"I banished the flames before exciting the train station. I don't want your help. You are creepy, and I don't like your attitude" she said, "not would I accept help from a stranger that doesn't take no for an answer. Move aside" she said, her voice quite. She didn't wait for the woman to move aside, instead she just brushed passed her once more "do not stop me again"

---

Sasha shrugged, remembering back "I was a bit disorientated. It has been a long day, what with the demon, but...no. Just that he had picked her up when he had went to deal with something. That was around about the time you were being a bit....aloof. But then you seemed to get better. Why? " she asked "do you know something about Mithera?

Zarkun said
[Damian]"Keep it for the guild. I did this mission to put an end to the impostor's attempts to tarnish the name of Phoenix Wing and I've done that. Has Penny returned yet?" In the back of his head, Damian had been worried about Sasha's hot headed sister, and probably one of his best friends besides Sasha, since she had gone up to her room. He'd known she would go to stop the woman whether he went or not, but he had hoped that she would wait. If she had, he would contact Jarvis to see if he would get her for him. If not, he'd contact Jarvis to find out where she was and why she hadn't come back. Then he'd go find her.[James]While Damian reported to the person who was apparently the Phoenix Wing guild master, he returned to his miraculously untouched table and sat back down to enjoy the rest his food. Well, what he could while the Blade of Phoenix Wing was busy with his conversation. As he ate, having ordered a gourmet burger and some fries, he mulled over the presence of the God Slayer in his mind, remembering his parents' teachings on the nature of slayers. Pulling himself from his thoughts, he caught Damian mention a Penny and asking if she was back and smiled to himself. He listened more carefully to learn more if he could, just to tease him about it.

Master jamie noted that down, and said "Jarvis has told me she finished what she wanted to do, but appears to be caught up in a cry for help from someone, just as she was heading back to the guild. I'm sure everything is okay though" she said in answer to Damian's question about Penny.

---

Jarvis looked up as someone approached and listened as they asked question and smiled friendly "welcome. No test. Just merely have to tell me where you want your guild mark and what colour. Oh and your name" he said, pleaded more and more people were joining

[Damian]

"I don't intend to let her handle any further situations alone, master. I should have gone with her to stop that woman. Please," Damian's eyes softened slightly, "where did she go?" Damian felt guilty for letting her handle the situation alone, having not agreed to go in the first place in order to instead stop a much less immediate threat. And he just couldn't let it go. "Oh, and how did Sasha and company do? I've heard some rumors here in Shirotsume Town that have me on edge."

The red-haired mage stopped outside Master Jamie's office. Not so much that he hesitated to knock, but something distracted him. A thought. As he looked over his shoulder at the teenage girl that just walked in, already trying to join the guild, he squinted his eyes. But he only glared at the back of her head for a brief moment before turning his gaze toward the door. They carry on like they have no idea, Maddox thought to himself, bringing up his fist and tapping against the wooden door. Wes vanishing, Dark Guilds, demons... A surprisingly fierce look burned in his red eyes. Something is wrong and they don't even see it. There is growing evil and it eludes them.

Master Jamie sighed "one minute" she rose, shifting through notes until she came across the one she made where the members were going today, saying "I know you are out there Maddox. Give me a few moments" she returned to her desk, taking the communication Lacrima again "Penny is in Oshiniba town. Probably just arrived" he said, "sasha, Mayt and Angelo did well, and are just staying the night to make sure there isn't any more of them. They are all okay"

[Damian]

Nodding, Damian starts walking back towards his hotel to retrieve his belongings. There wasn't much point in staying since the impostor had been dealt with. "I'll head there immediately then. Did she say what the call for help was about?" As he spoke, a sense of foreboding fell over him. Why would the request go immediately to Penny rather than to the guild, even if it was urgent? And more importantly, why did it feel like she was being set up. "And it's good to hear the three of them are alright. I'll speak with them when I return if they beat me there."

[James]

Overhearing the care for the girl in Damian's voice, James couldn't help but wonder what was really going on. Clearly it wasn't a couples relationship. In fact, the more he thought on it, the more it seemed more like a brother sister relationship. What is in this guy's past that he'd feel more like a brother to someone than he would interested? He never told anyone from Sorcerer Weekly his story, saying that was a personal question he'd rather not answer. It was something James hoped to eventually get out of the stoic man.

