A Crossing of Blades and Destinies

Having originally visited Ace of Spades to buy some herbs for his summoner to use, Pyro had found himself stopping at a sparring arena for swordsmen. The exact reason why he was possessed to divert from his original path so greatly was still evading him, but that small thing did nothing to stop him from coming. Inside he saw a great deal of men all practicing with each other, but after scanning the room he'd noticed there was one person who had no partner. He was unsure of whether it was because the other men had deemed her too weak to fight because she was a woman, or if they honestly had all paired up before she arrived herself.

Not looking like much of a swordsman, Pyro had entered the arena and grabbed one of the training swords from the wall. Beginning his approach, Pyro had locked in on the woman while eyes her pink, long hair that dangled from a pony tail all the way down past her knees. She wore a skirt that was quite short, but the rest of her attire had worked with it to still produce an appearance that called for respect. Standing far enough away to not be breathing down her neck, but close enough so he wouldn't have to shout; Pyro has cleared his throat before saying in a calm, respectful manner. "Excuse me miss... I noticed you didn't have anyone to face. I'm not too good, but if you can look past that I'd be willing to partner up with you? Oh, name's Pyro by the way."

Pyro took a fighting stance that was as basic as it got. His legs were spread to balance his weight, and he was holding the blade with both hands at the grip. He showed no sign of having much, if any, experience wielding a sword. If Sylvia, who's name Pyro wouldn't know unless she introduced herself, would charge him and make an attack, she would notice that his stance might have been alright but he was truly as weak as it got. If she would cross blades with Pyro, she would actually send him to the floor in a single strike.

The speed she had was impressive, so much so that Pyro was unable to keep up with her until it was too late and the tip of her weapon tapped his forehead. 'Sir, you're not swordsmen are you, it's okay, you don't need to train with me, just because nobody else wishes to it was nice enough for you to offer.' Sylvia said, her voice wasn't harsh in the slightest. She bowed, showing him respect despite his lack of talent.

The man bowed his head with a disheartened, moderately grieved expression about his face. The pair of red, foxesque ears he had, had both angled downward like a pet that felt guilty. His body language suggested he truly did feel bad for possibly coming off as an attempt at deceit. He opened his mouth and spoke with a humbled tone. "I wasn't trying to play myself off as a swordsman, I promise... I knew I would get beat, but I wanted to at least be the one person open minded enough to face a woman." It was at that moment that a man had walked out shouting for everyone in the dojo to pack up and return in a couple hours. The reasoning behind it was that he was going to have some people who reserved a time slot coming in and they needed to clean the place up before they arrived.

Pyro turned his attention back to Sylvia, the red, fox-esque ears adorning his head raised themselves slightly. This accompanied by a gentle smile forming on his face, not so grand that it seemed he had forgiven himself, but just enough to show he was willing to strive to be better. "Sylvia, since they're shutting down for a bit... There's this restaurant I like here that serves food from Minstrel, but it's the deserts that I like the most. If you're alright with it, I'd like to take you along... my treat." he tried masking the fact that he felt like he might have insulted her. The fact was, he knew she had enough skill to tell he was weak, and he was afraid she might have interpreted him offering to spar with her as him trying to get an easy win...

If Sylvia had declined, Pyro would give her a polite bow and walk away, making sure to grab his cape on the way out. If she would accept, the white fluffy tail attached to his backside would begin to sweep side to side for a second or two and he would let her know he'd wait for her outside in case she needed to get anything before leaving. Still in this second situation he would grab his cape. In both instances, Pyro would remember to put the sword in the exact slot he got it from.

Arriving at the restaurant, the moniker reading something in another language, but was written in gold and looked highly ornate. The building itself was red brick adorned with metal that had been coated to look like gold. Large open windows decorated the front with no spacing between each panel. A straight line of them that wrapped around the sides to give on lookers a good view of the inside. Another thing wrapped around the side of the building... a line of people trying t get in without a reservation. Pyro would grab Sylvia's hand gently if she would allow it and begin pulling her around the line. If she would not allow him to take her hand, he would kindly ask her to follow him, and walk with her to the front of the line.

At the front would be a man wearing a very fine tuxedo, a golden name plate reading 'Jaque' to be his name. "Excuse me monsieur but-" Pyro interrupted him, speaking in a deep, commanding voice. "Feathers adorn the opulent floors of the creator's throne room. Light abolishes all darkness, granting the heart the ultimate freedom." The doorman's expression turned to a solemn one, his arm which had blocked Pyro's path slowly went down to his side. "My apologies monsieur. I hadn't known you were a VIP..." the thick Minstrel accent coming through fairly humble. The man would reach inside the doors and snap his fingers, a woman coming out dressed in a female tuxedo, substituting the trousers for a very professional skirt. "Would you like a table, or a booth sir?" she would ask while holding a metal booklet in her left arm. "Either is fine." Pyro would respond, a man coming out of seemingly nowhere to take his cloak and hang it on a rack.

