"Then Why don't you go take a bath and get cleaned up? I can let Master Jamie know he are kinda wanting a volunteeery meeting of the guild and the other guild masters of what you wish to say or tell us of what you have found on your journey."said Amaya with her usual curious look on her face.
"Come on Joshua lets go put away her massive library."Said Cecilia looking at joshua
Rose, Raiden, and Ryu Yashia Phoniex wing Guild hall - Bar Counter
Rose shivvered some feeling a coldd bundle hug her waist as she smiled "Hey sweetie did you have fun in the snow?"she asked before listening to elyse's response "Alright, how about you go take a quick bath and get warmed up and come back down. I will have a special treat just for you when you return sound good?"asked rose hearing a buzz from her phone. She looked at the number as it has been forever since she had a call but answered anyways "Hello Phoenix Wing, Rose Speaking"She Answered
"Come on my little snow child...lets go get you changed and warmed up."Said Raiden Geting up from his spot
"Yeah I guess we better. But we need to bring this along first." Joshua said before gently lifting Amaya up by the back of her dress. "Since you got all these book, you're going to help us put them away. The sooner it get's done, the faster you can come back to your friends. Sides, if you don't come, I might end up messing up the way you like them even with Cecilia around. Sasha might need to be alone when she talks to Master Jamie anyway"
With that, he unceremoniously carried her away, grabbing the bag of books along the way before heading to her room.
"Sissy is just a little tired from her last trip. I'll be fine." Amelia said, hugging Sam back. This was a bit of a half lie, as she felt more then a little tired, but she didn't want her little sister to worry about her. After a few seconds passed, she let go of Sam before standing up and taking Sam's hand into her. "Now, let's go see what Mama wants, shall we?"
With that, she set off towards Jamie's office.
Lucus Griffonbane and Elyse Yashia
"Hey Rosey, it's Lucus. Listen, um... could you tell Master Jamie that Fraquar is going to be heading to Phoenix Wing in a bit. Apparently someone dropped something off and asked him to head over there, so... yeah. Oh, I'll be coming as well. How's my little girl doing?" Lucus said.
Elyse meanwhile, had run over to her grandfather, giving him a hug before holding up her hands. "Carry me!" She demanded, a big grin on her face.
Luna ran her hand over the basalt wall as she walked. The almost black, intimidating structure rose so high into the sky, and so far in either direction one could easily mistake it for the edge of the world. Though, for all the celestial mage knew at that moment, it was the edge of the world. The edge of the world that had burned to nothing, with the sand that had once made up the souls of those she knew turning to glass under what remained of her solar armor. Now, the plates of the fiery metal, that once wrapped themselves around Luna to protect her, glowed dimly. It had all but forgotten the memories of its element in the icy black that suffocated the world now.
Swirls of ash lifted themselves from the cold boots Luna shackled herself with. Each stream made its way ahead of the once-celestial mage, joining in with the others far ahead and out of sight.
Each particle that flew out of sight cut Luna to her core.
Breathing in one more breath, her hand slipped from the wall, and she walked from its side into a forest. Painfully garish trees rose violently all around Luna, glowering down at her like disappointed fathers. She ignored them, and instead focused on the four men in front of her. Three were facing away from her towards the fourth, who sat on a throne suspended between two trees. The first man to her left stood only a little bit taller than her, and his hair was an unnatural red. His jacket and shirt left his arms and a good deal of his midriff revealed, which showed an impressively toned set of muscles. Next to him was a man who stood as the tallest, of those standing. His hair was nightmare black, and he wore an impressively well tailored black suit. The third man stood at Luna's height, with his hands on his hips in what could be described as a sassy manner. His stark white hair stood out against the vibrant forest, and he was wearing something that stood smoothly in between the two levels of dress the other two had.
The three men were all in relatively defiant looking poses as the stood in front of the seated man, who cloaked himself in a long black robes that kept all but his dark-skinned mouth invisible. It was twisted in a crooked smile, and as Luna watched them, his inky robes seem to begin to reach out, consuming the light and color in everything around him. Unthinkingly, Luna charged forwards to try and stop him from whatever his malicious plot seemed to be. The three men who had their backs to her all turned to face her, but only just enough that their inhuman eyes could see her before they suddenly seemed to dissolve into nothing, along with the rest of the world.
Luna was suddenly back among the gray scale sand that belied the gargantuan wall. She was alone. Absolutely alone. The last vestiges of the armor she had come into existence wearing had faded to ashes, leaving her to fend for herself in the coldness of death.
The only light there was for her to find her way with was a moon. She knew it wasn't the moon, as it was too black, too sinister. It laughed at her as her feet began to carry her over waves and waves of desolation. At some point, she stopped and looked up to find two silhouettes outlined in the sinister light that guided her way. On the left was the cloaked man from the throne, and on the right was a form that only could have been Solux. The two reached out and shook his hands, their laughter reaching out across the plains of devastation that could've only been wrought by those two hateful people. A blue shimmer floated down from above towards Luna as she stood there, watching. She slowly held out in her hand, and the baby dragon she had seen in her dreams just after they left Crocus landed there. She couldn't tell, but it had grown just a little larger since that day, but here that was not the main concern. It looked broken, with crimson staining its scales. Luna gently closed her hand around it, in a strange attempt to comfort it, only to have the dragon morph into a flaming blue blade in her hand. It shone brightly, repelling the darkness that was trying to suffocate her. Luna looked back up at Solux.
"Together," a dying voice whispered as Luna charged the demon and his pet-
Luna almost leaped to her feet as she awoke, and she heard her sleeping back rip violently from the sudden stress of her tense body. Her breathing was fast, and she was coated from tip of head to the end of her toe in a sweat. She quickly removed herself from what remained of the sleeping bag, and moved to the nearest tree, resting her hand on it. They were in the mountains overlooking the Boscan border, and for a moment Luna wished that she had no magic, so that the cold night air might help to cool her off and slow her thumping heart. Each breath was another painful gasp, and she couldn't get herself under control. Something was holding her like a vice, compressing her chest so tightly it was impossible to breathe.
