“ZENIIIIIITTTHHHH!”

Smoke was wafting from the kitchen. Even without hearing the desperate shouts now echoing out into the main guild hall, it didn’t take a genius to guess the cause. Not half an hour before, Lavinia Lucardi had been seen waltzing towards the oven with a recipe book in hand, humming happily to herself. And as everyone was well aware, the blood mage only knew one recipe: disaster.

“Zenith help I was trying to make cookies and now the oven’s on fire Zenith what do I do HEEEEEELLLLPPP!”

Many were no doubt mystified by Lavinia’s recent forays into the world of cooking, but it was clear that something in her had changed since her mission with the ANP. The truth was, after encountering the mad Avedis and going head-to-head against Obsidian Kite’s secret dark ops division (which she was dead certain those enemy mages had been), Lavinia had been left with a deep distrust of fancy new technologies and their shady inventors. Despite knowing that ANPs would likely soon become commonplace in food preparation across Fiore, the devilish villainess had resolved that she should learn to cook on her own, so that she could sustain herself without letting suspicious robots into her home to spy on her.

Unfortunately, her efforts thus far have proven… Less than fruitful. Setting the kitchen on fire was a delightfully evil deed on paper, but that was contingent on the fire being set on purpose. Lighting up appliances by accident, on the other hand, was simply embarrassing.

“The oven won’t break if I spray blood on it, right? I’m going to try spraying blood on it!” Hopefully the cookies would at least be salvageable, though given that they looked like blackened husks right now her chances probably weren’t great.

So Zenith was trying to have one of his day offs from dealing with people, a process that consisted with him laying on his bed and binge watching shows that he had been meaning to catch up on while eating his junk food of choice, which was just fast food that he bought just for today. Yes, he typically was a people person and he also typically ate healthy meals, but dammit sometimes he needed to be left the hell alone and treat himself to something nice for a change! As much as he loved his guild mates, there are times when they really make his blood pressure skyrocket with the shenanigans they get themselves into.

It was because of this that he did not know that Lavina entered his kitchen. Well, not until she started screaming for him. "Not again!"

He hopped off his bed and sprinted out of his room and through the guild, the smell of smoke grew stronger until he slammed the kitchen door wide open to find the evil mistress of darkness panicking while his poor oven was being consumed in flame! Even the stove top was burning?! How?! "Don't you dare spray blood on it!" Zenith barked at her as he fished around in a cupboard until he found a fire extinguisher, for the times when Ria is not around.

"Stand back!" She better have stepped back or else she would have been caught in the crossfire of the extinguisher. Zenith kept blasting the oven until there was not a trace of ember left. The only thing left to do was the see what the damage is.

Taking precautions, he made sure to open the window before he pulled the oven door down, smoke poured out into his face. Zenith coughed as he pulled out Lavina's briquettes and placed them on the table. "So...cookies huh? What happened?"

Gwen fasted for a week and lost quite a muscle, her fasting remain continuous despite the tempting presence of food at her grasp, for seven days and even now she's committed herself to such peculiar training. In her room, Gwen took a pair of twin broad swords which seemed to be an antic exhibited but they were indeed legitimately real and made for killing. She closed her eyes, exhaled deeply, and swung her swords, cutting her cabinet in half yet it was tainted, the swords were rusty and immediately, one young boy came in to mind.

On her way to the dining, she caught up to Lavinia and Zenith — ignoring them with her hoodie get up, her face was cloaked and she was striding quickly looking for Asher and Marduk. She sat next to one of the seats in the Guild Hall and opened a book which comprised of ice magic training sequence, it illustrated and emphasized the essence of control through breathing methods. Gwen emulated the breathing sequence and reflected on restraint, she noticed a parent and their child arguably performing something similar — Gwen awed at the heartwarming sight she saw. The impact of what she witnessed buried deep down within her heart.

Gwen took of her hood and went back to Lavinia and Zenith, she greeted them in an unusual tone. Before, her greetings were rude and abrupt, she waved at them calmly and asked the whereabouts of Asher and Marduk.

---

Since Luke returned, all that he seemed to be doing was rest and eat. He became slightly more lazier since the completion of the mission with him sometimes not even showing up at the guild hall until much later. This however wasn't one of those times as he decided to casually show up early on. Early enough to see the meltdown that Lavinia was having while cooking.

"The food's been ruined?" The amnesiac frowned at the waste of good food. His disappointment went away after spotting Gwendolyn moving about in the guild. Luke was tempted to talk to her, yet Astoria wasn't here yet. So, he did what felt normal to him and sat down on a seat.

He closed his eyes in thought. The topic of his thoughts was the mission he took. Compared to the dragon fight, it wasn't as hard, but it was different. He feels grateful for the help he received from his teammates. He just wonders if there was more he could've done, like being stronger. The chances of wrapping up the mission sooner would've made themselves more apparent.

"Hm." Luke felt like yawning. The mission was a success anyways, so there's no need to be so thoughtful about it.

---

---

"Heh? What the hell are you guys messing around for? The fire mage was perfectly content on sitting back and watching the fireworks go off in the kitchen. It was a slightly entertaining sight that erased the boring aura of the guild. Gerard can confidently say that Lavinia is a very entertaining person.

He's been in the guild for only a short period of time, but he's already figured out the general personalities of his guild mates. Lavinia alone is fun. Lavinia with Zenith is a comedy act. The perfect duo of a circus that makes Gerard chuckle to himself.

"That's enough of that though," he murmured to himself. He cracked open a book about fire magic and started greedily taking in the information with barely concealed joy. He had a wide smile on his face as he completely mono-focused on the contents of the book.

Even information he already knows can be fruitful. The more he takes in, the more he learns how to use his fire spells more efficiently. Saving magic, strengthening the basics, and learning even the rare basics that he skipped over in favor of more raw power. He absolutely needs to do this to avoid relying on his shadow magic again.

Yes... He was absolutely furious that he was forced to bring that out again. He must get stronger, so he doesn't have to rely on the power of a faded past.

It had now been a week since joining with the guild and at an most opportune time. For he found the place to be mostly empty with only a few others after majority of the guild members set out on quests the very evening of his arrival.

The large building; now quiet offered a decent amount of places to explore without being bothered and bombarded by questions of his appearance and origin of which he expected. And after settling on an empty room to claim for his own, did he set out, where to his delight came across the guild's library while the smell and look of the walls and shelves indicated it had recently been built and stocked at that. Within this room, surrounded by shelves and shelves of books was where the wolf felt at home and would spend most of his term casually perusing its contents. Though of course the books he found seemed mostly basic and hardly anything special but he figured this place wouldn't hold the more interesting and intricate sets that held the more difficult and..less than approved information. Yet, it held knowledge of this modern era; a good start in understanding how the world had chanced these past several hundred years.

A good thing to have all these books to keep him busy with nearly all the quests taken anyway with the last involving babysitting. As he didn't much like children along with the fact a bubbly seeming female already shown interest in accepting it. Opting to hold off on taking a quest at the time being which left the robed canine free to read, choosing only to venture out to grab himself tea and bits of food though unsure if any belonged to a particular person and so kept to mostly sandwiches or cereal while of course cleaning up after himself. Besides leaving to sleep otherwise the beastkin spent all his time reading or meditating within the sanctuary of books.

Eventually the solace and quiet peace came to an end upon the guild members returning. The once quiet building quickly becoming abuzz with activity; footsteps stamping on creaking wooden floorboards, doors opening and closing and various muffled voices with none familiar to him.

