All I ask of you!

Noctis walked with a brisk purposeful pace down the main thoroughfare in Ace of Spades, his boot heels clicked softly off the cobblestone street as he made his way to his destination, a small tavern by the name of The Red Dragon Inn. His purpose in this oasis in the middle of the desert was a simple one as he was there to meet someone. Having received a letter by courier from the Sabertooth guild instructing him come to the inn as his application had been approved and membership rights were going to be granted to him.

Noctis was slightly apprehensive as the missive had said nothing about whom he would be meeting or when just that he should arrive at his earliest convenience. He pondered this as he walked enjoying the warmth of the mid-day sun, his nose and ears twitched as they absorbed and processed all the sounds and smells wafting in the air about the busy street as he walked. 'Perhaps this is a trap?' he wondered quietly too himself as he worked his way down the street not exactly sure if he was nearing his destination or if he had missed it entirely. He paused momentarily to adjust the jacket he had draped over his left shoulder normally he would not be seen with out it on but it was rather warm and he would rather not roast in it , other than the coat he was dressed in dark dress pants which were pleated down the front , a white dress shirt with a collar that was adorned by a plain black tie. The only other thing he was wearing was a chest harness that was made of black leather and metal for the buckles that held a full sheath for a dagger under either arm.

After about thirty minutes of walking Noctis finally spotted a sign hanging above a door that read "The Red Dragon Inn". "Well I guess this is the place." he said aloud as he gripped the handle and pulled opening the door and stepping into a dimly lit room that smelled of ale and some sort of meat he could not place. He scanned the room seeing it was some what busy but not completely full, during his scan of the room he found a empty table in a corner and moved over to it before taking a seat and ordering the finest beverage they had before saying "And now we wait, I guess?"

Word count: 412

-Red Dragon Inn-

After four hours of slinging drinks for the Red Dragon Inn Victoria had clocked out for the day so that someone who really needed the money could work some hours. She had helped out during the lunch rush and had served a few customers after the lunch rush had subsided. There were not too many drinkers during the daytime... the weekend was when she served the most alcoholic drinks. Victoria liked working the weekend because that was when tips tended to be the most generous, but Victoria donated all the tips she had earned to the tip jar so that the inn's full-time workers got more money. The brunette earned enough from her main job of being a traveling Sabertooth mage who fought evil all across Earthland... she did bartending mostly for fun and she did not need to take money from people who honestly needed it by pocketing tips, even those tips she had legitimately earned.

Victoria left the area behind the bar and was going to head back to Sabertooth Guild Hall to look for a bartending school she could go to so that she could become an "official" bartender and make even more money. Wearing her white Steel Matron t-shirt with black skirt and black bike shorts underneath the skirt, Victoria was walking towards the exit when a well-dressed man entered the Red Dragon Inn and sat at an empty table in a corner.

He was dressed in dark dress pants which were pleated down the front and a white dress shirt with a collar that was adorned by a plain black tie. He also had a coat that had been momentarily taken off and draped over his left shoulder. Victoria took notice of the well-dressed man and did not know whether to approach him or not. She was off the clock, so she could walk away and leave him for someone else to serve, but something about him drew her attention to him.

The guy was well-dressed and there was something about him. Something different, but she could not quite put her finger on what that "something different" was.

Her attention fully focused on the stranger, Victoria turned away from the inn door and headed towards the well-dressed man to engage him in conversation. She reached his table and looked him in the eyes.

"Hey Mister, I couldn't help but to notice how well-dressed you are. What brings you out here?" Victoria asked him. That might not be the best introduction she could have made, but he did not look like any of the local businessmen she served during lunch rushes or the weekend. Maybe he was a new guy in town and needed directions or something.

