Ah, Friends! (Intro;Open to IH)

Daniel took slow steps toward the great doors that were.. well, what he though were the doors of Infinity Hydra. The crumpled note in his hand flowed gently with the breeze. He twiddles a toothpick in his mouth, trying to read the scribble that were Rowan's directions to Infinity Hydra. The tattoo was pretty awesome, Dan thought, and he'd be damned if the gold on his upper shoulder looked amazing. Even though no-one could see it because of the shirt he had on, Daniel thought it looked pretty awesome.
Rowan, I love you man, but this handwriting. The wolf-man squinted down at the note. Rowan. Rowan was Daniel's friend of about a year. He certainly didn't know past Daniel, and that's exactly the way it should be. "Ugggghhhh, Rowan! Daniel gave up, tossing the small paper to the wind and taking steps closer to the door. It's probably the right place. Dan thought, raising his hand to knock. He stopped before he did, moving his jaw back and forth with the toothpick, pondering the consequences of this possibly being a dark guild. Nah, I bet not. Thus with a smirk, Daniel rapped his hand against the grand door, knocking twice, and none more.

Daniel shuddered and jumped a bit at the back slap. His toothpick flew from his mouth, his favorite one at that. He watched it twirl through the air and caught it in his palm, closing it as he whipped around. "God, okay!" Dan prepared for a fight, curling his right hand into a fist, clutching to his toothpick with the other. Gonna just sneak up on me and take me by surprise eh? Let's see how they like a Haymaker!He curled his lip back into a snarl, his body spinning around and bringing a fist with it. As he spun, he made out black hair and a familiar face. Rowan. He was about to sock Rowan right in the jaw.

The fist was already flying, and it was too close to stop, so instead, Daniel raised his arm. His fist flew over the top of Rowan, grazing his hair and probably freaking him out. Daniel then looked quickly to where the fist was going. Right.. into.. the.. door.. Ass Dan's fist connected with the door and he winced at the resounding shock and pain. Nothing broke in his fist, but he slowly frowned as he watched a crack ripple and extend across the beautiful door. He pulled his fist away, hoping to any god that was listening that the door wouldn't break any further.

After watching it for a moment, and deciding it wouldn't break, Daniel sighed heavily, half in relief and half in dissapointment. "Dammit Rowan, that door would be you, ya knucklehead." The stocky wolf-man pulled his old friend into the crook of his arm and gave him a nasty noogy. It was good to see Rowan again, one of his closest friends in this place.

Dan released Rowan and turned back to the door. "Yea, I thought about what ya said, and Infinity Hydra seemed pretty great. The tattoo's definitely sick." Daniel looked down at his left hand, holding his toothpick inbetween his fuzzy index and middle finger. He slowly raised his hand up and took the toothpick in his maw. As if by chance, the well crafted door of the tavern let out a dying crackle and pop as the wood splintered and broke apart, leaving nothing but some wood pieces on the hinges. He gazed into the interior of the tavern, now wide-eyed and slack-jawed. The toothpick, once again, fell from his mouth, and he sub-consciously caught it in his paw.

A red hue plastered his cheeks. "This is.. uh.. a great way to.. initiate myself in the guild.. I'm sure.."

After several days of getting used to Infinity Hydra, Brandy scoured the job board for the first time. She wore a yellow skirt that stretched passed her knees and a plum-purple blouse and high heels. A long, elegant silver necklace with a braided design looped around her neck and a silver ring with an amethyst stone wrapped around her left middle finger. She was ecstatic that Cielle agreed to accompany her on her first job. Because Cielle already had some experience as a wizard, Brandy understood that C rank missions were feasible. A C rank mission was the perfect opportunity to prove herself to the guild and test her limits. Besides, Brandy knew that if the challenge proved too difficult, she could always rely on Cielle's superior magic.

Before Brandy had the chance to read the details of a C rank mission, she heard a noisy thud followed immediately by a crack. "Dammit Rowan, that door would be you, ya knucklehead," an unfamiliar voice shouted.

Is someone trying to hurt Rowan? Brandy thought. A livid expression permeated her face and she marched to the front door, her purple high-heels clopping through the guildhall.

"Yea, I thought about what ya said, and Infinity Hydra seemed pretty great. The tattoo's definitely sick," the stranger's voice continued.

“Mhm! I knew you’d like this place right away…” Rowan replied.

So he wants to join the guild? The large crack blemishing the pristine red and white surface of the door broadened until the entire door shattered; its remnants lay on the cloudy-toned granite ground and hung from the hinges. Behind the gaping space where the door should be stood Rowan, covered in blue as usual, accompanied by a face that eerily resembled Brandy's. He was a muscular antromorphic wolf with paper-white fur, brown hair, brown eyebrows, brown eyes, and a brown goatee. A green turtleneck hid his torso and a set of large, circular green earrings rests at the base of his triangular wolf ears. He didn't wear shoes, likely because of the difficulty of finding shoes that comes with a naturally raised heel. Brandy understood what that felt like.

Brandy stopped and stood still as a tree on a windless day. Her face revealed that she was flabbergasted at the sight of another antromorphic creature like her. She had so many questions for him.

"This is.. uh.. a great way to.. initiate myself in the guild.. I'm sure.." the wolf stuttered.

