Aura watched the two newbies, or rather soon to be newbies, with a grin as they interacted. They seemed to be getting along well, which was good. The way that TIm had blushed when he was referred to as "Mister Tim", however, didn't go un-noticed by the gunner. She grinned even wider with that, and strolled over next to Fisk, watching the two. "So, Fisk." She began "I was hoping you'd help me help them on their first job. Y'know, go with them and make sure nothing goes too wrong. That'll let us get a good feel for who they are and get them some experience, what do ya think?"

Even as Aura said this, she was already glancing over to the request board. Aura had been in the guild hall for a few days now, having decided to take some time off after her last job, but she had decided it was time for that to come to an end. Taking a rookie job with them may not pay as well, although really it depended on what job they went for, but it would put some money in her wallet. That was especially important because Aura had spotted a Magic Gun she was interested in for sale at a local magic shop, specifically a Magic Machinegun, so she needed to make more money than usual so that she could both buy it and continue to eat.

Fisk nodded as Aura approached him, acknowledging her. In truth, he hadn’t seen Aura very much, despite his efforts to get to know everyone in the guild. She must’ve been around whenever he was out. At the mention of helping the two fledgling wizards with their first job, he flexed his hand a little, letting loose a few stray sparks.

“Hah, are you kidding me? I was half considering asking you the same thing!” He laughed, putting his hand to his side. “…But yeah, for sure. I’m sitting on a small fortune already, so I won’t take any of the cut, either. We don’t know how skilled these two are, and it’s hard to guess with how sheepishly they carry themselves.” As he talked, he looked over briefly to the job board, noticing that it had just been restocked. Ah, how convenient.
With a swift, fancy movement, Fisk flared his arm to the side, revealing the inside of his jacket. An unholy amount of glass daggers of varying sizes and teeth patterns lined the inner jacket. Dexterously sliding one out of its holster, he held it tightly, eyeing the job board. Beau, the resident pretty-boy, and Index, the Homono… Homcu… Something, were gathered around it.
He turned back to Aura with a raised eyebrow and an ambitious look in his eye.
“Whadda ya say we pick one now? I’m down for a gamble..” He asked.

Aura smiled at Fisk's suggestion to claim a job now. It was a good way to help ensure they got a good one, since Aura and Fisk had enough of a reputation that nobody would chide them about what job they chose. The newbies didn't have that luxury, so some more experienced members may be hesitant to let them take some of the more dangerous jobs. Aura nodded and said to Fisk "Let's go pick one then." With that, she set off to the board, grasping Fisk's arm with one hand to pull him along with her, making sure the whole Guild could tell they'd formed a team for now.

Arriving, Aura commented "This'll let us get to know each other a little better too. I like to try and know everyone in my family but I don't really know you or Armin all that well." With that said, she released Fisk and leaned forward, towards the board. She brought one hand up to rest thoughtfully on her chin while the other rested on her pistol's grip. Take down a large group of bandits? Too likely to scare the new wizards. Chase after some Dark Guild Wizards sighted in Hargeon? That was even worse! Rescue a girl from a small group of bandits in the woods? This seemed pretty easy to Aura, as she was confident in her own abilities and the abilities of all Fairy Tail Wizards, including the newbies. So, she presented this job to Fisk and said "Not bad huh? And it's got a reward of 40,000 Jewel, pretty high pay for such an easy job don't ya think?"

As much as Vocalia was reluctant to disturb the guildmaster, she was even more reluctant to dissuade Aura from doing so until she decided, bluntly so, that they would take a job and put her and the Water Mage to the test to see what they were capable of. The Card Mage was beginning to regret her decision to visit the guild, but she couldn't back out as she didn't want to disappoint Aura or Fisk, unaware that they had their sights set on making sure that she had the guild mark by the end of the day. That, and having another Mage of her level would help lessen her discomfort.

Aura seemed to have picked a suitable job for the four of them and even Vocalia couldn't help but be curious about what they would do. However, something about it sounded odd. "40,000 Jewel? That's quite a lot of money for a job like that. Does it have any sort of stipulation, perhaps?" she timidly asked, not wanting to interrupt a conversation between the more seasoned Mages in the guild.

