Lone wolf no more

Pulling the cheap cloak he had bought around him tighter Remi let out a low breath as he gazed into the swirling snowstorm in front of him. Despite being colder than he would like and up to his knees in the snow, the blond-haired young man couldn’t help but be smiling from ear to ear. Even if this trip turned out to be a bust it would still be worth it to say he had finally climbed a mountain. Regardless he didn’t necessarily think that would be all. When that old drunk told him about an eternal blizzard in this side of the country he didn’t even wait for the man to finish speaking before he paid for his drink and was out the door. The old journal he took from home was helpful for helping him figure out what his magic actually was; it had soon proved that whoever had written it didn’t actually have it himself, so all the information was second hand. So knowing what he was vaguely aware of what he could possibly do there were no real details on how he could. A storm that always was there would be the perfect playground to try some new things he thought he could possibly do!



Adjusting his travel bag on his shoulder he took half a second to make sure his sword was loose in its sheath before he marched forward, towards the storm and up the mountain. Smirking despite the hard climb as soon as he hit the storm he focused his magic and smiled as the flying ice and snow parted around him. While he was just using some wind control to do it it was more proof that his fine control was improving. The last time he tried a similar thing on the ship he was forced to fight the storm itself and push it back. Taking a moment to feel around the storm in his mind he frowned softly as he felt so much stronger than the ones he had previously tried this one, almost like it was drawing power from somewhere. Shaking it off with a smile he chuckled. It’s not like it mattered much in the end, he would find answers deeper inside.

After about thirty minutes of hiking, he stopped to practice his magic, soon finding that finally experiencing a blizzard now that he could use his magic let him copy the ice and snow of the storm, just like the lightning storm had given him the example he needed to use his own. After taking some time to practice, slamming the ground off to the side with ice, water, lightning, and wind he suddenly turned as a hand instinctively dropped down to the blade at his waist. Standing behind him was something he had honestly not expected, a shining ethereal wolf. The wolf in question simply looked at the man, having apparently been laying and watching for some time. Blushing with embarrassment at not noticing till now he still walked towards the wolf with a smile on his face, mentally crowing about yet another new magical experience. Bowing politely to the being, who obviously had to be somewhat intelligent if it just decided to watch him train he blinked when it had gotten up on his feet when his eyes were off of it.

The majestic spirit or creature, Remi was honestly not too sure which it was, strode past him and began walking upwards, turning to look back at him after a few moments. The young man took half a second to think before he smiled and followed after, thinking perhaps it was showing him a cave or something to sleep in for the night. If it had wanted to do him harm it had the perfect opportunity to do so. Following the wolf, for some time Remi expanded his little sphere of clam, not too sure if the wolf would appreciate being out of the storm as well but figuring it couldn’t hurt. Remi lost track of time during the hike, focusing on the swirling storm around with an awed smile on his face. It came as a surprise as he suddenly found himself out of it, the wolf nowhere in sight though something new had taken his attention by the time he noticed.

It was almost like stepping into another world to the young man, going from raging blizzard to suddenly being able to feel his fingers. Looking around he noticed he wasn’t too far off from a path and that path led to a small building with a garden. After taking a second to throw back his hood Remi walked forward with an eager smile on his face, moving up the doors and pushing them open, remembering too late that given the moon was out it might be rude to just barge into a building. Those thoughts were thrown out as his eyes traveled around the entrance hall, jaw-dropping in surprise as he realized it was seemingly bigger on the inside than out. Or at least it seemed that way to him.

WC: 849

An exacerbated sigh left the young girls mouth as she lazed about in her room. The blizzard had stranded her in her room, unable to safely pass through currently was not what she wanted to hear. if it weren't for turning in her last job and a small check up, the fire slayer would have stayed down in Crocus to keep up with her schoolwork. No, instead she was stuck in the guild and waiting for the day to end so she could receive her schoolwork via her iLac.it annoyed her greatly falling behind the others because of the other work requested from the guild and the research, but in the end she did enjoy the work experience. If anything, it was helpful for her future goals. It also wasn't like she was going to be falling behind for very long. Despite her absence from school, she managed to keep up very well with the others... most of the time.

The sound of the howling winds got the slayer annoyed, shooting up from laying on her bed and tossed her iLac back down on it. "Screw it. I'm gonna get some lunch and go hit the lab." The young guild member left and made her way through the halls until making it into the kitchen to fix up a small meal. A plain old sandwich and a glass of ice water. Making her way back into the main area of the hall, she had seated herself down in a corner and began to eat peacefully. Why not go to her room to eat it? Well, frankly she didn't want to wait to return to her room. A half way point seemed to be fine for her.

