Sleepless days

A day like any other, yet completely different from the rest. Why was it so different? The scenery that enveloped the girls was completely new, for both of them. The sisters walked down a park that was mostly quiet and serene, only few other people around enjoying themselves. The two girls came here exactly for the reason of exploring. It was pretty normal that Noheme was not to this place yet, since her time in Earthland was not that long yet. But even Leila never truly visited Talonia. Well, the moon goddess did actually visit this place once. And when she did, she ended up crashing into someone's home and making that someone into her loyal slave. Truly an experience, but it was tale for another day.

Right now, they simply walked the park sitting down on one of the many benches that adorned the side of cobblestone road that split apart the grassy park. "Doesn't really mach the hidden meadow in Easter Forest of Magnolia, but this place is pretty good. I questioned your choice at first, but now I can see why you chose it." Noheme was different too today. Or rather, her outfit was. Even though she hated wearing clothes at all, she managed to surpass her instincts today and chose attire more fitting this place. Leila too had an outfit that she did not have on herself for a long time. "I felt ashamed that I never really visited this place. And apparently this is the gathering ground for guildless mages anyway. We're both part of that group now, I guess."

Noheme:

Leila:

They didn't sit on the bench for too long. At least Leila didn't, as she had a pretty great excess of energy right now. Something that was in an interesting contrast to a certain someone that had walked past them just a moment ago. A cloaked figure that could also be considered suspicious by many, as people did not usually hide their frame like that. This was unusual to say the least, but then again, everyone was free to do their own thing. Though it did get the Eden's spirit attention, as she continued staring at the figure that suddenly moved to a tree and produced a guitar from the case they were carrying. Didn't take too long before the melody consumed entirety of the park, drawing many people that were inside of it to the one tree with a cloaked mysterious person.

Leila too decided to check it out, moving towards the place in an excited step, trying to get between the many people to take a look. From this distance, she realized that there was a rather cute lady underneath the black cloth, and one that was... sleeping? At first, it appeared that her eyes were merely closed. But the more the silver haired girl stared, the more she realized the real fact of what was happening. Something rather strange and unusual to say the least. So she waited until the song would end and people would leave. Because she was interesting in this slumbering beauty and how she was capable of playing an instrument even in such a state. Meanwhile Noheme closed her eyes as well, nearly succumbing to the sweet embrace of Dreamland herself while sitting on that bench.

Once an opportunity would show itself, Leila would walk a little bit closer and observe the cloaked figure some more before speaking up. "Excuse me, but... do you maybe come and play here often? You appear to be rather good at it. Gives off the feeling that you're maybe a professional." She wasn't really sure how to start a conversation with stranger like this one. So she just went ahead and spewed out her random thoughts, something she did pretty much all the time. Usually it worked just fine, so she hoped that it would be okay this time as well. And also banking on the fact that her more casual attire would not scare off the sleeping lady in front of her, for that would be a great shame indeed.

Leila watched the mysterious woman almost as if she was in trance. Especially once the hood was gone, revealing a pretty, albeit little messy, purple hair. Honestly, the Eden's spirit rarely saw females that would be doing this kind of thing. It was strange, really. But most street artists or however they would call themselves, were males. But that thought was quickly shaken away as the girl focused on the one in front of her again. After she would make her hair little better again, she would finally pay her attention to the woman in front of her, but with eyes still closed. Some would probably find behaviour like that rude, but Leila couldn't really care less. What she wanted was contact with someone, no matter how it was given or presented. So she just continued smiling as she heard the words spoken in pretty, but somewhat tired voice.

"How surprising, you were so good that you managed to get attention from everyone in the park! Not many amateur can do something like that, you have a serious talent!" A praise given and meant from the bottom of one's heart. The silver haired girl enjoyed the song greatly, so she couldn't really help but it praise the sleepy maiden. What was next could only be described as attempts to wake up, which made Leila feel little guilty because she was clearly declining someone's sleep. But since they were replying, it probably meant that they were indeed interested in the conversation, right? "No real reason. I just thought that it would be nice to come to this place and listen to you play once in a while if you were a regular. You needn't even hide your face below that hood, there aren't many girls as pretty as you!"

Apparently Noheme was not the only girl around that was in a flirty mood. Even the younger sister was now interested in other ladies, since she was free to roam the land again. A perfect relationship slipped between her fingers, but that didn't mean she would never find another one, right? Not that she was really planning to take things anywhere with this girl, that would be far too sudden! It was just what brought about the strange comments that would normally be there.

Well, this was a new one. Leila knew about many thing, souls and their properties among it all. And she knew that many things were indeed possible in this world and others. But she had never actually met a someone who would be one gender in spirit but the other gender in actual body. It actually appeared quite confusing in couple of terms, but, well... not much she could really do about it but try to not make this person angry by addressing them wrong. "Oh, um... very well, my apologies. Din't quite realize that was the case." As this strange man suddenly moved and stood up, the Eden's spirit took few steps back and looked over the female body once more. One that was rather pretty, it was almost shame they saw themselves as a male.

"Name's Leila Vergious. A travelling mage and member of Gol... past member of Golden Phoenix guild. It's quite the pleasure to meet someone talented and interesting like you!" She would return the handshake and speak out with a bright smile on her face. And as she did so, another figure appeared behind her. Noheme managed to wake up from her daze and was quite interested in what her sister was doing. Though before she spoke, she had to move some of her hair from her face, doing so with her left hand. Hand that was completely missing it's pinky and most of it's ring finger. "Found someone you knew before?"

