The Lion and The Wolf

Leila Vergious  ❃  S-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

It’s been quite a long week for the wolf girl, as she once more had to perform few certain tasks for the magic council. While she was now part of an independent guild, its very leader even, she was still one of the Saints and thus someone those in power would often call forth whenever they needed something. And their tasks were always long ones as well, having the female work for nearly a week non-stop. Thankfully, she managed to finish just a bit earlier today. Not even having a chance to change from her combat gear, she would head toward one of the many establishments in the city of Hargeon.

She wanted to relax for at least a little bit. And that was done best with something to drink and eat. Heading straight for the bar, the girl would waggle her tail in a rather excited manner as she seated herself and ordered a strawberry cake along with a couple of watermelon slices to satisfy her taste for sweet things along with a watermelon juice for the thirst. Anyone looking at her could probably rather easily identify what her favorite thing to eat was with such setup, even if her wolf companion named after it wasn’t around right now.

She was enjoying this blissfulness for a good bit until she felt pressure on one of her shoulders. Turning toward this direction with a somewhat surprised look, she was even more surprised to spot a rather pretty lady, one dressed in what could be easily seen as fairly standard clothes for a regular human being. The sudden nature of being approached like this made Leila speechless for few seconds as she had a small piece of the pink melon inside of her mouth, quickly swallowing it and trying to regain a little bit of her usual elegance.

“Ah, Leila Vergious! It’s a pleasure to meet you!” She would let out of herself before having a sip of her juice to force down the watermelon piece she did not quite bite into small enough pieces. But once that was done, she was perfectly ready for any kind of conversation. “Pardon me… ehm, yes! I have plenty of time, was there anything you needed?” She was unsure whether this person recognized her as the Wizard Saint that she was, or if there was a different purpose to this meeting. But she still wasn’t against a friendly conversation.

@Leona Jarnefeldt 

Leila Vergious  ❃  S-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

This unknown girl appeared pleasant and friendly, a much needed break Leila wished for. She was about done dealing with grumpy employers that did not want to pay her the jewels she was promised for the rest of the week at least. And while she was eating, she quickly set her meal aside after she managed to swallow that one last piece, fully focusing on the conversation at hand. Food could always wait, people not so much. It was also very clear that she was recognized as a mage, given the question that she was rather swiftly asked. Guilds, huh? Well, she was happy to oblige.

“Let’s see… I believe all legal and neutral guilds you could find are actually recruiting. They are open pretty much all the time, though I honestly cannot tell you much about them.” Shifting her position around, she had made sure that her outer left thigh was now visible. This was the location where Leila had her guild tattoo. A silver-colored head of a wolf. “But I can tell you about Silver Wolf. A neutral guild that opens its doors to everyone without discrimination or looking down on them. It is a guild about family and survival.”

With a little wink, she would cross her arms proudly. “It is also a guild that focuses on research of magic and magic-powered machinery. The guild hall itself is enchanted by many different runes and such, helping the members.” But she didn’t want to praise it too much, that would just make her sound rather biased. Instead, she would just wink at Leona. “It does not matter if you’re a prodigy or not. What matters is what you want to be and what you want to achieve, be it alone or with the help of others. No shame in that.”

@Leona Jarnefeldt 

Leila Vergious  ❃  S-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Leila smiled, though it almost looked like a bit of a bitter smile. “The truth is that we are only a very recently opened guild, so we are smaller and not as well known as the rest of the guilds in Fiore.” She disliked this fact for a very simple reason - people usually preferred already established guilds that had a lot of reputation. Silver Wolf yet had to gain such reputation and carve its mark into the world. But she remained optimistic and managed to even find some advantages in this that she could present here to give a good answer to Leona.

