Words Aren’t Enough... (open)

Her short figure kept anyone from inside from seeing that she was anywhere nearby. Honestly, she felt embarrassed and ashamed by everything though it wasn’t much that she had done to begin with. Over the last month, she had completely dropped off the radar. Nobody had seen, heard, or been able to figure out where she went to. That even had included her own summons. She didn’t want to be found and those reasons she kept to herself. For whomever could even look into the members that resided in the guild would have a slight clue as to the reason, but the full story was set behind the porcelain skull of the doll to stay there.

Sure, a month had passed in time since then, but she couldn’t stand the idea of being around in the kind of mood that she had gotten. Maybe she should have told someone why, but it wasn’t something she was comfortable with. Though after the time passed that she felt back to herself, it seemed to just give her an empty feeling. A million reasons could be given for her having vanished so abruptly with no word, no note, no warning of any sort... but to her nothing was good enough for it. For whatever reason she felt it necessary to keep from someone knowing the full story. Maybe for the idea of being sympathized or coddled over it? Perhaps that along was just something her mother had her to believe everyone else would probably do.

She hated this more than anything than to be a burden in any way shape or form. Going out of her way to be exactly the opposite, sometimes it just couldn’t go her way in that sense. Still, standing outside of the bar for some time debating her options quickly soured on her. There was another way in she could go... Sakura slipped in through the back door of the inn, making her way through the back room area before she found herself through the doorway into the bar. She’d only been back there maybe once or twice, but it felt so different after having not remembered much else about it. Still, the lack of staff and noise overall was nice for a mid afternoon. Since nobody had been behind the bar at the moment, the small doll pulled down a bottle of alcohol, struggling to hold it up for long. Letting it down, she sighed and grabbed a fresh glass, pouring herself nearly a half a glass of the drink before she would realize something; How was she going to lift it back up? ”Well shiitake mushrooms.... girl, you did NOT think this through at all...” Looking around, she felt helpless to the situation, but simply picked up the bottle and set it on a shelf with enough height to sit it for a while. When she got around to it, she would tell someone, but for now she had other business.

With a sigh, the hands of the doll picked p the glass and carried it with her around the bar to her normal corner stool. Climbing up, she took a quick look around and then raised the glass up. ”Cheers... to another wasted year... a month overdue.” In one sense, it was a celebration, but in the other... it really hadn’t been for her. Not when she couldn’t let go of the past just yet.

Wearing a green t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts with white tennis shoes, Victoria walked into the bar and looked over everything. She took a count of all the brands... Slatheron vodka, Albino Gander vodka, Hudkayser beer, all the usual brands were accounted for. However, one of the glasses was missing. So was a bottle of alcohol.

Victoria was puzzled. She did not walk off with a bottle because she never drank on the job... not alcohol, anyway. She drank a Strawberry Slam while tending the bar earlier and she had already put her money for the carbonated drink in the cash register. The employees did not steal a bottle because none of them had carried out any suspicious packages. Where could it have gone?

The brunette looked around and barely spotted a short young woman with white hair holding a glass and the missing bottle. The young woman looked kind of familiar, but a name could not be put to the face. Victoria would talk to her and learn the name.

"Hi there. Can I help you?" Victoria asked the diminutive young woman.

Part of her was tempted to simply down the whole drink... But a half a glass in one go, even for someone who couldn't feel anything would get that burning sensation she knew that alcohol was known for. Against her worst off judgement and with a small sigh to boot, Sakura simply took a sip instead. Enough of a feeling to make her flinch from the feeling before a heavy exasperation. "How.. can people say this crap goes down smooth... My god..." Shaking her head a bit to try and recover from the sour first impression she had, the doll had thought the idea over in her mind for a moment. Debating the idea of pushing the drink away or taking another sip was tempting either way. It was though her normal common sense told her to forget it while the other side of the fence told her to take one more just to calm her nerves. With just a shrug, the small summoner lifted the glass to her pale lips and let more pour down the hatch.