Tears came to the young mages eyes, and she sunk down against the tree to the ground, trying to get a grip on herself. Why couldn't she calm down? She glanced up at the full moon with anger, and spoke with restrained anger towards it. "You're not helping!" The moon hid behind some clouds. The only thing that kept her quiet was the sleeping people around her, though Melina was beginning to stir. Luna hoped she hadn't woken her. She still spent some time to glower at the moon, continuing to pant and hold her chest. She was beginning to get herself under control now, but she was still panicking for reasons unknown to her.
Once she had recovered enough to gain control of her limbs again, Luna stood up. She began heading into the woods a little ways so that she wouldn't disturb the others, but after a few steps she felt arms wrap around her. They were warm, and caring. "It may have been eight years since we last hung out together, but I still have that sixth sense for when you're feeling down," Melina's voice said softly into her ear. Luna blushed. While she consider- "So, what's wrong?" Melina continued, interrupting Luna's thoughts.
"Ah, it was just... A disturbing dream," Luna tried to play it off like it was nothing. Melina wasn't fooled.
"A disturbing dream my ass. You're soaked head to toe in what smells like sweat, so it's got to have been something more than that," her former babysitter observed.
"I... Well..." Luna stuttered, and looked down at herself. She was shuddering slightly. "It's hard to explain," she tried.
"You're a sixteen-year-old S-Class mage, you can do anything you set your mind to," Melina said, smiling and tickling Luna ever so slightly. Luna giggled, and batted away Melina's hands.
"D-don't do that!" Melina held her hands up, trying to secure peace so that Luna could explain the dream. The young girl crossed her arms. "I-it really isn't all that important. I-I don't know why I'm all freaked out about it."
"Well maybe explain it to me and it might make some more sense," Luna just shook her head.
"S-sorry, but no. It felt..." Luna pulled away, looking away from Melina. "H-hey, just... Go ahead back to sleep okay? I'll be fine. It's honestly not the first time I've had a dream like this anyway, and I always wake up like this," Melina cocked an eyebrow, not believing her. Luna closed her eyes. "Please?" Melina sighed.
"Fine, but you owe me an explanation later," she hugged Luna again. Luna tentatively hugged back, and they parted with kind good-nights and very small smiles. Melina returned to her sleeping bag, where instead of going to sleep she sat up to wait for Luna to return.
Luna on the other hand, moved deeper into the forest. After what must have been ten minutes of walking, she stopped and held out her hand. A trickle of magic power leaped up into a magic circle that quickly gave way to something else. Together, the voice had said. The flaming blue sword formed in Luna's hand.
Damian was nowhere to be seen in the Guild Hall, but over the last two months, that had become the normal thing for the Blade of Phoenix Wing. If he wasn't out working on jobs, he was out training. The only time he could be found at the hall was when he was picking up a job. The month after the end of the Games, Damian had bought a house near the sea, a small place that he intended to add on to at some point, but for the time being was large enough for just himself and a couple of guests. The place was fairly sparsely furnished, with a couple of couches and a viewing lacrima in the living room, the kitchen essentials and beds, nightstands, and dressers in the bedrooms. It was functional over beautiful, but that was to be expected of a former soldier.
However, on this day, he sat on the roof of his home, having just finished some agility training, and ate a light lunch as he looked out over the ocean. There had been a decent number of natural disasters, but he had been more focused on cleaning up the messes and helping Penny improve her weapon summoning abilities than he had been on finding the source of the disruptions to daily life. Not that it would matter a whole lot anyways. No one truly tells the land beneath us what it should do and when, even if Earth magic mages like to think they do. He took a moment to glance at the fading remnants of snow melting around him in various areas across Magnolia that he could see. Coastal towns never kept it as long as those inland, and he wondered how Crocus looked under a blanket of white, or even Shirotesume Town.
Deciding that he’d have time before the end of the season to find out, he finished his lunch and stood up, riding down a drain pipe to the ground and locking his front door before heading to the hall. It was time to see how Penny was.
The events concerning Mithera and Melina still weighed on his mind from time to time, remembering what he had witnessed the young Luna do to the man who had tried to hurt her friend. A man who had been said friend’s brother. Remembering that he’d tried to kill his own sister still makes me angry enough to hunt the bastards in Iron Enigma down… Ultimately though, he had already decided that it wouldn’t be worth either way.
Jack Goran|Many Paths, One Goal
Jack sat in the courtyard as Jackie and Aria trained and sparred, only paying it half a mind as he rolled the lacrima he had received from miss Shin in one hand. It would seem that many of those not in the position of a guild master misinterpreted just how much free time they had, and Jack had even less with the amount of time he spent helping Jackie and Aria acclimate to society outside of an Assassin’s Guild or the Mirror World. That wasn’t to say he was uninterested in hearing what Sasha had dug up, but he DID have his plate full as both a Guild Master and a Wizard Saint. There was a bevy of new jobs constantly flowing in that his members could barely keep up with, or at least those who actually took jobs.
And then there was the matter of picking another mage to join the ranks of the Saints, a rather heated debate between those who were Saints already. All of the suggested candidates had qualities of a Saint, and certainly had the capability to have earned their right to be a Wizard Saint, but still, only one could become one. With a sigh, Jack stood and beckoned over Hunter. ”I’m going to make a visit to Magnolia, see what it is miss Shin needs. Inform Ammy she’ll be in charge while I’m gone and I also want you to help Aria. She’s going to need something stronger than mist to increase the strength of her constructs.” After Hunter nods, Jack heads inside.
Gathering up his usual travel supplies, he heads to the train and boards the one to Magnolia, a bagel in his hand with blueberry cream cheese on it.
