Rin Hitomi's Story

Keiji stood with the other S-class wizards behind Guild Master Castien as he performed the announcements following the S-class trials. Keiji’s arms were folded in front of him, his eyes peering over the crowd with an unintentionally intense gaze that often fooled people into believing he was a much darker individual than he actually was. His body was clothed from head to toe, his hood up to cover the scars and burns that marred the back half of his head but allowing his facial features to still show through. His eyes fell upon Dolores, standing there proud as the newest member of the strongest wizards the guild had to offer, and he felt himself wondering how she had gotten there. He had not had the pleasure or regret of meeting her in combat for these trials, Instead it had been Slick who had run into Keiji. He peered around slightly, finding the man in the crowd and wondering if he hated Keiji for stopping him from reaching the top this time around. They had their differences, but it wasn’t his intention to stunt Slick’s growth into a powerful wizard, only to make sure he deserved to belong with them.

Returning his attention back to Dolores and the proceedings, Keiji once again started flickering through memories of her magic usage, and still couldn’t comprehend how someone with such a utility power could get as far as she did. Ultimately, that part didn’t matter as she was standing here now, meaning she did everything she needed to to win. For that, respect was given even if understanding wasn’t. Castien continued with the announcement that Oceana would be taking over Guild Master, and Keiji couldn’t help but feel some sense of trepidation. She was young, and in his eyes, inexperienced and lacking in powerful capabilities. Her leadership would need to be put to the test, and he hoped with all his being that she didn’t crumble under the pressure. This was a feeling that was only amplified when she ran over and embraced Dolores in a rather childish display of affection. Keiji didn’t let any emotion show through his face, even though his own internal groaning flooded his ears. Ultimately the guild needed to remain unified, so he would help her where necessary but he would still be keeping a close eye on her.

Then came the whammy that she was restricting job usage for the week, something that earned an arc of the eyebrow from Keiji as he realized that those who relied on those listings to get by would have a hard time for the next week. Once again, he didn’t agree with it but he said nothing. Now was not the time to speak up and say things that he might later regret. Still, he would have to scrimp for the next seven days, and that was going to be it’s own kind of hell as he realized his diet would consist of rice, rice and even more rice. With the announcements done and everyone starting to disband to do their own thing, Keiji left the stage. He had several things to do, hopefully before his lack of funds started to kick in.

---

A thrum of power reverberated through the clearing much like a small localized earthquake. Trees shook leaves from their branches, pebbles bounced along the ground, and small creatures darted in every direction to get away from the seemingly invisible force. A closer inspection would lead people to see the air waving, much like heat rising from the ground. A glance downwards would reveal a golden sigil, intricate in design and large in size emanating from a singular point. In the middle stood Keiji, his clothes flapping slightly to an unseen wind, his eyes shut as concentration broadcast from his person. While nothing seemed to be visibly happening, an investigative look at Keiji would reveal that he was sweating. It looked like he was holding a great weight above him, straining to maintain his composure against the pressure he was inflicting upon himself. This continued for a few minutes, before the sigil on the ground disappeared slowly and Keiji opened his eyes to view the grass around him. It was flattened, much like a crop circle in a field, and a quick survey showed him that no animals had wandered into his field during his training; his continued acclimatization to the forces that he controlled.

He released a breath that he hadn’t been aware he had been holding, the stress of not being able to go out on jobs starting to affect his normally calm demeanor as he had found himself being irritated by smaller and smaller things. The other day he had accidentally crushed a cup in his hand for literally no reason at all. His power needed an outlet, and even his training wasn’t doing enough to satisfy him, and he couldn’t necessarily go all out on his training here either, not without leveling a good section of the surrounding landscape. He rolled his shoulders, flapping his white muscle shirt slightly to get a bit of heat off of his chest. Black shorts that came down to just below his kneecaps adorned his legs, revealing his heavily scarred skin. Remnants of battles won and lost, accidents, training trophies and hard won achievements one and and all. Nearly every inch of him was covered in something that even the most war torn general would have been shocked at, but for him this was the norm.

With his preliminary training out of the way, he walked over to a tree which had obviously seen better days. Its bark had been broken off in several places, with indents like someone had taken a hammer to it evident on it’s trunk. Keiji took another breath, adopting his standard combat stance and proceeding to attack the tree with all the force he could muster, that is, all he could muster without the use of his magic. He had deadened his nerves to allow such training to be viable and to assist in battle, a skeptical training technique that could lead to long term health problems...at least that what the healers had told him between staring at his marred features.

This continued for a few hours and ended when the sun started to rise on the horizon. His ‘stop and pay attention to the guild’ alarm. With little ceremony, rubbing his knuckles and palms as he moved, he gathered the rest of his clothes and carried them back to the guild hall.

---

By the time he had arrived at the front door to the building, he had donned the rest of his clothing, pulling the hood up over his head to hide the remainder of his wounds from the others. Today the job ban would be lifted and he could get back to work, bring in some money and get back to a regular schedule. Hopefully the others would be in the same mindset, and hopefully people would be putting out s-ranked quests for him to take care of. As he entered the door, he was greeted with Oceana stepping onto the bar and asking for everyone’s attention. Someone in the back had enough sense to say the statement in a more authoritative voice, to which the guild master giggled and made Keiji groan inwardly once more. She didn’t carry herself with the mentality of a leader or master, something that had been made evident the days following her induction. Once again though, just because he didn’t agree with her leadership style, or even that she was the right choice for the spot, didn’t mean he would do anything to bring light to that fact. Keiji walked in, doing his best to not draw attention from others even if his magical ‘signature’ if you will was enough to warrant a couple of glances. He took a seat a couple of tables away from her, awaiting the news that she was about to spew.

Bardulf was in his own corner of the guild hall writing in a small book, pausing now and then to check if he needed to proofread what he had written, edit it, then continue on. It was a fine morning in Nymphaea in his opinion. The sun was bright, and everyone seemed to be in good spirit. He didn't mind the obscurity of Tidal Serpent. In many ways, he was just like his Uncle Cain, who had retired from the life of a wizard after in his own words, 'a career ending' injury. He had since opened up a restaurant in the city. But unlike Cain, who was known to be jolly and social whenever he was around members of Tidal Serpent, Bardulf or Bard if one preferred was a bit more socially awkward.

Also, both, when it came to traveling, were solitary. Hence why Bardulf is often called 'Fenrir the Wolf' or simply 'Wolf'. But it didn't bother him. Not one bit. He had some friends and loved Tidal Serpent like a surrogate family.

Regardless, Bard was writing in the book he had, because he was trying to make a rough draft of a novel this day. He didn't know the full plot yet, but he knew he wanted it to be based on one of his Uncle's jobs. He'd have to ask him later.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" came the voice of Oceana.

Oh yes. Barely a week and the new Guildmaster, Oceana had an announcement, but he at least used the suspended week to visit with his Uncle and Sister. Sighing, Bardulf put his things away. He then turned to look up towards her, and for a brief moment, his eyes saw across the room, in her own corner, Rin. He couldn't help but notice how she looked when the Guildmaster called for attention.