The woman would lead them to a booth in a corner with a single glowing lacrima, gently illuminating the table space. "Will this be alright?" she asked, a gentle smile on her face as she gestured to the booth with a hand, making sure not to point with her finger. It was known that in some countries it was offensive to point, so this restaurant taught its workers to gesture with the entire hand to avoid such offenses. "It's great, thanks so much." he would answer. The booth didn't have chairs, so Pyro didn't have to pull one for Sylvia, but rather it had bench looking seats that were planted firmly to the floor. He slid onto one end, looking down at the table and noting the gold inlay on the dark wood. It was exquisite work, a true show of craftsmanship on the carpenter's behalf. The woman would set down the metal booklets in front both, Pyro and Sylvie that is, and let them know she'll be back with some water for them before walking away with a smile. Pyro didn't look at the menu he was given, his order at this place never changed. "My friend is one of the major investors in this place. The staff take good care of their customers, but better care of the investors and their close mates." he informed Sylvie, just in case she was wondering what was going on with the shady seeming method of entry. "I'm not entirely sure why, call it sudden interest... but I'd like to learn about you. Where'd you grow up? How'd you learn to use a sword?" His tone was genuinely interested by nature, not at all like someone who was asking just to be nice.

A third possibility, should Sylvie refuse to follow Pyro and move ahead of the line, the man with foxesque feature would show no resistance to her. He would stand at her side and give a gentle smile, placing his hands in his pockets before turning soft eyes to her and saying "I'll wait with you then." After a few moments of him being silent, he would say "You and my friend are really strong. My friend was in a sort of military for a while, so that's how he got good. What about you? How'd you get so strong?" Even in this situation, his tone would imply an honest curiosity regarding the subject and not just some mundane topic to forego time.

(OOC: Minstrel accent in canon is French for us. Not sure if you knew that or not.)

'Oh, I'm sorry I'm sure you don't wish to hear all of this.' she said, sounding somewhat embarrassed to have trailed off like that. Pyro gave a gentle smile and shook his head "Not at all, I asked what made you strong. Those small details are part of the end result, I'm glad you told me. It's unfortunate that the world is like that for some, but for those people they either fizzle out or become a beacon brighter than any other light house." He turned to look her in the eyes with an optimistic look in his own. "You seem like you'll become one of those beacons, otherwise you wouldn't shine as brightly as you do now."

The woman had returned with three glasses. Two of them were containing water that she placed on a coaster in front the two of them. Then a smaller glass, roughly one ounce, containing a type of white liquid that was placed in front Pyro. The woman then trailed off back to the kitchen to give the two of them a bit more time, even though neither of them needed it, not that she knew of course. Sylvia had asked a bit before about who, and what he was in reference to his less human characteristics. He lifted the small glass of white liquid and took a drink, emptying the contents in a single hit and placing the empty vessel on the table gently. "That was liquified magic power." he said calmly before lifting one of his hands.

The tip of his finger gave birth to a very small flame, like the one at the top of a lighter. The finger moved to make the shape of the constellation for the zodiac sign 'Aries' As the finger moved, a trail of fire as wide as Pyro's finger had formed to make it so he was truly drawing on the air. "I am the Celestial Spirit of flames, Pyro as I was named upon creation." Several dots had appeared along the line, revealing each individual star that made up the constellation. Pyro pointed at the very last one, causing it to glow slightly brighter. "This is me. At the very rear..." his finger then moved to the star at the tip, where the constellation formed a 'V' shape. "This is Aries, at the front."

The red line disappeared, the woman returning and placing a basket of bread in front the two along with something for them to dip it in. "May I ask what you'll be having today?" she asked, giving a graceful smile while holding up a pencil and notepad. "Je vais avoir ce que jamais le chef se sent comme faire. Aucun changement spéciaux s'il vous plaît, je veux goûter la nourriture du chef, pas ma propre cuisine. Idem pour mon invité." Pyro said with a calm voice, not slurring a single word. "Oui... bien sûr" she replied with a semi-shocked expression. She hadn't met anyone who was able to speak Minstrel, or at least, none who weren't from Minstrel themselves.

((OOC: Translation (rough): "I'll have what ever the chef feels like making. No special change please, I want to taste the food of the chef, not my own cooking. Same for my guest." [Oui, bien sûr = Yes, of course]))

The woman gave a polite bow and walked off to inform the chef of the order. "My work is a diplomatic sort. Aries is able to accomplish a lot on looks and status alone... but for most the things she can't get done, I'm tasked with finding a solution for. So I guess you can say I'm the paper boy." Pyro's ears twitched a bit, raising themselves all the way up and turning as he heard something falling and breaking. They returned to a normal level once the sound had finished, and he was no longer interested. "As for the fox features, I'm not sure. Aries has horns, so I would imagine I should have too... but I don't question things I can't change. That's my friend's area..." He reached over to the glass of water and took a sip.