Then he realized that Damian was leaving, forcing him to leave the payment for his meal on the table and quickly move after him. After all, James wasn't going to get another chance like this.

Master Jamie gave a soft sigh, but nodded "alright, stay safe. I'm sure everything's is okay.
Just said that" another yawn. Jamie rubs her eyes, "said to jarvis that she had been side tracked by a woman desperate for help about Oshiniba to..." Something didn't seem right about that. Jamie cursed, and ruffled some more. "Blood Mage" melina. And he had sent Mithera out into the field. Horror and fear rose up in Jamie "get there fast Damian" he ordered

[Damian]

The sudden change in Master Jamie's voice and attitude about Damian's insistence only confirmed his concerns. That, and blood mages weren't known to be kind or helpful, at least from what he had heard about them. On top of that, Damian was personally pretty sure blood magic users were fairly rare. But regardless of all that, this one had every intention of causing harm to Penny and that made him mad beyond reason. "I promise you, Master Jamie, if any harm has befallen Penny, this blood mage will feel Phoenix Wing's wrath." He noted the armored person who'd help drive off the God Slayer, who had also tailed him earlier, following him and suddenly it clicked. The man was likely wanting to join Phoenix Wing.

"I'll also be bringing back a new recruit. See you soon, Master." Putting the lacrima away, he beckons the armored figure behind him forward as they enter the hotel, which he eagerly does, easily matching Damian's pace. "Are you looking to join Phoenix Wing?"

The armored figure nodded, brushing a strand of his hair out of his way. "I am. Name's James Hunt, Paladin Magic user."

Damian simply nodded. "Then you'll accompany me to assist another member of Phoenix Wing and you can join up with the guild when we return to Magnolia." James, clearly excited nodded. When the reached the door to Damian's room, he turns to James. "Wait here." Stepping inside, it was only a couple of minutes before the Blade of Phoenix Wing stepped back out into the hall in his signature, but extremely practical regardless, armor. Leading James back down stairs, he unlocks the Alpha Skill lock and summons the striker blade, this time big enough accommodate him and James.

"Get on."

James took a step back and looked at Damian like he was nuts. "Oh no, not this paladin. I like life, thank you very much." Damian glares down the reluctant man.

"We do not have time for this. Get. On." James, not wanting to cross blades against an S Class wizard, said a silent prayer and climbed on the blade behind Damian, who promptly took off. He could only hope they got there in time.

After Jarvis told her that there was no test and all she needed to do was to tell him what her name was and where she wanted her mark to be Riye was a bit surprised. If there was no test, then did that mean anyone could join this guild? seemed a bit odd to her "Uhm, okay. My name is Riye Miro and I'd like my mark to be dark purple and have it on...." She thought about it for a few moments before lowering her short left sleeve and turning around so her back faced Jarvis "Here. I want my mark to be here." She said and pointed at the back of her left shoulder.

While with her back to the bartender, she had another chance to look around and think about more questions "This is the first time I've seen a guild hall from the inside. Its nice. Just tell me, is there anywhere to sleep in here or will I need to go rent a house or something?" Riye decided to ask, after not seeing any signs directing to any kind of living quarters.

Sho eyed Maddox who was heading towards the Master's office. "Did he just..." A faint smile formed on Shoichi's face that quickly became a grin, followed by a loud burst of laughter. You could see from the first glance that the man had experience in fighting and plus, this was the first time someone had challenged Sho and not the other way around. His laughter was cut short though when Jarvis said that they should be careful about their wishes. Ignoring the bartender "Well, I might as well take you up on that offer, Maddox!" Sho said out loud and downed another drink.

Sho didn't see the girl entering the guild hall. When she walked over to the bar and asked Jarvis about joining, Sho couldn't help but look at her discreetly with the corners of his eyes. He wondered what kind of magic powers she had, she surely had to be a mage if she wanted to join a mages guild. What came as a surprise to him though was the fact that she asked for her guild mark to be placed on the back of her left shoulder. Sho had asked for exactly the same thing when he joined the guild, albeit it being on the opposite shoulder. Was it just a coincidence?