"So eager, and so cute... wait where'd that come from?!" Bard suppressed his thoughts and resulting blush before turning back to look towards the Guildmaster, to listen for her announcement. The thoughts raced on the possibilities. "Is it a special job? Is it another new member? Is Melinda coming back? What is it?"

He didn't know what the Guildmaster had planned. But he was sure it was important. But sometimes the suspense of announcements killed him, figuratively speaking of course. Though he could've sworn, after hearing her giggle after another man gave the statement again, he heard a groan come from one of the S Class members. He tried not to mind the annoyance from it, but definitely shuddered as Keji's magical energy was felt as he walked to a seat.

But it would be nice for Jobs to come rolling in after this small respite. He wanted to get back to work, at least when an interesting job pulled up that he wanted.

Slick

Another year, another failure. This was his third? Fourth consecutive loss during the S-Class trials? It was getting embarrassing at this point. Nursing his wounds as he sat at the far side of the room, most knew better than to hang around Slick at this point. Honestly, he was never too fun to be around immediately following the trials after his now predictable loss. In fact, a few of the guild members were splitting the pot of their bets on how far he’d have gotten this year. At this point, Slick was basically a long-shot every time, though one year he’d surely pay out big, right? He was happy for Dolores, but… Well, he couldn’t help but feel he’d been robbed. How long had she been here? Beginners luck maybe.

Raising his drink in toast before taking another swig, he continued to watch the celebrations in mild bitterness, but went through the motions of clapping and cheering for their new champion. Despite his sour mood, he couldn’t help but smile as the focus shifted to that of their new guild master, Oceana. Having seen her grow up from her adolescence, it seemed that she was finally moving up in the world and taking some responsibility. Of course, she had practically no experience running a guild, and still had a lot to learn about life, but that’s what she had the whole guild was for. He’d help her however he could, and no doubt all of the friends and family she’d made would stand strong by her side.

Of course, the announcement that they’d be suspending all guild activity was a surprise one; but no doubt there’d be some exceptions if important things came up. He couldn’t entirely complain, and unlike a lot of the less organised members, Slick had plenty budgeted for if he had some time off. Still, a whole week was a bit much. Well, perhaps it was an opportunity to do some more research into his guild mates. After all, he’d need to have a plan for the next S-Class trial. Setting down his mug and sitting up, Slick left the festivities early. He was good at keeping his emotions in check, but it was hard to remain positive in the face of such failure. Even he needed time to himself every now and again.

---

A week down, and Slick was back to his normal, jovial if infuriating self. Sitting down at the bar in his usual spot at one end, he watched Oceana make her way to stand proudly on the bench, proclaiming that she had another announcement now that the job ban was being lifted. Probably another half-baked scheme of hers. Hiding his smirk behind his glass as he took a swig, he listened as one of the rowdier guild members helped draw attention and silence the group. Shaking the ice in his glass a little, he gestured up towards their diminutive guild master. “’Ey, Get on with it Shaun. I think you’ve kept the people waiting long enough.” Slick set his glass down as he spun on his seat to lean his back against it, looking up to her. Shaun was a boyish nickname that he often used to tease the ‘Tidebreaker’. Even with her new status as guild master, he had no intention of showing her any more respect than usual.

No doubt there’d be a rush to grab the newest jobs from the board once it opened up, but he wasn’t exactly in a huge hurry. He was a versatile and capable individual, so it was unlikely there wouldn't be something suitable to his talents, and if not there was plenty more work he could do in the library. After all, he wasn’t going to fail again at the next trial. He needed a plan prepared to deal with Keiji and Dolly should he encounter them once more to prove himself. So long as he could handle them and any newcomers to the guild, he was certain he’d succeed this time. Still, that was years away now. Best to try and keep himself at least somewhat sharp by staying on the job.

Briefly, Slick’s eyes scanned about the guild hall, which was now pretty packed since there was the formal announcement coming. No one particularly noticeable caught his eye. I mean, there was Keiji, but Slick had no intention of making pleasantries with him. Maybe at some point he’d try to get him inebriated to ascertain some more of his weaknesses, but he felt he had a long way to go before he could stand next to him as an equal adversary. Bard was also somewhat nearby him, and although good for a laugh, he wasn’t exactly what Slick was looking for socialising with. Still, with the aid of his magic he could perceive the slightest of blushes across his face, and easily managed to trace the man’s gaze. Settling his eys on Rin, one of the more voluptuous ladies of the guild, Slick smirked. He could see exactly what Bard was appreciating. He’d have to pull him up on that at some point.

Turning his attention back to Oceana, Slick patiently awaited her proclamation. Though he couldn’t imagine it was anything too important.

---

Pommel Grade

“Yes! There! Perfect!” Clapping her hands together in celebration, Pommel briefly gave a soft yelp and windmilled her arms before suddenly grabbing hold of the ladder railings to support herself, giving a sigh of relief. Despite dangerously leaning across the stage from her precarious point up high, she’d done it! The last banner was draped across the top of the stage, adorned with the simple words of ‘Congratulations’, a collection of hydrangea and delphinium flowers flanking the setup to complete the picture. As much as she so wished she could have seen the S-Class trials herself, it wasn’t like Tidal Serpent kept her around just to spectate. She wasn’t a wizard, but she had plenty of jobs to do to earn her keep. First and foremost for the day was decorating the hall.

Scrambling down the ladder and dragging it back off to the supply closet, Pommel proceeded to scurry about the hall, tossing streamers up over the rafters as she simultaneously began blowing up balloons. A soft ding from the kitchen drew her focus next to reveal some of the food she was preparing for the festivities was almost done, the chef-in-the-making hurrying over to turn the meats and reset the timer again. Moving about the various tables, she got to work placing down the various party poppers, along with a small collection of sweets in a bowl at each of the main seating areas. Back at the bar, she proceeded to take a quick inventory of the alcohol and other lighter drinks, making sure there was more than enough to account for a rowdy night of celebration. Slick had helped her budget for the event, and she was going to make sure that the promotion went off with a bang! Grinning to herself as she took a step back to survey her work, the whole thing was running on schedule, and in tip top shape. She’d run around like a madwoman cleaning all day, but it was going to be well worth it, because the guild hall was practically shining! Yup, this was perfect! Everyone would certainly appreciate all the hard work and effort she put in to-

With a loud crash, the guild hall doors were kicked open to the sounds of cheering and celebration. Pommel spun just in time to be jostled and bowled over by the hooting and excitable crowd, being pushed this way and that in a dizzying stumble before she finally found herself back over by the bar. Grumbling and shouting her complaints at her rude guild mates, Pommel blew out a raspberry in annoyance. Geez! Stupid jerks! Already, all her hard work was going ignored and unappreciated as they scoffed on the lollies, knocked over decorations and were generally a rowdy group of uncivilised ruffians. Huffing as she puffed out her cheeks, Pommel ‘hmmphed’ to herself as she stuck her nose in the air, stomping her way behind the bar counter and got to work serving up the drinks. Hana was already hard at work serving the customers, but she still managed to give Pommel a warm smile as she moved up to the counter.

