When the chef started to approach Evangeline, she immediately flinched. Her first thought was that the man would throw her out. That's what they did to her at literally any other place she had gone to. However, he didn't touch her. He didn't ask her to leave. No, he even smiled at her. This was new. Did this guy somehow know who she was? Whose daughter she was? He couldn't have. No one in these regions has ever heard of her parents. Does this mean that he was being genuine at that moment? This realization made her calm down.

He even wanted to introduce her to the guild master. Wow, this meant that she actually had a shot at getting in. Of course she knew she deserved it, but she didn't expect things to go the way she wanted them to. The moment he started to ask if she was okay, Evangeline took a deep breath. She didn't want others to feel sorry for her. She didn't want them to be nice to her because they felt bad for her situation. She didn't need anyone to treat her like a wounded little bird. She was a strong woman and deserved to be treated as such. She wanted to earn their trust and return the favour.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the man announced that he was going to cook a meal for her. When did she tell him she was hungry? When did she ask him to do that for her? She didn't need him to decide what she needed for her. However, this wasn't the time to be picky. With every second that flew by, her knees started shaking more. A wave of exhaustion came over her, which was something unfamiliar to her as her magic caused her the side effect of not needing a lot of sleep. She had to be strong. She had to convince these people to let her stay, to let her work. "Thank you." She tried to say those two words in her most confident voice, but it sounded more like a raspy whisper.

Not long after, a woman approached the two of them. She started talking about getting her clothes as well as the food. They wanted to get her dressed? Just like that? They didn't care about who she was or where she came from. They simply helped her. Just like that. This was completely new for her, but she tried to contain her emotions as to not seem to eager. She needed to keep a strong image. That would be the best way to start.

"Thank you, Miss. I just want to earn money for food and a place to stay, fair and square. My preference goes towards working as a mage, but I'll take anything you want at this point. I have experience as a waitress in a small tavern, if that helps at all." She shouldn't have said that she would take anyone. Now she sounded desperate. Of course her appearance didn't help her case either.

---

His eyes kept going back and forth between the homeless girl and the chef standing next to him. How did this girl survive this long without any money? Food? A place to stay? That's amazing! She's amazing! And wow... That chef served all of those people with food that they clearly absolutely love. How does he pull that off? Matthew could learn a lot from him. Of course cooking wasn't a talent of his. He might even forget that he put the stove on. That would be way too dangerous.

That reminded him. Two years ago, the woman living at the end of the street forgot to put the stove off when she went to the store. By the time she came back, nothing was left of her house. Even her neighbours had significant damage to repair. Where did that woman go after this incident? He remembered her fighting with the neighbours about payment for the repairs. Maybe she moved so she could pay for everything. Where would she be now? Oh, and what was he doing again? Right! He was at the guildhall where he wanted to apply for a job! Right, right, right.

When did this woman join them? It didn't matter. She asked him to wait for his turn, so that's what he would do. He would wait for his turn. He could do that. No problem. He had patience. He could be a very patient person if they needed him to be. Yes, he could. Oh, but what is that woman right there eating? It looked delicious! Matthew ran over to her, hang with his head above the plate and looked intently at the ingredients before him. "That looks delicious! Can I have a bite?" The woman immediately told him 'no' and asked him what was wrong with him.

That was a good question! What was wrong with him? A lot in fact! He should take better care of Belle. He should pay Rosa more money. He shouldn't depend on his foster family's money. He should let them know that he was okay. He should eat healthier, even though he needed to eat candy to be able to use his magic properly. He should train more, so he could be stronger. What was he doing again? Right! Waiting! Maybe he should sit down. That would make him look way more professional.

Matthew sat down in one of the boots and started to eat some candy he had stored in his hair. But maybe it was rude to eat food he brought himself. Then again, he shouldn't disturb the chef when he was clearly already so busy. Hmmm... What was the best thing to do in this situation? Matthew kept thinking about that while still eating the hair candy, not even taking it out of his hair. He might accidently drop it if he dared to take it out before the container was empty.

Nolan
@Zarkun@Sanguine Rose

"Are you telling me that we may be walking straight into a trap?" growled Nolan through the comms. Of course, it was on him for only asking now, but this was also pertinent information. If they were walking straight into a trap, then he wanted to know way that it was a possibility. God's above if the Astarin by some absolute miracle didn't kill the guardsmen then he would do it himself. "If you think there is anything strange at all, say something. I'll give the mapmakers something to complain about if need be."

Nolan then shifted focus. Through Ria's earpiece, she heard Nolan. "Hey Ria, you heard that right? How are you holding up?" It was only normal to check up on how his coworker was managing the situation. She had been maintaining the barrier for an awfully long time. He needed to know how she was doing, especially if they were to move forward into a possible death trap.

---

Zenith
@Squirrel98

It was soft, but he was certain that he heard the homeless girl say something with her raspy breath. Zenith maintained his kind, gentle smile. "You're welcome." There was not much else that he could say to her and sometimes that's all anyone could do. His gaze shifted towards Karma who approached them and kindly informed Zen that the guild master was already dealing with another new recruit. Two in one day that must've been a record. Oh, yeah, he completely forgot that candy boy was there too. Make that three though it could've been more. He hadn't stopped cooking since he arrived.

"I'll be in the kitchen then. Give me a holler if anyone needs me. Oh, and a pleasure to meet you both. Glad to see some friendlier faces." With a friendly wave goodbye, Zenith rushed off back to the kitchen. He surveyed the leftover prepped ingredients in their plastic containers. "Now what do I feed a girl that hasn't had proper meal in a while..."

A rich dish would obviously be tasty, but it would probably make her stomach do loops. Not to mention that she's more than likely deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. What she needed was a meal that was flavorful, but rich in nutrients and light as to not upset her stomach. Zenith rubbed his chin in thought before he snapped his fingers with a self-satisfied grin. "Yeah, that'll work." With that, Zen was back at chopping vegetables, chicken, and kneading dough.

With a new friend acquired, Akemi seemed quite content with herself right now. Not that anyone she was with was probably familiar enough with the girl to notice her more upbeat demeanor, as she didn't show anything too terribly visibly different. Instead, it was a subtle shift in her behavior. There was a little extra pep in her step, a little rocking of her head from side to side. Perhaps more noticeable to Ariel in her current state than anyone else.

