Storm Protection{Job: House Repair}

"Water? Check! Provisions? Check! My nerves? Super Check, hahaha.." Bliss joked to herself nervously as she made sure to check her travel bag for the trip to Magnolia town. She had never been to Magnolia town before as she had spent most of her time living in small towns hardly updated on the map, her only real experience of a modern big town was Ace of Spades that she was now living in as a newly minted member of Sabertooth. She was used to traveling place to place, she could even say it was thrilling and exciting for her to visit a place she never been before such as Magnolia town that seemed to be quite popular but no.

Her excitement to visit a new town was overwhelmed with the news that her first job would be with another member of the guild, one that seemed to be more established in terms of presence and usefulness then she was at the moment. Instantly the news of this guild member began to cause an anxiety attack. Would she be useful? Was she even needed if he was there? Would he hate her? All these questions swarmed into her head aiding in the creation of a migraine that she could barely withstand behind her frail smile. Just like she did when she received her acceptance level in the guild she wanted to throw up and crawl under her bed and hide, but that wasn't an opinion.

The request they received from an elderly man by the name of Josh Weathersteins, apparently his house had been damaged by a storm, and although it wouldn't be such a dilemma the real issue was that another storm was coming and with his house damaged by the previous one it could fall apart under the pressure of the next one that was due to arrive. With the man being too old to repair all the damage himself in such a short period and his neighbors busy with their own preparations it was up to them to fulfill the request and help Mr. Weathersteins out.

As much as she was nervous about meeting a fellow guild member and their opinion on her she was more worried about the elderly man and his request that seemed to be on a time limit. Eager to leave despite the nervous feeling in her stomach Bliss made her way to the outside limits of Ace of Spades to begin their travel to Magnolia town, she had spent some of her funds to purchase a carriage ride to the town so whatever repair work that was waiting for them wouldn't be too hard with their energy levels still up, now all there was to do and wait for her partner so they could leave.

Whoever her partner was, when they finally arrived they would see Bliss shoulders stiffen up in response to their presence. Once they were within a couple of feet to her she would begin to speak, albeit much like a moron, "H-h-hello! M-m-y Bliss. MY NAME! My name is Bliss..from Sabertooth.." As if to punish herself Bliss would slowly cup her face in the palms of her hand before her right hand wavered to the carriage, "I got us a ride.."

A storm that wrecked a house wasn’t exactly common, or at least not in Renji’s experience. He understood that the weather could get nasty, but he’s never encountered a storm as bad as the one that hit the Weathersteins’ home. The downside was that they were on a strict time limit to repair what was damaged, and because of that Renji wasn’t one hundred percent sure if he could get everything done in time. So to have heard the news that he was going to have a second pair of hands was like telling he was getting a life saver.

The trip from the Ace of Spades to Magnolia Town sounded like it would be fun. Renji just hoped that they wouldn’t have to fight anyone or anything. After his trip over to the Cursed Lands, Renji hadn’t been keen in fighting unless he had to. Of course that was always the motto of never resorting to violence first, but Renji has been taking it to an extra step. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing as far as Renji was aware. However, he developed hatred towards the Undead in general, and to the Cursed Lands as well. Renji figured that if he could keep his hands busy with work then he wouldn’t have to be reminded of that trauma.

Renji came garbed in a plaid shirt with a white short sleeved shirt under it. He even wore a set of dark blue jeans and boots since Renji knew that he was going to be doing some heavy lifting. Slung over his shoulders was a backpack that contained food, extra clothes, a canteen of water, hygiene, etc. Essentials for traveling basically. No weapons or armor could be seen on his person. Once he saw Bliss, and she saw him. Renji waved his left hand towards her as a distant greeting before they got closer.

To his surprise, albeit he didn’t show it, Bliss stumbled over her words in greeting. Perhaps even stiff? Renji wasn’t exactly sure, but at the same time Renji could relate to it as he got it too when his anxiety kicked into high gear. He didn’t frown nor did he make a funny expression before Renji presented a small smile and extended his hand to her.

”A pleasure to meet you Bliss. My name is Renji Sahano of Sabertooth. And thank you for coming.” Renji added the last bit to assure Bliss, but whether it was successful or not remained to be seen. He noticed that she was rather thin, not in a sense of skin and bones. More like muscle than there was fat. It made him think of whether or not she works out or maybe that’s just how her body is. Either way, Renji was already thinking of what to do.

