That very awkward person

The cold breeze running through his cloak and jacket, Ardere's face with glued to a book as he took a walk outside of the guild. His face was not literally glued to the book, but he was heavily immersed in the contents. It was a book he had picked up a couple days back about creatures of the night, in places across the country. As someone who was fascinated with both gaining knowledge and fighting big monsters, it was a perfect read for him. Flipping through the pages of the book, his reading was significantly faster than others. The nice breeze causing his cloak to flap back and forth made it the perfect weather. He was not far from the guild, but closer to the Mountain Village side. He kept his heightened senses keen, but he was still focused on the novel. The part of the book he had arrived at was one about shadow elementals, which could be quite more dangerous than the others when in darker areas of the world.

A few leaves tapping against his feet as he began to walk down a hill, it was not steep but it was surrounded by trees. After a few minutes of walking, be became aware of a presence in the trees. He was not in the business of allowing himself to be ambushed by people hiding in the trees, and as such he would take care of the situation. It had been a nice day too. No paperwork and the members weren't so rowdy. He did not recognize the scent of the person in the trees, in fact there was another smell surrounding it. It was the smell of flesh, specifically animal flesh. Thankfully Ardere did not identify it as human, running into a cannibal would not be pleasant. As soon as he got close to the tree, with his enhanced speed and reflexes, he drew his sword and sliced through the tree. While the tree was a bit too thick to just cut through even with his sword that could slice through steel, he had cut deep enough to where the tree began to fall over. The slash with his red longsword known as Clarent, had been significantly faster than most mages, something the person in the tree would notice. The slash and re-sheathing of his blade all occurred in one motion, then he would close his book and look to see how they reacted. You know, spying on people in the trees is kinda rude.

Sliding his pale hands into his pockets, Ardere watched as a young man made his appearance. He was probably a bit shocked that the tree had just been sliced down that fast, but it had now become apparent that he was no invader or attacker but rather just a curious person. Ah, my apologies then. Should be more careful, people can be a bit edgy out here. Running a leather covered hand through his thick brown hair, the fire mage observed the man. He had an interesting scent to him, one that he could not place. Regardless, he did not appear to pose a threat at the moment. In fact, he was wanting to know what, no who he was. It was just a mild mistake, probably from being surprised by the surprise attack. His intentions had been to scare any opponent, but now he felt a bit bad since the man wasn't any assassin or something of the like. First, you can take your hand off of whatever is in your jacket, I'm not gonna hurt ya. Second, my name is Ardere, I'm the master of that guild. Pointing up the tops of the nearby mountains, a large Midi (Japanese) styled castle perched at the top. It was a magnificent castle, one the man had likely noticed. It's called Infinity Hydra.

Pushing his cloak back behind his shoulders, it appeared to now be a bit more like a cape. And who might you be? Since he had introduced himself, it was only proper that the man also introduced himself. He did not seem to be posing any problems for the moment, so he would hopefully respond promptly. Ardere was a fairly laid back and kind man, he had an intimidating set of orange eyes and physicality. But in terms of personality, he wasn't so bad. It was an interesting scenario, but he was sure it would be one that could be resolved easily.

Sighing slightly, Ardere put his leather covered hands on his hips. He was a scary man to some, but his demeanor and personality could contradict that. Twisting his lip, the fire mage nodded. Well, to be fair it did appear as if you were spying on my. But since you weren't, my bad. Keeping his cloak back, he observed the man who was likely a mage. He did give off a slight magical presence, perhaps he was a possible friend. He had finally introduced himself, the man was named Kenyon. Nice to meet you Kenyon, you wouldn't happen to be a mage would you? Regardless of how the situation had started, he was not in the business of just letting people starve on the street. Tapping his fingers against his side, he looked over to the guild for a moment. To his knowledge there were not too many people at the guild for the moment, so now would be the perfect opportunity to take someone in and help them out. It was their job to help anyone in need around here, even if it was a pain sometimes. How about you come to the guild and get something to eat then? I imagine we have better than....bunny... His eyes twitching a bit, now noticing the half eaten bunny. While he had seen people eat rabbits before, he was not into them much himself. He was now a bit hesitant to allow this man into the guild, but he did not appear to be evil or a dark mage, and those would be the only reasons to not let him in. If the man accepted his offer, the two would begin the trek up the path along the mountains. It would not be a long way up to the guild, seeing as they were fairly close to it now. He just hoped no one pitched a fit when he brought a stray mage back to the guild. Then again, it was his guild after all. The guild in the mountains with all it's magnificent, he was sure they could find something for this man to eat albeit he was a bit strange.

As Ardere made his way up the rocky terrain to the guild, he made a slightly sour face while looking away from Kenyon during his mentioning of the bunny's protein. While he knew many people ate bunnies, it was strange that he ate them raw. He never understood how one could eat raw meat. Perhaps that was one of his strange tendencies, as they loved sushi in Midi. It would not take them long to arrive at the massive structure, towers piled on towers. White and black tiles scattered across the roof of the Midi styled castle. Two large doors follows by a row of steps blocked their path inside, and they would have to make their way up that first. The area was surrounded in lush trees, full of life and covered in beautiful green leaves. The mountains with their misty tops gave a serenading and mysterious feel to the guild. Here we are, home sweet home. The two mages would descend the steps until they reached the two large wooden doors. Pushing them open, using little force he opened their entrance to the guild. After the two had entered, he would close the doors.

