Packing with Wolves [SW/SOcial]

How long had it been since she had come inland from way over yonder? How long had it been since she had to say goodbye to her home? Well, it was what felt like a lifetime ago, but probably, it was more like three months, that weird feeling where you look back on yourself from three months ago and think 'wow, I was a different person back then'. Yeah, that's pretty much what Lorelei was going through in her mind, not that her face showed it. After she finally made it to Fiore, she didn't show much of anything on her face than that half lidded thousand yard stare.

She was on the run from something. She didn't want to talk about it. But, she was looking to make a change in her life, so she had decided the best course of action would be, instead of training to confront her problems later, the solid script mage would just become a mountain hermit, without taking the words of the people about the mountains to heart. She needed time to herself after all. She just had to leave a guild back home, flee, come to Earthland to look for a recluse to call her own, and she would wind up joining another guild. Funny how stories turn out like that.

The raven haired girl wasn't particularly dressed for the weather on the mountains. SHe had a big puffy parka on, but it only went down to her knees. She had on some spring wear shoes and stockings that were for sure going to get wet from the snow. To top things off, under that jacket was a summer wear top! So the cold was warded off by the jacket, but slowly, it would seep in and make the despondent girl start to feel the chill.

It was nothing but troublesome to say the least. She thought to herself while making plans to learn some spells that helped her ward off the elements of nature better, just needed time. And to, you know, not freeze halfway up the mountain to wherever she was going. Where was she even going?

She could swear she was following some sort of a light that she thought she saw. But, she wasn't sure if she saw it at all. Something told her to just follow the light through this blistering snow storm. The wind whipping snow around so much it was hard to see. Hard to hear even the crunch of snow beneath her shoes.

Sure enough though, Lorelei found whatever it was she was following had lead her to. A guild hall. Lorelei just tilted her head to the side and looked at it with a blank stare, "Of course. I hope it's warm inside at least." SHe said to herself in monotone.

Wearing her green-and-gold outfit with Argent Gloves, Leona was in her office reading over the notes she had taken for the Court Heiromesh expert-level lecture she had sat through a few days ago. She was trying to study for the proficiency exam so that she would be able to pass it and be known for something other than fighting ability. A guild focused on magical knowledge needed a leader capable of understanding the research they were doing and this was the first step towards the blonde becoming that leader.

Try as she might to stay focused on studying, Leona's thoughts inevitably wandered from the notes. Focusing on studying was impossible once she felt a magical presence nearby. It was a weak one, but a magical presence nonetheless. The Guild Mistress got up from her desk, put down the notes and study packet, and walked to the foyer, where she opened the guild hall door and stepped outside into the snow.

-Outside the guild hall-

Leona spotted a young woman wearing a big puffy parka that only extended to her knees, a pair of shorts, and stockings with shoes. That kind of attire worked well in more temperate climates but was poorly suited for cold weather like that of the Phoenix Mountains. Leona walked towards the black-haired young woman to guide her in to shelter.

"Hi there. I'm Leona Jarnefeldt. What can I do for you?" Leona asked the young woman. It was kind of a dumb question to ask someone standing out in the cold, but the blonde asked it anyway just to cover her bases.

Inside of the guild, Rowan was sitting nice and toasty, making good use of Silver Wolf's bar. He had just finished up a shift of waiting tables and was making good use of his hard-earned jewels. Ever since he had joined the guild, the plasma mage had been taking small jobs here and there, just enough to keep himself situated, but now he needed to work on finding some capable teammates and snagging some harder jobs. Ideally, they'd be at the same level of magical prowess as himself, he'd rather not become a burden to some higher rank member, but at the same time he wasn't packing any strong offensive spells himself.

With a warm drink in hand, Rowan turned around on the stool, scanning the dining area with carefree eyes. A good portion of the patrons in the area weren't actually members of the guild, but were rather guests that came for the natural baths that made Silver Wolf famous. Out of the corner of his eye, the plasma mage spotted Leona, the guildmaster, exiting the building with some purpose, and it was probably safe to assume that she was bringing someone inside. Without concerning himself too much with the matter, Rowan decided to turn back around and face the bar, taking a gentle sip from his beverage. Once the guildmaster returned inside, he'd go over and help Leona in giving the guest a warm welcome, and with any luck it'd be a new recruit for the guild. Until then though, his drink would serve as fine company.

As she was approached, Lorelei could only give a listless look at the person. "Oh hello. I'm just looking for a place to just sit down for a while and think really. I wasn't expecting it to be this cold though." She said in a monotone voice, hard to hear over the winds of the mountain. Was she really--was she really here, up on the top, or relatively close to the top, just to sight see, and get some time to think to herself?