When the guildmaster finally called for attention, Pommel gave an exhausted sigh of relief, collapsing down onto the bar and catching her breath. Events like this were always hard work, and dealing with so many drunkards was certainly taxing. That said, she’d spent so much time getting to work that she’d barely registered who it was that was receiving the promotion. She knew Slick and a few of the others that participated, but none of them really caught her interest. They weren’t like Mel, the greatest wizard in the entire kingdom. She didn’t care which of them dumb guys got the promotion. Whoever it was, they couldn’t hold a candle to Tidal Serpent’s one and only Chiyoko!

"With the trials finished we have our newest S-Class Wizard, Dolores De La Fuente.” Looking up from her position at the bar, Pommel blinked. It was… Well, she didn’t really know who it was. Dolores. It was her! Well, ‘a’ her! Another guild heroine had hit S-Class! Slowly, a grin spread even further on Pommel’s face. ‘Slick’ lost again! Haha! What a loser! Snickering to herself, Pommel marvelled the new wizard from the sidelines. She seemed really cool and collected. Wow, she was awesome! Not ‘Melinda’ awesome, but a whole breed of awesome above all the other stinky guys in the guild! With a sigh of adoration, Pommel leaned on her elbows and cupped her face, swinging her legs and watching the show. “And with her, a new guild master ascends into power. Let us welcome them both into their new positions!"

Quickly joining in the uproarious cheer, Pommel whistled loudly and hollered out chants of encouragement. That’s right, her big sister, queen of the Tidal Serpent guild! Gosh, all the female wizards in Tidal Serpent were so tough and amazing! It was a wonder they even bothered keeping dorks like Chen or Slick around. Maybe when she inevitably rose up as one of Tidal Serpent’s great wizard’s she’d be elected new guild master and would get a chance to clean up all the dumb wizards that they kept around. Wildly daydreaming of her throne and princess dress she’d wear on her guild master coronation, Pommel missed the announcement Oceana made regarding the suspension of the job board. Even though she didn’t work as a Wizard, it probably would’ve been good for her to know and prepare for. As it stood, she had no idea how busy the bar was going to be in the next week.

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Cheneres

Though Chen is not usually seen idle, his purposely apparent indignant emotion ran rampant. S-Class Trials were a time of celebration, although his inability to participate gave him a face of scorn. Due to how careless he was during a mission, he sustained multiple injuries. Although the people he forcefully dragged along remained unharmed, he broke all 4 of his limbs and more. However, he completed the mission, he had quite a bit of time to count the reward on his hospital bed.

His perfectly chiseled abs were covered by grimy bandages. He's able to walk and move his limbs again, but he still was nursing the many cuts and bruises. His face was covered with dust and his hair disheveled. He usually was a man harboring great pride for his body, but he was too busy crying himself to sleep. Instead of sitting in the middle of such a grand occasion. He was in a minuscule corner in the southeast part of the room. Cheneres the Exile, reduced to a hermit.

Despite it all, he was happy for the new S-Class. A wondrous maiden does deserve recognition. Cheneres himself isn't familiar with her. Even Cheneres, the man who rushes into danger, is vigilant when approaching someone such as Dolores. He much rather fight monsters of vigor than be on the opposite end of a woman's fury.

Alas, he took another sip of his drink. He was drinking vodka in the morning, maybe to ease the pain of not being able to participate or just because he's Cheneres the Exile, he drinks whenever he wants. He soon fell into a deep slumber, unable to applaud and commend Dolores. It's a somber day if Cheneres is not rushing to a woman's side. Between his gloomy episodes and his whining, he'll recover somehow. It would've been quite important to know that the guild master had suspended Jobs for everyone to recover, but he'll manage. If blowing all your cash on booze and couch surfing fits the definition.

---

It was a harsh 7 days. Cheneres couldn't find another tavern that would serve him ale for free, so he turned to street performances to pay for his necessities. Though, due to his ineptitude when it comes to musical talent. It would make more sense if they paid him to stop his performance instead of to compliment it. Don't tell him I said that though.

Bright and early, he pushed open the guild hall doors gloriously. In case it was obvious that he has arrived, Cheneres makes it a point to make sure people are aware. With his usual announcement, "Cheneres the Exile makes an entrance! ♫" He declared. This habit is usually met by groans of annoyance by his guild members, heavy or hushed. Him going so early could be to bother less people, but it's most likely to get drunk faster.

He ordered from the counter quickly and went to converse with the people of the guild. Giving a hearty hello to his mates and a little bit extra for the ladies (Flex on 'em). It was a busy and boisterous morning, because Cheneres made it so.

It seems the little girl of a guild master had an announcement for the populace. He always found it unorthodox for there to be such a young girl running a former dark guild. She rivals him in energy and can even come off as a bit overbearing, and that's coming from Cheneres. He always thought she should eat more, grow into a voluptuous woman, but that's a personal preference. Those are just thoughts, they were never particularly close and he finds himself straying away from her path. Nonetheless, he respects her magic prowess. He is rather adept at feeling people's strength, though he often rushes in anyways despite knowing he'll lose.

But it seems the little GM had a big announcement. He walked over to the counter and took his drink, he then went to the back of the huddle as he is one of the taller members of the guild. He took a few sips and waited impatiently. If a dainty little lass like her is a guild master, Cheneres is a rocket scientist.

Everyone in the guild seemed to be a bit tense in the week following the S-class competition. Jin didn't hold it against them though. Some of these wizards really needed the income from jobs to support their families, and even a week without work was enough to drain what funds they had left. Initially, he had argued with Oceana on the whole concept of a "rest week," but she had somehow managed to convince him that it was for the best. She argued that the competing wizards were liable to try and prove their rank (likely bitterness from losing the opportunity to advance) by taking difficult missions despite their injuries. Oceana, fully well knowing that Jin was a stickler for safety, had used his own priorities against him. For all the trouble and complaints however, he had to admit that the week off had given him ample time to relax and work on his knitting. His mother's new gloves testified to his productivity.

Finally, the day came that the week-long rest period would end. With it, would come an announcement that held the potential to stir a few tempers. Oceana had pitched the plan to Jin earlier in the week, and he had to admit that it was a pretty good one. With a few discussions, the pair had managed to sort out the details and minimize the possibility for complaint. Still, he could tell that there would be disagreements. That was his job to deal with though. Oceana made the plans and Jin enforced them- that had always been the way it was.

He had been in the kitchen tossing bits of lunchmeat to his cat Shiba when Oceana hopped up onto the bar counter. When he heard her squeaky attempt at an announcement, he casually stepped out into the main guild area, leaning up against one of the tables that scattered the room. The chatter wasn't dying down though. He sighed, silently praying that Oceana would at least try to be bear the authority of her position.

