[IC] DanMachi: Alter Oration [DEAD]

[OwO]

Finally untangled from the mess thanks to Athena's angry shout, Dahlia's body was crushed no more. With a great big stretch, she realigned her spine to a survivable state. Though, that was only metaphorically. Her spine was fine, in reality. If a mere dogpile could break it, she had no claim to be an adventurer (not that she could just yet, anyways). Despite just being crushed by no less than 8 people, she was still as chipper as she'd always been. After all, the clothes she wore acted as a barrier against the outside filth and rabble.

Though, she'd burn the clothes later. They were much too soiled for any method of washing to clean.

After the goddess introduced her two children (if you could call the old man that?), Dahlia had decided that it was only polite to greet them too.

"Hello Grentiloch," she said before turning to the pallum, "hello Tira."

Then the foxgirl introduced herself to Athena, ignoring the rest of them. Weird, but okay. Dahlia's hearing was decent and she could listen in on the introduction. Once it was finished, she turned to the foxgirl, gave a nice bow, and gave a polite "Hello Ayame!"

Then the other pallum, one that boldly stood in front of the goddess in order to get her attention, introduced himself. Of course, Dahlia popped out of the woodwork to greet him with a nice "Hello Triss!"

Now she was just waiting to be dragged along to the next area to actually see the process of acquiring a falna with her own eyes. After all, if Athena kept on introducing more people, then Dahlia would have to stop and say hello to every single one on the way. It was a good thing all of the mook adventurers left. If they hadn't, then Dahlia would have had to spend a solid hour in a meet and greet.

[Xaltwind]

Northern Orario.

With the kids trailing behind him, the boaz and his huffy-puffy miniature cohorts were now back to the very place they started. To the children, this felt like an excersise in futility, but at least the big oaf was trying. Still, their tiny, scrawny, malnourished and otherwise unhealthy-looking frames wouldn't be able to keep up with this back and forth for much longer. They either would need an extended rest, or get to their destination quickly.

Seeing his sister lean forward, hands on her knees and taking deep, long breaths, the brother decided that enough was enough! They couldn't just leave everything to the big, well-meaning-but-also-sorta-scary fellow. He had to be a man! A man who took action and was decisive and had the brass to ask someone where his own home-street waas because he had no idea himself!

Drawing in air through his nostrils, the boy pushed past the big lummox and approached a woman in a simple, but tasteful, dress. He stood right in her path, forcing her to stop and question the lad's actions. With all the courage his little voice could manage, the boy blurted out the words 'Do you know how to get to Daedalus street, miss!?'

For a moment, the lady looked bewilered and stunned. Then she broke out in a small laugh, replying that anyone who lived in Orario knew where that eyesore was. But since the boy kept staring her down, she soon realized that he obviously wasn't joking. Waving her hand dismissively and giving a very insincere apology, the woman gave directions on how to easily get to the desired location, before simply walking off without a farewell or other well-wishing.

The boy stood quiet fro a bit, then let out a relieved exhale. He'd done it! He'd managed to get the answer! He was so produ of himself you could positively see the sparkles coming off of him... Or were those flies...? In any case, the young boy sauntered back to his siter and the big boar-bro, hands on his sides in a triumphant display.

"See? See? I can do things too if I really try!" His voice was remarkably arrogant for the meagre accomplishment, but then again, he was just a child. "So, uhm... Big fella..." He then proceeded, a bit more tempered in his tone now. "Could, uh, could you grab my sis and carry her back home for me? She's a bit tired it looks like."
"Big Bro!" The girl protested, cheeks flushed like a red tomato.

Meanwhile, at The Hall of Justice Warrior's Rest.

After the brief introductions were over, Grentiloch and Tiramis gave their wishes of polite, social expectations and returned to the adjacent room. Athena was thus left with the three new, budding recruits. Clearing her throat by placing a balled fist infront of her mouth, the Goddess spoke a few choice words to the gathered.

"Yes, well.. As I already told Dahlia here." She motioned with one hand to the black-haired, dreary-garbed young woman beside her. "Once you join this Familia, you will be given 7 days to prove yourselves. Show us that you can be resourceful, useful or a boon to the rest of the Familia, and you will be welcome to stay. Fail, and I shall rewoke your falna, and you will have to go elsewhere." She spoke frankly and earnestly, neither meaning what she said as a threat or warning, but merely as a statement of how things were going to be done.

"That being said..." She continued, looking at each new face one at a time. "It is quite rare to have three new applicants on the same day, much more so at the very same time. I can't give you all my blessing at the same time, so while I take Dahlia upstairs first, could the two of you please wait in the room with Grent and Tira?" She politely requested, not really waiting for an answer.

Taking Dahlia's hand gently, the Goddess led the human girl away towards the flight of stairs that Tiramis had come down earlier. The second floor was very simplistic in its layout - a long hhallway with rows upon rows of doors on either side. In total, there seemed to be a bit over two dozen rooms. Still, apart from the occassional carpet or rug on the floor and some potted plants, there really wasn't much else on this level.

As they ascended to the third floor though, Dahlia was greeted with an odd sight. There were only three doors in a small, waiting-room like area. One door had a big 'A' on a plaque hanging on it, the other two doors looked fairly nondescript. Not that it mattered much, as Athena pushed the 'A'-door open and led her fledgeling inside.

"Welcome to my room." The Goddess said, shutting the door behind them.

Athena's room was very... Spartan. Aside from her somewhat comfortable-looking bed, there really wasn't much in the way of luxuries. There were a few bookshelves, a couple of drawers, a closet, a desk with a simple wooden chair, a wall-mounted mirror and some larger potted plants in each corner. There were neat stacks of paper on the desk, and the books in the shelves looked organized in alphabetical order. The maroon-colored curtains over the single, large window in the room were pulled half-ways apart, letting only a small amount of morning's light inside.

"Well then, let's get right to it." She said, moving over to the bed and sitting down on it casually. With a patting motion next to her, the Goddess called out. "Come on, sit here and take off any jacket and shirts. I'll need your back bare."

Downstairs...

"Can you believe we're getting new members?" Tiramis was clearly excited.
"Seems like it." The old dog-grampa muttered, taking a sip from a mug of... Something.

The duo were sitted in what looked to be a large dining area, with three large, square-like tables draped in white covers. The chairs had cushions on the seats, but not the backs. A few wall-mounted cupboards and a pair of glass-paned cabinets stood along the walls. The three widnows in this area had much brighter, almost see-through curtains than the rest of the building. The pallum and chienthrope were sitting at the table closest to the doorway leading back out into the hall where all the ruckus had been earlier.

There was two other points in this large room though. A shut, heavy-looking blue-colored door and another dooray leading out the opposite end of the room.

"Think they'll stick around?" The pallum girl continued.
"Hard to say. Maybe." Grent scoffed.
"C'mon! We haven't gotten any newbies since... Well... Me!" Apparently, getting juniors was a big deal to her.
"Hope they ain't as loud."
"So rude!" Even though she said that, she still laughed and smiled warmly at the old codger.

[Duoya]

Torran didn't pause for the children that trailed behind him as he made his way back to the place he found them. Not out of malicious intent, of course - he just never realized that they were tired and could use a break. Torran was far from an observant man - which was the main reason he helped them in the first place. Unlike many others who simply walked past them, he didn't assume they were orphans based on their appearance. Of course, that was because he didn't notice their appearance in the first place, but that was beside the point.

The young boy was the one who raced ahead of Torran, nearly causing the Boaz to trip from surprise. Neither child had taken the lead since Torran joined them, so this was a surprise to say the least. He ran up to some random woman and promptly asked what Torran planned on asking some random stranger. Normally, the rude response she gave would have made someone like Torran a bit upset. Luckily, Torran had no idea that the woman was being dismissive, and simply chose to focus on the fact that they had managed to accomplish their mission!

"That was incredible, young man! Great work!"

And the Boaz meant it - back when Torran was the boy's age, he would never have had the guts to ask a random stranger for directions to his own home. Of course, he never left home when he was that age, but that was beside the point.

"So, uhm... Big fella... Could, uh, could you grab my sis and carry her back home for me? She's a bit tired it looks like."

