As the blood slowly drained from Lucas's body and onto the ice, his breathing becoming slower and slower, he was only left with his thoughts as his own body failed to move. How the hell did I get to this point. This was just a simple recon. Damn you Drake...



Lucas stepped out of the carriage to a small destroyed village, bodies lay stiff on the ground, with their life taken from them. Selena. That bitch still hasn't changed. Well, Kyle said this is the place. It's a long shot. A supposed ice dragon roaming these areas. This isn't what i wanted to see. Lucas walked in and out of homes, destroyed to just wood chippings. He looked at one of the bodies, a small young girl, cold and gone. Lucas sighed, knowing he could stopped Selena before she became twisted with the words of Andrew. SNAP! Lucas shot up as heard movement from around the corner. Both his hands lit up with light, his eyes turned yellow, "Who's there!?" Lucas demanded. An elderly man limped around from the corner of a burnt down home. Visibly injured, missing an arm and broken leg, Lucas 'powered down' and ran full speed to aid him. "What happened here? Was it a woman that did this? Was it a blondie in a black maid like uniform?" The old man, trying for breath, "Yo- You are, TOO EASY TO FOOL!" The man exploded into black feathers, spiraling towards the sky, but a stray feather shot at lightning speeds, piercing Lucas in his right eye. Lucas screamed in agony as his eye was now useless. Lucas fell to his hands and knees, Draco's laughter dancing over the sky. Lucas yanked the feather, feeling the stem with razors cut more as he came out. He turned to see Draco materialize into his body, floating in the sky. "That was dirty! You'll pay for this Draco." Lucas screamed as he got up onto his two feet and shot a blast towards Draco. Draco easily dodged it and landed on the ground with ease. "Give me the key Lucas. And I'll let you live." He said as he held out his hand, smiling that stupid smirk. Lucas confused and in pain, "What key? Draco snapped, "THE KEY THAT YOU WEAR AS F****N NECKLACE YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE OF FLESH!" Draco shot towards Lucas, jabbing with a right punch but Lucas avoiding it, uppercutting him in the gut, "Dont even try to win a fist fight with me. And that necklace is that important? Huh, i only took it from dad because to him, it was his world. I took his world like he took my mother. Now I know this is that important. Draco smiled, "You let down you're guard!" Draco's arm turned into a black feather sword and he proceeded to joust it through Lucas's chest and out the other side. Lucas fell to the ground, landing on his back.



"You'r only a B class mage brother, you expect to kill me, a S mage? Your eye isn't replaceable and your going to die now. I'll just take the necklace now. Draco bent over the dying Lucas and reached around his neck. "WHAT!? WHERE IS IT?" Lucas laughed in pain at Draco, "I must have dropped it. Oops." Draco raised his feather sword to Lucas's neck and swung, but was blown away by ice. Lucas's sight began to fade, "Amaya? No, your new." He said, finally succumbing to pain and passing out.

Time Lord looked up at Kaitlyn's question, and gave a heavy sigh. "Nothing you need to worry about. I'm helping them. They agreed to this, and now, I have to round up some dark guild people, unless you wish to help me, I should get to it, although I'd much rather stay and watch over them" He said, knowing who Kaitlyn was, Time Lord was wary.

He didn't need to be questioned, nor looked at too closely. He had never hurt someone, on purpose without good reason. But his...goals and motives weren't exactly Pure, and he didn't wish to have to explain himself to a stranger. To anyone, really.

"Well?"

@Expolar

At first, the dusty woman was about as averse to the idea of Trinity using her as a pillow as a camel was to swimming. All it would take was one push for her head to literally sink inside Fleo's shoulder, and then her secret would be out. Plus, Fleo didn't like people being too close to her. Unrestricted and free were two tenants of Fleo's lifestyle, and having someone effectively containing her in one spot, even for something as innocuous as napping, did not sit well with her. She shifted uncomfortable, looking at Ariel for help. Unfortunately, Spirit Ariel seemed about as occupied with the outside landscape as Annalise was.

At that moment, out of sheer misfortune or unadulterated coincidence, Annalise's personality changed. Her eyebrows furrowed and the corners of her mouth turned downward into a spiteful grimace, and she when she looked at the other occupants of the cabin, the look was one of complete disgust. “Filthy, rotten worms! You presume far too much if you think yourselves my equals...my betters! You're nothing but scum in here. I'm the controller, so I can do whatever I want; none of you insects are even capable of thinking on my level. I'll carve you up for your insolence, and the world will be short three wastes of skin!