"Your guildmaster has an announcement. Pipe down." His voice rung through the hall and conversations began to die down. People knew better than to make him repeat himself. When silence had at last settled over the guild, Jin's eyes drifted up to meet Oceana's. While she had in fact granted Dolores S-class status the previous week, this would be the first act that was truly hers. It was her idea from start to finish and while Jin would support it, it was her job to stand by it. Steady like the tide, as his father would always say. Even though they'd grown up together, moments like this made him wonder how she was feeling. Was she nervous? Excited? His dark eyes remained focused on hers, willing her to speak with the power she had done well to earn.

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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.

Bardulf listened to the announcement and nodded. Until the team assignment actually was announced. His warm smile about trying to ensure the Guild's reputation came out from the shadows of the past solo quickly shattered the moment his name came up on the team roster. He then began to pale even further then he ever felt possible when Melinda's name came up. "Melinda?! Is she coming back soon then? Does she even know?!" he thought. However, he reviewed the other names called before his, and had an inkling of a feeling Melinda was possibly going to be team leader, as she was the most senior member of that he knew of. Which meant she'd most likely come back.

Then he heard Rin's name being called last, before the ban was lifted. The silence was still evident over Melinda's name, until he heard the door slamming as The Swordsman Magic user jumped from the sudden noise and looked at the door before looking around to see who left in a huff. Not Keiji, he was walking to talk to Oceana, possibly about her idea of a team. He looked across the hall and noticed Rin wasn't in her corner.

His Mind told him to stay and try to communicate with his new teammates, especially Slick or Artemie. However, his gut told him to go after Rin, to try and talk to her and see what was bugging her. Besides, he could us the exercise, especially if that meant also racing into the city and visiting his Uncle Cain and his younger sister at the former's restaurant to tell him the new development. So he sprung to his feet with a cry of, "Be right back, folks!" and exited the guild hall quickly as he'd most likely follow the latter of his plans more as Rin would probably brush him off.

He looked around and saw Rin walking to the exit of the compound. He walked a bit swiftly, hoping to match her pace. "Hey newbie. Not in a social mood today?" he asked. "I mean, I'm sure you're a bit nervous about the whole team thing. You aren't the only one. I'm a bit terrified of being in the same team as Melinda."

He shivered at the thought of Melinda and her snake companion. Sure he loved the former like a surrogate mother, or older sister, but the latter would always make him jump onto a table, or at least walk a brisk four feet away to speak to Melinda, unless she had gifts. "I'm Bardulf, by the way. Friends and family call me Bard." he raised his hand as he walked to wait for a handshake from Rin. Mentally he began blushing like a maniac.

"If you screw up this first impression I won't forgive myself!" he thought.

Pommel Grade

“Stupid week with stupid people doing stupid stupid…” Pommel grumbled to herself as she strode between the tables, platters loaded up on her arms up to her shoulders, drinks under her arms in a comical but impressive display of balance and waitressing skill. In practiced and precise movements, she unloaded the meals and drinks to the various patrons of the guild, smiling at those she liked and showing something akin to annoyance to those she didn’t. She’d had it had it HAD IT with the guild wizards by now. GO! Shoo! Do some jobs, get out of here! You’re making the place stink and wearing grooves into the leather! She hadn’t smelled of this much alcohol or done this much work since… Since well ever! And it SUCKED! Why oh why would Oceana do something like this? Had she done something bad? Was this a punishment for Pommel to have to be this busy for a whole week?

Petulant as ever, Pommel pouted and persevered in her work, forever trying to prove herself and be recognised for her good deeds, but for the most part going unnoticed. Cheery bright and friendly as she could be, most of those who offended her (Which pretty much only consisted of the male guild members) knew to stick clear of her when she was this grouchy, but at the same time, it was typically them who were responsible for grabbing her attention by ordering food or drinks. Ugh, why couldn’t someone cool that she actually cared about just request her assistance? Maybe the new S-Class wizard wanting a fancy wine? Oceana bringing her a new dress to try on? Just someone she could find a reasonable excuse to hang out with and chat rather than having to be an errand girl for all these lazy deadbeats!

Exhausted and at her limit, Pommel pulled out a nearby seat and leaned on the pillar by the job board, taking a long sigh as she rested. It was about time she took a break, and with Oceana making her entrance for her announcement, it looked like she’d be getting her chance. Sitting up to listen intently to the declaration, Pommel internally and externally beamed at seeing Oceana take charge. That was just like a powerful wizard like her to take point and lead like this. Oceana was a woman with vision for the future. No doubt she had some cool, amazing strategy to propel Tidal Serpent to the top of the popularity polls in Sorcerer’s Weekly! Leaning in, Pommel waited with baited breath…

“…I have decided that 8 members of Tidal Serpent will join together to be a team…” Looking up from her spot, Pommel briefly thought she saw Oceana make eye contact with her. Her heart skipped a beat. W-was this it?! Was she being selected to become an important wizard that would shape the very future of Tidal Serpent?! Oh, she knew Oceana believed in her and her abilities, but this was going to be a bit sudden! Being placed on a team with her and Melinda and all the other best warriors that Tidal Serpent had, no doubt she’d get the opportunity to learn and really start being a valued member of the guild! Oh, Oceana was so wonderful thinking of her like that! This was it, her moment to shine! All the hard work was paying off! She’d begin as the junior member of the team, but in moments she would rise to be the star member! Maybe she’d even get her own article in Sorcerer’s Weekly? She could see the headlines now: ‘Young Prodigy Wizard takes the magic world by storm!’

"The people chosen for this team, are; Dolores De La Fuente, Keiji Okaro, Melinda Ekundayo, Slick, Cheneres, Bardulf Sherwood, Artemie Scheherazade, and Rin Hitomi." Pommel listened, nodding all the while. Ugh, Slick. And that loud idiot Chen. Well, there had to be SOME rookies besides herself that would…- Wait. Pommel paused, playing back the team in her mind. Then, she hung her head in shame. Of course she wasn’t part of the team… What had she even been thinking? She wasn’t even a qualified wizard! Oooohhhh…. She’d really gotten her hopes up that she’d get the chance to join and work with her idols. Man, this stunk! Melinda was already always away, but now that Dolores was on a team with her, along with two other powerful female wizards, they’d probably be gone even more often. Sighing, she leaned back on her seat against the wall.

"That is all. The ban on accepting jobs is now over. Be safe!" Following that announcement, Pommel was caught in a stampede for the second time in a week as eager wizards hurried to the job board for the best opportunities.

---

Slick

Reaching for his drink, Slick slowly took a light sip as he listened to their new guildmaster’s heartfelt declaration. He was always impressed with the passion and dedication that Oceana showed for the guild, and had no doubt some of that rubbed off on everyone else. Sure, it was his home and family too, but he could never quite show the drive or spirit that she did. There was just something inspiring about the honesty and pride she showed whenever Tidal Serpent came up. The guild was her life, and she’d take no disrespect for it from anyone. In fact, it was probably that aspect of her nature that lead to her becoming the new guild master, regardless of her heritage. Naïve and inexperienced as she may be, Slick couldn’t think of anyone else that was more fitting or deserving of the title.

