The roar of the crowd had died down around them. Oren blinked, taking in the people that still cheered and whooped just feet away, hands cupped around their mouths, oblivious to the turmoil that had taken root with the small group of Starry Rose mages settled in the front row of one of the upper seating levels. They carried on, eager for the next team to come out - some of them practically hyperventilating - while Oren slumped in his seat, his stomach clenched, shoulders pinched back, mouth set in a grim line.

"That's Falkner, isn't it?"

Varya, perched on the railing overlooking the arena, clasped her hands together in her lap. For once, her cherubic face looked befitting of her age. It was unsettling, to say the least, to see her so sober.
It was Sera who answered.

"We've never seen him," she admitted, standing from her seat to lean over the railing beside their master. "But Hawthorne's told us before they look close to identical for being five years apart. And from the way he's acting..."

From the little Oren knew of Hawthorne's older brother, he loathed the man. He'd left Hawthorne nine years ago, in the midst of an attack on their home village, left him to fend for himself and carry the burden of a traitorous brother all on his own - and he hadn't looked back. Hawthorne had been looking for him ever since he joined Starry Rose, but until now, that search had seemed like a lost cause.

Oren almost wished it still was.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Oren cut a look to the other members of their cheering squad. Illias, as per usual, was hunched over in his seat, knees drawn up to his chest with his chin nestled in between them. His green eyes flickered behind a veil of knotted, crimson bangs, appearing to shift between their guild master and the goings-on of the arena. It barely registered that the announcer was still announcing anything, so Oren found it surprising that Illias was bothering to pay attention.

Keir, who'd nearly dove into the crowd earlier to seek his mindless vengeance on the population of infatuated teenage girls, pouted now, his brow furrowed and chin resting on his knuckles, elbows on his knees. Kain ran a hand through his hair, knocking back his hat slightly, as he contemplated the situation; Waverly, sprawled out across his lap, didn't seem very invested in what was going on, which was to be expected.

And Nova, well... she was a bundle of nerves from the outset of the games, high-strung and buzzing with boundless energy that made Oren's head throb just looking at her. Hearing the news about Falkner had only upped the level of her tension, and for once, she clamped her mouth shut, utterly silent.

"Gids... he's gonna be alright, isn't he?"

Oren leaned back, craning his neck to take in the sight of the Eriksen siblings sitting together. His back stiff, shoulders shaking with the repression of some instinctual reaction, Gideon slowly shook his head. He steepled his fingers, tapping them against his chin, his mouth twisted into something in between a scowl and a frown.

"I can't say, Sage," he told her, voice tight. "As long as I've known him, Falkner has always been a sore subject for Hawthorne. He's never unwilling to talk about his brother, but it usually leaves him in state of near-depression that's irritating to break him out of. Irritating, but not impossible, obviously; but that's under normal circumstances, when we have time to spare. Right now, Hawthorne's going to have to make a decision - put aside the matter of his brother and throw himself into the games, or abandon his teammates in favor of confronting Falkner. He has such a one-track mind with these kinds of things, I doubt he has any other options."

The truth of Gideon's assessment settled coldly in the pit of Oren's stomach. This wasn't just something that Hawthorne could brush off and laugh about, like he did with most troublesome matters. And what was worse, he didn't have Gideon down there to ease his nerves. At best, Sia was there, and she was a soothing presence if not provoked; it was more help than Sky was going to be, at least. Oren thought perhaps Lock might be able to rein in Hawthorne if he looked like he was going off the rails, and Rhett, if nothing else, was quiet encouragement, no matter what went on around them.

This wasn't going to end well. Whether that applied to the games, Hawthorne, or - more worryingly - both, he wasn't sure, but there was no way for everything to work out - none that Oren could see, in any case.

Next came Raven Tail's team in third-place. The whole of Fairy Tail practically howled with rage over their involvement in the games, but they'd apparently been cleared as an official guild some time ago, and so had every right to participate, same as Fairy Tail themselves, or any other team here.

