The social worker frowned. He suspected that Vashya might have been planning to do something like this. He wasn't surprised either - guilds back then had a habit of taking in stray kids, more or less inducting them as "part of the family" so to speak. The practice had died out over the years, with the government taking on a more active role with regards to the authority guilds had and the welfare of displaced children. Nevertheless, such instances still occurred from time to time, and the romanticism of it had yet to disappear. If anything, it seems to have grown.
But he himself disagreed with the idea of guilds acting as surrogate families on principle. To allow a child to be entrusted to one was like playing with a roulette - on one hand, you'd get Fairy Tail, on the other hand you'd get Phantom Lord. A 50/50 chance to save or damn them.
Still... the circumstances this time around where different. The girls' actual father was here, and from all reports was an upstanding man who would take care of her, should he know the truth. He supposed the problem lay elsewhere then.
The social worker asked Torys if he could step aside with Vashya for the moment, and spoke with the girl in a hushed voice.
"You don't want him to know... do you?"
When she gave a subdued nod in response, he nodded and asked, "May I know why?" though he already knew.
"'m scared."
He closed his eyes even as he held in a long sigh. Vashya for all that she was an incredibly open girl, was also deeply mistrusting. She wouldn't understand why, and most likely wouldn't for some time yet. Another scar left on her by her witch of a mother. He felt his teeth clench reflexively, and forced out a smile.
"Okay, I understand. But... we'll do it like this, okay?" He proceeded to explain the what they would do from there and what step they would take. When he finished, he returned to the guild master, Vasya in tow.
"Guild Master Torys, I believe a proper introduction is in order. This here is Vashya Rafflesia. She's recently lost her mother and her only living relative happens to be a member of your guild. Now, the circumstances this time around are rather unusual, so she'd like to join your guild without him being aware. I'm hoping in the meantime that you could act as her unofficial guardian, until the time comes where she's comfortable with revealing the truth."
With his piece said, all that was left was a response from the Guild Master. It was out of his hands now.
“There are those who certainly have their… quirks,” Asher forces himself to assure Carver as diplomatically as he can. “Though, I would say every guild has their own eccentricities if delved into. Be that as it may, I can assure you that we of Fenixtear take our jobs seriously.”
Asher was at least relieved to see that the new guy, Faust, was at least trying to not seemingly harass the potential client anymore. He can act professional when he needs to, thankfully. Gaze sliding over to Jessica, he could also tell that she too was having the same thoughts as he was about their current situation. He could only offer her an apologetic expression at having to be part of this with him.
It was at this point that the voice of Tearsy once more ran into the group's minds. With her last sentence, Asher could only solemnly nod towards the sentient sword, adding quietly under his breath, “You have no right idea…” He then paused a second as a thought came to him, before adding, “Or I guess if you are reading our minds, you would know, huh?”
"Oh good. Slipped my mind for a moment," Ria said with a soft laugh. She glanced around for a moment before remembering where they were in the city. Then glanced at the sky before looking back at Damian. "It's about lunch time, isn't it? Are you hungry?" She started walking, again, though this time she seemed a bit more mindful of where they were headed. A list of things swirled around her head, trying to vie for the correct order of priority, but things get jumbled every so often. There were books to get, things to look into, and - "Oh yeah, we should go back to the guild, anyways. I've fallen behind waiting and taking my turn to cook in the past week. I need to make sure the kitchen is cleaned up from Lavinia's attempt to make cookies and take my turn as guild cook."
Carver's attention returned to the rude one. Formerly rude one - a pleasant correction to make. Explanations that were offered were only partially adequate for the performance thus far, but it was far more than he anticipated from the gentleman before him at the time. The others, in turn, seemed to all share the same sentiment. The warm smile returned to the historian's face as he turned his attention from one Feinxtear member to another.
Gwen rolled her eyes at the round of complaints. After pushing a stack of books into a much orderly pile than the 'how has this not tipped over yet' haphazard stack it was, she hastily pulled her clothes back on. "Yes, apologies," she said as she turned. "You keep your office like my sister keeps her room, and habits are habits." She fixed another stack of books on her way back over to them, casually pushing a few books that were nearly falling back into the shelves.
The historian's eyes lit up with the mention of the sentient sword. "The sentient sword of the Tranzell family? Intriguing. My colleague - Professor Ksenia Nikowski - would be terribly interested to speak with you and your sword at some point. She specializes in weaponry through the ages. Perhaps you would allow me to arrange such a meeting?" He put a hand up before she could answer, shaking his head lightly. "Actually, don't answer just yet. Think on it. You're not here to speak on your family artifact."
He stepped back up next to the table, standing opposite the others that moved to the table. As he spoke, he motioned to the map on the table, "There are several routes we can take, as you see from my mapping, but I believe that this way will prove both the least dangerous naturally and hopefully will avoid potential mating locations of several of the more dangerous beasts that live in the mountains. Without the guarantee of being able to avoid it is why I didn't wish to travel by myself. That and once we're there." Carver let his voice trail off as he put a few old books atop the map. Each he opened to particular pages, some illustrating the ruins they were looking for while others had illustrations of things that looked like stone beasts and what might be warnings of traps - all the writing in ancient languages. "Within the ruins themselves, there are natural dangers such as beasts that may have made these ruins their home or even just the natural decay causing them to potentially crumble beneath our feet if we are not mindful. Beyond the natural, these texts indicate there are special magical protections on the throne room, royal chamber, and treasure room, as well as throughout the ruins' inner chambers. What I am looking for within are mostly items that have significance to when this ancient people lived, but according to this book - " he held up a particular book, highlighting a scepter - "This was an item of great significance to the emperor. It hopefully will lay within the throne room, but it was also known to stay with the emperor at all times so it is likely to also be within one of the many other rooms left to the ravages of time. I'm looking to recover this specifically, and study it further."
Carver placed the book back onto the table, and rest his hands atop it. "Getting theoretically will take us a day and a half, perhaps two depending on how the terrain actually is. According to the texts, the ruins are slightly smaller than the king's castle, so it is my hope it will take no more than a day to fully explore them and hopefully locate the item of interest. Any additional items would be much appreciated - there's only so much one can learn studying the books about a people without actually seeing their things, after all - so I may be able to increase compensation based on what we are able to recover if it is not simply the scepter I seek. All in all, we will be gone from Crocus for about a week. Is everyone ready for the venture?"
Gwen listened to the whole speech, standing with her arms crossed but studying everything the man said. When he'd finally seemed to take a breath and checked on if they were ready, she shrugged. "Yeah, I'm good."
"I see." Akemi echoed the same words as Tone did. So the stadium was off-limits after all? Not surprising to Akemi seeing as she had never even seen the place used, and similar buildings of importance tended to be owned by local authorities and the like or the crown. Though the girl didn't leave the coliseum till Tone spoke up, articulating his frustration at the prospect of the duo having plans. Why exactly did he think they were together like this in the middle of a festival? The only reason they had come over this way after all was because of the ruckus Tone had caused. Of course, Akemi was ironically oblivious to Tone's own density and lack of social graces on this matter.
"Maybe later?" Akemi suggested as kept talking, looking at Zen with a slightly tilted head. "Date?" What did her being with Zen have to do with fruit? Once more her lack of social awareness shone through as she blinked at the older boy as he left. It would seem Zen would most certainly have to clarify this. "Hey Z, what does he mean by date? Is this a date? What's a 'date'?"
All while she asked these questions, she peered up at him, an aura of innocent energy around her burning so brightly it would be as blinding as she was oblivious to the awkward nature of her line of questioning.
If there was one thing that she was grateful for having Menzai around for, it was his sharp mind and intellect. It was perhaps a little too sharp and perceptive for her liking, but it certainly made things a lot easier and meant fewer explanations when someone could quickly grasp what you were telling them. Also for the silence. The less talking meant the more planning she could focus her energy on. His mind also thought of many possibilities and issues at once, much like herself as he spoke about her own capabilities. While she was fitter than she let others believe, long treks like this were certainly not a regular thing for the fragile appearing girl. Walking for as long as they did together wasn't all that tiring, however now as the day grew older, the legs became a bit wearier and energy levels would begin to dip as hunger levels rose, it was indeed a fair point that she was probably not up to the task. Plus there were dangers to traveling at night which she would rather avoid.
She also appreciated holding back his interest in her magic. It was something she would rather not explain in detail, you never know when even a small bit of info could bring about one's downfall. Especially when it comes to their capabilities. And she had yet to see his own magic in action, yet he was most certainly going to see hers soon enough, giving him an advantage in her eyes which she didn't want to further much more than she needed to let happen.
It wouldn't be long till they reached the tree she spoke of, Alina finally looking up from her journal before closing it with a soft sigh. Suppose it was about time then huh? Waiting for Menzai to come to a stop before slowly dropping off onto her feet, hugging the bundle of clothes and her pouch to her chest as she eyed the wolfman over her shoulder. "Stay here a moment....and uh don't be too startled upon my return yeah? My magic tends to leave a lasting impression." She considered making a joke about not peeping on her, but he seemed far too serious a stick in the mud to do that. And honestly, might be offended at the suggestion if the criminal joke she had made earlier was any indication.
And if he actually did? Well, fair play to him I guess.
Scurrying out of sight behind the tree, she quickly stripped down to her birthday suit before closing her eyes. Visualize. Capture the image of what you wanted to become, center in on it, and focus on the details. From the man's wavy brown hair to his rippling muscular frame. It was always hardest the first time transforming into a new form, just the effort and thought required to remember every single detail to get it down pat was insane. The second, third, etc times were always easier, her body would have begun to remember the form. But for now, she could just feel herself swell in size, both in terms of frame and height. It was also why she didn't transform clothed, her previous attire would've been too small and been shredded, a problem she would look to correct with time. But also, she was afraid of something going wrong in the larger clothing. Didn't want to get twisted up in a form she wasn't familiar with.
It was over in under a minute. Normally she would be able to shift quicker, but the first time really did require a lot of concentration as she opened her eyes, taking a few moments to adjust to her newer burlier form, looking down at her clenched fist, which she would clench and unclenched a few more times as she adjusted to the body. Unbeknownst to her, her scent had also considerably changed. Before, it was a subtle, clean smell of ink and tea. Now it was more of sweat, testosterone, and flowers.
