Lirin's request. The dress itself was two to three shades darker than her hair. It's lacy layer had an intricate floral design that was heavier at the edges of the dress. However, the best part of the dress was the lack of anything covering her back which made it easy to slip on and off without worrying about her wings. Lirin managed to make Raziel's hair appear wavy before pulling the top half into two french braids that curled around her head and met at the center to be combined into one singular braid. It was simple yet elegant.

The only thing she was able to say "no" to was makeup. Once Lirin and Sanyi were dressed and ready to go, Raziel opened the portal to Sularia and they all stepped through. The vampiress disappeared to mingle with the guests while Sanyi took Raziel's arm and wrapped it around her own. "Tell me about this Bryce," she prompted. "Is he cute? Handsome?" Raziel shook her head as they entered the reception hall. "I don't know." The wyvern halted their movement and stared down at the angel flabbergasted. "You didn't use the scale?" Raziel began to blush as she refused to face Sanyi. "I don't use it every time I meet someone new."

Her stomach was a mass of nervous butterflies. She had enjoyed his company very much, but she had not actually expected him to invite her to such an event. In actuality, she had no intention of coming in the first place. Even with Ensarrian's scale necklace adorning her neck as her only accessory, Raziel felt rather naked and lost without Mikhail by her side. Sanyi sent her reassuring support through their connection as she guided the angel deeper into the hall.

Bryce's eyes lit up with excitement when he finally spotted Raziel in the crowd. Instead of approaching her right away, he could only stare at her beauty. She was as gorgeous as a lavender bloom and dazzled in the room. Approaching her with a charming smile, he gave her a polite bow then realized that there was someone else at her side and gave Sanyi a polite bow as well.

"It is a pleasure to see you again Raziel." He said before looking towards Sanyi, "And its good to meet you miss. My name is Bryce Trivon."

His attention was mostly on the angelic woman Raziel. She held the appearance of a goddess and could outmatch anybody in the room with her beauty. Bryce held out his arm to her so he could guide her around the room. He assumed that Sanyi would want a break and desired to explore the area. Or at least, that's what he hoped she would do. He thought Sanyi was pleasant but he really wanted to spend his time with Raziel.

"I'm glad that you decided to come. It'll be much more enjoyable with someone I know." Bryce said, "How are you doing?"

He began to walk with her towards the stairs that lead to the first floor. The scent of cake lingered in the air while the sounds of instruments floated around. The minstrels on the first floor were entirely mechanical. The gardens were beautiful and this was only the first floor. Not to mention the cake went up for miles. Bryce smirked since he knew that all the nobles and his mother's friends would be trying to compete with the party.

"I suspect that for the next month, all the nobles will want towering cakes and mechanical instruments." He said with a bit of a chuckle, "Its strange how they will parrot others."

She had to believe he would find her in the crowds of people as she was unable to give a description to Sanyi. Yet she was nervous that he would not see her, and her friends' efforts would be in vain. 'Someone's approaching. Rather cute blue-eyed blond. Got eyes just for you." Sanyi spoke telepathically to Raziel as she watched Bryce give a charming smile. A smirk played on her lips as he bowed to each of them, which she returned in kind. Amen-Ra's clan taught her so much about proper greetings and other courtesies. 

Raziel smiled as she joked to him. "I wish I could say the same, but it is pleasing to hear your voice again." Sanyi inclined her head at his greeting. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Trivon. I am Sanyi Hesydelth Irre. It is regretful that Raziel has kept all information of you unspoken. However, I will take my leave. Alpha duties require attention."  Before she did, however, she turned toward Raziel and placed the angel's hand over the necklace. "Remember, I am here, just a mental call away, and you have Ian's scale to protect you." The angel stuck out her tongue childishly, which made Sanyi giggle and wave as she departed from the couple.

The angel wrapped her arm around Bryce's own as she surrendered herself to his lead. "I wanted to come if it meant more time with you. I'm sorry about my appearance. I begged them not to, but they wouldn't take no for an answer. Once they heard I had a formal invitation, they couldn't resist. Does it at least look okay?" So many different scents were assaulting her that it was hard to filter everything out. Nevertheless, she tried to block out most of what she heard as she wanted to concentrate on the gentleman by her side.

