A NEWBIE'S FIRST DAY (PRIVATE, FAUSTEIN KUROYAKUSHI, JANET CINDERFEILD, ODHRAN AEGISBANE)

When word came of a meeting with a potential new recruit to Elysium, Odhran was a primary figure to be brought along, and he and Janet were to set off for Magnolia in order to meet this new recruit. It seemed a bit strange to head elsewhere in order to meet up with someone, but Odhran knew not to question the orders. Despite being an Ace, he was entrusted with surprisingly few decisions, and most of his duties were taken over by Arnaluuk.

It had been some time since Odhran had been in Magnolia, and he unfortunately did not seem to be recognized by the commonfolk of the bustling town. No matter how much he scoured the town, he found no wanted posters, no rumors of the deadly mage in their midst, nothing! It disappointed him to no end, and his search led him to becoming utterly lost within the town he never bothered to learn the layout of. As far as he remembered, he was supposed to meet up in some park, but he figured that the meeting could wait, right? Arnaluuk probably was already at the meeting point, as would Atsuai and Amittai. Scorpio had probably gotten sidetracked, the nerve of him! and there was no telling as to what Sweetie would be doing. Odhran, figuring he still had time, went out in search of at least one wanted poster bearing his visage.

---

Waiting at the meeting spot, Arnaluuk saw, was the new recruit. Her and Janet would head down to this meeting spot together, Arnaluuk wondering whatever happened to the rest of her fellow Spirits. "Faustein, I assume?" Arnaluuk would ask as she neared the white-haired man. "Sorry if we were a bit late, some of our... comrades are a bit indisposed for various reasons. They'll show up eventually, I would assume." She muttered to herself, "And if they don't, I'm going to have some serious words with them..." She returned to speaking to the would-be new recruit. "I should introduce myself. I'm Arnaluuk, and this is our guild master, Janet. It is admittedly slightly out of procedure for a guild to go out to meet a new recruit, but there is certainly the issue of our guild being located in Sin. I hope you won't mind that. However, I do believe that our guild master will be more suited to speaking on such things. I'm just hoping our comrades aren't getting in trouble..."

---

"My, it certainly is fun ruining the lives of these people, isn't it, Amittai?" Atsuai asked as the kimono-bearing archer sat beside the skull-faced mafioso on a bench in one of the residential streets of Magnolia.

Amittai smirked as he stared into the fears of the recently-effected commoners that were around. "I'd say so. All these cats gotta be scared of losin' their newly-made 'significant others,' huh?"

Atsuai giggled. "Of course they are. Now what we do is just..." she casually fired a love arrow into the arm of another random citizen nearby, which faded into the ether once it struck. "...cause a little but of a love triangle and..."

The duo laughed as the two men began an argument and then a physical altercation in regards to the woman. None of them had known each other just ten minutes prior, and now two of them were fighting over the other as if the love of their life depended on it. Since coming into Magnolia, the duo had been doing such things. Breaking people up, causing fights in the heat of passion, the whole works. It was a game to the Spirits. The mortal sense of love was so flawed that it could be manipulated as such. They merely found people who were scared of losing their greatest loves and used them as such to cause chaos. They had even caused two murders in the short time since arriving, both when causing some members of rival gangs to fall in love with the same girl. It was highly amusing to the duo, and they figured this fun was much more entertaining than going to some meeting for Odhran. Arnaluuk and Scorpio could handle it, the two agreed, as they continued to play their game.

---

"I'm surprised you agreed to this date, Sweetie-pie," Scorpio said as he was given his coffee.

"This is, like, sooooo much better than going to some meeting. Oh well, I'm glad you brought me along! I've always wanted to try the food here!"

Scorpio raised an eyebrow. "Uh... we're Celestial Spirits. We don't need to eat."

"I mean, yeah, but sometimes the food the mortal realm has is waaaay tastier than anything else, so... I mean, we don't, like, have to pay or anything."

"You mean you don't have to pay? I got both bills on my tab, so order as much as you-"

"You shouldn't pay either, silly! Od said that dining and dashing was a crime befitting of a villain, so we should help our keybearer out and make him more notorious!"

Scorpio pondered this for a moment before responding. "I took you for just some cutie, but you've got a smart brain, don't'cha?"

Sweetie blushed. "Aww, stop it, Scorpio! You don't have to be so nice, I mean-"

Scorpio just sat and listened to Sweetie appreciate his comment, admiring the sweet candy girl. Truly, this was better than any meeting.

