[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/b0d8ebf9-c62c-4b6b-ac37-c33e1d584dcb.png[/img][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210105/0b75c84cbd9b4e8519760a82d9c0e06f.png[/img]
[color=peachpuff][h3]Location: Magnolia Streets and Festival Arena [/h3][/color][/center]
[right][color=peachpuff]Interactions: Nolan [@hatakekuro][/color][/right]
 
If she hadn't been following a scent, Nyssa likely would have found her way to the fight just from the streams of foot traffic. That was helpful, as a woman with too much flower smell and a man that smelt too heavily of a weird mix of smoke, pine, and cinnamon made her sneeze and snuffle. Those two very overpowering scents clogged up her nostrils too much to keep tracking the smell from Ariel's not-mate. By the time she couldn't track by scent, the crowd and commotion helped keep her moving in the right direction.

Not long after, she heard the sound of the fight over the roar of the crowd. Everything about this was far too loud, but her own curiosity drove her forward despite the instinct to stay away from the noise. She ducked into an alley - merely because it was the only space she could see that didn't mean potentially getting elbowed when shifting back into human form - and transformed back. She'd started to step out before remembering the dress and slipping it back on. Not many would likely pay her much mind, they all likely would be focused on the display of magic from these Phoenix Wing members, but she didn't want to cause Ariel (and by extension Ariel's friends) any embarrassment walking around without proper attire. 

It took little time to weave her way through the crowd to find her way up to a spot in the stands to watch the show. Her eyes lit up watching the way the four moved around each other and squared off. It was almost like they performed a ritual dance. The attacks and dodges and carefully aimed hits. And - [color=peachpuff][i]Oh, wow -[/i][/color] she'd only heard about slayer breath through stories told by the elders. An elated smile spread more on her face, eyes gleaming with excitement, the more she watched. 

The battle seemed to wind down. Nolan walked off the stage as the others were finishing up and ending the competition with a speech. The fox girl shot to her feet and wove through the crowd still watching the other three to follow after him. He seemed to be heading somewhere quieter, which was great because the din of the celebration and magical display was drowning out her ability to hear pretty much anything else. Besides, if she got lost but at least found him, then she would be with someone that knew who she was and could help her get back to where she might be able to meet up with Ariel again. "[color=peachpuff]Nolan! Wait up! Can I ask you questions? You have foreign magic and I would like to learn more about it,[/color]" she called out as she tried to catch up. 
 
[hr]
[hr]
 
[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210104/a99cdc088aa9c386fb10b51db1d049ee.png[/img][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/f9af311e-b551-47b6-a9a0-237eb10e6e81.png[/img]
[color=black][h3]Location: Phoenix Wing Guildhall & Magnolia Festival[/h3][/color][/center]
[right][color=black]Interactions: Jasmine [@Lunarlord34][/color][/right]

"[color=black]I will be sure to announce myself next time,[/color]" the stoic mage said quietly. Markovis knew that Jasmine startled (rather easily as Neil would put it) and it had not been his intention to catch her off-guard. He also hadn't anticipated her cleaning any of the pans he'd dirtied to make the food. He considered explaining how he was going to clean everything before heading out - proper to do it right away than let it all cake on and be more work to get off later - except she already did the work. She likely knew she didn't have to take care of his mess, and it was just a waste of time to tell her he planned to take care of it himself. Better to just settle for a proper acknowledgement of her efforts. "[color=black]Thank you taking care of that.[/color]" 

While he didn't quite care for watching a fight, he was interested in seeing magic on display. He'd only heard about what the others could do, and while he knew what Nolan could do, he was still interested to see their magics at work. It was an entirely different thing to see magic being used than to read or hear about it. His own magics were much different in practice than in study. Besides, it would be interesting to see Darkness magic in action to compare it to his own dark magic; both were misunderstood, but he had a feeling Rose's darkness was safer, even if she was more powerful. Sword magic was something he hadn't seen before; again, it was something he had read about which meant he still had yet to see it in practice. The power of a god slayer was always great to see - yet another occasionally misunderstood magic - and there had only been one occasion he had seen Nolan use his magic in the year and a half he had been with the guild, and that wasn't even much of a display. Then legendary Phoenix Slayer - 

Markovis's gaze dropped to the hands gripping his tightly as soon as he felt the touch. He froze in place, unable to force himself to pull away from the contact but at the same time unable to bring himself to interrupt her rambling. He wanted to focus back in on thinking of the magic but...it had taken a while to be comfortable enough to not freeze up when Neil gave him one armed embraces. Rajah had broken through his discomfort by sheer force; he had to adjust or he would never have been capable of existing in the guildhall while the flying feline was around. Being comfortable touching hands with Jasmine and even Trinity was still a work in progress. He thought he'd made it further than this, but obviously not.

