Unexpected Opportunities

Saffron’s trips to Reinford were becoming much more frequent, lately. Over the last several months the city had been experiencing a small boom in the arts community, particularly with music. A lot of this was thanks in part to the growing guild called Confidence International, which was a group of all types of artists ranging from musicians and writers, to painters, dancers, culinarians, and everything in between. Frankly, Saffron was a little disappointed that they hadn’t already existed before she’d come to Fiore and joined Fairy Tail. In the choice between the two, she probably would have picked Confidence… but she had already grown attached to her current guild and the people she’d met there, so she resisted the urge to consider a transfer.

That wouldn’t stop her from enjoying the fruits of the guild’s labor, however. There was a store that had opened there not long ago called Carry A Tune, and Saffron had quickly come to understand that not only did the store owner know his stuff but he had a lot of connections that allowed him to get his hands on some rare pieces of stock from time to time. She’d chummed up to the guy rather quickly and always made it a point to make the drive out to Reinford when she needed new strings for her guitars or new sticks for her drums, even if there were stores closer to Magnolia, wanting her money to go to him and the rest of Confidence’s community.

The roar of her motorcycle preceded her arrival to the store as she sped down the streets of the city before pulling into the parking lot. Parking the bike, she strolled up to the entrance and opened it somewhat dramatically, pausing in the doorway for just a moment as she glanced around the room. Saffron was dressed in a cream colored top that hugged her tightly, her ample cleavage almost bursting out from it, though that wasn’t that uncommon considering she was more well endowed than most women. The shirt was barely longer than the black mini skirt beneath it, which was strapped to the stocking she wore under her thigh high black boots. A purple scarf or scrap of fabric hung from the back of the skirt, adding a pop of color to the attire, and there were big cream colored bows that were tied to the back of the boots. A brown leather jacket that was so short it was practically just sleeves and nothing else covered her arms, with a popped collar and a strap across her chest that gave the outfit a delightful boob-window effect. She wore fingerless black gloves, from which protruded one set of flesh digits and another set of yellow and black robotic ones, and a necklace with a purple gem hung from her neck.

“Ah, Miss Remington! I take it you got my message?”

A voice drew her attention to one side of the room where the store owner was approaching her, an older man that wasn’t quite on the verge of retirement but likely would be looking at it in a few years. Saffron grinned. “Got here as fast as I could.” Finally stepping inside and letting the door close behind her, she drew the dark aviator sunglasses from her face and hooked them on the front of her shirt. “Where is it?”

The owner chuckled and nodded toward one of the side rooms. “I set up a floor kit just for you. Figured you’d want to give it a feel.”

“Dimitri my man, you better watch out. You’re outshining every single one of my exes. You keep spoiling me like this and you’re gonna have a harder time getting rid of me than a crack dealer trying to shake an addict.”

Dimitri laughed outright at that, always tickled and humbled by the young woman’s playful, if innocent, flirtations. “I’ll be sure to notify my wife in advance so she’s not surprised when you show up, then. Go on, go give it a try. Everything you need is inside.”

Doing her best not to run, Saffron still practically trotted into the small practice room where a new drum kit had been set up. It was mostly a basic set with only one or two extra pieces, though the brand carried much more. The drum company itself was extremely high quality, a brand that most professional drummers used, and this was their newest model. Shutting the door behind her to muffle all the noise she was about to make, Saffron walked over to the kit and simply looked it over for a minute, getting down on a knee to run her fingers along the instrument and admire it up close. “Oh you are just downright sexy,” she informed the inanimate object.

Finally, she stood and went around to the stool, taking a seat behind the kit. She made a few adjustment to both the seat and the drum pieces, making sure everything was within reach, giving the bass drum and cymbals a practice kick or two with the pedestals. Then, she drew out a couple of the sticks and twirled one of them between the fingers of her robotic arm before getting to work, laying down a practiced beat that she occasionally broke up with a few quick spurts of solo drumming before going back to a steady rhythm. The blonde was almost off in her own little world, dancing in her seat a bit and bopping her head to the tempo she was laying down without really a care in the world as to who may be watching her.

In fact, at one point she glanced up through the window to see someone doing just that. She gave the stranger a cheeky, confident grin, giving him a single upward nod of her head as if to say “Sup?” before turning her attention back to her playing.

Saffron honestly hadn’t paid all that much attention to the due in the window, far too wrapped up in her own drumming world at that point to do more than acknowledge him with a grin before going back to what she was doing. However, he’d apparently taken it as an invitation to come into the store and listen more directly. She continued to slap away at the instrument, giving it a thorough testing, and it was only a minute or two later when the door to her practice room opened.

Her violet eyes flicked up briefly to look at the man as he lounged in the doorway and enjoyed the show. Saffron continued playing, not really caring enough to stop at that point and hey, if he liked her drumming enough that he wanted a better listen, that wasn’t really something that was going to bother her. Though his outfit was beyond distracting, and probably not for the reasons he thought it would be.

When she finally finished, she reached out and used her hands to quiet the still ringing cymbals. The man spoke up, complimenting her skill on the drums and asking if she was new in town. The look she gave him was a mixture of amusement and disbelief. “Because if I wasn’t, then clearly I’d have already had the pleasure of meeting you by now?” While the question was certainly innocent enough on the surface, it had carried a connotation that he knew everyone and thought himself rather popular. Saffron certainly wasn’t being mean or standoffish, but neither was she afraid to almost immediately call him on the undertones of his inquiry.

Ignoring his question for now, she sat back a little and looked at him, her arms crossed over her chest as her purple gaze took in his attire in full… though unlike most women, she didn’t seem to be checking him out, nor was there any sense of familiarity in her examination. Oh he was handsome, she’d give him that, but his attractiveness was lost on her in that moment. She raised a brow at him. “So did you have to kill an entire zoo’s worth of peacocks to make that jacket? It must have been expensive, seeing as you couldn’t afford a shirt to go with it.”