Annalise stood up suddenly, pulled her sword, and smacked it against the window. Instantly, the scabbard fragmented, filling the cabin with black butterflies. The next moment, the sword reconstituted into razor-sharp glass, and the butterflies transformed also. Fleo stood up as well, too shocked and angry to remember that Trinity was leaning on her, but one of the butterflies raked across her face with a glassy wing, cutting into her cheek. “What!? Augh!”

Annalise raised her blade for an overhead slash aimed at Fleo's shoulder. ”Die!”



In the short time it had taken Gabriel and Thor to prepare themselves, Eliza had changed attire completely. Rather than the shapeless blue robe in which she'd perused the job board, she now garbed herself in a skintight beige suit littered with arcane symbols, sigils, inscriptions, and depictions. She also wore large, black leather boots reinforced with steel armor, and on her right arm resided a strange sort of gauntlet, one decorated with an eerie, masklike face. Despite what she was wearing, however, she seemed to shy away whenever she became aware of people looking at her.

When she spotted Thor and Gabriel, she rushed toward them. ”Come, quickly now. Ve go to the Deployment Artillery on the secont floor.” She led the way, walking quickly and with her hands clasped behind her back rather than swinging by her sides, to the Frenzy Fort's second layer. Here, the eight-sided building was armed with a large cannon for each side, all of which could be retrofitted with different attachments, have their angle changed, or be loaded with different ammunition. Today, if Eliza was to be believed, the ammo would be live—not live as in primed to explode, but live as in living, and in this case, the guild members themselves. Eliza approached the cannon pointing due south, and waited in a reserved sort of patience as it was used to send an enthusiastic Kumbha Yatta flying at a hundred feet per second away from the Frenzy Fort. ”All first-timers get vorried about the cannons. They say, vhat if it explodes me? Does it hurt? Vhat about landing strategy? But it is all good. Cannons are hafing air magic, that makes air cushion beneath soldiers vhen they land. It doesn't go all the vay, but really speeds up trafel time. Vatch.”

Eliza pulled open the back of the cannon, climbed in, and pressed a button. The circular cap swiveled shut with a clang and after a five second fuse, the cannon went off, and Eliza was on her way southward in the general direction of the Akane Resort.



It was a rare thing indeed for another wizard to smile with the same luminosity and jubilation that Nero did, and an even more uncommon feat for such a gesture to be directed at the dark mage himself. The hypothesis that it wasn't genuine barely diminished the fact, at least in Nero's eyes. “The Time Lord? What a coincidence...he happened upon me not too long ago. Pretty weird dude, very full of himself. Wonder what his angle is...?” Her next few words stirred the genie's contemplative side. He looked on Eve in a new light; she wasn't just kooky, she was self-aware, like he. That meant that at least, deep down, she was an awfully good person, and perhaps...a friend. “Some people will only ever value people like us for our magics. They look at us, listen to us, and then condemn us because of our differences, all the while praising the diversity and strong bonds of their own guild families. But to bring smiles is a quest most noble! We should work together sometime, eh?”

The intrusion of Joslyn brought the conversation to an abrupt end. Nero shot her a less-than-pleased look, one that wordlessly said, you can have this dance, but I'll be back. With Ayame on his tail, he returned to the bar, and placed a few coins upon the counter. “Twin toasts and a pair of pears for the twos of us, if you don't mind!”

Trinity had made herself rather comfortable, rather quickly, but that didn't last long. Annalise started shouting, and the minstrel opened her eyes and sat up, staring. "Oh my god, pipe down, some of us are trying to-" The woman started using her magic, and the way she was right now, that couldn't have been good news. There was no time to call out her quiver, get an arrow ready, and hit her with it with enough effect to stop her. She had to act now. The mess of butterflies in front of her would prevent her from getting close, too, so she couldn't just tackle her back down. That would leave her exposed and vulnerable anyway.

There was only one thing she could do so quickly. She'd have to make it happen fast, if she didn't want anyone to see clearly. Ariel might, but she couldn't concern herself with that right now.

Trinity forms an energy make barrier in front of her and then expands it rapidly to push the butterflies away. It disperses after clearing just enough space for her to stand. "Hand Mallet!" A small orb of golden energy forms in her right hand and she crushes it. The energy forms just as she said, a rubber hand mallet, long enough to reach Annalise. The minstrel forms another barrier, to stop the sword, as she swings hard for Annalise's side. Knock her down, knock her out, and tie her up. And take her sword away from her... Her mallet would disperse after her attempt.

