An Escort to Hell ● Ivy, Jiyu, Lilium, Aiyana, Astrid

surface of - serenity

what is happening to me?
tell me, what does all this mean
so far away from reality
"what a lovely place to be."

+ @Johann \ @Jiyu Kazehime \ @Lilium \ @Cr1tikal \ @Madame Astrid

+ 1341/4000 words

+ tis messy

+ ---

Sorano Granon eyed the mug with obvious suspicion, dark eyes glinting with caution as they traced the path of the steam that wavered tentatively into the air, water molecules gliding up to join the rest of the gaseous elements that surrounded them all. She could feel the heat of the liquid from here, a gentle but persistent wave of higher temperature that brought a faint sheen of sweat to the girl’s pale face, keeping her otherwise twitching fingers from making the connection of skin to cup. A nervous tap of her finger against the porcelain resulted in a faint hiss, the girl jerking the limb backwards as fast as possible, instantly cooling the injured skin by sticking her finger into her mouth. Yes, indeed…the latest problem the guild master of Fairy Tail faced today would be the unfortunate disaster that came with liquids set at the most distasteful temperatures – in this case, really fucking hot tea.

But Oh! you say, Is she not a mage? Can she not magically change the temperature of the tea to just the right amount?

Ah, but see here, such an act requires great effort to perform, great effort and detail for a letter mage that Sorano Granon quite frankly could not be fucked to go through at the moment, for all she had desired was a simple cup of tea to soothe her headache from reading so many itty bitty words on so many itty bitty pieces of paper. Why people couldn’t use a larger, or more legible font was beyond her understanding – it was a blessing the documents were not handwritten, she supposed, but the youth was not in a particularly thankful state of mind today. Even a child void of emotions could feel some slight memory of irritation at the sensation of a reading-induced headache, coming down strong.

Giving up on attempting to lift the treacherously scorching mug to her lips, the letter mage instead slumped exhaustedly down onto her arms on the desk, dull eyes tracing the magically imprinted design on the side of the container. Today was not a very good day for her, and it would appear that not even the usual cure to her impatience of a nice, warm cup of tea was not forthcoming. In an act of unusual desperation, Sorano carefully leaned forward, extending her tongue cautiously towards the liquid, and promptly felt the painful burst of heat that instantly enveloped the unfortunate body part in what felt like the flames of hell. Alright, she got the message. The letter mage pushed back her chair, abandoning her quest for tea in pursuit of some other hopeful cure for mental exhaustion – perhaps some fresh air would help?

The indoor garden in the guild hall would be easily accessible by the balcony on the second floor that looked down into the small, contained, but still lush and beautiful enclosure that housed a humble greenhouse for guild members to rest in and admire for moments such as these. Slowly, Sorano could feel her shoulders relaxing at the gentle scent of lavender filling her nose, giving her that magical cure she had so desperately desired. Thank goodness she’d had the enclosure installed – how else would a girl have gotten through an entire day of more politics and bills? (Seriously though, someone had to control that Althea and her crazy spending tendencies when it came to sugary drinks.)

Or so she thought, before a sudden slight hissing started up from the glass ceiling above her, ominously increasing in volume as the guild master looked up in mute horror. Within her heart, Sorano held onto the hope that the sound was merely a mistake – that what she heard was not the thing she so terribly dreaded at the moment – it wouldn’t happen after that nightmare of a morning she’d had already, would it?? But alas, Lady Luck did not smile down upon the youth today, oh no. Within a matter of seconds, an avalanche of plant-food infused water came raining down on the unfortunate child’s head, drenching her in manure-scented liquid before she could manage to flee to the safety of her office once more. This time she did use her magic, a carefully composed spell drying her clothes and removing the stench from her skin. Whatever had she done now to piss off the gods?

Exiting her office once more to make sure that all the wards were in place to keep the fertilizer from entering the building, Sorano would make her way down to the first floor, having discovered, to her dissatisfaction, that her tea was still rather overheated. With an aura of absolute rage radiating about her expressionless face, the teen beelined for the fridge in the corner of the bar, extracting for herself a box of “Cherry Explosion” juice, rather violently stabbing the convenient plastic straw into its allotted slot. Forget about Althea and her overpriced juice purchases. This was exactly what she needed right now, and expenses were the furthest thing from her mind.

The box was drained in three seconds flat.

With a satisfying crush of cardboard and plastic, the letter mage dropped the crumpled piece of waste into the trash before sweeping up to the reception desk, dark eyes scanning the jobs in an almost frenzied manner. Such behavior was not natural in the typically tranquil woman, known for her ability to keep her cool. But today? Nothing was working out and even the Saint of Tranquility had a breaking point. Without a second thought, the most difficult job would be selected from the board, and Sorano was hefting her bag onto her shoulders, stocking her storage mirrors with ridiculous amounts of juice before stalking out the front door. She was gonna beat up some tough monster and feel much better again, all qhile consuming unhealthy amounts of juice – that was the plan.

Now approaching the group of clients, and having cooled down and looked over the job a bit, Sorano was fairly prepared for what was to come next. Escorting a group of people through the treacherous land of Sin seemed a daunting task, but one the letter mage believed should certainly be achievable. She mentally flipped through what she knew of the place, now starting to berate herself for having made a decision so quickly without prior research – it really was not at all like her to march out on a dangerous job without second thoughts. It could only be hoped that she would not regret her decision later on. Blocked off from the rest of the world by a great big wall, and filled to the brim with terrible monsters – Sin was definitely not the usual choice for an exciting adventure. Perhaps the clients had made as impulsive a decision as she herself had.

Even so, she had to deal with the pit she herself had dug, and with the thought in mind, Sorano approached the group. Scanning over the new and unfamiliar faces, she’d suddenly be hit with a powerful magical signature, the presence of another mage? Ah…had they hired multiple escorts? Sorano’s eyes would alight upon a lithe, white-haired figure, a man who seemed to radiate confidence. Alright then, she could handle working with a partner.

She moved in closer, turning to face the other mage. For some reason, he seemed familiar…was he a famous figure? She didn’t know. It was only the sudden recognition of the man’s uniform that snapped her brain into place, mentally reprimanding herself for not realizing earlier. “Hello sir, are you also a hired escort for this job? My name is Sorano Granon. Pleasure to meet you. I see you are from the West Fiore Trading Company?” She nodded politely in greeting, a sort of awkward half bow. It was difficult to get out of the habit, and the letter mage still found herself constantly slipping back into the familiar movement. Still, it was a relief to see that her partner was not only skilled, but an ally as well. Hopefully this task would go smoothly.