Tidal Serpent » Places

         

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Rin rose from her seat as their 'meeting' came to an end, the only question being asked having been Slick's. The whole affair had been pretty much useless except as a way to discover what time their train left. The details of the mission could have been discussed ON the train, though there weren't many details to discuss in the first place. As she started towards the door of the guild hall she heard Bard say her name and looked over only to give the other wizard a confused look. She didn't put much thought into the comment, rolling her eyes and shrugging before veering in a different direction.

Once she had arrived back home she grabbed the few essentials that hadn't already been in her travel bag and headed towards the train station. After the quick walk, she went to the station and checked in before going across the street and finding a nice secluded table at a cafe to sit at and ordered a snack while she waited to see who would arrive 'first'. Spying really usually wasn't something she partook in but curiosity got the best of her and knowing more about her temporary team couldn't hurt.

As she suspected, Keiji was the first to arrive though much to her surprise Slick was the second. She had honestly expected him to show up just in the nick of time as it seemed more his style but rather than try to contemplate the fact she simply shrugged it off, taking a sip from her second cup of tea. Next was Pommel, and though Rin felt bad leaving her to deal with Keiji and Slick alone she decided to hang back a bit longer. As the clock at the train station showed 2:45, Rin signaled over a waitress and paid her bill, almost chuckling at the sight of Bard bolting towards the train station out of the corner of her eye. He was followed shortly after by Artemie and Chen, the two arriving together and at that point Rin picking up her stuff and made her way across the street to the train station. Walking up to the group with about 5 minutes to spare she looked over at Pommel who was the only person she was willing to talk to at the moment. "Hey Pommel, didn't think you were coming with us." Rin kept her tone extremely neutral, readjusting the backpack on her right shoulder.

         

Slick

‘Convenient timing’ Slick thought to himself as he saw Oceana coming back downstairs, saving him the effort of finding another way to grab her attention. As she made her way over to sit with Grams, Slick himself silently slid into place beside her, not saying anything for the moment as he simply watched the direction she did, observing where she was looking in an attempt to catch a glimpse into her thoughts. Quiet as he was, it would take her a moment or two to notice he was there, but she’d be used to this sort of ‘prank’ by him by now, so her reaction wasn’t nearly as entertaining as when he did this sort of thing to other guild members. Instead, he decided to take charge, launching into conversation immediately and skipping most of the small talk pleasantries. He didn’t feel the need for them with Oceana.

“So, you sure about all this Shauna? I mean, if this doesn’t work out, the guild might end up in a worse spot then it is currently.” Looking over to the bartender, Slick snapped his fingers, calling for his usual drink. Shauna was his more affectionate nickname for the guildmaster, and unlike the masculine variant, was truly meant endearingly. Whether he was buttering her up or just making conversation… Well, that was up for debate. Pivoting back around to look to Oceana, Slick shrugged a little and continued. “A little notice wouldn’t have killed us either – I can understand why you wouldn’t tell someone like Chen, but you know I can keep a secret. Not only that, but there’ll be funding and other aspects to this job for me to work out with you. It’s almost like you don’t want me having an evening social life.” Winking at Oceana, Slick took his drink as it arrived, swirling it in his hand before taking a sip, giving Oceana a chance to share some of her own thoughts.

Oceana had noticed Slick immediately but had been too caught up in her own thoughts to acknowledge him. Staring at Chen, who was standing on a table leading a group chant Oceana mentally groaned, wondering if her choice of the team's members was a mistake. The thought was only harboured for a second before being expelled from her brain and Oceana looked over at Slick, hoping he would prove an entertaining distraction. It wasn't much surprise that Slick just so happened to want to speak of the one thing she didn't at the moment but of course, that was Slick. Resigning herself to her fate Oceana gave Slick a knowing smile. "Yes but if I had told you all about the team I would have had you al constantly bugging me about changing my mind. Anyways the guild isn't paying to support the team."

Slick raised an eyebrow from behind his drink, before moving to set it down. “Oh? So are we expected to pay our own way until we earn enough for a group fund huh? Well, I suppose that’s typical of your style of planning.” With his free hand, Slick picked up a nearby straw from a container, twirling it in his hand. Oceana scowled jokingly and playfully flicked Slick on the forehead, albeit as hard as she could, stopping his fidgeting. "For your information, the team is fully funded by Melinda. Ever since she started taking S-Rank jobs she's been giving all the money she doesn't spend on travel expenses and gifts to the Guild. My family has been putting half of it aside for her the entire time and she found out. That's actually how this idea started. She made a joke about being able to fund a super-team and I took that and ran with it." Slick eyed the wry smile Oceana had, matching it with his own. Well, that explained a fair bit. Mel was generous to a fault.

“I won’t ask you to change your mind on this. I’ve learned my lesson on that front. “ Tapping the straw against the bench a few times, he turned to point it slightly at Oceana. “But I still want information on the logistics of this. Did you have a job in mind for us? Or am I going to have to start sourcing information for a Double-S Rank request?” Oceana was glad to hear that Slick wasn't going to argue with her about the team, or at least not about disbanding it. When he brought up the job Oceana lit up like a Christmas tree, completely back to her old self. "Actually, Jin already put aside a number of jobs. You guys have 5 jobs that you can do in whatever order you see fit. Two are S-Class, two Double S-Class, and one Ten Year Job. That one I think should be last though, once the team has a bit of experience working together."

Blinking a bit in surprise, Slick ran his hand through his hair to the back of his neck, scratching it. Well that was unexpected that she was a bit more organised. Still, that was quite the grand ambition she had. Ten year job, huh? That was an awkward thought to think about. Still, nice to see they could start small and work their way up. “You told Jin? Oh, I see how it is. You can’t tell me but you can have him do the legwork.” Slick mocked that he’d taken offence to her actions, though he made it clear he was joking around. Folding his arms behind his head, he continued. “Still, all of us on one S-Rank job with Mel? Are you sure me and the other aces are even needed at that point? I doubt we’ll contribute much.” Oceana smirked as she watched Slick. "This is just as much about helping the team members grow as it is to help Tidal Serpent's Image. I chose the wizards for the team carefully. And don't worry, I doubt Keiji will let any of you slack off."

“Heh, yeah, him. He’s a character…” Slick trailed off, looking elsewhere. “Well, if you’re settled on this, I’ll back it. When’s Mel back so we can formally get started?” He inquired, swigging down the rest of his drink before pushing off the bar as he listened to her answer. Oceana looked confused for a moment before quickly understanding. "Oh, you’re starting without her. She will join up with the group once she gets back from her current job." Slick nodded in acknowledgement. Well, that didn’t matter so much at this point. Bringing Melinda along to an ordinary S-Class job would certainly be overkill.

“Alright. For now I’ve got a meal to get to with a couple of my new teammates.” Slowly striding away from Oceana, he glanced back behind him as he placed his hands into his pockets. “A little ‘get to know you’ event. I’ll try not to disparage the Tidal Serpent name while we work, although, maybe if this goes well you’ll consider letting me bypass these rigged S-Class trials oh wise and powerful guildmasterette.” Giving a faint salute, Slick made his way out to the front of the guild hall to see if Dolores or Artemie turned up. As Oceana watched Slick walk off she scoffed at hime once more, despite the smirk on her face. The news had gone over quite well, far better than she had thought it would anyways. And the guild seemed excited about it, the buzz of conversation in the guild hall seeming a bit louder than usual.