"Ariel, can you put her to sleep?"

@soren
The spirit just watched the two for a while before taking a seat. This being bound by contract to a person was not quite how she imagined it. Maybe it was the terms that dictated her behavior, coming and going as she pleased. For a while she tuned out the discussion to reflect on her own thoughts. However once things were coming to a close she zoned back in looked at her guildmate. Would Gideon be considered a guildmade? Perhaps that was something to discuss once they were done.

---

@Lugubrious@CirusArvennicus
Annalise's change in demeanor drew Ariel's attention and she watched curiously. Oddly enough it was now that she realized that the sword took the properties of what it touched. Sometimes all it takes is a little less things on the mind to make the obvious more apparent. However when one of the butterflies cut Fleo and the unstable mage raised her blade to harm her guildmate and Trinity had jumped into action. For the moment Fleo and Trinity were unharmed.

Ariel looked like she was in a daze. Things seemed to move slowly for a moment before Trinity addressed her. Put Annalise to sleep? Could she do that? Maybe it was something spirits can do. Focusing as best she could Ariel seemed to become translucent for a moment and reached out to Annalise's head. She tried to think about putting Annalise to sleep rather than harming her in any way.

Eve, again, looked confused at the fact that Nero had said so many things about the Time Lord, yet barley knew him. She hasn't exactly grasped understanding of emotions within other people yet, she merely sees if they are sad and happy, and either would also make her happy or happier! She also would notice the way Nero was looking at her, it wasn't staring exactly, but she could feel like he was looking at her while thinking about something. Eve felt weird again, she didn't like people paying too much attention to her, always made her feel flustered and awkward. However, she ceased to feel weird as soon as Nero started to talk again and the things he was starting to say actually made Eve nod to what he was saying. "Yeah, I think those Rune Knights would have never come if it wasn't for my magic and if..." Eve paused, she couldn't exactly remember what had happened that led her inside that chair, but she had this sort of feeling that the Master had done it, "Oh, well. I think people like me for who I am! Like, Prince and Zephyr. And yes! Happiness is truly a great thing, and two people bringing smiles would just make things even better!"

Eve felt excited, she wanted to bring smiles to people's faces as soon as possible with or without this stranger, however, Joslyn had come back to ask Eve some more questions. The Necromancer turned her attention to Joslyn to one of her other strange questions as most of the questions she was asked were quite basic. "Oh, well. I see my magic as helpful, duh. People tend to see that the dead are just dead and they are wrong. They are still alive, they just need someone to give them that jump start, like what I do."

gabriel
@lugubrious

Gabriel thought the cannon was awesome, and he wasn't afraid of it. But he let you Eliza explain it, taking the chance to look around the guild a bit more. The only thing he was worried about was his keys, so he took his pouch, and tucked it safetly down his shirt, zipping his jacket up so it could be lost.

He waited until Eliza had gone through, giving her a resonable time to go through and get out the way, before climbing in and doing what she had done, letting out. Whoop as he went on his way, laughing as he travelled, and as he landed quite safetly, he was grinning.

He didn't really seem to notice that Frenzy plant was a more serious guild, at least in temperaments. Or if he did, he didn't seem to care. Perhaps he thought he could bring some laughter into the guild. But he knew one thing. that had been awesome! He looked around for Eliza, still grinning.

michael
@invisible man

Michael heard Eves words, and it immediately got his back up. Leaving Cleopatra wjth Prince, Michael Rose, shaking. Whether from anger or his shyness, even he didn't know. "that may be true, but what about the ones that don't wish to return? You are just causing them pain in your own selfish need to supposedly make people happy! And besides, if you go bringing back the dead continuously, you screw up the natural order of things! There are other ways to be immortalized, by living a life full of friends and family, love and laughter, and yes, even hardships! Because then people will remember you, and you go on! Maybe you should think about the long term effects of bringing the dead back! There's a reason people die, and when they die, they no longer belong here! They may be happy for a time, but really, all you are doing is to make the person who lost them happy.

Maybe you should think about the souls themselves. And maybe think about how it effects them! You could be a great wizard, if only you thought about that! Uses souls that wise to stay, and not bringing back those that wish to move on, you could develop strong magic, bringing them back when you need, and when they want, For a short time. But bringing the dead back permenately only hurts them! Souls are like spirits! You should have a contract with them!"

