Aki nodded and then limped into his room, instantly collapsing on the bed to rest for a moment. Right, first he needed a shower, then something to wear, and then...that was all right? He pondered for a moment and then shrugged getting up and heading for the bathroom, maybe some hot water would help clear his head, if not help relax his muscles.

((lol I thought this died ^^))

Alary watched Aki limp in and wondered if he'd be okay. He turned to his own room and unlocked it. He made a bee line for his closet and opened it carefully. He dodged a few things that fell out and pulled some clothes out that were a little more formal then his usual fair. He placed the clothes on the space Aki had napped in since it was the only clear spot on the bed. He then went to take a shower.

(Yea, I thought I'd bring it back to life.)

After his shower Aki wrapped his towel around his waist and then made straight for his closet, where he took out a white dress shirt and black jeans. Instead of the suit jacket though he opted for a vest with chain adornments. Finally he picked up the crown he was supposed to wear to all formal events. He sighed and then dressed quickly, carrying the crown in one hand as he left his room and leaned on the opposite wall, waiting for Alary to finish.

Alary finished with his shower and dried off. He put on the clothes he set out. A white collared shirt and some black slacks with a jacket to match. He hung up his tool belt and left the room. He locked it before turning and smiling at Aki. "Ready to go?"

Aki nodded and placed the crown at an angle on his head then began to walk down the hallway towards the banquet hall, already thinking about the horrors the night would present. He shuddered slightly at the thought.

Alary caught up and walked beside Aki. Noticing his bad mood again and knowing aki was heading for one of his funks Alary decided to try and cheer him up. He slung his arm around Aki's shoulders and grinned. "Come on Aki cheer up. If you don't I'll call you panda for the rest of the evening." Alary teased knowing how much Aki didn't like the name.

Aki pulled a face at that. Then he put one of the fakest looking grins he could muster onto his face, purposely making it look as fake as possible as he slung his arm over Alary's shoulder as well. he never did understand how the name panda got attached to him in the first place...oh wait...now he remembered. The grin dropped and he pulled another face as he relived the memory.

Alary laughed at the faces Aki made. "Come on it wasn't that bad of an experiance. Everyone's nearly forgotten that incident. " Alary said guessing why Aki had made the last face. Despite saying that thoug he started grinning and couldn't help but chuckle. "Well look on the bright side. You got a cute nickname out of it." He said trying not to smile any more.

Aki pouted and then smacked Alary's shoulder lightly. And then he heard the noise coming from the banquet hall and all joking mannerisms dropped. His arm fell back to his side and his posture straightened, after a bit he shrugged Alary's arm off. He took a deep breath and then walked to the doors, disguising his limp as much as possible, before throwing them open. Instantly all eyes turned to him and Alary. Aki let a small smile alight on his lips before he walked down the aisles to the long table they had set at the front of the room for him to sit at with the headmistress and other people like that. Aki looked over his shoulder once and then motioned for Alary to follow him.

Alary followed Aki's lead feeling a little self conscious now. These formal situations were where he came into the most trouble. He wasn't very well versed in elfian etiquette. He found a seat near Aki and gave a small smile as well. He just hoped he didn't commit another faux pas.

After he had been seated Aki nudged Alary, it was his turn to cheer his friend up. Really, no one would notice him mess up if Aki messed up first. Aki pointed to his throat again then to the paper and pen he had brought with him, 'I can't speak, so you'll have to speak for me.' he wrote.

Alary looked over as Aki nudged him. He watched Aki point to his throat and the paper and pen. He looked at the note Aki had written. "Sure thing. Any thing you want to say now? Alary whispered noding. The whole banquet hall was waiting quietly for announcments from the head table.

'I thank you all for holding this party in my favor...but the honor does not go to me...' He scribbled in his script, 'Rather it goes to my friends...wherever they are' Aki frowned when he realized he didn't see the rest of the group anywhere but held the note up for Alary to read anyway.

Alary read the note and nodded. He cleared his throat and adressed the hall. "Since Aki, I mean Prince Aki isn't feeling quite up to speaking I will do so for him." Alary then recited Aki's words to the hall, his voice coming off with more confidance then he truly felt. "Anything else?" He asked Aki also scanning for any sign of the rest of the gang.

'They can eat if they want (for some reason they need permission to eat, it's so weird isn't it?) <- do NOT read that' Akki scribbled and held up, smiling innocently at Alary.

Alary read the note and struggled not to laugh. He nodded at Aki and turned back to the hall. "Prince Aki says you may eat if you wish." He then covered his mouth with his hand so he could snicker a bit.

As the rest of the hall started to eat and the murmur of conversations rose Aki nudged Alary again and then pushed his plate towards the other boy, 'You eat first, you deserve it.' Of course they took forever to bring food to the high table and since the prince got the food first the others were staring at his food with a slightly hungry look on their faces, especially since he got the best parts of all the food that was served.

Alary looked at the plate and smiled at his friend. He'd noticed the looks Aki's plate was getting and how far away the servers were. "Alright but you eat some too. We can share can't we?" He'd shared food with his siblings all the time and besides Aki hadn't eaten anything since that morning either. "You'll need to eat if you want to get better faster."

Aki smiled and then speared a strawberry on his fork before popping it into his mouth, 'Happy?' he mouthed, and then pushed the plate closer to Alary, 'Eat.' Yes, no matter what, his friends needed to be kept away from the society he had grown up in. They were too kind for the cruel world he lived in. The cruel fate he had been born into.

Alary laughed and speard a strawberry of his own. "No I'm not happy. If you don't eat I'll feed you myself Panda." Alary whispered to him so no one else at the table could her. He grinned and poped the Strawberry into his mouth. Alary had once again forgotten ettiquette and had fallen back into his old dining habits of teasing and joking from being surrounded by siblings.

Aki made a face and punched Alary lightly, 'oh come on, i cheered up already...' he wrote. Then he shoved the notebook at Alary and picked up the persimmon sitting off to the side and bit into it. Screw etiquette. It wasn't like any one was going to reprimand him or anything. probably just talk and then next thing you know, all the nobles of the land would be eating the way Aki was eating. A bunch of suck ups. that's all they ever were, and all they would ever be. Aki finished his persimmon and then sighed, sitting back in his chair, his eyes distant. His coronation was soon wasn't it? There wasn't much time left...was there?

Alary laughed at Aki and rubbed his arm feining pain. He took the note and read it. He picked up a few grapes and threw them up and caught them in his mouth. When he turned back to Aki, Aki had that sad and distant look on his face again. Alary gave him a light punch on the shoulder to get his attention. "Hey thought you said you'd cheered up already Panda."

Aki stuck his tongue out, then took the notebook back, 'You shouldn't have done that. XD look at all the people glaring at you now XP' And it was true, many of the occupants of the room had seen Alary's joking punch and were now glaring heatedly at the poor boy.

Alary sighed and looked at the glaring faces. Well the evening had only begun and he'd already done something to get himself glared at. He shrugged. "Oh well. Kind of used to it by now. I guess there isn't anything worse I can do with you than hit you so I'm safe for the evening." He smiled at Aki to let him know he wasn't bothered.

Aki grinned again, 'And that's why you're one of my best friends, you don't let anything get you down.' He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them when another plate was set down in front of him, "Your highness." the server said, respectfully. Aki smiled at him, 'It's fine. Thank you for your hard work.' he wrote and then nudged Alary then pointed at the words then the server.