Beginnings and Endings

Armand sat at the table with his mind whirling about how to find his lioness once more. He would surely not grab her arm again as it was out of line for a gentleman and she was far too highly thought off to let anyone touch her smooth, soft, yet strong figure. Dimitri came over with Mari still draped over his shoulder. "Hey buddy, still at the table?" There was an unmistakable laugh in his words. "don't worry, plenty of girls out there. On that note, this is Mari." Armand nodded but never looked over at the blonde in front of him.

Dimitri sat down and Mari took her place by his side. "So you find anyone you like so far?" Armand briskly grazed his gaze over Dimitri meeting eyes for a fraction of a second before scanning once more. Dimitri, confused by the gesture, looked as to where Armand was looking. Not really scanning for anything in particular. "You gonna talk anytime soon?" Armand rolled his eyes but seemed to have given up on his search for the time being. He looked at Mari for the first time and gave an actual hello.

"Good evening mam. Your name is?"

"Mari Palasi" Armand nodded.

"ah, of the famous Opera Palasi family."

"yes" she responded a bit quietly.

"Yes well," Armand was cut off as Orian stormed over, pulled a chair, and sat with a thud that exclaimed he was frustrated. "What's wrong?" asked Armand, taken aback.

"Lagarus." Orian said under his breath. "Lagarus scared her away."

"How did he scare someone away?" asked Armand.

"Who did he scare away?" added Dimitri

"With his military uniform!" said Orian rather loudly before he lowered his voice a bit. "he scared away Leah, the girl I was talking to." Dimitri laughed and Armand bunched up his eyebrows in thought.

"how can a girl be scared of a man in uniform, isn't it the opposite?" Armand said as his eyes glazed over in the way they often did when he began to run things over in his mind.

"Cause there wasn't a girl." Blurted Dimitri in a small fit of laughter. Orian's eyes met Dimitri and there was an unspoken threat casted.

"That's not a nice thing to say." Mari added in the silence.

"Sorry love, I can't help myself. He asks for it, if you knew him. Take his outfit for example."

"Enough" said Orian, positively shaking with anger.

"Fine, sorry. Is that better?" he asked though he was looking at Mari and not Orian. Orian decided to take the high road and instead focused on Armand once more.

"We were having a great conversation with her and I. I had never met another woman like her. Usually women can be annoying." There was a scoff that came from Mari.

"We are not all annoying, men can be annoying too you know." Orian ignored her and continued to talk to Armand. Dimitri placed his hand on hers.

"Don't mind him babe. Not everyone can know what a gift women are to us." Mari smiled but then decided to excuse herself from the table. "Look at that, now you scared her off." Gesturing when Mari had sat. Orain rolled his eyes.

"She can do much better than you. In fact I did her a favor." Dimitri stood up so quickly that the swiftness actually slightly surprised Orian. Armand was already diffusing the situation by standing as well and gesturing toward the garden.

"You said Lagarus was outside, why don't we check on him?" The tension lingered for a moment before they both agreed to check on their missing friend.

Orian was already used to the night air but the coolness of it was such a stark difference from the warm building that it caused Dimitri and Armand to take a moment to temper the slight shock to their senses. They walked out toward the fountain and found Lagarus laying down on a nearby bench blowing smoke out to the open air watching the fumes dance with his breath. The coolness magnified this effect and Lagarus spent most of his time watching the fumes rather than smoking it.

"Lagarus," Armand began carefully, "are you here right now?" Lagarus didn't move at the sound but instead took another long puff from his cigarette. He exhaled then moved his hand to touch his hair before answering.

"She poured a drink on my head." He removed his hand looking at the slightly sticky mess that now settled between his fingers. Armand breathed a small sigh of relief and pulled a handkerchief out of his coat, tossing it to Lagarus.

"Here, clean it up if you can." The group finally made their way over to Lagarus and made themselves comfortable. Lagarus sat up then leaned back in his chair. Orian stood stoic near the bench. Armand sat on the bench leaning over with his elbows on his knees and his hands lifelessly hanging. Dimitry sat on the arm of the bench next to Armand. They all stayed in the quiet letting the cool wind blow away the stress of the party. All tension between them seemed to freeze and for a moment they seemed like children unable to mingle at an adult's social party.

"We should go back in," said Armand in a flat tone. They were all transfixed on the fountain. The water splashing down felt calming. Eventually in turn they all agreed. After cleaning his head of the remaining sticky liquid Lagarus joined his friends in their walk back to the party. The brightness of it all blinded them again, as the night outside grew darker than before. There was more laughter and music than it had on their first arrival as many of the attendees were now deep in their wine. The hall was now crowded with dancers who had shed their earlier shyness with their liquor courage.