Michael's words were strong, and he didn't stutter or stumble onces, nor did he look away from Eve, despite the fact he was absolutely terrified. He felt a warmth on his shoulder, and was utterly surprised to see Balthazar standing there, his hand in Michaels shoulder, and then someone ruffled his hair, and he saw Uriel. They too were lookin at Eve, Uriel with a curious expression, Balthazar withhis common sneer.

"we can help you, with your magic, not just simply for your magic, but because you damage yourself as well. And no one wishes to see you destroy yourself" Uriel spoke, kindly. at that point though, Michael's shaking had worsened, and he no longer looked at Eve, his eyes darted to her, then away continusiously.

@mangobomb
He thanked Jarvis and was about to start talking to Fate when this person had walked up and introduced himself as Kass and asked if he was going to be doing any jobs after Jarvis told him to team up for safety's sake. Gideon smiled and knew that this was a good thing. "Well hello there Kass. I am Gideon. I was about to check out the job board for another job. If you wanna head on over and I will meet you there." He smiled at the new person and turned to Fate.

@t2wave
"So Fate I'm sorry and I am by no means trying to ignore you. Umm Archive magic isn't really that hard. It is kinda basic as far as the searching and telepathy parts but there are many other functions it seems. Also I don't seem to recall summoning you? How is it that you popped up like you did? I had meant to ask you that before but it seems that I forgot. It doesn't seem to have a drain on my magic either...until you take sword form that is but it almost equals out by the power you siphon into me." Gideon wasn't sure what to make of Fate, but she was probably just as confused as he was. Archive had said when he was searching through it that Spirits where used by Celestial wizards. He used re-quip magic so how was he also summoning these spirits from these weapons he had. Why did Caliburn react the way it did...so many questions.

Thor was already quite annoyed by the sudden poking off Gabriel and as quick as possible stepped away from him. He would figure out for himself it wasn't fun to poke Thor by the sudden joly of electricity that constantly emitted from their body. It was only a light shock but it would at least warn him that touching Thor was a bad idea. Thor shook their head a little as to denie his kindness for asking if Thor wanted a picture to stare at. Thor might have been a bit on the rude side but that was no reason as to suddenly touch them just like that.

As Gabriel was done with poking he seemed to turn his head away from Thor to look at the job board. He looked irritated and disappointed while making a slight groan that wasn't hearable from far away but on this distance Thor could clearly hear it. Thor angled their head a little as to what the fuzz was about. In the corner of their eye Thor could already see the female approaching them. Thor continued the act but quickly turned at the girl before she arrived. The girl seemed to be wanting to do a quest with them and Thor already noted that the girl had a strange accent that you wouldn't regularly hear around this place. Another country perhaps? The quest wasn't all that high and didn't seem all that special but it was doable so that's what counted. Thor gave a slight nod of approval at the girl as Gabriel did the same in words. Thor hasn't read the job clearly yet but it seemed like the girl was prepared already.

Thor trailed along the two with their cloak trailing behind them. Eliza lead them to the storage room to pick up some supplies which weren't neeeded all that much but they were still handy. Gabriel seemed rather enthusiastic about all this and just got what they needed out of the storage withiut much trouble. Thor didn't have to do much now after all. Thor gave another nod when Gabriel also said he was ready and trailed along again to the second floor.

As they arrived at the artillery department Thor didn't look that pleased with the way things were going on here. Firing people from a canon wasn't exactly the nicest thing to do and it might even give them a hearth attack. Thor watched as Eliza shot off and gave a cold shiver. Soon after Gabriel aslo left in a dash. Thor already had a slight plan. Thor entered the cramped canon and waited for the firing to happen. As soon as they blasted off Thor's eyes widened at the incredible speed. Immediatly Thor activated their magic "Lighting Body" Thor support the flight with their magic abilities as to be sure they landed safely. When Thor arrived at the location a gust of wind blew past their body moving the leaves of the trees in front of them. Thor had stopped midair and carefully looked around for the others. Thor could already see Gabriel had already safely landed but Eliza couldn't be seen yet. Thor quickly decended down to the ground and landed next to Gabriel immediatly writing a note "Are you hurt?"

