Old flame, new guild

The sun hadn't quite set as the man approached the town. Wearing an outfit that consisted of a pair of black pants with a matching hooded longsleeved shirt and boots. A blue scarf wrappped around his neck with a matching mantle around his waist. The hood was pulled up concealing his familiar blue hair and red eyes which were fixed on the town he was looking to enter. "It's been a while" he would say as he looked over the familiar sight being that of the place that was his home for along time. He left only a few years ago but where he had been the time away felt much longer. Taking in a deep breath and releasing it in a loud sigh he would start walking towards the entrance of the Ace of Spades. As he traversed through the streets that were still very familiar to him as if he were here only yesterday, he couldn't help but be amused at how much had changed. He was well aware that he didn't need to really go anywhere specifically to get into the guild hall but this felt much more of an appropriate way to do it. His sense of smell wasn't as strong as it use to be but the scents of the various stores with food were welcome to say the least. Once he got things settled properly at Sabertooth he would have to swing by to see the owners.

After a little bit of walking The man would be standing in front of the familiar building where all who sought to join sabertooh would go. It was a building that had stood the test of time throughout all the time that Sabertooth had stood, The Red Dragon Inn. "Let's see if I still remember how to do this." He would look at his guild mark trying to get it to do what it was suppose to do. Like riding a bike he would let the guild mark take him to where the true guild hall stood tall in the form of the Yggdrasil. He would proceed as the space in front of him would rip open for him to step through and in between steps the ground would change from the roads he had been on to the structured floor of the Yggrasil with the massive tree looming over him. He would look up at the beautiful tree and give a whistle as his hood would fall back revealing his face and hair fully now, "It's good to be back" he would say out loud as if he were speaking to the tree directly. Just like that Kite the former demon of Sabertooth had returned home.

She'd been waiting. For years, until a sliver of the man had resurfaced in a new body, and eventually it had lead her to him in proper. They'd parted ways after their ordeal, and now, at long last, he'd returned. She could feel it in the essence of the skies, how that subtle vibrant flame betrayed his coming. Him, Kite Wilhelm, her former guild master and the man from which whom she had taken his mantle before he left on a soul-searching trip, never to return again. Until today. Kenna smiled knowingly as the magic present within Yggdrasil shivered, announcing the return of any which member bearing the mark of Sabertooth, yet she did not need to delve deeper to find out who it could have been. Her feet were faster in bringing herself to the lower levels, arriving only moments after the former Demon of Sabertooth had entered its halls, and there she halted, leaving the man to take in the very vestige he'd left in her hands all those years ago. A place many of them called home.

"It took you long enough, Kite Wilhelm!" Her voice echoed through the large halls as she grinned, crimson eyes excitedly gazing upon the dark-haired man as she made her way down the stairs of the floor above in an almost regal fashion. Both had changed, there was no denying that. It had been one thing to meet again in their dreamscape, in the void where he'd been stuck, but finding him within Sabertooth's halls, right in front of her… it made it all the more official. Before him now stood a proud woman, a demon queen unafraid of what she truly was, wielding flames just like her predecessor, carrying the true pride of Sabertooth's leadership. No longer the sniveling, scared whippersnapper she had once been when they first met. He had welcomed her in his ranks, and now it was her turn to welcome him back.

Her grinned had cracked into the brightest smile she could muster by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, and extended her hand to the former fire demon slayer the moment she got close enough. "It's my greatest pleasure to welcome you back," The white-haired demoness beamed, waiting for him to accept her hand. Yet the moment he'd take her hand she'd pull him into a tight hug, perhaps one with a tad bit too much strength in it. "... and I missed you so damn much…" her voice seemed to break for a second as she spoke those words, her face hidden behind her hair so none could see the small tear rolling down her face. She was truly happy on Kite returning, especially in these trying times. There were never too little people she could trust in such a way as she did him. A bond forged in fire and flame, even blood. When she let go, the guildmaster had composed herself anew, wiping away the excess of wetness glistening on her cheek. "You better not think about pulling that shit again, Kite, you hear me?" she chuckled softly. Just wait until Imai hears about this! He'd be psyched knowing Kite was back.


[534]

Wearing her blue Steel Matron t-shirt and black skirt with white tennis shoes, Victoria carried a half-empty bottle of Albino Gander vodka in her left hand. Roughly an hour ago the brunette had bought the bottle at Red Dragon Inn to celebrate a successful mission that involved going to Sombras Manor a few days ago with her old friend Abigail Windstrider and she had drank about half of it at the bar of Red Dragon Inn before leaving the inn to go back to the guild hall. Now she was going to go look at the job board and look for some more work so that she could make back the money she spent on the bottle and then some. Besides,

Victoria reached the lower levels of the guild hall and saw two people standing and facing one another. One of them was that Kenna chick who was the Guild Mistress. The other was some dude she had never seen before. He was wearing a dark outfit with dark boots and had blue hair. Victoria looked closer and noticed that it looked like that the mystery guy and Kenna knew each other.

