Irregular Weather Patterns (Closed)

Natalia sat staring off into oblivion from a street side table at a local cafe in Clover Town, a now rather cold cup of tea sitting in front of her for having sat there for so long. The day seemed rather gloomy, which apparently wasn't the norm for Clover this time of year. Flakes of snow were making this day rather weird for the residents of Clover as Natalia's mind wandered. She at last took a glance down at the half empty cold tea in front of her and a still whole cupcake sitting off to the side.

Up until this point Natalia was have a rough day, missed the last boat for the job was intended to take, she had scuffed her knee running to attempt and catch that boat and she had just let her tea get cold. Her mind continued to wander as she thought about how miserable a day she has had, her thoughts always came back to the peaceful snow of her home. Perhaps her memories were the soul cause of this irregular weather that so few here were used to, some might even guess that it was just another turn of bad like for Natalia today. Natalia however enjoys the snow, it helps calm her so others might say that today's snow might just be Natalia's own method of calming herself down.

Axel was walking around Clover Town in the peaceful cloudy weather. Axel did not mind the clouds, as he actually took interest in them. The way they could shape into pretty much anything, and how there were so many. Axel could not helping looking at the sight. "Meh, the clouds. Reminds me of when I faced a cloud-demon for territory in Sin. That damn demon. I wonder what he is doing today. Probably basking in his stupid clouds," said Ragna, the demon that resided in Axel's blade. "Did you win, or lose?" replied Axel. "I bailed. He was so annoying during the fight that I just let him keep the territory, than I killed other demons for there territory," replied Ragna, then he got quiet. After traveling around Clover Town, Axel noticed that the weather began to change. It was snowing throught half of the city, which Axel thought was extremely weird. It was not supposed to snow this time in the year. As Axel looked around the rest of the city to investigate, he noticed it was less populated than the drier parts of Clover. It seemed people were not ready for the cold. The only person in site was a girl Axel saw, sitting in the cafe, drinking something and eating a cupcake. Axel decided to walk toward the cafe and sit down next to the girl. He wondered why the cold did not bother her.

"Ummmm, hello miss. Do you mind telling me why you are drinking tea in a cafe when the weather is this abnormal? Shouldn't you be inside, having a cup of hot chocolate?" asked Axel. As he talked to the girl, he noticed she was quite beautiful, and she wore a white blouse with a skirt that was decorated with snoflakes, that matched her blue hair color. Axel had a hunch that she was making it snow due to her appearence, but he remembered a saying, "You can't judge a book by it's cover." Axel decided to just wait for her answer.

Natalia began to reach for her cupcake when she froze to the sound of a footsteps fallowed by the grinding of a chair against stone as someone took a seat next to her. She turned to face the young man who had taken a seat, he was tall and had an odd set of eyes. She blinked as he began asking a question, why was she outside in what most would perceive as miserable weather. The question brought her to the realization that she had caused it to snow again and she slightly blushed in embarrassment.

"I uh, don't mind the snow, I guess I just got used to it when I was at home. But I guess I kind of made it snow here today." She replied with small happy yet sad smile. "Can I ask who you are?" She proceeded to ask in an attempt to get the name of this stranger before her.

As the girl talked, Axel wasa little distracted by how cold it was. To think that one person could make it snow like this. Axel thought she was some type of snow mage, and it would not make sense if she wasn't. That, and she must have been a good one. Though he was a wind mage, Axel could not make super strong winds occur around him. Maybe it was just because he never had the thought to want to control nature itself. Now that he saw the power though, he felt like training the power right now. Of course, he couldn't since he wanted to stay and talk to this girl, whom he thought was beautiful. At the end of her reply, the girl asked who Axel was. That was a bad decision if all she wanted was his name.

"Well, I am Axel Rover, current Rune Knight and Wind Mage. I love reading books, and I keep morals in high regard. My favorite..." Axel said, than stopped. He did not wwant to use up all of his info in one reply this time. He wanted to stay at the cafe with the girl, so he couldn't talk for mintes on end at a time, or do anything to potentially bore her. "Heh.... well, what about you? I am sure your intro reply is a lot better than mines," Axel said, as he quieted down to hear the girl's reply.