From behind a nearby boulder Eliza appeared. Now on the job and out of the company of the people whose opinions she evidently valued, her demeanor had changed somewhat. She held herself very high, with rigid posture and nose in the air. A condescending smirk besmirched her features as she watched Thor. “Did you not beliefe me? How fery...boorish. That vas a nice spell, though. I think I vill take it for my own.” She tapped her strange, face-adorned gauntlet, the eyes of which momentarily glowed an electric blue. “If ve are to vork together, I suppose you must know of my magic. It is called Cross Sync. It is havink the caster type, but the gauntlet helps. I take the spells of others and mash them together to make my own. I thought of new one based on you both: Lightning Dog! Vill be interesting to see if it vorks good.”

She strode past the pair to look out at the water. It appeared that the three had found themselves on an island in a large inland lake. It took a moment before Eliza could identify her location, and when she did, she gave a knowing nod. “Ah! Ve hafe landed near Clover Town. Good think ve missed the vater! Clover Town should be just a few hundred feet past those trees,” she pointed at a copse near the boulder that she'd been behind. “From there, ve'll need to find a boat. Akane Resort is being straight south of here, downriver. Little than an hour's trip. I am hopink you two are understanding all this?” After receiving affirmation, the trio was off.

As promised, Clover Town was not far at all, but the city itself proved to be an obstacle, not because of its layout, but its contents. The isolated island city was known for its strange, flamboyant, celebratory culture, and it took a little longer than expected for the Frenzy Plant group to navigate it. As she passed by a carefully-preserved, old-fashioned building, Eliza remarked, “If you are as smart as I about the old tales of magic, you know that this is the spot vhere the vizard guild Blue Pegasus once existed. Nowadays, is just rusty old bar, but very significant for the histories, no?” By the time they arrived at the harbor on the island's southern side, the former dark mage had been adorned with several flower garlands, all of which she'd discarded save for one caught on the back of her belt that she hadn't noticed. Standing in front of the others, she crossed her arms as she addressed the lone shipmaster. “Ve need to go south, to Akane Resort. How much to take us?”

The shipmaster's response elicited furious indignation from Eliza. “Are you jokink? Do you know who I am? No vay a simple trip costs that much.”

Placing his hands on his hips, the grizzled boatsman replied, “Well, it's either that, wait for the 3 o'clock boat, or think up some genius solution to get my ship moving again. It's not going anywhere without a magic Aero Sail. They sell them here, but I need to find someone to buy my fish before I've got enough money for one.”

Location: Mt Hakobe

"Sure, I'll help with that." she happily said as she smiled and gave a thumbs up. "We could be team until I find Dru, or Dru finds me. The name's Kaitlyn, how about yours?" The heavy sigh that Timelord gave earlier made her wondered and decided to just ask. "Are you okay?" Saying as her head tilted with a innocent expression on her face. "You just seem a bit irritated with that sigh that earlier." This was something that she found common when ever she traveled. Sometimes everyone would be in a good mood, but then most of it would go away somehow when everyone notice her in the room. She would find it odd, but quickly shrug it off and try to carry on with whatever she was doing. "If we need anymore help, I can easily call the Magic Council if you want." She said as a communication lacrima suddenly appeared in her hand.

@Caits

The Necromancer was surprised, even in shock as Michael continued screaming at her about the horrendous problems she had been causing. At the end of his rant, Eve didn't really know what to say or even do at the moment, she was just standing there, dumbfounded. Her body was stiff, Eve's fragile conscious trying to understand the situation at hand here. This boy had basically told her that what she had been doing was wrong, that all of her helping was merely just torturing the souls of the dead and keeping no one happy. No one was happy. The thought of keeping smiles on people's faces was the only thing keeping her fragile mind from shattering, the only reason that she hasn't gone bat shit insane from the years of loneliness and pain. The two ideas inside of her mind collided inside of her head, vying for dominance inside of her conscious, and deep inside of the pit within her soul, something was waiting patiently.

Eve started to shakily back away from Michael and Uriel, she didn't feel like herself, she didn't want to acknowledged that all she has done had just been harming her family and friends. The village, had all she done was just torture them? Had all she done was keep them in constant misery and agony while she thought that they were having fun? Were their emotionless faces just them being unhappy!? Eve started to clutch the sides of her head, the fighting in her head grew intense causing her mind to scatter, and thinking only bringing further pain into her head. "You... I..." Eve couldn't handle the pressure anymore, her mind was trying its best to stay happy but it couldn't anymore. The thought of leaving her entire town, her parents unhappy managed to cut most of the threads keeping her sanity tied together. The Necromancer suddenly ran for the door, she needed to get away, she needed to feel where she was comfortable... She needed to feel at home.