[Post Word Count: 454]
[Victoria's Word Count: 454]

Noctis was examining the atmosphere of the tavern when a young lady brought him the finest Single malt scotch the tavern had. He thanked her and slipped a few jewels into her hand before lifting the heavy glass to his nose as he inhaled and enjoyed the tones and scents the scotch gave off "Mmm chocolate, cloves, and cedar." he said quietly to himself a slight smile gracing his lips as he lifted the glass and took a sip. The scotch was prepared neat as to not dilute or tarnish the pure essence of the scotch as to add anything but a chilled glass to the mix would have been sacrilege. Noctis closed his eyes taking small sips letting the flavor of the nice drink and the aroma of the room really sink in, for Noctis was a Joya  all of his senses were elevated in relation to that of a normal human which allowed him to enjoy great tasting things on a deeper level.

He mused on things his eyes still closed, mainly the events of the last several years and how he was still unwilling to even use his magic in any sense other than to hide that he was even a mage; the entire incident with his fiancé had ruined him on a level he doubted he would ever recover enough from to be able to use magic in a suitable manner ever again as he could not trust it. Life had a funny way of taking everything from you all at once with out mercy or remorse he was still unsure if his actions were even his own any more considering it was concluded that with what happened his actions were not his own or at least that's what the authorities concluded. He frowned slightly at that not sure what he should believe anymore he sighed heavily before opening his eyes to take another sip of the delectable scotch only to be greeted and startled by having a young woman starring directly into his eyes. Noctis recoiled slightly almost falling backwards in the chair he had been so lost in his thoughts and the scotch that he had not even noticed her approach, much less the fact that she was a mere inches from his face staring into what felt like his soul. He took a few seconds to compose him self swirling the glass slightly as the amber liquid danced about in the glass that was when she spoke

"Hey Mister, I couldn't help but to notice how well-dressed you are. What brings you out here?" [/b]was she hitting on him surely not? this was a tavern after all and people did come to taverns for well you know that kind of thing but surely not him.. "Well dressed?" he stammered curiously his ears twitching nervously "I'm not sure I should be revealing such details to a stranger." he said some what assertively as he tried to regain some semblance of his composure though it would be unlikely. "A better question would be why so curious?" he asked awaiting a response.

Post WC: 516
Noctis WC :928

The stranger sounded suspicious of Victoria asking what she did. She noticed that in addition to a fancy outfit he also had cat ears. Rather prominent cat ears. The brunette blinked when she saw them.

How did she miss them the first time?

Victoria chalked it up to not paying attention after a shift slinging drinks for the Red Dragon Inn. Even when bartending for the fun of it slinging drinks could get tiring because she had to recall so many drink recipes and keep straight who wanted what drink, then deliver it to the right customer while keeping in mind which drinks still needed to be made. Thankfully Victoria had had over two years of on-the-job training thanks to her adoptive father getting her work at a friend's bar, working at the Silver Moon Inn in Rose Garden, and now working at the Red Dragon Inn. This was far from her first rodeo.

"I'm a part-time worker at the Red Dragon Inn. I meet a lot of travelers who come to the inn for food or drinks and aside from local businessmen not too many are as well-dressed as you are." Victoria explained the reason for her commenting on his attire. Realizing that while she was technically telling the truth about her status as a part-time employee, she decided to tell him about her status as a guild mage. He could probably tell that she was a mage because of her magic signature.

"I'm also a member of Sabertooth. Sometimes people looking for the guild come here." Victoria added. She was just about to ask him if he was looking for Sabertooth when she saw a flash of blonde hair and felt her heart fill with dread as a small child approached them. The brunette knew exactly who the blonde was.

Mai Stormschild.

Victoria visibly cringed as Mai latched onto the guy's shoulder and shrieked about him being a "kitty cat." The brunette was beside herself with apprehension as she watched Mai turn her attention from the man to her. Things were about to get very... difficult.

Why was this happening to them?

Where was Luna, Gaia, or Itori?

"Um... hi there, Mai." Victoria waved and gave a pained smile as she realized that the small blonde child did indeed remember her name. She glanced at the hapless guy and wondered what to do. How could she free him from Mai's grip without causing any more of a scene than had already been caused?