Apparently hungrier than she thought, the fire mage downed her sandwich just before the doors albeit flew open and off their hinges. The teen blinked seeing a male walking into the hall and stared. She stared at him for a second and then took a drink of her water. "Did your mother raise you in a barn? You gonna shut those doors or what?" She rudely commented after exhaling a sigh of relief. She then rose from her seat in the corner and brushed off the backside of her attire and waited for him to act. All the wile the hall would get its warm air quickly being sucked out by the open world outside.

401 words

Having been so preoccupied with taking in the entrance hall Remi didn’t even notice he was being addressed for half a second and noticing his rudeness he quickly turned towards the doors. He started to raise a hand to close them with some light wind control before he stopped himself with a grimace. He flat out refused to be one to rely on magic for absolutely everything, he was already something of a bright-eyed novice by his own admission so there was no point in making him seem even more like that. While he turned back and closed the doors he reflected on the voice that called out to him, briefly seeing in his mind's eye a different girl, one with radiant blond locks, azure eyes much like his own, and a glare all her own. One whose eyes were full of tears last they spoke. The thought put a frown on his face, which he shook off as he turned around to address the stranger.

Laughing softly despite himself he did his level best to keep his face clear, rather than raising an eyebrow at being addressed by someone so much smaller than himself and in clothing he frankly didn't expect from her tone. Flashing an apologetic smile her way he gave a proper bow before clasping his hands behind his back. Embarrassment flashing red on his cheeks he let slip some of his Minstrelois accent slipping into his words more than normal for him. “Oh please forgive me, I was overtaken for a moment by the hall. Truly not what I expected to find when I went into the blizzard." Taking half a second he gazes around the hall once more, the look of curiosity and awe quickly slipping onto his face once more despite his best efforts. Pulling off his cloak to reveal his armor underneath he turned his attention back to the girl once more, smiling softly at the relief of finally taking the cloak off.  
"My name is Remi O'Connell and if I could be so bold… could you possibly tell me what this place is? I am afraid I am more than a little out of my depth at the moment.”

WC: 368
TWC: 1618

Her brow furrowed a little watching the stranger. He seemed to be a little bit oblivious. Maybe a small fireball passing by his head would make him a little more attentive. No... It seemed like it wasn't necessary now that he gave up attempting something and eventually shut the doors. Thank god because the air was beginning to cool and frankly she didn't have the patience to deal with the cold today. Not after having her day ruined by the weather. No matter, it seemed it wouldn't be such a big deal now that she would have something to do for at least a little while. When the male stranger finally spoke, she could pick out his accent very easily. Between her school teacher who taught the subject and the man she'd met over the winter break, it was very easy to pick out the accent at first sound. With that information in hand, the slayer simply remained quiet for the moment while he spoke.

Giving him a time to warm up felt like a rather courteous thing to do in this situation. As she was once told, not many find this place without a reason so either he found himself a guide of sorts with some of the wolves of the mountain, or she was a peculiar situation like she had been. Either way, he removed his outerwear and passive wearing of armor was a little lost on the teen. Granted, different strokes for different folks, but... perhaps people took combat in different methods than she thought. "Yeah, welcome to the summit brothel and spa." She replied, giving a straight face for a moment. Her body leaned back against the wall while shaking her head lightly. "I'm.. not much for jokes, but in all seriousness Mr. O'Connell, you're inside the guild hall of Silver Wolf."

Having the answer aside, she paused for a moment to allow him to process the information, examining his reaction as he'd make any, even none at all. "I'm Lehanna Seraph, part of the scholar branch." In short, she was much more a bookworm than a social butterfly, but it wasn't like she was barren to the concept of a conversation. "Out of curiosity, might I ask how you happened to find this place?" She seemed to be more serious with this question, her eyes staring directly to the baby blues of Remi's. "It's not like we hang a giant neon sign advertising the location."

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Raising an eyebrow at the teen's joke he chuckled softly in spite of himself. While he had personally never been in such an establishment, somehow he doubted they typically had someone as young as the teen in front of him working there. If they did well… Remi didn’t consider himself some kind of hero but he most certainly wouldn’t leave such a building standing. That train of thought soon left him once he heard what exactly this place, his posture, and decorum dropping for a moment as his eyes danced with excitement. “A guild hall? Truly what are the odds?” Throwing his head back he laughed once more, full of mirth and joy.