Out of the corner of her eye she had spotted someone stepping behind the bar. With her glass making a big clang onto the counter as she emptied the glass, her eyes trained onto the one whom got behind the bar. Her memory didn't long before it had filed the girl identity at all, but something seemed slightly different about her. What it was she wasn't sure of, but there was definitely something different about her for sure. Quietly, Sakura watched the brunette counting through all the bottles, knowing for sure that she would find that one would be missing from the shelf it was on. Once she did finally notice, she turned her attention about to the doll with their gloved hands wrapped lightly around the glass. Her eyes looked up as she was asked about needing any help. Silence ensued for a moment before she averted her eyes away to the left by the wall "Not necessarily, but..." She paused, pushing the empty glass away. "I.. don't feel so good anymore..." Her eyes fluttered as the amount of alcohol hit her, but it felt different than she'd remembered Akita describing it to her. "Note to self: Do not drink when in a doll body... Feels like I skipped right to the hangover part of this."

Brushing away the hair of her bangs from her face, the doll looked back up to the bartender. "That bottle is on a shelf behind the counter. I'm sorry, but I didn't see anyone and honestly the last month and a half have been harder on me than I thought it would." Well... that wasn't supposed to slip out so easily, but it was whatever at this point.

Victoria took a casual glance at the bottle of alcohol the small young woman had chosen. The name said it all. CEILING Vodka. That brand of vodka was not for the beginner. It was a decent one, but it was not as smooth as Slatheron or Albino Gander.

"If I may say so, CEILING vodka's not for beginners. A joke is that it's called CEILING because that's what you'll be facing if you take it too lightly. And it sounds like you took it too lightly." Victoria said to the white-haired young woman. The brunette spotted the glass and noticed that the patron had downed half the glass in one go. It was no wonder she felt bad.

"Don't worry about the bottle. I'll cover this one." Victoria said to the young woman. She looked awfully familiar. She was not sure where she had seen the girl, but the brunette had definitely seen her before. Remembering where they had met was the problem.

Just a week had passed since Kinzo joined Black Rose and started his career as a mage. And while becoming an important mage was not his overall goal, it was an important step towards the bigger motivation. During his first week, Kinzo was only given small easy jobs. Despite being decently strong, he had little to no experience and still a tone to learn before taking the more difficult jobs. This first week, however, was a very exhausting one. Kinzo took extremely serious his job and worked day and night without really taking a good rest. This was going to be the first day he spent in the guild instead of being out and working.

Despite being extremely tired and exhausted, Kinzo would still look fresh and rested as he walked towards the entrance of Black Rose. His appearance resembled that of a healthy and happy man. Carrying his suit jacket with a single finger of his right hand, he saw himself in the need to pushed the door with his left hand. It was not the first time he was in such a building; however, he was still unfamiliar with most faces and rooms. Kinzo had only slept in the Inn once and had met mostly civilians staying the night and leaving the next day. However, despite only exploring the guild once, he was certain about one thing, the bar's location.

Kinzo walked towards the bar and easily found a stool to sit on. The place was rather empty and with an enjoyable lack of noise. Kinzo placed his jacket on the back of the stool and could not avoid noticing two female figures talking to each other. One of them Kinzo could recognize. Victoria, a very important member of Black Rose. He had seen her maybe once around the Inn but had never really spoken to her. The second girl was a stranger to Kinzo, he had never seen such girl before; however, he could notice some sort of familiarity in both girl's body language. "Good afternoon..." Said Kinzo as he sat on the stool he found. "My name is Kinzo Takimoto. You must be Victoria." He said at first speaking to the brunette girl. "And you young girl must be..." Kinzo left his sentence unfinished hoping the girl would introduce herself to him. He smiled at both as he tried to keep a friendly approach. He really was just interested in making friends and allies in Black Rose. He would never want to seem aggressive or too awkward.

While Victoria tried to figure out who the small white-haired girl was, a tall brown-haired man entered the establishment and greeted her. Victoria took notice of the man's commanding presence and no-nonsense attire. He spoke to her in a polite tone and treated her like a human being instead of a piece of furniture. Some of the inn's patrons could learn from his example.

"Hi there Mr. Takimoto. I'm Victoria Sheridan. Nice to meet you." Victoria said to him, extending her hand for a handshake. Even though she was a senior member of the guild compared to him, she felt slightly intimidated by his stature and bearing. He seemed like a no-nonsense businessman type... she briefly wondered what led him to join Black Rose. She would not ask him because that was his business and his business alone.

