Sound Allies

Illya once again had a surprising amount of free time, not to mention funds, to finally go out and travel outside of Magnolia. Sure, she had left Magnolia for the purposes of work, but now she was heading to Cedar purely for the purpose of vacation. It would not be a long vacation, only two days at most, but at least getting out of the town she had called home for so long. Strapped on her back were several carrying cases for instruments: a violin, a trumpet, and a flute. It likely looked incredibly silly, a wire-framed girl carrying three large cases of instruments. Wrapped in her arms was a thick folder, filled to the brim with music. Sure, she was on vacation, but that did not mean she could not busk for extra funds or just bring joy to the people of Cedar.

After a good deal of sightseeing and forgetting to book a room to stay in for the night, Illya finally made her way to the town square, where market stalls were spread across its exterior. Standing next to the fountain, she finally set down the cases of instruments, rolling out a small mat to ensure the cases were not scuffed or any somesuch. After a moment of decision-making, she pulled out the flute from its case and kept the case open in case anyone wanted to provide funds. Making sure of her tuning as quiet as she could before beginning her playing. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing in. She slowly, but purposefully, began playing a soothing tune, doing her best to simply provide a calming atmosphere to the city.

---

WC: 278

It had been a week or so since the magenta haired mage had visited Ace of Spades, the place was an absolute headache to navigate in his opinion. You'd think given where he was brought up he would be use to such a thing, well normally that would be correct but places like Ace of Spades looked identical to him because there were no real landmarks he could use. There was the tavern where outsiders met guild members and the guildhall that was located in a castle that only members of Sabertooth could enter from what he had heard. The visit was in all honesty a bit of a let down, still he was glad he went even if it wasn't everything he had expected. To listen to his team mate Tyson you would think it was the best thing since cream cheese, but he didn't honestly get the attraction but it was each to his own. One of the few pleasant surprises he got was the fact that Tyson was no longer a giant orange rabbit but looked like an actual human being, at least he didn't have to worry about Sol making him into some sort of meal, then again he had also heard there was a giant werewolf on Tolgalen he heard. He had to wonder wither or not if he tried to take a bite or not, if he or he guessed she had because he didn't know the gender then there would have been a lot less of Tyson than their currently was. He was still happy he found Tyson because it meant he could give him the keys to the hutch that he had built with him, he had even met another member of his teammates guild and their companion after he heard him calling about giving free tarot readings. He didn't put much stock in that kind of thing but it kind of facinated him.

After his reading and spending some time with the giant wolf that the red hatted card mage he was taken on a guided tour, he enjoyed seeing the sights but still it bored him, he had gotten restless and had made the decision to leave quicker than he had originally anticipated. This had happened before he joined his current guild. The place was still not exactly what he expected and hated the fact that he had to climb a mountain everytime he wanted to come or go from the place given how out of the way it was but still he enjoyed the research part of it so didn't openly complain. Still he hated getting lost and he didn't really spend the time scouting the place not to get lost, that was tomorrows issue however as he yet again had decided to go wandering around and ended up in Ceder. There wasn't exactly anything special about his apperance, pink hair, white t-shirt, blue trousers, brown boots and glasses. He did have a bow but he stored it within a crystal because it was easier to move around without issue when people didn't thing you were up to no good, but lets face it he was always up to no good. He began walking down a street when he heard flute music and a crowed of onlookers, squeezing through them all he watched the woman quietly enjoying the music a great deal, perhaps there would be a chance to talk to her when she stopped playing but for now that wasn't about to happen anytime soon he guessed.

Word Count: 589
@Yuvon @Yuudai @Tyson Rhodes @Illya Pegasus

As Illya finished her song, she felt deaf to the applause coming from the small crowd that had formed around her. Despite the appearance of such a crowd, she was unhappy with her performance. I screwed up that triplet arpeggio in measure eight. Her thoughts bounced around in that attitude, her external appearance showing her smiles and her speaking with her mind elsewhere in the clouds, while her internalized thoughts were flooded with self-criticisms on her performance. Several of the onlookers dropped in a few jewels due to her busking in the street, which Illya made sure to thank them for, though she still figured if she had a better work, it would have gotten more of the crowd. Perhaps it was simply greed, perhaps still being used to having funds outside of her concerts, but she still wished for more funds to get more instruments and music for her times that she had off.

