After a truly miserable train ride and weeks of being lost in the wilderness, Asher finally, finally made it to the destination that h intended to go to ever since reading the letter from his late grandfather. The Ace of Spades sprawled out from the tower he had caused a mild disturbance to climb just to get a look at it. A bustling city with an utterly homey feel, this was the first city the Slayer Mage had ever visited. Neutral Ground didn’t count since he had been too weird feeling and miserable to really appreciate it. But the Ace of Spades was everything Neutral Ground wasn’t, homey, surprisingly green for being so near the desert, smelled great and filled with magic. He was rather curious about who stayed at the castle (A real castle! Wow!) but got distracted by someone yelling at him from below.

Turn out he was his old village version of the town guard and was more concerned than angry at Asher for climbing the tower. He scolded the young man for endangering himself and scaring other people, which Asher sheepishly accepted, his pointed ears lowered. Then he remembered why he had come. “Hey mister, do you know where I can find the guild Sabertooth?” Asher asks from his lowered head. The guard looked much friendlier at the mention of Sabretooth and gave the Slayer directions to someplace called the Red Dragon Inn. Asher thanked the name and left. He did have to ask for direction a few times, but all the people lit up when he mentioned the Inn or Sabertooth. It gave him a really warm feeling about the guild that just radiated off those from the city. At one point he was flustered into accepting some candy from a kind woman Asher bought tea from. He ended up eating one piece to make her happy and put the rest in his bag since he didn’t like sweets much.

Finally, he made it to the door of a bar with a sign reading ‘The Red Dragon Inn’ on it. Taking a deep breath and practically quivering with excitement Asher opened the door and walked in. Asher had only been to one bar before, the one in his hometown and this one didn’t feel too different. Maybe cleaner? But definitely filled with more interesting people. Asher looked around with excited eyes at the various people around the bar, not noticing anyone looking back. His pointed ears flicked at the various conversations and his nose twitched at the different smells. He’s been experiencing a lot of new things since leaving the forest!

Focusing on matters at hand the Ocean Demon Slayer makes his way to the bartender since even a country guy like him knows where to go to get information. Clutching his grandfather’s letter to his chest Asher’s eager eyes catch the bartender’s attention. “Hi there! I’m looking for Edmond Sabin of Sabertooth!” He says with utmost cheer, happy to finally be fulfilling one of his grandfather's last wishes by delivering this letter to this person.  

WC: 512

-Red Dragon Inn-

Victoria had just finished a shift of slinging drinks for Red Dragon Inn. She deposited every Jewel of the tips she had earned into the tip jar, then walked into the back room and clocked out, then took off the black apron with the inn's logo on it and placed it on a peg before leaving the back. She opened the double doors and strode out of the inn to start the trip back to her room to do something like search for bartending schools or go to the guild hall and look for her next job.

Wearing her white Steel Matron t-shirt and black skirt with black bike shorts underneath the skirt, Victoria was calmly walking for the exit to the inn when she spotted someone with white hair and pointy ears wearing elaborate armor walked up to the bartender on duty and asked where to find "Edmond Sabin" of Sabertooth. Victoria knew that Gaia had the last name Sabin before she married that Kyran dude, but she never knew a "Edmond Sabin." The brunette decided to speak to the newcomer to try and help even if she did not know Edmond Sabin. She walked up to him and spoke.

"Hi there, I'm Victoria Sheridan and I-" She stopped in mid-sentence as she looked at him from the left side and really noticed how much the new guy looked like Astrid Foss, a member of Black Rose and one of the last generation of Wizard Saints before the new generation took office. Victoria had met Astrid only once at Silver Moon Inn and that felt like a lifetime ago. For all intents and purposes it might as well have been a lifetime ago because a little over a year had passed since Astrid's disappearance and Black Rose's disbanding. The brunette looked at him again and blinked.