She did look like she needed a lot of help getting warm, judging by the beginings of the color blue to form on her nose. As she was lead in by the guild master, she would try to offer an apology, and that she didn't want to impose. She was just looking for the easiest way to get back down.

If asked what she was doing up here, she would simply say, "Oh I'm just trying to get away from the ocean." Which put a look on her face that spoke volumes of the troubles she was trying to get away from, though her ability to express this was little more than a downward gaze at the ground while her brow furrowed just a little bit.

Once inside though, and the warmth could hit her, she actually started to shiver. Realizing that she was actually so cold she could barely feel her body! Poor Lorelei, having been so cold she didn't even know she was freezing to death, but here she was, actually chattering her teeth while she tried to pull her clothing as close to her body as possible.

What would bring someone as high as possible on this planet to get to where they are from where they came from? Lorelei wanted to get away from the ocean of all things so bad, that she would rather have left the planet if at all possible.

Leona looked at the new person and was mildly surprised by how listless they were. Then again, that lack of energy could easily be attributed to traveling a long distance through the cold and having her energy sapped by the ordeal. The new arrival's choice of clothing was not exactly the best for this climate, but it might be all the hapless youth had to wear. Leona was about to speak to the youth further when Rowan walked up beside her with a drink in hand. It was nice to have a fellow mage by her side while speaking to the newcomer.

Leona noticed that the tip of the girl's nose was starting to turn blue, most likely from exposure to the cold. It would be prudent to move the conversation indoors before her condition worsened. Even though Leona was getting accustomed to the cold in the region outside the guild hall, she was a former desert dweller who still had some difficulty in the colder regions of Earthland.

"You want a place to sit down and think, huh?" Leona asked the novice mage standing in front of her. That was a simple request but one well within Leona's ability to grant. She doubted that the girl was too much danger to the guild, if she posed a threat at all.

"OK, why don't we take this conversation to the guild hall? It'll be much warmer in there. There's also plenty of places to sit down and think." Leona suggested to the mage. The blonde would not force the dark-haired youth to go into the guild hall if she did not want to. The offer had been made in good faith and now it was up to her to accept it or decline it.

Lorelei nodded in response to what Leona said, taking the drink with her as she went. "Thank you both." She said while trudging in to the guild hall, looking for the warmest place to sit down. Her body basically on auto pilot to start warming up. The moment she did as she sat down in a chair, her body started to shiver. Teeth chattering as a result. She was shivering so much that she nearly spilled her drink all over the floor.

Setting it down, she would take a moment to try and recollect herself. Dropping her big cover so that she could get more of the warmth on her body instead of on her jacket. The quicker she warmed up the better. Her whole body felt numb. The heat just making her feel wet, like she was swimming. Without an actual wet feeling to it. That odd sensation of suspension one could call it.

As she removed that puffy jacket, anyone could see on her left shoulder the maroon colored tattoo of another guild. It wasn't a guild from Earthland, at least not from Fiore. It looked like an over turned anchor pointed up, at the base of it was a large squid head, resembling some sort of a kraken. The tips of the anchor split off in to four fish hooks each, further alluding to the kraken motif of the tattoo.

If pressed on it, she would grimace, showing some actual expression about it, "I'd rather get rid of it. That guild died three months ago." That was all she would say, a dead guild. Did she mean that literally? Did they disband? Was she actually without a guild now? Whatever the case, she seemed to be a bit of a veteran, though she was more than sapped of all of her experience somehow.

-Inside the Guild Hall-

Leona followed Lorelei into the guild hall and watched the dark-haired girl sit down in a wooden chair in the warmest place in the guild hall that she could find. Lorelei was clearly cold because her teeth were chattering and her hands shook so much that her drink resembled a stormy sea. Leona was glad that the youth had been found before the worst could happen.

After a few minutes of sitting and getting warm, Lorelei removed her puffy jacket to reveal a strange tattoo on her left shoulder, a tattoo that Leona had never seen before. It was colored maroon and looked like an overturned anchor pointed up. At the base of it was a large squid head that resembled a mythical sea creature called a kraken. The tips of the anchor split off into four fish hooks each, further alluding to the kraken motif of the tattoo. Leona's curiosity was piqued by the interesting tattoo and the Guild Mistress was curious enough about it to ask a question.

