Chapter 119: A Few New Faces

Enyo advanced through the room and was relieved as some of the gazes started to wander elsewhere, sizing up the rest of the guests that had come along with her. There were still a hefty handful staring straight at her but she just walked towards a table full of familiar faces and let the spectators waste their time. Fate, Sadie, and Rhea all received nothing more than cursory glances but Aejaz and Allie were the victims of more substantial probing. Even with his slovenly getup Aejaz was still a handsome devil and, in a way, the half-hearted look worked better than a neat and tidy one would. He was like a playboy in appearance, even if not one at heart, and that attracted quite a few amorous glances from ladies who were into bad boys. He was undoubtedly the best looking man in the room so that earned the ire of a few of the others who were staring daggers at him. Those glares quickly stopped when they noticed cute little Allie next to him and decided to observe her instead. It was criminal! An evil 'bad boy' like Aejaz misleading and dragging around a porcelain doll like Allie was heinous! Or so they thought. Really, in actuality, Aejaz had a higher propensity for cowardice than Allie did. The only thing even remotely 'bad' about him was that he was a petty thief. His looks were deceiving! Regardless, these two became talk of the hall amongst some of the more bored gossipers and conversations about how to separate them started spreading. Jealousy had taken over and some of the people here wanted either Allie or Aejaz all to themselves but the opportunity to sneak on over never came up as they were hand in hand the entire time. The snakes were kept at bay by the partner of the person they were preying on and it seemed that would remain the case for the rest of the night. That didn't stop some of the more dedicated lot from cursing them under their breath and hoping their happiness didn't last. People were just evil sometimes, that was all there was too it... For the most part. In the case of Aejaz' clan members and family, who were eyeing him up from one of the corners of the room, things were a bit more complicated. Aejaz had noticed them pretty quickly but stopped looking at them even faster than that. He wanted to stay as far away from them today as was humanly possible. The less he had to do with them the better, although whether they would leave him alone was another matter entirely. If the brother that detested him the most didn't pick a fight, then maybe the cultivator with half his face scorched would. This was the man who had pestered Ares back in Vargaraad's tomb. It seemed the shock bead hadn't done him in fully but had wreaked havoc on his pretty features nonetheless. And yet, despite the anger he held in his heart towards Ares and Aejaz, his scowl directed at Aejaz wasn't even remotely close to being the deepest one on the table he was seated at. That corner of the room was emanating unprecedented levels of animosity towards him and even Allie could tell. It made her feel awkward but, more than anything, she really pitied Aejaz. He'd really undersold the extent of how mean his family was to him. So much so that Allie almost felt grateful that her family situation had been 'easier' in comparison. Dead but loving parents probably wasn't a worse position to be in than what Aejaz must have put up with... Both were bad but one was a permanent problem. Why they still didn't like him even after all this time away from him was beyond Allie but it just seemed so unreasonable to her to have it out for him like this. She just held Aejaz' hand tighter and avoided looking in their direction too. There was no point paying these people any mind on a day like today. 

Enyo neared the table but was intercepted by a group of men who were all visibly arrogant and pompous to the last. What they were after was obvious. If one failed, the next would try in his stead like a bunch of annoying salesmen. They weren't selling a product, though, they were trying to sell themselves. Clearly Enyo was a woman worth wooing if possible. Her looks aside, Rhea was a monster through and through and just being related to her was something that anyone in this room would fight to the death for. Ties to the Legion clan's matriarch would set you up for life. No, it would be more than that. You could live thousands of lives in luxury back to back! That didn't mean that Enyo was secondary mind you. Anyone who knew about the Legion clan would be a fool if they didn't also know about her. Not recognising Bellona was fair game because of her troubled history within the clan but Enyo was openly lauded as the ace of the entire clan and that was no small position. In just about every way conceivable Enyo was a desirable partner and some of the mentally weaker men throughout the venue were similar to Bellona in that they drooled uncontrollably. At least Bellona only did it in her sleep though, these people were just pathetic. The group stopping Enyo in her tracks were a bit more refined though, they had higher cultivations on average, were dressed cleanly, and were familiar with polite custom due to their upbringings. In other words, this was Enyo's worst nightmare. These people were clearly going to try and leverage what puny backgrounds they had which effectively made this a horde of Trews! If it didn't work for Trew, who had a higher standing compared to everyone here combined, what made these chumps think it would work on Enyo even if she were single?! They must have thought their businesses were unique in terms of their hold on the market, and that might not necessarily be untrue, but what did it matter? Having sole access to supply was only useful if the person you were bartering with didn't already have everything they needed. What were these people going to do even if the Legion clan needed their goods for whatever reason? They didn't, obviously, but even if they did would these people attempt to threaten and blackmail the Legion clan? Their entire business would disintegrate in seconds... These people had nothing to offer and, to make matters worse for them, that wasn't even the main problem! Enyo threw out a stern gaze and headed off the greetings by making something very clear. "Don't bother. I'm taken. If you have important business matters to discuss with the Legion clan then my mother is who you should be looking for." She was frank and curt in her dismissal which shocked all the men here; and also one woman too who also joined in on the fun because why not?