With a self amused snort, she looked away and pulled up the nearby catalog, flipping to the pages that listed all the individual pieces and item numbers for the drum model she’d just finished testing. Rolling back the sleeve on her synthetic arm, a holographic screen with a light based keyboard popped up, which she typed into with her organic hand as she made a list of all the pieces she planned on ordering. “I don’t live here, Heffner – I only shop here.”

He didn’t seem put off by her sass. If anything, it seemed to interest him not unlike how it had with Scourge upon their first meeting. He replied easily enough, claiming that he wouldn’t necessarily call it a pleasure to meet himself, as Dimitri would be the first to state that he was a bit of an ass. However, he supposedly was a regular at the store and hadn’t ever seen her there before, certain that he would have remembered someone with her drumming talent. It was a lot of buttering up, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t necessarily trying to pay her a genuine compliment, so Saffron chose not to say anything.

Instead, she looked him over and remarked upon the ridiculousness of his outfit. The man ran with it, claiming that the salesman had told him it was two zoos worth of peacocks, though he had removed the “gift wrapping” before he realized that it was part of the style. Her eyes were drawn down to her boots when he nodded, and despite herself she smirked. It was a good comeback. There weren’t many times when a guy was willing and able to dish her feistiness back to her, and more than half the time when they tried they weren’t very good at it. His retort was at least respectable, and she wasn’t afraid to express that it had genuinely amused her.

Saffron pulled out the catalog at that point, getting to work on the list of items she wanted to order from the kit as she explained that she wasn’t from Reinford and pretty much only came out here to do her musical shopping. The man heard what she had to say, but said that the floor model she had just played on was a custom high end model that was hard for most of the public to get their hands on. On top of that Dimitri wouldn’t let just anyone test out a kit like this, going out of his way to set it up for her and all. Supposedly, he’d been trying for some time to test a floor model guitar and hadn’t been allowed to, so as far as he could see she was clearly on the shop owner’s good side.

He asked if she played professionally, wondering if he’d have to put a shirt on to get any real answers out of her. “Oh no, please. No need to put yourself out on my account,” was the dry, if playful, response as she continued making her notes. But after a moment she elected to give him an answer, if only because she had nothing else to do while she was typing things down. “I guess that depends on your definition of ‘professionally’. If you mean do I get paid to play, the answer is no. Not usually, anyway. I’ll take an odd gig here and there with my guild if the opportunity arises, but mostly I just play because I enjoy it. Always liked music.”

Her list finished, she closed the catalog and dismissed her digital display for a moment, standing to her feet. “So, you supposed to be some hot shot or something around here? Or do those less-than-subtle chicks stalking you from the corner see something in all the pomp and circus feathers that I don’t?” Sure enough, there was a small handful of women poorly hiding behind a stand full of sheet music, half pretending to be browsing the rack but their eyes were more on him standing in the doorway than anything else, often leaning in and trying to use the books to hide their comments and giggles. “If you were, I’d assume Dimitri would let you play with the guitars. I mean, he lets me play them, and I’m a nobody.”

Saffron approached the door to leave the smaller room, not really concerned about whether he made any effort to step out of the way or not, even if it meant she had to slip past him. She did pause right next to him either way, looking right up at his face from only a handful of inches away. With a glimmer of mischief in her eyes, she pushed the catalog against his chest, not slapping him with it but definitely not being gentle about it either, holding it in place for a second as she smirked at him. “Maybe it’s one of those ‘no shoes, no shirt, no service’ things.”

Letting go of the book and leaving it up to him whether it fell or not, she meandered back into the main part of the store and over to the section with the drum accessories, idly browsing the wares as he presumably would follow to answer her question.

He was charming, she’d give him that. Granted he fucking knew he was charming, but that wasn’t always a turn off for Saffron. Case in point: Scourge. Not that she’d ever admit in a million years to Scourge’s face that he was charming, but that didn’t make it any less true, as much as she hated it. This guy gave off some similar energy, and while it certainly wasn’t doing anything to win her over, so to speak, it was at least enough to keep her attention. And he hadn’t made some passing stereotypical comment about her tits or her hair, so that was also refreshing.

The man gave her a dry remark about how he thought musicians didn’t like music, prompting the biggest of eye rolls from the blonde, though her smirk remained. She finished up her notes and stood to her feet, catching sight of the women on the other side of the store that were very clearly fawning over the man that was currently giving his attention to Saffron. It almost made Saffron roll her eyes again – she somehow always managed to attract the peacocks, almost literally in this man’s case – but she resisted for the moment, content enough to at least point it out, asking him if he was supposed to be some kind of big deal. He gave her a bit of a non-answer, claiming that he just had one of those faces that people often told him was familiar. Saffron snorted. “Racists,” she joked.

She moved past him through the doorway, pausing only long enough to give him a look as she pushed the catalog at him firmly enough to shove him back a bit against the threshold. He took great enjoyment out of the treatment and her sassy comment, giving her a grin that was wide enough to show teeth as he caught the book before it could fall. Then, she moved back out into the main part of the store and kept shopping.

He didn’t follow her right away, giving her a minute or two of privacy before he finally made his way back over to her. Saffron flicked her gaze up as he approached, shaking her head as if to say “this isn’t over yet?”, though by the entertained glimmer in her eyes she wasn’t truly all that put off by it. He made quite a show at being interested in anything but her, browsing through the book she’d assaulted him with as he casually mentioned that he was looking for a new drummer for his band. Apparently, they had lost theirs in some kind of tragic accident. However, they were holding auditions and he wanted to invite her to come… if only because it would give her a chance to get exposure to some real professionals, the ones that don’t like music. He told her everyone was invited, including nobodies.

“How charitable of you,” was the dry response, continuing to be amused but not impressed. “Is this the part where I’m supposed to ask what band you’re with, so you can casually slip me some big name that’s gonna shock me into being interested? I’ll do my best to humor you by pretending to be all humbled and flattered, but I’ll warn you in advance that my acting skills aren’t nearly as good as my percussion skills. I am sorry to hear about your drummer, though.” Her last sentence was genuine and sincere, lacking any of the playfulness that she’d had literally milliseconds before it. As sarcastic as she could be, Saffron absolutely had lines and didn’t want him to think her disrespectful toward his loss.

