Welcome the Dogs (Valéry's Intro)

The exterior might’ve looked shabby, yes… but it was meant to somewhat resemble the old guild hall, from the time before the darkening of the guild’s name and Kanix’ disappearance. While it looked that retro from the outside, the inside would be a pleasant surprise for anyone; left side hosted a fancy bar, giving off the wrong impression of this guild as some kind of nightclub, and the right side looked far more recognizable for mages belonging to an official guild – what, with its Task Desk stamped with a few quests available.

The scarce amount of requests was an illusion. It looked like the guild wasn’t heavily called upon by the population, but truth be told, they kind of just completed the quests too fast and too frequently for the Task Board to ever get the chance to fill itself up. A lot of that work, obviously, went to the main responsible for the sorting of those quests – that being the Taskmaster.

However, that wasn’t the focus of today. Today, the focus laid upon the sparkling gentleman who decided to give the guild a visit. As a matter of fact, the mocha-skinned bartender had already prepared a soft drink and bonked it on the bar table, soft but loud enough to draw in the guest’s attention without saying a single word. It was on the house – he was a new guest, after all.

A new glass of breezing-cold cider was prepared afterwards, but it wasn’t for Valéry. It was for the Guildmaster who appeared to just spawn onto the bar stool in front of his readied drink, faster than the eye could track. Ain’t letting anyone get between him and his treasured Apple Time. “*sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurk* A-Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… right on time, Adam. Really flushes your mind there,” Mura thanked the hardworking bartender wholeheartedly, appearing as if his life was on the line if not for the cup of juice. That was when the bartender twirled his finger to notify Mura that an important guest was in the room now, to which Mura turned around and eyed them up and down, convincing himself something…

“… I-I know you. I’ve seen you before- w-wait, where are my manners- uh, hold up,” the Master apologized profusely while wiping a little fur off of his robes. It was a little embarrassing, especially since the tall chad in front of him was dressed so… presently. He looked like he had his entire life under complete control.

While it was questionable that the fancy lad with the long fur coat could see them, Kyuken was trying to pet the dalmatian’s chin with his ghostly ghost hand… which would prove rather impossible without Mura’s magic to solidify his form. “Hello, my little friend~! Aren’t you just adorable? Such a good boy, yeeeees, yeeees, you’re such a good bo-boy… y-yes… uh… it’s not working…” Heavy sobbing followed afterwards from Kyuken, the samurai ghost and Mura’s oldest friend in this guild. In the meantime, Mura somewhat made himself look presentable enough to look the tall guest in the eyes again and offer his true greeting: “So, uh… welcome to the guild, sir. Fairy Tail’s 8th Master, at your service.”

WC: 528
Thread TWC: 907

Adam simply nodded, allowing the stylish gentleman to enjoy the drink laid in front of him – on the house, of course, since this unique character was new here. Mura, on the other hand, didn’t catch the way Valéry was glancing over him like that – at first, he just assumed that this must’ve been, perhaps, something the tall tailor was used to… meeting a Wizard Saint, that was. Then again, those eyes felt like they were examinating him, a feeling the Guildmaster hadn’t felt since he still looked like a preteen.

His name was pronounced with a strange wave, but it was Valéry Phacelia… ohhhhh, yeah! Mura had read about his brand, C.J. Renard, Men’s Attire. This was back when Mythica wanted to help find him a wedding suit, so that was a handful months… perhaps a year ago, yeah. Speaking of attire, he even offered to help the shaman with his own, which honestly came from the side to him. He had just received this wonderful scarf from his father, though…

W-Wha- rags? Oh c’mon! At this point, Mura’s eyes were blank with confusion, kind of thrown aside by the guest’s remark… not exactly what he prepared for. Even his fancy canine looked like it was judging him hard. His outfit wasn’t that rag-like! It was cool and high-class back in Midi… okay, maybe some of the robes were worn out, but MURA WAS A FAIRY TAIL MAGE! HE WAS DOING SHIT EVERY DAY!

His confusion was pushed away by the guest’s proper introduction – Valéry Phacelia from Napedia, a country Mura unfortunately had very little intel on. However, hearing about how Valéry had heard of Fairy Tail and grew interest in them brought a warm smile to his face. He really wanted to join the guild… but it required dedication. Mura had to make sure that potential members just had that installed in them; a certain level of dedication… wait…

That was it!

“… Stand still,” he warned Valéry before widening his eyes up. From the tailor’s perspective, one could’ve sworn that Mura’s eyes glew a bluish flame for a brief moment before fading back to normal. “You’re good at suppressing your Magic, but I can tell that you’re experienced in using it. Good, good, you got baggage with you… now, this can’t come as a surprise, but becoming a member of any guild demands that you show dedication. I have to tell you that your entire life might change from the moment the Crest is painted on you… we have quite our own baggage that you might put up on your shoulders, too. You have to come to terms with that, even if it takes a while…” Mura was being serious; after the events of Elysium’s attack, the Border War between Pergrande and Bellum as well as the fear of the witch from Shirotsume visiting his guild when he least expected it, he couldn’t have anyone risk more than what they were able to.

On that note, however…

“… A-Also, my ‘rags’ are fine. They may be worn out, b-but I’m a busy man… hmpff…” A little pout at the end symbolized Mura’s annoyance.

WC: 525
TWC: 1999

As dedicated to Fairy Tail as he was to his business… yeah, that could work. Valéry looked sharpened, self-taught perhaps, and also rather self-disciplined in comparison to many around the guild. Someone with the expertise in business, commercials and branding… reminded the saddened Guildmaster of an old friend of his. Her name, too, was carved onto the Mourning Tablet in Tenrou Island, having been missing in action for years… just like many others. A terrifying detriment that the Guildmaster sought with the best of his abilities to eliminate.

He was pulled back into reality with the word ‘rags’ again, tilting his head in a slight look of discomfort. They might’ve looked and been rags, yes, but… there were feelings in these robes. Couldn’t Mura just get off with, y’know, renovating his outfit? He… he didn’t need to change outfit completely, r-right?

“… Mhmmmmmmmmmnnnnnnnnnnnnng, okay, sure, fine, I’ll try,” he gave in at the end, deciding to take up on Valéry’s offer for a new suit for the Guildmaster of Fairy Tail – even with the bill in the tailor’s hands, “… W-What kind of suit are you thinking of? Uhm…” Pulling at his haori, Mura clung to the comfort that these robes gave him – sometimes, for a seasoned warrior, your choice of outfit held a huge and mental package to you.

WC: 220
TWC: 2521