"Were you in a guild before you came here?" Leona asked Lorelei. The tattoo looked like a guild tattoo, but it also could have been a mundane tattoo that was simply the work of a very good artist. It was kind of a dumb question to ask, but the blonde's curiosity had been piqued and she wanted an answer. If Lorelei wanted to talk about it, they would talk about it. If the dark-haired youth wanted to let the matter drop, Leona would let the matter drop.

Rowan's guess was confirmed as the guildmaster, returned inside with a guest. After handing her a drink, he followed the two to the table where they were sitting. Enjoying a drink of his own as the other two conversed, Rowan arched an eyebrow Lorelei revealed her strange guild tattoo. He felt a bit of empathy as she explained how her guild had died out, and he remembered when he first heard the news of Infinity Hydra's disbandment. Because he hadn't heard what they had been talking about outside, he could only assume that it had something to do with the guild. Still, things were looking good for the plasma mage. If Lorelei had been part of a guild before, then there was fairly good chance that she was looking to join another, and fresh guild members were always good for teaming up with.

Unfortunately, there had yet to be any talk of the new girl joining up with Silver Wolf, so Rowan was content with keeping his mouth shut for the time being. While the two ladies talked, he simply tended to his own drink, eyeing the strange guild tattoo from time to time, waiting for a more appropriate time to chime in and enter the conversation.

Lorelei sighed as she was asked about it. She didn't want to talk about it too much, but, maybe they deserved a small explanation. "Oh yeah. I used to be. It died out. Not because it was disbanded or anything. The guild was taken over by new management. And then they did things. And everyone changed. And then the town changed. And the country probably changed at this point. I don't know. I ran." SHe said flippantly while tilting her head to the side, the hair on her head streaming across her face as she made the blase comment about it.

"I don't want the mark on there anymore. But, I can't remove it. Thank you for letting me stay here though." If anyone was an expert on people and psychology, they might be able to discern the slight difference in tone on Lorelei. She was speaking with a voice of exacerbation, as if she was more than done with the mark and the reminder it gave her.

She then turned her gaze toward Leona, "I'm Lorelei by the way. Lorelei Laguna. DO you have anything hot to eat or drink? I think I have frost bite." SHe was rather blunt. To the point that it seemed like she didn't even care she had her fringers and toes turning blue, though the color was returning to her nose. Maybe Rowan might actually join in now and provide some sort of help.

Leona listened to the new girl known as Lorelei speak to her and Rowan about the tattoo and its significance. It was a guild tattoo from a guild the dark-haired girl was part of until new management took over. That new management instituted changes that started with the guild and eventually affected the country that the dark-haired youth was from... what those changes were was information that Lorelei did not volunteer. Leona had a feeling that she really did not want to talk about the matter any more than she had to, so the Guild Mistress let the matter drop and instead replied to Lorelei's gratitude for letting her stay in the guild.

"It's no problem, Lorelei. I'm glad that we can help." Leona assured Lorelei with a small smile. Leona was glad that it had not been too late to save the dark-haired girl from getting lost in the frigid mountains and freezing to death as a result. There was no telling how many unfortunate travelers had frozen to death in the Phoenix Mountains and had never been found. That was something that the Guild Mistress did not want to think about too much because of how depressing it could be. When Lorelei asked for food and drink the blonde was quick to answer.

"I can make it happen. What would you like to eat and drink?" Leona asked the frigid Lorelei. Her fingers and toes were turning blue, but her nose was starting to regain some of its natural color. Maybe Leona should offer some socks or a blanket for Lorelei to wrap around herself.

She thought back to them. The faces of her friends before they were turned, she shook her head, shaking them from her mind as she tried to focus on something else. She pulled her knees up close, kicking her shoes off on to the floor while she just hugged her legs. The thought of what they looked like now. She just buried her face in to her knees.

Mumbling to Leona, she would comment on what it was she could do with right about now, "I would like some soup, and tea." She would look over at some of the other members going about their business, they all looked content, but, she was wary of Leona for some reason. Whether it had to do with the guild she was from or the delirium of nearly being frozen to death, that was up to anyone's guess.

If Leona walked away, Lorelei would have a moment to speak to Rowan, "is she a good guild master? Does she make anyone do things they aren't comfortable with?" SHe would look to try and ask before Leona came back, if she left at all. Lorelei was letting just a little bit slip about what it was she left her homeland for.

When Leona came back with the soup and hot tea, she would gladly accept them, just resting her hands over the steam of the soup for now, to get them warm enough that she would be able to feel her fingers. That stinging sensation as the feeling was coming back was more than enough for her to regret coming here in such a little amount of clothes.