It was good to see Jasmine standing up to the little anger ball of fur that was Rajeh. Penny suppressed a smile, and settled down at a table, Ignatius fluttered around them- clearly not sure whether to help Rajeh or not. Penny gave a small shake of his head, and Ingatius settled slightly. "Well, let's eat and catch up." She said, leaning forward on the table slightly, Ignatius landing on her shouilder. She would never admit it, but she had missed his slight weight, his somewhat comforting presence.
Her gaze moved towards Amelia at her should, and gave a small wave in acknowledgement. She let her gaze fall back to Jasmine and Rajeh, letting them continue their small squabble. Reaching up to give Ignatius a small stroke, she waited patiently. .
Jarvis
Jarvis listened patiently as Trinity spoke, letting her get out all that seemed to be bothering her as she glowered over her drink. He watched her, silent and passive- he had learned that there was some truth to the old 'barman make good listening board' cliche. It did probably help that as long as the guild had been around, Jarvis had been. He shifted, leaning against it slightly as he waited. "You don't need to be powerful to be strong, Trinity." He said softly when it seemed she had finished speaking. He shifted, glancing around the guild before looking back to her.
"often, our limitations aren't a result of our abilities- but of how we see ourselves. You aren't useless, Trinity, and your abilities aren't parlor tricks. We all have our strengths and weaknesses." As for the sword and telepathy... Jarvis could see that that was going to cause quite a few problems. He gave a soft sigh, "don't worry about Jasmine and Rajeh. The way exceeds are... well, its a different type of bond then any I think we have seen. I think the thing we must remember with Exceeds is that they are intelligent beings.... and Rajeh is a bit of a piece of work too." He said, giving Trinity a smile.
He leaned a little bit closer, raising a brow, "Why can't you play? Who is to say it would suck? Trinity... you miss all the shots you don't take... so why not try?" He shifted his gaze to Dalton, "Jamie never left. She's in her office. In a meeting. You know full well I can help with membership, and accommodation." He said, shifting to grab a glass and power the milk, handing it over. He glanced to the girl, standing back up straight. "We have plenty of accommodation here in the guild, if you don't wish to stay here, we have a few properties under the guilds name for members that want their own place."
Michael
Michael ducked his head, unable to help but feel a little embarrassed at his comment, flicking a sheepish look, and a small nod, although he was still concerned about Gabriel. He shifted slightly, and said "Prince means kitten as in you're still growing... you're new... " He tried to explain, a bit lamely.
Michael wasn't too sure he liked this girl or not. She seemed... odd. Which was probably saying something about what he considered to be odd. He bit his lip, before saying "H-hoodlums t-that saved the w-world, with us." He hesitated briefly as Ashlyn turned towards him, staring daggers at him. Squaring his shoulders slightly, he met her gaze, jutting his chin up in slight defiance- although he wasn't entirely sure what she might do.
He shifted awkwardly as she laughed, "I... okay... " was she really that self conscious now, about what he had said. He shook his head, "I... n-no. It j-just come out like that... " He admitted foolishly.
Edarn walked along, her flesh feeling cool against the breeze as she walked toward the forest. Taking off a few tattered remains of the dress and shoes, choosing to walk along the cool grass on bare feet. It was a pretty uneventful walk back home, although her green eyes flicked around as she drew further into the forest. There weren't too many incidents, but one could not help but be careful after all. When she got here, her Earthland counterpart had seemed pretty easy going of possible woodland critters. Since after all he had 'claimed' this part of territory and made sure to mark it every now and then to drive out potential predators. He mentioned that as long as they keep the peace, it all should be fine. What a little woodland boy scout he was. One with nature and all that. Which was all fine and good, until it came to living space at least.
Treading along, she came upon a large tree in the center of a more open clearing with colorful flowers decorating the grass. There were some look like rocks decorating around the tree, though they were actually just blended in structures. She could see some puffs of smoke occasionally pop out of them. At the front of the tree was a sign with the words "Team Toxic Sun Home" with a red button just at the top of it. A metal mailbox with a bit of a messy logo of a purple sun on the lid was attached to the bottom right of the sign. Edarn gave it a glance before reaching down to the ground of the left of the sign, fingers gracing the grass before touching the cold hidden door that was covered in stuck leaves and grass. Pulling the door open, her green eyes looked down at the hole that had small steps with a spiral wooden staircase. Heading down to go below the earth, she pulled the door closed before continue walking down several feet.
Once reaching the bottom of the steps, her hand reached to the back of her neck and cracked it a bit as she walked into the main living room. It wasn't much, but it was better than when she first got here. Dirt tunnels and rooms her Earthland counterpart had dug himself, explaining that he was pretty use to living outside in nature. After Karn had showed her, she asked a few questions. Like what he spent his money on and such. It consisted of sweets and dresses mostly. In which case, Edarn had declared they were going to renovate the place and she would work them into the ground. It was a nice little project to improve the place for everyone here and for any guests, even if her counterpart was fine with the bare minimum. Edarn could as well, but she also didn't see much wrong with improving if one could.
"Hey Time Lizard Boys! We're Home!" Edarn called out a greeting in case Zero and Zenoram were present. Humming a bit as she paused to probe at how Elly was doing, she found him still quite silent. Probably still shook still from the water. With a slight sigh, her fingers rubbed her temples at the pounding migraine and chittering going on in her head. Walking to the fridge, she opened it and pulled out a gallon of milk and poured herself a glass. Hand rummaging around to open a box labeled 'Eddy's Tonic' and pulled out a vial with greenish blue liquid. Pouring it into the milk, she tossed the vial into the sink before drinking the white liquid. Leaning casually against the countertop as she took the time to stand there with barely any clothes in order to drink the milk. Once finished, Edarn washed the dishes and put them away before heading down the end hall to her room.
Edarn wasn't really into using leaves and moss as bedding, so she got them a actual bed. The pelt of Ru was draped over the pillows, her Earthland counterpart still found comfort in cuddling with him during the night. Going to the wardrobe, she got dressed into a shirt and a pair of pants, putting on the white coat and teal scarf. The usual outfit she and her Earthland counterpart went out in. It was nice not walking around in heels and a dress. It was such a pain. Her green eyes glanced toward the right toward the door that led down to the basement, pondering if she wanted to work, but already she could feel herself get drowzy. Huffing, Edarn decided to pass, stretching out as she walked back out into the living room and flopped on one of the couches. Her back hitting the soft furniture with a thud, arms behind her head as her green eyes closed. Soon enough, drifting off into a soft slumber.
Prince let out a soft laugh and gave a nod in response to Michael's little correction. "Correct! I call all newcomers kittens. Even Mikey here, but he's grown up to be a pretty cool cat now. He was quite adorable back then but he's grown quite well here." the red haired man chuckled as he gently ruffled the blue mop of hair as he teased his fellow Guildmate, giving a proud toothy grin as Michael stood his ground as Ashlyn approached.
Turning to Silver Wolf, the tall catman gave a exaggerated gasp as he placed a clawed hand on his bare chest while the other had the tip of his fingers over his mouth. "My My Wolfy didn't think you'd be so eager to teach. Or do your tastes like them young? Hunter dear do take him with you on the job before Wolfy adds another ship to sail for the fans to ogle~" Prince hummed with a teasing smile before tapping his chin thoughtfully, seeming to have to think about the answer over the two other notorious guilds.
"Well I certainly can't deny the truths of those words. Beloved Phoenix Wing is quite a bit, how what one would call a wild card. They don't particularly have a specialty and back then were mostly trying to promote the good of magic to the world. So they do a little bit of everything, from the most simple job to the most deadly one. They are quite.... explosive, and it's easy to say usually never a boring day over there. I enjoy dropping in from time to time. Easily stirred folks they are." Prince chuckled, giving a little wink with his one good eye.
"However, they even sometimes send us requests for a job to hunt down particular ingredients for them. As you guess, mostly only things monsters would have." he explained before pausing as he thought of Wolven Pyre. "Mmmm I don't know too much considering they are mostly a fairly new guild and are rather small in comparison. Still, despite that they have already managed to gain some whisperings around Fiore. They've been around for quite a bit but have opened their doors a few months ago for new members. Witchcraft would be accurate. Members there have rumored to practice Dark Magic, although not in a malevolent manner and believe both Light and Dark magic have the possibility to be good or bad. People are instinctively cautious and doubtful toward them cause of this and rumors of Witchcraft but I hear they tend to draw people who are generally misunderstood thanks to their magic. From what I could gather, they seem friendly enough and who knows, if they were around when I was a kitten I may have strayed to them instead." Prince chuckled softly.
The bright friendly smile never left D'angelo's pudgy face after explaining what he had come here for and would raise his right index finger up next to his head." That's right! A hug though not just any hug but a family hug." He stated confirming Ethel's question while her blank expression and tone of disbelief; a reasonable reaction as hardly anyone would go traveling months over such long distances just to give a cousin a hug though by now had been shown to be quite clear D'angelo was far from normal.
A chubby young adult that constantly kept a dazzling smile even after being drenched by a floating cloud or outright brushing off having his life threatened off as some playful joke of which he still found himself chuckling a bit to it.
" No? Not even a mention or side comment? Or talking about me in his sleep? Does he even talk in his sleep for that matter?" A pondering look on his face as his finger was rubbing against the underside of his chin in a musing manner. After a few seconds he gave a shrug of the shoulders." Ah well. I'm sure he's been dealing with his own stuff to worry about a cousin he hasn't seen in a decade." A dismissive wave of the hand showing he wasn't mad or bothered by it at all; only thing that mattered was that Nolan was both alive and happy with a girlfriend and long as he could catch up and re-connect then he was happy.
Hearing Ethel speak up again and ceased his musing and turned his attention back onto the smol hooded blue haired girl. He leaned forward and a bit down so he was leveled with her and gave a double thumbs up." Sounds like a plan and much appreciated. I'll try to make myself look harmless as possible..maybe something like? " Taking a deep breath and puffing out his cheeks and made his eyes go wide trying to do a cutesy puppy look then exhaled letting out a playful toothy chuckle.
He saw Ethel beginning to lead the way and started to turn himself but then stopped and held up his arms." Wait! I almost forgot! I made sure to come here prepared with a speech for the long awaited reunion and one I'm quite proud of." Nodding with a rather proud grin on his round face as his left hand fumbled in the pocket to procure a small stack of cue cards and held them up." I spent a many h-"
Squish!
Feeling a wet squishy sensation causing his head to shoot down to his hand to see the cards had been reduced to a soaked mush from Nimbus soaking him." Noooooo! I spent days this speech...it was going to be emotional and heartfelt with tearjerking stories!" Holding the balled up fist sniffling picturing all the tear felt hugging and clapping this work of art speech of his would of wrought as he stared off into space for a few seconds, his face blank....
"....oh well. Plan B: Deep emotional filled bear hug it is." Crumpling the ruined damp cards into a ball and tossed it over his shoulders having already moved on.
And in following Ethel he would receive quite the unexpected and exciting sight upon reaching the pair. Seeing Nolan whose face was blushing like a tomato with an especially cute white haired dark skinned girl leaning close to him in a flirty way having him guess her to be the esteemed Ariel.
He might of just gone straight to introducing himself to the two until he took notice of the fluffy ears twitching atop her head and all those super fluffy tails swaying and unintentionally enticing everyone with their soft floof. His eyes going wide with wonder and his mouth falling agape in an oooohing O at seeing such fluffy adorableness and as if it wasn't already cute as is to then see the blank and intensely serious Ethel gushing like an excited giggling child while nuzzling them. How jealous he was of the small girl who had just threatened him; wishing he could go hugging those tails too but even he knew his cousin wouldn't want a supposed stranger hugging or touching his girlfriend and even more so considering his clothes were still wet, even if he wanted to roll in those fluffy tails so badly. Plus, he definitely didn't want to make a bad first impression and be disliked but Ariel.
And so he found himself biting at his tongue to with his body trembling in place and breath being held. In doing so ended up making himself look like he was holding in a need to use the bathroom until he turned around to have his back to them where he exhaled loudly then inhaled slowly.* Come on! You can do this! Focus..stay focused..do not hug your cousin's gorgeous lady or her tails....ugh I really wished I had known beforehand. I would of brought a gift for the couple!* Tapping at his forehead nervously as he thought and muttered to himself, disappointed he didn't have anything to give but then he snapped his fingers as an idea came to mind.
A bit of hand rubbing and hand waving and clicking of the tongue then half a minute later he turned around to be shown holding a large cloudy bouquet with an assortment of flowers. He bent his body forward extending the bouquet out to Ariel, the cloud bouquet while lacking the sweet flowery scent would be warm and fluffy to hold, made possible thanks to his magic." For the lovely Ariel! It is a great honor to meet you." He exclaimed in an excited and nervous tone with his upper body still pent forward hiding his smiling nervous face hoping he was doing this right and making a good first impression.
