Old Ashes, New Embers

Traveling from the coastal town of Cedar gave Terumi a lot of time to flesh out her thoughts and think things through. It was also her own way of trying her convictions with the test of time. A decision often seemed like a good idea when emotions were hot and the action was fresh, but what would be left after many days? This was what had inspired her hike across almost half of Fiore. It would also enable her to have a feel of the country for herself, and perhaps do a good deed or two on her way. She had spent close to a year in her homeland of Midi, but she had been restless there. More and more, she had experienced the growing niggling thought that her past was going to drop on her unawares, and she was in no mood for unpleasant surprises. Thus, she had decided to take the incentive and begin to make some plans. And those plans led her to Fiore.

A few months after she had met the friendly Nita and listened to the soothsayer's predictions, she had tried, to know avail, to determine what would end in ash. So far, she could not think of anything beyond widespread destruction, something she knew she was very capable of. And widespread destruction was never good. Or, to be fair, she didn't know of any event where it was good. Already, her past had been checkered by the ashes of a community destroyed, and while she could not remember the details, she had been accused of slaughtering the entire village, burning them all to ash and bones. Just like she had burned her own mother to death. These events were enough for her to conclude that she was a bad person, but a certain mentor (who had inspired her superhero antics) had told her to make restitution, forgive herself and look to the future. The first was really difficult, because those to whom she was supposed to pay penance were either cremated corpses or had a "kill on sight" bounty on her head.

Those two terrible events that colored her past in ashy grime did leave her with a few questions. In both cases, she had no memories of these sins. She could only rely on what she was told by a third party... and interestingly, that third party was always from the same source. Having improved and advanced her magic, she had come to a conclusion, as her magic could reveal the secrets of the past: whether the stories told her were true or false, she would discover what had really transpired for herself. And if it was truth, that she had killed her mother and destroyed that village, perhaps she would take her own life, if the memories were too grievous for her to bear. But first, she had to locate the places where these events had transpired.

And that was what had informed her decision to join Sabertooth. She liked to tell herself that that Light Guild had interests and values similar to her own, and that she had always wanted to be a protector of Earthland, but every now and then, she couldn't help feel guilty that she might be using them for her own ends. She was resolved that she would play everything by the book, and not break any rules, so perhaps she was not so selfish, after all. Joining a guild was a give-and-take sort of thing: you gave them your loyalty and your skills, and they helped you fulfil your reason for joining. Her journey had given her enough time to test her convictions, and as it neared its end, she was sure that she was making the right choice. Well, time would prove her wrong or right.

Terumi was impressed with what she saw as she approached the town known as the Ace of Spades. It was a flourishing establishment, with lots of people bustling about. Pulling out a map, she identified the name she was after: the Red Dragon Inn. From what she'd heard, it was a regular haunt of Sabertooth members. Hopefully, she would be able to meet up with one of the mages responsible for enlistment, or even an Ace, or better yet, a Guildmaster, and be accepted into the guild. She had no idea what the entrance interview would be like, and as different ideas of what she would be expected to do flitted through her mind, she pushed open the doors of the inn and stepped inside.

She relished the cool interior as she made her way to the bar. Dressed in a cropped, sort-sleeved T shirt, hiker's shorts and backpacking boots, with a large knapsack on her back, it was very obvious she was a traveler. She slipped the bag off her bag and let it rest against the bar, and sat on a stool just as the barkeep turned to her.

"What will it be, lady?"

"Water. Cold as you can afford."

The barkeep gave her a slightly odd look, but complied. Obviously, he wasn't used to people asking for water at the bar, when there was an assortment of drinks less prosaic. He paused. "We do have flavored mineral water, you know? Just saying..." Terumi smiled slightly. "Very well. Mineral water it shall be." As he searched out her order, she decided to start her investigations.

"Do Sabertooth folk come here often?"

He glanced at her, then turned back to the shelf. "Yeah, they do. Looking for someone in particular?" He slid over a chilled plastic bottle. She shrugged in reply. "Not really. I'm interested in the guild, though."

"Stick around a while, then. One of them might show up pretty soon."

"Sure, thanks."

As she sipped the refreshing drink, she let her eyes wander around the somewhat rowdy hall. If Sabertooth owned this guild, this was a good business venture for them. Quite practical to not focus solely on guild contracts as a source of income.