Natalia thought for a moment about how she would reply to Axel's question, judging by the way he cut of introducing himself and by how much he had already said he liked to talk a lot. She smiled sweetly as she figured she might have a little bit of fun, a little fun wasn't too rude was it. She stood up took two steps back and bowed in a princess like manner or at least what she thought was a princess like manner. "My name is Natalia Wolf a Blizzard Mage and member of Blue Pegasus, a pleasure to meet you sir Axel Rover, Rune Knight of the Kingdom of Fiore." She finished introducing herself and retook her seat. She managed to maintain her smile for the duration though it slowly reduced itself back into a somewhat half smile half frown.

"So what brings you to Clover sir Rune Knight may I ask." She asked Axel in an attempt to be polite once more. She folded her hands over her lap and made eye contact with Axel with her soft icy blue eyes, and only for a moment did the snow seem to slow down before returning to its original rate.

As Axel told Natalia of himself, She got up from her seat, took two steps back and bowed loke a royal person would to others. Axel felt happy that she would bestow this honor on himself, but now he wondered if she was of a royal descent. Natalia told Axel that she was a member of the guild Blue Pegasus, and she was a Blizzard Mage. She then asked why Axel was in Clover Town.

"Well Natalia, today is my day off from Rune Knight business, so I thought I would visit this town. I knew this was the town of your guild, and wondered if I would meet a great mage from the guild. Of course, my wish came true, since you are right in front of me. I don't doubt how great a magic is such as Blizzard Magic. I am sure you will become legendary one day," replied Axel, attempting to compliment Natalia. Wind and Blizzard could make a good team, and Axel thought that hopefully the two could go on a job together one day.

"Well, now that I have answered you, tell me, do you come from a family of royalty? Surely that bow you did was as elegant as a princess herself," said Axel, attempting to be quite a flirter. He had so many rejections from other girls, Axel tried to improve himself. No talk of morals this time, just regular chat, and throwing in compliments now and then. It may seem like he is just saying compliments to be flirty, but Axel meant every one of them.

Natalia blushed as Axel proceeded to compliment her several times about her profession and her magic. She really wasn't that great, in truth she was only just a novice who was only just starting to develop. In fact even her grandmother who had taut her magic never even mastered Blizzard Magic to its fullest, something Natalia strove to surpass but maybe she would just become like her grandmother. Natalia shut out these thoughts in an instant, she vowed she would become a great mage and now she was about to vow to become a legendary one. She attempted to put on a bigger smile but the sorrow on the inside dampened it another half sad half happy smile.

"Thank you, I'm sure I wasn't that hard to find, after all the snowflakes give me away. Though I wouldn't be so sure about being a great mage, I am only just a novice and I can barely manage to use the snow correctly in the right situations, but I certainly will strive to improve." She tried to make her reply as polite as possible in an attempt to not hurt Axel's feelings. "As for my family, I don't really know. I had a father once but I can't really say much for my mother, I was actually raised by my grandmother who taut me how to use Magic. She said her smile seemed to disappear completely as she spoke. "So um... what about yourself?" She asked hoping to learn about Axel's own family.

Axel listened as Natalia told him she was not really that great a mage. Of course, everyone had to work to becoming a great mage, that Axel understood. He knew for sure Natalia would become one though, as all mages were capable of obtaining the status. Axel also listened to Natalia as she talked of her family. She never knew her mother or that was what she told Axel, and she had a father once, implying he was long gone. She told him that she lived with her grandmother, who taught her Blizzard Magic. Natalia then proceeded to ask Axel about his family. In the past, it would have been a touchy subject that Axel wished not to talk about, but as the days went by, Axel thought he needed to tell someone.

"Well, talking about my family is quite difficult. My mother taught me Wind Magic, then she unfortunately died when I was fourteen, which was a hard time for me. I had a father and two sisters, but my father died and my sisters are dead... to me anyway. I will never forgive them for what they did, tearing my father away from me. Joining the Rune Knights seemed like a good ideal after that, protecting the people of Fiore, and maybe saving others from a fate such as mines. I may not have a family, but I don't need one to fight for people," said Axel. He actually felt a bit relieved for telling Natalia his family situation. He put a smile on his face, removing the slight frown he had from telling his story.

"so anyway, why did you join Blue Pegasus? Have you made any bonds there yet?" asked Axel.