Torran nodded his head obediently and proceeded to lift the young girl up in a princess carry as soon as he finished protesting the idea. Normally he'd go with something like a piggyback ride, but judging from her poor reaction earlier, this girl was very scared of heights. Torran then followed the young boy, relying on his navigation and the directions he just got from that woman to lead them back to the children's home. As soon as he finished delivering these kids back to their home, he could go back to his primary objective of finding a Familia!

[ERode]

Seven days to prove your worth, hm? As Athena lead Dahlia upstairs, Triss mulled over the trial ahead, deep in contemplation. Well, he was a martial artist, so should he just like…punch a lot of things and impress upon the Goddess how much valis he can make every day through hunting monsters in the dungeon? Hrm, or was that too normal…Maybe he could beat something big then, and drag that back to the Warrior’s Rest as proof of his valor? A Minotaur? A Lycanfang? A Wyvern? The third might be a bit too much for now. Or wait, what if he just beat an adventurer instead?

A lot to think about, surely. Almost too much, really. With a sigh, Triss folded his arm over his chest, dropped backwards, and made a bridge with his body, using his head and his feet. There was a comfortable crick in his spine as he did so; the pallum let out a sigh before swinging his body upright once more, transitioning into a smooth toe-touch. The air within the dining room wasn’t stagnant at all, and the interior design too, while not as bare as Triss’s room in the dojo, was still comfortably simplistic. Translucent curtains let in bright, white daylight, while the doors within the room added interesting splashes of color. Didn’t see a blue one all too often, not when the natural color of wood was already so charming.

“Not ‘maybe’,” Triss said, after his preliminary stretches and observations were complete, “definitely.” The pallum remained standing, balancing on the balls of his feet as he turned to the veteran members of the Familia with an air half way confident and half way defiant. They seemed to focus on the pallum and chienthrope individually, as if searing their appearance into Triss's memory, before a blink quickly dispelled that focus. “How d’you two impress her though?” A more supplicant tone emerged with the question, a more inquisitive light found in the fighter’s golden eyes.

No shame in asking, after all.

[OwO]

With the brief recap for the new arrivals, the goddess firmly grasped Dahlia's hand and hurried her up the stairs. There really wasn't much that Dahlia could think of. Architecture wasn't her primarily field of study. But librarians were researchers! If she had the vast wealth of knowledge held within the pages of the library, she could surely make small talk about the architecture of the building. Wait, she was in someone else's home. She couldn't quickly run off into a dark hovel to study up on a conversation topic. Not now, at least. Up the next flight of stairs they went, arriving at a more open area. Three doors, one with a big A. No doubt standing for "Athena". Though, there was always a chance that it stood for something more cryptic like Aesop or Ass-kicking room.

Nonetheless, they entered the Ass-kicking room. It was a lot more empty than Dahlia expected. The rooms of the librarians (especially her own!) were always extreme messes of books stacked to the roof, loose papers everywhere, and the occasional librarian who mixed up rooms. Athena then announced that it was her room. Made a lot more sense than Ass-kicking, Dahlia honestly thought. With the announcement of getting right into it (of course, it was probably good to do this quickly as there were so many people waiting behind her), Dahlia complied. The room was looked clean enough. Gods and goddesses weren't allowed to do most of the icky things that made the bedrooms of mortal folk so disgusting.

"Well alrighty," Dahlia said as she began to take off her layers. First was the large overcoat, which she neatly folded up and placed on the ground. She then removed the hooded jacket, placing it on top of the overcoat. Next, she pulled off the thick wool turtleneck sweater, revealing a thin undershirt. Taking that off revealed yet another layer: a thin under-undershirt that barely covered her torso. Finally taking that layer off, a tight linen wrap that supported her chest had the metal hooks keeping it in place taken out and her back was finally free to experience open air. She carefully placed all of the clothes on top of each other, save for the wraps which she held to her chest for modesty. It was actually surprising that, even in the day's heat, Dahlia had the fortitude to endure it. Avoiding the filth of the outside was something worth fighting for.

Finally, she took a seat next to the goddess. She didn't speak much during this. After all, she wanted to sear every bit of the process into her retinas. She just looked to the goddess with a great expression of excitement.

[Xaltwind]

Warrior's Rest, Athena's room:

With all the excessive amounts of layered fabric removed, they could finally get started. Once Dahlia sat down on the bed, Athena merely stated that she would begin - before moving behind Dahlia and sitting down on her knees behind the girl, lifting both her hands to hover them a very short distance from the young woman's skin. The goddess said some words pertaining to herself, her familia and her blessing, then proceed to state that she now blessed the child before her.

A luminous light began to glow from Dahlia's back, yet it felt almost as nothing was happening. A slight tingling sensatiion, barely enough to be even noticed. The light, however, shone with such vigor that the rest of the room was cast into shadoq infront of Dahlia., while the back of the room where Athena was sitting was rather bright. The entire process took no more than a few minutes, and once Athena removed her hands, the glow faded.

In her hands, the Goddess now held s small, hand-sized scrap of what looked to be paper, or perhaps parchment, with something written on it. After eyeing the piece of paper for a bit, Athena then looked at Dahlia, smiled
very slightly and held the paper-scrap out to the girl.

"There we go. All done, and here's your status sheet." A statement void of grandeur, pompous theatrics or even a hint of formal ceremony. It was more akin to the Goddess having given the girl a pat on the shoulder and handed her a recipe for omelettes - nothing grand, nothing spectacular, nothing awe-inspiring or incredibly amazing.

"You should feel a slight bit different after a little while. When we bestow the blessing and update your status, it's a bit like forcefully making your body grow or change in regards to what you've done." She tried to keep it as simple as possible. "Basically, depending on what you do from here on, your body will grow in a certain way whenever we update your status next. Now, do you have any questions before I go get the next person?"

She was still sitting on her knees, hands resting on the topside of her thighs. Her posture was straight and her face was like that of a kindhearted teacher, looking at their pupil and waiting to see what they would ask - if anything - before sending them off to their assignment on their own.*

Warrior's Rest, downstairs dining area:

When the little pallum-brawler stated that they would be getting accepted as an unerring absolute, Tira couldn't help but laugh happily, whereas Grent merely gave a grumble and muttering something about arrogant kids. However, when the boy then asked about how the two of them had managed to impress Athena, Tira stopped laughing and Grent turned to look the kid square in the eyes - a most scowling expression his aged face.

"What's the point of a test if we give you the answer?" The old chienthrope rumbled, obviously not very fond of this question.
"I mean, I get what you're askin'..." Tira said, hands now held behind her head like a faux headrest. "... But I think Lady Athena wants us to each figure out for ourselves how to complete it. There's not really any right or wrong way, just do what you think might work." The pallum girl said, a more thoughtful or contemplative expression on her face when compared to the old man. "But I don't think we should tell you how or what we did either, 'cause then you could just try and copy it as a way to shortcut your way in... And then we'd get spankin'." She finished with a smile and a wink.
"You'd get spanked. The old man corrected.
Tira began laughing again, saying that it was probably the truth and how her bum still was a bit sore from last time.

[ERode]

“The point?” Triss tilted his head to the side, matching Grent’s glare with one that was open and defiant. “I’d like to know what counts as impressive and what has already been done. Less impressive to see the same thing happen twice, y’know?” There was a general wave towards both the adventurer and the alchemist, and then a half-hearted shrug. “Though I suppose I can’t do what you guys did anyways. Body type n potion knowledge n all.”

Spanking though? Really? Was Athena one of those Goddesses? Triss rolled that tidbit of information around in his head, wondering briefly whether the Goddess of Martial Wisdom was into that sort of play, before deciding to stop thinking and start asking instead.

“Athena’s into that sorta stuff?”

Another taboo question, delivered with brutal directness towards the pallum, as Triss shifted his weight onto his heels and bent his knees, sitting on a chair that wasn’t there.

