A Rough Start (Intro/Open)

"In the best case, we find a way to banish Zupazu for good and keep him banished even if he gets a new batch of cultists after we finish beating up the current group. In the worst case we buy the world a hundred years to get ready for his return. Either way we're going to take the fight to his cult and do what we can to stop him before it's too late." Victoria said to Brianna. The former was not exactly certain that the Order would be able to find the right ritual because from what she had seen in Sombras Manor banishing demonic items took a lot of time, effort, and the right ritual. Permanently banishing demons promised to be a lot harder than banishing a book of demonic pacts, partially because demons could fight back and possibly summon other demons to aid them in the struggle to remain free.

"You're right, Brianna. We'll have to be vigilant because demons are persistent. They'll be on the lookout for new people to tempt into following them and there's no shortage of them. Whether it's a rich dilettante dabbling in arcane sorcery or a down-and-just-about-out poor person, there's plenty of potential cultists out there." Victoria agreed with Brianna's statement that they and the Order would need to remain vigilant in order to keep Zupazu's influence in check until they could find a way to deal with him permanently. The brunette's statement about potential cultists being drawn from every social class got her to thinking about her own situation and how when she was down and just about out she would have been vulnerable to the siren call of anyone promising her food, shelter, and power.

Victoria was not sure how to deal with potential cultists. She was not of the mindset that going in and punching them until they surrendered was the right thing to do because they had not committed a crime yet. The thought of her beating down someone who was in the same place she had once been was one that did not sit well with her. Even though she now had power to rival Wizard Saints and more money than she knew what to do with, she was still a street kid at heart and wanted to avoid beating up people who were down on their luck if she could help it. Even though she disliked how the rich people of Capital Crocus had treated her, Victoria was not going to attack them for no reason.

When Brianna brought up Minerva the brunette laughed a bit.

"I'll admit that she was hard to get along with at first. She was determined to prove that she was the best and that she didn't need anyone to help her rescue her younger sister from vampires. She considered me a bumbling amateur with more firepower than sense. It also didn't help that I almost hit her with a Beam Cannon spell while she was jumping over Bull Demons before killing them, but that was an accident on my part and she had some right to get pissed. However, Minerva isn't all bad." Victoria laid out how Minerva could be prickly before going on to say that the Order Knight had good points to balance the bad ones.

"Once you get past the prickly part of her personality Minerva's a pretty good person. She really hates demons, so you don't have to worry about her being lured into temptation by their honeyed words and false promises. She's also really handy in a fight... if you can tolerate the occasional boasting she'll show that she can back up her boasting and then some. If you manage to earn her respect she'll be loyal to you until the end." Victoria touted some of Minerva's most prominent good points to balance out the bad points mentioned earlier. While Victoria and Minerva got off to a rocky start due to a difference in personalities and the potential friendly fire incident, it all worked out in the end once Serena had been rescued from Henry Capella. If they were not best friends, then the Order Knight and the Sabertooth mage were at least on speaking terms.

[Post Word Count: 702]
[Victoria's New Word Count: 4,979]

“Yeah, it might just end up being a case of us holding back the tide and keeping him contained.” It was a frustrating prospect for her to consider but Brianna just had to be realistic. If Zupazu had that much power then perhaps it simply was the case that there wouldn't be a way to permanently get rid of him. She knew that the Lightbringers would do their best in finding a solution but her knowledge was rather weak on the subject of banishing them and she had no real idea as to how it truly worked. Her view of him was rather simple, another foul being who enjoyed forcing his will on those who lacked the strength to fight him. He was just another bully. “I just hope that we’re able to put a stop to his plans before too many more people are dragged into it. I don’t like the idea of having to beat up those that have joined him out of desperation either but the longer this goes on, the more likely that could end up happening. If Zupazu is as shrewd as he appears to be then he may well use our hesitance against us and the cultists may well end up using the unfortunate as human shields to keep us from them.” She hoped it wouldn’t come to that but given their desperation, she sadly couldn’t count it out, only hope that it didn’t. It angered her that even in times such as this, there were so many people out there who were barely able to survive. Life was a bitch sometimes and Brianna hated that fact.