Though now with their client here, Akemi snapped back to attention as it was time for business. Or so one might think, but lets be real. Akemi? Serious? Business? Hah, good one.

"Akemi Desdemona." The moment they were on the train and getting settled into their car, Akemi made a beeline for the client who seemed to be close in age to her, extending a hand out to the girl. While she was intending to come off friendly and polite, it came off as perhaps rude and frosty as her tone didn't match what she was going for, being quite monotone. Regardless, she would ask the same question she had Amelia before.

"Friend?"

Akemi would keep her hand outstretched towards her, staring at her expectantly till she got a response. Of course with all her attention tunneled onto the client, she didn't pay a single ounce of attention to the obviously suspicious individuals in the previous car. That could be left to someone who wasn't denser than a black hole. Otherwise, Akemi awaited with eager excitement to see if she could make another new friend today with this girl.

That way she could go back and tell Zen how she had made a bunch of friends today! By herself even!


Yes! Success!

If she wasn't hanging from a tree branch right now, she might be tempted to do a fist pump or maybe a happy little dance that her idea was working. Not only had she gotten a couple of hits and some damage in, but she had gotten its attention! That happiness though was short lived as a boulder whisked by her head and a sudden realisation dawned on her.

What next?

Now that she had its attention, what was her next move? An arc of energy that narrowly missed the Vulcan bought her time as she frantically began to think and scramble back into the tree and closer to the trunk, a hand pointing out at the Vulcan as she shoot off a few more bolts of electricity as she began to flip through her grimoire. Did she have a spell which would help her with this beast? Of course not, she barely had any spells to begin with! What next, what next, what next.....

What would he do? Thinking that, she grabbed at her pendant and scurried to the other side of the tree as best she could for now. So long as the Vulcan didn't have a proper line of sight on her, she was at least safer from its counters. Until it no doubt began to climb up the tree. Speaking of which, how was she getting out of this tree safely? If it got up here, she was in trouble as this wasn't the best place to fight anything really, let alone a giant ape!

So what would he do?

Thinking that again, her grip on the pendant tightened before she steeled her resolve. Fine then, let that overgrown monkey get up here! She would try and gather as much charge as she could in that time and give it quite the shocking reception if it did indeed make its way up the tree. And then once she had done that? It was simple, as she yelled out for Kiba even as she felt the energy within begin to rise.

"Get ready to catch Kiba!"

In short, she was going to blast the Vulcan with as much electricity as she could before jumping out of the tree and hoping Kiba was in a position to catch her. If he wasn't? Uhhhhh....well, he was reliable so she trusted he would be there! Maybe. Hopefully. She was regretting this plan already, but it was the best she could think of in this situation. Best she didn't think of how much it would hurt if it didn't work...

Kiba

---

Adelyn’s call for his aid did not fall on deaf ears, and the silent swordsman had already determined the best course of action was to support Adelyn with the unprecedented vulcan appearance. With long strides, Kiba bolted from his position, running perpendicular to the Vulcan. A sniper shot from the sergeant ensured that he would arrive at Adelyn's position before the rampaging beast. As if sensing his arrival, Adelyn launched herself from the tree top with a surge of energy directed at their opponent. Kiba leapt forward, extending his arms to catch his team mate against his chest with a slight stumble; residual electricity from her spell tingling through his muscles. He grit his teeth and bore it, lowering Adelyn down onto her feet with a curt nod.

“Behind me.” He instructed, his usual soft spoken tone making way for a stern confidence befitting of a trained fang. No doubt the Vulcan’s ire would continue to be drawn towards Adelyn, and Kiba intended to ensure the beast would have to get through him first. He lowered into a defensive stance, his hand firmly clasping the hilt of Saint Shiva’s blade. He exhaled a long breath of chilled fog. The air grew colder around him, a rime of frost forming along the grass near his feet.

“Driving Frost” He stepped forward, drawing his sword to strike with an inhuman speed. The blade was sheathed once more within the blink of an eye, almost as if he hadn’t attacked at all. The arc of the blade appeared to soar across the field, a cold wind pushing outward from Kiba’s position as everything before him became suffused with frost. The blast soared right towards the Vulcan, threatening to chill the beast to its core.

It was a simple instruction to stay down and away from the fray. But from the arch of that lightning jolt, Adelyn had assuredly done neither of those things. And no sooner had he restrained the Vulcan than she had set it free. The tentacle had barely enough time to securely latch before it was zapped into pieces. While the red beast destroying the tentacles he sent after it was well within the expected outcomes, apparently no plan survives Adelyn's involvement. Each tentacle cut down squirmed and bubbled away into the ground, leaving behind dead plant life wherever it oozed away.

She better have her own plan to overcome the Vulcan, then. She had Kiba and Sergeant on her side though. That was what teams were for, wasn't it? Divide and conquer. The other two guild mages could handle a single Vulcan. Sergeant would take pot shots at the thing if it broke through their defenses, and would radio in if the lightning beast was inbound. So that left Mark's only concern being the red beast. With Adelyn's poor choice injuring it too, he needed to ensure he regained it's undivided attention. With the Vulcan around, it wasn't a good time to utilize the Fury attack, but there the other options would destroy the forest. Perhaps a little more precise measures. Not many spells were appropriate for that. At least, none he had mastered to this point. Theoretical applications were dangerous enough for the environment, much less the fact there were people he was supposed to not injure. The trouble of working with others, he sighed. There was no choice though. He needed the thing to focus on him as the target. If it diverted attention to the Vulcan it would possibly divert attention to Adelyn and Kiba. He was not going to explain to Jenna why they died. He was the bigger threat here anyway. He needed to prove it.

Mark kept lashing at it with the tentacles spawning from the ground as he stepped into the clearing. The thing could dodge and destroy as many as it wanted as long as it was distracted. After one last attempt to catch the beast in a draining grasp, he stopped in clear view of everyone. Abyssal energy pooled in his palm before he wound back and threw it like a baseball aimed for the monster's side. "Abyssal Destruction." If it contacted, or even if it missed, it would blow up like a grenade. A beam might have been better, a continual attack that would cut rather than explode, but this was bound to be less dangerous for the others. He didn't give it time to land before he charged up another ball and threw it where he anticipated the beast to land if it dodged the first one.