Some of the men left but a majority stayed as they truly believed Enyo was lying. They'd heard enough rumours about her to assume that first statement, that she was in a relationship, was untrue. Enyo couldn't blame them either because she had, once before, used that very excuse to escape some annoying pests back home. It didn't change the fact that this situation was incredibly obnoxious though. If Ares were here she could have just dumped all these people on him by pointing him out as the man in her life. They wouldn't leave him alone after, that was for sure, but Ares was... A people person and would find a way of getting rid of them. As for her current situation, Enyo was this close to just parting the crowd with barriers and walking right past them but her mother came up from behind and placed her hands on Enyo's shoulders. Rhea also brought Bellona over and spoke loudly enough that anyone who was listening in the conversation could hear clearly. "Both of my daughters have a fiancé." Rhea casually left out the somewhat important detail that the fiancé in question was one man, not two, but kept going as that would be a hassle to explain. "There hasn't been an official announcement by the clan yet due to complicated circumstances but I give you my word it's true. Please stop approaching my engaged daughters with inappropriate intentions lest you wish to make an enemy of the Legion clan." Simple, but effective. Trying to get intimate with an engaged woman was shameful behaviour that was rightly punishable and so the Legion clan wouldn't be in the wrong to take action. Even if the people here didn't believe the words coming out of Rhea's mouth they couldn't possibly debunk them either so they had to abide by her declaration for now as the potential consequences for not doing as such were catastrophic. Also the people here were small-fry, none of them had the kind of backing that would allow them to poke and prod at Rhea for verification of her statements. If any of them tried they would be obliterated on the spot for their disrespect and no one would pity them. Worse still, Rhea had prevented them from trying again with Bellona too. She hadn't been the main goal but some still viewed her as an alternative. For now they had to retreat. Maybe at a later point would they be able to harmlessly initiate a 'friendly conversation with no ulterior motives' and get closer that way. The gathered guys, and one woman, all left. The woman did still wink at Enyo though.

What was interesting about this woman was that she completely disregarded Enyo afterwards, as if she didn't even exist anymore, and instead turned her attention to Aejaz and winked at him too before returning to her table... In the corner... With the rest of the Fleeting Glimpse clan. Aejaz' eye twitched as he explained to everyone else that that was his childhood friend, Trixie, and she likely only approached Enyo as a guise to secretly say hello to him without being berated by his family for it. She had always been like this... Sly, cunning, and a real mischievous go-getter. If there was something she wanted, very little would stop her from getting it. That was the description Aejaz gave but it was also the impression Allie got as she narrowed her eyes at the vixen across the hall. She didn't feel much pity for Aejaz anymore. Rather, she wanted to chat with Enyo about something. Now wasn't really the time for that though so she would wait patiently and then ask her about what was on her mind later. Enyo could tell Allie was getting fidgety and smiled wryly in her direction... At which point she noticed a small bomb on her back! She quickly summoned a barrier to contain its blast but was taken aback when it was just a little bit of confetti that came out of it... Aejaz' brow was drenched in sweat as he nervously explained what had just happened. "Trixie, like me, has a unique aspect under the darkness pilar. Hers is called 'pass the parcel' and specialises in hiding bombs on her opponent without them realising, like a game of highly unfair tag with explosive repercussions for losing. She can also craft custom bombs with the gadgetry pillar so you never really know what kind of surprise she has in store for you. She used to only be able to pass the bomb on via touch but that seems to have changed over the years... She always used to prank me with those things too so try not to take it personally..."

Allie's face hardened as she grated her teeth and growled. "A declaration of war must be returned in kind!" Allie was far too cute to be making statements like this and, instead of coming across as a bold lion, she more so resembled a lion plushie...

Aejaz was completely lost as to why this was happening however. "Eh? Eh? War? Wait, war? What war? With who? Eh?"