Shaking his head softly as he turned his attention back to the teen he quickly snapped back to his proper stance, the excitement and the strain it had taken to get here making him forget that he was supposed to be not doing that anymore. Giving the self-described scholar his full charming grin as he matched her gaze he shifted a bit to get more comfortable before responding. “Well, truth be told I didn’t come to this mountain looking for this guild I was here for something else entirely.” Throwing a hand back over his shoulder he pointed with his thumb towards the door and the howling storm not far from the guild proper. “It was the storm itself that got my attention. When I heard tell of a storm that seemingly never ended I knew it would be the perfect place to try and work some things out regarding my magic.”

Glancing behind him for a moment his smile finally broke as he remembered his companion on the climb up the mountain. Turning towards the teen with a more serious look in his gaze decided to continue his tale. “I was in the middle of some practice when some kind of ethereal wolf approached me. I had never seen anything like it and since it didn't attack while my guard was down I decided to trust it when it led me deeper into the storm. I think you can figure out the rest from there. Truly a magnificent creature. If nothing else seeing it up close was worth coming here.”

WC: 376
TWC: 2404

The teen could only shrug at his rhetorical type of question. She didn’t care to answer to it as though it were serious. Granted, she found the hall entirely by accident as well, though she was not let here via the same method he may have done so. ”I said something in that form myself when I climbed up this mountain. Frankly, it wasn’t my goal to find a guild. I was simply cutting days of time off of my travel climbing.” She explained, pausing to take another sip of her water before setting the nearly empty glass down into the floor. But given that Remi seemed to be truthful in his story so far, the storm would surely have deterred anyone from finding this place. Or at least, she thought as much would happen. Though... his laugh in the matter seemed a little over the top in her opinion.

Yet, despite the urge to say something, she had to try and contain herself and remain courteous. It was beneath her to act like some insulant child when she had always preached the need to be treated like others. So, Lehanna did herself a favor and kept her mouth shut and allowed him to continue on his story it seemed. At least for the time being it had seemed like something she could do.

It wasn’t until until Remi mentioned the tale of which he say some ethereal looking wolf that guided him towards the guild hall. Her brow slightly raised in curiosity at the idea of it, however she had already mentally dismissed that to be something real. ”You know... logically speaking wolves cannot he ethereal. Therefore, I’m fairly certain it wasn’t a real thing you’d seen out there.” She pushed herself off of the wall, her arms folded at her chest while baring a very straight face. ”I’d more venture to guess you were facing a state of hypothermia to which you had begun to hallucinate and by proxy managed to stumble upon the hall.” She continued, taking few, slow steps his way. She didn’t not meant of be of a threat, nor did she change him being one either. If anything... his accent drew her to dislike him a little as it was. But, by her own accord that was personal. ”I guess while you’re here, you may as well be seen by one of the department heads, if not the guild master herself. If you’ll follow me, I can take you to get something warm to drink. Do you prefer coffee or hot chocolate?” At this point in her offer, she’d turned her back to him, glancing over her shoulder pit of her own assurance.

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Remi kept his face straight while he was lectured by the teen. While he personally didn't doubt what he had seen it he would admit it was somewhat outlandish. Who was he to say what was possible or not when he didn't have as firm a grasp on his own abilities as he would like. Giving her the proper attention while she spoke he quickly made to put his cloak in his bag. Throwing it over his shoulder as he looked back at her he gave her a soft smile as she made her offer. In part, because it was only polite and frankly she reminded him just enough of someone he used to know that he decided it was in his best interest to try to stay on her good side.

Pausing when she made her offer he blinked before smiling again, forcing himself to relax and attempt to reel in his excitement. Put your best foot forward and all that. "It would be a shame to come all this way just to leave." Making to follow her where ever she decided to leave him, he looked around the hall unable to keep a smile from forming on his as his eyes darted back and forth. While not intentional in coming here he had made a promise to check out a guild and it would reflect poorly on himself if he squandered that opportunity. "Hot chocolate if it's no trouble. Personally speaking, coffee is for the morning meal and when you wish to fight off sleep."

Taking half a moment while he walked he glanced back at the young teen again, briefly wondering how long she had been in the guild. She seemed young, not enough so that he would treat her like a child but enough that it seemed off to him for her to be on her own. Perhaps her parents were members of the guild also? Speaking of... What kind of guild had he found himself in? He doubted some kind of dark guild given he wasn't currently fighting for his life or running for the hills but what kind of organization had their base on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere? "Now would you prefer if I saved my questions for whoever you introduce me to? Offering me something to drink is more than enough, I wouldn't want to impose on you more than I have to."

