A New Face, an Old Attitude (Open~)

Amalie strode towards the Guildhall, her uniform coated with dirt and blood. She gripped her arm tightly, she wasn't entirely sure, but she was pretty sure it was broken. She would have healed it if she could but she had used up all of her mana trying to chase down the perp after letting him get away. She was furious with herself. It had happened again, Anima's interference. She had gone after a target, assigned in a guild job, only to have Anima intervene when things got a little dangerous. She had grown nauseous, giving the target the means to attack, he had blasted her with explosive magic, knocking her through the wall of a building before fleeing. She had tried to chase him down, using every spell she could in an attempt to hit him. But it was no good, the sickness that overwhelmed her had slowed her too much. He had gotten away and she had been forced to return to the guild empty-handed.

She climbed the steps leading up to the Throne Hall, fully intending to sneak in and wait for her mana to replenish before healing herself. She reached for her belt, unclipping her hip-flask she took a swig before returning it to her belt. She had been foolish, she should have consumed some before the fight. But still didn't want the whisky to hold her back, so she had held off. Anima had attempted to apologise after, but Amalie had drowned him into silence with a quick few swigs from the flask. Now she was consuming it just to numb the pain from her arm. As she entered the guild-hall, she would take a few steps before coming to a stop. Eyes widening as she spotted Johann talking to a green-haired woman. Shit. She thought in panic. She really hadn't expected to run into him right now. Normally, she wouldn't have minded, in fact, she preferred it. But today, when she was in this state. This was the last thing she wanted, for him to see her like this, and to learn of her embarrassing failure.

She considered her options, she could leave and go find somewhere to wait it out until she healed herself. But then again, he was somewhat engrossed in the conversation with the woman. She was of a similar build to Amalie, perhaps a little older than her. With long green hair that was braided all the way down her back, nor was she wearing the uniform. Was she a recruit? Or perhaps a client? Amalie would wonder, she certainly didn't recognise her. But then she probably wouldn't recognise most of her guildmates. Amalie was tired and sore, she really wanted to go back to her room and rest. She decided to risk it, treading lightly, she straightened up, trying to hide her discomfort. Hopefully, Johann wouldn't even glance her way. She made her way past them, staying close to the edge of the room as she attempted to slip past the pair unnoticed.

---

As it would happen, the guild's co-guild master would be wandering in from the mess hall with a snack.
Judging from the skewers in her hands and the one in her mouth just shy of its third occupant, she'd been munching on more mochi than any one person should in a single setting. She was careful not to spill anything since she was wearing one of her more official Ambassador uniforms. Her official business earlier in the day had called for it and had been stressful enough to ignite her large appetite. Hearing the voice of a familiar person, Johann, her mentor, and that of someone she'd never heard before had drawn her from her previous trajectory of her room initially. More alarming was the scent of blood and dirt, a smell not uncommon for the guild members to have upon returning from blacklist jobs but made more concerning because of whose scent it was mixed with.

As soon as she stepped foot into the Throne Room, sharp crimson eyes took in the scene. Johann, standing conversationally close to a stranger with green hair...who had a bow in her hands firing an ethereal arrow at an injured Amalie! Even though it missed, her reaction was immediate. The tinkle of the skewers on the floor was the only indication that she'd moved. In a pop of blue aura, 7 had teleported across the room to right in front of Amalie, shielding her from the potential second arrow and perhaps drawing the wrong conclusions from the scene in general. There was a large sword on a chain in her left hand and though her expressions were rarely fierce, at this moment it was just that. She'd even dropped her last two mochi in her state of alarm! Anyone who knew Sivvy knew snacks were life.