As the topic once again shifted to her doppelganger, Brianna had to smile as Victoria spoke more about Minerva. She sure had a lot of personality and the chestnut haired teenager had a sneaking suspicion that a meeting between herself and the Knight would be one not to be missed. She could respect the woman’s desire to prove herself and certainly shared her sense of justice and hatred for demonic beings. Brianna thought to herself that she could probably get along with her eventually although they could end up butting or heads or fists. She was still slightly mystified by the similarities in their appearances though. What were the chances that they would be almost identical and yet come from completely different countries? Perhaps she needed to get in touch with her father and try to weasel out the truth regarding her own family. He had never been willing to speak to her about her mother and she knew so little about her. His normally serene personality would crumble whenever Brianna had asked him about his wife, leaving the chestnut haired girl frustrated. She deserved to know the truth and his keeping it from her had driven a bit of a wedge between them. Of course she loved him but there was tension too.

“I can’t help but admire her for being so pig headed,” Brianna said with a slight chuckle, “I think with all of the fighting that we’ve got in front of us. We’re all going to need a bit of grit.” She knew that Victoria had plenty of it and that she herself did too but it was quite nice to hear that there were members of the Order who had it as well. After hearing so much about the situation with Zupazu, she knew it was going to push everyone involved to their limits and when the going got tough. She did her best at that point to try and relax a little and let the rather dark conversation turn lighter.

(609 Words)
(2876 Spare WC)

"I hate to sound like such a downer, but unless we find the right ritual all we can do is stem the tide and buy the world some time. If we can't stop him hopefully the next generation can stop him for good." Victoria agreed with Brianna's short and sweet assessment of their chances of stopping Infernal Lord Zupazu for good without the right banishing ritual. The brunette hated to leave that burden to the future, but if the Order could not come through with what she and Brianna needed they would just have to settle for buying time for the next generation to finish what the Sabertooth mages started. With that in mind the ponytailed brunette moved onto the next topic, which was stopping the potential cultists without using lethal force to do it.

That was where Victoria's less-than-lethal arsenal came in. In between Taser Spark, Tear Gas Grenades, Bean Bag Rounds, and the Tranquilizer Rifle, the brunette had enough less-than-lethal weaponry to subdue people without lasting damage. Like with Brianna, the real problem came with finding the will to use it against people who had joined the cult just out of desperation, not a belief that demons were destined to rule Earthland.

Brianna was also right about Zupazu possibly using the members as human shields. The brunette knew that he only cared about his cultists only for what they could do for him, not as any sort of valued companions or valued helpers. He would not hesitate to put them between himself and anyone out to stop him.

Victoria closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Thankfully I have some less-than-lethal weapons as part of my arsenal. I can stop them without permanently hurting them, but I'll have to be careful when I do it because I don't know how the diehard cultists will react to me less-than-lethally disabling their human shields. They might try to kill them, so we'll have to figure out how to rescue the ones I knock out." Victoria offered a less unpleasant way to deal with those who had been drawn into the cult only by desperation. Victoria did not want to raise a weapon against them, but Brianna was right. If Zupazu ever saw their reluctance to take action he would abuse human shields to no end and only cause more suffering. The brunette found it funny that when it came to facing human shields she was reluctant to use even her less-than-lethal weapons against them.

Maybe Victoria had not lost her humanity just yet.

Victoria laughed when Brianna described Minerva as "pig-headed."

"Yeah, we'll all need some grit for what lays ahead of us. It's not gonna be easy, but we'll need to do it before even more people get hurt. Minerva's got what it takes and so do you." Victoria agreed with Brianna. It would take grit and determination to get through the unpleasant parts of fighting Zupazu's Executioners because the cult was on the back foot and they were going to pull out all the stops to keep Victoria, Brianna, and the Order from shutting them down. When people got desperate enough no option was off the table if their survival was at stake.

"You've got a strong sense of justice just like Minerva does. Neither of you will stop fighting until the job is done. I can tell that you're willing to give it your all to stop the cult and its patron." Victoria complimented her companion for having a strong sense of justice. It had guided Brianna towards the fight and now that she knew the risks Brianna still chose to commit herself to it. Victoria could not help but to admire that strength of character.

[Post Word Count: 620]
[Victoria's New Word Count: 5,599]

This marks the end of the A-Rank freeform Job.