"Nobles do that? I had heard of the flour and sugar shortages, but how tall is the cake? Describe everything to me." She didn't yet want to reveal the secrets of the necklace to him, nor did she want to rely on it. Besides, she liked his voice far better than seeing light bounce off objects.

Bryce smiled at her joke and looked towards Sanyi. An alpha and clearly aware of social behavior, so he had to conclude that she was familiar with these kinds of parties and didn't need any assistance getting around. He felt her touch and his face grew a little pink but he was careful not to act any differently. When she started apologizing about her appearance, he was taken aback. Why on Revaliir would she be apologizing for looking nice? Certainly, the clothes looked nice and so did the hair but they were emphasizing her natural beauty.

"No need to apologize. You look like a goddess." He said in pure honesty.

That was a bit overboard, since he normally didn't say things like that. Bryce couldn't help himself but compliment her. As they arrived on the first floor, he realized that the gardens were made of treats! Every tree and plant were made from fondant, sweets, and chocolate. The rose bush smelled of marzipan while the tree bark felt like some sort of hardened chocolate. Bryce wondered how much work went into creating this one party. People would be talking about it for the rest of time, that would be certain. In fact, the party would go down into legend.

"Yes nobles really do that. Its a way for them to feel secure in their choices." He said before turning his attention to the cake, "The first layer of cake seems to represent Onnen. The Sahel rainforest, sandawe savanna, xhosta archipelago, sotho's eclectic coast, Kikuyu's marshy wetlands, Fulani's lake country, and the ashen Moors peninsula specifically. Its incredible! The cake's sand for the savanna's and beaches are fully formed, not just drawn on. Even the trees of the area are in full detail."

He pushed back against the rail and began to guide Raziel towards the garden. There he guided her towards any plant that she wanted to feel, smell or taste. Bryce then guided her towards a beautiful rose bush with marzipan roses that he saw earlier. He plucked one of the smaller buds and only took the flower part. Then he held it up towards Raziel.

"Say ahh." He said with a small smile.

If she did, then he would pop the bud into her mouth. The rose would also taste a little bit like a rose, since the sweets were flavored and colored. Roses smelled sweet and had a unique flavor in tea and biscuits. Its how he knew that the roses would probably hold the same flavor. He leaned closely to her ear, to avoid other people listening in on their conversation and so he wouldn't have to shout louder than the other people around them.

"How does it taste?" Bryce whispered.

Even her own thoughts stumbled at the compliment. It was the first time anyone had said anything like that to her. ”I… just didn’t want to make it a big deal… Basing my appearance on your status… I don’t want to be viewed as taking advantage of your position.” Just as there were snakes in the noble society, there were those of lesser classes who would seek to use a noble for personal gain. Raziel was just an acquaintance, one who did not care about the status of those she associates with.

Her free hand grazed over anything she could touch, almost shocked when the first one revealed it was not real. It was too… smooth. There was something in the texture of the real thing that this could not quite match. Raziel understood at that moment that the sweet scent was not coming from anyone else, it was coming from the decorations. Bryce began describing the cake, which made her wonder. ”You sound knowledgeable of Onnen if you can recognize it from sight and name key locations. Have you been there? It’s where Sanyi and Ensarrian chose to make their home”

He led her away from the railing and back to the decorations. She touched almost everything but seemed hesitant to even try anything. Consuming anything would remove from the splendor of the place. So when Bryce told her to say “ahh”, she gave him a perplexed expression before she decided to trust him and opened her mouth. The confection entering her mouth was not surprising. The flavor was. It was nutty, sweet, and rosy all at once. However, what caught her most by surprise was Bryce’s hot breath on her ear as he whispered into it.

Raziel’s knees turned weak. She didn’t know whether she wanted to pull back from the closeness or melt into it. ”Tingly…” she whispered back. Of course, she realized what she had just said, which caused her cheeks and ears to turn red. Raziel went to move out of embarrassment but ended up practically stumbling into his arms. ” Um… I mean… Rosy… Decadent.” Her heart was racing, her breathing erratic. What was wrong with her? He was just whispering in her ear!