When she cupped her face with her hands before gesturing over to the carriage. Renji’s amber eyes would follow before he nodded his head in acknowledgement.

”Very good. I’m sure that you’re aware of the time limit our client placed on us, but try not to worry about it too much. From what I’ve heard, the next storm shouldn’t hit Magnolia for at least a few days. Unless they want us to reinforce the entire house in addition to the repairs then I’m confident that we can get the work done by tomorrow evening at most.” It probably was unnecessary for Renji to say what would be considered to be the obvious. But having some words of encouragement could go a long way to ease the stressed minds. By paving the start of a clear goal, Renji hoped it would help Bliss to some extent.

Afterwards, Renji will approach the carriage, but doesn’t get on first as he would turn to Bliss and gesture for her to get on first. Common courtesy as it were, and he’d provided aid for her to board the carriage should she accept it. If not then he’d respectfully keep to himself. Either way Renji would be the last to board the carriage, and unless something else happened they began their journey over to Magnolia Town.

WC: 688 | Renji: 688 | Group: 1,230
@BlissfulSerenity

Oh god, I hate myself so much, how could I have this much trouble talking to a single member of the guild I just joined? Does Lightning magic allow me to turn invisible? God I hope so! Bliss was making such a fool of herself simply trying to introduce herself to her mission partner, but to her shock the member didn't laugh or berate her for making a utter fool of herself and simply gave a small smile and held out his hand as he introduced himself as Renji, Sahano a member of Sabertooth as well and thanked her for coming.

"Ah..um, yes a pleasure.." Bliss said quietly extending her hand to shake his, this guy was pretty calm and seemed to be nice which helped her nerves a bit but she still felt embarrassed for over reacting, trying to hide her blushing face she gestured towards the carriage she had prepared for them both in which he nodded his head in approval. Renji reminded her that although the request was on a time limit he felt confident that they would be able to complete it by the next evening as long as the repairs weren't too excessive, and that the storm that the requester was worried about wouldn't happen for another few days. "Oh, is that so? That does make me feel more confident that we can do this, thanks for that. Although I'm just glad I won't have to do my first mission alone, and have a fellow guild member with me~ E-even if I'm super nervous.." Bliss said smiling while pumping her fist with her new found confidence that made her immediately blush and put her hands behind her back because it was embarrassing for her to do in front of another person.

With their awkward yet surprisingly nice greetings out of the way it was time to get onto the carriage to head to Magnolia town, she was prepared to let her senior member go first but before he stepped on he offered her a hand to help her get in. Bliss looked at him a bit surprise by how gentlemen like he was and grasped his hand softly, "Thank you.." as she lifted herself up to the carriage, god why did they even make these things so high, how inconsiderate of short people! Taking a seat first and then letting Renji get comfortable she would knock on the wood of the carriage wood, "We're ready to go now."

The two were on their path to Magnolia town in a small carriage, a fact Bliss quickly became all to aware of and the silence of the ride was freaking her out! Was he thinking about how puny she was? How much it sucked to be with a complete beginner? HER LACK OF BREAST SIZE!!? Bliss couldn't take it anymore she had to say something, anything. "So how long have you been with the guild? If you haven't noticed..I'm rather new so I'm just interested.." It was the lamest question imaginable but a dull answer was much more preferable at the moment then eerie silence between the two.

In the  midst of their light talk the carriage would eventually stop as the carriage driver would announce that they had finally made it to Magnolia Town as he would open up the carriage door to give way to the town's wondrous sight, although she tried to be professional the excitement of  her first visit to Magnolia town overwhelmed her for a minute. Upon the door opening she got up and her head peaked out to view the sights of the town, she stepped out of the carriage with her  eyes widening and sparkling with a sense of amazement before she refocused herself.

"So which way is our requester home?"

WC:631| Bliss: 1,173| Group: 1,861

Fortunately for both Bliss and Renji, his attempt to quell the turmoil within her was successful. It was about all he could do to ensure she doesn’t choke on the job or worse, under pressure if a fight were to occur. Renji didn’t believe that there was going to be a fight happening, even if it was in the outskirts of Magnolia Town. At the same time Renji wasn’t going to dismiss the possibility of there being a confrontation.

One can never know when a battle will be taking place. Still, I doubt that there will be anyone brazen enough to attack a popular town or any of the major cities. Unfortunately those thoughts sparked new thoughts, such as what if there was a dark mage who aimed to unleash calamity to get even? How could a legal wizard, or even a Rune Knight begin to reason with someone like a fanatic? The questions were contained with a lid on top for another time. Even so they were mere hypothetical situations, and such dire situations Renji hoped would never come to pass.

