[OPEN] The First Annual Charm-Off

[twoninths]

Characters: Christopher/Argent (twoninths), Dean/McQueen (crossroaddeal), and OPEN to all
Date/Time: August 4th, noon until evening
Location: The Marketplace
Rating: TBA but expect McQueen's mouth, at least, to be filthy
Summary: McQueen and Argent decide to hold a contest to see which one of them really is the more charming.

[Like Matcha, Iaza, and Tussah before us,

Comments

Around 2:30pm

[moonlit_mirage]

Crow had been curious when he saw the sign. McQueen was… Interesting to talk to over the journals. And Argent-well, frankly, Argent was utterly charming. Thus Crow had taken his lunch break a little late and gone to seek out the two charmers and see who could give Argent a run for his money in the department of charm.

One of the customers earlier had mentioned them, and so finding McQueen and Argent wasn’t difficult. He approached them with a slight, amused smile, bowing formally to each when he arrived.

“Argent-san.” Crow gave Argent that pleased, relaxed, happy smile that only Argent seemed capable of getting out of him. “And you must be McQueen-san.” He gave McQueen a reserved look, polite and friendly. “So what is this all about? It seems to be the talk of the day.”

[twoninths]

Argent looked up from the tally sheet, which was, by now, a mess of pencil marks and scratches and rude words which McQueen had written down occasionally to emphasize what he thought of something Argent had just said. When he spotted Crow, he rose from his seat, smiling in a genuinely friendly way and inclining his own head in return.

"Crow, you flatter me!" he said, beckoning his friend over to join them in the semi-shade their stall now had, thanks to the direction of the sun and the taller stall beside them. "Are we truly being talked of? I do like almost nothing better than to be talked about!"

Picking up one of the jars on the table, not paying much heed to whose it was, he gave it a little shake and explained. "We are having a dispute over who is more charming, you see, so we felt we would put it to the test. We do our outmost to charm you and in return you cast your vote by putting a coin in one of our jars." His smile brightened a bit. "Are you interested?"

[moonlit_mirage]

Crow entered the shade somewhat gratefully. Though he suspected he was more resistant to heat than most people, he was still suffering mildly from it. He’d even put on something other than one of his typical turtlenecks. A t-shirt borrowed from Flight showed just the bottom traces of, of all things, a tattoo on Crow’s shoulder. Not very in keeping with his demeanor, but none-the-less still visible, though the design was mostly hidden.

“Then you will be very pleased to know I’ve heard about little else but you both, since around noon. I would be delighted to help settle your score, Argent-san, McQueen-san. I will endeavor to be unbiased in my opinion.” He smiled again, amused and more then happy to participate. “Who could deny such a chance for good company?”

[crossroaddeal]

"Not me!" McQueen said, slapping Argent on the back.

"How are you doing? Heard you got one of the kittens, how's that going?" he said grinning wildly.

"You say we're being talked about. You hear that Argent, We're famous." He grinning at both Argent and Crow. McQueen was wobbling a bit, clearly starting to get a little dehydrated.

[snowburned]

Kazahana could hardly believe they were really doing something like this when she'd seen the signs, but then she reminded herself of who exactly was involved, and she could easily believe it. McQueen had been extremely charming when they'd met. A little silly, but charming.

She raised a hand in greeting as she drew near. "Is this really happening?" she asked. "What in the world gave you the idea?"

[crossroaddeal]

"You can't guess?" McQueen said smiling and walking to meet her. His eye brow quirked up flirtatiously, "Why, in the hope that it would attract YOUR attention." he said, a sly smirk spread on his face. "And look! I've brought my pants again to!"

He wasn't sure whether to shake her hand, give her a hug or pat her on the back, he decided to keep his hand in his pockets until he got some sort of sign of what would be most appropriate.

[snowburned]

Kazahana laughed. "And such nice pants!" she said. "I remember them. I can see why you're so proud."

Flirting was unlike her, but the fact that she could tell McQueen was fairly undiscriminating in his flirting made it easier. "So tell me how I get to judge you."

[twoninths]

Argent stepped up now, seeing that McQueen obviously had the head-start this time and not wanting to get left too far behind. He gave Kazahana a quick bow, without any unnecessary flourishes. When he straightened, he said, "Kazahana! I don't know if you remember us meeting before, but I am quite pleased to see you again."

With one hand, he smiled, motioning her toward their stall and the arrangement of chairs they had over there. "Might I convince you to come take a seat?" he asked and then launched into the explanation. "The criteria for judging is really your own to decide. We simply talk with you and do our best to be charming and then you choose who you felt was more successful. Does that sound as though it might be diverting for you?"

4pm. Bring it on, boys.

[distant_dragon]

The moment he had seen the flier Drake knew he absolutely one hundred percent had to come down and see this one in action. How could he possibly miss out, hmm? It was a golden opportunity for a boatload of amusement, and lord knew he could use a lot of amusement these days. So when he got off work he sauntered to the elevator, heading down to where the two would-be Princes Charming were holding court.

He left the elevator and made his way to the marketplace, wandering over to where the two combatants had set up shop and eyeing their respective jars. "So who's winning, gentlemen?" he drawled, the faintest amused smirk on his lips. Oh, now they were going to have to really, really work.

[twoninths]

Argent was, by this point, feeling rather sweaty and tired but when he saw Drake, he brightened up a bit because, though this one would not be easy in the slightest, he could at least be assured that it would be fun and not like grasping vainly at thin straws of polite conversation.

He slouched over in his chair a bit and rubbed his hair about. It was all messed out of shape, but it had been a long day, and it was bound to happen. "We've lost count," he admitted, tipping his head against the back of the chair and looking up at Drake. "We feel it might be more beneficial to our working relationship if we do not try to keep a tally any longer." He shifted about so he could face Drake properly, throwing his arm over along the chair back in place of his neck. He grinned. "Come to take advantage of us, Drake? ...Although, perhaps it is more accurate to say that we are taking advantage of you." He shook his head, as if to say semantics! as long as someone is being taken advantage of!

[distant_dragon]

Sweaty and tired sort of came along with this heat wave and the trials and tribulations of being out of doors. Drake was spared at least some of the heat up in the tree -- the Hall was climate-controlled to be a little more welcoming to buck-naked gloppy hatchlings -- but down here it was kind of brutal. All right, maybe more than kind of brutal. It was awful. He was vaguely glad he'd opted for the v-neck t-shirt, as it wasn't nearly as restrictive as a collar would have been.

"Oh? Both of you so terribly charming, then?" The smirk got the faintest bit bigger; not much, just a tiny tiny bit. He looked over at Argent in distinct amusement. "Since when have you ever been able to take advantage of me, hm? That's rather my job." He was taking advantage of their ability to amuse the living daylights out of him. That was worth any donation he could shell out, right there.

5 PM

[iniquiticity]

It was cooler at night, and as such, that was when Reverie left the comfort of the fan with only three blades to venture outside. He'd hung his coat up there, as it as just too hot for the extra layers. Though he felt a little naked without it and all it's treasures, he felt confident that no one would take it. He'd seen the charm-off posters, an he'd really gone more in interest of meeting the fabled Argent and McQueen (well, not particularly fabled, but attaching a face to a name was always a good idea). He wasn't quite sure how the charm-off was going to go in regards to him, but there was no reason for him to avoid it.

With this in mind, he wandered down that-a-way. "What's this?" He asked, glancing from the jars to the two boys with well-feigned interest.