Playing Hooky [Ezra's Ace Exam]

In the eyes of Ezra, everything was fluffy. Everything was bright, vibrant and full of color! All sorts of hues; green, orange, red, yellow, creamy white, earthy browns, they were all there! They all came together to create a vast amount of... dishes? Yes, dishes! Pork chops with Raspberry Sauce, Creme Brulee French Toast, baked Midian Salmon, Foolproof Rib Roast, Filet Mignon with Rich Balsamic Glaze! The dishes were endless (and almost entirely consisted of meat) and Ezra could hardly contain himself.

The redhead's mouth watered and fingers wiggled, ecstatic with the wondrous courses that were on display! "Oh dear me...! Just a bite..." Ezra inched his way to the meals before a greasy hand would smack his wrist.

"Not yet, Ezra!" A voice full of familiarity scolded him with it's orotund voice, "The mashed potatoes aren't finished yet!"

Ezra swallowed his saliva and looked up, onto to find a gigantic being that stood at twice his height. Strangely enough, the being had the body of a greasy, homemade turkey but the face of his Grandmother. Ezra's face lit up in delight, "Granny? Ma- Mashed potatoes?! Oh my...!" The redhead was nearly on his knees in awe.

"Now, now, Ezra! The mashed potatoes are done, honey! Now open wide...!" Ezra's take of a Grandmother handed him a plate of all courses together, "Say ahhh...!"

The grown man opened wide, he could smell it! He could taste it already! One, two...!

Bumph!

The table right in front of him was pounded by the sudden smack of a document, waking him from his precious dream in a matter of seconds. On the redhead's face was a magazine titled "Fiore Today!" with a couple of high-end models on the front and back of it. It was more so used for shade than for a good read, as he sluggishly removed it just enough to reveal his sky-blue eyes, filled with both sadness and irritation.

"Me? Conference?" Ezra questioned, feeling indignant of the previous interruption. Ezra groaned and lifted himself from his comfortable position, perfect for dozing a day away, and cracked his neck. "Now hold on just a minute, lassie. What's this about a conference? Ain't this something for The Master to handle? Lassie?" Before Ezra could elucidate, the young woman had skedaddled to God knows where, leaving only him and the ominous document. He was too slow to really catch a glimpse of the girl, leaving him puzzled.

For a good sixty seconds, Ezra was processing what had just happened before cracking his neck once more. "Okay... ain't that a doozy. To think there'd be such naughty lil' girls so rude that they'd interrupt such a glamorous dream... what a brat." The redhead cursed under his breath but was frankly too sluggish and tired to really return to his usually hot-headed state. Ezra yawned and quickly unraveled the document's secrets, reading it's contents carefully.

"Hrmm... Sorano Granon... meeting today... recent conflict..." Ezra mumbled as he would continue to skim and analyse the message under his breath, "Havin' a bit of a tussle, eh? I didn' get a good glimpse of that lassie, but ur Boss is still a kid. She doesn't need to do all of this, nhm!" Ezra cackled to himself and stuffed the letter into his shirt pocket. It was his treat! Always good to do nice things for others, he certainly had the moral high ground!

"Cedar Knights, huh? How bizarre! They have always been so tranquil 'n all.
But I reckon everyone has their tussles..." Ezra hummed to himself as he reached down into his other pocket to retrieve his silver flask, which he had owned for nearly ten years. He swished it to and fro before coming to the sad conclusion that his favorite whiskey had no longer remained, "D'aw, shucks! Hard to really get into it without my whiskey... doesn't matter, though. Time to head'on out."

With that being said, Ezra had marched out the guild hall with a grin on his face... or he would of liked to. Instead, he dragged himself outside with tired eyes and the remaining sadness in his eyes from the sudden interruption. He still had time before the meeting had started, about forty-five minutes tops! Ezra would quietly make way through the streets with a black tank top, thin gray jacket, long brown pants and the necklace given to him at a young age. His blazing red hair would make him stand out as he dawdled through the streets.

Note: I will make my post more "replyable" if you so request.

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MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

Cedar Town! The redhead quickly made way from the busy streets of Magnolia Town to the town surrounded by sea and warmth! Ezra was like a little kid on a field trip to a zoo when he got off the train, as he wanted to touch everything, see everything, and look at everything. He looked more like an obsessed tourist than a man-with-a-mission.

Although helplessly sidetracked, he eventually made his way to his destination by complete coincidence. If he hadn't stumbled upon the Cedar Knights' Headquarters, he would've been to the far south of town in deep adoration of the rustic buildings and their beautiful oak trees.

To Ezra's surprise, the Cedar Knights building seemed like a humble place. It gave off this feeling of something similar to a bookstore. Perhaps the feeling was unique to him, but he felt oddly welcomed by it's hard stone blocks and powerful wooden features. With a prying eye, Ezra looked at the building from tip to bottom until he confirmed that this was the area.