Bryce appreciated her honesty and care with the fact he was a noble. She never brought it up too much but was careful to not take advantage of his position. Of course Bryce was always guarded against people in the event they would turn out to be like that but this put his worries at ease. She then mentioned Onnen and noted that he knew quite a bit about the landscape. He smiled to himself then decided to explain.

"I travel a lot, arranging trade deals and keeping up with foreign dignitaries." Bryce said, "My family has close connections to Onnen which makes us fairly valuable to Adeluna."

Bryce was oblivious to Raziel's reaction and was under the impression that she might be too hot in the room, thus her face was flushed. People were packed on this floor so he took her by the hand and led her carefully through the crowd, making sure she was able to follow. The second floor was just as beautiful as the first one, only looking more like a museum full of statues rather than a garden.

"There were a lot of people down here. I figured you would feel more comfortable." He said, "The air is cooler up here."

Mechanical birds twittered on their branches on more sweet trees and a dryad was passing out coconut drinks for anybody passing by. Bryce got one for himself and for Raziel, though he was unsure of how she felt on coconuts. He looked over the rail and gazed down at the cake below. It was Canelux this time, with all the details of the land created in cake. Bryce offered one of the coconut drinks to Raziel.

"So what's your family like?" He asked, "You mentioned a little bit about your mother."

Bryce genuinely wanted to hear what her family was like. He knew she wasn't a noble and wanted to know what non-noble families were. All he was aware of was that nobles did things differently than most people. And this was a chance for him to understand more about Raziel. She was an interesting person. A half angel who grew up on a mountain and became a healer.

With Bryce having traveled frequently, even to Onnen, it was possible they may have been in the same city or village simultaneously without even knowing it. Though, with her lavender hair, she was sure she stuck out like a sore thumb. Raziel simply nodded at the explanation, needing no further details nor offering anything else to that matter.

She kept her head ducked as he led her through the crowd, her mind still reeling over the heat of his breath on her ear and her reaction to it. Nothing like that had ever happened before. Raziel could list a hundred reasons why her heart would accelerate or things that would affect her breathing. But none of it contributed to reacting to Bryce. The air cooled around her as they ascended to the next floor.

Raziel accepted the drink. It was not served in the traditional sense, but instead a more natural way of the shell of something. While it was not smooth, she could tell it was once rather… hairy. Curiously, she took a sip of the sweet contents within and found herself humming with delight. "Thank you, it's delicious!" Then he asked about her family. Her smile faded into a distant fondness as she found the rail and leaned on it with her forearms.

"My mother… Yes… You know of her courageous bravery, but she was the most selfless woman you would ever meet. To give up her life of traveling, life with her love, all for the sake of my well being… It could not have been an easy decision. Mother appeared content with being a seamstress, but I could always sense her loneliness that I could not fill. Gabriel, I believe, was encouraged not to settle with her, so he took Ramiel with him to raise as a warrior. Strong and determined, they fought to keep my mother and I safe from a distance." She remembered the one time she got to meet her father, to see the love and pride on his face and so much more.

"The only time I got to meet Gabriel, there was nothing I could do. He expressed his love and pride in us, but I could see the pain he held… the regret… I believe they both regretted their decision to separate the family. Ramiel, a twin I never knew I had, is… so much stronger than I am. Fierce and fearless. She took up our father's mission to protect the innocent. Every so often, she comes to visit, getting to know one another. As my mother told me stories of Gabriel, so too did Gabriel tell Ramiel of our mother." But she wasn't alone. She had more than just Ramiel as her family. There were other connections she made, adoptions she forged.

Fenriz was the first one to come to mind. An energetic vampiric child. 'I adopted a little boy as my baby brother. He was the second person I met since leaving home, and for awhile was my companion. Fenriz is a spirited young one in search of his parents. I would worry for him more if it was not for the nature of his… set of skills. Then there is Ian… Brother mine… I'm still not sure what I did to earn his devotion. Despite making his home in Onnen recently, he has stayed nearby, protecting me… Even now, he is here, probably glaring at you as Sanyi works at bringing his attention back to herself. They are… born of strife and torture. But they work to move past that, finding love for the first time." Raziel was smiling at nothing as she looked beyond her dead eyes to the memories of them, the effort she had to make to push them together.  "I'm sure there's such drama in a noble's life, right?"