Aura was surprised when she heard Vocalia speak up, but smiled down sheepishly and said "I didn't really look, let's see." With that, Aura brought the poster back up in front of her face and looked over it again. Just as before there was a basic overview of the job, however upon closer inspection, the poster did have some fine print. Down at the bottom, just beyond a brief description of the girl to be rescued, was a sentence in small print. Aura spoke up about it, saying "Well, it says here the 'bandits' are wizards, so….ooooh so thats why the pay is a bit too much. Whoever offered up the job wants us to bring back one of them too, probably to ask why they took the girl."

Aura shrugged, the job had just gotten much harder but it was still doable. Transporting a girl and a prisoner couldn't be that hard, could it? Besides, between herself and Vocalia, they could just snipe off any really big threats from a distance. She grinned at that thought and said to Vocalia "We did jump the gun a bit though, didn't we? Let's go find the Master and get you a guild mark, alright?" With that, she gently grasped Vocalia's arm and said to Fisk "Yo, Fisk, you know where she is anyway?"

Beau grinned brightly as he overheard his guildmates talking about the job they were planning on taking. It was nice to see things like that still happening around the guild, teams forming and people starting good relationships. He remembered picking up a few teams himself when he first joined in the guild, those were his younger years. "Dia is probably with Ria." Beau chimed in, waving at the group. That's when he eyed the new girl, "I'm Beau by the way. If you need anything, feel free to ask. I'm the one usually behind the counter." He then turned and gave the other fresher face a smile, "Nice ta see you, Tim. Hopefully everything's going well for you here?"

Just as he was about to offer his services in finding Dia for the group, the guild master returned. A yawn escaping her lips, she stretched and announced to the guild: "I recently got a request for an appearance with the Magic Council, they're expecting me to do something about you all and your tendencies to cause a bit more damage than usual." She let out a sigh and went on, "I'll be gone for a few days, but I better not be hearing about anymore nonsense while I'm gone! Do you fairies hear me?" Her tone was both stern and motherly, but everyone knew it was all an act. She didn't care that they over did jobs as long as they got it done, Dia always had a way of getting Fairy Tail out of trouble with the Magic Council.

"I guess she's right there," the blonde magician giggled, stating the obvious.

“Live capture, you say?” Fisk asked with an excited look in his eyes. “I’m sure glad you picked that one, now!”
At Aura’s second remark, however, Fisk gave to a more worrisome expression. “…Ah, well, I know Armin went ahead to look for her, but he isn’t back yet. Usually he’s quick about this kind of thing.” Scratching his head, Fisk shrugged. Not soon after he mentioned Armin, Dia herself showed up, with Armin trailing all sick-like behind her. She gave her typical speech about damages, but Fisk payed no heed. sure, the last job he went on ended up with a sandstone town converted entirely to glass, but that wasn’t his fault! The bandits just had a nasty habit of… You know… Hiding. Embarrassed as he recalled what a mess he’d made of things there, he remembered Armin made sure to shove all the blame onto his host.

--Ah, Armin, right, Fisk recalled as he hurried over to his friend, hunched over one of the tables. If anyone didn’t know better, they’d think he was green because he’s sick. “Good god, what happened to you?!” Fisk exclaimed, patting Armin on the back.

Exhaling a sickly gasp of air, Armin raised his head, like one would look for vultures when they’re certain of death. His eyes had a vacant look while he barely managed to lock eyes with his host. He rasped quietly, his tone barely audible. “Ria… Magic Sickness… Stench… gnnh…”

Fisk’s concern melted into a cocky grin. He jokingly slapped Armin’s back, resulting in a gag reflex. “Hah! Serves you right for sticking your nose where you shouldn’t. If you need a rest, just tell me, alright?” Fisk roared, relishing the few moments where he could laugh at his snarky friend. The two exchanged understanding nods, and Fisk returned to the little group. He snaked his way back into the makeshift circle they’d made around the job board, glad that Dia ended up finding them despite Armin’s condition.