“But despite being small, we have a fairly good number of members that are very close to one another. It helps one feel like the guild is truly a family. Though, of course, we accept even those who have no interest in such thing.” Some were simply seeking refuse rather than family, after all. “Our guild hall is on top of the tallest of mountains in Fiore, hidden in an endless blizzard. This natural element provides the building with protection from the outside while we can traverse it without any problem thanks to the magic in our guild mark.”

Saying that, she would again point toward her left outer thigh. The magical marks would generate a protective field to keep one safe from the weather. “That said, regular people can visit as well. Aside from the storm, there are spirits of wolves roaming and protecting the mountain. If a person has good intentions, they will guide them through the storm and to the guild hall. But if they mean harm, then they will lead them astray. There is also a barrier directly around the guild hall to regulate temperature for everyone.”

She didn’t want her members to freeze, either. “The guild hall itself has a healing hot spring where any member can relax for free, as well as a restaurant and living quarters that you could enjoy to the fullest. It is a shelter for our members, perfectly protected from the outside world. And if you’re worried about guild politics, don’t be. I handle all of that for now.” At least until she would get herself an Ace. But more time had to pass still before everyone could prove themselves worthy of that position withing the guild. And with that, she hoped that she answered all of Leona’s current questions.

@Leona Jarnefeldt 

Leila Vergious  ❃  S-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

There was a certain sense of accomplishment from hearing that she answered pretty much all that Leona wanted to know. Of course, there was one last question it seemed, and Leila was ready to answer it. But when the question was placed, her expression would change to an almost confused one. It took her a moment before she recalled that Leona mentioned being sorta new to the world of magic, so her question actually made sense. It was just the silver-haired girl who was by now so used to being part of a guild that wasn’t quite sure what she was even asking for a moment.

But once she realized it, she would flail her hands in front of her body for a second or two. “Oh no, no! I would never dare to even try and control other people, be they members of my guild or complete strangers. If you were to join, you could take whatever contract and go on whatever job you’d want. Of course, there will be some jobs issued by the guild and me that would improve the guild as a whole, but I will never force anyone to take them over other jobs.” She would make extra sure to let Leona know that she would have full freedom over choosing what she wanted to do.

She had explained her guild’s goal as being a shelter for anyone and everyone. But that also spilled into another category, as she wished to accept everyone exactly how they were. If someone were to do more darker jobs, she would not stop them. The same for the legal counterpart. She wanted all mages in Silver Wolf to remain fully free and be able to express themselves, as well as do whatever it was that they wished to do. “No one will ‘expect’ anything from you. You said you would even die for your guild, but no one would ever fault you if you ran away from danger.”

Everyone was different and not all were brave. Not all were completely loyal. But they would all still find an equally open invitation to this guild. “I guess I made my reply little too complex, sorry. What I mean is that we are trying to create a family where we support one another while also being free to pursue our own goals without the fear of being judged for it. No matter what you do, you will never be judged for your actions. And that also means you will be able to do any work you will choose to do without any restrictions.” This was why she created an independent guild rather than a legal one.

@Leona Jarnefeldt 

Leila Vergious  ❃  S-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

When Leona said that she would join the guild after all, Leila was simply delighted. So much so that she just couldn’t help herself and do a little gesture of clapping her hands together and grinning whilst doing so. The guild she had started was actually growing and getting bigger, it was almost hard to believe. She had her doubts when she started it, but these people were slowly dispelling them all and giving her hope that Silver Wolf could become one of the bigger guilds out there in the future. And that was the kind of future she could certainly get excited about.

The other girl also asked what exactly the process of joining involved, or at least that was how the wolf girl interpreted her words. “Our guild hall is located on top of the Terra Ignis mountains, not too far from Phoenix mountain. There is a very clear path leading up to it, but the building itself is deep inside of an eternal snowstorm. Whenever someone enters it, spirits of wolves that protect the mountains appear to either guide the person to their desired location as well as protect them from the storm, or help them get lost if they wish to do bad to the guild.”