That said… Well, her plan just seemed absurd. Even Slick had to scoff at the idea of a wizard team going off and doing who knows what to get the guild’s name out there. But hey, it was Oceana’s pet project. He’d help her plan and budget for it, along with its probable failure. It’d be a good lesson like that which would teach her that turning things around wasn’t as simple as just bringing people together to work as a team. Eight people was a lot of resources, and it just didn’t seem efficient unless she planned on them doing some truly incredible work. Still, it’d be interesting to keep track of from the sidelines. Watching Oceana continue to explain over the rim of his glass, Slick listened with intrigue as she listed off the cast of her new show. The S-Classes - Yeah, no surprises there if she intended for them to do something huge. Then came the kicker. Slick nearly spat his drink across the room as his name was listed, but not only that, Chen, Bard and that mousy girl from the library. He wasn’t going to complain about being put on a team with women, but it all seemed a bit ridiculous – He’d worked solo for years now.

Setting his drink down on the bar and looking up to Oceana, he tried to meet her eyes and get some sort of response out of her for this joke. She couldn't be serious. When he met her gaze however, it wasn’t the kind or joking expression he was hoping for. Instead, there was naught but a mischievous smile, and under the noisy mass discussion going around the guild, Slick made out the syllables she wordlessly spoke under her breath at him. She wasn’t messing with him. Well, she was and she wasn’t. He was actually a part of this team, but she was most certainly doing it to rattle him. Ugh, she knew just how to get under his skin sometimes. Was this a response to calling her by that moniker in front of everyone? Adjusting the glasses that had slipped from his face, he watched Rin, the eighth member of the team storm off. Clearly she wasn’t happy about this either. Amusingly, Bard seemed to be taking more initiative then Slick had anticipated the shy lad had in him by chasing after her. Ah well, best of luck to him. He was a good fellow, hopefully it’d work out.

Turning back to Oceana, Slick tried to raise his concerns over the din of people heading to the job’s board, but was silenced by a few hearty slaps on the back as some of his fellow guildmates wished him ‘luck’ with Oceana’s pet project, laughing at his predicament all the while. It was during this that Keiji took the opportunity to request a meeting with the guildmaster, obviously having his own qualms with the setup. Heh, if Oceana had her mind set on this, it was unlikely she’d call it off. Change it slightly, maybe, but that was a long shot, even for a charmer like him. Still, it’d do Keiji to learn some humility and ‘lose’ to Oceana. It wasn’t like Slick was still bitter about the promo tournament at this point, but he was amused to see the tempered fellow losing something.

Letting Keiji have his talk with her upstairs, Slick would have his own private chat with her later about the whole thing. She hadn’t really given them any details of what she expected of the team, other than them taking it seriously. Did she have a job in mind? Or were they just going to be an overkill squadron doing some odd S-Rank jobs? Even if she’d intended for it to be a big surprise, he wished she’d given him some prior notice so he could do some planning and work out the logistics of it all. Depending on what they were doing, Wizards like him and Chen might be made redundant in the face of the job they were assigned. Well, no sense dwelling on it for now or worrying about it. He was Slick after all. He couldn’t let something like this phase him too much. Time to roll with it.

With Oceana, Keiji, Rin and Bard all occupied, Melinda nowhere in sight, and Chen being Chen; Slick briefly scanned the crowd for any sign for the remaining lovely two team members that he’d been assigned to. With the aid of his magic, it only took a split-second to identify Dolores in the crowd, along with Artemie poised behind a pillar for support and possibly protection from everyone. Both were lovely in their own way, and conveniently enough, were only across the bar and a stone’s throw away from each other. Pushing off the bar, Slick slid his way over towards the two, seamlessly moving into place beside Dolore’s, but facing the pillar Artemie found herself behind. Snapping his fingers in her direction, he flashed a smile.

“Well ladies, looks like you’re gonna be stuck with me until our ever-wise guild master says otherwise. I mean, we’re gonna have to make the most of this, so we may as well get to know each other more intimately than we already do, yeah? Boss’s orders that we get along and all that.” Cocking his head in Dolore’s direction to see if she was paying attention as well, he turned his attention back to Artemie for the moment, lifting his glasses with a wink. “And don’t worry Art, if Dolly here is too uptight to watch out for you, I’ve got your back.” Thumbing at his chest, Slick nudged the smoke dragon slayer in the side. “Ain’t that right Dolly?”

With the talk not having gone as planned and Keiji having resigned himself to his position, he made his way towards the doors of the guild hall with the intent of finding the most likely retreating Rin in order to have a quick talk with her. He wasn’t looking forward to it, but he felt like her resistance to the team was very visibly displayed, and he had to ensure that when the time came, she would take the order in stride. Keiji didn’t want to have the talk, and if he believed someone else could have done it, he might have asked them. Still, he felt a somewhat connection to her, if only in her methodology and personality. He had been with the guild far longer than her, and while they had never had long conversations or worked together before, he could relate at the very least. Keiji reached the doors and pushed them open with miniscule effort, to be greeted with the early morning sun.

Keiji squinted at first, his eyes adjusting to the light and peering around for his quarry. There, off to the side and leading away from the Guild grounds, Rin was actually talking to Bardulf by the looks of it. An A class wizard, requip magic if Keiji remembered correctly. Rin seemed to glance behind her, and upon seeing Keiji...or maybe something else but that was the most likely case, Rin took off towards the town. Had she stayed talking with Bardulf, Keiji might have let her be. It would have been an indication that she was at least willing to entertain the thought of dealing with others. Her reaction led Keiji to believe that wasn’t the case however, and despite his misgivings about the entire situation, took off in a brisk stride after her. He did pause for a moment to look over at the Swordsman. “Bardulf.” Keiji stated, giving a nod. “I'm looking forward to seeing what you’re capable of.” A small little line that would hopefully propel Bardulf into giving everything he had into the jobs to come. For now, he had a bit tougher of a target to deal with as he quickened his pace once more to chase after the fleeing Celestial Mage.

As the younger wizard lead Keiji into the marketplace, he knew what was going to happen. With her smaller stature, she would try to lose Keiji through the early morning crowds and traders. Even as he thought this, people of all shapes and sizes started to filter into the streets, people hocking wares and the early risers all smiling as they planned out their purchases for the rest of the day. Keiji narrowed his eyes, but wasn’t within range to start yelling her name above the increasing noise of the city. He politely moved people out of his way, his patience overcoming the natural instinct to clear a path in front of him through overwhelming force. He gave a quick sigh as she flowed through the people as if they weren’t there, while the bulkier Keiji was constantly jostled around like he was a pinball. Eventually he got into a rhythm though, and could see that his longer strides were starting to gain ground on the young mage.