Natalia frown as Axel spoke about his past and family, it was very sad but at least he actually grew up with family. Natalia never knew her mother and her father disappeared at a young age, and she didn't quite have the heart to tell him that her grandmother wasn't actually related to her on either side of her family. She pulled the plate with the cupcake on it in front of her and was about ready to eat it, maybe it would make her feel better after talking about all this bad stuff. She decided against it, it would be rude otherwise so for now it will have to wait.

Natalia closed her eyes in thought after Axel asked his next question and tried to think of bonds she may or may not have, which weren't a whole lot besides Akeya who introduced her to the guild. She opened her eyes and resumed eye contact with Axel. "Not really, I haven't been a member very long. I don't really know why I chose Blue Pegasus but I think it was just the only guild that made sense at the time." She apparently had done her research into every guilds morals and guidelines to know that Blue Pegasus was the best fit.

A figure stumbled in through the door. It appeared eerie and possibly evil. From the eyes of the unknown some might call him Death, or the reaper. That was not who this man was, it was Kaseki, the Son of Death.

He came in wearing his night sky colored cloak, upon it was snowfall. He looked around the room as if he was lost. His eyes soon fell upon Axel and he smiled. He began to walk towards the couple. He extended his arm to the Rune Knight, "Axel, hello again." he uttered.

Then his glaze fell upon the girl, he bowed slightly as he said, "I am Kaseki, are you the one to create this wonderful snowstorm? Why I needed the Mana boost today..."

As Natalia answered Axel's question, he noticed someone coming towards them. This someone was dressed in black cloaks, and Axel swore he knew a person like that from somewhere. After the man extended his arm to Axel for a handshake, he knew who he was. It was Kaseki. He and Axel met at the phoenix mountains, and at first, Axel despised him for being a member of a dark guild, but then thought differently once he found out he had a demon inside of him that forced him to do things he wished not to do. Still, Axel was angry that Kaseki was here. Sure, he did not exactly wish to be in a dark guild, but he still had to pay the consequences. What dark guild member would freely walk around a city? Axel shook Kaseki's hand, then began to speak, with a semi-angry expression on his face.

"Kaseki, tell me why you are here? If I was on duty I would have to arrest you. You have no ideal what danger you put us in when you walked up to us. It is not regular to converse with a dark guild mage freely in town, especially when a major guild is here. Tell me, what made you do this?" Axel said. He did not know how to feel about Kaseki. He liked him a little since his whole demon dilemma, but Axel still hated all dark guild members. He wondered why Kaseki did not turn himself in after the incident. Axel would if he ever took innocent lives.

Natalia looked at the... creature that had approached as he introduced himself and was about to speak as well when Axel jumped in with a bit of anger. He began speaking about how Kaseki being a dark mage which immediately sent a shiver of fear down her back and she began to withdraw into the background to let the two argue it out. If push came to shove she was going to have to hide, she wasn't about to get into a fight between a Rune Knight and someone or something that was involved in evil activities. She just sat there and stared at the cupcake in front of her to try and remain out of this, she even considered moving to another table.

Natalia could just disappear but decided to look up and try and calm the situation down. "Please stop, I know you two may be at odds but this isn't the place to start fighting especially if people hear it, then you would both have Blue Pegasus on your heels. Now Kaseki was it, if you came here to cause trouble I would like to warn you that Blue Pegasus does not appreciate its members being harassed especially by dark mages, and Axel I understand that you dislike dark guilds and all there members but wouldn't you be more worried about cause collateral damage in this case, especially since people who is innocent is nearby." Natalia protested almost angered, fighting in the middle of town wasn't such a good idea. There were staff working in the cafe and there were the occasional people passing by and  the guild nearby as well, it would be a terrible idea for all of them to begin fighting here and now.

His arms fell to his side. His eyes fell to the floor under him. His smile faded. His head bowed. His stance was hunched over. He wanted to say something, but his words built up on his chest, painfully rose to his throat, inched to his tongue and died at his lips. Kaseki fell silent.

Before him was a Rune Knight named Axel Rover, to him, Kaseki found him heroic. Axel was a man would would fight and fight until the world was rid of evil. Axel was also a wind mage, something Kaseki had also found of interest. After all, he found the four elemental magics the most powerful; Water, Fire, Earth and of course, wind. But this hero instead of welcoming Kaseki, instead rather dehumanized him. To him, Kaseki was like the rest of the dark mages. Kaseki, to Axel, was nothing more than the guild he was in. Kaseki was a criminal, a killer.