The guild had several people eating and socializing, so there was a good sense of life to it but it was not rowdy or overly loud. Looking back to the bar then to Kenyon, he spoke. This way, friend. Ardere led the way towards the bar, passing several golden status as he walked across the gorgeous bronze wooden floors. The room was nice and warm, but not too warm. Hopefully the guest would find it to his liking, as their original encounter had been a bit strange. Making his way to the bartender, the backup one to Kiku, he posed a question to his guest. So what can we get you? Do you only eat raw meats or? He actually kind of felt bad for the man, as he seemed lost and looking for food. The slight fear and caution he had seen in his eyes, he highly doubted many people showed him kindness like this. The Fire King was not going to turn this man away, even if he was strange.

Ardere nodded, he had noted that the man said raw first instead of cooked. He really did hate raw meat, yet it was so popular in some places. Looking to the bartender, the guild master tapped his pale fingers against the bar I have a strange request, but can we get a raw steak for this man? The back up bartender nodded, walking to the back of the bar to retrieve what he had asked for. Letting out a light sigh, the fire mage looked at the man. He seemed normal enough in terms of looks, but he could not get rid of the suspicious feeling he got with his scent. It would be accurate to presume there was a reason he had been on the streets looking for food, perhaps he was some sort of scavenger. Regardless, he chose to treat the man with kindness. So Kenyon, where are you from? Since the bartender would take a minute to retrieve the steak, he figured it would be a good time to get to know this man. Hopefully the amount of people in the guild did not make him nervous or feel unwelcome. Running fingers through his thick brown hair, the god slayer tightened the red head band in his locks.

Looking back to Kenyon awaiting his answer, with his calm and reserved eyes. Orange curiosity and wonder piercing through the man, since he was a mage after all. And I suppose you wouldn't mind telling me your magic- The bartender arrived with a rather large raw steak and an arched brow, placing it on the bar. Ah, there you go. It was a thick and juicy steak, since it was uncooked it had quite a bit of blood in it. Ardere could not understand what went through one's head to eat something like this, but he would not judge. People were free to have their strange dietary habits if they wished, and he would respect that.

Nodding at the man's statement, his mind went back to the reading he had done about Joya. In fact he had met several people from there. To his knowledge almost all of the natives were cat people, or nekos. The man in front of him did not appear to fit the whole bill, but that did not mean he did not have neko blood in him. Perhaps it was part of the reason as to why he liked raw meat, as they were known for eating plenty of raw meat. But some part of him and his scent told Ardere that he was not a normal Joyan, but whatever he was he seemed nice enough and likely needed a place to stay. Watching the man eat, he was a bit grossed it. His eating was animalistic, which made sense seeing as he was supposed to be part cart. He had actually bothered to display his magic during his eating, as to answer the fire mage's question. Chains. Interesting. Gazing elsewhere, he waited for a few moments until the man was finished eating. It reminded him of a homeless person who hadn't had a meal in days, which was quite saddening.

Smiling slightly, he gave a casual bow. My pleasure friend, I'm glad you feel a bit better. Drinking a cup of sake that had been put in front of him by the bartender, he sighed happily. That man always knew when a cup of sake was in order, then again that's what he was paid for. You know Kenyon, if you need a place to stay and some food in your belly you can stay here. I can't let you just wander into the streets hungry again. Plus you are a mage. You do missions for me, I give you food and a bed? It was a pretty good deal, work for food and bed. And of course you can keep your rewards from your missions. Waddya say? There was determination in his eyes, determination to get this man to stay. He had only just met him, but he was a good judge of character and was willing to get to know him.

Ardere sat there, sipping his sake as the man contemplated his offer. It seemed he was sitll unsure, he was probably a bit hesitant to just accept this amount of kindness from a man he has just met. Fortunately for him, it was all real. The fire mage really was that kind, even if he had his rough moments. Finally the man gave his decision, and looked him right in the eyes. It was a sign of respect and he gladly took it as such. Shaking Kenyon's hand, the two seemed to be at an agreement. The man from Joya would take on missions for him, and in return he would receive food and housing. Glad to have you around, if you need anything I'll be in the hall. Don't be too shy around the other members, they're nice as well. The bar is free if you need it. Then the Fire King would slide back into one of the private booths and begin to read his book once again, as it was quite interesting. The guild hall had enough people in it to greet their new member thoroughly, but he would likely have to prove himself at some point. He was quite confident the man could do it, as he was a great judge of character in these situations. Diving straight into his book, he returned to the world of the creatures lurking in the dark. It was one of his hobbies to learn about things, and he took it quite seriously. Though he knew how to have fun, and he was quite interesting in this book.

(OOC: Basically Ardere slides back so you guys can socialize with Ken)