[OwO]

With a flash and a tingle, Dahlia didn't really feel much change. That was it? Well, no wonder nobody wrote elaborate records on it. The process was really just a formality. She reclasped the linen wrap and put on her first shirt in an attempt at modesty. She took the paper from Athena, eyeing her stats and stuff. Dahlia had read about this. Adventurers saw a letter grade for each of their stats, alongside any skill they may of had. Dahlia's stats were close to the lowest. Considering how most adventurers started at an I with only a few Hs. Considering how Level 1's I was considered to be "the ability of an average person", reading H three times made her pretty happy. Alongside that, she had a skill. Expanded Mind, it read, increases the person's total amount of magic... Well, it made sense. Her brain was pretty expanded.

Athena gave a little explanation on what was next. Despite Dahlia putting on layer after layer of her cloth protections, she listened very intently. At the end of the explanation, she asked if the now-fully-dressed Dahlia had any questions. Dahlia's mouth opened.

Do gods poo? She didn't say.

She had caught herself before she asked. Now wasn't the time. Her relationship with Athena didn't reach that point yet. Maybe later. The question was thrown to the back of her mind. She instantly shoved her fist over her mouth and eyed the door.

"NoquestionsthankyouI'mgoingtopreparebyeitwasniceseeingyou!" She frantically spilled out as though it was spaghetti coming out of her pockets. Quickly reaching into her jacket's pockets, she pulled out a book and a grey hunk of rock wrapped in bandages. She began to write in the book, hustling her way out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the building.

Next stop: the market for last minute supply gittin'.

[Vertigo]

Ayame could not believe she’d been told to wait for her turn. Order of arrival be damned, a lady’s needs overrode those of any others’. The second she had expressed her wish to join, Athena should have been overjoyed to provide her with a blessing on the spot.

Not to mention, the waiting room itself was lacking. No tea or snacks were provided, and her company was less than ideal. Though they were all too talkative, the two pallums were tolerable enough, she supposed - they reminded her of children, with their tiny forms and pinchable cheeks and big eyes. The same could not be said for the chientrope though. All he had was doggy ears and a doggy tail and a doggy smell. And he was old, too! Was there anything worse than the smell of an old dog?

Ayame’s tail swished about in annoyance.

Triss, the peculiar pallum that prided himself on punching things was making conversation with the two current members of the familia, but Ayame was only partially paying attention. She wasn’t entirely over the fact that she had to settle for a cushioned chair, instead of a comfortable couch to lounge on. From the sound of it, the conversation wasn’t too fruitful anyway. The old mut and the pallum girl were tight-lipped on whatever they’d done to impress the goddess.

The dog had probably just wagged his tail and fetched a ball or something. That’s what they tended to do.

By now, the conversation on the other end of the room had taken a strange turn, and so Ayame chose to shut her ears before she could be tainted with forbidden information regarding their goddess. Instead, her mind fell back to the bit about having to prove herself. Not only had she no idea why, she hadn’t the slightest clue as to how - so she’d appreciated the pallum doing the dirty work and trying to ask about it. Perhaps he’d make for a good servant. She’d gone without one of those long enough.

Anyway.

She crossed her arms. If her natural charm was not impressive enough to grant instant acceptance, Ayame could only guess that the requirement was to do a deed of some sort. Would she need to help someone, perhaps? If so, she wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea - provided the one she helped was deserving of it, and the task itself wasn’t too taxing. Were there any dying kids around? A magic show for one or two of those ought to do the trick.

She heard the shuffling of feet and turned to glance towards the source of the sound just in time to see Dahlia rushing out of the building. Oh, so she was done? Ayame straightened in her seat. She better be called for next. The dog smell was getting unbearable.

[Xaltwind]

Warrior's Rest, Dining Area:

After the young pallum explained that he was looking to do something that nobody else had done before, the old chienthrope rolled his eyes ad lost any and all interest in speaking further with the lad. Tira just chuckled from amusement at the comments her fellow short-stuff had spouted. Either they were privvy to something the newcomer was not, or his perspective and desire was simply misdirected - in their eyes. It was hard to tell, given that neither person was willing to elaborate. In fact, Grent seemed to have fallen asleep, as his eyes had closed and he was just breathing slowly.

"I wouldn't worry to much 'bout it." Tira said, turning to Triss. "Lady Athena ain't one to be unreasonable, I'm sure if you give it your all in whatever ya do, it'll work out." She smiled in a friendly fashion.

At that point though, a voice called out from the stairway. It was Athena, apparently having come down from her room to fetch the next person.

"Next was... The Renard-girl, Ayame, wasn't it? Please come with me, dear." The Goddess called, softly and calmly, though she did glance over her shoulder at the front door, through whcih a certain human-girl had more or less barged out of earlier.

Once the renard decided to come along, they'd ascend up to the third floor and go through the same process as before. Sitting on the bed, getting Ayame's upper body unclothed, imprinting the falna and then having a bit of a Q&A afterwards. Rather routine all things considered, though hopefully this one would suffer verbal diarrea after the blessing was bestowed and run out of the home as if they needed to use a very specific bathroom...

"Wha's this? Lady Athena inviting people to her chambers? I'll be..." A gruff-sounding voice came from the second floor, somewhat behind Athena. The Goddess turned her head, eyes half-closed and a mix of amusement and also exasperation on her face.

"Ah, Brozar... Finally up I see, even though it is close to noon."
"Gwahahaha! Me 'n the voluptuous lass stayed up late and had a little drinkin' contest last night." The dwarf, who now slowly descended the stairs, roared in good spirits. Athena looked moderately amused.
"I take it with her, it wasn't much of a contest."
"Nope, fell asleep after just two tankards. Such a lightweight that lass be. Still, always fun to watch her sleepin', stupified face! GWahaha! But, oh! What's this? What's this!?" He laughed, then paused. His eyes falling on the refined renard-girl sitting alone. "Well, ain't this a sight for me sore eyes! Lady 'thena! Who's that ravishing beauty?" He asked, tugging at Athena's sleeve like a young child.
"That girl is Ayame, Brozar. She's here to join our Familia."
"By the ... Well, YOU!" He looked at Athena. "Ain't that a bit of wonderful news." He exclaimed excited, making his way over to the much younger girl with a bright and wide smile on his face, eyes twinkling as if he was looking at something extraordinary.
"Nice to meet'cha, miss Ayame! Me name's Brozar, pleasure to meetin' ya!" He announced, standing before the fox-girl and giving her a - what was likely his best attempt - cordial bow, like a gentleman. Something that made Tira burst out in laughter.

"Brozar, you just wanna squeeze her butt when she stands up!" The pallum chirped, laughing heartily.
"Hah! What's wrong with 'at? She'll be family soon enough!" The dwarf roared back in laughter, scratching the back of his head one with hand.
"... Please excuse them, Ayame... They're just excited to have new family-members." Athena said, face held in her own cupped hand, slightly blushing at the cheeks due toher rowdy children.

[Duoya]

Although she had previously squirmed and fought with all her might when the giant had placed on her his shoulders, the girl was surprisingly docile and quiet while resting in his arms. Perhaps there was something comforting about being held, or perhaps it had more to do with him actually holding onto her in a safe manner, rather than letting her sit haphazardly on top of him... Regardless, with the younger sister being princess-carried, the boy led the way! ... As best he could.

As they made their way through the bustling streets, made wrong turns and had to ask another stranger for re-directions, the trio slowly but surely made their way southwards in the city. As they walked, the morning sun climbed slowly higher in the sky, and the day grew warmer by the minute. There was no strong breeze to speak of though, and the absence of many clouds meant the only shade available were those that were cast from the larger houses, as well as the massive Babel of course. Still, the heat wasn't unberable or unpleasant, so it was of no real concern.

As they drew closer to their destination however, one could tell the difference in the city-scape gradually changing. From the larger and more spacious dwellings from whence they came, the homes and buildings here grew progressively smaller, more compact or more tightly squeezed together. The quality in the masonry and upkeep also became more apparent, with more rough and uneven materials being used, cracks and indents being more visible and less and less color being present. A descent into poverty - the Daedalus Street, home of Orario's destitute and economically challenged.

However, as tey drew closer, the boy's eyes lit up - as did the girl's.

"I'm starting to know where we are! We're not far now!" The boy said, turning his head to Torran with an xcited smile.