As Master Jack went inside to gather up his supplies, Hunter approached the Maiden Sisters and watched for a moment before clearing his throat to get their attention. ”Your technique is good, Aria, but your constructs, well, if someone with some real power behind their hit makes contact, it’s over at this point.” Taking up a position across from the pair and slides into a ready stance, back straight with one hand behind it and the other held out palm up. ”Think of it like this, when you create a shape, whether it be with Maker Magic or magic with constructs in it that aren’t Maker Magics, the resulting construct is like a sword fresh from the anvil. It’ll still be warm, which can either make it stronger or weaker. If it’s weaker, then blitz your opponent with speed and quantity over strength and individuality.”
He smiled as his own magic aura grew in anticipation. ”That said, come at me with all you two have. Learn by doing they say.”
"Oh alright, Master Jamie is in along with Master Jarvis and you know Elyse is her typical self of playing in the snow till she get bored. She is currently going to get dressed in non wet from snow clothing and get some of her favorite hot chocolate, So we will be by the bar. She will love to see you" said Rose watching raiden pick Elyse up sitting her on one of his massive shoulders as he headed towards her room
@Lugubrious Damn guilds taking all the jobs. There was enough on the side to glean a little magic from which sustained Shinzui and herself, but it only looked to get more difficult with time. Along the journey here there were several conflicting interests. While Shinzui was not a fan of mages Cyra had an odd fascination with them. To some extent while mages were a sort of prey the blade and wielder both needed them. And now the very blade that slaughtered many was seeking their assistance. The irony was almost laughable. To some extent Cyra hoped that the Florentine name wouldn't be too recognizable. Not likely with a guild this size and structure.
It was the structure of Frenzy Plant that prompted seeking it first. While Cyra was never a soldier of any sort the half of her lifetime spent in possession of Shinzui was priming her for it. Having been a magical blade from a militaristic era it retained that character and over time has impressed some of that experience upon its young owner. Still there were some reservations.
Before nearing the Frenzy Plant guild hall the girl seemed rather normal for her age. She was looking around at the world around her with a nervous excitement and skipped along from time to time. She certainly didn't look combat ready aside from carrying a sword. Her expression soured slightly as she rolled her eyes and spoke to seemingly no one. "There's no reason to act so serious. We're not even there yet." She gestured ahead, the hall still being a few blocks away. There was a pause before she spoke again with a slight huff. "Don't blame me. You brought me here."
shortly after they arrived in front of their destination. It was unmistakably a mage guild hall. Cyra could see dozens of different magic auras moving in, out, and around. This being her first venture for joining a guild she wasn't quite sure about the process. Before one of the members could get too far of she stopped them and asked. "Excuse me, could you point me in the right direction? I am looking to join your guild." She smiled lightly before seemingly listening to something and putting on a more serious expression.
Royse stood in front of the job board, her glass of lemonade on her left hand and a piece of cracker on another. Crunching on the cracker dipped with lemonade, the girl viewed at the list of Quests available, to see which would be a good one for her to take on. She had arrived to Fiore a couple of days ago, and joined just before closing hours of the previous night. Cockroaches? Not for me... But hunting a rogue mage sounds fun~
She pondered as she finished her bag of crackers. She wasn't too sure what to do on her first day of the guild.
Mayt nodded his thanks to Jarvis as the bartender got him the glass of water he had asked for and sipped from it. He glanced over at Sasha, and considered heading over to say hello to his friend, but she seemed busy and he didn't want to inadvertainly add to any stress she probably already had. He also wondered where Penny was, or Damian for that matter.
Getting up, the S-Class mage made his way over to the girl by the job board. He didn't recognize her, and one of the universal truths about new guild members was that they almost always went to the job board first. Not that he blamed them, Mayt had done the same thing back when he had first joined. He figured it came out of a tiny bit of social awkwardness in everyone.
He went and leaned against the edge of the job board before speaking to Royse. "Hey. I haven't seen you around here before, but that might've been because I've been off on jobs," he offered her a friendly smile as he held out his hand. "I'm Mayt, and I'd like to offer a possibly belated welcome to the guild."
@Noodles (So long as it's aight to interact with chu.)
After looking through the book a while she changed over to her Earth magic, her curious personality. She took a seat and went over more of the details. Ariel had known that Sasha was studying something but she didn't really know a whole lot about it. Disasters and such apparently were becoming more common and her guildmate's travels were to piece together why. The information on a strange island made her even more curious, but Sasha apparently intended to inform everyone on her discoveries.
Finished with the book she set it back down. Since it seemed like they were going to get an update sometime soon Ariel determined not to go off to far. Heading over to the bar she got a drink and sat in thought for a bit. Her intake on new magic had actually slowed down quite a bit in the last few months. On one hand that meant that she was more stable, but at the same time she wasn't unlocking any other emotions. Thankfully she had access to enough to function in her mind. Though some time it would be nice to figure out how to get access to everything at once like a normal person rather than switching from one extreme to another.
Penny herself hadn't been in the guild a lot, instead she had been out, searching for any other Phoenix Slayer. Or even a Phoenix themselves. She hadn't wanted to go alone, yet she knew that Damien was busy, and there was no way she was taking Ariel out until she had given her more of an education on...being a Phoenix. And the song Penny had used...it still haunted her. Alone, it festered, turning her inside out, so that the few times she was in the guild, she kept to herself, not neglecting Ariel, but rather not wishing to trouble the girl. So it was that Penny found herself once more in Solias's home, looking about the cave. She stood, wondering why she had come here, what had possessed her to. As if she could find answers. What Answers, she didn't know. She didn't even know the questions.
That wasn't true. There was one question...what choice would she make, if she died? Phoenix Slayers weren't like dragon slayers, she had come to learn that. Weren't like any other slayers. Their magic didn't slowly turn them into it. Phoenix Slayers, once they had killed a Phoenix, had a choice upon their death. Become a phoenix, or...die truly. She wished she had known that, wished she could have spoken with her father about it, before...she killed him.