“I guess we’ll just have to be content with making his life a living nightmare by foiling his plans for as long as we can if a ritual can’t be found,” Brianna replied boldly, continuing to try and remain optimistic about their chances. She just simply believed that there was a ritual or spell out there somewhere that could put that horrible bastard back in his place. A downbeat attitude wasn’t going to solve anything and the copper eyed teenager was more than confident in the skills of not only her guild mate but the order too. From the sounds of it, they’d been dealing with such beings for an incredibly long time and so she assumed that Zupazu was probably not the first lord that they’d come up against. That was her belief anyway and one that boosted her morale even more. It was a fight that they could and given enough time, would win. She wouldn’t accept anything less than that, not while there was still breath in her body.

It was a relief to hear that Victoria had some form of non lethal spells that she could use although Brianna couldn’t help but ponder about Victoria’s comment on the cultists reactions to their usage. If they realised that her guild mate could save them without causing harm, would that push them into being physical with the human shields themselves or cause them to resort to even more unpleasant tactics? It was a possibility and Brianna sadly had to agree that it was a possibility but they had to at least try to save as many as they could. “Most of my abilities are offensive in nature and I only have one or two which can really incapacitate someone without doing damage. I’m all for trying to get any innocents out of harm's way though if we can but it’s going to be one hell of a job to do in the midst of battle. If the cultists are that far gone then they may well become desperate enough to turn on their human shields or sacrifice them, as horrible a thought as those options both are.”

Brianna wasn’t quite sure how to take Victoria’s compliment at first, being somewhat unused to being praised in such a way. She just tried to do the right thing and use her skills for the right reasons. The chestnut haired girl didn’t care much for glory or popularity and just wished to grow both as a person and a mage. There was still so much for her to learn and to do but she was going to give it her best shot and god help whoever tried to get in her way. She was a woman shaped battering ram, something that her foes would no doubt soon realise for themselves. “I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror if I just walked away and ignored what’s happening,” she said with a slight shrug, “This bastard needs to be stopped and it’s like I said earlier, I’m with you all the way, risks be damned. Helping to rid the world of scum like him is one of the main reasons why I so badly wish to join Sabertooth. Despite all that’s happened, you guys have rebuilt this place from the ground up and keep fighting the good fight. That’s so inspiring to me and I’m willing to give everything in order to help with that fight, no matter who or what the enemy is.”

The copper eyed girl paused for a moment and added after a little more thought, looking at the pony tailed brunette, “Thank you for being so open with me, Victoria. I know that I’m not the easiest person to talk to but you’ve really helped me out a lot, just by talking to me. I was so convinced that one look at my battered face would be enough for me to be turned away without a second thought. I should have known better.”

(666 Words)
(3542 Spare WC)

There was no pleasant way to go about what they would have to do to save the world from a demon cult and their infernal patron. Both of them would just have to make peace with that fact. However, neither of them liked it and both mages made that very clear to one another.

"I'll do what I can to save newly drafted cultists who might be in way over their heads and want out. I'll use every less-than-lethal weapon I have to try and save them before their so-called allies turn on them and use them as human shields, but if I have to choose between them and Earthland, Earthland's safety will have to come first. I don't like it, but it might come to that." Victoria said with a grim expression to make it clear that she did not enjoy the idea. She had already done terrible things no Legal mage should do to ensure the safety of Earthland such as granting a merciful death to the people of the village coated in Phaaz. She had made their deaths quick and painless, but she had lost part of her soul that day and had never gotten it back. Even now Victoria could not bear the sight of her Sniper Rifle and had not used it since that fateful day.

Victoria had refused to drink after that unpleasant event. She needed to remember so that what happened would never be forgotten. Those people deserved to be remembered, not lost in an alcoholic haze. Those people had lives, families, and dreams that had all been snuffed out by the hand of fate... or something more sinister.

Leaving that train of thought behind the best she could, Victoria instead focused on slightly less depressing subject matter, namely Brianna's strong sense of justice. The ponytailed brunette sort of wished that her moral character was as strong as Brianna's. The brunette wished that she had entered the fight against demons of her own accord instead of stumbling across Infernal Lord Zupazu in Hargeon's underground tunnel and the Haunted Guild and getting more or less dragged into the fight. She also wished that she was fighting for reasons nobler than self-preservation and a big paycheck.