Despite the rapidly deteriorating conditions of the surrounding buildings, Torran was still oblivious to the status of these children. Instead, he was far more concerned with the growing heat - he was always uncomfortable in hot weather, and the leather armor he was wearing did little to relieve the heat. Torran did very little ever since the boy had taken the lead, instead focusing on carrying the girl in his arms, and keeping an eye out for anything that even resembled a Familia.

While Torran didn't notice the poor infrastructure, he did make note of the lack of colors. It was very drab, which Torran did not find very comforting - he always preferred bright colors, since they reminded him of flowers. He chose to instead think of the directions that strangers gave them, doing his best to track his steps. He wanted to find the way back to the place he came from since that might help his search.

Eventually, the boy picked up his pace and finally called out to Torran.

"I'm starting to know where we are! We're not far now!"

Torran smiled in response, glad that he managed to help these children successfully. He leaned from side-to-side before responding.

"That's great - we'll get you guys home in no time! LEt's go."

After another minute or two of travel, the small group finally managed to arrive at a small building, similar to all the other homes that littered Daedalus Street. Before the boy could open the door, Torran rapped the door several times, easily holding the girl with a single arm. He didn't do this out of fear that the occupants were dangerous, as was the case in the last house he knocked at. No, instead he was taking the initiative because he had spent the last hour or so walking fairly slowly behind the boy, and he was feeling somewhat anxious to deliver the children home.

The boy and the girl in Torran's arms both lit up at the sight of the small, drab, unremarkable and worn-down-looking house. Their eyes almost sparkled as if they were looking at the very essence of hope, beauty and safety... And perhaps to them, it actually was. However, before either of them said anything, the big oaf approached and banged on the door - because he really seemed to like doing that.

A muffled voice came from inside the door, and after what felt like an entire minute, the door slowoly edged forward.

"Y-yes? W-who is i-" A woman's voice, soft but tired, sounded from within. However, as soon as she saw the boy by the giant's side and the girl in his arms, the door flung open, crashing into the wall behind it and out from the dusty, murky interior rushed a woman.

"Beli! Anra! Where have you two been!?" The woman's eyes were stained with tears and her face was a mix of relief, fear and confusion. A rather interesting mix. The woman herself was a plain thing, thin limbs, below average stature, scrawny physique and messy, matte brown hair with equally dull, brown eyes. The children both cried out for their mother, and squirming out of the man's arms, the sister freed herself and ran alongside her brother to embrace their mother in a glorious, tear-jerking reunion, with all three bawling like babies and talking in each others' mouth.

... For about half a minute.

"YOU STUPID LITTLE BRATS, WHERE THE HECK DID YOU GO!?" The mother now roared like a lion, proceeding to deliver a top-of-the-head knuckle to each of her children, her collapsed onto their behinds while rubbing their newly forming bumps. trying frantically to explain what had happened. The woman simply folded her arms and kept scolding though.

"I told you not to run off! I was just going to go in, deliver the laundry to the Familia there and come back out. And what do I see when I come back? Nothing! You two'd run off, leaving me to drag the rest of the laudnry home all on my own and worrying me to death about where you were!"
"But mama! We got scared and-"
"And you ran off? On your own? Did you even think where you were runing to? Or how to find me once you stopped?"
"Well, no, but-"
"But, but mama! The big man helped us!"
"Hm?"

It was at this point that the woman actually seemed to have registered that the boaz man was there. Taken slightly aback by his size, she took a step back, before eyeing him up and down. However, after the kids explained what had happened and how the man had lent them his help, doing so much to try and help - despite seeming like a rather thick, useless adult - the mother let on a very sweet smile as she looked at the fellow.

"Thank you so very much, good sir." She said, approaching the man, standing on her tippy-toes and giving him a small peck on the cheek.

Torran recoiled at the woman's touch, blushing heavily - he was far from used to such blatant affection from his own mother, let alone some random woman he met seconds ago. Was this the charm of an Adventurer? Torran's determination wavered slightly, but he steeled himself and tried to ignore it.

"Of course - delivering these children back to safety was the least an Adventurer could do!"

Torran allowed a smug smile to crawl across his face at that. He had already managed to save the day, and it was only around noon! The reunion between the family was touching, and Torran was confident that it was primarily due to his help these children managed to ever come back home. Of course, that wasn't actually the case - their mother would have inevitably searched for her children in order to recover them. Still, Torran had managed to shorten the process and saved the children unnecessary stress.

In the end, Torran had a valid reason to feel so good about himself.

This didn't last too long, however, and horror quickly spread over the Boaz's face as he made a realization. It was already past noon, and he was no closer to finding a Familia than he was when he left his home that morning! By the gods, this was horrible! Torran fell to his knees dramatically, shellshocked at the revelation.

A few seconds later, however, and he caught back up to reality. The woman had said something while admonishing her children... That's it! Torran lept to his feet quickly, something quite intimidating considering his massive size and girth, and turned to the woman he had been searching for all day.

"E-excuse me Ma'am, but did you say something about a Familia?! I have been looking for a Familia to join - could you give me directions to the one you speak of?"

As the big fellow put on a theatrical appearance that was first brazen, then pathetic, and now pleading, the plain-looking mother was unsure what to make of him. He seemed.... Strange, to say the least. Still, he had brought her children back safely and he didn't seem like a bad sort - just a bit odd. When he asked her to give directions to the Familia though, she rubbed her elbow and cast her eyes sideways, a concerned smile on her face.

"Sorry sir, but if you're looking for a familia, I- I don't think you should go visit them... They're a bit picky about who can join." She said this as someone who had experienced their rejection first-hand. However, her expression changed to a brighter one soon after. "However, if you want, you couldm come with me. I still got one more delivery to make to the Athena Familia today. They're not a very big group, but they're good people, and their Goddess is kind and pretty and -"
"Mama... You're over-praising that Goddess again."
"Shush you!"
"I don't like that Goddess... She's scary..."
"She most certainly is not, you little fool!"

Another bonk on each of her childrens heads made for a quick method of silencing their protests.

"I just need to go get the basket with their laundry and I'll be right back. So, do you wish to come along and meet them at least?" She asked the large man.

"Oh yes, I would be forever in your debt, madam!"

Torran nearly leaped to grab her hands in gratitude, but thankfully, he seemed to realize it was a bad idea at the last minute. Instead, he merely bowed his head several times, waiting for the woman to return with her latest load of laundry. As he waited, Torran looked around the dilapidated neighborhood, finally realizing how decrepit and poor the area was. He wondered why everyone seemed to not be taking care of their homes, and why everyone was living in such small houses. Perhaps it was a choice of style? Torran preferred larger houses since he was quite tall and didn't enjoy ducking indoors.

Eventually, thoughts turned to the way the woman handled her children. She seemed to punish them very lightly - Torran had experienced significantly worse from his father. Then again, she punished them for merely talking out of turn, so it seemed like she chose a more 'Quantity over Quality' method of parenting.

Inevitably, the Mother returned, and Torran quickly moved to follow behind her. As he did so, he attempted to grab the laundry from her hands - his mother told him that most ladies did not enjoy carrying things, and Torran was quite proficient at doing that exact thing.

"Let's leave at once, Ma'am! I'll be right behind you!"

Torran was reliant on her for directions, even though he had already been to the Familia before - if this was where the mother delivered laundry, then the building where Torran received directions was the target. Unfortunately, having been an hour or two ago, Torran had mostly forgotten the path he had taken to get there.

[ERode]

Well, Tira's sentiment was nice, at least...if Triss had been five years younger and still thought that getting in just because he 'tried' was anything satisfying at all. Sadly, the Pallum still wanted to do something super crazy to proverbially and literally blast Athena's socks off, nevermind the fact that Athena wore stockings on one leg and all. He nodded towards the alchemist girl regardless though. Tira was nice, unlike Grumpy Grent and his propensity for taking impromptu naps. He'll have to do something for her later, maybe.