"Stay out of it, 'Jaz! I got this!" Allie's determination soared as she muttered under her breath that she would would deal with this woman just like Aejaz had dealt with Tuck at the alchemy competition way back when. Allie had wizened up a bit during her maturation and retroactively realised what had been going on behind the scenes earlier. She hadn't ever mentioned it to Aejaz but she was aware and she kinda liked how protective he was. Rather than be upset, that feeling had been twisted into love and, ironically, love was the cause. If she wasn't in love with him at the time of realising she might have cared but, now, she was past that point. Allie already knew Aejaz had a crush on this woman, Trixie, in the past, he'd been honest with her about that, but what he hadn't mentioned was that Trixie clearly liked him! Clearly... Clearly for anyone other than the muppet in question, it seemed. He really was blissfully unaware but Allie didn't blame him. The vixen had gotten to him early and conditioned him. 'She couldn't pass on the bombs without touching the person', Allie could smell the lie. Trixie just wanted to be hands on with him from an early age and lied through her teeth to get close to him! Close enough that roughhousing and touch was normalised! Aejaz had fallen for it! This woman was dangerous and she was trying to break and enter Aejaz and Allie's house! Homewrecker alert! Trixie had bared her fangs at Allie while revealing all manner of truths in such a way that Aejaz himself hadn't cottoned on, and Allie had to admit it, Trixie was good. Fending off a woman like this was not going to be easy. Fortunately, Allie had her own weapons. She looked down at Leo, who'd come along in search of fish, and he looked back up at her with understanding in his eyes. Leo was a cheeky monster but he was always firmly on Allie's side and he intrinsically understood the situation. Allie brought out Mini-Pillie Scout and had him attach to the necklace around Leo's neck before both were sent off to inspect the competition. The results of their expedition would be relayed to her at a later date and Ares could be Leo's translator when he arrived if need be.

The big group arrived at the Legion family table and it seemed Fate would be safe because the five people already at the table were too busy gawking at Enyo and, to a lesser extent, Bellona. Tyr, the unmatched sis con, refused to believe his ears. He, like the others at the table, had overheard Rhea's remark. ENYO WAS GETTING MARRIED? TO WHO? TYR WOULD SKIN HIM ALIVE! He couldn't bring his jaw to shut so he sat their with a stunned-stupid face and finding any words to speak in this situation was impossible as his brain was sputtering. It didn't help that his sister looked the way she did. He had been expecting to see her arrive in her armour. For her to be dressed like this, engaged, and to have cut her hair... Tyr's world had been turned upside down and he didn't know what to think of any of this... Was she dressed like this to impress her fiancé? Was he the reason she was no longer stuck in her armour 24/7? Was he the reason she could smile like this? He still wasn't going to tolerate a man putting his hands on Enyo ever, and he would kill the individual at the next available opportunity, but he had to give him some credit at least... And who the hell would marry a woman like Bellona? Even Tyr considered her to be a gorilla and he was a sis con. The fact that her suitor not only met her requirements but was tolerant of this violent ape was a miracle! There was a faint hope in his heart that Rhea had indeed been lying. His sisters should remain pure and unmarried forever! Any man would never meet their standards and would only ever sully their perfection! In other words, Tyr was insane! This was a side of him not many people knew about, one that hid deeply behind his perfect veneer...

Sitting next to Tyr, and equally as dumbfounded, was Deimos. He wasn't wearing his bike... Legion gear, but he wasn't wearing fancy clothes either. This ridiculous man had shown up in a Hawaiian shirt and was sipping on cocktails like he owned the damn place. He very nearly dropped his cocktail though when he saw Enyo strutting around in a showy dress. The news that she was engaged was still sinking in because the change from who she was previously to she was currently portraying herself as was drastic, to say the least. More than anything, Deimos was curious about what kind of person could win over a stubborn woman like Enyo. Deimos had tried his best to help her ease up and act like a normal human instead of some justice-dispensing robot years ago but he'd been ignored so hard he genuinely believed fixing Enyo's character would be impossible forever. The fact that someone hadn't just accomplished that, but even taught this woman the meaning of love of all things, was incomprehensible. Even though he assumed it would be pointless, Deimos ran through a list of all the guys he knew that were likely to have been around Enyo recently to try and figure out who was responsible for all of this... Trew? BLEUGH! Deimos almost hurled in his mouth. Definitely not. Couldn't have been that dork. If nothing else, Rhea would have killed Trew before she ever considered tolerating him. Actually, that was another point, why was Rhea ok with this? For the guy to meet his mother's criteria was actually a shocking feat. Was this man a superhuman? A legendary existence? A king?... A king? … ROOFTOP KING! That guy knew Enyo, right?! And his smile when he pretended to call her name... No fucking way, that bastard?! SURELY NOT!?