After getting changed into the new clothes and stashing her old ones into her now hilariously smaller than the new body pouch, she called out to Menzai, though straining herself to talk with her usual voice rather than the one more suited to this body. "I'm done."
With that said, she would come striding out from behind the tree, having to duck down to avoid a lower hanging branch which hadn't bothered her when she had previously gone by. She had taken note of it, and luckily she had or the height gain might've earned her a branch to the face. Putting on a nervous facade as she approached Menzai, who was seeing this as if one of the strapping young lads from earlier had just materialised from where Alina had disappeared off to. Stretching an arm, she would take her position up on the other side to Menzai, shooting him a toothy grin as she got prepared to move the cart.
"So whatcha think? Pretty convincing yeah?" She had even imitated their voice.
Seriously, what the hell was Tone expecting when they were walking around in the middle of a festival? Did he have stupidity stuck between his ears or something? What a tiring fellow.
I will castrate him for this. Zenith thought to himself as he maintained a smile on his face while being asked what a 'date' was. "He's not talking about the fruit. There a few definitions of date; one is where a couple of individuals go out together with the aim to form a romantic relationship, which is what we're obviously not on." The older boy shuddered in disgust at the thought of going out with someone he considered to be his little sister. "The other definition is when people meet for an activity with no intent of romance. That is what we're doing."
There were some things that he needed to warn her about. Akemi was such an innocent girl that she would easily fall for some scumbag's tricks, not like she would not be able to blast them to hell, but still."However, you should be careful of certain people who ask you out. There are some that want to take advantage and hurt you. Some may just want to have a one night stand and while there is nothing wrong with that if that's what both people want, if the other expects something more than they'll just get hurt." A certain playboy jackass popped into mind.
"Come on, let's go to the gardens. No need to worry about that kind of stuff for now." Zenith said and motioned her along to walk with him.
Damian nodded as he followed, his right hand absentmindedly stroking Carmilla's back. "Ya know, Crocus is a beautiful city, but I'd still almost rather be back on the border, in the wilds. You ever see a night sky without the light pollution before Ria?" Something important to keep in mind about the young mage is that if he wasn't thinking about a tactical approach to walking down the street, he was simply enjoying the sights to be seen around him. This was likely to catch someone's interest some day, but that certainly wasn't his concern.
"And there's so many more birds out there, and better fishing holes. Not to say the streams around Crocus aren't nice, but there's...there's not much variety to the fish. I'll have to take you and some o' the guild out there, maybe the border o' Bosco. That's some nice fishing."
It didn’t take Jessica much to notice, Asher’s gaze and his apologetic expression on his face. All she did was sigh at the whole situation since it was a bit much to deal with. But what grabbed her attention is what Carver said to her, rather than what’s happening around her. ” Yes, Carver. The Sky Tears Sword in its beautiful, wonderful sheath, I do suppose.” She answered his first question without fail since it's always better to answer it. There were specific words written all over her face with what he said next, seriously, I’m here for a job right now. She did notice him raising his hand and shaking his head slightly. ” I’ll think about it about talking to your colleague about Tearsy.” Jessica spoke with a wanting to conduct business before dealing with anything else. She wanted to get this job done before talking to anyone about any specifics about Tearsy, which embarrasses her.
Tearsy laughed slightly at what Asher had said, but no, she didn’t primarily look at others' minds, but the entertaining value is always a bit much. Always being slightly a step ahead of Jessica is a bit too funny for everything. However, Tearsy couldn’t help but giggle. ” I must say, you lot are pretty funny. As always, my dear little Jessica is a bit too serious about everything.” Tearsy telepathically spoke to the group from Fenixtear, with a distinction of thought projection. Instead of reading anyone’s minds within the group, however, the exception to this was Jessica’s thoughts. Keeping Jessica on her toes is something Tearsy loves doing more so than anything else, and always being a step ahead of her is hilarious. The Sword shifts between the darker and lighter glow of bluish silver glow.
Jessica sighed at what Tearsy said, and it is like she’s using a different type of shenanigans on her. It’s always slightly annoying, but she distracted herself with what Carver had to say instead. She was blushing slightly because Tearsy called her, my dear little Jessica. The long speech that Carver had spoken in details, and had a slight smile on seeing the picture of the Scepter. It’s the target of the expedition to help Carver and always better to show off her moves. After the entire speech and his final question towards the group. ” Yes, I am ready for this venture, Carver.” Jessica said with a smile and raring to go to complete this assigned job. She enjoys these types of jobs a bit too much.
Tearsy couldn’t help but giggle cutely at Jessica’s reaction to her teasing. It is always good to see on Jessica’s face if it had eyes to see her. However, she is the specifically sentient sword with no arms, legs, or body to cuddle with Jessica. ’ Aww, Jessica is so cute. When she’s acting so serious and tough. When she has a soft side, and that’s adorable too.’ Tearsy thought to herself about Jessica’s entire being. If anything, it would rather be a real woman over being a sentient sword, but what happened in the past cannot be changed. She’s a sentient sword for a reason, and that’s the reason to protect Jessica and other women like her. ” Aha, guess it's time to go; let’s give it our all then, everyone. And please don’t be too blasted reckless, Jessica.” Tearsy telepathically spoke to the group from Fenixtear, with thought projection. She always has to warn her wielder about her damned recklessness, but she was serious. As well, she already knew what Jessica was going to say before she said it because she said it a million times previously. The sword glowed a darker bluish silver glow than a brighter one.
Jessica couldn’t help but feel like Tearsy was talking about her but couldn’t tell what the sword was talking about. She stopped until Tearsy told her not to be reckless but stopped trying to say something because Tearsy had a counter to that point. It wouldn’t be a point in arguing with the weapon that gives her access to the Shifting Sword Style anyway, but it's like something that Tearsy enjoys doing some of the time. ’ Ugh, I will try not to be Reckless, Tearsy. But you know I can’t help myself.’ Jessica thought in her head, trying to answer Tearsy with a half-truthful answer for once. She decided to look at the others in her group. ” Let’s do our best to help Carver to reach his destination!” Jessica exclaimed a bit excitedly. She always likes to add to the excitement of being on the job slightly.
Reynard crossed his arms as the meeting came underway. It would be hard to mention at this point, but he too has an interest in ancient artifacts, after all, the weapon he held was one such too, but of obscure origin. He once hoped delving into this topic would lead him to the answer, yet it yielded no results. Despite this he gained some level of appreciation for these things. Carver was not the only one here interested in that sword on Jessica's hip. He wondered what origins it had, and how it even came to be. Thinking on it, perhaps this job would be a good opportunity to see it in action.
"If we're going to be on the road for a week, we should pack some food and drink before departing. Other than that I can say I'm ready", it shouldn't take long to do that, so they should be able to do so on the way out of Crocus.
It seems Carver had put a lot of planning for the actual expedition, but one week on the road could be a long time without supplies. He learned that fairly early in his months wandering. Crocus was a city plentiful with shops, no doubt they'd be able to get food and drink designed for long trips. The maps also didn't indicate any major settlements along the way either, and he mentioned terrain. Perhaps it would also be prudent to have other things such as rope...
"I suppose it would be prudent to ask if you have prepared anything in that regard, otherwise we can purchase some now on the way out of town".
Asher felt great relief when it became apparent that Carver was going to give them the chance to still complete the job. He hated to admit it, but he was feeling a tad worried that they would have to return to the guild and explain how they lost a job they didn’t even start. That would have certainly been embarrassing.
As Carver began to explain the details and goal of the job, Asher began to jot down information into his journal. It was best to keep a record of details, in case they needed such information in the coming days while on the job. After all, wasn’t it well known saying that knowledge was power? With each key detail given, another quick note was taken. Once Carver was finished, Asher finished up the summary of the details, nodding to himself as he returned it to his bag.
“As my guild mate has said, outside of securing sufficient provisions for this venture, I believe we are all prepared to set out when you are,” Asher confidently tells Carver. He was always carrying around most anything he needed for a job when he headed to the guild, so that he was ready for any job that became available.
” Let’s do our best to help Carver to reach his destination!”
Turning to the sudden excited outburst from Jessica, Asher blinks in surprise at the sudden enthusiasm. After a second passes however, he lets out a small smile at it. “Of course. We’ll show him that his trust in hiring us was well worth it.”
Ria nodded in response to the question for a moment. Her gaze drifted up to the sky, watching the clouds move across it. "Yes, I have. The village I grew up in was absent of light pollution." Her smile turned a bit sad, but she quickly shook the thoughts from her head. Though one might mistake it for stop wistfully watching the sky if one had not seen the shift in her look. Just like that, the bright smile was back in place and she'd returned her attention to her traveling companion of the time.
"A trip out to one of the borders sounds like fun. I'm sure others in the guild might enjoy that as well. I haven't been out near Bosco in....well, many years. Not quite as long than the last time I went fishing. Though I think my way of fishing is a bit different than yours." She laughed softly. It wasn't an understatement. It could be fun fishing with someone that did it traditionally. The last time she'd been fishing, it was in an ocean instead of a lake - as she assumed he was talking about - and it wasn't with a rod and tackle. She liked her way well enough, but learning to traditional fishing sounded fun too. "Maybe sometime you could show me how you fish. Even if it's just around here."
For now, that would have to wait, as they'd arrived at the guild already. She held the door for Damian to enter, an absentminded motion she was more than used to by now. "Shouldn't take long, hopefully, to get the kitchen back in order. Just in time for the next rush."
A few voices of being ready, but it was the less refined man that spoke up, echoed quickly by the other man. Ah, yes, provisions. The enthusiasm to get going was wonderful to see, but at least two were concerned with the means of eating. If it had not been brought up, it was very much true that he would have completely have forgotten about that need. "Ah, yes. The need for sustenance over the travel time. Excellent you brought it up."
Carver turned away from the table, looking around a few stacks as he moved deeper into the room before he finally found an overstuffed pack with a multitude of precision excavation tools handing off it along with a few pans and water canteens. He carried it to the table and dropped it atop the map, then deftly unlatched the top and flopped it open. "I believe I have enough provisions, should you lot not mind canned beans or REMs. Should have plenty of water too, hopefully. But there are streams along the route and should be clean enough." As he spoke, he rummaged through the pack to verify the count of items it contained. There were more people than he actually anticipated, but he had overstuffed the pack so it seemed there might be just barely enough for the three. He packed everything back into the bag and hoisted it onto his back. "We can stop if you want, but the sooner we leave, the sooner we will get there. Theoretically." He folded up the map and slipped it into the breast pocket of his vest, and the book he had referenced before slipped into an interior pocket of the vestment.
