A New Cycle

So much had happened since her last visit to Rose Garden, she had only went to enjoy the atmosphere but ended up getting a lot more than she had originally bargained for. She as hoping to be entranced by the atmosphere and smells of the area draped in whites and pastels, although before she could get swept up in even the music she had been approached by a young woman holding flyers. It seemed this day was a big deal for her families company and had been looking around for help to deliver some chocolate, turned out the young woman hadn't given her all the information however as she would soon find out. The thing that she recently thought of after the fact was why the business wouldn't have hired people in advance or give all the details required to do said job, she had agreed to take the job by taking one of the flyers and heading to the warehouse where she was greeted by an unusual sight. There was a scene set up for marriage at first she had wondered if someone was to be getting married, more so since there was a priest there and thought she had gotten lost ending in the wrong place.

As it turned out she was in the right place but the job in question required married couples and so was told that she wouldn't be able to do it. This annoyed her as she actually wanted to do a nice thing for a change and was told no because of a technicality she hadn't originally been told about. This had upset her more than a little as regardless of her apparent reputation as a coming storm she was still a romantic and she would have no one disturb the sanctity of the day of love, as it would have it the ever musical Baird was also within the town and not enjoying it as much as she had been but none the less had agreed to do the task and turned up shortly after she did. It was then the hand of fate seemed to have intervened and after a little backwards and forwards the two were married by the priest, the priest who seemed nervous when he realised he was marrying two of the most well known up and coming dark mages in the whole of Ishgar. He had let then know the marriage would only be temporary and that after the job it would be anulled, this didn't sit with the ever graceful young courtesan and she made it clear right there and then she would only be marrying one person and that if they went down this path she wanted a proper marriage at a later date which her soon to be groom begrudgingly agreed to. There had been a few mishaps that the pair had to deal with in an assortment of ways from lacing chocolate bars with laxatives and ipecac to just full out killing two people that wanted to either attack them or steal from them.

When all was done they received their reward but had ended up parting ways as Baird had tasks for his guild to do, she on the other hand wanted to find a wedding style that would suit both their needs. This had taken a few months as she had went to Midi and ended up in the pleasure town that she had been raised within, she still didn't remember this place even after spending time there learning a bit more about herself and what they done there. The courting and wedding was something that happened however did seem to fit the needs of both her and Baird so decided to learn it over again. In honesty she wanted to kill the people there as they had started to bug her but that would have done nothing but make her feel lousy as this place was a dream to those who visited. They were given what they wanted and that was the companionship of another even if it was brief, if they did speak the truth this was her life too and she would have once been like them following such stupid rules so just left them be. Once she had the information needed she had sent a letter to Baird to tell him to meet her at a designated place with the time and date she expected to see him. The place was known as the 'Chapel of Eternity' and this was where they were married though it seemed to have freaked Baird out to see her how she once was, then again he wasn't exactly happy that he had to wait until they were wed before he could touch her or kiss her again. She dreaded to think how he'd have been if he needed to wait until they courted fully like normal people, it didn't matter because after the third day they were formally married.

When it came to the discussion of a honeymoon the former courtesan looked at her new husband confused, it was a new term to her as from where she was raised that never happened. After looking over a map for a few hours she had decided she wanted to honeymoon surrounded by the cherry blossoms of Sakuramori. She doubted it was her new husband's ideal honeymoon so had already decided that they would stay a week here for her and they could spend a week wherever he wanted so they both got something out for it. It had taken a little while to get to the area but when they had she smiled looking around almost as if she was completely at peace with her surroundings. "Baird, I want to live in a place like this. I know it would never be full time but at least some times." she said happily holding his hand tightly before biting her lip for a long moment "Would you play for me?" she asked wanting to dance for him, it had been the first time she had ever asked him to do this for her normally calling it noise but this she really wanted at current.

Word count: 1,031

It had been a few weeks since Rakshasa had been formed. Things were slow as survival was the first priority before they would actually take on real footholds in the world. Indra continued his training with vigor within the wilds of Sakuramori. While a beautiful, pleasant place, it was also home to many wild and dangerous beasts.

