It's Like Catching Lightning • Open, Intro

Wearing a blue t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts with white tennis shoes, Victoria sat at a dark wooden bar sipping a Cherry Charge soda. She was saving money for a something important, something like a weapon upgrade, so she opted not to drink alcohol. Soda was a lot cheaper.
But it had been awhile since she had had a drink.

Well, maybe she would have a screwdriver... just one. Vodka plus orange juice equaled greatness. She also managed to save Miss Cooper from an untimely end at the hands of a hitman without her finding out. And why not reward greatness like that with good alcohol?

The brunette used her Black Rose privilege to hop behind the bar and make a screwdriver of her own making. She grabbed a glass, some orange juice without pulp, and some of the good vodka, not the cheap stuff for tourists. The brunette was flush with Jewels, so she could buy whatever she drank, provided it was not the super-premium "once every five years we make a bottle of this when the planets align" stuff. Fortunately the orange juice and vodka were not that expensive. After mixing it to her satisfaction, the brunette was just about to step out from behind the bar before she really got into trouble when someone came in.

The young woman had silver hair, beautiful armor that was custom-made for her, an elegant hooded cloak that cost more than the bar, and one crimson eye peering out from underneath the hood. Victoria was initially frightened by the cyclopean person's gaze, but then she was intrigued. The new arrival looked vaguely familiar. Wasn't she on a magazine? The brunette's thoughts were diverted by the young woman's request for the strongest alcohol in the place.

"Ah, so you want the strong stuff, huh?" Victoria asked her, hoping to break the ice.

"Do ya like vodka, tequila, brandy, or all of it? Tell me and I'll sling a drink for you." Victoria said to the silver-haired woman. As she looked for recipe cards to get a decent drink going, she spotted a magazine sitting on a lower shelf. On the cover was a young woman with her eyes closed and her hands clasped as if in prayer, but she had a smile on her face. The person in front of Victoria was wearing the same elegant armor and same headband as the one on the front of the magazine.

The brunette slowly put two and two together. Her eyes widened. No way. A Wizard Saint was here, right in front of her! And the Wizard Saint was asking her for a strong drink!

"You... you're Astrid Foss!" Victoria said to her. The brunette blushed furiously and nearly dropped a bottle of expensive alcohol. Now Victoria had a bad case of butterfingers. She did not want to botch a simple drink in front of the Wizard Saint.

"What... wh-wh-what will you have, Miss Foss?" Victoria asked her, trying to regain her confidence enough to carry on a conversation with a living legend.

Now Victoria was in the hotseat. She had to choose what Astrid Foss would drink. And she had to make it herself. No pressure. None at all.

"You're a Wiz-" Victoria started before she was swiftly silenced by the young woman. Astrid placed a hand over the brunette's mouth and politely but firmly warned her not to mention her name out loud again. If Victoria wanted to live to see tomorrow, she would do as she was told. Her adopted father Lawrence had warned her about Wizard Saints. He warned her that they were the worst people to piss off because they were on good terms with the Magic Council, the organization that governed mages of Earthland.

Lawrence went on to add that Wizard Saints did not need the Magic Council to flatten their enemies for them. He declared that when mages of their power level got angry, entire armies could be reduced to a puff of crimson vapor by a funny look and whole towns ceased to exist with a sweep of the hand. It was likely an exaggerated account, but the message was clear. No one with any sense of self-preservation wanted that kind of wrath to come down on their head.

"Sure thing, Miss." Victoria assured the much more powerful mage with a thumbs-up gesture.

"O-OK, Miss, lemme make you a screwdriver. I'll start off simple and keep going until we find something you like." Victoria stated before ducking behind the bar to retrieve the supplies. She did not need a recipe card for a screwdriver. The brunette selected the best vodka they had, a top-shelf brand called Albino Gander. She got the orange juice, then mixed it in a glass and made absolutely sure the proportion of vodka and orange juice was just right. Once it was all just so, she carefully slid it in front of the young woman.

"OK Miss, your drink is ready. Lemme know what you think." Victoria said calmly. The brunette then heard that Astrid Foss wanted to join Black Rose. It was all she could do not to let her jaw drop. She took a casual glance around to make sure that no one had taken any undue interest in the conversation, then spoke to the mage.