"Mai, this guy's a guest of Red Dragon Inn. Please let him go." Victoria politely requested of the tiny dynamo. The brunette was not sure what to do if the blonde refused because Mai was Luna's protege and the pink-haired mage would not look kindly on anything happening to her protege. It would also look really bad if onlookers thought Victoria was picking on a small child, even if that small child had enough power to level the entirety of Ace of Spades while under the influence of a sugar rush.

[Post Word Count: 506]
[Victoria's Word Count: 960]

Noctis smirked slightly as he seen the young lady was somewhat take aback, however he then noticed her staring at his ears " Don't even think about it." he said rather assertively "Yes they're real and no you cant touch them." he continued as he sipped his drink he looked the young lady over. She had a pretty face with captivating eyes with a slender frame though Noctis was not one to be taken by someone just off their looks alone and it would likely be sometime before he let him self be attracted to a women in anything more than a platonic manner. while lost in his musings the young lady spoke "I'm a part-time worker at the Red Dragon Inn. I meet a lot of travelers who come to the inn for food or drinks and aside from local businessmen not too many are as well-dressed as you are." He sat his drink down and laughed slightly " Look... Is a man not allowed to dress nicely unless he is a business man, because quite frankly judging one by there appearance is a rather bad idea don't you think." he said pausing as he downed the last of the scotch "Quite frankly I could make a lot of assumptions about you just off the dialogue between us thus far, however I wont as its unbecoming and frankly quite rude." he said as he scanned the bar before making eye contact with her again.


As he did so the young lady finally got a word in "I'm also a member of Sabertooth. Sometimes people looking for the guild come here." this peaked Nocts curiosity just a tad "Sabertooth you say, you have anyway of proving that  or all you just all bark and no bite?" he asked in almost a mocking tone "Because as matter of fact I don't appreciate having my time wasted as its valuable and quite expensive." he said as he heard something shriek kitty from across the room he paid no heed to it though as he just assumed what ever it was had seen a four legged feline and was chasing it, that was until he felt something climbing up his back and digging their fingers in getting a firm grip on his shoulder.

Noctis gritted his teeth and was about to speak when the young lady in front of him spoke first "Um... hi there, Mai." Noct blinked several times as time seemed to slow. He was not a fan of things sneaking up on even more so not fond of things sneaking up on and them climbing on him. During all of this the young women spoke again but Noctis could barely make out the words "Mai, this guy's a guest of Red Dragon Inn. Please let him go." He could tell the young women seemed somewhat worried and was unsure of what to do, but all Noctis could think about was getting what ever was latched on to him off and then assuming a defensive posture.
What happened next occurred in the blink of an eye as Noctis went from a sitting position to eight feet across the room the object that had been lodged to his shoulder had fallen off and he assumed a defensive stance those observant enough might have seen ethereal or ghostly weapons floating about him.

Post WC: 557
Noctis TWC:1485

Victoria was not sure what to make of this situation. On one hand, perhaps her comments were not the best first contact that could be made with the cat guy. On the other hand, it seemed like the cat guy was deliberately picking apart her comments just to try and look superior to her. Perhaps he was even looking for a fight.

If he was looking for a fight, Victoria would be all too happy to give it to him... outside.

The brunette's bellicose train of thought was derailed by Mai, who was not helping the situation. She hurled an accusation that the cat guy had deliberately destroyed her bag of candy, then launched herself at him with some sort of wind kick. Unfortunately for Mai she was so enraged that she had neglected to actually aim the attack; instead of hitting the cat guy she launched herself through the wall and hit several of the buildings outside the inn. Victoria sighed.

Property values were going to take another hit. The locals were also going to be pissed. She hoped that their insurance companies had "Act of Mai" coverage.