As the crowd began to disperse, one person of note stood out. While many of the citizens that had been in the crowd seemed fairly normal, looking like an average person, this one, quite frankly, amidst all the normalcy, stood out like a sore thumb. Their dress was far from abnormal, but the pink hair and the slightly distant look drew Illya's attention. While there was certainly the appearance that drew attention, perhaps more interesting was the slight magical aura she could lightly perceive through her lacrima eye. More of the crowd began dissipating as the person that had caught her eye still stood still, Illya doing her best to politely dismiss the others that still tried interacting with her. As citizens of Cedar tried asking who she was, Illya began packing away her instrument and her music. After what felt like an eternity, she finally managed to break through the remaining members of the crowd that had formed. She wrapped the straps of her cases around her shoulders and grabbed her folder of music.

"Hiya! Uh...sorry if it seems weird that I'm the performer and I'm going up to meet someone I've never met after my performance, but...are you a wizard?" She extended a hand. "My name's Illya Pegasus. I'm also a wizard, part of Fairy Tail, but I don't really know how to use magic all too well."

She smiled, offering a hand to the wizard, awkwardly leaning back so as to not tip over from her cases and balancing all her music in one arm. Even if she knew nothing about this stranger, she was always inclined to trust others. She always thought it best to be friends with as many people as possible. Her magic was focused on supporting others, and her work in waitressing led her to always believe the best in others.

---

WC: 464
TWC: 742

Alma continued watching the young woman as she played the flute his eyes closing as he listened to the song intently, it was clear she made a few minor mistakes in her playing but unless you knew the song in depth it wouldn't be so obvious. He was from a wealthy family and his tutors were always always the best money could buy, it was true he was entitled and lazy most of the time but he did enjoy listening to and playing music. The magenta haired youth hated when he made mistakes when it came to music because his teacher was less than understanding, it actually killed his confidence but he used that to prove his teacher wrong, if nothing else it gave him what he needed to improved and play flawlessly within a shorter period of time than what was normal. It was strange because his teachers lived in houses provided by his family on his family grounds, it was done this way so he didn't need to leave his family estate for really anything. Soon enough he started acting up as he wasn't released from his cage at all, from that his teachers talked to him about being able to go out to museums and other educational outings, his parents reluctantly agreed but he would still be with a few guards for his safety given he was their heir. For a good long while this kept him happy, he was occasionally allowed out for special events to buy gifts and enjoy festivities so this helped add to that but Sol changed all that. That was behind him or so he thought but Sol kept making appearances in his life and it was just as bad as they first met, he understood he was an entitled brat when they first met but that was just how things were in his circle especially given he was always around the same people and they drove him up the wall.

Hearing the music coming to an end he opened his eyes, unlike everyone else he didn't clap or give some jewel for the performance watching as she started to pack her things away "You got flustered in places." he said calmly as the crowed started to disperse, he was actually quite happy about that because he hated being in large crowds. He watched as she then moved towards him and extended her hand and blinked "I don't really shake hands." he said tilting his head a little to the left "It's nothing against you, just how I was raised." he said with a calm and warm tone "It's nice to meet you Illya, I'm Alma." he said hoping that she really wasn't going to push for a last name, it wasn't like he didn't have a pseudo family name but he would rather not lie if he didn't have to. "I'm a Silver Wolf mage." his tone hadn't changed since he had started to speak to her "I'm still stretching my magical muscles myself so perhaps we can stretch them together some time if you like." he said with a shrug unsure if she would take her up on the offer but thought since he didn't really know that many people it couldn't be a bad thing.

Word Count: 546
Total Word Count: 1,135
@Illya Pegasus @Yuudai @Tyson Rhodes @Yuvon