"Amalie! What happened?" 7 asked sharply, then whirled to eye the elf. How dare she? If Sivvy hadn't been examining and worrying over her good friend Amalie's wounds, she might have retaliated on the elf before even pausing to think it over! But now that she was closer, it didn't seem the arrow she'd witnessed could cause this type of damage even if it had hit. Her eyes appraised, mind blurring through potential scenarios. Did this woman hurt Amalie and bring her back here as a threat? Was she threatening Johann or something? No, Johann didn't seem fussed prior to the arrow. Did this elf and Amalie know each other as allies, enemies, or at all? After shooting at Amalie the woman just returned to speaking about business as usual, offering to treat Amalie. So perhaps...not an enemy. But why attack then offer to help? That made no sense. As far as she could tell, the green-haired woman made no sense at all, and 7 had never cared much for things like that.

Regardless of the backstory, it didn't excuse the behavior in her eyes....and no matter what the situation, she did still fire a warning shot at an injured guild mate just trying to come inside their safe place. "Excuse me," 7 started with pink brows lowering, ever polite even in her simmering irritation. "Do not fire your weapon in our guild hall at our guild members, please," she requested sharply, somehow managing to sound threatening without actually making the threat she was imagining. She wanted to remove one of the arms, thus putting the strangers arrow-firing to an end. But..as her inquisitive glance toward Johann might betray, she was waiting to see if such a thing would be needed, or perhaps get permission to attack. If the archer ended up being a Dark Mage, then she either must be very strong or suicidal to wander into Dies Irae, a guild that wouldn't hesitate to wipe her from existence.

[wc: 633 || 500/500 D Rank WC 1 complete || 33/500 D rank 2]

Amalie made it about halfway across the throne hall before everything went to shit. Just as she was starting to believe that she would manage the feat of sneaking pat the guild master and the visitor. An arrow suddenly shot in front of her, hitting the wall violently. This development gave Amalie two reasons to be extremely pissed off. The first being, the sudden appearance of the arrow had caused her to jump back slightly, jolting her arm roughly enough to send a shooting pain through her. So sharp that even the alcohol she'd consumed thus far wasn't enough to numb it. The woman growled through gritted teeth as she clutched her arm once more. The second reason for her anger was that her attempt as discretion was ruined and Johann had been made aware of her presence. All thanks to this halfwit woman who decided to attack Amalie for no reason.

Amalie turned her ice-blue gaze to the green haired woman that had attacked her. Her face contorted in rage and her eyes ablaze in a cold fury. Every fibre in her being wanting to punish her for having the audacity to shoot at her. She went to speak, attempt to cast her 'Shards' spell, only to remember that she didn't have any magic at present. She had used it all up on that target earlier. Well, no matter, she still had her sword. Even if she wasn't used to fighting with her left hand, she was prepared to figure it out. Although it didn't seem to be necessary, because, in the blink of an eye, Sivvy appeared in front of her. As though to protect her from another attack. Amalie looked on in mild surprise. Glancing around in an attempt to work out where the girl had come from. She eyed the mochi lying on the floor, the shock of the moment sinking in further as she glanced from the abandoned snacks back to Sivvy.

Sivvy asked her what happened, which would remind Amalie of what they were dealing with. She returned her gaze to the green-haired woman, who began to quickly defend her own actions by denying she didn't actually injure Amalie. This did nothing to calm the Articulation mage, nor did the rubble remark, which she ignored. The girl continued on in an ignorant manner, asking about the way the guild worked. So she wanted to join? This girl who had walked into a guild and attacked an injured passer-by, wanting to join a guild who aspire to protect the public against evil by any means necessary. Sivvy would make a surprisingly sharp comment, ordering her not to fire her weapon at guild members. The normally polite, well-mannered girl sounded pretty intimidating. which cause Amalie to calm a little, just to smirk at the pink-haired girl's fierceness. Johann would add to the conversation expressing his opinion on the matter. The woman commented about being used to jungles being her reason for attacking a stranger. Amalie rolled her eyes, scoffing loudly when the woman denied her an apology.