---

---

The travel wasn't long, and the hits to the shield were not exactly hard to handle, but she really needed to concentrate on it to keep from getting distracted and dropping it. She couldn't time it, she couldn't predict where the next one would be, but she was getting the feeling the attacks launched upon the shield were testing its integrity instead of actual attempts to get to them. That wasn't a comforting thought. Hearing the chatter about the patterns of attack didn't make it easy to stay focused either, but knowing they were almost out of the forest was comforting. Once they were out from tree cover it would be probably safe enough to drop the barrier; surely they would have clear line of sight to handle any attacks. Except there could be long grass or brush along the path that would make it easy for them to hide in. Then she would just need to hold out a bit longer. She could do that. Even though it wasn't easy, she could manage the barrier until they were absolutely in the clear.

When she heard her name, she blinked herself to more attention. How was she doing? To be perfectly honest she was certain she wasn't going to be able to hold a barrier up the whole way back. For now? "I'm fine. Once we get to sniper range, I plan to drop the barrier. How are you holding up? You sound tense. I know Asterins can be nasty to deal with, but they should be no trouble for you even if there's trouble on the return trip. This will go fine. We're all trained professionals."

That chef was amazing for cooking for this poor girl. And this poor girl was amazing for holding on long enough to get at this place right her right now. Everyone here was amazing. Matthew knew that he had to join this guild. He just had to. It would be good for him, finally a place that would actually feel like home. Of course his foster family was nice, but these people loved magic just as much as he himself did. And they all seemed to have such great stories to share. They all fought their own battles and that was simply amazing!

Matthew wanted to talk to the homeless girl, the one that they called the other new recruit. But it didn't seem as if she was interested in him. In that case, he should just leave her alone. She was probably just tired, or in pain, and he had to respect that by keeping his distance from her. But there were so many questions he could ask her! How she became homeless, why she looked that poorly maintained, how she managed to get to this guild, why she wanted to join this guild, what her magic was.

And that chef! What motivated him to cook for all of these people? Why did he do it? And was he a wizard as well? What was his magic type? Did he use it to cook the food? Was it MAGIC FOOD?! That sounded amazing! Could the candy in his hair be considered magic food? His hair was magic and the candy was in the hair, so by that logic that candy was magic! All candies are magic, they just taste so amazing! What was he thinking about? Oh right! Why all of these people were so amazing!

Should he go over to that woman again and ask her how she thought of ordering that dish? If it was her favorite dish? No, it probably wasn't a very good idea. She didn't seem to be in a good mood either. How could these people be in a good mood and a bad mood at the same time? Was something influencing their mood? How strange...

---

After declaring her interest in finding a job and earning her money fair and square, she agreed to follow the woman and get herself cleaned up. How could everyone be this nice to her? The woman wanted to help her look less like... whatever she looked like... and the chef had started to cook for her without any ulterior motive. She wanted to think that there was more to it, that there was something dark hiding behind the good intentions that she simply couldn't see.

After getting cleaned up, she took a seat at an empty table and looked around to see happier faces and people getting along much better than she was used to seeing. Her life had revolved around people doing what they had to do and ignoring everything and everyone else. These people... genuinely wanted to be here... and be there for each other.

The other new recruit obviously grabbed her attention as well, no one could possibly miss his presence. He seemed to be so happy and enthusiastic to be there that it both made her just as happy and incredibly annoyed. She didn't quite know how to feel about him. And it didn't matter hwo she felt about him. She needed to just make herself seem useful and strong, so that these people would give her a job. It didn't matter who they were, they were giving her a chance and that's what counted.

While sitting in one of the boots waiting, she took the book that she had carried with her. The book contained a lot of different magic types and she loved reading about them again and again and again. By this time, she had memorized every word of every page, but it didn't matter. She remembered the last time she was at the library and how many books she was able to read. It was sad that the time was over, but at least she had this one book to remember that place by. Reading it gave her comfort.

Adelyn's spell, pushed to its limits as it were, blasted her and the Vulcan out of the tree, though while she had Kiba waiting to catch her, the Vulcan did not and it grunted loudly, as well as an audible snap of something breaking when it landed. As it picked itself up, Kiba struck himself, the icy blast hitting it full in the chest and giving it a bad case of frost bite. With Mark, his attacks both found their marks, the abyssal explosions sending the red beast sprawling. However, bursts of static came through on the COMs units of the mages. {-oming static -epeat, th- -ming static} It sounded like the Sergeant was trying to tell them something, but the static surge was making it nearly impossible to make out.

However, as the red beast picked itself up and set its sights on Mark while the Vulcan crouched to make another lunge for Kiba and Adelyn, the air became supercharged, smelling of strange and almost sweet scent. Mark would instantly recognize the smell as belonging to ozone, a smell often associated with thunderstorms, cluing him in to what the sergeant was likely trying to tell them. The Vulcan did lunge alright, but not at the two mages, who braced for an attack, and instead at a branch over and above them, swinging away as quick as it could, even with the trail of blood it left behind. This freed Adelyn and Kiba up to help Mark, or would have, if seconds after the Vulcan fled, blue sparks appeared and lit up the areas around them before bolts of lightning of the same color lit up the clearing, barely missing all the combatants that remained. However, it cleared up the COMS long enough for the Sergeant's voice to be heard, even as another red laser blasted over them all, hitting something several hundred yards away loudly. {The lighting fucker is incoming! I repeat, it is incoming hard and fast, get the hell out of there!}

Two more red lasers, two more impacts, and the howl of a massive beast, followed by another barrage of lightning that everyone needed to dodge. The red monster leaps agilely side to side, doing its best, but a direct blow is landed, blue lightning arcing across its body as it roars in pain and falls to its side, panting heavily. The Sergeant fires several more times, practically screaming into the radio. {Can any of you fucking hear me? RUN!} Another voice can be heard nearby as the shots continue, a female.

"There's the possibility that that fucking thing's static build up is interfering with communications. Hopefully it clears up enough for them to hear the warnings."

---

Nolan didn't get a response as the group of Guardsmen resumed their head swivels, rifles slightly raised. Ten minutes later, Corporal Nalen's voice came over the COMs. {We should be within range of the snipers now, you can drop your barrier if you'd like. Once we're ins-} The Corporal's voice suddenly cut out as he shifted his attention to an incoming message that had forced a switch on his COM unit to a different channel. Meanwhile, Damian just whistled to himself as the convoy moved, conversing with his driver.