WC: 406
TWC: 3359

-Leona's Room, Silver Wolf Guild Hall-

Dressed in her regenerating blue, white, and gold outfit with bike shorts on underneath the skirt and boots that matched the outfit on her feet plus the knife her brother had given her concealed in her right boot, Leona looked at the GED study guide for mathematics lying open on her desk and was hopelessly lost. She had not studied math ever since graduating from Nebdoui's village school several years ago and had no clue what she was reading. She was reading through the Algebra section and was trying to make sense of it to no avail. She understood basic mathematics well enough to do day-to-day arithmetic, but when it came to Algebra, Geometry, and more advanced math, the Wizard Saint was hopelessly lost. She might as well be trying to read the schematics for Dr. Reid's Hercules Armor.

Growing frustrated with her lack of progress and not wanting to sit here all day and study, Leona got up from her desk, pushed the chair in, and left her room under the watchful eye of PG-13, who stood in place in front of Leona's wardrobe. She would need to learn how to properly study if she wanted to pass the GED test, but right now she was in no mood to study any further. She had been trying to study Algebra for the past two-and-a-half hours and was getting nowhere fast. It was time to take a break and do something else. But before she did something else, she would go to the cafe and get a cup or two of coffee.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, outside the cafe-

After leaving the guild cafe clutching a white mug of coffee with the Silver Wolf emblem in silver on the front, Leona began to walk around the guild hall for a minute or two before attempting to find something else to do. Wizard Saints knew that there was no shortage of things that Leona had to do around the guild hall. There was likely a mound of paperwork waiting for her in her office, so that was the first thing she would do after finishing this mug of coffee. Leona looked down at the coffee mug and was about to take a drink when she felt two magic signatures from somewhere in the guild hall.

One of them was fairly powerful, but the other corresponded to that of a novice mage. Leona took a drink of coffee and decided to go see what was going on. She lowered the mug and began to walk towards the source of the signatures to find out who she was dealing with.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, the entrance hall-

Leona walked towards the entrance and saw two people. One of them was a short brunette wearing dark clothing of a style Leona had never seen before and the other was a tall blond fellow who made both female mages look short. The tall blond fellow was also wearing a white cuirass and other pieces of armor with brass highlights. Leona had not seen either of them around the guild hall before, but that could be because she was usually out on a job somewhere in Earthland.

Leona decided do the Guild Mistress thing and greet them.

"Hello there. I'm Leona Jarnefeldt, the Guild Mistress of Silver Wolf." Leona introduced herself to both the short brunette and the tall blond fellow. She then waited for their responses before doing anything else.

[Post Word Count: 582]
[Leona's Word Count: 582]
[Total Word Count: 3,941]

The events outside the waters of Fiore, when Yuvon explored the Whirlpool Sea most notorious for what gave it its namesake, left him so physically injured. It was a first to feel so fatigued after a single mission - sure, he did a lot of heavy-lifting, but that was to be expected for a top performer of magical duties like the gold-masked librarian - so he decided to stay indoors at the guild hall’s quarters to add the golem’s unearthly heart to the guild’s collection of findings.

He had a few things to look at. The gems from the antlers of the rare deer that lived in Sakuramori sure looked like the real deal, but were they really gems or were they just organic imitations? To determine so, he pulled up a magnifying lens and spilled a handful of the deer antler gems on the table in front of him before zooming in. The first things that he noticed were the vibrant colors, but some places were full of black spots or cracks that disrupted the opacity of the colors. The colors ranged per gemstone - some were a deep shade of green, emerald-like, some were deep-blue, light-blue, and others were clear.

They had all the qualifications of real gemstones… grown from the antlers of the likes of those hoofed creatures. Yuvon made sure to write it down, along with an illustration of the deer’s appearance.

The heart was still beating on the table, the eye in the middle of it glaring around as if it was alive… while Yuvon drew a drawing of it for later studies, he decided that a snack was needed right now. Although, the beating heart was his project, and it would be irresponsible to leave it laying on the table unsupervised. He simply picked it up with his hand before walking down to the main hall.

And there he arrived with a monster’s beating, incomprehensible eye-heart-thing, pulsating in a melody that sent shivers down one’s back and would make one feel a little sick, as he spotted his Guild Mistress along a couple of Silver Wolf guildmates. Given his time away, he directly assumed them to be under the same mark of the grey wolf.