Victoria did not know where they knew each other from, but she assumed that they were both members of Sabertooth long before the brunette showed up. The brunette thought back to when she joined the guild, which was a lifetime ago. Well, it had only been a couple of years, but to her it might as well have been a lifetime ago.

The brunette debated whether or not she should get involved here because Kenna and the dude knew each other and probably did not want some random chick hanging around while they had a heartfelt conversation. Maybe she should just go back to her room and finish the bottle of vodka in her hand. That might be a good idea.

Victoria turned to go back up the stairs when curiosity got the better of her and she turned back around to face the pair. She had to know who the guy was. She was probably going to regret getting involved in one way or another, but no one had ever accused Victoria of being smart.

"Hey Kenna, who's the dude you're hanging out with?" Victoria casually asked Kenna. Victoria had probably just killed whatever heartfelt moment the two were having before she showed up. That was not her intention, but that was likely what she had done just by showing up.

Oh well.

If they wanted her to leave, all they had to do was tell her and she would be happy to go on her way and leave them in peace.

[Post Word Count: 446]
[Victoria's Word Count: 446]

Kite’s eyes never broke from the massive tree that he was standing under. It was a one of the many sights that he never thought he would see again. His time isolated in the void where the flow of time seemed endless was the place where he would remain for the rest of his life and he was once fine with that but things we different now. He had left Sabertooth to do his own soul searching after the failures of his past caught up to him but with this new lease on life he was able to truly see the beauty of the tree that had grown during his time as the Guild Master.

His concentration was so focused on the tree itself that he didn't maintain awareness of his immediate surroundings. Being the first time in what felt like years that he could just lower his guard like that. That being the case he hadn't noticed that some one very important had not only taken notice of his arrival but that she had already began her approach towards him standing at the bottom of the large stair case that lead into the upper levels . The sound of her voice resonated enough to make him look in the direction it had come from. His eyes darted immediately where Kenna stood pointing out that it had taken him long enough. He wasn't too sure what that was directed towards his return to the guild from when he had initially left the guild or that amount of time it had taken for him to get back to the guild after what took place in the void. The events that would usher in his ability to return home. In either case is was her and he couldn't help but smirk at the comment with a little shrug, "What can I say? I took some extra time to smell the roses since I can actually smell them again." His words would be followed with a small little chuckle. The smirk would slowly fade into a slightly more humble smile. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

He couldn't help but note the smile that she had on her face. When he had first crossed paths with Kenne she had gone by the name Ageha. She was in opposition to Kite and was absolutely terrified of flames but here she was, owning her fears and flames all the while being so close to the former Demon Slayer that she was his first pick to lead the guild in his stead. They have had quite the adventure up until this point and he couldn't have asked for anyone better to greet him first. Once she closed the distance between them, in a surprisingly formal manner she offered him her hand for a hand shake and with it being her greatest pleasure welcomed him back. He reached for her hand to accept and return the shake, "and It's my greatest pl.... gah." he wouldn't get another word out as he was pulled into a tight hug with her declaring that she had missed him. He took note of how her voice broke a bit as she spoke so without finishing his sentence he returned the embrace by wrapping his arms around her back. Once the duration of the hug had run its course and she broke away to compose herself he would grin, "Man I gotta watch out for those  surprise hugs. Might squeeze me right back into the void." he would wink. His suspicion would be confirmed that she had indeed cried a bit but he could tell these were tears of joy so he didn't look to make a big deal about them but he was given what he would consider the first ever order from his guild Mistress to never pull that sort of stunt again. "Don't worry. I am home Kenna." his voice would ring with his resolve.

The heartfelt reunion at home would soon have an unexpected but not an uninvited guest in the form of a young woman with brunette colored hair dressed rather simply and yet in her own style. However despite the simple look he could tell she was a mage with some serious power, it would seem that Sabertooth wasn't slacking in their powerhouses and this excited him. "Hey there. The name is Kite Wilhelm but you can just call me Kite like everyone else." He wasn't one for formalities, even when he was the Guild Master he often would request to not be called Master Kite but to no real avail. "I am a sorta an old hand around here but it's nice to meet you." He would offer her his hand to shake in greeting and would notice the bottle of Vodka in her hand. "Say, now that isn't such a bad idea. I might have to get one of those later."