With everything he needed, he rounded the group and opened the door, gesturing for them to head out so he could close up his office. Short of anyone wanting to stop to pick up other provisions, the trip out of Crocus to the start of the trail was easy enough - navigating through alley ways and side streets to get around the bulk of the crowd to the other side of town. It wasn't until they were clearing the last bit of city that he pulled out the map and a compass to ensure they were going in the right direction. "Right, so this way," he said as he started up one of the many foot trails into the mountain range.
Damian hummed thoughtfully as he walked through the doors, nodding in thanks to Ria without any conscious thought and heading for a table. "I'd have to do some scouting around to find a good spot, but I'm all for teaching someone how to fish." Carmilla trotted over to her spot by the bar to keep an eye on the door while Jaëger followed the swordsman to where he sat down, thinking. As Ria moved past him again, mentioning that the kitchen should be clean just in time for the next rush, the young man snapped his fingers.
"Steak! I'll make a steak dinner. Haven't done it in awhile, but I cooked frequently enough anyways." Standing, he follows Ria. "I'll help ya clean and cook for the next rush if I can get your help with making a steak dinner for the guild. Well, steak and some potatoes."
Trinity had been looking for something different, but walking into a nearly empty guild hall had not been what she had in mind. The guild master signed her up quickly enough, and by the time she'd come back with her things to move into her room, the guild hall was packed with guild members. Too tired from moving and traveling, she had settled into her room until the next day.
The next day, she awoke and had to remember, just for a moment, where she was. A new guild. Fenixtear… right. That old school guild, like the guilds her mother had told her about in the old days. Was that what drew her here? The ideas of a guild her mother gave her.
She found herself sitting in bed and staring at her mother's prized 12-string. Such a beautiful instrument. She pushed herself out of bed and went to the suitcase she hadn't unpacked yet to get clean clothes.
Dressed, she stepped out and meandered up to the bar. She'd risen early; a remnant of her life in her village, to rise and set with the sun. She bellied on up to the bar and grabbed a menu. This guild had been difficult to get a read on, she couldn't tell if the cooks could make whatever, or if there were even dedicated cooks or not. Blue Pegasus had been so different from Obsidian Kite had been so different from all those indie guilds…
Whoa, when was this thing printed? The paper was yellowed in the edges. Must have been at least a little old, though the environment probably contributed. Restaurant dining rooms weren't the cleanest things. "This menu still good?" Trinity thumbed through the three single-sided pages, "guess I can't complain, long as it's current…" not like the guild's huge, right? Oh, sweet child…
She looked to see for anyone behind the bar. "Barkeep?"
Ever up and about, even after all the excitement from the day before, Ria skipped out of the kitchen. She spotted a new face seated at the counter and stopped in front of her. "Good morning. We usually don't get people in here this early, in case you're wondering about the whole...being the only one about right now." She offered the new girl a smile. "How are you doing this morning? What can I get you? I'm Ria, by the way."
Good morning indeed. Don't need to work at Blue Pegasus to find cute girls, huh? Well, obviously. It was just easier, though the atmosphere there… well. "Doing just fine now, I'll say," a playful grin, "The lost bread, please. I'm Trinity. Joined yesterday. Er…" she glanced down at her own exposed clavicle, and the guild mark there, "big day yesterday?" Everyone was gone when she signed up...
Ria's gaze shifted to the exposed mark before laughing softly. Her smile didn't fade as her gaze came back to Trinity's face. "Oh, yes, so it would seem you did. Yesterday was quite...unusual. Torys intercepted word there was a dragon attacking the magic council. We went and killed the thing before it could do too much damage to Era. Finished it off before even Ajax - you've heard of the Hellmouth, right? The number two Saint? - arrived to defend the place. It was...quite the thing."
She realized she'd rambled on a bit. Offering an apologetic smile, Ria shrugged a bit. "Sorry. I kinda went on there for a bit. That's been the first really exciting thing we've done in...well since the guild started two years ago. But, so you wanted the lost toast, yes? I'll get that started for you. Anything to go with it? Coffee, tea? I just started a pot for coffee, and there's water boiling for tea. We also have juices - cranberry, apple, and orange - too."
"Coffee, please. Sounds like you- uh," one word in that small ramble caught Trinity's attention. Well, a few words did, but one in particular flipped up a red flag. Wait, whoa, what? She didn't just say 'dragon', did she? That story didn't seem like a joke. "have had, ah," Nah, no way. Right? No way? "D-... did you just say..." She was trying not to let her nerves show, but, whew! Is that where everyone was yesterday!? "a… a dragon?"
Ria's smile brightened a hair, a glint of pride in her mismatched eyes. "Yes, dragon. I'm sure the day's papers will all be covering it." The girl let out a chiming laugh. "Don't worry too much. It's not something we'll likely be hired out to do. Dragon slayer jobs go to Steel Hydra, after all. It was just good publicity, nonetheless. Might help us get some work."
The veteran guildmate blinked as if she'd just remembered something. In fact, she had. The smile returned with an apologetic laugh. "Oh, you know what? You ordered something. Let me go get it. Lost toast and coffee, yes? Give me a few minutes to go get it started and get you your coffee." She didn't wait to get a response to any of what she said before Ria disappeared back into the kitchen.
"I'll have to pick up a paper today, then." Not something they're likely to be hired to do? Once you perform a feat like that, people just might ask you to do an encore. Ria had practically dismissed the feat as just another job complete, but Trinity had to wonder if the girl could hear herself. This was the kind of thing that you'd hear someone regale a table with at a tavern, not 'yeah, read about it in the paper'! What kind of folk did she sign up with?
"Yeah, that's right." Trinity stared as Ria disappeared into the kitchen. It was very tempting to run, at first. The idea of getting into a fight with anything near as terrifying as a dragon chilled her. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, "easy now… it's not like dragons come crawling out of the woodwork if you tap the floorboards. You pick your work, here, Trinity… I choose the jobs, and I say no dragons.. or Vulcans.. or fights. You only just joined, you can't run off already." She put a hand over her heart and breathed deeply a few more times. Hopefully that girl, Ria, wouldn't see her like this. While she waited, the Energy Make mage made herself a harp to strum on. That should help her nerves, too. Wait too long and she'll start singing. Softly, it seemed most others were still asleep.
It was only a few minutes between when Ria disappeared into the kitchen and when she emerged with a cup of coffee with a spoon, cream, and sugars. She only seemed to acknowledge the fact Trinity was still there - beyond putting the things in front of the space the new mage was sitting - in having a bit more of a dance to her steps as she went back into the kitchen to continue cooking. A few minutes later, she came back out with a plate of food - a bit of butter melting on the cooked bread and confectioner sugar dusting it - and pourer of syrup in the other hand. She placed both things in front of the woman, before reaching below the bar to get silverware wrapped in a napkin and provide it to her as well.
“So you’re a maker, too. That’s pretty nifty,” she said a bit offhandedly. The girl pulled over a stool and sat behind the counter opposite her new guildmate. “I mold water, myself. How long have you been practicing at it? Music, that is. I never got a chance to practice much for instruments. Far too busy. But I sing sometimes. And dance. That’s fun too. Do you dance or sing?”
A smile curled the lavender-haired young woman as she watched her guildmate dance fro and back with her coffee, which she stopped to add cream and sip at it only when Ria had disappeared back into the kitchen. She took a piece of her harp to use as a spoon before replacing it. When her guildmate returned again, she turned to face forward for her food, and clapped her hands onto the harp, remoulding it into a set of cutlery.
Ah, but Ria had already given her silverware, so she let her made cutlery dissipate, "oh, thank you. Ah, future reference, I'll save you a little on dishes and- oh, I should have made a plate, tsk. Next time. Yeah, I'm a maker." She cut off a piece of her breakfast for her consumption, letting Ria ask her question. A swallow, to allow the response with manners as she poured a little bit if syrup, "I've been playing music since I can remember. She taught me to play, and yes, I sing, and dance a bit, too. Dancing was something I learned more of at Blue Pegasus. If you ever want an escort for a night out, don't hesitate to ask," she offered a friendly smile and readied another bite, "how about yourself, hobbies?" before she filled her mouth again.
“Oh you were a legal guild mage before this. That’s nifty. Never really thought about being part of one of those guilds myself, honestly, but if you want to go out dancing some time - I think that would be fun. We could invite some of the others, too.” Ria idly kicked her feet, hands resting properly in her lap as she spoke. “Oh but don’t fret about the whole not using your magic for dishes. We double as a restaurant - have to make money somehow, yeah? Bit slow given we aren’t a major guild or anything - so we have plenty of dishes. After all, you wouldn’t make your own dishes and silverware for a regular restaurant, right?”
She shrugged lightly, tilting her head to the side. A brighter smile spread on her face. “Oh, well for hobbies I am kind of scattered. I mostly draw and garden and write a bit. Then there’s singing, and I read. I do a lot of reading. But mostly I spend most of my time either cooking, or waiting tables, or tending bar, or - if I’m not working directly for the guild - I’m usually low-key keeping up with a matchmaking service I run out of the guild to help keep us afloat when the restaurant and work is a bit slow.”
Snapping her fingers, Ria sat up a bit straighter. “Oh!” She smiled and clasped her hands together. “Oh, how familiar are you with Crocus? I could show you around - we’re usually slow on week days anyways - and get you used to the city if you need it.”
Legal? "You mean the big'ns. Yeah, I was with Blue for a over half a year, before I figured out I like fixing things. My, um, client, that feels weird to say after so long, mentioned that they had a broken watch, so I asked to look at it and wound up fixing it. It was fun, tinkering with the thing," she sipped at her coffee once, the light flirtation seemed to have gone right over the other's head. "Sure, but usually, I don't work at the restaurant, either." But, it would only really be useful if she made plates and silverware for everyone, since dishes would need to be done anyway, "ah well. I see your point."