“Mistress, so good to see you here!” he greeted her joyously, his manners arisen, with a straight back and a calm but bellowing voice ringing under his mask as he approached them all with a wave from his free hand, “I might’ve been absent for a while, but this is the reason… have you ever laid your eyes upon such an anomaly before? Such concentrated savagery… this heart, or whatever it really is, claimed so much of my time finding out what it is, and yet I am still left without answers. No previous documents or tomes of forgotten lore mentions it or its relation to the Whirlpool Sea where I found it.”

He was a bit too hyped to show the ‘treasure’ to the others as well. Although, while waving it to them, he remembered-

“O-Oh, please do forgive me for my forgetfulness!” he greeted the two guildmates of his, his free hand resting on his chest, “My name is Yuvon. I believe we haven’t met before - so delightful to see the halls fill up with fresh, adventurous faces…”

WC: 552
TWC: 4493

Given the bit of curiosity in the Minstellan man, Lehanna felt it a bit more of her responsibility to help make someone lost in the cold feel more at ease. With it also being in her own case, the slayer was treated with a great deal of hospitality with Mercury having been the one whom she met when coming across Silver Wolf. She chose to remain silent to his comment as he made a fair point. The unnecessary acknowledgement of the reply felt a little redundant to her. However, when she had been told he had preferences of times in which he drank one or the other, the slayer simply shrugged it off. "I usually do the same, however today... ugh, I need a coffee." She replied, rubbing the back of her head while letting out a sigh.

As the pair made their way towards the kitchen, a woman had seemed to approach them. It wasn't someone she'd ever seen before, so she was curious if she had been around with another faction of the guild or some form of a job junkie. But when she greeted herself as the guild master of the guild, there was a look of surprise that was on the teens face. Not like a look as though she doubted what she said, however it was more akin to a look of realization. "Oh, it's nice to finally be able to meet you, ma'am." She started off. "I'm not in the hall often much these days between jobs and school. My name is Lehanna Seraph from the research department."

Not much time passed that Leona joined the pair that another person had come to approach them as well. They were... interesting, to say the least. Their face hidden behind that of a mask kept her from knowing just who they may have been, but how he had come to approach the guild master gave her the thought that he was also a member of the guild. When he had introduced himself following an apology, the name seemed to stick to her mind for a moment. She took a second to think of where she'd heard his name before, but it finally clicked. "Oh, you're Yuvon. I've read several files and books of the research you've performed in the past while here. I'm glad to meet you." She put up a little bit of a smile as she had spoke that last sentence. It was always nice to talk shop with others, so to speak.

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When the busty blond woman who looked only a few years older than himself appeared Remi briefly added another tick to that mental list of all the female mages he had seen being above and beyond the average. At least those old enough to consider anyway. It was only when he had taken a second look that he had a brief feeling of standing before a vast ocean and given his recent… experience with what could lurk in the deep he could almost feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Giving himself a mental hard-knock he opens his mouth to greet the woman before snapping it shut in surprise when she introduces herself as the guild master or guild mistress in this case. He blinked several times in surprise before chuckling softly to himself, throwing out his assumptions of all guild masters being old. Still, it was rather impressive for someone to be in charge so young. Was she also the founder? If so doubly impressive.

He was about to open his mouth to introduce himself after Lehanna had spoken when the man in the mask barged his way into the conversation. Initially thrown off by the mask he blinks as he listens to the other man ramble on towards the guild mistress. Despite himself, a grin forms on his face as he listens in, the enthusiasm infectious in his opinion. Oh, it was all a little over his head for the moment but regardless far from himself to interrupt a man consumed by his passions. Making a note of how his guide seemed pleased with his presence he relaxed fully, deciding that for the moment at least there was nothing to worry about. Well about the masked man at least. However, there was one word that rang out like a gong in his mind, one that made his eyes light up like fireworks in his excitement.

Throwing caution to the wind he gives the two new faces a half bow in greeting, throwing on his typical charming smile as he introduces himself. His particular accent drifted into his words, along with his home tongue. Thankfully for the first time, he had the sense to use his fake last name, though it did leave a foul taste in his mouth that did reach his eyes for a brief moment. “Plaisir de vous rencontrer tous les deux! My name is Remi… O'Connell.” Clasping his hands behind his back as he stands up straight, he takes half a second to glance around again. Curiosity bloomed on his face before he looked back at the guild mistress. “Truth be told, Mademoiselle… I didn’t know this place before climbing your mountain. What kind of guild is this? Scholars and researchers are fair enough… but I doubt that’s all that it is here. The storm that drew me here would be a tad overzealous if that was the case.”