Finally, she sighed, her teasing mannerisms back up and running. Setting down the drum repair tool kit she had been inspecting, the blonde turned to face him fully, crossing her arms over her chest. “Alright then, let’s hear it: What’s your name, hot shot? Who do you play with?”

He thanked her for her kind words regarding their lost drummer, the only moment between them thus far that hadn’t been oozing with satire and banter. But the moment lastly only briefly before she was right back to her usual mannerisms, asking him with all the air of a woman that was simply humoring him who he was and what band he worked with. He didn’t even bother to look at her as he passed the torch right back, asking if this was where he was supposed to point out some display in the store or a magazine with his face on it, remarking that there simply wasn’t any fun in that.

Saffron audibly groaned with the tone of a woman that was sorry she’d asked, rolling her eyes again even as he closed the catalog and pulled a pen out of his pocket. She could only stare at him as he, rather rudely in her opinion, started writing on the face of the shop owner’s book, putting it down in front of her to show the address that he’d marked out for her. He told her the auditions were that Saturday at ten in the morning next to the headquarters for the Confidence International guild hall. He didn’t have any VIP passes however, so she’d have to take a number and wait her turn when she got there.

“Yeah, sure thing, buddy. I’ll get right on that.” She looked entirely unconvinced that this was anything even remotely legit. Saffron didn’t even bother picking up the catalog, simply continued to stare at him as he stepped back, pulling down his glasses to look her over… though in his defense it didn’t seem like he was checking her out, and the look on his face was more searching than anything else. He remarked that she looked familiar, earning a raised brow from her like he was trying some really awful pick up line. “Must be it.”

The look she gave him lasted until he turned to walk away, Saffron once more shaking her head incredulously before going back to minding her own business. “Fuckin’ weirdo,” she said to herself, softly enough that no one else would hear it. He bid Dimitri goodbye, giving the man a side hug even as the store owner insisted he wear a shirt next time. Saffron wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but both men were talking loud enough that the whole store would hear them so she didn’t bother suppressing her snort. Her gaze happened to flick up in time to catch the look Xavier gave her, a silent acknowledgement that she may have been right about the shirt thing, before he finally left.

A few minutes later, Saffron approached the counter with a couple of items in hand, including the catalog. Dimitri approached with a knowing grin. “He didn’t bother you too much, did he?” he asked as he started ringing up her purchases.

“Trust me, I’ve met worse. You can thank him for the vandalism, by the way.” She tossed the catalog on the counter without giving it another glance. Pulling up the holo on her arm, she flipped the screen so it was facing the shopkeeper. “Alright, here’s some SKU numbers so you can take all my money.”

“You got it, miss.” Saffron waited patiently as he put everything together, a brief moment of silence passing. Dimitri’s eyes glanced a couple of times from his work to the address on the catalog and up to her. “You gonna go?”

“Huh?” She looked at him in confusion, not sure what he was asking about until he indicated to the book again. “Pft, no. I ain’t got a clue who that guy is, and he didn’t seem inclined to give me any information about him or his ‘band’. For all I know this is a sex trafficking thing. He certainly dresses like the type.” It was clear that she didn’t truly believe he was a trafficker, but her point was valid enough: he was a stranger that had refused to give any information that she could research to make sure he was legit, so she simply wasn’t going to bother.

The comment earned a laugh from Dimitri. “Fair enough, I suppose.” He packed up all of her items and ran her purchase, handing her the receipt. “Alright, Miss Remington. I’ll call you when your set gets here. See you next week.”

“You’re the best, Dimitri.”

---

And that was where Saffron assumed the story would end. Yet a few days later, she found herself once more on her motorcycle, riding down the streets of Reinford toward the direction of the guildhall. Saffron truly hadn’t planned on coming there that day, and a part of her was still mildly annoyed that she was even doing it. She hadn’t even taken the address, content to leave it at the store.

So it was to her great surprise when she’d gotten home later that day, unpacking her purchases to find that Dimitri had slipped the catalog into her bag with everything else. “You little shit,” she’d said out loud to no one’s benefit but her own, hoping beyond hope that Dimitri could hear her despite the miles between them. She really should have just thrown the book away at that point, but she didn’t, and it wound up sitting there on her counter staring at her for the next few days. She honestly wasn’t even sure when she’d wound up changing her mind, but she did, and thus she found herself en route to the audition that Saturday morning.

The roar of her bike quieted as she slowed down to pull into the parking lot… only to find it filled, with a crowd of people making their way inside the facility. “Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me. I ain’t got time for this shit.” This was absolutely ridiculous. She was going to be here all day. Everything inside of her screamed to turn around and head back home before she wasted her entire afternoon, knowing the only thing that was going to come from any of this was that he was going to get the satisfaction of knowing she’d shown up, while they probably would wind up picking someone with more experience anyway.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat on her bike debating on what she was going to do, but a honk from a nearby lacrivehicle stirred her attention. “Yeah, yeah, bite me,” she told the driver before she pulled further into the parking lot and found a spot to stash her bike. Begrudgingly, she forced herself to go inside, her annoyance increasing at the noise level from the sheer number of people that were there, all of them talking and using every available fucking surface to practice their drumming.

Somehow she convinced herself to wait in line long enough to check in, giving her name and contact information to the woman at the desk. “Do I have to wait here, or can I wait somewhere else?”

“You don’t have to wait here I suppose, but if you aren’t here when we call for you, you’ll get pushed back to the end of the line.”

“Fair enough.” That would work for her. She wasn’t about to sit in here and make small chat with all these try-hards, so instead she went back outside and went to a coffee shop across the street.

A few hours later, after finding other things in town to occupy herself and pass the time, she finally returned back to the building to find it significantly less crowded and much quieter. There were still a decent handful of people there, but the vast majority had already come and gone. Finding a seat in the far back corner where there was as much distance as possible between herself and everyone else, she sprawled out on her seat and pulled up a show on her arm, ignoring everyone else and minding her own business while she waited for her name to be called.