"All the second floor rooms are up for rent by the guild members. Jarvis over here handles that. I'm sure you two could strike a good deal" he said, butting in and answering the girl's question. "Of course, you can always search for an apartment in town buuuut, I must warn you, Its pretty expensive even for mages like us. Anyway, my name's Shoichi, Sho for short, and I am a member of this guild. Welcome to Phoenix Wing!"

Why was this woman so persistent? It's one thing to want to help, but she is deliberately standing in Penny's way. He was getting bad vibes from her and that genuine smile caused him to feel even more on edge. 'How does this woman know about this witch...' The question rung through his head as he tried to figure out where the witch was. They were in a trap, that much was clear but where in the world was she even hiding? And that's when it hit him harder than getting hit by a train. This entire time he smelled something off, something that his body made to counter the God's themselves could pick up. It was the scent of blood. He must've not been able to smell it due to the different scents of people in the station but now it was close. It was coming from that woman.

This is the worst place possible to find the blood witch. A train station filled with people is like an unlimited power source for the woman but he couldn't shout for people to evacuate or else he would make things worse. That's when he decided to do this; he created a cloud of ash that he made it appear that it came from the train. People were coughing and gagging so in order to breathe they were starting to run out of the station.

wow the girl actually recovered. normally it takes a while for someone to recover. it appears that kyo is asking him a question. how should he answer this? "um im kind of....not here by choice. there is another person here, a member of Phoenix wing, who has magic similar to mine. she kicked me here. and before you get confused, i am not exaggerating. she landed on my ribs!" there was a bit of a hurt tone in his voice for that last part, as he remembered the kick.

Melina quickly notices the ash around the station and the people starting to leave, and immediately put two and two together. She drew her knife out and struck out at Penny, hoping to catch her off guard and at least cause her to bleed a little, before jumping back and backpedaling a few steps, holding the knife out. "Blood Queen," she murmured under her breath, as blood seemed to flow from the grip of the knife, covering her arm, as well as expanding the knife into a large scythe. The blood eventually covers her entire body, and solidifies into armor. Melina holds the scythe with the cutting edge down, but pointed upwards, any of Penny's blood, if any, that had gotten on the knife had dissolved into the blade of the scythe.

---

Mayt sighed, rubbing his head. "As I understand it. Master Jamie picked up Mithera after making a deal with a person who was blackmailing me. I think it was a blood witch or something. That's how I understood Mithera coming to the guild. And why I don't trust her at all. But if Jamie trusts her, I guess I don't really have a choice do I? So long as I'm not blackmailed again, I'm okay with her." He bit his lip some, looking at the other two. "And why I'd watch what I say when she's nearby."

[Double Post]

As the Ash formed, Penny began to move. She jumped backwards away from the woman, missing being cut by the blade, thankfully. Penny knew what a blood mage could do with your blood. Her flames were around her in an instant, now that the train station was emptying, her flames were brightest red and orange and heat radiated from her. The shape the flames took was that of a phoenix, and that was what she became. The flame danced around her,

She took to the air knowing there would be no holding back, and knowing she would go full power. Ground and air attacks. She was glad she had brought Nolan along. "Phoenix ball!" Flames formed in a ball of fire, and she flew it towards the woman, staying aloft in the air. She hovered, just out of reach, but kept an eye on Nolan, knowing the blood witch could take his blood too. "don't let her cut you, Nolan"

"You shouldn't have messed with me, witch"

---

Sasha swallowed, looking down at the table, and it was clear she was thinking deeply. She bit her lip, and said softly, "I...just before, in the train station...I got a message put in my pocket, when that guy brushed passed me...the note was just signed 'm', and referred to myself and Penny...." She wasn't too sure if she should be revealing this, but if she couldn't trust her guild members, her friends, couldn't ask them for help, then what did she have? "I'm pretty sure it wasn't Mithera, but if you were blackmailed before then...." She took the note out, laying it on the table, smoothing it.