Once the flowers were taken he would spring back up into a standing position." I'm extremely happy to meet the both of you!" Unable to keep himself from talking in a loud mixture of nervous and happy tone with a light blush on his face. All the times playing meeting Nolan in his head ended up useless in the end and Ariel's presence made this reunion all the more thrilling and difficult.
Holding his breath once more out of fear that he might lose himself and try to hug his possible cousin-to be one day as well or start babbling out questions and gushing. So much warm and positive emotions and thoughts swirled and bubbled to the boiling point with so much excitement hitting him with all these stimulation was about to have him explode.
Tired of holding himself back and waiting having done more than plenty these past ten years for this moment he never thought would come. Letting his breath pop out of his mouth as he shot his arms out forward in Nolan's direction." HUG ME CUZ!"
Without warning, the heavyset D'angelo all but leaped at Nolan wrapping his arms around his cousin and with surprising strength lifted him up until his feet were off the ground. Nolan soon found himself pulled against his wet shirt covered chest in the deepest bear hug he could possibly give flooding all his emotions and happiness into this long awaited and much needed hug.
She was being quite coy with Nolan. Standing there being all cute she could see it was working. And then he said the quiet part out loud and her eyes widened for a second before she smiled and there was a sparkle in her eyes. The slightly devious expression was a flash in the pan though as she just looked happy and the tails waved excitedly. "Aww, you're so sweet." Taking a couple steps to be right up against him she leaned up and whispered seductively in one ear. "I'll never forget." This woman was trying to kill him. If it had been any other woman it very well might have. Whatever personality this magic had seemed to have emboldened the woman beyond caring about her usual boundaries.
The god slayer was saved by two individuals, Ethel and D'angelo. Ariel and Ethel shared a special connection and the two shifters were like sisters. So when the girl dove into the mass of tails she took a step back from Nolan and hugged the giddy girl. "Hello Ethel. It happened just now. It came from a little Kitsune girl, she went..." Stopping it occurred to her that she missed where she went because of the transformation. Taking a quick look it wasn't hard to spot her over at the bar. She also spotted Trinity which reminded her that she'd specifically brought something to show her.
Ariel was about to mention stepping away when a pudgy young man approached and in a very gentlemanly manner handed her a cloudy bouquet. Not one to be rude, especially to one make such an effort to be charming, she accepted it. Her enhanced senses picked up that it didn't have a scent right away. Still she made the effort to hold them close and pretend to smell them none the less entirely aware it would be cute. "Why thank you sir. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Tilting her head curiously like a fox or dog her ears twitched as she watched the man give Nolan a big hug. Anyone who knew Nolan would never do such a think unless they had a death wish. He did say something specifically just before doing so though. "Cuz?" Was this more Nolan's family.
When Markovis laid his hand on top of her head, Trinity closed her eyes and leaned just a little into his touch. She took a deep breath and thought about what he told her. He was right, of course. Though the words weren't exactly comforting, having someone like Markovis trying to comfort her was perhaps more so than the words themselves would have been.
He was right. She should be more focused on what's in front of her. What she was looking into the past so hard for lay in the future, after all. Neil was working really hard to see to that, and both she and Markovis worked really hard to support his research. Between the three of them, they could surely accomplish whatever they needed. It wasn't like she couldn't pull her own weight on jobs, either. There were plenty of times she sensed something magic they couldn't, and Niel's Second Winds meant Markovis didn't need to do all the heavy lifting.
Markovis took his hand away, causing Trinity to rouse from the relaxation she'd been getting, "hmm?" He was going to cook something? So suddenly… she'd picked herself up a bit to watch him go around the counter, disappointed that she wasn't being rubbed anymore. That made it easy for Neil to get in her field of vision and draw her eyes. He flattered her and built her up, but there was one thing that bothered her in what he said. It wasn't his fault, but...
One year for one step closer? She knew he wasn't exaggerating, either. Progress was slow, meticulous, obscure. She couldn't blame him for it, but that didn't change the fact that, while they were spending all this time trying to get her recovered…
She found herself staring hard into what was left of her drink. Snapping out of her head, she downed the rest of it before smiling at her teammate. Her friend. She chuckled softly, "c'mon, Niel, you know music's not a competition. You and Mark, jeez."
If she daudled much longer, she'd just have to get her friends involved.
Jarvis was the next to bring her out from her gloom. She listened patiently, and shook her head softly as he finished, "it's not that I can't play anymore, I just… Big band needs more instruments than I can play right now. I could drink a wind, but it won't last me. I can only do three… probably only two right now, cause I- oh, yeah" a thought occurred to her, and she started to get up onto her knees on the stool, so she could get closer to Neil's height, "hey. Come here." Trinity motioned for Niel to lean in closer. As he did, she caught his head tenderly in her hands and pressed her forehead to his, closing her eyes to better concentrate and feel out what she was doing. She let out a frustrated grunt and quickly sipped another small portion of the Second Wind potion from earlier. "Sorry, here we go," she took a breath and came back in, to touch foreheads again. Carefully, tenderly, she copied what she'd formed around her own mind for him. She'd have a difficult time explaining to someone what she was doing, exactly, to form the barrier. It had been such a reflex, before...
She leaned back when done, sighing softly and moving one hand to the bar. She smiled at Neil sweetly as she sat back down. Her other hand moved to his shoulder as she did, "there. I made an Energy Make barrier when I noticed her sword in my mind. I made you one, too. I can only hold it for so long a distance, though. I'm not really sure what my range is, anymore, either."
Their words echoed back to her. Look what she just did, after all. She sighed into a chuckle, "you guys are right. It's not like me to feel inadequate like this." But... it still felt like something was missing. That would not mend until Niel found the answers.
Someone had addressed Jarvis from the other side of Neil, something about joining and living in the wilderness. What was with these guys and just roughin' it? "Ah, hey, if you're going to insist on that, I can show- y..o..u..." what was this fluffiness? She continued slowly, "to a friend's place…" Well, Prince was a cat, wasn't he? "Ah, he's claimed territory in the East Woods. His name's Karn. If you're going to insist on staying in the wilderness, please be cautious, stay with him." Her eyes had gone from the girl's ears and were now following Nyssa's tails.
A voice beside her said something about a drinking buddy. Somewhere in her mind, a voice suggested Mark, but fluffy fox tails. The best kind of fluffy tail. They're so bushy and thick, and foxes are so cute! All their different coats and patterns. She wondered how soft the fur was, she'd never really had the chance to pet one... Except if she asked Karn to.
"You're killing me here." He muttered to himself. There were rules that Ariel had set up for their relationship, specifically to not get swept up in her Charm and Crystal forms since their personalities have a chance to have the two of them get swept up in a moment that she did not intend to happen. Nolan, being the good boyfriend that he was, respected this rule even when it was obvious that it was agony for him though this form was actively trying to kill him. His face was flushed from his cheeks to the tips of his ears while he felt her breath against his ears. The form itself was certainly stimulating, but this personality was absolutely lethal.
Ethel came in to save the day, along with some large person that she brought with her before diving into the mass of fluff that were Ariel's tails. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention to the very chubby man with two dots for eyes, who was trembling in place while his line of sight fell upon Ariel. Was this an overly excited fan of hers? And why the hell was this guy drenched? Nolan glared at the strange man, but he had turned around so he probably wouldn't have noticed the daggers coming from the God Slayer's eyes.
Then the man turned around with a bouquet of... cloud flowers? So this guy was a mage. Well, Nolan didn't like another guy giving her gifts, but he was just going to have to bear it until it was over. Still, this guy said something quite odd. Both of them? This guy was here for him too? "Uh, can I help y-? URK!" The air out of Nolan's lungs was squeezed out in a surprisingly tight bear hug as he was lifted him off his feet. "Let go of me!"
Nolan was able to pull his arms out of the hug and he pulled himself up so that they were able to look each other in the eyes before he pulled his head back and slammed his forehead against the man's. One way or another he had gotten out of that grasp and gasped for air. "Who the hell are you calling cuz? I am not... your..." Nolan trailed off as he looked at the man. "D'angelo?"
"...Ya must be a real big hit at parties." Dalton said after listening to Nyssa's ever cheerful story about death when hypothesizing what would happen if the flames at the tips of his tails were snuffed out. He didn't even pay attention to her playing with the fire though she really should be careful at not taking the words of others at face value. For all she know, she could have burnt her hand if he was lying.
Eh, not his problem. The Exceed gulped down a portion of the glass and was left with a milk mustache."Yeah, but someone has to keep an eye on some of these crazies." He motioned to Nolan headbutting D'angelo. "See?"
Now this was an amusing sight; Trinity was, like everyone else, captivated by those fluffy, bushy tails of Nyssa's. What was even funnier was her suggesting the kitsune lived with Karn. Now that sounded like a chaotic duo, but he was living for it.
The oni squinted at Prince before shaking his head, chuckling. There was no point in holding a grudge over the living embodiment of flirtation and double entendre. His large hand ruffled Keiko's hair though with the size of his hand he may have turned into a knotted mess. "It's fine, just make sure you think before you speak, and don't worry, I'll be back safely. There aren't many monsters that can keep up with me." He flexed a muscular arm to make a point and put the girl's mind at ease.
"Oh come on Hunter, there's nothing wrong with some friendly banter." Enma said in jest though he would not have minded throwing down for a pre-mission warm up. Well, maybe it would have been the case if Ash decided not bring up his lack of sea legs. "Don't lump me with you, hydrophobe. Sea sickness is very common. I bet you haven't showered since yesterday." He said that last bit jokingly, not knowing that he was actually on the money with that.
At Keiko's questions, everyone seemed to be quite eager to inform her about the other two major guilds of Fiore. The oni chuckled at the mention of Phoenix Wing and chimed in. "That guild is filled with some real crazies, but you could say that there are members of that guild that had reached a celebrity status. I like going down to see a few friends of mine there. If you're gonna ask me about Wolven Pyre, I ain't got a clue about them other that they are witches and are more used to the occult. I thought about joining them, but this is a better fit."
His eyes wandered a second time over Xing's entire form, once she had told him her age.
"17? So you are a child after all, but also a pugilist? So the outfit is a mixture of practicality and tradition. Fair enough." The finely dressed man said in a ponderous manner, while cupping his own chin, his thumb under it and the index finger tapping his lips. He did have some questions, but after hearing her words she seemed to answer most of them. Such as why she had approached him, a chef in need of a critic?
"I wouldn't go as far as calling myself a food critic, but if the food or cake is flawed, one should point out the errors so that the baker can improve. I am not familiar with this Crocus you speak of, come to think of it though. It does sound like the name of a flower." Galdin said calmly towards Xing, before taking a soft breath to continue. "I am not an actor, but I find plays to be amusing at times. I am currently unemployed." The man explained after a slight bit of pondering, I mean it wasn't a lie. He didn't techincally have a work to go to, and being a noble was hardly a way of work. Or so he thought.
"So you are a practical, traditionalistic child chef? What's your name? No, allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Galdin Frayheart, I am a traveller from a distant area." He said, having risen up from his seat to offer a courteus bow in greeting. That he was a traveller and from a distant area wasn't a lie neither, his home was quite a distance away and he was out travelling from his home, his home which he saw as little more than a prison.
A content sigh escaped the blonde as she sat down beside, reaching down to rub at her aching calves. "It feels so good to be back after being nonstop on the road the last five days...especially since I uh can't really do transport anymore." A sheepish grin overcame Jasmine as she spoke, leaning back into her seat as the raging ball of fur that was Rajah seemed to have settled down....well as settled down as Rajah got.
"Heh, it seems like you've been lacking in your training if such a mere trek as such was enough to tire you so much. Tsk tsk tsk, what would the savage monkeys think if they saw you like this?" Standing in front of the two mages, arms crossed over her chest, was a smirking Rajah before she sighed and shook her head.
"I-I wouldn't be so tired if you hadn't wasted two days in Hargeon you know..."
"Heh, that was also part of your training."
".....Anyway, uh, so Penny." Taking a deep breath, Jasmine looked away from the triumphant looking exceed laughing like a rich girl right out of a shoujo manga, and decided to change the subject. "W-what did you and Damian get up to? Ooh, and did you guys get to see any cool-looking or rare magic? I want to hear all about your travels!"
Just the thought of what the S-class duo may have encountered got her mind racing, excitedly clasping Penny's hands as she looked at the older mage with starry expectant eyes.
Completely unaware of how she had saved Nolan, Ethel continued to simply nuzzle against the soft fur until Ariel moved to embrace her, to which Ethel returned the hug. Though she didn't stop rubbing the tail against her face, that was just asking too much. "Kitsune? What's a kitsune?" Momentarialy confused, she tilted her head as she looked up at the older girl. Though a realisation struck her.
Ariel got this form from this 'Kitsune' girl. Now she had fluffy tails. That means if Ariel gained this fluffy form from her due to Ariel's magic absorption, pi equalled 3.14159265..., the square root of 16 was 4 and every action has a positive and negative reaction....then that meant this other girl was also super fluffy! Visible excitement began to break out on Ethel as she found this rising sensation impossible to hold back now. Just D'angelo alone was enough to drive her over, let alone the buzz in the room and her own excitement levels.