"Would you like a drink, Mister Takimoto? Or is there something else I can do for you?" Victoria asked him. Victoria did not like to flaunt her title, so it was not apparent to outsiders that she was a person of some renown and influence. Being an Ace was about more than holding a fancy title and being in a position of authority. It meant constantly working to build and improve Black Rose's reputation for standing up for the people of Earthland. Being an Ace also meant helping its members prosper as well.

Sakura felt no ill feelings when it came to things like sickness, intoxication, and drug related factors that would impair normal functionalities and the like. It’s just that as far as she knew, there wasn’t anything that could make her fall into the last two categories. Sickness she knew would never be an issue since her body contained nothing.. well nothing but mainly magic of sorts as well as her and the Yokai’s souls whom were bound to this doll body... or rather the other. ”No, it’s not that. I don’t experiment with things with my body the way it is. I didn’t honestly believe alcohol could affect me, but I suppose I was wrong... I blame you, mutt.” Her last comment was more of a matter toward herself, aimed at the only other thing that was listening to this conversation... as quiet as the alcoholic of a spirit she could be.

With a quiet sigh, Sakura had sat up from her slightly hunched over position and turned lightly in her seat as she pushed the glass away from her. ”I.. appreciate that offer, Ms. Victoria, but that won’t be an issue. One is plenty enough for me. I hope it’s a long time before I want or feel the need to have another.” Her eyes avoided the sight of the empty glass, sliding everything of hers away from the glass so she wouldn’t be tempted to sway her own decision into another glass until she probably consumed the whole bottle. It wasn’t going to be like that no matter how much she tried. If it truly was Akita’s fault due to the fusing of their souls, then her want for the drink was truly going to be an issue.

As the sudden approach of another person came suddenly to the slightly inebriated doll, her eyes nor her head shifted in his direction. If he was just someone passing by for a quick drink or directions somewhere, then Sakura had no need to pay attention much but to listen. Sure, she’d probably still held onto her old title despite being gone, but nevertheless it wasn’t going to be an issue if it was or not. The summoner looked over toward him as he led into the girl wanting to be introduced to him, which was rather.. off putting to her. Still, the doll nodded her head lightly and turned to face toward him. ”I’m Sakura Kisagami, from Black Rose.” Slightly blunt into her greeting, she tried to push herself through the bit of a light headed feeling so she could actually function like a proper member.

Kinzo had honestly taken a leap of faith when speaking to both girls. He indeed had some appealing charismatic traits and tried his best to act politely; however, the moment he let a word out of his mouth, he realized he might have interrupted a private conversation of some sorts. His social paranoia faded as soon as the brunette girl now identified as Victoria offered him a handshake. Kinzo extended his hand in acceptance to her greet and quickly understood he did not step into an unkind situation. "Is it possible to get coffee here? If not, I'll gladly take some whiskey." Kinzo asked for a drink now that he knew he was not considered a hostile character squeezing himself into the small talk.

Kinzo turned to the second girl who he would now call Sakura. "Sakura Kisagami and Victoria Sheridan, both from Black Rose." Said Kinzo as he repeated the new information to himself. "Very nice to meet you both. And in fact, I, myself, am also a member of Black Rose. However, I haven't been here very long so I'm still not familiar with names or faces around here. With the exception of some of course." Kinzo was maybe the newest member in the guild and hadn't even been in the building his whole first week. Now that he knew these two females were in fact also in the guild, he could just assume they did not only have more time being part of the guild but also more experience as mages. Kinzo was confident about his power level; however, he also understood a guild like Black Rose was home of many incredibly talented mages, and while he did not know the names of any strong figure around, these two were probably on that list.

"I just recently joined this guild and I'm pleasantly surprised about the amounts of young people joining this risky business." He, of course, referred to them both as examples. While he could not be a hundred percent certain, it was not difficult to tell he was way older than the two guildmates he had just met. "But I'm not really here in the mood to talk about that subject. So... may I ask how long have you been here Miss Kisagami?" Kinzo directed his first question at her before pausing to turn at Victoria with a friendly warm smile. He was very good at reading body language; however, he could not avoid noticing Sakura's body language was a bit different. Her body did not seem to move the same way a normal person's would.