The girl kept herself busy. With work, it sounded. "You support the guild like that on your own? With - ah, oh no, this is a bad joke, I'm sorry - Match Make?" Trinity shook her head at her own joke, "uggh, uhh," go, go, just keep going, don't look back, "so you must know a lot of people, being a matchmaker. Well, y'know, I may be able to help you out with supporting the business side of things. With my Make, I dare say I'm the most capable repair girl in the city. Or, well, one of them, at any rate. If you know anybody that needs something fixed, just lemme know. Or an escort. Maaaybe that ones not such a great idea, though." Blue Pegasus might have a problem with that one, if she got successful.
Ria sprang to life, just a little, suddenly. Trinity nodded, finishing her current bite before replying, "ah, lucky me to have the chance of a wonderful guide such as yourself. It did take me a while to find the building, I'll admit. I guess I should be thankful for that. What an initiation that would have been…" she shudders before going for the last of her meal. She paused before taking her bite to say, "I would love to take your tour of the city, Ria."
"I'll take care of my dishes," she popped that last bit in her mouth and took her dishes into the kitchen, and brought her coffee with her. When she came back, she'd poured the rest of her drink in an Energy Make cup, layered to provide insulation against the heat. Another sip, "if you're ready, I'm ready. Shall we?"
“Oh, yeah,” Ria laughed. “The big ones. Because we all know independent guilds are only tolerated until they actually start pulling in a lot of business. Then it’s pay up or the council finds reasons...” She couldn’t deny a large level of distrust in the magic council, but she figured it might be best to leave it as that. Instead, she focused more on everything else Trinity had said.
She snickered softly at the joke. “That’s actually the first anyone joked about it being like my molding magic. Anyway, not supporting it on my own. Torys was the one that funded us starting. Well, her and Grasidia - you’ll meet her later today along with the rest - but myself and my sister Gwen joined up with a former saint Marduk within a week or two of it starting. But my matching service certainly helps pay bills when we don’t get jobs or have a lot of customers. Though I do know a handful of people through my side business that would probably jump at the opportunity for someone that might be a bit more reliable in timing for repair jobs. We could perhaps look into setting up something for you similar to mine - run it out of the guildhall for now to help keep your actual costs low for now until you build up a client base. There is a repair guildhall in town - and they seem to be lagging in their response times. Though, if you would rather set up a dating service instead, I’m sure I could help you set that up too. Blue Pegasus likely won’t look twice about us doing something like that - we’re too small, and likely not to be having a lot of members actually participating. My service is both platonic and romantic; so far, I have an eighty percent success rate.”
While Trinity took care of her dishes, Ria had pulled out one of her papers from under the counter and started to mock up a design for a card. She’d gotten a word spread on it by the time the new member came back. She tucked the pencil behind her ear and folded the paper up to tuck into the top of her dress for safe keeping as she stood. “Ready,” she chirped. Ria didn’t wait, rounding the counter and heading straight for the door to open it for Trinity. “Do you want to just be shown the major sights or perhaps have the first stop be the same place I get my fliers done up?”
Ooh, she liked the joke! … She liked that joke? Well, chalk one up for Trinity, then. At any rate, there were a couple business options for her, but it didn't take her long to decide, "if I had to choose, I'd rather do repairs. Do I want to try and balance both…" She had to wonder what kind of jobs would be coming in through the guild, after what she heard about happened yesterday. It didn't seem likely that there would be many peaceful jobs, after gaining a reputation that way. That, and peaceful never tended to pay well. "Tempting, but sounds treacherous."
As they left, Trinity was beaten to the door. Well, she supposed it made sense. Some of those Blue Pegasus sensibilities had stuck around, after all. If Ria was giving the tour, she would lead the way. That much was obvious, but there were important nuances. "Let's stop by the flyer shop first. If it's major sights, I can probably find them later. I'd rather see the way you know the city, y'know? No reason to avoid them outright though, I suppose." Trinity gestured casually with her hand for a shrug as they walked down the alley from the guild, to get to the streets.
"You said there's a repair guild falling behind?" She didn't really like getting into direct competition like that, but if they couldn't keep up with the demand, they obviously needed the competition. Maybe they wouldn't have too much of a problem with her picking up their slack. Hopefully. "Wonder if it's just too much for them to keep up or what?" She knew what would have happened if she joined that guild. Just like any other indie, they'd belittle her for her age, give her garbage work, and then not even pay her that well, even when she works the fastest and most reliably.
Ah, she was getting a little mad, thinking about it. Doing something for the cute guildmate giving her a tour oughta cheer herself up, "mm, ah, how far to the print shop? I can make rollerblades, if you like."
“Yeah, going for just the one business to start with is likely best. You can always open up to something else once you settle into your repairing if you decide you want to.” Ria walked, a bit of a flitting saunter than a purposeful stride, beside Trinity as they left the guild. “But you’re right. You’ll see the major sights in due time. The sights we’ll focus on are the ones that might help you get some connections to starting up a repair business.”
The water mage thought on the musings of her new guildmate. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s the prices. Or maybe they just do a shoddy job to ensure they’ll be able to make more money. Or maybe it’s just that they have poor workers. But either way, I know some of my acquaintances would rather try to fix things in their shops themselves rather than hire the repair guild.” She looked at Trinity, offering the other girl a shrug and a smile. “It’s not a far walk, only a few minutes down the road. I like walking, though, and - in all honesty - I actually have never gone rollerblading before. Not sure a tour is the right time to try it out.” She laughed softly at the thought.
In truth, it wasn’t much longer than that before they were outside a shop. Ria opened the door and stepped in, before holding the door for Trinity to follow. Her attention had turned to the older woman behind the counter. “Good morning, Meliea. How are you?”
“Good morning, dear. I’m doing well. How are you?”
“I’m doing well, also. I’d like you to meet one of Fenixtear’s newest guild members - Trinity. She just joined yesterday, and she’s going to be looking for some business cards and fliers to be made up once we finish up a mockup.” Ria walked further into the shop - which advertised different paper sizes, colors, and print styles that could be done in the shop. “She’s quite handy at repairing things, so if you need any help she might be able to help you out.”
“Well it’s nice to meet you, dear. You do repairs? That is quite handy, you wouldn’t happen to be any good with printing presses would you? One of mine keeps stalling and I’m not keen to wait around for the repair guild to get back to me about when it might get around to repairing it. Would you mind taking a look? I’d certainly be willing to pay for your trouble.”
The change in direction of thought had actually been enough to steady her mood. No, instead, now she was trying not to watch those hips and that saunter. She fared well enough, though she caught herself red-handed as Ria went to the door of the print shop. "No, probably not the best time to learn. Later, perhaps." As Trinity entered the shop, she took a look around, her eyes coming to Meliea as she followed the conversation.
"Trinity Algretto, at your service," she lifted a hand in greeting, a gentle smile on her face. She followed loosely behind Ria as she walked in, though halted at the mention of a repair job, interest on her face. "Printing press? I worked on one, once, but they only let me watch a senior for most of the real work." She passed a hand in front of herself, palm up, forming some essential tools and then floating them around herself, "Please don't let my previous employers' lack of faith in my skills affect your judgement.'' It was a shame those employers couldn't have just believed in her a little more.
The thought of some half-assed repair man doing a half-assed repair job to make money off this old woman with half-assed effort did not sit well with her, but that was only what Ria had suggested might be the case earlier. Trinity stepped past her guildmate and gave her a confident smile before she turned her attention back to Meliea, "please, show me which one. Have you got the service manual for the particular model? It's good to have on hand." She put her hair up into a bun with a pair of Energy Make chopsticks, in preparation for work. Usually, in a case like this, where the machine still worked but not well, the problem was simple enough, but finding it could be a pain. She had her ways, however.
“Oh, wonderful.” Meliea led the way to the machine, and retrieved the manual from the cabinet nearby. Once she’d elaborated on what the problem seemed to be, she and Ria left Trinity to her work as to not distract the girl. It wasn’t too tough a job, and when it was reported fixed, Meliea offered to pay Trinity for her trouble - the same cost she would have paid for the repair guild to send one of their local members.
And much was how the day went, of Ria pointing out various locations based on where they were - more than a little unaware of any attention Trinity was paying her beyond the standard of comradery and information. Out of the ten shops - one of which was a small restaurant Ria had introduced the owners to Trinity as the first success that helped her really kick off her business - showed her to, three others had their own little things that could use fixing that also offered payment at the same rate they would have paid the repair guild. All had information to be able to contact Trinity at the Fenixtear guildhall if they had any repair jobs they needed too.
As they left the final tour destination, Trinity counted herself very lucky. She'd be able to keep herself busy like this. Busy enough. She even had her competitor's rate, valuable information. If she could, she'd like to beat their rate, but she'd have to see what her finances ended up looking like first. Feeling grateful, Trinity turned to Ria, smiling. "Thanks for showing me around, and setting me up for some decent work. This is a great start, I'm so glad I joined! I'd like to repay you, Ria. How does… rollerblading lessons sound? I'm something of an expert, if I may brag."
“You don’t have to repay me at all. Just helping a new guildmate get a lay for the land and a way to help support herself if we don’t get busy like I think Torys is anticipating makes me happy. But, rollerblading lessons does sound fun. I’d love to take you up on that.” Ria smiled a bit brighter than she had been. It certainly would be a fun exercise, especially if she saw what the rollerblades looked like and how they worked, she could craft her own. “And maybe by tomorrow morning, I’ll have an actual flyer and card format drafted to show you. We could take it back on over to Meliea and get you really going with the help of business cards and displays to go with the word of mouth.”
Trinity Algretto Crocus Streets
Trinity had been taking care of someone's external display. She'd been inside the arcade when she heard the owner complain about the response time of a certain repair guild in town. The opportunity had presented itself, so she passed her business card along and was asked to do the repair, herself. Little did she realize, the owner then went to call and cancel the job with the repair guild.
She was just finishing up when she heard a voice approach her. "Well, well, welly well," a portly man had come around the side of the building. He'd overheard the call, cancelling the job with his guild, and figured the cause must have been that rumor he'd heard. "Look who we 'ave 'ere. You must be that new repair girl we've 'eard so much about over the last month." The man seemed irate. "You've been doing a lot of good work over the last month, girlie. I've been wondering what's been going on." He bumped against her glowing, golden ladder "accidentally". Trinity latched onto the first thing she could to steady herself, glaring daggers down at the man below. "Ooh~, sorry." He chuckled, obviously not sorry.