"You've got what it takes to be a Sabertooth mage, Brianna. You've got a strong sense of justice and you've got the will to fight for the innocent." Victoria again complimented the blacksmith on her strength of character and determination to fight for what was right. She recalled Brianna thanking her for being honest with her. Brianna had also expressed the opinion that most people would not even talk to her with the battered face she currently had. Victoria was not deterred by the state of the copper-eyed girl's face.

"I don't mind talking to you, Brianna. I've never met someone from Ca-Elum before. And I think you'll fit in Sabertooth just fine." Victoria assured Brianna that talking to her was no trouble at all; rather, it was enjoyable to talk to someone who had some of the same views as Victoria. It was nice to find someone else who detested bullies and was not going to sit back and let them do what they wanted without a fight. No matter where those bullies were, which master they served, or what name they called their group, Brianna would punch them in the face until they surrendered. Victoria would be right there with her fighting the good fight.

[Post Word Count: 579]
[Victoria's New Word Count: 579]

Quick footsteps echoed through the Red Dragon’s Inn all of a sudden, interrupting some visitors’ small talk and bumping into the background of others. Calling those footsteps quick was an understatement; they came from a fast runner, after all… another understatement, this dude was running for his life. However, unlike many other circumstances, he wasn’t running from an enemy or predator… but from who should and was considered a friend… or, well, who should act like one instead of antagonizing him all the time.

The door leading into the back of the bar opened up violently, and a red-haired figure slammed it shut right after and held the door locked with his body. After a few moments of silence, he took a sneak peek outside of the door again… okay, she was gone. Thank goodness, she was unyielding and impulsive. Never listened to him, but kept throwing stuff at him, calling him names and biting him until he got small bite marks all over his head and arms. The lad looked like a mess, straight out of a street fight…

“*huff*… O-Okay, she must be gone… she gets distracted quicker than me, I swear,” he mumbled under his breath, then looked around to spot that some people were present at the bar. He began whistling innocently as he made his way forth, looking up at the ceiling and having no care in the world until he found his familiar seat alongside Victoria, an old and precious friend and guildmate of his - damn it, he missed her short hair so fucking much - and another girl about the same size and age with a bruised look on herself akin to his. He picked up a can from his pocket, Sprite, and took a sip. The bubbles hissed in classic fashion.

“*whistle*… W-Wait, am I interrupting?” he asked dumbfoundedly.

WC: 308

Brianna nodded as Victoria spoke about how the safety of Earthland came first, “The needs of the many come first,” she replied after a few moments, her tone equally as grim. It was a noble stance to take and the chestnut haired teenager fully meant what she said but she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d say the same after actually finding herself in that situation. It was all well and good making these claims now but Brianna had never actually had to make that choice yet. Her more violent encounters had simply been for her own defense. Still, her sense of justice was strong and she was confident that she’d be able to handle the pressure. She had up until now. “I’ll support whatever steps you have to take, Victoria. You can count on that. In truth, we might not even get a choice.”

She was grateful for the compliment that Victoria paid her, even if she was still a little uncertain of how to respond. “I’ll do my best to make the guild proud and clean out some of the evil doers while I’m at it,” she replied, unable to stop a slight smile crossing her features. When she’d first walked through the doors, she wouldn’t have said such a thing but now that she had a better insight into the guild, Brianna no longer saw any reason to be anything but herself. She’d come to realise that she’d been a little off in her initial judgement of legal guilds and was thankful that she’d been proved wrong. There was a place for a bruiser like her, much to her immense relief. “We’ll deal with Zupazu and anyone else who tries to spread darkness across this land.”

“I hope that I didn’t paint a dark picture of Ca-elum,” Brianna then went on to say after some thought after hearing Victoria’s last comments, “I haven’t really seen the bright side of it so I guess my views are kind of warped. I appreciate that you were willing to hear me out though and I’ve probably opened up more to you then I have my own father.” She had a great deal of respect for her fellow mage and the copper eyed girl couldn’t help but feel comfortable around Victoria.  Brianna didn’t feel that she had to hold back when talking to her which was so refreshing for her.

She might have gone on to say something else but her attention was suddenly grabbed by a loud banging from behind her. Turning around to look at him, her eyebrows rose. It looked like he’d been in the wars too and couldn’t help but wonder if he’d maybe ran into a gang like she had. Half an hour ago, she might have been a little awkward about speaking to someone she’d never met but after speaking with Victoria, it wasn’t as she thought. “It’s alright. Are you OK? You look like you’ve just had a run in with a monster or something.” Like she could talk.