Saffron wasn’t entirely sure how long she’d been waiting once she got back to the auditorium, but it wasn’t too terribly long. Sure by now she probably would have been done and could have gone home, but at this point it was the principle of the thing. Surely by now she had been called at least once if not more times and not shown. If he was going to make her go through all this, then she was going to make him wait. So she was content to go about her day, get some coffee, do a little shopping, enjoy a bit of the sunshine until finally the place wasn’t such a damn zoo and she could at least pass the time in relative peace with a flick on her mini television until the woman at the desk finally called her name.

The blonde got up at her own pace, rather than jumping to her feet like all the other fan boys and girls probably had throughout the day. With a stretch to loosen her muscles, she walked up to where the lady was waiting, and indicated for her to go inside. Saffron shoved her hands in her pockets and entered a room that was much smaller in comparison to the waiting hall, where the band was waiting for her. Her eyes went first to the man that she’d already met, peering at him with a look that… well, wasn’t anything close to the type of reception they’d gotten from literally everyone else that day. She wasn’t falling over herself with excitement, nor did she talk about being any kind of fan.

Her eyes didn’t linger on him for too long, flicking to the side to observe the other band mates. One was a man with long brown hair and tattoos, the other a fairly attractive woman with long purple hair and the strangest mutation to her earlobes that Saffron had ever seen. None of them really looked familiar to her. Without saying a word, she crossed her arms and looked back to the man that had invited her there as she waited almost expectantly for him to give some kind of introduction or instruction. He confirmed her name before gesturing to the drum set and inviting her to shoot her shot, still not giving any information as to who any of them were – which at this point it was likely everyone just assumed she already knew, seeing as how they were apparently a big deal.

Her purple eyes shifted over to the drum set, which was a fairly basic seven piece kit, if decent quality. “Funny,” she said, her first words spoken since entering the room. “I thought it’d be bigger.” With another look at her host to make sure he caught her jab, she made her way over to the drum set, taking off her bomber jacket along the way, revealing the top half of her overalls and freeing up both of her arms so she wouldn’t be restricted. Tossing the garment on the ground nearby she took a seat, taking a moment to get herself situated and make a few minor adjustments to make sure everything was secure and within reach.

Then she picked up the sticks, giving one final, unreadable look up at them as she twirled one of the sticks effortlessly around her fingers. Without any lead in or build up, she swiftly slapped the sticks down and started cranking out a full drum solo. The sticks were little more than blurs in the air as she rapidly maneuvered them across the skins and cymbals alike in a way that put what he’d seen her do at Carry A Tune to shame. She’d just been playing around and having fun at the shop – now, she wasn’t pulling any punches, showing off just how good she really was.

The solo went on for a solid two to three minutes, the fairy tail mage seamlessly switching between different beats and tempos without losing any energy through the entire display, and even performing a few tricks here and there with the sticks between her strikes. Saffron made sure to play plenty long enough for them to get a good feel for what she was capable of before finally coming to a halt. And as the cymbals settled and the roar of the drum faded, she did one thing that she imagined no other applicant had done that day: Crossing her arms, she looked over to the dark skinned man that had worked so hard to get her there… and tilted her head, nodding to the guitars that had been set up off to the side.

“Your turn, Heffner.”

Once again he’d find that the tone coming from her mouth didn’t quite reach the playful mischief in her eyes. Presuming there was a surprised response, or at least a surprised silence, she added, “You’ve heard me twice now. I dragged my ass out here against my better judgment – something you can thank Dimitri for, by the way – despite still having no idea who you are. And while it’s nice to see that you are actually capable of fully dressing yourself, I think I’d like some assurance that you were, at the very least, worth all the time it took out of my day to be here.”

A slight smirk tugged on her lips, and it would be very clear that she still well and truly had no idea who she was even auditioning for. Surely by now Saffron could have taken the time to look him up, but she had clearly and stubbornly gone out of her way not to, refusing to let him have the satisfaction of her curiosity.

Well, the other woman in the room appreciated her joke, at least. Not that her host hadn’t. She could see the slightest of smirks on his face betraying his humor, but it was subtle in comparison to the other woman quite literally choking on her water, spewing it out, and continuing to fight for air as she laughed outright. Then she took her time making herself comfortable and adjusting the kit so it was easier for her to play on before giving them one more look and cranking out a performance that was sure to blow them all away.

And it most certainly had. Or at least, for the other two bandmates who had both leaned forward to watch her in awe while the hot shot did his best at keeping a neutral expression. But that all changed when Saffron finished, bringing the beat to an end before calmly and casually looking up at her verbal sparring partner for the day and more or less demanding that he give her a performance. The request was made much to the delight of the other woman, who frankly was starting to remind Saffron of Mercury at this point because she was just absolutely eating up whatever energy was happening between her band mate and the auditioner, whirling on the other man to see how he would respond.

He didn’t right away, chocolate eyes meeting violet ones before he slowly smirk and agreed to her request, pushing himself up to stand. The brunette man, with an almost bored tone, voiced his confusion about who was supposed to be the one auditioning only for the woman to tell him to can it, much more interested in whatever was going down. For her part, Saffron continued to watch the target of her attitude expectantly as he selected a guitar, explaining that he was better at saxophone and singing than the stringed instrument. “I’m hearing a whole lot of excuses and not a lot of music,” she shot back.

At this point Saffron was more than certain that he was very, very good at what he did. The crowds that had shown up for this audition was more than enough evidence of that… but that wasn’t the point. This was a game, a challenge, a competition.. And if he didn’t step up, he would lose, and they both knew it. So he started off playing with a few simple but energetic strums to lead him into things, before his fingers slid down the neck of the guitar and started to quite literally shred on the strings and frets. Her gaze narrowed on him, one corner of her lip tugging up against the smirk she was fighting back.