"I Know Penny an handle herself, but...Im worried"

---

Jarvis nodded, taking out the guild mark stamper, and gently stamping where she wanted the mark, and the colour, saying, "Another member has the mark on the opposite shoulder, with the same colour I believe. Its interesting how we work, isn't it?" Jarvis smiled and stepped back. He nodded as Sho spoke, "Indeed. There are a few rooms available to rent and typically we base the rent on how much you earn a month, so that if you get hurt nd can't work for a while, you don't have to worry about the rent"

Still not looking at Sho's direction, Riye waited for a moment until she felt the mark stamper leave her skin. She then touched the spot, feeling it was a bit colder than usual, and returned her sleeve back to her shoulder. Turning to look at Jarvis again, she ignored Sho until the bartender finished explaining the way renting a room in the guild hall worked, which sounded like a fair system to her "Very well then. I'd like to rent a room here, to begin with. After I've done a mission or two, then I'd consider moving to somewhere else in the town. For now I have 50 thousand jewels to begin with, and thats all the cash I have." She said.

Finally turning to look at Sho, she gave him a smile "Yo Sho. Not sure if you paid attention, but my name is Riye. After I've set up in my room, would you like going on a mission with me? I know its probably very sudden, seeing we don't know each other, but I work better with others rather than alone. Would you like that?" Riye asked, and took a further glance at him. He didn't look like a bossy type to her, nor like a grown up, so she figured that he was probably an alright person.

Perceptive, as always, Maddox thought to himself, though his expression didn't change. That's how I know she knows. After waiting a moment, as Jamie instructed, the red-haired mage couldn't hear any more conversing inside the office. It was likely that the Master was talking to someone with a communication lacrima and didn't want to be interrupted. But as the conversation stopped, it was time to interrupt. With one quick tap against the door, Maddox put his other hand on the handle and opened it casually.

"It's been a while," he greeted with a smile, walking into the office and closing the door behind himself. "My last job had some unexpected delays. If I had foreseen it, I would've brought a communication lacrima with me. But at any rate I'm back." The young mage took a moment to memorize Jamie's current appearance, before leaning against the wall next to the door. "I heard that Wes has disappeared. Also that you guys have been destroying Dark Mages and Demons without inviting me... But on a more serious note..." Maddox looked into Jamie's eyes now, the fierce look having returned with his pause. "I can feel a darkness coming. I know you can feel it too. Dark Guilds are being formed more and more often. Demons are being summoned successfully more frequently than before. Something is tainting Fiore."

Master Jamie used the interruption to sort through things and clean up a bit, throwing the scrunched up pieces of paper into a bin, and shifting aside books and stacks of papers so that her desk was clean as she thought on what Maddox said. "You gave us no way of contacting you. We've made it a pre-requsist for jobs for members to take communication lacrima with them now. You could have stopped at any place with a communication lacrima and used it to contact us. Jarvis has access to many different lacrima, and most towns we've managed to have a shop keeper or inn keeper accept a lacrima, so that we can be contacted quickly. yes, I can feel a new taint, a new darkness rising. the trouble is, there's so many leads and not enough solid ones"

---

Jarvis nodded, "Alright Any of the rooms with their door open, and that are empty, are free. chose which ever one you want, and tell me"

A playful grin formed on Maddox's face as he brought his hands up defensively. "Hey, hey. I didn't expect to need one. I'll admit not bringing a lacrima was my fault. But trust me, it was a bit difficult to get my hands on communication after I completed the job. I'll tell you all about it later," he defended himself while chuckling. But after he settled down, his serious expression returned. "Just on my way back I heard many rumors. We have more enemies by the day and fewer allies by the night... And it seems the Magic Council isn't doing much about this either."

The young mage let out a sigh, before tilting his gaze up at the ceiling. "You need to... no, the whole guild needs to come up with some kind of plan. Before the evil is upon us and we are crushed beneath it." His famous red eyes came back down to the master. "We may never find the source of it if we go looking... but it will surely come to us if we are unprepared." The young man crossed his arms over his chest now, still leaning against the wall. "I didn't expect you to have a solution. But that was on my mind the entire trip back. Just thought I'd let you know. And yeah... I'll start bringing a communication lacrima with me now."

"I gathered that much." Nolan replied to Penny's warning of not to get cut by this woman. Obviously, after all a blood witch just needs a bit of his own blood to end his life. It looked like he would have to stick with far range strikes and when she is weakened he would go for the kill. Nolan leaned back slightly as ashes seemed to be emitting from his mouth. "Ash God's Bellow!" A powerful tornado of ash blasted out of his mouth towards the blood witch, the force of the attack would alone had caused blunt damage and because the ashes held heat in them, it would even cause burning damage.