Confusion rippled through the crowd as the announcer introduced Fairy Tail's Team B as the second-place team, but no one in Starry Rose paid it much mind - apart from Sia, who Oren saw glance towards Laxus when he emerged from the tunnel. Cross might have cared, but as it was, he wasn't present in the stands; the last Oren had seen of him, he'd promised to join them later right before he disappeared into the stadium. His recent strange behavior had come to mind again once Polar Fox had made their entrance, but that had quickly been swept aside in the wake of the whole Falkner ordeal.

And finally:

"Okay! Now there's only one team left! That's right, I'm sure you already know! It's the best! The undefeated! The ultimate king! Sabertooth!"

Oren hardly spared the returning champs a glance. So what if they'd won last year? What made them special in a tournament where quite literally anything could happen? If anything, Oren wanted to see them toppled from their throne - preferably with Starry Rose taking their place. It'd be more than just a little satisfying to rub it in the faces of those condescending fairies.

With the final team now standing center stage, the games were really about to begin.

"He'll be fine."

Every Starry Rose mage within hearing distance snapped their head around to stare inquisitively at Varya.

Her somber look hadn't lessened; rather she looked more grim than only a few moments ago. But there was genuine conviction lacing her words as she went on.
"Hawthorne'll be fine. Trust him. He cares more about Starry Rose than most anyone. Besides, we're his family. Right?"

___________________________________________________________

"Well, sorry for keeping you waiting! Now here are the programs of the Grand Magic Games!"

If not for Lock clapping a hand on his shoulder, startling him from his stupor, Hawthorne might have missed the wide stone slab that rose up from the center of the arena. A schedule of the next five days was etched onto the flat of the stone, and Hawthorne squinted through the ensuing dust to make out the first day's events.

Hidden... and battles? 

In fact, a battle was slated for every day of the tournament, save for the final day, but the other events weren't revealed. He'd almost forgotten the rule that each event was to remain a mystery until the last moment, but now it came back to him with a surge of unease that crawled up and down his spine on spindly fingers.

"In terms of games, each team already has varying points according to their rankings in the preliminaries."

"That gives us two points, then?" Sia mused, head cocked. "Since we're in ninth place."

"And each team is allowed to select any member to participate. In the battles, the sponsor will have the right to make a decision by drawing, considering factors like fans' votes. The rules for these battles are simple. Teams fight against each other. The winning team gets the points while the losing one gets none. If it's a tie, each one gets five points."

Hawthorne wasn't listening anymore. He'd been distracted by the sight of Polar Fox causing some sort of commotion. The white-haired girl - Taryn? - was grinning manically at the brown-haired boy, whose red face and vehemently furious expression (and the fact that his hands were protectively settled over his rear) left little to the imagination as to what had happened between them. Her eyes slid away from the boy, though, and cold fingers raked down his spine as her eyes lit up with an intense sort of mania the moment they latched onto him. She looked about ready to lunge at him again (and he was already sweating, desperately searching for a way out) when the purple-haired man grabbed her by the hair, jerking her back into the folds of their group, all while she screamed bloody murder - much to the bemusement and subsequent fear of the crowd.

"Now let's begin the opening of the Grand Magic Games! When Hidden starts, each team will send out one member. The rules will be explained once team members are all gathered."

Tearing his eyes away from Polar Fox, Hawthorne rubbed uncomfortably at his shoulder, head down by eyes rolled upward to watch as his teammates discussed the merits of each member, trying to decide whose name they should throw into the ring for the first event.

"I should totally go!"

That was Sky, of course, volunteering like, well, everyone knew she would. She was eager to show off, given that she hadn't done much in the preliminary match, and Hawthorne swore there was literal fire burning in her eyes as she looked around, daring anyone to dispute her going into the first game.