"Look Mister, I was just making an observation. I don't see too many well-dressed men who aren't businessmen of one sort or another." Victoria tried to politely defend her statement to the cat man. She was trying to be polite, but she would not bow and scrape before him. She would not beg him for his friendship or for anything.

To her not-so-considerable surprise Mai hurried back in to resume the fight. Victoria sighed.

"Mai, please don't attack the stranger." Victoria asked the small blonde child to stop antagonizing the man. Victoria looked towards the man and saw that he had somehow teleported roughly eight feet way, he had assumed a defensive posture, and there were now ethereal weapons floating about his person. This was not good.

To make matters worse Mai started chucking some of her crushed candy at the cat guy, then turned around and accused him of stealing it. The blonde child was operating on interesting logic, but addressing the glaring logical fallacy could wait for later. Right now she needed to stop Mai before there was bloodshed.

"Mai, stop attacking the stranger." Victoria said a little more forcefully this time. Victoria saw that Mai had a little friend with her who had thrown a watermelon at a woman, who then punched someone. That set off a chain reaction and everyone in the bar started fighting. The main bartender tried their best to restore order but failed.

Victoria sighed. She was going to have to be the one to restore order. Her reputation was probably going to take another hit, but it could not be helped.

"All right everyone, calm down, please." Victoria said to them in a loud voice. No one paid her the slightest bit of attention.

"Everyone, calm down! Please!" Victoria shouted. Again the others were so wrapped up in their fights that no one paid attention to the brunette. She frowned deeply. She needed to stop them before the bar was utterly trashed.

Screw it. Talking was getting her nowhere, so it was time to make a louder statement.

Victoria wordlessly summoned her Grenade Launcher and fired a Bean Bag Round into the ceiling with a THOOMP. The less-than-lethal projectile hit the roof and fell about two feet behind her as the brunette glared at the crowd. The crowd heard the shot and saw the weapon she was wielding... the sound of a Grenade Launcher being discharged and the sight of the weapon stopped the fighting very quickly.

"All right everyone, the fighting's gonna stop and everyone's gonna start cleaning up the bar." Victoria commanded the crowd. She was not in the mood for nonsense right now. Her second livelihood was threatened and when people threatened her livelihood Victoria got very angry. The crowd began to clean up the bar without a single complaint. Once that was going Victoria turned to Mai.

"That means you too, Mai. Stop attacking the stranger or I'm going to tell Luna what you did." Victoria stated flatly. She was sure that Luna would not be pleased to her that her protege had wrecked several buildings and had started a bar fight. Once Mai had been put on notice the brunette turned her gaze to the cat man and approached him, stopping three feet from him.

"That goes for you as well, stranger." Victoria put the stranger on notice. There was one last bit of business to take care of.

"You wanted proof that I'm in Sabertooth? Here it is." Victoria said before turning her left shoulder to him and showing him her guild tattoo, which was the Sabertooth emblem in black.

[Post Word Count: 793]
[Victoria's Word Count: 1,753]

Itori clacked her tongue as she made her way towards the Red Dragon Inn. While she wasn't running she definitely wasn't wasting any time either: she'd been informed that a new guild member was arriving at the inn and would require introductions and his stamp. The reason why she was late for this was because she'd been informed that Kenna would be taking care of this, only for something else to come up which in return delayed the guild master. The result was that Itori, who had been spending her time reading in Sabertooth's massive library, now had to take Kenna's place. Hopefully the new member hadn't been left waiting for too long: it wouldn't do for the prestigious and long-standing guild of Sabertooth to appear incapable of dealing with such trivial matters in a timely fashion.

While she could immediately teleported towards the Red Dragon Inn from within Yggdrasil the tenko had decided to use the ballroom of the castle which dominated the skyline of the Ace of Spades. A portion of the famous inn had been reserved for the use by members of the ancient guild, but at the same time she still found it more respectful to enter and leave the mundane way if possible. There was also the fact that while she wasn't the strongest mage in the guild her mana pool was still sizeable enough that having it suddenly appear within the inn without warning might alarm the newcomer. While showing off the might of Sabertooth could be useful at times not everyone could handle that kind of surprise with the same amount of grace: it would be embarrassing if her thoughtlessness resulted in someone panicking and doing something reckless.