"Yeah, Black Rose still resides here." Victoria replied in the affirmative and in a low tone of voice that only the two of them could hear. This was cloak-and-dagger stuff. Victoria was not trained in that kind of thing, but the famous Astrid Foss was giving her a crash course in the subject. Victoria calmly took a sip from her own screwdriver to keep a casual look and avoid acting like a starstruck fangirl, which she kind of was.

Mikka had already ruled out of any remote possibility of this day even being a remote possibility, entirely convinced it was impossible for the events that would transpire today to happen period. She had heard about the events which transpired between Astrid and Black Rose during one of her long journeys tackling dozens of missions at once. Knowing the elf? She didn't figure the other girl would ever even want to show back up in Rose Garden unless she was upset again or absolutely desperate. The canine never wanted to believe that her friend could be poorly protected enough to ever grow that desperate, and she had no reason to believe that the strong female would in a million years become that upset once more. Apart from those reasons, Mikka knew for a fact that Astrid would never join because fairytales didn't exist! The best thing that could possibly ever happen to her short of never having run away foolishly in the first place, would be getting her childhood friend back in some capacity. Astrid was a key, the other girl knew the parts of herself she had left behind all those years ago, the parts she was missing now. However, her life never went perfect enough to have Astrid ever join Black Rose, things had just never worked that way.

The noise of the restaurant was normal, something her senses had gotten used to dealing with, only able to overload to her if she came to work right off something else that had her senses high. At the moment? This happened most days, as ever since she figured out overload kept her from thinking about how much she had screwed up, the wind mage had been chasing getting her senses so engaged and burned out that she couldn't think about anything. Avoidance, it was always her perfect coping strategy. If she was too scared to face her problems? Jiyu could always find some way to run from them, funnily enough, Mikka had never been like that until she chose to run away! Up until that point, the little girl had fought to deal with what she could, even if it had been very little. So who was she supposed to be if the present lie and the past truth could never be compatible? Forgiveness, even of herself was almost never in her vocabulary anymore, being as she was a revenge spirit.

Briefly, the wind user turned between putting down some tables food for them and scurrying to pick another set of plates, something caught her eye. Was that? No, it wasn't possible, she was just imagining what she wanted to see, as normal. The short woman kept working, moving around the room efficiently even if a bit clumsy as if she may be drunk. Considering she had been out all night overloading her senses, she could only act so normal. It was too bad she couldn't just drink like a normal person, that would probably be easier to deal with the side effects of, just some shades and pain meds, convenient, but she couldn't. Simply serving alcohol to other's could be trying sometimes, the memories handling the stuff brought up were now made even more bitter, knowing that perhaps if she stayed then she may have still had the time to change things. Her hatreds? Were own fault and that made it even worse.

Victoria being around was somewhat of a blessing, the other girl could handle the bar a significant amount of time, leading to herself being able to take tables instead. Even if she still had to smell useless drunks? She didn't have to make them that way, because make no mistake anyone who was drunk may as well be useless. Why did it feel as if there had once been an exception to that, oh well. The long-haired waitress had already wandered away from the bar again, not even taking note, both due to the cloak and her own inability to admit she would ever see her friend in this restaurant. If it was not for her sensitive hearing, everything may have very well happened without her ever being aware of it for even a split second. She was standing taking someone's order when their words were drowned out by a single phrase from her guild-mate tending the bar, barely managing to shove her paper pad and pencil into her apron.

Did it matter that she had left a table unattended to? Not at all, certainly not if Victoria was not simply mistaken if the other girl was right this was far more important than any costumer. She was halfway across the room when she heard the most important words she could ever hear today. There was no way! If this was some sort of sick twisted dream, she wouldn't want to wake up just so she could hold onto this one moment, the second she heard her childhood friend say that she was joining the same guild as her. If she had stayed instead of running away? Wouldn't that have been what she dreamed of when the other's started showing any interest in the life of a mage! It was almost like she could forget about it all for a second because in some way, she was getting back something that she had lost so long ago. Even if Astrid had reunited with her, and they went on jobs occasionally, that was nowhere near the same as being in the same guild, the same extended family, if you believed some. She was willing to believe it today.

Astrid would not be the one making the scene today.