But the moment he looked up and asked if she was just going to sit there, the smirk turned into a full, cheeky grin. Uncrossing her arms, she once more started twirling one of the sticks between her fingers. “Just being polite and letting you catch up to me so you can have a fighting chance.” By that point she’d heard enough of what he was playing to get an idea of the rough progression of the song, so she jumped right into a heavy beat, her sticks hitting the skins of the drum almost as quickly as he was tabbing the strings.

It wouldn’t take long for the other two members of the band to sense it was time for a jam, picking up their own instruments and filling the room with the sound of a fully realized band. It was a decently long song that lasted for several minute, Saffron fulling rocking out in her seat, banging her head as her luscious blonde hair whipped this way and that in perfect unison with her movement, far more caught up at that point in simply enjoying the experience rather than trying to engage in any unspoken competitions.

Finally, the song ended, and Saffron sat back in her seat a bit to give her host a long look of consideration. “I need you to understand that you aren’t nearly as cute as you think you are,” she informed him, talking more about his personality than his look, though that was certainly lumped into the tease as well. Then, she shook her head and smirked. “But at least you weren’t a complete waste of my time. You two, though,” she turned to the other man and woman, “You two were great. I can see why so many people were eager to line up for a shot. Been a while since I’ve had an honest jam. Thanks for humoring me.”

“So what's next? I go home and wait for a week or two for your agent to call me with a 'Thanks, but we've decided to go a different direction'?"

The man did his best to keep up the banter, claiming with a neutral shrug that it could be three weeks before she heard from them, and they’d possibly hold more auditions. That was as far as he got before the other woman stormed over and hit him on the shoulder, berating him and flinging Saffron’s own words upon him once more, just with more physical emphasis. The blonde was told to ignore the man, even as she instructed the other guy – Nik, apparently – to go make the announcement that auditions were over, seeing as how they’d found their drummer.

He went without complaint while Saffron slipped the sticks into the pouch of other sticks hanging from the kit, standing to her feet and coming out from behind the instrument. The grin was practically permanently plastered on her face as the purple haired woman continued to bear down on her host, seeing that he wanted to keep up the game but informing him that he’d lost, insisting he admit that he’d felt the energy. That, and apparently Saffron was going to sell due to how attractive and talented she was.

Well at least someone was excited. Not that Saffron wasn’t, but this chick was practically beside herself, pointing at Saffron and reiterating how valuable she was. Finally, some introductions were made, the bassist introducing herself as Emma and the other guitarist as Nikolas, the brunette giving her a wave and a short greeting as he came back into the room, giving her the band name of Delinquent Ward and causing Saffron’s brows to furrow slightly in recognition. Before she could put too much thought into the band’s name, Emma finally put a name to the man who’s identity had been withheld from her at the store several days prior: Trevor. Supposedly, not only was he the lead singer and guitarist, but also the guild master for Confidence International, causing Saffron’s gaze to narrow on him playfully.

From there, Emma declared that Saffron was now their drummer and it was time to go celebrate with drinks. She watched as Emma quite literally dragged Nik out of the room, giving a soft snort and a shake of her head. Then, she turned to look at Trevor as he took off the guitar to set it down, claiming Saffron was only half the drummer and that Dimitri was the other half. “I’d love to see you argue that with her,” Saffron retorted, nodding her head in the direction where Emma had left. “I was going to make you wait and tell you I’d think about it after you made an offer… but I get the feeling she’s as easy to argue with as it is to argue with me.”

Trevor smiled, a real expression and not a teasing one, approaching her and offering a hand to shake, introducing himself fully as Trevor Winters and informing her that he hadn’t been trying to pick her up the other day. Or at least, not for anything other than band work, stating that her playing at the store had been her real audition. But, he was glad that she hadn’t come to fawn like all the others, stating that they wanted someone who was more interested in the music than who they were playing with. That, and Dimitri had high standards so the fact that the store owner liked her as much as he did went a long way toward confirming that she was much more than just some “nobody.”

Saffron took his hand in her synthetic one, giving it a firm but friendly shake. “Honestly, the only thing I’m mad about at this point is that I do know who you guys are. Seen you perform, actually, while I was vacationing at that island resort you guys were at a few months back. Bought a CD and everything.” She chuckled with wry amusement. “Saffron Remington. I’m not some hot shot guild master or nothin’, but I am a mage with Fairy Tail – hope that’s okay. I love your concept with Confidence and if you had been around like a year or two ago I would have joined in a heartbeat, but I’m pretty well established with my guild and ain’t really looking to leave it.”

Presuming it wasn’t a problem that she wasn’t a member of his guild, she’d shove her hands in her pockets. “Well, I guess we’re going out for drinks. If you’re the boss, that means you’re paying, right? I just dropped more jewel than I care to admit on a brand new drum set, so good luck hazing me into buying the rounds.” She smirked up at him before turning to go pick up her jacket, flipping it back over her shoulder as the two of them made their way out of the room after the other band mates.

After a quick chat, she confirmed the game plan was to use the private lounge at his guild, if only so they could avoid having to fight off the general public. Saffron hopped on her motorcycle and moved it to the parking lot for the guild, which was right around the corner, before heading inside and following the other three to the lounge. It was a fairly ritzy looking joint, full of marble flooring and rich red carpeting, leather seats, and tapestries. Most of the furniture was dark wood with lots of ambient lighting, and of course a full wet bar.

They hung out for several hours getting to know one another a bit, during which time they’d at least learn that Saffron was an immigrant from Bosco, where she had formerly been a member of the military. She could tell that she and Emma were going to get along famously, and while it was evident that the bassist was extremely heterosexual, she didn’t seem to take offense to Saffron’s innocent flirtations. Nik was much quieter than his female counterpart, much more low energy but still very friendly and personable. All in all, it did seem like a good fit for her, which was good considering that Saffron knew quite well that a lot of people viewed her as… well, a lot. They discussed the band and the rehearsal and performance schedule, what plans they had coming up and the goals they were working toward, what sorts of projects they were working on, and really everything Saffron would need to get up to speed.