This looked like a nice place. Wouldn't be bad to call it home.

Morning flights had always been her favorite. With wings of her own they had been marvelous already, letting the wind just carry you around, but on dragonback, now that was something else entirely. With Astaroth having reached an agreeable size to ride for longer amounts of time, Kenna had found herself waking up before sunrise quite often for flights such as these, so she could watch the sunset from atop the clouds. To bask in the sun’s first rays had become a peculiar way of training as well, for these first rays held more intensity than those that came after, for they had to banish the dark and make way for light. That, and perhaps she just enjoyed the view and the warmth they granted her.

Today had been no different, rising early, when the shadows still lurked among the mighty tree. She’d let Itori know she’d just be going out for a ride, do some light training to start the day, but that she’d be back soon. It was something she’d come to say more often, ever since finding herself becoming more distant in her worries. It was not what she wished for but rather an old defensive mechanism– she didn’t want to worry others with what irked her, but only worsened that by choosing solitude over companionship. The demon queen knew that her partner was one of eternal patience, who granted her that respite yet would call her back when things escalated too far. Kenna was a lucky one to have found such a companion to spend her life with, and once it had dawned upon her how she had been acting, how it must have seemed to the all-knowing Tenko, she had promised herself to change that. Sometimes it were but little things, but they counted nonetheless.

Even now, though quite some time had passed since the rising of the sun, Kenna still found herself perched upon Astaroth’s back, high above Ace of Spades, having soared the skies of Sabertooth’s hometown and the area surrounding it for a good few hours. Not in idle lounging, however. In a way to make her basics become second nature once again, she’d resorted to following the flow of motions, performing stances and movements similar to Astaroth’s as he swirled through the sky. To strengthen her core, to synchronize their minds and think as one, for the demoness had to learn she would not be fighting her battles alone. She knew she could depend on the lung dragon bonded to her, that it would move and fight as her mind saw fit, but to truly move as one, and to become two halves of the same entity when she tapped into her powers as a Riyenas…. she still needed practice in that regard.

But no matter how hard and rigourous one’s training was, nor how gentle and refined, there’d always come a time where one needed to take a break and rest up. Which was the reason why Kenna gently tapped the dragon’s side, motioning for him to start descending towards the city below. Gently Astaroth would follow the winds, like a leaf twirling down. With the streets decently busy, Astaroth let his Riyenas get off on a nearby rooftop before shifting back into the form of a small dragon, hardly the size of a large lizard, and twisted itself around the demoness’ neck, letting out a content sigh. It left the demoness with a gentle smile as she scratched its head and leapt off the roof, gracefully touching ground on the cobblestone streets a good 10 meters below.

Straightening herself and adjusting her clothes a bit, having forgone showing her horns for the day and just remaining in her human form, Kenna entered the Red Dragon Inn. Despite her casual attire, consisting of a white, sleeveless top, black pants and brown, laced combat boots, Kenna seemed that bit more than the usual adventurer, in part due to the large scar on her neck and shoulder, which was only partially hidden by the chibified lung dragon draped around it. Yet the smile she carried was more akin to what one might call goofy as she waved at the bartender, who promptly pulled up a drink for the white-haired woman. Kenna settled at the bar as well, leaning on the counter as friendly banter continued between her and the bartender. Eventually the dark-haired man would politely gesture at the newcomer, after which golden eyes curiously regarded Terumi. Kenna would give her a friendly wave before grabbing her drink and getting up, moving closer to the green-haired visitor.

”My apologies for the sudden intrusion, miss, but Will over there just mentioned you were interested in Sabertooth?” she’d ask in a friendly voice, waiting for any kind of confirmation. ”If you’re truly interested in our guild, I’d gladly be of service to you, and answer any questions you may have.” Kenna smiled gently, showing the golden guildmark of Sabertooth on her forearm, before continuing with an introduction. ”I promise you, you won’t find any better source of information than one of its own guild masters! Kenna Terrynhain, at your service. Who may I have the honor of dealing with?”



