A home in the sky (open)

She was exhausted, her feet hurt as they were bruised and cut from all the running, her sandals battered away to barely anything in her hand. She had been running from her step parents for nearly a week, avoiding the few guild wizards they had hired to retrieve her by hiding in any frm of water she could. She would often hide in lakes, ponds and even fountains… letting her liquid body easily slip into it’s watery state to avoid detection.  She had only had to face one of the younger wizards that had come to find her, and that was why she was so beat up now. It wasn’t just her feet that were bruised, but her body suffered a very similar fate, streaks of dried up tears were visible on her dirty face to anyone who was looking at her.

“I’m so tired… I just need somewhere to sleep..”
The young girl mumbled under her breath  as she sluggishly walked on. She had no money to speak of, so couldn’t rent herself a room. The battered dress she wore and the necklace around her neck were about the only things she could consider hers.

As she walked on, she came across what looked to once be a wizarding guild hall. Judging by the looks of the place however, it wasn’t an active guild any more… Biting her lower lip nervously she walked up the steps and pushed her way into the building. The large doors creaked as she entered, causing small pudgy tears to form at the corner of her eyes as she walked inside. Maybe if she was lucky she could find some food scraps to salvage… and maybe a dusty old bed… or even just another corner space to spend her time recovering her magic energy and her strength. As she walked through the old Sabertooth Guildhall, nothing seemed very spectacular… she couldn’t find any food to speak of, nor a comfy bed… there was however,  a lacrima sitting in the foyer. She looked at it intently, wondering what on earth a lacrima would be doing here… maybe she could take it and trade it for a night at the inn. She took a deep breath and cautiously stepped towards the lacrima, her tiny hand reaching out, just gently touching the orb. As soon as it did however, her entire body started to tingle, causing the young girl to give a small yelp before the world itself temporarily went black.

When she could finally see again, she was surrounded by the bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds that seemed to kiss the very platform she was standing on. The lacrima she had found was a teleportation lacrima! But where on earthland did it take her? She took a few steps forward, heading to the main building, and seeming the only way to go at this point but froze at the end of the bridge. Her hands flung up to her mouth, launching her small sandals over the edge of the bridge as she covered a shriek that wanted to escape her. The small tears that had begun to form now began free falling down her face. They were in the sky! They were so high up above the ground! Her eyes grw wide as she very suddenly wanted to be sick. Her knees trembled as she took careful steps forward, holding the end of the bridge tightly as if it would collapse under her at any minute. If she could only reach that main building, then she might be able to ask someone for help… hopefully.

When she came up to the large entrance, she carefully opened the door, peering inside and much to her amazement, her earlier fear calmed itself.  The inside of the building looked absolutely beautiful! 100% bigger and nicer than the house her step parents had owned! She brought up her glove to wipe away at the tears on her face, only making a bigger mess of her little face.

Her amazement ended however as she spotted many people walking about the guild. Some sitting and chatting, eating, even merrily drinking at the beautifully lit bar. Great… what was she going to do now?

Was this the real Sabertooth Guild Hall?!

A pair of electric blue eyes caught sight of a young girl who had just teleported up from the old Sabertooth guildhall and the mouth beneath those eyes were about to spread into a smile. That was until the owner of those eyes took in the appearance of the blue-haired young lady and immediately the figure of the currently magic-less mage was seen to be rushing out to her aid. Whoever this girl was she had seemingly taken quite the beating as her battered and bruised body and torn clothing seemed to show.

Marick came to a halt in front of Aayla and gently knelt down to look her in the eyes. "Hey there...you can relax here, we'll look after you." he spoke softly, offering his hand to help the newcomer to a seat. She'd probably be spooked by his movements but he hoped that his tone would be enough to convince her that she was safer here than she would be if she were to flee, especially if whoever had hurt her this much was still following her. "My name is Marick. I'm a member of this guild, Sabertooth. What's yours?"

A small yip escaped the girls lips as the strange man suddenly appeared before her, seemingly out of nowhere. Even though his motives were friendly Aayla's hand was quickly engulfed in water, ready to defend herself using whatever means necessary. When he knelt down however, she held fast to the water spell she had begun to cast, now unsure if this man was really a friend or foe...Not that thewould of done her much good, as she was very nearly out of magic power.

She didn't know what to do as she stood there, her own deep blue eyes starting into his electric ones... The only difference in their eyes, were that hers were starting to once more well up with tears. He told her she didn't have to worry, that she could relax... That he would look after her. Of course she couldn't believe him... Bit she couldn't turn him down either. She was terrified, alone and beaten... Even if this was just a lie... She could do with someone kindness for a change.