Of course, when the water dragon slayer seemed to become aware of her actions, she looked mortified in her embarrassment. Her face went brighter red than he ever remembered seeing it. Why was she blushing so much? It was just their hands. But then, he supposed maybe she was uncomfortable with physical contact with others too. He wasn't mortified by it. It just threw him off. "[color=black]No apology necessary.[/color]" He'd get comfortable enough with contact, eventually. 

For now, he wiped his hands on his shirt before clearing his throat. "[color=black]That would be fine. It can be self-serve.[/color]" He realized after he said that how it might sound. Would she take it like negatively or would she realize he didn't mean to sound like he was taking back his original offer. He moved to start packing everything onto a cart to make it easier to transport it to the festival. "[color=black]We can at least walk there together, even if you become absorbed in watching the spectacle.[/color]" Not that he needed the escort, but Jasmine would likely fair better with one. 

With everything gathered and the dragon slayer in tow, Markovis lead the way - more that he started walking without any further indication he was going to leave and Jasmine awkwardly hesitated before following along - out of the kitchen before they walked side by side on the way to the event. Much to his standard nature, he silently listened to Jasmine go back to elaborating and rattling on about the magics the four S-Class mages had and the last times she had seen them in action. His magic keeping all of the food the right temperature was so passive, it took barely any thought to get the spells started much less maintain them; almost as natural as breathing at this point. 

The crowd built up to watch the fight was definitely not his scene. He had no intention of actually taking a seat in the bleachers like the rest, but there was no way to see without doing so. He stopped at and set up the food with a sign noting it was free for anyone that would like it (and a smaller one listing ingredients in case anyone had food allergies and needed to check for that,) before simply following Jasmine to a seat simply because that was easiest. He tried to listen if Jasmine spoke, but he only partially could hear her over the cheers of the crowd and being overly conscious of how close other people actually were to him right then.

It was impressive to see the display put on by the guild's acknowledge strongest mages. Perhaps later, when there wasn't so much commotion and noise to compete with, Jasmine and he could actually hold a proper conversation regarding the powers they saw. It was an quite the sight, but it certainly wasn't something he would ever agree to. As it stood, he was mildly surprised Nolan agreed. This didn't seem like the slayer's scene any more than it was his own. It was also a pretty needless use of magic just to remind the people of Magnolia that there was a magical guild in town. Like people in Magnolia had stopped hiring out Phoenix Wing in the past year.

Still...it was pretty intriguing to watch the spells in practice. But when he saw the fight was wrapping up, Markovis figured it was about time to head back to the guild. At least that way he could leave without having to fight or follow a stream of people to go where he wanted to. "[color=black]Jasmine, did you want to stay longer?[/color]" He could explain his side, of wanting to leave now before the crowd came to them, but what was the point. He could tell her he was leaving without her if she wanted to stay.

Staying or leaving - it didn't matter as a monstrous form rising from the ground near the city shook the stadium. He stood to see it better. Well that was certainly worth some effort. Despite the new threat and chaos exploding around them, his voice was as impassive as ever, "[color=black]Nevermind. Are you fighting or helping people get safe?[/color]" He knew which one he was actually capable of doing. 
 
[hr]
[hr]
 
[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/b4935d80-80c7-440e-8493-64080d39e5a2.png[/img][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210425/764dc6dd934742fb1a29847f31d9f200.png[/img]
[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210425/60d4cad31d79f05670a6f5376d410cd8.png[/img][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/ae1af834-3932-4b5e-8b5f-de76941860f1.png[/img]
[color=Aqua][h3]Location: Outer edge of Shirotsume Town, Astoria's Home[/h3][/color][/center]
[right][color=Skyblue]Interactions: someone that might be in Wolven Pyre guildhall [@Cello] [/color][/right]
 
They spoke for what felt like forever. Truly, based on the way the sun moved through the sky and the shadows shifted in the living room, it must have only been an hour or so. Not long enough to truly have Anthony missing from his expected return to the guild, nor for Ria to feel in any rush to get rid of company. 