Before the conversation could continue, however, the book-wielding human stormed down the stairs with book in hand and manic energy in her gait, followed soon after by the goddess herself, who (disappointingly enough) beckoned the stately Renard to receive her falna next. Triss waved Ayame good luck, about turn to his next morning stretches when a dwarf came outta the woodwork. A dwarf that really looked like a dwarf, with a thick beard and the stench of alcohol clinging to his breath! A lecherous sloth of a dwarf, but still, a kindred of Master's was a friend of Triss. Not minding how obvious Brozar cared only for Ayame's presence, Triss bounded up the flight of stairs as well, ponytail bouncing behind him. Neither Athena nor Ayame were particularly wide; it was easy enough for the lithe pallum to slide past them and interpose himself right in front of Brozar, chest puffed out in an attempt to make himself look as big as possible.

"And I'm Triss!" The redhead stuck out a hand to shake, a bright smile on his face. "I'm going to be joining Athena's Familia too! Nice to meet you, bro!"

[OwO]

The market was impressive. So many people gathered in such a place! It was quite an amazing sight! No amount of literature could quite encapsulate the bizarre beauty of the market. People haggled on the spot looking for the best deal possible. Occasionally, a merchant would be walked out on by the customer, only to begrudgingly sigh and yell for them to come back. Really, Dahlia would have been in an amazing mood, save for one thing.

The market was filthy.

People meant filth, therefore it was only logical for the market to be practically untouchable. Thankfully, Dahlia wore enough layers to keep the gross at bay. She would, however, ensure that these clothes were to be burned when she took them off. There was no saving them in her mind. Even though she had come to the markets to get supplies for her grand adventure, her attempts at acquiring gear was... less than successful?

The merchants and peddlers who haggled with regular folk had no real clue what Dahlia was talking about. For the peddlers who looked nice enough that Dahlia could buy things without judgement, they had to deal with the librarian's utter disrespect to established haggling procedure. Dahlia would offer a completely random number of valis for something or offer some bizarre item in lieu of cash. After the third offer, Dahlia would often be "referred" to another peddler, as the original seller had barely any patience for her.

Time passed and Dahlia hadn't bought a single item. To escape the overwhelming noise of the market, Dahlia snuck into an alley away from the chaotic market. Taking a nice place behind some old, busted boxes (her clothes were most definitely getting burned before she slept), she could rest. There, she could finally have some peace of mind. But rather than the murmurs of a distant market, she heard a conversation of two people further in the alleyway.

"Are you sure that she'll be there?" One asked, his gruff voice was barely audible.

"'Course. That girl's brand new. Reaaaaaal cocky. Gonna storm down much lower floor than she should." The second replied. It was apparent that the two of them were (thankfully) walking the other way.

"...Right, we can wait nearby an' getter with..." The first voice became inaudible.

"Such a sha... that girl's... a fine... get... coochie..." A few choice words by the second were occasionally audible.

Get coochie? What was that? Sure, there was a decently long gap between the two words, but Dahlia's mind was already set on coochie being something the two of them were trying to get. What was this mythical coochie, anyways? Well, whatever it was, it was sure to be something important! Without doubt, if Dahlia was to obtain it, that would easily be one of the achievements done for Athena.

Thus began Dahlia Pendragon and the quest for coochie. Whatever that was, anyways.

[Vertigo]

Ayame hadn't been paying much attention to the conversation going on in the room, so it wasn't difficult to pick up Athena's voice over it. She turned to find the Godddess at the stairway, asking for her to follow. Finally, it was about time!

Before the renard could actually stand up however, another voice called out from behind the Goddess. This one was... not quite as pleasant to the ears. That was to say, Ayame could hear the depravity in the man’s voice, and it made her tail bristle. What manner of filthy lout did they keep in this familia? First the mutt, now this. To make matters worse, the oaf dared divert the Goddess’ attention from her. Ugh, as if she had not waited long enough. Was she truly forced to listen through this... drivel before she could get her turn?

Then the dwarf noticed her.

In an instant, his eyes lit up with disturbing, childish glee. Upon hearing she was going to be joining the familia, he started to waddle towards her - and then proceed to attempt a bow. Oh. Well now, at least he had some semblance of manners, even if the execution wasn’t quite right. Perhaps she had misjudge---

"Brozar, you just wanna squeeze her butt when she stands up!"

"Hah! What's wrong with 'at? She'll be family soon enough!"

...

Ayame said nothing, but the strained smile on her face spoke plenty. Flames burst into being upon her palm, dancing and writhing as they licked at the air hungrily. Without a word, she pulled her hand back-- and then blasted the entirety of her Foxfire straight at the dwarf’s stupid, ugly, lecherous face.

She could only hope it hurt, even though no lasting damage was likely to occur. Her fire was not potent enough to kill.

Unfortunately.

With him taken care of, Ayame stood up, dusting herself with a few delicate swishes of her hand. She looked to the Goddess with one of her most delightful smiles - as if nothing was amiss at all, and spoke in an unfittingly light tone, “Shall we? I do believe I’ve had enough of waiting.”

With that, she begun to make her way towards Athena and the stairs - only to see Triss breeze past her to introduce himself to the dwarf. Oh. Why, how perfect, the boy made for a nice distraction!

"Hurry now, I simply can't wait!" she exclaimed as she hurried up to Athena, swiftly locking her arm into her own. With no second thought given to the fact that this was an actual goddess she was dealing with, she begun to practically try and drag her up the stairs.

[Xaltwind]

Southe-western streets of Orario:

"Hm? The way ba- Oh, you must mean the home of the Familia where you met my br-err... Kids, yes? That isn't where we're going, sir. Athena's Familia lives over in the south-west." The woman explained, hefting the basket of laundry up - only to have it snagged by the giant. She at first looked perplexed, but soon came to realize he was only being considerate. "T-thank you." She gratefully stated with a small smile.

The two were then off, navigating the streets of Orario, passing by other pedestrians and adventurers. As they walked, the impoverished laundry-lady would take ceaselessly about most anything and everything, being sure to both complain about her disobediant rascal-children, how hard it was to walk all over Orario to do her job, how some Familia were miserly and stingy with the pay and how the Athena Familia was always fair and apparently a bright light of unquestionable integrity. At least according to her, that is. The woman didn't seem so inclined to ask much about the boaz though, or why he wanted to join a Familia, far too occupied with her one-sided middle-aged gossip-chatter to even let him have a say in their conversation.

Still, she did as she had promied, and within a short amount of time - far less so than the time Torran had spent following the little boy back home to the Daedalus street, the pair arrived at the street outside of Warrior's Rest. The woman breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Well, here we are." She said, turning her head to look at Torran's face. "Thank you again for bringing my miscreants home, and even more thanks for carrying all that by yourself." She nodded to the laundry-basket. "Your a good soul, sir. I'm sure that Lady Athena will be happy to welcome you." The mother said, confidence brimming from her expression. Still, there was one last matter to settle before going in.

"So, uhm... Is there anything I can give you as payment for all you've done? We don't have much but... I can give you some of the pay I'll get here, if you want." She asked, looking a bit uncomfortable and reluctant. It wasn't that she didn't want to give the man his just reward, but rather that she could scarcely afford to do so in the first place...

inside Warrior's Rest:

"MRAAAARGH!?"

The scene was... complicated, to say the least. On one hand, you had a dwarf with a now burning beard yelling and flailing his arms about in a panic. You had a pallum standing next to said dwarf, extending his arm trying to greet the poor fellow who was now sat on fire. And then you had the pallum girl over by the table who was tearing up and going into a fetal position on the floor, laughing so hard she could barely breathe. To top it off, the grumpy old chienthrope awoke due to the cacaphony of noise and turmoil and had nothing but a blank stare to give as he watched the scene and events unfold before his lone eye. Meanwhile, the Goddess of the home stood stupified, before being snagged and pulled away by a girl who had just set one of her children on fire... Today really was an unusual day.

Eventually though, with enough palm-patting and dunking a jug of water over his own head - obtained from one of the nearby tables in the dining room - Brozar's beard was finally safe. Singed and slightly darker in color now, but mostly saved. The dwarf let out a sigh of relief, rubbed his chin, then burst into laughter.

"That's a lively one, huh?" He bellowed, surprisingly merry considering he almost had his face incinerated. However, he soon quieted down as he seemed to remember something. Turning his head back to the pallum-boy who had come to greet him - during his state of distress - the dwarf wandered back over to the lad, smiling broadly and clasping the little one's hand in his own.

