"HOW ABOUT A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THE LEADING ROLE OF THIS EVENING'S MARVELOUS SHOW!" Nemean's voice bellowed throughout Polaris, but the sprite was nowhere to be seen-- not that she'd likely be that noticable if she were here in the flesh, that is, given how small she is.
Instead, Nemean was replaced with a tiny crow darting back and forth through the air, wings fluttering. Under her failed spell, she tried to take lead as Nemean herself instead of doing it with magic, and the crow did wide loop-de-loops and dives through the air.
"LETS NOT FORGET OUR SENSATIONAL SUPPORTING CAST!" Eve's beak opened to continue the monologue, but only Nemean's reverberating voice came out, echoing far and wide throughout the room as the little crow swept across the herd of other contestants and the crowd.
"AND FINALLY, THE GRAND ORCHESTRATOR OF THIS WONDROUS SHOW! THE STUPENDOUS, THE GLAMOROUS, THE A-A-AMAZINGLY MIRACULOUS-" Eve came to a point, billowing up into the air miraculously.
"NEMEAN!"
.... and then there was silence.
Eve fluttered back down to the ground in front of the judges where she'd began, bowed her tiny head. "Thank you," she croaked, in a voice that was starkly much quieter to the mimicry's monologue, before she went fluttering back to the alcove she came from.
"Speech."
Kin-Kin watched the show with an even expression, her ears pricked forward as she took in the sights and... well... the stories. Pride's show wove words with magic in a way that she was sure was very impressive, except that a couple of his spells didn't seem to go off.
And then the... worm....? brought disaster with it. or at least, she thought it had. Medics were called, and Kin-Kin was fairly certain that its show didn't count.
After that, came the gorilla with its searing heat and bellowing roar. Kin-Kin watched, and her brows perked upright at the... well... it was impressive, she had to admit. But equally, Kin-Kin found herself shuddering at the thought of willingly setting herself on fire.
And then came a familiar face; as the cat stepped up on stage, she grinned back, and returned the wink, watching as he refracted the light into a rainbow, arcing above him. After that initial show, she held her breath for the rest of his performance, but... her smile wavered as things began to go south.
Before she knew it, he was curled up into a ball, is face hidden. Her smile faded to concern, her ears flickering back. It had been a while since she'd seen the cat, and she knew that when they'd first met he had been very easily afraid, but something about the way he'd swaggered up onto the stage earlier kept him on her mind.
Perhaps, she thought, I ought to go check on him later.
The next few acts blurred into one another. There was someone who grew a tree, someone who summoned mushrooms and golden wings which made the ghost of a knowing smile flicker across her lips.
The next she found herself straightening with surprise was when the aforementioned tree erupted into white-hot plasma. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she leaned forward to watch just a little closer.
As the cat's show ended, she gave a satisfied nod, the tip of her tail twitching. A good performance.
The next one was Huckleberry, and just seeing them was enough to conjure an encouraging smile. A smile which quickly died as the hybrid failed, again and again, and was soon unconscious. Another unfortunate competitor she'd have to check on later.
She looked up as the next competitor stormed onto the scene-- quite literally. The wolf found her smile returning as she watched them control the tornado with ease and skill, fill it with lights and then banish it with an impressive boom.
After that was... Nemean? Kin-Kin tensed, and looked up, before quickly realizing that it was only a bird, and all part of the show. She relaxed, watching the remainder of the bird's show with a disapproving expression before turning to the next competitor- the panther, striding out into the arena cloaked in smoke.
She watched as he began to glow, before breathing out a bout of fire.
She grinned and nodded, once again. Impressive.
And then it was over; the show done, and Kin-Kin let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She heard a voice at her side, and turned to see the young kitten that had also been tasked with judging the competition. Her ears flicked forward as she listened, then nodded. "The gorilla's felt more... Ya know... dangerous," she agreed, with a sparkle in her eye. "But I don't think that was all because of the magic."
The screaming had probably helped.
She thought some more. "I feel that Aure's performance is a given for first," she agreed. "And the little cat's performance was awfully impressive. She'd fit nicely into second place, I think. Which leaves our firebreathin' friend over here for third." She turned to glance at the dog- the final judge to have a say. "Whaddaya think?"
Tags:
OOC/Side Notes: N/A
@Aster
Aster remained laying down, resting, though Oliver was right when he said that she'd feel better within a few minutes. She watched the performances in expressionless silence, and waited for the other two judges to speak before even thinking over her opinion.
She liked Pride's, and she liked Elspet's. She liked Aure's and Rift's tree. She could barely see Wilder's performance (and was fairly certain she could just do the same) and Sebastian's just felt like he was copying Elspet. The dog shifted, grumbled, and sat back up. "Okay," she said simply.
"In first place, we have Auré. Congratulations," Aster sounded exhausted, and ultimately anti-climatic. Aster wanted to go to sleep. "In second place, Wilder. And in third place, Sebastian."
There was a pause. Aster blinked once, then twice. "Well done," she said absent-mindedly, then hobbled off elsewhere to nap off the lingering sickness.
WELL DONE TO WINNERS!
@Auré @Wilder @Sebastian
everyone else can now exit and claim magicka!
@Pride @Squick @Zevruu
exit aster
Kera furrowed her brow a little as the judge weakly announced the winners and then headed off. Bewildered, but also concerned, Kera stretched herself out before wandering towards Auré.
"Congratulations," she barked, cheerfully. "Great performance!" She didn't quite wait for a reply, however, wandering quickly off.
Kera had patrols to do, after all. She went bounding into the distance, leaving Polaris entirely.
exit kera
Aure watched the performances following his with a bright, eager gaze, despite the shortcomings the competitors may have faced. An impressive show of mimicry (he assumed) had come from the little crow, and a dark cat sauntered out with a display of fire --- which seemed just different enough from the screaming gorilla's not to be considered unoriginal. It was a spectacle, least to say.
So, when the three judges seemed to unanimously agree upon him as the first place winner, the wyvern recoiled. He blinked, peering across the crowd. One of the contestants --- the Lightbringer --- stepped forth to congratulate him, and all Aure's autopiloting brain could muster was a hurried "thanks."
Giggle had taught him many things, but apparently taking compliments was not one of them. Rounded ears flicking to and fro, the hybrid gave a quick nod and bow to the remaining two judges. "Thank you so much for the opportunity," he chirped as quickly as possible, then skittered back off into the crowd.
In hindsight, he'd wish he had stuck around to check up on Wilder and give a proper farewell. Unfortunately, Aure just simply took wing toward some quieter corner of Polaris.
;exit Aure
Eve shook herself out, taking a quick glance around Polaris. If she even considered congratulating any of the winners, it was ultimately unclear-- Eve had a mission to get herself into.
The crow leaned out of the alcove she parked herself into before she fluttered down, soaring above the crowd, and then along the crystal river. She hovered, searching-- again, unclear for what --before she dove further into the room and completely out of sight.
exit eve