Ria shared her story, but left out - as Anthony noticed the more she spoke - anything that she might not enjoy. Large patches of the past three years were missing; nothing major...just what happened to her between the time he was in limbo up until she arrived in Fiore. That was at least a year of her life missing and she just glossed over most of it. Fine, if she wanted to only focus on the good, he wasn't going to ruin it just yet. It made things a bit easier really, that he didn't have to adjust tactics much in dealing with her. He missed the easy interactions like this. Some of the others in the guild were easy to read. 

It was incredible to have him back. One weight felt like it lifted from her shoulders, but it left an entirely different hollow pit in her chest. Listening to everything he had been through, what he had done in the years since they last saw each other, hurt. It hurt to hear how he survived in spite of her; he didn't say it that way, but she felt like that was how he meant it.

"[color=skyblue]You should consider coming with me."[/color]" "[color=aqua]What?[/color]" Ria blinked in confusion at the offer. 

Anthony smiled softly, shifting forward a bit in his seat to close some of the gap between the two of them. "[color=skyblue]I get it, you are nervous about joining a guild, but you might enjoy meeting some of the people I work with now. You would adore Zhulie and Meredith, and I'm sure Priscilla would let you join even if you hesitate to use magic. Meredith or Priscilla might even help you more than I ever did in feeling comfortable using your magic again.[/color]"

"[color=aqua]I'm not nervous. I just - I can't. Anything more than a rainstorm - it's just not possible.[/color]" Ria looked down at her hands, forcing her grip to loosen from the death grip she had on the tea cup. "[color=aqua]It would be impractical for me to join a mage guild and not be able to actually do much more than a water a garden.[/color]"

"[color=skyblue]Meredith doesn't cast magic. She lost her ability to before I ever joined. You could help her around the guildhall if you wanted. Please consider it. She tends the greenhouse and I'm sure she would love the assistance in keeping the plants lush.[/color]" He stood, offering out his hand. "[color=skyblue]Just come meet them, and if you are certain it is not your scene, I'll bring you home.[/color]" 

Ria sighed. Where was the harm? Chores were done. Painting was drying. She could always head into the town proper to browse the bookstore tomorrow instead. A soft smile spread on her face as she raised her gaze to meet his. With a nod, she took his hand and stood. "[color=aqua]Very well.[/color]" She took his cup and dish and brought them into the kitchen to clean everything up before it stained.

Shortly after, they set off. Kyros waited outside the fence, patiently watching for his partner and this mystery woman to appear. His golden eyes watched Ria hesitate, but once Anthony called him to his side with a thought, the large lion approached and sat once again. That golden gaze studied the water mage as she considered him in return, before she finally reached out and cautiously stroked his fur before running her hands through his mane. Acquainted with the lion, the trio set off again. 

Until the ground shook. 

Ria lost the smile she had gained, looking around. The pit fell out of her stomach as she saw a monstrous demon rising up to loom over Shirotsume between them. She froze in place, eyes locked on the thing. "[color=aqua]A-[/color]" she couldn't get more of out.

Anthony was staring at the same thing she was. A scowl firmly fixed on his face. "[color=skyblue]Yup. That certainly looks like a demon...[/color]" He pulled out a Call card from his deck - the one that connected to one he left behind the bar in the Wolven Pyre guildhall. There was certainly [i]someone[/i] there; it was almost unheard of for the guildhall to be completely empty. "[color=skyblue]Look, I have to go help with that. You should come help, even if it is to help get people to safety. I'll see if I can get anyone else from Wolven Pyre to help too.[/color]" His gaze shifted to Kyros. "[color=skyblue]Go help protect the guildhall and roar if there's a problem.[/color]" 

The lion simply turned and ran into the forest. Anthony, meanwhile, kept hold of the card - [color=skyblue][i]Come on, someone pick up[/i][/color] - as he started running toward the town. Ria couldn't move, she wanted to but she couldn't. People she knew where in danger, and all she could do was watch in terror as it the demon started toward their homes; her heart pounded in her chest and threatened to strangle her. But she couldn't move.