While Deimos had an internal crisis, the next person on the table was having the exact opposite reaction. Pele, the oldest sister, was smiling so much it almost hurt her jaw as she pointed her finger at Enyo, Bellona, and Rhea repeatedly. In Pele language, this meant 'you, and you, is what she said true?!?!?!?!?' Pele was slightly darker than Deimos but not quite as dark as her mother. Granted none of the three of them were particularly dark as Rhea was bronze at most and the others were a shade or two lighter. Still, Pele's skin tone, when looked at in conjunction with the bangles on her arm, her torn shirt and short shorts, and her wild and free black hair, really gave the impression of a very energetic and bubbly foreigner. Her eyes were a fiery orange and her friendly demeanour was welcoming. She had a steely temper when angered but, for the most part, she was an excitable woman who was always in a good mood and, for the sake of everyone around her, that was the way it should stay. When Pele blew her top she did it like no other. Even Rhea was somewhat concerned this child would be a walking disaster with her lava-specialised magic when she grew up if not handled with the utmost caution. It was hard to express any of this towards her though because she was usually really innocent and undeserving of criticism. It was difficult to upset her too so her outbursts were rare. Pele was the blazing beacon of the Legion clan and she was the 'moral support'. If you needed a pep talk or if you just wanted to be cheery then Pele was the go-to girl. Still, she was also respected for her strength too as she was no slouch in that department. Her unique art was awe inspiring and her talent with the spear was tied for first place in the clan's younger generation with Gladius. When she was fighting aside, Pele was a pure woman at heart who valued simplicity and honesty. She changed a little when she fought, though, and became... A bit more aggressive. Mostly, though, she was the kind of person that was easy to get along with and someone you would never forget after meeting her. She was full of expression and never hesitated to smile which also made her quite charming in her own upbeat way. That's not to say aesthetically she wasn't charming too though, she was incredibly beautiful. She was a close second to Enyo and was objectively prettier than her own mother. She was always modest about it and never bragged though. All in all, Pele was a woman you could watch for less than a minute and come away with the conclusion that she was a good person. She was approachable too and never shied away from conversation, especially conversations she was personally interested in, like the one she wanted to have with her sisters! Viva la party and whatnot, but this was way more important! Pele wanted nothing more than to drag these two to some secluded corner, hog them for the entire night, and chat up a storm! Pele was infinitely envious of Rhea who was clearly in the know.

Then there were the last two siblings. Palioxis and Phobos were hugging each other and looking at Enyo like she was some kind of alien. This was a rare opportunity to see Palioxis, specifically, with any look on her face whatsoever. Her tired blue eyes and dull grey hair gave off the impression that she cared about literally nothing. Her mouth rarely ever formed any shape other than a frown and her general body language made her look as if she was perpetually attempting to retreat from the world at large. Her petite frame, headband, and frilly dress made it impossible to hate her though. Like Allie she looked like a doll, in fact maybe even more so than Allie. She was younger than her too, coming in at thirteen years old. She was incredibly young to be competing in the tournament but she was also strong enough to justify her position on the team. Palioxis was a rude munchkin, though, and had even spit on someone who once suggested she not compete due to her age. Her appearance was very adorable, yes, but she was a mean spirited one that only ever got along with family members and no one else. Even then the only family member she really outwardly admitted to liking was Phobos, her twin brother. These two were basically inseparable from birth and finding one without the other was heresy. Palioxis spent a good chunk of time consoling her cowardly brother and looking after him because Phobos, if a comparison had to be made, was roughly as timid as Tuck. Even now Palioxis was patting Phobos to comfort the shaking boy and muttering "There, there. Happy Enyo isn't real and can't hurt you." Long story short, Palioxis had quite the mouth on her and rarely hesitated to let it fire on all cylinders.