Now, Ethel did feel an overwhelming desire to go find said other fluffy tailed individual. Was she as fluffy as Ariel? Fluffier? More tails, less? Those were questions which floated in his currently scrambled mind. However, in saying all that, why go looking for fluff, when she already had some right here? She could look later for the...uh 'kitsune' was it? Ethel was so caught up in her own rapidly moving train of various thoughts that she wouldn't have even noticed if Ariel had started leaving, though she also hadn't let go of the older mage yet so would probably have just ended up either being dragged or carried away while spaced out.
She also didn't notice D'angelo handing Ariel the cloud bouquet, only finally snapped out of her fluff induced giddy daze at the loud, revibrating noise of Nolan's headbutt that no doubt floored poor D'angelo. Blinking, she looked up from the three tails that she had gathered and was smothering herself with at this point, tilting her head.
"D'angelo? Oh right I...." She had never actually asked the pudgy mans name, had she? In hindsight, she probably should've. "So, he really is Nolans cousin? Ethel thought he was just a delusional weirdo making absurd claims."
Jarvis repeated the same sentiments. It was always good to know he didn't just sound like he was pandering. Of course, then again, he couldn't blame someone for thinking he was pandering to the hottest member of their little team; for someone in Trinity's position, it was understandable to be depressed about everything. But that was the point of their work together. That was the reason he'd managed to invent Second Wind in the first place, and the main target of his brainstorming recently. She'd get back up to power - and be giving Markovis a run for his money - in no time.
Neil listened to Trinity, but was still caught off guard when she suddenly shifted to be closer in height with him. He shrugged lightly, leaning forward to make up the difference. Sure, it was a bit of a surprise when Trinity grabbed his face; he didn't realize what she was going for until she finished off the Second Wind she'd nursed this morning and touched their foreheads together. Feeling a barrier go up in his mind was odd but less intrusive than the first time he'd felt the other presence in his thoughts. Considering he had avoided getting within twenty feet of the sword since that first time, it had slipped his mind to warn Trinity about it. The fact Mark didn't seem to be bothered by it slipped his mind too - then again, Mark wasn't bothered by most things so there was no surprise there.
"Thanks. Don't push yourself too hard in trying to help me keep a telepath out. Though, ya know, sorry I didn't warn you beforehand. I thought maybe I had but that could have been back when she joined the guild and I don't even remember when that was." That should have been something he remembered and mentioned and now he felt awful for neglecting to remind his teammate of that fact. Well, now she knew and perhaps she would at least remember without him having to try to remember to remind her.
Then the woman that shared bodies with Percy approached them. Looking for Markovis? To say he was confused was an understatement. He could name on one hand all the people that ever looked for Markovis. Or, rather, Markovis would like to know were looking for him. Interesting. Perhaps his friend wouldn't mind too much.
When Trinity's gaze carried past him, Neil turned his attention over his shoulder. It was meant to be just a glance, but the man ended up doing a double take upon seeing the amount of fluff just beyond the Exceed delinquent - or at least that was the personality Dalton tried to exude. The fact the girl beside him seemed too bright eyed and - both literally and metaphorically - bushy tailed, he doubted Dalton had been told he had to accompany her. It took a few blinks before Neil managed to stop looking like he was gawking just like Trinity beside him.
The look melted away to a more friendly smile. "What she also means to say is hi, this -" he motioned to Trinity - "is Trinity." He dropped his hand. "I'm Neil."
His attention turned back to Elena. "Markovis is busy at the moment and likely wouldn't want to be interrupted. He'll be back around soon enough though. What job is it you were looking at? I know he's been eyeing one or two for Smokin' Bottle."
Location: Phoenix Wing Guildhall
Interactions: Dalton @hatakekuro, Jarvis, Trinity, & Neil
Nyssa's tails swished as she listened. One rested on her lap, and she idly brushed her fingers through the fur. Her ear twitched at the bit of ruckus that happened back toward the door but for the most part - especially because the music was done - it was easier to focus on what the people she was talking to actually said. Like that there were places around town and here. "Oh, well, I suppose if I need to sleep inside somewhere, here is better than on my own. But I have not actually spent a night in a town since coming to the mainland."
Her ear flicked a bit toward Trinity. Oh, but someone had offered to show her to a place someone they knew lived. As long as the other person was okay with someone new potentially coming into his territory, then that was probably best. The kitsune turned to face the other girl, grinning with delight at the offer. "I would be thrilled to meet another that enjoys sleeping outside the bustle of such big vill- erm - cities. Living out in the forests is not much of a concern, personally, but I do very much prefer groups. So if you think he would not mind - that would certainly be preferred. Thank you very much."
When the man beside the purple haired girl spoke, she giggled lightly. "It is nice to meet you both - Trinity and Neil. My name is Nyssa. I look forward to meeting this Karn person, too." The girl turned back to the man behind the counter. Jarvis, that was how they had addressed him. He was the one she needed to pay attention to right now, wasn't he? Wouldn't do to go making arrangements to live with a guild member if she wasn't part of the guild. "But before I go off to meet someone or really settle into accommodations with the guild, I should join, yes? What do I need to do to join?"
The world melted away around him as the only thing D'angelo could sense or feel was the presence of Nolan being hugged against him and his damp shirt. A very familiar and warm presence that let him know this man was indeed his cousin he thought to be dead all these years as the worries of this ending up a case of mistaken identity was crushed much like the person unfortunately trapped within his bear hug.
He failed to notice Nolan's discomfort and frustration at suddenly getting hugged as the chubby cloud mage was overwhelmed with happiness and relief. And on his pudgy face, the biggest and happiest smile as he wanted to let out an elated giddy laugh to let his doubts pour away much like the rain his cloud companion drenched him with.
His mind whirled with questions and stories and so much more he thought to never get a chance to say were now possible. And to come here and find him surrounded by friends and happy with a girlfriend very nearly brought him to tears for the first time in over a decade but for this very moment he wanted nothing more than to just enjoy hugging his once best and dear friend.
A moment that proved to be fleeting indeed for when he felt Nolan's hands rest on and grip at his shoulders which prompted him to lift his head to look up into his cousin's bespectacled eyes.
Then things briefly went black for him upon suddenly receiving a headbutt smash against his forehead. With the blow taking the unprepared D'angelo off-guard, his grip was easily broken as his larger somewhat heavyset body was flung downward where it slammed hard against the hardwood floor with a thumping crack though his body would end up bouncing up a bit before settling back onto the floor.
His body lie there unmoving; at least for a few seconds before he gasped out followed by a delighted laugh as his right hand shot up to his now redden forehead." Holy cow! You really are strong!" A wide toothy grin forming as he showed to be mostly unfazed save but for the red spot on his forehead and a minor lightheaded buzzing even though he took a strike that likely would of knocked out a normal person.
He placed his hands on his hips while still remaining on the floor after hearing the confused Nolan questioningly state his name." Ah hah! So you do remember me! And here I thought I had been forgotten." He exclaimed with a Clap of the hands in victory then folded his arms across his chest with an confirming nod causing the back of his head to lightly thump against the partially cracked floorboards beneath him." And that was one solid headbutt you gave there, Cuz. I give a solid 8 out of ten!" Lifting his arms up to give a double thumbs up while snickering to himself.
Tilting his head back to look upside down up at Ethel who was still buried in Ariel's tails after hearing her accuse him making absurd claims of which he huffed his nose too. In a movement surprisingly agile for a man of his size and weight, D'angelo had sprung up onto his feet in a spinning motion to point a finger at the hooded girl." Excuse you, miss Ethel. This weirdo takes offense to such accusations. Am I delusional? Unless that leprechaun sitting on Ethel's head isn't real then maybe and I take being called a weirdo as a compliment thank you very much, but if there is one thing I refuse to accept and that is being considered a liar!" Wagging his right finger with a tsk tsk of the tongue.
He then slid over to wrap an arm around Nolan's Shoulder to hug him to his side till they were next to each other." I would never dare to claim falsely to be related to such a great man like Nolan Waltz of which I am honored and privileged to be cousins with." A partially serious expression on his face as he stated such before returning to his happy goofy expression as he pushed his head close to Nolan's." Besides, just look at the two of us. Like looking at a mirror! Well except Cuz got all the looks considering this lucky fella got himself such a lovely woman like Miss Ariel here. Also, again very delighted to meet you."
A flair wave of the hand as he bowed his upper body with the hand on Nolan's shoulder helping to keep him from falling over." I am D'angelo Schultz, cousin of Nolan." Speaking in a playful formal tone before standing back up laughing." And it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Turning his head to the side with an exhaling scoff." But man..talk about a surprise this turned out to be. Never could of imagined my cuz to grow up to be quite the lady killer, eh?" Pulling the hand from Nolan's shoulder to do a light playful bout of punching on his cousin's shoulder while chuckling.
Watching the spectacle of D'angelo being slammed to the ground caused a flinch from Ariel. Her worries of injury seemed unfounded though as the man just headbutt by her boyfriend seemed unharmed, nay, unfazed by the impact. Seemed Nolan wasn't the only resilient one in the family. After all was said the woman gave another mischievous smile. "I think it's the ladies that are the killers with Nolan. I just broke him. Maybe I'll tell you that story some time. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about though and I have show this to Trinity so I'll leave you two to catch up." Raising a hand she drummed her now clawed hand against the case she was carrying while she narrowed her eyes.
Then she perked back up in a flash. "Toodles!" A word she never uses escaping her lips. Before anyone could object the bouquet was tossed into Ethel's arms, the girl still wrapped up in a few tails, and Ariel bounded away with her little sister in tow.
There were a lot of people around that normally would be quite a distraction. At the moment though there was a mission to do. Well, not so much mission as there was something that had been brought along specifically for the benefit of Trinity and her work...hopefully. Under most circumstances Ariel would wait or try and gain her guildmate's attention. That was not this Ariel. She was bold, brash, and might be trying to give someone a heart attack. Marching right up to the bar she called out. "Trinity, I need to show you something!" In one swift move she jammed a foot against the legs of the stool which caused it to shift forward out from under the Energy mage. Before she could figure out what was happening, Trinity found herself falling backward out of her seat only to be caught by Ariel. "Oh yeah, and I think there's an event going on. But this thing first." Whirling around somehow avoiding hitting everyone with floofy tails the three of them, Ethel, Trinity, and Ariel, were headed to the doors of the guild hall.
In the complete insanity that was just a few moment, as Trinity would regain her bearings, she would find herself being carried by a fox eared and many tailed Ariel. Somewhere in all of it she might get a glimpse of Ethel from time to time. "Check this out." She placed the case in her guildmate's arms while she carried her. "This has Machina magic in it. My mom uses these to make all kinds of contraptions. She said if I use it then maybe I can help you make things too. Cool huh?" This whole time she seemed entirely oblivious to any disruption she may have caused or how Trinity was reacting in the moment.
"Charmed." Trinity finally tore her eyes away from the waggling floof, focusing in on Nyssa's face. All that fluff made her really adorable, but she shouldn't stare. The girl had questions, and it would be rude to ignore her in favor of her cute fluffy fox tails. Or her fuzzy ears. Right, focus.
She wanted to be sure to join before she left, very sensible. "Well, if you want to join, I suppose the most important thing," Trinity reached up and undid a couple buttons so she could pull the left side of her shirt down, to show her mark, or enough of it, anyway, "would be to get one of th- ESE!"
It was a good thing she wasn't holding a drink. But she was holding the left half of her shirt. As the stool was kicked out from under her, her body reacted and she ended up pulling her shirt a little more open than she intended. She was expecting to hit the floor, but instead, find herself cradled in someone's arms. Markovis was in the kitchen, Neil had been sitting next to her, so who? "Ariel?" And here she was with her shirt open. Luckily, there were a number of big fluffy tails in her reach, so she latched onto one and hugged it to her chest. Wait a minute, the feeling of Mana following through this fluff, there was an underlying familiarity. It was Ariel? Ariel had tails now? She found herself nuzzling into the fur, her shirt forgotten.
It was a whirlwind and then she was outside, still in Ariel's arms. She'd made herself comfortable, nestled in and focused on the fluffy tails around her and the one she'd gathered up earlier. With the sunlight on her, she made and started to comb Ariel's fur - Ariel had fur now! Temporarily? - before a box was placed on her.
She blinked a few times as her mind changed gears, before taking the box in her hands and looking it over, "Machina Magic?" Help her build things? She remembered the guildmates she was supposed to be helping with their.. unique body situations. There were a lot of complicated things that would go into a body, and she needed practice. "Yes, having a hand for the more complex things would be good... But I'm not familiar with Machina Magic." It must have been in the case so that Ariel didn't interact with it accidentally. Trinity could feel the magic leaking through the creases... It always seemed like such a jarring experience for Ariel, whenever she got a new magic; she remembered that much from seeing it a few times. She'd leave it shut for now.