The men took part in the night drinking. All except Lagarus who decided to decline the drinks passed around. With stress gone and alcohol raging through them the men acted as if they were in the bar once more. Forgetting the party and instead spoke openly to one another of their adventures since last they had met. Dimitri explained about saving a friend and the wonderful woman whom he had touched to do it.

Armand spit out his drink in disbelief. "What! No you didn't!" Orain, who would normally talk down to Dimitri for touching a woman of higher standing in such a disgraceful way, couldn't help but laugh under his looser state. Dimitri egged on.

"I definitely did, even got her number" he said laughing loud and tossing it on the table for the others to see. The shock mixed with laughter rallied them up again.

"oh so it was you was it?" The voice came from behind Dimitri who looked as if he had been slapped behind the head. He turned around to see a very stern, very angry woman. "I thought I recognized you and came over to say hello. But now I see I should be calling you a deviant."

"Scoundrel, I'm told actually." He said it so smugly that even he knew what was to happen next. She had in a second slapped him clear across the face then stormed away. Dimitri hardly felt it in his intoxication and turned to his quiet table before they all burst into laughter. Orian's laugh booming above them all. Armand could hardly see through the laughs and had to wipe his eyes to stop himself from tearing. Afterwards his eyes focused on one face looking at his table, as many people gathered to look at the overgrown children. It was Azzura. She stared down in disbelief. Once their eyes met, she turned away and disappeared in the crowd. This made Armand stand up before he could consciously realize he was doing so. Off he sped to catch her again.

Orian grabbed the card off the table and ripped it "I don't know about Armand, but I doubt you need this card anymore." He laughed heartily. Dimitri poured himself another drink as he replied.

"Nah, not my type anyway. Shrew" They both laughed before Dimitri then said "where did Armand go?" Orian shrugged and poured himself another drink.

Armand caught up with Azzura and this time called her by name. "Azzura." She turned instinctively at her name but made a face once again upon seeing him. "Wait, can we talk?" He pressed. She continued to walk away but answered him.

"Why? So you can try to explain why that woman, whom I might add, is a great friend of my family, had to slap someone in your inner circle of friends?" She still moved to get away. Armand was still close behind.

"She slapped Dimitri, he is…"

"Your friend?"

"yes, he.."

"You do realize he is not a reputable person to have connections with?"

"Dimitri is…"

"He is also the kind of person who knows how to push buttons. To make people act in a manner of which they should not."

"That's actually…"

"He is also a snake who tries to lure very unsuspecting women to his level."

"Well.."

"And…"

"You don't let anyone talk, do you?" said Armand, grabbing hold of her hand once again. Azzura finally stopped moving and looked down at his hand holding hers. She pulled it free and Armand did not resist her withdrawal. "Look your asking a lot of questions and not letting me answer them"

"ok," she said before swinging her hip out and locking her hands in place the same way she did once before. "answer them"

"Well …" Her questions reeled in his mind and he realized none were safe for answering. This mind game she put him through was like a dog's agility course in the dark where he could not see the poles he needed to jump. "Well, those are all good points…but there is a lot to him you don't know." Her face seemed not impressed. "He has his good points too."

"Really. A slug has its good points, but I still don't want it in my home."

"Dimitri is not a slug." He said not really sure where he was going with it. "He is more like a dog, he can be loose and crazy but his bark is much worse than his bite."

"A dog that should be tied in the yard then"

"agreed, but by your own words, if he is tied in the yard he is still in your home." She opened her mouth to say something but then stopped and made a face that Armand would describe as cute. It was a mix of agreement and annoyance at the same time. Before she could think any further on the issue Armand pulled out his card. "If you want to give it some thought you can. Call me then if you want to discuss it further."

She narrowed her eyes, she knew It would be considered rude to not take it so she sighed and took the card. After looking at it for a moment she then opened her purse and placed it within. Claudia came rushing over in shock and hugged Azzura from behind again. "Is that a card?" she asked excitedly.

"Claudia, please." Azzura said, obviously embarrassed. Claudia pulled open Azzura's bag and swift as a cat pulled out one of Azzura's cards. "Claudia!" Azzura said rather loudly then lowered her voice as she tried to pull the card out of Claudia's grasp.

"Here" Claudia said excitedly, handing the card to Armand.

"No! No no!" said Azzura, still struggling to get her purse back. Armand took the card and laughed.

"Thanks" he said back as he cheekily pocketed the card.

"CLAU-DI-A!" Azzura said a bit louder than she intended.