The clatter of the serving tray hitting the ground rung through the room, momentarily drawing attention but most people brushed it off as the wind mage was known for being eccentric. She stumbled the last few steps, grabbing onto the back of Astrid's barstool in order to steady herself to prevent any fall that could cause her significant harm. "Strid.." momentarily the way she was speaking sounded a lot like she did when she was younger, proper speech even to another's name entirely forgotten in the sweep of emotions coming over her. "heard you right?" she completely forgot the 'I' but Astrid did have experience understanding when she left out or butchered parts of basic speech. "Joining?" she was holding onto the hem of her friend's cloak, hopeful somewhat teary expression on her face, grin barely contained as she waited for confirmation of the thing she just could not believe without extra confirmation.

Mismatched optics drifted to the bar table in order to save some dignity and focus on not crying in front of Astrid.

The fairytale fell apart.

Mikka's hand loosened and the wind user took a few steps back, eyes locked to the drink in front of Astrid, the pungent scent of it enough to tell the canine what it was her friend was having. "Gonna sit." of course, her childhood friend couldn't just be joining, there had to be some catch to it, and that catch seemed to be that if she wanted to be there for Astrid again, she would have to push through her understandable distaste for people drinking. Astrid knew, at least in some capacity knew what she had been through due to her father's drinking! Why would her friend ever want to pick up a bottle? The elf had already seen what it did to people. "Here." she finished her statement, having paused to stumble over and flop into a stool several away from Astrid and her new drinking habit. Mikka was very bad at hiding her feelings, she didn't have the poker face Jiyu had developed and she couldn't get that poker face back up, not now. "Never thought you'd become that type." but they were adults now, Astrid couldn't possibly be the innocent kid she grew up with, she had left any hope of that sweetness behind when she left that night.

At least she'd have her friend back, even if she seemed to be a drunk now.

Appearance:

A small, quiet sigh left from the corner of the bar. A fresh tray was set down on the counter in front of her and with it sat a kettle and an empty cup with a small plate underneath. The cup normally was needed to keep someone from, burning themselves on the hot liquid contained in the kettle, but this time it was in the hands of someone whom had no sense of feeling. Hot, cold, sharp, rough were all somewhat foreign feelings to her, only ever felt when she was tending to Mafia duties. It kept her from swaying from one way to the other in forgetting how to function as a person without, but it was helped to have someone by her side that was... somewhat willing to give her the support. Her price however, came with just a few cracks about her size every so often, but even that hadn't come nearly as often as it normally had. Like everything else, perhaps she just wore out the joke some, though this particular time of year she knew was a little harder on the doll than any other.

Her gaze wallowed in the cup as she poured herself a cup and picked it up, bringing it to her lap. Her icy gaze reflected in the color of her tea in an attempt to try to wash out the feelings she had without resorting to the use of alcohol. Surely being in a bar did that, but the Yokai inside with her rank enough for both of them when she wanted to have a drink, and surely that would be the case if it weren't for the fact she was passed out drunk already. Every few seconds of holding her tea cup, Sakura's hands shook, making the ceramicware clang together. Looking up from her cup, she took a sip and set it down, lightly shaking her head. "It would be so much more peaceful is SOMEONE didn't snore in my head..." She muttered to herself, trying to look away and occupy herself with something else to get the noise in her head to sound a little less distracting. In another thought, it wasn't so bad having that sound distract her from her past memories coming around, so perhaps it was a blessing in a furry disguise.

Though, all of that quickly seemed to cease when her eyes widened at a sudden sight. The silver haired doll had watched as a cloaked person appeared before her eyes just a few seats away from her. In a bit of an odd instinct for someone whom rarely fought for herself, she had reached for the small bracelet that was around her wrist which acted as a bit of a "sheath" to the sword that Akita bore with her in combat and through her history. It felt like a peace of tethered equipment, much like how someone cherishes a necklace or a hairband, something special that they keep close to their person for whatever reason. Still, with even the basic knowledge of how to use the sword, she could try to fight at least until the drunk of a wolf girl would wake up... or at least hope that to be the case. The small ace continued to watch on, pretending to not take much more care as she picked up her cup of tea and took another sip of it, this time holding onto it and just keeping her ears open more than anything.