After Renji boarded the carriage, he kept his senses acute for disturbances within the magic power and additional signatures. It would appear that he was absent minded, yet Renji could multitask as Bliss inquired how long he’s been to Sabertooth. Time felt short as Renji had honestly been going through one job after the other. Yet at the same time, his last job especially took a toll on his emotions. Still Renji swept his eyes from the floorboards of the carriage over to Bliss’s direction with the same small smile as before. Almost like his smile was trying to hide the sorrow behind his eyes.

”I’m relatively still new just like you. I’ve only been with Sabertooth for almost two months now, believe it or not.” Renji modestly chuckled. In truth with his skills and abilities, Renji wasn’t about to say that he’s an experienced mage. He wasn’t at that level yet. Whether that was a good thing or not, Renji hadn’t figured that out yet. If anything, Renji hoped to gain the strength to prevent the tragedy that fell on him in the Cursed Lands.

In what felt like a short time later, they arrived upon Magnolia Town. The first time the curtains lifted to reveal the marvel of the settlement, Bliss’s jaw slacked expression with eyes brimming in awe told Renji that this was her first time there. Renji crossed through Magnolia Town sometimes during some of his jobs, but he wouldn’t say that he was that familiar with the backstreets and all that. Just enough for Renji to know some of the shops, restaurants, and a place to stay for the night.

Even after Renji disembarked from the carriage, Renji took a moment of silence to allow Bliss to take in her surroundings. Once she had done so and collected herself. Bliss questioned where their client’s house was located.

”In the outskirts of town that’s east of here. It’s a bit of a trek, but that’s fine since I actually wanna go over some things with you if that’s alright.” Either way Renji would gesture for them to make their way down the streets of Magnolia. If Bliss was okay with Renji wanted to discuss, he’d speak further.

”Even though there’s two of us, I think we should clean up the debris on the house first. If the roof is damaged, then we could focus on that afterwards. That way we can work our way down unless the structure is damaged, then that would be our priority so that none of us will risk falling due to a poor structured building.” Although now that Renji thought about it, he became curious. His amber eyes would shift towards Bliss before he posed the question.

”It is probably a bit late for me to ask this, but you wouldn’t happen to be afraid of heights would you?” Even if she was, Renji wouldn’t judge her. Frankly he was quite open with ideas if Bliss wished to input anything before they reached the house in question.

WC: 688 | Renji: 1,376 | Group: 2,549

She hadn't noticed when she was caught up in her own thoughts but looking at Renji now she could notice he was looking at the floorboards before his gaze finally met hers, was he not feeling to well?. Finally his gaze meant hers and he gave a small smile as he answered her saying he wasn't that new and had only been with the guild almost for two months, "Wow, you have been so composed I though for sure you were a longer time member. your really cool~" She honestly was quite surprised to hear that, from the way he spoke and acted she thought for sure he was a senior member of the guild who had dealt with a panicked member. However now that she knew he wasn't some super senior member a thought crossed her head, did he also feel nervous whenever he went on missions or was doing something he felt he couldn't.

Not wanting to pry into Renji's life since they just meant Bliss decided not to ask that in the confines of the carriage to avoid what she felt would be an awkward moment. Instead fully taking on the sights of Magnolia Town for the first time, it was really really beautiful and she heard a really strong guild made their base there. She wondered if she would ever be able to meet them in person. Having enough of the sights for now and refocusing on the real reason they were there Bliss asked about the location of the client's house and apparently it would be quite a bit of a walk, "Hmm, well it can't be helped I guess." Bliss said only for Renji to say that he wanted to talk if it was alright with her, "I'm all ears." She listened intently as he explained the process of how they should go about repairing the client's house and she noted the potential risks they would be avoiding with that way of going about it.

Before she could answer he asked her if she was afraid of heights, "Haha, not at all. In fact I love heights~!" She closed her eyes as she remembered the feeling of being on a really tall hill, the wind passing her and flowing through the air, "Heights make me feel really free and make me forgot about all my problems~" She said twirling in a circle on her right foot, the small step move causing a spark of electricity to crackle around her before she stopped "And I think it's a great plan, cleaning the debris off the house and then making sure the roof isn't damaged sounds like a good way to avoid a possible roof fall. " Her voice wasn't conveying it properly but she was not joking about going through with Renji plan, if the roof damage was substantial they would have to fix that problem or else they could risk having the roof literally come down on them.