She was no closer to an answer then when she had been, two months ago. She sighed, and shook her head. She didn't know what she had expected to find here. Heavy hearted, Penny leaped into the air, her wings forming with an ease that she had gotten use to, over the last few months, flying back towards home, a little hopeful perhaps, that this time, Damien would be there. And this time, she wouldn't neglect Ariel. it was time to pick up her responsibilities. She couldn't continue to neglect them. As an S Class member, she needed to be an active part of the guild.
She just wanted to be home.
Sasha
Sasha gave a shrug, "No, I am okay. I bathed, its just dust from the travel. Really." Sasha said, with a smile, "Really, Amaya, I'm okay, you do not need to worry about me. Its just been a long few months" Yet Sasha did look about for Lazarus, wanting to speak with him, and having missed him. She sighed softly as Joshua lifted Amaya away, and looked back to her notebook, as Mayt left the bar as well. Sighing to herself, Sasha bowed her head. Everything I've done, has been for the good of Fiore, yet why does it seem like the hardest thing in the world? She thought to herself, opening up her notebook after a moment, flicking through it, through the images she had drawn.
What was she going to do, if she couldn't convince the guild masters to do what needed to be done? She knew that Phoenix Wing would be behind her....but would it be enough?
Sammy
Sammy frowned, seemng to study Amelia. She blinked and said "I don't believe you, but alright" She curled her fingers around Amelia's hand, and walked with Amelia to Jamie's office, running over to her mother when she spied her, giggling and hugging her tightly.
"Oh thanks, heard about this guild lately, so I've just joined yesterday night~"
Royse replied while sipping on her lemonade, letting out a slight smile at the belated welcome. As expected, the Quests of the Phoenix Wing guild have an attractive reward. There's even one that offers 100 million. Worth the trip~ She glanced over the details of the Rogue Magician mission. "Huh..." The main problem of that quest is in the desert, there wouldn't be much grounds for escape, and adding things up, her supply lines would be strained in a harsh terrain like that. It wouldn't be a wise to take this mission without preparations. She scuffled for other missions that she could take with good rewards.
"Looking for decent quests as you can see. Ah, this one looks good~"
Royse took the <Nobody Cares about the Poor> Quest from the board, it has a 1.3 million reward, more than enough for her to buy resources to prepare for the Rogue Magician mission. The 100 million mission will be put aside for now, after all, she doesn't want to take Quests that she isn't certain to complete. @Burthstone
Trinity had taken her time getting up that morning. She'd actually taken a few music jobs over the past few months. Apparently no one's ever heard of music magic before. And apparently she got a spot in a wizarding magazine! A copy was sitting on her desk... she could remember being interviewed, actually. But, whatever. She'd been playing samey music for a bit, so it was time for something different.
She was standing in her room, with a glowing, golden guitar hanging around her neck. There was a similar drumset behind her, a bass and another guitar to the side. They were all connected to a pair of large, round circles, suspended in the air.
She plays the intro riff its three times, before her voice comes on over the speakers. "Let's start the day with Metal!"
Jackie and Aria stopped their practice session when they saw Hunter approaching, both sisters nodding towards the Jade Dragon Slayer. Jackie listened to what he had to say while Aria just read his lips, her new earphones in like always and set to a high volume. The Mirror Maiden nodded in response to what Hunter said before turning to her sister.
"Go fight him. I'll watch from here." Jackie said, moving away and closer to the warmth of the guild hall.
Aria just nodded again before taking up a fighting stance and studying Hunter. If she was honest, she was rather nervous. She knew the Jade Dragon's power and wasn't confident in her ability to damage him with Glass-Make magic. Luckily, that wasn't her only option to damage him with, though she doubted even that magic's ability to hurt him. For now though, she was content to let him take the first move.
"Alrighty then. If I'm there for more then a day, you and I should take her out to make a snowman or a snowfort. Maybe we can invite Master Jamie's daughters as well. Or at least the younger one, Sam... Samatha... Sammy?" Lucus said, unsure which name the younger sister preferred.
Amelia frowned a bit when Sammy said she didn't believe the half-lie she said but she knew her little sister was much more observant then most children 'her age'. But she didn't say anything further on the subject as they made their way to their mother's office, Amelia smiling as Sam became more like a child again and ran over to Jamie. "Did you need me for anything Mama?" She asked, wondering why she had been called.
Amaya was taken by surprise when he suddenly picked her up by the back of her dress. She wiggled some before she managed to twist around enough taking a deep breath before letting a all out dragon roar, on complete accident as she caught herself taking in a few quick breaths before blinking looking utterly shocked once it hit her what she just did "oh god, I am so sorry Joshua, I...I don't know what came over me to release a roar point blank...are you okay!" Exclaimed amaya flaring her arms in panic of what she just did as she hopped she didn't freeze Joshua solid with the massive beam of blizzard strength and feel
Cecilia watched before she fought a hard laugh at the sudden outburst. She enjoyed the show yes, always fun for a accidental spell to suddenly change the mood but even she would admit it was strange to see a sudden change in someone like amaya just from being lifted. She wasn't sure what it was but the outburst of the spell and Amaya's reaction told her it wasn't normal
"Oi, mother hen, dont tell me you are dead from a single dragon roar..."said Cecilia poking Joshua some.
Rose, Raiden, and Ryu Yashia Phoniex wing Guild hall - Bar Counter
"I am sure they would love that, especially Elyse, since she loves every visit you make here...what the hell! No firing off spells, we actually want to keep this hall in one piece"exclaimed rose ducking as Amaya's roar somewhat reached the bar, covering ryu's back and his prized plant in ice.