There was that repair guild mark on his arm, "look, I'm busy. Why don't you go do one of those jobs you guys are falling behind on?" Maybe he wouldn't appreciate the sass, but he'd just put her in a bad mood. She flipped a switch and appreciated the completed work before coming down and going inside to report and get paid. When she came back out, the man was gone. Had he taken her advice...? She doubted it, but at least he had buggered off for now.
As she passed on front of an alleyway, a rope shot out and wrapped around her chest and upper arms. She gave a small shriek as she was pulled, though she managed to keep herself upright. She looked up to see that portly man from before. Some kind of... Rope magic? Or maybe telekinesis? It didn't matter, she had to get out of here. The man had obviously also found a rather foul mood, though if he was already in one or not was hard to tell. She might have made it worse.
Her elbow could still move. She made a dremel in her hand and used the spinning blade to slice through the rope like butter, turning and running immediately after. The rope had been tied tight, despite how quickly she'd escaped. She ducked into another alley and worked herself out of the rope. Her head poked out and looked the way she had come from. She didn't see that guy, but the his voice spoke from behind her,
"You're not familiar with these alleyways, are ya, girly?"
Trinity jumped herself away from the rope she'd just freed herself from, even as her persuer tried to bind her again. Not really wanting to find out what this guy wanted, besides to harass her, she ran further down the street. If he was going to use familiarity with the city to outmaneuver her, she needed to come up with something else, though. Just running wasn't going to work at this rate.
She recalled a hero she'd seen on TV once, who used a lot of gadgets. One of his favorite ways to move around was the grappling hook. She took the dremel she still had in her hand and changed and expanded its shape with the characteristic hooks. She took a moment to think about which way she should go if she wanted to get back to the guild, but... Was that how he was chasing her so effectively? He knew where she was going to go? Should she... Go somewhere else? As she thought, she'd found herself a fire escape. She formed one of her simple orbs and attached the end of her grappling hook. As she pulled it away, the orb fed into rope and she chucked it most of the way up. The portly pursuer had just emerged again, to see Trinity pull up along the fire escape. "Later."
---
She'd been moving along the roofs on her Roller Boots, trying to get as much speed between her and him as possible. If he knew she was going back to her guild, was that really her smartest move? Wasn't that just bringing trouble back home? She didn't want to make someone fight for her sake any more than she wanted to fight, herself, but... There wasn't much other choice that she had.
Before she could form another plan of action, she found herself rappelling down the alley wall in front of the guild. She was already here, she should just go in. There was no way that fatty beat her here, anyway. So it was fine. Ria was even here, too. This... must have looked strange. She called as she descended, "Ria!" It was a relief to see a familiar face, she already felt better being with people she knew. Numbers should keep her safe from a guy like that, especially these dragon-slaying numbers. "H-hey, how ya doin'?" She offered a weak, shakey smile, her voice quavered and she glanced over her shoulder as she passed the threshold to approach the bar.
Continued on with pulling the cart without a word spoken or complaint save but for the sniffling of his nose of which he found cumbersome and a tad embarrassing. As he was taught and told that out here signs of weakness were especially dangerous for him and yet to be reduced to a sniffling mess over something mundane like flowers might of had him showing his frustration were it not for the rune suppressing and preventing such an unneeded outburst.
It would not do to allow himself to seem easily rattled or unsettled over something silly like flowers, especially around a person that left him with a slight tinge of unease. Though of course he felt a bit uneasy and suspicious towards human in general as he was not allowed the comfort of being relaxed, his guard even if only slightly would always be up regardless of who he was traveling as such risks come from an outsider from a different place and time.
Eventually they came upon the tree settled a short time earlier and pulled to a stop. Both glad for the bit of rest and curious of what it was Ms. Bloomfield planned to do. He had turned his body partway from the bar to see the red haired woman drop down from the cart where he would be asked to remain where he was though the second half of what she said piqued his curiosity even more." Of course, Ms. Bloomfield. Take the time needed and will remain as requested of the miss." Lightly bowing his head to show he understood as his hands slipped into into the long sleeves of his haori to rest across his chest.
The canine kin turned until his back face the direction she stepped away to as he could hear the ruffling of clothes and figured she was changing. At first assuming the woman to simply be changing into clothes better fitting for work to make pushing the cart somewhat more comfortable. Whatever the reason, he did as requested; focusing his attention and hearing instead on the woods around them so as not to listen in on her privacy as he observed and kept watch for any possible threat that may try to encroach on them.
Even with his sense of smell hindered a bit by the flowers, he could still smell all the scents picked up around him. And so far had sensed nothing out of place, that is until Alina's scent suddenly dispersed and was replaced by that of an unappealing scent of a sweaty male. His body turned halfway to have the tree his companion disappeared behind as his body became tense and alert.
Both his long sleeved arms were at his sides, hands unfolded and slightly curled as the tips of his right clawed index and middle finger held a faint glow. He kept himself at the ready to form barriers for if the unknown individual made any attempts to attack. He waited for whoever it was to step out and reveal themselves as his nose sniffed frantically trying to make sense of how Alina's scent could vanish so suddenly.
A voice eventually spoke out, but the sound of it sounded strange as it carried a hint of Alina's though also strained and mixed in with that of a male. An eyebrow rose out of confusion at hearing the person state they were done; a reply expected from Ms. Bloomfield and it came from the exact same spot she had stood prior.
Moments later the wolf would watch an unexpectedly tall and burly figure step out from behind the tree. He stood there blinking at seeing one of the well built workers he recalled seeing back at the greenhouse, but with a strange bit of nervousness to his walk instead of the confidant and tired stroll of the experience male he saw prior. With each step the person made towards him, the tension in his body lessen and the faint glow fading from the tips of his fingers.
Both the smell and sound of her heartbeat had changed but somehow this was...Ms. Bloomfield? A sudden wave of questions flooded his mind. Was this her magic? Was this akin to the take-over magic he read about? But, no that required possessing the host did it not? And said person was back at the greenhouse while all she had done was briefly touch him. A look of concentration and thinking on his face as he observed the male worker changed Alina as a hint of suspicion remained in the red tinted glowing eyes.
Blinking uncertainly at the individual with a slight tilt of the head to the right similar to how canine do so when confused. His ears flicked at the statement made, now sounding fully like the man from earlier albeit a bit scratchy." ....quite convincing...Ms. Bloomfield." He spoke calmly while his usual near flat tone came out a tad strained from being taken off-guard by his companion's strange and unexpected change." Perhaps a little too convincing I would say. And this person whose form you have taken...is in no danger or harm I hope?" He asked but in a tone which told that he would not be happy were the person chosen to be in danger over use by her unknown magic.
" And rather peculiar and unexpected. Yet, as intriguing as your magic has shown to be I must request for you to refrain attempts of doing the same with me." He stated in a direct and serious manner for as interested in the how and what the woman's magic was. He knew too little of how it worked and whether it put the original owner in any form of harm or what else she gained from changing into said person. If she in fact gain the memories of the host then he simply could not allow Ms. Bloomfield to ever touch or take his form...then a look of worry glinted in his eyes as he realized his assumption of touch could be wrong, that it might of been a different method and as he was unable to know such things suddenly made Menzai jump a short distance back from Alina, his body lowered and crouched a bit into a defensive stance as he eyed the unfamiliar face his fellow guildmate was wearing suspiciously.
Jessica was a bit enthusiastic, that’s for sure, but she has forgotten the one most important thing for a journey away from the comforts of home. It was a substance kind of embarrassing, to say the least, the most enthusiastic person forgetting the simplest of requirements. She was grateful that Reynard and Asher were the ones to mention that and noticed the smile on Asher’s face. It was because of that smile she smiled in return. She was grateful to hear Carver’s answer to her companions' concerns. ” Always good to be prepared.” Jessica said with a smile on her face.
Tearsy couldn’t help but laugh at Jessica a bit because it’s obvious she did forget about the most simple and necessary things. If it weren’t for Reynard or Asher, she would probably be complaining about starving or something to that effect. ” Reynard and Asher, it’s good you brought something up that Jessica completely forgot about… ha, ha.” Tearsy telepathically spoke to the group from Fenixtear, with thought protection. She couldn’t help but tease Jessica; after all, it’s something of a problem with her. If Jessica puts her mind to something, you cannot stop her no matter what. The glow of the sheath shimmered somewhat as if it was shifting between its lighter and darker glows as if it was pulsing.
At the moment, Jessica heard what Tearsy said and couldn’t help but blush slightly at what Tearsy said to them. She sighed slightly that she should always be a bit more focused and prepared is what her mother always said no matter what. It would be a good idea to bring more supplies, in case. She saw what Carver was carrying with him, and for them, she had eaten REMs before, and canned beans were alright. It looked a bit light since more of them, which means the others have to bring more so the week out wouldn’t be a disaster. She did want to get out of here as quickly as possible. ” I do agree with you Carver, the sooner, the better.” Jessica said with a smile.
Tearsy couldn’t help but feel Jessica’s reaction to her teasing yet again, with a cute giggle. It’s always good to see the thoughts of Jessica be embarrassed at being teased by her. She had always been by beside the woman of the Tranzell Family, which she did love much. ’ I do hope Jessica will be prepared to show her strength to Carver and the others. Jessica isn’t an A Ranked Mage for nothing. She took her training seriously, and it’ll be beautiful to see her use my Shifting Sword Style.’ Tearsy thought to herself about Jessica’s growth as a woman and soon to show off the Shifting Sword Style. She was going to have a beautiful display with Jessica’s mastery of the Shifting Sword Style. It felt a bit nostalgic, but Jessica’s own mother had her own way of using the Shifting Sword Style. The Sword’s Sheath glow kept pulsing as it was thinking to itself right now, and there was no other sense of telepathic projection in the others nor Jessica’s mind.