An occasional peek from the corner of her eye to keep an eye on the stranger suddenly turned to a curious thought as she listened to a member of the mafia that she'd only met through business and no real pleasure of conversation at all, at least hopefully not yet. She had picked up on the name that Victoria called out and for a moment, her eyes narrowed into an almost glare of resentment. And how could she not? The last time she had met this woman, this very bar had been crumbled to the ground at her hand. Though, as quickly as the feelings came, they passed to her neutral stare. She wasn't one to hold grudges or be driven by her emotions anymore. They only got her in deeper issues and it would just be a bigger burden to dwell on the past than to push into the future. What did catch Sakura's attention to continue to overhear from afar was that she had wanted to join the guild. It came to a surprise, but the tone in her voice... it shook her. Shaken in all the wrong ways. Nothing that seemed to be alarming or cause for her to be defensive, but it was in what Sakura knew as fear and caution. Perhaps the caution was different than how the doll had her own type, but that sense of fear, as different as one could interpret fear it was something easily found in some cases without a doubt.

With the introduction of Jiyu suddenly appearing, the girl whom she'd last been around so playfully was completely out of sync from that. She seemed nearly entranced and in some form of shock. Did she know Astrid from before? Well, maybe so since Astrid did mention wanting to join, so if her memory served her correctly it would be her second joining of the guild. Still, she had watched Jiyu, or who she perceived to only know her by said name sit down on the other side of Astrid, it became clear that a neutral party might be benficial. Sliding her copy of Sorcerer's Magazine with the womans picture on the cover of into a small hiding place on the other side of her tea tray, the doll stood up from her seat onto the stool and hopped from one to the next to avoid trying to stand up on them all until she was but a stool away, giving the woman a little distance. "I'll do my best to keep my voice down, but it's.. nice to welcome you back to.. Black Rose." She gave slight curtsy before she'd taken a seat where she stood. And those slight pauses in her greeting? Overbearing snoring noises in her mind. Aggravating? Yes. Headache inducing? Yes. "My name is Sakura Kisagami, and in putting the past behind us, is it alright if I ask you came here?" She had every right to ask, not jut for her own sake, but as a member whom witnessed the hall's destruction, she had to be sure this wasn't something she came back to do again.

While Victoria waited for Astrid to try the drink, she noticed that the Wizard Saint was attracting some attention from senior Black Rose members. The brunette stayed out of it. She was too busy trying to stay calm to meddle in their business. She was also perusing the recipe cards to familiarize herself with the variety of drinks the bar was equipped to serve. A cursory glance showed that all the old standbys were served: the Screwdriver, the Bloody Mary, the Dirty Ashtray, and more bar staples were on the cards.

It was a good thing that Lawrence helped teach her bartending thanks to connections with an old friend of his. When she turned sixteen, Victoria learned to sling drinks in a bar called Frank's Tavern in some town... she could not remember which one it was right now. The proprietor was an older guy named Frank Taylor who was a war buddy of Lawrence's. He trained her how to make drinks, chat up the patrons, and generally work a bar. Some of the customers were sketchy and tried to hit on her, but Frank kept them off of her with a boot to the ass to anyone who tried to get handsy. It was a job with long hours, but Victoria earned enough Jewels that she never had to steal food or scavenge from trashcans again.

After a bit of reminiscing, Victoria decided to ask Jiyu and a white-haired young woman if they wanted anything. It would be rude not to serve senior guild members. Serving them would also help her exercise her rusty bartending skills.

"Hi Jiyu. Would you like a drink?" Victoria asked her. She then turned to the white-haired young woman.

"I'm sorry Miss, I don't know your name yet. Would you like a drink?" Victoria asked her. She was well-dressed. She also looked and acted like a big player in the guild.

Other members crowded into the scene, but Jiyu could care less, Astrid was drinking, little Astrid was drinking. How could the other mage just go and do that? It didn't make any sense, it was so stupid, mages didn't need to be drunks, there were so many other paths opened to them to drown things out, Jiyu knew that well enough. Of course, she could never understand this, because she couldn't even understand why humans drank when there were so many other things to do, they could play a sport, could craft something, so many options and they chose to slowly kill themselves and hurt those they loved! She never wanted to understand it, and certainly had no desire to ever be the one holding the bottle. Leaving the scene would probably be best for her mentally, but even if Astrid was drinking, she didn't want to leave her friend alone, not after it seemed as if she may just be getting the other girl back in her life outside of the passing interaction.