"Ye... this sure is the place. Best go in 'fore I'm late." Ezra had hissed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Swiftly, the door had creaked open, the grown man slipping between the cracks, and closing it with the same noise just in time to here the words of a powerful, seemingly feminine voice. "Knights! When a friend of mine who specializes in mediating gets here, the meeting will begin. I trust you will all remain mature, yes?"

Ezra could already tell that Sorano's arrival was well awaited, and almost felt like a disappointment when a strong, capable law enforcement group had set up something specifically for her and instead had to settle with a redhead with a foul, southern accent. Ezra cackled sadly and shook his head, I'm only making myself feel worse, heh. He thought to himself.

With a toothy smile and capable puff of his chest, Ezra had confidently dragged himself into the conference hall with the assumption that he'd be welcomed. He stumbled into the room with his usual friendly demeanor and waved, "Howdy."

Ezra expected to be greeted with a bunch of prying, shocked eyes but had thoroughly prepared himself, and proceeded to expose the letter that had been intended for his Master. "I'm here in my Master's stead, 'ere to solve some sort of dispute for y'all..." He sipped his whiskey, "And 'fer the record, I thought I'dve died if I hadn't gotten some whiskey in me before this conference. Lucky me, Cedar happens to have some fine beverages on that part." The redhead had cackled his goofy cackle. He was all smiles and no bite, and had hoped to lighten the mood a bit.

He had squeezed the lid tightly onto his flask, stuffed it into his pocket and quickly sat down in the nearest seat. "Name's Ezra Aurence, by the way. Sorry for the intrusion, ya know.
Sometimes things just don't go as planned, huh?"

Note: The best betty is to always go petty!

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MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

For the most part, Ezra was not at all surprised by the woman's reaction. It was already a bad impression for him to waltz in with some documents in one hand and whiskey in the other in front of a militant organization here to protect the law. It was a bothersome intrusion as far as Ezra could tell but quickly paid no mind to it. The redhead could hear a hint of disappointment in the woman's voice as she spoke about his Guild Master.

Despite his unexpected arrival, the meetings proceeded anyway. But he could feel iron eyes on his flask, coughed awkwardly obscured it from sight. From what the woman had said, this meeting was meant to formally address an issue that may have been a tad overstated. Ezra slunk down into his chair and listened carefully.

One member of what seemed to be a segregated section of the meeting (or maybe some sort of tremendous union) had spoken up with her extravagant wears, targeting a man who seemed to be named Sir Merith. It all happened in a matter of seconds. The one who had been speaking was quick to fire bullets at Sir Merith, who had a rebuttal with a snide comment about her accusations.

Ezra was baffled by the behavior, as he guaranteed he had been one of the younger men in the meeting but already felt like a parent. He awkwardly erected his back and leaned back into his seat with a more appropriate demeanor and groaned, "Now, folks... we ain't but a second into the meetin' 'n all and I can already see what's wrong." Ezra rubbed the back of his neck, "Ain't'cha all think a tad better of 'erselves? Lady, with all due respect,
your reacting only means you value his opinion, even if you know he's incorrect. That and it also shows you have little control over your impulses and thus, we've come to this." Ezra spoke firmly but with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Before the men had egged on his accusations, Ezra pried his eyes onto them, "But Sir Merith is no angel, either. As a representative of this organization, you should know better.
I feel as if it is only common knowledge to know whatever you put in, you get out. By insulting the lassie over there, you only triggered those emotions which I assume yer acquainted with. It pity this town if these are the men and women protecting them. If they cannot control their emotions,
so much that they resorted to a previous dark guild to mediate their disputes, then how can you control order in this town?" Ezra huffed. "I ain't gonna raise my voice at none of y'all because I believe you all are mature enough to react to reason and not irrationality.
Ever wonder if five, ten years, this all won't matter? You lost yourselves to anger and hatred and suffered from that, lost your job, and only worsened as a person. Separate home from work,
lassie, his wife ain't got nothing dirty on you some do her dirty like that, ya know? It's him you have no liking 'fer." Ezra smiled over to the woman, "I ain't got no knowing on your ancestry or nothing, but if you and I know that his accusation is correct, then why all the tusslin? Act like you are, high 'n mighty. I'll take confidence in your heritage over starting fights over'em any day." Ezra gave her a thumbs up and turned to Sir Merith, "Lad, ain't 'er marriage your marriage? As if her words mean anything.
By submitting to that anger, you're only giving her what she wants. If I know 'er wife ain't got nothing dirty on you, and you know she doesn't, no need to fuss now."

This was more so to test their tempers and reasoning skills more than to solve the issue right away. Ezra was certain that his reason may not reach them, but it would sure give him a better view of the situation.

