A Forest Stroll

Having started as a wandering mage, settling down into one town had Ilda feeling some cabin fever even when she was outdoors. In order to fight this distressing sensation, she opted to take a day off from jobs, training, and errands. This time, she was granting herself a day just to wander around and find new places to explore in her own home area. And what did she find when she got close enough to the town border? The forest.

The woods weren't a place Ilda explored much, mostly because she always worried she'd set something on fire if she got into a fight and didn't think things through well enough. Even she knew she had a streak of being rash in battle! So, she assured herself when she walked into the woods that she wouldn't find herself in a fight. She treated it as a mantra, chanting it in her head that there was nothing to fight here.

As she walked along a chosen path, she found herself stepping on something a slightly different shade of green than the rest of the grass upon the forest floor. She wasn't quite sure what it was, and curiously crouched down to touch it.

It was soft, but not grass soft. It was almost like... Hair.

And then she noticed it- the 'grass' she'd stepped on was laying horizontally, and seemed to be leading somewhere. Or rather, to someone. It was soon a realization that she really had stepped on someone's hair. A young woman laying on the ground.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to step on your hair. I didn't notice until too late that it was, well, hair. What are you doing laying there like that anyway?" She crouched again, this time next to the woman laid flat before her. She studied her features, her posture, everything- but none of it answered her question, so she'd have to wait for the girl's voice to do it for her.

Ilda was relieved- the woman wasn't upset at all, or so it seemed. That was a good thing, right? "I'm glad you're so forgiving. My friend is always telling me that a girl's hair is one of her most important assets." That friend, of course, was more telling her that to get her to change her hairstyle more than anything. Ilda still didn't really see the big deal with hair, but even she knew how painful a yank of hair was.

"Ah, I'm Ilda. It's nice to meet you, Nea." She offered a gloved hand with a broad smile. "Has anyone ever told you you have a soft voice? It's okay to speak up a bit more."

Ilda decided to sit down next to Nea, curious to see her more at eye level. "So you do this often, just laying out here? Doesn't that get boring?" Personally, Ilda couldn't imagine spending time just laying in the grass doing nothing- at least, unless she had sat down to take a rest from training and ended up dozing off from the fatigue it brings. Then she could imagine it, because she'd done it.

"Did you find anything interesting while laying here, maybe? Ther's gotta be a reason you enjoy it. Well, I assume such."

The red head stared for a minute, trying to imagine how it must be to have such a soft voice by nature. How much louder did she get when she was angry? Would it be shocking? She certainly questioned it, but decided against trying to find out. There was no point in angering someone for no reason.

Then, a small animal came out into the open, hopping by them as if it didn't notice their existence. Ilda stared in awe, impressed by what just a bit of quiet could do. "I'm not used to being so quiet. I wonder if I should try it more often... My fox says I should try training my spirit more than I do. I usually just train to be ready for a fight."

Unconsciously, Ilda let out a slightly booming laugh, being the sort that lived so deep in the moment she couldn't just keep quiet when she wanted to. The rabbit, hearing this, sped off. Ilda's breath hitched as she realized her error.

"Sorry... I'm not good at staying quiet long. Ah, and don't worry. Most people are nervous around me. Especially those that have anxiety, like you noted. But... Something that can make it easier is talking about a topic special to you. So... Mind telling me what you mean by the forest saving you?"

Ilda listened to the story with solemnity. Her heart shook, spine chilled to the core by Nea's history. Ilda hadn't expected such a story to arise from her question, but it did. It was only right to try to give something back, a story of her own, wasn't there?

"Those mages give fire magic a bad name. It's people like them I just can't stand! Using dirty tricks to get you to feel safe and then taking advantage of your kindness like that. But still... I can relate to losing your family, in some sense. Not the same way, but... Well..."

Ilda took a deep breath. She was about to tell someone something she'd normally only talk to her spirit guardian, not a stranger. However, Nea had dug deep into her pain to share, so Ilda had to do something to match up, in her mind.