Thinking it time to try and properly meet some of his fellow guild mates that he quietly glided from the library and made his way to the main hall. Open book lightly clutched within his clawed hands as his uncovered canine ears twitched and flicked to the various sounds. Long before even arriving that his nose had caught the smell of fire and badly burnt cookies and the faintest hint of blood uncomfortably tickling at his highly sensitive nose, the kitchen the source of these unpleasant scents.

His ears perked; catching a disgruntled voice filled with annoyance and exasperation and another almost playful feigning guilt. It was clear an argument were taking place and so chose to hold off on making himself a cup of tea, at least for the time being.

Closing the book on his thumb as a temporary bookmark and took a moment to peer around the hall. Glimpsing unknown faces of those either busy in their own thing or relaxing and watching the antics of the kitchen in amusement. This observation had him lift a brow in a curious manner; unsure of what could possibly be funny regarding damages to the kitchen especially when it could spread and worsen though a quick barrier cutting it off from oxygen would have it snuffed out in seconds.

* None seemed vexed nor show the slightest hint of worry. How peculiar seeing them relaxed and amused at the possibility of danger.* Thinking this with a slight curious tilt of the head.

Deciding to jot this down seeing as the incident within the kitchen would take some time to be resolved and strode over to an empty table. Taking a seat and setting the book down opened, he reached in and from the left sleeve procured a small notebook and pencil. Taking this moment to scribble down what he observed of the group's behavior, fascinated by their aloofness and a person's capability to somehow start a stove fire in trying to bake cookies.

---

In the time since they had arrived back from Era, Ria had spent a good portion of her time away from the others. From the near day and a half of sleep, to simply sitting and pouring over some of her books, the normally social girl had hidden away. She'd come out only to discuss the events - namely surrounding what occurred between herself and Giselle, and what she'd been told by Giselle about what happened when Gwen had gone to deal with the rabble just over a month prior. When she made an appearance in the guildhall, she smiled her usual cheerful smile and made conversation, but she played with her hairband on her wrist and stood further away from others the entire time. My nerves are just still very sensitive, was the claims.

Kaden, on the other hand, had been much his usual self since the ANP quest. There were no hard feelings with Obsidian Kite, not even the four fools that attacked them. He'd taken another small nothing job the next day, and then again two days later. He'd just come back from that one yesterday. Nice little easy outings but still, they earned money and were things he could talk up at a pub and land another bed mate. Not bad.

It was on his way to the guild this morning that he ran into a recently elusive guild mate. It was weird being in the guildhall those days he was there without seeing the odd eyed social butterfly that was one of their most reliable waitresses. So to run into her on the street it was even weirder. "Ria?"

Ria blinked, spinning around to see Kaden giving her a quizzical look. A smile blossomed on her face quickly, hands worrying the strap of her satchel for a moment. "Oh, hi, Kaden. Fancy running into you here."

"What are you doing here? That's headed toward a bad part of town."

Ria laughed softly, waving a hand dismissively. "Oh it's fine. I've been there plenty before. I'm just headed to see a customer. He runs a bookshop I was going to get something and deliver some good news that I think I found him a match." She turned to head back off, before stopping and looking back at the black haired mage. "You're welcome to come with me if you are concerned." With that, she headed off on her way again.

Kaden considered the offer for a moment, even almost turned to head toward the guild, before heaving a heavy sigh and following along. "Fine, but I'm only coming to make sure nothing happens because you've been acting weird this week. I'm not carrying anything for you."



It was closer to noon that the two finally ended up walking into the guild. Kaden had more than a few books in his arms, to go with the bag full of books hitting against Ria's hip. She sported her usual smile, while he seemed to have died just a little inside. Obviously if he'd managed to be talked into carrying books for her.

Ria frowned noticing the traces of smoke wafting from the kitchen, but turned her attention to Kaden. "Would you mind bringing those up to my room with me?" She offered him a pretty smile when he looked like he was about to turn her down, but instead she got a huff and a nod in response. She smiled more and lead the way, giving the older mage direction where to place the books before starting to organize them.

Kaden grumbled in response to her thanks before heading back down to the guild proper. "Do one good thing and I miss the fun," he grumbled with a huff and light kick of a bar stool before taking a seat. "Who's trying to burn the guild down without me?"

Sitting in one of the more comfortable chairs within the common area, a pencil tapping against his chin as his eyes were closed in thought, Asher ponders upon his notebook in his lap. For the past several weeks, he found himself sketching and thinking on his airship project. While he had a design of sorts slowly coming together, it was on other aspects of it that gave him headaches. Mainly, money and materials. He was going to need a lot of both if he wanted to do it right.

Letting out a sigh to himself with the coming headache, he closes the notebook and puts it back into his bag next to the chair. With it secured, he lets his body rest back into the chair, changing his thoughts back into something else that had happened recently. His promotion to B-Rank in the guild. A smile came to him as he remembered the feeling of his efforts having come to fruition and thus being recognized.

Leaving the depths behind of his mind, Asher brings his attention back into the guild hall. More faces have appeared since he had been sitting there. The guild was still quite lively, though it was certainly a bit calmer since the first few weeks after their Fenixtear debut in the headlines. Something he had anticipated would happen eventually.

In any case, I believe I should try and figure out something to do. Maybe a good paying job has come up? Asher wonders to himself.

@Sanguine Rose
"Heh, Zen sure seems to be having fun." Piped up a voice from beside Kaden. To his right sitting upon a stool at the bar, stirring away at the contents of a mug was Akemi. Akemi had watched Zen fly down the stairs and into the kitchen upon hearing Lavi's cry and the smoke coming out of the kitchen should've been a concern for the guild. But much like the others, Akemi didn't seem anything but, though it was hard to tell what the girl was thinking or feeling at any given time due to her unchanging expressions. But she was having to cover her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket, not really wanting to breathe in any of the smoke. She had only recently recovered from falling ill due to straining herself while training, she didn't particularly feel like being bedridden for a day or more for the 3rd time in a matter of little more than a week.

Despite how hard the girl was to get a reading on at the best of times, she did seem at least vaguely amused by Zen's current predicament. Just a subtle change in tone and a bit of a glint in
her eyes as she locked with Kaden, bringing the mug containing what seemed to be a swirling green mass that smelled as horrible as it looked to her delicate lips and taking a prolonged sip. Just what was in the mug anyway? It wasn't alcohol that's fore sure, no one in the guild would've been idiotic enough to give the sickly girl booze of any kind. Zen would rip them apart if they did.

Sighing softly as she took the wooden mug away, she looked back at Kaden before extending her hand towards him. She seemed to be expecting a handshake? "Akemi. You're uh...Kaden right? Zen said you were trouble and I should avoid you." Then why was the blunt girl speaking to him? Well, much like the contents of her mug only she knew.

---

Much like the beastkin, Alina had also been silently observing the situation unfold, taking in how the others around her reacted to the situation at hand. Or rather, their lack of reaction it would seem. Though she herself found this one to be rather tame, it still warranted something from the others surely? And why did this Lavi girl see to find herself at the epicentre of so much of the randomness inside the guild? Making some mental notes already, she made sure to try and talk to Lavi at some point as she had heard some rather...contrasting rumours about the girl. Mostly about how she was evil incarnate or something? Which made her comedic attempts at cooking all the more perplexing indeed.