In the back of Jessica’s mind, she was a bit worried about what Tearsy was doing since she hadn’t said anything after embarrassing her again. She did follow Carver out of his office; since he was closing up, it was time for a traditional guild adventure. It would be much different than the other adventurers she had in Crimson Mare. As such, Jessica did help herself gather some extra provisions for the journey to make extra sure they had enough. In terms, she was carrying a bag on her back with the extra provisions she bought. She kept up with the group, and Carver took out his compass and map to make sure they wouldn’t get lost. ” Okay, Carver.” Jessica said. She followed Carver up one of the many foot trails into the mountain range.
Calmly, Akemi nodded along as Zen briefly explained what else a 'date' would mean. So it wasn't just a fruit, but also a social event that may or may not have romantic implications depending on the overall context of the situation? How peculiar really. Now that she thought about it, didn't date also refer to a specific time as well? Such as a specific day and whatnot? Thinking on this all was really beginning to hurt her head, simply shaking it softly before turning to Zen as he went into a bit more detail. "Take advantage of? A one-night stand?" She echoed back, blinking slowly as she tilted her head slightly. "So you're saying there are bad people who'll try and 'date' you for their own gain?" Tapping her chin thoughtfully, she let out a sigh as she shook her head again.
"I...don't get it...but ok, I'll be careful then. You and Ria are safe right? I can tell, you have the same light and warmth about you both; both white." Since Zen said not to worry about it now, then Akemi would keep it tucked away for later questioning. Didn't want it getting too late before getting to the gardens after-all. Instead, she almost seemed to be beaming though her lips didn't even quiver or threaten to turn into a smile as she walked beside the older boy.
"Leon was much the same...is everyone else safe and white as well?" Pipping up again, she eyed a few stalls as they passed by them. She was mostly just stickybeaking around rather than showing any genuine interest, more curious as to what the stalls contained than the actual contents. One was a shooting target game, another a lucky bag store, another selling flowers. One even seemed to be selling....gemstones? Birthstones or something? Akemi didn't really get it, but ok.
"Torys seems ok as well, she didn't send me home after-all, as does Tone and Kaden. Maybe we should've invited Tone as well? He seemed rather down when he left." Off-handly she thought back to when they told Tone they had plans. Maybe he was upset to not be involved? So she was thinking perhaps they should've invited him? Oh well, he left pretty quickly so they didn't get much of a chance to invite him anyway. But they would definitely need to spar with him to make up for it, he seemed to really like sparring so that would make him happy yeah?
"What kind of flowers are at the garden anyway? Have you ever been there Z?"
His reaction wasn't unexpected in all honesty. She tended to avoid people knowing about her magic, the less who know the better. Besides Luke, Gerald and Torys, no one else really knew the nature of her magic, stating this as her excuse to Torys as not wanting the others knowing till she felt 'comfortable' revealing it to them herself. Honestly, it was mostly a cover to keep her magic on the hush hush. But it was either use her magic, or try and pull the wagon in her actual form and well....she knew which one was far more efficient. Though, she couldn't help but think his reaction was a little over the top right? She wasn't even aware of his magic, so she couldn't really be certain of this, but surely she wasn't a threat to him right?
".....Mr. Isanami, what kind of person do you think I am?" She asked after he jumped back, placing a muscular hand to her (his?) chest. Perhaps this was a chance for her to get him to become less distrustful? Regardless, she knew how to play this kind of situation as she allowed her to form to drop slightly, staring down at the ground. "Not that I can really blame you for your reaction....I honestly thought after showing this to Luke and Gerald that my magic wasn't that terrifying or weird. But almost everyone else who's ever seen this magic has reacted much like you Mr. Isanami...albeit they're generally more hostile, so I do appreciate not being attacked on the spot."
Placing the cart handle down gently, she brushed some hair from her face before she began to....shrink. Compress. It was a pretty grotesque sight really, her muscles and bones shuddering quietly as they changed shape, shifted their make-up once more. Her scent had become to shift back to normal as well, before last, her hair suddenly shot out and became its usual crimson color, loosely falling around her shoulders as she slowly brought up her saddened gaze towards Menzai as she held up the baggy clothes so as to keep her modestly intact.
"As you can see...my magic allows me to shift, transform into others I've come into contact with. But I'm nothing more than an imitation, a cheap replica if you would. Do not worry, my magic does not harm those who I replicate or become, nor can I replicate their minds. My mind remains my own, I am unable to gain the memories or minds of others...though sometimes I can replicate particularly strong personality traits and the like." Ok, that last part was a straight-up lie, but the rest was pretty spot on with what she knew about her own limitations through a significant amount of trial and error. She more added that last part to explain any situation he may happen upon her impersonating someone else, an insurance policy if you would. It would save possibly annoying and ill-timed questions later down the track. "....Though whether you believe me or not is up to you. As you may have expected, most who find out about my magic are...less than pleased by its nature. Often calling it and myself 'evil', 'dark arts' and the like. Hence why I waited till we were out here to use it, as you may be able to understand why it would startle those in the village correct? I've quite had it with becoming called a witch or a monster, as I'm sure you must know after coming into humans who are less....understanding about your appearance." She was pretty happy with her performance thus far. Normally she would give far more long-winded, back-story driven, tear-jerking speeches and references, but she figured condensing it into a far more practical explanation as such was the better route with what she had learned about Menzai.
Taking a moment, she began to transform once more into the burly lad. Once it was done, she picked up the handle once more and went to pull it, before pausing and half-turning back to Menzai. "One more thing Mr. Isanami...you need not worry about me transforming into you. I require a bit more than just a touch to do it anyway, and honestly, there is always a bit of compatibility as well. I can tell when someone or something is compatible, and I suppose fortunately for you you are not. Like I said, it's up to you to believe me or not, but we have a job to do. You can decide how you feel about me once we deliver these flowers I suppose, I'm not going to force you to talk with me or do jobs again...though I was I looking forward to our little chat about magic studies. Not many in the guild seem interested in that topic."
Gripping the handle tightly as a twinge of regret crept into her voice, she began to pull the cart along, leaving Menzai to decide what his next course of action was. Whether or not he wished to accompany her till the end of the mission, go back to guild by himself, or whatever else he wanted to do. As much as it pained her, she couldn't control the actions of others, no matter how masterful or moving her performances may or may not be. Though suppose that was what made it so satisfying when her plans fell into place, now the ball was in Menzai's court.
Well, she didn't completely understand him, but at the very least she would be careful. It wasn't exactly the most reassuring of answers though it was something. "Of course I'm safe. We're pretty much family." Zenith laughed gently before they were walking in silence again. No one else would know it, but Akemi was absolutely elated that they would be visiting. This was her first time actually having freedom to explore the city without her grandparents breathing down her neck about her health.
There were quite a few... interesting stalls to say the least. Some of them were actually complete scams meant for tourists, such as one selling 'remedial crystals' in a bottle with unsubstantiated claims of improving health, among other snake oil products. Apparently, one of them was owned by a famous actress and people were actually stupid enough to buy these obviously fraudulent items. Akemi would pipe up again "I'd assume that everyone is generally safe, except for Kaden." His face soured when he mentioned that blight. "If he says something strange to you or makes you feel uncomfortable, tell me okay? He has a proclivity to flirt with anything wearing a skirt." While he does not disapprove of Kaden's lifestyle, there was still not a chance in hell that he would allow that playboy lays his grubby paws on Akemi. She had absolutely no experience with relationships and would definitely fall into Kaden's pace. Knowing her, this would probably influence her perceptions on what dating is for the worse.
Her innocence was at least amusing at times. Zenith chuckled and said with a smirk, "Nah, that meat head just wanted a fight." Now that was an image; Tone wearing a gardener's hat watering a patch of flowers was such a stark contrast to what that battle addict is usually like. Zenith was twitching, barely holding back his laughter with tears welling up though after getting it out of his system he regained enough of his composure, save for a few aftershocks of giggles. "I wouldn't know. The garden is usually closed off to the general public, but I can bet that they are definitely a sight to behold."
He had gone silent for a large portion of the walk, but there was a nagging feeling clawing the back of his mind; Akemi's concept on good and evil had not changed. The older mage looked down at her and said, "Mimi, the world isn't as clear cut as you think it is. Very few things are."
From within the halls of the grand arena overlooking Crocus appeared two men stepping out onto the stairs from the entrance. Immediately they both noticed the blue streak of flames in the sky passing overhead. "Oi, you think that mage up there saw anything?" the first young man said, pointing up at Tone as he flew away. The other young man watched silently for a moment before answering. "No. They couldn't have seen anything from up there anyways." "Right on, then."
The two began their descent down the mountain's stairs now. "Have someone follow just in case. We don't want some lowlife breaking the news early and ruining the big day." The other young man smirked. "Sure thing, your Highness. Do you want me to bring you back to the palace too?" The crown prince continued walking down the stairs as his companion stopped. "No need, I don't get to be on my own that often. I can walk just fine." "I'm sure ya can, but ya know your father would tell me to-" "Consider it an order then. I'll see you at the palace later, Calidyn." The prince now waved him away as he continued walking. With a shrug the young man named Calidyn vanished into thin air, finally leaving the prince alone.
As he continued down the steps he looked out over Crocus. Even from so far away he could see how the city was even more busy than usual. All due to his festival of course. It's just a birthday, such a pointless thing to celebrate, he thought to himself, his eyes drifting down to his feet. Father is such a dull leader. Trivial things like this aren't truly captivating. Appeasing the citizens with some music and flowers... ha. Honestly, when I'm the king things will be different. Now the prince looked back up to Domus Flau, a grin creeping across his face. I'll give the people something to get excited about all right.
Era
Hidden within the walls of the Magic Council headquarters was a large conference room, separate from the courtroom that is most often seen. A place where the Council convenes to discuss matters of law, military, and general importance. In the middle of the room was the large conference table with a large chandelier overhead as the primary source of light for the window-less room. On one side of the table were all the Councilmembers, on the other were their guests. A collection of six guild masters of the six most prominent guilds of the country. At the end of the long table sat the Council chairman, Boram Siegfried. At the other end of the table was a young man with black hair and clothes of the finest material, the crown prince of Fiore himself was in attendance.
"I must admit, I never thought I would see the day that so many of you would be in the same room together," Boram began, gesturing towards the lineup of guild masters. "These are interesting times for all six of you to be requesting an audience with the Council at the same time." The chairman's introductory speech didn't get very far before someone already interrupted him. "Yeah, because you have been letting that independent guild get out of control," the youngest guild master present, Soryu Shinano of Steel Hydra, spoke up. "That guild is already starting to cut into our clients and our wizards. I thought that if they didn't agree to work for the Council that they would be criminals?"