"Nice to meet ya, boy! I'm Brozar, resident smith of the Familia. After you been down in the dungeon and get your gear all banged up from monster-squashin', you come see me and I'll fix it right up!" Th man boassted, thumping his own, broad chest with his other hand. Releasing the pallum, the dwarf gave the youngster a look-over, before going on. "You don't look like an Orario-bred. Come from far away, eh?" He asked, in a friendly enough manner.

Meanwhile, Tira was still on the floor, in tears and cheeks bright and rosy from all the laughing.

Meanwhile, upstairs...

"Ah, uh... Yes..." Athena seemed a bit overwhelmed by the butterfly-effect that had just swept her home, easily being pulled along by the renard. She soon composed herself again though, and took over leading the way - showing the renard the way up to the third floor and into her room.

Once inside, and with the door shut behind them, she asked the renard - just like with Dahlia - to go over and sit down on the bed. She herself did the same, just as before, sitting down on her knees upon the covers of the relatively sturdy, but still soft-enough, bed.

"I apologize for Brozar." She said as she looked at Ayame, her face serious. "I hope you weren't offended. He can be a bit forward with attractive young women, but he doesn't mean any ill." She said, looking partly apologetic and partly embarrassed. "Now then, please sit down here infront of me, after you've taken off your clothes so your back is fully exposed." She then explained, seemingly having brushed the incident aside with relative, and likely practiced, ease.

[ERode]

While men of lesser spirit may have been shocked, alarmed, or afraid of a situation in which a Renard set a dwarf’s beard ablaze, the latter then opting to scream in panic as he flailed his fat arms about, Triss remained cool. Why? Because Brozar was a dwarf, after all! As children of fire and earth, there was no way such a pitiful lick of flame would truly cause terror for the man. It was clear to the pallum brawler that he was simply putting on a show for the entertainment (or irritation) of others, and in the aftermath of the situation, beard dripping wet and good spirits restored, Triss’s faith in Brozar’s mental fortitude was proven correct. As expect of a race who beat down monsters even before the descending of the Gods!

“She made her entrance by tackling Athena,” Triss mentioned, his gaze flickering upstairs. He hadn’t been certain before, considering how high-browed Ayame was, but it was clear now. That Renard was a regular spit-fire. “So she’s probably crazy.”

As the two clasped hands, Triss squeezed as hard as he could, but could barely budge Brozar’s fat fingers. Good. So the blacksmith-adventurer of the Familia was tough too. “By ship from the Far East,” the pallum said. He flipped the collar of his gi inside out to reveal the foreign characters sewn upon them. “You heard of Momi Firepunch? She taught me.”

[Duoya]

The woman was a lot more... talkative, then the children had been. Not that Torran really minded - his mother had always commented on what a good listener he was, and Torran felt people could always vent about their day if it made them feel better. It wasn't like he had much to say anyways - he was simply happy to finally have found a way to enter a Familia! He chose to listen to what the Mother had to say, occasionally offering an 'I see' or an 'Uh-huh' where it felt appropriate. He was especially happy whenever the gossip led towards how fair and just the Athena familia was, which he was being taken to. That was great to hear! After all, what kind of heroic adventurer would be a part of a Familia that was stingy with a hard-working woman's pay?

"Well, here we are. Thank you again for bringing my miscreants home, and even more thanks for carrying all that by yourself. You're a good soul, sir. I'm sure that Lady Athena will be happy to welcome you."

Torran beamed.

"It was no problem, ma'am! I'm just doing what I can to help!"

It was great to hear that the Mother thought Torran had a good chance of getting into the Familia - Torran didn't really have any other clues to go off of, and finding another pair of children to lead him to someone who knew a Familia would probably be a bit trickier the second time around.

"So, uhm... Is there anything I can give you as payment for all you've done? We don't have much but... I can give you some of the pay I'll get here, if you want."

The thought of getting money was pretty nice - the only money Torran ever had was the meager amount he got from his allowance, or from when his father felt bad for getting into one of his 'moods' and wanted to make it up to Torran. Still, Torran managed to make the connection that the woman and her children were far from well off, and it would be impossible to take money from them in clear conscience.

"What are you talking about? This is more than award enough! Getting the chance to join a Familia - and not just any Familia, but one you hold so highly? This is the perfect reward for an Adventurer's first quest!"

Torran fixed his grip slightly on the basket of laundry, leaving one of his hands free. He walked over to the door of Warrior's Rest, and rapped the door a few times, before awkwardly waiting for it to open with a basket of laundry in his hands.

[Vertigo]

The old dwarf's cries of pain were music to Ayame's ears, putting a little skip into her step as she dragged the goddess upstairs. Eventually, Athena regained her composure and assumed the lead instead.

"Offended? Certainly not," she spoke in an almost eerily cheerful voice, her smile not at all a match for Athena's serious expression. "I simply took note of a pest problem and saw fit to take care of it. Most roaches fear flames, after all."

At the notion of needing to undress, she hesitated. Undress? After what had just happened downstairs? If it was just her and the Goddess, she supposed it was quite fine, but... just in case, she made sure to ensure there was no one else around before starting to loosen her shirt.

A moment later, she sat on the bed with her legs neatly folded and back revealed, hands holding up her robes to cover her front.

"Pardon me, but what exactly is... involved in the blessing?" She asked, a little nervous.

It better not be anything that would mar her perfect skin!

With the fox-girl seated on the bed now, Athena simply moved behind her, with rehearsed movements. It was almost uncanny how the goddess managed to reposition herself behind the youth without much effort or sound. At the renard's query though, the goddess simply smiled softly.

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt and it doesn't take long." She assured.

Given the girl's reaction, and later comments to, Brozar and his antics, Athena could deduce that this little lady was of the type who didn't relish physical or intimate contact with people, especially those she was unfamiliar with. A fair and understandable standing, being touched by those you hardly knew without permission was hardly pleasant most the time. To that end, the goddess would strive to make this quick so as to not cause any more discomfort for this girl.

Wouldn't hurt or take long? That was all fine and well, certainly, but it didn't ease the biggest of her worries; getting some sort of an ugly brand on her back. She didn't really know how these... families worked, but hopefully they did not involve needing to be physically marked as members. A little pain would not even begin to compare to such a cruel fate.

While waiting for the Goddess to begin, Ayame let her gaze wander around the room and ponder its plainness, hoping that whatever room she got assigned would be decorated more grandly.

"Here we go then." She stated plainly, reaching both hands out to Ayame's back and hovering her palms an inch or so above the renard's skin.

The light from before, just like with Dahlia, suddenly appeared, casting the bright light backwards and casting the front into slight murkiness. The fox could feel a soft, gentle warmth on her back as Athena uttered the practiced words she had used time and time again on those who joined her Familia. It didn't take long at all, before the light slowly faded down and Ayame's back was neither slightly warmer, nor aglow with mystic divine light. Athena retracted her hands, repositioned her legs so as to sit slightly sideways, looking at the foreign fox with a satisfied smile.

There came the light and the warmth, and for a fleeting moment, the renard worried no longer. She closed her eyes and relaxed - and then, just as quickly, it was all over. The Goddess confirmed as much with her words. Ayame looked down at her hands, then tried to steal a glance at her back. She couldn't see any ugly marks, but she could feel energized, somehow.

She felt as though the next time she blasted that old creepy dwarf's face with flames, his beard would not survive the ordeal. Hopefully.

"There we go, all done." She stated, as if it had been the most simple and painless ordeal in the world. "You should feel a slight surge in your body, as you've become a bit stronger simply by virtue of the blessing itself." The goddess said, holding a small scrap of paper in one hand and eyeing it closely. "This is your status, by the way." She looked at Ayame with one eye and lightly waved the paper. "You should take a look at it, and ask me anything about it if you have questions." She finished, handing the tiny note over to the renard.

The fox turned around, only to be greeted with a piece of paper held out to her.

"My... status?" she repeated, taking the paper and peeking at its contents. What did that mean?

