Close to lunch hour, Luna's gaze was deep into her book as she was waiting out her journey. She had heard of the new device made in the city without magic, she wondered what it would be like. She heard it would be a draining effect, and wondered what it would feel like. Her train ride was rather peaceful, for she had the seat next to the aisle.
At the seat closer to the window was a little girl of roughly six to seven years of age with jet black hair in pig tails and wearing a sky blue dress. Luna couldn't help but admire the young girl's curiosity as she asked her grandmother loads of questions about whatever she could see when she stood up on her seat to look out the window. Across from the little girl was a teenage boy with slick black hair that went down to his shoulders, bangs blocked his right eye but a careful glance would reveal an eye patch underneath them. His face was adorned with a scowl as his green eye was devoid of happiness. He wore a black long coat, black pants, and a grey button up shirt with the top half unbuttoned. He completed he outfitted with what appeared to be leather and steel toe boots. His presence was not a happy one and gave off a tense aura that seemed to not bother the three surrounding people, but other passengers were disturbed. His glare was at the clock at the back of the cart. Meanwhile the third, who was across from Luna was a short elderly lady with braided gray hair, a long purple dress with a purse to match, flannel shall, a wooden cane and black flat shoes.
All had been peaceful until a rather punkish figure walked buy, he was wearing tattered jeans, shoes with numerous holes, an open and torn vest, with a orange mohawk. He stopped halfway through which was in the way of the young boy's line of sight. He grunted and looked to the young boy. "Oi! What you looking at boy!" To which the boy rolled his eyes and responded annoyed "I was looking at the clock." The Punk's knuckles could be heard cracking as he made a fist with one hand as he got aggravated thinking the boy was trying to be funny. He raised his hand as he prepared a fist "Ye think you're funny boy? Do ya? I'll break your face!"
The young lady started to quiver and the elderly raised her hands defensively "Please, sir, he's just a boy!" The punk raised his voice louder "Ya think I care! No one looks at me that way, other wise they get a taste of me, how'd you like some!" Luna closed her book and put it down as she could tell things were going bad. The punk raised his hand and started to punch the elderly lady but Luna flexed her left hand to point towards the punk's fist as a aura pulse formed and while on a level about 60% of it's normal size she shot it at the punk. His arm got shot back missing the lady and hitting the top of the seat, but in that moment Luna got up and grabbed the man by the collar and threw him onto the ground. In the midst of that the young girl saw Luna act and noticed the white tattoo on the back of her neck.
The punk hit the ground floor face first and Luna looked at him with annoyance. "Threatening a boy, assaulting an elderly lady, show some decency. Get out of here before I stop holding back." The punk scowled and got up and left, passengers around applauded Luna as she sat back down. The elderly lady sighed relief. "Thank you miss, I'm not sure that would've gone better if you weren't here. Jace her doesn't smile that much, gets him into jams sometimes. Then there's Serene over there, the little lady has a big appetite for knowledge. They're a handful, but I love my grandkids just the same. Oh, deary me, forgive me for rambling, just call me Rane.".
Luna smiled, not minding the rambling. "Oh, it's fine, he was no trouble at all. I'm Luna. A pleasure to meet you.". Serene looked at Luna full of curiosity and questions, but the first one coming was obvious given the display that happened. "Uhm, miss Luna, are you a wizard?" Luna nodded. She could tell the young girl was amazed. "Yes, I'm a wizard of the Crystal Swan guild. Currently on my way to the Neutral Grounds." "Wow! Are you on a job right now!" Luna shook her head, she could see a lot of herself in this kid, curious about everything. "No, actually I'm on my way to get one of those new iLacs." The young girl got excited at the prospect of a traveling companion as they shared a destination. The elderly lady picked up on the excitement. "How delightful, so are we. I can't offer you much but with a wizard accompanying I'd feel a whole lot safer."
