A walk in the park (Open to Timmir and 1 other)

"Piss off freak!" said a man as Artemis was pushed to the ground. She landed on her butt with a slight wham. Her loose fitting clothes falling to the side, exposing her shoulder. The end of a scar could be seen right above the shirt collar. Some tears formed in her eyes as the man and his friends walked off laughing. She just wanted some food really. She never had much in terms of money and at this point was completely broke. She forced herself back up and tried wiping the tears away from her face, only to sniff and have them replaced. Why did people always have to be rude to her? Her ears, tails and yes where usually what people constantly pointed out. And if it wasn't that, it was her hair color. It probably wouldn't be so bad if other actually tried to stop the people from picking on her.

Artemis walked back to her backpack which was sitting on a near by park bench. She pulled her shirt back over her shoulder and opened the backpack. She pulled out a half eaten apple-flavored granola bar and started to eat it. Well it was all she had left and she was hungry, might as well eat something. Artemis looked around the park. She figured it could be worse, it was at least a nice day.

"Ooh, are you a wolf too?" said a mysterious voice from behind the bench. "My name is Kaseki, some call me the plant man. It's funny actually, I'm actually more wolf than plant when you come down to it, just my skin is from the IronBark tree." The eerie figure smiled. He wore his dark obsidian cloak, it seemed to soak up the sun's light. His hands looked like they were wooden, that is, if tree's were black and were metallic. "Now usually I'm here trying to find those that hide in the shadows for my friends, but you seem to hide within the light, why is that?" Kaseki always had an interest in the unknown. It didn't matter if it could kill him. He wanted to know.

Today was proving to be a decently good day. As Malm walked through the park, he looked at all the different plants and flowers that lined the park. It had been awhile since the young mage had seen such a variety of colors. Still, not all seemed to be at peace.

While Malm was walking through the park, he heard a man close by yelling profanity at someone. He looked over at that direction to see a strange looking woman on the ground with men walking away from her towards his direction. Malm stepped out of the path of the walking men, watching them as they walked past. People like them just made Malm feel sick, yet he saw little point starting something with them. Instead, he turned back towards the woman to see that she was now sitting at a bench, eating something.

Malm began walking towards her to see if she needed any help, but stopped as he noticed someone else approach her. This new man seemed strange... Well... Stranger then normal, but Malm couldn't tell exactly why from the distance he was from. Yet that didn't matter much as he knew it was his duty to make sure she was alright. It was a gentleman would do afterall.

"Excuse me milady. I apologize for intruding, but I saw what those men did and wanted to make sure you were okay." He said as he approached the wolf eared woman. He then gave the other man a passing glance, now noticing his wood-like skin. Well this wasn't exactly going to be the normal day in the park like he was expecting it to be.

Artemis let out a high pitched eep as she jumped. The granola bar she was holding feel on the ground and Artemis look down sadly at the remains of the granola bar, which was now being attacked by birds. She got slightly teary eyed and turned her attention to the man that scared her, that look more like a plant then anything else.

"W-Why would you do that." said Artemis shakily. Her ears went back and she sounded like she was about to cry again. But she seemed to be fairly unphased by the man's strange skin. Today just wasn't her day it seemed, first those men bullied her and now she was out of food. When the other man approached her she thought her day was about to get even worse and she got even more teary eyed. But then the man asked if she was ok.

"I-I'm fine..." said Artemis, sounding a bit surprised.She wasn't used to someone actually asking how she was.

"I-I'm used to it by now... although I no longer have any food..." said Artemis, looking down at the Granola bar on the ground.

Kaseki saw the rectangular food drop to the ground. "Rectangle? All I have are circles... No one likes circles but me... wait..." Kaseki thought to himself, "She's a wolf, I'm part wolf, maybe she likes circles!" Kaseki quickly reached down into his pocket. He pulled out two pinecones, one red, one green. He looked at them for a few moments before discarding them. He then pulled out a large chocolate chip cookie. It seemed to be 6 inches wide. He extended his gift to the girl.