The hair color. The pointy ears. The eye color. The armor. Everything about him looked exactly like Astrid Foss except that Astrid was not a guy.

Also, his armor was tailored to a man's body and not a woman's, but aside from that not-so-minor detail it was virtually identical to Astrid's. Even the coloration and design were exactly the same. His hair was a lot shorter too.

Victoria was rendered speechless by how much he resembled the missing Astrid. She could not believe what she was seeing and certainly could not form the words to express it. He would have plenty of time to get a word in since the brunette had immense difficulty speaking at the moment.

[Post Word Count: 428]
[Victoria's Word Count: 428]

The bartender took a moment to give Asher the blankest look known to man, obviously not sure how to answer that question. Or maybe his face just looked like that? There was a pause and Asher felt himself wilt a little. Suddenly his sensitive hearing picked up someone walking in his direction and he turned his head a bit to look at hear but still keep the bartender in his sight. He perked up at the brunettes friendly, and admittedly pretty, appearance and how she looked like she wanted his help. The green-eyed woman began to introduce herself and Asher began to feel so excited, if he had a tail it would be madly wagging right now. Asher vibrated in excitement as he wanted for Victoria to finish introducing herself, not really processing how she was staring at his and eyeing his face before the dam broke.

Leaping forward a little Asher began to shake her hands excitedly, which he had to bend down a little to do so. “Hi there Victoria, my name’s Asher Brightward! It’s so nice to meet you! Are you a member of Sabertooth?! It seems really cool all the people here like you guys and you guys own the super big castle, right?! This town is really homey this is the first city I’ve really been in! I grew up in a forest you know and wow cities are big, is this the biggest one?? Fiore is so big! I was lost in the wilderness for months and didn’t see a single other person! Wait you a member of Sabertooth s you must be a mage, right?! Wow I’ve never met another mage around my age before! How old are you, I'm nineteen! Wait Grandpa said not to ask girls their age… Never mind! What kind of magic do you use, I’m a water mage and I eat water a lot which is weird because I never liked to in the past do you eat water and would you like to be friends?! Oh right, and do you know where Edmond Sabin is?!” He finished his long and very exuberant string of babble with sparkling eyes in Victoria’s direction. He had stopped shaking her hands by this point but was still holding them if she allowed it, and probably didn’t allow her to get a word edgewise until now. The tear-worthy excitement of finally meeting new people after so long hadn’t worn off and Asher was left waiting for Victoria’s answer with puppy-like happiness.

WC: 419
TWC: 931

Victoria stood speechless and waited for the guy's reaction to her. She still could not believe that she was facing someone who looked like a male version of Astrid Foss, but there he stood. He stood right in front of her and was facing the bartender when he turned towards her and the floodgates broke. He shook both her hands excitedly while releasing the flood of words that waited to pour from his mouth.

"Hi there Victoria, my name’s Asher Brightward! It’s so nice to meet you! Are you a member of Sabertooth?! It seems really cool all the people here like you guys and you guys own the super big castle, right?! This town is really homey this is the first city I’ve really been in! I grew up in a forest you know and wow cities are big, is this the biggest one?? Fiore is so big! I was lost in the wilderness for months and didn’t see a single other person! Wait you a member of Sabertooth s you must be a mage, right?! Wow I’ve never met another mage around my age before! How old are you, I'm nineteen! Wait Grandpa said not to ask girls their age… Never mind! What kind of magic do you use, I’m a water mage and I eat water a lot which is weird because I never liked to in the past do you eat water and would you like to be friends?! Oh right, and do you know where Edmond Sabin is?!”

Victoria blinked. The flood of words was so dense that it nearly knocked her back when it was released. It seemed like the dude had drunk his body weight in coffee before arriving at the inn, but he seemed to be a friendly enough guy.

Victoria should take what he said one sentence at a time.

"Yes Asher, I'm a member of Sabertooth." Victoria answered the first question in the affirmative. The next question concerned the castle that dominated the landscape of Ace Of Spades.