The water she had been holding suddenly feel to the flour in a puddle as Aayla began to try and come an answer through her exhaustion and tears.

"Aayla... M...my name is.... Aayla... Please... I don't... I can't go... Go back there.."
She said softly, her entire body now shaking from all of the over whelming emotions closing through her body. Fear as to what had happened, fear of the unknown future... Relief that she had found somewhere to stay... All of these emotions portrayed in the years rolling down her face.

((Please excuse any terrible grammar... In trying to post while fighting auto correct))

The immediate response from Aayla wasn't entirely unexpected as Marick could feel the magical energy pooling into her hand, although he didn't look to see what she'd created. He simply stayed his ground and waited for the young girl to see that he could be trusted - a risky move perhaps, but he could take a hit or two if she felt threatened. Thankfully though it appeared it wouldn't come to that, as the magic the blue haired young lady had created - water magic as it turned out - fell to the ground in a puddle. As soon as she let the water go Marick knew he wouldn't have to worry about being struck and listened to what Aayla had to say, or at least what she was attempting to say between tears. Without thinking twice he pulled her into a hug, placing his hand gently behind her head. "You don't have to go anywhere sweetheart. You can stay right here with us." he replied softly. He had no idea where this girl had come from or why she'd been attacked, but he sure as hell wasn't about to cast her out. He wouldn't have done that even if she'd struck him.

This moment of soothing didn't last long however as Marick heard the all too familiar sound of the teleportation lacrima as someone materialised upon the bridge. His eyes looked up to see a small group of mages, one of whom was looking almost as battered and bruised as Aayla was. And each of them were glaring at the young water mage. Marick released Aayla and gently pushed her behind him. "I'm going to give you until the count of three to get out of our guildhall and go back to whatever hole you dug yourselves out of." His voice was calm, yet cold and authoritative. He wasn't threatening them. He didn't need to be threatening. He knew they would end up leaving one way or another. It just depended on whether they left intact or taken apart.

Aayla didn't protest against the hug, instead welcomed it as she seemed to desperately cling to him for a moment before she was quickly moved behind him. Her chest got so heavy at that motion she thought she might just collapse. At first, she thought maybe h had taken advantage of her weakness to hurt her, but instead found herself behind him, with the man facing the way she had come in. When she looked over that's when she spotted them... Two of the wizards that had been hunting her ever since she left her step parents. She nearly choked on her tears as she took another step behind Legacy, ready to at least try to bring her waterlock around her self in the event they managed to get to her. She couldn't go back... she couldn't let them take her back!

"Oy bro... This might not be such a good idea... I didn't think this thing would bring us to their real guild hall."
One of the mages said non too nonchalantly to the one he referred to as his brother. This mage wore a deep purple cape, his blond hair and calm demeanor peering out from underneath the hood. The brother he spoke too however, was pretty banged up, cuts were all along his face, his exposed hands had what looked like human bite marks in a few places, and most of his clothes were torn by what could have been knives.

"I don't care if every damn Wizard is in there right now. Our job is to bring the little bitch back! We can't just let her go! No no no! I'm going to have some fun cutting up the little shit myself before we bag her!"
The white haired brother cursed, his teeth grinding together and a wild look in his eyes. Wether he was pissed off from losing, or just crazy was something this Sabertooth wizard was going to learn first hand.

The blond sighed as he extended his hand as if expecting Marick to give him something, when all of a sudden, lightning began to dance around his hand.
"You heard the boy. We ain't leaving without the girl. See, we're getting paid an AWEFUL lot of money to bring her back home. Besides. You don't want a demon running around such a beautiful guild hall do you?"
He obviously seemed to be the calmer of the two brothers as his eyes focused forward on the enemy, hoping to get the girl back easily and avoid having to face the guild as a whole. As strong as they were, even together.... all of sabertooth wasn't an opponent he felt comfortable taking on.

"I...I'm not..."
The young girl began trying to explain to Marick, bringing her hands u to cover her ears as she continued to step back, her eyes fixed lightning as she trembled. How would she go about explaining this whole demon thing to a man she just met? and what if he DID see her takeover form... she didn't really understand it, so why should he think she WASNT a demon..?