"Would you like a cookie? My friend got it for me, but she says she doesn't want another cookie. Would you like it? It should be fresh." He smiled as he held out the cookie. "Please do not cry, sadness and anger awakens the..." he leaned in and whispered to her, "The demon." He tone went back to the way it was as he continued. "So please, don't cry. There is always a reason to be happy."

The hooded man smiled at the girl, as well as the man.

Malm frowned a bit as he heard talk. While she claimed that she was fine, she sounded depressed. It seemed that she had just dropped what little remained of her food. He looked over at the other man who was offering her a cookie, and while the offer was ice, he doubted it would be enough for the girl. It was the thought that counted though.

As he thought about the situation, he sighed as an idea came to his head. One that he admittedly wasn't a particular fan of.

"Well I can't just leave a young woman like yourself in this state. How about this? I believe there's a market place that isn't to far away from here. I could escort you there and make sure nobody tries to mess with you like that." Malm offered, though he had a feeling the woman would just pass it down. It wasn't exactly a normal thing for someone to offer to someone they just met. Still he wanted to at least try to help the woman in anyway he can.

Artemis looked at the cookie and her eyes watered more, although this time she seemed more happy. She snatched the cookie out of the plant man's hand and devoured it. With in the matter of seconds the cookie was gone and Artemis' stomach rumbled. She sighed, she just made herself more hungry. It had been awhile since she ate anything decent. Although she shifted away from the plant man uneasily when he mentioned the demon, whatever that was. But he quickly snapped back to being cheery and told her to cheer up and that was a reason to be happy.

"Oh... i-it's ok." said Artemis, sounding a bit said at the offer off an escort to the market district.

"Like I said, I'm used to it by now... beside most of my money got stolen a while back and I don't have anymore. B-but it's ok, I'm used to going a few days with out eating." said Artemis, trying to assure the two that she was perfectly alright.

Kaseki frowned. "This girl seems to have a dark past much like I... I HAVE A SOLUTION." Kaseki heard her stomach growl. He smiled once more. He reached into his cloak and make a few cracking sounds. He pulled his hand out to reveal three apples. "Now look.. I know it's kinda weird, but remember, I am a tree... thing." He offered the fruits to the man and the girl.

"What are your names anyway?" he asked, "Surely you two are mages, you must belong to somewhere." Kaseki placed the fruits on the bench, close to Artemis. He rolled up his left sleeve to reveal a Lamia Scale tattoo. "This was my past. I was a hero once." He let his sleeve fall and his lifted his left sleeve. He revealed another tattoo. It was a skull. "Then I joined Savage Skull, the darkest guild in Fiore." He dropped his sleeve once more. "Just because I am a Dark Mage, does not make me evil, no. You see, I joined for the half of my soul that urges to kill. This was something that a hero should not have, so I left. However, In my heart I regret it all... For I miss that marble palace. It was full of heroes and heroes to be. But that is my past. I made great friends there and I still talk to them." Kaseki glanced over to the faces of the two. They seemed lost. He then knew they were guildless. "Ha, but those aren't the only two places I know of. I know of every place, for I have met mages from all of them. Go on, as me a question! Haha!"

Malm frowned as the woman claimed she was use to this. While she may be trying to tell them that she was alright, Malm didn't see it that way. Something like this wasn't anything to get use to, and the fact that someone stole her money was downright despicable. Malm really wished right now that he could think of something to say that would make the woman feel better about herself.

Then the strange wood-like man offered each of them an apple. "Uhh... Thanks." Malm said as he took one of the apples. He chose not to eat it quite yet as he inspected it. This was the first time he ever gotten fruit from some kind of sentient plant man, and he was curious about it.

Malm continued to listen to the man as he talked. With him sure now that the apple was genuine, the plant mage was prepared to take a bite to see how it taste. However, he stopped himself as the man claimed he was a part of a dark guild. Worrying thoughts ran through his head as he looked at the wizard in front of him. While he claimed to not be evil, just about anybody in the treeman's position would say the same thing. Still... He didn't have to share the fact that he was a part of a dark guild, and could of tricked them into thinking he was still apart of Lamia Scale. So that deserved to at least hear him out, right?