WC: 489
TWC: 5,405

Leona looked at the tall fellow who called himself Remi O'Connell. Judging from the look on his face back when she had first introduced herself, he clearly expected a Guild Mistress who was older and less attractive than Leona was. The blonde was amused by that and smiled a little. She was only twenty years old and was in charge of a guild... he was probably expecting someone in their mid-twenties to early thirties to be in charge. Leona was not offended by his expectations and was not going to pick a fight by calling him out on them when Remi had made an honest mistake.

Leona turned from Remi to the short brunette. The Guild Mistress noted that the short brunette standing with Remi had introduced herself as Lehanna Seraph. Lehanna also said that she was with the Scholars division of the guild. Leona smiled at her as well. Today was the first time that the blonde had ever met Lehanna and hopefully it would not be the last.

Leona then turned to Yuvon, who had suddenly appeared with a flair that was unmistakably "Yuvon". She knew the masked man from her first days in Silver Wolf and knew that he had been part of the guild even longer than the blonde. Yuvon had also been at her side during Santa's invasion of Era a couple of years ago during a Christmas festival that was now coloquially called the "Winter Wonderhell" event. The Guild Mistress gave Yuvon a small smile.

"Hello Remi. Hello Lehanna. Hello Yuvon." Leona greeted the newcomer and the two current Silver Wolf members individually. She had already introduced herself to Remi and Lehanna, but she figured that she would err on the side of politeness and greet them individually when she greeted Yuvon. She then turned to Remi, who had first greeted her in a language she did not understand before asking her about Silver Wolf in a language she could understand. Leona took a sip of coffee and turned to him to explain the purpose of the guild.

"Silver Wolf's purpose is magical research, conservation, and treasure hunting. While the three goals sound like they're at odds with one another, in practice they work together quite well." Leona began informing Remi of the guild's purpose.

"We have three divisions who carry out the guild's mission. They are the Hunters, the Scholars, and the Defenders. The Hunters find treasure to bring back to the guild... that can be anything from magic weapons, magic jewelry, books, anything. The Scholars study magic artifacts for potential applications and preserve them for future generations. The Defenders protect the guild hall and the guild's treasures." Leona gave a brief rundown of the three divisions to Remi. She then took a sip of coffee and paused to let Remi and the others have a chance to talk. Leona was pretty sure that Lehanna and Yuvon had things that they wanted to say to the prospective new member... or to correct Leona on anything she had gotten wrong during her explanation on how the guild worked. Leona was forgetful sometimes and she might have either missed something important or might have just said something that was totally inaccurate.

[Post Word Count: 536]
[Leona's Word Count: 1,118]
[Total Word Count: 5,941]

Oh, never had Yuvon been so pleasantly surprised by those he had just greeted for the first time. The shorter lady with soft, oak-brown hair revealed to have read his files and books of research, expressing quite the intrigue in his studies to which the eyes of his mask widened up like a cartoonish character. “Oooooooh! Merveilleux!” he expressed in delight – truly, what else lifted his spirits more than hearing of those who enjoyed his drops of knowledge given form, “To hear of your intrigue in my reports… fills my heart with butterflies, indeed!”

Now, the taller male with the short, blonde hair, surprised him in another fashion… the language that he greeted back with was Minstrelois, just like Yuvon’s! Seemed like we now had two Minstrelois gentlemen in the room – despite his past, Yuvon was delighted to know more about him… as long as he… no, forget that. A needle in a hayfield, that event of his.

“Mon plaisir, to all of you,” he replied back to Remi and to the two fair ladies, straightening his back and listening to the content of words emitting from his guildmates. Remi was new around here – the young man didn’t know of Silver Wolf from words around town or from any papers, so with the librarian’s powers of deduction, he concluded Remi to have travelled from afar…

Either that, or he had been especially misfortunate to never hear of such a delightful guild, so vibrant, ambient and colorful despite its greyish namesake of noble silver, a harbor of elder, newer and otherworldly traits, knowledge and findings. But that a storm drew him to the guild hall… stuff of elegant dramas and tales, the strings of the world’s loom knitting his story together with the guild’s.