Deciding that it was best to shelf the enigma that was Lavi, Alina noticed that one other in the room seemed to be making notes of what was conspiring around of them. Well, the note-taking wasn't what really caught her attention. No, it was the twitching wolf-like ears. That was what had initially drawn her attention, then it was the fact he seemed to be writing something down.

Making her way over, she took the seat across from the beastkin. "They're a rowdy bunch aren't they?" Alina gestured to the kitchen as she spoke, a gentle smile forming as she clasped her hands together in front of her on the table. "It's rather curious as to how this guild continues to function with all it's...unique characters within." Bemused, Alina locked eyes with Menzai for a moment. For that briefest of moments, her warm and gentle facade vanished. A cold, analytical look contrasting vastly with the beaming smile she wore before her eyes softened just as quickly.

"I'm Alina by the way, Alina Bloomfield. you're one of the newer members correct?" Stretching out her hand towards the beastkin, her gaze didn't steer away from his. Despite this, she was still taking in any signs that Menzai might exhibit. Did he seem annoyed? Happy? Not bothered at all? "I say newer member...but I'm hardly a veteran myself. I only joined about a month ago myself. Funnily enough when the rest of the guild was off defeating that dragon, a shame I missed it. Though I doubt I would've been much help, not often one gets to see a real, breathing dragon."

This week was marked by improvement. People were starting to flow into the city in higher volumes than usual. The occasion? Prince Ryokugyoku Fiore would turn 21 on the culminating day of the festival - one week from today. It was exciting for all - the royal gardens open to public viewing, shops putting together their finest venues, and even some friendly competition between stores and whatnot to updo each other. There were plenty of game booths set up in the city center, sign ups for innocuous competitions to be hosted in the city center, and there were postings saying there would be a special declaration from the King at the end of the festival. Many speculated as to what that would be, but there were not to be any hints until the time came.



"Lavinia, you better not burn down that kitchen," Torys shouted. One minute, there'd been no one at the job board, the next - the youthful guildmaster was blocking it as she posted up a few new jobs among the others. When just over a month ago there'd been barely any work to be found, now the board was continually filled with fliers. It was a turn of events many in the guild seemed to appreciate.

She popped her head into the kitchen. "I'm expecting we're going to have more customers with the festival. That kitchen better be in working order." With that she moved along to her usual spot behind the bar just watching the room.

---

---

Ria flitted down the stairs with a few weighted hanging from her arms to help with carrying books she couldn't handle in her arms. "I have the order of books for the guild library, but first..." She skipped along as she moved through the guild. Indeed the cheerful mood the purple haired girl usually had was back. And the first stop on her trip around the guildhall was Asher, merely because he was the closest in her journey. She shifted the pile of books in her arm to recover a rather bland looking one. "Here, I noticed you'd been drawing airship designs and this is about the history of airships highlighting most of the best known ones through the years all the way back to The Blue Pegasus' Christina." She placed the book down on the table beside him before moving on.

"Menzai, I got you a few books that include abridged histories of Bosco, Fiore, and Isenberg." She carefully shifted the stack so she could place each book down on the table beside him too. After stacking roughly seven books in all, she turned and headed off again. She leaned into the kitchen to offer out the last two free held books to Lavinia and Zenith. "Cooking For Beginners, and a book of exotic recipes I found while I was picking up the guild books." She glanced down for a moment before crossing her arms in realizing she was offering the advanced recipe book to Lavinia and the beginner to Zenith. A smile beamed on her face again. "I saw a few recipes in there that are quite...um, unique. I don't know if we have the cookware to handle them, but I believe Felix might enjoy them."



Kaden hadn't expected the chick he'd heard to be Zen's sister of all people to strike up a conversation, but...He looked at her with a subtle arch to his brow; she wasn't bad on the eyes. Wait, no. She's too young. He resisted the urge to shake is head. Still, a charming smile slid onto his face at the follow up introduction and identification. Chuckling softly, he turned to fully face the odd girl.

Looking at the hand for a moment, Kaden shrugged and shook it. "I'm only trouble for those that deserve it." His smile pulled higher on one side for a moment. "Zen's just paranoid and probably just trying to be a good, overprotective big brother." He lost some of the smile as he looked at what she was drinking. "Please tell me that tastes better than it looks..." he wrinkled his nose. "And smells."

The casual demeanor and lack of worry from the other guild members seemed to indicate that such incidents were a daily occurrence. An important thing to note as he now knew to expect such antics making it easier to prepare for odd and unexpected events. Yet, trying to focus on his note tasking was proving to be difficult as his nose picked up a horribly pungent scent, the source to be that of a cup filled with an unknown liquid resting by the woman at the bar.

A mere whiff of it turned the contents of his stomach sour and instilled in him an urge to vomit. He fought the unsettling sensation with a gulp while using the writing to help distract from the foul fumes tickling uncomfortably at his nostrils which nearly had him gag. The only saving grace being the distance from the horrendous smell though only a small comfort. An instance where Menzai cursed his heighten sense of smell; doubting he could hold back the sickly feeling were that vile cup drew any closer and likely not only lose his stomach but pass out as well.

Trying to breathe little as possibly; inhaling only when needed while forcing himself to keep composure. Almost thankful to have the young woman pull up to the table as she would offer a better distraction than simply writing.

His dark blue eyes lifted from the page of his notebook to peer at the woman sitting across from him, the pair of tiny sharp red irises nearly glinting like rubies. Those furry canine ears adorning the top of his head flicked and perked; signs he was listening and caught every word she spoke regarding introducing herself to be Alina Bloomfield. Eyes filled with a curious gaze lowered briefly to the extended hand having recall the human custom of handshakes; a somewhat more physical and respectful way of greeting a new stranger.

Not wishing to be rude to the first person he would be speaking to within these halls besides the guild leader and placed his pencil down within the confines of the opened notebook and closed it before nudging it to the side. Once taken care of, he lifted his right to cough into it as if to clear his throat while it was more to hide the faint gag induced by that mysterious stench." Pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms. Bloomfield though apologies for I must refuse the handshake. Mind no offense as there is no fault on your end but simply due to the situation regarding.." Trailing off as he opened his right hand to display his clawed fingers, wanting to avoid any risk of accidentally scratching or cutting her hand and chose instead to offer a small respectful bow of the head then folded his hands before him.

" And I am indeed new to the guild having only joined a week prior. So I have little experience in witnessing this...rowdy bunch as you put it? " His right eyebrow lifting; uncertain if that was the correct term to refer the group but for the moment it would suffice." Perhaps a bit unorthodox and untamed this group is though the building still stands to this day." A brief waving motion of his hand to indicate the building." So a kitchen fire seems of little threat to those of this guild." Understandably apparent considering the nonchalant and amused reactions going on.

Turning his gaze back onto the woman sitting across from him where he noticed that he was being observed much like he was doing. Taking note of the smile creasing her cheeks, but the look in her eyes betrayed the friendly demeanor she tried to portray, whereas his gleamed a mixture of curiosity and indifference. With an near blank expression to match save but for the slightest wrinkle between his brows hinting of disgust. He listened to Aline tell that she herself had only been here a month and stating her disappointment in missing out on the battle against the dragon." Unfortunate to have missed witnessing this dragon having heard a bit about this terrible beast. Quite a feat, slaying a dragon. " He finished with a quick nod." Ah, right. It has slipped the mind to introduce myself. The name is Menzai Isanami." He intended to add onto the introduction, when another woman, who's name he did not get yet though surprisingly knew his came over to place several books on the table near him and learning they contained history information on Fiore and two other nations.