If Renji didn't have anything else to say or after it fell silent again as they walked Bliss would occasionally look in his direction, trying to see if his gaze casts down again. She knew she shouldn't pry but if something was on his mind she wanted to try and be helpful and help him be at ease.

WC:552 | Bliss: 1,725 | Group: 3,101

Truthfully Renji wasn’t trying to sound cool, but he wanted to make sure that despite his new acceptance into the guild that he wouldn’t drag morale down. If anything, Renji’s attempt to assure Bliss was to also assure himself as well. Perhaps it was thanks to the training he had undergone with his parents in terms of discipline that allowed him to assume such a role despite how much turmoil was raging within Renji. It had been some time since the incident, but it still felt like it happened only yesterday. However Renji pushed those thoughts to the side as he responded.

”Thank you, Bliss.” He was about to be modest, but Renji instead thanked her for her words. He figured it was best to accept the compliment rather than kindly shutting it down.

Up to the point of Renji’s explanation of what they should focus on in the house, Bliss agreed with the course of action. Granted neither had seen the house yet, but Renji felt like they should have a rough idea of what to do once they arrived. Fortunately, Bliss claimed to not have any fear of heights, and she said it with such certainty that Renji didn’t doubt an ounce of it. Renji nodded his head in agreement.

”I can relate to that when it comes to cooking. Being in the kitchen or just preparing a meal is like all of my other concerns locked away. Except for onions, I learned the hard way not to take them lightly.” Renji raised his right hand as he gestured with his left towards a scar tissue on his right index finger at the second joint. Of course he said in a joking manner as well, but sometimes his words could be taken out of context as being more serious than it actually was.

Afterwards Renji fell silent as his eyes were in fact glancing at the other buildings. He took mental notes of landmarks, the street names, which direction they were going, etc. Renji liked to remember where he was at by becoming familiar with his surroundings. Perhaps it was thanks to his mother’s training that taught him to always be vigilant and be aware of his surroundings.

Upon their arrival at the designated location, they came upon a nice single story cabin with a modest sized yard. Some of the windows were shattered, but otherwise the walls appeared to be intact. The front deck however was utterly destroyed and the debris had scattered along the front yard. The roof had some broken branches on it, and the gutters along the roof appeared to be clogged as well. A sigh escaped from Renji’s lips as he looked upon the cabin. He knew the roof would be an easy fix, but the deck was something different.

”Well that’s unfortunate. That deck alone might take all day to do.” Renji’s left hand raised to comb through his fluffy dark hair as he was calculating how much work and time they would be spending on that endeavor. Granted they have plenty of time, Renji knew this so they weren't exactly pressed for time. He looked over to Bliss with the trademark small smile of his before he gestured for her to follow.

”C’mon. Let’s go introduce ourselves to Mr. Weathersteins first and then we can start.” With that being said, Renji approached the front door to the cabin where he knocked a couple of times. After some seconds had passed, the door opened to reveal a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair. The man sported muscled arms and big hands with broad shoulders. Fortunately for Renji, his father was also a towering musclehead. Then again his father was also a trained soldier that never forsake his training. With a smile still on the young man’s lips, Renji spoke.

”Good afternoon sir, I am Renji Sahano and she is Bliss. We’re wizards from Sabertooth, and we’re here to complete your request.” Josh grunted before he responded in a deep voice that had quite a bass to it. There was strength behind the muscled man’s tone, but there was also a sense of tiredness in the mix as well.

”It’s about time. The next storm is coming in a few days, so you have until then to fix everything. I got some busted windows that need replaced too, the roof just needs to be cleaned, but as you’ve probably noticed that the most problematic is my deck. It’s destroyed, but fortunately for you two I’ve already ordered wood to replace it. From what I’ve been told the order won’t be ready until tomorrow, which should give you plenty of time to clear out the mess.” Renji nodded his head in acknowledgement as it was enough information for him. Simple and straight to the point.

”We’ll get started on the deck then, thank you for your patience sir.” Josh didn’t reflect the same courtesy as he simply closed the door, which might be seen as an insult to them, but Renji had the feeling that Josh wasn’t the type to exchange pleasantries and say flowery words. Then the young wizard turned his gaze over to Bliss once more.

”I can start on clearing the deck, and could you work on the roof please? There doesn’t seem to be much damage from what I can tell.”

WC: 893 | Renji: 2,269 | Group: 3,994