And Leona led the string of Silver Wolf knot with his in her explanation, giving a brief summary of the guild’s three divisions and the overall purpose of the guild. While they sounded exclusive, overlaps happened from time to time, and Yuvon held evidence in his right hand of his own, hunter-like endeavors despite him donning the grandeur title of Scholar under the leadership of their Beta, lovely Miss Arseneault.

“At times, we do overlap… I, myself, am a Scholar,” Yuvon added to the explanation dealt to them by their respected Mistress, “But I fetched this anomaly with my own, bare hands… and a little help, too.” He flashed the beating heart with a monstrous eye poking out from it to all of them, desensitized to such monstrosities himself but unaware of how they would actually react. Given the guild’s status, he assumed them to not take it that shockingly. Hehe.

“Mhhmmm, Monsieur, you speak my mother tongue so fluently, so I feel myself at a pleasant wavelength with your company,” he expressed his delight at meeting a guy who, most likely, came from Minstrel too. He even held his cheek like an infatuated toddler, flaunting the blue and purple monster heart-eye thing without granting it a speck of attention – like doing gestures while holding a bottle or a piece of paper. “I must request your confirmation – do you seek to join us? Is that the case, my dear Mistress?”

He asked so with sparkling light in his mask’s eye sockets, holding his hands up like an excited, little girl. Despite his stature, form and composure, Yuvon could easily emit the traits of a kid.

WC: 568
Thread TWC: 6509

The masked guildmate she had made mention to before seemed to be incredibly delighted in her announcement of her having read his research. For whatever reason, it got him rather giddy and nearly child-like to have heard such a thing and quite frankly, the young slayer took no ill feeling over that such thing. if she had to be honest, she would probably feel nearly the same way if someone had taken an interest in her research, but someone more outside of the guild as an example. "You seem very... surprised. Does others research not often get read around here? Or..." She trailed off in wonder, wanting either Yuvon or Leona to answer the question as she looked to both of her current guildmates.

Remi's question caught the bit of attention in the elder two. Frankly, some of the overlapping instances were a little lost on her, however since nobody ever stopped her from taking the time to do what she did, she had assumed it wasn't a bad thing so long as the name of the guild was preserved in the taking and completion of the jobs in question. It brought something to her mind while they both answered his question of what the guild was in a deeper standing aside from just the scholar branch. "I dabble a bit in combat myself. It's not a forte of mine, but for the sake of a goal, it's a requirement." She had to be very careful considering her guildmaster was in front of her to not blurt out the goal was to essentially track down and murder the son of a bitch who she only knew as Prada. His Minstrelois accent and mocking voice burned into her mind.

Slowly calming herself down from the slightest sensation of feeling herself getting emotional was not where she cared to be mentally. There was a time and place for that, but in the meantime she would deal with the more pressing matter at hand. "Oh, Miss Jarndfelt, I actually have to ask a favor of you." The brunette piped up, pulling a paper from the waistband and folded over so the contents of the front of the paper could not be seen. "I need this signed by a guardian and they won't accept my own. Technically, you're the only person I could think of that could sign a paper like that. Well, you and Mercury, however she isn't around." Holding out the paper, she thought it be less stressful to hide the contents of the paper to the others. "It's uh... For a school field trip..." She turned her head away suddenly, trying to hide the embarrassed face she had in having to ask an adult for anything in so long.

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Remi let his shorter in stature, and if he was a betting man, and stronger magically companion take the lead in the conversation, listing enough to know he had to hide a soft smile when Lehanna asked about getting a signature. While he personally had never gone to school he knew that such things were important for some people. Only the best tutors for his father's progeny after all. Regardless the girl was adorable and as such Remi had to hide a smile behind of polite cough.

However, most of Remi’s attention was turned inward, as once the fair guild mistress had mentioned treasure hunting a twinkle formed in his eyes. Images of delving into lost temples, overcoming all manner of traps and challenges, and receiving the treasure only made him smile more. He opened his mouth to answer his new masked companion's question but paused for a moment, hand still raised. It wouldn’t do to not give it some more thought. While he had long accepted that he would eventually have to join a guild the truth of the matter is that Remi hadn’t considered it would be so soon. He hadn’t even known what this palace was before that… wolf had led him up here. Looking off behind him with a rather serious look in his eye Remi tapped his finger on the hilt of his sword before coming to a decision. Turning to look back at the group he gave them all an excited smile and gave them another quick bow. “That ethereal wolf led me up here for a reason. Who am I to argue with fate? I would be honored to join your guild if you would have me, Mademoiselle. The very thought of delving into forgotten places sets my blood aflame. A perfect adventure if you ask me.”