Malm took a small, but clear step away from the man. "I'm sorry, but you must understand that I would have some distrust towards you after what you just revealed. So, for now, I'm choosing not to share my name with you. Especially seeing how you have yet to share yours." He said in a calm voice.

"I do have to ask though. What makes you assume that either of us are mages? It seems to be a bit of an assumption to make if your just guessing." Malm then asked curiously, still trying to figure out if he could trust this man or not.

Artemis quickly snatched the apple and took a bit out of it, to hungry to even think where it came from. She smiled and she chewed on it. The apple itself was very sweet, sweeter then any she ever tasted.

"Artemis." said Artemis, happily munching on the apple. Although she slowed down a bit and placed the apple to the side when Kaseki mentioned he was a dark mage. She scooted away from the plant man, although she knew if it turned to combat she would surrender. Artemis' mind wandered back to the apple. Yes, it was the best apple she ever tasted. But was it a normal apple? What if there was something wrong with it. Although thinking about food made Artemis' stomach growl again. She was really really hungry, and she didn't exactly fall over dead. Her hand began to go back to pick up the apple but she pulled it away. What if this is what the plant man wanted? Maybe the apples where meant to make you addicted to them. Artemis became to shift nervously, she wasn't good around people to begin with but now it would be obvious.

Kaseki's eyes begun to twitch, then he spoke in a lower, hostile tone. "You fools don't understand this fool, do you?" said the plant. "Kodai..." Kaseki tried to speak, but his voice was now confined to his own mind. "I told him to kill the girl, an easy target. Then after we would have taken her soul and absorbed her power. But no, Kaseki always insists on being the hero." Kodai continued, "You give a moment, I'll execute you both. Actually, start running. It's more fun when you run." The horrid voice spoke, however it seemed to be not in control of the body. The hands begun to weave and move like the waves of the ocean. A familiar liquid to the girl seemed to ooze from the mage's skin. It was amber colored, and had a smell...

The liquid seeped out and, with the aid of the hands, seemed to float to the lips of the madman. Kaseki's body closed its' eyes as if it was a painful drink. He held his fist to his forehead, as if to use it to support him. He looked back up at his company. He took a step back, still holding the liquid in the air.

"I'm sorry...Please don't be afraid.. You see... That is why I had to leave the side of the heroes for the darkest guild in Fiore." The smell of the amber liquid. It was apparent... it was rum. "My name... Is Kaseki. Please, you have nothing to fear from me. I wish only to help. You see, this drink, this poisonous liquid that the humans drink in those... taverns, it is the drink that silences my demon." Tears seemed to form in the eyes of the mage. "Please, I mean no harm... I just want to help you."

He took another step back. "Artemis... If you and... Kaseki looked at the man, "...Melm? Would like a drink... I... I ... will give you some." Kaseki let his tears run like a river down his face. "Please do not fight me, I do not like fighting.. I'm sorry about my.. demon." He tried to smile. "...And and... i know mages when I see them... You both will be great heroes one day... I once was on that road... But then he happened to me... Please don't be afraid."

Lineage:

Water Abosorbtion:

Water Push:

Malm hated to admit it, but the split personality had caught him off guard. His free hand hovered over the sword on his hip, but he refused to draw it. While this man was mad, Malm had reason to believe this was the other half of the man's soul he was talking about earlier. So there was still a good chance he could talk him out of this. Though that seems it wouldn't be necessary as the man seemed to have overcome his other half through the use of some kind of dark liquid.

The man then apologize and informed Malm that his name was Kaseki. He then went on to request that they don't be afraid of him, stating that liquor from the taverns seem to have the ability to quell his evil half. Malm didn't knew if he should believe the man, but could tell his words were at least earnest.

"Well as long as you keep that demon silent, and don't try anything, I'll trust you." Malm told the man, "The name's Malm, by the way." He then added out of politeness.