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MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

Ezra slunk back into his chair with a hissing sigh, alright exhausted by this whole ordeal. But to some degree, he could understand why his Master would be so reluctant to come here. Not only were these two unreasonably irritating, they'd go as far to bring a kid in to solve their problems. It really was pathetic.

Ezra's blue eyes wandered over to the redheaded mistress, who seemed to be comfortable. He realized that anyone would want to indulge in a state of neutrality if they had to deal with this all day long, leaving Ezra alone in a war between dumb monkies.

Ezra rubbed the back of his head sympathetically, his thoughts fading into a circle of digesting the information and creating solutions. As I thought, they certainly don't react well to reason. Ah geez, I'm a professional wizard, not a parent! The redhead thought. His pride was crushed under the words of 'parent', feeling as though his reputation had been diminished by this fight. Ezra brooded to himself quietly for the remainder of the argument in a bubble of depression.

For the most part, Ezra's expression of exhaustion continued to weigh on his face as the argumentative mistress would scream at him, unfazed by her anger and more tired than anything. The same face remained when the man inserted himself, again, leaving Ezra to his mental devices once more. As the two bickered, Ezra's eyes wandered again.

Man, the two just don't stop, do they? I guess Miss Lady-Knight wasn't joking about it, for sure. If words of simple reason do not work, perhaps intimidation? If anything, that should be my last resort. The moment I introduce more assertive intimidation into the situation, it's a make-it-or-break-it situation...

The redhead continued to submerge himself in deep thought as angry words filled the room, and for the most part, his presence faded as he continued to be more silent. That was, until he groaned. "Listen y'all, do you two want this to work? If not, do 'ya both want to keep bickering for all eternity? It's just a yes or no answer." Ezra retorted. His voice was less full of wisdom and more full of irritation.

Note: Sorry for delay >.

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MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

Ezra was truly amused by the man and woman's response. It truly was a pitiful situation. The redhead tried his best to keep himself from bursting out in a fit a laughter and remained rather neutral. His slipped his hand over his mouth and tapped the table, listening attentively.

"Look lad, lassie, I'm gonna be honest with ya." Ezra cautioned, "This is one of the most pitiful things I've ever seen in my days. I see now that basic reasoning is something beyond you all, it is far beyond what you all need."

Reason was no longer of use in this building. Being called a mediator put misleading expectations upon this redhead. Typical ways of mediating things often included "talking it out" or coming to a resolution both parties could agree two. But both methods often required reason, and it was something these parties did not have. And because of that important factor, a different resolution must be created.

"Miss," Ezra turned to Merith with an expression of disappointment and defeat, "these men and women are beyond reason and mediation. You are running an organization meant to keep the peace within Cedar Town. It is an organization that also represents the Magic Council. 'Ya see, I came here 'thinkin it'd be a political problem, some foreign to me. But I was mistaken, truthfully it was a egotistical competition of power between two nobles that has split your ranks over some flowers. You have made the mistake of keeping them within your ranks, and it'll eventually lead to a corrupting policing organization." Ezra sighed, "Just now, this lad and lassie used their blood to justify a child's tussle. If these lads and lassies can't settle a dispute over flowers, how can they settle any other dispute over anything else in this town? The townsfolk rely on these men and women to protect them and settle disputes their own, but here we have the same men and women believing they are superior over anyone because of blood. It is a corrupted mentality that is inappropriate for the workplace."

Ezra spoke what he meant and believed. It was in these times that he didn't speak in his broken English as often. It was firm but tired. "What I suggest is dismissing them from your ranks and have the Magic Council send in replacements. What you have here are egotistical men and women who believe they start silly disputes like this, divide the Cedar Knights, and get away with it without any consequence as severe as their crime. That is my advice, anyway. Not all things can be settled with just an apology or a slap on 'ther wrists.
Such nobles have no right to work alongside you, hiding behind their titles to justify such disgusting behavior." Ezra huffed.

The redhead then turned to the group, "Y'all have it all wrong. Y'all can't say and do whatever you want without there 'being some sort of consequence. I'm afraid awarding you with having the Miss over her allow you to keep 'er jobs is far beyond your ideas. This town needs protecters, not people who threaten their safety."

And this was true. If these men and women thought that all arguments were handled by giving both sides what they want, they were far beyond wrong. Those who maintained peace would remove any threats to maintain that peace and order. Those who threaten disorder and chaos within an organization meant to maintain it should be removed. The two parties wanted control over everything. They wanted more respect than they deserved, they wanted to win arguments instead of settle them, and they wanted to control who even mediates their arguments. Hard-to-deal-with men and women needed a consequence just as hard-to-deal-with.

Note: #truth -.-'''

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MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS