From Battalion to... Wherever. (Open to 2)

GAIA SABIN

The Cards Aren't Always Right

It had been a couple months since her wedding and honeymoon a bit, and the little black haired mage was extremely happy with her marriage so far. She had traveled to Lavanitir Port City thinking that there may be a job for her to pick up while simply roaming the area. So far, it ended up just being a pleasant walk for her to take in the sights around her. She was dressed in a short light pink wrap dress that had long sleeves that flare out. She finished off the dress with a pink belt that bore a couple chains attached with a couple bobbles at the end. Instead of her usual black leggings, she wore white pantyhoes that seemed to blend in with her heels quite a bit. She takes a deep breath as she glances to the little white ferret that was resting on her shoulders through her blue rimmed glasses. “I suppose we have some down time, Noya.” She giggles a little before glancing at the ring on her finger.

The ring reminded her how far she’s grown as a person since leaving home. She found Noya in her travel to Fiore, making the ferret near three or four years old now. She had joined a guild to call home and make something of herself. She met her now husband and dated him after a while. She unlocked her magic fully while on a job with her guild master. Became a professional model. Even became a Rising Star. Gained herself a rather strong person as a mentor. She even managed to become an ace of her guild too. And to top it off… she got married. By no means had any of that been easy for her. It was a wild ride for her from the beginning, and she bet it was going to continue as so till the end. If it ever got easy, she hoped it was when she retired.

She looks around her surroundings and spies a pub cross the street from her, and grins to herself. She heard of this place before. The rumors she heard, was that they had fine wines hiding in there, and she couldn’t deny her tongue testing this rumor out. She wouldn’t deny that she had a tongue that loved fine foods, namely wine and pastas. She needed to see if other places, besides Sabertooths Red Dragon Inn’s tavern, had good stuff too. Her burnt sienna eyes glance over the building, it was kind of cute, and she hoped it lived up to the rumors in terms of the wine at least. She makes her way over to the pub, and smiles softly to herself when she opened the door. She walks in with an elegant stride, making a few people look as she held her head up. One of the few things she couldn’t shake from home, walking properly like a lady. She walked up to the bar, and gingerly sits down. “Hello! I heard you guys have some splendid wines. Mind if I have a glass or two? You may pick which one I can try.” She muses happily. She props her elbows on the counter while she folded her hands elegantly under her chin while the bartender nods and starts to go and grab her a glass of wine.

GAIA SABIN

The Cards Aren't Always Right

A glass of wine was set down just in front of the woman as someone sat down next to her. She let up a light yelp and quickly snaps her head to them. She was trying to process both this sudden appearance beside her, and his words. It took her a moment, but she froze while looking wide eyed at the man in front of her. Swallowing hard, she looks to the bartender. A weak smile was on her face. “Bartender… three more glasses please… I don’t care that I haven’t tasted it. I’ll need it.” She tells him as she picks up her wine glass and works on downing the glass. She only got about half way before she started coughing on her drink. She wasn’t too big of a drinker, only drinking from time to time and slowly like she should have been.

Her burnt sienna eyes look back over at the person next to her before she blinked her eyes rapidly. She was trying to figure out why this man, wearing a rather feminine outfit right now, seemed so familiar to her. She eyed him for a moment before her shoulder slumped. “Alexander?” She couldn’t help but question. She felt her heart beating fast as she worriedly glanced around. She was trying to make sure the rest of her family was there, and trying to keep her composure. She had been freed of them for over three years now, and doing her own thing happily. There was no way she was going to be able to keep it together now if they showed up. She then paused and looked back at him. His words finally processed for her.

“They don’t know you’re here… do they?” Her voice was small and shaky as she looked to her glass and finally realizes the bartender listened to her. Three more glasses of wine were now by her original one. She hoped that she didn’t need to drink them all on her own, but was going to keep them there just in case. She sips her drink again, hand shaking softly. She avoided looking at the man next to her, trying to not remember home. The scars on her back was enough since she couldn’t see them every day. She just came here to try some wine and the food here! Not for a blast from the past. Taking a deep breath, she finally glances out of the corner of her eye to him. He was a blur now, slightly better for the time being. “Yeah… I ‘escaped’, and have a good life going on… Don’t tell them where I’m at… they’re the last thing I need right now.” She was nervously twiddling with her wedding band as Noya was softly growling at the man from her masters shoulders, her normally large eyes in slits as she seemed ready to pounce, but didn’t move an inch.

GAIA SABIN

The Cards Aren't Always Right

While Gaia was no stranger to wine, as she had technically been drinking it since she was younger back before she left Bellum, but her only strangeness was never attempting to chug even a glass on its own. She tries to catch her breath as she looks to the remaining wine in her glass, wondering if she should attempt again, but decides against it. As she said his name, she saw his smile get wide again, and takes a deep breath. That was a smile one couldn’t forget. She stiffened a bit as he patted her back. She was starting to panic slightly from his touch. Would he feel her scars through her clothes? He shouldn’t, it wasn’t thin material, and her cloak was covering also he shouldn’t feel them. She hadn’t smiled yet. She didn’t know if she wanted to. His response to if they knew he was there, made her let out a breath of relief that she didn’t know she was holding in. She caught the accent, and softly smiles to him. “You’ve kept up with your languages.” She chuckled to herself and shook her head. She didn’t keep up with hers too much after she left, but she knew the words fairly well still. She just needed a refresher.