"Yes, the castle is property of the guild." Victoria answered the second question. The next was whether Ace Of Spades was the biggest city in Fiore.

"I think that Capital Crocus is the biggest city in Fiore, Asher. I know it's the capital of Fiore, so if it's not the biggest, it's pretty close to the biggest." She answered his third question with uncertainty. Maybe after their conversation was finished she would go to her Daggerbook and look up what the biggest city in Fiore was. His next question asked whether she was a mage or not.

"Yes Asher, I'm a mage. I've been one ever since I was... ten, I think. I've been a guild mage for over two years." Victoria replied in the affirmative. Black Rose was her first guild and Sabertooth was her second, but he did not need to know that. All he needed to know was that she was a mage of Sabertooth.

"I'm eighteen, Asher." Victoria gave her age without showing any anger towards him for asking the question. It was no big secret. The final question was the one that threw her for a loop.

"Ummm, I don't know who this Edmond Sabin dude is or where he is, sorry." Victoria sincerely apologized to Asher for not being able to give him an answer to that question. She was about to speak further when a small blonde stood on a stool and began rummaging in Asher's bag for candy, or rather "Cannnddyyy....." Victoria blinked when she heard that sentence, then her heart was filled with dread.

It was Mai Stormschild!

"No Mai, get out of Asher's bag right this instant! It doesn't belong to you!" Victoria admonished Mai for the personal space invasion. The brunette sighed as she tried to figure out how to keep Mai from causing another bar fight. Where was Gaia, Itori, or Luna when she needed them?

[Post Word Count: 656]
[Victoria's Word Count: 1,084]

Asher almost squealed with glee when Victoria actually replied. He definitely had the air of an extrovert that hadn’t been able to talk to people for months. Starved for attention Asher nods along to Victoria’s words, shows very visible excitement on her being a Sabertooth mage, looks in awe at the castle really belonging to them and seemed very interested in her explanation of Crocus (he had to visit one day). All of this of course came with small noises to clearly portray his emotions. He almost looked like he wanted to ask more questions about her history, but was distracted by blinking in visible surprise at her nonchalantly answering his age question. Was grandfather wrong about women not liking to answer questions about their age? Is it okay to ask every woman that? He decided to test it out more in the future to determine the truth! Also, Victoria was almost the same age as him and already a guild mage! Wow!

Then his emotions flipped again as he visibly wilted at her not knowing the receiver of her letter. “Oh… that’s okay…” He whimpered a bit in disappointment, wondering what he should do next. Should he leave? But Sabertooth was his only lead…

Suddenly his gloomy thoughts were interrupted by a tugging on his shoulder. Looking down he could see a small person with a head of blonde hair digging into his bag, groaning for candy. A candy monster?! She did smell a bit weird… Like the ozone from a storm and sweetness, while Victoria smelled like flowers and alcohol. No, based on Victoria’s reaction this was a small child named Mai looking for the candy the tea lady gave him. Then he spotted the Sabertooth mark on her shoulder and Asher’s eye’s bugged. Wow, this kid was cool enough to get into Sabertooth at her age?!

“Don’t worry about it!” Asher said to Victoria with a laugh and gently swept a sleepy Mai into his left arm, the other quickly grabbing the candy to hold it out to the blond girl’s face. “I’m really lucky to have someone as cool as you to eat my candy for me, huh?” Asher says, smiling warmly at Mai. He always did have a soft spot for kids. Grandfather said it was because he never grew up.

WC: 387
TWC: 1,318

Victoria felt bad for Asher when she told him that she did not know who "Edmond Sabin" was. He had come all the way out here only to be unable to complete his mission. Things only got worse when Mai sauntered up like she owned the place, began digging in Asher's bag, and eating his candy like it was hers. The brunette frowned and tried to think of a way to stop Mai that would not infuriate Luna or Itori until Asher assured her that it was OK for Mai to eat the candy. The brunette had heard straight from Asher's mouth that it was OK for the small blonde to have the candy, so Victoria relented.