So, they had come up here to get Aayla. That in itself was predicted, but an insult due to the way they'd just entered the guildhall and made demands. Then there was putting their hand out as if expected Marick, one of the Paragons within Sabertooth, to simply hand over the young water mage as if she were simply part of some kind of a trade. Then there was the other brother; the one that had been cut up and bruised. He wanted to hurt Aayla before they took her to wherever they planned to take her. Were they really so stupid as to think Marick would let them take her. His right hand moved down to his side while his left hand was now held slightly behind him as a signal for Aayla to stay where she was.

"You insult me and you insult this guild. You think we'd step back and let you take a girl in the state she's in and with the thought of you harming her further than you already have? Clearly she gave your brother there enough of a beating to knock any sense out of him, so your focus should be on him."

"As for her being a Demon? Well...I suppose you're unaware of where you are. We're Sabertooth. Zenshin, one of the ten Wizard Saints is our guildmaster. Aegis Bright, a former Wizard Saint himself, is a fellow Paragon alongside myself. If your words are truthful then I'm sure we could contain a demon here."

He raised a finger up.

"One."

The lightning mage seemed to hesitate, rethinking his decision. He knew it was stupid, but if they went back empty handed... He nearly shuddered at the thought. He opened his mouth to begin speaking, when a streak of white fabric seemed to fly right by him.

"Shit, you idiot!"
The blond cursed as his brother dashed forward towards his target, adn the man claiming to be a paragon of he guild... whatever the hell that meant.

"Get the hell out of my way pretty boy or I"ll beat your ass senseless too."
The younger brother growled angrily, obviously not impressed or happy by the insult and the self proclamation. He would get his revenge on the stupid little brat if it was the last thing he did... and a small part of his brain told him it very well might be. As he ran forward he leaped up into the air, just as he started getting close to Marick, A magic circle appearing before him as fire began to build and mold itself into a destructive spell aimed directly for Marick. If he could just get this idiot out of the way, he could nab the girl.

"The boss ain't going to like this outcome very much..."
The blond muttered under his breath as he simply stood his ground. Maybe his brothers idiocy would create an opening, but he would just have to wait and see...

Aayla brought her hand up once more to her muddy face, wiping the tears out of her eyes as she tried to stay focused on what was happening before her. Why would a complete stranger protect her like this... she was nothing to him, nothing but a sobbing mess of a little girl who showed up on the guilds doorstep...

"Shit, you idiot!"
"Get the hell out of my way pretty boy or I"ll beat your ass senseless too."

The situation changed in the blink of an eye, but it was nothing that Marick hadn't expected. As the younger of the two brothers surged forwards, the Paragon's facial expression shifted to a smile. His taunt had drawn out the more aggravated of the two and now he just had to take him out of the equation. Maybe then the older of the two would be willing to talk rationally. The young man lunged through the air and powered up a spell as he approach the Sabertooth mage, but his attack fell far short of the mark as Marick took a step forward and caught him by the throat, before slamming him down to the ground on his back all in one swift movement. His head then raised to look up at the older of the two brothers, the smile still intact. "Now then...maybe the two of us can have a quick talk about how this is going to end today. Or are you going to make the same mistake as your brother." he asked, standing back up to his full height. "You're going to get off of our property. I'd suggest trying to make some good of yourself. Hell, become a mercenary for hire. But I don't ever want to see you near this guildhall again."

He raised his first finger again, before then raising a second finger.

"Two. I wouldn't push it."

"Tsh...."
The blond gritted his teeth as he watched his brother fall, the white haired wizard completely immobile as his body received a huge shock. Not only was his magic interrupted, but the blow to his spine caused him to pass out, even for just a moment. The blond however, knew he was stronger than his brother... but he knew he wouldn't be strong enough to take on this mage. The boss was going to kill him, especially if they let anything slip about the operation concerning the kid.

"Fine... fine fine keep the brat. She's not worth getting killed over."
He said, bringing his hands up and taking a step back in a motion of surrender. However, from behind his hood a smirk crossed his lips as a long streaks of lightning erupted from the elders body in a loud CRACK. The spell however wasn't aimed at the Sabertooth mage. Instead it was aimed for the immobile lying on the ground. 1- He needed to kill the idiot, to ensure that nothing escaped, and 2- maybe he would do enough damage to the enemies hand to teach him not to mess with dark guilds.

Aayla shrieked at the sound of the thunder, falling backwards as she tripped on her own feet and covering her ears tightly, curling up into herself in hopes that this would stop.

