The Next Generation

So this was it? This run-down tavern was the great Sabertooth Guildhall that her father had sent her to? It was quite obvious from the frowned expression on the young teenager's face that this was anything but what she'd expected when she'd heard all the stories about this place. A part of her contemplated walking away, looking for somewhere that looked better and more homely. The issue there was that she had no idea where such a place would be. She'd never been to Fiore before and thus had absolutely no idea where anything was or where anyone friendly would exist. Furthermore, it was dark now. The only light for miles around was coming from this tavern and from a weird glowing object miles above her head. Needless to say that the latter wasn't an option.

A soft sigh left the girl's lips. It seemed she had little choice but to trust the words of her father as she raised her hand up to the door and knocked upon it. Anyone who opened the door would see a girl with platinum-blonde hair and electric blues eyes, dressed in a long sleeved, fur-lined white dresscoat and white fur-lined boots, carrying a bag that looked far too large for her and with an expression that suggested she was lost which, quite frankly, wasn't far from the truth.

It was nice, for a while. Looking over the guild without the responsibilities of the guild master any longer, and he had seen Marick come and go. Now there was a new leader of Sabertooth, a promising girl who seems like she could definitely lead the way and had for a while. His days now consisted of roaming around, coming in and out as he pleased as well as doing the odd job here and there. The ex guild master of this fine establishment had had many stories to tell already and he planned on finding many more after his break from the hectic adventure that was a mage's life. The white haired man now resting idly in ex guild hall, now empty as the new one he had build was the main hub for Sabertooth mages and was simply relaxing, and it felt good to finally take a rest. Eventually, he knew, he would get back to it. Helping the people of the world, slaying whatever beast threatened the peace, stopped whatever dark mage was next in line for world domination, but that would be at a later time. He was currently enjoying a long awaited peace.

Until of course a knock came from the doors that he believed couldn't even be closed to begin with. The man had believed that they were always wide open to whoever decided to walk in, huh, guess I just assumed that since I never really even tried to close them he thought while slowly getting up out of the chair and stretching. Out of sheer necessity, Zenshin pointed his hands towards the old door's handles and shot out ten thin strings of energy at them. In no time at all, five were wrapped around each and he gave a hefty pull before dispelling his creations, causing the doors to open wide in unison before the sun poured in and reflected off the top of a girl's head. "Welcome to the Sabertooth guild hall traveler. Are you here to join... or perhaps another reason? Hm. You remind me of someone I know" he said, welcoming the girl while talking to himself with his remark right at the end. She reminded him of Marick, the guildmaster whom he was the predecessor of.

The tavern door opened to reveal a young man, probably in his early twenties with silvery-white hair and odd eyes. But nothing about his physical presence was important compared to the magical energy that was buzzing from within the room. Having come from Pergrande, Kiya had never felt much magical energy with exception of her father. There must be a considerable number of magic users nearby for Kiya to feel it this much. It would've been amazing were it not so suffocating. Still, the teen pulled herself together for long enough to look up at the man, before placing her bag upon the floor and bowing in politeness.

"I'm sorry for intruding so late sir. I suppose that I am indeed here to join the Sabertooth guild..." she began, nerves beginning to well up a little inside of her. "...I-I don't know what it means to be in a guild but...I was told to come straight here. I was told that Sabertooth would look after me." she continued, battling against those same nerves before looking up at the young man once more, her face flushing slightly red in embarrassment. She'd never been this nervous in her life.

"Sabertooth welcomes any new members into the guild. Lemme be the first to do so. I'm Zenshin, the second guildmaster of this fine establishment. There were more before the one I considered the first, but they're lost to time unfortunately. My comment earlier was made because you look like who I entrusted the guild to, but there's no way you could be related to him, haha" he said, gesturing the girl to come in. "This place was re-purposed by the third guildmaster, Marick Lowell, into a sort of pub. He sure liked his liquor" he continued, giving the girl a quick history lesson to pass the time. "Up there is a teleportation lacrima that'll take you to the main guild hall, one 2,200 feet in the air, built by myself." Now, he was pointing towards where she'd have to go to get to the real guild hall.

