Nice Weather, isn’t it? (Open intro)

The loud crack of thunder echoed through the skies of Magnolia. The particularly heavy rain drenching and albeit flooding the streets had kept most off of the streets. Stalls put away and those I’ll prepared begun to come apart at the seems. Weak tree branches pelted by the endless rain and harsh winds eventually snapped and came off of their tree. Even then, the storm over the town was a result of a larger one that came from the coast line by Hargeon port and made its way inland towards Magnolia as it had. Having faired ones way through the worst of it and able to beat it from the port town to this town, going further proved no benefits. Exhausting her last bit of funds left her broke now, which for her wasn’t much of a problem. It was part of the reason for her move from one town to the next was to enhance herself with the experience of the culture along with the ability to help whom she could while she stayed.

As the next crack of thunder forced a small shake from the sheer force of its power, the flash of thunder flashed, even to strike down near the hall itself. A view of it all from her window seat had left her in a serene mood. Rain crashing into the window in waves gave her no care in her viewing the act of nature work on its own volition. It was part of the reason she loved the coast towns so much. To peer out and look at the oceanside to the horizon was a memory that the brunette guest wanted to assure was burned into her mind forever... for however long that would be.

So one might ask why a complete stranger would be sitting inside a guild hall watching the rain. Well, Elizabeth was interested in joining a guild. After decades and even centuries had gone by, she never once thought anything of places like this. However, things seemed to change. What more, a place like Fairy Tail was something that was the closest to the visions she sought in a place. For her, the legally reigned guilds did nothing for her tastes, especially that of one condoned for violent means of subduing their targets. ”Excuse me, Miss? Someone will be right with you. Here’s that cup of coffee you asked for.” A bartender had approached, setting her cup down and with the update given to her, her attention turned up to them, giving a warm smile. ”Merci. But please, there is no rush. With this weather, I am not going any place.” She replied, assuring them that any urgency was unnecessary.

449 words

Adam, the bartender, nodded to her response and stated: “If there’s anything else you need, do tell me right away.” He would then give her space and tend to the bar again, for the heavy rain outside didn’t only draw Elizabeth to the inside warmth and shelter of the guild hall; a handful of other travelers also crashed here for the duration of the storm, but they held only little chatter in comparison to the livelihood that the guild hall often contained.

The rain provided coziness inside, though. It was the optimal weather to watch movies, and what else would Mura be doing right now? In his office, he had the TV box up and running one of the seasons of the detective series that he had gotten sucked into over the last few months. He could go several hours watching the series…

At one point, however, he ran out of chips. Therefore, he found it necessary to venture downstairs to the bar to refill and, hopefully, greet and talk to some of the guildmates who were still here. He quickly walked out of the elevator - bless that elevator - and made his way to the bar where he searched for any pockets of chips that were up for sale. He had jewels to buy himself one more pocket, but before he took it upstairs again, he noticed the presence of many new faces in the guild hall. A tad more than he was used to…

“H-Hey, Adam…” he spoke to the solid bartender, “Are they all travelling or something? I’ve never seen so many new people here at once before.”

“That would be the case, Master,” Adam replied, “Most of them are eagerly waiting for the dribble to subside. You should greet them; you're technically the host of their stay.”

“Ah…” Mura expressed in a mild sense of understanding. He approached the lots, some were greeted to, others were too busy checking through their belongings to make sure that nothing had been soaked apart by the rain outside. He eventually got to face a blonde lady enjoying a cup of coffee, to which he greeted: “I hope we’re providing sufficient shelter for the time being. I’m Mura Kensho.”

WC: 370

The sound and actions of the rain were absolutely mesmerizing to the brunette woman. For as long back as she could remember, it had always been a mystery as to why she was so enveloped and entertained by that of the sight of rain and how it acted. And though she had been around for so long, traveling from place to place for decades at a time, it was something that never could be answered on her own. But there was always these little snippets of childhood days in the bright sun and amass large fields of grass and flowers. Among that, there wasn’t much that she could recall from that time of her life. Perhaps the limitations of her memory could only hold to so much. Even then, who could say to how much memory was one person able to hold within their heads?

To her surprise, someone had pulled up a seat across from her at the table and seated themselves. The sound alone got her attention to pull away from the window after one sip from her cup of coffee. Looking over, she had seen the younger looking person whom spoke up. The way he brought it about made Elizabeth believe she was being talked to by a member of the guild. Hopefully so, at least. ”Why yes, thank you. I must say, it’s much more humble than the last time I visited Magnolia town.” The brunette replied, setting her cup down onto the table though as the name had rung a bell in her head. She had seen in magazines and other more public records that name before and only then when she had did she have a slightly different stature. While she had been more lax and calm, she took a more straightened, almost militaristic type of posture.


”Oh, my apologies, sir.” She started off, smiling despite her apologetic words. ”Where are my manners. My name is Elizabeth Gregory. Delighted to meet your acquaintance.” A little out of place in terms of meeting, her usual stance of greeting had come with a bow or curtsy, usually varying on the culture in which she was in, but right now she had to settle to the bright smile on her face and the words she spoke. ”The reason I am here is more for business than it is for pleasure, however.” Her arms settled onto her lap, the smile lightening up to be much smaller than before while she gave a more passionate stare of intent. ”I have circled this world for many, many years. I had wished to join Fairy Tail, if you would be willing to accept me among your ranks, sir.”

447 words
896 personal total words

Hmh, yeah, she was spot on. The guild hall wasn’t nearly as boisterous or flamboyant as it was in its earlier days. It was such a strange feeling every time Mura thought back to his younger time as a Fairy Tail Wizard - barely an Ace, pouting, proudly holding Harusame and taking as many jobs from the job board as possible before the crowds crushed him. Then he would spend a week or more out in the world, harnessing his skill and profession as a mage whose hand and sword was to the people of Earthland.

Did that mean that the lady in front of him had visited the guild before? She must’ve been familiar with the guild’s past, in one way or another, if she knew about it.

Mura bowed his head gently at her greeting. It appeared that she wanted to join the guild herself, which brought shine to his face. “R-Really? That’d be great and all… d-don’t tell me that you’re running away from your family members because of some private dilemma or something, though - I-I don’t want to come between that, but if that’s not the case, then uh… j-just ignore what I just sa-“

*SLAM!*

The main doors to the guild were kicked open by some pimple who entered with an angry look on his face. He eyed a specific person among the crowd and yelled at the top of his lungs: “LORRY! STOP WASTING YOUR TIME HERE - WE’RE LOOKING FOR THE FAIRY TAIL GUILD!”

The man addressed, Lorry, rose up on his feet after finishing his delicate cup of White Wolf and sweated. “B-But this is Fairy Tail’s hall, Carvel! Come on in, you should really try this wine, it’s hella skrilla-“

A moment of silence passed, where Carvel looked around, his eyes almost popping out of his eyes as he scanned the guild hall. He then shrugged and joined up with his friend, while Mura - watching all of his from his seat - had an awkward atmosphere around him… along with a lot of trickling dots of sweat and a half-assed attempt at looking indifferent to the scene.

… I-I should bring this up with the others later…

“… A-Anyway, you must already know that Fairy Tail is a guild in high demand. Y’know, we have rich history and highly capable wizards to help everyone in need here in Earthland. Are you ready to enter such demanding profession and join us?” It was a necessary question; he couldn’t afford letting her join only to get mauled by ghouls on her first quest. He couldn’t help underestimating her, since it wasn’t out of arrogance, but out of worry for her safety.

WC. 450
TWC: 820