"You know you love it when I catch you!" Vivian called at Isshum over her shoulder, walking towards the edge of the clearing where she had dropped her sword.

Now that the big guy was down, all the smaller bits that weren't blown up were running out of energy and shutting down one by one. Pretty soon the field would be strewn with vaguely humanoid rock formations.

Drawing the length of gleaming steel out of the soft ground, she admired her reflection in the blade before wiping the clinging dirt on her sleeve and sheathing the weapon.

"Let's get out of here fast, the sooner I can get a hot bath, the better." She walked past Bal on her way back, giving the young mage an affectionate pat on the head.

"good work kid. Keep improving like that and you'll catch up to that slacker any day now."

---

Isshum pursed his lips to the side, his arms were folded behind his head as he did, his face scrunched up at Vi’s insult about his laziness. “Who’s the real slacker here, Vi? A shower? I say we head straight to the Guild after claiming our reward. Ain’t nobody got time for that.”

He shot Bel a contagious grin as he passed by, walked forwards with long strides before quickening his step and taking lead of the group. “Let’s not forget who plans on taking the title of hero from Natsu Dragneel,” he said, bounding on his heels before turning forwards and smiling into the green woods. “I don’t gots the time to be a slacker. In fact, I plan on speeding all the way home! Follow along or get left behind!” he yelled, sprinting towards the village they made the contract with.

After collecting their reward, the three mages made their way back to Magnolia; it took three-fourths of a day for them to reach its forest, the sun was still low on the horizon. All Isshum could think about was Taka’s living flames’. His stomach churned with delight at the thought. Waddling with wide steps, his hands stuffed in his pockets, he craned his neck back towards Bel. “Think you can whip me up something to eat? I’m starving ova here,” he groaned, looking for the familiar multi-colored flames that Bel could produce. As long as it wasn’t a foul tasting one, any would do.

@WaddleDaisy

Matisuki Kiryuin

As Matt got situated back into the bar, the doors open to reveal another figure. The brawn man turns slowly, almost as if he was expecting that dark mage to be there to cause more trouble. But alas, this was not the case. This man certainly looked more friendlier then the last one, but still emitted a strange energy signature. He had white hair and blood-red eyes, but his whole demeanor was quite friendly and polite. He chugged on his last mug of beer for the last time and looks over at him.

"Oi!" he hollers out at him, "Who might you be young lad? And what powers do you have?"

"You're going to keep dening this, aren't ya? Well, I'm dropping the issue for now but if that fucker tries anything funny with you, just tell me and I'll be sure to give him a piece of my mind. As for the mission, I say it's about as good as anything else, plus it seems rather urgent as well." Aiden nodded before turning back to his treat, damn near inhaling it as he finished the sundae off in seconds. He let out a breath as his eyes turned to Kuroko. "And as for you, Pencil Wizard, try to let us handle it first before ya jump in and steamroll with that nasty ice of yours. From the looks of the job, it should be rather easy for the two of us, technically three if Bris still wants to join in."

Getting up from his seat, he turned around just in time to see another guy walking in, again with the white hair and red eyes. While he seemed to have a friendly demeanor, one thing was making Aiden wary of the guy. He smelled heavily of blood, at least to Aiden's enhanced senses, but the dragon slayer wasn't getting negative vibes of this guy. In the end, he shrugged it off, deciding that if he tried anything at all, there were several S-ranks ready to fuck up his day.

"Come on guys, let's getma move in, yeah? Faster we get there, the faster we put this poetic man's mind at ease." As he walked out the door he grabbed Bristlebane by the cloak, dragging him along for the trip with a muttered "That means you too."

@WaddleDaisy

@Lmpkio

@Eklispe

@Raijinslayer
@WaddleDaisy

Kuroku Nagasai

"Hmm," Kuroku shrugs unemotionally, "Nothing wrong with stating your opinion is there?"

As he gets up, he also glances at the newcomer who came into the room. The vibes were friendly, but he smells the reek of raw blood. So much so that it's almost as if he could taste it. Yet the man didn't look ominous, so he gets up and follows Aiden, who happened to be dragging Bristle with him.

"Could you be a little easy on him Aiden?" he asks, "I mean, he's nothing more then a mere boy..."

