[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200626/1bf27c8de8692e34a4dabea5b410504a.png[/img] [@datadogie][/center] It had been three long, long weeks since Alina had first arrived at Fenixtear. She had followed the rumors of a new, small guild starting up in Crocus, and initially, the girl had jumped on such an opportunity. A small up and coming guild, with whatever few members they have eager to prove their worth? A perfect place for her to use as a stepping stone to put her name up in lights and finally break free of the tag 'The Bloomfields daughter'. While it wasn't the most surprising, she hadn't expected the guild to have been empty that day. Well almost empty, just a single young looking girl. Alina had dug up enough information on the fledging guild beforehand to know that this girl was indeed the guild master, Torys Lusitania. A suspiciously kind individual who, despite running a guild, still had the time to spend on actions that Alina could only think were to bring a good reputation to Fenixtear; running the local orphanage and even some homeless shelters being the more prominent information. To Alina, that smelled of someone just wanting to keep their image clean...or simple naivety and foolishness if they gained nothing from it. What was even fishier was that she was unable to glean much else from her, admittedly brief, investigation into the guild. She didn't find much about the guild nor some of its members. Most seem to have only come to the area after joining Fenixtear, so the locals were little good bar learning a few names and some bits and pieces of what kind of personalities lurked within the walls of the guild. Her conclusion thus far? They were, at best, a group of oddballs. At worst? Possible mental health treatment center. Her chat with the guild master did little to enlighten the girl either, there was little fanfare beyond some oddly simple questions. Like, why did it matter to a guild what her favorite color was? Baffling indeed. Regardless, it seemed like Torys had nothing against the girl joining the guild so the matter went as smoothly as Alina could've hoped. The issues arrived very quickly, however. What issues, you ask? Well, she hadn't expected the reason to the guildhall to be empty that day [i]because the entirety of the guild had gone off to fight a flipping dragon.[/i] Not only that, but they had [i]suceeded[/i] in beating the beast. The first thing she had awoken to the next morning was Fenixtear on the front cover, some armored mage, whom from her previously mentioned brief gleam into the goings of Fenixtear she deduced was the one called 'Holly', standing atop the corpse of the creature in a pose one could only imagine from a novel. While she had anticipated them wanting to make a name for themselves,....this was way out of her possible theories as to what they would try. As a result, the guild's popularity just absolutely [i]exploded[/i]. Quests and potential members flooded in, the only silver lining for Alina being that she managed to join before such a hilarious amount of people wanted to. The big problem though? It became very hard very quickly to approach the original members, as almost every newer member seemed to swarm them. It made looking into them almost impossible, let alone trying to get close to them to learn more that way. Yet, she couldn't just leave the guild so soon after joining, least she looked like a fool, at best. She couldn't even use the newer recruits to glean anything useful even, all they were were a thorn in her side and a setback to her plans. No matter, she would simply need to play the patience game and bid her time, in the meantime she got herself settled into Crocus. Finding a place to stay was high on her list, only staying at the guild temporarily before finding herself an apartment not far from the guildhall, a small one-bedroom that was just a ten or fifteen-minute stroll away and next to a lovely little cafe she would visit in the morning before going to the guildhall. It was a gossip hub, the young lady who was the barista a surprisingly reliable contact for the goings-on of the city. Even if some of her chatter was...over the top and exaggerated to a point. She had just left said cafe, The Coffee Seed, and was digesting the conversations between herself and the barista girl. Fenixtear's name just seemed to be getting bigger and bigger as more time passed, and as such more and more people came to Crocus. Either in hope of joining the guild, or simply hiring them for a quest or the like. But also other guilds had been sneaking into the city, or so the girl had said, to check out the fledgling guild. Perhaps some even to come and glean whatever they could to undermine it's growing popularity, or such thoughts went through Alina's head. That wouldn't do, as despite the alarming growth being a constant nuisance to the red-head, it would help cover her tracks for the time-being from those that may be on her trail. That, and it offered a secure place and steady pay which she admittedly had missed during her recent nomadic existence. She wouldn't let some other guild just come in and start meddling now, so she made a mental note to create some counter-measures in case such rumors turned out to be true. It was surprising even to Alina how often even something like a Chinese whisper would turn out to be true, so it was best to take no chances on the matter. Her walk seemed to go far faster than normal, perhaps due to the various machinations brewing in her head causing her to lose track of time, or perhaps the coffee was a bit too strong today...Nah definitely the former. At any rate, the young lady soon found herself slipping in through the front door as a couple of other members left and was soon bombarded by the noise that she was slowly beginning to accept as simply a part of the guild life. Numerous people holding numerous conversations, each one seemingly trying to compete with everyone else with how loud and obnoxious they could get. The constant clatter of plates, loud laughter filling the hall as food, and alcohol was exchanged with the chiming of glasses coming together for a toast. In essence, the guildhall was a scene that could only be described as chaotic. Alina couldn't help but flinch at how loud the place was today. How could anyone bear this nonsense? Not that she would let such a small matter break her act. Every greeting she was given she would return with a smile, one of a gentle, innocent kind to keep with her current 'act'. That's right, right now she wasn't Alina Bloomfield, a former God Hand member, schemer, and manipulator. Instead, she was Alina Bloomfield, a gentle and kind soul that hailed from Crocus and had joined Fenixtear in the hopes of putting her magic to use for the sake of others...or whatever horsecrap she had fed the members and guild master here. Honestly, most people were so easy to trick with just a simple smile or a few words here and there, though others required a more detailed explanation, which she was more than happy to give. However, even amongst all the chaos, her gaze fell upon a particular individual. Probably the smallest member of the guild, and most certainly the youngest. The one person that managed to bring a genuine smile to her face whenever she saw the adorable little boy; Jasper Elliot. He had joined not long after her, and for no ulterior motives whatsoever she dedicated a fair chunk of her time into investigating the boy. She wasn't sure whether it was the ears or the sincere lack of information she managed to find on him, but he fascinated her...and the fact he was also part cat just made him totally adorable! One could almost hear her inner fangirl screeching over him, but she was far too professional to let her personal feelings bubble to the surface. Instead, she simply wore the same smile she would give the others, though with far less effort than it would've normally have taken to muster it, and weaved her way through to the half-awake cat-boi. This was to be their first formal, official meeting, though she had taken the form of some other newer members before. [color=9C2E37]"You seem a little lost, everything alright?"[/color] Coming to a stop just to the side of Jasper, Alina leaned forward towards him and spoke in a gentle, polite tone that she had used so often it had become like second nature to the actress. Her body language was relaxed and open to not make the boy feel on edge in any way. [color=9C2E37]"Are you also part of Fenixtear? Or are you here on other business?"[/color] Taking a seat beside the exceed, she patted down her skirt and kept her smiling face fixed towards him. She already knew the answer, but it was for the sake of small talk. [color=9C2E37]"Or are you like me, a bit overwhelmed with this all and simply waiting for the others to settle down a little before wanting to move on with your day? It can be rather exhausting trying to move through this crowd after all, and with how rowdy it can get it can become rather..."[/color] Her gaze slowly moved over to the scene playing out involving Gwen's posses of glorified stalkers. Honestly, they were an eyesore and were a disgrace to a following. Her next words drawn out as Lavivina came in and scared them off by firing off her magic. Her point ramming home harder than the missiles against the wall. [color=9C2E37]"...hazardous at times."[/color]