"I'll bring it back to my shop, we can open it when you come by later." Her hand found the comb she made earlier, going back to tending Ariel's fluffy tail. "Is there more you can tell me about the magic? It's, what, a construction type? Is it like... Make, but with machines? Hmm... Even if we made a body, I'll still need to be able to fit a soul into something... Probably a lacrima. And then there's the matter of the transfer..." She'd need to get her power back before she'd risk touching someone's soul, let alone trying to relocate it. She could always ask Jarvis about the appropriate lacrima...
Jamie’s Office, Phoenix Wing Guild Hall | Magnolia Interacting with: Jamie Beltras @MarshiestMallow | Jack Goran @Zarkun
Priscilla graciously accepted Jack’s generous offerings of a select few jobs from his own guild. Sitting back in her chair, she bowed her head to her fellow master before turning her attention back to Jamie. Her words stirred something within her, prompting a warm smile. “Jamie and Jack,” She began, narrowly suppressing a joyful tear, “you cannot begin to imagine how much your kindness has touched me. Rest assured, my kind are not wont to squander a gift such as this. We will soon return the favor; to both of you.” The requests were not much at first glance, but it was a start. The rewards were enticing enough to keep her guild happy for now, and surely if they performed well these clients would secure more work for them across the land. A handful of Fiore’s citizens were already beginning to see the benefits those who walked betwixt light and shadow could provide - Wolven Pyre only needed time to grow in infamy throughout the nation.
The talk of a communal job board further piqued her interest; the idea of their guild mages working together on a unified front to complete requests around Fiore with much more efficiency than ever before was most welcome. Though Jack’s comment about embracing innovative technology brought an uneasy look upon the witch’s face. “I’ll be the first to admit that technology and myself are not great friends, but I am willing to learn.” The Daughters of Hecate had little need for machinery, the natural energy residing throughout the Silverbranch Glade was enough to fuel their various bewitchments throughout their home. Everything from lightning to plumbing and heat was the byproduct of a magical enchantment that had been maintained throughout their home for generations. It was only recently with the advent of new wizards joining them that Priscilla had saw fit to invest in some newer equipment like radio and communication lacrima - though she still preferred the old ways.
“Oh, that reminds me!” Speaking of the old ways, Priscilla reached into her robes and removed a pair of matching black candles. Runic engravings lined the sides, emanating with a faint power that resonated with Priscilla’s own magical presence. “These are for you.” She handed a candle to each of her fellow masters. “Somewhat primitive compared to your devices, but should you ever need my assistance you need only light your candle and speak your message into the flame. A gift, as a token of our newfound alliance.” It would be best if the masters could easily keep in contact, and this was Priscilla’s preferred method. The Unyielding Flame of Hecate linked directly to the enchanted candles; the torch rarely leaving her side. A direct line of communication was the safest bet, afterall.
Bullet, Henri Baptiste and Meredith Clagnan
Wolven Pyre Guild Hall | Silverbranch Glade Interacting with: | Manami Fuyu and Shiro @Lunarlord34 | Argus Leandros @Raijinslayer
The gathering at the bar had grown somewhat in size, with almost every stool now hosting a patron. Meredith buzzed around behind the counter, preparing her signature tea blend tailored to the tastes of her guild mates. Surely enough, each patron had a steaming cup of tea in front of them. Except Bullet, who instead received a tall, chilled glass of pop. The young man voraciously downed the contents without so much as an afterthought, prompting an annoyed huff from the server. “It is customary to thank someone when you are given a treat - free of charge, I might add.” Meredith watched him shrink into his seat, glancing away whilst tucking his chin down to his chest in a vain attempt to hide the vermillion flush spread across his cheeks. “Thanks.” He mumbled, barely louder than a whisper. It was good enough for her; or rather about all she would expect from him.
Henri nodded towards Meredith when his own cup was placed in front of him, turning to Manami with a coy smirk at her own little teasing. “I ‘adn’t noticed ‘ow much attention you’ve been paying to our little chats, madame.” Henri ran his fingers through his hair and leaned in closer so that only Manami could hear him. “If I didn’t know any better I’d even say you fancied the- ow! Bon Dieu!” The shout of pain caught a few people around the hall off guard, Henri springing to his feet at the sudden, intense burning that resulted from scalding hot tea being poured on his leg. Bullet piqued up at the sound before snorting a ridiculing chuckle. “Aw, looks like someone’s jealous.” He snickered at the little act of aggression. Shiro didn’t seem the sort to be so high strung, but even a saint will lose their cool if you know just the right buttons to press. Meredith clicked her tongue in disapproval, handing a rag over to the counter to help soak up the now warming tea from his trousers. She shot an irritated glare at Shiro. “You and your lady will need to get your refreshments elsewhere if you insist on engaging in such childish tomfoolery.” She glanced back at Henri to see he had managed to clean himself up, but the pained look on his face made it evident that the burn still stung somewhat. Rather than bother anyone over something he deemed so trivial, Henri simply grinned and beared it whilst returning to his seat. This time he leaned across the counter to have a word with his assailant. “You know,” He began, an eerily pleasant smile stretched across his face from ear to ear. “A lesser witch wouldn’t think twice about returning the favor to the poor fool who scorned them. ‘Ave you ever been ‘exed, Shiro? I think you will find the experience quite… dismal.” “Let it go, big guy” Meredith warned. Henri sat back up straight and lifted his hands up before him in compliance. “It is good that I am no lesser witch, no?” He winked at her, deciding to leave the matter to rest. For now. A hex would definitely be going too far, but he’d find some way to enact vengeance in time.
Argus’ comment regarding the state of Henri’s trousers prompted him to look down to assess the damage. Sure enough, it seemed like a small patch of discoloration was beginning to stain into the fabric. Damn. He liked these pants. “Eh, nothing a little elbow grease won’t be able to get out.” He assured Argus, taking note of the young man’s attempts to hide the stinging handprint from the new arrivals. Hopefully he found some solace in not being the only man that was on the receiving end of a woman’s fury today. “As for that woman, I cannot say.” He rubbed the stubble on his chin, perhaps wondering if they should have been a bit more cautious of a stranger in their midst. “Bah, Zhulie is a clever fille. If she trusts ‘er then there is no worries ‘ere.'' Meredith didn’t agree with that sentiment, but she was confident that Regan wouldn’t try anything if she did have malicious intent. She was surrounded by many skilled witches and mages afterall.
“God, what’s taking the food so long? I’m dying here!” Bullet proclaimed, standing up from his seat and making his way towards the kitchen.
Zhulie hung upon every word that came from Regan’s mouth, followed every instruction with an elated enthusiasm and was overall thrilled to be participating in some baking with her newfound companion. The dish in question was something Zhulie had heard of but never had the luxury of tasting - a souffle. She had read about the curious delicacy before, described to be a finicky treat that was so light and fluffy that even the slightest of disturbances would cause it to deflate. Olga directed her staff with a tone of urgency as they bustled about the kitchen, yet even she found herself catching glimpses of Regan's handiwork. Every so often she would inquire about certain techniques or offer some advice. Not that it was needed; Regan seemed quite at home in a kitchen.
“How long does it need to bake, Miss Regan?” Zhulie had watched the older woman place the dessert into the oven. Her excitement was evident by the way she crouched right beside the hearth and longingly gazed through the glass. “Watched kettle does not boil little one.” Olga’s warm expression whilst addressing Zhulie quickly turned sour as her nose wrinkled with the stench of something most unpleasant. “You!” The head chef pointed to the doorway without so much as turning her gaze towards the one who had just entered. “This boy, he reeks of sweat and grime and thinks ‘Oh, let us go and spread my grubby, dirty hands around Olga’s kitchen’?” Bullet stood dumbfounded in the doorway, his hands clenched over his exposed abdomen with an almost desperate pout. “Aw, come on Olga.” He pleaded, almost wincing under the harsh glare of the chef who had now armed herself with a stainless steel ladle. “I’m starving. Don’t you have any leftovers to spare? Please?” Zhulie rolled her eyes at the display. It seemed manners came easily when he had something to gain.
Olga paused for a moment before inhaling sharply. “Bah!” She placed the ladle back with the other utensils before moving over to one of the warming trays. She pulled them out to reveal several rows of what looked to be a sort of pastry stuffed with spiced lamb and potatoes. Removing a few into a paper bag, she walked over to the young man and shoved them into his chest. “You grovel like bear cub who waits in cave for mother to return with dinner. Pathetic. Enjoy your scraps, cub.” He would take offence to such a demeaning comment in normal circumstances, but even Bullet knew not to bite the hand that fed him. He didn’t hesitate to wolf down one of his pastries, walking over to Zhulie and Regan just as he released a satisfied belch. “’Sup” He narrowly scooted around the little girl’s attempt to throw a wet rag at his face. “You’re disgusting!” Zhulie grimaced. Between his cold shoulder and terrible manners, Regan surely would be appalled by the cohort of their guild. Hopefully she knew that they weren’t all so vulgar. “So, you seem to be baking up a storm in here? What’re ya cookin’?” Bullet crouched beside Zhulie to stare into the oven alongside her, not quite sure what he was supposed to be looking at. Some form of cake?
Before Zhulie was able to tell him to buzz off a commotion seemed to erupt from within the guild hall. The kitchen seemed to stop for a moment as the muffled sound of people talking over one another could be heard even from where they stood.
Meanwhile, in the Guild Hall
The chatter came to a grinding halt throughout the entire hall when the doors swung open to reveal a disheveled lady in a tattered grey cloak. She was limping, a large gash on her exposed leg. A few were quick to come to her aid, sitting her down beside the bar as Meredith rushed to deliver some healing ointment. “Karla, what did this to you?” A concerned mage asked, knelt beside the witch as she struggled to regain her breathe enough to blurt out the cause of her current state. “Talos… He’s been taken… Crossroads… Poachers. Karla stopped to drink the tonic Meredith provided, taking a moment to take a nice, long breath of fresh air. Once she was composed enough to speak in full sentences, she elaborated. “Talos and I were meditating at the Keeper’s Crossroads when some poachers attacked us. They captured him. They put chains on him! I was able to enchant the forest so the trees may impede their path, but that’ll only keep them confined for so long. There were too many, I couldn’t fend them off on my own.” Meredith comforted her with a tender embrace. Talos was Karla’s familiar, a great direwolf whose size and might garnered him a fierce reputation even among the wolves of the glade. “There, there love. It’s okay.” Karla quietly sobbed into Meredith’s shoulder, returning the gesture with her own arms wrapped around the older Witch’s. “They’re going to take him away. Please, you have to get him back.” Meredith ushered for one of the others to take Karla somewhere to rest up, turning to the others in the guild with a look of intense determination. “Alright, we’ll need to assemble two squads. Apprehending the poachers shouldn’t be too hard with our numbers, but don’t underestimate them. Karla may be young, but her magic is strong - strong enough to handle ordinary rabble even outnumbered. They must have mages among them. That’ll be nothing compared to handling Talos - even amongst familiars he is particularly powerful. Not to mention he’ll be scared and enraged from capture; you don’t try to tame a direwolf. Myself and a few others will remain behind to draw up a calming draft to subdue him. It’ll take us some time so whoever is going to confront Talos will need only distract him and make sure he doesn’t rampage into any neighbouring towns. Karla bought us some time with her forest enchantment, but we need to move quickly.” The group split off into their desired teams, rushing about the place to prepare for departure. Weapons were drawn, spell circles readies and nerves steeled. Meredith and a pair of witches began to gather a slew of potion regents before heading upstairs to the greenhouse to begin brewing the draft that would be strong enough to calm a raging direwolf. Time was of the essence here; and it was imperative that their Guild function together as a well oiled machine.
As they left the store, Regan looked over the purchases they'd made at the liquor store. They had a nice little party stocked up, but if they were reasonable, they should be able to make it last two or three days, if they drank consecutively for those days, and still get a nice buzz. Maybe she'd begin to teach Brianna how to cook over dinner, even if it was just basics enough to prepare a good meal for herself from scratch. There were plenty of meals that all you had to do was-... B-boil water… she must have added oil or grease or something, but didn't that usually go the other way around? Folks add water to grease and end up with a fire, but not the other way around. Ooh, she better not think about it or she'll hurt her head. Whatever the case, she wouldn't suggest those frozen dinners. Brianna's palette was likely more refined than that (though frozen dinners were a pretty low bar to start with). "Back to your place, then? You said you're into gardening, do you keep one around your home?" She'd like to see it, certainly. If she was as good at gardening as she was singing, it would be a beautiful thing to behold. She had to wonder, as well, how well Brianna kept up with her home. If servants cleaned up after her for most of her life, the house might be a mess. Not that she should complain, she hadn’t done anything for herself like buy a house. She stayed in Tomato Feast’s guild dorms, before… things happened. On the other hand, if she liked dancing, she might keep her place clean so that she can dance without worrying about stepping on things or knocking things over. It was a toss-up, really, she’d just have to see how it was. “My mother taught me how to prune bansai trees as a form of zen meditation, but that’s about as close as I’ve gotten to gardening.” She didn’t know the way, so she let Brianna lead the way. She took the opportunity of being led to take a look at the shops and whatnot on the way. Someone had an alchemical crafting shop they passed by, pretty neat. She saw an artificial limb on display, as well as some other gadgets. “Lots of interesting things in town.” There was a toy store, which she gave a cursory look at, and a makeup shop she promptly ignored.