It was only a natural assumption at this point. Afer all, Leila was still quite freshly revived from her sacrifice. She still had plenty of people she had to meet and inform that that she was in fact brought back very much alive. A big shock, yes. But that was just how the world of magic sometimes worked. Expect the unexpected as they say. "Sister? Ah, no... just really liked this person's singing is all. I would definitely not mind listening to it some more eventually!" Her cheery voice was something that could bring joy to many. But especially the still somewhat grieving moon goddess with green and gold hair that was standing by her side, staring at the purple haired lady in front of them.

It actually sounded somewhat problematic. If mind and body didn't agree, it was bound to lead to problems for sure. Even more so when Alex explained that he was not always the same, sometimes changing even the status of his mind to the one of another gender, one that would agree with his physical appearance. It made the silver haired maiden scratch the back of her head as she stared at her new friend in mild confusion. "Honestly, it does sound quite confusing, switching like that without any real visual indications. It must be making things really complicated for you, I'm sorry..."

Perhaps it wasn't so bad for Alex, but it definitely sounded like it was. Though the bad expression didn't last for very long, as Leila chuckled the moment the boy-girl mentioned that he was stared at all the time upon removing his cloak. The reason she reacted like that was because of her sister, Noheme. She was a fox girl that absolutely hated wearing clothes, so it was rather common that she attracted more looks that anyone else when she just walked outside. Thankfully she wasn't quite at the stage where she would stop wearing clothes completely, so that was at least something.

"I'm afraid something like that simply cannot be helped. After all, your body is rather pretty and pleasant to look at. Uh, I hope you don't find that creepy or anything..." It was meant to be a compliment, but the Eden's spirit quickly realized that she made it publicly known that she was observing that body as well, as much as she could anyway. And as her sister joined the group with a yawn of her own, the conversation would shift to a guild of Golden Phoenix. Ah, all the memories that came flooding back with that one.

"You probably already know this, but Golden Phoenix is a treasure hunting guild. A friendly place where people help one another and enjoy great adventures and the riches that come with it! I'm honestly kinda bad at describing other things, so... just ask questions that I can answer." She informed Alex of how she should go about things with her as she looked over at the moon goddess who was just kind staring at the whole situation silently. It was clear that she didn't want to interrupt them, so she waited her turn.

While the explanation made perfect sense, it wasn't making poor Leila all that smarter. At first, it sounded kinda awesome, as if the person in front of her could just choose the gender they would be for that day. The thought was only temporary however, as she realized that it probably wasn't quite a willing choice. More like just saying Oh, I'm this and that but without any visual cues on her/his body? It made the Eden's spirit do few rather odd gestures with her hands as she was trying to sort all of that in her head and finally agree with her brain on the result. "Alright, I think I get it! It's like you transform from one gender to another when you sleep, but only your mind actually gets affected!" Maybe that was little childish way of thinking about it all, but it was the best she could muster at the moment.

The girl was also glad that Alex would laugh with her so she would not appear too strange by herself. Though she did not expect that he would have such a drastic reaction to being called pretty. Was he perhaps not used to it at all? "I simply speak the truth, Alex. Always found lying little bit too difficult for me." She remembered all the times when honesty was perhaps not the best solution and her truthful words managed to hurt others. But those days were hopefully gone now, even if she still had to renew all of her lost friendships. Well, she was given another chance to continue on living without falling into the abyssal darkness that once consumed her whole. So that was really all she needed. Another chance.

And as per usual, she did not disappoint when she was asked to describe something. She felt little bad that Alex was forced to ask questions, but it was honestly the most efficient way for them to covey all the important information. And with the first question, Leila fell into a deep thought for a moment. "I don't really think there were any real thinkers when I was still a member. I can't promise that none joined in my absence, but as far as I know, a proper  tactician would be a first there." That was her answer to that question. Thought there was also another one, which was not directed at the silver haired maiden. Noheme didn't quite react to those words and only normally answered. "I wouldn't really say famous. But I can confirm that the two of us are sisters, yes."

Noheme was usually interested more in listening rather than speaking herself these days, so she merely scurried to the side and leaned against the tree that Alex was sitting underneath before, her eyes closed and the tall fox ears twitching from time to time as she absorbed the sound of her surroundings. A melody of human speech, melding with the voice of nature brought by birds and critters that were running about in the peaceful park. Leila on the other hand still payed full attention to the man in woman's body in front of her. She was happy to answer all of their questions, as Golden Phoenix meant quite a bit to her. She told them that she was a member in the past, yes... but there was more to it. Not just any member, she was one of the three aces of that guild. Pillars that held the community up and kept everyone on the right path. She lost that position along with her life, but now she was back. And she was honestly thinking about returning to it all... she just needed a little bit more confidence with this new life of hers.

"Yes, in order to access Golden Phoenix, you will have to sail to the island they claimed as their own. It's a beautiful place, although filled with mountains. And you are correct, only those bearing the guild's mark can proceed. The whole place is also guarded by Phoenixes, creatures of magic that are ready to tear any invader apart. But you don't have to worry. There really isn't any trial at all. As soon as you get on the island, there is a good chance one of the members will notice you and invite you inside. It's a guild of free spirits, anyone can join! As long as you show that you can be loyal to the family, that guild will be your home."

She spoke fondly of the place, because it meant so much to her. Honestly, she just joined them because she stumbled on the island on accident and the guild master showed her treasury filled with riches. But what began as a silly greed transformed into something beautiful, part of the girl's heart. After saying all of that, she could only sigh with a smile. She probably sounded rather biased to the one standing in front of her. But who wouldn't be when you spoke of their 'family'? Golden Phoenix was somewhat different from other legal guilds. It was not as righteous because people simply wanted to have fun and hunt down treasure. Surprisingly, something like that works very well!