"OH MY GOD! THAT IS COLD!" Exclaimed Ryu shaking off the layer of ice before looking in horror ar the frozen solid plant Infront of him [color=green]"My Baby! Who the hell does that to a plant, one of MY plants!"[/green]said ryu
"That would be our ice dragon slayer. Ryu calm down the plant will be alright. It is just a plant it survived this long and you took the blunt of the side roar..."said rose
"No one harms innocet plants....do you know how long it took me to revive it....all my hard work to study it...gone! He has to pay."he exclaimed
"First it's a stupid plant and secondly, you are sexist to think dragonslayers are just males...ours is a female and thirdly, don't try picking a fight, we just got this new hall and it is snowing outside which is her element plus she does have her said 'guards, boyfriend pet' or whatever he and her exceed is....you might have a higher rank then her but your out of your league...I am trying to keep you From landing in a hospital from frost bite and trying to keep from upsetting your crush/friend."said rose trying to talk ryu down as the old Yashia Stubbornness was strong with him.
Memories of the big city, the sheer vitality of its streets and their fast pace, as well as of the awe-inspiring spectacles Crocus' colosseum played host to, slipped away rather quickly. To Fleo, who'd never been able to boast of an exceptional long-term memory, this was nothing new, but this time the dusty woman felt that the fade was tragic. Every day the Grand Magic Games went on, new incredible feats of magic and martial skill seared themselves into her mind, convincing her that she'd never be able to forget them, but all too readily they seeped through the cracks between her fingers, like water. Determined not to pay all the wizard and warriors a disservice by forgetting them, Fleo decided to buy a journal to record what she'd seen. The little book was a somber affair, the black-bound, light brown diary of an adult—no child's plaything. When she went to write in her serious little book, however, Fleo found that most of what she'd experienced had already been washed away in the routine of daily life in Magnolia. She had to make ends meet, after all.
After writing what she could, Fleo ended up turning her eyes forward, and jotting down notes about each job she went on as a rank-and-file member of Phoenix Wing. Her guild's eye-catching performance in the Games had attracted quite a few new members, and in place of the guild's stuffier, more reclusive higher-ups, Fleo went on jobs with them quite often. No task lasted more than a day, give or take, so she ended up completing a fair few small-time requests alongside the new members, and each had a place in her journal.
Wednesday – went on a job with Clive and Merril again. After getting to know them, they really are the classic comic duo. One's comically serious, the other just plain goofy. It might be kind of mean to say so, but they've even got the shapes down: one big and tall, the other thin and short. I'm writing this because the job was pretty boring. Just rooting around through a giant field to find rabbit holes and flush them out. The farmer's little daughter was so cute—the rabbits apparently scared her real bad two days ago, and she shook her little fist in triumph when she heard they'd been driven off.
Friday – went with the bunch to check out a supposed goblin invasion not far from town. To our surprise, we found them in the middle of a huge dance in the forest, and I don't know who was more surprised! Turns out they're peaceful, having fled south from an awakening of rock trolls. At least, that's what it sounded like. Their chief suggested asking us to go to Magnolia's mayor to make sure everyone knows the goblins are peaceful, and open to trading the stuff they hunt. Everyone was so sore from all the walking back and forth that I had to make sure to pretend I was too. Clive begged me to let him try out my 'dusty carpet', and after a lot of nagging I finally let him. He crashed into a tree in seconds, but he didn't seem bothered. Just had that big, silly grin on his face. What a character.
Monday – fisherman and wife came by into the guild, all worked up about some kind of monster emerging from the lake near town. Of course, Evie accepted with an instant and sped off, so the rest of us had to follow, of course. Have I mentioned Evie before? She says she's 25 years old, but she looks like she's 15, and she's got an obsession with scary monsters. The super-reckless thrillseeker type. Last week, I saw her actually let herself get hit over and over by these raptor things, healing herself each time. I asked why she'd do something like that, and she said she wanted to learn all about their abilities. Crazy! Anyway, we found the monster. It was some kind of lizard, pretty big, and we found out it excretes all bodily waste as oil from its skin after Clive tried to light it up with Nova. All the oil from the fish it had eaten, sitting in the lake, caught fire, and in seconds the water was ablaze. It was like the bonfires back home but a million times bigger and hotter. Merril was trying to act all calm and composed until the lizard splashed some on his head, and he ran around with his hair burning for almost a minute. When we put it out, all the hair above his ear had been charred black. I actually ended up killing the lizard with a Dust Bomb inside its mouth. Made me feel bad, but it was a nuisance, and it did try to roast us.
Sunday – tried a job by myself. Basically, someone just needed some help in their magic shop for the day, and wanted a wizard who'd understand the value of the objects and not mess around. There was a lot of cool-looking stuff in there, especially this one statuette of some awful worm, but it ended up being a pretty boring day. I did my best to be fun and nice with the people who came in, and a couple even tipped me! At the end of the day, tips plus wages made for more money than the entire goblin job. If being a wizard doesn't pan out, I should go into business. Bet Mom's eyes would bug out to hear that
The days went by at a steady clip. Nothing out of the ordinary cropped up, but the sheer variety of tasks posed to the guild meant that everyday work never got monotonous. Each morning, her usual twenty-minute, high-speed run around the block would end with breakfast and then down to the postings board to find out the day's main event. In the evenings, after finishing a job, Fleo would take a quick bath before heading out into Magnolia, sometimes with friends, sometimes just to explore. Hers became a more common and recognized face in the town compared to her more shut-in existence prior to the Games. Fleo guessed she was just coming into her own. Other little things seemed to confirm it; for instance, she found one day through experimentation that she could mold her dusty arms into extremely life-like shapes, and could finally leave her trademark bandages behind. One rainy day, she found a fashion that she felt truly suited here, and thereafter could often be see sporting a distnguishing appearance. In her room, her stash of savings continued to grow, and her eyes gleamed with pride every time she uncovered it. Sure, a few earthquakes occurred here and there, but Fleo thought nothing of it. Things went well, even as the earth grew colder.