A pleased shine shown in his eyes briefly before returning to a look of indifference." Thank you, miss. I will be sure to peruse the contents of these books shortly. " A thankful bow of the head as he gently patted the topmost book then started returning his attention back to Aline when spotting the guild leader post up new jobs, the first time seeing any new ones get placed since joining." Hm, seems some quests have been put up. Would you wish to join in inspecting and possibly accepting one to work together?" Being new to the guild and doing jobs that he couldn't refuse the opportunity to finally take his first quest to get a firsthand experience of working on one alongside a human.

"Not in the slightest. It's absolutely revolting." Seemingly oblivious to his look, and the drink in her hands taste and smell, she took another sip despite what she said as Kaden returned the handshake. Though unlike Kadens presumably strong, firm grip hers was far softer and more delicate, flimsy even. Perhaps it was to be expected from a girl of her stature, more akin to a going through the motions rather than a proper greeting. "Hmm? Really? Zen didn't mention anything of that sort. He didn't really explain it." Looking at her drink thoughtfully for a moment as she brought her hand back, she reached into her pocket and popped something into her drink, before grabbing a spoon off to the side to stir it again.

"Zen is hardly overprotective." Akemi sighed, bringing the drink once more to her lips and taking a prolonged sip. "Zen actually snuck me out every now and then, would spar with me or sneak me things in. Much to fathers annoyance." She actually made a face at the mention of her father, or maybe it was the drink? Who knew honestly. Going silent as she stirred her drink again, staring deep into the murky drink she pondered many a thing. Like how to actually make this stuff taste good.

"Did you want any?" Akemi asked, lifting the mug up in Kaden's direction. The drink coming closer no doubt just made the stench even worse as the girl blankly looked at him. As if remembering something, she brought her hand back, almost apologetically. "Oh right, I'm not meant to share this. Sorry."

---

Unaware of the discomfort that Akemi's drink was causing Menzai, due to her not sharing the beastkins enhanced senses nor being close enough to smell the foul liquid. Or if she was aware of it, she didn't show it as she studied the beastkin intently. Her crimson orbs glistening as he spoke, taking note of his clawed hands and withdrawing her own hand. "Oh no offense taken. I'm the one that should be apologizing for being so inconsiderate!" With a flourish, she brought her hand to rest on her chest as she returned Menzai's bow, her smile unfaltering all the while. While the beastkin spoke, she was already sorting through his words, analysing them for any meaningful information before stowing them away for later consideration. Already she had learned he was seemingly unaware of humans behaviours for the most part in general, that he shared the same mixture of bemusement and curiosity she felt towards the guild and the perculiur people within, and now his name. Also the fact that he seemed...disgusted in something. That most certainly piqued her interest, but she decided to not bring up the topic for now.

"Menzai Isanami?" She repeated as if to confirm what she had heard. Mostly it was to help her remember it as she was already repeating it several times over in her head. "An interesting name, fitting for an intriguing individual such as yourself." Her crimson gaze flitted over to Ria as she came over, her inquisitive gaze betrayed by a glint of annoyance at the water mage, placing some books by Menzai much to the delight of the beastkin it would seem. Interesting indeed, yet another piece of information gleamed from this interaction.

"Ah thank you Ria, it seems like Menzai here will enjoy them rather greatly. As he should, they're quite well written and informative." She had actually read these books before, oh how many years ago had it been? Ten? No, nine. It was nine years ago. She still remember the scolding she got after she had stolen them from the guild library, only receiving the lecture because she had made the mistake of leaving too many clues behind at the scene and getting caught. But they were indeed fascinating reads nonetheless.

The smile that graced her features faltered for just a moment as she looked back on the memory, her eyes clouding over before she seemed to catch herself and turned her attention back to Menzai as he proposed they looked at the quest board and realized he was looking at the redhead. "Oh sorry, do forgive my rudeness. Was just thinking about doing the same actually. Always a good experience, even more so with a companion or friend along the way to share in the fun right?" In one swift movement, the girl smoothly stepped up from her seat and was already patting out the creases in her skirt. Upon reaching the board, her immaculately kept fingers tapped her chin thoughtfully as she carefully pored over each quest on the board. Of the notable ones, she narrowed them down even further to two.

"Hmm these two seem interesting enough. The Special Deliverly and the Blacken Oak assistance." Tapping the board where the two quests in question laid to highlight them to her newfound companion, she half-turned to look at Menzai over her shoulder. "Unless you have another one in mind? I should warn you however that my magic is hardly suited to combat so I did also choose that quests with that in mind, however, I am now realizing I don't even know what magic it is you use Menzai. So apologies for not thinking of that ahead of time. If you think there's a quest more suiting you, you can pick it out if you wish."

---

"Alright, I think its about time I test myself," Tone said to himself as he picked himself up off the floor of his room, having finished his basic exercises. "None of these jobs have been challenging. I need to fight somebody stronger than me if I want to grow. The S-class wizards will do." With a grin he cracked his knuckles and took to the door. He was fortunate enough to rent a room above the Fenixtear hall so it was always took no effort to reach anybody he wanted. He kept a brisk pace as he headed downstairs into the smoking guild hall.

After realizing the smoke was from the kitchen, as per usual, Tone took the moment to identify who was present and available. So Zenith must be in the kitchen if somebody is burning something. He wouldn't be able to stand somebody messing up the place. Grasidia isn't here, Holly won't be back for a long time. And Kaden is at the bar. I'll ask him first. The dragon slayer grinned and began to approach, but before he could announce his challenge he realized that Kaden was talking with a girl. Oh man, maybe I shouldn't interrupt. Now that he was closer to the two at the bar he finally picked up the foul smell from the mug Akemi was holding. His enhanced senses as a dragon slayer made the stench even more severe for him. "Ack! What the-!?" he shouted, hacking as he covered his nose and mouth.

His presence behind Kaden and Akemi was no longer undetected now. "What the hell is that smell!?" Tone took a few steps back away from the two. "Should you be drinking that stuff at all!?" His previous intention of challenging Kaden had been completely derailed by the mysterious substance in the mug. After coughing a few more times he took another step back. "I'll come back later." He continued hacking and coughing as he bolted to the front door, running outside to get some fresh air and spare his nose the misery.

Standing near the job board, Torys giggled at the exaggerated display from Tone. Today felt like a good day to her, everyone was as lively as ever and news of the upcoming festival was exciting. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something felt off. "Huh, what could it be..." the guild master muttered aloud to herself, her gaze looking over the hall at all her guild members. As she looked over she noticed a particular seat at a particular table was empty. "Huh, that's unusual. By this time of the day Grasidia would be back from her garden..."

---

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In the mountains just outside Crocus, near enough to see across the entire capital, stands a large and gothic guild hall. The home of Black Curtain. Appearing as a large, dark cathedral from the outside the truth was that it was home to the largest mage hunting guild in the country. Before its black doors stood two sentinels, men tasked with guarding the entrance and barring entry from unauthorized visitors. Of course nobody would be stupid enough to attack such an important and powerful guild, but Black Curtain has an atmosphere of exlusivity and some degree of secrecy so not just anybody can visit their hall. Only those who have been given permission by members can enter, and only with proof and a way to verify their ID.