"OK Asher, if you want Mai to have the candy, I'll let her eat it." Victoria said to Asher. Victoria would pick her battles carefully and this was not the time to pick a fight with Luna's protege. However, Mai threw the first punch by lightly headbutting Victoria, causing the brunette to frown. Matters were not helped when Mai called Victoria "a meanie butt" just because the brunette had told her not to eat Asher's candy.

"Really? I'm mean because I told you no?" Victoria asked Mai. The former felt that the small blonde was abusing her status as a child to avoid getting into trouble for repeatedly and willfully attacking a Guild Ace, starting a bar fight the other day, and generally making trouble. However, Victoria was not going to take the bait and look like a villain for fighting a child even though that child had enough power to easily level Ace Of Spades if she wanted to. She would just grin and bear it... for now.

Victoria saw Mai try to make an introduction to Asher. Mai actually did a decent job before faltering when it came to the guild's mission, which was a bit unclear to Victoria herself. Or maybe it was just that Victoria was really bad at explaining it. She had kind of botched the job when she had tried to tell Brianna about Sabertooth's mission when the copper-haired young woman had joined Sabertooth some time ago. Perhaps an Ace would be here soon to do a better job of explaining the guild mission than Mai or Victoria could.

Victoria then listened to Mai talk about her magic, which was named Tempest God Slayer. With it Mai could use lightning, wind, and water to lay low her enemies... or at least that was what Victoria had gotten out of Mai's description of her magic. The brunette was starting to relax when Mai raised her arms and generated a ball of black lightning out of nowhere!

Oh hell.

Not again!

The bar had just been cleaned up a short time ago!

"MAI, NO! STOP THE LIGHTNING! STOP THE LIGHTNING OR YOU'LL HURT A LOT OF PEOPLE!" Victoria appealed to Mai to stop the display of magic before the bar got leveled and people got hurt. If the lightning ball went off the brunette was going to have a massive headache on her hands. She would also have a lot of explaining to do to Sabertooth's top brass about the latest calamity to hit Red Dragon Inn.

Why did this kind of thing happen on her watch?

[Post Word Count: 548]
[Victoria's Word Count: 1,632]

The young man nods in thanks and gives a cheeky wink at Victoria’s reluctant words of acceptance as he prepares the candy. There was a small soft smile on Asher’s face as he listened to Mai talk, and gently let her take the candy he was willingly giving. Though he did pause in surprise at her swallowing the whole bag. “Oh my gosh are you ok?!” A look of panic crossed his face at the idea of a child choking and ingesting harmful things, but Mai looked fine and nobody around her reacted so the slayer allowed himself to reacted a bit. Asher then took a moment to snicker behind a hand as Mai rowed down on at the very put-upon looking Victoria, though he did look a bit guilty for laughing at the woman who treated him kindly. “Er, I’m sure Ms. Victoria is very nice. She answered all of my questions! And she’s very smart as well!” Asher tells the young girl brightly. Also, who was Imai and why was he meaner?

“I’m glad you liked the candy, Mai!” Asher chips, patting the young girl's head when she was done headbutting him in what he assumed was affection. Then proceeded to grin at the girl as she introduced himself. He didn’t know what being an ‘A-rank’ meant, but probably something good? And he was admittedly disappointed she didn’t know much about Sabertooth, he was curious about the guild. Maybe he could ask Victoria later?

That line of thought was suddenly interrupted at Mai’s declaration of being a Tempest God Slayer, causing Asher’s jaw to drop. She was a Slayer as well?! Wow, and she seemed even younger than when Asher learned Slayer magic! He was about to inform the girls about his Ocean Demon Slayer status and introduce himself to a fellow slayer... when Mai decided to show off and the smell of ozone filled the bar. Asher was struck completely dumb at the large ball of black lighting incest from his face, causing it to freeze in a smile… before sweat started to break out and Asher wondered if he should run for cover? Grandfather said as a water mage he should avoid lightning… But there were people behind Asher so instead, as he barely heard Victoria’s yelling in the background, he braced for impact with a fierce look.