“…Sooo, before you leave, Master, do you think you could do these two greenhorns a favor and brand ‘em with the old cattle iron?” He joked casually, almost displaying Tim and Vocalia with hand motions.

At some point it was decided that the group would take a simple job to test out their skills. That was fine, he was expecting something like that. Aura picked out a job to rescue a girl from a small group of bandits in the woods. Even if he wasn't particularly looking foward to dealing with bandits, being a hero, and sweeping some girl off her feet was an exciting idea. It was also in the woods, which meant there would be animals there. The person who offered the job was even offering 40,000 Jewel for the girl's safe return. Even though he knew that amount wouldn't be all his, it was still more money than he ever had in his whole life. Maybe joining this guild couldn't be that bad after all.

As the two senior members of the guild were discussing things, Tim was then greeted by the guy at the counter, who called himself Beau. Tim waved hello, and smiled sheepishly. "T-thanks. Um... it's going well so far."

Right at that moment, the guildmaster showed up. She seemed like everything a Guildmaster should be. A good leader, but not too intimidating. She made an announcement stating that she would be gone for a few days. Just as she was getting ready to leave, Fisk asked about getting Volcalia and himself marked. Tim's eyes widened, and he started shivering when Fisk mentioned branding them with a Cattle Iron What?! The young water mage thought. He knew this guild had a tradition of marking their members, but that sounded a little extreme."Uh...t...t...that isn't gonna hurt... is it?" He asked nervously. The boy was squeamish around doctor needles, let alone getting branded by a hot iron. Getting tattooed wasn't something he was particularly looking foward to.

"N-Nice to meet you, Mister Beau," Vocalia timidly squeaked long enough before being led away by Aura again. That was when she finally get to see the current guildmaster of Fairy Tail, a woman by the name of Dia. Her voice and body language screamed 'leadership and experience' and she had a feeling that, all formalities with the Magic Council aside, she had everything under control. From what she had found out, the guild did have a somewhat destructive reputation and it seemed to be something the guild cherished, to a certain extent.

Only when Fisk came up to her and spoke about her and Tim did she finally remembered why she was being led away in the first place. Thinking that the guild really used a cattle iron to brand them into the guild, her face turned pale and her body began to quiver. "Is that... r-really necessary?" she whimpered, clearly not looking forward to the prospect of pain.

Aura watched as the Master came out and gave her usual speech. She wasn't sure who had broken what this time, though Aura could proudly proclaim it wasn't her. Collateral damage on her last job had actually been fairly minimal. Well, Minimal by Fairy Tail standards meaning she only destroyed 3 homes with some renegade Tornado Shots. However, that kind of damage was nothing compared to what some people in the guild had managed. It was then, however, that Fisk's words reached her and she chuckled.

She noticed, however, that the idea seemed to unnerve the two recruits. At first, she thought it might be because they had second thoughts about the guild. However, the words that followed quickly put that fear to rest. They were scared of pain because of Fisk's choice of terminology. She reached out and lightly punched him, saying "it's actually a magical stamp, not a brand." With that, she giggled and added" It's perfectly safe."

Fisk chuckled at the various reactions to the mention of being branded like livestock. Rubbing his arm where Aura had punched him jokingly, he laughed some more. These two screamed gullible with their faces, and Aura definitely looks like she can take a joke.

“Pah,” Fisk playfully scoffed, “You just had to go ruin my fun, didn’t you, Aura?”

Turning his attention back to their soon-to-be members, he broke down part of his illusion, allowing his tail to show. As long his broke broke out of free will, he didn’t mind too much. He curled his tail forward, pointing at the Fairy Tail mark etched onto the side. “Buzzkill lady here is right, though,” he said calmly, “marking doesn’t hurt in the least. Not to mention it looks cool, to boot!”
Once he was done showcasing his guild mark, the tail disappeared as though one would expect to see a mirage dissipate. With a curious look to Aura, he gave her an intense stare. With a perplexed look, he investigated her closely, eyeing her in a very un-stealthy manner. “…Mm, Aura, where’s your guild mark, anyway? I don’t think I see it…”

Aura giggled at Fisk's disappointment over her destroying his joke. She stuck her tongue out at him mockingly and said "It's not nice to pick on the newbs!" With that, she laughed again and watched as he looked them over. She, of course, punched him in the same spot, mildly harder, saying "And don't call me a buzzkill! I'm just a nice person, unlike a certain person whose name starts with Fisk that I know." With that, she giggled again and winked to the newbies. She wanted them to understand that this was more or less standard for Fairy Tail, so they knew what they had gotten themselves into.