When the great doors of the Frenzy Fort swung open, the bitter winter air surged in like an invading force. Everybody on the citadel's first floor felt a lance of the season's chill and shivered to some degree before carrying on in their activities. Only Indigo, the woman who maintained the front desk in the short defensive hallway leading to the main floor, was lambasted by the elements, and accordingly the beauteous sorcerer had bundled herself up. The austere dark blue of her garb, lined with gray fur and coupled with a sort of cylindrical fur hat on her golden head, gave her a serious air, but frantically fumbling around for the message lacrima sent rolling by the freezing gust was anything but dignified.
After a moment, Indigo secured the object, then set it aside as she surveyed the newcomer. For a moment her glance was sharp, seeking to discern in the most sense of the word, but a smile softened that stern expression. ”Well, hello! Actually, I'm just the person to talk to. Please, come in, shut the door. You must be freezing in that kimono. Pardon me for asking, but are you Sevenese? Hyun might be interested to hear about the arrival of a countryman.” The Librarian did not give much of a chance for Cyra to get a word in edgewise. ”Ah, don't tell me! You're wanting to sign up for the guild, aren't you? That unique blend of nervousness and determination...I'm sure of it! But a young girl seeking to march off to war at such a tender age. What reason could you possibly have to join what amounts to an army?” Inquisitiveness filled her features.
Nero LeMure
Wump, wump, wump.
One after another, the feet of three travelers packed down the light, fresh snow. As always, Nero stood at the head, and his dear friends flanked him on either side. One, tiny and slender, walked with a skip in her step, and the other, a lady who approached four hundred pounds in weight, sallied forth at an impressive rate. Behind all walked a woman who embodied elegance, even in warm winter wear. The independent guild Miracle Eye had not gained much in terms of population in two months, but in terms of experience, it had become rich indeed. Still possessing the gift of magic but at odds with their old standbys, Eve and Ayame took the suggestion of a sage the group encountered out of happenstance to try their hands at new sorceries. Meanwhile Malice, the newest to Miracle Eye, got to know the three oddballs with whom she'd cast her lot. Since then, everybody had grown.
Ayame, fascinated by Nero's own abilities, opted to dabble in his own unique school of transfiguration and transmutation. She quickly grasped the most basic versions of his various spells, and the ability to shape the world around her excited Ayame to no end. Before long, she developed twists and arts of her own, most notably a potent color-changing hex that Nero never had the knack for. Every day was a new adventure to find out what she could do next, and how she could leave her unique mark on the world. A trail of miscolored objects and patches of ground marked the trio's journey.
After the initial strangeness of a new member of the guild wore off, Nero made the wise decision to better explain to his new ally the exact nature of the power he'd bestowed upon her not so long ago by implanting a shard of a formless monstrosity within her. Though he lacked a mirror, he made sure to show Malice the first chance he got the change to her reflection in a pond's surface when she got carried away. Instead of horror, however, Nero met the unintended side effect with fascination--the imaginative idea of a noble beauty hiding a monster underneath seized him. All the same, he wouldn't have hesitated to remove the manifested locus of magic if asked. Eve did not seem to care one way or another, but Ayam remained spooked of Malice for some time, and seldom bothered her.
Putting her necromancy far behind her where it belonged, the hefty former member of Dragon Fang discovered an affinity for divination. Her dark eyes, once sunken in resignation, depression, and loss, became privy to the future and to hidden knowledge. Psychometry became her bread and butter; over the course of weeks, she became able to tell all about a something, and even its recent history, by touch. In doing so, she also grew closer to Nero, who carried a lot of himself in the things he carried with him. At first, Eve was shocked to discover portions of her friend's history and character he'd never shared, but that trepidation gave way to greater understanding and finally, to Nero's utmost relief and joy, closeness. For the first time, even since she'd begun to trust him and travel with him, someone had truly been able to understand him. In an instant she'd thrown upon the closet and bared its skeletons to the world—loneliness, callousness, abandonment, a false face of joy, and vindictiveness, but also dedication, honest, and a sincerely well-meaning, kind heart.
Not long after, Nero suggested a new trip, one that he hadn't made in almost a year: visiting his parents. His companions were surprised to hear that not only were his mother and father alive and well, but also members of a dark guild called Phlegethon, but their curiosities were piqued and they trusted Nero's leadership. Today, scrunching through the snow, they approached the river village where Phlegethon's headquarters were said to reside. Before them lay a small stone bridge with a soft arc to it, its snow-covered surface marred by the evident passage of a wagon. Nero's breath turned to steam in the air as he exhaled. "Here we are. 'Verboorg' is this place's name. It used to be a big city, but legend tells that a plague reduced it to a festering ruin. Nowadays the only plague here is Phlegethon, which is more than enough if you ask me! Neheheh. Shall we?"
When Indigo turned her gaze to the young girl, Cyra took a step back respectfully. She had to look up at the tall woman before her. Apparently luck was on her side in finding someone that could help her with signing up with Frenzy Plant. Being shuffled inside she shut the door behind them. It hadn't really occurred to her that her garb didn't fit the season. Shinzui was doing its job. More than once Crya took a breath to answer a question but didn't get the chance to respond. A curious woman this one was.
Holding her tongue she waited for an opportunity to speak. There was a brief pause and once Cyra was sure her guide was finished she spoke up. There was actually quite a lot to cover already so she started simply. "I guess it was cold out. I didn't really notice to be honest. I forget I look out of place sometimes when I don't dress for the weather." Not much of an explanation, but the reason behind her resistance would become apparent later. Best not to reveal her hand so quickly. Supposedly this guild did some kind of test or another for joining which was intriguing.