Suddenly a voice cut through the noise like a knife in hot butter, calling Mai’s name in a very disapproving matter. There were more scolding words and Asher looked over to see who was talking, a bright light rang out. The next moment found Asher splashed with mud as a goat woman with long white hair stood before them. Behind the goat woman stood another in a cute simple black dress, glasses and flowing blue hair holding a golden key, a look of determination on her face. Spitting out some mud in his mouth, Asher had just enough sense of self from that series of startling events for his ears to turn red at the mention of giving Mai candy. Was he not supposed to do that…?

As the impressive woman spoke to Mai, Asher used the nearby sink to discreetly control water to get the mud off his armour. He felt suddenly self-conscious and wanted to impress this woman. Asher also wordlessly and with a gentle grin offered to do the same for Victoria if she got mud on her. Holy magic was good for cleaning!

When the woman’s attention finally switches to Asher, the young man felt himself standing up straighter. Then his jaw dropped a second time in a few minutes as she introduced herself. Asher had no idea what an Ace was, but she said her surname is Sabin! The letter!

Asher was in front of Gaia in a blink, practically jumping with excitement as he shook both of her hand in introduction if she allowed it. “Hi!! Oh my gosh, it’s so nice to meet you Gaia my name’s Asher Brightward! Yes, I’m looking for Edmond Sabin do you know him?! I have a letter from my grandpa for him!” With a flourish, Asher pulled out the letter and proudly showed it to Gaia. He tried to make sure his cape billowed dramatically as well. Though with how close the letter is to her face she might not make out the word ‘To Edmond Sabin, from your old friend Ash Brightward’. “I’m an Ocean Demon Slayer and my grandpa entrusted me to deliver this letter to Edmond Sabin of the Mage’s Guild Sabertooth… Or he told me to find him there at least! I’m so glad I found him! I'm so happy to meet you as well, you seem and your friend seem really cool!” Asher said with a full-blown grin, vibrating from excitement. When he mentioned being a Slayer, he also sent a cheesy grin Mai’s way, hoping to impress the cool little girl and Victoria a bit.

WC: 806
TWC: 2,124

Victoria had no idea what the Hell was going on anymore. One moment Mai was about to cast a black lightning spell that was almost certain to level the place and then the next moment a goat chick in a black cloak pointed a staff towards the ball and negated the black lightning ball before everyone had a really bad day. She was not sure if the goat chick was a demon belonging to Zupazu's Executioners, but when she saw Gaia make her way in and sternly warn Mai that she was not allowed to use magic in the building without permission, Victoria knew that she was safe. She also learned that the goat chick's name was Capricorn.

"I'm glad you're here, Gaia." Victoria said with relief. She had no idea what would have happened if Mai had gone on for too much longer, but Victoria would have probably been forced to intervene with her Tranquilizer Rifle to keep the place from going up in a mushroom cloud. Victoria thought that Gaia's intervention would be the end of the matter, but of course it was not. That would be too easy. Mai thought it was a good idea to insult Gaia with another juvenile insult.

Meanwhile Asher was irrepressibly cheerful and was smiling; he even offered the bit of info that he was a Slayer. Mai started rambling on and learned that Asher was an "Ocean Slayer." Victoria would not have known that from first glance, but now she did. Victoria was trying to get over the stress headache that was trying to form and move on from this fiasco when Mai formed a ball of bubbling water overhead.

Victoria look a look at Mai's newly formed ball of magic and sighed deeply.

She was not getting paid enough for this.

And judging from the look on her face, neither was Capricorn.