For the time being, while everyone was forming things back in the jungle, he focused on a bit of training the clear his head. He felt as if he had declared war against the entire modern world-- which was both unnerving and strangely liberating. He now was truly free and he would fight to maintain that freedom. NOt just for himself, but for everyone and show them what it meant to be free.

But he had to grow stronger. Even now.

As far as he knew, very few would dare come to the wilds of Sakuramori due to the dangerous beasts. Already he left a 'trail' of foes that had choose to attack him. First were the massive bear that tried to make a meal out of him, then the whooping willow tree, the giant beetles and finally the massive wild boar the size of a house.

ALl of which he soon had bested with his strength and his lightning magic as well. His path were littered with scorch and lightning burns. The flicker of lightning could be seen in the distance for those around, as if a storm would slowly form then vanish in between his combat.

HIs shoulders lifted and fell with his breath as he had defeated the boar, now seeing it as a perfect meal for himself. While he trained by facing the wilds of this area, his little Exceed partner, was taking an easier moment as he flew a small distance overhead. He watched as his master fought and trained. While he too, would wish to train as well, he sought safter grounds with the wild beasts around. Ironic since it was dangerous to fly when lightning was in the sky.

He soon tugged the boar back to his camp, a small little make-shift spot near a waterfall that reached high into the mountains nearby and fed the forestlife here. A firepit was already constructed, but still the boar was already darkened and smoking from the lightning used to take it down.

A simple crack of lightning reignited the fire as Indra tossed the boar up, propped crudely on the fire to cook a little bit to make the meat warm before he could eat. As he did, Kage, his Exceed partner, fluttered down to the ground.

"Raijin, Sensei... Not sure these things really count as dinner." Kage said, looking disappointed, "Couldn't we of gotten some fish instead? "

"Since when do fish even put up a bit of a fight? " the black-haired man asked as he used a hunting knife to carve up a piece of meat for himself. The cat looked back a bit, not wanting to see the rather primal but nessisary way to cook a meal.

"Just a suggestion. Pork was never my favorite I guess..." the Exceed sighed.

He would return to the hunting grounds after he finished his meal. He crudely bit into the boar meat without hesitation. This was nature, survival and sustenance. He would grow stronger for it, and so would Kage if he was serious to train.

"I hope you will join me this time around. If you do, I promise we will make time to grab you some fish for a change. " he commented, though his expression stern and neutral.

The cat's tail twitched and his ears went up pleasantly. "Of course, sensei." he said.

WC: 639

It had been a short time still after the marriage, she guessed the two days before the third and final that was officially the marriage her new husband became beyond clingy. At first she found this kind of cute but that was starting to become old fast. She had found herself hitting him a few times when he had kissed or became over baring during a time that she really didn't want it, still this was something that they both would have to live with until one of them died. At this point in time smart money would be on the bride killing her groom for being to loud but things might actually change, as much as she did find his yelling annoying he was sweet in his own way but in her opinion his fashion sense needed a bit of work because there was no way in hell she was going to be seen to often in public with him with how he was normally dressed. Sure she wanted to be the ever doting wife to him but at the same time she wanted to be able to be proud and point to him bragging that he was her husband. Right now she was more likely to pretend that not only she didn't speak a word of common but that she had no idea who the hell he was.

At current she was wearing a white and vibrant red hanfu with a pink sash, her hair was done up elegantly with hairpins and other expensive trinkets. It had been the last thing her attendant Aguya had helped her with, thanks to what happened at the wedding the elder male that had helped looked after her all her life apparently was going through a change of his own. Then again that often happens when the one you serve kills you but your wish to continue serving is so strong that you'll make a deal to make it happen. Baird also seemed happy that her shadow had left them alone at least for now, the one thing that she hadn't noticed about her new husband before the wedding or during it was the guild mark on his cheek, she knew like herself he had once been a member of the infamous dark guild known as Nightmare. It was a strange guild to see someone such as herself in but she had wanted to allow her twin brother to choose a guild that suited him after the Basilisk Fang fiasco, thing was when they first joined it was a warriors guild and suited him well but not her.