However despite all her thoughts about the best way to approach the issue it turned out that it was already too late to handle this matter with minimal fuss. Despite still being a ways away from the inn her ears twitched as she caught the first sounds of trouble, which along with the signature magic of several guild members made the nine-tailed fox sigh even as she kept walking. Of course Mai would be at the inn without Luna to keep her in check on the same day that a newcomer arrived. She realized that the fae wanted Mai to have as much of a normal childhood as possible, a significant challenge given that girl's history, but they couldn't afford to keep letting the little blonde terror behave the way she did when she was let loose. Ace of Spades was one of the most prosperous civilized settlements of the realm, a hub of trade and commerce thanks to it being located at a crossroads, as well as the only train station which led straight to the popular harbour city Rose Garden.

And yet ever since Mai had been allowed into the guild her childish tantrums, fuelled by unreasonable amounts of magic power, kept resulting in unacceptable levels of property damage. As much as Itori sympathized with Mai's situation and as much as she wished to help Luna restore Mai's mind to something resembling that of an innocent and harmless child they couldn't keep acting like these accidents didn't happen or didn't matter. Whether they could afford to pay for the repairs was irrelevant: Ace of Spades was already suffering from low property values, any more harm to the city's reputation could be disastrous in the long term.

If Mai couldn't be taught to behave she'd have to be confined within Yggdrasil. That would doubtless hinder attempts at rehabilitation, but Itori couldn't see another way of dealing with the issue. Mai's well-being did not trump that of the rest of the Ace of Spades. Especially since it wasn't like her tantrums were limited to property damage.

Reaching the inn Itori heard the sound of Victoria's Grenade Launcher firing, and from the sounds of it she was using Beanbag Rounds. That at least served to make the other people inhabiting the inn quiet down, although that didn't mean the problem was resolved. Opening the door Itori stepped inside, vermilion eyes quickly surveying the scene. There was the newcomer, standing there with ethereal weapons floating about him. Opposite from him stood Mai, who from the looks of it had been doing her best to launch her own candy at the feline male. You'd think she'd be more careful with the candy given how much she treasured the sweets, but Mai's mind was animated by strange cogs and gears which often did not obey logic or common sense. Or the laws of rationality. There was Victoria, presenting her guild mark to the new member. Itori felt bad for the brunette: Victoria wasn't irresponsible, but she wasn't a mediator at heart, so having to clean up after Mai must undoubtedly be uncomfortable for her.

First things first: keep Mai from escalating. Striding over towards where Mai was Itori reached into her wide sleeves and produced a chocolate ball. "I understand that you are upset at the loss of your candy Mai, but I promise you that if you remain calm and quiet for now I will provide you with enough sweets to fill that bag." Negative reinforcement was tricky with Mai. She was powerful enough that if you pushed her too hard or the wrong way she'd just cause more collateral damage. While positive reinforcement alone wouldn't be enough, as it would result in Mai becoming even more spoiled, Itori didn't have the time to work things out with Mai the long way.

She just hoped that Victoria could keep the newcomer's attention for long enough that the tenko could assure Mai's compliance before she addressed the man. From the looks of it he wasn't the kind of person who liked to be kept waiting, and from the way he'd been looking at Mai he wasn't very happy about her behaviour either. At least his inhuman nature had kept things from becoming even worse.