The crack of thunder above the air was enough of a warning for Marick to move clear of the blast of lightning that flew through the air and struck the young mage he'd just floored. He dared not check the state of the young man as it didn't take much to work out why his so called 'brother' had struck him. These were dark mages he was dealing with; family were no exception to their rules. The older mans eyes glazed over as he looked down at the now smoking body of the younger brother, the shriek from Aayla only adding to his current state of mind. His right hand raised up and out to the side before Guilty Thorn appeared within it and his head rose to look the older brother in the eyes.

"...maybe I was wrong. It seems you lack sense yourself." the Paragon stated calmly with an icy cold undertone as he stepped forward. "Never again will you harm another child. Never again will you betray your own family. Never again will you cross that line into darkness."

He raised his hand up once more, the two fingers still raised before raising a third. "Three. Time's up. It's time for you to leave." With that he took another step forward, his body becoming coated in a crimson aura that matched his blade perfectly as the Chimera Blood in his body began to take effect.


While Marick was dealing with the intruders, Aayla would suddenly find herself accompanied by a fairly large feline creature that stood in front of her to hide what was about to happen. The lion cub had grown dramatically over the recent months, now standing at five feet tall. However he had also been well tamed as he nudged the young blue haired girl in an attempt to get her to enter the guildhall.

The younger brother had managed to let only a short cry before the current of electricity took its toll on the youngers body. Flooding it's way through his already shocked system and frying every system in his body, effectively killing the man and leaving his body a smoking husk at Marick's feet.

The elder brother on the other hand could only smirk at the sight of his suggest, the corner or his lip dropping only enough to acknowledge the others strength. A sword appeared out of no-where into his hand, and a red aura began to emminate from the man protecting his prey. Fine, he couldn't win this on, however he had killed any information leak, and would live to fight another day. At least he hoped.

"You can't protect her forever. The minute you take your eyes off of her, we'll be there. I have a job to finish, no matter how long it takes it will be done. Enjoy the demon while you can..."

The lightning wizard spoke, his left leg stepping backwards into a pivot before the blond ran his way back towards the lacrima crystal that would get him out of immediate danger. Even though he lost his brother, one good thing did come of this... they had locked down the girls location, and knew she wouldn't leave the guilds safety for a while. As soon as she did however... they would hunt her... it was easier to hunt down a team, than an entire guild.

When Aayla felt the nudge she carefully opened her eyes and peered up above her knees at the fuzzy face that had poked at her. As terrified as one might be by suddenly being faced with a lion, Aayla's expression didn't change. She was still terrified of the situation, but this lion... if it intended to kill her it would have done so... she didn't believe animals could be as deceptive as humans... not that they couldn't be smart. Her eyes darted to the scene unfolding at the entrance of the guild, then back up to the lion cub. She wiped at her eyes with her sleeves to clear away most of the tears before gently and slowly reaching up to the lion cubs head.

"Tch..."

Marick watched the young man flee from him with, his crimson aura fading almost immediately. Clearly there wasn't about to be a fight here, something of a disappointment for the Sabertooth man. That wouldn't stop him from cleaning up though. He pierced his sword into the ground in front of him and gripped the body of the younger brother before flinging it towards the fleeing dark mage. "We don't appreciate people littering in our guildhall." he called out as the body hit the floor near to the lightning wielder. "...nor do we appreciate threats. If you want this girl so much then you'll always have to go through me. And if you try to go through me...then you go through Sabertooth."

It was a peculiar chain of events. Never had Marick been so protective of a stranger. Sure, he loved kids. He would always been seen keeping them entertained with various 'card tricks' in the past. But to be as protective as this was something new. His eyes remained focused on his would-be opponent, never losing contact even as his sword dissipated and returned to its storage in whatever dimension it resided in.

Mufasa gently lowered his head to permit Aayla to stroke it. However as soon as she would make contact he would push his head forwards and end up pushing her flat on her back before nuzzling her playfully. Frightening as he should've been, he was acting more like a overgrown kitten right at this moment.

"Oh hey Mufasa, how are you this morning?" Zen told the beast that he had once almost slain, but was now quite the asset to the guild. "Im kidding, you're a cat, you can't talk" he said before chuckling a bit and walking over to Marick who had dealt with the situation as Zenshin watched from afar. "Marick, someone threatens a fellow Sabertooth and you let him walk out of here? For shame" Zen told his paragon before turning his head towards the newest addition of his family, "welcome to Sabertooth. By seeking sanctuary here I can only assume you're here to join, but if not, you are anyways. Welcome to my guild, you can call me Zenshin". After the short introduction, he stepped into his teleportation lacrima to catch the man who had just finished killing his own brother and threatened the young girl who had just joined the ranks of his guild. He dispelled the sheath on his arm, effectively increasing its temperature to forty five degrees Celsius and he launched his hand at the dark mage's throat, pulling him towards him after doing so.