Brianna was extremely happy to be leaving the liquor store with some liquor, even with someone helping her too. It made her remind herself that she kind of forgot to put away some of her expensive wine, at least it was recorked. At least they would be going to her home at least. I’m really happy about all this, thank you Tearsy! Brianna giggled slightly while having that thought in her head. “Yeah! Yes, I do have a garden at my home. It’s a wonderful garden, the Red Roses are the most beautiful thing in it. I do have some spices I am growing, but… I don’t want to waste them with… how bad my cooking is.” Brianna smiles happily at that showing she knows more about gardening than cooking. She always remembers where her two story home is at since it's a beautiful looking house for what she bought it for. It’s always amazing to have a home all to herself. Oh yeah should probably check up on the laundry while I am there… Brianna has sometimes forgotten about putting away her laundry. When the Master spoke up about her experience with gardening. “Oo, I do have a bansai tree too. I usually trim it before I go to bed. Since Nelia was very particular about having balance or zen within your soul. But she would usually wear a Rose in her hair to show she’s particularly mediated.” Brianna was happy that she was leading the way to her home. It’s a bit funny but she loved window shopping in this part of town. All the shops were very nice but the artificial limb always interested her in how it was made. “Yes, there is, it's very interesting.” Brianna saw the toy store and the makeup shop, but kind of remembered she had enough makeup already. As such, she had a specific thought about things but she finally decided to come up with a question. “Hehe, I like this a lot. I kind of want to ask, what kind of training regime do you have, Master?” Brianna was curious, since it would become very apparent what she had to deal with two very overprotective but strict parents who were training her in the Shifting Sword Style.
"You do? Oh, wonderful. And herbs, and spices? Ooh, even better! Fresh herbs and spices, well, maybe you'll have to start growing more ingredients. Maybe you can sell them to local restaurants, too? Fresh ingredients are hard to beat." She nodded. Certain ingredients couldn't be grown locally, she understood that much, but as long as you could, it was best. Local cuisine is so good because of that very concept. The food was made to match local produce, and that meant ingredients could be incredibly fresh. "Mm, yes, that is something I've missed out on, having been in the road for so long." She sighed softly to herself. It made her think about her guild's betrayal. A goddamn goose chase! Not even a fight, just wasting her time. And she fell for it so damn hard. Long enough for them to cover their tracks and their plans. It took her an entire year to find their trail again, and another three months to finally follow their trail here, to Fiore. Ah, but. She shouldn't think about that, now. Better things were at hand. A voice from the back of her mind questioned why she was spending her time like this, when she had a job to do. An ally, and someone in need. But she shouldn't drag Brianna into her- Stop. Shut up. Just… relax for a day. You need it. Hell, take tomorrow off, too, how long has it been? You'll work better for it. You know it. "Training? Hmm, honestly, between the walking all day and the occasional rescue or combat, I get enough exercise daily to not need an extensive regiment. If I did a particularly intense training session, I might not be ready to fight if I needed to. My body would be tired and I wouldn't be as prepared. I do train my magic daily. I suppose, if I were to stay in one place for a while, I'd have to keep up with some kind of training plan, though." But I can't. Not until my duty is done. "As I was wandering, I came across an old woman who had turned his whole yard into a butterfly sanctuary filled with native plants. To the casual observer, it almost looked overrun, but it was carefully tended against anything that wasn't local stuff. I was drawn in by the ingredients, but I wasn't expecting it to be someone's property, haha."
“Yes, I love flowers. I knew there was another thing I was forgetting to remember about my garden, spices and herbs. Ooh, really, I was wondering what my mother Nelia was talking about… I usually sell my Red Roses to the florist but I completely forgot that I could do that with the other things I grow in my garden… Thank you for that tip!” Brianna giggled cutely and was definitely happy to have met Regan Hadou. It was a great tip and idea, which made her remember the exact words from her mother Nelia. Brianna felt a bit embarrassed because of that, exact thing. At least someone helped her understand what her mother was talking about, she kind of wanted to get out of the Estate and join Phoenix Wing. “Aww, that’s nice, at least you will be able to see a Bonsai Tree again. Hehe.” Brianna did notice her master sigh and kind of felt like she wanted to say something. She was very intune with her emotions after all, but wouldn’t want to ruin the moment that she was having right now. It felt a bit disingenuous to pry in her master’s worries or frustrations, but Regan did help her in her own type of frustrations and worries. The Sword’s voice pierced the veil of reality and couldn’t help but to feel to interrupt Regan’s thoughts and deep-seated feelings of revenge. “Aha, so that’s what was deeper in your thoughts… the betrayal on that large of a scale. When that one guild was your friends and family they went and did that to you. Feels slightly like what Brianna’s younger sister Serena was going to do to Brianna. Serena was consumed by the lust for power by Callie, she was going to do the unthinkable. Serena and Callie would’ve traded places, and Callie was going to kill Brianna… I didn’t want to say that to Brianna because I was utterly disgusted at Callie’s actions. The only person that was able to control that evil was no other than Zachery, because of his innate mental fortitude to not fall prey to the lust of power the sword was giving him. I do hope you keep that secret, because it wouldn’t be a good thing to tell Brianna, she would be fearful for the rest of her whole life to learn her little sister is being corrupted by power.” Tearsy’s voice telepathically spoke to Regan, telling her the extent of the Callous Lightning Sword’s innate evil. “Oh, that’s nice, always good to be fit as can be, Master. Seems much better than how my mother and father ran me ragged for so long… but they wanted the information to stick, I suppose… So I can’t blame them, they are overprotective.” Brianna looked up and noticed her house in the distance, not much more time to arrive. It was painted in a light green color, and was a two story house too. She waved at her own house because she does that all the time, but she was careful to not drop the alcohol on the ground. “Oh that’s so cool, a butterfly sanctuary. Always good to be drawn in by something you want to use. Hehe, true. Also, it's nice to see my house in the distance.” Brianna giggled slightly while staring at Regan with a slightly worried look on her face.
"Yeah, of course." It was a suggestion that helped everybody. Her business grew, local cuisine got fresh, local ingredients, and customers would get even more delicious food. "I'll be interested to see how you've pruned your tree." The sword spoke and shook Regan from her internal brooding. Revenge? Not quite. They only sent me away because they could not overcome me. It is for what they have done that I pursue them. Their actions were not against me, but another. A family. For power. They shattered their lives apart and took what they wanted. They take, even now. Her eyes turned to Brianna and she saw the worry. You and I will talk later. She gave an apologetic smile and set her worries aside, as much as she could. "Hehe, you noticed? Sorry, I was thinking about my old guild, where I learned so much about food. We… fell out." She cleared her throat, "but, yknow, your parents only trained you so hard so you would get stronger. There comes a point, however, where you should become satisfied. Hmm…" she put a hand to her chin, thinking. "How to explain it properly… have you heard of the Path of the Demon? A proper warrior follows the warrior's path, seeking strength for a purpose. To protect something or achieve a goal. However, when a warrior forgets their purpose in the pursuit of ever greater strength, they find the Path of the Demon." Serena. If not herself, then by the sword she'd received. It led her down the wrong path "Never forget why you fight." By sheltering her, you only make things worse. This conflict in her life will not simply disappear. If what you say is true... Ah! "Hey, we're getting serious again! We can save this kind of talk for another time. That's your house, there? The one like your eyes?" She picked up the pace just a bit. She really did want to see the place. Regan hadn't had a bed or a proper home kitchen in a long time, and fresh herbs and spices just made it more exciting.
Brianna was grateful for advice, as such, it was pretty great. She always had many ideas in her head, how to help her family’s business grow but it was always a good thing to be self-sufficient. She giggled at what her master said. “Hehe, you like what you see.” The Sword’s voice pierced the veil of reality and couldn’t help but sigh in hearing Regan’s thoughts because that’s very deep. “Ah, guess I misspoke when I said Revenge. Hmm… this gives me much to think about to properly speak. Seems like…” Tearsy’s voice telepathically spoke to Regan. However, it was interrupted by the reason that Brianna noticed Regan and was worried. Tearsy gave an audible sigh and a bit of an understanding that they will talk later. Brianna cutely smiled at her master Hadou. “Yes, I noticed… An old guild caused you to be so worried… that’s sad somewhat. Falling out with anyone is terrible. I would have so many thoughts of dismay if that happened to me…” Brianna couldn’t help but realize her sword was talking to someone, mostly because the sword constantly glows brighter or dimmer, better late than never. However, her internal thoughts were refocused on what her master had said next. “Oh yeah, that’s right… They had said that while they were training me. I want to grow stronger only to protect those precious to me, which would include you, master.” Brianna had always thought of everyone as a friend or needed to be protected no matter what and was excited in what her master would say next. She gasps slightly when she explains it properly, which she did hear from her parents. “Oh, so that’s what my parents were trying to explain to me, with my lack of focus back then… The path of the demon sounds quite dark… I will never turn to that path since it isn’t me by a long shot.” Brianna giggled slightly. It made her think of who Tearsy is talking to but it makes sense that Tearsy is talking to Master Hadou too. Brianna giggles slightly at what her master said next. “I won’t ever forget why I fight, master.” She had a beautifully wonderful smile on her face. The Sword’s voice pierced the veil of reality and sighed, which she underestimated Brianna’s realization but still only spoke to Regan. “I know, but that’s what her parents asked me to do. But I suppose I should probably tell her the truth about Callie… the true reason for rejecting her. It’s all true, it's why Callous Lightning Sword and Serena aren’t allowed to be together for that specific reason. It’s locked away in an underground vault… all because of Serena’s Sword Whisperer Magic… As you can tell from that magic using it with a Sentient Sword is a horrible idea.” Tearsy’s voice telepathically spoke to Regan, basically telling her that Zachery didn’t have his strongest Sword Lighting Style Sword with him on his mission. Brianna smiles and nods in agreement. “Yeah we can talk about that another time… Yes! As well, as Teasry’s sword glows when it's completely out of its sheath too.” Brianna cutely is happy to pick up the pace to her house. She wanted to show Regan around her house really badly. Brianna was grateful the journey to her home is close at hand, she cutely giggled at everything that happened today.
Brianna really was a sweetheart. Some foul thing like the Callous Lightning Sword didn't suit her at all. All the rehashing of things she heard from her parents so long ago really seemed to be helping her out, too, like she just needed to hear the lessons again in a calm conversation where she could focus to finally grasp the things she'd learned from them. A fine warrior for peace, she was, though Regan had yet to gauge her combat strength. "Very good. Your reason, your truth, is as the Northern Star. It will guide you." She wanted to ask Tearsy questions about Serena and the Callous Sword, but now wasn't the time. "Nice place you've got, Brianna." She would say she's done well for herself, but the girl had a significant boost to get here, didn't she. She'd save that compliment for when she saw how Brianna was actually doing with the home. As well, from what she'd seen, nobody that lived in Magnolia really had yard space to speak of, but it looked like the roof had a large, flat area on top. "Are your gardens on the roof?" She gazed up at the steep slope of the shingles that cut off shortly, with a tell-tale fence. "That must be a great view, too. Beaten only by the roof of the guild hall on the hill, I'd bet." Regan opened the storm door, holding it open for Brianna to unlock and open the front door and lead her in. She wondered about how it would be. Was the kitchen a mess, or hardly used? Brianna could probably afford to eat out for most meals, but she'd been trying to be self-sufficient, the kitchen was probably at least a little used. She figured out how to boil water, hadn't she? So it must be. Time to find out.
