Post #2711564 in Tidal Serpent, a roleplay on RPG

Keiji sat at the table, his arms crossed and leaning on the wooden surface as all of his attention was focused on their new master. One by one people started to calm down, followed by several other cries for attention from some of the guild mates around the hall. Keiji peered around, witnessing as people eventually got the message until it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Oceana took a breath and started her announcement. Initially it seemed like it would be something that was akin to a motivational speech, intended to give the members of Tidal Serpent a bit of a morale boost with the opening of the jobs again. This way they would want to go and perform duties for the people of Fiore, get the Tidal Serpent name out there, and generally provide a decent image of their guild. It wasn’t a bad idea...had that been the intention.

Instead as she continued, Keiji found himself leaning forward, his eyes narrowing slightly at the mention of some sort of plan. What kind of plan could undo years of tarnishing marks upon their history? He doubted anything would make them as loved as some of the other big guilds out there like Fairy Tail or Blue Pegasus. With the mention of a team, Keiji had a sudden sick feeling in his gut. 8 people were listed, and among the first said was Keiji’s name. As he listened to the names, he realized that there were more than a few people on their who wouldn’t do well in groups, himself included. What was her plan? Exposure through inner conflict? Accomplishment via adversity? As she finished her speech, Keiji saw Rin stand up and storm out the door. A tempered reaction if he ever witnessed one, but even he had to admit this was unusual. Keiji took a look around as the stunned silence finally started to fill with voices of differing opinions. Keiji himself stood from his position and made his way to Oceana, stopping just beside her. “Master Malaerion, ma’am.” Keiji stated in greeting to Oceana and her grandmother. Keiji looked down at Oceana, his face stoic as always, preferring the professional approach when it came to those in a position higher than himself. “May I have a word Master?”

Oceana paused from her task of seemingly trying to get something from her grandmother to blink once and look up at the S class wizard before responding with a smile. “Of course. Do we need to go upstairs?” She asked earnestly, to which Keiji responded by taking a quick glance around the room at the many ears that could overhear the conversation. While he wasn’t one to think this particular talk would cause concern, he just generally hated being eavesdropped on.

“Probably best if we do.” Keiji stated, turning around and leading the two of them up the stairs to the balcony that overlooked the main hall. From here, they could talk relatively freely without being overheard while Keiji could also keep a lookout for anyone who might barge in on their conversation. Once they were settled, Keiji glancing over the guild mates once more, he went with his usual very blunt approach to things. “This is a mistake.” He stated in an even tone, no anger or annoyance in the words but more along the lines of someone who’s trying to point out a fact. “You’re putting your faith in a team filled with loner characters, myself included. What’s your end goal?”

Oceana looked down over the guild hall, leaning on the banister slightly as she seemed to contemplate an answer. Eventually she turned to Keiji, her eyes serious and all mirth washed from her features. “I have carefully chosen each member of this team, a lot of them specifically because of the distance they keep from the rest of the guild. This is just as much for them as it is for the guild. Some of them need this, whether they know it or not.”

“Some of them are more concerned with the fact that their powers could very easily injure those they’re supposed to be working alongside.” Keiji stated, implying but not outright stating that he was the object of that concern. It wasn’t the fact that he couldn’t control his powers, it had more to do with his tunnel vision that he had had trouble getting rid of during combat. While he would love to say that he couldn’t be held responsible for what happened when the fists and magic started flying, he knew that was a lie. Still, it was a major character flaw that, at an inopportune moment, could end up with people he cared about getting injured or killed.

“This isn’t negotiable.” Oceana stated, seemingly blowing past that statement. She either understood and didn’t care, or simply thought it was a wasted concern. “I hope that you can look past your own preferences and manage to connect with the team.” She seemed to soften slightly, giving a half smile before sliding past Keiji towards the stairs. He looked after as she went. Keiji opened his mouth to say something, to argue further, but nothing came out. All of his arguments past that were self indulgent, a way to shrug off the responsibility of worrying about other team members. While he did that a bit here at the guild, on the job he focused on the mission at hand. In truth, he didn’t want anyone slowing him down, but he couldn’t exactly say that without coming across as a truly despicable person.

Keiji leaned on the banister, his eyes downcast as he thought about his fate. While it wasn’t the worst thing that could happen, it was still something that he wasn’t happy about in the slightest. Still, he had to present an image to the guild, one of uniformity and cohesion. Even if he didn’t like it, and at his core was opposed to the idea, he would never openly state that for the rest of the guild to hear unless it put their lives in danger. For now, he would have to put up a front and try to get the team to work together.

That meant finding Rin, and making sure she wouldn’t go do something foolish.

Snippet #2711564

located in Nymphaea City, a part of Tidal Serpent, one of the many universes on RPG.

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Characters Present

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