Deciding that honesty was the best policy he flashed the trio an apologetic smile, even going so far as to rub the back of his neck. While he respected the idea of being a guardian of important things he wasn’t one to play guardsman when there was a whole world out there to see. Scholarly pursuits were all well and good but he didn’t pretend he was half as intelligent as that would require. “Truth be told… I am rather new to magic… my intention in climbing this mountain was to test out an idea in the storm. So if you're willing to take in a novice I would greatly appreciate it.”

WC: 417
TWC: 7389

Leona was surprised to hear Yuvon speak the same language as Remi. Leona knew that Yuvon was quite the bibliophile, but she did not know that he could speak Remi's language with proficiency. She was distracted from that when the masked mage produced a heart with a monstrous eye poking out of it. Leona was so startled by the sight that she nearly dropped her mug of coffee, which would have been a disaster in more ways than one. The Guild Mistress quickly recovered from the surprise and turned to Lehanna, who had spoken to the Guild Mistress about doing her a favor.

Leona turned to the small brunette, who had produced a folded piece of paper and claimed that the signature of a guardian was needed. Leona and Mercury were the only two people who qualified as guardians, but Mercury was not here, so the task had fallen to Leona. Lehanna claimed that the signature was needed for a school field trip. Leona noticed that Lehanna turned her head away in embarrassment for some reason. Leona soon turned her attention away from that and focused on her own surprise that Lehanna would ask her for such a favor, but she would help her guildmate out and provide the signature.

"Sure, Lehanna. I don't have a pen with me, though. As soon as I find a pen I'll sign it." Leona informed Lehanna. Leona turned from the small brunette to Remi and spoke to him. He had expressed an interest in joining the guild to explore forgotten places and would be glad to join up if Silver Wolf had room for a novice mage like himself. Leona smiled in response to him offering to join the guild.

"Sure, Remi. There's plenty of room for new members in Silver Wolf. There's also plenty of room for novices in Silver Wolf." Leona assured the taller blond that there was room for him in Silver Wolf. A long time ago Leona herself was a novice who had almost died at the hands of a mundane serial killer in Hargeon Town when she had been brought to Silver Wolf Guild Hall by Leila Vergious after talking to the silver-haired Wizard Saint about joining Silver Wolf. Now Leona was one of the strongest mages in Earthland and Silver Wolf's Guild Mistress. She was going to keep offering any mages looking for a life of adventure and a place to learn more about their mage a place in Silver Wolf.

[Post Word Count: 414]
[Leona's Word Count: 1,532]
[Total Word Count: 7,803]

Neh. He shook his head to Lehanna’s worrisome question. Yuvon wasn’t afraid that his fellow guildmates, regardless of branch, wouldn’t read up on his articles or those of his pack brethren. Even Lehanna had contributed to lots of new information regarding their recently retrieved treasures and their functions… but Yuvon was a teacher-maniac. He loved to inform and teach others about things that they didn’t know. It just felt thrilling to fill their brains with data and knowledge that they could use later on in life… at times, though, he had to watch his mouth. Not all knowledge was ever relevant or usable to the students, and he did have a habit of letting his mouth run.

And this Remi… fate surely led him here. The term ‘fate is a cruel mistress’ came into play… but it sounded extremely pessimistic. Fate, rather, was unbiased… when you took a path, a choice, a decision – then you took the whole package, all the good and bad in it. All the happy moments, all the sad moments, all the angry moments, and all the boring moments. Remi, if you sought only your desires in this guild, then the wolves would’ve driven you astray… and yet, here you were. There was something more you sought, wasn’t there? Maybe it wasn’t as complex as that… he did state himself ‘Who am I to argue with fate?’.

And that would do too, for Yuvon. Sometimes, just following life without forethought proved peaceful… almost a luxury.

“… Oh, a school trip? Wait, you go to school?” Yuvon expressed shockingly, “But I… why didn’t you ask… but…”

Poor Yuvon felt undermined. Why attend a school when he could probably teach you all that you needed to know; algebra, linguistics, grammar, Minstrelois, Desiertan, Midijin, Ishgar – from Elumish to Fiorean accent – Iser etc.

“… *sniff*”

His mask actually poured tears out of its eye sockets. He felt so dejected. He even approached a corner of the hall, squatted down along with his monster heart, petting it and sobbing: “I bet if you were any humanoid being, you’d ask to study under me, wouldn’t you…?”

WC: 354
TWC: 8157