She glanced over her shoulders, obviously catching sight of the easily distinguishable Keiji. She must have deemed her current tactic to not be working, because she quickly darted to the side and entered an alley. Keiji gave a bit of a sigh, hoping that it would dead end and he could have this increasingly painful conversation with the woman so that he could head back to the guild hall and hopefully figure out a way to make the rest of this transition easier on himself. For now, his focus was on making sure Rin understood her situation at the unspoken behest of the Guild Master herself.

Upon entering the alley, Keiji was greeted by a screeching fiery bird flying directly over his head. Instinctively he ducked as his body glowed a golden sheen, his body aegis naturally coming into effect as an almost automatic defense to danger. He looked up, narrowing his eyes through the skies as the bird flew around in circles, obviously watching with the intention of either distracting or stopping him. It was adorable, in its own way, tiny yet annoying as it cooed almost tauntingly towards him. Unfortunately, it had already lost the element of surprise and Keiji doubted it could do anything to actually harm him. Interesting that she would loose her spirits to stall me though, really dedicating yourself to the lone wolf thing huh? Keiji thought to himself as he walked forward. The bird flew in every so often to try and intimidate him, but even the few times it nicked him its talons glanced harmlessly off his body aegis. Keiji exited the alley, peering in a few different directions and was able to pick Rin’s head out of the crowd.

He made to turn towards her, when the Phoenix came down to eye level, glowing brightly as its form changed into that of the typical Phoenix of lore. Bright wings of flickering fire licked at the air around it as it cried out in what could only be a call to battle. This bird, nearly Keiji’s size, puffed out its wings and let loose with an assortment of fire. Ball after ball of flame launched forward, impacting on Keiji with an almost admirable accuracy as they all seemed to hit their mark. Before the smoke had even settled, a bright gold sigil appeared behind the bird and propelled it forward with such force that it was sent into an uncontrollable spin. Despite this, or maybe because it was planned, Keiji’s hand reached out from the smoke and grasped the Phoenix’s neck with an almost audible crunch. The Phoenix started to panic, striking at Keiji with it’s claws as he stepped out from the smoking hole that was the target area, golden wisps of air flowing around him like a light fabric being blown about by the wind. Keiji glared at the spirit, his gaze a very clear threat of someone who was doing his best to not do what he always did...which was solve this problem in the most violent manner possible.

”Go home spirit.” Keiji stated through clenched teeth, this entire situation getting way too close to actual battle for his composure to remain solid. The bird squawked slightly before Keiji’s grip tightened and it went limp in his hand. He didn’t kill it, did he? No, he didn’t think he had the power to kill celestial spirits...or at least he had never tried. The bird’s flames slowly died and the entire body quickly turned to ash afterwards, which were then carried off by the breeze. Keiji watched them float on, his body aegis dissipating as he did so. Well turning to ash was never a good omen as far as he was concerned, but he didn’t really have the time nor care to worry about such a thing right now. Once the moment had passed, he glanced around once more and was dismayed to learn that Rin had fled the scene. Keiji narrowed his eyes over the crowd, had she not stayed to see if her bird could stop him? No, it was meant as a distraction, she would have left long ago. While Keiji hadn’t wanted to resort to more...upfront tactics, he felt the time for subtlety was over. A gold sigil formed beneath him as more than a few people continued to stare. With a great gust of air and the cracking of the foundation beneath him, Keiji shot into the air like a bullet.

A few moments later, at the apex of his jump, another sigil appeared that acted as solid ground, allowing him to stand above the city to look down upon the inhabitants. He had lost Rin in the time it had taken him to deal with the Rat, so he started peering through the crowds but initially thought that it would be impossible to find her. Luck happened to be on his side though, for that was the only reason he managed to catch a glimpse of her as she broke through a crowd briefly before entering another one. Keiji launched himself at her again, landing just far enough away from people to avoid civilian injury, but hard enough to crack the concrete upon his landing. Honestly, he really did need to learn how to figure out his ‘gentle touch’ approach.

Upon seeing him land, Rin stumbled backwards slightly, and looked ready to bolt in the other direction. A quick flick of his wrist, and the woman was surrounded by Force Sigils that prevented her from leaving, but otherwise did nothing. Keiji straightened his hoodie, bending down and wiping a bit of dust and dirt from his jeans. ”Your actions so far are not making me confident in your ability to be trusted.” Keiji stated in a very calm but demanding manner as he finished cleaning his clothes. With that done, he walked closer, not invading her personal space but making it clear that he wasn’t to be ignored. ”We’re going to have a talk...about the potential problems you might have working as a team.” A very hypocritical statement coming from Keiji, but hopefully he would learn something about what it was to work with others closely through this interaction.

Bard smiled a small bit when she smiled, not caring if it was slightly forced, she probably wasn't the social type. She then shook his hand and introduced herself as Rin. "Whew, least I didn't totally botch it up. However, she doesn't seem to want to be friends yet." he thought as Rin suddenly excused herself from the conversation and left.

"Okay, nice meeting you! I guess I'll see you later? Maybe?" He supposed he couldn't hear her but it didn't matter, because then he was interrupted from his train of thought by Keiji. "Oh! Hello there, Keiji, I mean, Hi Mr. Okaro, ahem."

The S Class Wizard gave him a slightly encouraging message about showing him what he could do on future Jobs as he nodded vigorously. "Y-Yes sir! I won't disappoint!" he replied to the departing Keiji. Sighing he retreated into his own mental state of mind as he simply walked towards the park in the compound, more specifically towards the fountain, where he'll sit for a while and contemplate on the announcement.

"It was nice that I broke the ice with Miss Hitomi, or Rin... however she wants to be called next time I see her. Hopefully she'll ease up and be a little social. Those eyes though, they make me think of rubies." He thought before shaking his head. "Wait a minute, wasn't I going to visit my family at the Restaurant? Oh well, I'll call Uncle Cain and Little Sis later. They'll be thrilled to know I'm on a team that's for sure. Here's hoping I don't mess up."

Reaching his destination he sat down on near the fountain and pulled out his book and began writing in it again, continuing where he left off. He'd find his journal and update it later on how this day marks the beginning of something fantastic.

Slick

“So… She’s a work colleague?” The black haired girl asked, pulling the platter to her chest after she placed Slick’s coffee in front of him. She was young, somewhere in her early twenties, hair in a ponytail and somewhat pretty, with nice blue eyes. She was the only person that worked at this small establishment. At least, ever since her father became ill. The modest café known as the Treat Chest, was tucked away in the city, and it was where Slick had taken Artemie a few days ago. Nori was a hard worker, but despite that, her business had been failing for some time. She just didn’t know how to run things on her own, despite having worked under her old man. I guess she could consider herself lucky that she’d had the idea to hire an accountant to help sort her businesses finances. Ever since then, Slick had slowly been working to help promote the place and bring it back onto its feet. Apparently he planned to take a cut of the profits later, but for now, he was helping finance its operation.