"See Enold, I told you it would be fine with them all working together. They don't like to admit it, but the Guardsmen adapt well to working around the magics a Mage can bring to the table."

"Maybe so, Mister Pendragon, but we all know how tensions are outside Rembrandt. And I'm p-" The corporal rode over to Damian's window and knocked, causing him to roll it down and the driver to immediately shut up. "Yes, Corporal?" There was a hurried exchange of words, followed by nothing more than a curt nod before the Corporal moved over to Nolan, beckoning Ria over.

"The good news is that the Asterin haven't been sighted near the outpost. In fact, apparently the base's First Lieutenant found it strange. That generally means though..." He trailed off, knowing the two mages could put two and two together themselves.

---

Jenna couldn't help but chuckle as Trinity began asking for clarification on things and, once the young woman had said her piece, she answered everything in order. "Meals are included, part of the 15% goes to cover the ingredients costs, so it only makes sense that you'd eat what is purchased without paying again, and there is no job number requirement. Between Ria's efforts to build good standing with many of the townsfolk and my own putting on singing acts when possible, we bring in enough jewel to not need it. And what doesn't come in as direct jewel is usually something of equal value, such as vegetables. Now, that said, I do recommend at least one small job a day, something like helping with deliveries and the such. Bigger jobs come up occasionally, and we recently got several all in one go, and their pay is always good." Last but no least was her question about the entry phase and Jenna shook her head as the two walked back into the hall. "No tests or anything of the like, though I think the only job left is the fishery...hm?"

She turned her head when Karma whistled at her, looking at the bartender who then pointed at the two new arrivals. Jenna could almost scream in joy. So many new arrivals! This is truly a good day! She nodded to her bartender and friend before approaching the space between the two newly arrived, and showered in case of the pink haired young woman, mages. "Well, it seems two more have come to join us then! First, let me welcome you to Rising Starborn, the only guild in Pergrande, but with aspirations to pave the way for more. I'm Jenna Wolfsbane, guild master. If I could get your names please, starting with you, miss." She paused a moment. "Oh, and Zen, make food for the two of them please, getting here is a tiring journey."

---

The girl appraised Akemi first, looking her over as her personal body guard simply observed, watching the entrances to their car and the interaction with the young wizard, a small smile on his face despite his best efforts, before the girl took the offered hand and shook it. "Aylin Blackreach. A pleasure to meet you miss Desdemona. And for now...not yet, but perhaps over time we can become friends. What interests do you have?" This was likely not the kind of response either Akemi expected based on what she'd seen from other nobles who visited the guild hall, rare as it was.

Meanwhile, the two previously mentioned figures both stood up and began to casually move about the train car they were in, talking to various people on it. After each conversation, the persons spoken to would become agitated and glance back at the door to the train car the group was on.

@Lunarlord34 Akemi @twave Ariel @zarkun Aylin Blackreach

---

Following along from the rear, mostly to know which car they would be staying in to keep track of in case something was to happen. Taking this opportunity to get a good look of the train's interior; admiring the decor and so as his clouds made train use unnecessary.

It wasn't long before they arrived and already he could see Akemi trying to befriend the young lady. Pleasant to see as he glanced around the car, taking in a quick look around, until Lady Aylin looked in his direction.

" Hey! By the way, miss, the name's D'angelo. I'm mostly just here for observin so don't mind me. I will be putting up a backup in case of an emergency. Should form in a few minutes, if anything bad should happen, just give it a little whack and poomf!" Miming an expansion with his hands." Hope everyone has a safe and fun ride!" A double thumbs up before moving to prep.

Whistling and bouncing atop nimbus while gently whipping up a handful from the golden cloud, where he worked and shaped it into a puffy golden snowball." Pitcher winding up and..." With a fair number wind up of his arms, the chubby male chucked the ball upward, having it land on the ceiling near the car's center with a faint and gentle squish where it then settled and took root to start growing with each passing second exposed to the air, like a plant forming small tendrils; thin, waspy golden smokey trail slithered to both sides of the train. Over the next few minutes, at the center base, it would sprout into a softball-sized puffy yellow orb hanging partially down like a wobbly chandelier, enough for most to reach with little trouble. (while certain shorter individuals may find requiring need of jumping to reach)

With that done, D'angelo drifted off with a departing wave back out and towards the front of the train; drawing up to the side until he was leveled with it. A wave of the hands to have a waft of white cloud form and be shaped into a helmet then draped over his head, finishing with a whispy cloudy scarf." Can't forget about safety...Oops!"

A slap of the head forehead, nearly forgetting as he reached into his cloudy companion to pull out a pair of goggles." Phew, don't want to go losing an eye to some bird out jayflying or anything." Shaking his head at such possible humiliation before even on an actual job. With a snap and a small ow, goggles were on. Not to mention a bad look for a first not-job job to boot.

" Ok, this is it Nimbus. Just remember this, winning isn't the goal so just do your best and see how we fare to the epic power and might of science!" HIs arms out wide in amazed wonder towards the massive mechanical beast; a hiss of steam almost as if in acknowledgment of the strange human's challenge."This is so cool isn't it, nimbus? Getting to not only see beasts and meet new people, but new mechanical wonders of all sorts too, all of it just waiting for us to see..and it all begins officially down this track!" HIs body bounced giddily in place laughing with elation.

Soon hearing the train gearing up to set off, the pudgy young adult shifted into a sitting position, moving his hands to click in place a seatbelt to better hold him down." Let's show everyone what you can do and most of all..a good time!"

“Food’s included, no job requirements - I’m no mooch, now - no tests or entry period.. I’ll certainly take a room.” If she was going to be living in this building, Trinity had research to do. She dismissed the last instrument she had out, the trumpet, and its mute, before she began molding the sphere of energy she had held on to. Before she could, however, she stopped, studying the piece of energy in her hands and looking up and around. She was just at the door, the threshold of the building, able to see half the sky. “.. a.. thunderstorm..?” She didn’t remember a storm on the horizon, but these things could change suddenly. Perhaps one was brewing where she could not see, because of the building. Whatever.

She went inside and caught what Jenna had said about the jobs. The fishery? The musician cast her gaze for the job board, locating it shortly and going to inspect, molding her energy into a spherical microphone construct. Indeed, there was only one job left. Something about going to look for a fight? Guweh.