Even if she could not seem to stop laying there slumped over the bar with her ears pinned frontwards to the top of her head, pouting, she was still there. Had to count for something that she hadn't stormed out right? Mismatched optics narrowed at Sakura when the other girl started to speak, tail lashing from side to side briefly. How dare she, the canine didn't recall the other girl asking any other joiners why! Sakura was discriminating against Astrid for being Astrid, that was wrong, and now Jiyu kinda wanted to see her thrown into the side of the wall. She hadn't just let anyone pick on Astrid when they were kids, even if she got picked on in her place, she wasn't about to start now. What the other female had done to the Guildhall in the past didn't matter, if the potential for destruction was what they decided questions on, then they may as well be asking her too. Rage was building and steadily leaking into her assertive side, she had to get her emotions in control before she ended up switching, she didn't want Astrid to see her like that.

"I don't drink, never will, it's disgusting and useless." talking about it caused her ears to flag once and her tail to lash again, muscles tensing slightly. Of course, she could have just said something like water, but she wasn't thinking like that right now, being upset tended to do that to someone. There they went again with the special treatment, behaving differently just because it was the elf. Didn't they know that they could be emotionally hurting precious little Astrid! The canines tail was going full force now, tucked nearly against her legs, lashing madly, ears completely flattened against her head. No, she had to stay calm, mostly calm, kinda calm, no letting her beloved friend see her blow her top, she had grown out of her childhood tantrums. Although to be fair, a good deal of the time she lunged at their childhood peers when they picked on Astrid, not her, so it would be nothing new. Oh it would be so easy to fall into old habits, jump on one of the people treating Astrid differently and only be stopped from punching them by Astrid grabbing her, but she didn't have that kind of bodily strength anymore, the wild dog act didn't work anymore.

Momentarily, her ears perked up when she heard Astrid say her name, actually say her birth name, not the one she lied to everyone about. Really she should have been concerned, but truly the idea that she could hear the elf say that again as if nothing had ever changed, was so blissful. "Promise?" her ears flicked every few seconds, tail returning to its normal position, optics looking hopeful even if she still had a pout on her face. Of course, Astrid was telling the truth, the other girl would rather drown herself in that violin than drink her sorrows away, or drink in any capacity. Mikka could never see innocent little Astrid actually enjoying a drink, likely not remotely appealing to the other girls taste pallet. "Why did you think that would work? You've never been a very good actor 'strid." the expression she had was kinda weird, between pouting and happy, but it quickly faded back to the happy one she had worn when she first heard Astrid mention joining.

Oh there was that lovely statement again, the one that got the mages tail wagging, and a teary-eyed smile etched onto her face. "Wher'd you want te mark?!" quickly as she had been stuck to pouting a few feet away from the elf, she nearly instantly was standing at the side of the girl's seat again, very purposefully squeezing herself between Sakura, Lillum and Astrid, she wasn't letting people she was getting bullying vibes from, stare directly at her precious friend. "Why don't one of you go find Izayuki for 'er." she looked back at Sakura and Lillum, something of an annoyed expression on her face, vanishing the second before she turned to smile at Astrid once more. "I'm absolutely stayin ere with 'strid!" the wind user than very purposefully pushed the pungent smelling drink away from the two of them, giggle coming from her. "'Strids Joining, isn't it great Caelum?~" she looked very genuinely happy, for now, she could forget that she knew this was going to go wrong somehow. She had Astrid back! "We can go on a job together as guild-mates!" she was giggling with her statement, hand in front of her mouth and tail wagging enough to fan whoever was directly behind her. "O' My!" she got another idea and it caused her excitement to grow once more, the tiny canine almost vibrating in place. "Dinner at te same table again! After a mission, fore you go wever you stay!" there was no promise that Astrid would be staying in the silver moon, but of course, Mikka herself lived with Lu-Lu in secret most of the time, he was too Lu-Lu to be left alone for long, she had to make up for abandoning him, and it seemed he had given 'Strid the slip, so someone had to care for him.

Of course, there was the question of how unnoticed Astrid could remain with Jiyu standing there like an overexcited large puppy. After-all, someone who was half dressed and had their tail moving fast enough it made noise, was very attention drawing.