"Gaia, can you do something about that water magic-looking thing Mai's conjuring?" Victoria asked the Guild Ace with something of a pleading tone. The brunette was not sure what to do about this situation other than break out the Tranquilizer Rifle and hope that Mai was not immune to it. Now that an Ace was here the responsibility to act was not technically hers, but Victoria did not want to see the inn get wrecked... again. Did Mai have ANY idea how much it cost to fix the inn every time it got wrecked?

Victoria doubted it. That was what irritated the brunette the most. The small blonde wrecked the inn like it was no big deal to fix, but it was a big deal. It took a lot of time and money to fix everything up again. Time and money Mai did not have to invest... she merrily skipped away from the messes she created and made more messes elsewhere without ever really learning anything from the discord she sowed.

Victoria sighed. Mai was quite a challenge to deal with. The brunette was halfway convinced Mai was less of a person and more of an avatar of destruction.

She needed a drink before the latest "Act of Mai" ruined the inn. AGAIN. This was the second time Mai stood poised to ruin the inn and it would certainly be far from the last.

[Post Word Count: 546]
[Victoria's Word Count: 2,178]

Vibrating with excitement at finally reaching his goal, that shattered like glass at Gaia’s announcement. Her great-grandfather? And he was DEAD. Asher felt bile rise to his throat, his expression stuck in a cheerful mask. The information was only slightly helped by Gaia claiming to be good enough to read his letter. Was she? He didn’t want to judge, she really seemed nice, but this was the last will of his only family. But would that mean he would have to travel to Bellum, which he did know was another country, to deliver his letter? What about Sabertooth? What role did his grandfather want this guild to play in this? Thinking it over for a moment with a bit of a frown on his face, Asher nodded to himself. His grandfather spoke well of the guild, and these nice people obviously looked toward Gaia for guidance and Mai-stopping. They all seemed like honest folks! Swallowing the bile in his throat and blinking away his shock, Asher gave Gaia a slightly pained smile and spoke. “Ok! I’ve, um, never been to Bellum and I’m not sure if grandpa has been there, but I’m sure he’d be fine with you reading the letter for your great-grandfather!” Asher chirps with as much cheer as he could muster, trying to keep his emotions in check.

Thankfully a distraction in the form of Mai came. So much was happening at once, Asher was losing track, his mind rotating in fast circles, jumping from one place to the next to avoid what was actually making him upset. Well actually, the only thing that happened is that after telling her about his magic, Mai thought it was a good idea to summon a ball of glowing black water. Perfect distraction. Sweet, delicious water. Just look at the water and began drool. He might have just had some tea, but that was a relatively small cup. So, boy did it look like it would taste nice… Maybe if he inched just a little closer…

But before Asher could get close enough to take a bite, Gaia summoned another odd person to banish the lovely water away. Too bad. Asher slumped a little in disappointment. Face looking a little drawn, Asher gave Mai a sheepish smile. “That was really cool Mai! But maybe we should listen to Ms. Gaia and not cast magic inside the bar? Your water looked really tasty though, maybe later you can let me have a bite if you don’t mind!” The young man chirps at the little girl, patting her on the head. Then he looks over to Victoria after a moment, trying to distract himself from staring at Gaia as she read his precious letter. “This bar seems to get a lock of action huh? Is it usually like this? That would be pretty neat!” he chirps at her, trying to start a conversation. It was really great to be around people again, let alone such friendly people!

Nodding along to whatever their reply was, Asher suddenly snaps to attention before he can reply, looking at Gaia as she put away the letter. “Um. So. Uh, what was in it?” He was feeling very nervous, and the strain was really starting to get to him now that he was near the end. He could have read the letter himself; it wasn’t magically sealed or anything, but his grandfather specifically said he couldn’t. And Asher wanted to respect his last wishes.