"I was born with a unique ability. It's called the reaper's touch." She held up a gloved hand, staring at it. "If I touch someone with my bare hand, they get a magic dampening burn. It's a rare trait in my family's bloodline. But well... It skipped a number of generations. My parents were scared stiff of me and put me in an orphanage. The other kids were afraid of me and called me a monster because if I accidentally touched them they'd burn."

She pulled her hand to her chest, holding it with the other carefully. "I always wear these gloves in case I meet someone, anyone, when I'm outside because of that. I even wear them to bed sometimes nowadays... Because I no longer live alone, and though I've been told not to fear it, I can't help worrying what might happen if my companion were to touch my hand and get hurt. The only time I don't wear them is during a fight in close quarters..."

Ilda gave a wide grin. "If I'm a monster, then those guys were demons. I hope I can meet them someday and give them a good butt kicking for what they did."

It took only a moment for Ilda to stop in her tracks, musing, "I know how you feel about those fire mages, but... Do you hate all of them? Or do we make you nervous?" She emphasized the 'we' to point out she was a fire mage in her own right.

"I assure you I have no plans to bring harm to you or the forest you adore." She added late, until suddenly she was invited in for a bite. "Soup sounds good. I wonder if it'll be as tasty as Aoi's? Ah, Aoi is my friend. She's a spirit I made a pact with and so we live together and she's been doing all the cooking since I can't make anything without burning it to a crisp. I'll have to get the recipe from you later and ask her to teach me to make it, most likely."

She got off the ground, dusting off her jeans, noting the grass stains she'd have to clean out later. She'd then follow Nea whichever direction was necessary. A good meal was a good way to get to know someone, after all.

Chuckling over the request she was told about, Ilda chimed in, "I once got asked by a farmer to catch his chicken. Catch was, the chicken was way bigger than me because of a magic potion. That thing was hard to corner home!" Her laughter grew into a belly laugh, her hand on her gut as she remembered that particular day. "He had me return once to help sow his seeds when he hurt his back... And then had me stay for dinner." Her laughter halted, replaced by a merely serene smile.

"I'm used to having to fight, but lately most of my jobs have been pretty benign. It's a weird feeling, you know? Maybe I should take some of the more difficult jobs. I'm only a C-Rank mage right now, but I think I can do more for people if I branch out."

Ilda took a seat where the soup was being served, sniffing the air. The savory soup had a lovely, natural aroma. "You can tell it's all natural just from the scent. I'll definitely take you up on the cracker offer, but... Can you teach me how this is made? I'd love to surprise Aoi with this. I mean, I'm just assuming it counts as vegan, but still..."

Ilda laughed a bit when asked who doesn't like chickens. Normally, Ilda would assume no one- but now that she knew someone who was vegan, she also knew there were likely others. Aoi was a rare specimen all in all, but she was a normal girl in many ways, at least in Ilda's eyes. "Aoi only eats vegan food, though sometimes she'll cheat and have some fish. If I use a different stock, how different will the taste be?" She took another bite having asked. It was delicious, so she wanted to share it with her friend, after all.

"I suppose going with someone new could be at least a bit more fun. What kind of jobs were you looking at? I've done a lot of helping people with personal problems lately. Things like helping a farmer on the farm, helping a girl have a talk with her parents, simple stuff like that."

Ilda listened intently for the ten minutes, but found it hard to keep up with the rather content-heavy lesson. When handed the notes, she gave a long stare at Nea. "You were writing notes for me while you were explaining all that? That's quite the multitasking skill you've got."

Her smile returned to serene not long after her words as she continued to pick at her soup, trying not to eat too fast as she'd long been reminded not to. "I've never been on stage, but I like entertaining kids. My only real skills involve fire though. What did you have in mind for the show? We could make it a cooking show maybe...?"

Suddenly, rose petals and milk were being put into a kettle for tea making. Rose petals. And milk. Milk she understood a bit, but she'd never heard of putting roses in tea. "Are roses even safe to ingest? I've heard rumors of rose water but it sounds risky somehow."