Ascending from the base of the mountain all the way to the doors of the guild were marble stairs. A significant hike for any normal person but the mages of Black Curtain have grown used to the climb. They are supposed to be a cut above the rest after all. But arriving at the top of these stairs right now was neither a member of the guild nor any normal person, but instead it was Grasidia of Fenixtear. As she drew near the entrance one of the two guards stepped forward to interrogate her. "Hold it! Who are you and what's your business?" Grasidia stopped in front of the man, inches away from his outstretched hand. She actually stood taller than the guard, looking down on him with her piercing gaze. Yet she said nothing. After an awkward moment of silence the guard began to sweat. What's with this woman? She's so intense, he thought, gulping back his hesitation.

"If you aren't supposed to be here then I won't feel the least bit guilty to send you tumbling back down the mountain," he threatened, pulling his hand back to reach for his sword sheathed at his hip. As he grabbed the hilt and attempted to draw he felt resistance. He couldn't draw his sword. "How the..." He looked down and saw that a vine had wrapped itself around his sheath and his hand, tying them together. The vine continued to grow, winding up his arm and reaching up to his shoulder. "Excuse me," Grasidia finally let out, stepping past the entangled guard. The second one, having witnessed this from behind, concluded that she was an intruder here to attack. He wasted no time and held one of his hands out towards Grasidia, a magic circle forming in the air before it. "Blazing Su-"

The mages gathered around the main hall were minding their business, having conversations or perhaps enjoying a meal or perusing jobs. But the peace of the hall was shattered as the front doors flew open and the guard crashed to the floor. He slid to a halt next to a nearby table, where one mage was currently sitting. He looked down at his fallen comrade and was shocked to see he was completely conscious but perfectly still. Even his eyes were unmoving. The mage looked up to the open front doors to see Grasidia standing there, her hand outstretched with a large white flower blooming from her palm. She lowered her hand and the flower detached, falling to the floor, before she stepped inside the hall and began to look around. She made hardly a few steps in before another man appeared out of thin air before her.

"It was foolish of you to attack our guild, but this is as far as you go," the gruff man spoke. His clothes were little more than tattered rags and his black hair was long and beginning to gray. His beard was similarly overgrown and unkempt. He held both his hands with his palms facing Grasidia. "Now you face the head of security, Rough Dan, and your life is forfeit." The air around his hands began to vibrate, prompting Grasidia to stop approaching him. "Null Zone!" A pulse radiated through the air from his hands, passing through Grasidia with a strange feeling. "Did you really think a mage hunting guild would have any difficulty with a single intruder?"

Grasidia lifted her left hand and looked at it, flexing her fingers a few times. Of course, he's using a spell to disrupt magic, she concluded. Her eyes drifted back towards Dan. Unlucky for him. She reached forward with that hand, far faster than this head of security expected, and grabbed him by the mouth. While he could no longer speak his eyes were wide open and full of shock. It was obvious he was surprised by her strength and speed, that she could still be combat capable after being hit by his spell. Grasidia lifted him up, holding him a little off the ground. I was the fool! All these years of waiting had dulled my senses and I didn't think about the possibility that a lone intruder might actually be powerful instead of suicidal! Others around the hall were standing and at the ready now and it looked like a fight was truly going to break out. But before anyone else could intervene a flash of shadows darted across the floor of the guild hall and manifested to the side of Grasidia and Dan.

"Whoa there, we need to be more respectful to our esteemed guest," the guild master, Duncan Nythe, spoke up. "I invited this lady myself. You may recognize her, for she is Grasidia of the guild known as Fenixtear." With this she let go of Dan, letting him land on his feet. "She's a guest? But she just-" "Now now, you were just too hasty. Grasidia here is a woman of few words and there must've just been a misunderstanding at the door is all. If you take a look you'll see she didn't hurt either of the door guards." The head of security was still reluctant, but if his guild master was saying she was allowed in then it must be true. "Well, uh, my apologies then ma'am." He gave a polite bow towards Grasidia, surprising her.

"Um..." There was another pause, a complete silence as it seemed the entire guild hall was listening. "It's nothing." She looked over to Duncan now, who was letting out a sigh of relief as she glanced over but quickly began grinning. "I'm here, you got what you wanted." Duncan chuckled briefly before stepping closer and draping his arm over Grasidia's shoulders. "No no no, what I want is yet to come." This physical contact didn't last long before Grasidia brushed his arm off. "Why don't you come with me to my office and we can talk about a few things, yeah? We're gonna need to fix that ugly guild mark of yours into something more fitting..." He then turned to face the rest of the guild and raised his voice for the next part, to make sure everyone would hear. "For our newest S-class wizard!"

Various responses of shock, confusion, and anger resounded from the mages in the hall. While many here had heard of Grasidia in some shape or form it was unheard of that an inductee would be promoted to S-class right away. In Black Curtain the S-class position was highly esteemed, like with many guilds, and while everyone is expected to be strong this meant the S-class were the best of the best. There were many trials and tribulations to be even considered for the role and candidates only had the chance for promotion once a year in a grueling test. Grasidia being offered the position immediately, before she even bore the guild mark of Black Curtain yet, stirred controversy. "Follow me, if you don't mind," Duncan continued, his voice at a normal level now. As he made his way down the middle aisle of the hall and Grasidia followed his gaze looked out over the mages that were all staring back, settling on one in particular.

Markovis, a veteran of the guild, would feel a creeping sensation as a thin shadow snaked its way up his body and settled behind his left ear. "Markovis," he would hear whisper. "I have a specific task for you. Over the coming days I need you to keep an eye on this woman, Grasidia. She is not as she seems, but I think you might be one of our best candidates for gaining her trust." Duncan's gaze averted from Markovis now but the voice in his ear continued. "She is a very valuable asset but she is also very dangerous. The secrets she contains could change the course of history not just for our guild but for the entire kingdom. We must contain her while we find a way to get her information, but we cannot let her know that we are keeping her. If she were to feel too threatened or perhaps unsure of us then I don't think that even I could stop her from fleeing. For now just be kind to her but never let your guard down."

The shadow behind his ear began to retreat back down to the floor and disappearing almost as soon as it reached. Grasidia was none the wiser of the secret orders, even though her senses were extraordinary she didn't stand a chance to hear those whispers over all the other noise of protest around the guild. Perhaps that was Duncan's intention with making a scene of Grasidia. But even without any of that knowledge it was by pure chance that as Grasidia was looking around the guild and glancing over the faces of what will be her new comrades she locked eyes with Markovis. That's strange, he looks just like that one boy, she thought to herself. I wonder if they are related...

Well, those cookies were beyond his abilities to save them so he just tossed them into a bin, clanging inside like rocks. Talk about a waste of ingredients, but at least the kitchen wasn't a pile of ash; the festival was quite soon as Torys reminded them so there was going to be quite a decent amount of foot traffic. "I wouldn't worry about it. Everything is in working order, but I'm sure Lavina would be more than happy to clean up the mess she made." He wasn't asking either.

And Ria decided that he needed a cookbook with exotic ingredients for Felix's... peculiar tastes. "You may as well just ask Akemi to cook for him." He muttered to himself as he flipped through the pages of the book before placing it down on a counter."Thanks anyway Ria. Now, if anyone needs me, I'm gonna be in my roo-" Zenith walked out of the kitchen to see that Kaden was talking to Akemi even after he told her to keep away from him and yet, he wasn't surprised.

"Hey Mimi!" The S-Class mage said to his little sister as he approached the two of them, giving her hair a little tussle and then gave a sharp look at the troglodyte as if he was annoyed at the idea of acknowledging his existence. "Kaden."

Zenith quickly went back to ignoring him and focused on Akemi. "You know, we haven't hung out in a long time. Do you want to explore the festival?"