"As for my status here... My friend donated a massive amount of gold to help the owner build his first restaurant back in Minstrel. All of us, the other Celestials that is, are able to enter his restaurants so long as we provide the code. This one in particular is my favorite, I don't know why."

Pyro gave a friendly smile to Sylvia, his amber eyes gently glowing in the light of the lacrima dangling only a foot over their heads. "If it's alright, I'd like to ask another question... Have you ever gone back to prove yourself? If not, how come?" his smile switched to an awkward one and her began rubbing the back of his head "S-sorry if that's a bit too personal... n-never mind it."

She had asked the whereabouts of Pyro's wizard, thinking that celestial spirits were obligated to be around them to be in this world quite likely. He gave a smile, having taken to offense to the common misconception. "My wizard is back in Hargeon Town. Place got a bit trashed a while ago, so he's helping rebuild his guild hall and making sure his kid's cared for proper. Celestial spirits can walk around in this world so long as we have magic power. It's a bit taxing but I like this world, humans are all different and your position in this world is always changeable." Her next question was one that was widely opinionated. She wanted to know what it was like being a celestial spirit, always being at risk of being called in when in the middle of doing stuff and due to the massive time gap between world, some spirits got called in multiple times a day. However, Pyro smiled at the query. "Some wizards are extremely needy and constantly call their spirits out of our world. Some of them are extremely weak and constantly require someone to save them from near certain death.... not mine. My wizard was smart enough to train himself in other types of magic. He's not a master with them, but he's good enough to be able to adapt to situations. He's a master with most weapons, no doubt you'd like sparring with him. Aside from being capable of surviving on his own, my wizard doesn't like calling us in. He knows that him doing so interrupts our daily lives, so he only calls one of us in if he absolutely needs help."

Pyro's eyes glanced to the table, forming a solemn expression. "Plus... Sir Tade saved me from something worse than death... I'd answer his call even if I were in the middle of the best day of my life..." Pyro's ears perked up, his eyes widening at the realization of himself beginning to trail off to something Sylvia may not be concerned about.

Suddenly, a burst of energy and Pyro's flame came to life. He looked at Sylvia with a bright smile, childish endearment encroaching every fiber of his eyes. "You said you liked my ears..." his head tilted to the side. "Wanna touch em?" he asked like a child asking if someone wanted to play with their favorite toy. If Sylvia would choose to touch them, once she did Pyro's tail would begin waving. If she would refuse, he would say "Are you sure...? They're soft and fuzzyyyy..." with an enticing tone. If she would turn him down a second time, he would tilt his head back to an upright position and accept it with no signs of feeling unhappy.

Whether or not Sylvia was rubbing his ears or not, Pyro would say "If you don't feel comfortable with your current level of swordplay, my wizard would be more than happy to take a break from rebuilding for a few hours to train with you. He likes a good fight, and isn't one of those people who changes their fighting ability because their opponent's a girl. If he ever doesn't feel like training he normally has a few others just as capable as himself who you can spar with... and... I wouldn't mind being around you either..." The bit at the end where he mentioned not being opposed to spending more time with Sylvia caused his cheeks to turn a slight rose color. While not full-flustered crimson, it would be somewhat noticeable.

Pyro has already told Azurius he had someone he wanted him to meet. This was done via a telepathic bond Azurius shared with all of his Celestial Spirits, courtesy of Sybil, the Seer. It was something that was set up a long time ago, after Azurius had ended up forming more than five contracts and was concerned that he would inconvenience his spirits. It was also during this time that he needed their aid in a few small missions, making communications imperative to success. She had asked why it was Pyro would actually be alright to hang with her, the celestial looking away while speaking with an awkward tone. "Well... you- your really nice and I like talking to you... it also doesn't hurt being around someone pretty... and I... umm.. I-" "I was wondering when you'd get a girlfriend." the familiar voice came from the booth behind Pyro, causing his ears to stand straight up, the tail acting like the hands of a clock at 12, sticking straight in the air as his eyes flew wide open. Azurius stepped around and sat across from them, crossing one of his legs over the other under the table.

Pyro was white as death "S-sir T-tade... I didn't think you'd be here so soon." Azure gave a gentle smile, pulling out a cigar from inside his trench coat. "You know I don't keep you guys waiting." A small girl had walked over crawling onto the seat and sliding as close to Azure as possible. "Sooooooo... who's your friend?" he said while turning his golden, shining eyes towards Sylvia. The sight of Destiny had made Pyro slightly less nervous, the young girl normally prevented Azurius from thinking of any good methods of teasing and left him with the really weak versions.