Jenna shouted about food and Trinity remembered she'd only had that little break at the coffee shop recently, “could you fix me something, too? Egg toast’d be great, please.” Aaah, nearly free food! Oooh, a hearty meal would be a good thing to get in her belly. She’d only had cash enough for a coffee and some whipped cream, before. Good coffee, at least. The spherical make she’d formed was feeding her information about the sound of the building, which she was using to get a feel for the acoustics. It floated over her shoulder and slightly behind her, shimmering and gold.

Jenna was busy welcoming more new members. That was a pleasant surprise, she thought she'd be the only one. There were more mages already joined than she'd thought there would be, too. This was the only guild in the Kingdom, after all. Trinity had herself a seat at the bar with her back to it and pulled out a small harp, tuning it shortly before she started to play a bit of chamber music. She would wait to introduce herself after their induction. No need to bombard them.

“.. there's no way I get booze, too, right?” The musician leaned back on the bar and peered back over it, examining what she could see as she played. There was no way. No way!

Once she’d examined the bar, she chose to watch the new recruits, wondering what their magics were and if they could fight. She didn’t really like the idea of grabbing tagalongs to do her fighting for her, but what else was she going to do? She could wait for more work to come in, but that also wasn’t really preferable. Well, at least she could eat.

Matthew was amazed by the woman approaching him and the other new recruit. So her name was Jenna Wolfsbane? What a beautiful name! And she's the guild master, which means that she should be very strong. Is she very strong? What kind of magic does she use? Matthew was very curious to find out, but he didn't dare to actually ask those questions as he didn't want to be rude. "Matthew Whitney! That's my name! I'm not tired at all, but thank you for the food!" Matthew started shouting as soon as Jenna asked about their names. It wasn't until he was done talking that he realised she wanted the other recruit's name first. Oops. Hopefully, she didn't mind his little mistake. She probably didn't.

Matthew decided to wait for the girl to reply next before interrupting. He soon got distracted by the girl who was with Jenna. Was she another new recruit? It sounded like it! So they were with three. Himself, the girl next to him and the girl at the bar right there. Maybe he should say hi. It couldn't hurt to say hi, right? "Hi! I'm Matthew! You're new too?!" He said as he ran up to the girl holding a small harp. Was she a musician? How cool! Her music sounded great as well! "You're really good at that! Have you played long? what kind of magic do you use?!"

---

Evangeline couldn't believe how impulsive this other recruit was and how quickly he got distracted. He even left the conversation to go talk with someone else due to a lack of patience. How rude! "My name is Evangeline Twister. I would like to work here as mage or as server, as anything you want honestly. I need an earning, so I can get a roof above my head and some food. Also, thank you for ordering food for me." She tried to sound as polite as possible without sounding desperate, which wasn't easy. She needed to make a good impression. Luckily, the other recruit made that so easy. However, apparently there was a third new recruit as well and she seemed to be more graceful than Matthew. Hopefully, there was no limit to the amount of people getting accepted.

Evangeline carefully put down the book as to give Jenna her full attention. So the guild master was named Jenna and the chef Zen. She should thank Zen as well as soon as he brought the food. "Miss Wolfsbane. I use Tear Magic, which might not sound as a strong type of magic, but I promise to be useful to you and the rest of the guild."

It was good enough for Akemi!

"Nice to meet you...also ummm...miss Blackreach?" She hoped that was the proper etiquette, she wasn't really informed on how to talk to nobles and such. or people in general really, but she was address as Miss Desdemona, so was she meant to return it in kind? Either way, the girl was obviously hopelessly out of her depth here but she didn't really care about that anyway.

The fact she wasn't outright rejected already cemented the status of newfound friend well and truly in Akemi's mind, even if Aylin had yet to formally think so herself, her eyes sparkling as she eagerly and happily shook the noble girls hand. Most of the other noble sorts that Akemi had seen in the guild had either ignored her, or Zen had kept her away from, so this being her first proper interaction with one left her in an almost dazed happy state before she snapped back to earth when she realised her mind had wondered and she was still firmly, well as firmly as a sickly 16 year old girl could, shaking the other girls hand the entire time.

Right. Interests. She should answer that question her new friend was asking her! It would be rude not to after all.

"Hmmmm....." Taking a moment to think, a finger tapped at her chin as her head swayed left, right, left, right, left, right, as if moving in rhythm with the tapping of her finger as one could almost hear the clock-like ticking and tocking noises from the girl. "I like to train! If I want to become strong enough to protect everyone, I got to train to do so after all. Otherwise, I like to cook though Zen gets mad every time I do. Hmmm...I tried sewing but Zen got upset after I stabbed myself in the fingers. I also like helping people, but Zen got upset last time because apparently...."

And once she started speaking, she began counting on her fingers, a deadpan and unchanging look on her face as she listed off more and more things. Most of them ending with this Zen person either getting mad, upset, sad, concerned or some other such emotion. Maybe even a mixture. And these stories ranged from having an interest in cats and trying to take home a wild cat, to nearly becoming an accomplice in an attempted jewelry store robbery because she liked collecting pretty rocks. Once she ran out of fingers on both hands though, she reset and started again till she got to about 17.

"....I still don't know why Zen was mad about that one, I liked learning how to play poker with those nice gentleman. I even won some free clothing from them. Maybe I could teach you also? Oh right, Zen is my umm....guardian? Yeah, I think that's what he told me to call him? Most people call him my brother so we usually roll with that, but he isn't really my brother. I don't think so anyway?"
Akemi didn't look like the sort, especially with her lack of emotion on display, but she could talk. And talk. And talk. It would be hard to gauge whether or not any of the stories she told were truthful or not, as aforementioned there was hardly a shift in tone in any of them, but Akemi was quite chatty when excited. And she was excited and bubbly right now, even if she wasn't showing it. At any rate, Akemi paused for a moment, perhaps giving Aylin a chance to speak if she so chose to, as Akemi realised she had forgotten the most important thing!

"Oh and I like to read. Ria is nice and lends me books sometimes, she has really nice books. Books about knights and princesses and heroes and fighting dragons. She won't let me read the books she's usually reading though, something about when I'm older?"

Oh you sweet summer child.