To address the elephant in the room, yes, he was aware of what she was drinking, but it no longer phased him anymore.

@Spectral

---

Rather than proceed with her initial plan, Gwen
contemplated chose to go for the Job Board, where Fenixtear's powerhouse was, Tone. Gwen pulled back at the last minute and decided to tag along with the rest of the guild, she insisted on her plan, bothering Asher.

Once she had him, Gwen put down her swords and stripped. "I've seen what you can do, mind giving me a forge? I'd like something that kills devils."

---

Felix blinked before taking the time to adjust to his surroundings. He rubbed his eyes and considered laying back down but decided against in fear of the wrath of his guild master. The boy paused for a second, before getting ready for the day and running down to the first floor. Once he got onto the first floor, his first move was to head towards Ria and challenge her to a duel. "Hey Ria, remember last time when I asked you to fight me but you said later? Well, guess What? This is later and now I'm asking you to train with me by letting me fight you."

Before Ria could respond, Felix decided to head over to where all the commotion is and take a sit. He rose an eyebrow at Zenith's sister but elected to keep his mouth shut. He turned to Gwen before rolling his eyes. "Gwen this is getting old, please put your clothes back on and when did you get swords?"

The redhead sitting across from him seemed to be well mannered; a rare trait from the few human interactions he has had up to this point. Though that smile of hers felt...off? Uncertain what it was that gave him such a feeling, but the curling of her lips almost looked forced as if it wasn't completely genuine. A strange thing to think towards a person who spoke and greeted him more kindly and certainly rude and so kept such thoughts to himself.

" Hm, yes. I have been told the name given to me to be particularly interesting though being seen as intriguing is refreshing compared to being considered strange or a freak due to my..less than human features." A brief motion of his hand towards his twitching canine ears which is why he has opted to wearing a hood while traveling in the public, preferring to avoid conflict that would variably happen with how somewhat close minded people can be. And through Aline, he gained the partial name of the woman who dropped off the books and made a mental reminder to thank this Ria properly the next time he encountered her.

He took a moment to glance over some of the books titles before hearing Ms. Bloomfield speaking up after being briefly lost in thought which he took this chance to glance over a few of the book titles. These probably didn't have a deep telling of the regions history but would help him discern the basics at least. Turning his his attention back to the redhead to see that she had a similar thought of partaking in a quest." I agree. An opportune time to work together and see how we will get along."

Pushing off the table to stand; deciding to leave the books on the table for the moment as he prepared to follow Aline to the board, when the sound of coughing and hacking caught the attention of his ears. Soon spotting the male individual who was standing next to the female with the horrid cup and found himself frowning slightly. A reaction he himself would be having were he in the man's position which had him wondering if he had enhanced senses too for he didn't carry the scent of a beastkin. Unexpected and peculiar to see another with a strong sense of smell and seeing the gagging reaction had him offering the person his condolences in his mind before moving on towards the board, thankfully further away from that foul stench to his nose relief.

Strolling his way to stand besides Ms. Bloomfield, his footsteps nary making a sound as he went and his hands slipping into the long sleeves. His eyes scanning over the board, where he soon discovered that a festival would be taking place with some of the quests pertaining to its preparation.

Most of the quests seemed simple and easy, save for two which were somewhat higher in rank. These two seemed to be the more challenging and interesting one but since this were to be his first case and with a fellow guildmate who herself was somewhat new to the guild still and figured it best to do one of the more easygoing jobs. She proved to think of a similar mind by choosing two of the jobs that were in laymen terms, errands towards setting up the festival.

Turning his gaze to the two jobs she showed interest in before she explained that her magic was not suited nor optimal for combat to which he shook his head." No need for apologies as such lack of information is on my part. I have use of barrier magic, so it isn't optimal for combat but fret not. As the jobs you have selected will likely have little risk of encountering dangerous individuals unless they hate flowers or festivals?" Still, the possibility was always there and better to be safe by remaining on guard; a good thing his magic was a defensive type making his skills perfect for most jobs like these.

And so as he read over the two jobs in questions and pondering on which the two could handle best or the least troublesome. While the thought of transporting a large batch of flowers didn't sound too appealing for his nose (any scent would be better than that mystery aroma of the cup) yet proved the better option over having to do menial tasks and being surrounded by groups of people. As he was never one much for crowds and so the choice was easily decided." After some thought, the special delivery quest seems the most appealing. If you agree with taking the quest or if you prefer the other then that is fine too. " He gave a small bowing nod of the head, waiting to hear her answer." And before we set off, I must get those books to my room if you don't mind the short wait."

"...dodge to the left and strike!" The young man had shed the top half of his leather armor for his training today, running through a combat drill routine that helped him maintain his form and precision while also allowing him to work on building his body's tolerance for his magic power. Even after so many years, releasing the Alpha power lock still left wear and tear on him, though it was nothing like when his magic had first manifested, his reserves overflowing as he watched his father and mother struck down. Dancing back from an invisible foe, a hiltless longsword blade passing through the space he'd just occupied, Damian Gerard began again.

"Dodge," he moved in and thrust with the black bladed Ares Blade, the longsword blade also moving back before slashing again at him. "Parry," the two sword blades clashed and Damian smiled as three extra he'd summoned struck the invisible foe in a triangle formation, defeating them and causing the longsword blade to vanish, "and Three Point Strike." He turned to a pair of grey wolves laying in the shade of a nearby tree. The two had been his constant companions for several years now, despite his best efforts to dismiss the magically summoned wolves, and since he was stuck with them, he'd named them accordingly. "Well, Jaëger, Carmilla? Think my control's improving?" Jaëger, the male of the two and bearing two piercing silver eyes, picked up his head to look at his master before snorting and laying it back down, causing Damian to roll his eyes as the golden eyed Carmilla, the female, stood and trotted to the shirtless man's side as he kneeled down, enjoying the attention.

"See, Jaëger? Carmilla thinks I've improved at least a little." The male snorted again before standing and stretching, his claws becoming visible above the grass around them as his canines flashed in the sunlight due to his large yawn. The pair of wolves had magically appeared at Damian's side around four years ago while he'd been fighting against a dangerous dark mage on a solo job one of the corporate guilds had passed on because the client hadn't much to offer as a reward. As the former soldier had watched the man turned down at the doors to the guild he'd been eating near, the words his father had taught him echoed in his head. "Remember Damian, that a soldier's duty is to always help those who cannot help themselves; to protect those who find themselves unable to protect themselves." Paying for the burger and fries he'd ordered, Damian approached the man and asked about the job. It had been simple enough, the Dark Mage had wiped out most of his family and he just wanted justice for them. He could only offer one thousand jewel as a reward, but Damian waved it and did the job for free.

As it turned out, the Dark Mage was a shadow mage who could more or less make clones of himself while attacking. If it hadn't been for Carmilla and Jaëger appearing when they had, the Arsenal Mage wouldn't be around anymore. They had intercepted the 'shadow clones' and torn them apart while Damian went for the kill on the Dark Mage, taking first his hands and then his head. Granted, the Magic Council was less than pleased that the young man hadn't taken the mage alive, but one less pawn of evil was threatening the land, so they let it go, that time at least. Damian smiled as Jaëger walked over and forced his head under one of Damian's hands, earning an ear scratch from the young man.