"Run!" laughed Claudia to Armand. Armand took this warning to heart and disappeared in the crowd of people looking at the girl's struggle. His heart was dancing with excitement. He rushed back to the group. He sat trying to hold back his grin. None of his friends seemed to have noticed he had come back to the table because Orian and Dimitri were deep in conversation which grew louder in every drink. Lagarus was missing from the table altogether. Armand turned and scanned the party trying to find his missing friend.

He spotted him talking with a girl. With a grin Armand turned back to Orian and Dimitri's conversation. Dimitri red in the face from laughter or the slap, one couldn't tell, but he began to regale Orian of a time he had barely escaped a cop after an unfortunate set of events. Orian's bolstering volume of his roaring laughter caused Armand, in his elated mode, to join in the roar of laughter and drink. Dimitri and Orian, not remembering Armand had left, simply continued on as if he had always been present.

Lagarus had walked over to Rai. She was slowly getting ready to leave and had already grabbed most of her things. He had noticed her sitting alone as he watched Armand run off into the crowds. As he examined her, a thought made him come over. She appeared to be uncomfortable. She didn't appear to want to be here. She was picked on in earshot of the whispered insults. Yet her eyes occasionally darted to the clock.

It was odd, was she counting down the hours left of the party. Some people had already left, so this would not be rude for her to go, yet she sat. Purposefully sat in a party full of insults and insecurities. Her compulsion of checking the clock would only mean one of two things. She was trying to wait for when it was ok for her to go, which that time had already passed. Or she was trying to push out how long she could stay out until the absolute last minute. This was an odd situation. Why would she rather stay in a party she hated as long as possible. With his friend's rowdiness growing ever steady he was losing any interest in staying as questions danced in his head.

He walked over and saw her glance once again. She then let out a sigh and stood up ready to leave. Lagarus called out to her and she was startled. "Rai" She jumped a bit distracted by her name. She looked at him curiously then her eyes darted downward again.

"yes?" she said awkwardly.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes," she said again. "no one has picked on me sin…"

"No, I mean you keep glancing at the clock." Lagarus was not one for beating around the bush and simply spoke his mind. "Is everything alright at home?" Shock flushed her face. She met eyes with him for a second before casting her gaze downward once more.

"Y-Yes…it's all fine at home" She did not meet his eyes to say things. Lagarus was sure something was wrong. His military training made him feel the urge to help a comrade. He could feel the slightly dizzy feeling of an episode trying to creep in, but he beat it back down. Now was simply not the time.

"I can tell you are lying." She said nothing to this response. She had nothing she could say. "Look, I know I just met you, however if you need my assistance don't hesitate to call." He handed her a card. She hesitantly took it and joked.

"w-what…are you a cop." He let out a frail laugh.

"no." he said it, but his head had begun to whirl with the thought of being in service again. He was no longer fit for the military but being a cop would be a nice substitute. He would be able to be useful to his country. "But maybe I will be." She smiled weakly at this statement and then put the card in her purse. She excused herself from the conversation and left Lagarus standing alone watching as she left. He peered back at his friend in their jubilant comradery and decided to leave the party altogether.

The party began to die down and after sitting marinated for sometime the three friends left carrying one another out of the empty hall. The taste of the night still lingering in their minds. Armand slurred and told them of his successful card exchange. Orain, drunk, was still on a high from the great time he shared with his friends to remember or care for about the mystery girl for the time being. Dimitri closed the door behind them but even in his drunken stupor couldn't help but look back one last time, his eyes searching for a girl he couldn't even remember.

Dimitri walked off back to his home in the slums walking on air the whole way. Orian offered Armand a ride to reminisce on the party they just had. He began a calming talk with Armand helping him to ground back to reality. They reached Armand's house and sat for a while in the cart. Armand shook his head, "Azzura was her name." he paused then continued "This party has changed me for sure." Orian nodded knowingly. As he fell off the high his thought flew back to his mystery girl. He felt a twinge of want and realized he too was changed.

"yeah…crazy night." Armand left and Orian sat back in his chair. He had hated and fought with his father on the subject, but now wanted to thank him. He had given Orian something to do. Gave him a chance to find something bigger than himself.

When he got home he decided to check if his father was awake because he needed to tell someone else about the night and the mystery girl that danced in his mind. His little Leah. He saw the light at the bottom of the office door and was actually happy to know his father waited up for him. He turned the door knob and walked in without knocking.

"Father, I…" he stopped mid sentence. He had frozen in his spot. It was only a second, but it felt like an eternity. His father, blue and dead, hanging in the center of the room. The rest was a blur. He remembered screaming but he was not sure if it was his or a servant's. His father was not murdered, he had killed himself. He had hung himself. He had ended himself. Orian had no idea why this happened and couldn't keep track of the questions that raced in his mind. A doctor was called and in only a moment, Orian went from the best night to the worst.