As for Phobos, aside from his constant cowering, he was just a relatively ordinary boy. He wore a plain green shirt and blue jeans, also plain. Describing him in any way was a herculean task because there really wasn't much to talk about other than his persistently frightened face. He could occasionally be caught chewing his nails and he stuttered somewhat frequently but that was about it. His sister was very caring and he hid behind her a lot, thus they formed a sort of duo. Phobos could fight but he refused to go near people so he primarily relied on long range magic before giving up entirely whenever anyone got close. Part of his 'pathetic' nature stemmed from his father's constant disappointment in him and it was a deeply buried mental scar he struggled with. At least Bellona was lucky enough to be mostly ignored by Major but Phobos had the roughest time with his father of all the children. When Rhea said she didn't talk to Major again after the incident eighteen years ago, that was mostly true except for one exception. There had to be an exception otherwise these two siblings wouldn't have ever been born. The truth was that, after five years of not seeing him even a single time, Rhea wondered if Major had mellowed out even remotely. He was still the father of her children so she made one last ditch attempt to live a normal life with him. She was shocked when she thought he was finally making an effort but that didn't last. The day she found out she was pregnant again was the day she almost killed Major because he admitted he only tolerated her so that she would give birth to more powerful soldiers. That was literally the only reason he even pretended to care. Rhea had been on the verge of strangling him to death but couldn't bring herself to do it for two reasons. One, killing Major would be satisfying but selfish. It wasn't her primary concern but, again, he was her children's father. This reason alone wouldn't have convinced her but there was another problem. The clan would be temporarily leaderless. There was really only one other potential candidate to take over but it would have been rough sailing and destabilised the clan for a while. It's not like there weren't people who wouldn't take advantage of the fact that Major was dead and Rhea was due to give birth. This was the main reason she didn't. After giving birth she dedicated her time to looking after Phobos and Palioxis to try and keep them away from Major. She was mostly successful but during the periods in which she wasn't Major treated them like dirt. He didn't love Rhea and definitely not her children either so he saw no value in them other than that as soldiers for his army. Palioxis was strong but Phobos was not in comparison and he was bullied quite extensively because of it. Whenever Rhea wasn't around Palioxis comforted him in her stead leading to the current dynamic. Even now Rhea regretted not finishing what she started and killing Major. Every single day she felt the urge to kill him. In hindsight, so what if the clan disappeared? The Legion clan could burn so long as she managed to turn Major's corpse to ashes amidst it all. Unfortunately, now, she wasn't sure what to do because, if the rumours were true, she might not be able to kill him anymore. It seemed he had some kind of secret weapon up his sleeve and that was a risk not worth taking when he could just be safely ignored. The children were out of his grasp and reluctant to see him as a father anymore so Rhea considered this her win... She still wanted to kill him though. Using her and betraying her trust like that, squandering his second chance, after everything he'd done prior... It was all completely unforgivable. None of the other matriarchs disagreed with the idea that Rhea had had it the worst in terms of her marriage. Even though Eagerton and Edgerton's father was an asshole there was at least some understanding because his story was complicated. What he'd done couldn't be forgiven but at least he cared deeply about his children beyond the cold hearted exterior he put up. Major was an unrepenting piece of human garbage. Margaret had issues with her husband but that was trifling compared to the issues literally everyone else had with Major. She would gladly pick her own husband in a heartbeat over Major if given the choice. Hell even if Major was the only option she'd rather just stay single, he was that repulsive.

He wasn't here now though and wasting brain power on a sub-human individual like him was pointless. Instead, everyone was focused on the two sisters and trying to wrap their heads around what they were seeing. Enyo simply smirked and stuck her tongue which almost knocked out Tyr and Deimos on the spot. She hit them with the one two punch and introduced them to someone else who had been relatively quiet today so far but was about to make a big splash. "It's been a while everyone, I'm glad to see you all again. I want to catch up with you all and explain a few things because I can tell you're dying to ask but, first, before all of that, there's someone I want to introduce you to." Enyo turned around and picked up Appa. "This here is Appa, and this cute little child is mine! She's my adopted daughter and I'd like you all to meet her."

Appa, as mentioned briefly prior, had indeed gotten 'dressed' up for the occasion... Sort of. Appa wasn't wearing clothes or anything, Shades struggled to even do that and it wasn't worth the hassle, so no, that wasn't the case... But there was a change! Above Appa's rope, and slightly below its eyes, centred perfectly, was a small black bow tie! It was one small change and yet her cuteness levels were off the charts. Enyo had hugged Appa for over ten minutes straight after seeing her daughter's new look and Rhea and Bellona were also smitten on sight. It was a simple change but Appa was simple to begin with so it really worked! Appa, now adorned with an accessory, looked at everyone on the table who were all staring right back. Appa raised its rope and wagged it back and forth like a waving hand as it happily greeted everyone. "Hello! I'm Appa! Mum says we're all family now so let's all get along and be happy together!"

Rhea squealed and stole Appa from Enyo while spinning it around and hugging it. "Why are you so adorable?!" While this was happening, Tyr had fallen backwards off his chair and Deimos was choking on his drink after a spit-take. Pele had bounded off her chair and rushed over to hug the cutesy shade while Palioxis and Phobos tilted their heads in curiosity. Clearly, Enyo had a lot of explaining to do but there was definitely a merry atmosphere going around the table regardless. It was understood that it was a time for Enyo's siblings to be in a celebratory mood even if they hadn't yet processed everything, so that was mostly how they felt... Mostly... Tyr was still optimising the DIY torture session he was devising for the individual that was responsible! His hatred for this mystery individual was rapidly overtaking the distaste he had for his own father!