Belial Roseblood

Belial was startled by the sudden pat on the head and Vivian's words. "W-what? There's no way I could do that." He speak with a slight chuckled at her comment regarding his growth and possible surpassing of Isshum. Sure he wanted to. He'd never stop working or trying. But right now, that goal was a long way off. Still he felt confident with her words followed by that contagious grin of his guardians which made his own grin spread out across his face.

----------------------

Just like that the small group had gotten their reward and was on their way back to Magnolia. It had taken a bit, but at least they would be home within the day. Still, walking through the forest, especially at night, wasn't all that safe. Well, that would be the thoughts of a normal person. Even Bel's if he were alone. But he wasn't alone. And that point was reminded to him when Isshum asked him to whip him something up. He chuckled a bit, as he added the part about not using the fire granted by his knowledge of the rainbow fire magic. It was hilarious as one time he'd played a prank on Isshum, giving him one of the more disgusting flames. Just the thought made him laugh a bit as he held his hand up. "Don't worry big bro. I won't do that. This time." He muttered the last part under his breath as he held up his hand and created a fire ball. He smile and toss it towards Isshum.

"That oughta hit the spot for now." He said as he continued walking, though a bit faster. he was eager to get back to the guild hall of Magnolia. He had visited a few others in different towns along with Isshum, Vi and the rest of Team Fireworks, but this one was by far the best. Not to mention his favorite. "So, what's the plan for when we get back bro?" He then asked Isshum calmly.

Bristlebane had stealthily been reaching for a bottle of syrup to store for later when he was yanked of his feet by the sudden pressure on his neck. "H-hey, I was coming." He didn't bother getting up and let himself be dragged mumbling unintelligible words under his breath the whole time. Then he noticed the newcomer, newcomers needed presents. Bristlebane hurriedly rummaged through his pockets before finally finding something suitable before he was dragged out the door. "Newcomers get presents!" he shouted and threw a bag at Alexandre hoping he would catch it.

"That bag generates food endless, and randomly, if you use blood magic you gotta keep yourself feddd!" the last word trailed off as Bristlebane was dragged out of view. He hoped the new guy would like his present, mostly the bag just gave him beans. Lots and lots of beans. Bristlebane didn't even like beans, maybe the bag would treat the newcomer nicer. He leaned back and looked up at Aiden who was remarkably kind enough to keep carrying him, "Where is this questy thingy anyway?" he asked curious to know where they were going.

@WaddleDaisy@Raijinslayer

And so the younger mages took off, to complete the troll-killing quest. Hana had briefly felt tempted to join them but ultimately decided it would be less fun for them if she were there. For multiple reasons. Instead she directed her attention to the person who just entered. The pink-haired samurai approached casually, listening intently as he introduced himself and demonstrated his magic. Blood Make, which sounded both painful and nasty to Hana but being it is a Maker type magic it surely must be powerful. "Oh, you know how to use a sword?"

Hana began to examine the blood saber closely, not particularly caring or asking Alexandre's permission to invade his space. "Hmmm, only a saber though. But still a swordsman, right?" Now Hana took a step back to allow Alexandre some personal space. "There aren't many swordsmen anymore, after the War. It delights me to see that some people still pursue the mastery of the blade. A fine art indeed." After giving the newcomer a welcoming smile, Hana finally decided to introduce herself. "Oh, my name is Hana Oshiro. I am also called The Last Samurai, but I had that title well before the War..."

"You're making it sound like I'm be strict on him, just making sure we don't forget him is all." Aiden gave a slightly mischeivous grin, only for him to suddenly stop movingnas he picked up on something just as he neared the door. The others would suddenly feel an intense chill go through their bones as Aiden turned to level a glare at the Blood-make wizard, Alexandre . . . .Cross. The mage would feel the icy glare piercing through him, but by the time he turned to look, Aiden had already turned away, making way for the site of their request. He didn't say anything, nor woukd he respond to any questions or atatements made by the others regarding his behavior. Once they made it to the city gates, he pulled Bristle up so that ge could stand on his own two feet, before turning to Taka.