Brianna had always enjoyed talking and many other things in life, but she loved meeting people so much more. She heard what Regan said about the Northern Star. “Aha, Northern Star is for guiding… I do look at it a lot following my path correctly.” Brianna slightly embarrassed at being reminded what the Northern Star was for, since that’s what her parents said. She did giggle slightly at the entire thing. Brianna was happy to hear the compliment to her home. “Thank you, Regan! It’s a home away from home… you should see the Lyffobelt Estate… It’s incredibly large compared to this two story house.” Brianna smiled happily at it all. However, she did remember she should have to get her keys. She did notice Regan looking up at the roof and she happily giggled. “Yeah, it is. Wish there was an actual yard but Magnolia would have to redesign their entire layout to have yards…” Brianna kind of misses the massive yard of her Estate because it's where she played hiding from her mother during Hide and Seek time. She happily smiles at what Regan said next. “Yep, it’s a great view. It definitely cannot beat the guild hall’s roof view.” Brianna had a happy smile on her face. Brianna was grateful that Regan opened the storm door, which Brianna finally got her keys out even though she would have to be very careful to not break the bottles of lager in her free hand. She unlocked the door to her home, and opened it. Brianna expressed a wonderful thing about the first thing that Regan would see. It was the kitchen, which was definitely used and still had a wine glass, an expensive bottle of wine corked on the kitchen table. As well, as some ingredients on the counter top, significantly well organized in proper containers. The countertops were also marble with a unique flourish and flower design to it. “Here’s my Kitchen, hopefully you like it… I should’ve put away the expensive wine bottle, that’s at least two hundred years old...” Brianna was a bit embarrassed about that. She sat the bag of Lager on the kitchen table and took the two bottles out of the bag. She eyed her fridge, which was one of the top of the line refrigerators. “There’s the fridgie to put the food and beer in.” Brianna was a bit over prepared for anything, but it was how her parents raised her. She thought for a second and wondered about something, which she decided to ask Regan and Tearsy. “Uhh, Might as well ask something… Were Tearsy and Master thought talking to each other?” Brianna had a curious look on her face. The Sword’s voice pierced the veil of reality, sighed and a bit frustrated at the curiosity of Brianna’s question. “If you must know, yes, I was talking to Regan. But why are you so curious dear? Is there something you require or something along those lines.” Tearsy’s voice telepathically spoke to Brianna and Regan. Brianna smiled happily and gave a slight giggle to that. “I just wanted to know, you know you can telepathically involve me in these conversations or are you brooding over Callie? You told me one day you will tell me the truth of her reason for rejecting me…” Brianna had always been putting on a strong face but she wanted to seriously know the truth in why the Callous Lightning Sword rejected her. The whole truth, because it's obviously bothering her. The Sword’s voice pierced the veil of reality and hadn’t known that all this time Brianna was being bothered by that and cutely giggled at Brianna’s innocence. “You could say that, Callie is just such a bitch of a sword. I will tell you soon… But it would probably be a good idea to show Regan around your home, isn’t that right?” Tearsy’s voice telepathically questioned Brianna. However, Regan was involved in this conversation since what Brianna said is true, she should be involving Brianna more in these telepathic conversations. Brianna giggled cutely at what Tearsy said, which it is correct that she should show Regan around her home. “You are right, Tearsy!” Brianna was so excited to show someone as Regan around her home. If anything, she’s still really happy that Tearsy didn’t say anything about Regan’s intentions because all she has done so far is help her understand what her parents wanted her to realize and help her. Near the kitchen sink, had some dishes, which Brianna forgot to put away but they were drying in a dish dryer thingy, which she cleaned herself. “Aww, no… I should’ve put away those dishies! Guess I was waiting for them to dry fully… whoopsie.” Brianna smiled and slightly embarrassed to forget the reason why she was in the kitchen in the first place previously. She sighed at her slight airheadedness, but at least they must be dry now.
The Northern Star was an important mark for any traveler to know, of course, and she was relieved to hear that Brianna at least had the idea of what it was somewhere in her head. She wondered, briefly, how many times the dear thing had gotten lost, though she did have Tearsy to help her out. What a very good thing that was, Brianna was not traveling truly alone. As Brianna dug out and fiddled with her key, Regan set her box of beer down and took the one from Brianna so she wouldn't drop it. That would be unfortunate. As the door opened, Regan took the opportunity to peer inside. Ah, her kitchen was well organized, a pleasant surprise. Just a few things left out, including what must have been, from what Brianna said, an immensely expensive bottle of wine. At that age, especially. Two… hundred? How do you keep anything that long…? Was that an heirloom? Ye gods! Regan promptly put their leftovers in the fridge while she admired the marble countertop, distracting herself from the bottle of wine on the table, "these counters are nice, but it must be a pain to maintain them. You have to seal them every so often, don't you?" Something about liquid soaking into the stone, she didn't remember exactly. She just remembered you had to care for stone, which made sense. Water erodes stone. Steel counters were real easy to care for, but looked awful. Just as with anything, no perfect answer. Regan hesitated to answer, but luckily, Tearsy answered the question quickly enough. "Yes. Later, Brianna. Besides, conversations involving thought are usually best left private. Especially with one so nosey." She gave Tearsy a pointed look, but ultimately couldn't blame it. It could only communicate in that way, after all, so bad habits like listening in must have been easy to form. "It's bad enough to pry like that. Don't need to go spreading the news around." "Mm, the dishes in the drying rack are clean, I'll assume? We can use them for dinner, since they're already out. Why not leave them for now?" She nodded, taking quick note of what was there as she stocked the fridge with the beers they'd bought. "Instead, yes, let's have the tour! With a house this size, there must be a guest room?" She knew someone who might try to cover that up. She took another look at the counter and noticed the cute flower design in it. It couldn't have come like that? She must have had it done, it was too much of a coincidence. Then again… the whole country had a flower motif. It was no wonder her family's business was so successful. With the fridge stocked, she nudged the door for the top portion shut after it started beeping at her. There were adjustable shelves and some other neat features within, but she could poke around more when she was getting ready to make dinner tonight. She came back around the counter, breaking down the boxes from their beers and setting them aside to take care of later.
Brianna had noticed Regan’s reaction to the expensive bottle of wine, which is 200 years old. She giggled at the reaction since it was adorable to see someone react that way to that bottle of wine. It wasn’t long until Regan talked about the counter and she smiled gently. “Yeah, they are a pain… I had to ask for some hints from our maid staff on the right product to… seal them with. They helped with understanding that certain cleaning products aren’t that great to stone, while others are. Wouldn’t want to ruin the marble.” Brianna had listed every single product that’s good for marble and all that is bad. It was on the refrigerator for a reminder so she knows what to use and what not to use. Brianna smiled and giggled at Regan’s answer. “Ah, okay, yeah we can get on those conversations later. Hehe, Tearsy is so nosey but she cares a lot.” She laughed slightly when Regan gave Tearsy a pointed look. Brianna was really enjoying all this, now the sword can be teased as much as Tearsy teases her. “I will promise, or cross my heart and hope to be tickled… As such is the mission of one in the Lyffobelt family to promise things to people.” Brianna didn’t really like the actual saying of hope to die since it feels a bit wrong. Therefore, she turned it into hope to be tickled instead. She always had a weird way to promise things when it involves highly important conversations like Serena or the Callous Lightning Sword being sentient. Brianna had to think for a second about the dishes. “Yeah, they are clean, that’s why they are drying. Oh, that’s a wonderful idea! Leaving them out is a good idea.” Brianna smiled at Regan, that she was so smart for suggesting these things. It came to the topic of a guest room, which in her mind she remembered something her mother had said. “Yes, let’s start this tour. There’s a saying in my family, Guest rooms are for guests, while where you sleep is for you.” Brianna had always wanted to word that out correctly because Nelia had always a great way to say things. However, she had to think since the stairs to the guest room and the bedroom she sleeps in is in the front room. The Sword’s voice pierced the veil of reality, to Regan and Brianna with a giggle. “You beat me to the punch, don’t you think, Brianna. Like really, you always wanted to say that didn’t you? Nelia is so sweet and caring for guests.” Tearsy’s voice telepathically spoke to both of them. As well, Tearsy was a bit embarrassed that Regan knew what it was going to do if Brianna didn’t answer that question. It’s glow was going dimmer and brighter rapidly like a heartbeat. Brianna giggled at Tearsy and smiled happily. “Yes, it’s better that way. You would have said, Regan would have to sleep in my bed didn’t you? Better this way, Tearsy.” Brianna had tons of positive emotions coming through her to finally beat Tearsy’s constant making people blush at mentioning sleeping in the same bed as her. Tearsy was quite a unique sword, but some of the things Tearsy said really went over Brianna’s head. “Let’s go to the front room, it's through this door!” Brianna walked towards the door to the front room, and opened it for Regan to see. She smiled and went aww really cutely because she sees one of her kitty cats sleeping in a ball on her cat tower in the corner. “Aww, Pauline I am home! Where’s your sister Rachel, Tabby kitties.” Brianna cutely said, Rachel is probably sleeping on her bed as usual. As such the room was well organized and had a pretty big TV across the ways, near the window. In the middle of the TV and the large couch had a beautiful clear white glass panned coffee table with a flower picture in the direct center of it. And there were the stairs leading up to the second floor, where the three bedrooms are, near the Kitty Cat Tower.
"Well, at least she's not just a pervert." Tearsy cared, and that was the important part. She made a sightly elaborate promise, and Regan couldn't help but roll her eyes, "ok, Miss Lyffobelt, calm down." For that matter, hope to be… Tickled? Whatever. "I certainly think she cares. She wouldn't have guarded you so preciously all this time if she didn't.” And the tour began. Yes, there was a guest room, and apparently Tearsy had made some percy jokes in the past. "I thought I was the first person to come over?" Tearsy must have been playing the hypothetical, maybe even using the joke to probe minds for intent. It was a little forward, though, wasn't it? But, with Tearsy, what did she expect? There was, indeed, a guest room, likely to the sword's dismay. Even Brianna realized that. The family saying seemed like a very simple concept, but with someone like Brianna, maybe it was a little necessary; that innocent head of hers. As the tour began, Regan noticed something about the house. "We came in the front door, didn't we?" She turned to look at the door they had come through. Now that she thought of it, why did the front door lead into the kitchen? And now they were going to the 'front room', which was in the other side of the 'front door'. "Is your house… back…wards?" They stepped through to the living room, or front room, and she saw a more elaborate doorway, leading out to the alley behind the house. "Wh- that's a front door. That's," she looked back at the way they came in, "clearly the back door." She stepped through into the living room, not really sure what one would do about a backwards house. It didn't make it unlivable, certainly, but it was just strange. What wasn't strange was that Brianna had a cat. Cats, plural. "I was wondering how your house would fair without maids or other servants; it's well so far." The real test would be her bedroom, if she even includes that in the tour. Regan approached the stairs and the cat tree, gently rubbing the cat's side just a couple of times, before looking over the room. Either she was actually very cleanly, despite the changes in her lifestyle, or she hardly spent time here. She wouldn't figure it out by just thinking about it, so she put it in the back of her mind. The room did give her one question, though, between the TV and the lack of anything on the table besides the picture, "I haven't asked, and I'm curious. Do you do anything professionally?" She smiled softly at the sleeping cat before turning back to Brianna. The young lady had a variety of skills she could turn into a means of income, but Regan had to wonder which way she had decided to go, if any. Bah, why was she being so analytical? Relax, relax… time off, Regan. Take time off. Now, the house, on the other hand, was an interesting puzzle. It had her curiosity. Why was it… backwards?
Brianna had a confused look on her face, when Regan called her sword a pervert, it’s like the first time she actually heard that from anyone. “Uhh, what do you mean, that Tearsy is not just a pervert?” It was clear on her face that she was definitely confused, but she did laugh cutely at Regan rolling her eyes. “Sorry about that… I get like that when promising things.” It was so fun to see another person’s reaction to her, which wasn’t her parents that’s for sure. Brianna smiled very happily at what Regan said next. “Yeah, Tearsy does care a lot, it’s nice. It’s so nice to have her beside me helping me.” Brianna giggled happily and was so bubbly and adorable with the whole thing. Brianna was grateful to show Regan around her home, which the only actual person that saw it previously was her own mother. It was when Regan asked that question. “Uhh, you are the first person outside of my mother Nelia to see my home. Tearsy rejected 35 other people I was trying to show my home, but you were the first person that Tearsy accepted. It’s a wonderful thing in all honesty, I am a social person…” Brianna gave her best explanation of what’s going on. It now makes sense why the house is so ‘well decorated and everything.’ She couldn’t help but notice the look on Regan’s face, but Magnolia Town is unique for what it does every once in awhile. “Uhh, yeah it is backwards… because of the town’s shifting mechanisms, like every once in awhile, the house is not backwards.” Brianna was slightly annoyed about the entire thing. “I had a similar reaction to this entire city. But, this was like the closest house to the park, which is why I bought it.” Brianna giggled at her reaction. “Yep, all because of the puzzling shifting of Rubik's cube city, guess the only good thing is the second floor isn't shifted at all… thankfully. Or I would be really annoyed…” Brianna sighed deeply at this entire town doing this constantly, nonstop. Brianna was happy about how the front room looked, she didn’t really need much in here since she only uses this room when she wants to watch TV and play with her kitties. She gave a slight gasp since she saw the room nicknamed ‘Fun room’ by Tearsy, which was connected to the front room and it connected to the rest of the house’s first floor and basement level. “Oh yeah, if you want to get to the rest of the house’s first floor you have to go through the Fun Room, don’t ask me why Tearsy named it that. Oh wait, I remember why… It has a pool table, chess board, thankfully the chess pieces are in the table that the chess board is glued to, and other game type things in it with a small bookshelf with books to help someone in learning those things.” Brianna hadn’t really played any of those games since it would be quite depressing to play by herself for fun. However, with what Regan said, made her giggle and be happy. “The maids and staff actually gave me hints in keeping the house clean… Always better to get tips and hints from professionals at their craft.” Brianna sighed gently at not really having much fun in the fun room, but it’s the only way to get to the other parts of the first floor. However, she had a feeling that Regan wanted to see the upstairs before the rest of the house. “We can always check out the fun room later. It’s time to go upstairs!” Brianna giggles. She walked towards the stairs and awed at Regan petting her kitty cat and could hear Pauline purring. Brianna walked up the stairs since it was important to show Regan the upstairs. However, it took her a bit by surprise when Regan asked her about what she does, it is a bit surprising. However, her guild mark is on her back, which she is wearing a regular cute t-shirt that covers it. “Uhh, I am apart of the Phoenix Wing Guild, since that’s the guild I wanted to join when I was looking over the guilds to join. Basically take jobs from the request board from the guild and it takes me everywhere in Fiore. And I do many helpful things around Magnolia Town for people who want my help. Also, since I did notice your look at this room… I only use this room to watch TV and play with my kitties when they are both not sleeping.” Brianna smiles kindly towards Regan, basically happy that she’s here. However, the other thing is she still does get her allowance from her parents since she is an heiress. “I do get money from my family’s company though. But I don’t mind helping people out to make money my own way, but it's always nice they are always there for me.” Brianna is very proud of her entire family’s way of life. It is why she is so generous to everyone, one of the tenets to being a Lyffobelt Family member.