Victoria was quick to notice the cluster of Black Rose's senior members forming around the Wizard Saint. First Jiyu, then the white-haired young woman whose name turned out to be Sakura, then a newly arrived green-haired young woman, and now Lilium. An all-star cast was standing in front of her, but the brunette's attention was still fixed on Astrid. She noticed that the Wizard Saint took small sips of the drink and that she looked at Jiyu and the drink.

The seemingly unconnected things finally made sense when Jiyu firmly expressed her disdain for alcohol. So Jiyu was not a drinker. That was fine.

"My apologies, Jiyu. Would you like another beverage, something like a soda or some water?" Victoria asked the blue-haired young woman, who was busy being a fangirl over Astrid. The bar had a good selection of alcohol, but it also served non-alcoholic beverages to those who did not want to partake of stronger drinks. While she waited for Jiyu's answer, she focused her attention on Sakura. The white-haired young woman was small and looked doll-like. Still, she had to be strong to be a high-ranking guild member.

"Hello, Sakura. Would you like a drink?" Victoria asked the well-dressed young woman. She could not recall having met Sakura before. It could be that the latter was busy with guild business and did not have much time for social calls. She then turned her attention to the newly arrived green-haired guild member.

She recalled having seen her in action during the fight with Music Man and his two pals, who invaded the inn and started murdering patrons and wrecking the place. However, Victoria did not get her name because she and another brown-haired guild member were busy fighting Baird. She loathed that guy. He was obnoxious and way too cocky for his own good. Anyway, she did not know the girl's name, but she was about to find out.

"Hello Miss. I'm afraid I don't know your name yet. Would you like a drink?" Victoria asked the green-haired guild member, looking her in the eyes so that the latter would know that the question was directed at her. There was one more person who needed to be spoken too. That was Lilium, the beautiful blonde singer whose concert she had attended in Capital Crocus.

"Hello Lilium. Would you like a drink?" Victoria asked her. She had never imagined that she would be serving drinks to most of Black Rose's high-ranking members. She also could not have predicted that Astrid Foss would be joining Black Rose. This would be an occasion to remember.

The other girl's optics had this hazy look to them, distant almost as if she was looking at something besides everyone standing around. Had she accidentally upset her friend without meaning to?! Jiyu wanted to believe that everyone else could be the reason for that distant expression, but considering history she couldn't help but think it may be her fault. After all, where was her happiness when Astrid had first discovered she was alive? At the time she had only greeted the other coldly, withdrew tried to act like they didn't know each other to some extent, as if the nights spent sleeping over, going to school together and numerous other events, just hadn't happened. Emotions were so fickle, after-all it had only taken one moment to make her abandon all of it, so why shouldn't Astrid suddenly realize how awful she was and express the anger that she should have long ago. Mikka wanted it all back, but she had experiences that proved to her it could never happen, actively looking for the worst in the world in much the same way Astrid had braced for it.

Eventually, the truth or what seemed to be the truth came to light, the light-haired girl was overwhelmed by kindness.  Tears started in Astrid's bright eyes and the sight only caused some to appear in Mikka's, accompanying her pale smile. Right now, this was really happening, wasn't it? "Why?" if it was some dream, there wouldn't be so many tears, so she let her own flow, distressed that Astrid ever thought she could be seen in negative light. All she could do for a few moments was laugh, not at the elf, not at herself, but at the event itself, even if this was happening and she knew it, Mikka couldn't accept it. Good things didn't just happen! This was going to go horribly wrong somehow, she knew it, but even knowing that she couldn't help but get caught up in the moment anyway, the sweet pain of utter joy being made worse by the fact she indulged knowing it could never last. Maybe that was the biggest mistake in the world, wanting the happy ending so much you walked right into pain, chasing after it uselessly. She had been done with that charade until Astrid waltz in here.  