It was at this point Jace scoffed as he pointed out the truth of the situation. "Once we get to the Neutral Grounds, her magic is useless and she's just a girl." Rane slapped his wrist. "How rude! Is that any way to treat someone who saved your hide!". Luna sighed as she knew this was going to happen a lot when she goes to the Neutral Grounds, but she didn't care. She didn't like being judged as useless without her magic. "It's fine, I'm used to this by now, I'm not the eldest wizard on the block yet. But I'd be delighted to travel with you."
Through the rest of the trip was Serene asking Luna questions, when it came to her personally she gave dodgey answers. However as they got within the borders Luna felt an odd pain on her neck as the black scar turned red. Getting off the train, Luna checked a map for directions to the factory and the group started to walk through the city. As Jace was stuck carrying both his own bag and his sister's, he got annoyed at the sight of Luna with just her clothes and asked a question of his own. "Yo, if you don't mind me asking. Are you one of those requiping wizards or somethin'? You carry around almost nothing." Luna shook her head as she explained her case. "Well, I'm not working, so I just need to get out of the city once I'm done and I can get home to Crystalli." Every mention of the guild seemed to make Serene more interested, and Jace more reclusive. Luna finally asked them a question. "Hey Jace, you're not that much younger than me, have you ever thought about becoming a wizard?"
Jace stayed silent until his grandmother shot him a look, and decided it was better to come clean then stay silent. "Alright, I wanted to, ever since a wizard pulled me out from a gang skirmish that cost me an eye. I was just a kid, problem is I can't learn magic. Gave up on that foolish dream a long time ago." Luna looked at him with pity, as she was in a similar situation, she wanted to become a wizard but struggled to learn. She couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if he found the tome instead of her. "There's more to being a wizard then magic." Jace remained silent for the remainder of the trip until they arrived at the factory. It seemed oddly quiet outside the door, normally one would assume there would be traffic.
Luna got suspicious but she approached the door and walked into the storefront area where she saw the punk from earlier holding a cracked iLac arguing with the attendant, and eventually grabbed him by the collar. "Whattaya mean no insurance I'm outta luck! Seems to me you're the one how's gonna be out of luck when I shove this crap down you're-" Luna raised her voice interrupting the punk, being less tolerant of the punk now more then she was before. She walked across the room as she "OI! Buddy, if you got a problem, talk, if not, get out. This is a business. I don't like being rude, but you are really something." Jace spoke up as Luna appeared to try and play the hero. "What the hell are you doing! You can't do anything without your magic!"
The punk turned around, letting the clerk go and smiled as he remembered Luna from earlier, cracking his knuckles as he checked her out. He licked his lips which made Luna shudder inside. "I see, now that I gots a look at ya, you're quite the doll. Howabout this, get down on your knees and beg for my forgiveness, and maybe, just maybe, I might make you mine and rock your world with my-" Before he could finish Luna had already roundhouse kicked him in the knees and used a well placed jab to knock him over. "Damn bitch! The punk used a leg sweep to knock Luna back, she landed on her knee and a foot, to which the punk quickly got up and charged Luna before in a sweeping motion grabbed her by the neck and repeatedly shot her in the stomach. The trio was stunned with fear, however it was Jace who managed to utter a single word. "Why"
Between her grunts, Luna maged to utter some words that were just louder then the laughing of the punk. "The world, is full, of ill will, and good will, it takes, someone, strong, not of body, or mana, to say enough!" Luna tried to get a kick in but failed. "It takes someone with heart, to look beyond all and strike, the ill will in the eyes! To say no more, no more will it pass!" Jace dropped his bag and the suitcase as he gritted his teeth, his body finally able to move as he was looking past fear and dashed towards the scene. Before the last punch would hit Luna as she started to cough blood, he grabbed the Punk's arm and held it back. The Punk turned his gaze to Jace as his eye stared right into the Punks, full of determination. "What are ya doing ya brat!" Jace gritted his teeth and held with all his might against the larger man. "Guess I caught the brave and stupid bug, as I'm not putting up with your dragon crap any more!"