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Looking over her shoulder at everyone who came into the Red Dragon Inn eventually began to threaten Terumi with a strained neck. She would have to choose between facing the bar and guessing the contents of each of the bottles and flasks that had been neatly arranged on the shelves, or finding a way to observe the comings-in and goings-out of the tavern's patrons in a more comfortable state. She considered finding a vacant table, but what with the fame of this tavern, that would be a tall order. Most people were in companies, and she did not know whether opting to join a group of people at their table would not be considered rude. Besides, even though she did not act like it often, Terumi was a very shy individual. Just walking up to people to socialize with them often took effort, even though she had mastered the art of not bungling through an introduction clumsily... at least, that was what she kept telling herself.

After a bit of thought, Terumi swiveled round on her stool, so that she was facing the rest of the inn, and her back was to the bar. She idly thought of how unwise that position would be for a spymaster, who courted death by assassination at almost every turn, but she was no spymaster, and currently, she could not think of anyone who would want to assassinate her. With a quiet chuckle to herself, she swept the thoughts of intrigues, spies and daggers in the dark away, as she focused more on observing the colorful patrons of the tavern. She was not at the center of the bar, but a couple of seats off to the right, from the point of view of one entering the inn through its doors. It was a good position, she thought, because while she could watch people to her heart's content, she was not smack dab in everybody's field of vision. And still, it would be easy for someone to notice her, which was what she was hoping for... not just anyone, mind, but a member of the guild that ran this place.

After some moments of entertaining herself by watching people while sipping on her drink, a woman stepped into the room. She was the kind of person that one would not forget in a hurry, because the first thing Terumi observed was the little dragon wrapped snugly around her neck. That was rather cute, Terumi thought, even if, on a good day, she hardly found most reptiles cute. The next thing she noticed was the scar. From its position, a point on the body where such a wound would be most likely fatal, she concluded that she was looking at a seasoned combatant, or even if not seasoned, possessing a power that was worthy of respect. Even though her body did not bear any, Terumi knew enough about scars to know that deep wounds were what left visible scars. Perhaps this woman was an immortal, who was very difficult, or even impossible to kill?

A sudden jolt of realization caused her purple eyes to dart up to the woman's face. Staring at a lady's torso for a protracted amount of time almost always looked like one was gawking at her chest. She had been actually pondering on the scar, and did not have any untoward thoughts, but a scenario like this could be easily misunderstood. Fortunately, the woman did not seem to notice, and went on to greet the bartender very cordially. She was obviously a regular, here. Despite the scar, and the golden eyes, the woman was rather pretty. "Unnatural" eye colors, as someone once said, tended to freak most people out, but her eyes did nothing to detract from her comeliness. And while Terumi had a hunch that this lady might be a Sabertooth member (because of her familiarity with the barkeep), she allowed her gaze to drift away from her and settle on another portion of the room. Staring was not a good habit.

Something (most likely that feeling you get when someone is looking at you) caused Terumi to look around, and she noticed that the golden-eyed woman was watching her with an air of interest. Then the woman smiled at her and waved, and Terumi returned the gesture with a smile of her own. It was nice to see that the woman seemed friendly enough. A moment later, she came over to Terumi. She started with an apology for "intrusion"; she was a polite person, and Terumi naturally liked courteous people. Even if she was not from Sabertooth, talking with this lady would not be an unwelcome event. She glanced over at Will, the barkeep, when the woman stated that he had told her of Terumi's interest. She nodded in reply, keeping her excitement down.

This lady was a member of Sabertooth... or at least, even if she wasn't, she most definitely had a connection with the guild; otherwise, Terumi's inquiries should not have concerned her.

Terumi noticed the guild mark just as the woman showed it, but her mouth almost dropped open when she introduced herself. One of the guild masters! This was indeed a serendipitous event. Terumi virtually jumped off the stool, and gave a formal bow. "Pleased to meet you, Terrynhain-sama. I am Yamadera Terumi, and the honor is all mine." A guild master was master for various reasons, and power was just a part of it. Terumi was the kind of person who accorded honor to whom it was due.

Even though Kenna already knew that she was interested in the guild, she did not want to just jump straight to her reason for seeking this place out. "If it is not a bother, Terrynhain-sama, I would like to know more about Sabertooth's ideals and principles."

She had heard that Sabertooth was Earthland's defense against otherworldly entities, but what tenets did the guild abide by. She felt it was prudent to first discover whether the guild's values were in agreement with hers. Different guilds had different modi operandi, after all. If Kenna's answers were satisfactory, she would then make her request.