Eve hadn't moved but two or three steps when Joslyn called her name and caught her arm. Zen, being as intuitive as he was, had already erected wind barriers at all the doors when she stuttered. He wasn't creative all the time, but Joslyn gave the man credit for being quick. After catching Eve's arm, she did the one thing she knew would save a person from self destruction like Eve faced if she left, and so she wrapped her in a hug. Zen showed a rare part of himself, the soft side, and was there as well, wrapping Eve in a hug as well. "Oh Eve, I know you want to think your family is still here, but they aren't. You can always remember them, it would be wrong to not remember. And, if you give us a chance, we can be your family too."

Zen couldn't help but cry a little. He'd messed up with Freddy, even though he was told not to blame himself, and he wanted to help Eve as much as Joslyn did. "She ain't lyin' kid. Dragon Fang's a great place for new families, even if Old Man Jack won't admit it, he's glad you stayed. Give him time, he'll warm up."




While Joslyn and Zen dealt with Eve, Jake approached Micheal and Uriel and lead them further away before turning to speak with the pair. "Look kid, I know how you view things, but the souls of the dead are not celestial spirits. They don't make contracts and most of them, from my conversations with Freddy all those years ago, don't know they're dead until a shamanistic magic user or necromancer tells them. While I understand your issue with her magic, laying into her and trying to force her to understand all at once doesn't help." He sighed and took a seat.

"I'm not mad at you, I'm not scolding you, I'm just trying to help you understand that she was in a fragile state of mind that dumping all of that on may have just destroyed. Trust me when I say you're far from wrong about forcing the dead that have passed on to serve, but those who stay? Those who know they're dead but don't pass on eventually just become husks of their former lives. A necromancer's summoning actually helps them. So they cut a deal of servitude, but deals are not like your contracts. Freddy said that deals involve the necromancer summoning that particular spirit a certain number of times so they stay energized and aware, so you pretty much control the deal. Your contracts are mutually agreed upon. Starting to see the difference?"

Joshua was relaxing outside the Phoenix Wing guild hall, laying on the ground underneath a tree. He had been training earlier today and had taken on a few easy jobs, finding way to turn even an easy task into a challenge so that he got more out of it then a few jewels. HE hated feeling like he was taking money for practically nothing, though sometimes he had to wonder if some people were just lazy because of some of the jobs they posted on the guild's board.

Sighing, he opened his eye's to watch the clouds overhead. Sometimes he hated thing things. They were so simple, going from place to place until they no longer existed, blown about by a constant breeze. If life where like that, the world would be such a simpler and more peaceful place. Less suffering and annoyance. Just floating by until your time was up. Easy, simple, and remarkable peaceful.



Elyse was running around the guild, causing a general ruckus. She was getting bored waiting for Rose, which was the reason for the current ruckus but she had the feeling that if she kept this up, everyone would get upset at her in a matter of minutes. With that in mind, she bolted to the door to head outside, only to run into someone and fall backwards
"Owie." She said.

"Sorry there." The stranger said, kneeling down and holding out his hand to her."Are you okay little miss? You're not hurt are you?"

Elyse didn't reply and simply stared at him.

"Not going to talk to a stranger are you. Well, I'm Lucus. Lucus Griffonbane. Can I get your name?"

"Elyse."

"Well that's a pretty name. Did your mommy or daddy give it to you?"

"Don't know."

"Huh... well, do you think you can help me Elyse? I'm looking for someone who lives here."



Jack was outside the Dragon Fang guildhall, wondering what to do. She had already completed her training for the day and she didn't feel much like talking to anyone in the guild. She just didn't feel anything other then boredom. In her old life, she would be anticipating her next job or on one, studying a target and trying how best to kill them. This life was much more monotone and she had so much free time, she didn't know what to do sometimes. Taking a job might be an option but she just didn't want to at the moment, as she felt they would be rather boring.

Sighing, she tried to make a rose with her magic again. Since her fight with Shujin, it had gotten slightly easier, but she still failed to see how emotions would make her magic stronger. To her, it only made people reckless but more interesting to fight, since they lost their cool and began acting instinctively, making them more unpredictable. Much more fun to fight someone like that, since they often pulled off tricks you didn't expect. Then you still had to react somehow.