She went silent momentarily as Izayuki spoke to the other, wondering if there was something there that she didn't know about. "Strid" she for a few seconds could only say the other girl's name, emotions flying inside of her, making the Inugami unstable, to say the least. "IDIOT!" completely not productive, neither was grabbing Astrid's sleeve considering Izayuki was currently latched onto the elf. "Why?!" all she could do was laugh again, wiping her own tears away, a stern seemingly cross expression on her face. "You don't get to ask that." she huffed and turned her head away, but her gaze gave away how happy she was, going right back to Astrid even with her head turned. "Not after you didn't ask it of me." she couldn't put up the tough girl act anymore, she latched herself into some sort of hug on Astrid, even if meant she had to half hug her guild master as well. "You just took me back, as if I hadn't abandoned you, so why shouldn't I?" she wiped her tears on someone's clothing, not that she knew which of the two she wiped them on. "Idiot 'strid, tat one thing isn't who you are, I know tat." she stuck her tongue out for part of her statement, turning her head away, even though she refused to let go of the two.

With Astrid so close and upset? The mask was down, she couldn't be the powerful mage, the cool ace she had grown into, all she could do was be the emotionally driven, good-hearted but impulsive and rough girl that Astrid knew. Oops.

A lot had started to happen in a short span of time, so much so that the doll had sort of retreated back to allow the others chances to come forward. Not that she wasn't one to be bugged by others coming around, but she was a bit of an introvert at heart, so it was easier for her to sit back and just observe and go from there in trying to refit herself in a conversation or situation if need be. Her main reason of simply sitting back was the show of the guild master. From her standpoint, something seemed off about her this time around. Sakura knew there was history between the two, but was it something more than she had heard it was? Astrid was someone who in some fit of anger blew up the hall. Beyond that, there was nothing that she knew beyond a reason why or anything. Still, she was here, the tone, body language, and her expression showed clear fear and remorse, but it wasn't her place to feel any sort of way. She should, as a member and an ace, but there wasn't anything special about it to her. Right now she was someone who wanted a home and she'd treat her as such.

Still, the silent doll didn't do much more than give an icy glare at the holy mage across from her as she had been a little silver-tongued about Astrid's arrival. Her crude language was a little more than needed for being angry, but giving a rolling of her eyes, she just chalked it up as people venting in their own manner. Victoria would receive a shake of the dolls head to the question of wanting a drink. In fact, the way had seemed to start to look, it would be a much easier time for Sakura to help calm any nervous feelings that Astrid might have. Giving no word of excusing herself, the summoner hopped up from the seat and walked along the stools before grabbing her tray and sliding it down some without making much noise at all. Taking an empty cup, she would lift the kettle and fill the cup with pipping hot tea before she would head over and set the cup down right in front of Astrid. "This will help calm your nerves." She said calmly ad assuringly, ignoring the blondes ignorance without giving much reaction to it. If she would taste it, the overwhelming rich flavor would surely help brighten her mood... or so she hoped.

With just Jiyu's reacting all of a sudden too, it made her pause in doing anything else while she just listened on in how odd it was she had been acting since Astrid arrived. Surely, it wasn't too bad, but the way she was going on was a little more childish than her normal self. She tried to pull herself out of the others affairs as it wasn't her business to meddle or ask about. Though in surprise, a sudden figure would wrap their hands lightly around the cloaked Saints shoulders. Her head would pop around her right side and with a giggle, her bubbly personality would show on her face. "Put up that smile, sunshine! You got friends all around wanting to accept you with open arms!" The summon chimed in, smiling brightly still to hope for giving the girl some boost in her self esteem in this moment. "Oh, Ms. Foss, this is one of my summons, Natasha." Sakura introduced, finally speaking out once again. "But she is right. Get a load off, relax, calm down is all you need to do right now." Her blessings of sorts to her joining, Sakura picked up her own cup of tea and sipped on it. "Oh oh oh! Lilium! Are we on for a duet later!? Maybe I could talk some others into making a big group song!" Turning her attention to the blonde singer, she hoped for a little action in singing later with her, but it wasn't anything that saying no to would hurt her. Offers are offers after all~

Summon:

Victoria was halfway listening to the various conversations that were happening in front of her.
She did not listen too closely because it was none of her business. If Astrid, Izayuki, or any other of the senior guild members wanted her to know anything, they would tell her directly. Still, she could not help but to overhear parts of conversations. For example, she found out that Astrid was a previous Black Rose member before something negative happened and she decided to leave for another place.

