"You aren't worth any more than a single Fuaran Faer."
The crowd behind Sana erupted in whispers. Unbothered, Illya continued.
"I'm sure you'll agree when I say that rich nobles and those of higher status can barely comprehend the value of a single coin. They always lust for more than they can take on. To the poor and common people, a single coin is a great treasure because they know of the hard work it takes to obtain it and how it provides for their families. Today's event is meant for nobles and common folk alike to demonstrate their skills. Regardless of the bad blood between you and I, there is a time and place to deal with it and that is not now. Don't bring such pathetic squabbles into this Sana."
Illya's eyes narrowed as she shot another warning glare in his direction. Sana didn't even so much as flinch under her gaze. Instead, he put his hands up in surrender.
"Alright, Alright you caught me. I just wanted to poke some fun at you but you are right. I'll save that for after the festivities." He smiled at her with the kind of look that would charm even the gods, yet all it earned from Illya was an irritated huff.
"You should teach your student better. The next time he uses that silver tongue of his to spit cheap flattery, someone may cut it out." There was a grin on her face but her words were dripping with venom.
Sana laughed without a care as Gabriel, despite his best efforts, cowered behind Banshee. Avarice glanced at the man who's nervous laugh gave him away. With that sorted out, Illya stepped into the center of the wide courtyard, absentmindedly playing with a strand of her hair.
"This year's prey are very special inmates from my underworld prison. Of course, we're not letting out anything exceptionally dangerous. As you know, each hunting ground has its own limitations in regard to how many spirits can be allowed in. While Solaria's is one of the bigger ones, I'd like to remind you that that excessive hogging of prey, including the excessive setting of traps is not permitted. Summoning more spirits that what is originally let in to gain some more points is also not allowed and of course violence against other participants is prohibited. This is in part an archery contest so only archery is permitted. In a nutshell, don't be assholes. Remember to fire your signals whenever you catch your prey. You know the drill. When the gun fires you may enter."
Hearing this, all of the participants stood along the perimeter of the hunting grounds, ready to move in. Illya walked back up to her seat, turned around and in a grand fashion, pulled out her gun and fired it into the air. In a flash, they took off, speeding into the hunting grounds to find good vantage points. Illya put her gun away and sat down, crossing her leg over the other. Callisto poured a cup of tea for both of them and handed one to her.
Sin and Ri-is were the first two inside. Prior to arriving, Illya had open the portal to let the inmates out. It wasn't long until the sky was lit up with the colours and insignia's of the other clans, most were from the Hao Clan, signaling that they had begun catching prey. The only signals that weren't being set off were those from Solaria and Sindaria, but that wouldn't last long either. Ri-is and Sin maneuvered through the hunting grounds with swiftness and ease until they found several spirits. They readied their arrows but before they could release them, the sound of wind whipping past them buzzed in their ears as arrows flew past them and lodged themselves into the heads of the spirits.
The pair turned around to meet the condescending gaze of Gabriel and Banshee, who stood above them. Gabriel held the bow and arrow in his hands and Banshee stood silently beside him. The Sindarian insignia went off in the sky and Sin huffed.
"Come on Ri-is." He called for his brother who was on a mountain ledge slightly higher than himself.
Ri-is complied without a word, running after Sin, who sped ahead of them. The two of them had run for some time before finally cornering some more prey. Sin readied his arrow but was yet again beaten to the punch by Gabriel's. Sin turned around, this time with his growing frustration evident on his face.
"What's your bloody problem!" He exclaimed, raising his voice enough to get the point across, though not enough to be yelling outright. He did want to try and uphold some level of civility for his mother's sake.
The smirk on Gabriel's face though obscured by the way the sun outlined him from behind, was still very clear to Sin's eyes.
"Nothing at all. Is there something wrong?"
Sin was not a fan of his taunting and looked over at Ri-is who nodded in understanding. Ri-is levitated in front of them, earning an amused chuckle.
"What is it, your Highness? We haven't done anything wrong, " said Gabriel sarcastically.
Sin's ears could pick up on the distinct sound of approaching spirits and grinned. "Oh, I know. I'm just making sure you don't interfere with my prey again."
The way Ri-is' eyes lit up was highly reminiscent of Illya's, with golden-violet colouring that slowly twisted like waves as Ri-is set his eyes on Gabriel. When Gabriel met his gaze, he found himself paralyzed and slowly slipping into a trance. Through Gabriel's eyes both Sin and Ri-is had already run off, no longer in sight, leaving Banshee and himself to locate them yet again but to Banshee, the princes were very clearly standing in front of them. Ri-is kept him in his illusionary trap while Sin readied his arrows for the fast approaching spirits. However, much to his ire, he was stopped in his tracks yet again. This time by a blood-curdling shriek.
****Author's Note****
Illya used Craobh Fuaran currency (Craobh Fuaran is a country in Targaera) but their currency is only used by the fae in their country, never outside.
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