Zero had spent much of his time after the mission explaining to Gideon his and Zenoram's little problem. The deal of having a split personality was never the easiest to explain. Especially when both of them explained it differently, but he'd thought that Gideon got it. Then, they had the whole travel back. As one would expect, Zero was motion sick and indisposed for most of it. The parts he wasn't he was either stretching to get used to being in control again after the time being a shut in. The rest was spent resting or hiding away with Zenoram in charge.

Today however, he'd taken control. He wanted to sleep in. So he did, much to the dismay of his compatriot Zenoram. But still it had been little more than that. So when he finally got up with a rather loud yawn he shook his head. To be honest, when he and Zenoram had returned with Mithera, finding the note from Karn took him by surprise. He'd honestly thought about tracking the feminine male down, but Zenoram convinced him not to. Thus, they kept things pretty quiet. They could see Karn when he got back and he could tell them more about Ru.

"Thank you! I was beginning to think we'd never get up."
"Relax Zenoram. Sleeping in isn't a big deal. Now we should go to the guild hall. And maybe get some food."

As the young man rose to his feet he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He went to the bathroom; bathed, brushed his teeth, and shook his hair out after drying. It was messy, but presentable. "Good enough." He said calmly before walking out, a towel wrapped around his waist. He dressed himself quickly. A short sleeve purple shirt with black pants, shoes and finally their jacket made by Hemlock. He admired the spikes protruding from certain parts. Hemlock really got him. It was black, some purple, easily matchable with most clothes, and had an extra touch for Zero. The protection and what not were obviously more for Zenoram though. In Zero's mind anyway.

With that they left, excluding the tie they usually wore. He made his way to the guild, his hair still a mess though Zero didn't care,even as Zenoram mentally lectured him on the importance of appearance. "Whatever. I just wanna get something to eat. Now quiet down for a bit. I haven't been in control for a while." The two had begun to act more like siblings than one of the same person. Which wasn't all bad, though they did argue a bit more. Still, Zero was a bit more chipper if anybody who knew him could tell. Though most didn't, which was why he didn't talk to or greet anybody really as he entered the Phoenix Wing guild and glanced around. He shrugged choosing not to really engage anyone. Rather he went to the counter and looked over. "Yo! Can I get something to eat?" He asked nonchalantly as he sat at a stool, his arms crossed over the counter, speaking really to whoever was there.

Hunter didn't even see if Zephyr had moved out of the way of the attack, the jade moving around him too thick to be seen. He did know when he landed though, and so did everyone else in the guild hall, the impact thundering through out it. When the dust cleared and Zephyr not laying on the ground with swirls for eyes, Hunter headed towards the hall and heard"You win this round Hunter, but next one I'm winning for sure!" Hunter chuckled and walked in to find Zephyr relaxed against the bar's edge and took a seat next to him as Master Jack came out of his office.

"You didn't do too bad this time, though I might have gone a little overboard using my Secret Art. As for next time, well," he shrugged and waved Master Jack over so he could kill to birds with one stone, "I'm actually off to go do some training abroad for the next couple months. Any suggested places, Master Jack, or am I heading back to my usual spots?" And then he stared at his guild master, because in all the time he'd been with Dragon Fang, never had Jack Goran grinned so mischievously.

"Actually, Phoenix Wing has a couple of members that you might find to be good sparring partners. If you're OK wi-" And the Dragon Slayer was gone, already grabbing the pack he'd left by the door and speeding out the door, to the train station and onto a train bound for Magnolia. Jack laughed and turned to Zephyr. "I'm sure one of our S-Class is willing to spar with you, or I can, though it would require I hold back significantly. If you're up for the challenge, I'll try to find some free time later today."

---

After about a forty-five minute train ride, that Hunter forced himself to endure despite his nausea, he got off the train at Magnolia Train Station, sprinting for the guild hall. It wasn't hard to find and he bust through the doors, about to call out for the guild master when he caught it, though it was muddled with another scent. Dragon Slayer! Rushing towards the scent, he puts his face inches from the blue haired boy's face upon finding the scent's owner. "You're a Dragon Slayer. I can smell it." He sniffs around and catches the scent of another in the hall, spotting her just a few tables over from the bar. "And you're not the only one. But," his face resumes the previous closeness, "I found you first. You, me, sparring match right now." His fist enveloped itself in jade for emphasis. "Unless you're afraid to fight one of your own." He glanced up to the white haired girl and pointed at her. "You're next after this guy."