"Uh, don't worry about it, Brianna." She didn't need to detail why her sword was a pervert. It would ruin the mood and all that. "The important part is that she cares." "Yknow, maybe if you didn't make such weird suggestions about bedroom arrangements and the like, people wouldn't have so many weird thoughts about her? Just a thought. Poor Brianna just wants to have people over." The next thing Brianna told her really stole the show, though. "The town… shifts?" Which was why the house was backwards. It was turned around as part of a mechanism in the city. Her brain reeled at the idea, but she supposed that would explain it. Apparently, the upstairs didn't change, but that would be weird if it did, right? Like, moving the whole building was enough already, you didn't need the top of it to spin around, too, did you? But more importantly, that seemed like it was really expensive, to build and to operate, so why?! And how?! W-well, that was one mystery solved, at least. A shifting city… Would wonders never cease. Brianna explained the first floor layout to her before they went upstairs. It was good that there was a room to play around in, but Tearsy was rather very busy defeating the whole purpose of having such a room. A shame. "I know what a guild does. I was in one, remember?" Sure, the guild master was more focused on his culinary goals, but that didn't mean the rest of the guild ignored normal mage guild stuff. The guild master's special meals and snacks were always a great help on quests, too, so it worked out fine that he was more of a chef than a mage. The fact that he was both was what made Tomato Feast what it had been. "Couldn't you invite some of your guildmates over? Or did you try that already, and Tearsy didn't like them?" "You don't have to detail your finances for me. I just was wondering more about how you spend your time, is all. I figured this room wasn't used much. You got a big house all to yourself, it must get lonely without so much as a guest to entertain." It seemed like Tearsy practically set thought traps for people, provoking their imaginations. Probably liked peeking at the images as much as she was defending Brianna from dirty minds. Was she getting a little crabby? As Regan thought about the bedrooms upstairs, and the beds in them, and that she should relax, she felt her body start to get heavy. Ooh… How long had it been, since she laid her body in a proper bed for rest? Too long… three years? Since she figured out she'd been tricked, and had to travel all the way back from the mainland. Ooh. She pulled herself along on the handrail. "Say, that guest bed is sounding better and better. Mind if we continue the tour after I take a nap?"
Brianna had much to think about with all these questions, Regan brought up, but one caught her attention the most. “Uhh, I never really asked any of my guildmates to come over.” Brianna giggled. The Sword’s voice pierced the veil of reality and sighed. “Like I would want her not to have friends in her guild, it’s just she’s a bit of a scatter brain sometimes. Obviously she forgot to ask any of them to come over.” Tearsy’s voice spoke to both of them. After awhile, the last question that Regan asked was very important as a homeowner. “Sure, I don’t mind if you take a nap, the guest bedroom is on the far right, hope you have a good rest, you deserve it for being the first person to make me realize things.” Brianna giggled cutely, helping Regan to her room. “Hopefully you have a good sleep.” She had a wonderful smile on her face.
"Well, there you go. See about hanging out with your guild. Maybe get on a team with someone, while you're at it, if you're not already. Your team is usually a good place to start." Regan gave a yawn as they climbed, attempting to stifle it, "mm, sorry. That bed just sounds better and better." She listened carefully, with the fatigue catching up to her. She hadn't realized how tired she'd become after so long. Was it age catching up with her, not letting her do things like she used to be able to? Maybe… then again, wouldn't anyone be tired at this point? "You flatter me, Brianna. I'm sure I'll sleep well in a proper bed, thank you." Her mind was on a single track. She'd started to relax and the fatigue had come rushing in. She roused herself mentally and refocused her strength, reminding herself to make it to the bed first. Far right… this one. She opened the door into an immaculate room, beautifully kept and clearly unoccupied, just waiting for someone to stay in it. She didn't even close the door, she just put her sword up on the mount and turned her body into the bed without undressing, flopping into her back. "Oooohh hohohohoh… mmm…" her pleased sigh faded into soft snoring. She was planning to just take a nap, but Master Hadou would sleep until morning.
It had been some time since she'd worked in a proper kitchen like this. With extra hands all around her, even. "My guild master would love to meet you, madam Olga. He's a more skilled chef than I, though he also tends to be more... Orthodox." As she shut the oven with the baked goods inside. Zhulie was peering inside with all obvious enthusiasm, and Regan joined her for a moment. "Twenty minutes, or five more."
As Olga, Regan was interrupted by a certain, recently familiar stench entering the kitchen. For her, it was punctuated by the elder cook scolding the offender. She watched and appreciated the boy get reprimanded and fed in the same turn, before he retreated toward herself and Zhulie, probably to lick his social wounds in agreeable company.
Not that he would find it here. Gross indeed, Zhulie. "Get your stench out of the kitchen before it infests..." she trailed off, hearing the commotion from outside the kitchen. She moved to the door of the kitchen, just in time to hear a particular sentiment, "please, you have to get him back."
She listened through Meredith's briefing, glanced at Olga apologetically, and turned to Bullet, putting a hand on his shoulder, "hey. You're the type that would throw in, despite your injuries, right? Guess what, you need to rest. I'll go for you. Wash up before your stink ruins my baked goods and keep the darling company." Speaking of, Regan called over, "remember, Zhulie, twenty minutes, maybe five more." Really, she was just relieved that the only thing left to do was take them out. It would be best if they were fresh when eaten, though. Twenty four minutes, huh...? That might be tough.
As she left the kitchen, she was making a few adjustments to her equipment and person. She took her sword from its travel position on her back and moved it to her hip, easier to draw, and shortened her pony tail with a bun. She found a familiar face, and approached, "Lady Manami, I'm glad I could catch you. I will assist my gracious hosts, if you would allow me." She wasn't sure which squad she should fold in to. It sounded like either could benefit from her help, but perhaps they had mages that we better suited for one or the other? Then again, she'd have a hard time asking a direwolf for information, maybe she'd be better off beating up poachers for potential info.
"Shiro..." As Henri leaped up, yelping from the pain of the hot tea poured on him, Manami was rubbing her temples. Rightfully, the man was a little upset, but what could Manami say or do about this really? Tell Shiro off? There was no point, surely everyone knew that. Get her to apologise? Like they would get a proper apology from the apathetic girl even if they held her at gun point. "I'm so sorry Mr Bapiste, Shiro here tends to overreact over nothing." Was all she could really say here. What else was there to say? Normally she might've healed Henri for what Shiro did to him, but she wavered for a moment as her gaze moved to Meredith only to look away almost as quick towards Argus.
"W-well if they were, I'll happily pay for their replacement or cleaning. It's the least I can do for Mr Bapiste here." All she could really muster up was a strained smile as she talked to the younger man. "Though to answer your previous question, we were just taking a stroll through the woods when we came upon Miss Pesta and Miss Hadou at the doors there with young Mr Bullet. I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure of who Miss Hadou is, but Miss Pesta seems pretty eager to show her around so you never know?"
As Manami sipped at her tea, Shiro just shrugged at Henri. "What can I say, my hand slipped and I couldn't see you properly. Half blind and all." Tapping at her eyepatch to emphasis her point, she couldn't help but roll her one eye at his comments on a hex. She already lived with one curse, what was another to add? Though she didn't even pay Meredith a glance as she sat down. There was no need to, the older lady was pretty much fuming before Shiro pulled her stunt so she was probably glaring daggers at her childish action. But it was all Shiro could really do, normally she would've snapped his neck but Manami had gone through, at incredible detail and length, how she wasn't allowed to do that here. Like, at all. Gah, and she was so certain she could just snap him easily enough too.
With the situation seemingly calming down, Bullet left to go to the kitchen as Manami decided to apologise to Meredith for the ruckus. But as the mage went to open her mouth, the doors burst open. It certainly was a shock as the lady that stumbled in, blood oozing from a large gash on her leg, so much so that the guild's chatter seemed to stop almost instantly. Manami was quick to get up to examine the wound as Meredith came over with the healing ointment. It certainly was nasty, was the ointment going to be enough? Biting her lip, she stayed silent as they gave the run-down of what had led to this wound. Her magic would be able to heal this wound pretty easily, but....no she couldn't. She just couldn't bring herself to, besides Meredith seemed to have the situation under control.
Looking over her shoulder as someone approached her, she noticed it was their guest and listened to what Regan had to say before taking a moment to think. "I'm not really in a position to order anyone around here, but I'm going to stay here and help Meredith. I'm sure the other team will take any help they can get, especially since they don't know what they're up against. Shiro, accompany Miss Hadou and the others as well. I trust that you'll be on your best behavior while you're gone?"
Shiro hadn't gotten up from her seat by the bar after she had sat back down, only now looking up from her tea and almost looking bemused at Manami's words. "Why of course Lady Manami. I'm always on my best-.....ok fine." Shiro sighed as Manami narrowed her eyes at her long-time friend, standing up and stretching her arms up towards the ceiling as she ventured over to Regan. "I don't need to show the same restraint for the poachers though, right?"
Shiro didn't really care at all about the situation at hand. Not about this direwolf, nor about the sobbing injured woman, or what these poachers had done, all that mattered to her was she could finally do something that she wanted to and wouldn't be reprimanded for. "I'm just going to warn you once though Miss...Hadou was it? I would recommend staying out of my way, for your own safety. Just like, stop any stragglers from getting away or something." Her tone was ominous, almost threatening despite the casual manner in which she approached and spoke with, like saying such things was no different to breathing to her. Though as it stood, she was actually just trying to give a fair warning now so that Manami didn't chew her head off later for not doing such if something happened. With her piece said, she was ready to go now as Manami wandered over to Meredith.
Michael shifted slightly as Prince ruffled his hair, unable to help the blush that escaped him. Which did nothing- or very little in the way of supporting Prince`s words that he had grown well in Dragon Fang. Oh, Michael knew that he had grown in the guild, but he doubted some things would ever change. "I f-find it amusing t-that you t-think P-phoenix w-wing is f-filled with s-s-some real c-crazies... S-some m-might t-t-think the s-same of us" He said, before shrugging. In some ways, all the guilds seemed to have their own unique brand of craziness.
Well, if Michael was going to go on the job... it would be a distraction. It would also allow him to perhaps do some research on his own. He did have his own spirits to consider, and he had heard stories of one rogue spirit of his own kind out there. If he couldn't help Gabriel... well, he could perhaps gain more power to be useful at least.
Jarvis was, content as always, to wait patiently as Trinity dallied with her friends. He knew that they could help her, more than he could, yet Jarvis was one to quietly nudge his members into what he hoped was the right direction for them. At her words, he couldn't help but chuckle at her words. “Only two or three? You realise that most people can not even play one instrument Trinity” he said in a soft tone of voice- quite obviously not chastising as he watched her work whatever magic she was doing. The talking sword was going to be an even bigger issue than he had first thought, and Jarvis made a note to speak with Brianna about it. It wouldn't do for something like this to come to a head. Perhaps theyd have to come up with a way that it wouldn't be so invasive,
He sighed softly, but gave Trinity a smile, “All you need to do is ask the band, and try. If it doesn't work out, at least you tried, however I am certain that it will all work out." He said, shifting his gaze to Nyssa. "We don't really have any joining requirements." He said, moving down the bar a bit, and leaning down, soon coming up with the guild stamp. "We accept just about everyone, although we do expect you to do your best. Jobs have to be approved, generally, but Jamie, myself or one of the S class mages." he said, moving back down the bar, "To ensure that the job is suitable for your level. We will figure out what level you are soon."