To everyone that had heard him talk and emote the last few minutes, the way Asher’s face paled and went blank at Gaia’s words were worrying. There was nothing inherently upsetting about them, but as he processed Gaia’s kind and welcoming words, the fact that he was really alone in the world finally hit him. His only family had died, his teacher was nowhere to be found, his parents were both absent and his old village only wanted him to leave. And the fact that this woman, who was smiling so kindly at him and speaking nicer than really most people had ever spoken to him (his grandfather and teacher were very rough people, and the villagers overall disliked him), welcomed him into their guild despite the fact he was basically a total stranger? And how nice Victoria and Mai were to him as well. Why were they being so nice to him? It was too much, and Asher felt tears begin to roll down his face. He just stared at Gaia in complete shock as he began to cry, before he gave a full-body shudder and turn his face to the ground, screwing it up to try to stop the tears. When that only seemed to make them worse and make his nose leak snot, he began scrubbing his face on the back of his arm. Which didn’t work because, armour, but dammit his was embarrassing, Asher was an adult bawling in a bar over some nice words!

Rubbing his face a bit more Asher rapidly breathed in a few shuddering breathes and said “S-sorry I- I’m sorry, I’m fine, really. Sorry.” He reassured them. Gah, crying in front of all these people, his grandfather and teacher would never have let him live it down. He then took a moment, eye squeezed shut, to make a decision. It was a quick and rather obvious one. Taking one last breath Asher looked up with Gaia, and with a watery smile alongside bright grateful eyes, he says. “Yes. I would be honoured to join Sabertooth. Thank you.”

WC: 924
TWC: 3048

Things happened so fast that Victoria did not even pretend to understand what was going on anymore. The goat chick named Capricorn showed up, then a white and purple dragon chick named Harmony showed up out of nowhere, and finally Gaia threatened to tell Luna that Mai was using magic in buildings even though Luna had expressly forbidden it. Things went from strange to tragic when the brunette saw Asher visibly have to try and control his emotions when Gaia mentioned that someone close to her had died. Victoria was not sure who exactly it was, so she just kept quiet and let Gaia and Asher talk about it while she focused on Mai, who had walked over to her and had begun tugging on her clothing.

Victoria turned her attention from Asher and Gaia to Mai, who was apologizing to the brunette for calling her a "meanie" during the events from earlier.

Victoria was not too upset about being called a name. She had been called much, much worse during her days as a kid on the streets of Capital Crocus. What had annoyed Victoria the most about the whole "magic in the building" thing was the nonchalance Mai had displayed over the possibility of leveling the building and hurting everyone inside of it. Mai acted like it was all a big game, but Victoria did not see the potential destruction of her second job and the harming of innocent people as amusing.

"It's OK, Mai. Just listen to Luna and Gaia and don't cast your magic inside buildings." Victoria said to Mai. The brunette was not one to hold a grudge. Mai's "plan" to cast the spell had not actually succeeded, so the brunette could let this particular incident go. Victoria hoped that this would not become a recurring thing because dealing with each and every potential "Act of Mai" was nerve-wracking.

The brunette turned her attention from Mai to Asher, who had indicated that he was going to join Sabertooth. Victoria was pleased by this news. Asher was more than a little excitable and appeared to wear his heart on his sleeve, but he seemed to be a good guy. Victoria hoped that he would find whatever he was looking for in Sabertooth.

Victoria looked around her and was glad to see that Red Dragon Inn was still standing and that no one had gotten hurt. The site of her second job and the place where she tended to eat frequently was still intact. That was all possible thanks to the swift and decisive intervention of Gaia when Victoria needed help the most.

[Post Word Count: 436]
[Victoria's Word Count: 2,614]

Victoria was glad that the latest potential "Act of Mai" did not come to pass. Thanks to Gaia's swift intervention, the Red Dragon Inn was still standing. All the patrons and staff of the inn were alive as well. Victoria took a deep breath and sighed with relief as Gaia stamped Asher, making him an official member of Sabertooth. Victoria then frowned when Mai suddenly jumped on Asher and did her best to drag him to the ground while shouting about magic and how she was hungry. She then quickly jumped off of Asher and pulled out a bag of chocolate candy.