Then the guild master vanished and it suited neither, it was only then that she hadn't seen her brother in such a long time. She felt a little concerned for Baird when it came to meeting the family because her brother wasn't exactly a push over by any means of the word, she dreaded the talk between the two of them before it came to her and she was given into trouble for marrying someone without even a word to him. It hadn't exactly been easy given she had no idea where he had been all this time, she bit her bottom lip just lightly as she realised when she went back to the place she once was said to call home their had been no mention of Alba and that concerned her, they must have been lying to her about once living their or Alba must have done something really bad, then again he might have lived in another house. The problem with all of this was that nothing actually made any sense as it didn't match the memories she had. It was so frustrating to her but that was a web she could eventually deal with at a later point, right now she just wanted to relax and have some fun on her honeymoon with her new all be it weirdly dressed husband.

The second guild master tried to change the guilds way of doing things and before long it hadn't suited either herself of her twin and both seemed to leave to follow their own paths. It was only then she noticed she was gently poking the cheek that held her husband's guild mark "I see you joined a new guild Baird." she said calmly knowing it was something she herself would eventually be looking into, thing is with so many new guilds she had no idea which would be the best one for someone like her, she wasn't a typical dark mage after all. "What's it about?" she asked watching as he seemed to get excited about her asking him to play for her, she chuckled a little seeing him like this brought a warmth to her heart as she nodded "Yes really you fool, now hurry up before I change my mind." she said amongst the laughter as he started to set up his shamisen, on hearing him asking if she had any requests she just shook her head allowing him to choose the song he wished to play for her. Deep down she knew he had been making several songs to try and woe her but never showed her due to how she reacted the last time he had played this particular instrument.

Before to long as he played she began to dance for him, a gentle smile on her face as she moved gracefully, each move was precise and landed on the mark she wanted. Had anyone not known any better they would have believed that the dance she was doing was created to fit the music perfectly but the two had been designed at completely different times, in fact she was just allowing her body to follow the music as she moved and was quite happy with how it was going. Well that was until she heard thunder nearby with a brilliant flash and fell back out of surprise, it was a beautiful sunny day so it made absolutely no sense that such things should be around but here she was on the ground wincing a little as she tried to make sense of things "I swear I'm going to kill whoever made me do that." she said her voice showing she wasn't best pleased as she moved to stand up looking at Baird who was actually innocent of this crime for a change. "Care to accompany me?" she asked him with a sweet voice "After all they disturbed your music also." she added on as an extra incentive but she believed the fact she'd fallen back due to the sudden disturbance would have been more than enough to anger her husband, but who knew.

Word Count: 1,119
Total Word Count: 2,158

~~Exam complete will continue as job or social~~
@Baird @Zabertooth

Indra and Kage had finished their meal and quickly headed up the river and scaled the waterfall. The thunderstorm-- caused by Indra's presence, followed and would give anyone searching for him a good idea where he was. But Indra was on the hunt, not on the run. Kage followed in his smaller state, flying via his wings as he kept close to his master's side.

"Couldn't we have found powerful training game back in the jungle? I mean the others will be wondering about you." Kage asked.

"The guild will be fine, but I cannot be the master worthy of the name if I cannot grow stronger. Staying in one watering hole will only make one lazy if they think they are the big fish," he said, intentionally so since Kage had fish on the brain.

As they reached a large lake within the stream-- they soon found something large swimming around at the bottom. It seemed too big to be a fish, as smaller objects were moving away from it. "Still feel like fish fro supper?" Indra teased. "Tell you what. Time for your training. Transform and go swim to lure the creature closer to shore. And I will strike it down. Can you do that?"

Kage's tail wagged with excitement as he brought his paws together. With a large poof of smoke, Kage's exceed form vanished into a more humanoid man-tiger with ninja gear on him. "You bet, Sensei. I'll be back in a flash!" Kage said happily . He paused for a moment as he was at the water's edge. He leaned forward and with a tiger-like roar, he dove into the water to swim.

Kage began to search the water, soon finding his prey-- liking what he saw his eyes lit up in the dark of the water.

Meanwhile, Indra stood there at the water's edge. He looked in amusement as he would trace the movements going on under the water...

... but it would be around this time he would soon hear the approach of others, having been seeking him out.

@Baird@Yuiisai