"Is Steel Hydra really so pathetic that losing a little money would really put them behind so bad?" Soryu glared over at the guild master for Black Curtain, Duncan Nythe. "Ha! Don't make me laugh." The banter was already getting on the nerves of the chairman and he was visibly frustrated. "Masters, cease your squabbling. We are in the presence of Prince Ryokugyoku. We must act befitting of our status." The young prince chuckled loud enough for everyone to hear. "Don't mind me, I'm just observing," Ryokugyoku spoke.
There was a brief silence after the prince, but the chairman cleared his throat and continued. "At any rate, Fenixtear is not under any agreements with the Council but so far they have violated no laws. As rude as their guildmaster has been we will not break our own rules to exact petty revenge, no matter the temptation." The elderly Morgana Lutz, master of Crimson Mare, was the next to speak. "If I may, Boram, I would like to remind the council that the guilds represented here have all been paying their dues. We don't merely abide by your regulations but we provide a considerable amount of taxes and even manpower to remain in the Council's good graces. Fenixtear didn't just disrespect you by refusing to cooperate but has disrespected us all, to operate the way they do without the same restrictions we must face and challenging our way of life." "That's right," spoke up Madame Elaine of Blue Pegasus. "And our guilds have been operating for many years while abiding by the Council and they come out of the woodworks to slay a dragon right on your doorstep? That sounds very suspicious to me."
"Actually, I have been looking into that." The soft-spoken master of Sleuth, Sovereign Minutio, was the next to speak his peace. "Their guild master, Torys Lusitania, has been a public figure for a very long time. I'm sure Ms. Lutz and Mr. Kempest here could testify that Ms. Lusitania was formerly a Wizard Saint." There began a series of grumblings and murmuring among the table after this revelation. "It is true," Oleg Kempest of Obsidian Kite confirmed. "Torys was once among the Saints. It would be uncharacteristic of her, and not within her ability, to summon or control such a monster. But indeed it was no mere coincidence that a dragon would besiege Era like that. It was certainly following the orders of some unknown master with a clear goal in mind." "I came to that conclusion as well. Fenixtear was simply more prepared and quicker to mobilize than any of us were."
"With all due respect, how they got here doesn't really matter so much as what they are doing," Soryu spoke up again. "Something must be done before they deal lasting damage to the economy and disrupt Fiore's way of life any further." "I gotta agree here. They should be disbanded." "Or at least made to follow the Council in the way that we do." As the voices began to grow and overlap, all complaining in one way or another, the Chairman began trying to regain control of the room. "I understand your concerns and loathe as I am to let them walk free they simply haven't broken any of our laws yet. We have been keeping a close eye. If we were to crack down on them while they were so popular and in the spotlight it would reflect poorly on the Council and make the people of Fiore lose trust in us, perhaps even the Kingdom itself."
In the brief quiet after Boram finished speaking the people present finally noticed a tapping sound. The prince was tapping his fingers on the table rhythmically, waiting patiently for a moment to speak up. And now that all eyes were on him he ceased tapping. "It sure seems like you all have your pride on the line," he told them with a cheeky grin. "You masters feel threatened by this new guild, don't you?" Soryu smacked the table and stood to his feet. "With all due respect, your Highness, but the strongest guild in Fiore isn't feeling threatened by these nobodies." A chuckle escaped from Duncan as he removed a pipe from his cloak. "What's so funny to you, Darkness?" "Oh, nothing in particular. It's just cute that the boy thinks he's a big enough man to declare his guild the strongest. Anyone can go kill some bears in the woods." "Don't feel so mighty yourself, boy," Morgana said to Duncan, catching a glare from him in return. "In our line of work we've all had to deal with other mages. You really aren't that special."
"Say, I just thought of something," the prince spoke up again. By now the guild masters have largely become agitated, and the councilmembers haven't hardly gotten a word in edgewise, so all eyes were on the prince with various glares and gazes. "You guys can't even pretend to get along very well, its clear that you all consider yourselves rivals. And that you all don't like the unwelcome addition of a new rival. If the Council can't go after Fenixtear until it breaks the law, and if you all truly believe that guild is so pathetic, then why not just prove to the people of Fiore who the best really is?" This suggestion was met with silence. "What are you suggesting, your Highness?" An annoyed sigh escaped the prince as he shook his head dramatically. "What I'm suggesting is that we bring back the tournament to decide the strongest guild in Fiore." "You mean the Grand Magic Games." Now all eyes drifted to Oleg. "The Kingdom stopped hosting the Grand Magic Games a long time ago, only in the childhood of our eldest present. That must've been more than sixty years ago." "My grandfather had ended the Grand Magic Games because they served no real purpose anymore. The cost was too high for how little it was rewarding. But I can ask my father real nicely and it can be done again. Then you guys can openly, publicly, destroy Fenixtear and it can be broadcast across the country."
The masters began to murmur among themselves, going over the pros and cons of such an offer. "I have to ask what prompted such an unusual offer from your Highness," Sovereign asked, keeping direct, unblinking eye contact with the prince. "Ah, is it so hard to believe that I would suggest such a thing out of pure altruism? No, I suppose you should all know that I had been considering this idea for some time now. When the people of Fiore think of magic they think of you guys, your guilds. In a way you've become the face of Fiore. And that is unacceptable to me. The Kingdom, the royal family, should be the face of Fiore. And I will be bringing my own team to the Grand Magic Games to represent the Kingdom and show the people exactly why it is us who rule the country." Soryu grimaced, but it soon turned into a grin as he rose up to the challenge. "You're speaking as if the tournament is a foregone conclusion, but don't you need the Council to give permission first? Otherwise you would have a tournament that we aren't allowed to show up to."
All eyes were on the councilmembers and the chairman now. "Well, Mr. Chairman? What will I tell my father when I return from my visit here? What do you say about having a Grand Magic Games?"
Tone
After finding an appropriately sized clearing in the trees, Tone reduced his speed and descended. He was able to precisely land in the clearing without damaging the ground. Well, perhaps it was only minor damage from the impact. After taking a moment to survey his surroundings Tone crossed his arms over his chest. This is lame, training out in the woods by myself has gotten old. I'm not sure how much more progress I could get from striking air or inanimate objects, he thought to himself, plopping down to the ground to sit with his legs crossed. Can't even get a change of view, training pretty much anywhere else is a no-go.
Tone looked up into the sky, staring at one cloud in particular. He tried to find a shape in it but it was too simple to make anything out of. Did I really come this far just to get stuck? Pitch has been rotting in a dungeon getting tortured and who knows what else and I can't find any information on Draco Clamor. My goodness they're supposedly in this country and everyone I've asked about them just looks at me like I'm speaking a foreign language. Nobody seems to have even heard of them. Tone opened his jacket and reached inside to a hidden pocket, retrieving a small dark book. And this stupid thing doesn't have any answers.
On the front of the book were only the words "Draconis Scriptum". The book was clearly worn, Tone himself picked it up off the ground after the battle with Draco Clamor back in Bosco. A little singed but very well intact. Half the thing isn't even readable. I bet the answers are in that half but Torys told me to get rid of this book. How can this stupid dark guild be so important yet so hard to find? It just doesn't make any sense. Tone began to open the book when he detected someone approaching. First by smell but soon he could hear their footsteps. In a hurry he stashed the Draconis Scriptum back in his jacket and jumped to his feet. The person approaching appeared to be some kind of knight, wearing the kingdom's armor.
"Did you follow me out here?" was the first thing to come out of Tone's mouth, confused at how anyone at all would find him, deliberately or not. "Halt, mage," the knight said as he approached Tone. "Let me see your papers." "What? Papers? What are you talking about?" "Your papers. Your guild registration." With a grimace Tone turned away and pulled at his jacket's neckline down over his shoulder, revealing his guild mark. "Will this do for ya? What do you want from me anyways from following me over here?" The knight glared at Tone for a moment. "You were spotted flying over royal property, at Domus Flau." "You gotta be shitting me, I can't believe Zenith was this right..." "Young man, you're not in trouble. It's an unusual circumstance as not many people fly, but you can't be flying over royal property like that."
With a sigh of relief Tone finally relaxed. "Well jeez, there aren't any signs posted anywhere. Guess I'll walk from now on. Sorry for breaking the rules, it won't happen again." The knight then pointed at the ground near Tone's feet. "You dropped something. Wait a minute. Give me that book, right now." At first he was confused but when Tone looked at where the knight was pointing he realized that he had accidentally dropped the Draconis Scriptum somehow. "Oh, you know this book? Could you help me find-" "Give me that." The knight snatched the book out of Tone's hands the moment he picked it up. "Alright alright, have it. But do you know anything about Draco Clamor? Anything at all?" The knight ignored Tone as he retrieved a small device from within his boot, a small magical tool. He placed the device against the book and within a second the book was engulfed in flames.
"What the hell! That was the only lead I had!" Tone shouted at the knight, snatching the flaming book back from his hands. "Watch it kid, I was just told to tell you to stop flying around but if you don't let that book burn then I'll have to put you under arrest." "It's just a book mate, can you listen to me for just a moment? I need to find the guild that made this book." At this point the knight was bewildered that Tone was continuing to hold this flaming book without any signs of pain or discomfort commonly associated with getting burned, but he persisted in his duties. "Put the book down, now!" The knight began reaching for his sword with his free hand now, so Tone grit his teeth and let the book fall to the ground. "Fine, jeez..."
The two watched the book get reduced to ashes in silence, as the knight had to make sure the deed was done. "Consider this your last warning, if you ever find that book again you destroy it or turn it in. Draco Clamor and their religion is not tolerated in Fiore. I understand that you are looking for them but keeping that book will only spread their word and won't help you. Next time you might be arrested." The knight began to walk away now, leaving Tone fuming as he stared at the burning book. His only lead to finding his brother. "So you don't know how to find them, huh," he snarked. "If we did, we wouldn't need to destroy these books."
Torys
The guild master had been paying attention to the man who had been with Vashya. It was clear that he was a social worker of some kind and that the girl has been working with the man for at least a little while to have some kind of trust in him. Torys patiently waited as the two chatted in private, offering a wave and a smile to Ria and Damien as they entered the guild hall during this conversation. Once Vashya and her social worker came back to Torys and filled her in on the situation it all finally made sense.