"Well, you've got the request paper, so where do we go from here?" His voice, while not overly harsh or hostile, lacked any sense of warmth. Mixed with his eyes, which had not only taken on a slight icy blue luminescence, but had also changed as well, looking closer to the eye of a dragon then that of a human. It was an intimidating sight to be certain. After Taka gave him the location, they'd make their way to the forest where the Trolls where said to be hiding. It wouldn't take too long, as the paper had an indicator saying that a local citizen had requested it, so the search area was somewhere in the woodlands around Magnolia's flower fields.

Once they arrived at thenlast known location of the man's family, Aiden immediately took to sniffing around, trying to find a scent. However, everything he did find was old, muddled and useless for tracking. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he continued searching, this time for possible clues to where the Trolls were headed.

"I can't get a scent, so help me look for clues or something. Maybe they keft something more concrete that we can use to track their location."

@Lmpkio

@WaddleDaisy

@Eklispe

Bristlebane stand up yawning, "Alright time to look for clues. Detective style!" he said excitedly and began looking for anything that could help. Most notably tracks would be helpful but perhaps something else would give it away. After a bit of fruitless searching he pulled out a magnifying glass to look closer, you know, just in case. He wondered just how many trolls there were. Maybe they should just split up and search the forest. Or maybe he had something in his cloak for just this occasion, you never knew really.

Erin Draven

Erin was outside of the guild house tossing crumbs of bread and seeds upon the ground for birds. A smile spreading upon his lips was cast in shadow as the sun was blocked by his deep cowl. From the outside he looked only to be a creepy mage in dark tattered robes, huddled over watching birds at his feet.

He watched happily as the small birds fluttered to the ground and pecked at his offerings. After a few minutes he sat upon the ground and leaned his back against the guild house, placing a few seeds on his shoulder and propping his arm on his knee, his open hand holding the rest. Birds easily jumped into his outstretched hand and shoulder without fear for they knew him regularly and knew he meant them no harm. Even when a stray cat prowled around the corner they didn't move. Erin simply smiled at the cat and held out his free hand, enticing the cat to approach for a gentle petting. It was a good day and Erin smiled for the company of the animals he drew to him.

"Tracks just might be our best bet, although they might have dropped a weapon and their scent possibly might be on that." Taka said as she jumped onto a rock, looking around the area. She placed a hand on her chin as she dropped down onto the forest ground once again. "Yes I believe that we should split up, if we find anything we'll send a flare up and everyone will come check it out." Taka suggested to the group, she smiled at the idea, but we're just hoping that she doesn't get lost first.

"I'm going to head out first, if I'm in trouble or I find something I'll send some fire up." Taka said as she started walking in one direction, she took a look around back at them first before heading off.

"Half the kids here will tell you I am on the dark side." Tessa grunted, "Most of those aren't much better mind you but what the hell." She pointed over her shoulder to 'Her personal job board' as she called the menu. "Pick your poison. If you want raw meat like you look you do, I'll have to disappoint though. In that case you want to go across the street and all the way to the right, that's a steakhouse." she informed as she sat back down to the newspaper. She pulled a cigar out of the stash under the counter and lit it up. "Oh and the girl? Hell if I know, my responsibility for them ends at that door."

@Ira

@Ira
@Forsythe
@WaddleDaisy


Blood Magic huh? Well thats something you don't see everyday. Sure he has heard of legends stating of such powers but never had he actually seen anyone using blood make. This was a first. A nod and a glass raise signified him to come in. However, later on in the day, as he was talking to a bunch of his guild mates, he senses the same black aura from earlier. Again, he tries to ignore it, but five minutes later, Ira came marching back into the guild again. Why did he come back? Because it takes some big steel-hard balls and nerves to come BACK into the guild as an outsider. Sure he can 'accept' one's presence for one day, but for a second time? Thats gonna be real hard for him to do. He intensifies his magic aura, hoping to let Ira know that his presence is certainly not welcome, not even for a second time.

@WaddleDaisy
@Raijinslayer
@Eklispe

Kuroku Nagasai

As soon as the others got to the site, Kuroku began to scan the area for clues, but unfortunately he couldn't find anything of interest so far. So when Taka requested for the three of them to split up, he simply nods in agreement.

"We'll cover more ground then." he says, "I'll look to the west."

And with that, he heads west to find some clues on what might've happened in the area.