"Ah, you meant a stage thing like a play." Ilda mused, having thought it was a talent show or something of that sort. "I'm not sure... I'm not very good at acting. Though I recently managed to act as a normal person while helping catch a crook. Stakeouts are harder than they look sound in books... Though it was a lot less sitting around and a lot more trying not to stand out in the crowd."

Ilda resounded another one of her hearty laughs, taking two more spoonfuls of soup before she saw the sugar being added to the tea. She'd have to keep the fact you could make tea from roses in mind for the future. Aoi might like it.

"Aoi is a sweet girl. She's a celestial spirit, but there were certain circumstances and we ended up making a pact. We live right near here in Magnolia town. Aoi is... She's a lot older than we are, so she's very wise. She's bubbly and understanding and always willing to help with anything she can. And I mean always. She's much girlier than me in terms of the stereotypical girly sort. She's cute and likes to play with my hair... Oh, and she can transform into an otter. That's just a spirit thing, I think. She's equally cute as an otter, though."

'To be fair, I don't think I'd seen an otter before I met her either. If you like animals, I also have a pet fox, Vanna. Vanna tends to go with the flow to the point she wanders out without me knowing where she's going. She's almost like an outdoor cat rather than an indoor fox. You wouldn't know looking."

She waited for the tea to be ready, then when it was, she took a sip. "This... might be too sweet for me." On the other hand, it would go great on a cracker. Without thinking, she dipped one of the crackers for the soup into her tea, taking a bite. "I know it's not a tea biscuit, but it tastes great like this."

Swallowing another sip of the just slightly lessened sweet tea, she let out a deep sigh. "Yep, Aoi is the companion I mentioned. Our house is just Aoi, Vanna and myself. Aoi comes with me most places I go, but I decided to sneak off on my own today. They do say pet owners become more like their pets, but... It's probably not like that. If we take on the show job, she might come to watch. I doubt she'd say no to the idea, at any rate."

"I thought about a wolf myself, but Vanna's a fox from a hot environment and I thought it'd be better to have someone that can handle heat well. I don't know of any types of wolf that are prone to living in hot environments. Vanna was well recommended to me, and as a bonus, she's one of the ones that can talk... So she even gives me advice when I train, just like Aoi does."

Ilda pondered about the job they'd mentioned a bit more. It would certainly expand her horizons, wouldn't it? Still, she wasn't sure she could act well enough. She ignored these thoughts, focusing on Nea and her admission to lacking friends.

"I don't have many friends myself. I've met a lot of people, but only one or two would I think of as friends- Aoi, naturally, being one of them. But I hope that someday we'll be able to be friends ourselves. You're a nice girl, you know. Not just anyone would let a stranger into their home after having their hair stepped on."

Ilda finished her soup and sipped her tea. "I'm alright on soup and tea, but if you have more crackers... I'm really enjoying this method of enjoying the tea. I know it's not how it's meant to be done, but it works for me."

Ilda happily dug into the new pack of crackers, dipping one in and taking a bite. Something about salty and sweet was a perfect combination- it was something likely designed by heaven in her mind. Sweets were good, but when something was too sweet, it just made her crave some salt.

"I see, you saw something special in me. I have to say, I can't say I've heard that very often. I have heard it, but it's rare- and even more rare to be a good thing." She chuckled, taking another cracker bite. "I'm not in a guild myself, but I've been looking into it. I'm not sure of which would suit me best... I need one that's more accepting than anything, so probably something like an independent. I'm not interested in breaking the law by nature, but I doubt a legal guild would want me when I'm quick to join a fight and can hurt people without meaning to pretty easily. That may be presumptions I shouldn't make, of course. But... I can't help myself, I guess. No one's perfect."

"Do you guys have a pamphlet or anything? I don't really know enough about them to think about it. I heard about a guild called Fairy Tail that might suit me well, but I'd have to get more information than I have. Says they're very neutral and promote a family sort of experience. I never really had a family life, so it sounded like a good deal to me."

She took another taste of the tea, which had its sweetness sullied by the cracker's slight salt. Now, it was a flavor she could handle. "What do you do in a guild, anyway? You said you're rarely there, right? What do you do that reminds you, 'oh I'm one of them'?"