Taking advantage of the distraction, Luna grabbed the man's arm around her neck and placed her feet against the wall behind her and then jumped and twisted her body as she kicked the Punk in the face, knocking him over. She pushed on his arm as he fell freeing herself, but propelling herself higher proved to be stupid as she hit the ceiling. Meanwhile as Luna was kicking Jace, Jace had let go of the man's arm to to be dragged with him as he was kicked out of the store and right into the officer's feet just outside who was responding to the silent alarm. As Luna fell, Jace moved a few steps forward and caught the wizard in his arms, bridal style. Rane and Serene, plus the storekeeper applauded the show. One officer was handcuffing the Punk while another came in and got the full testimony from everyone, who proceeded to leave in a short time.
A few minutes afterwards, Luna received her own iLac from the shop clerk. The man said there was a surprise on the one's given to Luna and Jace, to which both checked and found the picture of Jace holding Luna after she fell. Both of them blushed instantly but Luna put her iLac away rather quickly as the party of four left for the train station. Luna didn't care where she went so long as it was out of range of the Neutral Grounds, followed the train the family was on. "So, where you off to next?" Rane, responded as Serene was resting head on her lap. Jace sitting next to Luna. "Oh, we're just gonna look around, this and that, trying to find a place to settle, this was just a detour for us. But howabout you? Is there a chance that you'll look for Jace again when you wanna settle?"
Luna tried to avoid that question but found a slightly adjacent detour. She turned to Jace, "Oh that's right, Jace, if you ever want to be a wizard, Crystal Swan is always an open door. If you want to join, I already gave you my LIC, so, er, well, feel free to text me."
As they got far away from the Neutral grounds area, Luna's scar turned black again and she could feel her magic again. "I, I think I'm gonna go. It was nice meeting you all, keep in touch. Luna touched her tattoo before her body turned into a white light and dissipated, teleporting back to Crystalli. Rane laughed "Oh ho ho, that's one fine girl. You should try to keep her." Jace looked towards his new iLac, specifically the new background photo from his only photo. "Oh mind your own love life you old coot."
WC: 2236
At the seat closer to the window was a little girl of roughly six to seven years of age with jet black hair in pig tails and wearing a sky blue dress. Luna couldn't help but admire the young girl's curiosity as she asked her grandmother loads of questions about whatever she could see when she stood up on her seat to look out the window. Across from the little girl was a teenage boy with slick black hair that went down to his shoulders, bangs blocked his right eye but a careful glance would reveal an eye patch underneath them. His face was adorned with a scowl as his green eye was devoid of happiness. He wore a black long coat, black pants, and a grey button up shirt with the top half unbuttoned. He completed he outfitted with what appeared to be leather and steel toe boots. His presence was not a happy one and gave off a tense aura that seemed to not bother the three surrounding people, but other passengers were disturbed. His glare was at the clock at the back of the cart. Meanwhile the third, who was across from Luna was a short elderly lady with braided gray hair, a long purple dress with a purse to match, flannel shall, a wooden cane and black flat shoes.
All had been peaceful until a rather punkish figure walked buy, he was wearing tattered jeans, shoes with numerous holes, an open and torn vest, with a orange mohawk. He stopped halfway through which was in the way of the young boy's line of sight. He grunted and looked to the young boy. "Oi! What you looking at boy!" To which the boy rolled his eyes and responded annoyed "I was looking at the clock." The Punk's knuckles could be heard cracking as he made a fist with one hand as he got aggravated thinking the boy was trying to be funny. He raised his hand as he prepared a fist "Ye think you're funny boy? Do ya? I'll break your face!"