The richness of the new recruit's voice was a pleasant enough surprise for Arnaluuk, as was the competency he seemed to hold. How much of a relief that at least one man in the guild was not a bumbling idiot! Arnaluuk had been so surrounded by Odhran and Scorpio's antics, or Noel and Amittai's...creepiness. When the man spoke what he could add to the guild, Arnaluuk raised a hand. "As much as I hate to say it, if you can even bring anything of value, you're already more capable than my Keybearer. The dunce was supposed to be the one alongside Janet for this meeting, but he's nowhere to be found. Ah, I suppose I should clarify some things. I'm not exactly human, nor is Janet, though we in different ways. I'm a Celestial Spirit. My Keybearer is somewhere in town, likely doing something stupid. He's prone to do that, so be warned." She sighed. "Maybe it's for the best that the dunce didn't show up. He'd probably be boasting something along the lines of 'I am the Greatest God the world has eeeeeeeeevvvverr seen! Fear me, so I am Odhran Aegisbane, the God of the Celestial Spirit Realm!' Some nonsense like that, I'm sure." Arnaluuk clicked her tongue. "Ah, apologies. When it comes to Odhran, I get a bit passionate. He's a dunce, but he's my Keybearer, and someone needs to keep him in line." She turned her head towards Janet for a moment before nodding. "Please, if I presume too much, Lady Janet, inform me. With Elysium, having research of how the universe works is certainly fine and all, but such pursuits could be found in places like Silver Wolf. I admit I do not know much about their rules and laws regarding research, but there is always the possibility for a blind eye being turned towards actions if they provide enough information. No, we do not just need information, we desire-"

"The power to change the very world itself!" Odhran's boisterous voice called, using his Ark of Embodiment to roll out a red carpet before him. "Indeed! This universe is not enough to contain such wonderful vessels as myself or Janet here, and so we must change it!" He came close to the scientist, examining him over and speaking quietly. "Indeed. We will change the world, Faustein. We will make it ours. No one will stand in our way. We will be the kings and gods we so rightfully deserve." A devillish smirk crossed his face as he broke away, returning to his boasts. "After all, such a world needs someone to become a herald of its awakening! It is only right if-"

Arnaluuk had enough, summoning the trident of ice and whacking her Keybearer upside the head with it. "We don't want to scare him off with all of your grandstanding."

Odhran whimpered in pain for a moment. "I'm not grandstanding, I'm only letting him and the world know of my wondrous persona! How I am the greatest Celestial Spirit Mage the world will ever see! How I alone am the only one that is fit to-"

Arnaluuk scoffed to herself, before trapping Odhran in a vortex of cold, sending him into a fit of shivering attempts to explain himself. The two bickered on as the conversation between Janet and Faustein would continue.

---

"I suppose we ought to head to the meeting place by now," Amittai mused, petting one of her ethereal snakes atop its head. "Though by now Od-chan likely figured no one has heard of his wonderful deeds and has gone to meet the newbie." A devious giggle escaped her lips.

"Knowin' the head honcho, wouldn't surprise me," Amittai agreed, flipping a coin absently. The two had certainly enjoyed their fun, as now a gang battle had erupted in the alleyways. A clever manipulation of feelings and affections and fears, and all of a sudden they were running wild. Amittai would have been smirking if his face bore more than a skull. "What about those two other cats the boss summoned, eh? The Zodiac and Sweetie."

Atsuai tched. "Knowing that rascal Scorpio, he probably asked Sweetie on a date. Lecherous man. Though, I suppose there's nothing wrong with a little lechery and debauchery. I do somewhat wish he could tone it down, but if one thing leads to another, well... all love is good love, yes? Whether sober or drunk, good or evil, consenting or no."

Amittai chuckled slightly. "You really try hard to work away that 'cupid' vibe you got, don't'cha, cat? Imagine the heartbreak all those kids would feel hearing you're okay with that."

Atsuai giggled, letting one of her snakes wrap its way around Amittai's skull. "Of course. I am just an advocate of love. I do wonder how attractive you would be if you had skin, though. You and Noel both. I'm sure the two of you would be wonderful charmers."

Amittai was enjoying the banter. Each was trying to gain headway over the other. "You're trying to unsettle me, cat. Please, if you keep this up, I'll have to run an entire village against itself."

Amittai and Atsuai reveled in their friendship. They both knew they were the single smartest of all the Spirits, and they always wished to prove which was truly the smartest. Atsuai accepted Amittai's offer as they continued to watch the commonfolk of Magnolia fight.