"Sky... you're a little too conspicuous for a game called Hidden, aren't you?" Sia asked, frowning her disapproval. Ignoring Sky's attempted comeback, Sia gestured to Lock and Hawthorne. "Lock's our most experienced member, so he has reliability on his side, even if we aren't aware of the rules yet. But Hawthorne's gotten used to hiding from his crazed fans, so maybe that would come in handy?"

He didn't miss the slight smile she sent his way, and even though there was a touch of mockery in it, he couldn't help but smile back. Drawing him into the conversation was at least keeping him distracted from--

No. Hawthorne, don't do this to yourself.

His hand curled into a fist at his side, and he wished he had a hold of his shield, something to keep him grounded while his thoughts spun wildly in his head, following some course he couldn't predict let alone keep pace with.

"I second Hawthorne's nomination," Rhett said with a small grin of his own. "If we have to find specific people, I don't know the other competitors' body types well enough to distinguish them using air currents alone. Hawthorne has good eyes, too."

Lock simply nodded, which was answer enough. He approved of Hawthorne as their candidate.

"Sky?" Sia turned to the violet-haired mage expectantly.

She puffed out her cheeks for a moment, childishly indignant, but catching sight of Lock's even expression, she sighed and placed her hands on her hips, fixing Hawthorne with a steely look.

"Do your best to bring home the gold, Thorny, 'kay?"
He couldn't very well refuse after so much confidence being instilled in him, so he swallowed down his nerves and managed a bright smile (and Sia cringed, hearing somewhere in the distance the sound of several girls fawning - possibly falling - over his unconscious display).

"I'll do my best," he promised.

And not a moment too soon, as the other chosen members were making their way to the center of the arena, where the gamesmaster was waiting. Hawthorne scanned their faces as he approached, looking for someone familiar. He recognized Eve of Blue Pegasus from how often Rhett made trips to the friendly guild, as he was usually asked to accompany him when Keir wasn't available. Other than that, he couldn't say he really knew anyone, apart from a few faces that looked like they graced the cover of Sorcerer's Weekly frequently. Though the two Fairy Tail entries... Gray, was it? And Juvia, the rain woman. It took him a moment, but he knew them, if only through hearsay and rumors. He wasn't exactly looking forward to taking them on in whatever challenge they were about to enter.

He didn't realize it at first, but Hawthorne was especially looking for the Polar Fox competitor, and he couldn't decide if he was relieved or painfully disappointed to find that it was the purple-haired mage he'd seen scolding Taryn.

"Hawthorne!" Eve cheered in greeting once he'd spotted the Starry Rose mage. "I wasn't expecting to see your guild here this year."

"Our master kind of decided on it last minute," Hawthorne laughed, scratching at his cheek sheepishly. "We only had a month to prepare."

"You'll do fine, I'm sure," Eve smiled, then, with a wink, added, "But not as good as my team, of course. Blue Pegasus plans to walk out of here as the most talented guild in Fiore." He paused. "Oh, and tell Rhett that Ren's looking forward to seeing him in one of these events. It's been a while since they'd gone out on a job together."

Hawthorne only smiled, his way of agreeing, and soon they both focused on the gamesmaster - whose appearance (oddly pumpkin-like) did not put Hawthorne at ease in any way at all.

He tried to stay out of the debate about whether or not Fairy Tail had an unfair advantage for scoring two

teams in the the top ten slots, mostly because he didn't think it mattered all that much. If Fairy Tail won, it would be because one of their teams beat out all the rest, including the one that contained more members from their own guild. They weren't helping one another, and really, having guildmates you cared about as your temporary enemies wasn't going to be easy, no matter what they claimed now. Hawthorne couldn't image going all out against someone like Sage or Gideon, or Oren or Nova. Anyone from Starry Rose, really. And that was why he was glad they'd only gone for one team this year, more than anything else.

"Are you ready, Hawthorne?" Eve asked, shooting him a sideways glance.

"As I'll ever be," he replied, requipping another of his favorite shields.

And with a wave of his hands, the gamesmaster shouted, "Field open!"