Sipping of the blend, Slick nodded slowly, savouring the taste before decided to speak. “Yeah. I’ve known Artemie for some time now. She’s… Odd, but loyal to a fault. No matter what she or others think, she’s incredibly strong. She’s a good friend.” Smiling to Nori, it seemed it was infectious as she returned it with one of her own. “Oh, good. I mean uh, good that you’ve got such reliable friends.” Laughing off her silly comment, Nori continued to stand by the table to chat with him. It wasn’t like there was any other customers, despite Slick’s attempts to generate interest in the place. “I’m pretty lucky like that. Give it time Nori, you’re friendly and likable. Keep it up and you’ll generate a rapport with your customers.”

“You really think so?” Nori seemed a bit taken aback, pleasantly surprised by his comments. Slick simply nodded again as he sipped the rest of his coffee, setting the empty cup back down. “Of course. I’m always sincere in my compliments Nori.” Sitting up, Slick placed a hand to her shoulder, giving her a wink before heading for the door. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone for work, but I’ve set out a spending and business plan for you. Give it a read, and hopefully you’ll be able to pull people in by the time I come back.” Waving to her, Nori returned the gesture with her own. “Thank you Slick. I’ll be waiting for you with a fresh coffee when you return.”

---

Slick wasn’t the first to arrive at the meeting place in the guild hall. Already there were a few people waiting. Oceana and Jin were a given, and Artemie was always pretty prompt, so it wasn’t entirely surprising as he took a seat. Even Pommel was there, and seemed to be working as their private caterer. Sliding into a seat and taking a small handful of nuts from the table, Slick casually snacked on them while waiting for the rest of the group. Jin had asked for him to gather the rest of the team for today, but he’d also asked Keiji, so the big S-Man could probably handle that. Besides, the team was mostly reliable, and despite knowing where Rin and Dolores spent their free time, he wasn’t so foolhardy as to go and drag them here. He’d told them the time and place. That was enough as far as he was concerned. They seemed reasonable enough to at least turn up for this meeting.

Slick contemplated chatting with Artemie once more, but before he could, he felt the presence of another to his side, scanning his peripheral vision to see Bard approaching, meeting his nod with one of his own. "What's the news of today Slick?" Was the question as he approached, Slick giving a faint shrug and a smile. “Nothing as of yet. Shaun is being as cryptic as ever with how we’re going to start this, so it seems we’ll have to wait for everyone to turn up first before we start.” Leaning back in his seat, Slick eyed Bard for a second more before deciding to have some fun with him. “You wouldn’t have happened to have seen Rin, would you? She seemed even more hesitant to show up then Dolly girl.”

Enjoying Bard’s reaction to his question, Slick looked to the doors at the loud sound, and watched with some mild amusement as Keiji brought Chen in to join them too, the man drenched and looking more than a bit out of it. Glancing back up to Keiji, Slick gave a small salute. “’Sup Keiji? I see you brought Chen along. Don’t suppose you saw Dolly or Rin on your way here?” Smirking slightly, Slick drew some joy in overworking the fellow, as well as poking fun at any inadequacies he did have. He wasn’t jealous. Never.

Pommel Grade

”Ugh, this isn’t what I had in mind…” Pommel muttered to herself as she descended the stairs to speak with the others. Though Oceana had been nice in having her help pick the mission and discuss the team, now she was running errands as a messenger girl. Worst of all was the first task she’d been assigned, one of the last things she wanted to do. Making her way over to the group, she noticed that she seemed to have drawn some of their attention, probably because they knew she was helping Oceana. That didn’t bother her so much. In fact, she enjoyed being the focus. The problem was…

”Keiji.” Speaking his name, she spoke curtly. As he looked up to her, she looked to the side, arms folded. Was she mad or something? ”Sis-Er, the Guild Master wants to speak with you upstairs.” She clarified, trying to sound a bit more formal. Pivoting on her heel and taking long strides back towards the stairs, she called over her shoulder as she made her way back up. ”Follow me please.”

Keiji didn’t bother questioning the sudden request to see Oceana in private, chances are she needed to run through some of the finer details of the mission before they actually embarked on it. Although he was perplexed as to what Pommel’s issue with him was, considering her stance and cold demeanor towards him seemed to indicate that he had slighted her in some way. Once again, he reminded himself to figure out the problem and solve it, but for the moment he had to focus on the task at hand.

Quickly climbing the stairs, Pommel lead him to Oceana who stood with Jin seemingly in conversation about something. “Oceana.” There was no trace of good nature in the name, only an unexplained urgency. “The people in town have been talking a lot recently. It seems like ‘they’ve’ resurfaced.” He was purposely vague, but he was sure the guildmaster would understand exactly what he meant. Jin stopped upon seeing Keiji causing to Ocean to turn and look as well. Jin didn’t bother with any sort of greeting, he was more focused on getting to the task at hand.

“Is there an issue with the job?” Keiji asked, holding his hands behind his back like he was standing at attention.

Oceana pursed her lips for a moment before sighing and turning back to Jin. “Thank you for telling me. We can talk about the other thing after I send the new team out.”

“Sure thing boss.” Jin’s words were brief and straightforward, but a shadow of some foreign emotion crossed his face. “I don’t suggest we wait too long to address this issue- but we’ll discuss this later.”

Jin tried his best to force a smile at his friend, with little success. He was too damn tired and stressed. Without another word, he turned. He came face to face with Keiji, but figured that the man needed no words of encouragement in order to perform his job efficiently. He didn’t operate like the others- at least Jin didn’t think he did. Still, he figured it was appropriate that he at least acknowledge the wizard as he left. Offering Keiji a curt nod, he pushed his way out of the office and left the two to discuss whatever needed to be discussed.

As the door shut behind Jin, Oceana smiled at Keiji and Pommel, motioning for them to come over to her desk as she rounded it and sat as she addressed Keiji’s question. “No, there is no issue with the job per say. Dolores has been called away for an urgent issue which she had previous experience with. That being said she obviously is not going to be joining you for this job and likely will return after the rest of you.” Oceana paused to shuffle through the papers she and Pommel had been going through before pulling one out and handing it to Keiji. “This is the job you are taking. Miss Pommel and myself have already arranged your transportation and we called ahead to reserve rooms for you at the local inn. You leave at 3pm.”

Moving up towards Keiji slightly, Pommel fished around her pocket a moment before pulling out an envelope, waving it in front of Keiji. “It’s in my name, but this has the tickets for the ride and the jewel to pay at the inn, so don’t lose it, got it?” Stopping her hand motions, she gave Keiji a moment to take the envelope. “And don’t make any trouble either, I don’t want to be blacklisted in case I need to take any trips out that way.” Pommel added with a huff, turning away. She seemed kind of irritable about the whole thing. Maybe finding out about the absence of Dolores had put her in a worse mood…

”Noted.” Keiji stated as he took the envelope out of Pommel’s hand. He took that one and slid it into one of his pockets, not bothering to check the contents inside. He took the paper handed to him from Oceana instead and started reading. His eyes quickly went side to side like a typewriter, doing his best to memorize the contents before he folded it up and placed it in his pocket as well. Keiji seemed to pause for a second, taking a moment to collect his thoughts on the job at hand. ”Without Dolores, that makes me the only S-ranking member of this team.” Keiji stated, looking up at Oceana. He didn’t want to put down any of the other’s abilities, but this was an S-ranked job, and with a lot of potential for combat it would seem. In fact, it was practically guaranteed that they would have to fight at some point. ”I won’t be able to look out for everyone.” It was simple math, there were too many people on his team for him to possible protect everyone at once should worse come to worse, and he wanted Oceana to understand that. This might be an opportunity for everyone to prove themselves, but it was also a risk for people to get seriously injured or killed.