Finally, the other two guitarists were ready to call it a night, both of them taking their leave. Saffron gave them a wave and a smile, and it was just her and Trevor at that point. She slouched back in her seat a bit. “They seem like a lot of fun,” the blonde admitted to him, taking a swig from her beer bottle before turning her attention back to him with a smirk. “So, Trevor... you regret this decision yet?”

“Oh, now I get the VIP pass, huh?”

He agreed to her stipulation about the drinks, remarking that it only meant she owed him in the future, and then they were off to the guild hall. It was apparent that Saffron was with familiar company, finding herself getting along fairly quickly with all the members – even Trevor. Not that they hadn’t necessarily gotten along before now, but for the moment there was a lull in the intensity of their verbal sparring. As the other two left, she commented about them seeming like fun, a remark that Trevor was quick to double down on. He explained that Emma was very high energy and a bit of a spitfire, not unlike Saffron herself, keeping them pushed forward but also keeping them humble. Meanwhile, Nik was more than he appeared on the surface, the two guitarists balancing one another out.

Granted, that left Trevor himself without a tether, as he claimed that was now Saffron’s job seeing as he had a sneaking suspicion she was going to keep his ego from getting too big. The blonde could only offer him a wide, shit eating grin. “I do enjoy kicking people down a peg or four, keeping them down here in the muck with the rest of us nobodies.” She asked if he regretted his decision yet, and he admitted it was still too early to tell, saying he might not realize it until after he woke up in the morning. “Oh, that’s a promise, trust me,” she threatened playfully about running him ragged.

But after the teasing was over, he assured her he was confident she was a good fit for them, saying they all had their crazy quirks and she would just get to join the insanity, so to speak. After a moment, he added that he also recalled where he’d seen her from. He was suspicious when he’d heard her name called twice with no show, certain that it was her – a comment that earned him perhaps her biggest shit eating grin so far. Apparently he tried looking her up and found her associations with the Sorcerer’s Weekly magazine. “Oh shit, yeah.” She laughed lightly. “I didn’t even fucking think of that the other day. When you said I looked familiar I just thought you were trying some really lame pick up line on me. You’re the first person that’s ever mentioned recognizing me from it, honestly.”

She shrugged. The modeling was a lot of fun, and after the first time she’d done it she’d quickly started becoming a regular, something the blonde greatly enjoyed. But she wasn’t doing it for fame, Saffron simply enjoyed the opportunity to put on something pretty or sexy or fun and taking some photos. It was nice to feel like she was doing something exciting and feminine, and if other people got enjoyment out of it too, then why not? “Just don’t tell me if you’ve been keeping copies under your pillow; I don’t wanna know.”

Once more Saffron grinned, her teasing pretty much a near constant part of her personality and charm. Swirling the contents of her beer inside the bottle, she tilted her head at him. “So what’s your story, bud? I know your name, that you’re a guild master, run a band, and dress up like a sex trafficker when you talk to strange women at music stores, but that’s about it. You from around here?”

Saffron chuckled at his remark about a beach selection, Trevor voicing his surprise that she didn’t have men and women lining up for her autograph, despite not even knowing if she’d even done such shoots. “No so far. They do bikini spreads pretty frequently though. I haven’t done mine yet, but I know it’s on the docket; they discussed it with me after my last shoot.” She was down and fine with a bikini shoot, the blonde not even a little shy about her body. “Honestly, once they find out about this drummer thing, I won’t be surprised if they reach out to do a shoot with you guys, too. Or at least an interview. Look at me: part of the band for not even a full day and I’m already lining up interviews for us. Guess I’m not a total nobody.”

She grinned over at him as he assured her that he did not, in fact, have any of her spreads tucked under his pillow. He had just picked up a copy out of curiosity and remembered seeing her in it, claiming that he was good with faces. But, he also pointed out, buying full magazines these days was a bit archaic, seeing as how he could just download the editions straight to his iLac. “Fair enough,” was her only comment, conceding to his logic.

Electing for a change in topic, she asked him about himself, looking to expand on what little knowledge she’d pick up during her brief exposure to him. Once more she’d taken the opportunity to jab at his outfit from the prior day, and without missing a beat he informed her that he only wore that get up when ‘tending to his finest hoes’. Saffron had been mid-sip when she fully choked on the beer, spraying the amber liquid out from her lips in a fine mist. She did her best to turn her face away so that it didn’t hit him fully, but chances were high that at least some of it got on him. She continued to cough and laugh simultaneously, pounding on her chest with her synthetic arm in an attempt to dislodge some of the liquid in her throat. “Fuck..!”

He had gotten her good with that one, and clearly she wasn’t afraid to show it, wiping the tears from her eyes as she finally started calming down and being able to breathe again. Then, he answered her prior question, explaining that he’d grown up in Reinford. Unfortunately, his mother had died when he was very young, and his father had followed suit a number of years later when he was a teenager. Apparently, his dad had given his life while trying to protect others during a dark mage attack, even though he hadn’t had magic himself. With both his parents dead and him still being rather young, he’d fallen off the grid for a while and wandered a bit, doing some squatting and picking up whatever jobs he could until he was able to get his hands on an instrument. As a result, he’d learned about his own magic and how it related to being able to play most all instruments with notable talent.

While Saffron certainly wasn’t giving him any sort of pitious look, her expression had softened a bit at the tale, once more showing that for all her teasing and playing she knew when to be serious. “Sorry to hear about your folks,” she told him honestly, not wanting to make a big deal out of something that he’d likely already had plenty of years to work past by this point, but still wanting to give her condolences. He continued, explaining that once he’d been able to make enough money he’d come back to Reinford and purchased this building, which had been dilapidated and condemned, pulling in some favors and getting the place fixed up. Between his friend with maker magic and the members that had shown up to join the guild and put the work in, they’d managed to really turn the place around and make some good money, which was more than evident from the lavish look of the lounge they were currently in.