(506 Words)
(4048 Spare WC)

"It's fine, Brianna. You didn't paint a warped picture of Ca-Elum. You called it like you see it and I can respect your honesty. It's better that I find out about its problems now and be ready to face them than to get totally blindsided when I set foot on the island." Victoria assured the blacksmith that she had not ruined Ca-Elum for her. Victoria was sure that she did not portray Capital Crocus in the best light with her remarks about the large number of entitled wealthy people who called the city home and how they thought they were better than the average person because of their bloodlines and their bank accounts.

Much like Brianna had never seen a bright side to Ca-Elum, Victoria had never seen a bright side to Capital Crocus. There were a lot of glamorous places and a sparkling high society, but the brunette recalled how the glitz and glamour served to conceal the ugly underbelly of Fiore's capital. The rich had carte blanche to do as they pleased and should anyone get the idea to stand up to them the rich could call upon their numerous legal and underground contacts to have their opponents arrested on trumped-up charges of some wrongdoing or "disappeared." In that regard the upper crust of Ca-Elum and Capital Crocus were very much alike. If anyone threatened their privileged positions that someone was going to be faced with all the power that the establishment could throw at them.

Victoria was about to commiserate with Brianna about how Capital Crocus' elite behaved like they owned the place when the redheaded Guild Ace Imai arrived in dramatic fashion. He hurried to the other side of the door at the back of the bar and blocked it with his body until he mustered the courage to open the door a little and peer through. Imai was looking like he had went toe-to-toe with a Bull Demon. He had numerous small bite marks all over his arms and his head and generally looked like he had seen better days. Victoria did not need a psychic to know who had inflicted the injuries on Imai.

It was that small blonde kid named Mai Stormschild.

For some odd reason Mai had declared war on the Ace and had been attacking him ever since. Rumor had it the only person in Sabertooth who could keep Mai under control was Luna Mira, but Victoria had never seen that for herself. She only had rumors to go on and rumors were not the best source of information. What was not the matter of speculation was how often and how vigorously Mai pursued her war against the Guild Ace... Imai looked like he was on the losing end of that battle.

"Oh, hey Imai. I take it you ran into trouble again?" Victoria greeted the Ace with a rhetorical question. Victoria hated to sound so nonchalant about the Ace's recurring troubles with the rambunctious blonde child, but at this point everyone in the guild knew about the war between the two. Still, the fact that Mai had no problems continuing the war with Imai despite the fact that the latter was a Guild Ace and would be entirely within his rights to recommend that Mai be kicked out was somewhat troubling. Then the ponytailed brunette realized something.

Imai was likely letting Mai remain a member of Sabertooth so that the latter did not terrorize anyone else.

That realization filled Victoria with a sense of uneasiness.

If Luna was not able to keep Mai under control, what else would Mai be doing to the Ace?

[Post Word Count: 604]
[Victoria's New Word Count: 1,183]

”Oh, hey Imai. I take it you ran into troubles again?”

“Yup. Uh, don’t you worry about me, girl - we have awesome healers in the guild,” he replied quickly and nonchalantly, before changing his tone with the next topic, “She’s unrelenting, I tell ya. But hey, I haven’t worked out this much in a while, so I might gain the most out of it until she grows up and looks back to this as an awkward phase in her life. Hahahaha… w-we all have awkward phases in our lives, but we all grow out of them, y’know! Just gotta wait and watch.” Man, was he sounding optimistic in that one statement - it did sound a little forced coming from him, especially since he was the main target of a freaking God Slayer. He wasn’t exactly wrong, however; since last time they met, Imai had grown quite a few inches in height, and his musculature was slowly starting to show… slightly. Just slightly. He was yet of a slim build, flexible and nimble on his feet which danced on stars and meteors.

And thank the heavens that Mai was so impressionable.