Another success! Even if landing in Kiba's arms wasn't exactly as smooth sailing as she anticipated, the plan so far had been going off without a hitch. Or rather 'plan', if one could call it that considering it was just Adelyn making shit up on the spot. But suppose improvisation on the fly was a plan in of itself, even if unintentional on Adelyns part as she was out of her depths a little in this scenario. However with a little bit more of a push, between her, Kiba and the Sargent already doing some significant damage to the Vulcan, then no doubt they could wrap this up nice and quick before moving on to help Mark with the-

Wait, why was the Vulcan running away? Had they scared it off already? Adelyn was confused for a moment, but no matter. She knew she totally had the giant ape covered, yep, totally, so it was just running away because it didn't stand a chance. That meant they were now free to go and help Mark.

Oh how naive she was that that was the thought going through her mind before the whole world seemed to turn into a series of blue flashes of energy that scorched the earth around them, narrowly missing both her and Kiba as she felt all the strength and fight in her body vanish almost as quickly as the creature had arrived, dropping to the ground looking like a deer caught in headlights and barely even catching what the Sargent was trying to say.

Her whole body had gone numb, her mind shut down at the display. And the beast was still not at their location? By the sounds of its roars of pain as Monroe's shots found their marks suggested it wasn't far off though, even if it wasn't close. A few hundred yards? If that? Just how big was this thing anyway? And this lightning; this was beyond anything she was capable of. She was resistant to such attacks, and even she wasn't sure what would happen if she was to be hit directly by this thing.

'Because you're weak and a disgrace.'

No! This thing was way too big and strong! She refuted this voice which sounded just like her fathers, clenching fistfuls of dirt as she shut her eyes.

'Excuses are for the weak. You're a failure, a stain on the Amberfield name. You should just run, its all you're good at after all right? You should just go home.'

That was different! She didn't have a choice, besides, did that really count as running? Besides, there was no home to return to. Not anymore. Adelyn slumped further, watching on in a daze as the lightning came back for another round.

'Maybe you would if you were remotely useful? Instead of being worthless dead weight'

Adelyn had no refute to that, growing silent as more and more voices entered her mind at this moment. Mostly that of her father and brothers, each one as mocking and disgusted as the other.

'You're not cut out to be a mage.' 'Give it up.' 'You're going to die.' 'Its for the best, trash should die like trash.' 'Your luck has run out.' 'You have no right to call yourself an Amberfield.''This is real lightning.' 'You should run, you'll just get in the way.' Etc, etc, etc.

"Shut....up." Her grimoire flared up with magical energy as hopefully as was the idea, all the lightning in the area was drawn towards Adelyn as she cast Lightning Rod. Hopefully, Kiba had the presence of mind to not be next to her for this, otherwise, she wasn't going to apologize for this as she just kept repeating that phrase over and over in her mind. Screaming and yelling over the voices she knew weren't real. They were figments of her imagination, her own mind playing tricks on her. She was used to it, but it didn't make it any easier to ignore no matter how much she tried.

After all, deep down, she thought every single comment to be true. She was weak. She was worthless. If she was half as strong as her brothers, as him, then maybe she could've prevented it all. Thats what she believed, even if all it was was just talk to make her feel better. This feeling of regret, helplessness, and guilt winning out over her shock and fear as unimaginable pain no doubt coursed through her body as she drew in as much lightning as she could physically withstand, redirecting most of the energy into the ground to hopefully harmlessly discharge there. The rest? Charged into another attack which she would shoot back in an arc of blue lightning right back at the creature which had but a simple message to the voices still hammering away inside her head.

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

She wasn't going to run no matter what Monroe said over the radio. Not till their mission was complete. Her pride, the one thing she had and clung to no matter how dire things got, refused to buckle. Mark had the red beast handled after all right? So all they had to do was stall the lightning one. So she was damn well going to stall this thing for as long as she could. She would rather die an Amberfield mage than disgrace their name any further than her existence already did.

@Zarkun@Sanguine Rose

"Maybe, but I won't relax until we are back in Rembrandt." For as much as he tried to appreciate Ria's attempts put him at ease, he simply could not dull the edge he was sitting on. No matter how close to the finish line, there was always something that could happen at the last second because that's how life mainly worked. The second he relaxed it would've been the universe's signal to throw every challenge his way just to fuck with him. If he was tense, then he was at least ready for the unexpected rather than caught with his pants between his legs and once again, Nolan found himself to be correct.

The monk's eyes fell upon the approaching corporal. That tense scowl of his only got worse when the corporal informed him of some very unfortunate news. His arms crossed and he said, "So either the Asterin are waiting for us on the way back to strike or the alpha wasn't calling its pack back because we were overpowering them, but because something bigger made its move. Have you received messages from other COMs channels for any strange behavior of the local fauna nearby?"

Nolan glanced towards Ria. "You've already expended enough magic. Until we have enough details on what's going on, rest and focus on restoring your magic." It was doubtful she'd be able to restore all of her magic in a short amount of time, but she did her part of the job. His part would soon come up if they were ever so unlucky.

---

@Squirrel98@CitrusArms@Zarkun

From the kitchen, they would've heard the man shouting out, "Already on it!" And true to his word, he was cooking albeit it was only for the homeless girl. Zenith figured that the candy haired man would, well, eat his own hair or something if he was hungry. It seemed like something he would do given that candy coated glazed look in his eyes, but maybe he was being a bit too judgmental. Maybe candy floss man was actually an upstanding, reasonable person even though he looked like a sugar high given flesh.

Then he heard another order from another unfamiliar voice. "Alright girl with no name!" He shouted back out. Well, what was one more order anyway. But what the fuck was egg toast? Did she mean like a toad in a hole? Scrambled eggs over toast? Savory French toast? A breakfast sandwich? "...Chef's interpretation."

Eventually, Zenith kicked the kitchen door open once again while almost impossibly balancing several trays of food on the tips of his finger haphazardly. He made his way over to the table where Jenna and the two new recruits were. "Alrighty, for the gentleman that smells of sugar." Zenith placed down a tray that was a pasta speckled with chili flakes, garlic, parsley mixed in with sweet sausage and topped with grated cured egg yolk. Also, there was a side salad, but who cares? "And for the lady." A tray was placed in front of her that had a hearty soup with chicken and dumplings with an array of vegetables. And again, there was a side salad, but again, who cares? "Eat slowly, okay? If you want seconds, don't be afraid to ask." Zen flashed a brief smile and then a nod towards Jenna before walking off.