The young lady started to quiver and the elderly raised her hands defensively "Please, sir, he's just a boy!" The punk raised his voice louder "Ya think I care! No one looks at me that way, other wise they get a taste of me, how'd you like some!" Luna closed her book and put it down as she could tell things were going bad. The punk raised his hand and started to punch the elderly lady but Luna flexed her left hand to point towards the punk's fist as a aura pulse formed and while on a level about 60% of it's normal size she shot it at the punk. His arm got shot back missing the lady and hitting the top of the seat, but in that moment Luna got up and grabbed the man by the collar and threw him onto the ground. In the midst of that the young girl saw Luna act and noticed the white tattoo on the back of her neck.
The punk hit the ground floor face first and Luna looked at him with annoyance. "Threatening a boy, assaulting an elderly lady, show some decency. Get out of here before I stop holding back." The punk scowled and got up and left, passengers around applauded Luna as she sat back down. The elderly lady sighed relief. "Thank you miss, I'm not sure that would've gone better if you weren't here. Jace her doesn't smile that much, gets him into jams sometimes. Then there's Serene over there, the little lady has a big appetite for knowledge. They're a handful, but I love my grandkids just the same. Oh, deary me, forgive me for rambling, just call me Rane.".
Luna smiled, not minding the rambling. "Oh, it's fine, he was no trouble at all. I'm Luna. A pleasure to meet you.". Serene looked at Luna full of curiosity and questions, but the first one coming was obvious given the display that happened. "Uhm, miss Luna, are you a wizard?" Luna nodded. She could tell the young girl was amazed. "Yes, I'm a wizard of the Crystal Swan guild. Currently on my way to the Neutral Grounds." "Wow! Are you on a job right now!" Luna shook her head, she could see a lot of herself in this kid, curious about everything. "No, actually I'm on my way to get one of those new iLacs." The young girl got excited at the prospect of a traveling companion as they shared a destination. The elderly lady picked up on the excitement. "How delightful, so are we. I can't offer you much but with a wizard accompanying I'd feel a whole lot safer."
It was at this point Jace scoffed as he pointed out the truth of the situation. "Once we get to the Neutral Grounds, her magic is useless and she's just a girl." Rane slapped his wrist. "How rude! Is that any way to treat someone who saved your hide!". Luna sighed as she knew this was going to happen a lot when she goes to the Neutral Grounds, but she didn't care. She didn't like being judged as useless without her magic. "It's fine, I'm used to this by now, I'm not the eldest wizard on the block yet. But I'd be delighted to travel with you."
Through the rest of the trip was Serene asking Luna questions, when it came to her personally she gave dodgey answers. However as they got within the borders Luna felt an odd pain on her neck as the black scar turned red. Getting off the train, Luna checked a map for directions to the factory and the group started to walk through the city. As Jace was stuck carrying both his own bag and his sister's, he got annoyed at the sight of Luna with just her clothes and asked a question of his own. "Yo, if you don't mind me asking. Are you one of those requiping wizards or somethin'? You carry around almost nothing." Luna shook her head as she explained her case. "Well, I'm not working, so I just need to get out of the city once I'm done and I can get home to Crystalli." Every mention of the guild seemed to make Serene more interested, and Jace more reclusive. Luna finally asked them a question. "Hey Jace, you're not that much younger than me, have you ever thought about becoming a wizard?"
Jace stayed silent until his grandmother shot him a look, and decided it was better to come clean then stay silent. "Alright, I wanted to, ever since a wizard pulled me out from a gang skirmish that cost me an eye. I was just a kid, problem is I can't learn magic. Gave up on that foolish dream a long time ago." Luna looked at him with pity, as she was in a similar situation, she wanted to become a wizard but struggled to learn. She couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if he found the tome instead of her. "There's more to being a wizard then magic." Jace remained silent for the remainder of the trip until they arrived at the factory. It seemed oddly quiet outside the door, normally one would assume there would be traffic.
Luna got suspicious but she approached the door and walked into the storefront area where she saw the punk from earlier holding a cracked iLac arguing with the attendant, and eventually grabbed him by the collar. "Whattaya mean no insurance I'm outta luck! Seems to me you're the one how's gonna be out of luck when I shove this crap down you're-" Luna raised her voice interrupting the punk, being less tolerant of the punk now more then she was before. She walked across the room as she "OI! Buddy, if you got a problem, talk, if not, get out. This is a business. I don't like being rude, but you are really something." Jace spoke up as Luna appeared to try and play the hero. "What the hell are you doing! You can't do anything without your magic!"
