Vitale Vizarrio was undoubtedly the best kept secret in the entire Nova Alliance. He had gone to great lengths to make certain that everyone who was still anyone in Greater Zayin had never pegged him as a Zimiirian. While even Zory had every reason to doubt how deep his loyalty to her still ran, he couldn't help but think she'd given her new favorite guard dog the slip because she still trusted him more. Vitale had also resorted to some highly frowned upon measures to make sure the new identity he'd built for himself here stuck better than the previous ones. Most of the girls he'd given a corsage to for this kind of thing were just covers and that made the perfect cover for why no one would figure out his interest in Yuri was truly sincere faster than necessary.
Many knew him as Zenny, but he knew for better or for worse, Zory would know that was not his true zelestial name without sparing him so much as a glance. He and Zory had originally met several literal lifetimes ago as humans, and their fates from that point on had still managed to make their paths cross over and over again. It was as if the universe was fully intent on making sure that there wasn't anything left unsaid between them and at this juncture, there was definitely more air in need of clearing between them than usual. He could sense how very displeased she was with some of the liberties he had taken that lacked the kind of creativity he had once had with words. It was a web of riddles and lies to help keep anyone who didn't know the whole story in the dark for just a little while longer to seek Zory's formal approval to marry Yuri.
"Kids these days." Vitale laughed.
Although he did not appear to be Ozzy's senior by much, he must certainly was and by quite a lot.
Within a spit second of Ozzy tearing past where he was patiently waiting to signal Yuri of his arrival, Vitale had willed himself to appear out of thin air at the pavilion with nothing more than a slight breeze to show for his arrival. The royals who comprised the top rung of the Nova Alliance were known as the Nine Crowns. He had personally cross-verified some of the details in the files Zory had been compiling on them from various sources prior to her agreeing to attend tonight. There wasn't anyone among them who was readily irritated faster than Queen Blaize whenever his presence came with hardly any sound or scent as it did just now, but desperate times did often require desperate measures.
"What exactly are you up to this time, Zenny?" She quickly objected to his methods without delay. "Whoever this woman is or isn't, she is definitely important to Trixxie and all of your usual antics won't help us make a good impression."
Although he knew this was no time for games, he let loose a laugh that suited the character of the role he had cast himself into among them. "Believe it or not, Blaize, she's a seer who's usually already made up her mind long before she actually introduces herself to anyone in the first place.
It was true enough to keep one of the fiercest shapeshifters he knew from becoming even more on guard, but it wasn't yet enough to dissuade her partially siren nature from rearing its head too. Blaize's curiosity was anything but idle and she was bound to pick up on more than he'd like to put down. Her aid was often the far lesser of two evils he was willing to resort to in regard to hoping for an ally that could help fill in for Ozzy whenever the Ozzball effect was in play.
"So you do know her after all." Came a deadpan sort of response lacking in any genuine kind of surprise. "Now who would have thought you'd leave that out of your report?"
The answer was Blaize and unfortunately for Blaize, just Blaize alone this time. Once she caught a whiff of something fishy, it was impossible to get her off the trail. The minimal intel he had offered was filtered by Yuri, thoroughly.
"Technically I know of her." He emphasized.
Zory had made a point of not setting foot directly near him either in recent years. He would have copped to having once known her, but he wasn't interested in shedding light on any of that yet either. While it wasn't an outright lie, it definitely wasn't all that truthful either. Blaize could sniff out deception on swifter and deeper levels that most even when just dealing with an absolute stranger. When it came to him in particular, she had grown pretty confident Vitale probably couldn't even really remember the last time he had really trusted anyone with the actual truth about anything. Knowing his trust was a two way street she had repeatedly refused to help move the needle on was the only reason she continued to cut him as much slack as she usually did without much fuss.
"This is different, Zenny." She imparted with a glint of admonishment glowing in her muddy green eyes. "If you screw this up for Trixxie, I'm gonna be the one singing like a canary, have I made myself clear?"
"Crystal." He tipped his chin and his proverbial hat but hesitated to remove himself quite yet.
As dazzling or lovely as the four women who held down the fort among the Nine Crowns could be, they were all very strong-willed and strong-minded people who could be quite the adversary on the drop of a dime. Her silent dismissal of him would normally be enough, but this was different.
Vitale had minded his place as a mid-ranked general long enough to know Blaize was the only one who had never truly trusted him in the slightest and she didn't seem interested in starting now. She had been born as a high pedigree sirenwolf, making her utterly immune to the tempest style magic he used to make most people feel no need to pay any mind to gaps in his stories or obviously missing details they received during him giving them the run-around on any particular subjects. She was one of few who always noticed him coming and going as he otherwise pleased to go perfectly unnoticed at times and that didn't bode well, especially not tonight.
Her odd ranges of sensory input was just one of the many reasons it had been a long time since anyone who knew even the first thing about how Blaize really earned her throne risked underestimating her. Her highly selective temper was the other deterrent and it was definitely on the fritz.
"I need a favor." He cleared his throat uneasily.
"What's new?" She snorted. "If you need yet another favor from me yet again, then I have one to ask of you first, General Vizarrio… Tell me something I don't know."
She took a large swig of the strong drink in her hand before puckering her lips at the bitter taste and making a loud hiss in response to the burn. That grade of liquor was not something she dabbled with often. The night never ended well for the unfortunate whoever that irritated her enough to make her go beyond her norm and decide to have more than just a glass or two. Blaize still wasn't much for drinking and rarely got drunk, but overstimulating occasions such as this made her take no shame in needing to take the edge off.