"You may rest here as long as you want, the sand monsters don't quite get all the way over here. Probably because they can feel the collection of power that this place gives off. If you need anything at all, literally, just ask me. I haven't had anything exciting happen in months, I'm nearly ready to start looking for trouble, haha" the white haired man said with a smile as he patted the girl on the back.

Once she was inside and welcomed into the establishment the nerves that had been eating at the girl immediately seemed to subside. The tavern was actually quite nice on the inside. In fact, it reminded Kiya almost of the pubs and inns back in Pergrande, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing even if she had just fled the country. As she entered she listened intently to what this man, Zenshin, had to say. It seemed he was intent on giving her a history lesson, to which she obliged to listen to, mostly because it was actually quite interesting. Who knew that a place like this had such a rich history? she thought to herself. Her attention was then entirely grasped by Zenshin's mention of the girl's father, Marick. She smiled somewhat before interjecting. "The man you speak of is indeed a relation to me, though we have only just truly found this out." She responded before turning to fully face the young man and truly smile warmly. "I am Kiya Lowell, daughter to Marick. He is the one who sent me here."

It was here that she remembered something crucial. It was the last thing she'd been told by Marick before she'd boarded that boat to Fiore. Sabertooth was the first objective. The second was someone within Sabertooth. "If you would Mister Zenshin, I need to speak with someone named 'Raven'. It is a matter of most importance."

"Daughter hm... That settles that mystery then. But I could definitely take you to Raven, she's the current guildmaster of our great guild. Follow me" he said cheerfully as he gestured the girl to follow him. With the kind of man that Marick was before joining the guild, it's no surprise that he has a daughter. Probably more than just one, but to tell her to come to the guild? If I didn't know better I would say that was just downright irresponsible he thought while teleporting up to the main gates of the guild hall, waiting for the girl to come up as well before continuing. "Mind if I ask why you're looking for the guildmaster? What did Marick tell you exactly, as you seem to be the last person to come in contact with him. I have half a mind to track him down and bring him back myself this time" The ex guildmaster just wanted an excuse to take off at this point, and he figured that Marick was somewhere more interesting than he was now.

It would be here that Kiya would look down at the floor. Yes, she was the last one to come into contact with him. It was far too brief a meeting between herself and her father though, one that still stung in her mind. She needed to learn to control that temper of hers. Her eyes stayed down as she spoke to Zenshin. "He is in Pergrande. He returned there to find me but...something occurred there. I can't return now." she replied before releasing a sigh. She then finally turned her gaze back to the former guildmaster with a half-forced smile. "But I'm alive and so is he. I believe he's looking for my mother but...well, even I know him well enough to know there's more to his words than it first seems."

She gave a soft giggle before finally turning her attention to the question Zenshin had asked her. She pulled an envelope from her pocket and showed it to the older male as she spoke. "He simply said to find Raven and to give her this letter. I haven't any idea what it entails but his tone suggested it was of great importance." By now the pair had traveled across the floor of the tavern and were nearing the back room, the location of the teleportation lacrima. Pretty soon the girl would realise just how phenomenal a guildhall Sabertooth actually had as she stepped upon the platform and felt a rush of air blast her body. For a moment everything was just a blur of colour, her mind being unable to comprehend what was happening around her. Then, finally, she came to a halt, stood in the doorway of just about the biggest and most stunning building she'd ever seen.


"Wooooow...."

Passing through the front gate of Sabertooth the same moment as Kiya followed Zenshin up, was the enigmatic appearance known as Frederick around these parts. Clothed in his usual strange and off putting attire, a dark hooded cloak that concealed almost everything except the lower parts of his face, giving a rather unwelcoming presence. A man who was mostly known around here for his hostile attitude towards everyone that crossed paths with him, just like the blonde girl unknowingly just did.