"No need to apologize, you clearly can't help being a fucking eejit." She retorted, her voice laced with sarcasm. She turned her gaze to Johann as he approached, he reached over and placed a soft touch on her shoulder. Amalie felt the magic course over her, her wounds, and aches would heal. Her broken arm would mend itself, feeling significantly better. Her body relaxed slightly, feeling significantly better. He commented that she didn't need to sneak in, causing her to glance away. Not wanting to meet his gaze, she was still bothered by the fact she failed. Failure was something she loathed immensely. She would hear his question and sigh, resigned by the fact she had no choice but to explain herself.


"I was chasing a target and ..." How could she say this? She didn't exactly feel comfortable talking about Anima so publically. She still hadn't explained her situation to Sivvy yet and well, as far as the green-haired girl was concerned. It was none of her business.  She looked at Johann once more, hoping he would interpret the meaning behind her words. "I ran into some interference. The target was able to catch me off guard with some explosion magic. I tried to track him down after but I lost him and used up all my mana in the process. I was hoping to wait to recover in my room until I regained enough mana to heal myself." But of course that had been ruined. She turned towards the green haired girl, moving away from Johann, she strode over to the girl. The blue-haired woman stepped up to her. Her cold gaze meeting the women, "If you ever aim an arrow at me again,  I'll carve you into a thousand pieces and feed you to the pigeons." Although the line was spoken in a calm manner, the threat itself was laced with a quiet venom.

---

Johann's words caused Amalie to bite the inside of her cheek. It wasn't like it was his intention but she couldn't help but become more irritated by what he'd said. The answer to his remark, being both yes, and no. It wasn't that they would hold it against her, she knew them well enough to assume that wouldn't be the case. But it was the sense of failing to do the job that irked her, them knowing that she was failing. She would prefer it if he had scalded her. His 'understanding', it was just so alien and it frustrated her. She hadn't just joined Dies Irae to escape the clutches of her past, she had actually found herself wanting to aid it in any way she could. Maybe because it was important to Johann and Sivvy, so letting them down in any way, it left Amalie much more flustered than usual.

"Thank you."  She responded quietly to his healing, deciding there was no need for elaboration at this point. Following her threat to the green haired woman, Johann would instruct them to 'act civil'. Amalie held her cold glare for a moment longer, before stepping away. However, hearing the 'Jelly bean' comment, would cause Amalie to grit her teeth. Shooting a Johann a look that suggested that this 'acting civil' business wasn't going to be as easy as he'd implied. she didn't appreciate this stranger actually so casually towards Sivvy, demaning her with such a childish nickname. Especially when Amalie knew full well that if Sivvy wanted to, she could gave in the girls skull without even breaking a sweat. From Sivvy's reaction,  Amalie could only imagine that the girl might not understand the meaning behind the nickname. Amalie was considering her reply, she wanted to snap at the woman. To order her to show Sivvy some respect, but before she could formulate the comment. There was a rather dramatic interruption, a loud girlish cry, and a series of apologies as papers flew everywhere.

Amalie glanced over, recognising the red-head from the opening ceremony. She would watch as Sivvy plucked up a few of the papers, beginning to read it out loud. Amalie's brow arched as she heard her name, listening as Sivvy begin to recite a rather sexual encounter between herself as the Articulation mage. Frozen heart? She thought confused, Did she had a frozen heart? She didn't think so, perhaps this was how others interpreted her. Huh. She thought, feeling herself grow more irritated by the absurdity of what was happening. I really just wanted a lie-down. She thought, suppressing the need to groan. She caught Sivvy gazing at her, the words the woman spoke, causing Amalie to eye Sivvy for a moment with a gaze of uncertainty, it was a complicated matter that was for sure. She decided, once again, it was best not to comment. Johann, seemed to have a similar thought process, excusing himself from the situation, only to be called back by visitor.

Sivvy would address the green-haired eegit once more. Explaining that she too was an ambassador, Amalie would decide that she was no longer needed in this situation. "I'm going to retire for some rest, I'll catch you later Sivvy."  She said, she offered Johann a nod as well before turning away. Striding down the hall, she would make her way to her room. Glad to be out of the 'ridiculous' scenario, once and for all.

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