Victoria expressed surprise as Seth put in an appearance. In fact, he had jogged up to a position behind the counter. Still, it was a pleasant surprise. At least Francesca Corlone was not lobbing barstools and drinks at her.

"Hey Seth. You're just in time. You're looking at an all-star lineup of guild members." She informed him. He looked to be doing well for himself. He was one of the guild's two newly minted Aces, a position of equal parts prestige and responsibility. Victoria herself was the other Ace; the Guild Master had deemed the brunette worthy of the title and the latter accepted it.

Victoria turned to a staff member who had conveniently arrived. It was the redhead from the other day. She had long, wavy red hair and green eyes. She wore a staff uniform.

"I'd like some red velvet cake, please. It's for the Guild Master. Please make it as fast as possible. Also, please don't make any additions to it... I'd like a plain red velvet cake." Victoria requested of the young woman with red hair. The latter nodded and turned away to retrieve it. In the meantime, the brunette prepared the iced tea. Izayuki had indicated that the beverage was to be plain, so she did not add alcohol. It would be a plain iced tea for the Guild Master.

"Here's your iced tea, Izayuki. Your cake will be here shortly." Victoria calmly informed the Guild Master. Victoria wondered what had happened between Astrid and Black Rose to make this meeting so emotionally charged. Jiyu seemed to be the most emotionally affected member next to Izayuki herself; she was speaking in an entirely different speech pattern. Something about Jiyu's speech sounded familiar. Victoria had heard it somewhere before, but where?

Her train of thought was interrupted by the cake arriving. The redhead had carried it from the kitchen to the bar, making absolutely certain that it had reached its intended recipient intact. Whatever she was being paid, it needed to be raised.

"Thanks... uh, what's your name?" Victoria asked the redhead.

"Samantha." She replied.

"Thanks Samantha. You're a lifesaver!" Victoria expressed her gratitude for the cake's safe delivery. Samantha nodded and went back to her duties.

"Your cake is here, Guild Master." Victoria announced to the pink-haired young woman. Now that that matter had been settled, she turned her attention back to Jiyu's speech pattern. Where had she heard that before?

Victoria's attention was split between Caelum and Astrid. Caelum's companion Bastet spoke to her, requesting two ice teas and two strawberry cheesecakes. That was a simple enough order to fill. The brunette quickly made the iced teas and gave them to Caelum and Bastet.

"The strawberry cheesecakes will take a minute, Caelum and Bastet." Victoria said to the green-haired guild member and her companion. She had just turned around when Samantha greeted her. Victoria was about to speak when the redhead spoke up.

"Two strawberry cheesecakes, got it." Samantha said before spinning on her heels and walking towards the kitchen. How did she know? Was the redhead psychic or just paying attention? Victoria had no idea. She only knew that the Silver Moon Inn staff member had an uncanny knack for delivering orders at the exact moment they were needed.

Victoria watched Caelum, Jiyu, and others start hugging the Wizard Saint, who decided to join Black Rose after all. The benefits that Astrid's membership provided for the guild could not be understated. Astrid was a very powerful mage who had few equals, but sheer magical power was not all she could offer. Her joining Black Rose would give the guild a good public face, facilitating their work. This was great.

Victoria's excitement started bubbling to the surface, but she had to keep it under control. She did not want to creep out Astrid on the latter's first day. Samantha's arrival with the cheesecakes helped the brunette come back down to earth.

"Thanks Samantha." Victoria thanked the staff member, who nodded and departed just as swiftly as she had arrived.

"Sorry about the wait. Here you go!" Victoria said to Caelum and Bastet as she slid the plates with their cheesecakes to them. Observing and listening to the talk informed Victoria that there was a lot of history between Astrid and Black Rose that she did not know about. She learned that Astrid had once destroyed the inn during a fit of rage. Victoria was somewhat relieved... the inn being wrecked was not a recent trend that had started when she joined. Victoria was also relieved that she did not have to face an angry Wizard Saint and learn firsthand how powerful their magic was.

Victoria pondered whether she should say something during such an emotionally charged moment for Astrid. Part of her wanted to keep quiet. The other part wanted to say something encouraging. The other part won out. As a bartender and guild member, it was her job to converse with other guild members, and Astrid was now part of Black Rose.

"Welcome to the guild, Miss." Victoria said to Astrid, looking into her single crimson eye.