Whatever the case Indigo opened the opportunity for Crya to introduce herself. To the first question about where she was from she answered fairly simply. "I am, but I've grown up mostly in Fiore because of my father and grandfather's occupation." She smiled with some pride, though given her family's role during the last hundred years perhaps she should be cautious. For one second she turned her head to the left and spoke under her breath. "Shush, we're not here for that." Glancing back at Indigo she chuckled nervously. "Sorry. Anyway, my name is Cyra Florentina. It's possible that you've heard that name as it carries with it a less than kind history toward mages in Fiore." Returning to a more serious tone she stood with a demeanor more befitting a soldier. While it appeared to be a natural thing for her it was odd behavior, and somewhat adorable, given her age. Placing a hand gently on the Kashira (pommel) of her blade she drew attention to it. "This has been passed down in my family for generations and each owner has always been a warrior. I am very proud of that heritage and wish to continue that tradition. As for my reason for pursuing a guild of this structure, it suits Shinzui and I."
Returning to a more relaxed stance Cyra awaited a response. The girl seemed to have a particular duality to her. Acting much older for her age but clearly still having a youthful side that tended to flip flop back and forth. Something was up but Cyra hasn't really explained much on that front. She also mentioned Shinzui, someone she clearly knew, but failed to explain who or the meaning behind it. Then again a learned individual of the crusades might recognize the blade in correlation to the Florentina name.
"Oh thanks, heard about this guild lately, so I've just joined yesterday night~"
Mayt sighed quietly in relief. He wasn't just welcoming a member who'd been a member for over a month. He had done it once, and it was quite the awkward experience. Mayt offered her a smile and a nod as she thanked him for the welcome, and glanced at the jobs she was looking at. He was about to offer his two-cents on the rogue magician job before it became clear that she wasn't going to take it. Mayt was rather surprised it wasn't an S-Class job, as usually when the magic council only offered rewards of that magnitude it was because said magician was a pretty significant threat. A hundred million wasn't exactly walking around money, and governmental bodies like the council tended to be a little... Stingy, Mayt had found. Then again, maybe he had just been picking on the wrong kinds of dark mages.
The girl then grabbed another one with an above-average price. Mayt understood looking at the jobs that payed the most first, he had done the same thing for a while. He nodded as she mentioned that it looked nice. "If you don't mind me giving a bit of advice, I'd say don't go on your first job as a Phoenix Wing alone. It's easy to underestimate how hard a job'll be. Well, unless you're used to this line of work, I guess, which you could be for all I know," he said, going from outward and helpful to musing for a moment, before bringing himself back to the conversation at hand. "It's also a great way to meet people around the guild. But that's just my suggestion, you're in no way required to take it," he smiled.
Mayt turned towards the bar when he heard Amaya let out a roar. Mayt narrowed his eyes a little, processing what had happened, before nodding as he realized what was going on. "Well, it was nice meeting you," he said to the woman he had been talking to, realizing that he hadn't actually got her name, and smiled at her before half-walking half-jogging over to the bar where Amaya had just let loose her ice dragon roar. "Hey, is everyone okay? What happened?"
Joshua had expected Amaya to struggle a bit. He had no expected her to flat out attack him, especially with a magic like a Dragon's Roar. He didn't have time to react and took the hit right in the face. The cold didn't bother him but the sharp bits of ice in the attack definitely cut his face up a bit. He dropped Amaya in surprised and backed away a bit. When the attack finally faded, Joshua's face had several cuts on his face, some of which where bleeding, and he admittedly looked a little annoyed. Turning to Mayt, he shrugged. "I freaked Amaya out by suddenly picking her up. Nothing special." He said. He turned toward Amaya and placed a hand on her head. "Calm down, you should know something like that won't take me down. The real question is why did you react so violently? It's not like you at all."
"I- I don't know. You have picked me up tons of times before and it never cause me to freak out..it's not the haunting time of the year either...I don't know what happened it is blank to why I even let a roar out at all."said Amaya "I am so sorry I didn't mean to release one right at you"she said trying to calm herself before he heard someone run over to ask if everything was alright "oh hello, yeah I think everything is fine. I don't know what exactly happened...sorry for worrying you"said amaya to Marty scratching the back of her head embarrassed.
Cecilia floated infront of Joshua pulling out the large shards of ice that were bugging her and probably bugging him.
The young blond wasn't entirely sure what to do. She wasn't a wizard, yet she had joined Phoenix Wing. It had been two months in fact, and during that time she had found out that she had pretty much zero capabilities as a mage. Little surprise though, since most of the mages she had heard about had discovered their magic at a young age. Cody was one she knew hadn't discovered his own magic, but rather learnt it from a grimoire so maybe she could do the same? Considering how rare those powerful books were, she doubted it. She wanted to make herself useful around the guild, but couldn't quite think of what she could do. Maybe she should speak with Penny about it? She hadn't seen Penny in a while though...she worried about the older girl. She seemed to have her own issues and didn't want to burden her with her own on top of that...but she wasn't sure who else to turn to.
Cody Bloodstein
@Zarkun Cody was sore all over as he leaned back into his seat in the guild hall. While he had enjoyed the two months he had been at the guild for, he must say the training that James was putting him through was pretty brutal. It wasn't only just swordplay, but also various other rigorous training sessions to build up fitness, strength and that was on top of his own training with his magic. He had still yet to land a blow on the older swordsman as well, though he wouldn't expect to since he only had two months experience with the blade which was nothing compared to the Paladin's. Mind you, most of the workload Cody had undertaken he had asked for so he certainly wasn't complaining. Anything to help him grow stronger, even if it was only a bit. Which is what brought him to the guild hall today actually. All this training was good and all, but he felt confident enough with the sword to at least hold his own in a fight now. That and doing something other than training would be good to shake things up. So with such a thought in his mind, he had grabbed a request he felt like he could do from the board and had sat down to enjoy a drink before he met up with James. The request he had grabbed he doubted he could handle by himself so he was sure that he could convince James to go with him. They mightn't be able to handle the request by themselves though.....this Bridge request seemed kinda big.
Protect the Bridge!