It was a rather convenient natural defensive system that helped filter out people who wished to join their guild or simply visit for the hot spring from those that would like to do harm to the guild members or the guild itself. “Being an independent guild also makes a lot of the paperwork disappear. You will simply receive your guild mark anywhere you want and of any color you want, get added to the roster and that will be it. With that, you are an official member and have access to the entire guild hall and everything it has to offer!”

@Leona Jarnefeldt 

Leila Vergious  ❃  S-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

And so the very sudden and out of the blue recruitment ended up as a resounding success. Really, Leila would have never expected to be approached like this only to manage and convince the person to join her guild. It was apparent that the world was still hiding plenty for her. But she was also about to make an offer that would make this not quite the end of their encounter. While Leona said she had some business in this place still, the guild master had the ability to make things much, much easier on her. So there really was no reason not to offer.

“Actually, my magic allows me to create a warp gate between two different spots in the world. Rather than you having to go across Fiore to visit us, I could easily just transport you there so you can check everything out right away. And I’ve been looking at you for a bit now… but your body language seems to be little stoic as if you were injured recently and still are recovering. We have a hot spring in the guild hall that has strong healing properties. Could have a quick bath there to have your body properly recover and all your wounds healed.”

Saying all that, she would stand up from her stool and stretch. Depending on Leona’s answer, she could have made the gate right there to transport them both. But she was also fine waiting if the girl wanted to check with whatever business she had in this city first. Once they would be both ready, she created a fairly large portal of black energy that turned light blue toward its edge, a rotating circle that was cutting through space itself. In the center of it, a distant building covered in snow could be seen.

She had simply jumped through the warp gate and hoped Leona would follow. And if she did, she would find herself along with Leila on the top of Terra Ignis, some of the tallest mountains in Fiore. The entire place was indeed covered in a thin layer of snow, but it was rather warm for such view. In front of them was a pretty big oriental house with the Silver Wolf logo adorning the front, as well as many patches of beautiful flowers blooming and few smaller animals running about, not caring for the fact that the weather should not allow them to survive.

All around them was also a raging storm, but it was of no bother at all. The entire building and a good patch of land in every direction were protected by a magical barrier that allowed only a very light snowfall through, keeping the storm outside. “Normally, you’d have to go through this storm to get here. This mountain is rather special, as there are spirits of wolves guarding it. All those who enter this everlasting storm will encounter them and if your heart bears no ill will toward this guild, the wolves will guide you to this place safely while protecting you from the storm.”

Turning toward the building, she’d move a bit closer to it and gesture at Leona that she was free to come inside with her. “While those who would wish us harm will be lead astray, consumed by the storm and the wolves. It’s like our little defensive mechanism.” She finished explaining and moved inside. The main hall was made out of dark wood and adorned greatly, even boasting a counter where regular non-members could rent a room for the night or one of the baths. To the side, there was also a restaurant of sorts for anyone who was hungry. All the possibilities as to what to do lied in front of the new member.

@Leona Jarnefeldt 

Leila Vergious  ❃  S-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Leila always tried to expect just about anything. It was a tactic that helped her survive this long. So it was a useful one to say the least. However, she would have never guessed that the person she took with her to the guild hall this time would just kinda freak out of nowhere. She screamed and quickly grabbed her hand, as if she was afraid of something. There really wasn’t anything that one could be afraid of, as far as Leila knew. Looking around, there were no shadows or people in the storm, so it wasn’t like she could see something scary.

“H..hey, if there is something wrong, just tell me. I’ll do something about it!” She at least wanted to know the reason for what was happening. Thankfully, it seemed that Leona calmed down pretty quickly. Taking advantage of that, Leia would invite her into the warm interior of the guild hall that was nicely separated from the outside. Whatever was bothering her, she should be fine once inside. The dark wood interior with mood lighting of little flames and fire lacrimas sometimes almost made it feel as if those arriving were entering a completely different world from the outside.