The man then went on to offer them a drink of the liquor. Malm raised an eyebrow in slight annoyance as the man mispronounced his name, though didn't say or do anything about it. It also didn't help that the tree man was crying, wanting them to not be afraid of him. Yet he then claimed that he has seen many mages in his time and that's how he knew they were mages.

"Please calm down sir. I can't speak for the young lady here, but I won't be afraid as long as you give me nothing to fear." Malm told him before glancing at Artemis. He hoped that the wolf girl would agree with him.

"As for the liquor, I'll have to pass on that. A little to young for the stuff I'm afraid. Though I will say that you're right about me being a mage, and I am curious about what you know about the legal guilds." Malm then said as he crossed his arms, deciding it'd probably be best to change the subject.

Artemis inched to then edge of the bench when the plant man started to talk strange. Her ears went back again and her tail would go between her legs but since she was sitting it just laid really close to her left leg. But then a familiar smell her her nose. An amber liquid floated from the plant man's skin to his mouth. Artemis' nose twitched and she smelt the air, she reconfigured that smell.

The other two men introduced themselves. Kaseki was the name of the plant man and Malm was the other man who stuck up for her. But Artemis seemed to be in a different world. Her nose was twitching like crazy and if no one was looking at her it would seem like Artemis teleported next to Kaseki and was now invading his personal bubble. She was sniffing him all over. Her ears where still back but her tail was wagging like crazy.

Without much warning Artemis went to go bite down on Kaseki's arm with her slightly fanged teeth. Her eyes closed, tail wagging and a smile on her face to show she didn't have any animosity towards Kaseki. She just wanted delicious liquor that Kaseki smelt like and could apparently create out of no where. Alcohol always did seem to cheer her up too.

Kaseki's tears ceased. He looked at he girl who gnawed on his arm. He spoke to her,"Where I'm from, that is a marriage proposal. I highly doubt you want that." Kaseki touched his orb of rum and froze the outer layer. It was now a gallon sized ball of rum. He handed the thing to Artemis. "You... have fun, and get off my arm." Kaseki was glad that he didn't feel her there, after all, he was a type of tree.

He looked at Malm. "I can tell you what I know of the guilds. You see, there's simplicity in what they stand for. Lamia Scale is the guild where Heroes are forged. Sabertooth is those who are mad in achieving solutions to unsolvable problems. Blue Pegasus is a guild for the fun loving heroes, for they have many games and a beautiful hall. Fairy Tail is the guild of joy and happiness in the land of Fiore, as well as being the chaotic good. And Last, is Eclipse soul... Thelegal guild that not many truly know about. All I can tell you is that you have to be crazy to join, and even crazier to be accepted by them. Some of their members leave... They always leave stronger. He smiled. "But as for the Dark Guilds, that I'm sure you care not about... there is one truly neutral group. They call themselves, Dragon Fang. They are the truly mysterious 'guild' if you can call them that."

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OOC: It says "Melm" in the siggy. That's why I "mispronounced"

Spell Used:

Damage Not Done ^^

Well the wolf-eared woman seemed to have taken a sudden liking towards Kaseki. Or, at least, to the alcoholic beverage that Kaseki seemed to have summoned from his body as she happily bit down on his arm. Kaseki seemed to not be very phased by this as he made a remark how what she did was considered to be a marriage proposal. He then created a ball of frozen ale and gave it to the wolf girl. Yeah... Malm didn't find this scene strange. Nope, not at all.

Kaseki then went on to give Malm short explanations of each of the legal guilds that most people knew. There were a few guilds like Eclipse Soul and Dragon Fang that the young mage never heard about before, but from the sound of it, he wouldn't want to join either of those guilds. As for the others, Malm couldn't see him really fitting in any of the guilds. Though he guess that would be something hard to truly tell when your only given a short explanation of each.

"Well then. I'll keep all that in mind when I decide to join a guild." Malm said as he glanced over at the frozen ball of liquor, "So what type of magic do you use anyways? I'm guessing it has something to do with alcohol, or at least water." He then asked out of curiosity.