After that, despite Damian's best efforts to dismiss the pair, he hasn't yet managed and at the end of the day, he was often glad for it as they kept him both safe when he rested and company when he was awake. Standing, he looked over the expanse of the city of Crocus from where he was training, letting the wind blow through his hair and cool his sweat covered torso. It was just a few days ago that he had finally found the location of the Fenixtear guild and joined them, the red guild mark showing on his upper right arm, but he could already feel he'd like it there. The guild itself was welcoming to him and he could hardly wait to join his new guildmates for jobs all across the nation, but for now, as Carmilla nuzzled him softly from behind, training called.

"Right, right, I know." Turning his back to the city, Damian summons his Hercules Blade and focuses, channeling the power of the wind around the blade. A large part of the reason he was outside the city to train rather than renting a hall was because A) it was much cheaper and B) his magic was harsh on training equipment, especially the elemental components of his swords. Still, he was determined to push himself a bit today, so rather than unleash a potent thrust or slash with the glaive in his hands, he continued focusing, even as the winds began to whip into more than just a strong blowing force and edged closer to hurricane strength. Carmilla took up her position on Damian's left as Jaëger took up his spot on their master's right. When he moved, they would, as a family, as a pack.

Asher blinked one surprise as he found a book being placed down beside him. Turning to find it was Astoria, his brows raise as she tells him what exactly this book was about. There was no hesitation as he quickly shifts it in front of him and flips to the opening pages. Before he dived in however, he notes the departing Astoria and calls out with ecstatic “Thank’s Ria, you’re the best!”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after that he found the sound of clanging metal on his table. Looking up, he finds that this time it is Gwen, once more stripping down, before him. His annoyance at being interrupted was put away as Gwen asks him for his help with her blades. Grabbing the closest one, he holds it between his hands, turning it and analyzing what he’s got to work with.

“Quite rusty these are. How have they gotten into such a state?” He asks, not looking as he eyes the rubbish conditions of the broad swords. Asher lets out a sigh as he sits the sword down and reaches to his belt line, pulling out one of the bars of iron. “I can fix certainly fix them. I will ask if you have any preferences beyond kills devils. Are you wanting them as close to as they are now? A little heavier? Lighter?” He shoots out several inquiries, the iron starting to already turn into the maluable orange color seen often as his magic begins to work.

@Zuko

Ria blinked at the comment. She had heard of the peculiar tastes Akemi had, but she figured perhaps the things in the book would be interesting to Zenith. That didn't seem to be the case from his reaction. But she kept her smile from fading. "Yeah, maybe. I'll see if I can find a book that's more suitable for you then," the younger mage responded with a cheerful tone and large smile. She was certain there would be some book she could find that would have recipes that he not only hadn't made before, but would be interested in cooking. Exotic recipes didn't seem to be the case.

Before she had a chance to turn to Lavinia to offer to help clean up, Felix popped up with his usual vigor. She had promised him a fight at a different time. She didn't want to postpone on him again - the powers above knew she'd already done that enough given his time to rest and recover and then her own withdrawal after the job in Era. But now there was so much charcoal attempted cookies charred onto a tray and just as much smoke damage to one of the kitchen's two ovens. If they were to get a rush as part of the festival - no, what was she thinking, there was a very good likelihood given the guild was still enjoying a bit of renown after having defeated that beast in Era.

She hesitated perhaps too long because the boy headed off. Her attention turned to the spunky bloodmage before her with a smile. "Don't worry. I'll be back to help clean everything up. It'll be ready before the usual dinner rush."

Picking up the discarded book, she brought it with her as she left the kitchen and headed for the library. The bags of books for the newly built library were placed on the study table in neat piles; for now, adding them to the guild's catalogue, reorganizing the shelves, and putting everything away would just have to be in her 'to do list' part of her brain as something to get back to. Just like the kitchen. Just like so much other stuff. She'd get to it just like everything else. Now, at least, she had something else quiet to do while the others slept that wasn't reading or drawing in her room.

It was only a few minutes of being gone from the guildhall but already seemed like some tensions were picking up. Unfortunately, that area was right where she needed to go. She stopped across from Felix and offered him a smile. "I do have a lot I have to do but I promised you a month ago we would fight, and I do want you to train to get stronger. If a fight will help you do so..." Ria smiled a bit more. "Of course I will put us training together at the top of my to-do list. So, did you want to go do this now, or perhaps wait until after I help Lavinia with the kitchen clean up?"

Felix frowned at Ria, narrowing his eyes. "You suggested I wait once. I waited over a month. Lavinia can clean the kitchen herself for now. Come on!" He hopped off the stool and headed for the door, only waiting long enough to make sure the water mage was following him.

A short walk later, and they were just outside the city limits in the training fields. Of course in noticing the heightened wind in the field, Ria's attention turned to where it might be coming from and spotted a guy with two - was wolves a correct term given they had a power to them not exactly seen in earthly animals? - beside him. If it had just been the lad by himself, Ria might not have recognized him, but after word that they recently had a new member join that had two wolves with him it was hard not to realize who it was. Short of being able to remember his name, at least she knew they were encroaching on a guildmember's training space and she directed them to a further point in the field where the wind wasn't as active.

"Okay, so this should be -" Ria had barely started to get the words out before Felix was on her. She turned just in time to summon up a water shield for him to punch, which immediately blasted apart.

"Don't think I'm going to go light because you don't usually fight." Felix slid into a fighting stance as he stared at her. "You're A Class. You should be able to fight."

Ria smiled lightly, nodding back at him. "Okay. Neither of us will hold back, yes?" She didn't shift her stance though. The water mage simply watched her younger guildmate with a smile and her stance braced for reaction.

Felix didn't not so much as start charging a ball in his fist. "Blast: Rock." He launched himself at Ria. Seconds before reaching her, he discharged the ball at her.

Ria threw up a shield just in time to have it take the hit. It didn't stop it from dissipating, and letting Felix through to land a solid punch to her jaw though. She lost her footing and landed on her back, quickly rolling backward onto her feet to avoid the next punch. She stayed crouched as she cast, "Undertow." The air thickened around them, slowing the next punch Felix tried to deliver. It gave her just enough time to use her position to her advantage. She grabbed his arm, rolling and planting her foot against his chest to then release him with a kick.

Felix righted himself before he hit the ground, landing crouched. He launched himself again, this time charging up a different spell. "Blast: Rook" that set off a blast explosion as he landed a hit against Ria's arm block. When she stumbled back, he landed another hit with another blast explosion. When she stumbled and fell, he went to land another one but missed when she rolled to the side and he exploded the dirt instead.

"Cyclone!" Ria blasted Felix to the side with a powerful cyclone from her hands.

Despite smashing the close ranged blast, it still sent the young mage flying backward. Felix slid on his back until he used the momentum to flip to his feet as he utilized another spell to launch himself back toward Ria. He landed with another punch, but only exploded dirt with the girl rolling away.

"Obscuring Mist!" The field around them disappeared behind an instant cloudbank of fog. Using the cover, Ria landed a hit to knock Felix flat on his back before putting distance between them.

Felix growled angrily, flipping back up onto his feet. "Blast: Scissors" and used the attack to disperse the fogbank Ria had summoned around them. He didn't waste time once he had eyes on her again, he pointed a fingergun at her. "Blast: Zero Point."

Ria couldn't dodge the attack fast enough. She took the hit and rolled a bit after landing on her side. A shield of water stopped the next hit as she got to her feet. "Neptune's Dance." Just as another blast dispersed her shield, two torrents of water shot up from the ground beneath Felix to throw him up into the air.