"Okay, so which one of you ordered the egg toast?" He called out. The only thing he needed was now a face to go with the voice.

Trinity looked up from the bar as she heard footsteps nearing her. Ooh, it’s the candy recruit. ”Hi, Matthew. I’m Trinity. You’re right, I’m new. I just got my stamp, see?” She tugged at her collar to better show him. While her hand left the strings of her harp, it continued to play. The not-longer-wandering bard nodded to his questions, ”thanks, I’m glad you noticed. I’ve played for about as long as I can remember, it’s really fun.”

The golden and shimmering Energy Make construct, made of springs and rods of various sizes in a complicated shape, hovering over her shoulder, let her clearly hear the approach of someone from the kitchen, as the man came by with food for Matthew. Not hers, yet. She couldn’t help but ogle his plate, it looked delicious. “As for my magic-”

"Okay, so which one of you ordered the egg toast?"

”Yes, that was me.” Trinity raised her hand and turned to face the voice that had called. Hm. Something in the way he had said that... Had she used a name for the dish that wasn't recognized here? Maybe she should have asked for a menu.. Ah well. She turned back to Matthew, her hand returning seamlessly to playing her instrument herself, ”Did you see? It’s called Bard’s Legerdemain, and this,” she motioned to the construct over her shoulder, ”I made with Maker magic.

Every nerve in his arm tingled with a surge of adrenaline. Pushing harder, utilizing stronger magic - it was what he wanted in his core. But it wasn't what Mark wanted logically. He wanted to be tactical in the application of his magic. Of all their magics. But the impulse was becoming numbing again. It was such a big reason he preferred working alone. The babysitters so far out and the other guild members so much closer made following the darker part of his tactics impossible. The Sergeant's frantic attempts to break through static interference didn't do him any favors trying to go about this with a clear head.

Ignore that! Kill it!

He closed his hand to form another sphere when the smell hit him. Ozone of a coming storm, but there wasn't a storm on the way. And it wasn't from Adelyn. Adelyn, thus far, had not created such a shift in the local atmospheric energy. That meant only one thing. And the coms cleared up just in time for Sergeant to confirm it.

Rather than continue his assault on the red beast - as much as he hated to disengage from his primary objective - he instead temporarily shifted, using Into The Void to phase in and out of where he was to avoid being hit by the lightning from the new combatant. While the red beast was well in hand, and moreso when it fell heavily after the latest hit it took, the lightning beast he knew was not something he could take on while liabilities were nearby.

No! Stay! Fight! Kill.

He could. Surely Kiba would convince Adelyn to follow Sergeant's orders and get her moving toward safety. That would eliminate that threat and he could stop holding back. The arcs of lightning were creating too much static interference. Everything was too loud.

Then Adelyn shouted. Arcs of lightning shot back toward the lightning beast. Dammit. He was not going to explain to Jenna how a lightning mage was killed by the lightning beast terrorizing the forest of Rembrandt.

He took a step forward, teleporting directly beside Adelyn and Kiba. A wall of tentacles sprang up between the three mages and the two beasts in the clearing, acting as a short term barrier to protect them. Just needed long enough for him to grab hold of both mages and pull them with him as he stepped backward...

And Void Stepped all three to appear beside the horses.

Mark didn't care he didn't give them warning or an option. This was his job they were allowed to accompany him. This call needed to be made and he was not going to deal with arguments before he made it. It was...why wasn't it quieter here? Everything was still buzzing too much in his ears. The Sergeant wouldn't shut up.

Go back and kill them both.

The dark haired mage yanked his hands from his companions. A hard breath pressed from his lungs and he closed his eyes. He turned his back to the others and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was the closest thing to showing the others how stressed he was at the moment. Despite how much he was ready to scream, his voice was as level toned as always when he grabbed his COMs and made it translate, "Sergeant, we are clear. Report: is our target still down?"

---

---

Okay, she had not planned to focus less on the barrier than she already was but here she was: doing just that. But they were within shooting range for the snipers so...it couldn't hurt too much at this point. She guided her horse over to Nolan and the Corporal. For good news, that was some of the worst she had heard. Nolan's assessment of the Asterin was rather spot on. So much so she was fairly comfortable conserving her energy at this point.

It took barely a thought to let the barrier cascade away without a drop spilt on anyone. "Yeah, if the snipers aren't seeing any within range, then it is better to conserve energy now for the ride back. Odd to think, but I kind of hope it is an ambush scenario. If they are potentially reacting to something bigger, that may be bad for whomever is handling the red beast." Though even conserving her energy wouldn't help her restore enough to be useful at all. Nolan would surely have to do the major lifting in another fight, but then...hadn't he already had to? She'd do better to support them all during the next fight. If there was one.

Trinity, what a unique name. What a beautiful name! And she's new too! Oh, she already has a stamp. Lucky! "Wow, what a beautiful name you have! Oooh, you do have a stamp. How cool! The color fits you perfectly. And OMG! Your instrument is still playing! Even though you're not touching it! You're amazing!" Then the food arrived. Yay food! Matthew made a little happy dance before accepting his food. He thanked the chef before eating the pasta he was served. It tasted amazing! It really did! How talented was that chef? He yelled out 'wow' and 'amazing' while slowly eating everything given to him, enjoying every single bite.

Wait... She's using her magic to play the instruments?! Of course he could have guessed from the instrument continuing to play without her touching it, but still! What a great skill to have! He didn't even know magic like that existed! And she MADE that thing with another type of magic?! As in two types of magic? How cool! "Oooooh, you MADE that? What is it? What does it do? I didn't even know that your other type of magic existed! You're so talented! My magic isn't as exciting, but do you want to see? You want to see?" Matthew said excitedly before making his hair longer and forming the harp Trinity was playing with. Of course this was just a similar shape and couldn't be actually played. Beside the hair-formed harp, he tried to draw Trinity with his hair.

---

Evangline's eyes started to sparkle as soon as she saw the food being put in front of her. She had no idea if this would be to her liking as she couldn't even remember what kind of foods she preferred. However, it smelled amazing and it looking amazing, so the taste had to be exquisite. "Thank you, Zen. It already smells amazing." She said softly and politely before turning to Jenna. "Excuse me", she said to Jenna as she started to consume her meal. She put a spoon of the soup in her mouth and it felt as if she was in heaven. Tears streamed down her face as she ate all of the soup, chicken, dumplings, vegetables and even the side salad.