Artemis bear hugged the large frozen ball of rum, licking and biting it. She kind moved off to the side to make sure no one took the ball of alcohol. Maybe today wasn't so bad. She always felt better after drinking this stuff, well at least till the next day where she feels sluggish, but it usually wasn't something Artemis minded. Her life wasn't really worth getting annoyed over. After quite a while of ignoring the other two and drinking the rum, Artemis was wasted. She made a high pitched hiccup sound and look at the other two with glossed over eyes.

"It's hot!" slurred Artemis. Sweat, covering her body. It was a warm day outside but nothing that most people would call hot. But then again, she was drunk. She unbuttoned her top to try and cool off. She got up and swerved back over to the other pair, pushing herself onto the plant man and trying to bite down again, this time being a bit more forceful.

"Hey! Got anymore in there, I'm thirsty!~" slurred Artemis, barely keeping herself standing.

Kaseki observed the girl. He wasn't sure what to think. "She remind me... of... of her." he thought to himself. He remembered his lost love, a god who had been damned to walk the world of spirits, demoted in her own being. A god cursed with immortality. "Her teeth, he cares for them," he noticed, "Maybe she isn't that bad. I mean, I can get her more rum... I'm a plant, I'm sure I can ferment the water I collect."

He walked to the fountain, dragging the wolf girl behind him. He stuck his free arm into the body of water and begun to soak up another gallon of water. "Now Artemis, and Malm, why don't we do something, perhaps a mission or such. Then we can recover the lost funds of our..." he looked at the girl. She had a joyful look on her face, as if Kaseki's arm was a chew toy. "... friend. There we can get you two started on your path to being great mages."

He stopped talking to move his arm a bit. To his observation, the wolf girl would not let go... and from that angle, he could really see down her shirt. He blushed, (which is hard to notice when you're a metal tree) "Let's... um.. do something else?"

Well... It seemed Artemis had drank the alcohol orb in record time, and now seemed to be drunk because of it. Malm grimaced as he watched how the girl was acting. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to give her the ball of liquor in the first place. At least she seemed to be happy now, though Malm now felt pity for Kaseki as the girl chewed on his arm again. Malm sure was glad that he wasn't the tree man at this moment.

Malm followed the two as Kaseki dragged Artemis to a fountain. While he never got an answer to his earlier question, Malm guessed this was the cloest to a confirmation he was going to get. At least he now had a good idea that Kaseki used water magic, which meant if worse came to worse, Malm could probably handle him. Hopefully that won't become the case though.

Malm turned his head and paused as he thought about Kaseki's offer. "Well... I'm short on funds myself. It is actually part of the reason why I came to this town in the first place. Though..." Malm looked back towards the plant man and paused for a second, "Nevermind. Sure, I guess the three of us could on a mission together. It'd be nice to have the company to say the least. And you two certainly make interesting company."

Kaseki then said that they should go somewhere else. Malm looked confused for a moment as he rubbed the back of his head, ignorant of what Kaseki was looking at the moment. "Where do you have in mind?" He asked Kaseki as he glanced around his surroundings, wondering where they could go.

Artemis stuck to Kaseki's arm, holding tightly to her and still biting at it to try and get more liquor. Although she stay quite right up until the mention of a job. And then Artemis forced herself back up and started to sway over to Malm.

"I say this kid needs a drink. He looks like he needs one." slurred Artemis. She would attempt to lean on him with most of her weight so that she wouldn't fall over.

"Don't you agree Kas... Kasey... no that's not right... Kasemi? Who needs a job when you are happy?" slurred Artemis.

Kaseki knew the fate of his amber liquid. He knew he could not give more to his friend. "My dear, I have no more drink left for you. However, I do know of a tavern nearby."

He remembered his long walk from the Spooky Forest, where his tree resided. He remembered the people running from him in fear that he was his father. "No, please! Don't run! I'm not him... I'm not." They would run and scream, "QUICK, GET AWAY, IT'S DEATH!"