The punk turned around, letting the clerk go and smiled as he remembered Luna from earlier, cracking his knuckles as he checked her out. He licked his lips which made Luna shudder inside. "I see, now that I gots a look at ya, you're quite the doll. Howabout this, get down on your knees and beg for my forgiveness, and maybe, just maybe, I might make you mine and rock your world with my-" Before he could finish Luna had already roundhouse kicked him in the knees and used a well placed jab to knock him over. "Damn bitch! The punk used a leg sweep to knock Luna back, she landed on her knee and a foot, to which the punk quickly got up and charged Luna before in a sweeping motion grabbed her by the neck and repeatedly shot her in the stomach. The trio was stunned with fear, however it was Jace who managed to utter a single word. "Why"
Between her grunts, Luna maged to utter some words that were just louder then the laughing of the punk. "The world, is full, of ill will, and good will, it takes, someone, strong, not of body, or mana, to say enough!" Luna tried to get a kick in but failed. "It takes someone with heart, to look beyond all and strike, the ill will in the eyes! To say no more, no more will it pass!" Jace dropped his bag and the suitcase as he gritted his teeth, his body finally able to move as he was looking past fear and dashed towards the scene. Before the last punch would hit Luna as she started to cough blood, he grabbed the Punk's arm and held it back. The Punk turned his gaze to Jace as his eye stared right into the Punks, full of determination. "What are ya doing ya brat!" Jace gritted his teeth and held with all his might against the larger man. "Guess I caught the brave and stupid bug, as I'm not putting up with your dragon crap any more!"
Taking advantage of the distraction, Luna grabbed the man's arm around her neck and placed her feet against the wall behind her and then jumped and twisted her body as she kicked the Punk in the face, knocking him over. She pushed on his arm as he fell freeing herself, but propelling herself higher proved to be stupid as she hit the ceiling. Meanwhile as Luna was kicking Jace, Jace had let go of the man's arm to to be dragged with him as he was kicked out of the store and right into the officer's feet just outside who was responding to the silent alarm. As Luna fell, Jace moved a few steps forward and caught the wizard in his arms, bridal style. Rane and Serene, plus the storekeeper applauded the show. One officer was handcuffing the Punk while another came in and got the full testimony from everyone, who proceeded to leave in a short time.
A few minutes afterwards, Luna received her own iLac from the shop clerk. The man said there was a surprise on the one's given to Luna and Jace, to which both checked and found the picture of Jace holding Luna after she fell. Both of them blushed instantly but Luna put her iLac away rather quickly as the party of four left for the train station. Luna didn't care where she went so long as it was out of range of the Neutral Grounds, followed the train the family was on. "So, where you off to next?" Rane, responded as Serene was resting head on her lap. Jace sitting next to Luna. "Oh, we're just gonna look around, this and that, trying to find a place to settle, this was just a detour for us. But howabout you? Is there a chance that you'll look for Jace again when you wanna settle?"
Luna tried to avoid that question but found a slightly adjacent detour. She turned to Jace, "Oh that's right, Jace, if you ever want to be a wizard, Crystal Swan is always an open door. If you want to join, I already gave you my LIC, so, er, well, feel free to text me."
As they got far away from the Neutral grounds area, Luna's scar turned black again and she could feel her magic again. "I, I think I'm gonna go. It was nice meeting you all, keep in touch. Luna touched her tattoo before her body turned into a white light and dissipated, teleporting back to Crystalli. Rane laughed "Oh ho ho, that's one fine girl. You should try to keep her." Jace looked towards his new iLac, specifically the new background photo from his only photo. "Oh mind your own love life you old coot."
WC: 2236