Description A few gangs have been raiding Oshibana Town lately. Their main target is the construction site of Hayato Bridge, an important bridge that will connect the cities of Oshibana and Clover. Three gangs have been identified so far: Kin Gang, Koji Gang and Kataro Gang. But the authorities suspect that they are working under the orders of another gang still unknown. The construction of the bridge is delayed due to the attacks. Some workers were kidnapped by the gangs, so many have given up the job. Please, defeat the gangs, save the kidnapped workers and protect the construction of the bridge!
Requester: Yachi Takafumi (contractor responsible for the construction of the bridge) Reward: 890,000 Jewels + 12 railway tickets to anywhere Taken By
Sora Kaze, Mai Butcher, Jess Butcher and Ethel Storm
Sora yawned loudly, stretching out as far as his long limbs could on the soft green grass. He was currently just watching the clouds above him as one he had a lot of spare time and two he was bored. Normally one wouldn't consider watching the clouds as a particularly fascinating hobby, but it was something he quite enjoyed. Much to many a persons disbelief when they considered his easily bored nature. But the main upside to watching the clouds pass overhead was that he didn't have to keep any remote attention on them, meaning he was free to let his thoughts wander. It had been two months huh? Jeez, they felt like they had breezed past in no time at all. It had been two months since they had finallycaptured tracked down Shiro, Ethel's sister, but due to some misfortune Sora had no choice but to let her and some other non-important baddies go. Ethel was quite upset if one couldn't guess, hell the younger wizard didn't speak to him for about a full day till Mai had recovered enough to explain to her what had happened. No matter, if they had caught her once Sora was confident he could do so again. Sora sighed contently as he felt the tickle of a small breeze blowing through the grassy hills he currently was lying down on. Ah yes, now wasn't the time to dwell on such thoughts. This was his downtime before their next 'big' mission. His thoughts now quickly turned to that Rune Knight Captain...Rosalina? Yeah Idawana or whatever her name was. That woman was such fun to annoy, a shame that she hadn't gotten back to him on his offer to join the knights. Oh well, probably for the best. He doubted they would get along and he would probably be kicked out about five minutes in anyway for breaking any number of laws he honestly gave zero fire trucks about.
Feeling a presence beside him, Sora half-turned his head to the side and noticed Ethel sitting beside him looking up at the clouds above with her knees tucked into her chest. Damn she was getting good at appearing out of thin air. If Sora didn't know any better, she might've been better than him at doing it... "I assume you haven't gotten rid of that damned pest yet?" Asked the exasperated older mage. A small shake of the bluenette's head made Sora roll his eyes. Damn that Verrick brat and giving Ethel that monstrosity, she and the other two were completely obsessed with it so unfortunately Sora couldn't do a damned thing lest he lost his subordinates. And while they weren't fantastic, it really helped having a couple extra people around to take the attention off of you, you know? Meant he had less work to do as well. "Shame..." Sora went quiet as he kept a trained eye on the silent teenage mage, rolling his eyes again when she didn't try to remotely add to the conversation. Sora could tell something was on the girl's mind, so why didn't she just say it already? He already had an inkling about what it was about. Eventually as the silence dragged on for five or so minutes, Sora could feel his patience waning quite rapidly. Eventually he had had enough.
"Ethel, are you sure that it's him?" His voice came out a lot more irritable than he had thought, but honestly....he really had to teach Ethel to be more communicative here. You can't just sit next to a guy all day and wait for him to bring it up ya know? Kinda rude. To add onto Sora's frustration was that Ethel stayed silent still. He was simply about to get up and leave when Ethel finally spoke up. "Ethel doesn't know....Ethel thinks so." Thank goodness for his wind magic, otherwise Sora would probably never understand or hear a word that Ethel said because of all the damned mumbling she did. However all her answer did was make him roll his eyes again. He really needed to fix her speech patterns as well. God they were annoyingly brief. "Look here Ethel...we can't just go around willy nilly following a guy just because you 'think' it might be him. I mean why do you even think so in the first place? You yourself said you've never met him." Sora knew he had to lay down the law here, otherwise knowing Ethel she would run off and get herself into trouble. Again. As he spoke he sat up so that he could look Ethel in the eye...well he would've if she wasn't still looking skyward. Bloody oath this girl could be infuriating. "He reminds Ethel of father." She mumbled, barely audible thanks to her collar but Sora was used to such a thing. He didn't quite know how to react to that response for a moment, as briefly he almost allowed his hatred for that man to be shown in front of Ethel. He didn't like that bastard one bit, I mean who could just abandon a young girl at a time like that? The only reason he didn't say anything about him was that he didn't want to upset Ethel, who despite being left without warning by her father when she needed him most she was still adamant about bringing her entire family back together. Him included, unfortunately. Oh well, so long as Sora got a good right hook in on the man he could at least go along with it.
But it also wouldn't be right to judge that kid on the one aspect of being like her father, as Sora reasoned she probably meant more appearance wise than anything else. Sora got some good vibes from that kid as well, despite his obvious flaws. After another moment of prolonged silence Sora now pushed himself back up to his feet and dusted off his back, looking down towards the younger mage. "Well then if that's the case suppose we only need to prove it right? A lead is better than nothing after all, no matter how small or loose it might be." Sora stretched his arms, glancing over his right shoulder as he heard a pair of soft footsteps approaching. As expected it was the Butcher Sisters, Jess and Mai. The wounds they had acquired during the events that transpired at Crocus had yet to fully heal, as the sling which contained Mai's arm would prove, but they had yet to hinder their travelling speed. "So where are we off to next then Sora?" Asked the older sister, Mai. She had already overhead much of the conversation, well as close to a conversation as one could have with Ethel, but she wanted to confirm it just in case Sora did a 180. He was rather unpredictable sometimes, but this time she wasn't wrong. "Where else girls? We're off to pay Phoenix Wing a visit."