The other being was Natalia Wolf. He had heard about her from word of mouth, a silent girl with the powers of snow, and to him, snow was ice. And Ice was well... water. Kaseki found her to be an idol, she was after all a mage of the same element. With this, Kaseki had to find the source of power from the great snowstorm. And here he stood before her.

Kaseki's mind raced with all of the thoughts and emotions that the two ignited within his own heart. Why did Kaseki come there? Why didn't he turn himself in? Did he come to fight? In fact, who was Kaseki?

He thought about the rune Knights, and what they stand for. The fact they protect a power higher than themselves for the sake of Fiore. He thought about Blue Pegasus, one of the most powerful guilds in Fiore. Then there was Kaseki, an outcast of Lamia Scale, self banished, and forced upon the ranks of Savage Skull, the darkest and most corrupt guild in Fiore.

Kaseki thought about all of this as he shuffled on his feet a few steps back. He refused to look at the two mages. He didn't belong there, it was true. But where did he belong? What was Kaseki's purpose? What was his destiny.

Then, in a now weak, frail and shaky voice, the plant man spoke, "Maybe I stay in the Dark place I am because they're the only one that will take me in. Even in there I am an outcast... I don't even belong there..." His voice grew weaker, and started to fade away. "My brother told me to always look for the light in the darkness. He told me that there will always be good in the world... but the way I am, who I am... All I can see is the darkness that the light casts, all I see now is the evil..."

Axel listened to Natalia say how if he tried to do something about Kaseki, there might be collateral damage. Honestly, Axel did not believe that, because in there last meeting, and of what he is saying now, Kaseki would not fight back. Axel fought himself about that well, because he doesn't like attacking "defenseless" people. Kaseki kept talking about him being an outcast, and how all he sees is darkness. Axel was still angry, but he would not want to upset Natalia, and he wouldn't want to make Kaseki feel like crap. he was conflicted and did not know what to do. His mother always told him to do what he felt he had to, but his father always told him to listen to reasoning.

Reasonably, Axel would arrest Kaseki as it was his job, but deep down, he did not want to do it, not today. He does not want to make drama, not on his off-day. "Kaseki, you are no outcast, not today. Please, sit down," said Axel, as he motioned kaseki to take a seat next to Natalia. "Listen, Natalia, Kaseki, I was out of line getting angry, especially when I know of your "problem" Kaseki. I know Kaseki, Natalia, and he is a great man. He may be in a dark guild, but he is my friend. Now, I am actually hungry. I will order something. Waiter!" said Axel, shouting that last word.

A waiter immediately came to the table, and looked deadly at Kaseki. "Don't worry, he is the friend of a rune knight," said Axel, as he showed his badge. "Now, I wish to have coffee and a cupcake, please," said Axel, and the waiter wrote his order down and went to get him the items. "You are not the only one who likes cupcakes, Natalia," said Axel, as he smiled and eyed the treat that was on Natalia's side of the table.

Natalia felt a little bad for the cloaked man, he was speaking in quite the sad tone now but she was still weary of him, after all he was a dark mage. Then Axel motioned for him to sit down and she started to feel nervous. She shot Axel a look that was somewhere in between 'you are about to let a dark mage sit beside me' and 'save me'. She was clearly nervous, and now she was even questioning Axel. Was Axel just a spy or was he genuinely a friend with a dark mage and was the dark mage actually the way he said he was.

She remained silent as the waiter came to take Axel's order and moved on, she then took a hasted gulp of her tea only to be disappointed by it being cold and frowned. She just couldn't help but feel insecure right now and her tea was cold, maybe she should have asked the waiter for more tea when they were here. She folded her hands on her lap and closed her eyes to try and calm herself and force herself to think positively about the situation. Axel was too nice to be a dark guild spy and Kaseki did seem genuinely sad when Axel got angry with him, perhaps she was just worried for no reason.

Kaseki took his seat beside Natalia. It was an odd thing to see from the outside. However, to those that knew Kaseki, this was a daily thing. Kaseki always found himself with the most powerful of heroes, yet he remained the most recognized of evils. Kaseki bore his Savage Skull crest on the opposite side of his Lamia Scale scar.

"I wish I could be a hero..." he uttered.