Gaia reached a hand up to Noya to quiet her down as her little growling was starting to get loud in the mage’s ear. She pauses once more as her brother took her hand, and frowns to him while he started to speak to her. She was about to protest him holding her hand, when he started telling her not to worry about their family, she bites her bottom lip a bit. He changed his name? She blinks at hearing that. Why hadn’t she thought of doing the same thing when she left? Instead, she kept her name and only hoped no one would notice her or recognize her last name. Thankfully, no one really did as Bellum was far away from Fiore. That didn’t stop a couple of her friends from back home from somehow finding her, then again, one of them she did keep in contact with. She opens her mouth to speak when suddenly she was turned to look at her brother completely, cheeks flushing deep as she looked at him. She was still seeming timid as she looked to him. “Wh-what did you change your name to?” She questioned him quietly. She takes a deep breath though. He wanted to know about her new life here.

“Well… first off, this is Noya, she’s a winter ferret who needs to calm down now…” She looks up to the white fur ball on her shoulders that was quietly growling still. She then reaches into her bag on her hip and puts a little square bag on the bar counter. “I learned magic.” She says, looking at her pouch. Her fingers were messing with the seam of the pouch, debating on showing her brother the cards. She stayed quiet for a bit longer before she starts to slowly open the little pouch before her. “Once upon a time, our family used to be into divination card magic and bonded with their cards.” She pulls out her cards from their little pouch, showing him the yin and yang dragon back, before flipping over the first card. The cards weren’t playing cards, but they were tarot cards, and the first card she pulled was the world. She looks to the white and purple female dragon on the card, looking content and at peace. “Harmony…” She murmurs to herself before glancing up to Alexander. That was a chance pick. The cards were out of order. For her to pick that one immediately, usually it meant something.

A small smile starts to tug at her lips. “Technically I found I could use magic at their house when I turned eighteen… but it locked itself, so I decided to run away. After I left home, I began studying the cards and what they meant, found Noya in Bosco being abused by some children there, then went to Fiore with her.” She says as she shrugs her shoulders. She packs her cards away and smiles to herself as she did so. “Tried unlocking it on my own along the way, but ended up not being able to, so I joined a guild. Sabertooth.” She turned her head to show her left ear, then pulled it forward to show the little guild mark that was hiding behind it. She sat right again while stuffing her trot cards back into her bag again, wondering what he had to say about what she’s done so far.

GAIA SABIN

The Cards Aren't Always Right

The black haired mage listened to her older brother as he told her he worked abroad, laughing softly as he called the word she recognized ‘fancy.’ She glances up to the ceiling as she softly smirks. “I have no idea what you mean…” She looked to the other glasses of wine, and grabbed one before she passed a second to him with a raised eyebrow. She was offering the wine to him and finally sipped the wine she had, actually liking it since she wasn’t trying to chug it this time. After she told Alexander about Noya a bit, she snorts a bit. “She’s cute, but she’s a spoiled little ferret. She can be hard to please some days. Noya, calm down.” Gaia hissed to the creature on her shoulders, before the white furball grumbled and placed her head on Gaia’s shoulder. She kept on glaring at the male. Gaia reached up and grabbed Noya off of her shoulders and placed her on her lap to keep her under her hand. After she confessed to learning magic, Gaia couldn’t help but smile at his reaction, blushing a little while she rubbed the back of her head. While she had felt excited for her magic, her brother looking shocked about it got her kind of giddy. As she introduced the card to him, she grinned. “The World means harmony, fulfillment, and completion. It likes to show itself often… She is also one of my summons. My magic. Her name is Harmony. She’s probably the nicest out of all the cards.”

She had looked at her card rather lovingly for a moment before she put the deck away, not wanting the cards to get ruined. As he had answered her question finally, Gaia listened to her brother quietly. She snickered a little about how he was given a different nickname than Alex, and giggled a bit to his comment of not telling people that he was a guy till late. “You sound like a turd doing that.” She chuckles. “Would you want me to call you Lexi instead as well? It sounds so informal… kinda refreshing.” She sips her wine again as she sits up right. Noya had finally settled down. She was still a little grumbly, but she was better than before. She blinks to his mentioning magic again, and tilts her head as she sipped her drink some. As soon as he said ‘stunt’ though, she set her glass down and slightly glared to her brother. “Alexander…” She raised an eyebrow to him. She may have been younger than him, and freaking out not too long ago about their family, but sitting here with her brother and kind of just talking got her to calm down. Now she was a little concerned about what exactly he did. She crossed her arms as she raised an eyebrow to him. “What did you do?” She simply asked, ignoring her wine, even though she felt she should take a sip, or attempt to take a big sip again.

His comment of wanting to see some sights, had her rolling her eyes, till he called her short and patted her head. Gaia let up an ‘ugh!’ before she let her leg move on its own and went to kick his shin. “You turd! I can get taller if I get some heels on!” She cries out at him and turned her head the other way while she pouted. She crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips out while her brows furrowed together. Noya was confused now. Her master was sad, then happy, then angry, then happy again, and now she’s upset again! Her masters’ mood swings confused her too much. Gaia takes a deep breath though as she closed her eyes and turned to look at Alexander once again. She just looked at him quietly as she sat there. She then picked up Noya and set her on the counter before she slipped off of the bar stool and got close to her brother, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him to her for a hug. “I missed you…” She mumbles as she used one hand to remove her glasses before nuzzling her head into his neck. She had been fighting with herself over if she should hug her brother or not, having been itching to hug him since he assured her that their family had no clue where either of them had been.