"No... I'm nothing like him..." he said weakly. "I'm nothing like him..."

He glanced over at Malm for a moment. "And I have not forgotten your question." He noticed the green stains on the man's fingertips. He smiled. His open palm in the fountain turned to a fist, and the water immediately froze. "Where I'm from, I'm called a Waterbender. In this world, you'll know me as a Cyromancer. I control liquids of all sorts, as well as the temperatures to freeze them."

He took a step aside and walked away. "TO THE TAVERN!"

((Uhh... Malm doesn't have green stains on his lips. They're only on his finger tips.))

Malm stumbled slightly as the girl suddenly leaned against him, It took him a second to regain his balance, but he managed to do so without much of a problem. Artemis seemed to want to get him drunk now, something which Malm disagreed with. He looked over at Kaseki in hope that the tree man could talk some sense to the girl. Unfortunately, right after he said that he didn't have anymore of the drink left, he mentioned he knew a tavern nearby.

Kaseki then explained that he's a waterbender/ cyromancer, someone who is able control liquids of anykind. He even gave Malm an example as he froze the water in the fountain. Malm grimace slightly at the sight. That was likely to do some damage to the fountain. That's when Kaseki announce that they should now head to the tavern he had mentioned earlier.

"Uhh... I hate to be the stick in the mud, but perhaps that isn't such a good idea. The lady here is already drunk as it is, I don't think she needs any more. How much liquor was in that orb anyways?" Malm told Kaseki, trying to be the responsible one. He knew that Artemis would probably disagree with him, but he feared what would happen if she drank anymore.

"Oh Tarven." said the drunk Artemis, getting off of Malm and severing towards Kaseki again. Pressing herself on him and trying to get more booze from his skin.

"Do we have to go a tavern though? I'm broke and last time I had to take my clothes off to get free drinks. It's hot out here but not that hot!" said Artemis, her buttoned shirt barely staying on as it was. Artemis then tripped over something. What it was it wasn't very apparent. But since it was Artemis it was safe to assume she tripped over air. Either way she fell face first into the ground.

"Owie" said Artemis, still on the ground.

Kaseki picked his wolf-kin from the ground. "Second thought, let's get you home, wherever that may be..." he looked at the other man. "Let us get this girl somewhere safe." Kaseki looked around. "Forget this... I'm getting help."

A flash of light came from the frozen fountain. The light seemed to have magical properties since the ice melted back to water. A girl appeared above the fountain, holding a large bottle of something. "Kaseki, you called for..." the girl looked at his company. "Okay, I see a drunk, a mysterious man with a possible mysterious story... and you, Kaseki. Now, why did you want me to bring this?" He held up the dark violet bottle. It appeared to be over a gallon's worth. "This is for your magic practice right? Shall I take it to the Stump? I mean I have the wine waiting to be barreled there."

Image: The Girl:

Kaseki looked at his companion, "Xiaowei, assist me. We must get this girl somewhere safe. I doubt my TreeHouse is the best place..."

And so the man and girl had begun to help the wolf girl to walk.

"You two have her alright?" Malm asked as he saw the two helping the girl. He had no idea where the girl had come from, other then the fact she seemed to have teleported by magic. Yet he agreed with them that they needed to take the drunk wolf girl somewhere to rest.

Following them, Malm couldn't help, but think back to what Artemis had just said. Did she honestly did what she just said she did, or was she just in a drunken stupor? Malm didn't know, but he felt pity for the girl either way. There surely must be a better way for him to help her out then just this, but how?

"So... Uhh... Do either of you have any idea where exactly we are heading? I mean... I do believe there's a motel a couple blocks east from here." He mentioned to the two, trying to be of some assistance.

"You can just lay me by a tree~ And that's where I'll be.~" said a very drunk Artemis in a sing-song voice. She really had no were to go. She had been camping the last few days since she couldn't afford a inn. But with the help of Kaseki and Xiaowei, Artemis was able to actual to move some what.