"Oh, of course," she spoke up, clasping her hands together. "I'll help Vashya here. She'll be in good hands here at Fenixtear, we're like a big family." Now she turned her smile to Vashya. "So who could it be? Oh! I bet it's... Actually, never mind that. The whole point of the arrangement is to make you comfortable so I won't pry where I'm not wanted. Welcome aboard, Vashya." The guild master gave the social worker one more smile before putting a hand on Vashya's shoulder and leading her back towards her office. She expected the social worker would stick around at least a while longer but if Vashya was going to join she'd need a Guild Mark. "So, Vashya, have you thought about where you want to put your guild mark? Gotta let the world know you're one of us... and proud!"
The small party hadn't reached the door to the office yet when the front door to the guild opened. On instinct Torys looked back over her shoulder to see who was returning but was immediately surprised to find a new face. It was a serious looking man, with blonde hair and some kind of covering or half-mask over his right eye. Not one of the usual young types that would be looking to join so he probably meant business. Torys took her hand off Vashya and fully turned to face the man across the guild hall. "Well hello, stranger. I can be with you in a few minutes, I just have to help our newest member get started," she told him, already turning away to continue into the office. "Actually, I was looking to join your guild as well."
This made Torys completely pause before turning to face the man again. There are some in the guild who are older, like Grasidia and Marduk, but a man appearing to be in his 30s asking to join still took Torys by surprise. Most mages at that age are already established within a guild or community. "Oh, two in one day huh. And here I was thinking that things were starting to slow down again." The man stepped forward into the hall, not even glancing at the other members around the room as he came closer to Torys and Vashya. "My name is Ronan." He gave a polite bow to Torys with his formal introduction. "Nice to meet you, Ronan. Show me what you can do. What kind of magic you got?" There was an awkward pause before the man spoke up again. "Actually, ma'am, I don't have any magic. I'm not a mage."
Now Torys was shocked. "I'm sorry, you don't know any magic?" Ronan shook his head. "No, I am incapable of magic. But I do have these-" "Well this is a mage guild, Ronan. I've never heard of someone who can't perform magic joining a mage guild. Perhaps your talents might be more suited to a trade guild." Despite the interruption his expression didn't change, he only patiently waited for Torys to finish speaking. "I had always wanted to join a mage guild, since I was a young boy. I've spent many years cultivating skills to make up for my inability to use magic. I can perform many tasks exceptionally and can defeat monsters or even mages in combat if necessary. Other mage guilds have turned me away but I heard that Fenixtear was not like other guilds."
Torys felt a bit guilty now, but she couldn't just let a non-mage join. Not only would it risk making the guild look bad but it could be putting this man in danger. "You would be correct, we are not like the other mage guilds. But we still are a mage guild, Ronan. You might be put in danger by working with us and I can't accept that in good conscience. I sympathize with you, I truly do, but..." The man looked down at the floor for a moment, his expression as neutral and unchanging as ever yet it could still be seen that he was in thought. "You're right, I apologize for wasting your time. Thank you for your consideration." And just like that he began walking towards the door. Torys watched silently, still taken aback by the whole thing. But when she looked down at Vashya the guilt returned. She was setting a bad example for this girl.
Turning people away is completely counter the point of being a family. If she could turn this man away over danger it would be no different from turning away Vashya, or anyone else really. Being a mage was just dangerous sometimes no matter the ability of the mage. "Wait," Torys spoke up just as Ronan reached the door. "How small-minded of me. Ronan, I believe you could make an excellent addition to our guild." For the first time since he arrived the smallest form of a smile could be seen on the corners of his lips. "Thank you, ma'am. I won't let you down." "Enough of this ma'am thing, you can call me Torys. Now come along, I can give you your guild mark right after I give Vashya here her guild mark." Torys motioned for Vashya and her social worker to follow into her office as she opened the door, revealing a fairly simple room with a desk in the middle with a pile of papers stacked in the middle. Along the walls were various filing cabinets and bookshelves, with the only standout feature being a large safe behind the desk. "If you don't mind waiting a few minutes longer, perhaps the others here can acquaint themselves with you," she told Ronan before closing the door to the office to create some privacy while handling the business side of signing up a new member. Ronan gave a simple nod in acknowledgement to the guild master as the door closed, and only now did he seem to actually look around at the others around the hall.
He approached the bar, near Trinity, and gave the girl a polite nod. "Good morning, my name is Ronan," he greeted, introducing himself formally to Trinity and everyone else nearby. "I hope you all will enjoy working with me in the future."
A plan was coming together for a wonderful experience. The guild getting more foot traffic and jobs and such was starting to really help the cash flow. It could even mean that they'd soon enough have the funding to just hire a cook and waitress rather than the guildmembers themselves being the cooks. Eventually, maybe. They did have a lot of fast jobs and plenty of members. She could always hire out someone if they needed, but if it got to the point she considered hiring someone, she'd certainly be running that by Torys first.
She was startled from her thoughts with the sudden shout of 'steak' from Damian. Blinking, she looked at him with a bit of surprise while he rattled off about cooking a steak dinner after helping clean. The smile spread back onto her face with a soft laugh. "That sounds good. A steak dinner would certainly be appreciated by most everyone, I'm sure. I know I definitely appreciate the help cleaning, and would love to help you cook. If you wouldn't mind getting things organized, I should be able to get the dishes and the oven cleaned."
Ria was almost in the kitchen when she heard Trinity shout out her name. She turned and smiled at the other girl. "I'm fine. Just got back from sparring with Felix. Now I'm going to clean the kitchen and cook up lunch with the help of Damian." She paused for a moment when she finally took in the flustered appearance of her friend. "Is everything okay? You seem flustered" Glancing over her shoulder for a moment, she looked back at Trinity. "Get something to drink and once the kitchen is in order, I'll be back out to chat between taking orders and such. Okay?" With that and an encouraging smile, she turned and headed into the kitchen.
"Right, so if you could just get this all organized..." her voice trailed off as she looked over the unorganized catastrophe that was the counter space from the various ingredients still being splayed about and the charred remnants still haunting the pans. "While I deal with the charred mess that is the pans and oven." She didn't bother waiting to see if Damian set to his task, as she opened the oven and used a torrent of water to start cleaning the charred bits out of it.
Kaden wasn't entirely sure where he was going. He didn't have anywhere to be for hours, and he didn't exactly feel like going back to the guild right now. Maybe in a little bit for food. Maybe. Loathe as he was to admit it, the others in the guild definitely were decent cooks. Better and cheaper than most of the places around the city. Right now, he was still kind of disappointed Damian had cut in on the fight - that was shaping up to be a good work out.
His gaze followed the purple haired girl he'd seen around the guildhall lately as she ducked into an alley. Huh, that was unusual. She seemed like she was a bit panicked, almost like she was...Then he saw some guy duck into the same alley she had. It didn't take much to correct course and enter the alley just as Trinity disappeared up onto the roof. A smug smirk slipped onto his face as his hands disappeared into his pockets. "Tough break, huh?"
"Pfft, I know who she's with. She ain't gettin' away with stealin' our work." The guy scowled at Kaden. "What do you care anyway?"
"Ya know, you're right. I shouldn't. Except - " Kaden shifted his shirt to show the guildmark on his side before dropping his shirt - "She's one of mine. So if you got beef with her, you got beef with me," he said as he started closing the gap between them.
* * *
That shouldn't have been so easy. Really, it was more disappointing than satisfying to beat the guy. At least Salvis and Teague had actual fighting experience. It seemed that guy only had experience in intimidating and beating up defenseless people. Unbecoming, really, but it explains why the guy was looking to go after the fix-it girl instead of take it up with the girl. Intimidation - something Kaden knew a bit about. Maybe now this guy and his guild would think twice about going after one of theirs. If they weren't independent, the repair guys wouldn't mess with them, but then again - they'd have more issues elsewhere.
Still, beating the guy to send that message barely took any time and certainly didn't satisfy his desire to find something to do. With a bit of a sigh, the mage finished wiping the blood from his knuckles and started slowly on his way back to the guild. He wasn't hungry yet, but maybe if he took his time he'd be hungry by the time he got back.
The conversation progressed towards the talk of supplies, which Carver had forgot to mention, but it appears he had thought about it in advance already. REMs and canned food and such, which made sense. On an expedition with only yourselves and a bag, there was no luxury when it came to sustenance. On the road, Reynard had consisted on worse before, so the idea of rations like this were not bad to him. Thanks to his childhood he still had a palate that required something better prepared, but the years since had changed this about him.
"No, I'm not so picky. If food and supplies are already provided, then I am ready to go", his stance changed from crossed arms holding his katana, to at ease as his arms came to his sides, his furrowed brow softening a little as he opened his eyes after contemplation.
"Very well, lead the way Carver", he was ready to follow on as soon as they left.
Well, the facade she put up on her way in was shakey at best, after all, of course Ria saw through it. "Yeah, I'll get a drink. Thanks." It would probably be best to talk about it with someone from the guild, anyway. As much as she really just wished that fatass would disappear, she knew he wouldn't.
Another voice, a greeting and an introduction, brought her out from her thoughts. "Ah, mornin', Ronan. I'm Trinity. I, uh... Damn, it's morning still? I feel a little weird getting a drink, but," she thought about it as she rolled behind the bar, giving a shudder and deciding, yes, she definitely wanted a drink. "Do you want anything while I'm back here?" She found herself a nice Kingdom Stout, strong and malty sweet, and whatever Ronan might have asked for, as she came back around.
Trinity plopped herself into a seat, letting the energy of her Roller Boots dissipate into nothing. She took a little bit if that energy to make the dremel she'd used to free herself earlier, staring at it. Bard's Legerdemain wouldn't have been able to free her from ropes. She should be grateful... She popped the bottle open with the dremel and extended the favor to Ronan before letting the dremel disappear, as well. She didn't need to pour her problems into the newest guild members, so maybe she should make some small talk, "I have a hard time telling who's new or not, but I know I haven't seen you around before. You just joined?" She sipped, taking a moment to savor the flavor of the beer she'd picked out. It was a good one.