"Yes...she is my daughter and is the only thing that has kept me from getting revenge on what you did...I don't think you will ever truly be of the light...I know I'm not but my daughter is." she said before picking up Elyse. She heard Jarvis interrupt their conversation""Master Jarvis...I use to be like them before Elyse..you and Jamie know this and yet Jamie allowed me to become part of this guild even with a past like mine...Plus, Jackie was given another chance for change even though she attacked us...What if they truly wish to change...Amelia is safe and they stopped a possible war and bloodshed between our two guilds by overthrowing conquest...I can vouche for them that overthrowing conquest was a move in the right direction."



"But they have a sad existence because they fade away and become smaller till nothing they look down on us and can never enjoy our lives"she said sitting down before laying next to him" I don't see a point in this. ..all I ever seen is clouds where I am from" she said

Zero had been waiting to get some service for a brief moment before he heard his name. The scent gave his "attacker" away of course, but it was still surprising. "Ah yeah... Sorry about that... I was having... A tough time... Both of us were." He spoke calmly not sure where to even really begin.

"We could talk to her about it. She would understand. I mean yeah karn and Mithera and maybe Damian but..."
"Yeah I get it. But I'm not sure I want to right now..."
"Gotta do it sometime. We promised to tell her if anything happened. And was never could get info about her mom. We should tell her that much at least."
"Always the caring voice of reason. Fine."

With that mini conversation over Zero opened his mouth again. However, his words never made it out as a new scent flowed into the guild and immediately there was a man standing before hims and Amaya issuing a challenge. She was quick to reply. Ever the type to turn down a useless fight. And she boasted for him a bit. That was nice, but he had learned that there were many strong opponents out there. He couldn't be so cocky. Still, this guy had some nerve.

"Buzz off fuckface. I've got better things to do." Zero tried to take the high road at Zenoram's request. Plus, he hadn't eaten. That was more important. But he felt like a simple no wasn't going to suffice. Especially when it took the form of an insult like his. Things could only escalate from here. Luckily Amaya had made a quick exit though. It might really have pissed him off if the guy tried to force her to fight. More so than if he just attacked Zero. "Go on. Shoo. I'm sure even an idiot like you isn't battle hungry enough to attack a mage randomly after storming into another guild."

The moment he heard her voice, Lucus stood up and turned around.
"Rosey." He said, his voice one of awe and shame.

"Mommy!" Elyse shouted, running to Rose and tacking her mother's legs with a hug. She happily took the bear but didn't run inside as Lucus moved a bit closer but kept a bit of distance between himself and the other two.

"Rosey... no, we're not. Conquest was so surprised that Jack left he almost tried to attack Dragon Fang. But then War and Destruction got in a fight with him and took him down before handing him over to the Magic Council to be imprisoned. War, or Fraquar as his real name is apparently, is leading the guild and coming over right now to apologize for our earlier actions. Pestilence has left as well, though he has gotten some new member to bolster our rank. Fraquar is trying to turn the guild into a light one and is going through the registration process right now.

I just... I just came to say hi... is that girl your daughter?"

He didn't dare say 'our daughter' as he had no right to call himself Elyse's father even though he was.

[center]

Joshua listened as it sounded like there was going to be the usual chaos in the guild. Rose was talking to a stranger and he heard mention of another guild but didn't think much of it. If someone tried to attack the older wizard while she was protecting her daughter, Joshua would readily lend a hand, no questions asked.

He heard Amaya shouting in the guildhall and simply tuned that out until the girl came over to him, asking what he was doing.
"I'm doing nothing except watching and growing jealous of clouds, petty as that might sound." He said."Their existence is so peaceful and simple, I can't help but envy it. If our lives were like that, it everything would be so much more peaceful. Probably less fun but definitely more peaceful, don't you think?"

Hunter had to give this guy some props, he wasn't easily provoked. And in any other instance, Hunter might not have been so eager. But the prospect of fighting someone like him, even if they were a different element, was too damn good to pass up, and to hell with this guy getting out of it. So he did something he was good at, if his numerous fights back in the Dragon Fang Guild Hall had anything to say about it, and he waited until the man had his food, then grabbed him by the collar. "Oh no, one way or another, we come to blows!" Hefting the guy over his shoulder, he hurled him out of the guild hall and into the streets, following close behind and shedding his pack just outside the door. "Jade Dragon's Steel Fist!" The jade encased fist collided with the blue haired kid's chest and sent him sliding back, and Hunter grinned. If that didn't get him ready to rock, then the guy had impressive patience.