"No problem, Miss. I can get you a drink without alcohol if you'd like." Victoria said to the young woman while collecting the bottle of CEILING and the glass it was poured into and whisking it to the bar for cleaning. The man voiced his request for coffee. There was a coffee machine for the early morning crowd, so Victoria could make it happen. All she needed to know was what flavor he would prefer.

"Yes Mr. Takimoto, I can serve coffee. What kind would you like?" Victoria asked the gentleman. While she waited on him to voice the flavor he wanted, she thought back to his remark that praised their bravery in joining the mage business. She was about to answer when he expressed a wish to move on and engaged Sakura in conversation. Wait... Sakura?

Victoria remembered her now. She was the white-haired mage she had met and served at the gathering that Astrid Foss elected to rejoin Black Rose. That was back when Victoria was just a newly minted Ace who was keenly aware of her newness to the role and did not want to make enemies of the senior guild members by talking out of turn or asking questions that were above her pay grade. She recalled Sakura being quiet and letting Jiyu and the others take center stage. If she remembered, the doll-like girl was also an Ace.

"Hi Sakura! How's it going?" Victoria greeted the senior Ace. The brunette was not the sharpest tool in the shed and at this moment it was painfully obvious. It should not have taken her this long to identify the distinctive young woman who was in the same guild as her.

The standing offer for another drink within the rather large category of non-alcoholic drinks was a rather easy to agreeable idea for her. With a small nod, the white haired doll had to think of what she would want. Of course, the choice was going to be tea, but much like anything else in the world, the variety from which she had to choose was at the lowest in scale described by a plethora of types. The high end? Well, not many but those who either religiously drank and collected tea or those whom strive to sell or make blends would know how many there truly are in the world, but frankly she hadn't taken the time to sit down and absorb that information. Instead, Sakura had picked up a number of things and not many of them she truly thought she could overcome. Her moment of time ended quickly in deciding what she had wanted to drink for sure, not worried if the answer wasn't going to be what she wanted. If Victoria didn't know how to make tea from scratch, she could do it. It would just require a little more effort and frankly, with her mood lightening at the idea of enjoying some tea, she had such energy to do it on her own. "If you can, would some Jasmine tea be able to be brewed? If you can't make it through natural leaves, I'll gladly come back and do it myself. Bags are just... honestly pitiful to me."

With her attention now refocused onto the gentleman whom had entered after the two had gotten into a brief conversation, he had audibly noted their positions both within the guild as members before he mentioned that he himself had been a newer member within the guild. How new was another question, but quite frankly Sakura had no real idea if she could bring herself up to remember truly what business she may or may not have had within the guild or not so far. Just how new was he? Was he even inducted to the mafia? Those types of questions were in her mind, but she chose not to act on them. She had to make a time and place for them and one of them wouldn't be until she had heard from him or others of his involvement. "Well then, welcome to the guild. Despite the time I normally spend in the hall, I've been away for a while so I guess getting a chance to say hi to you was a little more of an out of reach situation. Still, it's always nice to meet a new face." She smiled a little, her head turned towards his direction as she had spoken to him to assure that she was both speaking to him and speaking sincerely.

Victoria's sudden realization had caused the small girl to jump a little. She didn't expect her to be so upbeat by it, but perhaps that's what might have helped her sell the point as a member of Petals. Still, she had no real bother with the way things had gone down in terms of how she was being treated, which made it feel much better. "I've been better, but I could also be worse, so I assume either way you look at it, it's the same." With a small shrug from what her body allowed, the doll turned her attention back to Kinzo as he asked her a question directly and by full name too, no less. Of course, this followed his statement of young people whom were in this form of business. The thought of the things that came beyond just being within this guild made the doll smirk, but she curled back the smile and turned her stool to face him. "It's roughly been a year and a half now, actually. And before you ask, this is not my, nor a real body. It's in fact a very well done custom porcelain doll. Much more fluid in movement than my previous one, honestly." Taking one of her gloves off from the elbow down, she took the forearm of the now bare arm and lightly smacked it against the edge of the bar counter, making a higher pitching clanking sound. "I feel not a thing in it, though it's a double-edged sword, I can still taste oddly enough, but I truly take what I can get." She hadn't disclosed much else, trying to avoid much else while she had slid her arm and hand back into the glove and then resting her hands onto her lap as she turned her seat back around until the next time he would start to ask her a question or even if he wanted to know more.