He stood to get another drink, asking if she needed a refill and remarking that she may as well capitalize on the free drinks while she had the opportunity. “You trying to get me drunk or something?” She teased. “But yeah, I’ll take another. Sort of spit my last one all over the place. Come to think of it, might wanna grab some extra napkins, too.” Picking up a couple that were on the table already, she started wiping down any stray spots of beer spit that she could find off the table and bench seat. When he came back, she thanked him for the fresh bottle as well as the additional napkins, using the latter to make sure she’d cleaned everything off.

“Not that I want you to get too used to the idea of me complimenting you and all, but I’m glad to hear that you didn’t drown out of society. A lot of kids that lose their family like that don’t turn out so well. I have some experience with that. Not to your extent – my mother didn’t die, she just left us when my sister and I were real little. But I had some attitude problems for a long time after that, so… I can only imagine trying to pick up the pieces and take care of yourself after losing them both. Seems like you’ve managed to do pretty well for yourself, all things considered, so cheers to you.”

With a wry but genuine smirk, she held her bottle out to tap it against his own before taking a swig.

Saffron merely shook her head in amusement as he mentioned that if she could get drunk off four beers then that was her problem, not his. “Not helping with erasing the sex trafficker image,” she retorted playfully, even as she started wiping down the furniture around her. However, once he returned with more beer and napkins, she turned down her teasing for a moment to express her genuine – if begrudging – compliments toward how far he’d managed to bring himself despite the disadvantages life had given him. She had some experiences in a similar vein, if not quite the same, but she understood the kind of effect those traumas could have on a young mind, so despite herself she was impressed to see that he’d come out relatively well adjusted. At least, as far as she could tell from her limited exposure to him thus far.

He accepted her cheers with a small clink of their beers against one another, admitting that it had been a rough adjustment. He was angry for a long period of time, causing him to lash out and do a lot of things he didn’t look back on with any sense of pride, even if they were all out of a sense of survival. But eventually it had clicked that he was being an idiot, one that his parents wouldn’t be proud of, so he had been doing his best ever since to be better. “Yeah, I hear ya,” Saffron affirmed with a nod. He raised his glass to add to her toast, extending it to everyone who’d had to wade through the muck and come out alive on the other side. The blonde raised her glass again. “Here here..!”

They both took a long draw, Saffron smacking her lips in satisfaction as she pulled the bottle away from her lips. Her host elected to change gears then, asking her to confirm if she’d really thought he was trying to pick her up at Dimitri’s, wondering if she really thought his game was that good. “Pffft, hardly. I never said they were good attempts. I wasn’t kidding when I said I wasn’t even going to come today. I left that catalog you wrote the address on at the store, or at least I tried to; Dimitri shoved it in my bag when I wasn’t looking, the sneaky bastard. It didn’t really change my mind at first, but after a while I got to thinking and figured he likely wouldn’t have done that if you weren’t legit.”

“And I very nearly turned around and went home as soon as I pulled up and saw how many people were there to audition. I wasn’t about to sit there all day and get forced into conversation with a bunch of try-hards. So as soon as I realized that I didn’t have to stay, I left pretty much immediately after registering. Got myself a coffee, did some shopping at that little clothing outlet a few blocks down.” She gave him a cheeky grin. “All in all, it was a very productive day. Didn’t even come back until I saw most of the lacrivehicles were gone from the parking lot. I’d probably only been sitting in the lobby for an hour at most when they called my name.”

Saffron took another swig of her beer. “To go back to what you said before, though: yeah, I’ve been hit on by some real weird people in the past. I always attract the freaks, it feels like. The women aren’t usually too bad, probably because most women know what it feels like to be uncomfortably hit on by a stranger and try to be respectful about it… though there have certainly been some exceptions to that. The men, though… most of the time men view me as a challenge of some kind cause I’m confident and don’t act all demure or polite when someone makes an advance. They tend to take my lack of interest as an excuse to try harder.”

She rolled her eyes a bit. “It hasn’t been too bad since I came to Fiore, though. I’m an unknown here and it’s been nice. Unfortunately, I was a bit of.. I guess what you could call a pseudo-celebrity back home. The percentage of people in Bosco that have magic is so small that if you do have it, you’re instantly a big deal. Doesn’t even matter what kind of magic it is. The highest prestige you can earn over there is to become a member of the Magia Squad within the Defense Force, which I was being groomed for. Unfortunately at the time I knew I had magic but I had no idea what it was; my magic is pretty rare, and for a long time it was very dangerous because I had no one to properly train me with it or help me understand it. So while I never quite made it to the squad, I did a lot of missions with them and probably would have been recruited once I’d gained enough control over my abilities, and that was more than enough to attract all sorts of unwanted attention.”

“Fiore’s been a breath of fresh air by comparison, honestly. Every other asshole here has some kind of magic, so I don’t exactly stand out anymore. Plus I got hella fucking lucky and joined a guild with an Ace that recognized my magic and has been able to educate and train me so I’m not a danger to myself and society anymore. At least, not when I’m not trying to be.” Saffron shot him a devious smirk.

Saffron grimaced at the picture Trevor painted of being chained up at the whim of some fat slob. “Yeah, been there, done that, and while I know I would rock a metal bikini, that’s an experience I ain’t interested in repeating.” Well that was probably gonna leave some questions, but she pushed forward for now to continue answering his prior inquiry. She gave him the short and skinny of her experience as a mage in Bosco and how it had drawn more attention than she really cared for, resulting in some very odd and uncomfortable exchanges in the past with would-be suitors, or people just looking for a trophy bang.

He seemed to understand, knowing that a lot of men could be rather idiotic when it came to wooing women, and from the tone he seemed to include himself in that category. When she finally finished her tale, Trevor asked why she’d left Bosco in the first place, wondering if it had something to do with not making Magia. “That’s part of it, though not for the reasons you might think,” she told him, swallowing down another swill of beer before continuing. “I would have made the squad eventually. As erratic and dangerous as my magic is, it’s hella fucking useful in a fight. Energy Barbarian, as I’ve started calling it, let me absorb kinetic and magical energy from attacks and turn it into my own power. Basically, the more I get hit, the harder I hit back. Unfortunately, without proper training I used to get into positions where I couldn’t handle the amount of power that I was channeling if I was up against someone a lot stronger than me, and that had the potential to turn me into a nuke. I had quite a few accidents… but I was also ideal for frontline combat, if I could get it under control.”