"Since it looks like the cat has got your tongue, you can listen while I talk. If you ever even step FOOT in this guild hall or within a hundred feet of this place, I will grab pin you to the ground and have my fist melt through your chest. The same goes if you even SCRATCH that girl. I don't care what she's done, but killing your own family on my front door is unjustifiable. I'll judge you like I have many others, and believe me, you wouldn't like my sentence. You remorselessly killed your own flesh and blood, there's no reason I shouldn't do the same to you right now. After all, it's only fair, right?" he began, his hand increasing in temperature as time went on and the man's throat started glow red as it burned. "But I'm feeling generous today. I won't kill you, I'm not as savage as your type of mage. I'll only leave you with a reminder of our talk today and let the Rune Knights deal with you" Zenshin finished, squeezing hard on the dark mage's throat before he gurgled and was rendered unconscious. The guildmaster dropped the dark mage on the floor before observing the deep blisters left on his neck and walking back through the teleportation lacrima. "Marick, please message the Rune Knights and tell them that there's a criminal on our front porch. I'd like him taken out of here as soon as possible" he asked politely, as if nothing had happened. What kind of person can kill their own family like that... That was monstrous... dark mages never cease to amaze me

"Looking forward to it"
The lightning mage sneered before stopping only long enough to grab the back of his brothers collar and drag him back over to the teleportation lacrima. He had no more time to waste. Hs type was 'up' after-all, as the Sabertooth wizard had stated. He had wasted enough time He needed to get out- His thoughts and movements were both stopped simultaneously as another form appeared from behind the first, and suddenly, the man was right in his face. There was another full blast of lightning that was barely able to roll off his skin before he was grabbed by the throat and dragged towards this new figure. He lost his grin on his brother as his hands flew up to grip this new foes, attempting, with no success, to pry him off of him. He attempted to speak, to retort to this man's warnings and promises but there was only a painful gurgle that escaped him as he clawed desperately at the burning hand to let him go. Te pain in his throat was so bad, he could feel the burn bubble, he could feel the heat surging through his neck... frankly he felt as if his head might slowly fall right off his shoulders, and he would live long enough to see it. His frantic thoughts and attempts to flee stopped however as blood stopped flowing to his brain, and darkness over-took the young wizard.

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Aayla winced slightly as the lion cub gave her a gentle shove backwards. As gentle as it was, her entire body was still sore and bruised from her week-long escape. She couldn't help but smile slightly though as she leaned up and hugged the lion cub's neck, hiding her face in creatures fur. How on earth did a guild keep a lion cub as a pet? It seemed absolutely ridiculous... and yet the fact that they did keep such a large and dangerous animal with them, helped her feel just a little bit safer... anyone would think twice before facing a creature such as this one.

"... You're just a big baby aren't you"
She said softly, leaning back again and petting his neck thankfully. The tears in her eyes were all but dried up already, not that she wasn't still scared of what was going on. She had run into that lightning mage before and knew how strong he was... if he could get past Marick to her... He would of done so... and besides the original crack of lightning, the magic seemed to of have settled down now. As she pet the lion cub however, her eyes drooped slightly to really reflect her exhaustion.

Only then did she notice the appearance of a new man getting into the fray of things. Zenshin... and... had he just invited her to stay with the guild? Like what as a member? She had only sought to find a safe place to hide until she recovered, it was only meant to be for a day or so... However... maybe this was meant to be? Her father had been a Sabertooth wizard before he died... so maybe...

A smile crossed her face as she watched the man continue forward to take care of the dark wizard with complete ease.

"Thank you... you... you didn't even... even have to help me..."
She said in a soft, exhausted tone.

"I didn't have to, but I did, thus is the way of our guild. Help those even though we don't have to. We feel like we do though, and so we help. As long as you uphold our three values of conviction, faith, and selflessness in any sense of those words. Or at least one of them and work your way up to three, as well as helping those who need help, I have no problem with you seeking refuge in my guild hall and making this place your home. Welcome" he said with a smile as he watched Marick's cub nuzzle the newest, potentially youngest member of Sabertooth. I wonder if she's older than Marick's daughter. Maybe... he thought as he walked past the two on the ground and back towards his guild hall. There was work to do, so he would meet her through a job or two in the future, but not now.

[Exit Thread]