"Yes, dear. Your status. It tells you how well-developed your various attributes are, as well as lists any special or unique skills or traits you have, including any spells you know." Athena explained, having already read the sheet herself.

The goddess shifted her weight and slid a little closer to Ayame on the bed, using a slender finger to point out the various physical attributes, the renard's magic and known spell. Though as she did so, she also looked at Ayame straight in the eyes, a serious expression on her own face.

Ayame nodded along as the Goddess explained each attribute, trying not to bristle her fur over some of what she saw. Why, if you asked her, she should've had straight A's across the board! Who was responsible for these numbers? She wanted to speak to their manager, stat. She could only assume such lowly numbers meant she had incredible potential ahead of her yet. To think that she could even improve upon perfection this much--! She must've been a Goddess herself.

"Many adventurers have a hard time adjusting to the drastic changes in their body right after a rank-up." Athena explained. "It can take some time to get used to your new strength, speed and even your newly strengthened magic." She warned. "For example, your little prank on Brozar earlier was fine for the most part because your magic then was relatively weak... But if you were to pull the same stunt again, you could potentially injure him quite severely. So please be careful and try to adjust and familiarize yourself with your new power." Athena urged, scooting back a bit to give the fox-girl some space once more.

Ayame peeled herself from such thoughts in time to catch Athena's warning about her new powers - and what it could potentially do to the lecherous dwarf if used against him again so carelessly. Injure him quite severely, she'd said?

Perfect.

Ahem, what she meant was--

"I'll be sure to handle my power with care," Ayame reassured her, gently holding a hand to her chest as if to signal she was speaking from the heart. Which she probably was, just not quite in the manner she tried to pretend. "After all, it is the duty of us strong and beautiful to ensure we do not needlessly bring harm to the thousands that stand below - and admire - us."

As long as he kept his hands away from her butt.

Hands on butt meant all bets were off.

Athena nodded slightly at the renard's affirmation of her new power and the responsibility of using it carefully... Though, the Goddess did raise an eyebrow at the comment about being the strong and beautiful who stood above the thousands... It seemed this girl either had a strange sense of humor, or her head was quite full of nothing but herself. Well, no matter - such small details could be solved with some lengthy disciplinary lectures and instructing later on. For now, she was just happy that the girl didn't run off to burn off what remained of poor Brozar's beard.

"Yes, well. IF there's nothing else, I believe we're done, Ayame." Athena said, sliding off the side of the bed and getting up onto her feet. Turning to the fox-girl, she politely gestured towards the door. "Shall we go then? I believe there's one more who wanted to join us." The goddess commented, though before anything else, proceeded to remind the renard-girl. "Remember now, you're not a full-fledged member of the Familia yet. Prove yourself in these next seven days, and you'll have earned your stay with us. Otherwise, I'll have to revoke my blessing from you." She warned, though neither threatening or malicious, simply matter-of-factly and professional.

"I do believe so, yes," Ayame agreed, clothing herself and sliding off the bed herself. She nodded and walked along, though the reminder of needing to prove herself did nearly give her steps pause. That stuff again? Even after spending such a long time in her company, the Goddess was still not convinced of her worth?

Her cheeks puffed out, just the slightest bit - but she managed to mask it under a smile quickly enough.

"Worry not dear, there will be no need for any of that nonsensical revoking business. By the end of the week, you shall be lamenting that there's only one of me to join the familia!"

With those boastful words, Ayame made her down the stairs - and then stopped on her tracks, having no idea where to head next.

[Xaltwind]

Warrior's Rest, 3rd floor:

"I'll be looking forward to your exploits then." Athena said, as Ayame boasted and headed out of her room.

The renard seemed... Confident, to say the least. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, having the strength and courage to move forward and attempt to achieve something was admirable. ... So long as it didn't turn into reckless hubris and end up biting you in the romp. A slight shadow fell over the Goddess's eyes as she recalled events from years and years ago, a slight frown on her otherwise pretty face. Quickly she returned to the present though and shook that expression and those thoughts from her mind. There was still more to be done and she had no time to mope about right now.

Descending the stairs once more, she followed as the foreign fox-girl led the way. Once at the first floor again, Athena rounded the corner into the dining room and looked upon the scene there. It looked like Tira had finally calmed down from her laughing fit, Brozar and the new pallum were talking to one another in a friendly way and Grent was... Asleep... Again...

Warrior's Rest, 1st floor:

Brozar lifted an eyebrow and rubbed his chin as the pallum-kid asked if he knew anything about a lady with a rather unique name. After a few moments of thinking, the dwarf shook his head, shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands intot he air.

"Nope, can't say I have. Ain't knowin' much about them places far away from Orario though. Tira, you know anythin' about a Firepunch-lady?" The dwarf called over to his alchemist colleague.
"Firepunch Lady..? Never heard of anyone with a title like that." She answered.
"No, not an adventurer, you daft girl! Kid here says he trained under a Firepunch lady before coming here."
"Ohhhh! Well, how would I know? I've never been outside Orario, you know!" Tira protested, in good spirits.
"True 'nuff, you're one sheltered little princess."
"Aawww stop it, you're making me bluuush~" The girl said, cheeks slightly red with palms held over them, squirming back and forth in her seat quite comically.

As the dwarf was about to ask more though, the sound of footsteps over by the stairs could be heard. Turning his bearded head, he laid eyes upon his Goddess - having returned from her little alone-time with the pretty fox-girl. He smiled, mischievously and with eyes that twinkled with anticipation.

"Well? Well? How was it, Lady Athena?"
"How was... What, Brozar?"
"Her back! Her back! Was it lovely? Smooth? As unblemished as her face?" He spoke with excitement that was rather uncomfortably enthused for someomne asking about someone else's back...
"I... uh... I guess? I don't really pay attention to those things you know." The Goddess said, unsure of where to look next.
"Bet you go all 'Kyaaaa~ Grent's muscles are so big and tough!' when you update Grampa's status though!" Tira called from across the room, causing Athena's face to turn bright red and her arms to start flailing.
"I'll h-have you know there is no squeeing or cooing of any kind! Grent's my child, just as much as any of the rest of you, got it? My C-H-I-L-D!" The goddess proclaimed, obviously quite flustered.

As expected, this behavior caused both Brozar and Tira to burst into laughter once more, and the Goddess could do little but sigh and slump her shoulders. Dealing with these two was quite the chore sometimes. Soon enough though, she turned her head and looked at the young Triss.

"Ahem, well anyway!" She started. "Tris was your name, yes? You're up next, so won't you come with me and we can get started? It's ju-"

BANG! BANG!

Some would have called it a knock, but to others it sounded more akin to a battering ram trying to break down the familia's front door. All heads turned towards the hallway, where the noise had come from. With Grent still asleep and Athena just about to grab the youngster and go, Brozar took it upon himself to be the one to check out the source of the commotion. Waddling out of the dining room and into the hall, he passed by the renard - who he gave a quick stroke across her tail as he passed by - before getting to the door and opening it with a sudden, quick slam.

"Oi! Who be trying to knock down our door! We had enough noise fo- Well, holy cow ain't you a big 'un?" The dwarf started with a plaintive tone but was quick to change his tune upon witnessing the behemoth that stood before him in the door opening. A few seconds of silence passed, the shorter man blinking in a way that suggested he was unsure of what to do next.

However, once the sound of a familiar voice called out from behind the gargantuan beast right infront of him, Brozar managed to snap out of his stupified state.

"Mr. Brozar! It's me, with the familia's laundry." The woman called, caausing the dwarf to poke his head around the side of the big boaz, a relieved smile spreading across the stocky man's face.
"Well now, that's a relief. For a moment, I thought this one was going to burst inside and eat the lot of us."
"Wha-? No! He's very kind, in fact e helped my runts earleir, and even carried the laundry all the way over here for me." The woman explained.
"Oh-ho? That so! Gentle giant he is, then? Well, any friend of our dear laundry-lady is welcome here, put her there, son!" The dwarf said, trying to pat the big man on his shoulders - but failing miserable - and instead opted to extend his hand for a more reasonable handshake.

Meanwhile, inside....

"Well, Brozar seems to have that handled for now... Shall we go?" Athena asked, turning bakc to Triss with a friendly face, gesturing for the stairs.