“My last test was during the skirmish between Pergrande and Bellum, the border fights that preceded the war. My squad was being deployed to help protect the Bellum side of the border, but I was pulled out to join Magia squad behind enemy lines. While we were flying over to the drop zone, we passed a small containment of Pergrandian soldiers on their way to attack the border, so myself and another soldier dropped down to confront them first while the others went on. Unfortunately, there were a couple Paladins – elite Pergrandian soldiers that have abilities that Pergrande claims isn’t magic, but it definitely fucking is. Dangerous sons of bitches, and both of them singled me out. I should have died, but managed to get a lucky shot in before they could finish me off.”

“But, I did lose my arm.” Reaching over with her flesh hand, she popped the synthetic one off and waved her amputated nub a bit for emphasis. “Bastards didn’t like my combat bracers that I used as a weapon, so they cut off one of my arms entirely to incapacitate me. I was on leave for a couple months after that before they offered me an honorable discharge and some pretty but pointless medals, and I took it.” Saffron carefully shoved the robotic limb back on. “Sometime after that they also gifted me with this – some of the finest Bosco tech that at least allows me to live without a full disability. Took some adjusting, both physically and mentally, but honestly I’ve come to really love this thing. It’s way cooler and more useful than my other arm was.”

She grinned and took another drink. While the trauma of losing her arm had been rough, she’d managed to pull up her boot straps and work past it to the point where it didn’t really bother her anymore. “But at that point I was already out of the military and wasn’t interested in re-enlisting. Mix that with a desire to try and actually learn more about my magic and a psycho stalker ex that I was looking to put some distance between, and I basically realized my home country just didn’t have anything to offer me anymore. So, I packed up and moved out here to Fiore. There’s so many guilds and magic users out here that I figured even if no one knew what my magic was, maybe they could help me train it. Instead, I found someone that not only recognized my magic, but wields it himself. Or at least, a broader version of it. My magic is basically a smaller branch off of his Energy Monarch. I can’t do exactly what he does, nor can he do what I can, but the energy source and the way we channel ethernano is the same. So he’s been training me ever since. It’s hard being so far from my dad and my sister, but honestly leaving Bosco was the best decision I ever made. I don’t think I’d have ever come this far without Vandrad’s help, and being a guild mage is much more rewarding and much less restricting than being in the military.”

Despite the traumas that Saffron had endured, she wasn’t very shy about her story. There was no reason to be. She didn’t go into any gorey detail, as most people didn’t need or want to hear that, but she was comfortable talking about what happened to her without any pauses or emotional insecurities. So she gave him the rundown of what had brought her out to Fiore, and the rewards she had reaped when she’d gotten there, blissfully unaware of the deeper impact that it was having on the man across the table from her.

Trevor didn’t have too many words in response to the tale, not that anyone ever did. It was always a bit awkward to react to those kind of things and Saffron knew better than to think a person’s lack of dialogue meant they didn’t care. He acknowledge the struggle, which was all he really needed to do, and took it a step further to offer up another toast to Vandrad for the help he’d been; yet another toast that Saffron could get behind. With a wry smirk, she lifted up her own beer once more. “Yeah, he’s a stubborn bastard and a fucking hardass, but gods know anyone less than that would never be able to put up with my bullshit.” Her smirk widened to a grin and she took the drink, nodding in agreement as Trevor affirmed her stance about having more freedom now that she was out of the military.

He then moved on to talk a bit more about her magic, wondering if she bulked up or something. Not that she needed to, as she was already really fit, but there was a natural curiosity about her abilities that Saffron had encountered from many others before. Before she could answer, he also took a moment to express that he was glad she was there as well, happy to no longer have to host any auditions for drummers, as it seemed many were trying to get in Emma’s pants. Apparently Emma had quite the fanbase in women, and all of them were lined up for some severe disappointment. “Now that is a shame. She’s fine as fuck. But hey, everyone likes who they like. Can’t say I won’t hit on her from time to time, but I flirt with most women I meet, and I’m almost never trying to get anything out of it anyway.” Saffron was just a flirt in general, though even she would admit that she typically put most of her charm on women over men.

“To your question: Nah, I don’t usually bulk up as part of my magic. Usually most people can’t even tell I’m using it until they notice that I’m starting to get faster and hit harder. But I did learn recently that if I’m pushed far enough by a strong enough opponent, I can develop an aura of fire. It’s only happened once so far, and it was a bit of a life or death situation so I didn’t really notice it at the time, but my friend was there with me. He told me about it after I woke up a couple days later. Actually, that happened literally right before I saw you guys perform; we went to that resort to recover after that mission. Which, hilariously, is the same mission that I was referencing earlier about having already been dressed up as a slave; he and I went undercover for a few days to gather some intelligence and bust up a slave ring, passing ourselves off as merchandise.”

Recognizing she was getting off track, she brought the conversation back around. “But yeah, apparently my body started glowing and my hair turned into fire and shit. I wish I’d had a mirror, cause it sounds badass and I haven’t been able to recreate it yet. I don’t leave out the possibility that it could start to bulk me out eventually, though. Both of them are far more advanced than I am and take on different looking forms depending on how much energy they’re channeling. Usually it changes their hair and eye color, but sometimes they get more muscular. My hair hasn’t changed color, and my eyes change on their own independently of my magic anyway, but it’s possible that I just haven’t hit the right threshold of power to see similar effects as them.”

She shrugged. Both of them were older than her and had been training a lot longer than she had, so it was entirely possible that she’d unlock similar empowerments in the future. Lounging back a bit in her seat, Saffron gave him a nod, turning the conversation back around on him. “What about your magic? You said it helps you out with your music. How’s that work? Do you just like… pick up an instrument and automatically know what to do with it, even if you’ve never used it before or something? Cause that would be pretty badass.”