'Stop gawking and step aside wench.'

His cold tone, along with his harsh words were anything but welcoming for the young girl. And was probably not what she expected to befit a member of Sabertooth, judging by the glamorous sky castle. But who would, seeing such an amazing building this high in the sky you could only think of it as the home to glamorous knights.

While Frederick towered above her and waited for the girl to step aside so that he could pass, he noticed her companion. A man with hair as white as the moon, and someone he was more then enough familiar with then to just giving him the cold shoulder. 
'Zenshin...' he only said, unwilling to even greet the former guild master of Sabertooth in normal fashion. A man who suddenly vanished and left the guild into Lowell's hands. Only so that he could travel? Or whatever it was that he was doing during his absence.

After showing his clear disrespect to the man who once saved his life in more ways then one. Frederick turned his attention back to the unknown girl again. 
'So what about it girl? Are you moving or what?'

Wench?! WENCH?! Kiya's eyes glared up at the man as he spoke to her. From his tone it was suggested that a wench in Fiore was indeed as low and disgusting an insult as it was in Pergrande. Futhermore, who did this man think he was? After all the grandeur she had seen in such a short space of time, this cloaked man had very quickly pulled her back down to earth with a bump. Yet that wasn't what bothered her; she'd been used to the way some men treated women. No, it was the way he seemed to sneer at Zenshin as much as at her, suggesting he treated all members of the guild this way. He had no intentions of playing nice to anyone, let alone a lowly girl such as her.

A thud would be heard as her bag dropped from her shoulder to the ground, a few of the contents - including a long black coat that Zenshin would find familiar - spilling out onto the concrete. Yet this was not an action occurring out of fear, but of defiance as Kiya's hands moved to her hips and she stepped closer to the man, glaring up into the hood as if attempting to stare him down. Unfortunately the hood hid his face well, but she stood firm nonetheless. She stood there for a moment, unmoving, unfazed by this mans aura. Then finally her lips parted to speak two words;

"Or. What."

"Frederik..." he said, his eyebrows lowering on his head slightly. There was no way Zenshin could ever forgive Frederik for what he had done, but he couldn't bring himself to kill the man. Not with the use he could provide the light side of the guild spectrum. I don't expect him to show me any kindness after our history, but the least he could do is not mess with potentially new members of the guild. Especially not the ones related to Marick, Myself or Raven. "You could at least mind your manners around the new ones, Frederik. You don't get a free pass to be rude, just walk around us if you really need to get there." he said to the brooding figure before him.

"Don't mind him Kiya, he's always like this. You may think that he should pay for acting... like he does, but trust me he does. I'd be cranky too if I lost to a self righteous mage with idealistic views, haha" he said with a grin before shooting Frederik a look. "Anywho, I think it's better to ignore him really. He's a lot stronger than he looks, and getting into a fight with him could lead to rather... dangerous ends. But let me get Raven for you, she must be around here somewhere, most likely inside her office" he spoke again, walking towards the zenith of the mirrored staircase that led to the announcement balcony.

Once he was on, he spoke one last time before walking down back to face Kiya, "Hey Raven, could you come to the front door, there's someone here to see you"

'Tch, fine...'

Clearly irked and irritated by Zenshin's remark, that did more then only just rubbing salt in Frederick's psychological wounds. He started to step aside himself and walk passed the two. Ignoring the girl who just stood up against him completely, as if her little outburst didn't even matter to him.

But truth is, Frederick was actually boiling with anger. Because what Zenshin said, hit the mark spot on. Not only did he lose to him in battle more then once. But the former guild master had also saved him from himself and the downright destructive path he was pursuing back then.

Yet knowing he was defeated here, he took his loss and silently stepped away from the scene. And broodingly like some teenager walked upon the teleportation platform and disappeared, unaware of the fact who this girl really was.