Return to Normalcy

- A few weeks after Ishtar's job with Haraka in the Phoenix Mountains has ended, Ishtar finds himself back in front of the guildhouse of the West Fiore Trading Company, nervous but hopeful that here, he can make a permanent new start in this world. -

Ishtar stared up at the impressive structure with no small amount of trepidation. "Well, Navu," He said to the black unicorn at his side. "Maybe we can find a real home here. Maybe," he added hurriedly. The unicorn sent feelings of exasperation to his mind; they had had this discussion before six times on the way here, most of which ended much the same way: Navu would ease Ishtar's anxiety at asking to join the guild, and Ishtar would thank her and stride away with confidence for about twenty paces before the fear came back to hound his mind. She had given up on trying to permanently assuage his fear at this point and simply kept directing him back to the guildhouse with a gentle emotional nudge.

Ishtar simply didn't know what to do. Did he go in? Did he ask one of the wizards around? Either way felt too awkward, and if there was anything Ishtar did not want to appear to be, it was awkward. Not only that, and Ishtar was doing his best to forget it, but deep down it almost felt like a betrayal of his old guild, Dark Unicorn, to join another guild so soon after he had reawakened. He'd brought it up with Adrian during his last visit, but the aged wizard had waved away his worries. "You want to feel the love and companionship of a guild again, Ishtar," the old man had told him gently. "Nothing wrong with that. I doubt anyone from the guild would blame you if you joined. I certainly won't." Despite this, Ishtar still felt worried that he would be somehow insulting Kayla and her family- his family- if he joined this guild. Navu sent him a gentle stream of comfort, but it didn't help him decide what to do.

Yona Hisamori dressed down today, wearing a plain light blue dress and her brown ankle boots. Her short green hair floated around her ears as she walked, bouncing like a wavy halo. It was longer now, almost jaw length, and that pleased her to no end. She took great pride in her unusual beauty and longed to feel returned to some semblance of normal. The nineteen year old headed towards the door with a sour green apple in her hand. She had thought a snack and a walk down by the beach would be a good way to spend her afternoon., or was it still morning? Yona had been trying to take it easy, learning how to control the secret demon inside of her which demanded blood and violence of her. If she could find a place of peace for herself, maybe he would realize how futile it would be to get to her. Or at least, that was Yona's hope today. Every day she tried something new to get rid of his presence and it always started off so optimistic. It never ended that way. To this day, she still hadn't kept her word to her mentor, and had not told Cirven or Ruvel about her situation.

The woman opened the door with boundless spirit and grinned as a gust of wind brought the smells of the ocean up to her. Who cared about the consequences today? She started down the stairs and saw a man below, near the bottom. He seemed to debate going up the stairs but seemed just as apprehensive about leaving the place. Was he a new mage? Or a new client? Yona took a bite of her apple and munched on it, regretting that she didn't much look like a guild mage or even a mage at all today. With a shrug she went down to the male and waved to him, with her apple-free hand. "Welcome! Something I can help with? My name is Yona, I work here at the West Fiore Trading Company."

Ishtar started nervously as the green-haired woman approached and greeted him. "Uh, good, I'm- fine," he said hesitantly. "Do you... maybe know where I could join the guild? It's just I heard this was an open guild and I wanted to know if I could maybe help out and be a part of it." He rushed through the last sentence quickly, already feeling entirely embarrassed.

Navu sent enormous waves of exasperation to Ishtar and trotted forward to the green-haired wizard. She sent a variety of emotions to Yona, trying to explain that Ishtar was nervous and was normally much more confident, all in an effort to make her friend seem more appealing to the guild. She knew he wanted this more than almost anything, and she wanted to help him. Ishtar sensed vaguely the purpose of her exchange with the green-haired woman and attempted to master himself. He took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm sorry," he told Yona. "It's just been a while since I've been a part of a guild, and I'm not sure how the process of joining works nowadays. My friend Haraka is a member of this guild, I think. Is he around? He could vouch for me."

Yona glanced at Haia as she approached, taking in a variety of visual, audio and emotional feedback from the man before her. She said, "Hey," when Haia neared but kept her attention and focus on Ishtar. He was a nervous wreck. She had been caught red handed stealing from the company and in hindsight she could finally see that attacking Ruvel and fighting with Cirven wasn't a great way to deal with that either. She wasn't half as nervous being caught thieving by the guild as Ishtar seemed to be for just walking up to the front entrance. She took a bite of her apple, chewing on the delicious fruit while mentally chewing on what Ishtar said. "I suppose if you want to join that's okay. You would have to pass a test and meet with a VP of the WFTC. Haraka is usually at the hospital actually, so I don't know where he's at right now." Yona got a mischievous smile upon her face. "I am Johann-a, VP of the West Fiore Trading Company, Yona for short. Shall I give you your test?"

Yona wanted to reach out and stroke the black unicorn, having never seen one before. However with her great experience with horses, Yona also knew that if a horse could be touchy about being touched, a unicorn might be even less forgiving if she, as a stranger, just reached out and gave them a pat. Yona looked at Haia, wondering if Haia would act as a partner in her mischief of immediately break down the lie of her being a VP. It would amuse her if Haia was on her side, so long as Johann, Ruvel or Sol didn't catch her attempting to impersonate one of them. "We should go to the training hall for your test, unless you need to do something to prepare? Have you eaten today? Have you made all your final arrangements? Sometimes these tests have unfortunate accidents." Yona looked down, saddened by imaginary deaths from imaginary tests. "I swear on my honor and upon this guild I would do anything to keep you safe, newcomer. Nice to meet you Ishtar." At least, that last part was true.

A certain person walked through the guilds entrance soon enough to hear to hear Yonas claim, spitting out some of the tea he was drinking at the time. Seeing who was there just made him frown more. "Yona is not our VP Johann!" He wasn't surprised, but it didn't mean he was going to sit around while she played a prank on his friend. Then again, if he had arrived a few moments later than the half dragon would have never known. What had he been up to before? Who knows, there was a paper cup full of tea in one hand and a small fabric pouch that was likely full of some food. The half demon had just gotten off of work, the the meal being something he made before work so he could eat after work without cooking while tired. He started to walk over, smiling a bit to the familiar friend. He knew Yona, but she wasn't really a friend. He had seen Haia around, but they had never fully met. If it was just those two, then he would keep his wings and tail tucked away. A certain demonic clam scooted out of their owners shirt, deciding to fly them self over to Ishtar. He landed on the mans shoulder, using their foot to poke the persons neck a bit. "Sorry, a few weeks probably feel a lot longer to a baby like him." He wasn't going to pretend like his demonic clam was any older than he really was. Haraka let his wings and tail out. His clothes were ready for it, so this didn't cause anything to tear. "How are you doing Ishtar? Would you like a breakfast bun?"