[ERode]

"Eh, wasn't expecting ya to. Far East's far, after all."

Despite what Triss said though, the pallum was still a bit sad that Momi wasn't famous enough to have a worldwide reputationg yet. There was a certain amount of admiration he had for the dwarf martial artist, after all, born from being under her tutelage for almost a whole decade. It wasn't a problem though. He'd just have to spread her own name alongside his as he became famous in Orario! Turning at the arrival of Athena, Triss nodded along, not so bothered by the loud knocking as the rest of them. His own introduction to the familia's house had featured following in after an excited mob tackled their way through the door...though his ears did perk up at the mention of 'a big 'un'. Orario had giants too? Wild place indeed. Sounded like the competition was gonna be fierce, just the way he liked it.

"Yup, let's get this done, Lady Goddess." The pallum hopped on after Athena. "How were the other two, by the by?"

As they walked up the stairs, Athena looked at the pallum with a curious look on her face.

"How they were? I'm not sure I understand what you're asking."

"Eh," Triss turned to face the Goddess, walking backwards up the stairs. "Like, potential-wise? Heard that some people start off with crazy cool skills n all."

"Potential, huh?" The Goddess said as they walked through the corridor of the second floor. "They each had their own strengths and unique capabilities."

Athena smiled lightly at the childish pallum's comment. True, some people had remarkably potent abilities or parameters when they first received their falna, but such indidivuals were rare and very far apart.

"Why are you so curious about what their atpitudes were like though?" She continued, as they now made way up the stairs leading to the third floor.

"Well," Triss began, raising a finger for each point, "we're in the same Familia and we all started at the same time, so that's about as close as I can get to rivals, right? Always like a fair competition."

As the reached the top of the stairs and Athena listened to the pallum's comments, she opened the 'A'-marked door for him to enter first, where-after she followed and shut the door behind them. Once inside Athena's rather modest room, the goddess spoke again.

"Rivals and competition?" She said, looking rather neutral and blank in her expression as she walked over to the bed. "I think you might not quite understand what kind of Familia this is" She stated. "I'm afraid you'll find my children rather uninterested in such things. They try to cooperate with one another, rather than seek to prove that one is superior to the rest." The goddess sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning slightly backwards, using her palms and straight-stretched arms as supports.

"So then, maybe I should ask you something instead, Triss Honeyforge." The Goddess said, looking over at the pallum from the corner of her eye. "What exactly do you believe a Familia to be? Or rather, what kind of Familia were you hoping to find?"

Triss sat down on the floor himself, crossing his legs. He frowned slightly at the amount of fur that had been shed there. Did Athena keep a cat somewhere? He picked up a couple of the ones close by, rolling it into a furry ball between his fingers before sticking it in his pockets for future disposal.

"One where everyone gets better and encourages everyone else to too," the pallum brawler replied, his own expression clueless towards whatever subtext the goddess communicated. "Isn't that what rivals do?"

The goddess smiled softly at the innocent pallum's idealism.

"Sometimes they do. Not all rivalries are of a friendly nature however." Although smiling and speaking politely, there was a tinge of bitterness - or perhaps resentment - to her voice. "Well, I doubt you came all this way to discuss philosophy. Why don't you sit down next to me and take off your shirt? I'll need to see your back in order to give you my blessing after all." She encouraged kidnly, gently patting the bed with her hand, signalling for the little one to sit down next ho her.

"Yeah, sure!" Hopping back onto his feet, Triss slipped his arms out of the baggy sleeves of his gi. He sat down beside Athena, twisted so his back faced her, before undoing the bandages around his chest. Once they were loose enough to reveal his bare back, the Pallum held the strips between his crossed arms and said, "Welp, go ahead."

The goddess placed her hands - once more - less than inch from the pallum's back, like she had with all the other candidates tjos day. As before, the glow came and illuminated the back of the room, while casting the other half into slight murk. The warm, pleasant sensation spread across the young pallum's back and he could feel the surge of growing energy. With the ritual and formalities coming to a close, the light faded, the warmth waned and Athena retracted her hands, now holding the status sheet in her right hand. Looking it over, she raised an eyebrow with a slightly surprised oh? accompanying it.

"Well now, look at this." She said, apparently in good hhumor again. "I haven't see this skill before." She stated, finishing looking over the slip of paper and then holding out for Triss to grab.

Triss twitched at all the weird sensations that popped up, letting out an 'eck' as the Goddess's blessing flow through the pallum's small frame. Once it was done, he quickly wrapped the bandages back on, shrugging into the sleeves of his gi once more. Clenching his fist, the pallum marveled at the excess of strength that was suddenly rushing through his veins...at least until he realized that he might be clenching too hard and now his nails were one millisecond away from cutting into his palms. Yikes, he unclenched soon enough.

"Oh?" Triss received Athena's paper with all the respect and reverrence of an overexcited child, his eyes flickering over it quickly, before the pallum just as quickly handed the paper back to the, no, his Goddess. "Uh, so what does this mean?" With no point of comparison, after all, Triss had no idea how to take all these numbers and letters, or if he should even be celebrating about this 'skill'.

"Ah, yes... I forgot you're not from Orario." Athena said, smiling sheephishly as she gently plucked the paper from the pallum. Turning it around with her fingers, so the youngster could see all the scribbles, Athena used her other hand - and more specifically, the index finger - to point at the various bits of letters. "To put it simply, these are grades of your various attributes, such as your physical strength and your agility. The letters next to them simply indicate how developed that attribute is." The goddess stated, going on to explain how the various ranks from I to A and then S worked.

"In addition, this part here tells you what skills and spells you currently know or am capable of using. In your case, this 'Iron Fist'-skil is what we call a Personal Skill, and is unique to you." She explained. "As you fight monsters in the Dungeon, or simply go about your everyday, your parameters will increase, and by allowing me to update your status - as I just did when blessing you - these numbers and ranks will increase." She stated simply. "Anthing else you'd like to know?"

"Hm, so you get stronger with every passing day..." Triss mulled over this momentarily, before a grin broke upon his features. "Good! Thank you!"

"You're very welcome." Athena let out a small laugh at the suddeny gratitude. "Now then, just like I told the girls before you." She began. "You now have seven days to prove that you belong with our Familia. If you cannot do so, I'll have to revoke my blessing from you." She said, again plainly and without any hint of malice or hidden subtext. She was just stating the conditions and requirements to remain with her familia. "Now then, shall we go and rejoin the others? I think there wa visitor as well that may need addressing." The Goddess said, motioning for the door out of her room.

"Yup, I still remember that," Triss replied , hopping off the bed. He did a couple more hops, before a bit of a frown crossed his features. "Oh, do you have a courtyard or something I could borrow for a bit, Goddess?"

"We don't have a courtyard, but there's a bit of open space in the backyard, along with Brozar's forge. Would that do" Atehna replied, now walking towards the door that led out of her room.

"Yup," Triss replied, a quick few steps carrying him to the door before the goddess could reach it. He opened it for her, waited a bit longer for her to cross the threshold, before sliding down the railing to the lower floors.

"Oh right! Who cooks dinner?"

Athena walked out and thanked Triss for his gentlemanly conduct. As Triss slid down to the second floor, she followed in a calm and poised manner down the stairs.

"Usually Doneth handles that, but when he's not around we take turns." She paused. "EXcept for Tiramis. She's not allowed to cook." She added, a strained smile on her face.

"Eh...sounds interesting."

Really did. Maybe the rest of the familia just wasn't accustomed to Tira's cooking style? Definitely had to be unique, didn't it? Triss recalled his first time eating raw fish with green powder-sauce himself, smiling at that cursed memory. With another nod of his head towards his Goddess, the pallum strode on out towards the backyard. The differences in strength was marked enough that he couldn't ignore it and go on as he always did. Training and adjustment, until he got accustomed to where he was at.

And then, after that?

Triss wasn't really all that smart, but even he knew that G was 8 letters away from S. Four years, and he was at the very bottom compared to the rest of Orario's adventurers.

The pallum grinned as he stepped onto the backyard. Got a lotta work ahead.