Her stomach hurt a little bit and she felt quite nauseous after finishing her food. What was it that Zen had warned her about? Yes, he told her to eat slowly. Maybe she ate too fast. She couldn't even remember how fast she was eating. Even if she didn't want to show it, she was quite desperate for that food, especially food that amazing.

Maybe she should just take a breather and it would go away. After a couple of breaths, her stomach started growling again. Of course with how long she had been living like a homeless person, her hunger wouldn't be stilled with only one meal. The chef did say that she was allowed to ask for seconds. But would it look rude? Or would it be a compliment? Or would it be impolite to give him even more work?

"Excuse me... Zen? Would it be alright if... If I had seconds? Only if you have time of course." She said in a quiet voice.

As Adelyn's magic aura flared up, her grimoire becoming something of a lightning rod, though not as effectively as she would have likely wanted, as blue lightning continued to hammer away at clearing, even as the red beast struggled to stand up. However, her efforts weren't in vain, as it bought time for Mark and Kiba to get a feel for everything happening. The only thing that no one properly accounted for, was Adelyn's counter attack as she screamed for someone to shut up, the beam of blue lightning striking with an unexpected ferocity. The impact caused a massive explosion that obscured the Sergeant's view of the beast and he frowned as he looked through his scope.

Did she actually get it? No, we bounded that thing in close range with the heaviest ordinance we had, there's no way- As if to prove the Sergeant right, another beam of concentrated blue lightning arched towards Adelyn, aimed for her chest. Mark arrived just in time though, snatching her and Kiba away just in the nick of time as the giant bolt scorched the freshly abandoned earth. The beast howled and unleashed another storm as the red beast finally managed to regain its feet and howl back. The sergeant didn't move from his scope, though he did hear the call over the ear piece. "Negative, red beastie is up and challenging the lightning one. We're calling the mission, fall back. We didn't think the fucking thing would come looking for trouble."

---

"No, and I wouldn't anyways. This is a direct communications VOX, not a wide receiver model. I only get what I search out or get sent, but any abnormalities would be reported to us somehow. The artillery unit refusing support also has the base on edge and they're recommending we rest up at the outpost until they can ascertain what's going on. However, while we're ready to head straight back, we understand if you need or want to rest. I'm not an expert on magic, but I'm told using it takes a physical toll on you." He glanced over at Ria. "Miss Ria needs it the most I would think."

---

Jenna chuckled as the trio set to interacting with each other and the older members of the guild and went back to her office to retrieve the magical stamp that would grant the two new arrivals their own marks. As she walked back towards them, she found herself thinking over the one job on the board and frowning to herself. The fishery is overrun by amphibious monsters, but Trinity said combat isn't her forte and I don't know anything about our two new arrivals. I could go with them myself, but there are matters here to attend to, with the Paladin himself visiting today...Oh wait! Setting the stamp with Karma, the Wolf Takeover mage gently pulls Zen away. "I'll make sure he gets you a second helping, Evangeline. I just need to have a word with him in the kitchen briefly."

Once the pair were in the kitchen and out of immediate earshot, she sighed. "I need you to go with Trinity and potentially our other two new arrivals to the hatcheries."

---

Aylin listened to Akemi ramble with interest, having never been allowed to be unsupervised a moment in her life. Though many instances that the young girl described the young noble knew to technically be illegal, the stories were no less engaging or interesting and she knew she was hearing valuable life experience, though how it was valuable perhaps her bodyguard could explain later. The cooking would require investigation, perhaps a request to speak with this 'Zen' Miss Desdemona had mentioned the next time she was in Rembrandt. Meanwhile, her bodyguard watched the object that D'angelo had tossed with suspicion, though it didn't really do anything that he could tell aside from await the smack he mentioned. In the car ahead of the party's, the agitation grew as the cloaked figures moved from person to person, their antagonizing of the occupants into action against the person of import within the car bearing fruit, though the young noble girl hadn't actually done anything.

@Sanguine Rose@Zarkun

"Sounds like I'm missing out on the fun." For a second it could've been mistaken as a joke, but no, there was no jest. Nolan genuinely wanted to fight whatever the red beast was, but that was neither there nor there. What was more important was what the corporal had to tell him.

That was not the answer that Nolan wanted to hear. They had so little information on what was going on and the more he probed the more he realized just how precarious their situation was. And what the hell was the deal with the artillery backing out after giving their word? No matter how dangerous the Asterin were, there was no reason for the artillery to back out of their promise and judging by the reactions of the corporal and everyone else, the Asterin were behaving strangely. Then again, the monsters were acting unusual anyway. This whole situation was suspicious.

However, thinking about it was energy wasted. Nolan glanced back at Ria before he turned his attention back to the Corporal. "We will rest for the time being. Is the canteen available for us?"

---

@CitrusArms@Squirrel98@Zarkun

Oh, there she was.

"And here you go." Zenith placed the plate of food in front of Trinity.

So, what Trinity received was definitely not French Toast because she asked for Egg Toast and as Zenith did what Zenith does when he gets vague orders, winged it. In fact, it probably looked and smelled completely far removed from what she had initially thought. What did she get? What was sitting in front of Trinity were scrambled eggs so creamy that they looked like they were about to become custard topped with specks of what could only be described as smoky and aromatic, yet spicy and sweet pepper flakes that were a deep shade of red, sitting on top of a slice of grilled eggplant and toasted sourdough focaccia filled with zaatar and olives.

Before Trinity could comment that this was definitely not what she ordered, Zenith was already looking back at the pink haired girl. Didn't he just put that plate down a second ago? "Yeah of-" However, he never got a chance to finish his sentence. The chef was tugged by the sleeve by Jenna across the guild hall. "W-wait a minute! Don't stretch the fabric!"

Eventually, they were back in the kitchen. Zenith checked his sleeve that most definitely stretched with a pout. "What was so important that you needed to drag me" And there it was. Looked like he was going to have to do some mage work for a change.

"Don't have much faith in our new recruits?" He leaned against the counter with a joking grin. His hand reached for a pitcher of coffee and poured himself a cup that he had laying about."Don't worry, I'll bring them back in one piece. So, what's the job?"