It didn't last long. The younger mage jumped from the current and - "Blast: Bishop -" used his magic to propel himself like a jet toward the girl. "Blast: Knight." He swung his fist toward her as he got close and caught Ria in the ribs with a powerful punch and blast from the impact. As he went to bring his other fist to her, she caught the arm and spun with his momentum. He tumbled to the side when she released him.

The older mage gingerly shook the hand that touched his skin. Oh no... "Felix, get control of your magic." Of course her instruction fell on deaf ears as he launched himself at her with another round of Blast: Rook. She braced her arms behind a water-make shield before he smashed through it with another powerful punch backed by blast magic. Even with some lost footing, she still managed to stay upright. She summoned up another Water-Make buckler to block the next punch. "Felix, calm down. It's just a training fight."

Felix pressed on anyway. "Blast: Emperor." He closed the gap in the blink of an eye.

The water mage thrust a hand forward. "Waterlock!" A sphere of water captured Felix before he could connect with her. The water seemed to boil up around the young mage. Not a moment later, the sphere exploded in a spray of hot water, and the boy dropped to his hands and knees panting with steam rising from him.

"We're done," Ria said sternly. "Now hold still. You need to cool down before you fry your brain." She formed a sphere of water in her hand and placed it over his mouth and nose, then encased the young mage in another sphere of water. A gentle touch of her fingers to the sphere was all she needed to chill the water to the point heavy frost fell around it. She watched him as he soaked, using that basic contact to feel if it was working.

After she finally released the sphere from around him, Felix stayed on his hands and knees. "I can't believe I lost to you." He hit the ground. His gaze remained locked on the moist ground.

Ria shrugged and sat next to him. "I have four years of training on you." She looked at the sky. "Being strong and being able to win fights isn't about power. It's about control." She looked back at Felix with a gentle smile. "You have a lot of power you keep tapping into. You just don't control it. When you tap into that power, you start to heat up and your brain can't handle that and allow you to think so you move on instinct, you go for the stronger spells. You get a handle on that heat aspect of your magic, you will do better in fights.

"The best next step for you on your journey isn't to try to beat stronger mages to get stronger. It's to step back and control the magic you have. You have excellent control at your base level. You just need to learn to control how your body and mind react when you begin to heat up." She smiled a bit more and stood, offering her hand down to help Felix stand as well. "Come on, I'll look through the library to see if any of the books contain information on heat based magic."

Felix shoved the hand away and stood on his own. He glared at Ria, his frown cutting deep lines on his face. "I don't need to read books to figure it out and I don't need you patronizing me. I can figure it out on my own. I need to figure it out on my own. Otherwise, I won't actually be strong." He turned and walked away.

---

Kaden laughed softly at Akemi's dispute of the overprotective nature of Zen. That sounded like pretty standard older sibling stuff. At least, if your sibling wasn't a mage in a powerful guild and with other things to do. He didn't know that personally, but he'd seen it often enough growing up. The dynamic between siblings usually changed when they were in the same guild - or at least he'd also seen that too.

With the offer of the drink though, he could feel the hairs in his nose singeing just from the concoction being closer. He forced his smile to remain, and chuckled again when she withdrew the offer. He opened his mouth to respond when Tone boisterously announced his presence. Intentional or not, it made Kaden raise his brow and watch the overreaction to the foul concoction the strange new mage drank. Come back later?

Then Zenith showed up. Because of course he would. Maybe the newly titled S-Class mage had a sixth sense for when someone was talking to his sister. Whatever made the guy decide he needed to interrupt...here they were. The golden eyed mage smirked as he turned his attention to the other man. "Zen. Very classy way to interrupt a conversation. Suppose it's better than making a scene. Guess the Rune Knights taught you something."

His gaze stayed on the former Rune Knight as his smile grew a bit more devious. "Ya know, I was just about to ask your sister something similar. Considering she's still new to Crocus and I've lived her for a while." Kaden looked at Akemi. "I would be happy to show you around the city. There's a lot more to see than the tourist trap shit they're setting up for the festival."

But the fact he just heard Ria tell Felix she'd fight him, and the two were headed out the door to do just that, pulled his attention away. His gaze followed the pair until the door closed behind them before turning back to the siblings at hand. "Well, actually...as much fun as that would be, you two can go laugh it up with that. Can't pass up a chance to watch a fight." That and because he knew Ria was a water mage, but he also had heard she rarely got into combat. If he was going to try to use her to learn water magic, it'd be fun to see how she actually fought.

He followed the pair out of the city, and even diverted to where they set up to fight. Considering it was always a good call to stay back from combat like that, he sat himself down about 100 feet away from where the two squared off, and lounged back to watch the fight comfortably. After all - who wouldn't want to pass up the chance to watch a kid get his ass handed to him by a girl?

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An intruder in a guild for hunting dark mages would be quite the cause for alarm, as others seemed to believe. The ostentatious entry of opening the guildhall doors with a member would have raised alarms in his head, if Markovis didn't study the situation. The intruder was calm, collected, seemed to be appraising the situation. There was power there, but the woman didn't seem to be looking for opportunities to attack further. While the others in the guild rushed to alarm and react, the stoic S-Class mage simply watched the scene unfold despite being ready to act if necessary. It wouldn't be necessary, he felt. Especially once the guild master announced who it was.

Fenixtear? It wasn't so much that he was surprised the guild might have someone worthy of their ranks. Given they had defeated a dragon not so long ago, of course there was the potential for there to be members strong enough to join them. He hadn't suspected a relatively unknown mage to be the one to be recruited though. It wasn't disappointment Duncan didn't feel his son was ready - he wasn't entirely sure what his son was thinking at this point given the boy moved from a legal guild to one of fleeting popularity. But when a lack of logic was applied, it made sense. A guild like that would separate the boy from the Pendergast legacy he himself had created in the Steel Hydra guild.

His steely gaze followed the woman and his guild master as they left to discuss other things. The expression on his face remained unchanging, even over the course of all that transpired and the instructions in his ear. That sounds easier said than done. Perhaps the fact she was from the guild his son had moved to it would be easier to accomplish. Or the fact she was a woman of few words - as apparent from her own display as when Duncan confirmed it. Introduced and inducted as an S-Class, understandable as it may be, or not, one fact remained true. She was a new member. A new member that needed to be introduced to the guild's ways. He could see the ways to make it work, once the woman had the appropriate guild mark upon her body.

Gwen Re-quiped back her clothes. "I wanted these to be made of something extremely durable like adamantine if you can find one otherwise just use copper and platinum alloy for the heat to just flow. My Devil Slayer Magic's enchantment on objects are permanent and I would have wanted Liliana's Dragon Slayer Magic to one of my swords but we can worry about that later. Take it medium as it's neither light nor heavy."

It seemed that Felix was dealt with by Ria, Gwen got nothing to worry about now. She observed that the guild continuously grew lively compared to the other days after the Dragon attack. Gwen smiled at Asher, "Come to think of it, Asher. I noticed that over the weeks, there are new members who wield swords. Have you taken time to approach their needs? If not, I will beat you to the chase, I know a thing or two about forging." Gwen gestured a friendly competition to Asher.

"Just kidding. I'm only good at nuking villages and towns." Gwen brought out 50,000 Jewels from her Requip dimension.

"Didn't think that would work. Anyway, this is an accumulation of my overwork from me to you and that's blood and sweat. How'd you like to team up with me, forever?" For the first time, Gwen teams up with her guild members than isolating herself in overworked missions. @Spectral