Vic’s new hairstyle still struck him weirdly. He couldn’t just say that he preferred her shorter hair from before right now, though, as the chestnut-haired maiden who looked like she had gotten straight out from a boxing match needed their attention… or looked like it, given by the atmosphere. “Hey, you must be new here and all,” he spoke back to the chestnut-haired lady sitting among them, greeting her with a wink, “Have you gotten your Guild Mark yet? Hold on, lemme just get it for ya-“ He would stand up from his chair and turn into a blur dashing towards the private quarters behind the inn at the speed of Imai before returning with the ink box and the stamping tool. He didn’t look the least exhausted by his sudden rush. “So, I take it that Vic has informed you about the guild and all. About our headquarters inside Yggdrasil, our sacred duties, our Aces - including moi, Imai Uchuuken, at your service - about Mai and how to deal with her and all that. You look like a Sabertooth Wizard already to me, so you just tell me where your Tattoo shall be placed at…”

Some people had suggested quite *men* areas for their Guild Tattoos in the past, but he felt that the forces of nature would either get him pummeled by the lady or straight up not go through that event again. Oh well, the die had been rolled.

WC: 435
TWC: 743

The copper haired mage was a little baffled by what she was hearing. She had no idea who this Mai person was but judging by the looks of Imai, Brianna was able to put two and together. It sounded rather odd to her that members were allowed to wander around the guild beating each other up but she mused that maybe it was a form of training or something. Clearly, there was a lot for her to learn and the chestnut haired girl had to keep a smile from her face. The more she heard about the guild, the more it seemed to suit her and she felt more than ready to finally sign the deal or whatever it was that was required of her. Imai spoke very fast and got to the point rather quickly, which was something that she could get behind and judging from how quickly he’d then sprint off and return, it seemed that speed was a strength of his all around.

His question about where she wanted to be stamped caused her to pause though, blinking back at him for a second. He had to literally make her with the guild symbol? That was quite unexpected and it took her a moment or two for her to process it. She’d never really been the type to appreciate body art all that much and had always felt that it was kind of weird. Still, if it needed to be done then she wouldn’t argue with it. The other question was where she wanted it placed and after a moment or two of thought, she just extended her right hand, showing the back of it to Imai. She sure wasn’t going to ask for it to be placed in a more private area and just the thought of that made her inwardly cringe. Somehow though, Brianna had the feeling that maybe not all members of Sabertooth were as conservative about their bodies as she was.

“Just here please,” Brianna uttered, tapping the back of her right hand with her left, “In a copper colour if you can.” She was obsessed with the colour, not because it was the main source of her magic but because it was rather similar to hair colour too. “I’m Brianna, by the way. Nice to meet you, Imai.” She felt rather excited that she was about to be fully recognised as a member of Sabertooth, even if she’d already begun to think of herself as such while talking with Victoria.

She’d then go on to ask both Imai and Victoria, “So, who's this Mai that you’re talking about? Is she some kind of guild bully or something? Sounds like she's nothing but trouble. ”

(453 Words)
(4501 Spare WC)
(Freeforms 10-12: 4500/4500)
(Spare WC: 1)

When Imai showed up to officially induct Brianna into the guild Victoria felt that her presence was no longer necessary, so she thought about finding a graceful way to exit the conversation and the inn. However, when Imai returned after a short dash with the ink box and stamp for Brianna's tattoo, Victoria decided to stick around and see what happened. She wanted to see how Brianna's induction played out. In the meantime, Victoria tried to make sense of what Imai claiming that Mai was going through "an awkward phase" when the small blonde child attacked Imai on sight. Victoria did not think that was an awkward phase.

It sounded like it would just get worse as Mai got older and more powerful. While it was amusing to Imai now, it would not be so amusing when Mai grew strong enough to harm Imai in seriously ways like dislocating limbs or delivering bites deep enough to punch through the Ace's flesh. The worst part about it was that Imai's injuries were all inflicted without the help of magic. If Mai really wanted to harm the Ace she would start employing her magic in conjunction with physical attacks.

Victoria was not sure what to say about Mai that did not paint a bad picture of the small mage for Brianna, so she tried her best to say something positive about the blonde. However, Victoria did not know very much about her other than what the local rumor mill said about her. The brunette was not willing to put her faith in rumor mills, which sometimes had an agenda and were often wrong.

"Mai's a Sabertooth mage who's rather... energetic." Victoria started trying to explain to Brianna who Mai Stormschild was in positive terms. The ponytailed brunette had not had much contact with the blonde, so she did not know what to say about her. Then Victoria recalled that Mai was the protege of Luna Mira, the nature mage the brunette had worked with once before.