He cleared his through "This is my wizard, Azurius Elijah Tade. The young lady..." Pyro said, referring to the young girl at his side with extremely long, blonde hair and doll like features accompanied by brown eyes and a generous smile, "...is his daughter-" "Destiny Tade, it's nice to meet you." she said while shooting a bright smile at Sylvia. Azure switched hands to hold the cigar in his left one before sliding his right arm around Destiny. "Don't think you called cause ya wanted a double date, what's going on?" he asked with a calm, friendly tone. "Ummm well... y-you see... we're not... ummm..." "Daddy was only playing with you mister Pyro." Destiny said with a sweet voice while giving him a confused look, she was thoroughly convinced that Pyro would know when his summoner was just screwing around.

Pyro let out a sigh "Of course he was, thank you... Azure, Des... this is Sylvia. She taught me an important lesson about never picking up a sword again ever in my life earlier, and I was wondering if you would be okay to spar with her one of these day?" Azure raised an eyebrow, Pyro didn't normally ask favors so Azure wasn't inclined to turn him down. Azure's golden eyes slowly shifted to Sylvia's, narrowing in on her own in the way a panther zero's in on its prey just before going for its throat. "You fancy yourself a swordswoman eh?" he said with a lower, much less playful tone. He let out a sigh "For now I can't..." Azurius put the cigar in his mouth and opened the right side of his trench coat, sliding his left hand in it and pulling out an enormous book that Pyro had to move his glass of water aside to make room for.

The book was old looking, leather bound and the pages seemed to have a gentle glow. Opening it revealed blank pages that began flipping themselves to the very middle where a golden magic circle appeared. "This is a culmination of all the knowledge of all the universes. It's my sole responsibility to keep it safe." the magic circle on the book spun while raising off the page. Below it would be a scene where buildings were crushed, bodies piling up in the thousands on the outer edges of the destruction. A group of small people, less than half as tall as the ones moving around them, obviously children were being served their meals for the afternoon. "The illustrious port of Hargeon... I wasn't there to help protect her..." his eyes grew sad, and then they grew bolder, stronger "...I will be there to rebuild her." He took a breath before closing the book and stuffing it back in his coat, a mystery as to how the trench coat had enough room for it. "Once my guild's home is rebuilt, I will happily train with you. Who knows, I may end up learning more from you than I end up teaching..."

A plate landed in front Azurius with a neatly put together sandwich on it. "Your usual sir." the woman said, holding a much larger plate with two different meals on each in the other arm. "Jes, it's always nice to see your glowing face. Tell me, how's your man?" Azure said with a kind, but pained expression. It was obvious he was forcing himself to stay positive, likely to prevent the mood at the table from turning sour. The woman set down a plate containing six pieces of lamb chops down in front Pyro. "He's good, sick for the past couple days, but the kids take good care of him." she replied while taking up the next plate to give Sylvia. "Oh? Kids, it couldn't possibly be that long...?" "Oui, Shelly is four and Kristine is five." She said, setting down a bowl of Beef Udon before Sylvia. This Udon however wasn't the traditional sort that you would get in Oshibana, and Midi; It had a small twist in that the beef slices were slightly thicker and seasoned to match Minstrel (french) cuisine tastes.

Azure straightened up with a surprised look about him. "Geez, I feel old now... I didn't think I was gone for that long." Jes gave a small chuckle, shooting a smile at Azure "If you want you can go visit them. I'm sure they'd be glad to meet their uncle, and Julio would feel better with an old friend." Destiny tugged at Azure's arm "Can we?" Azure placed the cigar back in his mouth, picking up a knife and fork to cut the sandwich in half and giving one of the halves to Destiny. He took the cigar out his mouth, pressing it against the palm of his hand to snuff it out before stuffing it back in his coat. "First we eat, then we can go."

Pyro was able to ignore the fact that his cigar didn't smell like anything at all, he had long since stopped marveling at the item but Jes had always wondered how the cigar had no scent at all. She gave a light bow to the group "Please enjoy. I'll be back with drinks once they're finished being prepared." she said calmly before walking off to clear a newly vacated table.

Azure had sensed the magic power in Sylvia, while it wasn't anything to brag at home about, it was enough to know she knew how to use it. Comparatively, it was a bit stronger than Pyro's magical presence, not by a large margin but still noticeable. "I'm going to have to ask you to not tell anyone about me. I don't like the idea of others finding out about me being a celestial wizard, but if Pyro trusts you enough to reveal us both then I won't question his judgement." Azure said before taking a bite of his sandwich.