With his typical nonchalant behavior, Rowan shrugged and pushed the wolf into the guildhall. “I’m sure it’ll be fiiiinnneee.”

As the two approached Brandy, she slowly lifted her left index finger and whispered, "You're-You're a..."

Daniel stepped carefully over the remnants of the great tavern door. He had his head bent down, cringing as he thought about how much it would cost to fix it. He had to maneuver very carefully, he had gotten splinters in his pads before, and they were a bitch to remove. The wolf-man moved until he was out of the rubble, and bumped into someone on accident. Ah shit, now I'm gonna get beat up and have to pay for a door too.

The wolf let out a groan and quickly began apologizing. "Oh god, sorry! It was an accident, I didn't mean t-" Dan lifted his eyes. "You're.. You're a.." Daniel was face to face with another of the afflicted he thought.  Was she too cursed by a lying wizard?! He quickly put his arms up and clasped the female vixen on the shoulders, now wide-eyed and mouth agape. Maybe she knew a cure, maybe she could change him back! But wait.. why would she stay in that form. All these questions were flying around his head and he wasn't sure which one to ask first. "D.. Can you.. Er.." Daniel then cursed under his breath, turning his head to the side.

He eventually let go of the vixen and sighed, waving his arms in front of him. "I'm real sorry about that! Heh.." He gazed back at Rowan. He wouldn't ask these questions around him, he didn't want Rowan to know the truth.. He stared at the plasma mage a while, wondering if and when he would ever tell him. Daniel shook his head and turned back to the stranger, holding out his big paw. "The name's Daniel, but you can call me Dan, it's nice to meet you." He offered a genuine smile, looking the vixen in the eyes.

The buff, anthro wolf grabbed Brandy's shoulders. He possessed a hint of desperation in his eyes. Her ears, tail, and spin stiffened, for she was surprised by his reaction to her incomplete statement. His lips reminded her of a rusted faucet as they sputtered nonsense. "D.. Can you.. Er.." Brandy tilted her head rather cutely, perplexed by his behavior. The wolf looked to the side, breaking his gaze, and he released Brandy, waving his hands in an apologetic fashion. "I'm real sorry about that! Heh.."

Brandy gave the white-furred wolf a gentle smile and said, "No, it's OK." Something clearly bothered the animalistic newcomer. She glanced at the floor with a sad expression. Maybe it's my appearance, she thought. I bet he doesn't see very many people like him.

An enormous paw-like hand ended Brandy's thoughts as the wolf waited for a handshake. "The name's Daniel, but you can call me Dan, it's nice to meet you," he greeted with a warm grin.

“AH! Yes, Brandy, this is Daniel, Daniel, this is Brandy, you’re both floofy and stuff.” Rowan interjected with his usual, quirky humor.

Brandy chuckled slightly. "Yes, I can tell Rowan." She shook Dan's hand, realizing how tiny and dainty her hand was compared to his. Returning his friendly countenance, Brandy responded, "It's nice to meet you Dan. I must say, I never imagined that I'd meet someone like me. I thought I was the only animal person in Fiore! Goodness, I have so many questions for you."

Dan sighed, listening to Brandy speak. Yea, I've got a lot of questions too, but not in front of Rowan. I don't want to lose a friend.. No-one knows I've only been this way for a few years. Daniel couldn't stop thinking about Brandy, the only other Animal-kind Daniel had ever met. It was strange, he wanted to pelt the fox with so many questions. Daniel took a break from the endless stream of thoughts and gazed around the tavern.

It was very well crafted, and the bar looked very tempting. He took notice of the job board, papers and wanted ads strewn and pinned up against it. Looked to be a pretty active guild, and Daniel took some solace in that. Legal guilds were the best obviously, for Daniel couldn't imagine hurting any innocent people. Just thinking about Evil guilds built a fire in Dan's heart, a determination to go out and destroy every single one of them. One day maybe, when I'm stronger! Daniel tightened his fist and let out a soft chuckle.

He returned his attention to the two guild mates looking at him. Whoops, Daniel probably looked crazy now. He cleared his throat and responded to Brandy. "Of course, I'll be happy to answer all of your questions!" He then gazed at the bar, and the stool calling his name. "After a tall drink of brandy!" It didn't even occur to Dan that the vixen's name was Brandy. His favorite drink was.. well.. brandy. He hopped on a stool before realizing. His face flushed red a bit. Then after a long pause he tried to correct himself, probably too late. "Err.. not like that. I meant the drink."

Rowan nodded in satisfaction as his 2 friends immediately began to hit it off. He quickly grimaced when Daniel asked for brandy, and quickly clapped his friend on the back. "Hmph! I already made that joke!" The plasma mage grinned before leading both Brandy and Daniel towards the bar gesturing for them to hurry up and sit down. Rowan was just about to order a nice glass of apple cider, until his eyes strayed to the clock. With a sinking feeling, he realized that had a job that needed to be done, and the plasma mage quickly hopped out of his seat. "Well! I have to be off, I'm sure you'll do fiiiiiine Daniel..." Rowan gave his floofy friend one last pat on the back before turning on his heel swiftly. Rowan paused for moment to, almost as if he had forgotten something important. "Hm.... The door's all your fault!" The plasma mage chuckled as he darted off and past the broken door frame, not waiting for the white wolf-man's response.

((That is my exit post folks))