"Mai's also the protege of Luna Mira, a Sabertooth mage who's been in the guild making a name for herself as a problem solver. Luna's pretty cool." Victoria told Brianna about Mai and also a little bit about Luna Mira. She then pointed to Imai.

"If you wanna learn more about Mai, I suggest that you talk to Imai here. He's dealt with Mai a lot more than I have. When I'm not working the bar at the Red Dragon Inn or sleeping I'm out doing work for the guild, so I don't know much about Mai other than the name." Victoria suggested to Brianna. The former hated to pass the buck, but Victoria did not deal with Mai very much and did not want to give the blacksmith any bad information, so she would keep quiet and let the Ace do the talking when it came to discussing Mai Stormschild.

[Post Word Count: 485]
[Victoria's New Word Count: 1,668]

As she showed the back of her right hand to the Heavenly Body Mage, Imai planted the stamping tool upon it with indifference. It would’ve been quite amusing if she chose a more daring spot, but what were the chances, huh? At least, Sabertooth got a new cutie as a member as of today, and the ink began lighting up a sharp, copper-orange light upon drying. It was a way to sync with her magic, so that the mark could identify her and react upon her own usage of magic power. There were many mysteries about this sacred ink, but it rarely crossed his mind despite how curious the red-haired dude could be.

Maybe the ink was actually resin from Yggdrasil? That could be the case - Yggdrasil was a big tree with branches that connected worlds, and this ink and the Guild Mark connected guildmates to each other, so there was a similarity there.

He grinned carelessly at her greeting as they had now gotten to know each other’s names. Brianna, huh? Sounded like the name of a superstar, if you asked him. Although, she was quick to be inquired about this strange person called ‘Mai’, which… welp, as she was now a Sabertooth Wizard, she deserved to know. Victoria knew little other than Mai being the little daughter of Luna - he didn’t know whether the word ‘protégé’ was correct here, but alas - and her energetic nature, which honestly caused a snicker to escape his lips.

“She’s like 8 or something, and all kids are full of energy… but she has this grudge against me for some reason. She can throw candies at me and then scream that I’m stealing her candy - that kind of stuff… now, as an Ace, I’d like for all my guildmates to be able to cooperate with each other as equals, but Mai’s very impressionable, and while she can be an unbearable shit at times-“

His fingers began to twitch around, while his face contorted into a crooked, pained smile, while he remembered all of Mai’s stupid shenanigans against him; every time she ate his breakfast without his permission, every time she slapped him with a random item, every time she called him a meanie, and every time she drilled her teeth in him with no care in the world.

“-I’m more afraid of how… impressionable that she is. Y’know, it’s actually easy to mess with her mind - too easy, if you ask me… and what if some creep or otherworldly entity tries to take advantage of that!? What if she was, one day, drawn to some random, dark guild just by the proclamation of ‘free candy’!?” Mate began gnawing his nails in worry, for despite her inability to live up to his expectations concerning socializing, she was still a precious Sabertooth guildmate. And all the tigers had each other’s backs.

“Can’t let that happen, ever! Nope, never! It might take years, but I believe that - one day, one glorious day - she’ll learn from her mistakes and be grateful to us! That alone would make up for all the crap I’ve been through, I tell ya that…!” It was strange, how much he actually believed in Mai’s future and wanted to help her towards it being brighter as a Sabertooth Wizard.

“That little girl got potential, too! I don’t know if you ever saw her cast a spell, Victoria, but I’m quite good at sensing magic and their natures. And, since it might be important information given our upstanding duty to keep all kinds of eldritch evil from other worlds at bay, I can tell you this… Mai’s actually a God Slayer. If I recall correctly, our only God Slayer. Wait, would that make Luna a God Slayer, too…?” He cupped his chin in deep thought and popped around the inn like a cartoonish teleporter before arriving back at the same spot as before.

“… Oh, I’m being serious and all! See, I can still taste some gunpowder in the air from you, Vic, and… the air around you, Brianna, tastes very familiar. Did you rub yourself up on Kenna-nee for a cha-“ He was cut off short by the arrival of a pink, cute, little alien fella of his - Sei, who woke up from its nap and flew up from his back and landed on his face to glare at the two girls, particularly at Vic, since she had changed since the last time they met.

“S-Sei, what the shit-!”

WC: 754
TWC: 1497