Valishin Elias
"The Least, the Lost, and the Last"
Interaction/s:
@Crimson Raven
There really was no point in arguing with an idiot.
They would infinitely beat him with experience.
If the point was a bullet, it would have soared past Vega without a second thought. It mattered little to Vali who started the fight; heck, a brawl started in the guild almost every day, but it was the more powerful mages' responsibility to end them. To those who have more power, more was expected of them. The woman relaxing and conversing with Victoria, another of the top dogs, was a living testament to that responsibility. While the other top mages desired to just observe for entertainment or, worse, join in the destruction of the guild, Mis genuinely tries her best to put a stop to it. The rule on avoiding brawls was there for a reason: to reduce guild expenses with the constant replacement of resources. Emeralds were hard to come by in times of need. For now, the guild had more than enough to sustain them through a fortnight's worth of brawls, but there was only so much oaken tables you could break before they become loose board trestles with termites gnawing at them.
If anything, Vali didn't want Master Kukan to have to worry about the expenses of his guild house. The man was already working hard as it is, and at the very least, he wanted the master to return home with a clean and organized home. Bonding over fights was a good thing, Vali had no qualms about it, but they had to
follow the rules. These legal bindings served as the wall separating the guild and the darkness which swirled in the hearts of the darker troupes whose wars against the Magic Council burned ever so brightly even until today. He would be damned before allowing this family to fall into chaos and anarchy.
His thoughts were interrupted although supported when Master Kukan himself took the reins and ended the fight with but a show of strength from his space-time magic. Immediately, Vali felt his entire body freeze with unnatural energy. It was similar to how one tried to run away from the monsters in their nightmares, but desperately feeling their limbs unwilling to cooperate. The unnerving weights seemingly pulling their limbs down always sent a shiver down the sniper's spine. The master himself seemed busy, and spared just a few words for them, mostly towards Vega and frosty over there.
There was no point in dawdling any longer in this tumultuous scene. In any case, he should probably wait until the sharks feasted on the good ones. As always.
"Thanks, Mis," Vali turned to the knight as he took a swig and downed it. "Though, I'll have to take some jobs just to replace the bullets I lost today. Sooner or later, I'd have to make my own bullets. See you, around, yeah?"
The sniper hoisted his rifle on his shoulder before ascending the stairs. The statement he said with Mis was true, though. The ammunition he bought from Valiant almost everyday siphoned a good sixty to seventy percent of his earnings. Crunching the numbers, by learning how to make his own bullets, Vali theorized that he could potentially save a thousand emeralds a week which would go to his apartment. After all, his cuckoo clock was now a weird sounding avian from hell, and he was frankly getting tired of being woken up by a bird injected with too much testosterone. Not to mention his wooden boards creaked to his steps or breathing. Or, existence. He planned to study bullet smithing and creation, and he had been doing this for a month now. Whenever things began to settle down after a brawl, he retreated back to the library to study the science of the bullet creation for a good portion of the hour.
Thus, as he reached the sanctum of knowledge (or, as Vali liked to call it, Anti-Vega Barrier), his sharp ears twitched at the sound of books, papers, and tools hitting the floor or tossing in the air. There were only a few people who regularly visited the library, and from the time he spent here, he could already piece who it was.
A gentle hand pushed the door leading to the library, seeing notes strewn about the carpeted floor. The stream of discarded research led like a breadcrumb trail to a certain girl resting her head on her arms as her back bent at the table. Flavia.
She was one of the constant denizens of this place, and in the time that Vali spent here studying, he only had a few successful conversations with her. The girl was absurdly timid and shy, but by the looks of things, she was quite the opposite. The sniper bent to pick up one of the scattered parchments, crouching as he scrutinized the topic before his orbs widened in surprise.
The Study of Advanced Photokinesis by past wizard-saint Pos Emon. The Anatomy of Magical Locuses by chairman Bora Yalis of the Magic Council. Photopropulsion and Enhanced Barrier Studies by wizard engineer Shivan.
"The hell," Vali grimaced, realizing that these were advanced texts meant, supposedly, for A or even S-class mages. When the sniper was studying for the Spider Bullet, he had to focus on the element of light and he encountered these researches on his way to completion. He didn't even read the entire thing. The complexity of the language and terms used confused the former bandit, and he settled for just a rope to help him move around instead of his intended piercing light shot.
One look at the exhausted girl, and the marksman knew that she was pushing herself the most out of everyone in the guild. A C-rank, she was, but, perhaps, her heart proved stronger than Muko. Maybe, she wasn't shy or timid all the time.
Maybe, she just remained strong for far too long.
Valishin knew exactly how that felt like.
Silently, he gathered the materials and the books she let go of before putting them on the space opposite her. Then, he took out a magical quill, a set of parchments, and his reading glasses from his bag. With a quiet sigh, he sat opposite of Flavia before unfurling the scrolls and opening the books she researched on. He didn't really know if she was soundly asleep, but he would try to help her. He saw himself in her when he was nothing more but a glorified poacher.
Putting on his glasses, Vali went to work as he jotted down the important things and notes from the complicated texts that he could comprehend. Based on these studies, he figured that she may be going to improve her barrier capabilities. When Vali first came to the guild, he also made the library his home where he studied his craft more and more. He was acquainted with almost all of the books and scrolls here, and as such, he listed an outline of a series of books and researches he recommended for her to read.
The sound of his quill scratching at the parchment served as a gentle melody in the library, and as his auburn eyes caught sight of his favorite bullet smithing text, he shook his head in favor of continuing to write notes for this exhausted young lady. Soon, the handmade notes began to pile on one another, the legalistic and formal language transformed into simple logic and ideas.
Vali was thankful that he had some friends like Mis, and that, he was able to interact outside of the library. However, he figured that Flavia may not be the same. It was no use to throw a fish into a new pond without a gentle hand; if the mage had dragged Vali back to the guild after that skirmish at the village, Vali would have flipped since he could not have adjusted quick enough. Instead, Valishin had to adjust slowly to society, to cast off his crimes and ways until the mask was no longer a shadow that he hid his face under. It was now a reminder, a constant sigil of vigilance.
It had to be a slow, gradual change. Like small waves forming into one big sweep.
To talk to her immediately like a friend or to toss her in the middle of the guild may be detrimental.
Thus, Vali decided to talk in her own language. A scholar's language, as it seemed. Starting off from where she could relate with him.
It was easy to say that the guild was a family, but if the only thing they knew how to do was to fight each other without adjusting to the needs of the least, the lost, and the last, then, what kind of family would they actually be? Guilds can easily be judged by the way they treat their weakest, and while Flavia was by no means weak, it went without saying that she did need help.
They weren't friends... yet. That much was certain. But, Vali was tired of ignoring others. He always spoke about the laws and the rules, and yet here he was, breaking the first rule of the guild: to treat each other like a family.
This was a small step, definitely, but it was progress nonetheless. There were a lot of weaker mages in their guild, and Vali decided he would be there for them. They may be slow like molasses, but he'd be there for them. Sticky with their molasses.
A guardian. An overwatch. A sentinel.