The brunette had finally relaxed when Mai's hand brushed against her own and left a mess of wet chocolate. Mai then wandered off, leaving Victoria to fume and briskly walk to the inn's restroom in order to wash the wet chocolate off of her hands. After a minute or two of washing Victoria returned with clean hands to see that not much had changed between the time Mai had wiped her hands on her hand and the blonde wandering off after leaving yet another mess for the brunette to deal with. Now the small blonde was petitioning Gaia for permission to use just enough magic to "blow Imai up."

Since Gaia was now here to take care of things like Mai's requests to be permitted to use magic to attack Guild Aces, Victoria kept her mouth shut and thought about Mai.

Why did Mai seem to make it her mission in life to destroy Red Dragon Inn?

Why was she so obsessed with trying to kill Imai?

And did the small blonde know that attacking or killing Guild Aces could result in expulsion from Sabertooth?

Then Victoria realized that Mai probably did not care about small details like that. It did not seem like Mai cared about much in this world aside from candy, trying to attack/kill Imai, magic, and Luna Mira. Mai quickly moved on to another interesting train of thought, one involving Gaia's summon Capricorn. The small blonde exclaimed that "Goat Lady" was Imai because Mai had never seen Imai and Capricorn in the same place at the same time. Victoria was rendered speechless by that interesting leap of logic.

Not wasting any time, Mai immediately petitioned Gaia to get rid of "Goat Lady" before the summon somehow took over the world. Victoria found that possibility to be very unlikely. For one thing, Gaia was in control of Capricorn. For another thing, Gaia was a kind and morally upstanding mage who would never consider world conquest.

Not waiting to hear Gaia's response, Mai then pulled up a floorboard and pulled out a hitherto unseen broadsword that was taller than Mai herself. Mai then pointed the broadsword at Capricorn and Gaia before ending on Victoria. Mai had interesting things to say to each person, but what Mai had said to Victoria was very interesting.

"And thanks for the sword! It's really fun to use!" Mai said to Victoria. Victoria's face turned red from the awkwardness of the situation and her facial expression changed to one of shock and awkwardness. Victoria then looked towards Gaia.

She was sure that Gaia was not happy about hearing Mai's remark. She was also sure that Gaia would be wanting an explanation as to how a broadsword and nasal helm had ended up under the floorboard of the inn. Those were not put there by Victoria, but she had to sell Gaia on her innocence.

"Um, Gaia... I can explain." Victoria started off hesitantly. Victoria was not sure how Gaia was going to take Mai having access to weapons, so the brunette's explanation had to be a good one.

"That broadsword and that helmet aren't mine. The only physical weapons I own are a Silver Dagger and a baton and I keep both in a safe place when they're not in use." Victoria pleaded her case. She was a Requip mage... her bread and butter were firearms and explosive weapons. She did not own a broadsword nor a helmet, just a Silver Dagger and her Azure Armor.

"Plus I didn't even know that the floorboard could be moved like that." Victoria added another claim to bolster her defense. She truthfully did not know there was a hiding space for equipment until today when Mai pulled out the weapon and helmet.

While waiting for Gaia's response Victoria watched the fully equipped Mai charge off on a "crusade" to eliminate Imai. If Gaia was looking closely enough, she would notice that Victoria's facial expression was a mix of "I'm not getting paid enough for this" and "Why is this happening to me?" Victoria was also worried about the reactions of Luna and Kenna once they learned that Victoria had supposedly supplied Mai with a real weapon for her half-baked "crusade" to get rid of Imai. The brunette was not looking forward to explaining to them what had happened today.

Why was this happening to her?

[Post Word Count: 834]
[Victoria's Word Count: 3,448]