Then however, she watched as Fisk returned his tail to vision and pointed out his own Guild mark. Aura smiled and looked at it for a moment, saying "The mark shows you are a Fairy Tail wizard, something to be really proud of." Then, however, she grew uncomfortable under Fisk's gaze. He seemed to be searching her for something but couldn't find it. Then, however, he asked where her Guild Mark was, and she giggled slightly. She lifted the bottom of her shirt, revealing a large, gunmetal grey Fairy Tail mark plastered across her stomach. She winked and said "I wanted it somewhere I could show it off if I wanted to, but not somewhere that was really cliched."

guy suddenly burst in. He proceeds to limp to the counter, a gold pouch in his right hand, which is blooded and limp. and he reaches the counter he throws the gold and freezes in pain, he remember just how badly his arm was ravaged. he then looked up, remember he was supposed to get out quickly and quickly limps toward the exit only to trip and fall on his bad arm, causing serous pain. guy then lays there in pain, embarrassment and self pity.

Christina’s tired eyes slowly fluttered open, her long, black hair cascaded over her face. Sitting up against the wall, she brushed her messy hair back behind her ears. Her vision was slightly blurred, yet she could still make out the mess of blankets scattered across the room. Her mattress looked like it had taken quite a beating. Other than the bed, her dark room was quite empty. The door to her walk in wardrobe was wide open, clothes scattered all across the floor and the shelves. There were coat hangers, but only a handful of them were actually being occupied. To the side of her bed was a small table with a lamp and a few books. A top of the books was a small wallet which held Christina’s Gate Keys, as well as her glasses. Slowly moving her hand over, she mustered up the energy to bring her glasses to her. The haze vanished from sight when she put them on and suddenly she could make out the details of her room a lot more easier. The floor was filthy. Dirty plates, bowls and cups were piled up on the kitchen sink and the tap was dripping with water. She’d have to call someone in to fix that. Crawling out of bed in her simple, white tee and long, baggy trousers, she made her way into the bathroom.

At the very least, the water in this apartment was always warm. The bathroom was mostly kept clean, except for the sink which was lined with a series of skin and hair products among other things. Feeling refreshed, she slipped herself into her usual garment. The red and black fabric draped itself over her shoulders, twisted around her hip and flowed freely around her legs to the ground. Tying her long hair up did nothing to prevent the long ponytail from reaching her hips. Once she was ready, she walked back into her bedroom only to find Pan sleeping quietly on her bed. She was glad to see him, and it was quite impressive that he’d managed to open his own gate. He probably couldn’t wait. Curious as to why he was so eager to see her, she took a peek at the small clock sitting on the wall above her kitchen and almost screamed when she saw how late it was. It was practically past noon. How on earth had she slept for so long? Picking up Pan, her Keys and removing Antlia from her closet; not the best place to keep a weapon, she rushed out of her apartment and made her way to the guild.

Christina was practically out of breathe when she reached the guild. She’d had plans to take on a job this morning and hopefully be back by evening, but since she’d slept in there was no way she was going to be able to complete the job in one day. She didn’t have the money to pay for out of town accommodations either. Perhaps there’d be an easier job she could take to earn a little extra money? About to open the door to the Guild Hall, she stopped in her tracks. A smile crossed her face. When was money ever the first problem she could think of? She’d come a long way from Black Knight, that was for sure. She pressed her hand under the left side of her chest, where her old Guild Mark used to be. Even though she’d removed it, she could still feel it there sometimes. Pan nuzzled against her face, sitting a top of her shoulder. She promised to buy him some peanuts when they got into the guild, pushing open the door with both hands. The sound of her Guildmates making merry together was rather comforting, especially since it masked the large creak the Guildhall’s old door made when she opened it. Strolling through the hall, she made her way up to the bar where Beau was working. There was a large commotion going on nearby. Fisk and Aura were talking to a couple people who Christina had never met before.

“New Guild Members?” Christina asked Beau, sitting down on a stool. Pan jumped off her shoulder and toddled all the way over to a bowl of peanuts another wizard was eating. The other wizard was distracted, so he didn’t notice the tiny panda grab a couple of his snacks and walk back over to Christina. Sitting down in front of Beau, he slowly nibbled his way through the first peanut.
“I would have just bought you some, y’know? No need to go and steal.” She ran her fingers along his fur before staring back at Beau.
“So, what’s up with the new Guild Members? Were we expecting them?” She adjusted her glasses, staring over at the two newbies. Fisk and Aura seemed to be getting them comfortable around the Guild, so she didn’t see a reason to go up and introduce herself. Not yet, at least.

guy suddenly burst in. He proceeds to limp to the counter, a gold pouch in his right hand, which is blooded and limp. and he reaches the counter he throws the gold and freezes in pain, he remember just how badly his arm was ravaged. he then looked up, remember he was supposed to get out quickly and quickly limps toward the exit only to trip and fall on his bad arm, causing serous pain. guy then lays there in pain, embarrassment and self pity.

In Lilycrest (Small town to the west of Magnolia) stood a tall, young, adult with light brown hair and a determined expression on his face standing in an alley of the said town. Approximately five Forest Goblins (small, green squirrel-like animals) huddled at the end of the alley, cowering in fear. "So, this is the last of them.." He muttered, his voice echoed and hung in the air for what seemed like minutes. The shadows of the alley almost appeared to wave as they manifested in the young mans hand. They formed an over-sized hammer, which the youth steadily slammed down on the small creatures.

Bang

It had been a few days since Elijah had accepted the job of exterminating a small towns Forest Goblin problem. The creatures had been supposedly sneaking in at night and snatching up the farmers crops and just causing a rather disturbing ruckus. It was an easy, simple job and it was such a minuscule issue for Elijah to deal with that he just couldn't pass up the reward of 10,000 Jewels. Elijah decided to walk back to Magnolia. It wasn't too far from the town that had the Goblin infestation, only about 3-4 miles and he figured he could use some walking, instead of using his Shadow Make Horse.
With Magnolia in sight, he started to sprint. He murmured a few things about how starving he was and slid to a halt in front of his house. He quickly inserted his house key in the lock. Click, the door unlocked and he rushed in. Fairy Tail may have had food but Elijah couldn't help but eat at his house.

---

Steam seeped under Elijah's bathroom door after having his shower. He dried himself off and change into his 'casual' clothes, plus his headband. He then decided to head over to the guild. He might as well report to Beau that he completed his task, as if there had been any doubt. He took his time to admire the beauty of Magnolia's canal, he was usually out of town doing work or just sightseeing but never to the time to actually absorb Magnolia's pretty environment. However, before he had even noticed, Elijah was standing right in front of the guild. Lots of joyous noise came from within the guild, as per usual, so he opened the large doors. He stepped in and the door slowly closed behind him. He glanced around with surprise, a couple new faces had arrived, but he decided to leave them be as they seem to be taking up a job request.
Elijah headed over to the Request Board, where he noticed Beau as well as Index standing. It appeared that a number of new jobs were posted, much to his excitement.
"Yo, Beau! Are there possible any new jobs about any Dark Guilds?" He asked, it was a question he asked frequently as he was obsessed with taking down the guild that captured him father, Whispering Ghosts.

Christina moved over from the bar where Pan now sat, his belly stuffed with peanuts, and towards the request board. She couldn't afford to go another day without work, and she recalled seeing a job that would suit her perfectly. She reached her hand up to grab the request, but was surprised when she found that it had already been taken. She clenched her fist in the air and let out a long sigh. This was her punishment for over sleeping. Near her she could hear Fisk and Aura talking to the new members about taking on a request. A rescue mission for a young girl kidnapped by bandits. Her eyes widened in realization. That was the request she'd set her sites on. She could have really used those 40,000 jewels. Sucking it up, she walked over to the group. They could probably use the money more than she could, and it did seem like a good request to take the new members on. Approaching them, she flashed a smile at the new members.
"Well, aren't you two just adorable. I trust Fisk and Aura are making you comfortable?" She gave the two mages in her guild a quick, stern look. The reputation of her guild was everything to her, and she expected them to uphold it. "My name is Christina Montgomery, I've been here for a long time so feel free to ask me anything these two can't answer." She gave the group a quick nod before staring at the job request. She wanted to cry, seeing it someone else's hands. Ignoring the 40,000 jewels that had just slipped through her fingers, she stared at Fisk and Aura once more.
"I know you want to help these two get the hang of taking on jobs, but I suggest you guys leave now. Who knows what they might be doing to that poor girl." She patted them on the shoulders, wishing them luck before heading back to the bar where Pan was taking sips of ale from an oblivious mans pint. She was about to scold him, but then she realised it would just be a waste of efforts. Scooping him up in her hands, she headed back to the request board where Elijah was asking about Dark Guilds. She didn't know why he kept taking requests involving them; she did her best to avoid jobs like that. There was always a chance she'd run into members from Black Knight whenever she took one, and if they revealed who she was to her guild mates they would surely turn against her.

"You're already looking to take another request Elijah?" Christina said as she walked up to the board, scanning for another well paying job. There was one involving translating an ancient text for 8,000 jewels. That was a task she could get done quickly enough with Velpecula, so she tore it off. The text was attached to the back of the request, so she'd be able to do it from the guild. "Well, if you feel like taking a break for today I wouldn't mind going to get some coffee after I finish this request. Perhaps you should ease up a bit and join me?" Christina had no interest in dating anyone at the guild, and even though Elijah was quite handsome the only motive she had for inviting him out was to stop him from taking another request chasing after dark guilds. Every request he took may involve him running into Black Knight, and the fact that Christina had abandoned them to join Fairy Tail meant that they wouldn't hesitate to reveal her to anyone from Fairy Tail. She couldn't have that. She stared at Elijah, awaiting his response to her request.

Just after Elijah asked Beau about the Dark Guilds, Christina walked over and snagged one of the jobs off of the board asked him if he'd maybe join her after the job. He was hesitant before replying and peered at the request paper. He wasn't one for being easily distracted but Dark Guilds started to fade in to the back of his thoughts and a nice coffee break sounded pretty reasonable. Decoding ancient scripts wasn't exactly the type of job Elijah would usually take, but he wasn't the one taking the job. He wondered about joining her afterwards, it sounded like it would be a good time. Elijah glanced up, moving his eyes from the paper to Christina, "Hmm, sounds like it would be a good time and I guess I deserve a little bit of a break," Elijah replied, his voice seemed to be a little less serious and more upbeat. It was always nice to hear that his guild mates wanted to 'hang out', "Yeah, that's a deal! Where's that job request at anyway, here in Magnolia?" He couldn't turn down the offer of getting to know one of the other Mage's of Fairy Tail, he was usually too busy, or mad himself too busy, to just enjoy the guild for a longer amount of time. He usually only stayed in town for a couple of days.
Elijah looked back up at the request board, there only appeared to be a couple of jobs out of town, most were in the city or just on the outskirts. There were none that actually peaked his, so therefore none about Dark Guilds, though he had actually forgotten that that's why he had come to the request board in the first place. He peered back at Christina, wondering about the job she had taken.

Tim breathed a sigh of relief when the two senior members revealed they weren't being branded by a hot iron. "Oh... thank goodness!" He said sheepishly, feeling embarrassed that he had been so gullible. People made these guys kinds of jokes all the time when he was younger, and he fell for them every time. He wished he was able to recognize them so he didn't wind up looking like a fool. They then revealed where they had gotten their guild marks. "Um... I guess I'll get mine on my arm or something... "

Then, a dark haired lady who also looked like she had been there for a while. She said her name was Christina Montgomery, and suggested that their group leave now before those bandits do something nasty to that poor girl they had kidnapped. Tim nodded in agreement. "Um... yeah, I think it's a good idea for us to leave now..."