“A tour? I can give you one no problem!” Leila smiled at the girl and then looked around. “Let’s soo… for orientation, after entering, you can go left to enter the restaurant. Members get their meals for free there, so anyone who wishes to live here won’T starve. If you continue down the hall instead, you will get to the spring. We have rooms for both males, females and combined. As well as private baths for members only, where you can enjoy some privacy.” The girl was actually quite proud of the system she managed to create here.

“There are also stairs at the end of the hall that lead upstairs. There, we have rooms for both members and rental. And don’t worry, while the building might look kinda small from the outside, I have placed spacial runes on the inside. They forever expand the area, forming an impossible space that allows us to fit in as many rooms as are needed.” In other words, there was really no need to worry about running out of space. The perk of developing magic meant that Silver Wolf got to also use this developed magic in the most useful and creative of ways.

@Leona Jarnefeldt 

Leila Vergious  ❃  S-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Putting her hands together, Leila stopped for a moment. She didn’t think Leona would actually ask about this, but she was ready to answer nonetheless. “Truthfully… the library is still a bit of a work in progress. Currently we have only one room dedicated to storing of both regular and magical transcripts. However, one of our members is a bit of a librarian. With his help, we have been able to make significant improvements even in few short days. Given few weeks or months, I am sure our library will become a proper location within this building.”

Glancing around, she had nodded to herself after saying all of that. “LI believe that creating an underground location beneath where we are right now will be best, to keep the books in most favorable conditions.” After all, it was pretty hard to store paper and the like without having it get damaged over time. A specific temperature and light levels were required, and an underground chamber would probably fit that the best. It would certainly be a good bit of work, but if they managed to construct everything so well up until this point, then surely it would be fine.

Turning back to Leona, Leila smiled at her and tilted her head to the side slightly. “Is there anything else you would like to know about? Or perhaps even test out one of our facilities?” She recalled how one of the members, Poko, agreed to join after she tested out the hot spring. That was quite a fun experienced. Perhaps this one required to know a little bit more as well before she would want to get her mark and officially join. Or perhaps she was already satisfied and ready to proceed with all of that. The guild master was eager to hear her out.

@Leona Jarnefeldt 

Leila Vergious  ❃  S-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Leona appeared to be quite an interesting individual, despite seemingly claiming otherwise. And whether she intended to do so or not, she also revealed a good chunk about herself. It was good knowing about her guild members and their lives, their pasts and even possible futures. But whenever the talk shifted to countries and nations other than Fiore itself, Leila’s attention would become stronger several times over. Or the maiden at least assumed that they were talked about a different nation when she heard the term ‘Desert village’. Since there weren’t really any deserts in Fiore, or anywhere close to it.

So what came to mind instead was Desierto, the desert nation a fair bit away. As someone who traversed majority of this continent, Leila had been there in the past. And it truly was a harsh place for living. “I see. It is quite impressive, living in such places under such circumstances. I cannot help myself but admire it. And to admire you, for making it this far.” She said this with a genuine smile. Perhaps they would visit said village together in the future. But that was a topic for a different time, as they had to talk about Silver Wolf now.

The girl wanted to join and Leila would not stop her. In fact, it was precisely her who could give this lass her guild mark right there and then. “There is no need to thank me for anything, dear. It is a great pleasure to meet new people and listen to their stories! Now, tell me - where do you wish to have your guild mark placed? And what color would you like it to be?” Once these questions were answered, the guild master would proceed to place the mark on Leona’s body, using her finger like a brush fueled by magic.

Provided the other girl did not choose some scandalous place, it was a completely painless and swift process, done in mere seconds. Furthermore, Leona was now an official member of the guild. Due to Silver Wolf being independent, there was really no actual paperwork to be filled, only the process of being accepted by the guild master. Taking few steps, the silver-haired maiden would smile brightly at the newest addition to the family. “Now then… welcome to the Silver Wolf!” A new addition to the family and one that would surely make everyone else happy as well.

@Leona Jarnefeldt