WC: 995
PWC: 995

Noctis immediately threw his hands up in surrender when Vic told him to behave himself. In doing so, he also let the barrier vanish entirely " I'm uh... sorry she came out of nowhere, and it was just an instinctual reaction." he said honestly and a bit embarrassed that he let a little girl spook him. After he apologized, Vic spun, lifting her shirt, which caused Nocts eyes to widen a tad. As she did so, she spoke. "You wanted proof that I'm in Sabertooth? Here it is." Noct was more shocked that she had not been bluffing and felt even more embarrassed. He was quickly leaving a bad impression after a bad impression.

At that point, a bell rang near the door as it opened, and in a stepped woman with ears similar to his own but different. The expression on her face read as being irritated likely with the mess, and carnage from the little girls attempted attack and a subsequent candy temper tantrum. Not paying him any attention, she breezed right past him and began dealing with the little girl. Noct brushed past Vic to find another table to sit at and await whatever they planned on doing with him. Outside the broken wall some dude shouts "HELP, MY HEAD! IT'S STUCK IN A PUMPKIN!!"

[Post Word Count]

With Mai placated Itori ushered the little menace back to her room so she could wait for Luna to return. It wasn't ideal, but it would do for the moment. The newcomer took priority, and she could get Victoria to look after Mai as long as needed. Of course given that the brunette wasn't on duty right now the tenko would have to find a way to make up for it after, but she knew that Victoria would do it as long as Itori asked politely and explained the need. She'd take care of it herself, after all, if it wasn't for the fact that there was the newcomer. In theory Mai's rampaging was a larger threat but she couldn't exactly tell the man to just sit there and wait for as long as it took the nine-tailed fox to ensure that Mai would no longer be in direct danger of causing harm to the city. Or any other city. Or any people.

A headache to deal with, really.

However before she could actually get to addressing Noctis her ears twitched, seconds before a bunch of children entered through the main entrance and huddled up around her. All of them were dressed up in a wide variety of costumes, from white sheets that were meant to mimic ghosts to elaborate outfits of vampires, pirates and zombies. They seemed intrigued by the situation in the bar, with some of them picking up the crushed candy that Mai had left behind, but for the most part they seemed to be focused on Itori herself, crowding her her and yelling for attention.

"Ms. Fox! Ms. Fox! Look at me! I'm a ghost!"

"I'm a skeleton!"

Itori smiled at all the children, already having a good idea of what they really wanted. On the inside she gave a small sigh, as she knew what this meant. However she wasn't going to make the children feel bad by showing her weariness, instead reaching down to pat them on the head and hand out candy to them. "You all look wonderful. I do not have an endless amount of candy with me, but you can take what I have. But keep in mind that I will know if you do not share it properly." Itori, being a familiar face inside the Ace of Spades, was pretty popular with the children. A popularity which was only enhanced by the fact that she didn't mind letting them touch her fluffy tails, something which even adults often found delight in.

The dressed up kids eagerly took all the candy offered to them, thanking the tenko in chorus before scampering off again, leaving Itori to run her hands over her long skirt to straighten it out. She usually kept candy with her to placate Mai, but with the storm slayer already dealt with she thought it an affordable risk to make those children happy. That and it would have taken a lot more effort to convince them to go away without giving them something.

However that was all taken care of now, and she could finally address the elephant, er, leopard in the room. Approaching Noctis Itori gave him a polite smile, followed by a deep bow. "My apologies for the delay, Mr. X'ail. The original plan was for our guild master to meet you in person, but another matter came up that forced her to delegate the task to me. I hope you can forgive the delay." Straightening up she indicated herself. "I am Shirokawa Itori, Ace of Sabertooth. From my understanding all the necessary paperwork has already been filled out and the only remaining step is for you to be officially declared member of our guild. Reaching into her wide sleeve she produced a stamp adorned with the symbol of Sabertooth. In the process the sleeve was pushed far enough up her forearm to reveal the same symbol on her pale skin in vivid vermilion.

"Once our symbol has been applied your application process will be complete. The location of the symbol is your decision to make, as well as the colour. Do you have any questions before we complete your registration, Mr. X'ail?"

WC: 696
PWC: 1,691