He flicked a gaze at the interruption, Trinity running off, before looking back to Nyssa.
Penny settled back in her chair, letting herself relax as much as possible as she turned her attention back to Jasmine and Rajah. Nothing much seemed to have changed between them- Rajah was still quite the fiery little thing but it was good to see Jasmine standing up for herself more against the furball. At Jasmines excited questions, Penny paused a moment, gaze flickering through the guild, then back to Jasmine. “There were a few adventures, We did quite a bit,,, “ She paused a moment, thoughtful. She was certain that Jasmine was about to be highly disappointed.
"We did see quite a lot of the kingdom, and the rest of the world." She said, letting her mind drift over the various places. Oh, Penny had seen quite a bit of it before, but it had been then just mostly flying around, landing when she had to, determined to find her sister. Well, she found a whole lot more and a part of her still wondered how the hell it had happened.
"But we didn't find a lot of rare magic. A lot of people still hide what they can do... which is why we are hoping to change it, with the match and such." She seemed to hesitate another moment, biting her lip and looking away, before she said softly "I heard rumours of Phoenix song being heard, though. I want to chase up on it- hopefully give the little bit of information I have to Jarvis and he can find more."
Jamie shifted, reaching for a pile of jobs she hadn't had a chance to consider for anyone in the guild, flicking through them quickly and taking out a small handful, before doing the same as Jack and handing them over to Priscilla, "That's fine, there's some I'd prefer to keep for my guild too. As for technology." She gave a soft sigh, she did prefer Lacrimas, but in a world that was steadily growing scientifically and technologically, it was best to adapt, or sink. "I'm sure that can be arranged." She gave Priscilla a smile, and said "We will gladly share any jobs- and there are times, I imagine, when jobs might require specific skill sets not all our members have. I like to encourage working between guilds in that case."
She couldn't help a soft laugh, "I tend to resist technology as well. Slowly it's starting to creep into my every day life. Often as a result of Jack sneaking it in through gifts. A weakness- I find gifts sentimental and seek to hold on to them as long as possible." She flicked a gaze to the lacrima surveying the guild hall, a smile gracing her features once more, "I prefer lacrima, however I do understand that the modern advances of technology do have their place."
She raised a brow as she took one of the candles, studying it. "It's beautiful." She said softly, and appreciating the guesture, Jamie settled the candle on her desk, where she couldn't knock it off. "We tend to supply guild members, and other guilds, with teleportation lacrima. I'll ensure you get some- it helps members get out of sticky situations if they need, or for fast travel between guilds." She paused a moment, thoughtful. "Well, then. I suppose that we should leave the communal board in your hands, Jack. The more technologically advanced one of the three of us, it seems. I'll contact other guilds, see if they're willing to be apart of it and let you know."
Damian nodded at the mention of Master Jamie being in a meeting with Jack. He'd also seen a new face to the hall head to her office, likely another guild master he hadn't yet met. He would have to speak with her later then, which wasn't a problem, it was mainly a status report on the relations at the borders. As for Sam..."If you're worried about her, then perhaps I should let you go find her. We'll have plenty of time to catch up later." Almost as if to punctuate the later, an official entered the hall and, after looking over the assorted faces for a moment, approached Damian. The two exchanged words for a moment before the S-Class mage nodded and the official left. "That's our que to get headed out. Hopefully your mom and dad will bring you to the match, it's going to be wild."
Standing, his voice boomed out just loud enough to get everyone's attention. "Phoenix Wing S-Class, time to head to the arena for preparation and to get the match underway. Everyone, I hope to see you there!" And with that, he headed for the door to wait on the others. Once the four of them were together, they all headed out and followed the official towards the Arena Indominus.
As Elena ran off to find Mark, Jane simply chuckled and shook her head. Nabbing a drink from a passing waiter, the Energy Blade mage sauntered over to the resident battle-hunter and took a seat next to him. "Quite the gathering here, isn't it? See anyone that piques your interest?" The announcement that the S-Class were heading out caught her attention and she turned back to Belius with a grin. "Seems you'll find someone this way the quickest. Come on, we can walk and talk."
"There will undoubtedly be some amount of swordplay between the two, Cody, but this is an exhibition with all of them, so a magical show is much more likely. As for seeing the skills of other swordsmen, it is indeed a good habit to form, though forms and styles vary widely between styles of weapons, as Damian will likely showcase given the wide range of swords he can wield." He followed Cecillia's gaze to the other Exceeds and shrugged. "They are young, much like their partners. High energy is to be expected."
Many of the voices, however, were cut short by Damian announcing that the Exhibition Match was soon to begin and that the S-Class mages were leaving to go prepare for it. James himself smiled softly in anticipation and he finally dismissed his helmet, though he didn't dismiss his armor, though the energy wings that came from the back of his chest piece settled into more of a cape formation. "And so it begins. Shall we all head that way together?"
Jake smiled softly and pulled Pyrrha into a loving embrace. "I don't care if you don't have anything fancy. It's not about the people around us, it's about us. And besides, I've never taken you to a restaurant next to the sea, so consider it done. Let me go shower and get cleaned up and then we'll go."
Jack took the candle and appraised it with a knowing eye. The wax certainly contained magic, though it was different from magic he knew. "I agree, the candle is exquisite. Though with our being neighbors, you can count on seeing me visit on occasion." When Jamie suggested that he handle getting the communal board set up, he grimaced slightly, but nodded, mentally beginning a checklist of what he'd need to acquire for all three guilds who's masters were currently present to use and access the board.
"It will certainly take some time to get everything together and arranged, so there is no rush to get other guilds to agree. I have to make sure things will work just for the three of us first anyways." A commotion caught Jack's attention on the lacrima surveillance that Jamie used and he raised an eyebrow as her S-Class gathered at the front door. "Is there an event today, Jamie?"
Hunter shook his head as the Oni and the hot head went at it, but nodded to Silver to come along. "Seems no one else is in a hurry to come along and I don't want to go with less than four, five or six is ideal, but this should be a simple enough job. Hot-head and Enma, get your gear for desert weather. Silver, you too. I'll meet you guys at the train station." And with that, the Dragon Slayer was on his way out the door, though he didn't specify why.
He... He was laughing? Sure he didn't put that much into that headbutt, but that was not a light hit by any stretch. "Uh... are you sure you're okay?" Nolan eyed the cracked floor and then back to red discoloration on D'angelo's head. A normal person would have been knocked out completely and yet, this guy took it like a freaking champ.
Now that he got a good luck of him, D'angelo hadn't changed all that much except that he was taller. He still had that round baby face and he certainly was not skimping on the meals with that plump body of his. His smile was still ever ever present as well as that joyful attitude. Was he always this talkative? Well, at least the chubby man was in good spirits if not a bit overly so.
A chubby arm was wrapped around Nolan's shoulder and he was pulled into his cousin until they were side-by-side. In the Slayer's case, he was as stiff as a board from all of this unwanted touching. "I'm hardly gre-AT." His face was then mushed next to his cousin and if looks could kill, Nolan would have slaughtered the entire guild. It didn't help that Ariel's personality was bloody unpredictable!
"Wait, Ariel!" And she's gone with Ethel in tow. This was awkward.
To Nolan's relief, Damian called for the S-Class to assemble for the exhibition match. "Uh, I've got to get going. If you want to watch the match try going with Ariel and Ethel. You can get in for free if they can vouch you're family. We'll talk later." Before D'angelo could get say anything, Nolan was already making his way to the door.
"A Pugi- Oh, Martial Artist. Yes, I am. Everyone in my family is." Xing said after the man introduced himself. "As for my name, I am Xing Guan." She held up a hand and pointed to each finger, as if reading off a list. "Traditionalist? Kinda, except for the whole marriage thing. Practical, yeah, got that. A look of realization washed over her face that caused her to blush slightly. "Hey, wait, I'm not a kid! Maybe where you're from, but where I come from 16 is when you're considered an adult." She crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks with a Hmph. She sat for a second before returning the man's bow with one of her own. "It's nice to meet you too, Galdin." she began, "Sorry, for acting a little imature there. It's just... you remind me of my Fiancee." She scratches the back of her head, wondering if he'd take that the wrong way. "Not in a weird way though." she said waving her hands defensively, "You two just have a similar air about you." She worried that he might take that wrong too, but there wasn't a decent way of explaining herself, without showing off her Fiancee, whom she REALLY didn't want to have to summon. Besides, writing those talismans would take forever.
@Sanguine Rose@twave [h1]Elena and "Perry" "Smokin Bottle?" Elena repeated. Had she heard that name before? She couldn't recall. Perhaps she had, and just forgot, or didn't pay much attention to it. She was taken off guard as she watched what was going on with D'angelo and Nolan, since they were within eyeshot. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the table. "Oh, uh, yeah! Actually, the job I was looking at was that Drinking Contest one." she said pointing towards the board with a thumb. "Heard Marky Mark was real big into drinking, so I figured I'd see if he'd be up for it. She crossed her arms in thought. "Though, I do have to admit, I may have misread the job. I thought I'd have a chance to see if I could drink him under the table." She said. A moaning arose in her head. "Ah, Perry is awake. Morning Sleeping Beauty." She said aloud. Don't 'morning' me. Why'd you go and do tha- Perry realized she was talking to a group of guild mates, and had NO idea how long he had been out. What if she told embarrassing stories!? What if they asked weird questions? What kind of weird answers did Elena give them? What-who-whe- How long was I out? What did you tell them? "Relax Perry. I'm just trying to get us a job and make some guild friends." Elena shrugged then turned back to the table. "Sorry, he's being chatty." Elena, can you pleeaase just give me control back before something weird happens? A smirk went across her face. "Sure, Perry. Right away." "Elena, what was that smirk about?" Perry asked, then realized he said it aloud and in her voice. "Elena, cmon! You were supposed to change the body back! You know I can't use transformation myself!" He whined. Elena giggled softly in his mind as she watched him struggle.
"Pleased to meet you, young miss Xing. Do forgive me for not realizing you came from a line of combatants. I would have thought I had plenty of experience in being able to tell who are capable fighters and who are not." He said in a sort of self-reflective manner, as if he spoke to himself rather than Xing.
"I suppose I do have plenty more things to learn about this world of ours. Despite my many years. 20 to be in fact." He added and looked Xing over yet another time, scanning her body over this time and disregarding the outfit that was certainly foreign to him. He hadn't been able to see her capabilities as an unarmed combatant before, was it because of the cake having distracted him? The area being new? The sounds of people all around? He discreetly enhanced his vision to focus in on her.
'My first impression was wrong? This just won't do. She clearly knows how to defend herself, you don't get a shape like that from nowhere. With enough physical exercise you can achieve great heights, even higher if you got a strong will. Perhaps I should test her martial prowess later...' The noble pondered on the young martial artist before him, having realized that she was most certainly what she claimed to be. Yet despite that, it was her personality and reactions that was the hardest thing to deal with. He tried to hide his smile for as long as he could, but ultimately had to put one of his hands in front of his own mouth discreetly to halt his snicker as he thought of the the young woman's defense from his accusation that she were a kid.
"My appologies, I just thought you seemed very youthful that's all, not that you were lacking in anything. Ahh but marriage and a fiancée?" He repeated the words, making sure that he indeed heard the words correctly. Despite his ability to adjust the levels of his hearing, he couldn't be a hundred percent certain, with all the chatter around the pair. Also it appeared to him that Xing was embarassed about something, as she had blushed and crossed her arms. Clearly there was something which was making her abit uneasy. After a brief moment of consideration he addressed the issue directly. After all, a full frontal attack was often the best option to deal with many issues. Right?
"Do not appologize, it's allright to be abit immature if you are youthful and enamored. And I remind you of your fiancée? Physically? Is that why your face grew abit red just now?" The young noble asked as if it had been just about any other question that one would ask, there was no use walking around the subject. It would likely also save them both valuable time to not complicate matters further. He swung his hair briefly in the wind, and twirled a lock of his hair. "Not in the weird way huh? What weird way? Do you mean to say that you have fallen for me, little lady?" He tapped his own chin in a ponderous manner as he said the line aloud, a slight smile forming on his lips which showed clear amusement.
"A similar air..." Galdin soon after said, wondering what that could imply to. Was it the way he carried himself? His way of attire? His mannerism? His face? Had he some lost relative around resembling him?
"Come then. Introduce me to this fiancée of yours, provided he isn't out-of-town so to speak? In which case, I shall keep you company for a walk if you so wish. You are an adult righ? So I am certain you can make up your mind about such things. Unless my resemblence to your fiancée is too much for you?" The young noble rose up from his seating and offered out his right arm to Xing, in case she wanted to hold unto it. Wasn't that how nobles took walks anyways? It certainly looked far more refined than simply walking side by side. It was also unbecoming of him to leave a conversation partner without offering them a chance to join him.