Oceana smiled at Keiji and rolled her eyes. “Keiji your team, including yourself, has 8 members in it. Even with Dolores and Melinda absent I am absolutely sure that you have plenty of manpower. Besides, we both know that Slick has the magical ability of an S-Class wizard. He just hasn’t won the trials yet. And not to mention Cheneres being with you. I mean, I know he acts like a drunken fool at the guild hall but he usually sobers up and takes his jobs seriously.” Oceana nodded and then went about starting to clean up the mess on her desk. ”I have no doubt in your team’s abilities to take care of themselves. Well, for the most part.” Oceana chuckled and then smiled at Pommel. “Thank you for your help with the preparations Pommy. If you’d like to go back downstairs to finish the parting gift you were preparing for the team you can. I just need to organize this. Oh! And if either of you see Jin can you send him back in here? Thanks!” Without waiting for an answer from either wizard Oceana picked up a pile of papers and turned away to put them in their proper places, verbally and physically dismissing the two.

“Not a problem sis!” Grinning happily with a cock of her head, Pommel moved out and downstairs with Keiji, the smile not leaving her face until they were out of sight and earshot of Oceana. With the door closed behind them, her face immediately did a 180 as it turned stern, the small girl doing her best to stand tall and intimidating. Even on tippy toes, it wasn’t very successful, but she wasn’t about to back down now. “Oceana’s really counting on this, Keiji, so don’t screw it up. I know it’s going to be hard without Dolores leading the charge, but just, try to be as good as she would’ve been okay? If you ruin this, I’ll make sure you regret it, understand?” Getting up in Keiji’s face as Pommel continued to frown in Keiji’s direction, it seemed the little wizard didn’t have nearly as much faith as Oceana, especially with one of her favourite wizards out of the picture. Still, there was something charming about the gusto used in threatening the S-Class wizard.

”When I get back, we’re going to solve this problem that you seem to have with me.” Keiji stated in a firm tone, although it wasn’t quite a challenging one yet. If she were any other wizard in the guild, Keiji would have already nipped this in the bud preferably with a strong worded argument...or his other chosen method of fixing issues. He had no idea what he had done to piss her off, so the first step was to figure that out. That was something for another day though, for now he brushed past her. If she wasn’t going to treat him with the respect his position deserved, he felt no need to do the same. With the paper for the job in hand, he made his way in front of the team...his team? He doubted anyone would let him get away with calling it his team if only for pride and reputation sake. Before he could say anything, the door to the guild hall opened up and Rin appeared more than a few minutes late for the meeting. She took her time getting to her seat, although there was something off about her...was that paint on her face? What had she been doing? Regardless, Keiji was just glad that she had kept her promise and showed up. With the interruption out of the way, Keiji started the mini brief. ”Listen up.” Keiji stated, waiting a couple of moments to make sure everyone was paying attention to him.

”First, let me start by saying Dolores won’t be joining us for this job. Her responsibilities have pulled her elsewhere.” Keiji took a moment to read through the parchment again, wanting to make sure he didn’t miss anything important. ”The job is as follows: A Dark Guild running under the moniker of Laguna Fury has taken over a village and has threatened death on anyone attempting to leave. They’ve started terrorizing the populace, looting, stealing, basically everything that you would associate to these people. The objective is simple...get in there, remove them from the town.” Keiji flipped the page over, just to make sure that there wasn’t any more information that he was missing before folding it up and returning it to his pocket. ”It shouldn’t need to be said, but I’ll state it anyways. Seeing as this made its way to the S-ranked job board, we can safely assume that they have a few wizards of incredible skill to warrant needing our attention. Implying that just because there’s a number of us going on this mission doesn’t mean it will be easy.”

Keiji looked around to the others for a moment, seeing if they fully understood what he meant or if they believed he was simply putting on airs for them. He was more concerned with Rin and Cheneres out of the bunch, not necessarily because their skills were lacking, but because, like himself, they were not team players. ”We leave at 3pm, have everything you need ready by then and meet at the train station. Any questions?”

Something about painting and changing her clothing before going to meeting (has paint on face)
Make comment about how the stuff they talk about could have been sent on magical paper airplane
Don't remember rest x-x sowwy

Bardulf watched everyone trickle in slowly as the team assembled. He nodded at Slick's statement as he mused and muddled over what could be said. "This job, it could make or break whatever Oceana has planned for the guild. Well whatever it might be I'm with them to the end. This is my guild. My family." he thought as the team assembled together. He chuckled at Cheneres' entrance and stopped when poor Pommel nearly got flattened by the inebriated Sand Wizard. He noted the absence of Dolores and Rin. He half wondered what's taking either of them so long, and decided to treat himself to a cup of coffee. It would keep him awake for the train ride (if there was to be one).

He watched Keiji approach the assembled group and prepared to speak when Rin came into the guild with... paint on her face? Either that was some kind of war paint or someone enjoyed painting. He wouldn't dare tell her either of those statements out loud. No need to pry in her spare time activities.

Bard then heard Keiji's call of attention and straightened his back in his seat as he sipped his coffee. He listened carefully and nodded at Dolores' reasons for not joining this mission at this time. It was a shame but that meant he had the full attention of Keiji to worry about. He swallowed the swig of coffee in his mouth nervously and with tact.

"Oh crud. I hope I don't screw up in front of him, heck screwing up is bad for the whole guild. Gah, already went over this Brain!" He thought worriedly. But then the job itself was announced by Keiji and he listened carefully. A dark guild called Laguna Fury took over a village, and is doing everything in its power to terrorize it. Bard clenched his jaw as his own imagination visualized what Laguna Fury was doing. Monstrous was first word in his mind. The horrible fact they looting, stealing was not in his mind, the unspoken evils were what put monstrous in his head. Kidnapping above all, as he recalled the disappearance of his own mother, never to be heard from again, though he fervently hid any assumptions for his sister's sake.

"How...how dare they?!"

Crack!

Bard stopped his rapid thinking and looked at his grip on his coffee cup, finding that it caused a small crack upon it. He quickly eased his grip on the cup and downed the rest of its contents as Keiji asked if there were any questions. Bard heard Rin's outburst about the meeting and sighed. "I have no questions myself, only the statement of seeing you all at 3, as I myself am prepared to go as of now." He stated, getting up and walked for the door. "Afternoon Miss Rin, lovely color you have on you." He added, nodding in her direction trying to keep a straight face as far as her painted face was concerned and began to go about heading for the train station.

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