Kaseki always thought about somehow ridding the world of its' evil and problems. His dream was to unite Fiore under one flag, one banner, one name...

"Have... Have I told you about Dragon Fang?" he asked, "It's... a good place..."

Dragon Fang was something of Kaseki's one guild. He believed it to be a guild. In reality, it was just a bunch of mages, Legal, Dark... whoever, who all sought the same thing. Peace. Those mages never wanted to kill, fight, or truly destroy. Sure majority of them were dark, but the dark guilds were the only ones that would take them in. That's what became of Kaseki. He and his friend thought about pooling jewels together to get a base. At the time Kaseki was a Lamia Scale wizard, his friend Neo Stigma, was a Dark Mage from Nox. No one wanted to deal with the dark mage, so they were cast away... until recently.

Kaseki started a group called Dragon Fang, it was his source of pride and joy. Dragon Fang was the reason he wandered to so many odd places, talking to people he would never talk to... Kaseki wanted peace.

It was his dream.

Kaseki sat next to Natalia, and Axel could tell how nervous she was. Of course, she did ask not to make a scene, so Axel thought the best thing to do was ask Kaseki to sit. If she wanted him gone, all she had to do was ask, and Axel would ask him to leave. To be honest, Axel was kind of in the middle of being flirtatious with Natalia, but he thought there would always be other times. The waiter came back with Axel's coffee and cupcake, then Kaseki began to ask him if he knew of Dragon Fang.

"Yes Kaseki, I do know of them. You did speak the name at the mountains. From what you were discussing, I put two and two together, and realized it was your group of unity. By saying this, I don't mean to be mean, but like I said back at the mountains. It will never work. the dark guilds will turn against us by plotting something behind a peace treaty if there ever is one, because that is there nature. I understand why you joined, but the others are not as kind of you. They don't like the Magic Council, which is why they went dark. You have to understand that there will always be an evil in the world, and you can't make peace with it,  just keep fighting it until you no longer can," said Axel.

He felt bad about getting in Kaseki's face with his words again, but there was always something he said that bugged Axel, and it was always there. Part of it was his ideals, and the other part is that Kaseki was a dark mage. There was no way Axel could ever look past that, not after what his own siblings did. Dark mages were traders, and Axel suddenly got this ideal in his head that Kaseki could just be lying to him. He did not want to believe that, but what he has believed all his life, he cannot change. Dark mages have always been evil to him.

Axel looked at the sky, and noticed that it was late. He promised some of his new Rune Knight buddies he would hang out with them later, so he decided he would go. "Well then, I am happy we had this conversation, but I must go back to Era. Regardless of this conversation, I hope you well Kaseki, and you too Natalia. See you both later," said Axel, as he left Clover Town. In all honesty, he wished the day he would meet Kaseki again, would not come so soon, because though he respected him a little, he did not want to be caught with a dark guild member again. He noticed how Natalia looked throughout the conversation. He did not want to put anyone else through that

EXIT

Natalia began fidgeting with how uncomfortable she was sitting next to a dark mage, she didn't know if she could ever trust him. She was slowly going nuts over the situation, she wasn't about to sit here another moment with a dark mage. Axel said his farewell and that was the last straw for Natalia. She stood up slowly and nervously, and turn away from the table. "I'm sorry I have to go, it was uh, nice meeting you." She said as she departed. However she turned around and returned to the table one final moment to collect her cupcake which she had almost abandoned in her haste.

She made her way down the street, she should probably get some rest. Natalia took a look at the sky as a snowflake fell down past her ear and she smiled, the snow would build up soon so she might as well make it stop for now. She closed her eyes momentarily and the snow stopped falling moments later. She continued back to where she was currently residing, tomorrow she was going to have another go at a job.

EXIT

Kaseki remained seated at the table, his hands in his lap, his eyes as wide as a child. He watched as the heroic Rune Knight arose from the table. "Well then, I am happy we had this conversation, but I must go back to Era. Regardless of this conversation, I hope you well Kaseki, and you too Natalia. See you both later," said Axel, as he left Clover Town. Then Natalia got up from her seat as well, "I'm sorry I have to go, it was uh, nice meeting you." she said.

So he remained sitting, watching the two exit from the cafe. He was used to it...

No one ever wanted to be his friend. "I wish I were a hero..." he uttered, "Heroes never get left behind..."